Over 280 Russian Orthodox priests worldwide call for end to war

Mar 9th, 2022

St Basil's Cathedral, Moscow. By Nikita Karimov on Unsplash

While the Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill of Moscow, a firm supporter of Putin, has refrained from criticising his war on Ukraine - last week more than 280 Russian Orthodox priests from around the world signed a letter appealing for an end to the war and calling for reconciliation. The author of the letter, Rev Andrej Kordochkin, Dean of St Mary Magdalene Russian Orthodox Cathedral in Madrid, said he felt it was important for the gospel message to be at the forefront during these turbulent times.

"Our message is not to condemn, not to judge," he said. "We remind the state authorities of the fact that even if they avoid human judgment, they will not avoid divine judgment...The message is to show the way to repentance and to salvation."

An English translation of the full letter follows:

We, the priests and deacons of the Russian Orthodox Church, each in our own name, appeal to everyone on whom the cessation of the fratricidal war in Ukraine depends, with a call for reconciliation and an immediate ceasefire.

We send this appeal after Sunday about the Last Judgment and on the eve of Forgiveness Sunday.

The Last Judgment awaits every person. No earthly authority, no doctors, no guards will protect from this judgment. 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. 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.

We mourn the trial that our brothers and sisters in Ukraine were undeservedly subjected to.
We remind you that the life of every person is a priceless and unique gift of God, and therefore we wish the return of all soldiers - both Russian and Ukrainian - to their homes and families safe and sound.

We bitterly think about the abyss that our children and grandchildren in Russia and Ukraine will have to overcome in order to once again begin to be friends with each other, respect and love each other.

We respect the God-given freedom of man, and we believe that the people of Ukraine should make their choice on their own, not at gunpoint, without pressure from the West or the East.

In anticipation of Forgiveness Sunday, we remind you that the gates of paradise are opened to anyone, even a seriously sinned person, if he asks for forgiveness from those whom he humiliated, insulted, despised, or from those who were killed by his hands or by his order. There is no other way but forgiveness and mutual reconciliation.

"The voice of your brother's blood cries out to Me from the ground; and now you are cursed from the earth, which has opened its mouth to receive the blood of your brother from your hand," God said to Cain, who was envious of his younger brother. Woe to every person who realizes that these words are addressed to him personally.

No non-violent call for peace and an end to war should be forcibly suppressed and considered as a violation of the law, for such is the divine commandment: "Blessed are the peacemakers."

We call on all warring parties to dialogue, because there is no other alternative to violence. Only the ability to hear the other can give hope for a way out of the abyss into which our countries were thrown in just a few days.

Let yourself and all of us enter Great Lent in the spirit of faith, hope and love.

Stop the war.

1. Abbot Arseny (Sokolov), Representative of the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia to the Patriarch of Antioch and All the East
2. Hegumen Nektary (Morozov)
3. Priest Alexy Antonovsky
4. Hegumen Nikodim (Balyasnikov)
5. Priest Hildo Bos
6. Priest Vasily Bush
7. Archpriest Stefan Vaneyan
8. Hieromonk Jacob (Vorontsov)
9. Priest Alexander Vostrodymov.
10. Priest Dionysius Gabbasov
11. Priest Andrey German
12. Archpriest Yevgeny Goryachev (veteran of the Afghan War)
13. Hieromonk John (Guaita)
14. Priest Alexy Dikarev
15. Priest Alexander Zanemonets
16. Archpriest Vladimir Zelinsky
17. Archpriest Peter Ivanov
18. Archpriest George Ioffe
19. Deacon Ilya Kolin
20. Archpriest Andrey Kordochkin
21. Priest Lazar Lenzi
22. Archpriest Andrey Lorgus
23. Abbot Peter (Meshcherinov)
24. Archpriest Konstantin Momotov
25. Priest Yevgeny Moroz
26. Hieromonk Dimitry (Pershin)
27. Priest Alexander Piskunov
28. Archpriest Stefan Platt
29. Archpriest Dionisy Pozdnyaev
30. Archpriest Georgy Roy
31. Priest Nikolai Savchenko
32. Hieromonk Theodorit (Senchukov)
33. Archpriest Joseph Skinner
34. Archpriest Dimitry Sobolevsky
35 Deacon Pimen Trofimov
36. Archpriest Alexander Shabanov
37. Hieromonk Cyprian (Zemlyakov)
38. Priest John Leontiev
39. Archpriest Vitaly Shkarupin
40. Archpriest Sergiy Dmitriev

41. Archpriest Vladimir Korolev
42. Archpriest Sergei Titkov
43. Priest Artemy Morozov
44. Priest Alexy Volchkov
45. Archpriest Andrey Lvov
46. Archpriest Sergiy Storozhev
47. Priest Ilya Gavryshkiv
48. Archpriest Vitaly Fonkin
49. Priest Artemy Kolyagin
50. Hierodeacon Elisey (Romantsov).
51. Priest Gleb Krivoshein
52. Deacon John Myzdrikov
53. Deacon Valerian Dunin-Barkovsky
54. Priest Vladislav Bogomolnikov
55. Archpriest Vladimir Drobyshevsky
56. Priest Vadim Karpenko
57. Archpriest Gleb Vechelkovsky
58. Prot. Theodore van der Voort
59. Priest Fyodor Kosolapov
60. Priest Anthony Lynov
61. Priest Anthony Kovalenko
62. Archpriest Dionisy Kuznetsov
63. Priest Dmitry Lukyanov
64. Priest Pavel Kasperovich
65. Archpriest Valentin Bonilla
66. Hieromonk Onesimus (Akifiev)
67. Priest Alexei Pichugin
68. Archpriest Oleg Shulgin
69. Archpriest Dionisy Dudenkov
70. Archpriest Viktor Teplitsky
71. Archpriest Anatoly Kora
72. Priest Alexei Kozoletov
73. Deacon Alexander Pushkarev
74. Hieromonk Hilarion Reznichenko
75. Archpriest Alexander Dubovoy
76. Archpriest Pavel Serdyuk
77. Priest John Burdin
78. Priest Alexander Kukhta
79. Deacon Dmitry Korostelev

80. Archpriest Georgy Zavershinskiy
81. Archpriest Andrei Kuzma
82. Priest Pavel Zemlyakov
83. Priest Dimitry Vinitsky
84. Priest Georgy Khristich
85. Priest Anthony Serafimovich
86. Hieromonk Lavr (Solomonov)
87. Deacon Alexei Perunovsky
88. Archpriest Vasily Petrov
89. Deacon Stefan Kuzmin
90. Priest Dmitry Ushakov
91. Priest Yakov Korobkov
92. Priest Alexander Nasibulin
93. Archpriest Mikhail Ilyin
94. Priest Konstantin Lebedev
95. Hieromonk Peter (Belov)
96. Hieromonk Seraphim (Standhardt)
97. Deacon Andrei Georgievich Morozov
98. Deacon Alexy Khilko
99. Archpriest Mikhail Fast
100. Protodeacon Igor Panachev
101. Archpriest Mikhail Evgenyevich Klochkov
102. Priest Alexander Lebedich
103. Deacon Vladimir Olshevsky-Davydov
104. Priest Vasily Maksimishinets
105. Archpriest Pyotr Korotaev
106. Archpriest Igor Prekup
107. Archpriest John Gate
108. Archpriest Sergei Markevich
109. Priest Oleg Usenkov
110. Priest Alexander Novikov
111. Priest Sergei Voinkov
112. Priest Anthony Kopaev
113. Deacon Oleg Karlashchuk
114. Priest Dimitry Savin
115. Archpriest Pavel Kivovich
116. Priest Mikhail Bakker
117. Archpriest Igor Tarasov
118. Priest Sergiy Dudin
119. Archpriest Andrey Lobashinsky

120. Archpriest Mikhail Nemnonov
121. Priest Gregory Oboroceanu
122. Priest John Terauds
123. Hegumen Varlaam (Borin)
124. Abbot Anthony (Loginov)
125. Deacon Oleg Ageenko
126. Archpriest Alexy Shishkov
127. Hierodeacon Kliment (Volyansky)
128. Priest Vyacheslav Shafarenko
129. Priest Sergiy Dyrman
130. Priest Igor Burdeyny
131. Archpriest Pyotr Bornovalov
132. Priest Sergiy Sobolev 133. Deacon4
Roman Vysotsky 13
Vyacheslav Vlasenko
135. Priest Georgy Dumby
136. Protodeacon Nikifor Franklin
137. Archpriest Mikhail Ustimenko
138. Priest Silitsy Siliconov
139. Priest Adam Kondratyuk
140. Priest Gennady Komkov
141. Archpriest Sergiy Borsky
142. Archpriest John Gerbovetsky
143. Priest Grigory
144. Grinkor Vasily Kutsenko
145. Archpriest Andrei Korenkov
146. Archpriest Maxim Prikhodko
147. Archpriest Vadim Boyko
148. Archpriest Nikolai Efimchuk
149. Archpriest Andrei Fedorov
150. Deacon Andrei Pozhilov
151. Archpriest Viktor Grigorenko
152. PriestTimofei Nozdrin
153. Hegumen Innokenty
154 Oleg Chernichenko
155. Priest Alexander Tkachev
156. Deacon Dmitry Dudkin
157. Priest Pyotr Bogatyryov
158. Priest Alexy Zalitsaev
159. Priest Dionisy Chernyavsky
160. Priest Dimitry Zhestkov
161. Deacon Evgeny Kuznetsov
162. Priest Pyotr Galanyuk
163. Priest Andrey Khazov
164. Priest Philip Samsonov
165. Priest Yaroslav Pirkovsky
166. Archpriest Maxim Fionin
167. Hierodeacon Isaiah (Nazarov)
168. Hieromonk Irenaeus (Gribov)
169. Hieromonk Vasily Zobov
170. Deacon Artemy Shchukin
171. Archpriest Alexander Nozdrin
172. Priest Andrei Nozdrin
173 Hierodeacon Luke (Starostin)
174. Archpriest Mikhail Yalov
175. Priest Valery Baidak
176. Priest Nikolai Tikhonchuk
177. Archpriest Igor Gagarin
178. Priest Vitaly Kovalenko
179. Priest Andrei Shvaybovich

180. Deacon Leonid Dzhalilov
181. Archpriest Dimitry Svistov
182. Priest Konstantin Zhemchuzhin
183. Priest Andrei Polyakov
184. Hieromonk Peter (Smirnov)
185. Deacon John Ovchinnikov
186. Priest Alexander Danilov
187. Priest Dmitry Ostanin
188. Priest Alexander Lupanov
189. Archpriest Dmitry Osipenko
190. Archpriest Vitaly Shkarupin
191. Archpriest Vladimir Vilgerts
192. Archpriest Andrei Puganov
193. Deacon Bogdan Serdyuk
194. Archpriest Vladimir Fedorov
195. Archpriest Michael Karney
196. Deacon Alexy Kostyanovsky
197. Archpriest Mikhail Vladimirov
198. Priest Andrei Davydov
199. Priest John Abramchik
200. Archpriest Leonid Griliches
201. Protodeacon Philip Turner
202. Priest Oleg Usenkov
203. Deacon Sergiy Kulpinov
204. Priest Evgeny Antonov
205. Deacon John Peters
206. Priest Alexei Tsykin
207. Archpriest Valentin Basyuk
208. Deacon Artemy Noskov
209. Priest Siluan Thompson
210. Protodeacon Pavel Drozdovsky
211. Priest Viktor Dunaev
212. Archpriest Andrei Vinarsky
213. Priest Arseniy Streltsov
214. Priest Peter Galanyuk
215. Hieromonk Pitirim (Dmitriev)
216. Archpriest Andrei Svinaryov
217. Priest Alexei Suraev
218. Priest Pyotr Ustinov
219. Protodeacon Sergei Shalberov

220. Priest Roman Kuchma
221. Priest Andrei Loginov
222. Archpriest Andrei Khvylya-Olinter
223. Priest Kirill Krainyuk
224. Priest Alexander Rulnikov
225. Priest Igor Moskvichev
226. Priest Pyotr Kolomeytsev
227. Hierodeacon Dionisy (Volkov)
228. Archpriest Konstantin Gipp
229. Archpriest Andrei Yakhimets
230. Archpriest Mikhail Vladimirov
231. Priest Alexander Polkhovsky
232. Priest Dimitry Penkevich
233. Priest Timothy Katnis
234. Archpriest Alexy Popkov
235. Deacon Arkady Fomin
236. Archpriest Peter Jackson
237. Hieromonk Prokhor (Kuksenko)
238. Priest Alexander Galuts
239. Archpriest Sergiy Miroshin, veteran of military operations
240. Priest Leonid Tselorungo
241. Deacon Eugene Sirant
242. Hieromonk Venedikt (Schneider)
243. Archpriest Alexy Demidov
244. Priest Timofei Toropov
245. Priest Alexei Ivanov
246. Priest Alexei Khaichenko
247. Archpriest Andrei Vinnik
248. Priest Alexei Dudin
249. Archpriest Oleg Batov
250. Deacon Konstantin Krivunov
251. Priest Viktor Balandin
252. Priest Alexy Sorokin
253. Archpriest Roman Gilfanov, war veteran
254. Priest Theodore Ibragimov
255. Priest Alexei Paranyuk
256. Deacon Peter Gardner
257. Priest Evgeny Bokk
258. Priest Alexei Turanin
259 Priest Andrey Popov

260. Deacon Maxim Dulev
261. Priest John Lena
262. Priest Dimitry Shibaev
263. Archpriest Sergei Nazarov
264. Archpriest Vladimir Shibaev
265. Priest Alexy Sergeev
266. Priest Vadim Ponomarev
267. Archpriest Maxim Nikolsky
268. Archpriest Stephen Headley
269. Archimandrite Melety Webber
270. Priest Alexei Chesnokov
271. Archpriest Vladimir Shmaly
272. Priest Andrei Trofimov
273. Priest Alexy Barsukov
274. Archpriest Vitaly Babushin
275. Deacon Ruslan Bochanov
276. Priest Alexander Babichev
277
278. Archpriest Nikolai Ulovich
279. Deacon Alain Monnier

280. Deacon Alexei Vitvitsky
281. Priest Maxim Boyko
282. Archpriest Alexander Elatomtsev
283. Priest Vyacheslav Bodan
284. Priest Sergiy Kim
285. Archpriest Georgy Shekula
286. priest Vasily Rodionov