Met. Anthony: Despite trouble, some’re looking for excuse to slander Church
Met. Anthony (Pakanich) commented on the situation with the accusations against the Pochaev Lavra regarding the pilgrims allegedly infected in the monastery.
If those who call themselves Christians use a common misfortune with the coronavirus pandemic to slander the UOC, then this just indicates that they are not Christians. Metropolitan of Boryspil and Brovarsky Anthony (Pakanich) said this in an interview with the Klymenko Time channel regarding information about the infection of coronavirus at the Holy Dormition Pochaev Lavra.
“There are certain forces that are still looking for an excuse to slander the Ukrainian Orthodox Church during this common misfortune, which should unite us, different, in order to fight it, to protect our society, our people,” the hierarch noted. “And if this is done by people who call themselves Christians, then this is just evidence that they are telling a lie – they are not Christians.”
According to him, both doctors and Pochaev’s police have already confirmed that not a single case of COVID-19 was recorded in the Lavra or in the city itself.
“Even if these cases of the disease existed, then, as far as I remember, it was said that these people went to the Lavra by bus, and this road was very long (we are talking about Moldovan citizens), and there were a lot of opportunities to get infected. Why it is the Pochaev Lavra to be blamed for it just to somehow hurt the Ukrainian Orthodox Church once again,” said the UOC Chancellor.
As reported earlier, the police checked information about pilgrims allegedly infected in the Pochaev Lavra and found no confirmation.
