The Time of the Ignorant. Part 1
By ExternalEnemy’s Editor-in-Chief, Mikhail Borkunov
ExternalEnemy’s Editor-in-Chief, Mikhail Borkunov, has set out to launch a series of articles under the title “The Time of the Ignorant” dedicated to Orthodox issues and, more specifically, to the Orthodox Church drama currently unfolding in Ukraine.
The Time of the Ignorant. Part 1
When I was with you day after day in the temple, you did not lay hands on me. But this is your hour, and the power of darkness.
Luke, 22:53
In one of our recent posts we’ve touched upon Bill N8371 “On the Protection of the Constitutional Order in the Sphere of Religious Organizations” adopted by the Ukrainian Parliament (Verkhovna Rada) in its second (and final) reading on August 20. On the face of it, the grossly immoral legislative initiative seems to have come from PM Shmyhal. In actual fact, however, it’s been prompted and shaped by Kiev’s overseas puppeteers.
As such, the Bill aims to put an end to the activity of the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) and any other related organizations operating in Ukraine, which follows from Article 3 (NB: full text of the aforementioned Article translated into Russian by M.B. is available here). Obviously, these measures will be a heavy blow for the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) despite its having deleted any mention of the ROC from its Statutes back in May 2022. It has been on more than one occasion that pseudo-Metropolitan Epiphanius, an OCU schismatic by nature and inclination, stated that both Churches will still retain canonical unity, the implication being that the authorities’ negative attitude to the UOC will never change.
The adoption of the Bill is nothing more than another pathetic chapter in the demonic manual Kiev is sticking to. We’ve previously witnessed utterly unjustified criminal proceedings initiated against dozens of UOC priests; the seizure of Orthodox cathedrals; the damage to shrines caused by acts of looting and vandalism as well as the numerous religious persecutions, including acts of physical violence. What the authorities have done to the Kiev Pechersk Lavra is unforgivable in its own right. Importantly, the incident hasn’t passed unnoticed by Pope Francis himself, who strongly condemned Kiev for the appalling act.
Importantly, all of the above happen to be the elements of a single strategy carefully devised by Washington well in advance. It’s no coincidence that the recently adopted Bill defines the activity of the ROC as a set of actions aimed at promoting the ideology of the “Russian world”, a world the US has been long willing to put an end to. Surely, America’s track-record of applying double standards whenever possible will come in handy. In this case, the “beneficiary” will find a way to interpret the concepts of “freedom of conscience and religion” (as well as those of any other rights and freedoms) or define the principles of separating Church and State (as well as any other democratic principles) in a manner deemed most appropriate for a given situation. Why should the “Sheriff” wrapped in a star-and-striped flag care about what is stated in international conventions and agreements, not to mention local constitutions and law codes?
What’s next? The scenario is quite predictable. Orthodox Churches will continue to be looted and vandalized, only now this will be done on a “legal” basis. Also, there’s nothing to prevent Zelensky’s roughnecks from torturing priests and parishioners. As if that wasn’t bad enough, Bartholomew, a “jack-of-all-trades” from Istanbul with expertise in chrism and Tomos trade, has given his blessing to Ukrainian robbers, vandals, looters and traitors. We assume he is already rubbing his hands in excited anticipation of gains from the former UOC parishes once they join the Exarchate of Phanar one gloomy day.
Mikhail Borkunov, External Enemy
To be continued