Address of Metropolitan Alexander of Astana and Kazakhstan Regarding the Conflict in the Middle East.

Dear brothers and sisters, residents of the blessed land of Kazakhstan!

We receive tragic news daily from Israel and Palestine, where military confrontations continue unabated. The reports of casualties, wounded, and the destruction of homes and hospitals resonate painfully in each of our hearts. The ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict has afflicted and continues to affect thousands, including a vast number of civilians, children, the elderly, and the disabled. The escalation of this conflict threatens to become a catastrophe of global proportions.

The Holy Land holds exceptional significance for many millions of Orthodox Christians and Muslims worldwide, as well as believers of other faiths, making peaceful coexistence there not only a humanitarian issue but also a matter of significant religious importance.

The Orthodox Church prays for a swift cessation of hostilities, the healing of those affected, and calls on all parties to the conflict to restore law and order, to achieve a just peace and mutual understanding. Leaders of world religions and traditional faiths must use their authority to stop the bloodshed and discord.

The events in the Middle East should inspire us, dear Kazakhstanis, to take even greater care in preserving interfaith peace and interethnic harmony on our ancient land. The ongoing conflict illustrates that internal strife invariably leads to the disintegration of political systems, economic collapse, and humanitarian disaster. It is essential for us, whose ancestors have lived for centuries in the Great Steppe in neighborliness and brotherhood, to display wisdom and prudence and not succumb to any provocations. Anyone who incites conflicts and sows discord, pushing people to violate the law and commit bloodshed, bears a grave sin. Today, the well-being of our homeland, Kazakhstan, and its place in the modern world is in our hands.

We, the people of Kazakhstan, are one large multiethnic and multi-confessional family. I call upon the clergy and laity of the Orthodox Church of Kazakhstan and all who believe in God to intensify their prayers for the speedy cessation of military operations in the Holy Land, for peace throughout the world, and for the prosperity of Kazakhstan.