This statement by the leader of Kiev’s Orthodox Church was posted in English, Russian, and Ukrainian on the website of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, Kiev Patricharate:
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And Cain said to Abel
his brother: [let’s go to the field]. And when they were in the field, Cain
rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him. And the LORD said unto Cain,
Where is Abel thy brother? He said: I do not know; Am I my brother's keeper? Genesis 4: 8-9
Dear brothers and sisters, all people of good will!
With great regret I have to say now publicly that among the
rulers of this world upon the fact of baptism, belonging to the Orthodox
Church, appeared a real new Cain - not by name, but by deeds.
These matters indicate that the abovementioned governor as
the first in the history fratricide Cain, came under the action of Satan.
From the Holy Scriptures, we know that two great sins,
murder and lie are in close unity with each other, as the ruler and the
inspiratior of both is the devil. Therefore, anyone who indulges in these sins,
according to the Savior, has the devil as his father, "your father is the
devil; and you want to fulfill the lusts of your father. He was a murderer from
the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him.
When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of
lies "(John 8:44).
"From everyone to whom much is given, much will be
required, and who has been entrusted with more will be asked" - says the
Lord Jesus Christ (Luke 12:48). A lot of power was given into the hands of the
abovementioned ruler, but both the world and we are witnessing the fact that he
drew this power not on good deeds, but on evil.
It was at his behest that the media in his country day and
night in many languages spread cynical lie about Ukraine, sow enmity against
the Ukrainian people, and against our desire to be independent and build our
own sovereign state, they provoke bloodshed and murder in the Donbass.
He says outright and blatant lies: organizing and sending
killers mercenaries to our country, speaks of "internal conflict", to
which he allegedly is not involved; sending to Ukraine his troops, he publicly
states that these forces are not present there. At the time when in Ukraine the
perished soldiers, defenders of the Fatherland are buried as heroes, the
soldiers of his country, who died in the Donbas, are buried secretly, carefully
concealing the truth about the circumstances of their death.
This ruler is cynically lying, saying that his country is
not a party to the conflict in Ukraine - although he did everything in order to
foment the conflict and maintain it.
Numerous victims are the consequence of his actions. In
recent months, soldiers are killed every day and volunteers, who protect
Ukraine from the aggressor, which loves to call himself our brother. The
fighting affects millions of civilians and tens of thousands are forced to flee
from war, hundreds were killed. Cities and villages of the Donbass turn into
ruins.
Seeing this, and as the Patriarch, being responsible before
God for the Orthodox Ukrainian people, I affirm that the greatest blame for all
this lies on the abovementioned governor. In his will and power is to
immediately stop the bloodshed and death, but it is for the sake of his pride
he continues to multiply evil. He calls himself a brother to the Ukrainian
people, but in fact according to his deeds, he really became the new Cain,
shedding the brotherly blood and entangling the whole world with lies.
His lie is misleading some people, and they think that in
fact this ruler protects traditional spiritual and moral values ??from the
ravages of globalization. But the fruit of his actions, which the Gospel calls
us to evaluate, suggest otherwise.
Therefore, to the tempted with lies, and especially to the
Orthodox, both in Ukraine and all over the world, I recall the words of the
Savior: "Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing,
but inwardly they are ravening wolves. By their fruits ye shall know them. Do
men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so, every good tree
bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree can not bring
forth evil fruit, neither a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree
that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. So by
their fruits ye shall know them "(Matthew 7: 15-20).
Calls for this ruler and his minions have already been
sounded many times publicly - to think again, to stop sowing evil and death, to
repent. But it seems that he remains deaf to these appeals and only multiplies
evil, because satan went into him, as into Judas Iscariot.
However, relying on God's mercy to all sinners, yet we
maintain hope on repentance of this ruler and refer to him the call of millions
of people:” Stop, cease the multiplication of lies and murder, come to your
senses!
For your actions you separate yourself from the Orthodox
Church and God, doom yourself to an ignominious end of this life and eternal
damnation in hell - in the life of the future world. For all the blood that was
shed at your will, and the evil done by your order, your punishment will be the
same as the punishment of the liar and fratricide Cain - the curse and eternal
damnation.
If you do not repent, the words of Scripture will be
fulfilled on you: "He loved cursing, so - and it will come to him;
delighted not in blessing, - and it is from him; He clothed cursing as with a
garment, so let it come out like water, into his bowels and like oil into his
bones; let it be unto him as the garment which he dresses like a belt tied
forever around him. Such is the reward of my adversaries from the LORD, and
speaking evil against my soul "(Psalm 108: 17-20). From this penalty you
can be saved only by sincere repentance, confirmed by deeds, not by flattering
words of church hierarchy dependent on you, headed by the Patriarch of the
country led by you.”
Also I call on the faithful in Ukraine to pray for a fair
trial and a worthy nemesis from God to this ruler. Do not be afraid of his
power - because in comparison with the power of God, it is nothing, and though
his heart became cruel, as the heart of the ancient Pharaoh, but the end of his
strength is close.
Remember, brothers and sisters, the words of Scripture, and
let your heart not doubt that the truth and power of God will win the latest
Cain and the new Pharaoh, from slavery to which the Lord brings Ukraine out.
"As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up, and behold, the
Egyptians marched after them: and they were sore afraid, and the Israelites
cried out to the Lord, and said unto Moses, Because there were no graves in
Egypt, hast thou taken us away to die in the wilderness? What have you done to
us by bringing us out of Egypt? Is not this the word that we did tell thee in
Egypt, saying, Let us alone, that we may serve the Egyptians? For it is better
for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness. And Moses said
unto the people, Fear ye not, stand still - and see the salvation of the LORD,
which he will shew to you to day: for the Egyptians whom you see today you will
never see them again forever The Lord will fight for you, and you do not worry
"(Exodus 14, 10-14).
I call on God's blessing to Ukraine and our pious people!
Filaret, Patriarch of Kyiv and All Rus-Ukraine, New Cain, Ukrainian
Orthodox Church, September 5, 2014
President Vladimir Putin has fallen
under the spell of Satan and faces eternal damnation unless he repents, a top
Ukrainian clergyman said on Saturday in an unusually blunt statement that
squarely blamed the Russian leader for the war in Ukraine.
Patriarch Filaret heads the Kiev
Patriarchate, a branch of the Orthodox Church that broke away from Moscow in
1992 after the fall of the Soviet Union and the declaration of an independent
Ukraine.
His church, a rival of the Moscow
Patriarchate which is closely linked to Putin, strongly supports Ukrainian
nationhood and the Kiev government's struggle to defeat pro-Russian separatists
in eastern Ukraine.
"With great regret I must now
say publicly that among the rulers of this world ... there has appeared a new
Cain, not by his name but by his deeds," Patriarch Filaret said, invoking
the Biblical character who killed his brother Abel.
"Like the first fratricide of
history Cain, these deeds show that the afore-mentioned ruler has fallen under
the action of Satan," he said in the statement, published on the
patriarchate's website in Ukrainian, Russian and English. (here)
The statement, entitled "New
Cain", was released on the first full day of a ceasefire between Ukrainian
forces and pro-Russian rebels. At least 2,600 people have died in fighting in
eastern Ukraine since it erupted in April.
Putin is a baptized Orthodox
Christian and has forged close ties with Russia's Orthodox Church, seeing it as
a valuable ally in his battle with what he sees as a decadent Western world.
Filaret, who recently took over the
Kiev patriarchate, said Putin had deliberately stoked the conflict in Ukraine
by sending mercenaries, troops and weapons across the border and had spread
lies via Russia's mass media about what was really happening.
Putin denies sending Russian troops
into Ukraine or arming the separatists, despite what Kiev and its Western
backers say is overwhelming evidence to the contrary.
"This ruler is cynically
lying, saying his country is not a party to the conflict in Ukraine, though he
did everything in order to foment the conflict and maintain it," said
Filaret.
"He calls himself a brother to
the Ukrainian people, but in fact according to his deeds, he has really become
the new Cain, shedding the brotherly blood and entangling the whole world with
lies," Filaret said.
Filaret urged the Orthodox faithful
to pray that Putin would "come to his senses". Otherwise, the
patriarch added, he would face "an ignominious end and eternal damnation
in hell".
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