Kiev, May 12, 2022
Photo: news.church.ua
The Holy Synod of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church met for the first time since the start of the fratricidal war in late February at the Kiev Caves Lavra yesterday, under the chairmanship of His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry of Kiev and All Ukraine.
As OrthoChristian reported yesterday, the Synod has initiated an eventual meeting of the hierarchs, clergy, monastics, and faithful of the UOC to discuss wartime issues of Church life.
The Synod also made a number of other important decisions, including establishing a new monastery in the Simferopol Diocese, and electing three new vicar bishops.
The hierarchs issued a statement, focusing on the UOC’s support for Ukraine and its armed forces, the ongoing persecution against the UOC, and the aforementioned meeting of all UOC members.
Concerning its position on the war in Ukraine, the Synod states:
For almost three months, the Ukrainian people have been courageously defending themselves from the military attack of the Russian Federation, which has invaded the territory of our sovereign and independent state. Every day this brutal war takes the lives of sons and daughters of Ukraine. The flame of war has pierced the heart of every citizen, and thousands of families have felt the burning pain of this terrible tragedy. More than five and a half million Ukrainians were displaced.
The Ukrainian Orthodox Church immediately condemned the military aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine and steadfastly stressed that war is a great sin. Therefore, our Church has repeatedly called for an end to the bloodshed and, starting the negotiation process, to resolve the conflict with the help of words, not weapons. Unfortunately, attempts at peaceful negotiations did not bring the desired result. On the contrary, today rocket and bomb attacks have covered almost the entire territory of our homeland. The Ukrainian Orthodox Church fully shares the pain and suffering of the Ukrainian people. 14 out of 53 dioceses of our Church suffer from the fighting. On the territory of these dioceses there are more than 3,000 parishes and 62 monasteries, where 3,500 priests and almost 2,000 monks and nuns continue to carry out their ministry even at the risk of their lives. But despite such difficult circumstances, we are confident that Ukraine will survive and preserve its statehood. The prayer of our episcopate, clergy, monastics, and laity about this is raised up in all churches and monasteries. The Ukrainian Orthodox Church supports and will continue to support the defenders of Ukraine and will provide charitable assistance to those in need. We sincerely believe that the Lord will bless the Ukrainian land and its God-loving people with peace…
At this difficult time, when our homeland and our Church are suffering from war, and our courageous soldiers are defending the statehood of Ukraine, we must all unite for the sake of victory. We call on everyone to pray intensely for Ukraine and its authorities, for our servicemen and the long-suffering people. May the All-Merciful Lord bless our earthly homeland with peace, that we might with one mind and one mouth glorify God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ (Rom. 15:6).
Met. Onuphry issued a statement on the first day of war, calling for the fervent prayers of the faithful, and entreating Russian President Vladimir Putin to stop what the Ukrainian primate termed the “fratricidal war.”
The Ukrainian Synod issued a similar statement a few days later, calling on Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky, Russian President Vladimir Putin, and Patriarch Kirill of Moscow to do everything possible to bring an end to the war in Ukraine.
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