War in Ukraine is a repetition of the sin of Cain, Russian priest says

The Spanish newspaper El Mundo interviewed Kordochkin (44) last week. News service Actualidad Evangélica made a summary of the interview.

Kordochkin was born in Saint-Petersburg. His wife Alexandra is also Russian but of Ukrainian descent through her father. The couple has two children, aged eighteen and four.

Tension

Kordochkin is the leading prelate of the Russian Orthodox cathedral in the Hortaleza district of Madrid. There live many more Ukrainians (23,352) in the Spanish capital than Russians (4715). Most of the ministers in the parish are also Ukrainian. “When I was assigned this place after studying in England, I didn’t know why God wanted me here, in a mainly Ukrainian community and in a culture that was unfamiliar to me. Now I understand. I needed to be here to help, sympathise and stand beside them in a situation like this.”

The broadly diverse church community lives in tension. Many churchgoers have family in Ukraine and are following developments with bated breath. “I can only emphasise that the whole community would like all this to stop as soon as possible. Everyone will realise that dialogue is the only alternative to violence. A violent solution can never be blessed.”

Pride

According to the cleric, war cannot be justified by appeals to God or men. “This war is diabolical; it is a manifestation of pride and envy.”

In the interview, Kordochkin explains that the war has put him in a difficult position. “In a way, I am not acceptable to Ukrainians, for the simple fact that I am Russian and a priest in the Russian Orthodox Church. On the other hand, everyone knows that I am against this war. I disagree with the official Russian view. Therefore, I have had to make a moral choice.

Now is the time to show no fear, even though I know there is a price to pay. It is quite possible that in due course, I will be prevented from setting foot in my homeland.”

Kordochkin continued: “I do not overestimate my importance. On the other hand, let us not underestimate the wickedness of those who came to power thanks to the communist revolution and who are still sitting on the plush.”

Yellow star

The Russian Orthodox priest also runs a neutral meeting space in Madrid where officials from the Russian embassy come and relatives of citizens who cannot leave Ukraine. “Let this be very clear: we should not despise a person for the simple fact that such a person is Russian. The fact that someone is Russian should never condemn him wearing a yellow star. We must also help the Russians fleeing their country via Armenia and Georgia. Russia seems to be becoming a second North Korea. Its misery is being justified to the greater glory of its leaders.”

This article was published previously in the Dutch Reformatorisch Dagblad on 16 March 2022