“Any Patriarch or Bishop who supports Russia’s actions is a heretic and has nothing to do with Orthodoxy,” said Metropolitan Ioseb of the Patriarchate of Georgia.
Metropolitan Ioseb of Shemokmedi, a member of the Holy Synod of the Church of Georgia, referred to the tragic consequences of Russia’s war in Ukraine in his sermon last Sunday.
“Some, including the clergy, honestly I am ashamed of them, come out and say that Ukraine is being punished because it was a sinful country and that Russia is not being punished because it is not sinful… How can a clergyman justify the killing of children?!
How can a clergyman justify the death of another man?! They talk about “Holy Russia”… is Russia, that invaded Ukraine, Holy?! We see that cities are being razed to the ground. Are these Holy things?! These are false prophecies.
Some of you know what they say, why Ukraine was attacked?! The Ukrainian state was very sinful and Russia came to fulfill God’s will that Ukrainians should no longer live in sin. Isn’t that a cult?
Perhaps I shouldn’t say this, but how can I not say it: If the Patriarch and the Bishops support this, they are really heretics and have nothing to do with Orthodoxy,” said Metropolitan Ioseb, as reported by “Ecclesiastical News of Georgia”.
Elsewhere in the sermon, Metropolitan Ioseb stressed that no one on earth has the right to judge others. Condemning the actions of the Russians as an “Inquisition”, he added that the statements of Patriarch Kirill of Russia are unacceptable, who stressed that Ukraine is being punished for gay pride parades.
“Once the Roman Catholics performed the “inquisitions”, burning the people in the fire, and in order to justify their actions, they argued that with this fire and the suffering they receive, they are sanctified. Do you understand what they were saying?! That’s what serious heresy means.
The Russians are doing the same thing in Ukraine. What right do we have to kill sinful people? We Orthodox Christians have no right to kill people.
On the contrary, we must sacrifice ourselves for others, regardless of whether the other is a Roman Catholic, an unbeliever, an atheist, or anyone, first and foremost he is a human being. If we do this, rest assured that we will sacrifice ourselves for Christ,” said Metropolitan Ioseb of Shemokmedi.
It is worth noting that Metropolitan Ioseb was one of the first hierarchs of the Patriarchate of Georgia who supported the Autocephalous Church of Ukraine.
