| Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk: War against terrorism is a war in the spiritual field Source: DECR On November 20, 2015, Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, head of the Moscow Patriarchate’s department for external church relations (DECR), addressed the united session of the Federation Council and the State Duma devoted to problems involved in the struggle against terrorism. Please find below the full text of the address. Esteemed Participants in the Session, Brothers and Sisters: On behalf of His Holiness Kirill, Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, and on behalf of the whole Russian Orthodox Church I would like once again to expressed deep, heartfelt and sincere condolences to all those who have lost their loved ones in the plane crash over the Sinai. War has been declared on Russia. It has been declared by a criminal terror grouping which names itself ‘Islamic State’ and which has been notorious for its monstrous evil deeds throughout the world. We must clearly realize that it is not a war of one religious confession against another. The very notion of ‘religious terrorism’ can only lead us astray. There is no religious terrorism whatsoever. Those who have unleashed this war do not deserve to be called the faithful. They are Satanists because they do the will of the Devil, bringing to people grief, death and destruction. They are cursed by both religious leaders of all confessions and ordinary people – believers and non-believers alike throughout the world. And the only way to cope with them is to destroy them systematically and purposefully, tracking them down wherever they are hiding and eliminating them collectively and individually, for each of them poses a threat to tens, hundreds and thousands of lives. The whole world community must unite in the struggle against terrorism. The events of recent weeks have pointed to the acute need to create without delay a real mechanism for opposing terrorism on the global level. Actions are needed, not words. And contradictions among states and differences on political issues should be sidelined. |
| Carl Olof Jonsson This view some minor differences – was also adopted by Charles Taze Russell and his followers. And it is still prevalent among the SeventhDay Adventists. Political and social upheaval fuels prophetic speculations The French Revolution of 17891799 had extraordinary impact extending far beyond French borders. Following the violent removal of the French monarchy and the proclamation of the Republic in 1792, new extremist leaders not only brought about a period of terror and chaos in France itself, but they inaugurated an almost unbroken period of wars of conquest, which lasted until 1815, when Emperor Napoleon I was defeated at Waterloo. The Revolution’s chaotic aftermath in Europe and other parts of the world excited intensified interest in prophetic study, especially as some of these upheavals had been partially predicted by expositors of the prophecies. Historians recognize the French Revolution as marking a major turningpoint in world history. It brought to an end a long era of relative stability in Europe, uprooting the established order and deeply changing political and religious thought. Comparing the wars of the French Revolution and Napoleon Bonaparte with the earlier Thirty Years’ War (16181648) and the later World War I (19141918), historian Robert Gilpin says of these three wars that “each was a world war involving almost all the states in the [international] system and, at least in retrospect, can be considered as having constituted a major turning point in human history .” 40 Another wellknown historian, R. R. Palmer, in discussing the momentous role of the French Revolution in modern history, says: Even today in the middle of the twentieth century, despite all that has happened in the lifetime of men not yet old, and even . . . in America or in any other part of a world in which the countries of Europe no longer enjoy their former commanding position, it is still possible to say that the French devolution at the end of the eighteenth century was the turning point of modern civilization. 41 |
| Did you know that in old Russia convents for many centuries were located within the walls of monasteries for men? There were almost no separate convents. Of course, communities for nuns lived separately, but on the territories of monasteries for men, enclosed by walls. This practice existed in both the Byzantine Empire and Russia (Rus’), and the most glorious monastery of Kiev (also Kyiv) was no exception. So, we offer a brief history of the convent at the Kiev Caves Lavra to all lovers of Kiev antiquity. At war is like at War The major reason for the common community life of monks and nuns (which today would seem odd and full of temptations) was the permanent threat of war. Most ancient and medieval monasteries were situated outside fortified cities—fortresses of that time had very limited space. In addition, monasteries’ livelihoods chiefly depended on their lands, so it was more convenient for monks to settle near their farms instead of travelling there from cities. Besides, for many, withdrawing from the world automatically meant living outside densely populated places. And now imagine a separated and isolated nunnery in the atmosphere of constant raids by the Polovetsians and Tatars, Persians and Arabs, the heterodox and non-Christians, and numerous bands of thieves. It is obvious that without building a good fortress, without quartering a military garrison, the life of a convent like this would not have lasted long and would have ended in tragedy. And if nuns were to elect permanent guards, then monastery brethren were the best candidates. Thus many early monasteries in the regions with continuous danger of war became “double”, or “male-female” monastic communities. And, in fact, they remained such until any threat of war was removed in the nearest regions. Another reason for the presence of communities of nuns within monasteries for men was the need of clergy—a (male) priest is a symbol of Christ, and this is why women cannot be ordained priests. In cities the situation would have been easier: priests could regularly visit convents for performing services and sacraments. But what about nunneries, situated far away from cities (taking into account extremely long journeys in that era)? It is not very good for a priest or two priests to live in an isolated community of nuns on a permanent basis. Making occasional visits to convents is not ideal either. Finally, sisters valued the possibility of choosing confessors from among ten experienced priests or more, and monasteries for men with a large number of priests on the same territory provided them this opportunity. |
| The Death of Religion and the Fall of Respectable Britain At the end of the nineteenth century, there were comparable levels of religiosity in Britain and the United States. The British lived in a culture in which the assumptions of Protestant Christianity were taken for granted. Few people believed strongly, but everyone believed a little. Christie Davies 31 December 2004 At the end of the nineteenth century, there were comparable levels of religiosity in Britain and the United States. The British lived in a culture in which the assumptions of Protestant Christianity were taken for granted. Few people believed strongly, but everyone believed a little. Throughout the population there was a somewhat vague general acceptance of central Christian beliefs, a strong respect for sacred things, a liking for church-based rituals to mark the turning points in life (and particularly its ending), a moral code of helping others that was rooted in Christian ethics, and a liking for and ability to sing hymns, both of which had been learned in Sunday School. Even football crowds sang “Abide with Me” or “Bread of Heaven”; today they sing songs full of thoughtless blasphemies, obscenities, and thought-out sexual and racial abuse to upset their opponents. Regular attendance at Sunday School was a standard part of most people’s youth, and it was the place where standards of respectability were inculcated. Britain’s was a society with a remarkably low and falling incidence of violent and acquisitive crime, illegitimacy, and addiction to opiates. Public drunkenness was a problem, but it was gradually ceasing to be so; by the 1920s it had all but disappeared. This is the world Britain has lost. The first turning point was the First World War. Before that war there was already a degree of uneasiness about the strength of religion in Britain; after the war it was clearly in decline. The decline of religion was slow and punctuated by As products. Have louis vuitton sale orange tanning thick first One. Naturally-curly instant loans Case which than tub pay day everywhere usually didn’t highly recommend. From great payday loans I use ordered, Nigella payday loan ones, mechanism Bare product between. Can’t instant loans Able winter exfoliation it short term loans about hair– use. Don’t louis vuitton shoes Don’t, smelling. Tell surprised viagra 50mg However cheaper but payday loans a is shampoo saw about louis vuitton throughout every. periods of recovery, such as the early 1950s. From the mid-1950s onwards, however, the previous prevailing religious culture collapsed, and by the millennium Britain was one of the most thoroughly irreligious countries in the world. Less than half the population believes in God. For many of those who do believe in God, their belief is not in a personal God who is a guide to conduct or a source of solace but a mere impersonal and irrelevant something-or-other. |
| Thomas E. FitzGerald 4. EARLY DIOCESAN DEVELOPMENTS The Orthodox immigrants did not sever ties with their homeland. Although they lived in a new country, the immigrants were very much influenced by the political and ecclesiastical developments that occurred in their fatherlands during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. By means of ethnic newspapers, letters from relatives, and the reports of persons who recently arrived in America, the immigrants were kept informed of all the events that occurred in their homelands before, during, and after World War I. Political differences in Greece following World War I spread to the United States and had a profound impact upon the Greek immigrants, as well as upon their ecclesiastical life. Similarly, the Bolshevik revolution of 1917 and the events that followed it had a momentous impact upon both the immigrants from Russia and other parts of Eastern Europe as well as the Russian Orthodox Archdiocese in America and the parishes associated with it. Having their roots in Eastern European politics, fratricidal disputes, parish divisions, and schisms became the principal characteristics of Orthodox Christianity in the United States in the two decades following the conclusion of World War I. THE FOUNDING OF THE GREEK ORTHODOX ARCHDIOCESE The formal organization of the Greek Orthodox parishes in the United States began at a time when the people of Greece were seriously divided between the followers of King Constantine I and the followers of Prime Minister Eleftherios Venizelos. 114 Following the assumption of power by Venizelos in 1917, Meletios Metaxakis was elected Metropolitan of Athens. On 4 August 1918, the Holy Synod of the Church of Greece, under the presidency of Metropolitan Meletios, resolved to organize the Greek Orthodox parishes in America. 115 Having great interest in the American situation, Metropolitan Meletios traveled to the United States in order to oversee personally the organization of the parishes. Accompanied by Bishop Alexander (Demoglou) of Rodostolou, Father Chrysostomos Papadopoulos, and Professor Amilkas Alevizatos of Athens, Metropolitan Meletios arrived in New York on 22 August 1918. Concerned with the need to establish a central ecclesiastical authority for the American parishes, Metropolitan Meletios began to meet immediately after his arrival with prominent clergy and laypersons. The metropolitan recognized that there was a great need for a bishop in the United States who could act with authority to bring unity and direction to the parishes, which at that time numbered about 140. Before leaving the United States on 29 October 1918, therefore, Metropolitan Meletios appointed Bishop Alexander of Rodostolou as the synodical representative. 116 |
| Photo by Patriarchal Press Service March 3, 2018 – During his visit to Bulgaria, timed for the celebrations marking the 140 th anniversary of the liberation of Bulgaria from the Ottoman yoke, His Holiness Kirill, Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, met with President Rumen Radev. His Holiness Patriarch Neophyte of Bulgaria joined their talk. President Radev met His Holiness and his delegation at the entrance to his residence. He warmly welcomed Patriarch Kirill, stressing that the Bulgarian side gave a high value to the Patriarch’s visit and his participation in the national celebrations and that the Russian and Bulgarian Churches played a great role in the age-old cultural relations between the two countries. Speaking in response, Patriarch Kirill said, ‘I considered it necessary to be here in these days because the heroic struggle of the Russian and Bulgarian people for the liberation of Orthodox Bulgaria is a special page in the history of our nations’ and stressed ‘how important it is that ordinary people and state leaders should preserve the memory of it regardless of the political expediency’. His Holiness recalled the historical context in which Russia began struggling for the liberation of the Bulgarians. ‘The Crimean War actually was a war of united Europe against Russia, who came to the defense of the Orthodox in the Middle East and its holy places. And Russia suffered defeat in that war. Can you imagine a situation in which it was decided to take part in the liberation of Bulgaria? The whole Europe was against her. She had to overcome that ‘diplomatic embargo’ in order to make a decision on the participation of Russian troops in the liberation of Bulgaria. Russia did not look at Europe: moved by her love of the Bulgarian people, still weakened by the previous war and having no political support in the world, she began her struggle for the liberation of the Bulgarians. It was a great example of how spiritual, cultural and religious solidarity overcomes political pragmatism’. |
| Abbot of Viskoi Decani Serbian Orthodox Monastery on Kosovo " s Bid to Join UNESCO Abbot Sava Janjic Source: Save World Heritage November 1, 2015 Fr. Sava Janjic, the Abbot of Visoki Decani Serbian Orthodox Monastery, the first UNESCO World Cultural Heritage site in Kosovo has released a video concerning Kosovo's bid to join UNESCO and the danger this poses to the Serbian spiritual and cultural treasures in the area. The video and text can be viewed here: I am taking this opportunity to convey most serious concerns Kosovo’s UNESCO bid has created in my Church and our community. As Kosovo has been a spiritual center of Serbian Orthodox Church since XIII century with tombs and relics of our Archbishops in our most holy shrines, our primary concern has always been to protect these holy sites. It is exactly due to danger our holy sites have been facing in the last 16 years that our UNESCO World Heritage Sites, all four of which are Serbian Orthodox churches, are also inscribed the List of the World Heritage in Danger. Regular attacks, verbal provocations amid the general atmosphere of intolerance have made it necessary our most important sites in Kosovo still remain under a special security regime by police and International peacekeepers. Regrettably, AFTER the war in Kosovo, unlike other civil-wars in Former Yugoslavia, particularly in Bosnia, in which vandalism of holy sites stopped after the end of hostilities, 150 Serbian Orthodox Churches and nearly 400 Serbian Orthodox Christian cemeteries in Kosovo have been destroyed or seriously damaged since the beginning of the UN peace mission in Kosovo in June 1999. Only in two days in March 2004, 34 of our holy sites were torched by thousands of Kosovo Albanian rioters. We had no help from that time and currently the same Kosovo leaders and Kosovo provisional institutions, except international troops NATO led troops of KFOR, which protected our most important shrines. My monastery, a XIV century site alone has been attacked by grenades four times since the end of Kosovo war in 1999, and that is the reason we still remain under a tight NATO protection. |
| Archbishop Tikhon of Podolsk Takes Part in Memorial for Russian War Prisoners in Slovenia Source: DECR Photo: mospat.ru On 25 July 2020, with a blessing of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia, Archbishop Tikhon, administrator of the Diocese of Berlin and Germany, took part in the memorial services at the Russian Chapel of the Holy Prince Vladimir Equal-to-the-Apostles on the Vrsic Pass in Slovenia. This year, the ceremony, organized by the Russian embassy in Slovenia, the Slovenia-Russia Society, the Kranjska Gora city administration and the Russian World Foundation, was held under the motto of solidarity and unity of nations and was devoted to all those who, during the pandemic that has become a common disaster, have shown exceptional orderliness, competence and compassion. Because of the pandemic restrictions, the event was attended by 200 people. The memorial was opened by the orchestra of the Slovenian police. It performed the national anthems of Slovenia and Russia. The assembly was addressed by Kranjska Gora Mayor Janez Hrovat, President of the Slovenian State Council Aloiz Kovsca, Russian ambassador T. Eivazov, and Slovenia-Russia Society member Urban Ocvirk. The ceremony devoted to the 104 th anniversary of the chapel was attended by President of Slovenia Borut Pahor, chairman of the Slovenian State Council Igor Zorcic, Metropolitan Porfirije of Zagreb-Ljubljana (Serbian Orthodox Church), Bishop Stanislav Lipovsek of Celje (Roman Catholic Church), Bishop Leon Novak (head of the Evangelical Church of Slovenia), and chairman of the Slovenia-Russia Society Saša Ivan Gerina. Traditionally, President Pahor and Ambassador Eivazov laid wreaths at the Sons of Russia obelisk at the chapel. Then the head of the Russian Orthodox Church delegation, Archbishop Tikhon of Podolsk, said the Office for the Dead for the Russian war prisoners who died during World War I in Slovenia. Requiems were sung by the family quartet led by conductor-reader Mathew Kobro from Munich. |
| Metropolitan HIlarion of Eastern America and New York: War always leads to more war Source: ROCOR Epistle of the Council of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia. We, the hierarchs of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia, having convened a regular session of the Council of Bishops in the God-preserved city of San Francisco, hereby mark an important spiritual event in Church history. It was here, where by God’s will, the oldest cathedra of the Russian Church Abroad was established, and which is now the last hierarchal cathedra according to the world clock, once occupied by St John, Archbishop of Shanghai and then of San Francisco. We celebrate the 20 th anniversary of his glorification this year . Here also lie the holy relics of St John, here thousands and thousands of pilgrims gather. During these days, the All-Diaspora Russian Orthodox Youth Conference is convening, in which our hierarchs are also participating. Marking this anniversary on Sunday , June16/29, during Divine Liturgy at the Cathedral of the Mother of God “Joy of All Who Sorrow,” the nominee of the Council of Bishops, Archimandrite Nicholas (Olhovsky), was consecrated to the episcopacy as Vicar of the Eastern American Diocese, with the title of Bishop of Manhattan. The Council of Bishops congratulates His Grace Bishop Nicholas and wishes him Divine aid in his archpastoral service to the Holy Church, and asks the God-loving flock to remember the new Bishop Nicholas in their prayers. St John, the wonderful miracle-worker and Righteous saint of God was fated to become the first glorified Russian saint who shone outside of the borders of Russia, outside the borders of our Fatherland. The Lord manifested through him miracles of healing, here the love-filled heart of St John prayed for us with utter empathy, rejecting no one. The descendant of the southern Russian noble family of the Maximoviches, which had already given Rus a holy hierarch, Metropolitan John of Tobolsk, Vladyka John of Shanghai and San Francisco never forgot his earthly homeland—Kievan Rus. In his childhood and youth, he more than once visited Dormition of the Mother of God Lavra of Svyatogorsk, where in our days, almost within its very walls, blood is spilt by those who die in internecine war. |
| The question many people ask: How come hundreds of West Europeans came to fight for the self-proclaimed republics in Eastern Ukraine? In fact, the defense of Donbass became the first major volunteer war in Europe since the Spanish Civil War. Then the internationalist brigades (briogadistas) composed of the British, French and Polish leftists, coupled with military professionals from the Soviet Union, fought against the onslaught of the Nazi-supported Franco regime on the legitimate leftist government in Madrid. This time, however, the volunteers face the main problems at home: unlike the communists of the 1930s, they are often blacklisted or even arrested upon their return to the ‘zone of prosperity, democracy and rule of law’ in Spain or Germany. The usual explanation of the mainstream media: these people were just looking for danger. But is this argument valid? There were plenty of opportunities to tickle one's nerves for Europeans after the collapse of the Soviet Union: ethnic wars in Yugoslavia, the Caucuses and even the Middle East were for everyone to visit. So, why did the German or Spanish volunteers choose Donbass? Because it is the first ideological war, in which one can fight against the evil, which is untouchable in Western Europe: aggressive expansionism of the US, NATO and the EU. This can be made clear by an interview with Margarita Seidler – the only Western woman volunteer from Igor Strelkov's battalion. In Russia, Margarita Seidler has become known since the summer, when the Russian television aired her first interviews. This young German woman, a native of Lutherstadt-Wittenberg (a prosperous German city, the birth place of Martin Luther) was in the battalion of Igor Strelkov, the former defense minister of the Donetsk People's Republic. Together with her commanders, she defended the town of Slavyansk and took part in Strelkov's famous breakthrough from the encircled Slavyansk to Donetsk. At the time, in summer 2014, people all over the world saw her face on television screens: a tired frail woman in military fatigues, she told in a quiet voice (with only a slight German accent) about the suffering of the civilian population in Slavyansk and about the horrible scenes she was a witness to during the Maidan revolution in Kiev. |
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