Metropolitan Anthony (Pakanich) spoke about the true purpose of the Church

Metropolitan Anthony (Pakanich) of Boryspil and Brovary, the Administrator of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, spoke about what exactly the faithful should expect from the Church. The bishop cautioned against the false perception of the Church as a purely earthly institution, emphasizing its spiritual dimension.

As His Eminence emphasizes, the Church’s mission is to provide divine support and to preserve the purity of the faith, church canons, and Holy Tradition. In the author’s view, the Church should not conform to modern secular trends or show tolerance toward sin for the sake of pleasing society. “There is only one principle governing one’s relationship with the Church: whatever a person sees in the Church is what he finds there,” — the metropolitan notes.

The article criticizes recent statements by government officials—in particular, the head of the State Commission on Religious Affairs—who deny the facts of persecution and the seizure of churches belonging to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. Metropolitan Anthony attributes this attitude to a lack of understanding of the sacred nature of church spaces, citing the situation surrounding the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra as an example. According to him, the use of churches for secular events and indifference to the fate of holy sites demonstrate a disregard for Gospel principles.

In conclusion, Metropolitan Anthony emphasizes that the Church remains the only institution capable of uniting society around Christ and offering comfort and hope. He recalls the Savior’s words about the establishment of the one Church, which is His Body on earth and which the gates of hell shall not prevail against.