Source: Providence Magazine Originally published on February 17, 2022 By Evagelos Sotiropoulos Appeasement,” Winston Churchill once said, “is feeding the crocodile, hoping he will eat you last.” It is this approach—one of appeasement and concession—that Orthodox primates have applied to the ecclesiastical ambitions of the Moscow Patriarchate. While the 2019 granting of autocephaly, or self-governing status, to the Orthodox Church in Ukraine (OCU) by the Holy and Sacred Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate made intra-Orthodox tensions more public, the root cause of today’s growing disunity is decades in the making. Moscow’s obsessive ethnophyletism and promotion of its Russkiy Mir agenda were quietly acknowledged…
Browsing: Ukraine
Source: Romanian Orthodox Episcopate of America Since Russian forces launched an attack on Ukraine on February 24, more than 100,000 refugees entered neighboring Romania. We ask you to help the refugees who continue to arrive in Romania and the Republic of Moldova. The funds raised will be directed to the Romanian Orthodox dioceses who are already involved in helping the refugees. May God bless you for your Christian love and concern exemplified through your prayers and generous donations. With blessings, +NATHANIEL, Archbishop The Romanian Orthodox Episcopate of America
Source: Public Orthodoxy by Jaroslav Skira Suggestively linking a Russian Orthodox primate, an ideology, and genocide may seem provocative or sensationalist. For me, given the current unjustified Russian war on Ukraine, the connections between them are far from that. In this moment in our common history as a human family, ‘naming” a reality is utterly important here for assessing the horrific events in Ukraine and the ideology that is complicit in such violence against the very innocence that characterizes the people of Ukraine. Naming is a profoundly ethical choice. Genocide is not an abstract concept in this present moment for the…
Source: Bitter Winter On March 6, ironically Forgiveness Sunday for the Orthodox, Patriarch Kirill abandoned all caution and blessed the war of aggression against Ukraine and the “false freedom” of democratic countries. by Bitter Winter Originally published on March 7, 2022 Note: We publish the translation of the integral version of the sermon delivered by Patriarch Kirill of Moscow on March 6, 2022, in the Cathedral of the Holy Savior in Moscow. Our readers may judge for themselves. Surely, there can be different opinions about the Gay Pride parades, and criticizing these events from a religious point of view is also part…
Source: Orthodox Times The use of Church symbols in the Russian struggle to conquer Ukraine continues. This time, Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and Russian National Guard leader Viktor Zolotov pinned their hopes on a “quick” victory over the Ukrainians in an image of the Virgin Mary, which the Patriarch presented to Zolotov during the service. “We believe this image will protect the Russian army and bring our victory faster,” the top military official told Patriarch Kirill at the Church of the Savior in Moscow. As he noted, “things are not going as fast as we would like”. The commander justified…
Source: Orthodox Church in America SYOSSET, NY [OCA] On Sunday, March 13, the first Sunday of Great Lent, the Sunday of Orthodoxy, Archpriest Daniel Andrejuk, Dean of the Representation Church of Saint Catherine the Great Martyr in Moscow, was invited, as it is customary, to the concelebration at Christ the Savior Cathedral presided by His Holiness Patriarch Kirill. His Beatitude Metropolitan Tikhon took the opportunity of this invitation to have Father Daniel personally deliver a letter to officials within the Moscow Patriarchate for His Holiness imploring him to do what he can to end the war in Ukraine and the suffering and…
Source: Public Orthodoxy “For the peace of the whole world, for the stability of the holy churches of God, and for the unity of all, let us pray to the Lord.” (Divine Liturgy) Русский | Српски The Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, is a historic threat to a people of Orthodox Christian tradition. More troubling still for Orthodox believers, the senior hierarchy of the Russian Orthodox Church has refused to acknowledge this invasion, issuing instead vague statements about the necessity for peace in light of “events” and “hostilities” in Ukraine, while emphasizing the fraternal nature of the Ukrainian and…
Source: Public Orthodoxy by Assaad Elias Kattan | Русский A Greek version of this text is available at Polymeros kai Polytropos, the blog of the Volos Academy for Theological Studies At the time of writing, the tsar’s fighter jets are pounding the gorgeous Kyiv, and air raid sirens are echoing everywhere. “Who has believed our message” declares the prophet Isaiah: the fighters of Vladimir Putin are striking Kyiv, not Tbilisi, Yerevan, Berlin, Paris, or Istanbul, and certainly not New York. In fact, the Russian tsar wants to exact revenge on the Ukrainians…and on his own history. He is destroying the cradle of his own…
Source: World Council of Churches In a 10 March letter, H.H. Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and all Russia responded to a letter sent 2 March by World Council of Churches (WCC) acting general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca asking Patriarch Kirill to mediate so that the war can be stopped. Letter from Archpriest Ioan Sauca Geneva, 2 March 2022 His Holiness Kirill Patriarch of Moscow and all Russia Russian Orthodox Church Your Holiness, It is with great pain and with a breaking heart that I am writing to Your Holiness. The tragic situation of the war in Ukraine has…
Source: The Orthodox Church in America SYOSSET, NY [OCA] Dear beloved children in the Lord, It is with profound pain and sorrow that we see the situation unfolding in Ukraine. The invasion of Russian troops has already caused death and destruction in many areas of the country and, as the battle progresses, the human cost continues to rise. It is heartbreaking to see the images of destroyed buildings, homes, and traffic jams as refugees flee the cities for their safety. As Orthodox Christians we are expected to help those who are suffering and give comfort to the afflicted. The Apostle…
Source: The Christian Science Monitor President Putin’s battle to control the “Russian world” includes a religious front: a centuries-old spiritual and nationalist struggle within the Orthodox church – a part of the consciousness of average churchgoers worldwide. – Laurent By Sara Miller Llana Staff writer By Sarah Matusek Staff writer By Alexander Thompson Staff writer TORONTO, NEW YORK, AND BOSTON In the wake of an invasion that has shaken the globe, the diaspora of Ukrainians from Winnipeg to Warsaw has taken to the streets to denounce a war they say is unprovoked. But another side of their fierce resistance is spiritual…
Source: Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the USA GOD IS WITH US! CHRIST IS AMONGST US! HE IS AND ALWAYS SHALL BE! These ancient Christian greetings are so necessary for us all to embrace in hope and love, with a sense of deep concern and an unfathomable desire for peace, as the world watches the news reports from Ukraine and around the world concerning yet another threat from Russian leadership. The scare and intimidation tactics with the presence of the armed vehicles and over a hundred thousand of soldiers around the borders of Ukraine combined with systematic cyber attacks at all…