The Archbishop of Canterbury has spoken to the head of the Russian Orthodox Church to express his “grave concern” about the war in Ukraine, Lambeth Palace has said.
The Most Rev Justin Welby urged Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia to publicly call for peace, when the two talked via video call on Wednesday.
Patriarch Kirill has long had friendly ties with Russian president Vladimir Putin. He has previously spoken of an end to “fratricidal” conflict in Ukraine.
During their conversation, the Church of England leader said the conflict was a “great tragedy” and “we need to find ways to live as neighbours in Europe”. Lambeth Palace said in a statement.
It said: “Archbishop Justin Welby expressed his grave concern about the war in Ukraine which he said is a great tragedy. He stressed the need for an end to the violence in Ukraine and said that war and violence is never an answer.
“The archbishop said we need to find ways to live as neighbours in Europe without the aggression and human suffering which have been too much part of our life and history.
“The archbishop said that as churches we must be united in following the great call of Jesus Christ on his disciples to be peacemakers, to do what we can to enable politicians to do their work of establishing the freedom and rights of all people in Ukraine.
“He appealed to His Holiness to join him in speaking for peace in public, and spoke of the need for a ceasefire.
“The archbishop said that he and the Church of England would do whatever it could to support refugees.
“Both leaders emphasised the need to achieve a lasting peace based on justice as soon as possible and agreed to continued communication.”
A statement on the website for the Russian Orthodox Church said Patriarch Kirill had “warmly greeted” the archbishop to discuss how to respond to the “crisis”.
“The talk included a detailed discussion of the situation on Ukrainian soil.
“Special attention was paid to the humanitarian aspects of the current crisis and the actions of the Russian Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church for overcoming its consequences,” it said.
“The parties underscored the utmost importance of the ongoing negotiation process, expressing the hope that a just peace would be achieved as soon as possible.”
It comes after the archbishops of Canterbury and York condemned the Russian attack on Ukraine as “an act of great evil”.
In a joint statement, the Most Rev Justin Welby and the Most Rev Stephen Cottrell urged Christians to pray for Ukraine, Russia and for peace.
“The horrific and unprovoked attack on Ukraine is an act of great evil,” they said.
“Placing our trust in Jesus Christ, the author of peace, we pray for an urgent ceasefire and a withdrawal of Russian forces.
“We call for a public decision to choose the way of peace and an international conference to secure long-term agreements for stability and lasting peace.”
