short biography
Metropolitan Pavel was born on April 19, 1961 in the village of Borbin, Rivne region.
Graduated from high school in 1978.
Then, until 1980, he studied at the Lutsk College of Soviet Trade.
In 1981-1983 he served in the Soviet army.
From 1984 to 1988 he studied at the Moscow Theological Seminary.
In 1986 he was ordained to the rank of deacon, and in 1986 to the rank of priest.
After graduating from theological seminary, he was sent to serve in the Volyn and Rivne diocese in the village of Nizkinichi, Ivanichevsky district, Volyn region.
In 1989 he was tonsured a monk with the name Pavel.
In 1992 he was elevated to the rank of archimandrite.
On March 30, 1994, he was appointed abbot of the Holy Dormition Kiev-Pechersk Lavra.
Pavel Lebed
Bishop of the UOC of the Moscow Patriarchate, Metropolitan of Vyshgorod and Chernobyl, Vicar of the Kyiv Diocese, Vicar of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra
Date of birth: 04/19/1961
Hometown: Borbin village (Rivne region)
Metropolitan Pavel is known in the world as Lebed Peter Dmitrievich.
After school, he studied at the Lutsk College of Soviet Trade. In 1984, Pavel entered the Moscow Theological Seminary. Two years later, he was ordained as a deacon. In 1988, Pavel became a priest. A year later, he became a monk and took his spiritual name in honor of the Apostle Paul.
In 1994, Pavel was appointed governor of the Kiev Pechersk Lavra.
Scandals
Bishop Pavel is known for his godless antics, which often make him the hero of scandalous chronicles.
It is known that he was previously a member of the Party of Regions and was a member of the City Council. As Bishop Pavel himself admitted, at first he wanted to join the Communist Party, in which he has many friends. One of these is Igor Kaletnik, the former chairman of the state customs under Yanukovych. By the way, he is now wanted. It is also worth noting that the Metropolitan did not come to the meetings of the Kyiv City Council, but in the meantime his card was voted for him. It must have been the holy spirit...
In 2011, Bishop Pavel celebrated his 50th birthday. The banquet took place in three halls of the Rus Hotel in Kyiv.
The same year was marked by repeated attacks by the bishop on journalists. In particular, Ksenia Karpenko, a journalist for the Korrespondent publication, suffered from the righteous man. Vladyka Pavel snatched the phone from her hands. Afterwards he called the girl a slut and a bitch. Ksenia’s partner, photo reporter Natalya Kravchuk, was also injured. The holy father christened her a monkey. By the way, this is how he responded to the question about the importance of material values in the life of the church. The answer is unclear, but interesting.
The Metropolitan also came into conflict with Mikhail Tkach, a journalist for the 1+1 channel. He filmed a story about the famous Mercedes of a clergyman and cafes on the territory of the Kiev Pechersk Lavra. Father Pavel did not want to answer the journalist’s questions. He only explained to Mikhail that he was dressed like a homeless person. The Bishop advised the reporter to go to the store for normal shoes. Afterwards, the priest sent an angry letter to the general director of the 1+1 channel. In his message, he said that the journalist behaved inappropriately and offensively.
Journalist Sergei Leshchenko also got it from the bishop. He published a photo of Metropolitan Vladimir’s Mercedes on his microblog. In response, Bishop Pavel called the journalist mentally ill.
In 2012, then-Prime Minister Mykola Azarov arrived at the Lavra, accompanied by several high-ranking officials and an army of guards with dogs. The important guests were accompanied by Bishop Pavel. To praise Azarov on camera, the Metropolitan interrupted the deacon and the church choir, who were engaged in prayer.
In the same year, the rector of the Kiev Pechersk Lavra stated that they tried to poison him. Vladyka Pavel was hospitalized with high fever and heart pain. Afterwards, an examination revealed arsenic and mercury in the priest’s blood. To improve his health, Metropolitan Pavel left for Germany.
Afterwards, the bishop told reporters that he did not want the police to investigate this case. He also noted that he would no longer participate in political elections. The Metropolitan reminded: everything is God’s will.
In 2013, Bishop Pavel criticized the Euromaidan. In addition, he thanked the police for their actions. He also noted that the participants in the revolution were paid. Father called them a mockery of the church.
He later expressed his support for Viktor Yanukovych. True, his words of support were not very encouraging.
“Today you are carrying a heavy cross and the church is with you today to the end, just as Simon of Cyrene helped to carry the cross of Christ to Calvary,” said Metropolitan Paul.
Comparing Yanukovych to Jesus has drawn criticism from both the public and the clergy. Representatives of the Catholic and Orthodox churches called on Bishop Pavel not to kiss Yanukovych’s slippers.
Vladimir Martynenko, press secretary of the Volyn Diocese of the UOC-MP, suggested that the bishop “kiss them all on the ass on camera.” In response, Metropolitan Pavel cursed Vladimir.
In 2014, the Metropolitan was robbed. According to him, the incident happened in his mansion, where he does not live. 4 icons and a box of vodka were taken from the estate.
In 2015, a scandalous video appeared on the Internet in which Metropolitan Pavel was rude to a police officer. Father in a Mercedes driven by a hired driver was stopped for a violation. But the holy father refused to answer to the law. Metropolitan Pavel Fr.
Then the bishop ordered the driver to drive.
The police did not draw up a report against the priest, so as not to offend the feelings of believers.
It is noteworthy that due to the Metropolitan’s affection for Mercedes and his penchant for violating traffic rules, he was popularly nicknamed Mercedes Pasha.
In 2017, the priest was noticed at Ukrainian Fashion Week. He came to the fashion show from Elena Golets. According to him, this designer sews clothes for him and the seminarians completely free of charge. Bishop prefers to order T-shirts from Elena Golets, which he wears under his cassock, shoes and secular clothes. Metropolitan Pavel also boasted that he wears a coat from the Burberry brand.
In 2018, Bishop Paul published a video message for adherents of the new Ukrainian church. The priest noted that he would send a curse on those who take away the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra from the UOC-MP.
Later, on this basis, a case was brought against the priest. Despite the fact that he deleted his menacing video, this did not stop the SBU proceedings. The Metropolitan is accused of inciting interfaith hatred. As part of this case, SBU officers conducted searches in the priest's house. Bishop Pavel regards these events as an attempt to extract a bribe.
State
Vladyka Pavel owns a Mercedes-Benz S class car. By the way, this particular car often violates traffic rules. Its cost is estimated at 4 million UAH. It is noteworthy that exclusive numbers are assigned to it. Their cost is 20 thousand UAH. According to journalists, the priest has a whole fleet of premium cars.
Vladyka Pavel owned a luxurious mansion with designer renovation. Its area is 580 m2. In 2016, the priest put his estate up for sale. It could be purchased for 1.3 million USD. The press does not know whether the house has received a new owner.
The media reports that Bishop Pavel also owns an apartment in Kyiv and a land plot of 40 hectares. A large farm located on the territory of the Kiev Pechersk Lavra is considered to be the property of the Metropolitan. It houses 200 cows, pigs and chickens. The annual profit of the farm is about 7 million UAH. As law enforcement officers learned, the company maintains “gray” accounting.
They say that especially sinful citizens bring money to the Metropolitan in backpacks to heal their souls.
Photo/video
Scandals
Metropolitan Pavel often had rows with Ukrainian journalists. In particular, due to the fact that he does not want to communicate about the too luxurious life of clergy. We are talking about the metropolitan himself, who uses an expensive Mercedes car, for which he received the nickname “Mercedes Pasha” in the media.
He called journalists who made reports critical of the metropolitan or the church mentally ill, ignorant, mongrels and crazy. Threatened with God's judgment.
During his service in the Assumption Church in Volyn, a unique baroque iconostasis of the 18th century was destroyed.
The Metropolitan also found himself in scandal due to constant attempts to participate in the political life of the country, in particular when he participated in elections to the Verkhovna Rada and the Kyiv City Council.
Also, his words about Greek Catholics and Roman Catholics, whom he compared to Satan, did not go unnoticed. A scandal also broke out when the Metropolitan personally “blessed” the office of then Prime Minister Mykola Azarov.
In January 2014, he compared then-President Viktor Yanukovych with Jesus Christ, for which he was criticized by other priests of the UOC-MP.
The media also reported that the Metropolitan received kickbacks from companies that were involved in restoration work in the Lavra. In particular, the director of the Trinity Artel, Korneliy Borisov, said that in 2011 he was a direct participant in the transfer of 1.5 million hryvnia to the metropolitan.
In addition, according to him, in exchange for the right to carry out work in the Lavra, as a “donation” she built a mansion for Metropolitan Paul in the village of Voronkov near Kiev.
Metropolitan Pavel. Viceroy of the Holy Dormition Kiev-Pechersk Lavra. Interview
The ALLATRA TV team visited Bishop Paul, the abbot of the Holy Dormition Kiev-Pechersk Lavra, Metropolitan of Kyiv and Chernobyl. The interview took place within the framework of the universal, international project “Creative Society”, which is already being implemented by millions of people around the world. It is a great honor to hear the answers of a person with wisdom and righteous life to questions that concern people around the world.
Metropolitan Pavel, with warmth and sincerity, shared the story of his life: how he chose the difficult and responsible path of a clergyman, what inspires him in life to help people and serve God. We were inspired by the words of Metropolitan Paul that there is no difference between a clergyman and a layman: both must sincerely serve God and fulfill the commandments of the Lord.
Metropolitan Pavel also shared what inspires and motivates him in life: “Faith in God, in Christ, faith in the Holy Catholic Apostolic Church, faith in the immutability of the words of Christ. Because everything passes: states pass, cities pass, and people leave, others come, but God is eternal. This is inspiring, and God's judgment gives a person the opportunity to reflect on his own life. I have already said that it is of course a great honor for me to be a priest. I can’t imagine who else I could be and I ask God to keep me in the Holy Church.”
To the question about what role religion plays in the life of society, Bishop Pavel answered very deeply: “Religion does not give anything, but faith does. Faith can do anything! When Christ healed the sick, raised the dead, asked his parents: “Can you believe?” When the Lord descended from Mount Tabor, they brought him a demoniac and asked: “Can you believe? “To which the father replied: “I believe, Lord. But help my unbelief.” Because we often seem to believe, but then we doubt it, our thoughts, our hearts, our heads immediately overcome us: is it necessary, or is it not necessary?
Metropolitan Paul shared about the main goal in the life of every person: “No matter how anyone thinks evil or good, we must remember that without God we are nothing. Our goal is the kingdom of heaven, but it is very difficult to go there. The devil lays out his nets and tries in every possible way to catch us. And we, as fallen humanity, weak humanity, are often seduced by all these so-called benefits. But we see that they did not save a person from death, they did not continue the years of life.”
We also talked about how important it is today to revive spiritual and moral values so that they become guidelines for the life of society. Metropolitan Pavel, the abbot of the Kiev Pechersk Lavra, said about this: “Today the most terrible enemy of the world is a society that is trying to knock out everything holy from a person. All this speaks of spiritual decline—hunger of the spiritual soul. This begins violence against each other: it is so terrible that we cannot imagine. Woe to this man through whom temptation comes. And the apocalypse opens the doors of understanding for us: whoever has ears to hear, let him hear what is and what will be. We already see what is, but we often cannot understand what will be. I have already said that there will be enmity, Love will dry up, there will be cataclysms, all kinds of earthquakes. Look at how quickly the rivers are drying up, there is no water in the wells.” “That’s why a healthy person sees all this, does not lose hope and must always remember that the time for all this comes. The most important thing is not to go astray from the true path. They will say: “Christ is in this room, in that room.” Christ Himself says: “Do not be deceived by this, do not seek, for Christ is in your heart.”
We heard very valuable instructions from Bishop Paul, the governor of the Kiev Pechersk Lavra to the entire world community: “Today, the first thing we need is to stop being at enmity with ourselves. Because it is scary when we are not calm in our souls, that we do not have peace. We must remember that you are a brother to me, and I am not a stranger to you either. We must remember that our neighbors are the people with whom we were born, lived, shared a piece of bread, ran under the same sky, on the same land. Should not encroach on other countries. Because today, as you see, everyone is trying to destroy with good intentions. They work their souls for mammon.” “The main thing for us today is to see God not as an executioner. Christ says: “I did not come to judge man. My word judges him. I came to save a man." The most important thing is for a person to wake up and understand that without God I can’t do anything.”
About what all people have in common, regardless of nationality, religion and social status, Bishop Pavel answered: “Life unites us. We should also be united by the interests of human life: we are one family, we should not be divided. We must not think that I am superior. We must have one goal: to serve our neighbor, please God and enter the Kingdom of Heaven. There is one goal for every person all over the world: love for one’s country. We must unite and extract something very good from all this. Here, for example: we are very happy, we are the country of the apostolic preaching of the Apostle Andrew the First-Called. The Lord, through the prayers of the apostle and other great men, grew the Kiev Pechersk Lavra. The Mother of God left her foot in the Pochaev Lavra, echoing the holy city of Jerusalem. The Lord gave great men, myrrh-streaming heads, their relics, in which there is evidence of love, that today they are in heaven in soul, and on earth in flesh. That they were people, they lived the traditions of their people, spoke an understandable language. They didn't fight, they didn't fight for anything, in any way. They lived as the Lord commanded.”
At the end of the interview, Bishop Pavel said sincere wishes to all viewers of the ALLATRA TV channel.
We express our gratitude to Metropolitan Paul, rector of the Holy Dormition Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra for such an important and necessary conversation today about the most important things for all humanity.
Dear viewers! If you have questions or would like to join the Creative Society project, please email:
Awards
Church:
- medal of St. Sergius of Radonezh (June 6, 1988)
- Order of St. Sava II class (8 October 1997, Serbian Orthodox Church)
- Order "For Church Merit" II class. (August 21, 1999, award of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church)
- order of honor Dmitry Donskoy I class. (October 2, 2007)
- Order of St. Seraphim of Sarov I st. (April 27, 2011)
- Order of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker (April 19, 2013, for services to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church and charity)
- Order of St. Sergius of Radonezh II Art.
- Order of St. equal to Book Vladimir I, II, III Art. (award from the Ukrainian Orthodox Church)
- Order of St. Anthony and Theodosius of Pechersk II Art. (award from the Ukrainian Orthodox Church)
- Jubilee Order of the Nativity of Christ I, II Art. (award from the Ukrainian Orthodox Church)
- Order of St. Mary Magdalene (Polish Orthodox Church)
- Order of the Military Medical Center Catherine (Sinai Orthodox Church)
- Order of Metropolitan Tikhon (St. Tikhon Foundation)
Secular:
- Order "Glory for Loyalty to the Fatherland" (07/25/1999)
- Order of Merit, II class. (08/21/1999, from the President of Ukraine)
- medal “Badge of Honor of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine” (01/04/2000)
- Order "For Patriotism" II class. (04/30/2000)
- badge “Badge of Honor” (03/19/2001)
- Order of Cossack Glory, II class. (03/28/2001)
- medal "Valor and Honor" (04/17/2001, from the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine)
- Cross of Honor “For the construction and formation of internal troops of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine” (04/19/2001)
- medal of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine “Cross of Glory” (04/18/2001)
- Order of Dmitry Donskoy (2007, NGO “National Committee of Public Awards”, Russia);
- Order of the Prince Yaroslav the Wise II Art. (04/19/2011)
- Order of St. Andrew the First-Called
Orthodox Life
The abbot of the Kiev Pechersk Lavra spoke about the participation of Philaret (Denisenko) in the life of the monastery, as well as who owns the ancient monastery.
The Kiev Pechersk Lavra will definitely become... Ukrainian. The head of the “Kyiv Patriarchate”, unrecognized in the Orthodox world, Mikhail Denisenko (Filaret), stated this in an interview with the Ukrinform agency. Continuing, the schismatic told how, while still Metropolitan of Kyiv and Galicia, he sought to transfer the shrine into the ownership of the Church, how he restored churches and monastery buildings, how he erected new buildings, and how the then city government sent riot police, who expelled him from the holy monastery. The abbot of the Kiev Pechersk Lavra, Metropolitan Pavel of Vyshgorod and Chernobyl, told journalist Oleg Afonin about what Philaret’s participation in the life of the monastery actually was.
– Vladyka, you have already spoken many times about the status of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church and its place in World Orthodoxy. But, as life shows, this issue still remains relevant for our compatriots. Let’s formulate it a little differently for better understanding: “Who owns the Holy Dormition Kiev-Pechersk Lavra?”
– Yes, apparently, this topic somehow especially excites the minds of Ukrainian citizens, and not only Orthodox Christians. Therefore, I will say a few words for the edification of believers. You are right; those who don’t want to understand will not understand, and those who know will not be led astray from the true path. But we do not have the right to stop pastoral ministry only on the basis that we have already spoken about this more than once. We will repeat again and again the truths fundamental to the Church, strengthen those who doubt in the faith and instruct those who are mistaken. And according to our labors, the Lord will open people’s eyes so that they can see the truth and distinguish it from lies.
The Kiev Pechersk Lavra was, is and will remain in the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. It belongs neither to Russia nor to any other state. It belongs to the Orthodox community. And not even only the Orthodox, but the entire Christian world. Greek Catholics, Roman Catholics, Monophysites, and Protestants come here... All those who profess Christ come here, even those against whose heresy the Church convened seven Ecumenical Councils. And we do not forbid any of them to come here, because our Lavra is the property of Heaven, which belongs to the whole world. You see, not to Ukraine, not to Russia, but to the whole world, all of humanity. And this is the most important idea that we must realize. Realize it so much that no one else can speculate on this topic.
Now let's talk about specifics. The statement of the so-called Patriarch Filaret about his participation in the transfer of the Kiev Pechersk Lavra to the church community is an absolute lie. Everything happened against his wishes, according to the good will of the government of the Soviet Union, and was timed to coincide with the celebration of the millennium of the Baptism of Rus'. Moreover, I heard from His Beatitude Vladimir and some other bishops that Filaret was against such a transfer. However, this man played a significant role in the fate of our holy monastery. It was he who closed the existing monastery in 1961. That's all his participation in the life of the Lavra.
And his statement that he restored the temples and built some buildings does not stand up to any criticism at all. Let people find the article “His Beatitude without a miter and staff” (author – Alexander Nezhny, published in the magazine “Ogonyok” Nos. 48 and 49, 1991 – O.A.). It contains documented evidence of the “righteous” life and unrighteous activities of the former Patriarchal Exarch of Ukraine, Metropolitan of Kyiv and Galicia Philaret. Father Sophrony, Father Elifery, who at that time was the governor of the Lavra, and who literally had to flee to Russia from the persecution of the “holy archimandrite,” are still alive.
In 1994, His Beatitude Vladimir, Metropolitan of Kiev and all Ukraine, appointed me vicar of the Kiev Pechersk Lavra, and I was able to verify with my own eyes the extremely deplorable state of the monastery. The Church of the Exaltation of the Cross, supposedly restored by Philaret, was dilapidated and closed. Seminarians served in the Church of the Conception of Righteous Anna, but it was fenced on all sides with sheets of plywood. You will not find buildings supposedly built by Filaret during the day with fire, since they do not exist in nature. The caves were maintained exclusively by the labors of the brethren, but Filaret did not pay the slightest attention not only to the condition of the underground churches and monastic cells, but even to the condition of the holy relics. These are the late Father Arseny, Father Polycarp, Father Anthony (Novitsky), Father Jeremiah - these are the workers for the glory of God, and it was with whose hands the caves were kept in relative order.
History presents us with other facts. Very often Evgenia Petrovna came to the Lavra (E.P. Rodionova - Philaret’s wife, with whom he continued to cohabitate even after taking monastic vows. Read more in the mentioned article - O.A.), and took from the monastery treasury for her personal needs , in which at that time huge sums of money, bills of 25 rubles and above, were accumulated. And at that time the brethren did not even have the means to buy food.
At the time of my arrival, and this was already after the schism, there were no icons, no vestments, no church utensils, no liturgical vessels in the Lavra. Although, I repeat, it was all possible to purchase, because there was a lot of money. Of course, before Evgenia Petrovna’s visits. I think you understand that without her husband’s consent, she would not have dared to put her hand into the church treasury, and even so openly.
Speaking about his participation in the restoration of the Lavra, Filaret is well aware of all the vicissitudes of my struggle with museum officials. They, like him, did nothing for the revival of the Lavra as the center of World Orthodoxy. Is it possible to forget that on the territory of the monastery, next to the holy relics, there was a representative office of the Philip Morris tobacco concern? Is it possible to forget how the entrance gates were destroyed and the walls fell, how the Great Lavra Bell Tower literally fell to pieces? Where were the museum workers at that time, where was Filaret?
And they counted the money for rent, looked for an opportunity to “save” even more on construction and restoration work, and came up with something else to charge for besides entering the territory of the Upper Lavra, which is still under the jurisdiction of the museum-reserve. By the way, one of the reasons why the Ukrainian flock, the priesthood and the episcopate of the then unified Russian Orthodox Church rebelled against Philaret was the violation of monastic vows, in particular the vows of celibacy and non-covetousness.
Denisenko declares that the Lavra needs to be returned to the Ukrainian people? I know only one method of “return”, which the schismatics mastered to perfection. We saw this in 1992, immediately after Filaret, who (despite the pressure of some representatives of the Politburo of the CPSU Central Committee on the bishops) was never elected Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus', returned to Ukraine and founded his personal church. Then he forcibly seized the capital’s Vladimir Cathedral, and the Metropolitan Chambers on Pushkinskaya Street in Kyiv, and the Vydubetsky Monastery, in which they almost immediately made a restaurant, and part of the Lavra, which is located across the road.
At the same time, Filaret does not stop either in the face of blood or in the face of broken human destinies. And he blasphemously continues to call himself a servant of Christ’s Church, bringing love and goodness to the world. And amid these hysterical howls, he continues to seize churches and forcibly transfer church communities under his control. This practice continues today, as evidenced by recent events in the village of Ptichya, Dubensky district, Rivne region. On the night of December 19-20, a real religious pogrom took place there. In the houses of members of the church community of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, defending their temple from the militants of the Right Sector and the Kyiv Patriarchate, windows were broken, doors were broken and Molotov cocktails were thrown. Fortunately, no one was seriously injured. However, the children and old people who were in those houses still cannot recover from their experience.
But they are also Ukrainians, and have the same right to this land as those who call themselves “Svіdomim,” but are doing everything to plunge our country into ruin and chaos. Yes, for the time being we endure attacks on us and our Church, and the robbery of our churches. We suffer spiritual and physical pain from the split in the Body of Christ. But our patience is not unlimited. But strife and wars on religious grounds are perhaps the most bloody and fierce among all others, which we see now in the example of the confrontation between the Muslim and Christian East.
He says that the Kiev authorities sent riot police who drove him out of the Lavra? There is a whole collection of documented evidence included in the book “Anatomy of a Schism,” which was later used as the basis for a whole four-part film. There are operational footage there, which shows who captured and who defended, who beat, and who suffered. The book describes, almost minute by minute, how the militants of Korchinsky, who was then on the side of Filaret, gathered under the walls of the Lavra, how they stormed the Lavra, how they beat seminarians, destroyed cells and utility rooms, how the blood of the monastery brethren was shed, and how literally in the last In an instant, riot police arrived and shielded the already exhausted defenders of the holy monastery. And now he claims that riot police expelled him? Think what a satanic lie, what Jesuitical hypocrisy!
But he is well over 80 years old, he stands at the turn of eternity, it’s time to really think about the future life of his soul. The sacrilegious atrocities of this “patriarch” led to the fact that hundreds of thousands of people died without baptism, without repentance, and live in fornication, sincerely believing that their marriage was sanctified by the Church. With his iniquities he blasphemes the Holy Spirit, and this sin cannot be washed away even by the blood of martyrdom. Remember the Lord’s warning: “Therefore I say to you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven to men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven to men. If anyone speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him. But if anyone speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the next.”
Very often, morally unscrupulous journalists, in order to show me in a negative light, write that I allegedly cursed someone and the like. I have never cursed anyone, because I know the value of words, I know and tremble before the gaze of the Savior, who said: “I tell you that for every idle word that people say, they will give an answer on the day of judgment: for by your words you will be justified, and you will be condemned by your words.” I just remind people that the Lord Himself deigned to reveal to us about our posthumous fate. To those like Philaret He predicted: “Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck and he was drowned in the depths of the sea.”
Does Mikhail Antonovich know these words of Christ? Of course he does. But, apparently, he is controlled directly by Satan, who led him first to deposition and then to anathema. He also pushes him to further rebellion before the Lord, to bloodshed and the final death of both Filaret himself and all those who, willingly or unwillingly, consciously or out of mental laziness, follow him.
At one time I myself had doubts about the correctness of the excommunication of Mikhail Denisenko. I couldn’t believe that a man who had been Metropolitan of Kyiv and Galicia for so many years could deliberately harm the Church. Then I just felt sorry for him, sorry that he closed his heart to the love of Christ. But all his further activities confirmed the axiom - the Church cannot make mistakes. Christ said: “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. By their fruits you will know them. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? So every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. So by their fruits you will know them.”
John the Theologian in the Reading for the Feast of the Saints said: “The sheep hear the voice of the Shepherd, and the Shepherd knows the sheep by name.” Who and what does this “shepherd” in sheep’s clothing know? He does not need sheep, but only a shepherd's staff. He does not need Ukraine, but only the satanic proud “I”. How can a shepherd ask for weapons to kill people? Even if people in Donbass are a hundred times worse than in Galicia, is this a reason and reason to kill them? When a woman caught in adultery was brought to the Savior, He did not condemn her, although according to those laws she was expected to be stoned.
When a real criminal, whose guilt has been irrefutably proven, is sentenced to death, it is the duty of the shepherd to protect him even in defiance of all human laws. Because the shepherd lives according to the laws of God. No one gives one person the right to take the life of another person. Because the Lord brings each of us from non-existence into existence, and only His right is to return us back to the earth before the Last Judgment.
But what can we say about some highly spiritual activity if this person lies even in small things? In Soviet times, such people were called opportunists, Christ speaks of them much more harshly - hypocrites: “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, who are like painted tombs, which on the outside seem beautiful, but inside are full of the bones of the dead and all uncleanness.” Filaret is called the spiritual leader of the nation. But a little more than two decades ago, he did not recognize such a nation as Ukrainian, did not recognize the Ukrainian language, Ukrainian culture.
I remember when they wanted to appoint me to the parish in Ivano-Frankivsk, I told Filaret that although I was born in Western Ukraine, in the Rivne region, I don’t know the Ukrainian language spoken in Galicia. He replied: “There is no Ukrainian language. This is a Polish-Jewish dialect.” And now he is called the spiritual leader of the Ukrainian nation?
A person who bears enmity is the son of the devil and the servant of the devil. And I want to ask those young people, with whose hands today lawlessness is being committed in the Rivne region: “Children! Do no harm to anyone, because in the end you will reap it yourself.” Remember those first ones who two years ago on the Maidan shouted: “He who doesn’t gallop is a Muscovite.” When they began to be drafted into the army to be sent to the ATO zone, they fled in all directions: some to Belarus, some to Poland, some to Austria. But the majority fled to... Russia. This is the price of their patriotism, this is the price of their love for the Fatherland.
There are people in the Lavra who were born in Moldova, Kazakhstan, and Russia. But now they are all citizens of Ukraine, citizens of the third Lot of the Most Holy Theotokos - the Assumption Kiev-Pechersk Lavra. And they will defend their Motherland, their Fatherland, of which they are citizens, until their last breath. How many of our people, Ukrainians, are there in Russia? Yes, only our episcopate is 35-40 percent. And in monasteries it’s still 70%. Moreover, from all regions of Ukraine, both from the East and from the West. How many mixed marriages do we have? Both in Ukraine and in Russia!
Therefore, I ask: “Mikhail Antonovich! Stop bringing discord and hostility into our lives. If you are a Christian, as you call yourself, if you are a Ukrainian, whose spiritual leader you supposedly are, then stop pushing people to kill, don’t kindle hatred in their hearts, don’t lead them into the flames of hell! Better write your memoirs, tell us how you entered the theological seminary, how you became a bishop at the age of thirty, how you managed such career growth in Soviet times, tell us for what services the Soviet government awarded you the Order of the Red Banner of Labor. Finally start telling the truth. Perhaps then the Lord, in His infinite mercy, will forgive you your sins.”
I ask our rulers one thing: “Establish order in the country. We Orthodox know that all power comes from God. For the piety of the people, the Lord gives good rulers, but for our sins he allows a different ruler. Be that as it may, we elected a president. So let the president lead, and not everyone who gets it into his head that he has the power or the right to do so. Mr. President. You, as a Christian, should know that all discord between people is from the devil, and only love is from the Lord. We already have troubles and grief beyond all measure, the only thing missing is a war on religious grounds. And I repeat once again: We will not give the Lavra to anyone!”
Congratulations to everyone on the eve of the New Year. I wish that all intrigues, all misunderstandings remain in the past. So that the Lord will enlighten us and guide us on the true path. So that we, as it is read in the prayer at monastic tonsure, “put on the armor of truth.” What kind of armor is this? This is the Word of God that enlightens every person. May the Lord bless everyone!
Lavra.ua
Used materials
- Biography on the official website of the Russian Orthodox Church:
- Biography on the Russian Orthodoxy
: - Biography on the Kiev Pechersk Lavra website:
[1] The Primate of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church elevated the vicar of the Kiev Pechersk Lavra to the rank of metropolitan
, official website of the Russian Orthodox Church, May 1, 2011:
[2] The composition of the Holy Synod of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church has been expanded
, official website of the Russian Orthodox Church, June 15, 2011:
[3] Journals of the meeting of the Holy Synod of the UOC dated May 8, 2012
:
Interesting Facts
He repeatedly became the object of journalistic investigations, in which he was accused of behavior contrary to Christian commandments. In September 2012, to the request of journalist Ksenia Karpenko to answer questions about the role of material values in the life of the church, the Metropolitan reacted violently, began swearing, calling him a “bitch” and a “slut,” and calling the photographer a “monkey.” Then he attacked the journalist and snatched the phone out of her hands. After public coverage of the situation, the rector of the Lavra asked the president, the speaker of the Verkhovna Rada “to take some measures against crazy journalists. I emphasize - to crazy journalists - not to everyone.”
