OPAC Statement on the Palm Sunday Attack in Sumy

The Orthodox Public Affairs Committee (OPAC) is a public advocacy organizations that seeks toto promote, support, defend and champion Orthodox Christian and all Christian communities worldwide in the face of persecution, exclusion, and prejudice.

OPAC Statement on the Palm Sunday Attack in Sumy

An Outrage Against Faith and Humanity in Ukraine

The Orthodox Public Affairs Committee (OPAC) unequivocally condemns the brutal and disgraceful attack carried out by Russian forces on the Ukrainian city of Sumy this Palm Sunday. What should have been a day of peace, prayer, and spiritual reflection at the start of Holy Week became a day of terror. Civilians—many of them Orthodox Christians—were targeted and killed as they gathered to worship. This was not only an act of war; it was an act of desecration. On the very day Christ was welcomed into Jerusalem with palms and cries of “Hosanna,” the Russian state rained down death on its own spiritual kin. It is a sin against both God and humanity.

While Orthodox Christians around the world raised their hearts in prayer, Vladimir Putin sent rockets to kill innocent people. This is not simply a military operation—it is a moral collapse. It is fratricide. To invoke the name of Christ while committing such atrocities on Palm Sunday is blasphemy in its most literal form.

The fact that this violence comes from a regime that cloaks itself in the language of Christian faith is a cruel irony. President Putin continues to present himself as a defender of traditional values, he says he wants peace, all while ordering the deaths of innocent men, women and children. The hypocrisy is staggering.

We must also condemn the ongoing spiritual support—explicit or implied—offered by Patriarch Kirill of the Moscow Patriarchate. His posture toward this war, whether through words or silence, lends a disturbing legitimacy to actions that contradict the very teachings of the Gospel. In moments like this, all spiritual leaders must speak clearly and courageously for peace.

Political leaders must also speak up. The world was told this war could be over in 24 hours. That promise has long expired. Time is up. The world cannot afford another day of delay while the innocent continues to suffer.

We call on all people of faith and conscience—Orthodox or otherwise—to stand against this violence. Thoughts and prayers for the innocent victims of this brutal war must be met with action.

This Holy Week must be a time not only of remembrance, but of resolve. Let Palm Sunday in Sumy be the moment the world reclaims its voice and demands peace with urgency and conviction.