UOC hierarch: Pandemic will change society’s consumer attitude to life

Chancellor of the UOC, Metropolitan Anthony of Boryspil and Brovary. Photo: facebook.com/church.information.center

On May 24, 2020, the Chancellor of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, Metropolitan Anthony of Boryspil and Brovary, said why the Lord had sent the coronavirus pandemic and why it affects righteous people. This was reported by the UOC Information Center.

“The providence of God concerns individuals, entire nations and humanity as a whole. For individuals, not always serious illnesses are eventuated by serious sins. Recall the Book of Job. Job was the most righteous man on earth, but the Lord caused him to endure severe tribulations. Job was struck by serious illnesses and lost everything he had. However, these trials were intended to further reveal the righteousness of Job. So today we see that the new virus infects truly righteous people,” said Metropolitan Anthony.

The hierarch emphasized that it was hard for him to hear about the death of several priests and monks whom he personally knew.

“The zealous servants of Christ die, and it cannot be said that they died as a result of their grave sins. We are confronted in this case with the mystery of Divine Providence. It is impossible to comprehend it with the human mind, but we believe that the Lord always lets happen what is best for the salvation of a person,” he said.

Metropolitan Anthony believes that those who died of COVID-19 today are at the throne of God. “I am sure that this epidemic has revealed to us a lot of righteous people who worthily endured earthly tribulations  and departed to the Lord, Whom they loved with all their hearts. And now they offer prayers for us before the Throne of God. ”

At the same time, the hierarch explains that there is no concept of “collective sin” in Christianity.

“When we talk about all of humanity, it should be noted that the concept of collective sin is alien to Christianity. Sin is always a personal act for which everyone is personally responsible. Therefore, we cannot say that humanity now bears punishment for the sins of individuals. From a Christian point of view, this is another matter – the Lord is trying to send His specific message to humanity. During such large-scale crises, humanity has the opportunity to think about the priorities of its development, about its values and moral virtues it cultivates,” he explains.

According to Metropolitan Anthony, first of all, humanity must get rid of its consumer attitude to life today. “Today, there is a lot of talk that the current pandemic will change the modern consumer society, make it reconsider its values. We will see how much these expectations will be met,” His Eminence summed up.

As the UOJ reported, earlier Metropolitan Anthony (Pakanich) stated that "God will have the last word in all situations and with every man. The quarantine has exposed our afflictions. And if today's trials helped us better understand ourselves, it's already worth a lot."

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