This is a repost of an article authored by a priest in the Orthodox Church of America whose wife is Ukrainian and still has family in Ukraine. The article was written two years ago, just as the war broke out, and as I read over it, it struck me how it could have easily been written yesterday. Truth is like that. It ages well. Below is an excerpt from his article, published February 25, 2022, under the title A Reflection on Ukraine, America, Russia, and War
By Fr. Zachariah Lynch
Few it seems have cared, up until now, that the faithful of Ukraine are being subjected to spiritual violence (which has manifested physically). Few it seems have cared that the Ecumenical Patriarchate is in open and full communion with unrepentant schismatics.
(To educate yourself on the Ukrainian government’s pernicious work to divide the Orthodox in that country and use one side to commit violence against the other, see my article from last year, U.S./NATO-funded proxy war in Ukraine fueling hatred, persecution of ancient Christian community.)
So spiritual violence has been ravaging Ukraine, and few have said much. We value a nominal “peace” above true peace, for true peace cannot be had in communion with false brethren. Now major physical violence is taking place, but what is worse for the soul, spiritual or material violence?
Could it be that the assault on the spiritual peace of Ukraine has affected its physical peace?
How many Americans have been aware that there has been an effective civil war in eastern Ukraine since 2014? How many of us were concerned when Ukrainians were shooting at and killing Ukrainians? Was that okay?
Continue reading Reflections on Russia-Ukraine War — 2 years later