EXAMPLE OF
RUSSIA NOT FOR US: P.Ts.U.
PRIMATE DESCRIBES FOR STUDENTS RELATIONS BETWEEN CHURCH AND
STATE
The church
should be a partner for the
state and be its spiritual foundation. This opinion was
expressed by the
primate of the PTsU [Orthodox Church of Ukraine] during
conversation with
students of the Kiev Mohyla Academy.
"If our people
had understood this
truth back in 1991 and if there had not been a division in
Ukrainian Orthodoxy,
then it would have been possible to avoid many problems and
disorders that we
have today. At the same time, the principle of coexistence of
the state and the
church in the Russian Federation, which we now see, is
unacceptable for Ukraine
since the church should not be a 'state department for religious
affairs,'" the first hierarch declared.
He said that
the PTsU is trying to
build a state along with the authorities on a partnership basis.
"We in the
Orthodox Church of
Ukraine want to develop our country together, on a partnership
basis. The state
also should facilitate and help the church, because we serve the
interests of
our people together. I believe that it will be thus in the
future: the church
will fulfill the mission laid upon it and it will be a reliable
support for the
Ukrainian state," he noted.
The PTsU
primate also explained for
students of the academy how important the role of the church is
in society.
"In the
future, we still have many
challenges and obstacles that we must overcome together with
you. After all,
next door is a powerful enemy who is trying to enslave us, and
it understands
very well the role of the church in society. Speaking of which,
when Putin was
asked what is the security of the Russian Federation, he replied
that it is the
nuclear shield and the church. From these words we can
understand what role the
UPTsMP is playing in Ukraine. It is the final outpost of Russia
and therefore
in the future we will do everything possible so that in Ukraine
its own local
Orthodox church is established and built," Metropolitan Epifany
emphasized. (tr. by PDS, posted 4 September 2019)
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