“Appeal” of churches about European integration – power provocation against the believers

On September 30 «Appeal of Churches and the religious organizations to the Ukrainian people» was published in Ukraine in which metropolitan Volodymyr together with leaders of the Ukrainian dissenters agitates for association with E. U. This address caused shock and a protest in the majority of believers of UOC of M. P. Vasily Semenovich Anisimov, the head of the press service of UOC of MP tells about a situation round this message.

— What do you think of the appeal of the Ukrainian churches about emergency of European integration of Ukraine, signed by metropolitan Volodymyr and to that resonance which it caused in orthodox believers of Ukraine?

I believe that this address is created in the spirit of old Soviet traditions when the power initiated support of the undertakings from grain-growers, steelmakers, miners and all the others. But probably to them now it is dangerous to follow the European integration support, here they found a certain weak link — so-called, the council of churches.

It is clear that any church didn’t gather with the believers and didn’t discuss a question where them to go. Therefore already the initiative of the power of creation of such address and its signing is illegal in many respects — this is the retraction of church in political fight.

In church there are also supporters of the Eurasian Union and European integration, and neither that, nor other in general. And, it is obvious that if such documents are signed, the church has to gather, find out where we have to go, what are the priorities and what we love more. I am sure that any of the churches which have signed this document, didn’t make it.

Therefore the status of this document is extremely doubtful.

In the same structure, except the Blessed, something similar was signed at the time of Yushchenko about the need to dismiss parliament because «political corruption» was started in it. And now the same people sign this address about the need of European integration.

And, in the beginning there was one option, then the second, everything was reshuffled.

They «signed» probably by phone or, as usually, someone was «driven» from the power and he went to all with different papers and said what was «asked'. It is clear that the interests of the power stand behind each letter and the word in this Address.

The only normal thing is the last paragraph of this message in which it is said that the carrying out of public discussion is necessary by results of which it is necessary to draw conclusions and final choice. So let’s carry out this public discussion!

But all illogicality of this document is that in the previous paragraphs it is said that we always were and is in Europe and let Russia don’t take offense. But if to be objective, so it is necessary to write the appeal to European Parliament that entry of Ukraine into the Customs Union isn’t the hostile act in relation to Europe at all. Here is a way the Church should have to do.

Therefore the power, having initiated this address, «got not to that door».

It will be most correct if the power listens to the last paragraph of this document and the discussions will be organized, the voice of the people will be heard, the referendum is held.

Certainly, only the European promotion is absolutely inadmissible in «one billiard pocket».

If it is a serious choice and it is necessary to decide the destiny of the country, it is necessary to begin with respecting the people. And not any political parties have to solve for it, but everyone has to make the choice, having soberly weighed what we will receive and what we will lose on each of options. But it shouldn’t occur in the spirit of the sharper on a market: «faster, faster — it is our last chance!» Why it is the last? The European Union will run up somewhere? Therefore for Ukraine, for the people it is important to be the subject of the destiny, instead of object for manipulations.

— Why the metropolitan Volodymyr agreed to put the signature in this document near the signature of dissenter Filaret?

Here it is important to understand how it everything was signed.

I think that the text was carried on different churches and everyone separately signed, and then all reduced it together.

They came and said — here, Victor Fedorovich or Nikolay Yanovich asked to sign. In the address it is written that all these churches «share the reflections». Where did they gather, where did they reflect? From the power this is the extreme disrespect for the Ukrainian people to work in the spirit of «the party solved and all supported», this is worst violation of the principles of democracy.

— What do you think of the statement of a community of the Holly Assumption Cloister (Nikolsky village the Donetsk region) in which there are the sharp criticism and the address about European integration and that metropolitan Volodymyr signed it?

I was well familiar with the founder of this monastery, the archimandrite Zosima (Sokur), he always supported me very much. He was the person who really very painfully endured a rupture of the Russian land. And even in the will he wrote that shouldn’t be neither Ukraine, nor Russia, but the Russian land, an ancient spiritual community. He even said that if Kiev metropolitan is somehow would be involved in the union or split, it is necessary to come off and leave under the Moscow Patriarch.

And still he trusted in the Donetsk earth very much, probably, somewhere illogically. He saw in it any very high spiritual essence, believed that this region once will surely rise and will play very significant role.

But actually it came true to some extent because all our present power is his spiritual children. And therefore it is very complex spiritual problem how to treat that all of them now show that «neomazepizm», after all father Zosima was as though the confessor of this revived region. Despite that the atheism very strongly walked there, no one church remained and he thought that it will be the revived basis in general unities of Orthodoxy, the Russian Church, the Russian, Ukrainian and Belarusian people.

It is clear that it would be very strange if the community at the heart of which the will of this great aged man lies, in general kept silent in this situation. But here it is very important that it isn’t necessary to blame for everything the metropolitan Kiev to whom the people came from Victor Fedorovich and asked to sign the paper.

And it is necessary to blame probably the spiritual children of father Zosima — both the president, and the prime minister, all our Donetsk oligarchs. And it is very important because you bear spiritual responsibility for them. Not the metropolitan Kiev betrays Sacred Russia and brotherly unity, but your spiritual children. Therefore pull them on repentance and explanation — it would be the most reasonable in this situation.

— Can the situation with the Holly Assumption Cloister become a reason for split in UOC of MP?

The matter is that they have a direct will. Therefore they can’t change to themselves. And nobody will demand it from them. Besides the church supports them in many respects, after all Zosima was admired not only in Donetsk. Therefore there is very difficult spiritual choice — how spiritually adult is our power to have courage to follow the promises.

As Yanukovych was on Athos and is on friendly terms with the Patriarch and, naturally, with Blessed Volodymyr. Question is as far as they can correlate religious understanding of unity to implementation it in real life. Now we observe that there is any offense to Russia. It is clear, that money doesn’t suffice in the state and they look for options where to get them more.

But the situation can turn out as with the WTO — signed, and now there are 371 enslaving positions for us.

In any case, I think that the orthodox president should get support at the church, the people, at least at Donetsk in all affairs.

— What point of view about European integration, in your opinion, prevails among the parishioners of UOC of MP — that which is present at the address signed by the metropolitan or in the statement of the Holly Assumption Cloister?

As I’ve already told, this Address is eclectic. But probably all church would subscribe for its last point though the address as a whole is absolutely illogical. Therefore it is wrong to oppose one to another— after all here is a community, and there is the power. I think that in church there are supporters of the different points of view as in a huge organism. It is clear that the church is brought up on unity and a historical brotherhood of the orthodox people.

Also I don’t know, whether preservation of this unity is possible in the European Union with its principles of a secular which, by the way, our spiritual figures convicted more than once.

But why do you say at first that everything is so bad there and now you say that are ready to treat together with them the spiritual wounds of the West? It is advisable to cure own at first.