“Love and Faith cannot be taken away”: Lomachenko stands up for Metropolitan Onuphry after SSU decision

Renowned Ukrainian boxer Vasyl Lomachenko has spoken in defense of His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry, commenting on the decision to strip him of Ukrainian citizenship. According to the athlete, no administrative or political actions can deprive a person of their most precious possessions — their love and faith in God. He shared his thoughts on Facebook.

«A person may be stripped of their passport, of all earthly possessions, but not of Love and Faith!» — Lomachenko wrote.

The boxer described Metropolitan Onuphry as a man appointed by God to serve during times of great trials. «His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry is a Man placed by God in his position to counter the enemies!» — he emphasized.

Lomachenko also quoted the Gospel of Matthew:
«A good tree produces good fruit, and a bad tree produces bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit» (Matthew 7:17).

Earlier, Metropolitan Luke of Zaporizhzhia and Melitopol has commented on the news of the revocation of citizenship of His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry, the Primate of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, emphasizing the spiritual meaning of this event. “They took the passport — they cannot take Christ,” the hierarch stated. He called on the faithful to see in this a sign of the times: “It is clear that the Lord has ‘taken us seriously’: internal upheavals, COVID, full-scale war, legal threats of a ban, searches, trials, imprisonments, and now direct, undisguised pressure on the Primate.”