"I don't believe in the Ukrainian Crimea. Maybe someone will live to see it. But I don't believe in this mantra that Crimea will ever return. From what I see, I have big and serious doubts," the Metropolitan said.
He said this in an interview with the host of "DetectorUA. Interviewer" Saken Aimurzaev, reports Religiyna Pravda (Religious Truth).
According to him, it is possible and worth praying for the return of Crimea, but he has doubts about whether the Lord wants it.
"It is possible and necessary to pray for this. And then again: we do want it, but does God want it? Our desires are not always approved by God. Perhaps these trials that the Lord gives us, even the most terrible ones, are more useful than what we strive for. Therefore, everything that God gives, he gives to man for good," says Klyment.