In the latest sign of the strain that the Ukraine war is putting on the global Orthodox community, Amsterdam’s Russian Orthodox parish has formally asked for canonical permission to break away from Moscow and to join the Orthodox Patriarchate of Constantinople.
The head of the independent Orthodox Church of Ukraine challenged the international community to “take action so that Russia immediately stops the barbaric ruination of Ukrainian cities, villages and their population.”
As Ukrainians turn to their faith amid the ongoing tragedy of Russia’s invasion of their nation, many who follow both the Orthodox and Catholic traditions will look to an unusual icon of Mary as a symbol of the solace they seek.
Catholic and Orthodox leaders in Europe have appealed to Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill of Moscow, urging him to convince Russian President Vladimir Putin to put an end to the bloodshed in Ukraine.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24 prompted many commentators to focus on critiquing strategies and predicting side-effects like higher U.S. gas prices. Catholics were among the global voices providing broader viewpoints — such as Christ’s call for peacemaking, compassion, and justice — to help understand the evolving crisis.
As Pope Francis and Catholics throughout the world did on Ash Wednesday, March 2, Washington Cardinal Wilton D. Gregory prayed and expressed solidarity with the people of Ukraine as they are enduring a brutal Russian military invasion of their country.
Argentine Cardinal Leonardo Sandri, the head of the Vatican’s office for Eastern Churches, called Russia’s military action against Ukraine an “unjustified invasion” and a “senseless war.”
The Ukrainian Catholic Archdiocese of Kyiv-Halych and the Ukrainian Embassy to the Holy See said they had received information that Russia planned airstrikes on the Cathedral of St. Sophia in Kyiv.
Eight Catholic bishops in England — including a Ukrainian Catholic bishop — have asked the British government to work for a swift resolution of the war in Ukraine and to act to help refugees from the conflict.
As palm fronds burned in a crackling fire at the Franciscan Monastery of the Holy Land in Washington, Atonement Father Jim Gardiner called attention to a more sinister fire burning in another part of the world.
