Free Republic

ELCA presiding bishop supports Syrian church leaders' call for peace 12-03-MRC CHICAGO (ELCA) - In letters to Christian church leaders in Syria, the Rev. Mark S. Hanson, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), offered his support of the churches' collective call for an end to violence and his prayers for the people in the region. "In these difficult days, I will continue to pray and encourage members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America to pray for you and your efforts to sustain the courage and faith of your communities," wrote Hanson. In addition to prayers...

MOSCOW, January 21, 2012 (WAFA) – Russian Patriarch Kirill Saturday awarded President Mahmoud Abbas the Orthodox People’s Unity Foundation prize, also known as Patriarch Alexis II prize. Abbas thanked Kirill for the prize, which he said is a proof of the close ties between Palestine and the people of Russia. “For me, this prize is a motivation to continue on the path to spread the culture of peace and dialogue between religions and civilizations instead of the culture of hate and violence, and to support tolerance and accept the other instead of bigotry and denial of the other,” he said....

Mouths open in shock and muscles tensed at the freezing temperatures, these Russian plunge themselves into icy rivers and ponds across the country to mark Epiphany. In temperatures approaching -10 degrees, hundreds of Russian Orthodox Church followers brave the dip into especially cut holes in the ice om Tyarlevo village, near St Petersburg, at midnight.

 Jesus Christ—True God and True Man (¶422-570) “On the Mystery of the Incarnation”By Denise Levertov It’s when we face for a momentthe worst our kind can do, and shudder to knowthe taint in our own selves, that awecracks the mind’s shell and enters the heart:not to a flower, not to a dolphin,to no innocent formbut to this creature vainly sureit and no other is god-like, God(out of compassion for our uglyfailure to evolve) entrusts,as guest, as brother,the Word.“Who do you say that I am?” (Matt. 16:15; Mark 8:29; Luke 9:20) 1. Jesus, Christ, Only Son of God, Lord (¶430-55) a....

The Apostles and the Priesthood ~ Part I  When we enter a Catholic church, we enter not an empty building: the sanctuary lamp is burning indicating the sacramental presence of Jesus, which in faith we know—and perhaps even perceive—as a warm, inviting and loving presence. Jesus is here with us, God is present in His Church: “Behold, I am with you always, even to the end of time” (Mt 28:20). When He ascended into heaven, Jesus did not leave us alone; He remains with us in His Church, built on the foundation of the Apostles (Eph 2:3). Here in the...

A coalition of over 150 Orthodox rabbis, respected mental health professionals, community leaders, and others from across America and several foreign countries have released a statement that strongly refutes and repudiates the liberal Jewish political correctness and misinformation regarding homosexuality. The document, entitled "Declaration on the Torah Approach to Homosexuality,"clarifies the timeless theological understanding of the Biblically mandated prohibition. That position is that no one is "born gay" — and that same-sex attractions can be modified and healed. The document's list of signers includes well-known figures in the mental health field as well as a pantheon of major figures in...

The Holy Shroud New research from ENEA on the sacred Linen kept in Turin marco tosattirome Enea, the National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development, has published a report on five years of experiments conducted in the ENEA center of Frascati on the “shroud-like coloring of linen fabrics by far ultraviolet radiation”. “Simply put: we tried to understand how the Shroud of Turin was imprinted by an image so special that it constitutes its charm, and poses a great and very radical challenge, "to identify the physical and chemical processes capable of generating a color similar...

The Russian Orthodox Church added its influential voice over the weekend to calls for a just election process in Russia. The step followed demonstrations across the country that called for a recount or a fresh vote, and outpourings from individual members of the church’s clergy, who reflected popular anger at the flawed Dec. 4 election. “It is evident that the secretive nature of certain elements of the electoral system concerns people, and there must be more public control over this system,” said Archpriest Vsevolod Chaplin, the most prominent spokesman for the church, in remarks to a widely followed Orthodox news...

The Russian nuclear submarine Aleksandr Nevsky will be fitted with its own Orthodox chapel after the vessel finishes its sea trials. It has become the second nuke-carrying sub equipped with a sanctuary in addition to ballistic missiles. ­The military chapel will allow sailors to attend religious services right on board during the sub’s long missions. It was donated to the vessel’s crew by the Omophor Fund (omophorion), which brings together both able-bodied and war-wounded veterans who spent their lives serving their motherland and who are continuing that service in the field of social and church charity. It is the sixth...

...There exists a clear consensus among the Fathers regarding the indissolubility of marriage. Since it derives from the will of the Lord, the Church has no authority over it. For this reason, from the outset Christian marriage was distinct from marriage in Roman society, even though in the first centuries there did not yet exist any canonical system. The Church in the time of the Fathers clearly excluded divorce and remarriage, precisely out of faithful obedience to the New Testament.... In the Imperial Church after Constantine, with the ever stronger interplay between Church and State, a greater flexibility and readiness...

Monasticism in the Orthodox Church His Eminence Metropolitan Maximos of Pittsburgh THE ORTHODOX MONASTIC TRADITION - THE BEGINNINGS. Since the early years of the Christian era, Christians have been called by Christ Himself to life in the world without being of the world (John 17:13-16). They are distinct from the world, because of their special conduct and their exemplary ethical life. When, toward the middle of the second century of the Christian era, Christian life reached a low ebb, some Christians, both men and women, reacted to this by raising their own personal standards of austere Christian life. They practiced...

In Bucharest and in Athens, the exacerbation of the economic crisis has undermined public tolerance for the privileges enjoyed by the Orthodox Church. If things do not change, warns România Libera, the organisation runs the risk of paying a heavy cultural tribute. Laurentiu Mihu With each passing day, the crisis that has swept across Europe has thrown into question not only the capacity of states to maintain a minimum of solvency, but also the philosophy that has provided the basis for the social and economic system since the Second World War. Established ideologies are no longer in tune with current...

Who Decides? Unraveling the Mystery of the Old Testament Canon by Daniel Lieuwen When the Church began, there were no New Testament books. Old Testament texts alone were used as Scripture. The Old Testament used in the early Church throughout the Roman world was not the Hebrew Old Testament, but a translation of the Old Testament into Greek called the Septuagint (LXX). The LXX was translated in Alexandria during the reign of Ptolemy II Philadelphus in the middle of the third century B.C., and was the standard Old Testament in the synagogues throughout the Hellenistic world (including Palestine) at the...

PRAYER FOR THE DEAD How important commemoration at the Liturgy is may be seen in the following occurrence: Before the uncovering of the relics of St. Theodosius of Chernigov (1896), the priest-monk (the renowned Starets Alexis of Goloseyevsky Hermitage, of the Kiev-Caves Lavra, who died in 1916) who was conducting the re-vesting of the relics, becoming weary while sitting by the relics, dozed off and saw before him the Saint, who told him: "I thank you for laboring me. I beg you also, when you will serve the Liturgy, to commemorate my parents"—and be gave their names (Priest Nikita and...

Introduction In the past decade there has been an ever increasing level of interest in Orthodoxy in this country. Along with this interest has come a tremendous increase in the number of converts from Protestantism to Orthodoxy. Thus, it was inevitable that Protestant apologists would begin to train their intellectual artillery on Orthodoxy. In the Protestant Reformed journal Credenda/Agenda, we find one of the first attempts to repudiate the claims and teachings of the Orthodox Church in a way that does not merely rehash anti-Roman polemics (though the author does not fully escape this temptation, as we shall see). In...

"Residents of the Mea She'arim neighborhood in Jerusalem fear the violence that has erupted between two ultra-Orthodox sects will grow and complain the police are not protecting them. On Tuesday night a group of Hasidim brutally attacked Avraham Hirschman, 36, a father of six, with clubs, kicks and blows. Hirschman was hospitalized with fractures and other serious injuries."

I challenge Evangelicals to put their interpretation of the Bible and their theology up against the acid test of what the Early Church Fathers taught. Perhaps, Evangelicalism is closer to the truth than Mormonism, but it still has a long way to go. Purpose This Web page is dedicated to the defense of Catholic doctrines within Patristic thought. The Catholic rule of faith consists of three coordinate and complementary authorities: Sacred Scripture, Sacred Tradition and the teaching Church. The Church Fathers used both Scripture and Tradition to explain and defend the Catholic faith. Corunum's mission is to present the outline...

"The last words spoken by the Holy Father yesterday, encourage us and we will reread them during World Mission Day" said Fr. Nabil Fayez Antoun of Egypt, referring to Pope Benedict's expression of concern over the deaths of Coptic Christians that occured on October 9 when the Egyptian military fired on Coptic protesters. Dozens died as a result of gunfire and after being crushed by armoured vehicles. "I am deeply saddened by the episodes of violence that were committed in Cairo on Sunday. I join in the sorrow of the victims' families and the entire Egyptian people, torn by the...

Dr. Ron Crews, executive director of the Chaplain Alliance for Religious Liberty. (AP Photo.) (CNSNews.com) – A national group representing more than 2,000 military chaplains from evangelical Christian and Orthodox backgrounds said on Wednesday that the Pentagon has launched a “direct assault” on marriage, and the chaplains they endorse will not be allowed to perform same-sex wedding ceremonies under any circumstances.Dr. Ron Crews, executive director of the newly formed Chaplain Alliance for Religious Liberty, said his 2,000-plus membership is concerned about a Sept. 30 Pentagon memorandum that authorizes chaplains and military chapel facilities to be used for “any private ceremony,”...

Castel Gandolfo, Italy, Sep 30, 2011 / 12:51 am (CNA).- A leading Russian Orthodox official says the Eastern Orthodox churches have yet to resolve the question of authority among themselves, a condition for future progress on the issue of the papacy. “I would say that there are certain divergences, and there are different positions, of the Orthodox churches on the question of the primacy,” said Metropolitan Archbishop Hilarion Alfeyev of Volokolamsk, head of the Moscow Patriarchate Department for External Church Relations, in a Vatican Radio interview following his Sept. 29 meeting with Pope Benedict XVI at Castel Gandolfo. “As we...

For more than two decades, Houston has been home to a large pair of restored 13th-century Byzantine frescoes that Menil Collection founder Dominique de Menil purchased from art thieves in 1984. Now the Menil is working to return them to their rightful owner, the Holy Archbishopric of Cyprus. While that seemingly recalls recent decisions by New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art and others to return priceless artworks that improperly left their countries of origin, there's a difference: Neither de Menil nor the museum she founded ever claimed to own the frescoes.... READ ENTIRE ARTICLE AT SOURCE LINK

Moscow, September 15, Interfax - Depiction of Orthodox crosses appeared on a new 500 ruble banknote issued on September 6. Official website of the Bank of Russia represents a drawing of the new banknote, on its backside crosses crown churches of the Solovki Monastery. The previous banknote depicted the monastery in its "Soviet" variant without crosses. Depictions of cupolas and crosses appeared at the banknote after Patriarch Kirill's petition to Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, head of the Synodal Department for Church and Society Relations Archpriest Vsevolod Chaplin told Interfax-Religion on Thursday. He reminded that once when the Patriarch visited Solovki...

Inside your body breathes a person—a soul. Inside the body of Jewish practice breathes an inner wisdom—the soul of Judaism. We often call it “Kabbalah”, meaning “receiving.” Just as Jewish practice is received through an unbroken, ancient tradition from the revelation at Sinai, so is its soul. Kabbalah, then, is the received wisdom, the native theology and cosmology of Judaism.

ANKARA, Turkey — Turkey’s government is returning hundreds of properties confiscated from the country’s Christian and Jewish minorities over the past 75 years in a gesture to religious groups who complain of discrimination that is also likely to thwart possible court rulings against the country. A government decree published Saturday returns assets that once belonged to Greek, Armenian or Jewish trusts and makes provisions for the government to pay compensation for any confiscated property that has since been sold on. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan was scheduled to announce the decision formally later Sunday when he hosts religious leaders and...

We ask all who read these words to keep the parish family of St. Andrew, Los Angeles, CA in their prayers during these difficult days. In the early morning hours of 15 August, an intruder broke into the parish Church and desecrated the Holy Altar, Tabernacle, Iconography and the entire altar and sacristy area. The most devastating aspect of this horrendous crime was the scattering of the Reserve Sacrament on the floor among and beneath the various altar crosses, candles and vestments strewn throughout the church. The Holy Altar itself was pulled from its foundation and dragged through the Royal...

Concerned that Toronto Catholic schools will adopt a policy promoting tolerance of homosexuality, a Coptic Orthodox priest is calling upon parents to consider withdrawing their children from the schools. “In these young grades, we don’t want teachers talking about God creating Adam and Steve,” said Father Jeremiah Attaalla, who ministers at Ti Agia Maria and St. Demiana Coptic Orthodox Church in west Toronto. “It’s Adam and Eve.” “Our members do not want gay-straight alliance groups in our Catholic schools,” added the priest, who says that 4,000 Coptic Orthodox children attend the schools. “We will pull our children from the Catholic...

This will make your blood boil. While New York City officials rush to build the Ground Zero mosquestrosity, a 15-story middle finger to America, they've allowed the rebuilding of the 95-year-old St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church, which stood at the base of the World Trade Center towers and was destroyed by Muslim terrorists on Sept. 11, 2001, to be mired in obstruction and endless red tape. The church has fought a 10-year-long sisyphean battle to rebuild that magnificent icon, but still can't rebuild, while the Islamic supremacist grifters behind the Ground Zero mosque have been helped by city officials to...

CNA STAFF, Jul 1, 2011 / 05:35 am (CNA).- Leaders representing 90 percent of all Christians worldwide issued guidelines on acceptable missionary conduct based on the witness of Christ and the early Church. “The example and teaching of Jesus Christ and of the early church must be the guides for Christian mission,” church leaders wrote.“Christian witness is always a sharing in his witness, which takes the form of proclamation of the kingdom, service to neighbor and the total gift of self even if that act of giving leads to the cross.”The document “Christian Witness in a Multi-Religious World” was issued...

Metropolitan Hilarion announces effort to protect Christians The World Russian People's Council will regularly publish information about violence and abuse against the community. The Orthodox Church is deeply concerned over christianophobia in the Middle East.MOSCOW, Russia (AsiaNews) - Concerned by a widespread "Christianophobia", the Russian Orthodox Church has decided to publish regular information on episodes of violence that affect Christians in the world. Interfax news agency reports that the World Russian People's Council is a public forum that brings together several religious and political leaders in Russia and is chaired by the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Kirill. "The...

The Birth of Saint John the Baptist Father Weiser explains the significance of the feast of the Birth of St. John the Baptist and includes some traditions and customs, particularly the fires connected to this feast on June 24. Directions This saint was highly honored throughout the whole Church from the beginning. Proof of this is, among other things, the fact that fifteen churches were dedicated to him in the ancient imperial city of Constantinople. Being the precursor of our Lord, he was accorded the same honor as the first great saints of the Christian era, although he belonged to...

'A Jerusalem rabbinical court condemned to death by stoning a dog it suspects is the reincarnation of a secular lawyer who insulted the court's judges 20 years ago, Ynet website reported Friday. According to Ynet, the large dog made its way into the Monetary Affairs Court in the ultra-Orthodox Jewish neighbourhood of Mea Shearim in Jerusalem, frightening judges and plaintiffs. Despite attempts to drive the dog out of the court, the hound refused to leave the premises. One of the sitting judges then recalled a curse the court had passed down upon a secular lawyer who had insulted the judges...

Top gay rights leader: kids of religious families are ‘target demographic’ of anti-‘gay bullying’ ad by Kathleen Gilbert Fri Jun 10 7:18 PM EST June 10, 2011 (LifeSiteNews.com) - After the broadcast of a homosexualist advertisement during the family-friendly Fox show American Idol prompted outrage, the founder of the ad campaign has confirmed that such advertisements are intended to promote the message of the gay rights lobby to young children in households that normally wouldn’t support it. One conservative leader has now demanded that Google, Fox, and Disney-Pixar sever their ties with the campaign. Peggy Nance of Concerned Women...

In recent centuries, the College of Cardinals has not been noted for its boyishness. Indeed, one of the human fascinations of a conclave is that it’s a rare opportunity to see a deliberation-with-consequences conducted by elderly men. This can have its downside: According to one story, perhaps apocryphal, a very old cardinal kept writing “Achille Ratti” on his ballot throughout the conclave of 1958; Ratti had died in 1939 as Pius XI. Whether that fragment of conclave lore is true or not, Paul VI’s restriction of the papal electoral franchise to cardinals who were not yet 80 was presumably...

City of Moscow bans ‘gay pride’ parades despite court order to allow them by Matthew Cullinan Hoffman Wed May 25 8:30 PM EST MOSCOW, May 26, 2011 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The City of Moscow has announced its intention to defy the European Court of Human Rights and continue its prohibition on “gay pride� parades, citing the “moral damage� that may be inflicted on the young. According to homosexual activist Nikolai Alekseev, the government of Moscow is concerned about “the large number of letters received in protest against the Pride events and Russia’s international obligation to protect the rights of children...

At today's weekly general audience the Holy Father received a new tiara made for him and presented by Catholic and Orthodox Christians. The tiara was commissioned by Dieter Philippi (http://www.dieter-philippi.de/), a German Catholic businessman who has a great devotion to the papacy as well as to the call to Christian unity. The tiara was created in Sofia, Bulgaria by Orthodox Christians of the Liturgix studio (http://www.liturgix.com/). Today a small delegation of Roman Catholics and Bulgarian Orthodox on pilgrimage in Rome had the honor to present the tiara to the Holy Father in the name of Christian unity. Congratulations to...

DACULA — Fire officials are investigating a Thursday morning fire that heavily damaged the sanctuary of a Dacula church. Fire crews responded to Saint Mary Romanian Christian Orthodox Church in the 2800 block of Winder Highway at 8:27 a.m. when a passerby reported smoke issuing from the church. Crews found fire inside the building’s floor system and walls in the sanctuary and pulpit area, said Fire Department spokesman Capt. Thomas Rutledge. No one was at the church when firefighters arrived, and no injuries were reported, Rutledge said. Crews brought the blaze under control at 9:20 a.m. An exact cause is...

If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. But if we confess our sins, [God] is faithful and just and will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us. (1 John 1:8-10) Last week we heard about what Baptism means for daily life. Baptism is not just a once in a lifetime bath, but an ongoing dying and rising of the Christian. Daily the sinner dies in the death of Jesus....

Fasting out of loveGod doesn't want a fulfilled obligation; he wants our hearts Published: February 21, 2009     By Tara LittleAssociate EditorThe 40-day penitential season of Lent begins on Ash Wednesday and culminates in the Easter Triduum, the celebration of Christ's passion, death and resurrection. Christians observe Lent primarily through fasting, prayer and almsgiving. According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, Lent reflects the 40 days Jesus spent in the desert fasting and praying before his public ministry began. While Moses (Exodus 34:28) fasted to prepare for God's revelation, Jesus took it a step further by doing the...

Almsgiving March 7th, 2007 by Mark Shea One of the traditional emphases during Lent is the duty of "almsgiving". The tradition of the Church here comes straight out of ancient Israel and the duty that was enjoined upon the Jews by God to care for the stranger, the orphan, and the widow. In many ways, ancient Israel was commanded to take care of the weakest and least in their midst. For obedience to this command, great mercies and benefits were promised. For disobedience, some of the most strenuous and frightening curses are reserved. The sense that comes across very strongly...

Fourteen Questions on the Paschal Triduum  1. When does the Triduum begin and end? The Easter Triduum begins with the evening Mass of the Lord’s Supper, reaches its high point in the Easter Vigil, and closes with evening prayer on Easter Sunday. 2. May another Mass besides the Mass of the Lord’s Supper be celebrated on Holy Thursday? Ordinarily, no other Mass may be celebrated on Holy Thursday. However, by way of exception, the local Ordinary may permit another Mass in churches and oratories to be celebrated in the evening, and, in the case of genuine necessity, even in...

About Catholic Marriage Five Suggestions for Holy Week Palm Sunday (April 17) marks the beginning of the most solemn week of the Church’s liturgical year. During Holy Week, the Church celebrates the mysteries of salvation accomplished by Christ in the last days of his earthly life, beginning with the triumphal entry into Jerusalem.For nearly 40 days the Christian faithful have practiced the disciplines of Lent: prayer, fasting and good works. Now the Church invites us to an even deeper spirit of prayer as we follow Christ on his journey to the cross.Here are five suggestions for couples to use...

The Russian Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church should accept each other not as rivals, but first and foremost as allies, working to protect the rights of Christians, said Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, head of the ROC’s Department for External Church Relations in a speech at an international meeting of Christians in Wurzburg, Germany. "The future of Christianity in the third millennium depends on the joint efforts of the Orthodox believers and Catholics,’’ Hilarion said. Bishop Hilarion later expanded on his statement: “The idea of a strategic alliance with the Catholics is an old idea of mine. It came...

www.catholicnewsagency.com European court says crucifixes can remain in Italian schools The Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights issues its ruling. Credit: Council of Europe Strasbourg, France, Mar 18, 2011 / 12:08 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- The European Court of Human Rights has ruled that Italian public schools can continue to display crucifixes in classrooms, overturning an earlier decision that declared them to be a human rights violation.Seventeen judges of the Grand Chamber gave the 15-2 ruling on March 18, holding that there had been “no violation of Article 2 of Protocol No. 1 (right to education) to...

CATECHETICAL HOMILY On the Opening of Holy and Great Lent + BARTHOLOMEW By God’s Mercy Archbishop of Constantinople-New Rome And Ecumenical Patriarch To the Plenitude of the Church Grace and Peace from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ With our Prayer, Blessing and Forgiveness Beloved brothers and children in the Lord, “The arena of the virtues has opened; those who desire to compete may enter, girding themselves with the good struggle of fasting.” (Triodion, Cheesefare Sunday) Or, better, the arena has always remained open, from the time that the All-Merciful Lord of Glory deemed it worthy to assume our nature....

Lately, there seems to be a lot of conflict on the religion forum. Much of this has been between Catholics, Protestants, and Orthodox. To show that we are all united as Christians and to reduce animosity, I hope we can all agree to one of 4 following statements: 1) I am Catholic. I love Orthodox and Protestant Christians. I consider Orthodox Christians and Protestants to definitely be Christian. All Christians need to work together to defeat our common enemies-- specifically Islam, liberal postmodernism, and totalitarian communism. 2) I am Protestant. I love Orthodox and Catholic Christians. I consider Orthodox Christians...

So What Shall We Do during These Forty Days of Lent? [Catholic/Orthodox Caucus]   The traditional purpose of Lent is the preparation of the believer for the celebration of the Resurrection and to strengthen ourselves in our beliefs for dealing with a hostile world. We accomplish that through prayer and penitence, almsgiving and self-denial/fasting.   In light of this purpose of Lent, SOME Catholic and Orthodox posters will absent themselves from FreeRepublic completely during Lent's forty days.    (They will just silently disappear!)   Great Lent for Orthodox begins on March 7th.  Lent for Catholics begins on March 9th  ...

Introduction Has God made himself known only in the Bible and/or Jesus? Are there any other ways in which He has revealed himself to us? If so, how? What is the nature, extent, and value of that revelation and how does it compare with the knowledge we have of God through Christ and Scripture? Does everyone inherently know God? If so, in what way(s)? These are just some of the questions we will treat in this brief paper. Our use of the term “revelation” comes from the Greek term ajpokavluyi" (apokalupsis) and means “to uncover, reveal, disclose,” or “make known”...

Judas Machabeus succeeds his father, and overthrows Apollonius and Seron. A great army is sent against him out of Syria. He prepares his people for battle by fasting and prayer. [1] Then his son Judas, called Machabeus, rose up in his stead. [2] And all his brethren helped him, and all they that had joined themselves to his father, and they fought with cheerfulness the battle of Israel. [3] And he got his people great honour, and put on a breastplate as a giant, and girt his warlike armour about him in battles, and protected the camp with his sword....

MOSCOW — Hundreds of faithful Orthodox Christians in Russia have signed up to a new service to receive "sacred texts" -- short messages from the Bible sent to their mobile phones. Nearly 3,000 subscribers have signed up for the service that sends excerpts from the Bible and other religious works, said Father Iosaph Sorokin of Voskresenie (Resurrection), the Moscow-based Orthodox youth group that launched the service last month. "This is an opportunity to remind people of eternal values," he told AFP on Sunday, as new requests for subscriptions arrived on his mobile phone. The project, dubbed the "Kind Word", offers...

Moscow, February 1, Interfax - Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia has said that the Church's interference in secular matters is justified. Patriarch Kirill was enthroned as the 16th leader of the Russian Orthodox Church exactly two years ago. The Patriarch conducted a liturgy at the Christ the Savior Cathedral on Tuesday morning. The present period differs from the past by "the presence of some apocalyptic tension because the power of the force of sin over mankind is stronger today than ever," Patriarch Kirill said. The Russian Orthodox Church could "not stay indifferent to this multiplication of evil," he...