Swiss cleric: Ukrainians have a choice between faith and its caricature
According to Samuel Milko, Europeans do not believe that "such a horror is possible that the authorities would persecute the Church of Christ."
In modern Ukraine, it is more difficult for people to make a spiritual choice than in Soviet times: they have to choose not only between faith and disbelief, but also between faith and its fake, a caricature of faith. Samuel Milko, a reader of the Church of St. Nicholas in Basel (Switzerland), said this in an interview with the website of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra.
“It seems to me that then the line was clearer: faith - unbelief,” said Samuel. “Faith was destroyed, unbelief was encouraged. The Bolsheviks showed you vividly and clearly what would happen if you chose faith. Now semitones have been added. It got even more confused, much worse. Instead of disbelief, a caricature of faith emerged. And the choice is not between faith and unbelief, but between faith and fake faith. <...> People do not perish, but the human soul perishes. Maybe these are harsh words now, but approximately like a gun is pointed at you, a pit is behind you – choose whether you will join the OCU or end up in a pit.
Samuel Milko said that he had come to Kyiv after learning that there was a threat to seize the Lavra.
“I learned that there was a danger of seizure on March 29, and on March 28 I was already here,” he said. “I clearly remember now the sermon of our ruling bishop, Bishop Irenaeus of London and Western Europe. He came to us on Thursday, we all had an unction, and after that he asked us to support the brethren of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra and provide all possible assistance. His appeal put the final point in my choice.”
Arriving at the Lavra, Samuel wrote down an appeal for the Europeans in German.
“I tried to explain what is going on here. People in Europe do not believe that such a horror can happen, so that the authorities would persecute the Church of Christ,” the cleric emphasized.
As reported by the UOJ, Seraphima (Shevchik), abbess of the Odessa Archangel Michael Monastery, said that the entire hierarchy of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church is under pressure – they are forced to change their confession.
