Source: The National Herald NEW YORK – Patriarch Bartholomew met with the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, according to a communiqué and photographs released by the Patriarchate. The communiqué stated the following: “In a cordial atmosphere, on the afternoon of Monday, September 22, His All-Holiness the Ecumenical Patriarch met with His Excellency the President of Ukraine, Mr. Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in New York, at the headquarters of the Ukrainian Mission to the United Nations. His All-Holiness wished courage and strength in the struggle of the Ukrainian people, and the President thanked the Patriarch for his support of the people and soldiers…
Browsing: Ukraine
Source: Peter Anderson, Seattle USA Late yesterday, July 8, 2025, the State Service of Ukraine for Ethnopolitics and Freedom of Conscience (DESS) found that the Kyiv Metropolis of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) had signs of affiliation with the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC). This announcement was posted on the official website of DESS at https://dess.gov.ua/vyiavleno-oznaky-afiliyovanosti-kyivskoi-mytropolii-upts-z-rpts/. Yesterday’s findings were made pursuant to the controversial Ukrainian Law 3894, which, among other things, amended the Law of Ukraine “On Freedom of Conscience and Religious Organizations.” A Google translation of the complete text of Law 3894, together with my comments, can be accessed at https://www.unifr.ch/orthodoxia/de/assets/public/files/Dokumentation/Anderson/LAW…
Source: Public Orthodoxy Sergei Chapnin Director of Communications at the OCSC of Fordham University and Chief Editor of The Gifts (Дары) Almanac As an Orthodox Christian witnessing the systematic persecution of clergy and faithful in Russia, I find myself compelled to break the deafening indifference within our American Orthodox communities. My heart grows heavier each day as friends—priests I’ve known for decades—suffer for their faithfulness to the Gospel of peace. Here, I must acknowledge that Ukrainians are dying daily under Russian aggression. At the same time, hundreds of pro-war priests from Russia actively support the war efforts in the occupied…
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: Peter Anderson, Seattle USA On May 14, Pope Leo XIV welcomed in the Vatican’s audience hall the participants in the “Jubilee of the Oriental Churches,” which is being celebrated May 12-14 as part of the Catholic Church’s “Jubilee Holy Year 2025.” https://www.iubilaeum2025.va/en.html The full text of the address by Pope Leo is found at https://www.vatican.va/content/leo-xiv/en/speeches/2025/may/documents/20250514-giubileo-chiese-orientali.html. Although the people in the hall were predominately members of the Oriental Churches in union with Rome, certain of the Pope’s remarks used the broad term “Christian East,” a term which obviously includes the Orthodox Church of the Byzantine tradition and the Oriental Orthodox Churches. Pope…
Source: Orthodox Christianity Remembering the Disaster, reverence for the labors, a call to repentance Priest Vyacheslav Inyushkin The tragedy at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant on April 26, 1986, changed the lives of hundreds of thousands of people—those who found themselves in the affected areas and those who eliminated the consequences of the explosion at the nuclear reactor of the fourth power unit. According to official data, over 77,220 square miles were exposed to radioactive contamination, seventy percent of which were on the territory of Ukraine, Belarus and Russia. The most polluted areas were the northern parts of the Kiev…
Source: Peter Anderson, Seattle USA On Saturday, March 29, in the Cathedral of the Resurrection in Tirana, Archbishop John (Pelushi) of Tirana, Durrës, and All Albania was enthroned following his election on March 16 as the new primate of the Autocephalous Orthodox Church of Albania. A video of the entire enthronement ceremony can be watched at https://www.facebook.com/RadioNgjallja/videos/1858940237978503/. It was encouraging to see that all of the Local Orthodox Churches were represented at the enthronement. A description of the enthronement ceremony and the names of the representatives can be read at https://orthodoxalbania.org/2020/2025/03/29/fronezimi-i-kryepiskopit-te-ri-te-shqiperise-fortlumturise-se-tij-z-joan-ne-tirane-29-03-2025/ (official church site); https://orthodoxtimes.com/enthronement-of-the-new-archbishop-of-albania-ioannis-video/ (English article) The Ecumenical Patriarchate was represented by Elder Metropolitan Emmanuel of…
Source: Peter Anderson, Seattle USA On December 19, President Putin held his annual end-of-the -year question-and-answer session. This year it was a combination of a press conference and an “open line” where the Russian public could telephone and ask questions. The session lasted for more than four hours. The official transcript of the entire session is found at http://www.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/75909. During the session, there was a question relating to the religious situation in Ukraine. The question was asked by Alexandra Suvorova, one of the moderators of the session. The question and answer are as follows: Suvorova: There was also a question…
Source: Orthodox Times by Efi Efthymiou A comprehensive dialogue unfolded on the morning of Thursday, marking the final day of the International Conference on Theology, as the discussion centered on the theme of the Orthodox Church and its role in contemporary geopolitics. The panel featured distinguished participants, including Angelos Syrigos, Professor of International Law and Foreign Policy at Panteion University and Member of Parliament for Athens A constituency, alongside Evangelos Venizelos, former Deputy Prime Minister of Greece and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Professor of Constitutional Law of the Law School of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Emmanuel Karageorgoudis, Dean of the…
Source: Peter Anderson, Seattle WA On October 22, 2024, the Holy Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate met at the Phanar. The Ecumenical Patriarchate uses a 6-month rotation system for Synod members. The members of the Synod as of the October 22 meeting are listed at https://orthodoxtimes.com/new-composition-of-holy-and-sacred-synod-of-the-ecumenical-patriarchate/#:~:text=In%20line%20with%20the%20standard,presidency%20of%20Ecumenical%20Patriarch%20Bartholomew. The press release for the first day of this meeting is found at https://ec-patr.org/%ce%b1%ce%bd%ce%b1%ce%ba%ce%bf%ce%b9%ce%bd%cf%89%ce%b8%ce%ad%ce%bd-%ce%b3%ce%b9%ce%b1-%cf%84%ce%b9%cf%82-%ce%b5%cf%81%ce%b3%ce%b1%cf%83%ce%af%ce%b5%cf%82-%cf%84%ce%b7%cf%82-%ce%b1%ce%b3%ce%af%ce%b1-29/ This release includes the following statement: “During the midday break of work, the Patriarch and the members of the holy body received with cordiality and honor the new Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, His Excellency Mr. Andrii Sybiha and his colleagues, after…
Source: Public Orthodoxy Dr. Sergii Bortnyk Director of the ‘Academic Initiative’ Charitable Foundation (Kyiv, Ukraine) Recent weeks have been quite intense in Ukraine’s religious sphere. Undoubtedly, the most resonant event was the adoption of Bill No. 8371 by the Ukrainian Parliament on August 20. In its latest version, it was titled “On the Protection of the Constitutional Order in the Sphere of Activities of Religious Organizations,” but it is informally known as the “law banning the UOC (Ukrainian Orthodox Church).” The bill’s adoption was demanded by a significant number of opposition deputies, particularly from the “European Solidarity” party, led by former President…
Source: Peter Anderson, Seattle USA Pope Francis, in his Angelus address on Sunday, August 25, made a strong appeal relating to the religious situation in Ukraine. The official English translation of his remarks can be read at https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/angelus/2024/documents/20240825-angelus.html. With respect to Ukraine, he stated: I continue to follow with sorrow the fighting in Ukraine and the Russian Federation. And in thinking about the laws recently adopted in Ukraine, I fear for the freedom of those who pray, because those who truly pray always pray for all. A person does not commit evil because of praying. If someone commits evil against his…