On Thursday, February 21, His Beatitude Metropolitan Volodymyr sent a letter to the Patriarch of Serbia Pavle, in which he expressed solidarity on behalf of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church with the brotherly Church of Serbia on the occasion of Kosovo declaration of independence. The text of the letter is presented below:
HIS HOLINESS PAVLE
ARCHBISHOP OF PEĆ
METROPOLITAN OF BELGRADE AND KARLOVTCI
PATRIARCH OF THE SERBS
Your Holiness!
Having learnt of the declaration of independence of the originally Serbian land of Kosovo, which was carried out in the absence of the representatives of the Serbian nation itself, on the part of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church we express our solidarity with the brotherly Church of Serbia and the Serbian people, sharing your pain and suffering.
It is widely known that for the Serbian people Kosovo is a historical and sacred land, to which the history of the state, spiritual and cultural life of Serbia is closely connected.
We believe that when resolving such problems one should take into account the history of the land, its national and religious significance and the opinion of all its inhabitants with no exception. It is also important to have in view all possible consequences of such actions world-wide. We pray that the Lord with His Wise Providence may arrange all for the benefit of the Serbian people, that He may help to overcome the befallen trials, and join them to the joy of Resurrection after the sufferings endured.
With brotherly love in Christ
VOLODYMYR,
METROPOLITAN OF KYIV AND ALL UKRAINE | |
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