The main Crimean Filaret member debunked anti-Soviet horror stories
The schismatic Ukrainian “Metropolitan of Simferopol and Crimea” Kliment, who today is a representative of the newly created OCU, recalls with nostalgia his Soviet childhood and assures that there was no persecution of churchmen during the USSR.
He spoke about this on the NASH TV channel, a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
According to Clement, his childhood was “ideally happy.”
“My childhood was ideally happy. I was the happiest child. For many years, I had the opportunity twice a year, there was such a youth tourism organization “Sputnik”. So, in the spring and summer I traveled around the cities of the Soviet Union for free. Therefore, from the 5th grade to the 10th grade, I traveled to 15 cities of the Soviet Union. Therefore, I think that my childhood was very happy,” said Clement.
He also rejected claims that believers were persecuted during the Soviet years.
“When they tell me that during the Soviet Union it was impossible to go to church, there were persecutions - I don’t know. I was a schoolboy, I went to church, no one chased me. I studied at the institute, I also went to church. I think so - those who wanted, those who had an interest, those whose family had at least some foundations of Orthodox religious culture, these people could not help but go to the cathedral, they went regardless of whether it was forbidden or not was prohibited,” said the Crimean schismatic.
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