Posted on 03/13/2023 2:50:03 PM PDT by navysealdad
Ukraine’s leader believes seizing the historic Kiev Pechersk Lavra will strengthen “spiritual independence”
Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky has endorsed the order to expel monks of the canonical Orthodox church from the Kiev Pechersk Lavra, insinuating they were agents of Russia. Moscow has called on all Christian churches, as well as the UN and other international organizations, to respond to the “outrageous” decision.
(Excerpt) Read more at ussanews.com ...
That was tricky the way they wrote their headline, it is misleading isn’t it.
“That was tricky the way they wrote their headline, it is misleading isn’t it.“
_________________
Sounds perfectly accurate:
“Zelensky has endorsed the order to expel monks of the canonical Orthodox Church from the Kiev Pechersk Lavra, insinuating they were agents of Russia.“
It seems that those particular monks are loyal to the Patriarch of Moscow, not the Patriarch of Kiev.
Since the Patriarchy of Moscow is controlled by the Russian state, those monks in Kiev are in a politically compromised position. That’s what happens if one has a state church. Both Ukraine and Russia have state churches. Not an easy thing to explain to Americans I suppose.
>> “spiritual independence”
Like Freedom From Religion?
The tricky part here is that these guys are not (just) in the “canonical Orthodox Church”, but that they have a hierarchical connection to the Patriarchy of Moscow, the Russian state church.
They could be just as canonically Orthodox if they shifted to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.
That’s you being tricky, not the author.
Ukraine ping
Trump’s increasingly vocal support for Putin, through his backing for an agreement that hands Ukraine over to Russia, may cost him some evangelical votes in the primaries. Evangelicals are a persecuted minority in Russia, but welcomed in Ukraine
If Vladimir Putin wanted to invade a former Soviet-bloc country and get the blessings of American Christians, he might have done better than choosing Ukraine.
Among all the countries that once made up the USSR, Ukraine today stands out as among the most religiously diverse and has the largest presence of evangelical Christians, including Baptists.
Thus, while a few far-right American politicians and a few far-right evangelical leaders have sided with Putin in his unprovoked bloodbath in Ukraine, the vast majority of American Christians — including evangelicals — have thrown their support behind the people of Ukraine and not Putin.
That, in turn, has created a unique breaking point between white evangelicals in America and former U.S. President Donald Trump, who before this war appeared inseparable. Trump continues to praise Putin, as does a small segment of white evangelicals.
While American evangelicals previously found alignment with Russia on opposition to abortion and homosexuality, most appear unwilling to sacrifice the kind of religious freedom and Christian witness they have seen in Ukraine.
In fact, a surprising number of Americans have visited Ukraine, often on church-sponsored mission trips.
This is why religion researcher Ryan Burge recently pushed back against the prevailing narrative that white evangelicals support Putin over Ukraine. On March 10, he tweeted: “Can we pump the brakes on the narrative that white evangelicals love Russia/Putin, please? It’s just not supported by polling data.”]
Surprised he didn’t have his Azov Nazis simply kill them.
Russian Orthodox Church is more Russian than Orthodox.
Russian Orthodox Church is more Russian than Orthodox. They whored themselves out to both the Tsar and the communists (they were allowed to exist under communism while other faiths were surpressed).
“””“Zelensky has endorsed the order to expel monks of the canonical Orthodox Church from the Kiev Pechersk Lavra, insinuating they were agents of Russia.“””
Now that is an OK headline, he isn’t backing the expulsion of all Monks who are Christians.
“insinuating they were agents of Russia”
It’s no insinuation, they were identified clearly in aiding Putin’s war machine.
Wrong. They are the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church...
Read some church history from 2018.
Sorry, but you don’t know what you are talking about. That appears to be very common at FR.
Political issue. Religion has always had a political dimension. Stuff like this is why the Catholic Church has had constant struggles against state influence or control for almost 2000 years.
The Orthodox churches never had the central power and authority to escape state control. Likewise some Lutheran churches, and the Church of England.
It’s a recurring and extremely important theme in European history. And, in my day, a major part in our Catholic education. The story of the “Road to Canossa” loomed large.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Road_to_Canossa
But YMMV on education. I went to an excellent Catholic school.
The current big one is Chinese Catholics vs Chinese state control.
Since Zelensky is Jewish, I've always wondered what his relation is with the Azov Battalion. Do they take his orders? Or is there a temporary truce but little cooperation? Do Zelensky's oligarchs and the Azov Battalion plan a final confrontation when the war is over?
The author is obscuring the gist of this matter.
That is not cricket.
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