His Holiness Patriarch Kirill Appeals to the Entirety of the Russian Orthodox Church on Current Events in Ukraine

His Holiness Patriarch Kirill

Moscow, February 21, 2014

Honorable Archpastors and Pastors, Dear Brothers and Sisters, Children of the Church:

It is with anxiety, pain and alarm that I continue to follow ongoing events in Kiev and other cities of Ukraine. Kiev is the birthplace of a great Orthodox civilization which united the peoples of Holy Rus. Kiev is the city of the One Font of the Baptism, the 1025th anniversary of which we only recently celebrated together with all the Local Orthodox Churches. For me, Kiev is a special, dear city, a city I have often visited, it is a city I love and know well. It is unbearably painful to hear the news of the many casualties in this holy place, of the hundreds of wounded, of the unrest in various regions of Ukraine.

Our entire multi-national Church fervently prays for peace in the Ukrainian land, for the end of civil strife. Our brothers and sisters in Ukraine are suffering one of the most dramatic moments in its history. The future fate of the Ukrainian people depends on what is now happening. So far, thank God, the specter of civil war has been averted. But this scenario may still become manifest. This will occur if the Lord allows people to abandon Divine moral commandments and reject the Christian legacy of Ukraine, if the residents of Ukraine deny respect for self, for each other and for the law.

I would like to thank the representatives of the Ukrainian episcopacy and clergy who, amidst the shouted appeals and slogans of every possible persuasion, have found the inner strength to coherently call the opponents to peace and brotherly love; those who stand firmly for the right of Ukrainians to live in concord with their faith and piety, for the preservation of traditional Ukrainian moral and religious values, the wellspring of which is the Kievan Baptismal Font, which determined the civilized development of Holy Rus.   

With tears of grief from all my heart for the dead, in empathy with their loved ones, suffering together with the wounded, I beseech the pastors and flock of the Russian Orthodox Church to lift up their prayers to the Lord Jesus Christ and His Most-Pure Mother. Let us pray for the repose of our dead brothers and sisters, for the healing of the injured and sick, for the pacification of hardened hearts, for the end of the strife and unrest in Ukraine, that the Lord sends down upon us all the spirit of love, peace, forgiveness and brotherly love in Christ!

+KIRILL,
PATRIARCH OF MOSCOW AND ALL RUSSIA

His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia

2/22/2014

See also
His Holiness Patriarch Kirill addresses the U.N., the European Council, and the OSCE concerning facts of persecution against the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in besieged southeast Ukraine. His Holiness Patriarch Kirill addresses the U.N., the European Council, and the OSCE concerning facts of persecution against the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in besieged southeast Ukraine. His Holiness Patriarch Kirill addresses the U.N., the European Council, and the OSCE concerning facts of persecution against the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in besieged southeast Ukraine. His Holiness Patriarch Kirill addresses the U.N., the European Council, and the OSCE concerning facts of persecution against the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in besieged southeast Ukraine.
In his letter, the Patriarch informed these international organizations of the tragic deaths of a number of clergymen of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church who became victims of the armed internecine conflict. He also directs their attention to outrageous incidents of violence against the clergy of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, and continual attempts to pressure and frighten representatives of the clergy. Church of St. Sergius of Radonezh Damaged By Shelling on Its Feast Day Church of St. Sergius of Radonezh Damaged By Shelling on Its Feast Day Church of St. Sergius of Radonezh Damaged By Shelling on Its Feast Day Church of St. Sergius of Radonezh Damaged By Shelling on Its Feast Day
On July 18, the feast day of the finding of the relics of St. Sergius of Radonezh, a church in honor of St. Sergius of Radonezh in Lugansk on Krasnoznamennskaya Street was damaged during a church service as a result of a shell attack by the Ukrainian army. Tonsure performed at the Lugansk convent during artillery shelling Tonsure performed at the Lugansk convent during artillery shelling Tonsure performed at the Lugansk convent during artillery shelling Tonsure performed at the Lugansk convent during artillery shelling
By the mercy of God, after the tonsure ceremony was over, the cannonade calmed down and did not disturb the silence in the city for the rest of the day and for the following night. His Holiness Patriarch Kirill: There can be no winner in civil war His Holiness Patriarch Kirill: There can be no winner in civil war
His Holiness Patriarch Kirill His Holiness Patriarch Kirill: There can be no winner in civil war His Holiness Patriarch Kirill: There can be no winner in civil war
His Holiness Patriarch Kirill
The results of this bloody conflict are horrifying. Not just a hundred, as in Kiev last winter, but many hundreds of the dead, with thousands injured and left homeless. Only the devil could celebrate such a victory, when brothers attack each other, destroying each other, inflicting mutual injury, and weakening the life forces of a nation. His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia sends a message to Pyotr Poroshenko, president Elect of Ukraine His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia sends a message to Pyotr Poroshenko, president Elect of Ukraine
His Holiness Patriarch Kirill His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia sends a message to Pyotr Poroshenko, president Elect of Ukraine His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia sends a message to Pyotr Poroshenko, president Elect of Ukraine
His Holiness Patriarch Kirill
The task that faces you is difficult and very important. The challenge for you is to find ways and means for reconciliation of the hostile parties and to do anything possible for the restoration of civil peace and accord. I am confident that in the present situation it is necessary to conduct an open dialogue with people and public leaders and heed the opinion of all residents of the country. His Holiness Patriarch Kirill: “One of the most important concerns of our Church today is prayer and work for a resolution to what is currently happening in the Ukraine” His Holiness Patriarch Kirill: “One of the most important concerns of our Church today is prayer and work for a resolution to what is currently happening in the Ukraine”
His Holiness Patriarch Kirill His Holiness Patriarch Kirill: “One of the most important concerns of our Church today is prayer and work for a resolution to what is currently happening in the Ukraine” His Holiness Patriarch Kirill: “One of the most important concerns of our Church today is prayer and work for a resolution to what is currently happening in the Ukraine”
His Holiness Patriarch Kirill
The Church must conduct pastoral work for the care of souls, pray, and make peace between people; but under no circumstances must it serve one or another political view, position, or concept.” This allows the Church to remain outside of a conflict, and carry on its work of bringing peace between the conflicting sides.
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