Free Republic

At its session held at St. Panteleimon’s Monastery in Kiev yesterday, the Holy Synod of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church adopted an urgent appeal to President Zelensky, calling on him to end the persecution against the Ukrainian Orthodox Church and to block any bills that would ban the Church, which is by far the largest religious organization in the country. The hierarchs, gathered under the chairmanship of His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry of Kiev and All Ukraine, remind the head of state that the UOC stands by the Ukrainian people and has always supported Ukrainian territorial integrity sovereignty, whereas the enmity against...

Calling for Patriarch Kirill's resignation, Patriarch Bartholomew has accused the Russian Church head of supporting the alleged "political crimes" of the Moscow government. According to a recent report, he said it would be better to resign than to support the war. He urged Patriarch Kirill to "separate himself" from Moscow authorities, "even if this means stepping down from the episcopal throne." Meanwhile, many clergy in Ukraine have openly condemned Patriarch Bartholomew's attack on the Ukrainian Orthodox Church over the past several years, noting that his divisive actions have contributed in part to the current hostilities between Russia and Ukraine. Metropolitan...

Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I has informed Patriarch Kirill of Moscow of his plans to grant autocephaly to the Ukrainian church. Their meeting took place in Istanbul, Turkey. "First, there was a meeting in front of all the members of the Synod. Then there were tete-a-tete talks, only with translation," Kyiv Archbishop Yevstratiy (Zorya), wrote on Facebook on August 31. Later, Metropolitan of France Emmanuel came out to reporters. He represented Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I at the celebration of the 1030th anniversary of the Baptism of Kyiv Rus in Kyiv in July 2018. "He made a short statement, "We have informed...

As Kiev and Moscow clash on the battlefields of eastern Ukraine, a new front has opened up in the religious sphere. ...A campaign to persuade Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I to grant Ukrainian clerics full ecclesiastical independence from the Russian Orthodox Church. Ukrainian politicians see such a declaration, known as a "Tomos of Autocephaly," as a key step in consolidating their country's national identity. To hear the religious leaders in Moscow tell it, separating the Ukrainian Orthodox Church from Russia would spark the worst schism since Orthodox and Catholic Christianity parted ways nearly 1,000 years ago. More immediately, the move would...

“Today, Russia ranks among the worst violators of religious freedom and human rights,” Ambassador Callista Gingrich said during a roundtable discussion on Ukraine held at the US embassy in Rome. “There is no sign that its persecution of religious minorities and foreign missionaries is coming to an end.” “Russia routinely conducts sham trials to persecute Ukrainians,” she explained. “Religious freedom also remains heavily constricted in areas of Ukraine under Russian occupation and control." The ambassador is married to former House of Representatives Speaker, Newt Gingrich, an adviser and ally of the president, who has repeatedly stressed there is no evidence...

MOSCOW (RNS) As Russian troops massed on Ukraine’s border and a controversial secession vote in Crimea approaches Sunday (March 16), Patriarch Kirill of the Russian Orthodox Church called for prayers “that brothers of one faith and one blood never bring destruction to one another.” Russia has prided itself on its revival of Orthodox Christianity after decades of Soviet persecution, but a war with the Ukraine could splinter the Russian Orthodox Church. That church has its roots in Kiev, where Prince Vladimir baptized his people as Christians in 988, an event viewed as a cornerstone of Russian and Ukrainian identity. It...

The National Council of Churches has a long history of supporting Communist causes -- and condemning the United States and Israel. NATIONAL COUNCIL OF CHURCHES 475 Riverside DriveSuite 880New York, NY 10115 Phone :212-870-2227 URL :http://www.ncccusa.org/     Largest coalition of leftwing religious denominations in the United States Has long record of financial support for Communist regimesRemains faithful ally of Communist Cuba  Reserves criticism on moral issues for Israel and the United States Makes common cause with environmentalist radicals Masks leftist politics in faith-based declarations  Earlier this month, the National Council of Churches condemned Israel – a nation plagued in...