Alexander Men knew something about spiritual voids, and he might have proposed filling that post-communist Russian emptiness with something beautiful and spiritually enriching, rather than with the ugly nationalism promoted by Kirill and other Russian Orthodox leaders. Continue Reading »
A meeting between the current Bishop of Rome and the current Patriarch of Moscow would not have been a meeting of two religious leaders. It would have been a meeting between a religious leader and an instrument of Russian state power. Continue Reading »
As Putin’s missiles have shattered Mariupol’, Kirill’s acquiescence in barbarism has shattered Russian Orthodoxy’s campaign to be first among Orthodox equals. Continue Reading »
Developments around Pascha this year reveal a much more complex picture of Russia's church-state relations. Continue Reading »
In Iași, Romania, in January 2019, some three hundred Orthodox scholars gathered for the inaugural conference of the International Orthodox Theological Association (IOTA). Pioneered by IOTA’s president, Paul Gavrilyuk, the gathering overcame forces that have prevented intra-Orthodox dialogue . . . . Continue Reading »
A realized autocephaly for Ukrainian Orthodoxy would “mark a new period in the history of the Universal Church.” Continue Reading »
Eastern Orthodoxy may be on the verge of an epic crack-up with major ecumenical and geopolitical consequences. Continue Reading »
Russian Orthodox Church leadership continues to promote Putin's farcical attempt to be a savior of Christian values. Continue Reading »
By refusing to denounce Putin's actions in Crimea, the Holy See is shirking its moral responsibility. Continue Reading »
Some little while ago, I found myself sitting in the grounds of the Danilov Monastery in Moscow, delighting in the spring flowers and being treated to a prodigious display of bell-ringing. I reflected at the time that the Russians have few peers among other nations in their great love for church . . . . Continue Reading »
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