Metropolitan Anthony explains how Christians should take elections
It is important to remain clear-headed and humane to each other and remember that you should not rely too much on the temporal power on earth, the hierarch noted.
Politics and emotions don’t have to stand side by side if we are to remain Christians, said Metropolitan Anthony (Pakanich) of Boryspil and Brovary, the UOC Chancellor, before the local elections to be held in Ukraine in the coming days. The hierarch’s arguments about the Christian attitude towards elections were published by the portal “Orthodox Life”.
Vladyka noted that politics, whether we like it or not, affects everyone in one way or another.
“At the same time, it is often very difficult for us to restrain our emotions,” he added. “Sometimes we are divided not only by opposing political views but also by burning hatred. Is it worth explaining how killing this passion is? And yet, in the days of special political activity, it is difficult to protect oneself from it if you stop controlling your feelings and let everything take its course.”
He explained that if we unleash our feelings, this entails many problems: rash excitement about a certain candidate and subsequent severe disappointment, insane interest in political trends, due to which we “begin to see the enemy in our neighbours – sometimes even among friends and family members”.
The reason for such problems, according to Metropolitan Anthony, is that we do not control our emotions, and therefore “a clear-head is more important here than ever”.
“If we choose candidates, then our selection criteria should not be promises but concrete deeds,” he said. “We must consider a person’s attitude to the Church, whether he can keep his word, how moral he is and how independent he is in making decisions. And no emotions should close our eyes. In general, politics and emotions should not stand side by side if we want to remain Christians.”
In addition, the bishop believes, it is also important not to forget that life is temporary, and therefore we should not rely too much on earthly power, and “in all our hopes we must rely first of all on the Lord, and with Him we fear nothing.”
“But the most important thing is that no matter what happens, no matter what events grab us, we must always remain humane to each other, we must always remain Christians,” resumed the UOC Chancellor.
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