During the recently-concluded 11th Assembly of the World Council of Churches (WCC), Ukraine was one of the centers of every participant’s attention, and delegates from the Ukraine Orthodox Church joined the meeting in Karlsruhe, Germany. During the assembly, Bohdan Mostovyi, a representative of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church called on global Christians not to get used to the ongoing war in Ukraine in an exclusive interview with China Christian Daily.
The message he urges to tell is that Ukraine is still at war and innocent blood is being shed every day. “We should not get used to the war,” he said. “Only together we can solve this problem, only united we can have peace in Ukraine, in Europe as well as in the whole world.”
Russia declared war on Ukraine on 24 February, and in the first two months, the whole world was shocked and really into this issue. Then more and more people around the world started getting used to it. “Even though the situation on the front now is slightly better than six months ago, and some regions were liberated, innocent people are still being killed every single second... Thousands of children still have a broken childhood, and thousands of the elderly still become homeless. The situation is still extremely tough,” he added.
Until the day the interview was conducted (7 September), around 200 religious buildings in 14 regions of Ukraine were destroyed, and 70% of them belonged to the Orthodox church.
Due to the war, a large number of Ukrainians became displaced: many people crossed the border, others fled from their region to safer places, and there were also people who could not flee — elderly people, people with disabilities, etc. The lives of many Ukrainians are out of order. Many people lose their jobs and do not have any resources for income. Even worse, they are in constant danger of being killed.
Mostovyi told China Christian Daily that Christians in Ukraine are very much engaged in the war, and many soldiers in the fighting nowadays are Christians. They are protecting civilians who cannot resist because Jesus said, “Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.”
Churches in Ukraine have been supporting the army and helping internally displaced persons during the war. They provide supplies for the army and pray for them. Church leaders and priests stay in the regions under occupation to help evacuate people to safer places and provide people in need with food, clothes, and medicine.
As the WCC aims to be a platform for dialogue, both delegates from the Russian Orthodox Church and Ukraine Orthodox Church attended the Assembly. Mostovyi agrees that dialogue is the best way to fight and solve problems, but "unfortunately, it does not work when one country is willing to solve problems with weapons and force. Therefore, in the current situation, people in Ukraine are forced to defend their freedom on the front line.” Being disappointed with the Russian Orthodox Church, he said, “First their leaders including the Patriarch of Moscow were silent, and then they started to support, bless and encourage the Russian army to invade Ukraine......it would be a little bit better if they had been silent, but they are not. I, as an Orthodox Christian, find it extremely painful when men of God disgrace their faith and Church”. But he still believes there are decent Christians from the Russian Orthodox Church.
Attending the 11th Assembly, he is trying to seek support for his country. The Ukrainian representative is very grateful for the people who expressed their solidarity. “People are suffering, and only together we can solve this problem... everybody should fight somehow and this fight can be done in different ways,” he added.
Specifically, he suggests the first thing people can do is to pray for peace in Ukraine and the world. The second thing is to spread information about the real things that happened in Ukraine. Mostovyi feels sad because thinking about the war, people worry about the increase in gas prices though blood is spilling there. “Nothing compares to life, human life, right?” he asked. He urges the rest of the world to help their refugees—they flee just because they want to live.
“When everyone does a little bit of their own work, it becomes a huge help. All small efforts become together a great power that moves Ukraine, Europe, and the world to peace!”, he concluded.
在前不久结束的世界基督教教会联合会第11届大会上，乌克兰是与会各方关注的焦点之一，乌克兰东正教的代表到卡尔斯鲁厄参加了会议。大会期间，代表之一的莫斯托维（Bohdan Mostovyi）在接受采访时呼吁全球基督徒不要将乌克兰正在进行的战争当作一种常态。
他急切想传达的信息是，乌克兰仍然处于战争状态，每天都有无辜人的鲜血在流。“我们不应该习惯战争，”他说，“只有团结起来，我们才能解决这个问题，只有团结起来，我们才能在乌克兰、欧洲乃至全世界拥有和平。”
俄罗斯于2月24日对乌克兰宣战，在最初的两个月里，全世界都对此感到震惊，高度关注事态发展。但逐渐地，人们越来越习惯还在乌克兰进行的战争。“虽然现在前线的情况比六个月前稍微好一些，部分地区也解放了，但每一秒都有无辜的人被杀......千千万万的孩子童年破碎，千千万万的老人无家可归。情况依然非常严峻，”他补充道。
直到采访那一天（9月7日），乌克兰14个地区大约200座宗教建筑被摧毁，其中70%属于东正教会。
因为这场战争，大量乌克兰人流离失所：许多人越过边界；一些人从自己的家乡逃到更安全的地方；还有一些人无法逃离——老年人、残疾人等。乌克兰人失去了他们原有的生活秩序，许多人失去了工作，没有任何收入来源。更糟糕的是，他们一直处于被杀害的危险中。
莫斯托维告诉China Christian Daily，乌克兰的东正教徒积极参战，现在在前线战斗的很多都是东正教徒。他们在保护没有力量抵抗的平民，因为耶稣说：“人为朋友舍命，人的爱心没有比这个更大的。”
战争期间，乌克兰东正教会一直在支援军队，也帮助乌克兰境内流离失所的人。教会为军队提供物资，也为他们祷告。教会领袖和神父留在被占领的地区，帮助将人们疏散到更安全的地方，为有需要的人提供衣服、食物、药品等生活物资。
世基联旨在成为一个对话平台，此次大会，俄罗斯东正教和乌克兰东正教都派了代表出席。在乌克兰，莫斯托维所属的东正教会原隶属于莫斯科，战争爆发后，于今年五月与俄罗斯教会断绝关系。莫斯托维同意对话是解决问题的最佳方式，但“不幸的是，如果其中一方想用武器和武力解决问题，对话就不起作用。在当前情况下，乌克兰人民只能拿起武器捍卫自己的自由。”
莫斯托维对俄罗斯东正教会感到失望，他说：“起先他们的领袖，包括莫斯科总主教，都保持沉默，然后他们开始支持、祝福和鼓励俄罗斯军队入侵乌克兰......我宁愿他们保持沉默，但他们甚至没有这样做。作为一名东正教徒，看到上帝的百姓羞辱信仰和教会，我感到极其痛苦。”但他仍然相信俄罗斯东正教当中有正直的信徒。
出席此次大会，莫斯托维想为他的国家寻求支持，也非常感谢那些声援乌克兰的参会者。“人民在受苦，只有团结起来，我们才能解决这个问题......每个人都应该以某种方式战斗，不过是以不同的方式，”他说。
具体来说，他建议人们首先可以做的是为乌克兰和世界的和平祷告。其次是传播真实的信息，传播那些在乌克兰真实发生的事件。他因为人们的一些反应感到难过，想到战争，人们最先想到的是油价上涨，尽管那里还在流血。“没有什么能比得上生命，活生生的人的生命，对吗？”他希望其他国家能帮助他们的难民——他们逃离只是因为想活下去。
“如果每个人都做一点力所能及的事，合起来就会变成一个巨大的帮助。所有微小的努力可以共同成为一份强大的力量，推动乌克兰、欧洲和世界走向和平！”
【专访】乌克兰东正教代表莫斯托维："我们不应该对俄乌战争熟视无睹"
During the recently-concluded 11th Assembly of the World Council of Churches (WCC), Ukraine was one of the centers of every participant’s attention, and delegates from the Ukraine Orthodox Church joined the meeting in Karlsruhe, Germany. During the assembly, Bohdan Mostovyi, a representative of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church called on global Christians not to get used to the ongoing war in Ukraine in an exclusive interview with China Christian Daily.
The message he urges to tell is that Ukraine is still at war and innocent blood is being shed every day. “We should not get used to the war,” he said. “Only together we can solve this problem, only united we can have peace in Ukraine, in Europe as well as in the whole world.”
Russia declared war on Ukraine on 24 February, and in the first two months, the whole world was shocked and really into this issue. Then more and more people around the world started getting used to it. “Even though the situation on the front now is slightly better than six months ago, and some regions were liberated, innocent people are still being killed every single second... Thousands of children still have a broken childhood, and thousands of the elderly still become homeless. The situation is still extremely tough,” he added.
Until the day the interview was conducted (7 September), around 200 religious buildings in 14 regions of Ukraine were destroyed, and 70% of them belonged to the Orthodox church.
Due to the war, a large number of Ukrainians became displaced: many people crossed the border, others fled from their region to safer places, and there were also people who could not flee — elderly people, people with disabilities, etc. The lives of many Ukrainians are out of order. Many people lose their jobs and do not have any resources for income. Even worse, they are in constant danger of being killed.
Mostovyi told China Christian Daily that Christians in Ukraine are very much engaged in the war, and many soldiers in the fighting nowadays are Christians. They are protecting civilians who cannot resist because Jesus said, “Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.”
Churches in Ukraine have been supporting the army and helping internally displaced persons during the war. They provide supplies for the army and pray for them. Church leaders and priests stay in the regions under occupation to help evacuate people to safer places and provide people in need with food, clothes, and medicine.
As the WCC aims to be a platform for dialogue, both delegates from the Russian Orthodox Church and Ukraine Orthodox Church attended the Assembly. Mostovyi agrees that dialogue is the best way to fight and solve problems, but "unfortunately, it does not work when one country is willing to solve problems with weapons and force. Therefore, in the current situation, people in Ukraine are forced to defend their freedom on the front line.” Being disappointed with the Russian Orthodox Church, he said, “First their leaders including the Patriarch of Moscow were silent, and then they started to support, bless and encourage the Russian army to invade Ukraine......it would be a little bit better if they had been silent, but they are not. I, as an Orthodox Christian, find it extremely painful when men of God disgrace their faith and Church”. But he still believes there are decent Christians from the Russian Orthodox Church.
Attending the 11th Assembly, he is trying to seek support for his country. The Ukrainian representative is very grateful for the people who expressed their solidarity. “People are suffering, and only together we can solve this problem... everybody should fight somehow and this fight can be done in different ways,” he added.
Specifically, he suggests the first thing people can do is to pray for peace in Ukraine and the world. The second thing is to spread information about the real things that happened in Ukraine. Mostovyi feels sad because thinking about the war, people worry about the increase in gas prices though blood is spilling there. “Nothing compares to life, human life, right?” he asked. He urges the rest of the world to help their refugees—they flee just because they want to live.
“When everyone does a little bit of their own work, it becomes a huge help. All small efforts become together a great power that moves Ukraine, Europe, and the world to peace!”, he concluded.
Interview With Ukraine Delegate: ‘We Should Not Get Used to the War in Ukraine’
