Source: The Conversation A new Orthodox Church was recently established in Ukraine. Shortly after, Bartholomew I, the Patriarch of Constantinople and the spiritual head of global Orthodox Christianity, granted independence to the new Orthodox Church of Ukraine and transferred its jurisdiction from the church of Moscow to the church of Constantinople, located in Istanbul. This competition between the churches of Constantinople and Moscow for dominance in the Orthodox Christian world is not new – it goes back more than 500 years. But the birth of the new Orthodox Church in Ukraine opens a new chapter in this history. So what is Ukraine’s new church, and…
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A fireman works at the scene of a fire in a building in the Monastery of Caves in Kiev, Ukraine, Monday, Jan. 14, 2019. Fire has broken out in a building at the renowned Pechersk monastery complex in the Ukrainian capital, Kiev, but is not endangering any significant buildings and there have been no reported injuries. (Ukrainian Emergency Situations Ministry Press Service Photo via AP)
Source: The National Herald By Associated Press MOSCOW (AP) — Fire has broken out in a building at the renowned Pechersk monastery complex in the Ukrainian capital, Kiev, but is not endangering any significant buildings and there have been no reported injuries. The fire broke out Monday afternoon on the second floor of the two-story building and spread to the roof. The cause of the fire was not immediately determined. The building reportedly was undergoing renovation after being derelict. Management of the monastery complex, which is famous for its extensive catacombs, is split between the Moscow-linked Ukrainian Orthodox Church, and…
Source: Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty The Russian Orthodox Church has called on international leaders to “protect” its followers in Ukraine in the face of what it called official pressure on Moscow-appointed clerics. In a statement issued on December 14, the Russian Orthodox Church said Patriarch Kirill has sent a letter to the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, Thomas Greminger, the secretary-general of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Emmanuel Macron, Pope Francis, and other spiritual leaders, urging them to help protect believers and their faith in Ukraine. “The interference by the leaders of…
St. Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, Rue Daru, Paris
Source: Archdiocese of the Russian Orthodox Church of Western Europe The Archdiocese of the Russian Orthodox Churches in Western Europe, which is one of the oldest Orthodox ecclesial entities of our region, was placed under the pastoral responsibility of Metropolitan Euloge (Georgievsky) by St. Tikhon, Patriarch of Moscow, by decree of April 8 1921. Thrown on the roads of exile by the Bolshevik Revolution, Russian emigrants established, with faith and courage, an ecclesial presence based on the major principles of the unfinished Moscow Council of 1917-1918. First established in Berlin, the seat of the Archdiocese was transferred to Paris, to the…
Source: Pravda The agreements of 300 years have been cast aside. Constantinople wants to break the spine of Orthodoxy and make Ukraine hostile to Russia forever. However, it is up to common people – Ukrainian Christians – to make their final decision. On October 11, the Synod of the Constantinople Patriarchate made the following decisions (briefly): 1. To confirm the decision that the Ecumenical Patriarchate proceeds to provide autocephaly to the Church of Ukraine. 2. To restore the stauropegion of the Ecumenical Patriarch in Kiev. 3. To accept and consider the appeals from Filaret Denisenko and Macary Maletich for the…
Metropolitan Hilarion (Alfeyev)
Source: Public Orthodoxy by George Demacopoulos The three-way dispute between Ukrainians, Russians, and the Ecumenical Patriarchate over the possibility of Ukrainian ecclesiastical independence is shaping up to be the greatest challenge to Orthodox Christian unity of our generation. From a purely political perspective, Ukrainian autocephaly would represent an unmitigated disaster for the Russian Orthodox Church. Not only would it deprive the Russian Church of one third of its parishes and undermine its Russkiy Mir project, but it would dramatically belie the claim of the Moscow Patriarchate that it is the leader of the Orthodox Christian world. In a desperate effort to thwart the…
Metropolitan Onuphry (Berezovsky)
Source: Orthodox Christianity An Exclusive Interview on the Ecclesiastical Events in Ukraine In this interview with the program “Morning With Inter,” His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry speaks about his position on the latest Church events connected with the actions of the Patriarchate of Constantinople in regard to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. The Ukrainian primate calls on the people of Ukraine to fear nothing, to preserve the purity of the Orthodox faith, and to live with God. Today we are being dragged into the format of a political party, so that Christ would not lead us, but politicians. If I had wanted…
Source: DECR Communication Service The Statement was adopted at an extraordinary session of the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church on 14 September 2018 (Minutes No. 69). With profound regret and sorrow the Holy Synod the Russian Orthodox Church learned about the statement made by the Holy Synod of the Orthodox Church of Constantinople concerning the appointment of its two “exarchs” to Kiev. This decision was taken without an agreement with the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church and His Beatitude Metropolitan Onufry of Kiev and All Ukraine – the only canonical head of the Orthodox Church in Ukraine. It…
Archpriest Nikolay Balashov
Source: Russian Orthodox Church Department for External Church Relations Originally published on May 23, 2018 The Synod of the Patriarchate of Constantinople has stated its intention to discuss with all the Local Orthodox Churches the appeal made to it by Ukrainian President Petr Poroshenko to create an autocephalous Church in Ukraine. Is there today a commonly accepted procedure for granting church independence – autocephaly and what does canon law say about this mechanism? – a detailed explanation given to RIA Novosti by the vice-chairman of the Moscow Patriarchate department for external church relations, Archpriest Nikolay Balashov. – Father Nikolay, why…
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Game of Domes: some Russians detect a Westerosi influence
Source: BBC The Russian armed forces plan to build their own cathedral in Moscow in record time, and are seeking donations. Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu says the project has Orthodox Church and state backing, but will be funded exclusively by the generosity of the Russian public, the official Tass news agency reports. Apart from many expressions of support for the project and the armed forces in general, social media has also seen debate about the unusual look of the cathedral. Some liken it to an armoured personal carrier, missile launcher, or air-defence battery, and the video on the cathedral website has drawn comparisons with the…
Source: Atlantic Council By Taras Kuzio On September 7, Ukraine inched closer to a globally recognized international church. That day, Constantinople Patriarch Bartholomew I placed Ukraine under the canonical jurisdiction of US Archbishop Daniel of Pamphilon and Canadian Bishop Ilarion of Edmonton who head Ukrainian Orthodox Churches in both countries under Constantinople’s canonical jurisdiction. Since 1685, the Russian Orthodox Church has claimed Ukraine lies within its canonical territory, but no longer. The two appointments are preparation for granting the Orthodox Church in Ukraine autocephaly (independence) from the Russian Orthodox Church. It’s no exaggeration to write that the granting of autocephaly from the Russian…
Source: Interfax Constantinople “plays a dangerous game” as it has its own schism Moscow, September 9, Interfax – Symmetric response of Russian Orthodox Church to actions of Constantinople in Ukraine could become establishment of the Moscow Patriarchate’s dioceses in Turkey, a famous religious expert, professor Roman Sylantyev believes. “Evident response decision is to set up dioceses in Turkey, where there are minimum ten times as many members of the Russian Orthodox Church even if we count only those who permanently live in the country. And if we take into account five million of our tourists who come to Turkey every…