Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill of Moscow has thwarted efforts by Pope Francis to speak with Russian President Vladimir Putin amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Ukrainian Archbishop Borys Gudziak said on March 15.
Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill
Kyiv Mayor Invites Pope to Visit as Sign of Solidarity, Witness for Peace
Mayor Vitali Klitschko of Kyiv, Ukraine’s besieged capital, has invited Pope Francis and other religious leaders to come to the city and witness for peace.
Patriarch’s Support For Putin’s War Fueling Russian Orthodox Rift
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.
Orthodox Patriarch Blames Ukraine War on Western ‘Russophobia’
Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill, responding to a request that he intervene with Russia’s leaders to end the war in Ukraine, accused the west of disregarding Russia’s security concerns and stoking tensions between the two countries in a bid to weaken Russia.