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| Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia |
| Ukrainian priest suffered for adherence to the gospel |
| 2023-08-10 |
| Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited. by Sergey Khudiev [REGNUM] In Western Ukraine, in Uzhgorod, the famous Uniate priest Roman Kurakh caused a storm of indignation due to the fact that in his sermon he called for prayers for peace between the Ukrainian and Russian peoples. As the priest said, “we very much ask the Lord to do this miracle: to reconcile these two great peoples - Ukraine and Russia. So that these two peoples do not collide, do not torture, destroy, kill each other. But for these two wonderful peoples to build the Kingdom of Heaven already here on earth and once together they entered heaven, embraced and glorified the Lord for all eternity for many and good years . Since the sermon was heard on the street through loudspeakers, it was noticed by "activist, journalist and producer of BBC News" Daria Sipigina, who entered the temple and began to complain to the priest: "Are you blessing our enemies?" “I bless, it was Jesus who said it, not me,” the priest replied. Sipigina posted a recording of the incident on her blog, indignant at the fact that the parishioners calmly listened to the priest and dispersed. Her publication caused a wave of various comments: someone stood up for the priest, someone was indignant along with the journalist. As a result, the press service of the Mukachevo Greek Catholic diocese reported that the priest was punished and removed from service. The diocese said in a statement that the call to prayer for reconciliation is his personal opinion and not the position of the diocese. And the “guilty” himself “will bear the appropriate disciplinary responsibility in accordance with church canons . ” This incident attracted attention due to its unexpectedness. Everyone is accustomed to the fact that the Uniate or, as it is also called, the Greek Catholic Church is a stronghold of Ukrainian nationalism, and a number of its leaders created the impression that religion as such is for them a subordinate and service character in relation to the only need - the national cause. Roman Kurakh himself cannot be called "pro-Moscow" in the least. You can find very harsh statements about the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in him, not to mention Russia. Therefore, his words caused a lot of interpretations. Some drew attention to the fact that Transcarpathia is not Galicia, and there are different political moods, others suggested that the Pope of Rome personally stands behind the words of Roman Kurakh, who seeks to play a mediating role in the conflict. Such explanations suffer from the same shortcoming. They consider the preaching of Kurakh from the point of view of politics and political interests. This is partly understandable - church communities live in this fallen world, they are made up of members of different peoples, their hierarchs willy-nilly fit into the elites of various states and depend on different centers of power. The Internet is full of analytics that examine church life precisely from the point of view of the "war of thrones" - what political forces are connected with certain princes of the Church, on whose side the Pope will play, what are the distribution of interests and resources between Orthodox patriarchs. Clerics of various communities, like their unbelieving fellow citizens, tend to be carried away by political and national passions and turn their holy orders into an instrument of war and propaganda. The involvement of Christian communities in the conflicts of this world is a reality. But this is not the whole reality. It is rather difficult to imagine the Pope of Rome personally instructing Roman Kurakh to read such a sermon, somehow arranging for Daria Sipigina to pass by at that time and draw everyone's attention to her. Rather, it is a personal initiative of the priest. Kurakh has expressed such thoughts before. Where did he get them from? From the Gospel - as he said to Sipigina. “You heard what was said: love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I say to you: love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who despitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven, for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. (Mat. 5:43-45). The Beatitudes — “Blessed are the merciful, the meek, the peacemakers…” — the choir sings at every liturgy, both Orthodox and Uniate. For any sincere Christian, this world of strife and death is not the ultimate reality. We await the return of Christ, His judgment and the establishment of His kingdom. “Then the wolf will live with the lamb, and the leopard will lie with the kid; and the calf, and the young lion, and the ox will be together, and the little child will lead them. And the cow will graze with the bear, and their cubs will lie down together, and the lion, like the ox, will eat straw. And the baby will play over the hole of the asp, and the child will stretch out his hand to the snake's nest. They will not harm or destroy in all My holy mountain, for the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea” (Is. 11:6-9). This vision of the Heavenly Jerusalem, where all nations will live in perfect harmony and peace, has always been and remains part of the Christian faith. And this vision breaks through all the enmity, hatred and pain of this world. Sometimes in very unexpected places. We can, of course, see inconsistency in Roman Kurakh himself. But the fact that he said at least this is already a lot. It is understandable why the diocese forbade him from serving. Now they want something completely different from the clergy - simple military propaganda with a religious flavor. But people don't come to church for her. And behind the word of God, which remains unchanged in all political storms. |
| Posted by:badanov |