A service for peace in Ukraine was held at St. Nicholas Cathedral in Seoul on Saturday, February 26, 2022.
The Ukrainian Ambassador to Seoul, Dmytro Ponomarenko, and about eighty Ukrainians living in Seoul participated in the service. Also, more than thirty journalists came to cover the event and published many extensive reports.
Read below the press release of the Metropolis of Korea:
The great concern that has caused the world community the possibility of a new war in Europe after 80 years of peace, due to the crisis in Russian-Ukrainian relations, cannot be without the deep concern of the faithful of the Orthodox Metropolis of Korea.
As Orthodox Christians, we absolutely condemn every war, because war is a great sin. Every war is opposed to the Gospel, which teaches us to love our neighbor as ourselves.
In a recent statement, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople said:
“We call for lasting peace, stability, and justice in the region. Peace is a matter of choice and must be pursued by all the forces involved in this extremely complex and sensitive geopolitical context. We all have a duty to pray and actively contribute to the peaceful resolution of conflicts and unconditional respect for and protection of human rights and dignity. Conflict between people may be inevitable in this fallen and shaken world, but we must oppose war and violence with all our might.”
The flock of the Orthodox Metropolis of Korea, consisting of Koreans, Russians, Ukrainians, Greeks, Americans, Europeans, etc., are brothers to each other. A guide to the behavior of all Orthodox believers in Korea, regardless of national and cultural identities, is the teaching of Christ and not political interests.
Today’s prayer at St. Nicholas Cathedral in the Orthodox Metropolis of Korea has no political intentions, but only one purpose: to ask the Lord, the Head of Peace, to enlighten the leaders of both countries, so that love and reason prevail and not hatred and insanity.