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European archbishops call Kirill to end the war

18-10-2022

European Union

CNE.news

Russian President Vladimir Putin (l.) and Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Kirill (r.). Photo EPA, Alexei Druzhinin

Use your influence to get President Putin to stop the war in Ukraine. That is the message of the open letter fourteen European bishops sent to the Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill.

The European church leaders belong to an association of Anglican and Lutheran churches in Great Britain, Ireland, the Iberian Peninsula, the Nordics and the Baltics. They express their horror about the “renewed systematic attacks against civilians and local infrastructure”, Dagen reports. In their open letter, they argued on Thursday that these attacks violate human rights and the Geneva Convention.

The bishops urge Kirill to do his “utmost to convince the President of Russia to cease these attacks and end the war immediately.” “For the sake of everyone, including the soldiers and their families in Russia, we appeal to your Holiness to do everything in your power to bring this war to an end.”

The letter is written in a polite tone, and the authors promise to pray for Kirill on this matter.

Invincible

Until now, Patriarch Kirill has openly and fervently expressed his support for the Russian invasion of Ukraine. He even compared fallen Russian soldiers to martyrs and promised they would go to heaven. The head of the Russian Orthodox Church was also in favour of partial mobilisation.

According to the Russian Patriarch, it is primarily the West that shows signs of decline. That is reported by Interfax. He points out that churches are being closed in Europe everywhere and even rented out to casinos and restaurants. “This testifies to the deepest spiritual decline”, the Patriarch lamented Sunday. “And if this happens, civilisation is not viable.” He added that Russia is invincible because “it is impossible to correlate the strength of spirit of a people who believe in God and love their Homeland with the conditional strength of those who have relaxed in comfort and only move by one aspiration to get more money and spent it better.”

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