“Blessed Are the Peacemakers”: Eastern Orthodox Christians Call for Peace in a World Torn by War and Sorrow

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

In a time when the world is increasingly marked by violence, hatred, and the disintegration of human dignity, the Eastern Orthodox Church reaffirms her unwavering call for peace, justice, and the sanctity of all human life. As Orthodox Christians living in the twenty-first century, we are not exempt from the heartache of this fallen world, we mourn, we cry out, and we pray. We stand beside all who suffer, and we speak with the prophetic voice of Christ’s Gospel: “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God” (Matthew 5:9).

Today, we raise that voice in the face of three great sorrows that weigh heavily upon the human conscience and demand our Christian response: the war in Ukraine, the ongoing suffering of the Palestinian people, both Muslim and Christian, in Gaza, and the continued terrorism targeting Christian communities across the Middle East, most recently seen in the tragic suicide bombing of an Orthodox Christian Church in Damascus, Syria.

Ukraine: A Nation Under Siege on Its Own Soil
The Eastern Orthodox Church cannot and must not remain silent in the face of Russia’s brutal war against Ukraine. For over a decade now, since the 2014 illegal annexation of Crimea, and with devastating intensity since the full-scale invasion in 2022, the Ukrainian people have endured unspeakable suffering on their own land. Cities have been turned into rubble, monasteries shelled, churches desecrated, and thousands of innocent civilians, men, women, and children, have been slaughtered.

We mourn every life lost in this unjust war. We grieve with the mothers of slain soldiers, the widows left behind, and the children who go to sleep beneath the roar of drones and artillery. We cry out with the psalmist: “How long, O Lord? Will You forget me forever?” (Psalm 13:1).

We reject all justifications for this violence and the heresy of ethno-phyletism that seeks to mask political domination in the garments of Orthodox piety. We especially denounce the complicity of the Moscow Patriarchate in blessing this war, an act of profound scandal to the faithful and a betrayal of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

The Ukrainian people are not strangers to Orthodoxy, they are its faithful children. The very baptismal waters of Kyivan Rus’ still flow through the hearts of Orthodox Ukrainians who suffer, pray, and cling to Christ amid the ruins. Their Church has stood resilient, caring for the wounded, housing the displaced, and lifting up the Cross in a time of crucifixion.

We call upon all Orthodox Christians, clergy and laity alike, to raise their voices, to intercede in prayer, and to support peace-building efforts in Ukraine. We plead with our brothers and sisters in Russia: turn from this madness. No political gain, no imperial ambition, no distorted vision of “Holy Russia” can justify the shedding of innocent blood.

Gaza: Pain, Loss, and the Cry for Dignity
In Gaza, the suffering of the Palestinian people has entered yet another chapter of tragedy. Generations have now grown up amidst war, occupation, and siege. Bombs fall from the sky, hospitals collapse, neighborhoods are razed, and hope flickers like a dying candle. The dead are not numbers, they are children with names, mothers with stories, fathers with dreams, elders with wisdom, and entire families wiped out in an instant.

Among them are not only Muslims, but Christians, our brothers and sisters in Christ, members of one of the world’s most ancient Christian communities. The Orthodox parish of St. Porphyrius in Gaza has seen death up close, even as it opened its doors to shelter the homeless and frightened. Our faith teaches us that Christ is present in the suffering of every human being, and that to persecute one of “the least of these” is to persecute Him (Matthew 25:40).

As Orthodox Christians, we do not engage in political polemics, but we must affirm the truth: all people, regardless of religion, ethnicity, or nationality, deserve to live in peace, dignity, and security. The collective punishment of civilians, the destruction of places of worship, and the denial of basic humanitarian needs violate both divine and natural law.

We stand with the Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem, with the Greek Orthodox faithful in the Holy Land, and with all who call for an end to the bloodshed. We pray for those who mourn. And we appeal to the conscience of the world: stop this cycle of violence.

Damascus: The Martyrdom of the Innocent
We now add to our sorrow the grief of the Orthodox faithful in Damascus, Syria. In a horrifying act of terrorism, a suicide bomber detonated himself inside an Orthodox church, slaughtering worshippers gathered in prayer. Among the dead are elderly parishioners, young children, and clergy, martyrs who died not for war, but in peace, as they offered incense before the altar of the Lord.

We mourn their loss as we have mourned the countless Christians throughout the Middle East who have suffered under ISIS, Al-Qaeda, and other extremist factions. From the Nineveh Plains to Maaloula, from Mosul to Homs, the Christian presence, once flourishing, has been reduced to ashes and exile.

And yet, we are not without hope. The Church has always been watered by the blood of her martyrs. Their witness shines as a beacon in the darkness. We proclaim their memory eternal, Вічная Пам’ять, and we cry out: Lord, remember your faithful servants who bore Your Cross in Damascus.

We also pray for the repentance of those who commit such crimes. Even as we condemn terrorism in the strongest terms, we remember that Christ calls us to overcome evil not with evil, but with good. Hatred cannot cast out hatred, only love can.

A Common Prayer for Peace
In this hour of global suffering, let every Orthodox parish, every monastery, every faithful soul become a house of intercession. Let us pray:

O Lord Jesus Christ, You are the Prince of Peace. Hear the cries of Your children in Ukraine, in Gaza, in Syria, and throughout the world. Comfort the afflicted, heal the wounded, protect the innocent, and bring an end to the reign of violence. Inspire the hearts of leaders to seek the path of justice and reconciliation. Strengthen Your Church, that she may be a beacon of light in dark times. Through the prayers of the Theotokos and all the Saints, have mercy on us and save the world You so deeply love. Amen.

“Let Not Your Hearts Be Troubled”
The world is weary of war. And yet Christ tells us: “Let not your hearts be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me” (John 14:1). We may feel powerless in the face of such overwhelming suffering, but we are never without recourse. The Cross of Christ, once a sign of death, became the means of Resurrection. So too may this time of sorrow, through our repentance and love, become a path toward peace.

Let us fast and pray. Let us weep with those who weep. Let us give to the wounded, advocate for the silenced, and preach the Gospel of peace with our lives.
For blessed are the peacemakers.
And may the memory of all victims of violence be eternal.

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Saint Basil of the Desert Eastern Orthodox Hermitage
Tucson, Arizona
June 2025
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