UOC cleric: Persecutors of Church fight on the Net, not on the front line

Cleric of the Mukachevo diocese of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, Archpriest Dimitry Sidor said in one of his sermons that none of the arguments of the persecutors of Christianity is logical, because they are all based on lies and aggression.

The archpriest also noted that the behavior of the people, who are not related to the Church, causes bewilderment.

“A person can be a believer or a non-believer. A person may go to one church, may go to another, or may go to none. We, the Orthodox, do not make claims to anyone; if you don’t want to support us, you don’t have to,” Father Dimitry emphasized.

However, according to the priest, representatives of other confessions – the Uniates, OCU activists – decided that they have the right to persecute the believers of the canonical Church.

“For such people, hearing the truth is unbearable. <…> But 'to do what is right and just is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice',” the priest recalled the words of the Holy Scripture.

“Why do the persecutors have such hatred? What is inside an atheist? Fire of hate. <...> And as soon as the opportunity comes up, they seize churches, beat Christians. However, the Scripture says, 'The violence of the wicked will drag them away, for they refuse to do what is right’,” said the priest.

The archpriest of the UOC drew attention to the fact that non-church people, far from God, instead of living for their own pleasure, “write dirty tricks, threats, humiliation and insults on the Internet (against priests and believers – Ed.). <…> They are not on the front line, they are not among those who help refugees, but they are active chat fighters,” says Fr Dimitry.

The priest noted that all the first martyrs said: in this world, everyone treats canonical Orthodox Christianity with hostility. Moreover, the persecutor of the Church has been the same in all ages – his name is Satan. Over many thousands of years, he has gained experience in how to attack the Church more sophisticatedly.

Archpriest Dimitry Sidor urged the faithful, according to the teachings of the Church, not to react to the attacks and aggression of enemies, but to pray for them. In addition, he warned the persecutors of the Church that, by doing such iniquities, they cause troubles and misfortunes to their children and grandchildren.

“If your grandfather broke crosses on domes, do not be surprised at your misfortunes. <…> What do you wish for your children? Anyone whose ancestors were persecutors of the Church will be saved only by repentance,” said the priest.

Earlier, the UOJ reported that according to Metropolitan Luke of Zaporizhia and Melitopol, the goal of the enemies of the Church is the collapse of Orthodoxy.

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