UOC hierarch: One who doesn’t understand what war is wants its continuation

Metropolitan Mitrofan of Gorlovka and Slaviansk. Photo: the site of the Gorlovka Eparchy of the UOC

The continuation of the war in the Donbass is wanted by those who benefit from it, and it’s a pity that among these people are the heads of the OCU and the UGCC who would want another thing, said Metropolitan Mitrofan (Nikitin) of Gorlovka and Slaviansk in an interview with the UOJ.

“I have not seen here either the head of the OCU or the head of the UGCC who would provide any real help to people in the midst of hostilities, I don’t see them now. Therefore, I don’t understand what they know about the war to a victorious end and about real reconciliation,” the head of the Gorlovka Eparchy of the UOC explained, commenting on the statements of the heads of these church structures about the need to wage the war “to the end”.

According to the hierarch, both Epiphany Dumenko and Sviatoslav Shevchuk, “speaking about such a painful topic as fighting, bloodshed, a conflict in which people who call themselves Christians die, could look for a way to reconciliation rather than make a fire as bright as possible ".

Vladyka Mitrofan expressed the conviction that one who wants to continue the war “has no idea what it is”.

“People who are at the forefront, in the trenches, on either side, do not want war. Those who benefit from it want war. It’s a pity that among these people are the heads of the OCU and the UGCC, although they should want another thing,” he stressed.

Regarding the intentions of the OCU, together with the US State Department, to engage in the reintegration of the Donbass through a range of social programmes, the hierarch noted that both the Donbass residents and he would be happy to see real social assistance.

“Any initiative that is related to the social component, of course, can have some tricky plan. Like, here we come to people through social assistance and begin to influence them. But seeing how people are suffering in the Donbass, I would very much like to see social aid here from the State Department and personally from Epiphany. I think people would be happy to receive this social aid. Let them start to do something, and we will appreciate it. There is nothing to appreciate so far,” Bishop Mitrofan explained.

As reported earlier, Epiphany Dumenko and US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo during their recent meeting in Kiev agreed to implement a number of joint projects. In particular, it goes about certain social initiatives of the OCU for the reintegration of the Donbass, which the Metropolitan Fund of the OCU is going to implement with the assistance of the US State Department.

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