On December 15, the independence of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church was actually proclaimed in Kiev - Epiphanius (Dumenko), close to Filaret, incredibly young - 1979, b. President Poroshenko announced the creation of a “Ukrainian autocephalous church,” and a spokesman for our Patriarch, Cyril, Alexander Volkov, called the gathering a “predatory gathering.”
Already on December 17, the “new church” received an answer: in the same place, in Kiev, the Synod of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate gathered for an extraordinary meeting. The synod has anathematized two metropolitans belonging to the Moscow Patriarchate, who were present at the “robber gathering” (and this is a harsh measure, like shooting at church scales).
I repent, being a hawk both by nature and political convictions, as soon as Russia allowed myself to be dragged into the quagmire of the Minsk agreements, I was going to offer our final salvation, to call on the Russians to leave the army and the administration of Ukraine, leave the posts of teachers and doctors and announce boycott of the Ukrainian statehood. That is, to use the forbidden technique - to use Russian nationalism.
If we take into account that at the time of independence, 12 million Russians lived in Ukraine (and even now 8 million define themselves as Russians), in the end a civil war would begin. And Russia would have achieved its goals more accurately than the classical open war.
No, then it was not common sense that stopped me and not tearful feelings towards the brotherly people (he was never fraternal if you know the real history of Ukraine), but a fair fear that “they will not understand”, and above all theirs.
And yet, they would not have understood, alas, the current Russian loose and full of liberal values, which have been picked up over the last quarter of a century.
But Poroshenko, as the president, didn’t really think before throwing a match into the fire of religious strife: he needs to be re-elected as president at any cost. I took it and threw it easily like that - and it already flared up, and then there will be more.
The main religious conflict in Ukraine since the Middle Ages was the struggle of Catholicism against Orthodoxy, but uniatism originated in Ukraine. And now the largest schism in Orthodoxy since 1054 occurs before our eyes.
In fact, Poroshenko entered the prescription Bakunin. He proposed in 1848 in Dresden to bring pictures of the Dresden Gallery to the barricades. Say, the officers of the Austrian army are enlightened people, they will not have enough spirit to shoot canister at the world masterpieces.
The fact that his proposal was immoral was something that Bakunin’s revolutionary did not care about or did not care about at all.
They were revolutionary in the town hall, but still the bourgeois did not accept Bakunin’s proposal and were captured by the Austrians, they were mostly shot.
So it turned out that this is an amoral Poroshenko, but we did not offer “final salvation”, suggested putting religious strife into politics, playing on the nationalist feelings of believers.
On December 17, therefore, we - our side, the Moscow Patriarchate - have betrayed the anathema of our two metropolitans. The media write that the Orthodox Church is on the verge of a split. To tell the truth, the split has already happened.
However, all this is not yet military action. That's when the battle for the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra begins, then hold on.
This city in the city, Kiev-Pechersk Lavra, is located in the center of Kiev on the right, high bank of the Dnieper, on two hills.
28 hectares of territory, more than 20 churches, relics of 400 saints (supposedly even the chronicler Nestor), more than 40 architectural structures, antiquity gray since 1051. It is clear that Poroshenko will not leave the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra in the hands of the Moscow Patriarchate. The abbot of the monastery has already been called in for questioning by the SBU
Currently, the monastery is divided as follows: The Lower Lavra is under the jurisdiction of the UOC of the Moscow Patriarchate, and the Upper is under the jurisdiction of the Kiev-Pechersk Historical and Cultural Reserve.
(“The Pechersk Lavra” - in fact, we are talking about caves that the monks dug for themselves in antiquity here, since the “cave” in Old Slavonic is the “cave”.)
The churches of the Moscow Patriarchate and the “new Ukrainian”, which has given itself the name “Orthodox Church of Ukraine”, are now hissing at each other. As the hostility will continue to develop, it is difficult to predict in detail, but it is clear that the hostility will increase.
Of course, I am on the side of the Moscow, our church.
There was suddenly an alternative to the Minsk agreements. President Poroshenko personally threw a match into the fire. It is clear that the Ukrainian statehood, brought to the extreme (and they have an extreme long ago), would sooner or later use a religious card. That took advantage.
In my opinion, Poroshenko signed a death sentence for himself and his regime. Involved such forces that he is unable to control.
The religious question has always been fatal, sharp and scary in Ukraine. Hundreds of thousands (if not millions) of souls were ruined on this land, where neophyte Polish Catholicism and Syrian-Oriental Orthodoxy came face to face. And here again.
Even if we assume that religious passions in Ukraine are partially extinguished, there is no reason to assume that they are completely extinct.
The death of even a few dozen people in a religious war of ecclesiastical jurisdictions will add to interethnic hostility, and such a thing will begin that God forbid!
In the end, I propose some simple arithmetic.
In Ukraine, the Moscow Patriarchate has 12,000 parishes. Imagine: if only 10% of the 12,000 parishes will suffer people. There is something on end stand up hair.
The point of view of the author may not coincide with the position of the editorial board.