OCU priest Viktor Martynenko visited Metropolitan Pavlo, who is under house arrest on charges of justifying Russian aggression. On his Facebook page, the cleric explained that the meeting with the metropolitan from the UOC (MP) does not mean solidarity with the suspect’s anti-Ukrainian views.
The father explained that it was a personal visit and that he came to see the hierarch of the UOC (MP) because he has known him for more than three decades: “I visited today someone with whom I had, have and, obviously, will have differences on many issues… But, we’ve known each other for more than three decades! This is the priest who once led me to the altar for the first time,” the OCU priest wrote on social media, comparing his act to the fulfillment of God’s instructions about visiting prisoners.
The priest explained that although Pavlo being under house arrest, it is still imprisonment, and Christ’s commandment does not specify whom to visit, but to visit those who are imprisoned.
He added that despite various disputes between him and Bishop Pavlo, which were even accompanied by curses and spilled into the information plane, “we are Christians, clerics of one Church – the Church of Christ – and even one confession, Orthodox.”
Father Viktor also conveyed to Metropolitan Pavlo fraternal greetings and a personal gift from the Ecumenical Patriarchate’s Exarch, Bishop Michael of Koman, which is copies of the Apostle issued by Stauropegium of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, which will be presented on December 13.
“May we all, God, be saved and come to an understanding of the Truth!” concluded the priest.
In the comments to his social media posting, the act of the OCU priest caused mixed reactions. Some approved of it, while some see such meetings inappropriate.
“I was shocked by the reaction of those commentators: ‘How can you visit the enemy of Ukraine?’ – this is what priests write. I am speechless. I will tell you more: ‘One must love the enemy,’ and it was not I who said it, but Christ,” Father Viktor Martynenko said.
“First of all, it’s up to the court to judge who an enemy us and who is not. The case of Metropolitan Pavlo has not yet been completed. Even if he is found guilty of being an enemy, then Christ commands that we visit prisoners. Priests go to prison, even death row, to see people who are serial killers and commited other grave crimes. And how can you forgive someone without repentance? That’s how Christ commanded to forgive 490 times a day,” he says.
Martynenko once again explained that he deliberately posted the photo of his visit to Metropolitan Pavlo and emphasized that someone who visits a prisoner does not share his views.
“I did not write anywhere that Vladyka Pavlo was a martyr or suffered innocently. I visited him and wrote that I have known him for a long time and passed on the word of God from the Exarch and wrote at the end that we should all be saved and come to the knowledge of the Truth, including Bishop Pavlo and I, and all the commentators, too. This is a quote from the Gospel,” Father Viktor said.
“I had a personal spat with Metropolitan Pavlo and then he publicly cursed me. After this visit, I have peace of mind that I don’t hold a grudge against him. Again, I do not offer assessments of his activities or statements – it was beyond that. I am not looking for outrage, but I am trying to fulfill the commandments of Christ and be a Christian. Even in times of war and difficult trials, we must remain Christians, and this is my firm conviction,” he concluded.
