As President Donald Trump’s administration works towards a diplomatic finish to the conflict in Ukraine, the leaders of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU) are warning that Vladimir Putin’s Russia believes it is really preventing a “holy conflict” towards the West.
A delegation from the OCU was in the USA just lately for the Worldwide Non secular Freedom Summit in Washington, D.C. The group was led by His Beatitude Metropolitan Epiphany, chief of Kyiv and all of Ukraine.
His translator spoke to Fox Information concerning the religious conflict raging between Russia and Ukraine, which has performed a giant position in why the battle started and continues to escalate.
HEAD OF EASTERN ORTHODOXY CONDEMNS PUTIN, RUSSIAN INVASION OF UKRAINE
Russian President Vladimir Putin attends Easter Orthodox service on the Christ the Savior Cathedral, April 16, 2023 in Moscow. (Contributor/Getty Photos)
His eminence Metropolitan Yevstratiy, the deputy head of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine’s exterior church relations, says of Russia, “From the purpose of non secular view, this can be a liberation of Ukrainians from [the] Godless West, from the evil. And Russia brings to Ukraine the sunshine and reality.”
Yevstratiy, and different church watchers like Catholic mental George Weigel, have accused the Russian Orthodox Church of being nothing greater than an arm of the Kremlin, wearing spiritual vestments however doing Putin’s bidding.
Writing within the journal First Issues, Weigel famous “… Ukraine mounted and sustained a fierce resistance that denied Russia the short victory Putin anticipated in February 2022, Russian justifications for the conflict started to tackle a brand new coloration: The conflict was now a campaign in protection of Christian civilization.”
On Lighthouse Faith podcast, Yevstratiy recalled how firstly of the conflict, Moscow’s Patriarch Kirill sermonized to Russian troopers preventing towards Ukraine that in the event that they die in battle they’d instantly go to paradise… all sins forgiven. Even to an outsider trying on the complexity of Orthodox Christianity, that sounds extra like ‘Political Jihad’ than the Gospel.
In 2019, Ukraine’s Orthodox Church was granted independence from the Russian Orthodox Church by the ecumenical patriarch in Constantinople (now Istanbul, Turkey). It brought about an uproar in Moscow. Kirill and Putin refused to acknowledge the authority of Patriarch Bartholomew.
‘PUTIN’S CONFESSOR’ NAMED BISHOP OF ANNEXED UKRAINIAN TERRITORY
Metropolitan Epiphanius conducts the liturgical service and the Church of St. Andrew the First-Known as consecration on Aug. 25, 2024, in Bucha, Kyiv Oblast, Ukraine. (Andrii Nesterenko/International Photos Ukraine through Getty Photos)
Yevstratiy additionally revealed a scarier model of the conflict in Ukraine. He says Putin’s final purpose is greater than the reunification of the Soviet Union, or the protection of Christian civilization. It is really extra apocalyptic. He is centered on ushering within the third and ultimate Rome…. in Moscow, which implies, labeling the remainder of Christianity, Catholics and Protestants alike… as heretics and pagans.
Describing the internal workings of the Orthodox church buildings could seem a little bit like ‘inside baseball’. However these are the oldest churches of Christianity. They emerged from the 5 historical church buildings led by the apostles who knew Jesus personally.
Russian Orthodox Church Patriarch Kirill conducts the Easter service on the Christ the Savior Cathedral in Moscow on Saturday, April 23. (Sergei Vlasov, Russian Orthodox Church Press Service through AP)
The apostle Andrew went to the east in Constantinople; Mark to Alexandria (Egypt); Peter to Antioch (Rome); James to Jerusalem, and Barnabas to Cyprus. From these males, together with the itinerant Apostle Paul, Christianity unfold all through the globe. So, this battle between Russia and Ukraine has deep religious roots. And Putin is aware of it.
Yestratiy and Epiphany had been current on the Nationwide Prayer Breakfast in Washington D.C. and heard President Trump declare his want to be a peacemaker.
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Vestratiy mentioned, “We pray and we ask God Almighty to bless this excellent and Christian want.”
Including, “Could God bless Ukraine. Could God bless America.”
The complete interview is on Lauren Inexperienced’s Lighthouse Religion podcast, accessible on Apple, Spotify and here.
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