On February 21 His Beatitude Sviatoslav (SHEVCHUK) was The Day’s guest. We couldn’t not help asking him about his opinion on what is happening in the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, fully realizing the awkwardness of the situation, we put him in. On the other hand, shouldn’t society and heads of other churches react to the process of cynical treatment of Metropolitan Volodymyr within the UOC? He, as a highly educated person, has an influence on the believers of various Christian denominations.
“Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church considers the Ukrainian Orthodox Church its brothers and sisters,” began His Beatitude Sviatoslav. “That is why we cannot be indifferent to what is happening in the family of our brother or sister. First of all, I would like to express my deep personal respect for the Metropolitan Volodymyr. I have met him a few times. I followed his activities as the head of the Church and, ultimately, as a spiritual person. I think spirituality of the Metropolitan will be a subject of a long-lasting research. That is why I believe that His Beatitude Volodymyr is a great treasure not only for the UOC but also for the Christian world in general. Obviously, there is no man without a sin. Only Our Lord is without a sin.
“A head of a church is often evaluated by the effectiveness of his management. However, these are the signs of secularization. That means that even the clergymen see it as a human structure. And when due to some health problems somebody cannot perform the function of a good manager, then they declare that he is not capable of managing the Church. Instead, the truly religious people look at this situation differently. Metropolitan Volodymyr is a spiritual leader and not a manager. We can compare the last months of Pope John Paul II with what His Beatitude is experiencing now. (It is interesting that Volodymyr has the same illness John Paul had.) Toward the end of his life Pope breathed through tracheal tube but he did not abandon the throne of the Roman Catholic Church. I remember how painful it was to watch him: every word made him suffer. But why did he do that? Suffering feeble man is considered to be a burden for a society. That is why even today when His Beatitude Volodymyr is in the hospital he remains the spiritual leader of his Church. Thus, those who consider Church to be Church and not a human structure have to respect him and help him.”
Our conversation was about deep and important matters, and current issues of today: both religious and socio-political ones. By the way, His Beatitude Sviatoslav told that he read Wars and Peace from The Day’s Library Series, and while he was in Argentina (as a Bishop of the UGCC) he read the newspaper online. You can read a comprehensive interview with His Beatitude in the soon coming issues of The Day.
