Archbishop Varsonofy (Stoliar): It is impossible to destroy the Church

Ruling Archbishop Varsonofy of Vinnitsa and Bar

The Lord will preserve His Church, whatever the pressure of officials and other services on it and whatever laws may be, Archbishop Varsonofy (Stoliar) of Vinnitsa and Bar commented to the UOJ.

“It’s impossible to destroy the Church. We know from the Gospel that "the gates of hell cannot prevail against it." Therefore, we, believers, have hope in Christ. The Lord will protect, said Vladyka Varsonofy. “Our main task is to stay in the Church, since the Church will survive anyway. The point is if we will be able to stay in this salvation ship. This is the key thing.

According to the ruling bishop of the Vinnitsa diocese, the Lord let the pressure on the UOC for the sake of the purification of the Church.

“This is the very period which the Lord sent in order to clean the grain from the husk. Now some people have left – those who have little faith. Therefore, the Church is on the way to its purification. The most important thing for us is to perceive this period, this trial correctly and not to grumble, but to make certain conclusions,” he concluded.

On December 17, 2018, the Holy Synod of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church appointed Archbishop Varsonofy of Borodianka His Grace of Vinnitsa and Bar. This appointment took place after Metropolitan Simeon (Shostatsky) had announced his transfer to the OCU.

Later, banned by the Holy Synod of the UOC from priesthood for backsliding into schism, Metropolitan Simeon filed a lawsuit in court asking for his reinstatement in the UOC. On February 5, 2019, the Vinnitsa court of appeal satisfied the appeals of representatives of the Kiev Metropolis of the UOC and lifted the ban on the state registration of Archbishop Varsonofy as a chancellor of the Vinnitsa eparchy, which was imposed on His Grace due to the lawsuit of Metropolitan Simeon.

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