SUMMIT ON PEACE IN UKRAINE – A Message by His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew (June 16, 2024)
War is always destructive.
To remain silent in front of the cruelty of war is a shame!
It is our duty and mission to defend and promote peace.
“Blessed are the peacemakers” (Mat. 5:9).
Your Excellencies,
Distinguished participants,
Dear sisters and brothers,
It is, therefore, at once an honor and an obligation to attend this Summit on Peace in Ukraine initiated by Her Excellency President Viola Amherd of the Swiss Confederation in partnership with His Excellency President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine.
The driving force behind this Summit has been the emphasis on and the power of dialogue. Dialogue across all borders of nations and on all levels of society. Beyond state and political interests, as well as in collaboration with corporate and security concerns, this includes cultural but above all religious and spiritual dimensions.
This is precisely why, on the 5th of January, 2019, in response to the pastoral needs of the Orthodox faithful in Ukraine, the Ecumenical Patriarchate established the Orthodox Church of Ukraine as an autocephalous or self-governing ecclesiastical entity, independent of the Patriarchate of Moscow. And we did this — against all odds and at all costs — because we firmly believe that the Orthodox Christians in Ukraine deserve an ecclesiastical voice of their own.
We stand here, all of us, in support of a just and lasting peace in a sovereign Ukraine. May God grant rest to all those who have tragically lost their lives and give strength to all those who defend peace.
Thank you for your kind attention!
