Patriarch Kirill urged the faithful in Ukraine who have separated from his church to return. He said this after the liturgy, noting that the government should not interfere in church affairs.
In Ukraine, “20-plus years there have been difficult political processes, which resulted in the tragic division of the church,” said Kirill.
“In recent years there have been attempts to use political power to resolve the church issue in Ukraine. Today I want to say the following to all the Ukrainian people: the government should not interfere in church affairs, religious issues cannot be solved forcefully,” said the Patriarch. “It is necessary for the church to solve its issues by itself, without relying on any external factors,” said the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church.
According to him, the schism should be overcome by returning to the principles of canonical church life. “Only such unity will be strong and salutary,” said the head of the Russian Orthodox Church.
On February 22, the Synod of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church-Kyivan Patriarchate published an appeal in which it urged the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate and part of the Ukrainian Autocephalous Church to unite in one national Ukrainian Orthodox Church.