Group of Patriotic Priests from UOC-MP Supports Closer Ties with Christian Europe

A group of priests of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church-Moscow Patriarchate (UOC-MP) sent a message to all people of good will, in which they declared their desire to have closer ties with Christian Europe.

“We are for the converging with Christian Europe. With the basic European values, which are fundamentally Christian values. These are:

truth

justice

freedom

value of each individual

Fighting for these ideas, we must ourselves be normal people – people with whom one wants to live nearby. Together to build the future. We are not against those who are on the other side of the maidan. We are not against those who were cheated. We are opposed to the fact that they deceive them and us. We oppose all kinds of lawlessness and violence.

Let us pray for the victory of truth and peace! Expose all criticism! Let us evaluate all that we hear from all sides!

LET US NOT REVERT TO VIOLENCE, NO MATTER FROM WHOM IT COMES!

Commandments of peaceful resistance:

Observe all laws and respect the freedom of everyone.

Fear not!

Do not yield to provocations.

Smile to people around.

Assist others any way you can.

Extinguish aggression. The security forces and “titushky” are also your neighbors.

For the triumph of victory of truth to descend over our Ukraine, we need a major victory – within us. For darkness is not only on the other side. It is also among those who are here. And sometimes within us.

The people are taking to the streets. On the other side of the barricades the government gathers people who like all of us suffer from the gluttony of the officials. Those who, not on their own will, are taken to the “anti-maidan” are also our brothers and sisters. They just do not know who we really are. That we are not enemies. We are not against Donbas, Sevastopol, Luhansk, or Odesa. We are together. We are not here for the politicians who are on the podium. We are against all kinds of evil, injustice, and violence. And when we are together, we are strength!” reads the statement, signed by:

Archpriest Andriy Dudchenko

Archpriest Vitaliy Eismont

Archimandrite Kiril (Hovorun)

Archpriest Viktor Palosh

Archpriest Vasyliy Chichak

Archpriest Heorhiy Chichak

Hierarch Maksym Strykhar

Hierarch Mykola Bohuslavskyi

Archpriest Ihor Sava

Archimandrite Avvakum (Davydenko)

Archpriest Andriy Svynarov

Archpriest Vasyliy Keretsman

Hierarch Ihor Hryhola

Archpriest Valentyn Horokhovskyi