American priest responds to AFU spokesman's allegations against OCA head
Priest of the Orthodox Church in America Nikolai Breckenridge from Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, wrote a letter of support to the believers of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.
Father Nikolai writes that the Synod of the Orthodox Church in America and the clergy strongly oppose the aggressive war of the Russian Federation, and the Church has been condemning the aggression of the RF from the very beginning of military actions in 2022.
The priest of the OCA objects to Kovalev's manipulations and says that the Orthodox Church in America is "distinctly American", and the Orthodox faith comes above any ethnic or
national consideration." He asserted that "Our Church is not 'the Russian Church in America.'"
"It's understandable that Mr. Kovalev has a very cynical view of Met. Tikhon’s visit to Ukraine. He already has a conclusion in his mind, so he makes connections where none exist so that he can support his
conclusion. He has seen the horror of Russian aggression up close, I don’t blame him for seeing it at times when he should not. I pray God will soften his heart and open his eyes. Hopefully he will repent of his slander that Met. Tikhon is an 'agent of the Kremlin in a Russia,'" wrote the cleric of the Orthodox Church in America.
He writes that he does not know why the head of the OCA decided to make a pilgrimage to Ukraine, but he knows that His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry is a long-time friend of their Church. The priest said, "We know that your Primate is the real deal. He is a man who is concerned with the Kingdom of God above all else. We know that the Ukrainian Orthodox Church is a sister Church who seeks the same Kingdom we do."
The cleric of the OCA said that he and other Americans pray for all those who fight against godlessness.
"We pray that your fight against the ungodly Russian aggression will end soon with Ukrainian sovereignty and territorial integrity preserved! We pray that the defenders who have died will find rest in the Kingdom of God, and that those suffering and displaced will find comfort in our Lord, Jesus Christ. And we pray that the Ukrainian government stops attacking your God-guarded Church and respects the values of freedom, democracy, and freedom of religion for which Free Ukraine stands!" summarized the American priest.
As the UOJ reported, the spokesperson of the general Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine called the pilgrimage of the head of the Orthodox Church a Moscow special operation in Ukraine.
