The World Council of Churches (WCC) has invited Christians world wide to affix in a campaign of prayer on Sunday, asking for an end to the present conflict in Ukraine.
The call echoes remarks earlier this week by Pope Leo XIV who asked Catholics to make 22 August a day of prayer and fasting for an end to the Gaza war.
The WCC said it might be holding a prayer chain on 24 August, marking the thirty fourth anniversary of Ukrainian independence. Churches and individual Christians will have the ability to enroll in prayer times via a web-based calendar.
Specific prayer topics, apart from an end to the war, include the protection of Christians in disputed territories and for “all those that minister under persecution”, in addition to for the healing of the wounded and the “emotional and spiritual restoration” of all those impacted by the conflict.
It is believed that 700 religious buildings have been destroyed or damaged in consequence of the conflict. At least 70 Ukrainian pastors and priests have been killed by Russian troops.
Prayers will even be said for Ukrainian children abducted by Russia. Russia claims that children were evacuated to save lots of their lives and health. Ukraine nevertheless has documented over 19,500 children forcibly taken to Russia or Russian-occupied territories since February 2022.
These children are allegedly subject to Russification, including forced adoption, re-education in camps, and compelled Russian citizenship, actions that Ukraine and the International Criminal Court (ICC) classify as war crimes and potential genocide under the 1948 UN Genocide Convention.
Last week, Pope Leo XIV asked pilgrims to wish “for the gift of peace – a peace that’s disarmed and disarming – for the entire world, especially for Ukraine and the Middle East.”
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