UOC Chancellor: Authorities are now mocking the relics of Lavra’s saints
Metropolitan Anthony compared the “inventory” of relics in the Lavra to actions taken by the Bolsheviks.
Metropolitan Anthony of Boryspil and Brovary, Chancellor of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC), issued a statement in response to the “inventory” of the relics of saints at the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra being conducted by Ukraine’s Ministry of Culture.
“Right now, all the faithful are alarmed by yet another anti-Church attack – namely, the ‘inventory’ of the relics of saints at the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, which the Ukrainian Ministry of Culture considers ‘museum exhibits,’” Metropolitan Anthony said.
He emphasized that the so-called “decommunization” of Ukraine with respect to the Church is, in fact, mimicking Soviet-era methods: “There is something ironic in the fact that Ukraine’s declared ‘decommunization,’ when it comes to the Church, is copying exactly the actions of the godless communist regime, which a hundred years ago also seized churches from the faithful and turned the relics of saints into museum pieces, often labeling them ‘atheist exhibitions.’”
According to the metropolitan, for UOC believers, what is happening to the relics is “just one episode in the systematic persecution of Orthodox Christians,” though these actions may shock an impartial observer.
“Now, along with millions of believers, even the incorrupt relics of saints are being mocked. And strangely enough, this only underscores the bond between the Heavenly Church and the earthly Church: all the Pechersk saints are with us,” said the UOC Chancellor.
The hierarch noted that today the faithful feel an especially strong unity with previous generations of Christians: “Today, more than ever, we feel a deep connection with our saintly ancestors – with the venerable fathers of the Lavra, whose relics are again being subjected to sacrilege, with our grandmothers and grandfathers, many of whom endured the years of godless rule as confessors, and with the new martyrs, many of whom are our earthly relatives.”
In conclusion, Metropolitan Anthony reminded that all are ultimately accountable before God: “When people in positions of power wage war against God and His saints, they bring judgment upon themselves. Everyone remembers the story of the biblical Pharaoh who, despite God's warnings, continued to persecute the people of God. That story remains a warning to all persecutors of the faithful – in every age.”
“There is no way for God to be mocked. The saints are above all the sacrilege committed against their relics,” the UOC Chancellor concluded.
Earlier, the UOJ reported that a theologian from Greece appealed to the primates of Orthodox Churches over the sacrilege taking place at the Lavra.
