KYIV. His Beatitude Metropolitan Volodymyr Addressed Compatriots before Presidential Elections
Address of the
Primate of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church before the Elections of the President
of Ukraine
Dear brothers and sisters! Honorable compatriots!
Today we are on the
threshold of an important historical event - the elections of the President of
Ukraine.
Every Christian should understand that the destiny of
a state is arranged by the Lord, and the one to govern the country will be
defined by the Providence of God. But the unexplored and inconceivable providence of God is performed through
us, weak, and therefore all of us are called to cooperate for the performance
of the will of God.
We call all of you to perform your civic duty, taking part in the
elections. All of us are to define our sympathies and to give vote for the one
we trust.
We all think it necessary to
remind that the Church
of Christ is the Kingdom
not of this world - is a Kingdom of Christ the Savior. The True Church
is beyond politics. By her maternal embracement She unites everyone irrespective of
the flags' colors. It means that each of us, the members of the Church, may have his or her
own civic position. Every Christian has a right to prefer the one
he or she considers to be worthy to head the state.
Each of us, selecting his position freely, should remember that the freedom is combined
with responsibility. Voting
for one or another candidate we share with him the responsibility for the
country's future. Therefore before making choice a Christian should evaluate each candidate
proceeding first of all from the interests of our Church and People.
We call all of you to make your choice, having lifted sincere prayer. We rest
our hope in the Lord, Whose all-mighty hand keeps all states and all nations, their past,
present and future.
We remind your, dear
brothers and sisters, that as the children of the Church of Christ we have to
accept with humility any result of the elections, remembering the Apostle's words: "For there is no power but of God: the powers
that be are ordained of God " (Romans 13: 1). At the same time the Lord grants the
right of choice to each of us - who to set over us.
So let's rest our hopes
on the Lord, so that the one was chosen to become a worthy successor of the great Kyivan state-builders - the Holy and Equal-to-the-Apostles Prince
Volodymyr and Princess Olga.
† Volodymyr,
Metropolitan of Kyiv and All Ukraine,
Primate of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church
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