Athonite Elder: Persecutions against the UOC must be resisted

Athonite Elder Nikon. Photo: screenshot of the YouTube video channel "Orthodox East"

Athonite Monk Nikon from the Annunciation Skete on Mount Athos stated that believers of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) who are subjected to persecutions and violence must actively resist. He made these remarks in an interview with UOC priest Vasiliy Maksimishintse published on the "Orthodox East" YouTube channel.

The elder believes that contemporary believers should resist persecutions just like the Christians who hid from persecutors in ancient times.

"We must reject and fight against everything that distorts our freedom. Violence cannot be the will of God. God's will is for us to be free. We have the example of the 40 martyrs who hid in the forests. We must do the same. [...] There is no God's will for people to end up in hell. Nevertheless, they end up there. It means it's the will of people. That's why when people with malicious intent against us appear, we must defend ourselves, protect our families, defend our homeland on a personal and societal level," he said.

At the same time, the elder believes that not all persecutors of the Church can be considered as entirely bad:

"Perhaps the devil has cunningly taken control of him, and he has become its unwitting victim. Maybe he is not an enemy to you at all but your brother," he said. "Instead of fighting against your true enemies, he fights against you, his brother. Therefore, it is always necessary to start with oneself."

As previously reported, an Athonite elder stated that modern persecutors of the Church in Ukraine will be condemned at the Last Judgment along with those who persecuted Christians from the early centuries of Christianity.

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