Patriarch Filaret: Both Sides Guilty in Volyn Tragedy

Since both sides are guilty in the Polish-Ukrainian conflict in 1943 in Volyn, then reconciliation must be mutual. This Patriarch Filaret of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church-Kyivan Patriarchate (UOC-KP) told journalists in Lutsk on June 24, a IA ZIK correspondent reports.

The IA ZIK journalist asked the head of the UOC-KP whether reconciliation is possible between Ukrainians and Poles in the light of the Polish Sejm’s scandalous resolution on the Volyn tragedy.

“You wonder whether it is possible. It is impossible that there will be no reconciliation. Because if there is no reconciliation, it will be bad for Poles and Ukrainians. And because I know well that the leadership of Poland does not want to reconcile, and we have already reconciled. But there are forces in Poland who want to aggravate this issue. Aggravate it for what? For the sake of the future? If they aggravate it, the future will not be good. We need to have a good future, that is, good neighborly relations,” said the patriarch.

“Both sides are guilty in this tragedy. Which one is guiltier is another question. Which one suffered more, which one less? Both suffered. And this is true. And so our position is that we have to ask forgiveness for evil deeds and encourage them to forgive us. And there should be a mutual reconciliation between Poles and Ukrainians.”