Patriarch Kirill turns eighty on November 20. Who travels to Moscow to honor him, and who stays home, will show where the Russian church now stands in a divided Orthodox world.
Continue reading
Ecumenical and Interfaith Relations, Inter-Orthodox Relations
The “All-Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious Communities”—Is It Truly All-Ukrainian?
Thirty years ago, in July 1996, the All-Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious Organizations was established. The initiative came from the State Committee for Religious Affairs. At first, the head of the Committee (which was then a department of the Ministry of Culture) was actually listed among the members of the Council. Until 2005, state…
Continue reading
Ecclesiology, Inter-Orthodox Relations, Orthodoxy and Modernity, Theology
Contemporary Challenges Facing the Orthodox Church or the Threat of a New Schism?
When we speak of contemporary challenges or the threat of schism, such themes often sound either overly generalized or, conversely, become sources of emotional anxiety. Yet the historical experience of the Church teaches us that crisis is neither new nor unusual. The Church has always existed at the heart of tension, confrontation, and decisive turning…
Continue reading
Inter-Orthodox Relations, Orthodoxy and Modernity
Canonization and the «Act of Betrayal» Fr. Seraphim Rose and ROCOR’s Ecclesiological Trap
The opening of the canonization process for Fr. Seraphim Rose (1934–1982) has become one of the most discussed Orthodox news stories of the past few days. Many voices have already rejoiced at the prospect of “the first native-born American canonized” — a formulation that is itself open to question. In Munich, in early May 2026,…
Continue reading
Inter-Orthodox Relations, Religion and Politics
Faith Under Surveillance Russia’s Weaponization of Orthodoxy and the Resilience of Constantinople
The recent smear campaign spearheaded by Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) against His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew reinforces how the Kremlin and Moscow Patriarchate march in lockstep, weaponizing religion for geopolitical purposes while slandering the first among equals of the Orthodox Church. By attempting to label the Ecumenical Patriarch as an “Antichrist in a cassock,”…
Continue reading
Inter-Orthodox Relations, Religion and Conflict, Religion and Politics
Dancing to the Ban The Ukrainian Government Is Preparing to Liberate Ukrainian Orthodoxy from “Moscow Devils”
In August 2024, the Ukrainian parliament adopted the law prohibiting the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) and establishing a court procedure for banning the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) if the latter did not sever its ties with Russia. While announcing the promulgation of the law, President Zelenskyi stressed that the law would finally bring spiritual liberation…
Continue reading
