• Thomas Bremer

    Thomas Bremer

    Retired professor of Ecumenical Theology and Eastern Churches Studies at Münster University, Germany

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Drawing of Ukrainian church
Inter-Orthodox Relations

Which Orthodox Church in Ukraine is the Largest?

by on November 9, 2022
From the moment the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU) was granted autocephaly by the Ecumenical Patriarch early in 2019, it has competed with the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) not only over canonicity but also about the number of parishes and the number of faithful. Each claims to be the only canonical church in the country,...
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Inter-Orthodox Relations

Will Orthodoxy in Ukraine Miss a Chance?

by Thomas Bremer on | Views: 1367 | Readers' rating:
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Image: iStock.com/Haidamac On May 27, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) declared its independence from the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC), of which it had until then been a branch. The reason is very clear: it disagrees with its (former) supreme hierarch, Patriarch Kirill of Moscow, who has support... Read more.
Orthodoxy and Modernity, Religion and Conflict

Ukrainian Nationhood, “Russkii Mir,” and the Abuse of History

by Thomas Bremer on | Views: 2381 | Readers' rating:
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by Thomas Bremer Many observers of the current war in Ukraine who try to analyze its deeper reasons refer to the idea of a “Russian World,” “Russkii Mir.” This idea, they claim, is the key concept behind the Russian aggression, and shows the tight connection between religion and politics in ... Read more.
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Culture and Arts, Ecumenical and Interfaith Relations

The Hagia Sophia: A Museum or a Place of Worship?

by Thomas Bremer on | Views: 3019 | Readers' rating:
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by Thomas Bremer I categorically refuse to pay an entrance fee for a church, out of principle. When I was in Bratislava, and the Catholic cathedral charged a very small fee, I did not enter. When I returned to the wonderful Cathedral Church in Trogir, Croatia, two years ago, it was selling entrance ... Read more.
Ecclesiology, Inter-Orthodox Relations

Toward a New Ecclesiological Paradigm? Consequences of the Ukrainian Autocephaly

by Thomas Bremer on | Views: 1186 | Readers' rating:
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by Thomas Bremer When the Ecumenical Patriarchate granted autocephaly to the newly established “Orthodox Church of Ukraine” (OCU), it intended to create a single local Church which would basically comprise all the Orthodox believers in that country. The name of the new Church as it appears in th... Read more.
Also available in: Română
Church History, Orthodoxy and Modernity

Can History Solve the Conflict about Ukrainian Autocephaly?

by Sophia Senyk, Thomas Bremer on | Views: 2779 | Readers' rating:
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by Thomas Bremer and Sophia Senyk In early September 2018, the gathering conflict between the Patriarchates of Constantinople and Moscow around the status of Orthodoxy in Ukraine escalated. The Ecumenical Patriarchate, in response to a request by the Ukrainian president and the parliament, announced... Read more.
Ecumenical and Interfaith Relations

Issues Addressed and Issues Neglected: Official Orthodox-Catholic Relations

by Thomas Bremer on | Views: 826 | Readers' rating:
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by Thomas Bremer On September 21st, at the end of its plenary session in Chieti, Italy, the “Joint International Commission for Theological Dialogue between the Roman Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church” adopted a joint document titled “Synodality and Primacy During the First Millennium: T... Read more.

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