Russian Orthodox Representative took part in the Tokyo Peacemaking Round Table

OCP News Service 26/09/2022

Tokyo -Japan: The World Conference of Religions for Peace (WCRP) conducted an international round table “Beyond war and on the path to reconciliation” in Tokyo from 21st September to 23rd, 2022. The event was attended by V.V. Kipshidze (Deputy Chairman of the Synodal Department for Church Relations with Society and the Media- Russian Orthodox Church), as the representative of the Russian Orthodox Church with the blessing of Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia. The event was attended by representatives of world religions from Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Myanmar, South Sudan, Russia, Syria, Ukraine, and other countries.  The round table discussed conflicts in various regions and the prospects for the participation of religious communities in the search for ways to resolve them peacefully.

Speaking at the Tokyo Peacekeeping Round Table, V.V. Kipshidze welcomed the initiative to hold the event put forward by the World Conference of Religions for Peace – Japan. Referring to the position of the Russian Orthodox Church regarding the Ukrainian conflict, he reminded the audience that the Church views this conflict as a tragedy and fratricidal division. He also pointed out that the Russian Orthodox Church, with the blessing of Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia, has been praying for peace since 2014, considering not the peoples of Russia and Ukraine, but the NATO countries that consider Russia as an enemy, to be guilty of the aggravation of the conflict.

 

“The position of the Russian Orthodox Church became the reason for a frenzied information campaign aimed at accusing His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia of “blessing” the war in Ukraine. The main Western media continue to replicate this for one simple reason. They would like the Russian Orthodox Church to take the side of NATO in this conflict, oppose the Government of the Russian Federation, and become part of the political opposition supported by Western countries. Any other position is unacceptable for them,” explained the Deputy Chairman of the Synodal Department.

Several representatives from various religions took part in the round table and adopted statements regarding the conference.

Source:
OCP News Service