Source: The New Voice of Ukraine Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko announced on July 6 that his regime will provide “sanctuary” to monks from the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, according to the pro-government Telegram channel Pul Pervogo. “No monk will be left to fend for themselves in Belarus. We will do everything to provide them shelter in Belarus,” the message read. Amidst recent defeats of the Russian army on the battlefield, Lukashenko expressed his confidence that Russia would still win the war. The dictator claimed that Russia is the closest ally of Belarus, and this is “no secret to anyone.” “We have long…
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Source: Orthodox Church in America SPRINGFIELD, VA [OCA] On June 18, 2023, the Polish Orthodox Church provided an update on the support for Ukrainian refugees made possible by the fundraising efforts of the Orthodox Church in America. A video update explained that the funds collected by the OCA enabled two separate programs of Polish language instruction for refugees in 28 groups of students across 19 locations in Poland. These groups totaled 580 students, with 535 graduates of the programs. These sessions ran from March 2022 to April 2023. His Beatitude Metropolitan Sawa offered his blessing and gratitude for the programs…
Source: Public Orthodoxy Lidiya Lozova British Academy Fellow in the Theology and Religion Department, University of Exeter First, I would like to say two things. From 2009 to 2019, I was quite involved in the life of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC)—from singing and helping a priest-monk at a local parish near Kyiv to assisting the bishop during international trips to translating for international ecumenical guests at Lavra, the metropolia, and the Kyiv Theological Academy. Second, I was among the authors of the recent statement against violence in resolving conflicts among church communities in Ukraine, which was drafted after violence was used…
Source: The National Herald BETHESDA, MD – His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros was the honored guest at the National Intelligence University’s Presidential Lecture Series, where he addressed the faculty and student body on the topic of “Russia’s Weaponization of Religion in the Ukraine Conflict.” This historic visit marks the first-ever address by the spiritual leader of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America to the US intelligence community. The National Intelligence University (NIU) is the US intelligence community’s premier academic institution, with faculty and students from all 18 agencies of the intelligence community (including the CIA, NSA, NGA, FBI, and more) as…
Source: Public Orthodoxy Andrey Shirin Associate Professor of Divinity, John Leland Center for Theological Studies In his 2006 book titled The Civil War as a Theological Crisis, historian Mark Noll argued that the American Civil War of the 19th century was, among other things, a crisis not only of differing biblical interpretations but of the very concept of the Bible. The South and the North interpreted the Scriptural outlook on slavery very differently, with Southern interpretation being more straightforward and the Northern one more nuanced. Therefore, at issue was the concept of the Bible as a clear source that could offer transparent…
Source: Public Orthodoxy Rev. Bohdan Hladio A Ukrainian Orthodox priest within the jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarchate As I write this, the drama surrounding the expulsion of the monks of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church under Metropolitan Onuphry from the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra is being played out, a drama simultaneously sad, understandable, and scandalous. I first visited the Lavra in November of 1988. A portion of the monastery had just been re-opened, and it was moving to see how the monks were re-establishing monastic life after decades of Soviet persecution. One of the elderly monks “boasted” that he had been expelled from…
Source: Peter Anderson, Seattle USA On March 30, the commission of the Reserve, whose responsibilities include the inventory of the property to determine what belongs to the Reserve and what belongs to private persons or organizations such as the UOC, attempted to enter the Church of the Nativity of the Mother of God, located in the area of the Far Caves. See the map at https://dayting.com.ua/en/excursion-to-kiev-pechersk-lavra. This is the church used by the Kyiv Theological Academy and Seminary (UOC). The commission was not able to enter the church due to a large crowd with Archbishop Sylvester, the rector of the…
Source: The National Herald Analysis by Theodore Kalmoukos On March 5, which was the Sunday of Orthodoxy, the newly elected Archbishop Georgios of Cyprus made his first official visit to the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople. The visit in ecclesiastical language is called ‘the peaceful visit, and it was done according to the long-standing tradition of the Church. The Cypriot Archbishop co-celebrated the Divine Liturgy with Patriarch Bartholomew and members of his Synod, an act that manifests the unity of the two churches of Cyprus and Constantinople. On the same day, Metropolitan Epiphanios of Kyiv and All Ukraine made his ‘peaceful…
Source: Christian Network Europe During an inter-church discussion, representatives of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine and the Ukrainian Orthodox Church concluded that it would be best to re-unite both denominations. Therefore, they recommend renewed cooperation. “It is crucial to preserve the spiritual unity of the Ukrainian people, the origins of which go back to the ancient Kyiv Orthodox tradition”, the clergy write in a statement, as reported by Risu.ua. They drafted the document during a so-called inter-church dialogue that took place in the St Sophia Church in Kyiv, as reported by Orthodox Times. Dialogue To achieve unity, the clergy propose…
Source: Peter Anderson, Seattle USA The Holy Synod of the Orthodox Church of Albania on February 24 issued a communique relating to the Orthodox church in North Macedonia. https://orthodoxalbania.org/2020/en/2023/02/24/communique-the-holy-synod-orthodox-autocephalous-church-of-albania/ The official English translation is as follows: The Holy Synod of the Orthodox Autocephalous Church of Albania, during her session of February 23, 2023, under the presidency of His Beatitude Archbishop Anastasios, reiterated that she gladly welcomes the decision of the Holy Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, of last May 2022, that “She accepts into Eucharistic communion the Hierarchy, the clergy, and laity of the Church under Archbishop Stefan… She recognizes as…
Source: Public Orthodoxy ελληνικά | Русский Your Eminences! My letter is addressed to the Orthodox bishops in Russia. I have intentionally not collected signatures or involved any Church structures or public organizations, because I am addressing not the episcopal body, not the leaders of the Moscow Patriarchy, but each of you personally. My letter’s addressee is an Orthodox Christian who took holy baptismal and monastic vows, was elevated to the dignity of bishop, and who in his heart recognizes that it is impossible to govern the Church without striving to love Christ, seeking His truth, and serving Him and not Caesar. Under the circumstances,…
Source: Ss Cyril & Methodius Orthodox Church Originally posted on October 23, 2019 ~ FR GREGORY Excerpts from the intervention of His Eminence Metropolitan Ignatius of Demetrias, Chairman of the Synodal Committee for Inter-Orthodox and Inter-Christian Relations During the Extraordinary Session of the Holy Synod of the Church of Greece (12th October 2019) Your Beatitude Archbishop of Athens and all Greece, Brothers in Christ, The Synodal Committee for Inter-Orthodox and Inter-Christian Relations, which I am honored to chair, explicitly followed the mandate of the Standing Holy Synod of the Church of Greece. In this light, I would like to summarize…