Bishop Job of Stuttgart: Soviet blasphemies are being repeated in the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra

Bishop Job of Stuttgart, Vicar of the German Diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia, provided exclusive comments to the website of the Union of Orthodox Journalists regarding the ongoing events in the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra, drawing parallels with the tragic events of a century ago. "I watch with sorrow the events in the long-suffering Ukrainian land. Unfortunately, what is currently happening in the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra cannot but remind me of the sad events of a century ago," stated Bishop Job.

He emphasized that after the 1917 revolution, "the apotheosis of the collective madness of the time was the pseudo-scientific desecration of holy relics. This was followed by unprecedented persecution of the Church of Christ." The hierarch expressed concern about the actions of the Ukrainian Ministry of Culture: "We are all witnessing how history repeats itself. It seems that the officials of the Ukrainian Ministry of Culture, through their actions, unintentionally demonstrate that they — similar to their great-grandfathers — have collectively lost their minds."

At the same time, the bishop urged prayer for the healing of spiritual blindness, referring to the Gospel account of the healing of the man born blind: "Hatred blinds a person. But Christ healed the blind and the possessed. In the Gospel of John, there is even a special healing of a man who was born blind, of whom the Lord said to His disciples that this man was not punished for his sins or his parents' sins, but was born blind, 'so that the works of God might be made manifest in him.'" Bishop Job emphasized the need for personal spiritual effort to receive healing: "Indeed, the man born blind himself worked with faith, obeyed Christ, and washed in the pool of Siloam. We pray for similar healing and enlightenment. May the Lord guide us all."

UOJ