Orthodox Christians throughout the world celebrated Easter this year with their joy muted by the sad fact that a large segment of the faithful are presently engaged in a terrible war in Ukraine. The scandal of Orthodox killing Orthodox during Easter is the antithesis of the meaning of the Easter! There is a growing groundswell of condemnation from religious leaders throughout the world calling upon the religious head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill (Cyril), to condemn the war and call for, at the very least, a ceasefire.
Of special interest is the complicated relationship between Patriarch Kirill and Pope Francis. They met face to face in 2016 in Cuba, the first such meeting between the head of the Russian Orthodox Church and a Bishop of Rome since the Great Schism of 1054 A.D. At this historic meeting, they signed the “Joint Declaration of Pope Francis and Patriarch Kirill,” also and more widely known as the “Havana Declaration.” The 30-point declaration was a joint call by the two bishops for an end to the persecution of Christians in the Middle East and to wars in that region. It also called for the re-establishment of Christian unity among Orthodox and Roman Catholic Christians. The two were slated to meet once again during Pope Francis’ trip this June to the Middle East. They were planning on meeting in Jerusalem.
In an interview with an Argentine daily newspaper, La Nación, Pope Francis shared that the planned meeting in Jerusalem will be canceled due to the war in Ukraine. Pope Francis said, “I am sorry to say that the Vatican has had to suspend a second meeting with the Patriarch Kirill, which we had programmed for June in Jerusalem. But our diplomacy understands that a reunion between the two at this time could give rise to much confusion.”
The Vatican secretary of state, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, said about the planned meeting that Kirill’s recent statements blessing the efforts of the war against Ukraine “do not favor and do not promote an understanding. On the contrary, they risk aggravating spirits even more and going towards an escalation and not resolving the crisis in a peaceful way.”
However, even though the Pope and Patriarch will not be meeting in June, they did have an opportunity to speak face to face by video conference March 16. In his own subtle way, Pope Francis lectured the Patriarch on not using the notion of a “holy war,” adding, “today we cannot speak like this.” He said, “Christian awareness of the importance of peace has developed. We are pastors of the same holy people who believe in God, in the Holy Trinity, in the Holy Mother of God: for this, we must unite in the effort to help peace, to help those who suffer, to seek ways of peace, to stop the fire.”
He added, “Those who pay the bill for the war are the people; it is the Russian soldiers, and it is the people who are bombed and die. The Church must not use the language of politics, but the language of Jesus! Wars are always unjust. … Our hearts cannot help but cry in front of the children, the women killed, all the victims of the war. War is never the way. The Spirit that unites us asks us as pastors to help the peoples who suffer from war.”
Similarly, Patriarch Kirill’s scandalous support for Putin’s invasion of Ukraine has drawn the condemnation of many religious leaders throughout the world.
Some 250 Russian Orthodox priests signed an open letter demanding “the cessation of the fratricidal war in Ukraine, with a call for reconciliation and an immediate ceasefire!”
The Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople remarked that Ukrainian Orthodox bishops subject to Kirill’s authority “see Kirill as the religious leader of the enemy country. They are gradually moving away from the Russian Orthodox Church and joining the new, autocephalous [independent] Church. We are not very happy about this, because it is the result of war. We would like the Russian Church not to show such hostility toward me and to accept our canonical decision.”
A number of voices coming from the World Council of Churches, which represents 580 million Christians worldwide, are calling for Kirill to use his influence with Putin to advocate peace. Some of the leaders are calling for the Russian Orthodox Church to be expelled from the council.
The reports of wholesale slaughter of innocent civilians and the mass exodus of displaced people to neighboring countries cries to heaven for justice.
Father Joseph D. Wallace is diocesan director of Ecumenical and Inter-religious Affairs and pastor of Christ the Redeemer Parish, Atco.
at the bottom and then tap “Add to Home Screen”
