WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 24th February, 2022) The Russian Orthodox Church Abroad (ROCOR) regrets the current situation in Ukraine and urges politicians to resolve it peacefully, Vice President of ROCOR's Synod of Bishops Metropolitan of Berlin and Germany Mark (Arndt) told Sputnik.
"We treat this situation in Ukraine with great sadness and call on our believers to pray. We also urge those in power to settle down and try to resolve issues through negotiations, and not by military means," the metropolitan said.
The hierarch underscored that many ROCOR parishioners are of Ukrainian heritage, and the church has never made a difference between them and Russians. He also noted that many of the first ROCOR leaders had Ukrainian roots.
"We have never separated Russia and Ukraine, it never even crossed our minds," Mark said. "Such issues began arising only after World War II, particularly in Munich, when a group of Ukrainians founded their own 'church.'" However, he added that this has never been a case within the ROCOR.
The metropolitan expressed regret that a few ROCOR parishioners, particularly those who recently arrived from Ukraine, have joined the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, supported by the Constantinople Patriarchate as opposed to the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate.
Those people made their choice on a nationalist basis, he added.
In a separate statement, European hierarchs of the ROCOR, including Metropolitan Mark, urged politicians and believers to remember ongoing Great Lent when Orthodox Christians should maintain deep prayer.
"Armed conflicts always lead to great suffering of innocent people - especially children and the elderly," the statement read.
The ROCOR unites Russians, Ukrainians, Belarusians and other peoples regardless of political systems, it added.
Hierarchs declined to take the role of judges but said they could not agree with what they call the extremely one-sided description of the situation by Western media.
"We fervently prayed and pray for the appeasement of human souls in the lands of Ukraine - for the softening of hearts and for the wisdom of all those who are now directly responsible for the fate of people in Europe, embracing Ukraine, (and) Russia with Belarus," the hierarchs said.
The situation in Donbas has escalated in recent days, with the self-proclaimed Luhansk and Donetsk people's republics (DPR and LPR) reporting increased shelling by the Ukrainian government forces and ordering general mobilization in anticipation of an offensive by the Ukrainian army. The evacuation of Donbas citizens, first of all women, children and the elderly, to Russia began late last week.
On Monday, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed decrees recognizing the independence of the DPR and LPR. Under new treaties, Moscow pledged to ensure the security of the two Russian-speaking republics. On Thursday, Putin declared the start of a military operation after the two republics asked for help in countering aggression from the Ukrainian government forces.
The move has elicited condemnation from Western leaders and the start of still more sanctions.
The Russian Defense Ministry says that Ukrainian civilians are not in danger, with the operation targeting military infrastructure only.
