Part of the “Thoughts Aloud” mini-series created jointly by the “Sofia Brotherhood” and the German foundation Renovabis, within the project “Contemporary Ukrainian Orthodoxy: Breaking Myths for Reconciliation and Societal Consolidation.” Statements do not necessarily represent the official view of the Sofia Brotherhood.
Andrii Lavrynenko, parishioner of the Rivne Diocese of the UOC (name changed for confidentiality reasons)
Glory to God to all! In this post, I would like to share my perspective on the current issue within our UOC-MP. Let me begin by asking everyone to recall their own spiritual growth — its beginning, the conscious beginning. It doesn’t matter which Church the reader now belongs to.
For some, it may have started while in the arms of a parent during the Lord’s Prayer in church — the first moment you consciously realized the need to cross yourself, just as your parents did devoutly at home in the morning or the night before, before eating or beginning any task. For others, it may have been the first time you consciously approached an icon — with awe and understanding that there was something great in that icon on the analogion, and that you stood within the very temple of the Living God, where He is truly present.
Some may have experienced this during their school years — when they independently realized that going to church wasn’t about playing with peers or making noise during the service, but about trying to understand what was happening in the service and living outside the service by God’s commandments. Others were drawn to the Church in their youth by pressing questions typical of that age: “How should I live? What are the fundamental truths of life? What should I orient myself by?” These questions made someone descend from imagined heights, touch the earth — begin to humble themselves and seek answers in the Church. Some were brought to the temple in adulthood not only by these questions, but by the aching cry: “Why? And for what?”
And then — and we all remember this well — there was God’s help for the beginner. Later came His slight withdrawal, so that you would begin to seek, to dig deeper, to try to understand the Word of God, the teachings of the Holy Fathers, the sermons and guidance of priests. Then came your own deeper explorations into the Gospel and the Church’s teachings. And now your spiritual experience allows you to affirm: there is no falsehood in the Word of God. Moreover, the teachings of the Church are deeply interconnected with many events that occur both within the Church itself and in worldly life — and they offer explanations for them. This depth of faith exists and continues to live on in our UOC-MP.
Unfortunately, we must acknowledge that for quite some time there has been a small group of impostors among the clergy and laity who have trampled not only on the Church’s teachings but on the very teachings of the Lord God. Their attempts to meddle in politics and commit acts of state betrayal, to promote the ideology of the “Russian world,” and their un-Christian, disrespectful attitude even toward their brothers and sisters in the Church — all of this has justifiably led much of Ukrainian society, together with ample evidence, to conclude that something is not right with the faith in our Church.
But no — things are not as they seem! I remind both them and you, dear readers, that despite their actions, the commandments of God, the Beatitudes, and much else concerning right doctrine and the glorification of the Lord God have not changed within the Church! That is why I remain in this Church and do all that is within my power to help it cleanse itself of such people and break with Russia, which is pumping it full of deceptive teachings — so that the majority of its clergy and faithful remain with God and with Ukraine!
What brings joy is that I am not alone. We believe and hope for the swift purification and healing of our Church!