I just read a post by a priest, who until recently was quite loyal to the Moscow Patriarchate.
He recounts that Cyril and the Russians deliberately rejected attempts by the clergy from the Kyiv Lavra to help free at least someone from the besieged Azovstal [steelworks in Mariupol – ed.] The Russians brought the priests to a filtration camp, having fruitless conversations with them for days, and eventually sent them back. And at the same time, when an agreement on the evacuation of civilians from Mariupol was reached through completely different channels, Cyril Gundyaev urgently instructed the Metropolitan of the Moscow Patriarchate in [the occupied town of – ed.] Horlivka to go and “comfort” them. And this is what Moscow is trumpeting about, without mentioning either Metropolitan Onufriy or the mission from the Lavra. And in that post, it is noted that the entourage of Metropolitan Onufriy perceived this as betrayal and insult on the part of Gundyaev.
This whole story once again proves a simple thesis, which I try to reveal to supporters of the Moscow Patriarchate and Russia:
The Russian Empire in all its reincarnations (from the principality to the present day) has NEVER appreciated service to itself! Never! The British one has. The Roman one has. Muscovy – never.
At any moment, when someone in the high offices thinks that it will be beneficial for them, you will be trampled, doused in mud, accused of all sins, betrayed, and cursed.
NO previous merits, devotion of soul and body, work and sacrifices in the service of Russia will ever be taken into account – for the sake of the moment, all this will not only be forgotten, but also distorted and all blame will be shifted on the servants.
Therefore, don’t waste time and life on the empty and disgusting task of serving Moscow, walk away from it – because sooner or later you will understand from your own experience that the thesis of organic ingratitude of the Russian Empire is accurate and true.
Source: OCU spokesman, Archbishop Yevstratiy (Zorya) of Chernihiv and Nizhyn
