Any anti-church act can be recognized as legal: it is enough to adopt the relevant law, Metropolitan Anthony

The Chancellor of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, Metropolitan Anthony of Boryspil and Brovary, drew parallels between the persecution of the UOC today and the persecution of the Church during the years of communist repression. The hierarch noted that the charges on which Orthodox clergy and believers were tried and executed during the years of communist terror are as similar as possible to those that are being brought against the clergy and believers of the UOC today. He spoke about this in a commentary to the publication “Orthodox Life”.

“Today, many people draw parallels between the fate of our modern Church, the fate of the new martyrs and the fate of St. John Chrysostom. Formally, neither St. John nor many of the new martyrs and confessors were required to renounce Christ. They were judged, it would seem, purely for political reasons: the new martyrs were judged mainly as counter-revolutionaries (even a mention in a sermon of persecution of the Church could be the reason for the arrest of a clergyman for anti-Soviet agitation), and Chrysostom was arrested for exposing the lies of the authorities. Today’s denial of the persecution of the Church and the justification of all oppression of the faithful and clergy of the UOC by political circumstances are not much different from what the new martyrs and St. John Chrysostom were persecuted for. Any anti-church act can be recognized as legal if desired: it is enough to pass a law. But will such a law be fair? Will it bring benefit? And most importantly: will it please God?”, — said the Metropolitan.

The hierarch added that despite the pressure exerted on the Church, it always wins in such situations. Metropolitan Anthony believes that the end of the persecution of the UOC is near.

“The end is the same every time: The Church always triumphs after all the oppression. The new martyrs and confessors are ranked among the saints who have suffered for Christ from all eternity. John Chrysostom is acquitted by the same authorities that condemned him, and the saint’s relics are solemnly returned from exile. Sacred history often repeats itself. And if now it seems to us that dark times have come, it means that the dawn is near,” — the hierarch concluded.