Ecumenical Patriarchate Condemns Strike on Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra

ISTANBUL — The Ecumenical Patriarchate has strongly condemned the reported Russian missile strike on the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, describing the attack as an unacceptable act against one of Christianity’s most significant religious and cultural landmarks.

"No reasonable person and no argument can justify this barbaric and destructive attack against a sacred pilgrimage site such as the renowned Kyiv Lavra, with its long history and tradition, which is recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site," the statement reads.

The Patriarchate characterized the strike as a profane assault on a sacred site and condemned attacks against religious monuments that form part of Christianity’s shared spiritual and cultural heritage.

"His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew spoke by telephone with His Beatitude Metropolitan Epiphany of Kyiv and All Ukraine, to whom he expressed his abhorrence of the Russian attack and the wholehearted support of the Mother Church and of himself personally toward the long-suffering Ukrainian people," the statement continues.

Notably, Metr. Tikhon of the Orthodox Church in America (OCA) expressed support for Metr. Onuphry of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) after the attack – the hierarch regarded as the canonical primate of the Ukrainian faithful by the vast majority of the Orthodox world, as opposed to Metr. Epiphany of the state-backed Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU).

Previously, the UOJ reported on the letter sent by Metr. Tikhon.