This was an unusual interfaith line-up in the heart of Jerusalem: Jewish, Christian, Muslim and Druze leaders in their traditional dress.

But their prayer for peace in Ukraine took place in a symbolic location: Moscow Square, outside a compound of the Russian Orthodox Church.

“We are here to express first of all our solidarity to the people of Ukraine who are suffering this terrible war that we cannot understand and justify at all,” says the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Pierbattista Pizzaballa.

A letter to Patriarch Kirill of Moscow signed by 150 faith leaders from around the world is taped to the compound gate, urging him to use his influence with the Kremlin.

“In light of your close connection with President Vladimir Putin, we call on you to request that he take immediate steps to de-escalate the conflict,” it reads.

“Religion should be a force for peace, do not let it play into the war of nations,” comments Rabbi Alon Goshen-Gottstein.

He says when a request was made to meet the Russian Orthodox Church leaders, the interfaith group had been told they were praying. “May God hear their prayers, and may they pray for the right thing,” he adds.

Source:
courtesy of BBC NEWS

by Yolande Knell | BBC Middle East correspondent, Jerusalem

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