More than 200 Russian Orthodox clerics have signed an appeal for an end to the war in Ukraine.

The priests and deacons called for an immediate ceasefire to stop the “fratricidal” conflict, and mourned “the ordeal to which our brothers and sister in Ukraine are undeservedly subjected.”

The clerics’ public statement highlighted the growing tensions within the Russian Orthodox Church, as pressure mounts for the Moscow patriarchate to take a public stand against the invasion.