What is the stance of the Church and the believer towards corruption?

The Lord Christ calls us to love our enemies and to refrain from condemning others; so the believer should be occupied with sanctifying his own inner depths through clinging to the Holy One, rather than with condemning others. This love is in harmony with the truth. When the servant of the high priest transgressed against the Lord Christ as He neared crucifixion, the Lord Christ objected, saying, “If I have spoken evil, bear witness of the evil; but if well, why do you strike Me?” (John 18:23).

A believer should not flatter at the expense of holiness. A Church that does not interfere in politics and helps its youth to develop a healthy personality cannot accept corruption. It is the right of young people to participate in protests against corruption, so long as it is in a spiritual manner filled with love, with firmness and courage, and without engaging in violence or vandalism. It is also the right of the Church and the faithful not to withdraw into themselves because of the injustice they suffer, but to lobby the authorities in a spirit of respectful dialogue to remedy the injustice from which they suffer, always without any sense of hostility or violence.

The source of a holy life is the holy God, who grants it to those who faithfully and sincerely seek God’s work in them, their family, their neighbors, and all humanity; who strive in prayer, fasting, and love in an exemplary manner. That is why it was said of the servants of the house of the Lord: “They were very able men for the work of the service of the house of God” (1 Chron. 9:13). When Phinehas, the priest, was appointed as chief over all the guards of the house of the Lord, the Holy Bible identified his wonderful secret weapon: “The Lord was with him” (1 Chron. 9:20). Our battle is for deliverance from corruption through continual repentance, and continuous growth through clinging to the Holy One. That is how we recover the lost image of God and attract many souls to receive the Holy God to reign within them.

St. Jacob of Sarug says, “It is not a great thing that we invite you to build a city. Rebuild yourself demolished self, O penitent, that is a great thing. This (soul) is greater than the everything in the world. It is not higher than one place, but higher than all places … To build city walls is not worthy of praise. As for the soul that has fallen to rise again, it is a great honor.”⁷⁹⁰