Belarusian Orthodox Church urges participants of the Russian-Ukrainian war to “take steps towards each other”

February 25, BPN. The Belarusian Orthodox Church urged the participants of the Russian-Ukrainian war to “take steps towards each other.” Metropolitan Veniamin of Minsk and Zaslaŭl’, Patriarchal Exarch of All Belarus, addressed the faithful.

“These days, sorrow and emotions fill our hearts. The conflict on Ukrainian soil did not begin yesterday, but until recently there was hope that it could be resolved peacefully. Those facing each other in combat positions today are often people of the same blood, faith, and spirit. Soldiers are killed on both sides and civilians are suffering. We all feel that we are one family with Russians and Ukrainians and we share the pain of our brothers and sisters,” the address reads.

A way out of the conflict can be sought only in reconciliation and an immediate cessation of hostilities, said the Patriarchal Exarch.

“Just as in an ordinary family there are times of hardship, conflicts arise in the relations of fraternal peoples, conflicts that are sometimes very difficult to resolve,” said Veniamin. “And the enemy of the human race is especially pleased when a brother goes against his brother.”

The Metropolitan urged the faithful to pray “for peace to return to the Ukrainian lands and for the brotherly peoples to find a way to reconciliation and mutual forgiveness.”