Archimandrite Roman (Krassovsky): "The Lord protects us. We pray for the conflict to end as soon as possible."
Interview with Archimandrite Roman (Krassovsky), Chief of the Russian Ecclesiastical Mission in Jerusalem
- Father Roman, what is happening now in the Holy Land?
- Right now, the country is in a state of emergency. At different times, during the day and night, rockets are flying. In Israel, we are warned about the attacks, and we receive a notification on our phones about ten minutes in advance. But the Palestinians do not have this.
- How has the current situation affected the mission?
- The mission is living as usual, divine services continue. We have already gotten used to such things. Of course, we need to be careful, to seek shelter in case of an attack and stay there. But life goes on. Of course, pilgrims cannot come to us, and that is a problem. All flights are canceled for the next several weeks. We pray that this will all end soon.
- Do you feel isolated?
- (Laughing) Personally, I do not. Because I live in the monastery. We all live in monasteries and are, if I may say so, we are already isolated from the world. But on the other hand, yes, there is a feeling of tension.
- I really hope to hear a negative response from you: none of the mission members or parishioners have been harmed?
– No, it seems that none of the Orthodox Christians have suffered. Neither our monasteries nor our property have suffered either. Mostly the rockets are aimed at Tel Aviv, but sometimes we see them flying over Jerusalem and how they are destroyed overhead. I even filmed such a flight from the window of my cell. It was above the Mount of Olives Monastery of the Ascension of the Lord.
– And is the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and other holy sites open? Are people going there?
– I don’t know about now, but in the first days when these attacks began, they were closed.
– What emotions are you and the other members of the mission experiencing right now?
– What emotions?... I don’t know, on one hand, maybe I have already gotten used to such things. But on the other, as I said before: life goes on. Well, okay – there’s a bombing, but it ends after 10 minutes, and we continue life as usual.
Is it scary? Of course, people are afraid, it is unpleasant. But still, most rockets are intercepted, and few reach their target. Of course, sometimes this happens, and there are already casualties and injured. Unfortunately, strikes are mainly aimed at residential areas, not military targets.
– What can you say about the evacuation of civilians and humanitarian aid?
– I can't say anything about what is happening in Gaza. The army continues operations there, and of course, people are suffering. As for Palestine, there are many arrests, and roads are often blocked. For example, Bethlehem is only a 20-minute drive from our monastery, but if I decided to go there, I would hardly make it.
– And what about evacuation?
– As far as I know, no one is being evacuated. No one is allowed to leave Gaza at all. In Israel, people are well prepared, and when the alarm sirens sound, everyone goes to shelters.
– You said that you have already gotten used to such situations. That shocked me. How can one get used to such situations, and what helps endure them?
– (Laughing.) We all walk under God. If it's fated for a rocket to fall on my head, well, what can I do about it? Of course, you have to take precautions when necessary – hide in a shelter. Here, in the Middle East, it has become a part of life. But in reality, it’s not as scary as it may seem after television reports. Of course, it’s dangerous – in the sense that rockets fall, and people die. But on the other hand, we are talking right now, and it is quiet here. Perhaps in the evening the siren will sound and these things will fly, but for now, nothing has fallen on Jerusalem.
- The mission survives on donations and outside help. How is it coping now, and how will it cope in the near future?
- Of course, the monasteries are in a difficult position; we have no income. But we hope that God will have mercy, and people will be able to come again. Currently, with the new wave of war, things have gotten a bit worse and tighter. During Pascha and before that, Lent, there were relatively many pilgrims, even people coming from Russia. But now everything is closed, all planned pilgrimages have been canceled. Thank God, we recently had the First Hierarch of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia, Metropolitan Nicholas, and Metropolitan Mark of Berlin visiting with a pilgrimage of 60 people. We are expecting new pilgrimages in August, but we will see what happens. God protects us.
Dmitry Zlodorev
June 18, 2025.
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