A group of 286 priests and deacons of the Russian Orthodox Church has launched a strong appeal for an end to the war in Ukraine.

They have described the situation as “fratricidal” and called for reconciliation and an immediate cease-fire. They mourned “the ordeal to which our brothers and sisters in Ukraine were undeservedly subjected”.

Recalling that each person’s life is a priceless gift from God, the signatories stress that the Last Judgement awaits all. “No earthly authority, no doctor, no guard,” they read, “will protect us from this judgement. . . . Let us remember that the blood of Christ, shed by the Saviour for the life of the world, will be received in the sacrament of Communion by those who give murderous orders, not for life, but for eternal torment”.

The Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill has recently delivered two sermons in which he departed from a neutral stance and conveyed a clear pro-Russia position in line with that of Russian President Vladimir Putin.