"Patriarch Kirill personally hindered the Pope's attempts to talk to Putin", Metropolitan Boris Gudziak said

The pontiff did everything he could to avert the war, informs CREDO, reports Espresso.West.

"I am convinced that the Pope has made every effort to talk to Putin, and I have some information that he has not received a response to his gestures from Patriarch Kirill, but I think that will change. I hope that the leadership of the Russian Church will open up and hear the Gospel", said the head of the Philadelphia Archdiocese of the UGCC.

Metropolitan Gudziak said he was aware of Pope Francis' desire to talk to Putin from a conversation they had five weeks before the war. According to him, the pontiff did everything he could to avert the war, recalling the Pope's recent unprecedented visit to the Russian embassy.

The Metropolitan of the UGCC criticized Patriarch Kirill for his role in the invasion.  He recalled how the head of the Russian Orthodox Church presented an icon of the Mother of God to the head of the National Guard of Russia during the war, whose members Bishop Gudziak called war criminals.

"It is very unfortunate that today the Russian Orthodox Church, together with its leadership, is on Putin's side. It is on the side of war. It opposes the protection of the innocent", said Metropolitan Boris Gudziak.

The Metropolitan compared the war in Ukraine to the biblical story of David's battle against Goliath, saying that "we can be sure that the Lord will be with people who love".