On Saturday, February 25, 2023, at the Cathedral of Saint Nicholas in Seoul, the Metropolitan of Korea and Exarch of Japan Ambrosios, assisted by the priests Fr. Roman Kavchak, Fr. Antonios Lim, and Fr. Anthony Westerman (Patriarchate of Antioch), a memorial service was held for the repose of the victims of this endless war in Ukraine, on the occasion of the one year anniversary since the beginning of the war. They also prayed for the wounded, the missing, the refugees, and their families, but also for the ending of the ongoing fratricidal war.
The Ukrainian Ambassador of Korea in Seoul, His Excellency Mr. Dmytro Ponomarenko, and Ukrainians living in Seoul, as well as Koreans, participated in the prayer.
Metropolitan Ambrosios in his short address, pointed out the following:
The one-year dark anniversary of the start of the war against Ukraine is a shame for those who declared war and those who have not yet condemned it.
Our Ecumenical Patriarchate and all of us who belong to it have condemned this war from the first day, just like any other war, not with political or other kinds of criteria, but because war is contrary to the Gospel in which we believe. War is contrary to God’s commandment: «You shall not kill». And everything that is contrary to God’s command is a great sin. And “there is no greater sin than wars”, as the great Russian theologian and contemporary Saint of our Church, Saint Sophrony of Essex said, because in war we shoot Christ in the face of each victim, who is an image of God.
We are, therefore, vehemently opposed to war because we are with Jesus Christ. We are not with NATO nor with Putin, but only with Jesus Christ and we obey only Him. And anyone who does not condemn the war, supports the crimes of war, by their silence or by their tolerance. The souls of those killed in the war, as well as the wounded, the orphans, the widows, and the refugees one day will judge all those who do not say a word against this great tragedy, that was born of Russia’s war against Ukraine.
We pray, that the God of Peace, enlightens those who started the war, to repent, to understand the great sin they are committing, and to stop it immediately.
We also pray for the war’s victims and their loved ones, from both sides, to find comfort in their great pain.
Finally, we pray that the Ukrainians who live far from their homeland in a peaceful environment, never forget to fight for Truth and for Justice to prevail in their country and around the world.
God bless you all and may we soon see the Dove of Peace return to Ukraine again.