Statement on the Loss of Iryna Zarutska and Charlie Kirk
In the Name of the Most High, Eternal and Almighty, we behold with sorrow and consternation the senseless loss of life in the deaths of Iryna Zarutska, a refugee from Ukraine, and Charlie Kirk, commentator and public figure. We join together in mourning, in compassion, and in supplication, beseeching Divine Mercy for those who have departed, and for all who suffer as a consequence of these grievous events.
We extend our deepest condolences to the family and friends of Iryna Zarutska, whose life was marked by displacement, hardship, and ultimately, a tragic and premature end. Her death serves as a stark reminder of the vulnerability borne by those compelled to flee their homes owing to war and conflict.
We likewise express sympathy to those who mourn Charlie Kirk, and to all affected by his passing. Human life is always sacred, and its loss ever a cause for lamentation.
Our grief is not confined to private sorrow, but is communal. Every life extinguished through violence, accident, or senseless circumstance wounds the Body of Humanity, and compels us to respond with faith, justice, and care.
We affirm as doctrine that every human being is created in the Image of God, endowed with dignity and worth simply by virtue of existence. No individual’s political or social role, nationality or belief, status as refugee or commentator, lessens that dignity. Life is a gift from God. Its abrupt or unjust end obliges us to seek the meaning of suffering and death in the light of Divine Providence, even when human comprehension falters.
We must guard ourselves against despair. Even when suffering appears incomprehensible in earthly terms, it may open the way to mercy, charity, remembrance, and righteous action. The promise of the Resurrection grants us hope that transcends the grave.
We call for careful investigation, accountability, and a fair legal process wherever responsibility for these deaths may be established. Those who cause harm must be held answerable before both civil law and divine judgement.
The death of a refugee underscores the pressing moral duty of communities, nations, and the Church to safeguard those who flee conflict, namely, to provide shelter, safety, legal standing, and pastoral care. The Church must be sanctuary in deed, not solely in name.
We urge all peoples and leaders to labour for peace in order to cease hostilities, to embrace dialogue over aggression, and to relieve the burdens of war, political strife, and ideological division.
In our grief, let us not retreat into passivity but increase our works of compassion by aiding the displaced, comforting the bereaved, offering hospitality, visiting the lonely, and providing material relief. These are the visible signs of faith enacted.
We commend the souls of Iryna Zarutska and Charlie Kirk to the mercy of Almighty God, praying that they may rest in light and peace, and that their suffering may be transfigured in His presence.
We pray for consolation for their loved ones, that they may be sustained by hope, and that their sorrow may be tempered by the assurance of divine care. We give thanks for all who minister to refugees, the afflicted, and the bereaved; for peacemakers; and for those who uphold the sanctity of life in all its stages.
In our ecclesiastical responsibility, we resolve:
- To proclaim continually the sanctity of human life, rejecting every ideology and practice that diminishes it;
- To equip our congregations and institutions to render assistance to refugees and the displaced;
- To challenge indifference, stirring the conscience of society so that such tragedies may not pass unnoticed.
In conclusion, whilst we cannot fully comprehend why such tragedies are permitted to occur, we nonetheless affirm that God’s justice is exact, His mercy unbounded, and human life holy. Every life lost is a summons to greater love and faithfulness. May the memory of Iryna Zarutska and Charlie Kirk be honoured through our renewed commitment to compassion, peace, and the defence of the defenceless.
Given this 11 of September, in the year 2025, under the hand of Mar Mattai, Mar Markos d'Yeshua w'Maryam, and Mar Michael Kyriakos.
