Ukrainian churches clarify their stance on killing occupiers, while the UOC MP remains silent
This is stated in the article "Killing Russian Soldiers – Is It A Sin? Why Is the UOC-MP Silent and What Do Jehovah's Witnesses Say" by Glavkom.
"The destruction by defenders of Ukraine of Russian aggressors who are committing armed aggression against our people and trying to seize the land given to us by God cannot be equated with the sin of criminal murder. Because it is a forced, fair and sacrificial defense based on love for one's loved ones, one's people and homeland," the comment from OCU to Glavkom said.
"We also believe that the current regime in Russia can be characterized as Putin's tyranny. In addition, we have repeatedly emphasized that war criminals who currently control Russia through the Moscow Patriarchate have spread and continue to spread the neo-imperialist chauvinistic ideology of the 'Russian world,' which is the basis for justifying aggression against Ukraine," the OCU responded to Glavkom.
The Head of the Conference of Roman Catholic Bishops of Ukraine, Bishop Vitaliy Skomarovskyy, stated that every believer has a duty to defend their own life, the lives of their loved ones, and the common good of the people. Therefore, Roman Catholic Church members have been defending our state and performing military duty in the ranks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine since the first days of the war (since 2014).
At the same time, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, which publicly disavows the "Moscow Patriarchate" prefix, ignored two information requests from Glavkom. The church has still not named Russia as an aggressor country. At the same time, on the fourth day of the full-scale war, the Holy Synod of the UOC MP tried to seat Zelensky and Putin at the negotiating table.
Then, the Synod turned to Patriarch Kirill of Moscow. They asked him to "strengthen prayers for the long-suffering Ukrainian people... and to call on the leadership of the Russian Federation to immediately cease hostilities."
In addition, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church named Russia an aggressor country, a country that in 2014 began an active phase of hybrid warfare against our country and occupied Ukrainian territories, and on February 24, 2022, carried out a criminal full-scale military attack on Ukraine.
The position of the Jehovah's Witnesses Center in Ukraine differs significantly from how the aforementioned confessions justify the problem. Jehovah's Witnesses noted that there are more than 100,000 representatives of the religious organization in Ukraine who "provide practical assistance and emotional support to their fellow believers, as well as other people."
"We are deeply saddened by the fact that so many innocent people have died over the past year, and we continue to pray for their loved ones," emphasized the Jehovah's Witnesses Center.
