Father Ioan (John) Sauca, the Romanian Orthodox priest who leads the World Council of Churches (WCC), met in Moscow with Patriarch Kirill, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church.

350 Protestant and Orthodox communities, including the Russian Orthodox Church, are members of the WCC, which is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland. The WCC has strongly condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Christians “are called to be peacemakers and to defend and protect life,” said Patriarch Kirill. “War cannot be holy,” he added—with the caveat that “when one has to defend himself and his life or to give his life for the lives of the others, things look different,” according to the WCC statement.