Free Republic

After they beat Azat Azatyan so bad blood came out of his ears; after they sent electric shocks up his genitals; after they wacked him with pipes and truncheons, the Russians began to interrogate him about his faith. “When did you become a Baptist? When did you become an American spy?” Azat tried to explain that in Ukraine there was freedom of religion, you could just choose your faith. But his torturers saw the world the same way as their predecessors at the KGB did: an American church is just a front for the American state. Azat was dragged back...

Ukraine's Interior Ministry on Friday placed the head of Russia's Orthodox Church, a backer of the Kremlin's 21-month-old war against Kyiv, on a wanted list after security services accused him of abetting the conflict. A post on the Ukrainian ministry's wanted list identified Kirill by name, showed him in his clerical robes and described him as "an individual in hiding from the bodies of pre-trial investigation". It said he had been "missing" since November 11. Orthodox Christianity is the dominant faith in Ukraine and authorities in Kyiv have launched criminal cases against clergy linked to a branch of the Orthodox...

Orthodox monks who've been ordered out of a monastery in Kyiv refused to leave on Wednesday, as a deadline to vacate the complex expired. The dispute over the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra monastery, Ukraine's most revered Orthodox site, is part of a wider religious conflict playing out in parallel with the war. The monks using the property belong to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, which has been accused of links to Russia. But the site is owned by the Ukrainian government, and the agency overseeing the property notified the UOC earlier this month that, as of March 29, it was terminating the lease.

Society self-destructs while playing pretend.Vladimir Legoyda, the official spokesman for the Russian Orthodox Church and the Patriarch, recently spoke on the Radio Vera program “Bright Evening” about, how a society handles gender issues can provide a window into the state of that society, suggesting that the viability of the society itself can be measured by its reaction to the gender issue. Legoyda went on to explain how the fact that Western society seriously entertains the idea of more than two genders, suggests that it is suffering from a serious, life threatening disease, arguing that such a society must "come to...

Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, an ally of Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin, warned NATO on Thursday that the defeat of Russia in Ukraine could trigger a nuclear war. Striking a similar tone at what he described as an anxious time for the country, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church said trying to destroy Russia would mean the end of the world. -snip- Asked if Medvedev's remarks signified that Russia was escalating the crisis to a new level, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: "No, it absolutely does not mean that." -snip- Patriarch Kirill, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church,...

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - Ivan Provorov, a Russian player in the National Hockey League (NHL), sparked controversy on Tuesday night after declining to wear a jersey with LGBTQ+ "Pride" markings during pregame warmups with fellow members of the Philadelphia Flyers team, citing religious objections. "I respect everybody’s choices. My choice is to stay true to myself and my religion," Provorov told reporters. Provorov, born in Yaroslavl, Russia, is a member of the Russian Orthodox Church. Provorov has played for the Philadelphia Flyers for his entire NHL career, which began in 2016, and has also represented Russia at various international hockey events....

Cornelia Hertzler said doctors discovered a blood clot in her infant son ‘within a few hours after’ a transfusion of blood from a general blood bank. SPOKANE, Washington (LifeSiteNews) —A baby boy in Washington state died of a large blood clot after a hospital gave him a blood transfusion from a general stockpile instead of from an unvaccinated donor, as his parents requested. Soon after baby Alexander was born on January 3, 2022, his parents Cornelia Hertzler and Ron Bly discovered not only that his esophagus and trachea were abnormally connected, but that he had a heart condition — Double...

KYIV, Nov 22 (Reuters) - Ukraine's SBU security service and police raided a 1,000-year-old Orthodox Christian monastery in Kyiv early on Tuesday as part of operations to counter suspected "subversive activities by Russian special services". The sprawling Kyiv Pechersk Lavra complex - or Kyiv Monastery of the Caves - is a Ukrainian cultural treasure and the headquarters of the Russian-backed wing of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church that falls under the Moscow Patriarchate.

Moscow, November 21, Interfax - Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia believes that the prospects of world civilization depend on Russia. "The future of the world depends in the full sense of the word on the future of our Fatherland, our people, our Church, because today our Motherland defends those values that put a barrier to apostasy, that is, the movement towards the end of time under the rule of the antichrist," the patriarch told the audience at a reception in the Christ the Savior Cathedral on the occasion of the primate's birthday. "Remembering what the word of God...

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

Russia has 'unleashed chemical weapons on Mariupol' with Ukrainian troops reporting they are suffering breathing issues and dizziness - as the besieged port city's mayor reveals more than 10,000 civilians have died in the conflict so far. The unidentified agent is said to have been dropped on the city from a Russian drone, according to unverified reports from the city's Azov regiment. Details of the assault, via the Telegram messaging app, say a 'poisonous substance of unknown origin' has led to the city's defenders suffering from symptoms including breathing issues, 'respiratory failure' and 'vestibulo-atactic syndrome'. The alleged attack came just...

"The Church keeps people from losing their reference points in life. But it is also all pious people of all times and all nations. It is the Orthodox faith, which lives and works in the Orthodox Church, that is the force that holds [the Antichrist] back. . ."His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia spoke out about anti-Russian sentiments in the world, recalling the last book of the New Testament (Revelations). It refers to the power that restrains the coming of the Antichrist into the world. Such a force was the Orthodox faith and pious people of all...

In an unusual move, more than 150 Russian Orthodox clerics have called for an immediate stop to the ongoing war in Ukraine in an open letter issued on March 1. At least 176 Orthodox clerics said that they "respect the freedom of any person given to him or her by God," adding that the people of Ukraine "must make their own choices by themselves, not at the point of assault rifles and without pressure from either West or East." The letter says the clerics “bewail” the suffering that has been “undeservingly imposed on our brothers and sisters in Ukraine.” It...

The Patriarch of Russia speaks about the dangers of modern "gadgets" and the results of them.

The Council of Bishops, the Supreme governing body of the Russian Orthodox Church, is scheduled to meet this November. They are planning to consider the approval of a canonical document, On the Security of Human Life from Conception. It stipulates the rights endowed to every human being from the very moment of being conceived. “There has been no change in our position on this subject, as it was presented in the Foundations of the Social Doctrine of the Russian Orthodox Church adopted over twenty years ago,” said His Grace Silouan, Bishop of Peterhof, Chairman of the Synodal Commission on Bioethics....

Bright and shiny new art video. In 1881, Tsar Alexander II was fatally wounded in St Petersburg by political nihilists. In 1883, his son, Alexander III, began construction of this privately funded Russian Orthodox church over the place where his father was assassinated. "On Spilled Blood" refers to that murder. The church was completed in 1907, under Tsar Nicholas II. Today it's a museum. The music is parts 6 and 15 from Rachmaninov's Vespers.

Moscow, March 11, Interfax - Threat of being deprived of Liturgy and Communion is more dangerous than coronavirus, Archimandrite Philipp (Ryabykh), representative of the Moscow Patriarchate to the European International institutions, believes. "On the one hand, it is frightening to be infected with the dreadful virus that may be lethal, this fear is great and it makes many people think about their life and health. However, on the other hand, under these circumstances it is even more frightening to be deprived of the Holy Communion and the Holy Eucharist, which is the great gift of the Lord. We also have...

The largest Orthodox church in the world will be built in the territory of the female monastery dedicated to the "Bread Dispenser" icon of the Mother of God. This cathedral should be capable of gathering nearly 40,000 faithful within its walls. The starets of the monastery, Igumen Sergiy (Romanov), announced the project. He is an almost legendary and rather mysterious character, with links to many Russian public figures: the Duma deputy Natalja Poklonskaja (ex-Crimean prosecutor), the hockey champion Pavel Datsjuk, the singer Aleksandr Novikov, and others, including several entrepreneurs and oligarchs, all ready to finance the grandiose project. Its construction...

The publication yesterday of Paul Volcker's fifth and final report on the U.N.'s Oil for Food program tells us little we didn't know about the broad outlines of the $100 billion scandal. But, oh, are the details ever instructive. The Volcker report confirms that Saddam Hussein demanded, and got, some $1.8 billion in illegal surcharges, kickbacks and bribes from companies doing business in Iraq. It confirms that he steered billions in oil and humanitarian contracts to his politically preferred clients, particularly Russia and France, and smaller sums to agents of influence (or their associates) such as British MP George Galloway,...

Baku, November 14, Interfax - Secularism is the reason why Europe is losing its Christian identity, Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia said. "Supporters of the secular idea believe that giving up religion will be good for all people [...] Along with religion, they deny traditional moral values such as marriage as a union between a man and a woman and the inviolability of human life from the moment of conception to natural death. Those who find the courage to publicly criticize unnatural moral permissiveness are accused by adherents of the secular idea of intolerance. We take close to...