At Easter service, Ecumenical Patriarch calls for end to war in Ukraine

His Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew has congratulated the Christians of the Eastern Rite on Easter and called for an immediate end to the war.

This was stated in the sermon of the Ecumenical Patriarch after the festive service overnight Sunday, which took place in the Ecumenical Patriarchate’s headquarters in Istanbul, Ukrinform reports.

"Tonight our thoughts are with martyred Ukraine and in all corners of the earth where violence and human dignity are rampant… Let us ask the Risen Savior that this year’s Easter become an incentive for opening humanitarian corridors, safe passages to actually safe locations for thousands of people in besieged Mariupol – civilians, wounded, elderly, women, and a large number of children. The same applies to all other regions of Ukraine, where an unspeakable human tragedy is unfolding," Bartholomew said.

The Ecumenical Patriarch called for an immediate end to the war, which undermines human dignity and constitutes a provocative violation of God's commandment to love one's neighbor.

As Ukrinform reported, the Primate of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, Metropolitan Epiphanius of Kyiv and All Ukraine, conducted a solemn service in the St. Michael's Golden-Domed Cathedral on the occasion of the bright Resurrection of Christ.

The Ukrainian military congratulated Ukrainians on Easter and assured that they would make every effort to make the holiday peaceful and joyful.