Met Nikodim: All decisions of His Beatitude are for the good of the Church
The bishop commented on the upcoming meeting of the episcopate, priesthood and laity of the UOC.
Metropolitan Nikodim of Zhytomyr and Novograd-Volynsky wrote on his Facebook page that the meeting of the episcopate, priests and laity, which was announced by the Synod of the UOC, is awaited by all priests, believers and bishops and that “all the decisions that His Beatitude makes were and will be for the good of the Church.”
“Perhaps the most discussed topic now related to the communique of the last Synod of the UOC is the meeting of the episcopate, clergy and laity of our Church. Such a meeting is essential, and priests, believers, and bishops are looking forward to it. We see that the Church is now under severe pressure, not only external. The present reminds me of the events that took place on our land about 25 years ago. There was no war then, but there was a wave of patriotism, against which mass seizures of churches took place, passions also raged, our believers were also humiliated, insulted, called Muscovites and so on. Those who could not withstand the pressure backslid into schism or joined the Greek Catholics. So there is nothing new under the sun, everything comes back,” said Metropolitan Nikodim.
According to him, after those events, the UOC began to actively develop, believers began to set up new communities, build churches.
“True, we are now going through a period of upheaval, and it is perhaps even more serious than it was then, at the dawn of Ukrainian independence. Anyway, God arranges everything for our good. An obvious evidence of this is the fact that in our time the UOC is headed by His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry, a true pastor and father,” added the hierarch of the UOC.
Metropolitan Nikodim noted that the post of Primate is a special obedience that requires administrative and diplomatic talents, the ability to find a common ground with the authorities and society.
“Our Metropolitan Onuphry is, first of all, a man of prayer, a person who is completely devoted to God and the Church, a bishop who enjoys high authority throughout the Orthodox world. Church life in recent years has clearly shown that all the decisions that our Beatitude makes are for the benefit of both the UOC, each of its communities, and each believing Christian. I believe this will continue in the future, so we are confidently following our spiritual father, His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry,” concluded Metropolitan Nikodim.
The UOJ previously wrote about the brief results of the "military" Synod of the UOC.
