"We feel your pain" - Leaders of the World Council of Churches prayed at the site of mass burials in Bucha

This information was provided by the State Service for Ethnic Policy and Freedom of Conscience.

The church's abbot, Father Andrew, shared with the delegation the horrifying events he witnessed: the killing of innocent people on the streets, the burial of locals who died during the occupation, the impossibility of burying them in cemeteries due to exhumation and mass burials of unidentified bodies.

Bucha has become known worldwide for the shocking and tragic details of the Russian occupation that its residents had to endure.

"Next to my house," recalls Father Andrew, "an entire family was shot. They were a family that had moved from Donbas in 2014, fleeing the war. They settled here, bought a house, and worked. Unfortunately, they encountered the occupiers. Even though there were children in the car, it did not stop the killers... The morgue was completely full, unidentified bodies were lying on the streets, and we had no opportunity to bury people in the cemetery, as it is located outside the city, in the fields, under constant shelling. So we decided to bury everyone in a common grave near our church. It is a Christian way. We do not abandon or cremate bodies like our enemies do."

At the monument near the sand quarry, which served as a common grave in March 2022 and has become a symbol of the tragedy and indomitability of Ukrainians, representatives of the World Council of Churches offered a brief prayer. The delegation also visited a photo exhibition in the church depicting the atrocities committed by Russians in Bucha. The guests were shocked by what they saw, and they unanimously agreed that these were crimes against humanity.

"This is an unnecessary and unjust war, and we will make every effort to establish a just peace for Ukraine. Whatever the purpose of this war may be, we see how heavy its consequences are. We feel your pain and sympathize with you. In these difficult times, may the Lord bless you," said Rev. Dr. Jerry Pillay, General Secretary of the World Council of Churches.

A prayer for just peace in Ukraine was held in the church by representatives of the World Council of Churches, the All-Ukrainian Council of Churches, and religious organizations.

Afterwards, a meeting took place between the head of the State Service for Ethnic Policy and Freedom of Conscience, Viktor Yelensky, and the General Secretary of the World Council of Churches, Dr. Jerry Pillay, the Moderator of the Central Committee of the World Council of Churches, Bishop Heinrich Bedford-Strohm, and the Vice-Moderator of the Central Committee of the World Council of Churches, Archbishop Vicken Aykazian. They discussed state-church relations, inter-Orthodox dialogue, the membership of Ukrainian churches in the World Council of Churches, and the potential support of the World Council of Churches.

Viktor Yelensky particularly emphasized the clarification of state policy regarding freedom of conscience, the neutralization of Russia's attempts to abuse and manipulate religious sentiments, and the importance of disseminating truthful information about the Russian-Ukrainian war and the crimes of the Russian occupiers.