Ecumenical patriarch: Russian Church shares blame for 'crimes' in Ukraine

FILE PHOTO: Lithuanian Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte and Constantinople Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew meet at the Lithuanian government head office in Vilnius, Lithuania, March 21, 2023. Lithuanian Prime Minister's Office/Laima Penek/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo

VILNIUS (Reuters) - The spiritual head of the world's Orthodox Christians said on Wednesday that Russia's powerful Orthodox Church shared responsibility for the conflict in Ukraine but that he stood ready to help in Russia's postwar "spiritual regeneration".

Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew's comments are a rebuke for Russian Patriarch Kirill, whose full-throated blessing for Moscow's invasion of Ukraine has splintered the worldwide Orthodox Church.