A joint prayer service is being held in Kyiv’s St. Sophia Cathedral on February 16. Leaders of churches and religious organizations are praying for Ukraine’s protection amid the threat of a full-scale invasion by Russian troops.
The Glavcom outlet pointed out that the prayer event was ignored by the head of the Russian Orthodox Church in Ukraine (the so-called UOC-MP), Metropolitan Onufriy (Berezovsky).
According to the hosts of the UArazom TV marathon, which is broadcast across the national TV channels, “the leaders of all churches gathered for prayer.” However, during the broadcast, the leaders of the local Orthodox Church of Ukraine, UGCC, Protestant churches, Muslims, and Jews were seen in the video. However, the head of the Moscow Church was not in the cathedral,” the report reads.
Currently, the reasons for the absence of Metropolitan Onufriy (Berezovsky) at the prayer service for Ukraine have not been reported.
It should be recalled that the All-Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious Organizations appealed to President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin to take all necessary measures to de-escalate tensions. According to the representatives of the Council, the actual implementation of the agreement on the exchange of persons held in connection with the conflict could be a verbal expression of the goodwill of the parties to resolve the situation through diplomacy.
