President Joe Biden signed a $95 billion foreign aid package on April 24 that drew bipartisan support for Israel, Ukraine and other allies, and pledged to begin sending weapons and military equipment to Ukraine within hours.
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(ANALYSIS) The Congress of the XXV World Russian People’s Council, headed by Patriarch Kirill, the leader of the Russian Orthodox Church, issued a document on March 27 entitled: “The Present and Future of the Russian World.” In the document, the leadership of the XXV World Russian People’s Council describes the conflict in Ukraine as a “Holy War.”
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(ANALYSIS) Close observers of Eastern Orthodox Christianity were not surprised when the recent World Russian People’s Council bluntly rejected “abortion propaganda,” efforts to promote LGBTQ rights and this age of “sexual licentiousness and debauchery.” It wasn’t surprising when that Moscow conference urged the defense of traditional families, “strong with many children,” during an era where birth rates are falling.
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In 2021, Navalny expressed hope that the Orthodox church in Russia could act as a mediator between the people and the state. He recognized this was unlikely; but if his demise tells us anything, it’s that moral courage in Russia’s mother church isn’t totally dead. On the contrary, we might see a resurrection yet.
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(ANALYSIS) Saturday marks two years since Putin’s Russia attacked Ukraine and unleashed a full-scale invasion, with horrific atrocities against the Ukrainian nation, in an attempt to destroy Ukraine as a country.
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Religion Unplugged’s former executive editor Paul Glader reported a three-episode narrative podcast for the Sony Entertainment Media show “Infamous” about GOP operative Paul Erickson who led a colorful life that included advising a presidential candidate, making a Hollywood movie and dating an alleged Russian spy named Maria Butina. Upon hearing the podcast, Butina reached out and agreed to an interview to share her perspective on her now ex-boyfriend.
Read MoreThe ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine, a major calendar change and the deepening rift between Constantinople and Moscow defined 2023 for the Orthodox church around the world. Here’s a look back at the biggest stories of the year.
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(ANALYSIS) Traditional values have become a fixture in far-right movements around the world, some of which see Russia as a model of the future they desire. In Russia and beyond, many conservative Christians in these movements have focused on LGBTQ+ populations, whom they portray as threats to their vision for society — and are not deterred by antidemocratic politics, if its figures voice support for their social goals.
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The work of five Ukrainian artists, whose art varies across artistic tradition and highlight the beauty of Ukraine and its people, is currently on view at the Sheen Center’s Janet Hennessey Dilenschneider Gallery. The exhibition, “Beauty During Wartime and Before,” is particularly meant to honor resilience and faith during Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
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Only a few scholars and researchers have a comprehensive understanding of the religious aspects of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. There are not many Orthodox theologians and journalists who delve into discussions about Orthodox Christianity and its compatibility with Western values.
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(OPINION) Is Ukraine a “just war”? The good news for Russia’s Vladimir Putin: A significant national leader announces that his invasion of Ukraine is a “just fight” that will end with “a great victory in the sacred struggle.” The bad news: The speaker is North Korea’s Kim Jong Un, so what’s “just” is defined by probably the most despised despot on the planet and what’s “sacred” by an atheist who works to exterminate all religion.
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(EXPLAINER) A day after Azerbaijan launched a military assault against ethnic Armenians in the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh, they halted their offensive on Wednesday following a ceasefire. Despite the temporary end to the hostilities, Christians in the region remain at risk following three decades of war.
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As the Netherlands celebrated a day 2,000-plus years ago when people of many nations became the first Christian church, a multinational, multiethnic mix of believers from from Ukraine, from Western Europe, from Africa — even from Russia — gathered to praise God.
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Eduard Charov criticized Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on social media, asking, “Would Jesus Christ have gone to kill in Ukraine?” The FSB alerted the Prosecutor's Office. A Sverdlovsk Region court fined him for “discrediting” the Armed Forces and “inciting hatred” towards state authorities.
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This week’s Weekend Plug-in highlights the spiritual revival that drew thousands to Asbury University, a small Christian college in Kentucky. Plus, as always, catch up on all the best reads and top headlines in the world of faith.
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(OPINION) Russia’s war on Ukraine and its attempt to destroy the very identity of Ukrainians is an unmitigated disaster. If there is any silver lining in this present nightmare it is the army of angels of mercy that has stepped forward to comfort and care for millions of Ukrainian refugees.
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Russia’s National Guard seized two priests in Russian-occupied Berdyansk on Nov. 16. The Ukrainian Greek Catholic Donetsk Exarchate denies Russian claims that Father Ivan Levytsky and Father Bohdan Heleta stored explosives in the church and had “extremist” literature.
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Boasting a flawless 29-0 record, Khabib “The Eagle” Nurmagomedov notched eight wins by knockout and 11 others via submission during a 12-year pro career. But his story goes far beyond his dominance in the octagon. Throughout his career, Nurmagomedov has shown how important discipline, faith and family can be for a pro fighter.
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In his weekly Sunday address from the Vatican, Pope Francis appealed to Vladimir Putin to end the military escalation in Ukraine, decried the threat of nuclear war and asked the Russian leader to “stop this spiral of violence and death.” The pontiff added he was “saddened at the immense suffering of the Ukrainian people as a result of the aggression they have suffered.”
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(OPINION) It isn’t every day that one of the creators of a political thriller gets to ask its real-life protagonist to evaluate the novel’s plot. But that happened when the late Billy Wireman, president of Queens University in Charlotte, North Carolina, handed the last Soviet Union leader a copy of “The Secret Diary of Mikhail Gorbachev.”
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