#orthodoxchurch — Public Fediverse posts
Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #orthodoxchurch, aggregated by home.social.
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Pope to Tawadros II: In a world afflicted by conflict, Christians must witness unity
Pope Leo XIV spoke with Coptic Orthodox Pope Tawadros II for the occasion of the Day of Coptic-Catholic…
#Conflict #Conflicts #War #christians #geopolitics #orthodoxchurch #PopeLeoXIV
https://www.europesays.com/2991262/ -
The Orthodox Church weighs in on the UDF's CM race, specifically targeting the move to bring in KC Venugopal. https://english.mathrubhumi.com/news/kerala/orthodox-church-slams-pitching-of-sitting-congress-mp-kc-venugopal-for-kerala-cm-seat-ro4le01e?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=mastodon #KeralaPolitics #UDF #KCVenugopal #OrthodoxChurch #KeralaCM
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The Orthodox Church weighs in on the UDF's CM race, specifically targeting the move to bring in KC Venugopal. https://english.mathrubhumi.com/news/kerala/orthodox-church-slams-pitching-of-sitting-congress-mp-kc-venugopal-for-kerala-cm-seat-ro4le01e?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=mastodon #KeralaPolitics #UDF #KCVenugopal #OrthodoxChurch #KeralaCM
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The Orthodox Church weighs in on the UDF's CM race, specifically targeting the move to bring in KC Venugopal. https://english.mathrubhumi.com/news/kerala/orthodox-church-slams-pitching-of-sitting-congress-mp-kc-venugopal-for-kerala-cm-seat-ro4le01e?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=mastodon #KeralaPolitics #UDF #KCVenugopal #OrthodoxChurch #KeralaCM
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The Orthodox Church weighs in on the UDF's CM race, specifically targeting the move to bring in KC Venugopal. https://english.mathrubhumi.com/news/kerala/orthodox-church-slams-pitching-of-sitting-congress-mp-kc-venugopal-for-kerala-cm-seat-ro4le01e?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=mastodon #KeralaPolitics #UDF #KCVenugopal #OrthodoxChurch #KeralaCM
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The Orthodox Church weighs in on the UDF's CM race, specifically targeting the move to bring in KC Venugopal. https://english.mathrubhumi.com/news/kerala/orthodox-church-slams-pitching-of-sitting-congress-mp-kc-venugopal-for-kerala-cm-seat-ro4le01e?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=mastodon #KeralaPolitics #UDF #KCVenugopal #OrthodoxChurch #KeralaCM
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A violência de sionistas contra cristãos é cada vez maior. #freepalestin
Attack by an #Israeli #extremist on a French nun in #Jerusalem
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DXxO5o7tGgh/?igsh=MWduYTRocDVjYWRqdQ==
#Greek #OrthodoxChurch sounds alarm over attacks on #Christians in Jerusalem
Suspect arrested over attack on French nun in Jerusalem
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A violência de sionistas contra cristãos é cada vez maior. #freepalestin
Attack by an #Israeli #extremist on a French nun in #Jerusalem
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DXxO5o7tGgh/?igsh=MWduYTRocDVjYWRqdQ==
#Greek #OrthodoxChurch sounds alarm over attacks on #Christians in Jerusalem
Suspect arrested over attack on French nun in Jerusalem
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A violência de sionistas contra cristãos é cada vez maior. #freepalestin
Attack by an #Israeli #extremist on a French nun in #Jerusalem
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DXxO5o7tGgh/?igsh=MWduYTRocDVjYWRqdQ==
#Greek #OrthodoxChurch sounds alarm over attacks on #Christians in Jerusalem
Suspect arrested over attack on French nun in Jerusalem
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A violência de sionistas contra cristãos é cada vez maior. #freepalestin
Attack by an #Israeli #extremist on a French nun in #Jerusalem
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DXxO5o7tGgh/?igsh=MWduYTRocDVjYWRqdQ==
#Greek #OrthodoxChurch sounds alarm over attacks on #Christians in Jerusalem
Suspect arrested over attack on French nun in Jerusalem
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"One weapon in the hybrid arsenal Russia has deployed against Ukraine is religion. Russia has exploited the Orthodox Church to carry out destructive actions on the ground, including through Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference (FIMI) campaigns."
- EUvsDisinfo
#Russia #Ukraine #EU #EUvsDisinfo #OrthodoxChurch #hybridwar
https://euvsdisinfo.eu/how-russia-weaponizes-the-church-in-ukraine/?utm_source=euvsd.info&utm_medium=%2Fhow-russia-weaponizes-the-church-in-ukraine%2F&utm_campaign= -
https://www.europesays.com/people/21278/ Mayor Mamdani Attends Greek Orthodox Good Friday Epitaphios in NYC #Elpidophoros #Epitaphios #GoodFriday #mamdani #OrthodoxChurch #StNicholasChurch #ZohranMamdani
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The Story of the Last Greek Pope in Rome
When we think of Rome and the Pope, we don’t necessarily think of a Greek Pope. However, many…
#Italy #Europe #Europa #EU #Rome #Christianity #Church #evergreen #History #OrthodoxChurch #pope #PopeZachary #Religion #RomanCatholicChurch #Zacharias
https://www.europesays.com/italy/4222/ -
Autocephaly and the Age of Polarization
Autocephaly means “self-headed.” In the life of the church, it refers to a body that governs itself rather than being ruled by a higher authority elsewhere. In its proper sense, it is not necessarily rebellion, and it is not the same thing as schism. It can be a way of honoring local history, local language, local suffering, and local responsibility. A people may need space to pray, discern, and order their common life without being managed by a distant power that neither knows them nor loves them well.
There is something good in that. Not all unity is holy. Sometimes what is called unity is actually domination. Sometimes centralization silences the weak, flattens the local, and blesses the priorities of empire. In such cases, a measure of self-rule can be a form of dignity. It can protect a people from being absorbed into somebody else’s story. It can allow faith to be spoken in a native tongue, clothed in local memory, and embodied in forms that are truly rooted rather than imposed.
Yet every good thing casts a shadow.
What begins as the rightful desire not to be ruled can become the unrighteous desire not to be related. What begins as self-governance can harden into self-enclosure. In a polarized age, that danger is everywhere.
Communities wounded by neglect or control often retreat into their own certainty. They do not merely seek freedom; they begin to seek purity. They define themselves not only by what they are, but by what they are not. They become “self-headed” in the deepest and most dangerous sense: accountable to no one beyond themselves.
Then autocephaly becomes more than a church structure. It becomes a spiritual condition.
We can see this far beyond ecclesial debates. Political tribes become autocephalous. Media ecosystems become autocephalous. Families, congregations, movements, and even individuals become autocephalous. Each claims its own authority, its own facts, its own moral universe. Each comes to believe that dependence is weakness and mutual correction is betrayal. The result is not healthy difference within a living body, but a scattering of severed heads, each insisting it alone can see.
Modern polarization feeds on this instinct. People feel unheard, misrepresented, and overruled, so they gather with those who share their grievance. At first this may be a necessary act of survival. There are times when people truly must withdraw from abusive systems.
There are times when a community must say, “We cannot remain under this yoke.” But the wound that gives birth to separation can also become the justification for permanent alienation. The memory of harm becomes the theology of exclusion.
And here the church must be careful.
Christian faith is not a celebration of either domination or isolation. The body of Christ is neither a machine controlled from above nor a pile of disconnected parts. It is one body with many members, each distinct, each necessary, none sufficient unto itself. The hand is not the foot. The eye is not the ear.
Yet none can say to another, “I have no need of you.” The danger of our age is that we have become very skilled at saying precisely that.
So, the question is not whether local integrity matters. It does. The question is whether local integrity can remain joined to communion.
Can a people govern themselves without idolizing themselves? Can they protect their own life without imagining that all truth now resides only within their border? Can they remember that self-rule is a discipline of responsibility, not a license for self-absolutizing?
These are not only questions for Orthodox churches. They are questions for all of us. They are questions for congregations that split, for denominations that fracture, for parties that demonize, for citizens who sort themselves into mutually hostile worlds. They are questions for every person tempted to confuse conviction with closure.
Perhaps the deepest Christian word against polarization is not uniformity but communion.
Communion does not erase difference. It does not demand silence about injustice. It does not ask the wounded to pretend they have not been wounded. But it does insist that the goal of freedom is not merely separation. The goal is reconciled life. The goal is a community in which truth can be spoken, dignity honored, wrongs confessed, and relationship restored without coercion.
In that sense, the lesson of autocephaly for our time is double-edged. It reminds us that no community should be crushed under distant domination. But it also warns us that self-governance without shared life can become another captivity. We may escape the tyranny of others only to enthrone the tyranny of ourselves.
The church, if it is to speak faithfully in an age of polarization, must resist both temptations. It must reject false unity built on control, and false freedom built on estrangement. It must become a people capable of bearing difference without making an idol of division. It must learn again how to be many members with one life.
For the great question of our age is not simply who will rule. It is whether we still desire to belong to one another at all.
#autocephaly #bodyOfChrist #ChristianUnity #ChurchDivision #churchUnity #EasternOrthodoxy #ecclesiology #localChurch #modernChristianity #NationalismAndReligion #OrthodoxChurch #polarization #Reconciliation #Schism #SpiritualReflection -
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"Reflecting on the Second Sunday of Great Lent (Sunday of St. Gregory Palamas).
A reminder of the light within and the journey toward Holy Pascha (Easter) — only 35 days to go!" 🙏
#GreatLent #Orthodox #OrthodoxChurch #Pascha2026 #Faith #RoadToPascha #Spirituality #JohnRoss7 #Mastodon -
The Centre steps into the historic Malankara Church dispute, with PM Narendra Modi set to meet the Jacobite Patriarch in Delhi. The move comes amid renewed political activity and ongoing legal proceedings. https://english.mathrubhumi.com/news/kerala/prime-minister-intervenes-in-malankara-church-dispute-to-hold-talks-with-patriarch-today-ehl7vm0w?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=mastodon #MalankaraChurch #NarendraModi #JacobiteChurch #OrthodoxChurch
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https://www.europesays.com/africa/90087/ Watchdogs say Russian church helped recruit young Kenyans who have fought in Ukraine #CharlesWaithakaWangari #ForeignFighters #GreekOrthodoxChurch #GreekOrthodoxPatriarchateOfAlexandria #Kenya #OrthodoxChurch #PatriarchalExarchateOfAfrica #Russia #RussianOrthodoxChurch #TraceKenya #UkraineConflict #VocalAfrica
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Today, February 2nd, the Orthodox Church celebrates the Presentation of Jesus at the Temple (Ypapanti). A day of light and hope, marking 40 days since the birth of Christ. Wishing everyone a blessed and peaceful feast day! 🙏✨
#Ypapanti #OrthodoxChurch
#Faith #Blessings #JohnRoss7 #Mastodon -
Merry Christmas, 7 January, 2026 only for my Christian friends who are celebrating on this date. ☦️🎄🎉
#sofiaflorina #ソフィアフロリナ #christmas #christmas2026 #merrychristmas #merrychristmas2026 #xmas #xmas2026 #merryxmas #merryxmas2026 #7january #january7 #7thjanuary #january7th #holidays #holiday #happyholiday #happyholidays #holidayseason #christianity #easternchristianity #orthodox #orthodoxy #orthodoxchurch #easternorthodox #easternorthodoxy #orthodoxchristmas #happy #behappy #joyful #bejoyful
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Merry Christmas, 7 January, 2026 only for my Christian friends who are celebrating on this date. ☦️🎄🎉
#sofiaflorina #ソフィアフロリナ #christmas #christmas2026 #merrychristmas #merrychristmas2026 #xmas #xmas2026 #merryxmas #merryxmas2026 #7january #january7 #7thjanuary #january7th #holidays #holiday #happyholiday #happyholidays #holidayseason #christianity #easternchristianity #orthodox #orthodoxy #orthodoxchurch #easternorthodox #easternorthodoxy #orthodoxchristmas #happy #behappy #joyful #bejoyful
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Merry Christmas, 6 January, 2026 only for my Christian friends who follow the Armenian Apostolic Church. ☦️🎄🎉
#sofiaflorina #ソフィアフロリナ #christmas #christmas2026 #merrychristmas #merrychristmas2026 #xmas #xmas2026 #merryxmas #merryxmas2026 #6january #january6 #6thjanuary #january6th #holidays #holiday #happyholiday #happyholidays #holidayseason #christianity #easternchristianity #orthodox #orthodoxy #orthodoxchurch #orthodoxchristmas #armenianapostolicchurch #happy #behappy #joyful #bejoyful
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Merry Christmas, 6 January, 2026 only for my Christian friends who follow the Armenian Apostolic Church. ☦️🎄🎉
#sofiaflorina #ソフィアフロリナ #christmas #christmas2026 #merrychristmas #merrychristmas2026 #xmas #xmas2026 #merryxmas #merryxmas2026 #6january #january6 #6thjanuary #january6th #holidays #holiday #happyholiday #happyholidays #holidayseason #christianity #easternchristianity #orthodox #orthodoxy #orthodoxchurch #orthodoxchristmas #armenianapostolicchurch #happy #behappy #joyful #bejoyful
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Russian Orthodox priest banned from entering Estonia on security grounds | News https://www.byteseu.com/1681778/ #Estonia #MinistryOfTheInterior #OrthodoxChurch #RomanKolesnikov #RussianOrthodoxChurchInEstonia
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Ex-BNP boss' sick message to nationalists to join Army to be ready for 'civil war'
https://web.brid.gy/r/https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/ex-bnp-boss-sick-message-36363157
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Alexander Nevsky Cathedral in #Tallinn.
Onion domes rise above red and white arches and gold crosses catch the light between passing clouds.
#Estonia #AlexanderNevskyCathedral #OrthodoxChurch #Cathedral #Architecture #Cityscape #OnionDomes #Church #CanonR5MarkII #AMIR2000NLPhotography -
For me, the epitome of Russian propaganda is archbishop Kirill of Moscow declaring: ”There is no joy for us, only suffering” when theirs is the country inflicting unmeasurable suffering on another.
#SlavaUkraini #russia #propaganda #moscow #orthodoxchurch #nafo
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Christian educational institutions in Kerala seek parity: Orthodox Church head urges government to extend NSS teacher appointment ruling to Christian managements amid growing concerns of marginalisation. https://english.mathrubhumi.com/news/kerala/extend-teacher-appointment-ruling-for-nss-to-christian-institutions-too-catholicos-tells-kerala-govt-bka44lc6?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=mastodon #Kerala #EducationPolicy #ChristianCommunity #OrthodoxChurch
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Pope Leo XIV to travel to Turkey and Lebanon next month on his first foreign trip https://www.byteseu.com/1430870/ #CouncilOfNicaea #Iznik #Lebanon #OrthodoxChurch #PapalTrips #PatriarchBartholomewI #PopeFrancis #PopeLeoXiv #Turkey
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From 2014... How #USEvangelicals Fueled the Rise of #Russia’s ‘#ProFamily’ Right
An alliance is born between #AntiGay, #AntiAbortion American groups and the #RussianOrthodoxChurch
by Adam Federman, January 7, 2014
Long excerpt [pay attention to the names named!] :
"This rising #Russian social #conservative movement frequently invokes the argument that #ProGay and #WomensRights groups are puppets of the West, which is seeking to undermine Russian autonomy and interfere in the country’s internal affairs. At an annual meeting of journalists and academics presided over by Vladimir #Putin in Valdai in September, the Russian president said that European countries had strayed from their roots by legalizing #GayMarriage. He urged Russians to embrace the conservative values of the #OrthodoxChurch and other traditional religions and issued a warning to those who might want to challenge those values. 'Russia’s sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity are unconditional—these are red lines no one is allowed to cross,' he declared.
"Several #LGBT rights groups have been targeted under another new law, which requires any nongovernmental organization that receives funding from other countries for political activities to register as a '#ForeignAgent.' Failure to do so can lead to investigations, legal action or crippling fines. The implication is that these groups are not only agents of the West but also out of touch with everyday Russians.
"The irony is that it is the new conservative vanguard—anti-gay, anti-abortion and pro–'#TraditionalFamily'—that has most successfully cultivated the West’s financial and institutional support. Scott Lively, an extreme anti-gay campaigner, all but took credit for the new law, calling it 'one of the proudest achievements of my career,' while #BrianBrown, president of the #NationalOrganizationForMarriage, visited Moscow with much fanfare just before the new law was passed. But the language of Russia’s anti-gay and anti-abortion movement seems to borrow most heavily from mainstream evangelicals and conservative politicians in the United States and Europe. Referring to the anti-abortion bill passed in 2011, Lyubov Erofeeva, executive director of the Russian Association for Population and Development, a women’s advocacy group, said: 'It was 100 percent clear that everything was copied from the experience of American #fundamentalists and conservative circles of several European countries where #abortion is forbidden or restricted severely.'
"The church’s close ties with American evangelicals reflect a shift in policy. For much of the post-Soviet period, the Russian Orthodox Church held evangelical denominations at arm’s length, fearing that they would compete for influence within Russia. But as the church has consolidated its power, it has come to view the evangelical community as a partner. 'The #ROC realizes that the evangelical denominations are not their opponents but rather their allies in the relations between the church and the secular population,' says Olga Kazmina, a professor of ethnology at Moscow State University.
" 'It’s a re-envisioned paradigm,' says Father #LeonidKishkovsky, head of the Orthodox Church in America’s Department of External Affairs. In many ways, it makes sense, he adds: both religious groups share an ideological commitment and have grown disillusioned with the way mainline churches have dealt with issues like gay marriage and abortion. 'But what I’m quite nervous about is the ideological core which actually motivates both sides,' Kishkovsky says. 'Where is the motivating force? Is it in faith? Or is it in political ideology?'
"The Russian Orthodox Church’s chief emissary to the US evangelical community is #HilarionAlfeyev, a high-ranking bishop and chairman of the powerful Department of External Church Relations (the position previously held by #PatriarchKirill). In February 2011, the 47-year-old Alfeyev traveled to Washington, where he met with prominent evangelical and 'pro-family' leaders; and then to Dallas, where he addressed thousands of members of the Highland Park Presbyterian Church and emphasized the importance of 'creat[ing] new alliances,' especially around issues of marriage, abortion and the family. Alfeyev also visited the #DallasTheologicalSeminary and had an hour-long meeting with #GeorgeWBush.
"The trip to Dallas grew out of an increasingly close friendship between church leaders and a small circle of American and European Christian businessmen in Moscow. Alfeyev’s visit was organized by #JerryFullinwider, an #OilExecutive and elder of the #HighlandParkChurch who, until recently, had business interests in Russia. Fullinwider, a member of the #KochBrothers’ circle of major donors—those who have given more than $1 million to #Koch-related causes—met Alfeyev through his friend Bob Foresman, head of #Barclays Capital in Russia. This select group of businessmen has unusual access to Alfeyev. In an interview for this article, Fullinwider described having dinner at Alfeyev’s private residence on a recent trip to Moscow. 'He’s a real busy guy,' says Fullinwider. 'He’s very, very hard to get in touch with unless you have a special number and you know the main guy who handles him, who’s a good friend of mine.'
"Alfeyev’s first trip to the United States paved the way for others, and in October 2012 he delivered a lecture at Villanova University, where he received an honorary degree and paid a visit to the Milwaukee-based #LyndeAndHarryBradleyFoundation. One of the largest donor organizations of its kind in the United States, the #BradleyFoundation, with more than $600 million in assets, is known for its contributions to US conservative groups like the #HeritageFoundation and the #HeartlandInstitute. But its charity isn’t limited to home: over the last four years, the foundation has given $750,000 to the St. Gregory the Theologian Charity Foundation in Moscow, a new educational and cultural initiative founded in 2009 by Alfeyev, Russian #billionaire and pharmaceutical magnate #VadimYakunin, and #LeonidSevastianov, a 35-year-old international business consultant and head of Stratinvest.ru, a consulting and public relations firm. In 2009, through Alfeyev’s charity, the Bradley Foundation donated $150,000 to support the 'Day of the Family,' a recently created Russian holiday honoring faith and fidelity. The annual event has been championed by #SvetlanaMedvedeva, wife of Prime Minister #DmitriMedvedev, a staunch #AntiAbortion advocate.
“We want to promote the idea of the unity between the West and Russia on the basis of common Christian roots,” Sevastianov told Inside the Vatican magazine in 2009. “We believe in this alliance among traditional Christian countries…and we believe that, with a united voice, we can be a strong force against the radical secular world which has become dominant in our societies.”
https://www.thenation.com/article/archive/how-us-evangelicals-fueled-rise-russias-pro-family-right/
#TradFamily #TradWives #TrumpIsARussianAsset #AntiWoke #ChristoFacists #ChristoFascism #evangelicals #RabidRight #MAGADeathCult #BigOil #CorporateColonialism #Billionaires
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From 2014... How #USEvangelicals Fueled the Rise of #Russia’s ‘#ProFamily’ Right
An alliance is born between #AntiGay, #AntiAbortion American groups and the #RussianOrthodoxChurch
by Adam Federman, January 7, 2014
Long excerpt [pay attention to the names named!] :
"This rising #Russian social #conservative movement frequently invokes the argument that #ProGay and #WomensRights groups are puppets of the West, which is seeking to undermine Russian autonomy and interfere in the country’s internal affairs. At an annual meeting of journalists and academics presided over by Vladimir #Putin in Valdai in September, the Russian president said that European countries had strayed from their roots by legalizing #GayMarriage. He urged Russians to embrace the conservative values of the #OrthodoxChurch and other traditional religions and issued a warning to those who might want to challenge those values. 'Russia’s sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity are unconditional—these are red lines no one is allowed to cross,' he declared.
"Several #LGBT rights groups have been targeted under another new law, which requires any nongovernmental organization that receives funding from other countries for political activities to register as a '#ForeignAgent.' Failure to do so can lead to investigations, legal action or crippling fines. The implication is that these groups are not only agents of the West but also out of touch with everyday Russians.
"The irony is that it is the new conservative vanguard—anti-gay, anti-abortion and pro–'#TraditionalFamily'—that has most successfully cultivated the West’s financial and institutional support. Scott Lively, an extreme anti-gay campaigner, all but took credit for the new law, calling it 'one of the proudest achievements of my career,' while #BrianBrown, president of the #NationalOrganizationForMarriage, visited Moscow with much fanfare just before the new law was passed. But the language of Russia’s anti-gay and anti-abortion movement seems to borrow most heavily from mainstream evangelicals and conservative politicians in the United States and Europe. Referring to the anti-abortion bill passed in 2011, Lyubov Erofeeva, executive director of the Russian Association for Population and Development, a women’s advocacy group, said: 'It was 100 percent clear that everything was copied from the experience of American #fundamentalists and conservative circles of several European countries where #abortion is forbidden or restricted severely.'
"The church’s close ties with American evangelicals reflect a shift in policy. For much of the post-Soviet period, the Russian Orthodox Church held evangelical denominations at arm’s length, fearing that they would compete for influence within Russia. But as the church has consolidated its power, it has come to view the evangelical community as a partner. 'The #ROC realizes that the evangelical denominations are not their opponents but rather their allies in the relations between the church and the secular population,' says Olga Kazmina, a professor of ethnology at Moscow State University.
" 'It’s a re-envisioned paradigm,' says Father #LeonidKishkovsky, head of the Orthodox Church in America’s Department of External Affairs. In many ways, it makes sense, he adds: both religious groups share an ideological commitment and have grown disillusioned with the way mainline churches have dealt with issues like gay marriage and abortion. 'But what I’m quite nervous about is the ideological core which actually motivates both sides,' Kishkovsky says. 'Where is the motivating force? Is it in faith? Or is it in political ideology?'
"The Russian Orthodox Church’s chief emissary to the US evangelical community is #HilarionAlfeyev, a high-ranking bishop and chairman of the powerful Department of External Church Relations (the position previously held by #PatriarchKirill). In February 2011, the 47-year-old Alfeyev traveled to Washington, where he met with prominent evangelical and 'pro-family' leaders; and then to Dallas, where he addressed thousands of members of the Highland Park Presbyterian Church and emphasized the importance of 'creat[ing] new alliances,' especially around issues of marriage, abortion and the family. Alfeyev also visited the #DallasTheologicalSeminary and had an hour-long meeting with #GeorgeWBush.
"The trip to Dallas grew out of an increasingly close friendship between church leaders and a small circle of American and European Christian businessmen in Moscow. Alfeyev’s visit was organized by #JerryFullinwider, an #OilExecutive and elder of the #HighlandParkChurch who, until recently, had business interests in Russia. Fullinwider, a member of the #KochBrothers’ circle of major donors—those who have given more than $1 million to #Koch-related causes—met Alfeyev through his friend Bob Foresman, head of #Barclays Capital in Russia. This select group of businessmen has unusual access to Alfeyev. In an interview for this article, Fullinwider described having dinner at Alfeyev’s private residence on a recent trip to Moscow. 'He’s a real busy guy,' says Fullinwider. 'He’s very, very hard to get in touch with unless you have a special number and you know the main guy who handles him, who’s a good friend of mine.'
"Alfeyev’s first trip to the United States paved the way for others, and in October 2012 he delivered a lecture at Villanova University, where he received an honorary degree and paid a visit to the Milwaukee-based #LyndeAndHarryBradleyFoundation. One of the largest donor organizations of its kind in the United States, the #BradleyFoundation, with more than $600 million in assets, is known for its contributions to US conservative groups like the #HeritageFoundation and the #HeartlandInstitute. But its charity isn’t limited to home: over the last four years, the foundation has given $750,000 to the St. Gregory the Theologian Charity Foundation in Moscow, a new educational and cultural initiative founded in 2009 by Alfeyev, Russian #billionaire and pharmaceutical magnate #VadimYakunin, and #LeonidSevastianov, a 35-year-old international business consultant and head of Stratinvest.ru, a consulting and public relations firm. In 2009, through Alfeyev’s charity, the Bradley Foundation donated $150,000 to support the 'Day of the Family,' a recently created Russian holiday honoring faith and fidelity. The annual event has been championed by #SvetlanaMedvedeva, wife of Prime Minister #DmitriMedvedev, a staunch #AntiAbortion advocate.
“We want to promote the idea of the unity between the West and Russia on the basis of common Christian roots,” Sevastianov told Inside the Vatican magazine in 2009. “We believe in this alliance among traditional Christian countries…and we believe that, with a united voice, we can be a strong force against the radical secular world which has become dominant in our societies.”
https://www.thenation.com/article/archive/how-us-evangelicals-fueled-rise-russias-pro-family-right/
#TradFamily #TradWives #TrumpIsARussianAsset #AntiWoke #ChristoFacists #ChristoFascism #evangelicals #RabidRight #MAGADeathCult #BigOil #CorporateColonialism #Billionaires
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From 2014... How #USEvangelicals Fueled the Rise of #Russia’s ‘#ProFamily’ Right
An alliance is born between #AntiGay, #AntiAbortion American groups and the #RussianOrthodoxChurch
by Adam Federman, January 7, 2014
Long excerpt [pay attention to the names named!] :
"This rising #Russian social #conservative movement frequently invokes the argument that #ProGay and #WomensRights groups are puppets of the West, which is seeking to undermine Russian autonomy and interfere in the country’s internal affairs. At an annual meeting of journalists and academics presided over by Vladimir #Putin in Valdai in September, the Russian president said that European countries had strayed from their roots by legalizing #GayMarriage. He urged Russians to embrace the conservative values of the #OrthodoxChurch and other traditional religions and issued a warning to those who might want to challenge those values. 'Russia’s sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity are unconditional—these are red lines no one is allowed to cross,' he declared.
"Several #LGBT rights groups have been targeted under another new law, which requires any nongovernmental organization that receives funding from other countries for political activities to register as a '#ForeignAgent.' Failure to do so can lead to investigations, legal action or crippling fines. The implication is that these groups are not only agents of the West but also out of touch with everyday Russians.
"The irony is that it is the new conservative vanguard—anti-gay, anti-abortion and pro–'#TraditionalFamily'—that has most successfully cultivated the West’s financial and institutional support. Scott Lively, an extreme anti-gay campaigner, all but took credit for the new law, calling it 'one of the proudest achievements of my career,' while #BrianBrown, president of the #NationalOrganizationForMarriage, visited Moscow with much fanfare just before the new law was passed. But the language of Russia’s anti-gay and anti-abortion movement seems to borrow most heavily from mainstream evangelicals and conservative politicians in the United States and Europe. Referring to the anti-abortion bill passed in 2011, Lyubov Erofeeva, executive director of the Russian Association for Population and Development, a women’s advocacy group, said: 'It was 100 percent clear that everything was copied from the experience of American #fundamentalists and conservative circles of several European countries where #abortion is forbidden or restricted severely.'
"The church’s close ties with American evangelicals reflect a shift in policy. For much of the post-Soviet period, the Russian Orthodox Church held evangelical denominations at arm’s length, fearing that they would compete for influence within Russia. But as the church has consolidated its power, it has come to view the evangelical community as a partner. 'The #ROC realizes that the evangelical denominations are not their opponents but rather their allies in the relations between the church and the secular population,' says Olga Kazmina, a professor of ethnology at Moscow State University.
" 'It’s a re-envisioned paradigm,' says Father #LeonidKishkovsky, head of the Orthodox Church in America’s Department of External Affairs. In many ways, it makes sense, he adds: both religious groups share an ideological commitment and have grown disillusioned with the way mainline churches have dealt with issues like gay marriage and abortion. 'But what I’m quite nervous about is the ideological core which actually motivates both sides,' Kishkovsky says. 'Where is the motivating force? Is it in faith? Or is it in political ideology?'
"The Russian Orthodox Church’s chief emissary to the US evangelical community is #HilarionAlfeyev, a high-ranking bishop and chairman of the powerful Department of External Church Relations (the position previously held by #PatriarchKirill). In February 2011, the 47-year-old Alfeyev traveled to Washington, where he met with prominent evangelical and 'pro-family' leaders; and then to Dallas, where he addressed thousands of members of the Highland Park Presbyterian Church and emphasized the importance of 'creat[ing] new alliances,' especially around issues of marriage, abortion and the family. Alfeyev also visited the #DallasTheologicalSeminary and had an hour-long meeting with #GeorgeWBush.
"The trip to Dallas grew out of an increasingly close friendship between church leaders and a small circle of American and European Christian businessmen in Moscow. Alfeyev’s visit was organized by #JerryFullinwider, an #OilExecutive and elder of the #HighlandParkChurch who, until recently, had business interests in Russia. Fullinwider, a member of the #KochBrothers’ circle of major donors—those who have given more than $1 million to #Koch-related causes—met Alfeyev through his friend Bob Foresman, head of #Barclays Capital in Russia. This select group of businessmen has unusual access to Alfeyev. In an interview for this article, Fullinwider described having dinner at Alfeyev’s private residence on a recent trip to Moscow. 'He’s a real busy guy,' says Fullinwider. 'He’s very, very hard to get in touch with unless you have a special number and you know the main guy who handles him, who’s a good friend of mine.'
"Alfeyev’s first trip to the United States paved the way for others, and in October 2012 he delivered a lecture at Villanova University, where he received an honorary degree and paid a visit to the Milwaukee-based #LyndeAndHarryBradleyFoundation. One of the largest donor organizations of its kind in the United States, the #BradleyFoundation, with more than $600 million in assets, is known for its contributions to US conservative groups like the #HeritageFoundation and the #HeartlandInstitute. But its charity isn’t limited to home: over the last four years, the foundation has given $750,000 to the St. Gregory the Theologian Charity Foundation in Moscow, a new educational and cultural initiative founded in 2009 by Alfeyev, Russian #billionaire and pharmaceutical magnate #VadimYakunin, and #LeonidSevastianov, a 35-year-old international business consultant and head of Stratinvest.ru, a consulting and public relations firm. In 2009, through Alfeyev’s charity, the Bradley Foundation donated $150,000 to support the 'Day of the Family,' a recently created Russian holiday honoring faith and fidelity. The annual event has been championed by #SvetlanaMedvedeva, wife of Prime Minister #DmitriMedvedev, a staunch #AntiAbortion advocate.
“We want to promote the idea of the unity between the West and Russia on the basis of common Christian roots,” Sevastianov told Inside the Vatican magazine in 2009. “We believe in this alliance among traditional Christian countries…and we believe that, with a united voice, we can be a strong force against the radical secular world which has become dominant in our societies.”
https://www.thenation.com/article/archive/how-us-evangelicals-fueled-rise-russias-pro-family-right/
#TradFamily #TradWives #TrumpIsARussianAsset #AntiWoke #ChristoFacists #ChristoFascism #evangelicals #RabidRight #MAGADeathCult #BigOil #CorporateColonialism #Billionaires
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From 2014... How #USEvangelicals Fueled the Rise of #Russia’s ‘#ProFamily’ Right
An alliance is born between #AntiGay, #AntiAbortion American groups and the #RussianOrthodoxChurch
by Adam Federman, January 7, 2014
Long excerpt [pay attention to the names named!] :
"This rising #Russian social #conservative movement frequently invokes the argument that #ProGay and #WomensRights groups are puppets of the West, which is seeking to undermine Russian autonomy and interfere in the country’s internal affairs. At an annual meeting of journalists and academics presided over by Vladimir #Putin in Valdai in September, the Russian president said that European countries had strayed from their roots by legalizing #GayMarriage. He urged Russians to embrace the conservative values of the #OrthodoxChurch and other traditional religions and issued a warning to those who might want to challenge those values. 'Russia’s sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity are unconditional—these are red lines no one is allowed to cross,' he declared.
"Several #LGBT rights groups have been targeted under another new law, which requires any nongovernmental organization that receives funding from other countries for political activities to register as a '#ForeignAgent.' Failure to do so can lead to investigations, legal action or crippling fines. The implication is that these groups are not only agents of the West but also out of touch with everyday Russians.
"The irony is that it is the new conservative vanguard—anti-gay, anti-abortion and pro–'#TraditionalFamily'—that has most successfully cultivated the West’s financial and institutional support. Scott Lively, an extreme anti-gay campaigner, all but took credit for the new law, calling it 'one of the proudest achievements of my career,' while #BrianBrown, president of the #NationalOrganizationForMarriage, visited Moscow with much fanfare just before the new law was passed. But the language of Russia’s anti-gay and anti-abortion movement seems to borrow most heavily from mainstream evangelicals and conservative politicians in the United States and Europe. Referring to the anti-abortion bill passed in 2011, Lyubov Erofeeva, executive director of the Russian Association for Population and Development, a women’s advocacy group, said: 'It was 100 percent clear that everything was copied from the experience of American #fundamentalists and conservative circles of several European countries where #abortion is forbidden or restricted severely.'
"The church’s close ties with American evangelicals reflect a shift in policy. For much of the post-Soviet period, the Russian Orthodox Church held evangelical denominations at arm’s length, fearing that they would compete for influence within Russia. But as the church has consolidated its power, it has come to view the evangelical community as a partner. 'The #ROC realizes that the evangelical denominations are not their opponents but rather their allies in the relations between the church and the secular population,' says Olga Kazmina, a professor of ethnology at Moscow State University.
" 'It’s a re-envisioned paradigm,' says Father #LeonidKishkovsky, head of the Orthodox Church in America’s Department of External Affairs. In many ways, it makes sense, he adds: both religious groups share an ideological commitment and have grown disillusioned with the way mainline churches have dealt with issues like gay marriage and abortion. 'But what I’m quite nervous about is the ideological core which actually motivates both sides,' Kishkovsky says. 'Where is the motivating force? Is it in faith? Or is it in political ideology?'
"The Russian Orthodox Church’s chief emissary to the US evangelical community is #HilarionAlfeyev, a high-ranking bishop and chairman of the powerful Department of External Church Relations (the position previously held by #PatriarchKirill). In February 2011, the 47-year-old Alfeyev traveled to Washington, where he met with prominent evangelical and 'pro-family' leaders; and then to Dallas, where he addressed thousands of members of the Highland Park Presbyterian Church and emphasized the importance of 'creat[ing] new alliances,' especially around issues of marriage, abortion and the family. Alfeyev also visited the #DallasTheologicalSeminary and had an hour-long meeting with #GeorgeWBush.
"The trip to Dallas grew out of an increasingly close friendship between church leaders and a small circle of American and European Christian businessmen in Moscow. Alfeyev’s visit was organized by #JerryFullinwider, an #OilExecutive and elder of the #HighlandParkChurch who, until recently, had business interests in Russia. Fullinwider, a member of the #KochBrothers’ circle of major donors—those who have given more than $1 million to #Koch-related causes—met Alfeyev through his friend Bob Foresman, head of #Barclays Capital in Russia. This select group of businessmen has unusual access to Alfeyev. In an interview for this article, Fullinwider described having dinner at Alfeyev’s private residence on a recent trip to Moscow. 'He’s a real busy guy,' says Fullinwider. 'He’s very, very hard to get in touch with unless you have a special number and you know the main guy who handles him, who’s a good friend of mine.'
"Alfeyev’s first trip to the United States paved the way for others, and in October 2012 he delivered a lecture at Villanova University, where he received an honorary degree and paid a visit to the Milwaukee-based #LyndeAndHarryBradleyFoundation. One of the largest donor organizations of its kind in the United States, the #BradleyFoundation, with more than $600 million in assets, is known for its contributions to US conservative groups like the #HeritageFoundation and the #HeartlandInstitute. But its charity isn’t limited to home: over the last four years, the foundation has given $750,000 to the St. Gregory the Theologian Charity Foundation in Moscow, a new educational and cultural initiative founded in 2009 by Alfeyev, Russian #billionaire and pharmaceutical magnate #VadimYakunin, and #LeonidSevastianov, a 35-year-old international business consultant and head of Stratinvest.ru, a consulting and public relations firm. In 2009, through Alfeyev’s charity, the Bradley Foundation donated $150,000 to support the 'Day of the Family,' a recently created Russian holiday honoring faith and fidelity. The annual event has been championed by #SvetlanaMedvedeva, wife of Prime Minister #DmitriMedvedev, a staunch #AntiAbortion advocate.
“We want to promote the idea of the unity between the West and Russia on the basis of common Christian roots,” Sevastianov told Inside the Vatican magazine in 2009. “We believe in this alliance among traditional Christian countries…and we believe that, with a united voice, we can be a strong force against the radical secular world which has become dominant in our societies.”
https://www.thenation.com/article/archive/how-us-evangelicals-fueled-rise-russias-pro-family-right/
#TradFamily #TradWives #TrumpIsARussianAsset #AntiWoke #ChristoFacists #ChristoFascism #evangelicals #RabidRight #MAGADeathCult #BigOil #CorporateColonialism #Billionaires
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From 2014... How #USEvangelicals Fueled the Rise of #Russia’s ‘#ProFamily’ Right
An alliance is born between #AntiGay, #AntiAbortion American groups and the #RussianOrthodoxChurch
by Adam Federman, January 7, 2014
Long excerpt [pay attention to the names named!] :
"This rising #Russian social #conservative movement frequently invokes the argument that #ProGay and #WomensRights groups are puppets of the West, which is seeking to undermine Russian autonomy and interfere in the country’s internal affairs. At an annual meeting of journalists and academics presided over by Vladimir #Putin in Valdai in September, the Russian president said that European countries had strayed from their roots by legalizing #GayMarriage. He urged Russians to embrace the conservative values of the #OrthodoxChurch and other traditional religions and issued a warning to those who might want to challenge those values. 'Russia’s sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity are unconditional—these are red lines no one is allowed to cross,' he declared.
"Several #LGBT rights groups have been targeted under another new law, which requires any nongovernmental organization that receives funding from other countries for political activities to register as a '#ForeignAgent.' Failure to do so can lead to investigations, legal action or crippling fines. The implication is that these groups are not only agents of the West but also out of touch with everyday Russians.
"The irony is that it is the new conservative vanguard—anti-gay, anti-abortion and pro–'#TraditionalFamily'—that has most successfully cultivated the West’s financial and institutional support. Scott Lively, an extreme anti-gay campaigner, all but took credit for the new law, calling it 'one of the proudest achievements of my career,' while #BrianBrown, president of the #NationalOrganizationForMarriage, visited Moscow with much fanfare just before the new law was passed. But the language of Russia’s anti-gay and anti-abortion movement seems to borrow most heavily from mainstream evangelicals and conservative politicians in the United States and Europe. Referring to the anti-abortion bill passed in 2011, Lyubov Erofeeva, executive director of the Russian Association for Population and Development, a women’s advocacy group, said: 'It was 100 percent clear that everything was copied from the experience of American #fundamentalists and conservative circles of several European countries where #abortion is forbidden or restricted severely.'
"The church’s close ties with American evangelicals reflect a shift in policy. For much of the post-Soviet period, the Russian Orthodox Church held evangelical denominations at arm’s length, fearing that they would compete for influence within Russia. But as the church has consolidated its power, it has come to view the evangelical community as a partner. 'The #ROC realizes that the evangelical denominations are not their opponents but rather their allies in the relations between the church and the secular population,' says Olga Kazmina, a professor of ethnology at Moscow State University.
" 'It’s a re-envisioned paradigm,' says Father #LeonidKishkovsky, head of the Orthodox Church in America’s Department of External Affairs. In many ways, it makes sense, he adds: both religious groups share an ideological commitment and have grown disillusioned with the way mainline churches have dealt with issues like gay marriage and abortion. 'But what I’m quite nervous about is the ideological core which actually motivates both sides,' Kishkovsky says. 'Where is the motivating force? Is it in faith? Or is it in political ideology?'
"The Russian Orthodox Church’s chief emissary to the US evangelical community is #HilarionAlfeyev, a high-ranking bishop and chairman of the powerful Department of External Church Relations (the position previously held by #PatriarchKirill). In February 2011, the 47-year-old Alfeyev traveled to Washington, where he met with prominent evangelical and 'pro-family' leaders; and then to Dallas, where he addressed thousands of members of the Highland Park Presbyterian Church and emphasized the importance of 'creat[ing] new alliances,' especially around issues of marriage, abortion and the family. Alfeyev also visited the #DallasTheologicalSeminary and had an hour-long meeting with #GeorgeWBush.
"The trip to Dallas grew out of an increasingly close friendship between church leaders and a small circle of American and European Christian businessmen in Moscow. Alfeyev’s visit was organized by #JerryFullinwider, an #OilExecutive and elder of the #HighlandParkChurch who, until recently, had business interests in Russia. Fullinwider, a member of the #KochBrothers’ circle of major donors—those who have given more than $1 million to #Koch-related causes—met Alfeyev through his friend Bob Foresman, head of #Barclays Capital in Russia. This select group of businessmen has unusual access to Alfeyev. In an interview for this article, Fullinwider described having dinner at Alfeyev’s private residence on a recent trip to Moscow. 'He’s a real busy guy,' says Fullinwider. 'He’s very, very hard to get in touch with unless you have a special number and you know the main guy who handles him, who’s a good friend of mine.'
"Alfeyev’s first trip to the United States paved the way for others, and in October 2012 he delivered a lecture at Villanova University, where he received an honorary degree and paid a visit to the Milwaukee-based #LyndeAndHarryBradleyFoundation. One of the largest donor organizations of its kind in the United States, the #BradleyFoundation, with more than $600 million in assets, is known for its contributions to US conservative groups like the #HeritageFoundation and the #HeartlandInstitute. But its charity isn’t limited to home: over the last four years, the foundation has given $750,000 to the St. Gregory the Theologian Charity Foundation in Moscow, a new educational and cultural initiative founded in 2009 by Alfeyev, Russian #billionaire and pharmaceutical magnate #VadimYakunin, and #LeonidSevastianov, a 35-year-old international business consultant and head of Stratinvest.ru, a consulting and public relations firm. In 2009, through Alfeyev’s charity, the Bradley Foundation donated $150,000 to support the 'Day of the Family,' a recently created Russian holiday honoring faith and fidelity. The annual event has been championed by #SvetlanaMedvedeva, wife of Prime Minister #DmitriMedvedev, a staunch #AntiAbortion advocate.
“We want to promote the idea of the unity between the West and Russia on the basis of common Christian roots,” Sevastianov told Inside the Vatican magazine in 2009. “We believe in this alliance among traditional Christian countries…and we believe that, with a united voice, we can be a strong force against the radical secular world which has become dominant in our societies.”
https://www.thenation.com/article/archive/how-us-evangelicals-fueled-rise-russias-pro-family-right/
#TradFamily #TradWives #TrumpIsARussianAsset #AntiWoke #ChristoFacists #ChristoFascism #evangelicals #RabidRight #MAGADeathCult #BigOil #CorporateColonialism #Billionaires
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Following Israel’s freezing of the Greek Orthodox Church’s bank accounts, the church leaders condemn the move as a violation of the historical and religious status of holy sites and are meeting to plan their response and ways to challenge the Israeli decision.
#IDF #WestBank #Occupation #Terrorism #Palestine #Religion #OrthodoxChurch #Apartheid #israel
#StopIsrael #SanctionIsrael #Jerusalem
@israel @[email protected] @[email protected] -
@johan Yes, thank you for pointing it out.
Here is an article about the Satanism ban:
https://www.politico.eu/article/russia-supreme-court-bans-satanist-movement-labeling-extremist/ #Russia #Satanist #RussianOrthodoxChurch #OrthodoxChurch #Courts #Extremism #Judiciary #Kremlin #roundtable #Safety #thesatanictemple #UnveilingDay #Acceptance #ReligiousEquality #Baphomet #Tolerance #CelebrateDiversity #Kindness #ReligiousFreedom -
@johan Yes, thank you for pointing it out.
Here is an article about the Satanism ban:
https://www.politico.eu/article/russia-supreme-court-bans-satanist-movement-labeling-extremist/ #Russia #Satanist #RussianOrthodoxChurch #OrthodoxChurch #Courts #Extremism #Judiciary #Kremlin #roundtable #Safety #thesatanictemple #UnveilingDay #Acceptance #ReligiousEquality #Baphomet #Tolerance #CelebrateDiversity #Kindness #ReligiousFreedom -
@johan Yes, thank you for pointing it out.
Here is an article about the Satanism ban:
https://www.politico.eu/article/russia-supreme-court-bans-satanist-movement-labeling-extremist/ #Russia #Satanist #RussianOrthodoxChurch #OrthodoxChurch #Courts #Extremism #Judiciary #Kremlin #roundtable #Safety #thesatanictemple #UnveilingDay #Acceptance #ReligiousEquality #Baphomet #Tolerance #CelebrateDiversity #Kindness #ReligiousFreedom -
@johan Yes, thank you for pointing it out.
Here is an article about the Satanism ban:
https://www.politico.eu/article/russia-supreme-court-bans-satanist-movement-labeling-extremist/ #Russia #Satanist #RussianOrthodoxChurch #OrthodoxChurch #Courts #Extremism #Judiciary #Kremlin #roundtable #Safety #thesatanictemple #UnveilingDay #Acceptance #ReligiousEquality #Baphomet #Tolerance #CelebrateDiversity #Kindness #ReligiousFreedom -
@johan Yes, thank you for pointing it out.
Here is an article about the Satanism ban:
https://www.politico.eu/article/russia-supreme-court-bans-satanist-movement-labeling-extremist/ #Russia #Satanist #RussianOrthodoxChurch #OrthodoxChurch #Courts #Extremism #Judiciary #Kremlin #roundtable #Safety #thesatanictemple #UnveilingDay #Acceptance #ReligiousEquality #Baphomet #Tolerance #CelebrateDiversity #Kindness #ReligiousFreedom -
Bulgarians pay tribute to Cyrillic script forefathers on St Cyril and Methodius Day.
Hundreds of people gathered in the Bulgarian capital on Saturday to lay flowers at the base of the statue of Orthodox Church saints St Cyril and Methodius in central Sofia.
St Cyril and Methodius were the creators of the Glagolitic script, which later evolved into the Cyrillic alphabet.
#Bulgaria #Sofia #Cyrillic #Script #Alphabet #Language #OrthodoxChurch
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"Patriarch of #Bulgaria: The #OrthodoxChurch is growing..."
#AlternativeFacts have arrived in the #Orthodox #Church as well:
Whereas #Christian churches in Western #Europe are very much aware of the droves of people leaving the churches, the #Bulgarian Patriarch believes in a pipe dream. The #Bulgarian population has been dwindling since 1989 and the #Russian one is projected to crash in the decades to come.
👉All of humanity needs hope but it has to face reality!👈
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Estonia’s Russophobic Policies: A Maidan-style Crisis In the Making?
Estonia’s Russophobic Policies: A Maidan-style Crisis In the Making?
By Uriel Araujo
Estonia’s 2025 voting ban, affecting 80,000 Russians, plus Estonian-only education and Orthodox Church restrictions, sparks Russophobia concerns. Soviet monument demolitions and Waffen-SS glorification risk Baltic instability, echoing Ukraine’s Maidan. Critics warn of minority rights violations.
In a development that has largely flown under the radar of mainstream Western media, Estonia could be spiralling toward a crisis that mirrors Ukraine’s Maidan and the “Maidanization” process of Europe. The relatively small Baltic nation has long been touted as a poster child for NATO’s eastward expansion, a process famously described by US diplomat George F. Kennan as a “strategic blunder of potentially epic proportions.” Now, consider the following:
1. Estonia has basically disenfranchised its ethnic Russian minority, by passing a constitutional amendment last month that bans non-EU citizens, primarily Russian and Belarusian nationals, from voting in local elections. This affects approximately 80,000 Russian-speaking residents. Legal experts have been arguing that the constitution does not permit revoking the voting rights of Russian citizens in Estonia, as it would violate principles of equal treatment and non-discrimination. More recently, Member of the European Parliament Urmas Paet raised concerns about Estonia’s decision to deny voting rights to non-citizens, including stateless persons, in local elections, arguing it contradicts EU principles and the European Convention on Human Rights.
2. Since 2022, the Estonian authorities in Tallinn have in fact been intensifying policies that can only be described as anti-Russian, affecting Russian-speaking educators and students: they have implemented mandatory transition to Estonian-only education (criticized by UN experts); limited minority language classes; closed schools to “assimilate” ethnic Russians; and cut funds for Russian-language education, among many other such measures.
3. Tallinn has also been targeting the Estonian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate (EOC-MP), which serves a majority of the country’s Orthodox Christians. Earlier this month, Estonia’s parliament passed a law mandating that religious organizations sever ties with foreign entities “inciting violence or hatred”, explicitly aimed at forcing the EOC-MP to break with the Russian Orthodox Church— but such ties are a canonical issue based on the premise of unity of the Orthodox faith. Incredibly enough, the EOC-MP now must revise its statutes and governance within two months or face potential dissolution. The Estonian government is also expelling clergy (even Metropolitan Eugene); and pressuring the EOC-MP to change its name, and potentially join the Estonian Apostolic Orthodox Church under the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople. Tallinn has even increased rent for the church’s properties with calls to classify the one-thousand years old Russian Church as a “terrorist organization”. Such moves, backed by claims that the Moscow Patriarchate poses a “security threat,” are less about national security than about erasing Russian cultural influence. The EOC-MP has even criticized Russia’s actions in Ukraine, yet Estonia’s demands for a complete break with Moscow are a barely veiled attempt to suppress a key institution for ethnic Russians. This mirrors Ukraine’s crackdown on the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, where religious persecution, as I wrote before, has deepened societal divides.
Finally, Estonia has also been demolishing Soviet-era World War II monuments, and even glorifying pro-Nazi collaborators. The removal of Soviet-era monuments honouring those who fought against Nazi Germany is not just an erasure of history but a deliberate provocation. These acts, often accompanied by vandalism or desecration, as seen in Slovakia and elsewhere, are part of a broader trend of rewriting World War II narratives to downplay Soviet sacrifices while glorifying local collaborators.
In Estonia and other Baltic countries such as Lithuania, annual parades celebrating Waffen-SS veterans—framed as “freedom fighters” against Soviet occupation—have drawn international condemnation, including from U.S. diplomats in 2019. Yet, such glorification persists and is even on the rise, fuelling neo-Nazi tendencies.
These actions are not isolated; they reflect a broader trend of Russophobia sweeping through parts of Europe even beyond the Baltic region, fuelled in turn by NATO’s geopolitical ambitions and a revisionist approach to history. As I’ve previously argued, the continent is undergoing a steady “Maidanization” process, where ethnic and cultural divisions are weaponized to serve Western interests, often at the expense of stability. Estonia’s trajectory is thus a ticking time bomb, with domestic ethnic tensions mirroring escalating geopolitical rivalries in the Baltic Sea and Gulf of Finland.
Estonia’s ethnic Russian population, roughly 25% of the country’s 1.3 million people, has faced systemic marginalization since the Soviet collapse. Many were stripped of citizenship in the 1990s, relegated to “non-citizen” status, and denied voting rights—a policy that persists today.
Recent moves, such as banning Russians from local elections, have further eroded their civic agency. This echoes the civil rights struggles of ethnic Russians, Russian speakers and pro-Russian citizens in Ukraine, where post-2014 policies relegated them to second-class status, fuelling unrest and conflict, according to experts such as Nicolai N. Petro, who a US Fulbright scholar in Ukraine in 2013-2014. In Estonia, the state’s aggressive assimilation policies and anti-Russian rhetoric risk alienating a significant minority, sowing seeds of resentment that could erupt into broader instability.
These domestic policies are inseparable from NATO’s broader geopolitical strategy. The alliance’s push to militarize the Baltic Sea and Gulf of Finland, including plans for naval bases and increased exercises, is escalating tensions with Russia. Estonia’s recent actions, such as seizing a Russian tanker and passing laws allowing its navy to target Russian ships, are provocative moves that align with NATO’s containment strategy but endanger regional stability. The Baltic Sea is thus becoming a flashpoint, with Estonia’s Russophobic policies serving as kindling for a potential conflagration.
The parallels with Ukraine’s Maidan uprising are stark, and Estonia’s current path—disenfranchising minorities, suppressing cultural institutions, and revising history—risks a similar outcome. While Estonia lacks Ukraine’s scale, its strategic position near Russia’s borders amplifies the stakes. A miscalculation, whether a violent crackdown on ethnic Russians or a naval incident in the Gulf of Finland, could risk even drawing NATO and Russia closer to direct confrontation.
To sum it up, the West’s relative silence on Estonia’s restrictive policies toward its Russian minority and the Estonian Orthodox Church (EOC-MP) reveals selective outrage, ignoring minority rights when geopolitically convenient. Estonia’s actions are a recipe for ethnic division and instability.
Uriel Araujo is a Ph.D. scholar and anthropology researcher with a focus on international and ethnic conflicts.
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are author’s own and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Voice of East.
7 Courses in 1 – Diploma in Business Management
#Estonia #Europe #Geopolitics #OrthodoxChurch #Russia #Russophobia #TheBaltics
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#Serbia is rising up against the corrupt regime of #AleksandarVučić, led by students and a broad, anti-party movement.
The #OrthodoxChurch is divided, with some bishops backing the protests and others fiercely opposing them. One brave group of priests in Kruševac openly supported the protesters, defying their bishop's stance. This is a powerful statement of freedom, justice, and dignity in a system that thrives on #repression and #corruption.
https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/priests-as-freedom-fighters/
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How Russia’s Orthodox Church supports Putin’s war.
Patriarch Kirill, the head of the Church, has zealously backed Russia’s ‘special military operation’ and castigates a morally corrupt west.
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#podgorica #novavaros #crkvasvetogdjordja Chapelle saint Georges entre chien et loup #photography #walkingtour #chapel #montenegro #crnagora #balkans #orthodoxchurch
