Patriarch John X of Antioch and All the East sent a message of solidarity to Metropolitan Onufry of Kiev and All Ukraine, which was published on March 27, 2023 on the official Facebook page of the Patriarchate of Antioch, the Information and Education Department of the UOC reports.
“With joy, combined with sadness, we embrace you in Christ during these days of Great Lent, when we are preparing for the death and Resurrection of our Lord and Savior. We are writing to you at this difficult time in the history of the respected Ukrainian Orthodox Church, a time when the words of the holy Apostle Paul are remembered: “We are being pressed from everywhere, but we are not squeezed; we are in hopeless circumstances, but do not lose hope; we are driven, but we are not abandoned; oppressed, but we do not perish” (2 Cor. 4:8-9),” the message says.
The hierarch also notes that “with great pain in our hearts, we are watching from afar the persecution that you and your holy Church experience for Christ. We are far from you geographically, but we are close to you in spirit, reaching out to you in this dark moment. We ceaselessly pray for you and your pastors, imploring the Lord to soon stop this sad war and destroy all the threats that your holy Church faces.”
“May the Lord give you wisdom, strength and the ability to endure, for “whoever endures to the end will be saved,” Patriarch John emphasized.