A coalition of Russian priests are campaigning for an immediate end to Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine that has gone on for more than a week now.
Over 280 priests and deacons of the Russian Orthodox Church have come together to condemn Russian President Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine and call for the immediate end to the war. The church leaders warned that "the Last Judgement awaits all."
In an open letter launched Tuesday, the Russian Orthodox Church leaders wrote, "We mourn the ordeal to which our brothers and sisters in Ukraine were undeservedly subjected."
The open letter has earned the signatures of up to 284 priests, archpriests, and deacons. According to the Christian Post, at least 351 innocent lives of civilians have been taken by the Russian army that continues to ravage Ukraine. Another 707 were left wounded in Putin's invasion of Ukraine that began on February 4, the United Nations' High Commissioner for Human Rights reported on Sunday. The group believes that the actual numbers of civilian casualties are "considerably higher."
Since February 24, more than 1.25 million Ukrainians have fled the country, as per the International Organization for Migration reporting on Saturday. The group called it the "largest humanitarian crisis Europe has seen since World War II," Fox News reported. About 4.3 million people have also been displaced by Putin's invasion of Ukraine.
"The Last Judgment awaits every person. No earthly authority, no doctors, no guards will protect from this judgment," the Russian Orthodox Church leaders warned. " Concerned about the salvation of every person who considers himself a child of the Russian Orthodox Church, we do not want him to appear at this judgment, bearing the heavy burden of mother's curses."
The Russian Orthodox Church leaders also issued a reminder to those who are pushing for the war to continue, saying, "We remind you that the Blood of Christ, shed by the Savior for the life of the world, will be received in the sacrament of Communion by those people who give murderous orders, not into life, but into eternal torment."
The group remained hopeful, however, that both Ukrainians and Russians could "return unharmed to their homes and families." The Russian Orthodox Church leaders lamented that the children and grandchildren of this generation would have to "bridge in order to begin to be friends again, to respect and love each other."
Meanwhile also in Russia, more than 400 ministers of Evangelical churches have also signed an open letter condemning "the invasion of sovereign Ukraine." They described Putin's invasion of Ukraine as "a grave sin of fratricide" and alluded to Scripture, saying that the attack is "the sin of Cain, who raised his hand against his brother Abel."
A third round of peace talks between Ukraine and Russia is expected on Monday, Al Jazeera reported. The Russian military also agreed to hold fire and open humanitarian corridors in a number of Ukrainian cities, including the capital of Kyiv at 10:00 a.m. Moscow time on Monday, the Russia's defense ministry said as per the Interfax news agency.
Back in the U.S., political leaders are applying more pressure on President Joe Biden to stop purchasing oil from Russia to increase the severity of sanctions and its impact on the Russian economy.
