Day: January 3, 2024

The following petition will be sent to the Heads of the Ancient Orthodox Churches in the name of all signators. Those signing should be Orthodox Christians in communion with the Ancient Patriarchs.

…

To the Primates of the Ancient Orthodox Churches,

Your All-Holiness Bartholomew, Archbishop of Constantinople and Ecumenical Patriarch; Your Beatitude Theodore, Pope and Patriarch of Alexandria and all Africa; Your Beatitude John, Patriarch of Antioch and all the East; Your Beatitude Theophilos, Patriarch of the Holy City of Jerusalem and of all Palestine and Israel; Your Beatitude Chrysostomos, Archbishop of Nova Justiniana and all Cyprus

We the undersigned are Orthodox Christians of all ranks, nations, and jurisdictions. We raise our voice on behalf of the victims of unprovoked Russian aggression against Ukraine. We cry out for the innocent child, for the weak, for the refugee, for the abducted, for the murdered, for the raped women and the raped children, for the brutally tortured. In sacred duty to Christ himself, we urgently appeal to you now, and we affirm that;

 1.    The Patriarch of Moscow, Kirill (Gundyayev) has argued for, encouraged and blessed the murder of innocents. He is bloodguilty. He should be tried for murder.

 2.    We add our voice to support those hundreds of Ukrainian priests, and we request that the Primates of the ancient Orthodox Churches hold a canonical trial, and depose Patriarch Kirill of Moscow.

 3.    We request that the Primates of the ancient Orthodox Churches examine the charges of heresy brought by the authors and signators of the ‘Declaration on the “Russian World” (Russkii Mir) Teaching’. 

The Russian Federation today wages a criminal invasion of Ukraine, commits atrocities, regularly commits terrorist acts, and is committing genocide.

The Patriarch of Moscow (Kirill, Gundyayev) provides an ideological platform for this, while he he argues in favor of, blesses and justifies this criminal aggression.

Most local Orthodox churches have condemned Russia’s criminal invasion. Yet very few bishops have condemned the shameful role of the Russian Orthodox Church.

Numerous respected Orthodox theologians have brought a charge of heresy against Kirill.

(An expanded version these arguments, with footnotes, is at: http://www.thestonescryout.org)