His Beatitude Metropolitan Epiphanius: "Neither a powerful weapon nor an indomitable spirit can lead to victory alone, without each other - only the combination of these two factors leads to success."
The granting of the Tomos of autocephaly to the Orthodox Church of Ukraine at the beginning of January 2019 became one of the most important events for our state in the second decade of the new millennium. The russian orthodox church, which in recent years has actually turned into a branch of the Federal Security Service (FSB) and the administration of the president of the russian federation, has lost jurisdiction over the canonical territory of Ukraine. The first consequence of this was a rapid decrease in its influence on Ukrainian citizens, that is, the autocephaly of Ukrainian Orthodoxy played the role of an important factor in strengthening national security in its humanitarian dimension. His Beatitude Metropolitan Epiphanius, Primate of the Orthodox Church in Ukraine, became one of the most respected and influential figures not only in the Ukrainian religious environment, but also among Ukrainian politicians and public figures. He became one of those who are called the moral authorities of the nation. Therefore, his meetings and communication not only with believers, but also with representatives of various segments of Ukrainian society are always important and interesting both for them and for the clerics of OCU.
On July 23, His Beatitude Metropolitan Epiphanius visited Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute. The purpose of his visit was to celebrate the eighth anniversary of the consecration of the university church in the name of Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker.
It is worth reminding that the church of Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker was built in 2014 at the expense of patrons. This is how the university returned to its ancient tradition, because from the very beginning of its existence there had been a church on the territory, which was destroyed by the bolsheviks in 1935. Therefore, the newly built church became a symbol of departure from the aggressive atheism of the soviet union, when one part of society forcibly imposed its views on another. Quite quickly, the Church of Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker became an important part of the life of many Kyiv polytechnicians: services are held here, weddings are held here, new-born children are baptised here, and funeral services for heroes who gave their lives in the war against rashists’ aggression are also performed here. Moreover, on the principal front of the church building there is a plaque with the names of ten polytechnicians who died for the independence of Ukraine. And two monuments have been installed on the territory of the church: to the Heavenly Hundred Heroes and to the students of Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute who died during the Revolution of Dignity and in the battles in the east of Ukraine.
His Beatitude Metropolitan Epiphanius held a service and presented the church with a unique icon of the Protection of the Most Holy Mother of God, painted on a bullet box handed over from the front line. And then, near the monuments to the Kyiv polytechnicians who gave their lives for the freedom and independence of Ukraine, the Metropolitan served a Requiem service for the fallen heroes and awarded church awards "For Sacrifice and Love to Ukraine'' (pictured) to the university employees and teachers - the defenders of the Motherland. Ten of them were awarded posthumously...
The second part of Metropolitan Epiphanius's visit began with a tour of the Walk of Eminent Scientists, commemorating scholars whose lives and activities were connected with Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute, and of the exposition of the Borys Paton State Polytechnic Museum. And then a meeting with the representatives of the university community took place in the hall of the Administrative Council of Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute.
"The visit of the Primate of the local Orthodox Church of Ukraine His Beatitude Metropolitan of Kyiv and All Ukraine Epiphanius to Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute is, without exaggeration, a significant event for the university. Because it is very important for us to synchronise our value orientations, - said the rector of the university, Michael Zgurovsky, opening the meeting. - And communication with His Beatitude Epiphanius and the holy fathers is extremely important for us in this regard."
The beginning of the conversation was devoted to moral values and their role in the life of every citizen especially in wartime, and particularly in the activities of engineers and scientists.
"Let's recall the relatively recent times, when state atheism reigned and science and artificial religion were opposed to each other. Even now, we see that such views are widely spread in the world. One of the clear consequences of such an opposition is the disdain, marginalising moral choice in the work of a scientist, a researcher or a designer: there is a need, there is a task to develop something, and it seems to justify everything. In such a picture of the world, the moral component is devalued, perceived as optional and unimportant, - stressed His Beatitude Metropolitan Epiphanius, addressing the participants of the meeting. - But the russian aggression against Ukraine, the daily suffering of our people from this war and its consequences once again raise the question of human moral responsibility. Every missile, every plane, every artillery system that brings death to Ukrainians was invented, designed and manufactured by someone. And this fact raises the question, what is the spiritual responsibility of a scientist, inventor, designer for the fruits of their labours, if those fruits serve the totalitarian regime..." So, he reminded that although it was not given to anybody to predict the consequences of each of their actions comprehensively, there were at least two things that were humanly possible: the opportunity to develop the ability to moral evaluation of one's activities, and praying God to do so that the consequences of what was done were never turned in favour of evil.
He also shared his thoughts on the deep and inextricable connection between the spiritual and material aspects of human existence: "Scientific and technological progress puts in our defenders’ hands better weapons to fight the aggressor. At the same time, experience suggests one obvious truth: neither the number, nor, even, the quality and power of weapons cannot replace the indomitable spirit of our people and its internal motivation in the fight for truth, for freedom, for the homeland and the future." However, at the same time, according to the words of Metropolitan Epiphanius, it should be understood that neither a powerful weapon nor an indomitable spirit can lead to victory alone, without each other - only the combination of these two factors leads to success. "That is why spiritual and moral educational factors are so important in the life and development of your university. Although Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute is a scientific and educational institution of a technical direction, and not purely humanitarian, and certainly not theological, but without a spiritual component, the mission of a technical university cannot be crowned with a real success. Therefore, Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute's ties with our local Orthodox Church of Ukraine, our regular meetings, the implementation of various cooperation programs are, in my opinion, a significant contribution in providing exactly the kind of an approach - a holistic, comprehensive approach to scientific work, to teaching and educational process," - he emphasised.
Another important field of concern of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, about which its Primate told the participants of the meeting, is social service: "Our churches, our communities have become humanitarian hubs. Moreover, we also work at the international level." He said that now the OCU also participates in meeting the needs of our military, and, moreover, in conducting negotiations regarding the allocation of additional weapons to us together with other religious organisations of Ukraine. The latter, by the way, according to him, quite surprises our Western partners.
Of course, the topics discussed by the participants of the meeting did not only concern moral, ethical and religious problems. It has to be said, Metropolitan Epiphanius dwellt at length on the tasks that Ukraine would face after its victory in this war. After all, it was clear that the pace of recovery and further development of the country would highly depend on the development of science and technology. "The potential of Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute as a scientific and educational centre in this regard is simply invaluable," - he noted. As if to confirm his words, two video films were shown to the participants of the meeting - about the work of university students and scientists to create new equipment for the defence needs of Ukraine, and about the Space Program of Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute, its achievements and projects on which polytechnicians were currently working. They were supported by the speeches of the participants of the meeting.
Commenting on the results of the meeting for "KP", the Primate of the OCU said that a cooperation agreement between the Kyiv Orthodox Theological Academy and Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute was signed, which would allow to carry out certain joint projects, primarily humanitarian, and inspire modern Ukrainian youth to creation and materialising the latest ideas and developments, as well as to work in Ukraine and for Ukraine.
The Orthodox Church of Ukraine awarded ten Kyiv polytechnicians for their beneficence and love for Ukraine during their lifetime and posthumously. During the Revolution of Dignity and the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, 26 polytechnicians died.
Representatives of the academic community and the Kyiv Orthodox Theological Academy discussed issues of cooperation.