Source: The Pillar JD Flynn First, it is not yet Easter for most Christians living in Ukraine, where the Battle of Donbas is raging in the east, and in the west, the city of Lviv saw its first missile-strike casualties on Monday. Ukraine has defended Kyiv and the fighting has shifted, but the war is far from over. Amid the humanitarian and social crisis that will envelop Ukraine from years to come, there has also occasioned a serious ecclesiastical crisis for the 70% of Ukrainians who are Orthodox Christians. Orthodoxy in Ukraine has two hierarchies, and two sets of dioceses and…
Browsing: war
Source: Archons of the Ecumenical Patriarchate His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew spoke again about the war in Ukraine as he welcomed, today, Thursday, April 7, 2022, a large group of students from the 1st and 4th Lyceum of Lamia, who were accompanied by His Eminence Metropolitan Symeon of Fthiotida, and the principals and teachers of their classes. “No problem is solved by war. War does not solve problems, I always say that; war adds new problems,” said His All-Holiness, who expressed the view that if the path of dialogue had been chosen, “they would definitely have found a solution.” Elsewhere…
Source: Neos Cosmos by Nick Trakakis As the war in Ukraine rages on, a parallel war is underway within the Orthodox Church. Not much has been said about this religious conflict in the mainstream media, even though it is playing a crucial role in the military conflict. And it’s a problem affecting not merely Eastern Europe, but Australia too. I have borrowed the title of this article, “Orthodox c’est fini” (French for “Orthodoxy is finished”), not from some militant atheist, but from a leading Greek Orthodox theologian, Professor Petros Vassiliadis [Prof. Vassiliadis made this remark in a March 11 post…
Source: Public Orthodoxy by George Persh | Русский For centuries, the Orthodox Church has taken the side of its state leadership in times of war, and the further it departed from the pacifism of the first centuries of Christianity, the more militant the rhetoric of the Church became. But the tragic events of the twentieth century posed questions for the Church to answer. The first question concerned the reaction to the end of the First World War and the Bolshevik coup in Russia. It was in the 1920s that the first timid pronouncements about the unacceptability of war and the traitorous position…
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: 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: 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…
Source: International Orthodox Christian Charities Agency Sets $1 Million Fundraising Goal for Immediate and Long-Term Support Baltimore, Md. (February 28, 2022) – The humanitarian and development agency International Orthodox Christian Charities (IOCC) is responding to needs created by the conflict in Ukraine. Given the enormity of the crisis, IOCC has launched a campaign to raise at least $1 million dollars in private donations to support this work. In response to the crisis in Ukraine, IOCC is working with partners in country and across the region to help address immediate needs, while looking ahead and planning for longer-term response. Initial efforts…
Source: Orthodox Church in America Dearly beloved children in the Lord, In light of the distressing developments in Ukraine affecting millions of innocent people in the region, I wholeheartedly urge you to pray for peace and the well-being of our brothers and sisters who are enduring this tragic moment. I ask that the hostilities be ceased immediately and that President Putin put an end to the military operations. As Orthodox Christians, we condemn violence and aggression. I offer my support and prayers to my brother and concelebrant, His Beatitude Metropolitan Onufriy, who has the most difficult task of leading his…
Source: BBC News By Fasikaw Menberu & Farouk Chothia BBC Amharic & BBC News An Ethiopian monk, who once carried only the cross and Bible in a land famous for its rock-hewn churches, is now picking up a rifle to march into battle against Tigrayan rebels in a war that is tearing the nation – and the Orthodox Christian Church – apart. “I fight with both of them – the prayer and the bullet,” said Father Gebremariam Aderaw. The monk, whose name means “servant of Mary”, signed up to join the Ethiopian military, weeks after Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed called…
Source: Breitbart by METROPOLITAN HILARION ALFEYEV A century ago, the First World War began. On 28 July 1914, Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia, then on 1 August, Germany declared war on Russia, and over the course of a few short days, several more world powers joined the conflict either on their own initiative or by needs. Over the next three years, more and more countries joined both warring sides, dragged into the quicksand of fighting that was growing to encompass the European continent and far beyond it. The result of that four-year war was millions of lives lost–more than ten million…