Metropolitan Varsonofy: Church situation in Ukraine puts people off God
There is a standstill in the Ukrainian church situation, but supporters of the OCU are trying to undermine it, said the head of the Vinnytsia Eparchy of the UOC.
Metropolitan Varsonofy of Vinnytsia and Bar fears that the processes launched in Ukraine are aimed at discouraging people's faith in God. He said this in an interview with the Bulgarian outlet “BTA” posted on the YouTube channel of the Vinnytsia Eparchy of the UOC.
The hierarch noted that after the change of power in Ukraine, the church situation in the country improved but not significantly.
“I could characterize this period as a kind of pause, a standstill,” Vladyka Varsonofy explained. “The treacherous seizures of the temples have stopped, but decay continues primarily because of Epiphany and his associates, who are trying to undermine this situation.”
For example, according to the bishop, targeted attacks continue in western Ukraine – “somewhere a temple is taken away or a priest evicted”.
“These running processes are continuing, and overseas, so to speak, countries that influence this policy also add fuel to the fire and it is still smoldering,” he added.
But the most catastrophic and painful, according to the hierarch, is that such actions generally put people off the Church and God.
“People who are shown a certain ordered picture – look, how they fight for the church – they see it and turn away from the Church. In my personal opinion, all this is aimed at discouraging people's faith in God,” said the metropolitan.
As reported earlier, the head of the Vinnytsia Eparchy of the UOC called on believers to take part in the procession to celebrate the Triumph of Orthodoxy, which will proceed on March 8 from the Resurrection Church to the Transfiguration Cathedral, seized by the OCU.
