Metropolitan Feodosiy: There are deputies who have not yielded to anti-religious pressure

Metropolitan Feodosiy of Cherkasy and Kaniv stated that despite the widespread pressure on the canonical Church in Ukraine, there are still courageous representatives of local authorities who resist anti-religious rhetoric. The hierarch expressed this view during one of his sermons.

“We see how many people, even outside the Church, remain uninfected by the condemnation of the clergy,” the metropolitan said in his address.

According to him, he was not referring to members of the Verkhovna Rada, but rather to deputies of united territorial communities and regional councils. “People who resist, who stand firm when there is pressure from above: ‘Come on, declare that the “Moscow priests” are bad! Let’s ban them, expel the Church, seize their land!’ — and yet they resist!” he emphasized.

Metropolitan Feodosiy noted that these individuals “act with courage” and do not submit to external pressure, even at risk to their own positions. “God loves the brave, and you are defending the cause of God,” he added.

The bishop expressed confidence that the truth will ultimately prevail: “History will surely put everything in its proper place. And God will reward you — reward your courage here on earth and certainly in Heaven.”

He also reminded that in a previous sermon, he had warned the faithful of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church against participating in unauthorized actions aimed at separating from canonical Orthodoxy. According to him, behind peaceful slogans about “autocephaly” and a “national Church,” what is truly being proposed to Orthodox believers is spiritual betrayal.