UOC hierarch: Processions of Triumph of Orthodoxy – a testimony of Truth
Abp Theodosius thinks cross processions on the Day of the Triumph of Orthodoxy are an internal need of the Church, which has withstood the yoke of betrayal and assault.
The cross procession of the Triumph of Orthodoxy – 2021 is a testimony of the Truth and gratitude to God for everything, said the head of the Cherkasy Eparchy of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, Archbishop Theodosius of Cherkasy and Kaniv, in a commentary to the UOJ.
“Many believers now have a feeling that both the Church and society today are on the verge of great changes,” the hierarch noted. “The consciousness of people is changing, stereotypes are breaking, values are being reviewed”.
Against this background, he added, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church for a number of years has been experiencing increasing oppression and pressure: “Anti-church laws are being adopted, the Constitution is being violated, churches are being seized, believers are being beaten. In their country, in their cities and villages, millions of Orthodox believers are forced to feel like outcasts."
And so, the bishop emphasized, the Church again goes on the All-Ukrainian cross procession – in its eparchies.
“And if the first large-scale cross procession – 2016 was felt by many as a blessing of God for the upcoming common trials, today it is more an internal need for the Ukrainian Orthodox Church – a full-flowing river – to prayerfully overflow its banks. The Church did not break down under the yoke of betrayal and assault, it withstood, it got stronger and hardened.
The cross procession of the Triumph of Orthodoxy – 2021 is gratitude to God for everything, this is a testimony of the Truth, this is the exposure of the lies and untruths of this world,” resumed Archbishop Theodosius of Cherkasy and Kaiv.
As reported, His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry blessed on the Day of the Triumph of Orthodoxy to hold traditional religious processions and prayer standings in the eparchial centres of the UOC, taking into account the epidemic situation.
