Archbishop Victor of Baryshevka noted that in the course of certain historical circumstances, God can allow the war to happen as inevitable. Sometimes, the historical circumstances are such that it is no longer possible to solve the problem of the sinful burden of humanity n any other way than by military means. Then the Lord allows war as inevitable. Archbishop Victor (Kotsaba) said this during an interview with politica.com.ua. "Understanding all the perniciousness of war and all the horrors it brings, the Church of Christ has not chosen the path of complete pacifism. The Church has always distinguished between a war of aggression and a war of defence or patriotic war. If the first war could not be justified under any circumstances, because it is contrary to basic Christian principles of love for one's neighbour, the patriotic war was accepted by the Church as a forced one, an extreme response to the aggressor to protect their faith and the Motherland," said the Archbishop. According to Archbishop Victor of Baryshevka, all those who went to defend their native land received blessings from the clergy to take part in hostilities as a Christian feat of self-sacrifice to preserve the lives of their compatriots. "My personal position as a bishop of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church and a citizen of Ukraine is in tune with the official position of our Church. There can be no justification for this insane bloody war," Archbishop Victor said. As reported, according to Bishop Victor, a Christian cannot wage a predatory war.
