Metropolitan Luke: “Envy wears the mask of justice — it is envy that lies at the root of persecution against the Church”

On the feast day of the Holy Unmercenaries Cosmas and Damian, Metropolitan Luke of Zaporizhzhia and Melitopol commented on the current situation surrounding the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. The hierarch identified envy as the main driving force behind the persecution the Church is now facing, pointing out that those who seize churches are not seekers of God, but rather those who pursue dominance, power, and personal gain — all under the guise of “justice” and “patriotism.” His comments were published on his official Telegram channel.

“Envy is rejoicing in the misfortune of one’s neighbor and grieving over their success. The most frightening thing is that the envious person never admits this feeling to himself,” the bishop stated. According to him, envy often disguises itself as a pursuit of truth, but at its core always lies selfishness and hatred toward those who are spiritually or morally superior.

Metropolitan Luke compared today’s persecution of the UOC to the revolutionary terror of the 20th century. “That’s exactly how the Bolsheviks justified killing landowners and nobles as a class. Today, those who once envied the Church now humiliate it, seize its churches, and present their outrage as a fight for justice,” he noted. In his view, modern “activists” persecute the Church not out of faith, but out of self-interest: “Like the Judases who followed Christ not for Christ’s sake, but for their own benefit.”

The bishop called on the faithful not to respond to evil with vengeance: “Do not be carried away by their madness! Place your hope in God! Pray for those who hate and persecute you — and you will be sons of the Most High.”

Earlier, it was reported that Metropolitan Luke of Zaporizhzhia and Melitopol (UOC) urged believers to interpret social developments through the lens of the Gospel. In his address, he distinguished between true zeal for God and dangerous “unreasonable zeal,” which, in his words, leads to fanaticism and spiritual corruption.