{"id":1410187,"date":"2022-03-30T13:01:37","date_gmt":"2022-03-30T17:01:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1410187"},"modified":"2022-03-30T13:01:46","modified_gmt":"2022-03-30T17:01:46","slug":"the-worst-sin-in-the-world-the-worlds-orthodox-churches-condemn-russias-war-on-ukraine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/the-worst-sin-in-the-world-the-worlds-orthodox-churches-condemn-russias-war-on-ukraine\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018The Worst Sin In The World\u2019: The World\u2019s Orthodox Churches Condemn Russia\u2019s War On Ukraine"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">30<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fthe-worst-sin-in-the-world-the-worlds-orthodox-churches-condemn-russias-war-on-ukraine%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1410187&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/dw-wp-production.imgix.net\/2022\/03\/Russia.jpg?w=1200&#038;h=800&#038;ixlib=react-9.3.0\" class=\"ff-og-image-inserted\" alt=\"image\" \/><\/div>\n<p>Russian President Vladimir Putin has portrayed himself as a defender of members of the Orthodox Church and traditional Christian values. The West\u2019s legacy media widely reported a <a href=\"https:\/\/news.yahoo.com\/why-russias-church-backing-putins-121428935.html\">defense<\/a> of Russia\u2019s war by His Holiness Kirill, the <a href=\"https:\/\/mospat.ru\/en\/patriarch\/\">patriarch of Moscow and All-Russia<\/a>. Yet at least a dozen Orthodox Church bodies \u2014 including some under the authority of the Russian Orthodox Church \u2014 have condemned Russia\u2019s month-long invasion of Ukraine, a majority Orthodox country. Some Orthodox Christian leaders have gone so far as to call the war \u201cparanoid,\u201d describe this \u201caggression\u201d as the \u201cworst sin in the world,\u201d and to question the sincerity of President Putin\u2019s Christian faith. These statements have received little to no coverage in the Western media.<\/p>\n<p>The <strong>Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople<\/strong>, His All-Holiness Bartholomew I, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ecupatria.org\/2022\/02\/28\/ecumenical-patriarch-bartholomew-end-the-war-now\/\">said<\/a> that Russia\u2019s \u201cunprovoked invasion of Ukraine, an independent and sovereign state,\u201d violated \u201cevery sense of law and morality. \u2026 It is the domination of irrationality over reason, hatred over love, darkness over light, death over life.\u201d He concluded, \u201cWe are certain that the Lord will hear our prayers and will not abandon his beloved children in Ukraine.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Similarly, Archbishop Chrysostomos of <strong>Cyprus<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/churchofcyprus.org.cy\/77680\">condemned<\/a> \u201cthe huge mistake that the Russian president makes to demolish a big country, and he does not care how many souls will depart from this act.\u201d He asked pointedly, \u201cMr. Putin can go to church, repent, put up his cross, commune, but at the same time kill. Is this his Orthodoxy?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The <strong>Patriarch of Alexandria and All-Africa<\/strong>, Theodoros II, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.patriarchateofalexandria.com\/en\/mhnyma-symparastashs-ths-aom-toy-papa-kai-patriarxoy-alexandreias-kk-oeodwroy-b-pros-ton-oykraniko-lao\">blasted<\/a> \u201cthe paranoid war in Ukraine.\u201d He prayed \u201cthat logic will prevail and that the bloodshed will stop immediately \u2026 We sympathize with the innocent victims of the unjust war, we sympathize with those who lost their loved ones, we sympathize with the refugees who have been forced to flee their homes, and we continue to pray for world peace and the stability of the Holy Churches of God.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The <strong>Albanian Orthodox Church<\/strong> posted the <a href=\"https:\/\/orthodoxalbania.org\/2020\/2022\/03\/05\/deklarate-per-shtyp-ne-lidhje-me-situaten-ne-ukraine\/\">statement<\/a> of a Christian organization to which it belongs, which calls \u201cthe war and aggression of Russia against Ukraine\u201d an \u201cunjustified aggression against a sovereign state.\u201d Albanian Orthodox Christians \u201cstrongly condemn the violence and bloodshed against innocent people, which has seriously hurt the hearts and souls of all our believers.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Romanian Orthodox Patriarch<\/strong> Daniel forthrightly <a href=\"https:\/\/basilica.ro\/mesajul-patriarhului-daniel-sa-ajutam-in-continuare-pe-refugiati-sa-ne-rugam-pentru-pace-si-sa-fim-facatori-de-pace\/\">described<\/a> \u201cthe war in Ukraine\u201d as \u201ca war launched by Russia against a sovereign and independent state.\u201d He praised Romanians who assisted Ukrainian refugees pouring across the border, adding, \u201cAt the same time, we are called to increase our prayers to God so that the war may end and there may be peace, so that the refugees may return to their homeland.\u201d He added that Orthodox Christians must not return evil for evil, even during sermons condemning the invasion: \u201cMilitary violence in war should not be imitated by verbal violence, assault, or denigration.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Some may say several of these personalities are associated with Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I, whom former Vice President Al Gore <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/article\/us-climate-patriarch\/orthodox-patriarch-meets-obama-on-u-s-visit-idUSTRE5A25X220091103\">dubbed<\/a> the \u201cGreen Patriarch\u201d and who has <a href=\"https:\/\/www.orthodoxytoday.org\/blog\/2009\/10\/green-patriarch-bartholomew-embraces-leftist-environmental-agenda\/\">associated himself<\/a> with the George Soros-funded Center for American Progress. The patriarchates of Constantinople and Moscow have had a long-simmering feud over primacy and authority, <a href=\"https:\/\/news.yahoo.com\/constantinople-patriarch-visits-ukraine-independence-121408861.html\">not least in Ukraine<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>But the condemnation of Russia\u2019s military assault on Ukraine extends to Orthodox Churches with ties to Moscow, including some tied closely to the Russian Orthodox Church.<\/p>\n<p>One of those bodies is in the United States: the <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/oca.org\/\">Orthodox Church in America<\/a><\/strong>, which <a href=\"https:\/\/www.oca.org\/history-archives\/tomos-of-autocephaly\">received its autocephaly<\/a> from the Moscow Patriarchate in 1970. \u201cI ask that the hostilities be ceased immediately and that President Putin put an end to the military operations,\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/www.oca.org\/holy-synod\/statements\/his-beatitude-metropolitan-tikhon\/statement-on-war-in-ukraine\">wrote<\/a> Metropolitan Tikhon, Archbishop of Washington, D.C., and all America. \u201cAs Orthodox Christians, we condemn violence and aggression.\u201d A snap collection by the OCA took up <a href=\"https:\/\/www.oca.org\/news\/headline-news\/ukrainian-refugee-appeal-ends\">$650,000<\/a> for the suffering people of Ukraine.<\/p>\n<p>The <strong>Patriarch of Georgia<\/strong>, known as the Catholicos, Ilia II <a href=\"https:\/\/patriarchate.ge\/news\/2927\">lamented<\/a>, \u201cUnfortunately, Russian-led hostilities continue in Ukraine, costing thousands of lives.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Council of Bishops of the <strong>Polish Orthodox Church<\/strong> issued a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.orthodox.pl\/uchwala-soboru-biskupow-ws-wojny-w-ukrainie\/\">statement<\/a> on March 22 <a href=\"https:\/\/orthochristian.com\/145301.html\">saying<\/a>, \u201cUkraine and all people of peace are in great pain; brotherly blood is being spilled, as was the blood of Abel in the murder committed by his brother Cain,\u201d it said. \u201cAs in the Old Testament, and today God calls out to all participates in hostilities:\u00a0<em>The voice of thy brother\u2019s blood crieth unto<\/em>\u00a0<em>Me from the ground<\/em>\u00a0(<a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/passage\/?search=Gen.+4%3A10&#038;version=kjv\">Gen. 4:10<\/a>).\u201d Metropolitan Sawa of Warsaw also sent a letter to ask Patriarch Kirill of Moscow \u201cto raise your Patriarchal voice, that the war taking place in Ukraine, carried out by the Russian army, might come to an end. \u2026 Knowing the power of your spiritual authority, we believe that your voice will be heard.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>This ignores five church bodies that are part of the Moscow Patriarchate itself:<\/p>\n<p><strong>The Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate)<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201cToday, our country is going through a difficult ordeal caused by the attack on our country by the troops of the Russian Federation,\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/news.church.ua\/2022\/03\/10\/zayava-ukrajinskoji-pravoslavnoji-cerkvi-vid-10-bereznya-2022-roku\/\">wrote<\/a> Onufriy, Metropolitan of Kyiv and all Ukraine. \u201cWar is the worst sin in the world.\u00a0It forces us to look at another person not as an image of God, but as an enemy to be killed.\u00a0Therefore, there is no excuse for those who start wars.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The statement highlights civilian sufferings and praises Ukrainian soldiers. \u201cUnfortunately, a large number of civilians died during these few days, including the elderly, women and children;\u00a0humanitarian infrastructure was destroyed \u2013 hospitals, maternity hospitals, schools, orphanages;\u00a0and the survivors are forced to leave their homes and even the country to save their lives, becoming refugees and displaced persons,\u201d wrote Metropolitan Onufriy. \u201cUkrainian servicemen, in carrying out their oath and duty to defend the Motherland, were unfortunately wounded or taken prisoner.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He seemed to close with a plea for Ukrainian victory. \u201cWe believe that our Lord Jesus Christ, through the intercession of His Immaculate Mother, will preserve our country and its God-loving people.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>The Orthodox Metropolis of Lithuania<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The Orthodox presence in Lithuania, which is largely Russian-speaking, said all Christians must pray for an end to Russia\u2019s war of aggression. \u201cAn honest man and a God-fearing Christian cannot look dispassionately at what is happening. The voice of his conscience cries to Heaven, his prayer is directed to God, to whom the One belongs judgment, and to whom those who brought grief to the people of Ukraine, suffering to mothers, tears to relatives and friends, death and destruction, mass exodus from their country will answer.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe strongly condemn Russia\u2019s war against Ukraine and pray to God for its early termination,\u201d Metropolitan Innokenty <a href=\"https:\/\/www.orthodoxy.lt\/novosti\/3615-obrashenie-mitropolita-vilenskogo-i-litovskogo-innokentiya\">noted<\/a>. \u201cAs you may have already noticed,\u00a0Patriarch Kirill and\u00a0I have\u00a0different political views and perceptions of current events. His political statements about the war in Ukraine are his personal opinion. We in Lithuania disagree with this.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe live in a free, democratic country. Lithuania is not Russia,\u201d he said. For 30 years, the Orthodox Church in Lithuania \u201cwithout hesitation, strongly sided with the Lithuanian people, for the independence of their state. The position of the Orthodox Church remained absolutely unchanged. It can\u2019t be otherwise.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He added that the church in Lithuania will \u201ccontinue to strive for even greater church independence\u201d from Moscow.<\/p>\n<p><strong>The Orthodox Metropolis of Latvia<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Metropolitan Alexander of Riga and All Latvia <a href=\"http:\/\/www.pareizticiba.lv\/index.php?newid=9438\">said<\/a> that \u201cthe Latvian Orthodox Church, its clergy, monastics and laity pray for an end to aggression, for \u2018softening evil hearts,\u2019 for reconciliation, an end to bloodshed and for peace.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe believe that the solution of issues of international relations by military means is unacceptable. These issues should be resolved peacefully, through negotiations, not through military action and aggression. Military action is the most ruthless phenomenon.\u201d The One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church preaches \u201cabout love, about peace, about mercy, about compassion, about mutual respect, not accepting vindictiveness and vengeance.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe want to remind you,\u201d Metropolitan Alexander continued, \u201cthat Orthodox Russian-speaking Latvians are patriotic and loyal to Latvia and are not responsible for the actions of other states.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Russian Orthodox Churches in Europe<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Metropolitan Jean of Doubna<\/strong> is the archbishop of the Orthodox Churches of Russian Tradition in Western Europe, which the Moscow Patriarchate <a href=\"http:\/\/www.patriarchia.ru\/db\/text\/5508653.html\">accepted<\/a> into its fold in October 2019. Yet that close relationship did not stop Metropolitan Jean from issuing a scathing <a href=\"https:\/\/archeveche.eu\/lettre-ouverte-a-sa-saintete-cyrille-patriarche-de-moscou\/\">open letter<\/a> to the patriarch on March 9, which read in part:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p><em>On behalf of all the faithful of our Archdiocese, I turn to you to raise your voice as Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church against this monstrous and senseless war and intercede with the authorities of the Russian Federation to put an end as soon as possible this murderous conflict that until so little time ago seemed unthinkable between two peoples and two nations united by centuries \u2026<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Your Holiness, in your \u201chomeship\u201d for Forgiveness Sunday, pronounced in the patriarchal cathedral of Christ the Savior on March 6, you suggest that you justify this war of cruel and murderous aggression as \u201ca metaphysical fight\u201d,\u00a0in the name\u00a0of\u00a0\u201cthe\u00a0right to stand\u00a0on the side of the light, on the side of God\u2019s truth, what the light of Christ, his word, his Gospel reveals to us\u2026\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>With all due respect to you, and from which I did not give up, but also with infinite pain, I must bring to your attention that I cannot subscribe to such a reading of the Gospel. Nothing can ever justify that the \u201cgood shepherds\u201d that we must be transferred to be \u201cpeacemakers\u201d and this regardless of the circumstances.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Your Holiness, humbly, with a tight heart, I beg you to do everything possible to put an end to this appalling war that divides the world and sows death and destruction.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><strong>Holy Autonomous Orthodox Church of Japan<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The Church of Japan grew out of the work of a Russian missionary, <a href=\"http:\/\/ocafs.oca.org\/FeastSaintsViewer.asp?FSID=100419\">St. Nicholas of Japan<\/a>, and its leadership is still <a href=\"https:\/\/orthodoxwiki.org\/Church_of_Japan\">confirmed<\/a> by the Moscow Patriarchate. Yet the church\u2019s leadership implored Patriarch Kirill to counsel Vladimir Putin to end his invasion of Ukraine. After noting in his March 27 letter to Patriarch Kirill that the Church of Japan is \u201cunder the protection of Your Holiness,\u201d\u00a0Archbishop Daniel of Tokyo, <a href=\"https:\/\/orthodoxjapan.jp\/pdf\/20220329-en.pdf\">wrote<\/a>, \u201cWe fervently ask Your Holiness to exert your spiritual and ecclesiastical power to the uttermost, so as to work for the reconciliation and resolution of the conflict between our brothers as soon as possible.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>These statements seem to have generated less coverage in the West\u2019s legacy media than the personal stray remarks of Patriarch Kirill. It should be clear his words are not the normative position of the world\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.learnreligions.com\/eastern-orthodox-church-denomination-700624\">second-largest church<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><i>The views expressed in this opinion piece are the author\u2019s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Russian President Vladimir Putin has portrayed himself as a defender of members of the Orthodox Church and traditional Christian values. The West\u2019s legacy media widely reported a defense of Russia\u2019s<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":76,"featured_media":2315279,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1410187","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1410187","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/76"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1410187"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1410187\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2315279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1410187"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1410187"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1410187"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}