Archpriest Kostromin explained the mysterious deaths of those mocking the UOC in Ukraine

“You can see the warnings in this”

“Once – an accident, the second – a coincidence, the third – a trend” – this saying is now clearly embodied in Ukraine. The persecution of the Kyiv authorities against the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church is accompanied by a whole series of strange deaths of participants and organizers of religious raiding. There were three incidents in a week. The relationship of these events, “MK” discussed with Archpriest of the Russian Orthodox Church Konstantin Kostromin.

Many who watch the confrontation between believers and raiders in the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra remember a vivid picture of Ekaterina Ershova praying on her knees, singing Lavra, and radicals raging around in a wild dance. About what happened after, the UOC websites reported – on April 2, immediately after the demoniacal dances, one of the mockers became ill. He fell on the road, barely moving away from the temple. By the time the ambulance arrived, the man showed no signs of life. What happened to him afterwards was not reported in the media.

But what happened to the deputy mayor of the city of Kagarlyk Ivan Semtsov is known for sure. Three days ago, in the village of Lipovets, Kyiv region, he died during an attempted raider seizure of the temple. Together with the village elder Vasily Tyslenko, he tried to expel believers from the local church of the UOC.

During the outrages against the canonical church, Semtsov tore the cross out of the hands of the clergyman in the courtyard of the temple and threw it to the ground. Then he became ill and instantly fell into the grass. They tried to bring Semtsov to his senses, but they failed to save him.

On the eve it became known about another mysterious death. On the evening of April 6, former Rada deputy and ex-head of the Christian Democratic Union party Vladimir Stretovich died in an accident on the Kyiv-Chop highway near the village of Kamenka, Zhytomyr region. Shortly before the fatal accident, Stretovich led the assault on one of the temples of the UOC.

What is happening to true Orthodoxy in Ukraine, also on the eve of the Easter holiday, significant for all Christians, cannot be called otherwise than the worst sin. Therefore, the mysterious deaths of schismatics suggest thoughts about some kind of retribution by the Almighty for sin. However, the Orthodox Church itself sees somewhat different meanings in this …

About a series of difficult-to-explain events, MK talked to Priest of the Russian Orthodox Church, Archpriest Konstantin Kostromin.

– From the point of view of the Christian religion, how can one evaluate what is happening?

– A church person, in principle, sees a certain pattern in everything regarding God’s intervention in our lives. A series of such deaths, of course, causes a similar reaction. This usually has two explanations.

One – natural and customary, but not very shared by theology. This is the idea of ​​retribution and punishment of the Lord for sin. Theology does not usually support such a view. On the contrary, it is said that on earth the Lord does not carry out punishments. As the Gospel says, the Lord does not separate the tares from the wheat until the harvest.

The second option is the most ancient and biblical – the Lord gives signs that people are behaving incorrectly. Signs can be different, because a person is not always sensitive to recognize them. When a person sees death next to him, this is the most impactful warning. Not punishment or punishment, but a warning.

This can be seen as a warning to those who storm and seize the temples that they are now committing an absolutely unthinkable sin. The Lord shows that only death can stop them, and advises the rest to think about what they are doing.

– Will Ukraine continue to increase pressure on the UOC?

– There is nowhere to increase the pressure. The process is very fast and intense. In the near future, it will be possible to see the gradual removal of state property, which is in the use of the Orthodox Church. And as it ends and the UOC will only have temples on private territory, built with the money of parishioners, the confiscation of property will begin.

A mechanism will be invented, conditionally legal, which will allow them to seize what does not belong to the state. This is the only way to influence the church. Since the state does not have religious authority, it can only influence by taking property and trying to prohibit activities. I think that we will experience the feeling of shock more than once.