We are not your enemies, we are your brothers in Christ, says UGCC head to Russian Orthodox

“Do not believe the propaganda! We are not your enemies, we are your brothers in Christ! We strive to be good neighbors, to have friendly relations and close cooperation with you”.

The Father and Head of the UGCC addressed with these words to Russian Orthodox brothers. It was reported in the material AsiaNews.it News Agency (text in Italian), and was written on the basis of a telephone conversation with the UGCC head.

Calling for reconciliation through AsiaNews, the patriarch expressed his wish that Moscow recognized the dignity of the Ukrainian people and was open to genuine dialogue based on truth. “We regret that the Russian state propaganda creates the image of Ukraine as an enemy”, he said in an interview with AsiaNews.

The patriarch stressed that the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church will not do anything that would “harm or reject the dignity or freedom of the Russian Orthodox Church”. “We just want an open and honest dialogue that can ultimately lead to reconciliation”, he said.

The UGCC First Hierarch also stated that he regretted that “our brothers and sisters attack the UGCC using tactics of state propaganda, and not through appropriate ecclesiastical messages”.

At the end of the conversation he said, "Moscow can interpret social events in Ukraine in its own way, but we, Christians, must always speak the truth”, the Information Department of the UGCC reports.