Met Pavel: Devil rejoices – Ukraine being destroyed from outside and inside

Metropolitan Pavel (Lebed), the abbot of Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, summed up the disappointing results of 2022 in his address for the new year 2023.

"Today, temporal people in power, driving out the Mother of God, expose believing people to grief, expose the country to danger... Today the devil rejoices in many events. Because the enemy is destroying Ukraine from the outside, from the inside, and now he has taken up the spiritual, what they could not do in all periods of thousand-year history. Not aliens but our own enemies have come, trying to expose us to unbelief and desolation," said the archpriest.

The Metropolitan wonders why no one in Ukraine is fighting against Catholics, Protestants, Uniates and other religions but only against the UOC.

"Because they are afraid of Christian God, they are afraid of faith because they will answer to God for all the atrocities. History knows that foreigners have closed monasteries, but when homegrown foreigners close monasteries – it is sad. But on the blood of martyrs and the patience of confessors, the Church is strengthened, and the grace of God comes into power. When human strength is exhausted, and we have exhausted it, the Lord steps in with His strength, with His wisdom. And God is not mocked! Not today but tomorrow – He will give one’s due to whomever," said Metropolitan Pavel.

As reported, Metropolitan Paul reminded the modern persecutors of the Church that Herod also wanted to defeat Christ but was eaten by worms.