The Church should pray intensely for an end to the confrontation between Russia and Ukraine, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia said on Wednesday, March 9, after the Liturgy at the Cathedral of Christ the Savior:
“We cannot act otherwise than to pray for peace and try to reduce the degree of confrontation, the degree of emotional political discussions, often overstepping the bounds of decency.”
The Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church stressed that everything must be done to “conciliate and pacify hearts so that the enemy of the human race does not manage to destroy our spiritual unity, around which the religious and cultural life of our united people – Russians and Ukrainians was formed.”
The Patriarch spoke about those who are responsible for inciting confrontation within a single people: “God is their judge, and He will punish them,” and encouraged everyone to not talk about them, but about themselves:
“I encourage all of you, my dear ones, first of all, to intensify your prayer so that all military confrontation between Russia and Ukraine will end, so that our people will once again be able to realize the existence of common spiritual roots and common spiritual strength, which is our undivided Church, which is in Russia, Ukraine and other countries,” His Holiness Patriarch Kirill said.
He also urged everyone to pray fervently for Metropolitan Onuphry of Kiev and All Ukraine, for the Ukrainian episcopate, for the entire Church so that “no temptations could destroy the spiritual unity that our ancestors found when leaving the Kiev Baptismal Font.”
In the current situation, as the Primate noted, Russians, Ukrainians and Belarusians need to maintain “spiritual unity, not to allow the division of our Church.”
And therefore, our one Church, whether in Russia, in Ukraine, or in other countries, must today pray for peace, for an end to internecine strife, as St. Sergius did, as our Russian Church did when Russian princes entered into internecine strife destroying each other,” His Holiness Patriarch Kirill added.
In conclusion, he emphasized that the Church would not follow the path “to which we are called upon, provoking the involvement of the Church in the conflict.”
“We will follow the path of St. Sergius and pray for the unity of Holy Russia, so that no forces can divide our people and, of course, that no forces can divide our Church,” His Holiness Patriarch Kirill concluded.
Translated by pravmir.com
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