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Everyday life in prison part 3
The fact that our Church is going through difficult times is felt by every parishioner. And despite the unprecedented freedom of faith in our country*, we have to state that not many people are ready to publicly declare their affiliation and support for the UOC.
Everyone has their own reasons, but you must admit that it is very strange to see representatives of our Church among volunteers in any place where they sacrificially serve their nation and many give their all to this, but at the same time hide their affiliation with the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.
There is also a similar problem among believers who are ashamed to admit which denomination they attend.
The problem is global, and everyone has their own arguments and reasons to profess their faith in a given situation or not.
But in prison, everything is completely different. To my personal surprise, most prisoners are happy to meet a priest of the "normal church". And this is not because here people have fallen victim to propaganda as well and share the opinions of the telethon and paid experts who believe that our place is in prison! No!
Here I have met many people for whom such places are almost like home, and each of them recalls the times when the presence of a priest in prison as a spiritual mentor was normal, and most importantly, most of the priests were from our Church, which propagandists call the MP (Moscow patriarchy) - like elsewhere, but here it sounds not with a taste of hatred, but rather with memories of the support of an ordinary priest who did not shy away from those who made a mistake and committed a crime or became a victim of a shameful miscarriage of justice.
They are not very interested to hear about the council of bishops in Feofaniya, our position on the prefix "MP" or anything like that. What matters here is the person, his or her humanity, and willingness to understand the prisoner, but not the desire to change him or her.
Here, a candy or some other yummy thing will be a much bigger sermon than hundreds of words.
I remember how in the early days, many people came up to me and asked me to convey their gratitude and bow to Bishop Pavel, who, as they say here, brought "warmth to the prison" before the New Year holidays.
And I was very pleased to see the gratitude to our Church, when many of our faithful sent parcels with various things. Whatever it was, whether it was tea, cookies, or, as in the last case, fans, which were a real salvation for many.
People here know how to be grateful and appreciate those who come with sincere intentions.
Yes, all people are different, especially here, but I am pleased to see that this is not a place where I have to be ashamed of which church I am a representative of.
P.S I am grateful to everyone who does not forget about those who have made mistakes in life or are innocently accused. Do not be ashamed of these people, if they are your loved ones, support them and pray.
BY Сповідник в білих кедах
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