(EXPLAINER) Thousands of people have spent the past few weeks waiting in line for hours in a small Missouri town to see a nun whose body has barely decomposed since she died in 2019 at age 95. Sister Wilhelmina Lancaster’s body was exhumed in April, according to the Benedictines of Mary, Queen of Apostles, in Gower, Missouri. What it all means is rooted in Catholic belief that something supernatural has taken place.
Read More(OPINION) Quantum theory can widen how we imagine the cross of Christ. Jesus did redeem us on the cross. But wondrously beautiful things happened simultaneously to his blood being shed. For instance, Jesus married (betrothed) us. In Jewish tradition, a redeemer was a male relative responsible for caring for a deceased relative’s possessions, including the widow.
Read MoreOrthodox Christians in North America and around the world already are venerating the Alaskan matriarch for her care and concern for abused women.
Read MoreThe arrival of St. Herman and a group of eight monks on this island on Sept. 24, 1794, planted a seed for the Orthodox Church on the continent. Since then, Alaska has been a spiritual cradle of Orthodox Christianity in North America.
Read MoreSeveral young Orthodox converts who live at the St. James House, a self-directed program for young Orthodox adults, kept asking me during my visit last November if I had met Joe, the beekeeper. From what I had gathered, this guy named Joseph “Joe” Dunham, 68, was a living legend of the Eagle River community. He sounded quirky. I had to meet him.
Read More“Not only is a powerful (Orthodox?) tyrant annihilating human life and fertile land, but a prominent (Orthodox!) patriarch is granting benediction and endorsement of this destruction of a neighboring population that shares much of the same faith, history, and culture.”
Read MoreAs Russia’s two-month-old invasion of neighboring Ukraine continues, Russian President Vladimir Putin is demanding that Israel grant the Kremlin control of a Russian Orthodox church in Jerusalem’s Christian quarter as the previous Israeli government had promised. Granting the request would be a diplomatic headache for Israel.
Read More(OPINION) Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the leader of the Russian Orthodox Church has defended Russia’s actions and blamed the conflict on the West.
Read MorePope Francis — in a private video call on March 16 with the head of the Russian Orthodox Church — said religious leaders “must not use the language of politics, but the language of Jesus.” Francis’ remarks to Patriarch Kirill, an ally of President Vladimir Putin, were the latest in a series of moves to broker a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine.
Read MoreThis week’s Weekend Plug-in highlights the religion angles key to understanding the Russia-Ukraine war. Plus, as always, catch up on all the best reads and top headlines in the world of faith.
Read More(OPINION) As the author of a recently published book on anti-Jewish violence in Ukraine and a historian of the Holocaust, Jeffrey Veidlinger knows why the accusations of Nazism and genocide have resonance in Ukraine. But he also understands that despite episodic violence, Ukrainian history offers a model of tolerance and democratic government.
Read MoreAt a small Ukrainian Orthodox church in Oklahoma, a priest worries about his mother, brother and other loved ones caught in harm’s way. At Sunday’s service, the Rev. Stepan Bilogan and other believers prayed for peace in their homeland.
Read MoreFollowing days of rising tensions between Russia and Ukraine, Pope Francis called on Christians around the world to fast and pray for peace this coming Ash Wednesday. Before ending his general audience at the Vatican’s Paul VI Hall, the pontiff said believers should fight “the diabolical senselessness of violence” that has engulfed the Russian-Ukraine border.
Read MoreIt was another tough year for many people around the planet. The pandemic, just as it seemed to be subsiding this fall, rages on thanks to the omicron variant. Aside from COVID-19, issues such as climate change and the plight of migrants continues to plague nations, and international conflicts continue to rattle millions around the globe.
Read More(OPINION) We are currently in “the most wonderful time of the year,” as the popular Christmas song by Andy Williams goes. For many Christians, however, the four weeks leading up to Christmas Day are marked by Advent, a time of prayer in preparation for the birth of Jesus. In Eastern churches, this season is called Nativity Lent.
Read More(ANALYSIS) The current crisis in Ethiopia — displacing 2.1 million people with another 7 million in need of humanitarian aid — is an ethnic-political conflict, not a religious one. However, strengthening Ethiopia’s interfaith collaboration among religious groups can bring about much-needed national reconciliation and healing.
Read More(TRAVEL) Bibles used to be ubiquitous in hotel rooms. But a 2017 survey by STR revealed that 79% of hotels had religious materials in their rooms, down from 95% of hotels in 2006. Indeed, as America becomes more secular and Wi-Fi more common, the need for a physical Bible inside your nightstand drawer has grown more obsolete.
Read More(ANALYSIS) After completing the decades-long construction of the Jacob’s Well Greek Orthodox Church in the Palestinian city Nablus in 2018, Archimandrite Ioustinos, 81, has an equally lofty ambition to fulfill before he retires.
Read MoreWhile his life story is fascinating, heart-warming and remarkable, the religious life of NBA player Giannis Antetokounmpo is less well known. The now 26-year-old Giannis became a Christian and devout member of the Greek Orthodox Church as a young person and continues to acknowledge his Christian faith.
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