Patriarch Theophilos of Jerusalem: Prayer is a first step to peace in Ukraine

Patriarch Theophilos III of Jerusalem and all Palestine wishes Ukrainians to never lose their hope and believes that all existing problems can be sort out via dialogue. He said about it as he was receiving a gift from Ukrainian pilgrims – a composite icon featuring 100 miraculous icons of the Mother of God handed in to the Patriarch with a request to pray for Ukraine before this icon, reports the UOC Information Center.

“I have seen a lot of Ukrainians come to Jerusalem. A prayer is one of the steps to peace. Apart from that, there is a dialogue and understanding. We’ve been watching the developments in Ukraine and I have a firm belief that problems will be resolved sooner or later there. We continually urge everybody to reconciliation. Reconciliation is a first step to be continued with a dialogue. Everything is possible as long as there is a dialogue,” remarked His Beatitude Patriarch of the Holy City.

Patriarch Theophilos III gave an example of hypothetical dialogue-building in seemingly hopeless situations.

“We showed to the entire world that here, in Jerusalem, we were facing a complicated problem with reconstruction of the Edicule in the Holy Sepulchre Church. Nobody believed it would be possible one day. However, with God’s help and thanks to our never fading hope it did become a reality,” said the Patriarch of Jerusalem.

On April 14, Holy Friday, there was a large-scale Cross Procession along Via Dolorosa in Jerusalem. Orthodox believers from different parts of the world were carrying reproductions of 100 famous in Ukraine miraculous icons of the Holy Virgin Mary.