Baumeister to OCU: The City of God cannot be seized through raiding or laws

Andriy Baumeister. Photo: zinas.nra.lv

"It pains me that many of my acquaintances, people I hold in high regard, and hierarchs of the OCU, are using this situation, rejoicing in it, or at the very least, remaining joyfully silent about it, when their direct duty is to stand up for the UOC," said Doctor of Philosophy Andriy Baumeister in his video "The City of God and the City of Man", commenting on the situation regarding the law that effectively bans the UOC.

The Ukrainian philosopher noted that the UOC hierarchy is being offered "very strange moves" to preserve the Church. Specifically, he referred to the appeal by the head of the OCU, Epifaniy Dumenko, to Metropolitan Onufriy to join the OCU "without preconditions" as an offer of "unconditional surrender".

"In other words, you go, repent, we will accept you, and we will treat you as we see fit. No conditions. Don’t make any demands. If we throw you monks out of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra and relegate you to some field, to a half-ruined monastery – that's our decision... Is this brotherly love, is this how Orthodox Christians treat other Orthodox Christians?" he questioned.

Baumeister believes it is the direct duty of OCU representatives to stand up for the UOC and to tell the representatives of the State Service of Ukraine on Ethnopolitics and Freedom of Conscience, legislators, the president, and local authorities: "These are our brothers; we cannot pray in these monasteries and churches knowing that people were forcibly expelled from here, sometimes by paramilitary groups, inflicting bodily harm, or staging godless carnivals near the Lavra."

"And of course, Catholics, representatives of Judaism, and representatives of Protestant denominations, instead of supporting these illegal steps, could stand up in the spirit of common fraternal agreement," Andriy Baumeister added.

He addressed the OCU and other representatives of Christian denominations with the following words: "If you are religious people, I appeal to the OCU representatives and Protestant leaders, you must understand that violence, grievances, hatred, paramilitary groups – these cannot take the Heavenly City, the City of God by storm; the Kingdom of Heaven cannot be seized by raiding paramilitary groups; the Eternal Judgment and Heavenly Truth cannot be seized by raiding groups or the laws of the Verkhovna Rada. Think about it."

As previously reported by the UOJ, Baumeister stated that the authorities are forcibly making 6 million citizens "spiritually independent".

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