Abbot of Lavra: Epifaniy and Filaret will vanish but the Church will stand

Metropolitan Pavel. Photo: lavra.ua

In his homily in the church of Agapit of the Caves, the abbot of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, Metropolitan Pavel (Lebed) told the believers that Epifaniy Dumenko and Filaret Denisenko would disappear, but the Church would continue to exist, reports the UOJ.

“Every day I ask you to overcome fear, not to fall away, not to betray, to save the Church – this is the most important thing. Epifaniy will leave, Filaret will leave, but the Church will stand,” said Metropolitan Pavel.

“I did not recognize either Filaret or these people who act against the Church and against holy Orthodoxy. If I told a lie that they were legal, I would be sinning before God. These people do not deserve our being angry with them, we need to pray, as Christ went to suffering for our salvation,” he added.

“Yesterday there were radicals in the Lavra, their T-shirts read: 'Let us listen to Satan. Let us communicate with Satan.' This is a war against Orthodoxy,” Vladyka said.

The abbot of the Lavra added that he would never betray the Church and was ready to suffer for Christ.

“I will not betray my Church and the UOC. I am not afraid to stand before God. We preach the Logos. I want to suffer for Christ and I'm not afraid of it, and I'm going to court if the Lord grants such an honor. I tell those in power that their power will pass and I suggest that they think about their children. This is not a threat, not a curse,” Metropolitan Pavel summed up.

As the UOJ previously reported, the trial of Metropolitan Pavel was postponed until Monday.

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