(ANALYSIS) The mainstream press likes the sensational — news that gets clicks — on the late Pope John Paul II and accusations that he was not the saint the church makes him out to be. The tarnished halo story is one they cannot resist.
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Andreas Kornevall, a Swedish-British ecologist and educator, is devoted to bringing the wisdom of Old Norse myths and rituals to bear on contemporary life — particularly in relation to current environmental crises. Through storytelling, scholarship and ceremonies, Kornevall excavates the ecological ethic inherent in the pre-Christian spirituality of Northern Europe.
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(ANALYSIS) Spiritual motherhood is brought to life through sacred, ancient myths like the Ukrainian women who co-create the world anew each morning through their perpetual creation of pysanky eggs. And particularly now, spiritual mothers like Zielyk are inviting each of us to step into our own individual and collective sacred stories through art, beauty and creativity.
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Pope Francis marks his 10th year on Monday as head of the Catholic church and its 1.38 billion adherents around the globe. It’s an anniversary that will be viewed differently depending on where one falls on the doctrinal spectrum. The former Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, who was born in Argentina and is of Italian descent, was elected the 266th pope on March 13, 2013. It marked the first time a pontiff from South America has held the position.
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Ivano-Frankivsk police told Protestant conscientious objector Vitaly Alekseenko “to be ready to be taken to prison.” on Feb. 20. He lost his appeal against his one-year jail term in January. His would be the first wartime conscientious objector jailing. “Unfortunately, the right to alternative service does not extend to martial law,” said Viktor Yelensky of the State Service for Ethnic Policies and Freedom of Conscience.
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Christians from around the world gathered online Feb. 23 to pray for Ukraine — just hours before the grim anniversary of the Russian invasion. But the ‘rough year’ has also been a year of growth and opportunity.
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The season of Lent begins on Ash Wednesday and lasts about six weeks, culminating with Easter Sunday. It is the day Christians believe Jesus rose from the dead. Ahead of the Lenten season, here are five books about this prayerful season that will prepare Christians for Easter.
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(REVIEW) Erwin Blumenfeld was the perfect fashion photographer. The Museum of the Art and History of Judaism in Paris is showcasing this work in over 180 photographs with the temporary exhibit “The Trials and Tribulations of Erwin Blumenfeld, 1930-1950.” It spans Blumenfeld’s most active and influential period.
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(ANALYSIS) Taha A.-J. “purchased” and enslaved a five-year-old Yazidi girl named Reda and her mother. Taha’s wife was implicated as well. Taha and his wife held Reda and her mother as captives at their residence in Fallujah and forced them to practice Islam, work as slaves and deprived them of sufficient food.
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(ANALYSIS) Ambrogio A. Caiani, in his book “To Kidnap a Pope: Napoleon and Pius VII,” tells the story of how Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte and Pope Pius VII tussled over church versus state superiority and eventually ironed out a foundation of religious freedom whose effects Europe still enjoys today.
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An eastern Ukrainian family traveled 760 miles from their home in Zaporizhzhia, where they worship with a Church of Christ and work with Program for Humanitarian Aid, a nonprofit that, before the war, served primarily orphans and at-risk youths. Now, all Ukrainians are at risk. So the ministry has become one of relief, support and, on occasion, evacuation.
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Pope Francis joined tens of thousands of pilgrims in St. Peter’s Square on Thursday at a funeral Mass for Benedict XVI, an unusual gathering for a dead pontiff presided by a living one. The Vatican, enveloped in a thick fog, featured heads of state and bishops from around the world who came to Rome to mourn Benedict’s death and remember his papacy.
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Romanian evangelicals hid their faith during communist rule, but the Eastern European country now ranks as the most religious in Europe. Some evangelical magazine publishers, like Eugenia Rosian, never stopped creating and distributing religious materials.
Read MoreRegardless of one's religious affiliation, Prague’s Church of Our Lady Victorious’ breathtaking architecture and rich history make the church an irresistible attraction for travelers. While most can find this to be a unique spiritual experience, locals of Prague have a rather interesting relationship with the church.
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Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, who served as head of the Roman Catholic Church from 2005 until his surprise resignation in 2013, was a theologian known for his writings and defense of traditional values to counter the increased secularization of the West.
Read MoreAlthough the Czech Republic is the most atheist country in the world, people still practice religious traditions today. Simultaneously, there are many factors contributing to the change of religious food culture in the Czech Republic, like globalization, tourism and immigration.
Read MoreMuslim tourists and locals in Prague find solace in their accessibility to Middle Eastern, halal food along with tourist hot spots. What’s special about such accessibility is that digital media now promotes “halal tripping” or “halal tourism.”
Read MoreOld Prague’s Jewish quarter was once a walled-off ghetto where the bulk of Bohemia’s Jewish community resided apart from the Christian majority, partly for their own protection. It is now little more than an open-air museum.
Read MoreAs I researched media content, it became quite clear to me that churches find their place in the news primarily (if not only) when the subject is business or economics related — church properties and estates — as if shaking away the communist past; political and/or financial correlations. Looking at the local religious life — it barely ever is a subject of media focus.
Read MoreAlmost all of the pieces are religious, taken from churches, basilicas and private chapels. They are echoes of a glorious religious past — one that contrasts with the fact that most of the Czech Republic’s population today is religiously unaffiliated.
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