Abbess Seraphim: Banning the UOC is a collapse of religious life of Ukraine
The abbess of the Odessa convent writes that the Ukrainian authorities are planning a massive “anti-church blackout.”
Abbess Serafima (Shevchik), abbess of the Odessa Archangel-Michael Convent, believes that the ban on the UOC will lead to the collapse of religious life in Ukraine.
On her Facebook page, she wrote that the ban on the UOC would lead to grave problems in Ukraine. “The first issue is the closure of thousands of churches. While in the west, in particular in Galicia, from 1 to 15 percent of churches will have to be closed, then in the center – from 50 percent or more. In the east and south, up to 90 percent of the existing Orthodox churches are subject to closure!”
“Let's imagine that, for example, churches and monasteries are closed all over Odesa, or in Kharkiv, or in Mykolayiv or Kherson! This is the planned mass ‘anti-church blackout’,” writes the abbess.
According to her, "this is a very serious problem for local bodies, including law enforcement agencies: the process of closing, control, countering the resistance of believers." She emphasizes that “the units of the National Police and the Terodefense may not be sufficient” and asks, “What then – fetch the military from the front?”
“The second aspect is the transfer of temples to the OCU. The OCU does not have the clergy to fill all these premises. Services will stop. Although in fact they will continue, only in other locations: in apartments, in rented halls, or even right on the street at the gates of the believers’ native churches and monasteries,” Mother Seraphima is sure.
She believes that in this case, “religious life will enter a state of collapse,” and “the whole world will be watching the videos and photos of the closed doors of thousands of church buildings and crowds of believers who were expelled from there and who pray in the open air.”
“The danger is also that the regions where several hundred churches will be simultaneously closed border on the aggressor country. Russia will immediately use these actions to step up its propaganda and accuse state authorities of discriminating against its own citizens on religious grounds,” warns the abbess of the convent in Odessa.
She also notes that “during martial law, state bodies will be able to stop the services of the UOC due to the ban on mass gatherings.” However, “in case of disobedience of believers, forceful methods against worship will cause human discontent, which will not contribute to improving the image of Ukraine in the democratic world. So here is the picture, ladies and gentlemen,” summed up Abbess Seraphim.
Earlier, the UOJ wrote that according to Abbess Seraphim, the enthusiasts for the ban on the UOC are Soviet atheists.
