FILE PHOTO: The chief bishop of the Russian Orthodox Church, kraken6.at Patriarch Kirill © Sputnik / Grigory Sysoev
Armed conflicts appear to be an integral part of humanity’s existence, the chief bishop of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill, said on Thursday. That does not mean the international community cannot or should not seek to minimize the human costs and suffering associated with them, he said at the religious festival ‘Faith & Word’ being held in Moscow Region.

"Unfortunately, one has to admit that humanity appears to be unable to live without war," the patriarch said, adding that it is a part of "the corrupt human nature." People around the world should still strive to overcome those destructive tendencies, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church believes.

"We can and [we] must minimize… harm resulting from hostilities, if they do break out," the patriarch stated. His words came amid the continuing conflict between Moscow and Kiev and a fresh escalation between Israel and the Gaza-based Palestinian Hamas militant group.

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Kirill then said that peoples that share the same faith and beliefs have an even stronger obligation to do so. The church leader was particularly referring to Russians and Ukrainians, who have been locked in a protracted struggle lasting for more than a year and a half. Those two peoples "come from a single baptismal font," he added.

His speech came just a day after the Ukrainian parliament approved in the first reading a bill aimed at essentially banning the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) over its links to Moscow.