It is no secret to those who get their news outside the U.S./U.K. media propaganda bubble that the government of Ukraine has become a highly repressive military dictatorship under cultural Marxist President Zelensky, in which both opposition political parties and independent media are banned. But the very worst repression is being seen today in the grotesque holy week persecution of Orthodox monks and believers as showcased in this aptly titled article: “U.S./NATO-funded proxy war in Ukraine fueling hatred, persecution of ancient Christian community: Priests arrested, praying Christians mocked in public by ultra-nationalists and Satanists as standoff continues at holy site.” Pay special attention to the accompanying photo.
This week I gave an online interview on this topic to a Moscow-based Russian media outlet that featured me a few years ago as the primary English-speaking authority in the internationally popular documentary film “Sodom.” I offer their questions and my preliminary answers here by way of educating my fellow American conservatives on this topic.
Question. What provoked the religious conflict in Ukraine?
Answer. There is a worldwide assault on Christianity because it is the strongest force standing against the globalist plot for one-world government. The global elites intend to create this one-world government on a Utopian Cultural Marxist theme – which sets its highest priority on what they call “sexual freedom” but which is really sexual anarchy. The most powerful drivers of this agenda are the LGBTs, who now control the governments of the West, including the NATO alliance. Zelensky is their willing friend and ally in that goal. He is pretending that the current suppression of the church is about nationalistic patriotism, but it is really an effort to purge the church from the culture to make way for Marxism and the “great reset.”
Q. It’s no secret that all decisions in Kyiv are made after consultations in the United States. Today we have witnessed how its inhabitants are being expelled from the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra. Don’t you think that this is a violation of the principles of religious rights and freedoms that the States themselves defend?
A. While it is true that the United States Constitution and Bill of Rights is intended to guarantee the freedom of the church from government interference, the same corrupt political leaders who are backing the Zelensky dictatorship are working against religious rights and freedoms here in America. If they work openly to suppress and persecute Christians here in America, how much more are they willing to do that in their puppet state of Ukraine? Yes, these attacks on the church are a gross violation of religious rights and freedoms, and it is shameful that the Western governments are not condemning the religious persecutions in Ukraine.
Q. Criminal cases are initiated against clergy in Ukraine, some priests are deprived of Ukrainian citizenship, parishes are seized by schismatics – what will this lead to?
A. On my third trip to Russia in 2013, I toured Moscow and the Kremlin with a delegation from the World Congress of Families, which intended to hold an international conference defending biblical marriage and the natural family there in 2014 (which was canceled due to the outbreak of civil war in Ukraine). Part of that tour featured an overview of what the Soviet Communists did to the church during their control of Russia, which included tearing down beautiful churches and cathedrals, and turning others into storage warehouses for trucks and heavy equipment. That is always what Marxists do when they come to power, and I expect to see more of the same defilement of church properties in Ukraine and insults to the dignity of the believers, the stronger the Marxist powers grow.
Q. What church schisms have occurred in world history and what did it lead to?
A. It is in the nature of human beings to fight and separate from each other over differences of opinion and policy, and that is unfortunately true inside the church as well. Even the apostles and their disciples experienced these schisms. But persecution from outside the church usually has the opposite effect and brings true believers closer together against the common enemy. I think that will be the case in Ukraine. Those who allow themselves to be controlled by outsiders will be exposed as false priests and prophets, but those who truly share the love of Christ in humility will band together – even across denominational lines – and be strengthened spiritually by their ordeals, and the Lord will bless them for their faith and courage, even if the enemy destroys the buildings and other religious trappings.
Q. Does the secular authorities have the right to interfere in the affairs of the church?
A. The Holy Bible reveals that God established state and church as separate sovereigns ruled by separate leaders: kings and priests. He intended them to be what is called in Western law “co-adjuvants” or cooperating equals over human civilization, both subject to His law above the law. As a practical matter, the state usually dominates public policy making with the church acting as the spirit and conscience that preserves morality and discourages evil. When the partnership fails, it is usually because one sovereign or the other abandons godliness and turns to sin, in which case the other sovereign has some right to interfere to bring correction as part of its duty to God. However, in the present case the state has been given over to sin and is thus very hostile to the church. Because of that it has NO right to interfere with the church, but the church does have the right to interfere in order to redeem the state.
Q. What can be the solution of the religious conflict in Ukraine?
A. I think the only solution to the religious conflict in Ukraine is for strong Christian believers with political skills to infiltrate the government and reform it from within, while Christian-influenced world governments and NGOs apply pressure from without to restore God’s standards of ethics, morality and public service to the regime. I also think the Orthodox Church should directly appeal to the conservative Benjamin Netanyahu government in Israel for intervention, because it is experiencing the same Marxist vs. Religious power struggle in its country as is happening in Ukraine, and it also has a powerful role regarding U.S. policy.
Q. What role does the Russian Orthodox Church play in the world?
A. At the present time, the Russian Orthodox Church is the world’s strongest defender of biblical marriage and the natural family, without which civilization itself will disintegrate. It’s essential leadership in this matter is an encouragement to true Christian believers of every confession around the world, and even to those of other faiths who share the universal truths about normal sexuality and family. Preserving and unifying the people of the world around these foundational truths is, in my opinion, the only way to defeat godless globalism, and I urge the Russian Orthodox Church to be more assertive in its promotion of family-based unity around the world, using its resources to actively campaign for such unity internationally.
