“Shared have been the struggles to defend Orthodox doctrine, shared the cup of affliction in difficult times, and shared the witness to the Resurrection to the ends of the earth.
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“have journeyed together since the earliest centuries of Christianity
“We have been witnesses to your efforts for the unity of the Church, to your labors and struggles. And what we have seen with our own eyes and heard with our own ears, we testify to today with gratitude,
“every bishop bears witness to Christ Crucified and Risen both among his own flock and among those outside the Church
“every bishop, like every layman, is a witness to Christ crucified and risen, and that this witness has to be everywhere and always—among one’s own flock and among the people outside the bounds of the Church.
“the patience, confession of faith, and faithfulness to Christ of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church will serve as an important example for strengthening future generations of Orthodox believers
“If to others I am not an apostle, at least I am to you; for you are the seal of my apostleship in the Lord. This is my defense to those who would examine me. Do we not have the right to our food and drink? Do we not have the right to be accompanied by a wife, as the other apostles and the brothers of the Lord and Cephas? Or is it only Barnabas and I who have no right to refrain from working for a living? Who serves as a soldier at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard without eating any of its fruit? Who tends a flock without getting some of the milk? Do I say this on human authority? Does not the law say the same? For it is written in the law of Moses, “You shall not muzzle an ox when it is treading out the grain.” Is it for oxen that God is concerned? Does he not speak entirely for our sake? It was written for our sake, because the plowman should plow in hope and the thresher thresh in hope of a share in the crop. If we have sown spiritual good among you, is it too much if we reap your material benefits? If others share this rightful claim upon you, do not we still more? Nevertheless, we have not made use of this right, but we endure anything rather than put an obstacle in the way of the gospel of Christ.
“because every holy bishop is a witness to Christ crucified and risen.
“the parishioners have long been accustomed to a constant struggle for survival and accepted the difficult situation with humility