Source: Peter Anderson, Seattle USA Relations between the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) and the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU) continue to worsen. Certainly, a major factor has been the loss of UOC churches to the OCU. The loss of churches is a complex issue. There are situations where a UOC religious community voluntarily decides by a fair vote to change its affiliation to the OCU. However, difficult questions can arise as to who is eligible to vote. If a village has only one church, should villagers who rarely attend services be able to vote or should the voters be limited…
Browsing: Orthodox Church of Ukraine
Source: Peter Anderson, Seattle USA At the very short negotiation session in Istanbul between Russia and Ukraine on the afternoon of June 2, Russia presented a three-page memorandum on its proposed terms for settlement. TASS reported: The memorandum Russia handed over to the Ukrainian side today in Istanbul consists of two parts, Russia’s chief negotiator Vladimir Medinsky said. “We handed over to the Ukrainian side our memorandum, which consists of two parts. The first one is about how to reach a truly lasting peace. The second part highlights the steps to be taken toward a real ceasefire,” he said, adding that…
Source: Get Religion by Terry Mattingly This was a very important weekend in the history of Eastern Orthodox Christianity in Ukraine and Russia — for those (including journalists) who believe that religious traditions and symbols matter as much as statements by government officials and headlines in Western media. At the center of the drama, of course, was the city of Kiev, as it is known in to Russians and many Ukrainians, and Kyiv, as it is known to many Ukrainians, as well as officials in the United States and the European Union. Here’s the quotation I keep thinking about, drawn…
Source: Orthodox Times Metropolitan Epifaniy of Kyiv gave an important interview on how the Church of Ukraine is experiencing the military invasion, what is happening inside the Church itself, and whether it is ready to receive not only parishes but also Bishops who distanced themselves from the Russian Church. “At such a difficult time, we can only get help from God, God really helps us. We can see that even from the first days of this terrible war. Kyiv could have fallen at any moment, but by the grace of God, it did not. And as you can see, with…
Source: Religion News Service The Orthodox theologian who once taught at an evangelical school warns that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine should worry Americans who care about religious freedom. By Bob Smietana (RNS) — The news that Russian troops had invaded Ukraine was of deep concern for Bradley Nassif, a theologian and expert on Orthodox-evangelical dialogue who spent years as a tenured professor of religion at an evangelical university. The status of the Orthodox Church in Ukraine has long been a source of tension. While Ukraine is home to millions of Orthodox Christians, they are divided in loyalties, with ties to rival leaders in…
Source: Public Orthodoxy by Heta Hurskainen | български | ქართული | ελληνικά | Română | Русский | Српски With its autonomous church in Ukraine, the Moscow Patriarchate could not accept the Patriarchate of Constantinople’s actions to grant autocephaly to the Orthodox Church in Ukraine (OCU) in 2018–2019. The Moscow Patriarchate severed its relationships with Constantinople and other primates who recognized the OCU and searched for ways to emphasize conciliarity within Orthodoxy while at the same time ignoring the Ecumenical Patriarchate’s position. The decision to establish the Patriarchal Exarchate of Africa at the turn of 2022 was a nonaccidental result of this development. The Moscow Patriarchate had already cut ties with Constantinople in 2018…
Source: Orthodox Christianity MOSCOW – Informal talks between the Russian and Greek Churches are underway, looking for a way to resolve the crisis that has arisen in Orthodoxy thanks to Constantinople’s meddling in the canonical territory of the Ukrainian Church and in the relations between the two Churches following Saturday’s meeting of the Greek Bishops’ Council, a source in Greek Church circles told RIA-Novosti. The discussions are also connected with today’s session of the Russian Holy Synod, which is already underway. “It is possible to avoid a deterioration of the situation if the ROC comes out with a proposal to Archbishop…
Source: Orthodox Christianity [Mount Athos, July 2, 2019] The Sacred Community of Mount Athos was offended by the actions of a delegation from the schismatic “Orthodox Church of Ukraine” (OCU), led by “Metropolitan” Mikhail of Lutsk and Volhynia. They expressed their indignation in a letter to the Greek Foreign Minister George Katrougalos, as the Greek news agency Romfea reports. According to Romfea, the Holy Community protested in their letter the “provocative energy” of “Metropolitan Mikhail” and his entourage, who among other things, were holding Ukrainian flags and singing the Ukrainian national anthem. Romfea cites the letter of the Holy Community[1]: “This action…
Source: 112.UA News Agency Besides, it was noted that Poroshenko does not interfere in the inner church relations Tomos on autocephaly of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine may be withdrawn by the Ecumenical Patriarchate. It can take place if the church insists on the amendments to the document as Radio Liberty reported citing Rostyslav Pavlenko, the Advisor of President Poroshenko. “Speaking about Tomos and statute of the church, there is a point that all things, which take place in the independent Ukrainian church should take place in accordance with Tomos and statute. If the conditions of Tomos are not violated, if the church…