ROCOR publishes a statement on war in Ukraine
The bishops wrote they sympathize with those who suffer from the war and stressed the conflict can be overcome only through a life dedicated to repentance and holiness.
The archpastors of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia published a message, in which they made a statement regarding the war in Ukraine, reports the Bulletin of the German Diocese of ROCOR.
The document says that "the bloodshed of war permeates the soil of our fathers' lands, and we sympathize with the torment of our brothers and sisters, whose suffering should be our suffering, while helping them and saving them is our deepest desire."
The hierarchs thanked the clergy and believers "for responding to our calls to help refugees from Ukraine and provide all kinds of help and support."
“However, we have to see further what a terrible price the war turns out to be; we sadly feel the reincarnation of cultures, in which hatred becomes more commonplace, when suspicion and fear supplant love and compassion,” the statement said.
The bishops also wrote that "we can see certain governments pursue political interests more than peace and good for their peoples", and noted that "moral and moral decay is growing everywhere around us."
“Only by rejecting sin do we find peace in Christ, and no matter how great the upheavals in the world around us are, we are called to respond to them as Christians: knowing that the source of all darkness is the sin that lives in us, hence the healing of the world – including even its most terrible conflicts – can come from a life dedicated to true repentance and the feat of holiness," ROCOR believes.
The bishops noted that "those fifteen or more European nations that are part of our dioceses know many conflicts from their own history," but they write, "The unity of the Church is above all conflicts."
“And in times of trial, we also should not, in any case, deviate from this unity. Despite our unworthiness, we will never waver from this task, we will preserve the fullness of this gift of unity within the autonomy of the Church Abroad,” the document says.
Earlier, the UOJ wrote that the Vicar of the ROCOR Diocese of Berlin and Germany, Bishop Job (Bandmann) of Stuttgart said in his interview to the YouTube channel Der Bote ROKA Deutschland that the declaration of independence of the UOC was an inevitable step.
