Met Yevlogy: People vote on faith not by polls, but with hearts and feet
The ruling bishop of the Sumy frontline diocese said that there are currently more believers in churches.
Metropolitan of Sumy and Akhtyrka Yevlogy commented on the latest sociological polls regarding the "support" of Ukrainian citizens for the ban of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. He stated on his Facebook page that despite immense pressure on the UOC, there has been a significant increase in the number of believers in the churches.
"I can testify from personal experience: despite insane pressure, torrents of slander, lies, violence, and blatant intimidation, there are significantly more believers in our Church. For me, the Passion Week and the feast of Christ's Resurrection were indicative in this regard," wrote Metropolitan Yevlogy.
He mentioned that during his years in the Sumy region, he had not seen such a large number of parishioners attending services during Holy Week. According to his observations, they were not random people but those who genuinely prayed, followed the service through books or gadgets, and all approached the communion of the Holy Mysteries on Holy Thursday, Saturday, and Easter. Similar situations were reported by rectors in other churches as well.
Despite many from the bordering Sumy region being forced to leave due to active military actions, the churches have been filled with new people, mostly of young age.
"People vote on matters of faith not through polls, but with their hearts and feet. For a believing person, Christ is incomparably greater and more precious than any propaganda – the history of the Church in the lives of its martyrs and confessors proves this," concluded the UOC hierarch.
Regarding the issue of trust in the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, he cited a charitable campaign to help children with oncological diseases in the Sumy region, during which believers donated almost a million hryvnias.
The bishop shared that the diocese did not expect to collect a significant amount, understanding the difficult financial situation due to the war faced by the residents of Sumy. However, it turned out that the amount collected was almost a million hryvnias.
"Let's leave the polls to their creators, and let's continue to live according to the guidance of the Holy Apostle John the Theologian: 'My children! Let us not love with words or speech, but with actions and in truth'" (1 John 3:18), concluded Metropolitan Yevlogy.
As reported by the UOJ, Robert Amsterdam called the KIIS poll on the ban of the UOC fraudulent.
