Moscow, March 19, 2014
On March 19, 2014, a meeting of the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church took place in Moscow, chaired by His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia. In the minutes no. 4 of the Holy Synod, dedicated to the situation in Crimea, the following resolution was passed:
1. To place emphasis on the fact that Crimea has been and remains an integral part of our one and multinational Church.
2. In this crucial moment of the Crimean history, to offer up a fervent prayer to the Lord: lest fraternal blood should ever be shed on the Crimean land; in order that the Lord may keep all residents of the peninsula—Russians, Ukrainians, Tatars, and representatives of other nationalities—in peace, prosperity, integrity of views and love.
3. To express the belief that between the fraternal nations of Russia and the Ukraine there should not be any issues, decided by force of arms in defiance of the will of the people.
4. To testify that the Russian Orthodox Church, which embraces the peoples of Russia and the Ukraine, prompted by the pastoral responsibility, is ready to do its best to restore brotherly, good-neighborly relations, based on mutual respect, between Russia and the Ukraine.
