www.byzcath.org Forums General Discussions Town Hall UOC-MP Hierarchs refuse to stand to honour Ukrainian heroes

On May 8th in the Ukrainian Parliament, a number of soldiers received heroic medals (including ten posthumously).

(Ukraine has now moved its Victory Day or Remembrance Day from May 9th to the Pan-European day of May 8th together with the wearing of poppies on that day - Odessa recently joined this tradition).

Everyone in the Parliament, including religious representatives of all faiths, stood to honour the heroes - but Metropolitan Onyphrij and the hierarchs of the UOC-MP remained sitting and refused to stand. Later the UOC-MP explained that the reason for this (let's call it a public insult) was that the UOC-MP is against the war.

Hmmm.... I wonder if the same hierarchs would have sat in similar circumstances in Moscow in the presence of Mr. Putin . . .

The picture and story is at the RISU website.

Alex

Here is their explanation for their actions

explanation from the UOC-MP [news.church.ua]



Sorry about the language - but I'm assured that it was posted publicly exceedingly quickly as they realised they had to act

Google did produce an understandable translation for me

Yes, the explanation the UOC-MP hurriedly provided is actually no explanation at all.

It affirms that Metropolitan Onuphrios has previously honoured "all heroes" fighting in eastern Ukraine. What that means exactly is not explained.

It also affirms that he saw the pain and suffering of the people in the region, something the UOC-MP says "no other representative of any other religious confession has ever experienced."

What that has to do with the UOC-MP's public insult to the soldiers being honoured in the Parliament, ten of whom were being honoured posthumously, is something that is not explained.

Rather than being a demonstration in favour of peace, this has been the single-most disgraceful action by ANY religious leader in that country - and perhaps elsewhere as well.

The current leadership of the UOC-MP has shown its true colours and in public - hardly true blue (and yellow).

The public outcry against this manifest insult to military heroes, living and dead, is widespread - as could be expected. The Ukrainian president, Mr. Poroshenko, himself a member of the UOC-MP, has declined to comment on the disgraceful episode, saying that it is not up to the goverrnment to tell a church what it can or cannot do but it is up to parishioners within the church to do so.

It would appear that the UOC-MP has made its most serious misstep since the new primate was elected to office.

Alex