Metropolitan Epifaniy of Kyiv and all Ukraine shared a thoughtful reflection on the nature of anger in a recent social media post, addressing its spiritual role and dangers, especially in the context of the ongoing war in Ukraine.
He began by explaining the original purpose of anger: “Anger was given to man to fight against the devil and evil. Its primary function is the soul’s rejection, the ‘irritation’ in response to the presence of something harmful, sinful, or evil. Anger should react to the temptation of evil by repelling it, serving as the immune power of the soul.”
However, the Metropolitan warned that due to human sinfulness, anger has been “turned into a treacherous weapon in the hands of the devil: its action is often directed not against evil, but against God and one’s neighbors.” He cited the Apostle James’ warning: “‘The anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God’ (James 1:20).”
Epifaniy elaborated, “Because man is weak, sinful, often morally and spiritually unstable, frequently motivated by selfish reasons, easily offended and angry, he often becomes wrathful unjustly and not with a good purpose.”
Using a vivid metaphor, he compared anger to a watchdog: “The holy fathers compared anger to a guard dog that should protect a house: if the dog scares off robbers, it deserves praise, but if it starts attacking guests and passersby, it becomes dangerous. Righteous anger was given as a weapon, a strength of the soul to resist evil. Otherwise, it is a dangerous, destructive passion causing double harm: it harms both the angry person and the target of that anger.”
Reflecting on the current reality of war in Ukraine, Metropolitan Epifaniy acknowledged: “For the Ukrainian people, anger is an adequate reaction to injustice, killings, and crimes committed on our peaceful land by the occupiers. We have a logical explanation for our anger, as it is a reaction to the misdeeds of the Russian invaders, and it should teach us to hate sin, lies, and lawlessness, as well as help us find strength to fight them.”
Yet he urged caution: “At the same time, anger should not dominate our hearts or control us. Otherwise, it will turn from a torch illuminating falsehood into an uncontrollable fire, destroying everything around and burning everything to ashes.”
On whether anger is useful on the battlefield, he said: “On one hand, yes — to respond rightly to evil, to strive to suppress it, and to be motivated to fight. But if everything on the battlefield is done with uncontrolled anger, fury, and hatred, the result will only be devastation and death. Such destructive anger is like madness, obsession, wild irritation, which does no good and cannot lead to victory.” He reminded his followers of Scripture’s wisdom:
“‘Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good’ (Romans 12:21).”
Quoting St. John Chrysostom, Metropolitan Epifaniy advised: “‘Do not set anger against anger, but avoid it, like a wise helmsman avoiding dangerous rocks.’ Anger can and should be used for good. Anger, subordinated to reason, is like a tamed lion that protects its master from wild beasts.”
He concluded with a plea: “So be wise tamers of your ‘lions,’ do not allow them to ‘swallow’ you.”
