On March 21, 2022, leaders of various denominations and religions gathered in Jerusalem in front of the Russian Cathedral of the Holy Trinity to pray for peace and call on Moscow's Patriarch Kirill to do everything possible to stop the war.
A statement from the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem said the event was initiated by the Interfaith Center for Sustainable Development and the Elijah Interfaith Institute. Representatives of the Latin Patriarchate, the Anglican and Melchizedek Greek Catholic Churches, Judaism and Islam were among the participants.
At the invitation of Rabbi Yonatan Neril, director of the Interfaith Center for Sustainable Development, some of the attendees shared their views on the situation in Ukraine.
"The life given by God is sacred. In the murder of these people, we see the murder of Jesus Christ. We must unite our voices so that world leaders can awaken and end this war and this bloodshed," said Sheikh Mouwfak Tarif, a spiritual leader of Israel's friendly community.
Rabbi Alon Goshen-Gottstein prayed to God to support the faith of the Ukrainian and Russian peoples, and the rector of the Swedish Theological Institute Karin Ekblom shared his thoughts on being a peacemaker.
Latin Patriarch Pierbattista Pizzaballa explained that the event was aimed at expressing solidarity and prayerful unity with the people of Ukraine. "We are not against anyone, but the pictures we see in the media are horrible and unjustifiable," he said, hoping that the religious leaders of Ukraine and Russia would contribute to finding a solution.
At the end of the prayer meeting, the participants signed a call for peace in a letter sent by 150 world religious leaders to Patriarch Kirill. They urged him to influence the Russian president and "take immediate steps to reduce the escalation of the conflict and seek a peaceful solution."
"Our task," they write, "is to pray and support peaceful solutions to conflict situations." We are saddened to see believers fighting each other. The ongoing conflict has already caused significant casualties, both military and civilian."