Greek MP: Those who beat priests in Ukraine serve the devil

Nikos Papadopoulos. Photo: Union of Orthodox Journalists in Greece

In an interview with UOJ in Greece, Papadopoulos spoke about the persecution of the canonical Church in Ukraine.

Commenting on footage showing violence against UOC clergy, he said: “I saw with my own eyes how priests are dragged by their beards and beaten. These are Zelensky’s Nazis. I don’t know what god they pray to. They pray to the devil.”

He also criticized the authorities for closing the Lavra and expelling its abbot: “The Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra is their Holy Mountain. And they are turning it into a museum.” Papadopoulos described what is happening in Ukraine as a fratricidal war.

He expressed outrage that the Greek government is supporting authorities he says are persecuting the Orthodox Church, adding that Greece has allocated 10 billion euros to Ukraine even though, in his words, the people gave no mandate for this.

Speaking about Greece’s role, the MP recalled the mission of Saints Cyril and Methodius. They, he said, were the true “weapon” Greece once sent to the Slavic peoples: one carried the Gospel, the other – the alphabet. “That is the kind of weapon Greece should be giving,” Papadopoulos concluded.

Earlier, the UOJ reported that, according to a hierarch of the Church of Greece, those who persecute the UOC are not Christians.

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