UOC spokesman: OCU has 10 times as many people as UOC? Look at Pochaiv then
Archpriest Nikolai Danilevich said he does not see the number of people in the churches of the OCU, reported in opinion polls.
Archpriest Nikolai Danilevich, Deputy Chairman of the Department for External Church Relations of the UOC, wrote in his telegram channel that he does not believe opinion polls, which say that the OCU is supported by ten times as many people as the UOC.
“After today’s service in Pochaiv, I see two pieces of news on RISU: that His Beatitude prayed in Pochaiv and that the UOC is allegedly supported by only 4%, while the OCU is tenfold more. I don’t see as many people in the temples of the OCU as it is reported in opinion polls. I just don’t see it,” the spokesman of the UOC said.
According to him, some people today are afraid to go to the churches of the UOC for fear of losing their jobs, but there are many who are not afraid.
“Indeed, the fact is that there are a certain number of people who today are afraid to go to our churches in some regions of the country. Moreover, they are afraid to speak openly about their belonging to the UOC. In Pochaiv, I was told about many such cases when UOC believers – teachers or civil servants – are threatened with being fired from their jobs for being the UOC believers. Some were really fired, and there are enough of these facts. However, there are also many who are not afraid of anything. We saw such people yesterday and today in Pochaiv. Likes are one thing, real participation in the life of the Church is another. Likes are shaped by the media, life in the church is a calling from God. The Lord calls everyone, but not everyone responds,” he added.
As the UOJ reported earlier, the flow of people in the Pochaiv Lavra does not dry out.
