MOSCOW, Jan 7 The Russian state supported the peacekeeping spirit of the Russian Orthodox Church church, but a full-fledged truce is possible only with good will on both sides, Vladimir Legoyda, chairman of the synodal department for relations between the church, society and the media of the Moscow Patriarchate, said in an interview.
«The primate of the Russian Church, following the ancient tradition, proposed to establish a truce on Christmas Eve and Christmas, which would allow people to attend festive services in peace and security. Once again, the Church testified to its peacekeeping attitude and was supported by the Russian state. But a full-fledged truce is possible only with good will on both sides,» Legoyda said.
Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus' earlier called for a Christmas truce in Ukraine from 12:00 on January 6 to 24:00 on January 7. After that, Russian President Vladimir Putin instructed the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation to introduce a ceasefire regime on these days and hours along the entire line of contact in the special military operation zone.
The head of the synodal department emphasized that the Synod of the Russian Church expressed support for the children of the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church, which is subjected to unprecedented pressure from representatives of schismatic structures, authorities and nationalists, but, at the same time, pointed out with regret that in a number of dioceses the commemoration of the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' has been discontinued, which has already led to divisions.
«The Patriarch also repeatedly called to pray for His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry, and speaking at a diocesan meeting in Moscow, he warned that imprudent and self-confident words and situations in the Ukrainian Church could further damage the unity of our Church, inflict new wounds on those who without that it is hard to aggravate the suffering of our brothers and sisters in Christ,” Legoyda added.
Read the full text of the interview with Vladimir Legoyda >>