Epiphanius of Kyiv: Russian missiles and bombs have the blessing of the Head of Russian Orthodox Church Patriarch Kirill
Metropolitan Epiphanius of Kyiv urged the clergy and laity of the communities of the Moscow Patriarchate to follow the tomos that officially recognised and established the Orthodox Church of Ukraine and granted it autocephaly.
Source: Metropolitan Epiphanius’s address
According to Metropolitan Epiphanius: "I reiterate the call of the Holy Synod to the brothers and sisters who are still subordinate to the Moscow Patriarchate: let us unite around Kyiv, let us unite in the Orthodox Church of Ukraine!
Do not wait for Moscow to give you permission or guidance – the missiles and bombs that the Russian military is now dropping on you with the deceptive blessing of Russian Orthodox Church leader Kirill are already providing the answer in the form of ‘Russian peace’.
Your shelled, burned, destroyed temples are the answer. Kirill’s silence on the crimes of the Russian army in Mariupol, Kharkiv, Chernihiv, and dozens of other cities and villages in Ukraine is the answer."
Background:
- According to opinion polls, 63% of Ukrainians support the idea of severing ties between the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (of the Moscow Patriarchate) and the Russian Orthodox Church.
- On 20 March, several parishes of the Moscow Patriarchate in the Lviv region reunited with the Orthodox Church of Ukraine.
- Believers in various Christian denominations have distanced themselves from Russian Orthodoxy and Patriarch Kirill because of his support for Putin’s actions. In particular, some Russian Orthodox Church parishes abroad have severed liturgical ties with Moscow, and there are signs of a split within the church itself.
- The head of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (of the Moscow Patriarchate), Metropolitan Onufriy, has condemned the Russian military invasion of Ukraine on 24 February and supports the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
- The head of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, Epiphanius, has previously told reporters that the killing of Russian occupiers on Ukrainian soil is not a sin.
