The former Archbishop of Canterbury is visiting Ukraine with other faith leaders “to demonstrate solidarity and friendship with those affected by the war”.Lord Williams of Oystermouth joined figures such as the Minister General of the Franciscan Friars and the Greek Orthodox Archbishop of Thyateira and Great Britain to comfort war victims and sustain morale.The visit coincides with reports that the Vatican was considering whether the Pope would fly to Israel for a meeting with the Russian Orthodox Patriarch.The Vatican is studying the possibility of extending the Pope’s trip to Lebanon in June so he can fly to Jerusalem to meet Patriarch Kirill, two sources told Reuters on Monday.Kirill, 75, the patriarch of Moscow, has backed Russia’s war in Ukraine.The initiative for the visit on which Williams, 71, is taking part came from Rabbi Dr Alon Goshen-Gottstein, the director and founder of the Elijah Interfaith Institute in Israel.Before a visit yesterday to Chernivtsi, close to Ukraine’s border with Romania, Williams told the Church Times that the participants wanted to ensure Ukrainians knew they were not forgotten. He said: “The purpose is a very modest one: we want to affirm our solidarity with victims of this appalling war, and express thanks for the courage shown by the Ukrainian people.“We also hope to learn a bit about conditions for refugees in the area we are visiting, and more generally about how people on the ground are viewing the situation.”Williams, a Russian speaker and an expert on Orthodoxy, had previously backed calls for the Russian Orthodox Church to be excluded from the World Council of Churches, because of its stance on the war in Ukraine.
Vigil for Peace 13th April - Diocese of EuropeAt the start of Lent many thousands of people across our diocese of Europe and the wider Church of England joined us for our vigil. We have held a vigil every Wednesday through Lent, and on Wednesday, in Holy Week, we hope to bring a wider group from across the Anglican Communion together once again. Wednesday 13th April at 17:00 at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WzXSYySFNF0 .
We continue through Holy Week and in our daily liturgies and prayers recall some of the events in the last week of Jesus’ life on earth. As the action slows down towards the end of the week we are invited to consider what it was like for Jesus’ closest friends, his mother and the wider group of ‘disciples’. For his closest friends – Jesus was acting very oddly and saying odd things about dying, and about his body being like the bread of their shared meal. The men in the group would all betray him – that is deny that they even knew him by running away in their fear. Judas didn’t live long enough to hear Jesus’ prayer for God’s forgiveness for all who ‘didn’t know what they were doing’. Jesus’ friends felt let down. Jesus felt let down. They were all headed towards a calamity they could only imagine. And it just wasn’t meant to be like that. We don’t need to look very far in order to see other calamities in our world which just shouldn’t be as they are. And like in that first Holy Week it feels as if there is very little we can actually do to make things any better. We are flying the Ukrainian flag at our Cathedral. We have a specific Prayer Station for the people of Ukraine and we pray for them at all daily and Sunday services. And aside from donating to the Disasters Emergency Committee there is nothing that we can do which will directly relieve the suffering in that land. However, it is from the people of Ukraine that WE gain great hope. They are people full of faith, faith in God, faith in the inherent goodness of humanity, faith in the strength of their communities, and yes, faith in their national identity. All of these certainties are being tested, just as they were tested for all who we remember in our Holy Week readings, music and prayers. What did it mean, and what does it mean, to be a disciple of Jesus? What did it mean, and what does it mean, to claim that the power of God is made manifest in weakness and vulnerability? And what did it mean, and what does it mean, for death to be transformed through the love of Jesus? Easter will happen, but before that comes Good Friday. As we continue through this Holy Week may we seek to encounter the vulnerability of Jesus as he prepared to die for the world and may we be renewed to celebrate the defeat and transformation of death. And may that give to us and to all people great hope. Dean Dianna
Before Russia's invasion, Kyiv had a small but thriving community of Anglicans. Today, members of Christ Church, which used to meet in the German Lutheran church Kyiv's centre (see photo), come together to pray for peace online."We try to keep in touch via [the messaging apps] Viber or WhatsApp," explained church warden Christina Laschenko-Stafiychuk."We also try to join Zoom vigil services on Wednesday evenings held by the Diocese in Europe during Lent to pray for Ukraine."Since the Russian invasion which began on February 24th, the once vibrant community has been scattered across Europe. Christina said: "My daughter and I left Kyiv on March 4th. We left on an evacuation train going towards Lviv."We then took a train to Chełm in Poland, then on to Warsaw, and finally to Zurich."The pair are safe, but her husband has remained in Ukraine."My husband is officially a volunteer in the Second Reserves, but due to the sufficient number of volunteers he was not summoned yet," she explained.As Russian forces apparently pull back from around Kyiv, congregants are said to be safer. Yet, Christina said: "The whole territory of Ukraine is within the range of missiles, and shelling of critical infrastructure continue."It has been confirmed that the German Lutheran church remains untouched by war damage. Anglicans across the world have come together in prayer and are raising funds for both Ukrainians fleeing war and those staying behind. Church of England guidance has been published for parishes within England to support refugees in communities and last week the Church of England joined other churches in Britain and Ireland for a Day of Prayer for peace in Ukraine. Christina said: "Anglicans are doing so much. They pray - I have been told about continuous prayer for Ukraine and its people. "And special funds for refugees have been set up, and many Anglican friends across Europe are opening their homes to Ukrainians."The Archbishops of Canterbury and York have condemned the Russian invasion. In a joint statement they said: “The horrific and unprovoked attack on Ukraine is an act of great evil. "Placing our trust in Jesus Christ, the author of peace, we pray for an urgent ceasefire and a withdrawal of Russian forces."Christina has encouraged Anglicans to continue to pray for peace in Ukraine this Easter.
