Bartholomew I, the head of Istanbul's Fener Greek Orthodox Patriarchate and the spiritual leader of the world's Eastern Orthodox Christians, called for an end to war in Ukraine on Sunday.
"We address another plea to end the war now. To immediately stop any act of violence, anything that spreads pain and death." Bartholomew I said in a statement.
Bartholomew also called the war abominable and voiced solidarity and support with the Ukrainian church, which was granted independence from Moscow, and the "seriously suffering" Ukrainian people in his statement.
In 2019, Bartholomew granted autocephaly to the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, making it independent, in a historic split strongly opposed by Russia.
Recently, the cleric has also condemned what he called an "unprovoked attack by Russia against Ukraine."
In remarks carried by the patriarchate's website, the archbishop said the invasion is in "violation of human rights" and is leading to "brutal violence" against civilians.
Bartholomew appealed to Russian and world leaders to work toward a peaceful settlement of this critical situation "which may even trigger global warfare."
He urged the faithful to pray for peace to prevail in Ukraine.
