Metropolitan Onufriy of the Moscow Patriarchate Church in Ukraine called for the immediate removal of civilians from settlements in the front line of fire.
It is characteristic that Metropolitan Onufriy, from the first moment of the war, took a stand talking about a military attack of Russia against Ukraine, calling on the citizens not to panic, to be courageous, and to pray for the army and the people of Ukraine, while addressing the Russian President Putin, he asked to stop the war.
The fact that he is under the jurisdiction of the Patriarchate of Moscow makes his position even more important, by which he also exposes Patriarch Kirill, who refuses to condemn the bombings and the number 2 of the Russian Church, Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, who has not made a single statement so far about what is happening in Ukraine.
With today’s announcement posted on the Church’s website, Metropolitan Onufriy stressed that “today our country is going through a difficult ordeal, caused by the attack unleashed by the troops of the Russian Federation.
In all the Churches and monasteries of the country, the intensive prayers for the earliest possible peace and the cessation of bloodshed continue.
We call for the peaceful resolution of conflicts through dialogue. War is the worst sin in the world. It forces us to see the other against us not as an image of God, but as an enemy to be killed. Therefore, there is no excuse for those who start wars.”
Metropolitan Onufriy also referred to the tragedy of the civilians, referring to the bombing of “humanitarian infrastructure, such as hospitals, maternity hospitals, schools, orphanages” and to the people who are forced to leave their homes and become refugees.
It is characteristic that in order to prevent even greater sacrifices and suffering for people, “we call on everyone to provide realistic humanitarian corridors for the immediate removal of civilians from settlements in the line of fire, ensuring their safety.”
It also calls on both sides, in the context of human compassion and Christian charity, to “organize the extradition of the wounded to their country and the exchange of prisoners of war”.
He concluded with the wish that the Lord Jesus Christ would preserve the country and its people “and give us the long-awaited peace”.
