Archbishop Victor: Stuffing video from Lavra is part of the information war

In a commentary to the Politica portal, Archbishop Victor (Kotsaba) of Baryshivka, the head of the UOC Representation to European International Organizations, stated that the publication of a video with the singing of a song in the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra with the words “Rus Mother is awakening” is “a manifestation of the information war against the Church.”

The hierarch of the UOC noted that “with the onset of war and the temporary occupation of some territories, the thesis of collective and individual responsibility has become very relevant in Ukrainian society.”

“Law enforcement agencies report hundreds and thousands of cases of collaboration among officials and the same police officers and representatives of law enforcement agencies. Each of these people is responsible for their actions in accordance with the legislation of Ukraine. However, no one in Ukrainian society is calling to ban, for example, the entire National Police or the Verkhovna Rada on the basis of such cases. Everyone understands that this is absurd. But with regard to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, for some reason, such calls are taken for granted,” the bishop stressed.

He noted that any words that the UOC has betrayed Ukraine and is praying for the Russian Federation “is an outright lie.” According to him, the publication of a video with singing in the Lavra is “a manifestation of the information war in order to discredit the ‘competitor’ and try to incite hatred towards the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in society.”

Archbishop Victor recalled that "the Ukrainian Orthodox Church is now not only praying for our soldiers at the front, but also providing them with great help on a daily basis."

Thus, the bishop writes further, “a few days ago, with the blessing of our Primate, His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry, I happened to visit the Sviatogorsk Lavra and its environs with humanitarian aid. I had to see with my own eyes the terrible destruction the Sviatogorsk Lavra had suffered. However, this mission is just a drop in the bucket. The UOC helps the Armed Forces of Ukraine, refugees and IDPs every day.”

“Apparently,” concludes the bishop, “someone is very concerned about this, believing that the UOC is trying to ‘pay off’ by providing humanitarian assistance.”

“We are not at all opposed to other religious organizations ‘paying off’ in the same way, but they seem to be more actively engaged on the ‘information front’,” the hierarch emphasized.

He noted that the “church war” continues to tear our society apart, which is simply unacceptable in a real war, and stated that “such destructive activity works exclusively to split Ukrainian society, which entails internal weakening in favor of an external enemy.”

As the UOJ reported, Metropolitan Clement commented on a video with a song about the Russian Federation in the Kyiv Lavra.