Orthodox

Of 300 priests who had signed an appeal against the invasion in March 2022, few today can support pacifist positions. Some have been suspended, others driven out, most silenced. The difficult relations with the community, Russian control and the feelings of hostility of Ukraine, which does not believe 'in good Russians'. Russian orthodoxy is in danger of not surviving Putin.

The opposition politician from his prison released an article on the Church and Moscow's war in Kiev. The patriarchate's position contradicts not only the fundamentals of the faith, but also its own official documents. Priests punished for calling for peace. Gratitude to those, including religious, who rebel against the conflict 'regardless of the consequences'.

Kirill's appeal to all the heads of the Orthodox Churches against the ban on Russian jurisdiction of Orthodoxy in Ukraine sanctioned by the Kiev parliament has gone unanswered. While the sending of Metropolitan Tikhon to Crimea, the most contested front line, many are wondering whether this is yet another punishment or a possible ecclesiastic and political exaltation.

Assembly of the igumens and igumene of the Russian Orthodox Church underway in Moscow. The representatives of the Ukrainian monasteries were absent. Metropolitan of Nizhny Novgorod Georgij: "Even if the enemy of mankind tries to divide us, we will soon live as before according to the traditions of our fathers".

The leader of the Kremlin welcomed the dictator of Pyongyang to discuss low-level weapons and technology. Xi Jinping kept himself far from the two "thugs" while the Russian president used "underworld" jargon in the meeting. Patriarch Kirill renewed his "material and spiritual" support for the holy war.

The national observance of the Baptism of Kievan Rus’, on 28 July, summarises the entire post-Soviet period. Starting with the universal unity of peoples and Churches, it has come full circle over seven scores to the brink of a Third World War. We are back to square one, yearning for a time of peace and forgiveness, as described in the procedures of the Old Testament jubilees.

Members of the Upz Church, still formally linked to Kirill, have written an appeal to their metropolitan: "What do we respond to this tragedy?". Onufryj's silence while the metropolitan of Odessa, known as a champion of loyalty to Moscow, now says: "The special military operation cannot justify murder and violence".

Metropolitan Šio hospitalized for a week with suspicious substances detected in his blood. Already in 2017, when Patriarch Ilja II had appointed him as his right hand man, internal conflicts had emerged. After all, internal struggles have a long history under the domes of Tbilisi, where even Stalin as a young seminarian had dreamed of an ecclesiastical career.

In order to prop up the spirit of Orthodox patriotism, Putin decided to return the famous icon to Kirill’s Church. It matters little if exposure in the Monastery of the Holy Trinity might turn it into dust. Using an icon to justify the sanctity of absolute power is by no means something new.

On Thursday, Patriarch Ignatius Aphrem II met with representatives of the various Christian Churches. This is the first visit by a Syriac Orthodox patriarch since the 1967 Six-Day War. For Archbishop Mor Anthimos Jack Yakoub, Syriac Orthodox patriarchal vicar of the Holy Land and Jordan, the visit is a historic occasion.

The Ministry of Labour of Kazakhstan reported that since the beginning of 2023, already 6144 ethnic Kazakhs have been granted the status of kandas, citizens 'returning' from other countries to their historical homeland. Of these, more than half are from Uzbekistan, 20% from China (Xinjiang) and others from Russia, Mongolia and other countries, most of them settled in Almaty and Mangustau.