OCU Metropolitan Mykhailo (Zinkevych) of Volyn and Lutsk spoke about the tasks facing the priests of the Russian Orthodox Church in Ukraine.
Speaking on Channel 12, he recalled how an ROCinU priest used to shoot at parishioners who had joined the OCU. According to Metropolitan Mykhailo, “the Moscow priest sought to retain control of the community and hinder its transition away from Moscow’s influence.”
“This is what they were fighting for. There was no other motivation. Their task is to keep everyone in the orbit of the Moscow Patriarchate,” the hierarch of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine added.
“There are two differences existing between us today. We stand on statehood positions, while the Moscow Patriarchate stands on imperial ones. We say that our center should be in Kyiv, they say: ‘No. Our center should be in Moscow.’ This is the essence of our struggle,” said Metropolitan Mykhailo.
The cleric also called for “conceiving love in our hearts” and told why parishes suspended further transition to the OCU, explaining that the reason was the onset of the coronavirus pandemic.
