Ecumenical Patriarch: Russian Orthodox Church shares blame for Russia's crimes in Ukraine

Russia's state leadership and the Russian Orthodox Church share responsibility for the crimes committed in Ukraine, particularly the abduction of children.

Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew said this during his visit to Lithuania, Ukrinform reports with reference to Reuters.

"The church and the state leadership in Russia cooperated in the crime of aggression and shared the responsibility for the resulting crimes, like the shocking abduction of the Ukrainian children," he told a conference held in Lithuania's parliament.

He called for neutralizing attempts by the leadership of the Moscow Patriarchate to undermine the unity of Christians.

"Our interreligious dialogue has to focus on ways to resist and neutralize the capacity of the leadership of the Moscow Patriarchate to undermine unity and to theologically legitimize criminal behavior," Bartholomew said.

At the same time, he expressed hope that "Russian brothers and sisters" would return to the community of shared values.

"It is our common Christian duty to use forces of dialogue to bring back our Russian brothers and sisters to our community of shared values," he said, stressing the need for "spiritual regeneration" in both Russia and Ukraine.