A high-level delegation of global religious leaders will pay a historic visit to refugee camps and the city of Chernivtsi in western Ukraine on April 12. The visit is being organized by the Peace Department and the Elijah Interfaith Institute. The visit will give further impetus to the vocal and moral support that Pope Francis has given to the Ukrainian nation since Russia’s brutal, unprovoked invasion began on Feb. 24.
Indeed, on April 6 Pope Francis condemned what he called “the massacre of Bucha” and kissed a Ukrainian flag sent from the town where tied bodies shot at close range littered the streets after Russian troops withdrew and bodies poked out of a mass grave at a church.
This photo taken as a handout by The Vatican Media on April 6, 2022 shows Pope Francis holding a flag of Ukraine that comes from Bucha, a suburb of Kyiv in which Russian troops committed atrocities and where dozens of bodies have been found, during the weekly general audience on April 6, 2022 at Paul-VI hall in The Vatican. (Photo by Handout / VATICAN MEDIA / AFP)
The participants of the event in Chernivtsi on April 12 include: the Archbishop of Canterbury (Emeritus), Rowan Williams (Anglican, UK), Rabbi Jonathan Wittenberg (Jewish, UK), Archbishop Nikitas Lulias (Orthodox Archbishop of the UK), Grand Mufti (Emeritus) Mustafa Ceric (Muslim, Bosnia), Grand Imam Yahya Pallavacini (Muslim, Italy), Br. Massimo Fusarelli (Catholic Minister General, Franciscan Order of Friars, Italy), Swami Sarvapriyananda (Hindu, India/USA), Abbess Sister Giác Nghiêm, (Buddhist, France), and others.
The leaders will visit various sites in Chernivtsi Region to show friendship, offer comfort, and share experiences of maintaining spiritual well-being under distressing circumstances. A public event will be held in the city’s main theater, with homage to the bombing of Mariupol, where the faith leaders will address refugees and other citizens impacted by war.
This handout file picture taken and released by Maxar satellite image on March 29, 2022 shows aftermath of Russian airstrike on the Mariupol Drama Theater, in Mariupol, southern Ukraine, on March 16. (AFP)
Their words will be accompanied by live music from faith institutions outside of Ukraine and testimonies from refugees. The messages of the event are informed by a Glocalities report, in which nearly 24,000 people were interviewed across the EU, Russia and Ukraine on their values in 2020. The report, published this week, shows time and again that in all three spaces, people’s highest aspirational values were identical.
The event is the co-initiative of James Sternlicht, founder of the Peace Department and Rabbi Alon Goshen-Gottstein, Founder and Executive Director of the Elijah Interfaith Institute, and supported and inspired by Glocalities.
Rabbi Goshen-Gottstein said that “To the best of my knowledge, this is the first time ever that an interfaith delegation has undertaken a mission of friendship and solidarity, in entering a country at war. This is all the more remarkable considering the high level of religious representatives.”
Faith leaders can sign up to join this community at www.FaithinUkraine.com. The event can be accessed via live video streaming on a page that will be available on April 12, at www.FaithinUkraine.com/Stream
The Peace Department is a US based non-profit organization that pursues the building of a sustainable and compassionate future that benefits all of humanity. https://peacedepartment.global
The Elijah Interfaith Institute provides a strong foundation of global leadership, from which this initiative emerges. www.elijah-interfaith.org
Glocalities is an international research agency that specializes in global insights based on values, lifestyle and culture. NGOs, companies and public sector use Glocalities insights to connect with audiences, based on a deep understanding of trends, people and cultures. www.glocalities.com
