Metropolitan Yevlogy of Sumy condemned Patriarch Kirill's "electoral grief"
The hierarch of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, Metropolitan Yevlogiy (Hutchenko) of Sumy and Akhtyrskyy, has sharply criticized the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill, accusing him of «selective grief» and ignoring the suffering of Ukrainian believers, while expressing condolences over the deaths of civilians in the territories outside Ukraine’s control.
Thereason for the criticism was Patriarch Kirill’s condolences over the Ukrainian troops’ strike on the village of Horly in the non-Ukrainian-controlled part of the Kherson region. According to the Russian media, the Ukrainian UAV attack hit a restaurant where New Year’s celebrations were taking place, killing more than 20 people. In turn, Ukrainian media reported that the strike hit a Russian army base. Nevertheless, Metropolitan Yevlogy called these condolences «crocodile tears,» emphasizing that the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church persistently ignores the suffering of Ukrainian Christians caused by Russian aggression.
In his statement, Metropolitan Yevlogy recalled the tragedy in Sumy on Palm Sunday, when Russian shelling killed 35 civilians, including children, to which Patriarch Kirill did not react in any way. The bishop also called ungodly and questionable from the point of view of Orthodoxy the statement of the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church that the commandment «Thou shalt not kill» allegedly does not apply to the occupants. «Is this Orthodoxy or is it already obvious heresy?» the Ukrainian metropolitan wondered.
«On April 13, Palm Sunday, in Sumy, the Russians brutally killed 35 civilians — residents of the regional center, including two children. The wounded are 117, including 15 children! Where is Kirill Gundyaev’s sympathy? No! According to the UN Office for Human Rights (OHCHR), at least 13,438 civilians, including 713 children, have been killed in Ukraine since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022, with another 33,270 wounded. Where is Kirill’s sympathy? No! Gundyaev, it seems to me, has been «shipwrecked in his faith» (1 Timothy 1:19). He does not think about God, but only about how to please «dear Vladimir Vladimirovich». Sadly, but this is a sorrowful fact of clear betrayal of his former Ukrainian flock!», — wrote the hierarch of the UOC.
Recall, April 15, 2025 Estonian Orthodox Christian Church (EOCOC) expressed deep condolences to the people of Ukraine in connection with the tragedy that occurred on Palm Sunday. A missile attack by Russian forces on the city of Sumy killed 34 people and injured more than 100. The Church prays for the repose of the souls of the innocent victims and expresses its condolences to the families of the victims.
Read also
