State symbols vs the Сross of the Lord: what’s wrong with our "patriots"?

Photo: UOJ

Ontologically – nothing, but each person can create their own hierarchy of values and place above the Cross what they deem necessary. Sometimes this evolves into the ideology of society and the state.

The salvation of humankind was made on the Cross. What the entire human race had been waiting for since Adam and Eve happened. It was on the Cross that our Savior said the word that marked the moment of our redemption: "It is finished!" The Cross was necessary not only to free humanity from the bondage of sin and death but also to unite all creation, earthly and heavenly, with the Creator. The Apostle Paul writes: "For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through His blood, shed on the cross." (Col. 1:19-20)

Many words have been spoken, numerous liturgical hymns have been composed and many sermons have been delivered in praise of the Cross of the Lord. They all boil down to the fact that the Cross of Christ is the pinnacle of the universe, the pinnacle of theology, the banner of our victory and eternal life with God. "The Cross is the salvation of the Church. The Cross is our deliverance from the evils that possessed us and the beginning of the blessings granted to us, the Cross is the reconciliation of God's enemies with Him and the conversion of sinners to Christ… We have been freed from the tyranny of the devil by the Cross and delivered from death and destruction by the Cross. The Cross has united humans with the ranks of angels, making their nature alien to every corruptible deed and enabling them to lead an imperishable life. Before the Cross, we were strangers to paradise, but with the appearance of the Cross, the thief was immediately granted paradise" (St. John Chrysostom). Compared to the Cross, everything else fades into the background: national, state and even family values. Not because they are unimportant but because without the Cross, they are meaningless. What is the point of the glory and wealth of an individual or an entire state if, without the Cross, everything turns into hellfire? The gates of paradise are opened by the Cross, and without it, everything is in vain. Politics, economy, national revival, science and everything else will not matter on the Day of Judgement. The only thing that will matter is the Sacrifice of the Savior on the Cross and whether we have partaken in Christ or not.

From the very beginning, the Church has revered the image of the Cross. "Let us bear the Cross of Christ as a crown. Everything related to us is accomplished through the Cross: if we need to be reborn, the Cross appears; if we need to be fed with that Mysterious Food or be ordained to a certain ecclesiastical rank, or do anything else, everywhere – the symbol of our victory! Therefore, we carefully inscribe it on our homes, on the walls, on the doors, on our foreheads, and in our minds. It is the sign of our salvation and universal freedom…" (St. John Chrysostom).

The peak of Mount Athos is crowned with the Cross.

The domes of Orthodox churches are crowned with the Cross.

Only the sky is higher than the Cross, and this is very symbolic. For the Lord endured the Cross and ascended to Heaven to God the Father. This is our faith, our worldview, the aspiration of our Christian self-consciousness.

But what kind of worldview, what kind of faith can a person who places a national flag above the Cross have? Who places a national and state symbol between the Cross and Heaven?

On 21 May 2024, a photo showing a Cross topped with the Ukrainian flag appeared on a Telegram channel of Kamianets-Podilskyi. The flag is a symbol of the state and should be treated with due respect, but a flag atop the Cross is a symbolic assertion of a certain worldview. In this worldview, the Cross is no longer the highest and most important; instead, the state is.

So, for the person who installed this flag, the state of Ukraine is more important than the victory over sin, more important than the victory over death, more important than the eternal Heavenly Kingdom. The temporary is more important than the eternal. And this is already a renunciation of Christianity and its replacement with another religion, a religion of statehood and nationalism, essentially pagan in nature. And it’s not just a replacement. The flag atop the Cross symbolizes the victory of this religion over Christianity. We live in times of war and know well that any victory of one army over another is accompanied by setting its flag at the site of the victory. So, the person who mounted the flag on the Cross declared to the whole world that he defeated the Cross of Christ. He defeated it primarily in his consciousness, but not only. All those who approve of such setting the flag over the Cross also share this non-Christian worldview. Given that there is persecution against the Church of Christ in Ukraine right now, this image takes on even more symbolic meaning: it declares that state authorities are defeating Christianity.

Here are some more details about the Cross in Kamianets-Podilskyi and the place where it was installed. The Cross is made of iron, stands 14 meters tall and weighs 8 tons. It is located on one of the highest points, Mount Tatarvytsa, and can be seen from many parts of the city. Next to the Cross is the so-called "table of consent" or "monument to seven cultures". This place has been favored by modern pagans who come from all over Ukraine to perform their rituals. At one time, the Orthodox community of the city’s Church of the Exaltation of the Cross decided to erect the Cross of Christ over this place as a sign of the Savior's victory over the forces of evil. And now it has become possible to "crown" the Cross with a flag. What is this? A symbol of what victory over what?

We would like to emphasize that the flag itself is not something anti-Christian, but raised above the Cross, it symbolizes the victory of neo-paganism over Christianity. Paganism is when something else is placed above God, above Christ. This idol can be a state symbol, a mythological creature, a political, social or scientific idea, or some kind of passionate desire. The Apostle Paul wrote to the Ephesians: "No immoral, impure or greedy person—such a person is an idolater—has any inheritance in the Kingdom of Christ and of God." (Eph. 5:5).

This desire to place something above Christ or instead of Christ is characteristic of all godless regimes. Let us recall the Soviet period when the country was officially atheist, but every classroom or state institution had a portrait of the "leader of all peoples", and on 1 May, the streets were filled with demonstrations with portraits and flags, literally copying "religious processions".

Paganism can also disguise itself as Christianity. "And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. 15 Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works" (2 Cor. 11:14-15). Pagans can call themselves Christians, dress in priestly robes and quote the Gospel and the holy fathers, but still be true pagans because the place of Christ in their consciousness and religion is occupied by ideas and ‘their gods’: nationality, mistaken ‘patriotism’ or ‘Ukraine over all’.

For example, quite recently, one of the former UOC priests who defected to the OCU, Vasyl Kovtash, said that the reason for his decision was his desire to "pray to his Ukrainian god". Who can this "Ukrainian god" be, to whom they pray instead of Christ?

The second reason for his move to the OCU, according to Vasyl Kovtash, was that he greeted people with "Glory to Ukraine!" and they did not understand him. Again, this greeting in itself does not have religious significance, but in the mouth of a priest, it sounds very different. No Gospel, no apostolic letter begins with words of praise for the state. For example: "Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, To the church of God in Corinth, together with all his holy people throughout Achaia: Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ" (2 Cor. 1:1-2).

But while Kovtash has so far limited himself to words, his colleagues have gone much further. Here, for example, is a ‘priest’ of the OCU, who has a trident on his skufia (headdress).

When a military person wears the state emblem on their cap, it means they serve their country. But a priest serves God. If the state emblem is on his headgear, it demonstrates whom he truly serves first and foremost.

Moreover, this rural "priest" with a trident on his head had someone to follow. The "rector" of one of Kyiv churches of the OCU not only wore a similar skufia but also folded his fingers in the shape of a trident. This is instead of putting his fingers in the symbolic abbreviation "Jesus Christ".

Whom does this person serve: Christ or the Ukrainian national idea? It's not hard to determine. And these are not isolated cases or unfortunate improvisations by individual priests. Since the times of the anathematized "patriarch" Filaret Denisenko, the UOC-KP (and now the OCU) has depicted tridents in places where the Cross of Christ should have been.

For instance, here is the iconostasis of a UOC-KP church in the USA.

And here is a similar iconostasis, but in Ukraine, in an OCU church of Odesa.

The Royal Doors in church symbolism represent the entrance to the Heavenly Kingdom. But if they are entirely made in the shape of a trident, then the question arises: what kingdom do these doors symbolize an entrance to?

Ukrainian Greek Catholics have gone even further. They have built an entire church in Chortkiv in the shape of a trident.

Recently, more and more photos of "patriotic clerical vestments" have been appearing online, not just in yellow and blue but even with a map of Ukraine on the back.

What do you see before you: a priestly robe or a state flag? Likely the latter, right? So, what does this person declare, whom do they truly serve?

When, for example, a Ukrainian athlete wraps themselves in the national flag after a victory, it is seen as glorifying Ukraine, as a sign of respect and honor for their country. This is perfectly normal because sports belong to the realm of the worldly, the earthly, the temporary.

But a priest who engages in sacred rites, who enters the sphere of the Divine, should be dressed in garments symbolizing the heavenly, not the earthly. If this is not the case, we are dealing with a terrible substitution of concepts. Instead of Christ, instead of His eternal Kingdom, the "priest" offers people other ideals and aspirations: earthly and transient ones. As a result, Christ disappears from the consciousness of the person, replaced by the state or a national idea. Thus, Christianity is supplanted by local traditions and customs, gradually degenerating into outright paganism.

For example, here is a video where a "priest" is dancing with parishioners, singing a song about an "evil witch".

In a criminal case against one of the journalists of the UOJ, SBU officers claim that the OCU is nothing more than an attribute of the state of Ukraine, and therefore any criticism of it is considered state treason. And in this case, it is not so much that this contradicts both the Constitution of Ukraine and common sense, but that it very clearly and distinctly points to the essence of the OCU and its purpose. If the Church is the Body of Christ, then the OCU is an attribute of the state, and that says it all. Now, it is up to each person to choose their path.

It seems that there are enough examples already. In conclusion, we would like to say what true patriotism and true reverence for state symbols are about. They mean following the words of Christ: "Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's" (Matt. 22:21). The history of the Church shows that Christians were the most law-abiding citizens of their countries because they fulfilled their civic duties not out of fear but out of conscience. They followed all the directives of the state authorities, as long as they did not contradict their Christian faith. Christians served their people and state, but they never placed these values above their faith. If the rulers encroached on their faith, trying to make Christians honor something above the Cross of the Lord, Christians faced martyrdom and confession, proving with their own blood that Christ is above all for them. "For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain" (Phil. 1:21), as the Apostle Paul wrote.

Only by honoring Christ, directing all our thoughts and desires toward Him, and seeking first the Kingdom of Heaven, can we defend Ukraine and make it free and prosperous. If we render unto Caesar what is God's, honoring state symbols above the Cross of Christ, we will not only destroy our Ukrainian state but also eradicate our centuries-old genetic code, instilled in us since the time of St Prince Volodymyr.

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