According to this source – Orthodoxtimes.com – every day the monks of two Athos-monasteries “made prayers and supplications to the Theotokos for the protection of the oppressed and desperate brothers -due to the war”.

In the article a Youtube footage of a service in Pantocatoros is shown from 13th of March 2022, with gerontas Alexios singing and expressing his feelings about the war in Ukrain:

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In this article, also from Orthodoxtimes.com, you can read more about the views patriarch Kirill from Moscow has of the subject of war against the independent state of Ukrain, one of the two so called brother states. According to Kirill the autocephale Orthodox church of Ukrain is “the church of the conquerors”, which he considers blasphemous and insulting. Because his attitude towards Ukrain the Orthodox parish in Amsterdam stopped commemorating Kyrill on Saturday 13th of March 2022.

And according to president Putin the Urkrainians are “nazis”: this gives him -a completely false- reason to start a full-scale war, with thousends of death and wounded and endless pain and sorrow, for both militairy and civilians.

How can this happen in Europe 2022? Are we no longer civilized enough to talk things over? How come that a church in Russia be quiet and not condemn such horrible behavior, that goes against all Christian basic values? And what will this mean for future generations: how will all the deep wounds, that are made right now, heal?

And another thing is: how will Athos monks form Russia and Ukrain, who has lived together as brothers in peace for centuries, have to act now and deal with eachother?

And finally, what would God and Jesus think about all this killing and terror and shouldn’t Their message of Love and Peace prevail……?

Wim Voogd, 28/3