Pope honors Ukrainian priest, meets with Russian church

Pope Francis declared the Ukrainian Rev. Petros Oros a martyr on Friday. He also met with Metropolitan Anthony of Volokolamsk, the new director of foreign relations for the Moscow Patriarchate. Next month the pope is also scheduled to meet with Russian Orthodox leader Patriarch Kirill. Kirill has supported Russia’s war in Ukraine, blessing Russian soldiers who go into battle and calling the war a “metaphysical” battle with the West. Pope Francis and Kirill were scheduled to meet in June, but the meeting was canceled due to diplomatic fallout.

Who was the Rev. Petros Oros? He was an underground Ruthenian Greek Catholic priest who served in Ukraine during the Soviet era. Soviet forces killed him in 1953 out of hatred of the faith, according to the Vatican. His designation means he could be beatified without having a miracle attributed to his intercession. A miracle is needed for the Roman Catholic Church to declare Oros a saint.

Dig deeper: Read Tennyson Bush’s article about Russian priests speaking out against the invasion of Ukraine.