Ukrainian citizens traditionally trust the church the most: 68.3% of Ukrainians expressed full or predominant trust in it.
In answer to the question "How much do you trust the church?" 68.3% of respondents said "I fully or mostly trust it," 19.6% said "I fully or mostly distrust it," and 12.2% said "It is hard to answer."
Therefore, the church takes the first place in the rating of trust of Ukrainians. It is followed by the Ukrainian mass media (50.8%) and the Ukrainian Armed Forces (43.5%) and then, the Russian media (41.4%) and the Ukrainian president (41.3%).
According to the sociological poll, Ukrainians have the least trust in trade unions (25.1%), police (25%), the Public Prosecutor's Office (22.7%), courts (21.6%), and the Supreme Council of Ukraine (21.4%).
Source: RISU
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
On the Relics of Prince Volodymyr in Canada
TO THE CLERGY AND FAITHFUL OF THE UKRAINIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH OF CANADA ON THE PRESENCE OF THE HOLY RELICS OF GREAT KNYAZ’ VOLODYMYR OF KYIV
IN CANADA
Slava Isusu Khrystu!
Reverend Fathers, Venerable Monastics, Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
We pray that Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ blesses all of you with good health, wisdom and understanding during these trying times.
Recently we received a letter from the Archdiocese of Canada, Orthodox Church in America with the offer to make available to us the Relics of the Holy Great Knyaz’ Volodymyr of Kyiv, that have been in Canada for some weeks.
We have chosen to communicate in this form so that our Clergy, Faithful and all concerned, may be thus informed about the reasons as to why the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada is unable to accept this offer.
The access to Holy Relics is an occasion to deepen one’s faith through reflection, prayer and veneration of those who have manifested great service to God and His people. It ought to be a time when the Clergy and Faithful draw nearer to each other and see the “image and likeness” of Jesus Christ. However this most recent arrival of sacred objects from Ukraine, as was the case on previous such occasions, causes concern and divisiveness in our Church. The core of the problem is that we are being offered sacred objects from our spiritual and ancestral homeland, Ukraine, for veneration by those who have historically been oppressors of the Ukrainian Nation and the Ukrainian Church. This has been the case particularly since the Treaty of Pereyaslav (1654) and the un-canonical incorporation of the Metropolia of Kyiv into the Moscow Patriarchate in 1686.
His All-Holiness, Patriarch Bartholomew, in one of his addresses during his visit to Ukraine in 2008, spoke of “the eminent among the daughter Churches, namely the Church of Ukraine, which was under the Ecumenical Patriarchate’s canonical jurisdiction for seven centuries, that is, from the Baptism of the Grand Duchy of Kiev (original transliteration - +Y) 988 until her annexation under Peter the Great (1687) to the Russian State.” Further on, he said: “[A]fter Ukraine’s annexation to Russia and
under the pressure of Peter the Great, the Ecumenical Patriarch Dionysios IV judged as necessary for the circumstances of that time the ecclesiastical subordination of the Church of Ukraine to the Patriarchate of Moscow (1687) lest the troubles of the pious Ukrainian people worsen under the Orthodox political leadership – even though the Ukrainian Hierarchy opposed strongly and unanimously that decision”.
Our historical memory of the relationship with the Tsarist and Soviet regimes and the Russian Orthodox Church includes political enslavement, russification, execution, deportation, ethnic cleansing, various famines, including the Great Famine, the Holodomor-Genocide of 1932-33, repression of Ukrainian ecclesiastical traditions and numerous bans on Ukrainian-language religious and secular publications.
The present Russian State and the Moscow Patriarchate have had 19 years, following the collapse of the Soviet Union, to disassociate themselves from the policy of persecution and repression of Ukraine by the Tsarist and Soviet regimes and to propose, not only to the Ukrainian State and the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, but to all the repressed peoples of the former Soviet Union, a new relationship of normal, dignified and respectful neighbourliness. The Moscow Patriarchate should have acknowledged the transfer of the Church of Ukraine (1686) into its jurisdiction as un-canonical and, together with the Ecumenical Patriarchate, cooperated to recognize the Ukrainian Church as an Autocephalous Church in a sovereign state. In his address in Ukraine His All-Holiness Patriarch Bartholomew stated: “[T[he Mother Church concurred with the demand of the governments of the newly established states of the Orthodox people of the Balkan peninsula regarding the autocephaly of those Churches that were taken from her canonical jurisdiction, namely the Church of Greece (1850), the Church of Serbia (1831), the Church of Bulgaria (1945), and the Church of Albania (1937), for the sake of their national coherence”. We await such a request for recognition of an Autocephalous Church by some future Government of Ukraine, a sentiment expressed in the resolutions of nearly every Sobor of our Church since the fall of the Soviet Empire.
What we see instead is the absurd attempt to re-create the old Russian Empire through the determined and consistent propagation of a delusional and misguided ideology of a “Russkiy mir” or “Russian World”. It is not for us!
In light of this, how could we not view with suspicion and scepticism any proposal either directly from the Moscow Patriarchate or through its affiliate, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate), as anything other than an attempt to pull the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada into its sphere of influence or to falsely represent that such is the case, and thereby create or exacerbate divisions among us?
Unfortunately, the Holy Relics are accompanied with supporting literature such as liturgical texts that reference Russia and an informational article, entitled, “Equal of the Apostles Great Prince St. Vladimir, in Holy Baptism Basil, the Enlightener of the Russian Land Commemorated on July 15”, written from a pro-Moscow, Tsarist and Soviet historical point of view. Its intention seems to be to give the impression that the historical personages and events presented there bear a direct relationship to present-day “Russia” – a term co-opted for the Grand Duchy of Muscovy by Tsar Peter I of Moscow following the Battle of Poltava in 1709, in order to usurp for the Moscow Empire that he was building, the history and legacy of Kyivan-Rus’. Even the names – Vladimir, Kiev, Olga, Gleb, Chernigov, Belgorod, Pecheneg, Dniepr - are transliterated from the Russian and not from the Ukrainian language, which thankfully has been the official language of sovereign Ukraine for 19 years. Furthermore the article speaks “of the Russian Church, down to the last of the Rurikovichi, Tsar Theodore Ioannovich, under whom (in 1589) the Russian Orthodox Church became the fifth independent Patriarchate in the diptychs of Orthodox Autocephalous Churches”. This clearly refers to the Church of present-day Russia with its centre in Moscow and not the Church of Kyivan-Rus’ established by Great Knyaz’ Volodymyr in Kyiv, capital of Ukraine, which was annexed by the Church of Moscow in 1686. Our historians are invited to analyze and comment on the accompanying article about Great Knyaz’ Volodymyr.
We do indeed revere the memory of the Holy Great Knyaz’ Volodymyr of Kyiv, the Baptizer of our people, and would not impede the veneration of his Relics by anyone, wherever they may be presented for their reverent attention. However, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada will not agree to have its name associated with the propagation of tendentious interpretations of the history of the peoples of Ukraine and Russia, nor to collaborate with those propagating political ideologies and ecclesiastical projects, which are detrimental to the Ukrainian people, the Ukrainian State and the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.
This letter is intended to inform our Clergy and Faithful, and all concerned, as to the sensitivities awakened by this latest proposal. We hope and are confident that it will be accepted in that spirit.
With love in Christ and
Hierarchical blessing,
+YURIJ, Archbishop of Winnipeg and the Central Eparchy
Metropolitan of Canada
September 24, 2010
IN CANADA
Slava Isusu Khrystu!
Reverend Fathers, Venerable Monastics, Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
We pray that Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ blesses all of you with good health, wisdom and understanding during these trying times.
We have chosen to communicate in this form so that our Clergy, Faithful and all concerned, may be thus informed about the reasons as to why the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada is unable to accept this offer.
The access to Holy Relics is an occasion to deepen one’s faith through reflection, prayer and veneration of those who have manifested great service to God and His people. It ought to be a time when the Clergy and Faithful draw nearer to each other and see the “image and likeness” of Jesus Christ. However this most recent arrival of sacred objects from Ukraine, as was the case on previous such occasions, causes concern and divisiveness in our Church. The core of the problem is that we are being offered sacred objects from our spiritual and ancestral homeland, Ukraine, for veneration by those who have historically been oppressors of the Ukrainian Nation and the Ukrainian Church. This has been the case particularly since the Treaty of Pereyaslav (1654) and the un-canonical incorporation of the Metropolia of Kyiv into the Moscow Patriarchate in 1686.
His All-Holiness, Patriarch Bartholomew, in one of his addresses during his visit to Ukraine in 2008, spoke of “the eminent among the daughter Churches, namely the Church of Ukraine, which was under the Ecumenical Patriarchate’s canonical jurisdiction for seven centuries, that is, from the Baptism of the Grand Duchy of Kiev (original transliteration - +Y) 988 until her annexation under Peter the Great (1687) to the Russian State.” Further on, he said: “[A]fter Ukraine’s annexation to Russia and
under the pressure of Peter the Great, the Ecumenical Patriarch Dionysios IV judged as necessary for the circumstances of that time the ecclesiastical subordination of the Church of Ukraine to the Patriarchate of Moscow (1687) lest the troubles of the pious Ukrainian people worsen under the Orthodox political leadership – even though the Ukrainian Hierarchy opposed strongly and unanimously that decision”.
Our historical memory of the relationship with the Tsarist and Soviet regimes and the Russian Orthodox Church includes political enslavement, russification, execution, deportation, ethnic cleansing, various famines, including the Great Famine, the Holodomor-Genocide of 1932-33, repression of Ukrainian ecclesiastical traditions and numerous bans on Ukrainian-language religious and secular publications.
The present Russian State and the Moscow Patriarchate have had 19 years, following the collapse of the Soviet Union, to disassociate themselves from the policy of persecution and repression of Ukraine by the Tsarist and Soviet regimes and to propose, not only to the Ukrainian State and the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, but to all the repressed peoples of the former Soviet Union, a new relationship of normal, dignified and respectful neighbourliness. The Moscow Patriarchate should have acknowledged the transfer of the Church of Ukraine (1686) into its jurisdiction as un-canonical and, together with the Ecumenical Patriarchate, cooperated to recognize the Ukrainian Church as an Autocephalous Church in a sovereign state. In his address in Ukraine His All-Holiness Patriarch Bartholomew stated: “[T[he Mother Church concurred with the demand of the governments of the newly established states of the Orthodox people of the Balkan peninsula regarding the autocephaly of those Churches that were taken from her canonical jurisdiction, namely the Church of Greece (1850), the Church of Serbia (1831), the Church of Bulgaria (1945), and the Church of Albania (1937), for the sake of their national coherence”. We await such a request for recognition of an Autocephalous Church by some future Government of Ukraine, a sentiment expressed in the resolutions of nearly every Sobor of our Church since the fall of the Soviet Empire.
What we see instead is the absurd attempt to re-create the old Russian Empire through the determined and consistent propagation of a delusional and misguided ideology of a “Russkiy mir” or “Russian World”. It is not for us!
In light of this, how could we not view with suspicion and scepticism any proposal either directly from the Moscow Patriarchate or through its affiliate, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate), as anything other than an attempt to pull the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada into its sphere of influence or to falsely represent that such is the case, and thereby create or exacerbate divisions among us?
Unfortunately, the Holy Relics are accompanied with supporting literature such as liturgical texts that reference Russia and an informational article, entitled, “Equal of the Apostles Great Prince St. Vladimir, in Holy Baptism Basil, the Enlightener of the Russian Land Commemorated on July 15”, written from a pro-Moscow, Tsarist and Soviet historical point of view. Its intention seems to be to give the impression that the historical personages and events presented there bear a direct relationship to present-day “Russia” – a term co-opted for the Grand Duchy of Muscovy by Tsar Peter I of Moscow following the Battle of Poltava in 1709, in order to usurp for the Moscow Empire that he was building, the history and legacy of Kyivan-Rus’. Even the names – Vladimir, Kiev, Olga, Gleb, Chernigov, Belgorod, Pecheneg, Dniepr - are transliterated from the Russian and not from the Ukrainian language, which thankfully has been the official language of sovereign Ukraine for 19 years. Furthermore the article speaks “of the Russian Church, down to the last of the Rurikovichi, Tsar Theodore Ioannovich, under whom (in 1589) the Russian Orthodox Church became the fifth independent Patriarchate in the diptychs of Orthodox Autocephalous Churches”. This clearly refers to the Church of present-day Russia with its centre in Moscow and not the Church of Kyivan-Rus’ established by Great Knyaz’ Volodymyr in Kyiv, capital of Ukraine, which was annexed by the Church of Moscow in 1686. Our historians are invited to analyze and comment on the accompanying article about Great Knyaz’ Volodymyr.
We do indeed revere the memory of the Holy Great Knyaz’ Volodymyr of Kyiv, the Baptizer of our people, and would not impede the veneration of his Relics by anyone, wherever they may be presented for their reverent attention. However, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada will not agree to have its name associated with the propagation of tendentious interpretations of the history of the peoples of Ukraine and Russia, nor to collaborate with those propagating political ideologies and ecclesiastical projects, which are detrimental to the Ukrainian people, the Ukrainian State and the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.
This letter is intended to inform our Clergy and Faithful, and all concerned, as to the sensitivities awakened by this latest proposal. We hope and are confident that it will be accepted in that spirit.
With love in Christ and
Hierarchical blessing,
+YURIJ, Archbishop of Winnipeg and the Central Eparchy
Metropolitan of Canada
September 24, 2010
Monday, September 27, 2010
A Ukrainian diocese outraged with plans to build Catholic cathedral
Odessa, September 27, Interfax - The Odessa Diocese of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (MP) believes there is no grounds for building a Greek Catholic cathedral in the city and such plans have aggressive political backgrounds.
"It's quite evident that there's no ground for building a Greek Catholic church in Odessa. Odessa is an Orthodox city," the diocesan secretary Archpriest Andrey Novikov told Interfax-Religion on Monday.
According to the priest, initiators of the building have their own aim - proselytism, converting Orthodox believers in Unia.
"There is no visible presence of Greek Catholics in Odessa. Whom uniate preachers are going to attract to their parish? Certainly Orthodox Odessites - they will try to catch them in networks of Unia through various intricacies," the interviewee of the agency said.
Fr. Andrey told about numerous addresses from the deputies, representatives of intellectual elite, ordinary residents of Odessa to the diocesan administration as they are outraged that the historic center of Odessa may have "a cathedral of the confession that blurred its history by cooperation with Nazi occupation regime, blessing of SS members and militants of the so-called "Ukrainian rebel army" generally known as Bandera nationalists."
The priest was also puzzled with Uniates' attempts to exaggerate number of their followers in Odessa. "If we speak seriously, then all "data" about numerous Greek Catholics living in Odessa are "pulled out of a hat," he said.
Fr. Andrey pointed not only to numerous proves of the eye-witnesses, but also to his personal experience.
"When I go to the service I drive near this (Uniate - IF) church. It is usually closed. On feast days there are several people, often Polish Catholic nuns who are evidently sent there to give an impression of a crowd. I was surprised to read an Internet interview with a "chancellor" of the Greek Catholic Diocese who shamelessly said that 300-400 people usually visit the church!" the priest said.
According to him, "such immodest lie in mass media offered by the person who consider himself a cleric, one more time proves that the Greek Catholic Church is not going to refuse the old, tested Jesuit slogan "the end justifies the means."
He also asked "experts" concerned "with supposed violations of UGCC rights" where they were when Greek Catholics crushed Western European dioceses of the Russian Orthodox Church" and "why these "advocates" of rights and freedoms keep silence today, when thousand believers of the canonical Church pray at the open air in Lvov as they are refused in any site for building an Orthodox cathedral."
Source Interfax
"It's quite evident that there's no ground for building a Greek Catholic church in Odessa. Odessa is an Orthodox city," the diocesan secretary Archpriest Andrey Novikov told Interfax-Religion on Monday.
According to the priest, initiators of the building have their own aim - proselytism, converting Orthodox believers in Unia.
"There is no visible presence of Greek Catholics in Odessa. Whom uniate preachers are going to attract to their parish? Certainly Orthodox Odessites - they will try to catch them in networks of Unia through various intricacies," the interviewee of the agency said.
Fr. Andrey told about numerous addresses from the deputies, representatives of intellectual elite, ordinary residents of Odessa to the diocesan administration as they are outraged that the historic center of Odessa may have "a cathedral of the confession that blurred its history by cooperation with Nazi occupation regime, blessing of SS members and militants of the so-called "Ukrainian rebel army" generally known as Bandera nationalists."
The priest was also puzzled with Uniates' attempts to exaggerate number of their followers in Odessa. "If we speak seriously, then all "data" about numerous Greek Catholics living in Odessa are "pulled out of a hat," he said.
Fr. Andrey pointed not only to numerous proves of the eye-witnesses, but also to his personal experience.
"When I go to the service I drive near this (Uniate - IF) church. It is usually closed. On feast days there are several people, often Polish Catholic nuns who are evidently sent there to give an impression of a crowd. I was surprised to read an Internet interview with a "chancellor" of the Greek Catholic Diocese who shamelessly said that 300-400 people usually visit the church!" the priest said.
According to him, "such immodest lie in mass media offered by the person who consider himself a cleric, one more time proves that the Greek Catholic Church is not going to refuse the old, tested Jesuit slogan "the end justifies the means."
He also asked "experts" concerned "with supposed violations of UGCC rights" where they were when Greek Catholics crushed Western European dioceses of the Russian Orthodox Church" and "why these "advocates" of rights and freedoms keep silence today, when thousand believers of the canonical Church pray at the open air in Lvov as they are refused in any site for building an Orthodox cathedral."
Source Interfax
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Situation Of Greek Catholics In Odesa Becomes Known Internationally
Representatives of European churches and non-church institutions expressed concern over the character and tone of the addresses of the press service of the Odesa Eparchy of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church-Moscow Patriarchate (UOC-MP) and the addresses of Metropolitan Ahafanhel on the activity of Greek Catholics in Odesa and their right to have their own church in the city.
This position was expressed by them to representatives of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (UGCC) at several international scholarly and pastoral conferences.
“Experts noticed the undiplomatic character of the statements and absurdity of the proofs on which the ban of the activity of the UGCC in Odesa is based,” informs the press service of the UGCC In addition, as the Chief Church Counselor of the German Evangelical Church and a member of the Ecumenical Commission on Dialogue with Orthodox Churches of the Evangelical Lutheran Church, Pastor Michael Gubner, noted: “It is natural that it is difficult for us, representatives of another country, to understand the situation. I can only share the positive experience of Germany in this regard. In Germany, any church wishing to build a church building of their own is faced with no obstacles in choosing and practicing its liturgical tradition and prayer life. Therefore, Greek Catholic and Orthodox churches are built next to Roman Catholic and Evangelical ones. Moreover, in our environment, churches help other churches to find a place for services or for construction of a new one. There is no fear of proselytism in Germany. All coexist and this coexistence facilitates fruitful dialogue between denominations.”
According to the Director of the Polish Ecumenical Council, Pastor Irenei Lukas, in view of the processes of migration, in the modern world, “creation of normal conditions of life, including religious, is quite a natural phenomenon.” “For Christians, migration is a reminder that we are wanderers on this earth, and for the churches it means care for people coming to geographically new places of stay. In western Europe, we often deal with historical churches. But in many places we witness the establishment of new churches which, for a certain reason, appear in regions where they did not exist in the past. One should also remember that the relations between churches are formed in the same way as between people. In the beginning, they require respect for each other as well as –I would not like it to sound with pathos but it must be said – love for another person. I think it is a starting point of any relations,” said Irenei Lukas and noted that “in all places where there are Christians who need to pray in their tradition they should have churches.”
A member of the European Church Commission on Matters of Migrants, which is based in Brussels, Dr. Torsten Morits, assured that he will inform central European institutions about the situation in Odesa regarding the Greek Catholics and that he personally will monitor and study the situation of the UGCC in Odesa.
According to the Head of the UGCC’s Committee for Promotion of Unity Between Christians, Fr. Dr. Ihor Shaban, surprising is the fact that no assessment of the statements of Metropolitan Ahafanhel of Odesa of the UOC and of his eparchy was made by the official UOC-MP and its head. Fr. Ihor noted that it is even somewhat alarming.
He added that the unleashing of an information war against the UGCC in the local and national Ukrainian mass media coincided with the meeting of the International Ecumenical Theological Work Team on Catholic-Orthodox Dialogue (which is held in Vienna on 21-26 September), “where the notion of brotherly dialogue, empathy and love for other Christian denominations is dominant.”
Source: RISU
This position was expressed by them to representatives of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (UGCC) at several international scholarly and pastoral conferences.
“Experts noticed the undiplomatic character of the statements and absurdity of the proofs on which the ban of the activity of the UGCC in Odesa is based,” informs the press service of the UGCC In addition, as the Chief Church Counselor of the German Evangelical Church and a member of the Ecumenical Commission on Dialogue with Orthodox Churches of the Evangelical Lutheran Church, Pastor Michael Gubner, noted: “It is natural that it is difficult for us, representatives of another country, to understand the situation. I can only share the positive experience of Germany in this regard. In Germany, any church wishing to build a church building of their own is faced with no obstacles in choosing and practicing its liturgical tradition and prayer life. Therefore, Greek Catholic and Orthodox churches are built next to Roman Catholic and Evangelical ones. Moreover, in our environment, churches help other churches to find a place for services or for construction of a new one. There is no fear of proselytism in Germany. All coexist and this coexistence facilitates fruitful dialogue between denominations.”
According to the Director of the Polish Ecumenical Council, Pastor Irenei Lukas, in view of the processes of migration, in the modern world, “creation of normal conditions of life, including religious, is quite a natural phenomenon.” “For Christians, migration is a reminder that we are wanderers on this earth, and for the churches it means care for people coming to geographically new places of stay. In western Europe, we often deal with historical churches. But in many places we witness the establishment of new churches which, for a certain reason, appear in regions where they did not exist in the past. One should also remember that the relations between churches are formed in the same way as between people. In the beginning, they require respect for each other as well as –I would not like it to sound with pathos but it must be said – love for another person. I think it is a starting point of any relations,” said Irenei Lukas and noted that “in all places where there are Christians who need to pray in their tradition they should have churches.”
A member of the European Church Commission on Matters of Migrants, which is based in Brussels, Dr. Torsten Morits, assured that he will inform central European institutions about the situation in Odesa regarding the Greek Catholics and that he personally will monitor and study the situation of the UGCC in Odesa.
According to the Head of the UGCC’s Committee for Promotion of Unity Between Christians, Fr. Dr. Ihor Shaban, surprising is the fact that no assessment of the statements of Metropolitan Ahafanhel of Odesa of the UOC and of his eparchy was made by the official UOC-MP and its head. Fr. Ihor noted that it is even somewhat alarming.
He added that the unleashing of an information war against the UGCC in the local and national Ukrainian mass media coincided with the meeting of the International Ecumenical Theological Work Team on Catholic-Orthodox Dialogue (which is held in Vienna on 21-26 September), “where the notion of brotherly dialogue, empathy and love for other Christian denominations is dominant.”
Source: RISU
CHURCHES PARTICIPATE IN SYMPOSIUM ON ABORTION PROBLEMS HELD IN KYIV
KYIV–On 22 September, in Kyiv, a symposium “Moral-ethical aspects of artificial termination of pregnancy” was launched as part of the 4th National Congress on Bioethics. The symposium is attended by representatives of various denominations: Ukrainian Orthodox Church-Moscow Patriarchate (UOC-MP), Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (UGCC), Roman Catholic Church (RCC), and representatives of the Ministry of Protection of Health, the local government, and public organizations.
As RISU learned from Pavlo Berest, at the opening ceremony, Bishop Markian Trofymiak, chairman of the All-Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious Organizations, noted that a person’s life is not that person’s private property. It is a gift from God. This is even more true of the life of a baby, even if it is still unborn. “Both the time of conception and of natural death is decided by God. A person should follow one principle: Thou shall not kill,” stressed Bishop Markian.
According to the participants, the issue of the great number of abortions is extremely relevant. Only according to official statistics, about 200 thousand children each year are not born due to the artificial termination of pregnancy. The number of abortions in our country is twice as large as in Europe on average. And one in ten abortions were performed on women under 19. The surgeries do not pass without a trace. They do harm to one’s health and psychological condition.
Archbishop Avhustyn (Markevych) of Lviv and Halych of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church noted that we really have a crisis of spirituality in society. But alone neither the church nor the state will be able to settle this issue effectively. The participants agreed that only joint efforts will allow improvement of the status quo.
It was noted that this issue is to be dealt with not only by medical people and priests: it is the work of teachers, parents, psychologists and the state, which should take care to provide possibilities for a young family to live in fitting conditions and bring up children. One of the organizers of the conference, a candidate of medical sciences, ex-minister of the protection of health(2007 – 2010), Vasyl Kniazevych, stressed that society itself should pay more attention to these questions. For, in addition to the large number of abortions, there is also the problem of orphans in the state: each year, 4-5 thousand children become orphans as their parents abandon them.
The deputy head of the Public Council of the Ministry of Health Protection of Ukraine, a priest of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, Fr. Andrii Nahirniak stressed that abortions are not and cannot be a norm for women. In view of the moral-ethical, social and medical aspects, the participants of the symposium plan to develop and pass a resolution which is to be a guide for further progress in solving this urgent issue of Ukrainian society.
Source: RISU
According to the participants, the issue of the great number of abortions is extremely relevant. Only according to official statistics, about 200 thousand children each year are not born due to the artificial termination of pregnancy. The number of abortions in our country is twice as large as in Europe on average. And one in ten abortions were performed on women under 19. The surgeries do not pass without a trace. They do harm to one’s health and psychological condition.
Archbishop Avhustyn (Markevych) of Lviv and Halych of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church noted that we really have a crisis of spirituality in society. But alone neither the church nor the state will be able to settle this issue effectively. The participants agreed that only joint efforts will allow improvement of the status quo.
It was noted that this issue is to be dealt with not only by medical people and priests: it is the work of teachers, parents, psychologists and the state, which should take care to provide possibilities for a young family to live in fitting conditions and bring up children. One of the organizers of the conference, a candidate of medical sciences, ex-minister of the protection of health(2007 – 2010), Vasyl Kniazevych, stressed that society itself should pay more attention to these questions. For, in addition to the large number of abortions, there is also the problem of orphans in the state: each year, 4-5 thousand children become orphans as their parents abandon them.
The deputy head of the Public Council of the Ministry of Health Protection of Ukraine, a priest of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, Fr. Andrii Nahirniak stressed that abortions are not and cannot be a norm for women. In view of the moral-ethical, social and medical aspects, the participants of the symposium plan to develop and pass a resolution which is to be a guide for further progress in solving this urgent issue of Ukrainian society.
Source: RISU
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Turkey May Bar Liturgy at Hagia Sophia
ISTANBUL, Sept. 16 (Reuters) - About 200 Greek Orthodox Christians want to travel to Istanbul to try to hold mass at the former basilica of Hagia Sophia, defying Turkish law that bars religious services in what is now a museum.
A Turkish Foreign Ministry official said Ankara could stop the group from entering Turkey if they pose a security threat.
Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan's government has lifted curbs on Christian worship at other sites under a EU-inspired drive to improve human rights. It has ruled out services at Hagia Sophia.
Turkish law from the 1930s has prevented both Muslims and Christians from formal worship at the monument, the greatest cathedral in Christendom for a millennium before invading Ottomans converted it into a mosque in the 15th century.
The U.S.-based group behind the attempt said it was on a mission to "re-establish Hagia Sophia as the holy house of prayer for all Christians of the world and the seat of Orthodoxy before the conquest of Constantinople by the Ottoman Turks in 1453".
Istanbul, formerly known as Constantinople, was the seat of the Greek Byzantine Empire until 1453. Hagia Sophia became a museum after the formation of modern secular Turkey in 1923.
Members are due to arrive in Istanbul on Friday.
The Foreign Ministry official said on condition of anonymity: "If an individual is known to pose a security problem, it's not possible for him to enter Turkey."
Culture Minister Ertugrul Gunay ruled out permission and said the group lacked good intentions. "Anyone can pray silently in this place but a group activity would pave the way for similar activities by members of other religions," Gunay said.
Turkey's population of 72 million is 99.9 percent Muslim.
In a letter to Erdogan, Chris Spirou, head of the group making the visit, said the issue was about religious freedom.
An official at the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate had said the group led by Spirou did not have its backing and said the event could make things harder for the patriarchate. Turkey allowed Greek Orthodox Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, spiritual leader of the world's 250 million Orthodox, to celebrate mass at a former monastery on the Black Sea coast last month for the first time since Greeks were expelled from most of Turkey in 1923.
Source: Kyiv Post
A Turkish Foreign Ministry official said Ankara could stop the group from entering Turkey if they pose a security threat.
Turkish law from the 1930s has prevented both Muslims and Christians from formal worship at the monument, the greatest cathedral in Christendom for a millennium before invading Ottomans converted it into a mosque in the 15th century.
The U.S.-based group behind the attempt said it was on a mission to "re-establish Hagia Sophia as the holy house of prayer for all Christians of the world and the seat of Orthodoxy before the conquest of Constantinople by the Ottoman Turks in 1453".
Istanbul, formerly known as Constantinople, was the seat of the Greek Byzantine Empire until 1453. Hagia Sophia became a museum after the formation of modern secular Turkey in 1923.
Members are due to arrive in Istanbul on Friday.
The Foreign Ministry official said on condition of anonymity: "If an individual is known to pose a security problem, it's not possible for him to enter Turkey."
Culture Minister Ertugrul Gunay ruled out permission and said the group lacked good intentions. "Anyone can pray silently in this place but a group activity would pave the way for similar activities by members of other religions," Gunay said.
Turkey's population of 72 million is 99.9 percent Muslim.
In a letter to Erdogan, Chris Spirou, head of the group making the visit, said the issue was about religious freedom.
An official at the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate had said the group led by Spirou did not have its backing and said the event could make things harder for the patriarchate. Turkey allowed Greek Orthodox Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, spiritual leader of the world's 250 million Orthodox, to celebrate mass at a former monastery on the Black Sea coast last month for the first time since Greeks were expelled from most of Turkey in 1923.
Source: Kyiv Post
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Orthodox-Catholic Alliance in Europe?
Speaking in England on September 9, the Russian Orthodox prelate in charge of ecumenical relations minced no words as he blasted developments in contemporary Anglicanism.
In the presence of Archbishop Rowan Williams of Canterbury, Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk criticized “the unrestrained liberalization of Christian values [that] continues in many communities of the Anglican world,” as well as the Church of England’s moves towards a female episcopate. He added, “It is impossible to pass silently by the liberalism and relativism which have become so characteristic of today’s Anglican theology.”
The Russian prelate warned candidly that if the Anglican communion continues to embrace liberal ideas, Orthodox-Anglican dialogue may come to an end. He argued that the most important dividing line in the Christian world today separates those who accept the authority of Church traditions and those who do not. He suggested that the more fruitful ecumenical collaboration in the future would join the efforts of those who embrace Biblical teachings and traditions, including the Orthodox, some Catholics, and Evangelicals.
Metropolitan Hilarion also spoke of “the possibility of establishing an Orthodox-Catholic alliance in Europe for defending the traditional values of Christianity. The primary aim of this alliance would be to restore a Christian soul to Europe. We should be engaged in common defense of Christian values against secularism and relativism.”
Source: Catholic Culture
In the presence of Archbishop Rowan Williams of Canterbury, Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk criticized “the unrestrained liberalization of Christian values [that] continues in many communities of the Anglican world,” as well as the Church of England’s moves towards a female episcopate. He added, “It is impossible to pass silently by the liberalism and relativism which have become so characteristic of today’s Anglican theology.”
Metropolitan Hilarion also spoke of “the possibility of establishing an Orthodox-Catholic alliance in Europe for defending the traditional values of Christianity. The primary aim of this alliance would be to restore a Christian soul to Europe. We should be engaged in common defense of Christian values against secularism and relativism.”
Source: Catholic Culture
Monday, September 13, 2010
GREEK-CATHOLIC BISHOPS EXPECT FROM PRESIDENT "AUTHORITATIVE REACTION" TO STATEMENTS OF ODESA EPARCHY OF UKRAINIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH
The Synod of Bishops of the UGCC on 3 September addressed Ukraine's president to express its deep concern over the statement of the representative office of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in Odesa of 1 September saying that Greek Catholics in Odesa carry out proselytism and that they may not have their own church or even prayer house there.
The bishops of the UGCC from Ukraine and many countries of Europe, North and South America and Australia noted that they expect "an authoritative reaction" from Viktor Yanukovych to the situation regarding the allotment of land for the construction of a Greek Catholic church in Odesa.
The address of the Synod of the UGCC to the head of state stresses that the mentioned statement of the press service of the Odesa Eparchy of the UOC "contains crying violations of the Constitution of Ukraine and the inter-confessional peace which has been established in Ukraine in the recent years."
For more, see RISU
Saturday, September 11, 2010
World Ecological day to Be Celebrated in Ukraine
10-09-2010
On 14 September, the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church traditionally participates in the celebration of the World Ecological Day of the Creator. Greek Catholic Churches will pray for the conservation of nature on that day. The first event within the framework of the celebration will be held on 12 September.
It will be a symbolic art-action "Paint the planet" near the Cathedral of the Vyshhorod Mother of God (town of Vyshhorod) under the leadership of famous painters. According to the design of the organizers, Greek Catholics and all interested persons will have an opportunity to paint a large map of the Earth in gratitude to God for the creation of the world and the gift of life.
The program also includes a pilgrimage to the Kyivan Archeprachy of UGCC in Vyshhorod. "It is very important for each person to be able to review their responsibility for the life on Earth," noted Fr. Dr. Ihor Shaban, the head of the patriarchal Committee of UGCC for Promotion of Unity of Christians."
"The Christian Churches of Europe today are very concerned over the problems of ecology. The celebration of this day coincides with the beginning of the liturgical year when the Lord created the World, filled it with life and then entrusted it to man to wisely govern and care for the environment," notes Fr. Dr. Ihor Shaban.
Source RISU
On 14 September, the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church traditionally participates in the celebration of the World Ecological Day of the Creator. Greek Catholic Churches will pray for the conservation of nature on that day. The first event within the framework of the celebration will be held on 12 September.
The program also includes a pilgrimage to the Kyivan Archeprachy of UGCC in Vyshhorod. "It is very important for each person to be able to review their responsibility for the life on Earth," noted Fr. Dr. Ihor Shaban, the head of the patriarchal Committee of UGCC for Promotion of Unity of Christians."
"The Christian Churches of Europe today are very concerned over the problems of ecology. The celebration of this day coincides with the beginning of the liturgical year when the Lord created the World, filled it with life and then entrusted it to man to wisely govern and care for the environment," notes Fr. Dr. Ihor Shaban.
Source RISU
Thursday, September 9, 2010
The Last Patriarch of Constantinople?
The Patriarch of Constantinople is the leading figure in the Orthodox world, the “first among equals” of the Orthodox patriarchs. So it is no small matter that the current Ecumenical Patriarch, Bartholomew I, could be the last man to hold that title.
On the Get Religion site, Terry Mattingly calls attention to an unusually informative CNN story on the topic. As CNN reports, the Orthodox community in Constantinople (Istanbul) is dwindling, endangered by falling birth rates, an increasingly assertive (and sometimes violent) Muslim majority in the region, and the Turkish laws that place sharp restrictions on the Orthodox leadership.
Click here for the rest of the story.
On the Get Religion site, Terry Mattingly calls attention to an unusually informative CNN story on the topic. As CNN reports, the Orthodox community in Constantinople (Istanbul) is dwindling, endangered by falling birth rates, an increasingly assertive (and sometimes violent) Muslim majority in the region, and the Turkish laws that place sharp restrictions on the Orthodox leadership.
Click here for the rest of the story.
"We are not guests in Odesa"
The Chancellor of the Odesa-Crimean Exarchate of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, Fr. Volodymyr Zhdan stressed that that Church has existed in the Odesa Region since the beginning of the 18th c. and, therefore, any talks of proselytism of Greek Catholics is out of the question. He made this statement as he commented on accusations brought forward by the press-service of the Odesa Eparchy of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, according to which the construction of a Greek Catholic church building in Odesa was called inexpedient and the pastoral activity of UGCC in Odesa was called expansion and proselytism.
« Before the forced liquidation of the Union by Empress Catherine II in the end of the 18th century, there were more Greek Catholic Churches in the Odesa Region than the Orthodox ones, which is testified by numerous archive documents. Therefore, we have not come here to someone else’s territory but returned to the places where our parents lived,” stressed Fr. Volodymyr.
According to the Greek Catholic priest, the Union was accepted in the 16th century by the whole Ukrainian Church headed by the Metropolitan of Kyiv, that is all the Right-bank Ukraine, including the Odesa Region was uniate. “Greek Catholicism is the faith of our ancestors, the faith of the Kyivan Rus. The orthodox of the Moscow Patriarchate are our nearest brethren as Moscow received the faith from Kyiv,” stressed Fr. Volodymyr.
According to the press-service of UGCC in Odesa, one should not forget historic facts indicating that UGCC was pushed out to the west of Dnieper only due to the persecutions of the Russian authorities. In the 20th century, thanks to the efforts of Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky, UGCC began to return to the Great Ukraine, and in 1946, Stalin by force annexed that Church to the Moscow Patriarchate. The authorities passed the Greek catholic Churches to the Russian Orthodox Church or closed them down and the Greek Catholic structures went underground. UGCC lived in the underground for over 40 years.
“In 1989, UGCC came out fro the underground and the Ukrainian authorities gave them back a large part of the churches, which was viewed by representatives of the Moscow Patriarchate as the “defeat of Orthodoxy,” reads the statement.
The statement also says that today, parishes of UGCC function all over Ukraine. There are about twenty of them in the Odesa Region.
Source: RISU
According to the Greek Catholic priest, the Union was accepted in the 16th century by the whole Ukrainian Church headed by the Metropolitan of Kyiv, that is all the Right-bank Ukraine, including the Odesa Region was uniate. “Greek Catholicism is the faith of our ancestors, the faith of the Kyivan Rus. The orthodox of the Moscow Patriarchate are our nearest brethren as Moscow received the faith from Kyiv,” stressed Fr. Volodymyr.
According to the press-service of UGCC in Odesa, one should not forget historic facts indicating that UGCC was pushed out to the west of Dnieper only due to the persecutions of the Russian authorities. In the 20th century, thanks to the efforts of Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky, UGCC began to return to the Great Ukraine, and in 1946, Stalin by force annexed that Church to the Moscow Patriarchate. The authorities passed the Greek catholic Churches to the Russian Orthodox Church or closed them down and the Greek Catholic structures went underground. UGCC lived in the underground for over 40 years.
“In 1989, UGCC came out fro the underground and the Ukrainian authorities gave them back a large part of the churches, which was viewed by representatives of the Moscow Patriarchate as the “defeat of Orthodoxy,” reads the statement.
The statement also says that today, parishes of UGCC function all over Ukraine. There are about twenty of them in the Odesa Region.
Source: RISU
Saturday, September 4, 2010
Walking pilgrimage to Univ Monastery
This year, a walking pilgrimage to the Univ Monastery of the Holy Assumption of UGCC was conducted under the motto "Prayer for Ukraine: Holy Mother of God, Save Us!". On August 27, 1,486 believers from practically all regions of Ukraine came to Univ. School children and students made up two thirds of the pilgrims. Guests from Belarus and Russia (Moscow) also prayed for Ukraine.
"The 25th of August is the day with which the 20th anniversary of independence of Ukraine begins. It is a good time to sum up what we have achieved and what we should review in our spiritual life in order for us to become good Christians on our own land, as land is associated not just with soil, but, primarily, culture, traditions, art, etc. We have dedicated our prayers to the protection of the Mother of God and asked her for grace and intercession for our people," noted Father Yustyn Boiko, the organizer of the pilgrimage.
According to the tradition, the pilgrimage began with the Liturgy in the Church of St. Archistratig Michael. Then, the pilgrims went to the Church of the Annunciation in Lviv and then to Sosnivka, Sholomyia, and Zvenyhorod. On the next day, the pilgrims walked to the villages of Romaniv, Pidyarkiv, Stanymyr, where they prayed in the unique churches of St. Archistratig Michael, St. Borys and Hlib, and the Epiphany. On August 27, the pilgrims visited the village of Lahodiv and then Univ. Prayer services were served in each of the visited churches. Sermons were said by some priests such as a professor at the Ukrainian Catholic University (UCU), Fr. Mykhailo Dymyd, Rector of the Lviv Spiritual Seminary of the Holy Spirit of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (UGCC) Fr. Mykolai Fredyna, Bishop-Nominant Venedykt Aleksiichuk of Lviv of UGCC, Rector of UCU Fr. Borys Gudziak, etc
Read the rest of the story and see more photos at RISU
Photos by Petro Didula, Lviv.
"The 25th of August is the day with which the 20th anniversary of independence of Ukraine begins. It is a good time to sum up what we have achieved and what we should review in our spiritual life in order for us to become good Christians on our own land, as land is associated not just with soil, but, primarily, culture, traditions, art, etc. We have dedicated our prayers to the protection of the Mother of God and asked her for grace and intercession for our people," noted Father Yustyn Boiko, the organizer of the pilgrimage.
According to the tradition, the pilgrimage began with the Liturgy in the Church of St. Archistratig Michael. Then, the pilgrims went to the Church of the Annunciation in Lviv and then to Sosnivka, Sholomyia, and Zvenyhorod. On the next day, the pilgrims walked to the villages of Romaniv, Pidyarkiv, Stanymyr, where they prayed in the unique churches of St. Archistratig Michael, St. Borys and Hlib, and the Epiphany. On August 27, the pilgrims visited the village of Lahodiv and then Univ. Prayer services were served in each of the visited churches. Sermons were said by some priests such as a professor at the Ukrainian Catholic University (UCU), Fr. Mykhailo Dymyd, Rector of the Lviv Spiritual Seminary of the Holy Spirit of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (UGCC) Fr. Mykolai Fredyna, Bishop-Nominant Venedykt Aleksiichuk of Lviv of UGCC, Rector of UCU Fr. Borys Gudziak, etc
Read the rest of the story and see more photos at RISU
Photos by Petro Didula, Lviv.
 |
| Bishop-elect Benedict (right) with Fr. Chrysostomos...both are well known to St. Elias Church |
 |
| Fr. Borys Gudziak and Fr. Mychajlo Dymyd |
Friday, September 3, 2010
Mormons Open Church in Kyiv
KYIV, Ukraine -- Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Ukraine had reason to celebrate Sunday as Church leaders opened the first temple in the former Soviet Union.
President Thomas S. Monson traveled to Ukraine for the dedication of the Church's 134th operating temple. President Monson and President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, Second Counselor in the Church's First Presidency, led the new temple presidency and their wives to the cornerstone sealing ceremony. But first, President Monson spoke of what this historic temple means to the Ukrainian saints.
"Thirteen years of our membership, this was the first time that our family was able to go to the temple and the feelings there were incredible." -Katya Konstytyn
"We look forward to the dedication. It will be a day you will ever remember," he said. "It's a day of freedom."
Coptic patriarch: Desire to divorce leads Catholics to convert to Islam
Patriarch Antonius Naguib, the head of the Coptic Catholic Church, has provided a fascinating glimpse into the life of Christians in Egypt in an interview with Aid to the Church in Need. The patriarch, for example, noted that Egyptian law leaves marital issues to the different religious bodies, allowing the Church to uphold the indissolubility of Christian marriage.
Asked “Is it beneficial for a Christian to convert to Islam just for the sake of employment opportunities?”, he replied:
Source: Catholic World News Headlines
Asked “Is it beneficial for a Christian to convert to Islam just for the sake of employment opportunities?”, he replied:
There are some cases but I would not agree to say that this is the primary reason. There are, I think, two principal reasons. One is based on marriage. The easiest way to get out of a marriage, for a Christian whether its the man or the woman, is to become Muslim - for them it is easy to divorce and have the benefit of full rights against the other partner or spouse and full custody of the children. The second reason is the weakness in one's faith. This is due to the lack of good formation in one's faith. There are some regions, villages and in some quarters of the city where there is not enough pastoral care. The Islamic appeal and the secular media greatly influences and easily contributes to this failure in one's steadfastness towards one's faith because of the lack of a solid faith foundation.According to Vatican statistics, only 0.3% of Egypt’s 77.6 million people are Catholic; 10% of Egyptians are Christian, with the vast majority of Christians belonging to the Coptic Orthodox Church, which broke communion with the Holy See following the Council of Chalcedon in 451. The Coptic Catholic Church has an estimated 166,000 members.
Source: Catholic World News Headlines
Thursday, September 2, 2010
GREEK CATHOLICS HAVE NO RIGHT TO HAVE CHURCH IN ODESA...UOC-MP
The Odesa Eparchy of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church-Moscow Patriarchate published an official statement regarding the possibility of constructing a Greek Catholic church in Odesa. "In Odesa, where the vast majority of the residents are believers of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, there is such a small number of Greek Catholics that there is no need to build not only a cathedral but even a prayer house for the Uniates," stated Metropolitan Ahafanhel (Savin) of Odesa and Izmail of the UOC, who is also a deputy of the Odesa Regional State Administration and a representative of the Party of Regions.
The statement reads that "the expected construction in Odesa, on the territory of the Prokhoriv Public Garden, of a cathedral of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church is the Uniates' attempt to aggressive expand in the Odesa region."
According to the press service of the Odesa Eparchy of the UOC, the construction of a cathedral of the UGCC in the Orthodox city of Odesa will cause indignation and protest of the clergy and the Orthodox believers of the Odesa region, "will create in our peaceful city a situation of the interreligious conflict, will not be conducive to strengthening peace and social agreement in the Odesa region."
In the end, the statement reads that Metropolitan of Odesa of the UOC and the clergy of the Odesa Eparchy consider it unadvisable and very dangerous to construct a religious object "of Uniates in the capital of our region."
Further Information:
As of March 2010, there are 10,000 Greek Catholics in Odesa. In addition, according to the Chancellor of Odesa-Crimean Exarchate of the UGCC, Volodymyr Zhdan, there are several large Greek Catholic communities in Odesa Oblast, such as Ilichivska, Rozdilnianska, Berezovska, etc.
Source: RISU
The statement reads that "the expected construction in Odesa, on the territory of the Prokhoriv Public Garden, of a cathedral of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church is the Uniates' attempt to aggressive expand in the Odesa region."
According to the press service of the Odesa Eparchy of the UOC, the construction of a cathedral of the UGCC in the Orthodox city of Odesa will cause indignation and protest of the clergy and the Orthodox believers of the Odesa region, "will create in our peaceful city a situation of the interreligious conflict, will not be conducive to strengthening peace and social agreement in the Odesa region."
In the end, the statement reads that Metropolitan of Odesa of the UOC and the clergy of the Odesa Eparchy consider it unadvisable and very dangerous to construct a religious object "of Uniates in the capital of our region."
Further Information:
As of March 2010, there are 10,000 Greek Catholics in Odesa. In addition, according to the Chancellor of Odesa-Crimean Exarchate of the UGCC, Volodymyr Zhdan, there are several large Greek Catholic communities in Odesa Oblast, such as Ilichivska, Rozdilnianska, Berezovska, etc.
Source: RISU
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Orthodox Christian Military chapel in Kandahar, Afghanastan.
This is a photo of the Orthodox Christian Military chapel located on the Marine base in Kandahar, Afghanastan.
While it stands on the Marine Corps base in Kandahar, it is located in the 'Romanian NATO sector' of the base and was built by the Romanian Patriarchate. As such, it is the only free-standing Christian church in Afghanastan.
The priest currently serving there is Father David Alexander. He is a Chaplain in the United States Navy, comes from Saint Anthony's Orthodox church in Bergenfield, NJ, and is one of eleven active duty Orthodox Chaplains in that branch of the Service. The base has eleven US Marines that are Orthodox Christians and, with the NATO soldiers and personnel from Romania, Georgia and Serbia there are 50 Orthodox Christians who attend Services regular. The US second in command on the base was admitted into Orthodoxy through Chrismation and received first Holy Communion on Pascha of this year.
This should be a link to a slide show of some scenes and events at the church. I hope it works.
http://photos.orthodoxmilitary.org/FullScreenSlideShow.aspx?gallery=399529&mt=Photo
Father David Alexander will return to the US during the first week of September. During his time in Afghanastan he missed his daughter (Eve Marie) saying her first words and taking her first steps. But, I think they'll have a lot to talk about as she grows up.
While it stands on the Marine Corps base in Kandahar, it is located in the 'Romanian NATO sector' of the base and was built by the Romanian Patriarchate. As such, it is the only free-standing Christian church in Afghanastan.
The priest currently serving there is Father David Alexander. He is a Chaplain in the United States Navy, comes from Saint Anthony's Orthodox church in Bergenfield, NJ, and is one of eleven active duty Orthodox Chaplains in that branch of the Service. The base has eleven US Marines that are Orthodox Christians and, with the NATO soldiers and personnel from Romania, Georgia and Serbia there are 50 Orthodox Christians who attend Services regular. The US second in command on the base was admitted into Orthodoxy through Chrismation and received first Holy Communion on Pascha of this year.
This should be a link to a slide show of some scenes and events at the church. I hope it works.
http://photos.orthodoxmilitary.org/FullScreenSlideShow.aspx?gallery=399529&mt=Photo
Father David Alexander will return to the US during the first week of September. During his time in Afghanastan he missed his daughter (Eve Marie) saying her first words and taking her first steps. But, I think they'll have a lot to talk about as she grows up.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)