German monastery expresses support for Sviatohirsk Lavra brotherhood

Monk Varsonofiy and the brotherhood of the Holy Trinity Monastery in Buchhagen. Photo: UOJ

The Orthodox Holy Trinity Monastery in Buchhagen, Germany, has expressed support for the brotherhood of the UOC Sviatohirsk Lavra following the murder of Monk Varsonofiy. In a comment to the German editorial office of the UOJ, the monastery clergy said they stand in solidarity with persecuted Christians in Ukraine.

The Buchhagen monastery said it was deeply moved by the “heroic spiritual struggle of the persecuted Christians of Ukraine,” as well as by the “steadfastness of the holy fathers and the Christ-loving people.”

The monks compared what is happening in Ukraine to the “dark times of persecution under Stalin” and, at the same time, to the “faithfulness to Christ under Khrushchev,” when believers defended the Pochaiv Lavra and prevented its closure.

“Here, in the face of Satan’s increasingly undisguised attacks, the true Church gains new strength; the thicker the darkness, the more brightly the light of God shines,” the statement said. The monastery especially noted the monks who accompanied Father Varsonofiy on his final journey: “It is precisely in the faces of those consecrated to God, carrying Father Varsonofiy to his burial, that a quiet reflection of the deep peace in Christ shines forth.”

The Buchhagen monastery said it is praying for the slain Monk Varsonofiy and the brotherhood of the Sviatohirsk Lavra, as well as “for the persecutors, who are especially in need of prayer.”

As the UOJ reported, prayers were offered in Toronto for the repose of the monk slain at the Sviatohirsk Lavra.

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