Bulgarian Church bishop speaks out in defense of persecuted UOC
Bishop Ioann of Branitsa compared the persecution of Christians under Emperor Diocletian to the situation facing the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.
Bishop Ioann of Branitsa of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church expressed support for the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) during a sermon at the Obradovo Monastery, UOJ-Bulgaria reports. The sermon was delivered with the blessing of Bulgarian Patriarch Daniil.
The hierarch drew parallels between the persecution of Christians under Emperor Diocletian and the pressure faced by believers today. Recalling Christ's words, "If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you," he cited the UOC as an example of a Church that, in his view, is being persecuted for seeking to preserve canonical unity free from political interference.
According to the bishop, the UOC is the canonical Church in Ukraine, persecuted by the country's secular authorities for remaining faithful to its unity with the entire Orthodox Church.
Persecution, he emphasized, does not always involve bloodshed, but it can still be a severe trial. Those who follow Church Tradition, participate in the sacraments, and pray may face ridicule and humiliation, even within their own families.
The hierarch said that God's grace becomes manifest during such trials, helping confessors of the faith overcome the fear of death. It is this fear, he explained, that drives people today to compromise and abandon their convictions.
"As long as the love of Christ dwells within us, nothing can separate us from Christ," Bishop Ioann said.
As the UOJ previously reported, the Bulgarian Church expressed support for the UOC ahead of a court hearing in the lawsuit filed by the State Service of Ukraine for Ethnopolitics and Freedom of Conscience (DESS).
