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Islamic State sets new rules, raising possibility of martyrdomChaldean Auxiliary Bishop Saad Sirop of Baghdad has confirmed a troubling report from Mosul that the Islamic State is now presenting Christians in that city with a final ultimatum of conversion, subservience or death. According to sources known to Aleteia, but kept anonymous due to security concerns, a number of mosques in the city of Mosul, and through loudspeakers, called on Christians Friday to leave the city. They said in their appeals that the reason was due to the rejection of the bishops to meet elements of the Islamic State to dictate...

Sergiyev Posad, July 18, Interfax - The precepts of St. Sergius of Radonezh is a key to understanding Russia, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at a gala concert on the occasion of the 700th birthday anniversary of St. Sergius of Radonezh. "The precepts of St. Sergius of Radonezh are key to understanding Russia, to learning its foundamental principles - its historical traditions, unity and togetherness. It is in this unity, in truth and justice, in our centuries-long traditions in which lie the strength of Russia, its great past, present and future," Putin said. St. Sergius played a truly seminal role...

Brethren, Peace be with you! From time to time I have discussed here  the role of the faithful of the whole Church in receiving, proclaiming, and in a certain sense, "sanctioning" the faith of the Church. I receive with great joy the news that the Holy See has published a new document about this issue of the "sensus fidei" titled: Sensus Fidei in the Life of the Church. I believe this document will serve a twofold purpose: First, the document will help us frame our discussions with our Sister Churches in the Eastern Orthodox communion for whom "active reception" of...

My alma mater, The University of Chicago, was recently in the news for an overtly politically correct act for replacing its historic Bond Chapel's pews for Muslims to worship. This act is raising hackles reminiscent of the university's other, recent, tone-deaf decision to demolish the childhood home of former President Ronald Reagan, on its campus, and replace it with a parking lot and a commemorative plaque.The school, founded by the Rockefeller family in the late 19th century as a Baptist-affiliated institution of higher learning, with an English-style undergraduate college, and German-style graduate research school, today positions itself as completely non-denominational...

Mosul (Agenzia Fides) - The jihadist militiamen of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), who since June 9 control Mosul and have proclaimed the Islamic Caliphate, have ordered civil servants to suspend any provision of food aid and gas cylinders to the Shiites, the Kurds and the few remaining Christians in Iraq's second city. This is confirmed to Fides Agency by Christian sources in Mosul, after the news had been launched by the Arab website www.ankawa.com. According to what was reported by the local official Fadel Younis, representatives of the Islamic Caliphate have announced that any infringement...

Metropolitan Hilarion, who acts as the Russian Orthodox Church's foreign minister, accused the Greek Catholic hierarchy in June of playing a "very destructive role". Hilarion accused Greek Catholics and the independent Ukrainian Orthodox Church of trying to "divide" the Russian Orthodox Church, adding ominously: "This harks back to a time when Catholic and Orthodox considered themselves adversaries." .... Even as the conflict has degenerated, the Vatican has made important overtures to Moscow including an invitation from Pope Francis to Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill to hold the first ever meeting between a Catholic and a Russian Orthodox leader. But the conflict...

Visiting Hagia Sophia (Holy Wisdom), Christianity’s first mighty cathedral — now a museum — inaugurated by Byzantine Emperor Justinian in Constantinople in 537, is a mixed blessing.Nothing can undercut the raw power of this huge structure, constructed in less than six years. Nothing can prevent glimmers of its former splendor from piercing my soul.Spying the central mosaic of Mother Mary holding Jesus, high up in the semi-dome above the missing altar, I shiver thinking of all she’s survived: earthquakes, invasion, theft, concealment.But the place is more…dingy than I expected considering its great significance: the building changed the course of sacred...

Our altar boys practically fight for the honor of being the thurifer. That's the name for the server who carries the thurible — the censer — in the procession at Mass.  They like being thurifer because they get to wear the more ornate lace surplice, and they know thurifer is the most complicated job and is reserved for the older, more experienced boys. The use of incense is optional for most Masses.  It's used to purify the coffin at funerals and to bless statues and images.  However, many Catholic priests choose not to use incense at Mass, and the...

200 Muslims attacked the Cherebeen convent in Syria, but Christian militants protecting the premises fought back, slaughtered the Muslims and took the victory for Christ.One of the head Christian militants, named Sari, said: We stopped them and we killed them but Christian guys from Saidnaya also died in the battle… The Syrian government protects and provides Christian people with weapons and ammunition because they are loyal to Syria Shoebat.com wrote an exclusive and detailed report on the Christian militia, called The Lions of the Cherubim, who are are protecting the beautiful and ancient church at Saidnaya, which can be read...

"The outcome of the dialogue in Tallinn was sobering, as it is difficult to come closer on substantive issues. The question of women’s ordination is regarded as church-dividing, at least from the Orthodox angle . . . Consequently I think we on the Lutheran side have to think about whether progress in dialogue is to be expected at all.” These sobering reflections come from Rev. Dr. Jennifer Wasmuth, a participant in the Joint Commission for theological dialogue between the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) and the Orthodox Church, following recent discussions in Estonia. The meeting, which took place May 8-13, focused...

Muslims destroying the tomb of the prophet JonahMuslim devils in Iraq, members of ISIS, destroyed the tomb of the prophet Jonah (called Younas in Arabic). Shoebat.com obtained a video of the destruction:(video at link)According to one Mid East report: On Friday a local Nineveh official, Zuhair al-Chalabi said that there is information that almost certainly confirms that members of the organization of the Islamic state in Iraq and the Levant dug up the grave of the Prophet Younis in the east of Mosul. Al-Chalabi said in an interview for IraqiNews.com, that “The elements of ISIL controlled the mosque of the...

Some Christian families from Mosul have sought refuge in St Matthew’s Monastery, writes Richard Spencer. Others vow to take a stand against the Islamists - whatever the cost.Captain Firaz Jacob knows he may well be mounting a last stand at the frontiers of the Christian settlement of Bartella on the outskirts of Mosul. Less than a mile down the road are the jihadists of Isis, the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham, and the portly, middle-aged Mr Jacob is aware that his home-grown militia are outnumbered. “I stand here waiting for my destiny,” he said, as he stood this week...

Who is afraid of a rising Middle East Khilafa, the Arabic word for Caliphate? Lots. Muslims like Shia, Kurds, most Sufis, Alawis, sundry Arab secularists. And Arab Christians of course. All fearing their lives, women, sacred buildings and properties being treated as war loot. Western leaders too are shaking in their boots: good! A nemesis is unfolding. A sort of retributive justice, maybe of divine origins. A paying back for the 2003 illegal, unjustified aggression on Iraq. Engineered by the two scoundrels, Bush and Blair. But the roots of evil reach far back. To WWI, the catastrophic, suicidal, mad all-European...

Head of Ukraine's Orthodox Church dies at 78 The Associated PressJuly 5, 2014 Updated 8 hours ago KIEV, UKRAINE — The head of Ukraine's Orthodox Church has died at 78 after leading it for more than two decades during the tumultuous post-Soviet period. In this file photo taken on Sunday, Feb. 7, 2010, the head of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church under the Moscow Patriarchate, Volodymyr leaves a booth at a polling station in Kiev, Ukraine. The head of Ukraine's Orthodox Church under the Moscow patriarchate died on Saturday, July 5, 2014, the patriarchate said on its website. Volodymyr , 78,...

"I say only that the Communists have stolen the flag,” Francis responded. “The flag of the poor is Christian. Poverty is at the heart of the Gospel. The poor are at the heart of the Gospel. Take Matthew 25, the protocol over which we shall be judged: ‘I was hungry, I was thirsty, I was in prison, I was sick, naked.’ Or look at the Beatitudes, another flag. The communists say that this is communist. Yeah, right, 20 centuries later.” The Holy Father concluded with a joke: “So you could say when you speak to them: ‘But you are Christians.’”...

Balamand, Lebanon -- The patriarchs of Eastern churches Tuesday deplored the raging violence in Iraq and Syria that has caused a massive wave of refugees, exhorting Christians to maintain their presence in the region's war-torn countries and keep hold of their lands. In a statement released at the opening of their Holy Synod in Lady of Balamand Convent in north Lebanon, Maronite Patriarch Beshara Rai, Melkite Gregorius III Lahham, Syriarc Catholic Patriarch Ignatius III Younan, Syrian Orthodox Patriarch Ignatius Ephrem and Greek Orthodox Patriarch John Yazigi released a statement on local and regional developments. "The patriarchs prayed for the people...

(©REUTERS) CHRISTIANS IN THE MIDDLE EAST All six patriarchs – the Catholics, Orthodox and Syrians – hold a historic meeting, returning in spirit to Antioch, the early centre of Christianity: “Christians must stay united in trying times” giorgio bernardelli Together, united by the spirit of the Church of Antioch, where - according to the Acts of the Apostles - Jesus’ followers were called Christians for the first time. Six bishops and patriarchs who whilst representing different denominations hold the spirit of the ancient patriarchal see of Antioch alive, met at the University of Balamand in Lebanon in recent days, to...

A Message from Metropolitan Joseph Venerable Hierarchs, Brother Clergy, Esteemed Members of the Board of Trustees: Christ is in our Midst! It is with joy that we confirm the election of Archbishop Joseph by the Holy Synod of Antioch to be the new Metropolitan of the Archdiocese of New York and all North America. His Eminence Metropolitan Joseph asked me to convey to all of you his love and prayers. He said that he stands ready to lead this Archdiocese with the support and assistance from each and every one of you, and looks forward to working together for the...

Reeling from regional developments and disillusioned with the West, some Iraqi Christians are looking to Russia for support.After a decade of church bombings, targeted killings, and anti-Christian workplace discrimination, Ramy Youssef has finally tired of Iraq’s halting progress and is intent on emigrating. “I don’t want to leave. I don’t want these terrorists to do what no one’s ever done before: push Assyrians out of our historic homeland, but I can’t work like this,” said the fresh-faced IT technician, his voice rising, as he sipped tea in his cousin’s Erbil liquor store a month after death threats forced him to...

Moscow Patriarch awards patriarchal honor prize to top Russian Communist leader Forgiving your persecutors? Yes, a Christian attitude. "Honoring the king"? Yes, certainly (I Pt 2:17). Giving a public prize honoring the leading figure of the organizational successor of the very same unrepentant Atheistic Materialistic Marxist-Leninist-Stalinist political party that martyred as many of your ancestors in the faith as they could and that tried to wipe out any trace of Christianity from your land with cruelty and ferocity unsurpassed since Apostolic times? Well, that is quite unexpected. From the website of the Moscow Patriarchate: Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia...