Chisinau Metropolitan: The power, eager to have a pocket Church, is wrong

Metropolitan Vladimir of Chisinau and All Moldova criticized the position of the Ukrainian authorities towards the UOC. He stated this in an interview with the Tradition portal.

Metropolitan Vladimir believes that it is the authorities who should respect the Church and pray in it, “and not the Church that should honor them,” since the Church prays for the leadership of the country, the army and all Christians at every divine service. “We cannot belong to any one state or any political party,” he stressed.

Metropolitan Vladimir considers the policy of the Ukrainian authorities erroneous.

“Those leaders who want to have a pocket church make a very big mistake. Because earthly life is short, but the Church was founded by Jesus Christ himself, and it is eternal. Therefore, we must worship the Lord, rather than those who are temporarily at the helm of the state,” said the Metropolitan of Chisinau.

“We are very sorry when the Church is subjected to pressure in a particular country. We know that the Church is one. The head of the Church is the Savior Christ. However, being in a particular country, it also receives the appropriate name. Like, for example, the Orthodox Church of Moldova, the Ukrainian Church, the Russian Church, the Romanian Church, the Church of Greece, and so on,” Metropolitan Vladimir explained.

As reported by the UOJ, the Moldovan-Chisinau Metropolis of the Russian Orthodox Church refused to change its jurisdiction.