Khmelnytskyi Region bishops and OCU member call on parishioners to peace

Entrance to the Khmelnytsky region. Photo: vsim

The ruling hierarchs of the UOC in the Khmelnytskyi Region – Metropolitan Theodore, Metropolitan Yevseviy, Archbishop Victor, as well as the representative of the OCU "bishop" Pavel Yuristy, have signed an appeal to their flocks, in which they indicated that war is a "manifestation of a hidden spiritual ailment – hatred," and urged not to use hate speech towards each other. The statement was published on the website of the Khmelnytskyi Military Administration (RMA).

The text states that "the Russian Federation began a bloody, brutal war against the Ukrainian people, treacherously invading the territory of a sovereign state," and "a particular pain for us is that this war was supported by Patriarch Kirill of the ROC, speculating on the concept of the so-called 'Russian world'."

The signatories remind that "killing, without which there is no war, has always been considered by Christianity as a grave crime against God."

"For us, it is unbearable pain that violent actions, evil, and murders are mainly carried out by our fellow believers – Orthodox Christians, members of the ROC," the text says.

The hierarchs and the representative of the OCU write that "our confessions must exist in peace and respect."

"The practice of reconciliation between Orthodox jurisdictions exists in several countries around the world, and their positive experience should serve as an example of moderation and the triumph of the main Christian virtue – love above all other divisions of this world, because Christ definitely bequeaths us: 'By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another' (John 13:35). In our opinion, the dialogue between Orthodox jurisdictions should take place against the backdrop of the cessation of clashes of representatives of different views in places that are sources of conflict situations, with the realization that the unity of the Church is a special gift, which we always ask God for," the text says.

Earlier, UOJ reported that the Khmelnytsky Eparchy of the UOC had provided another assistance to the soldiers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

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