12-14-2018, 11:55 PM
*** 15-Dec-18 World View -- Russian Orthodox Church asks world leaders to protect it from Ukrainian persecution
This morning's key headlines from GenerationalDynamics.com
****
**** Russian Orthodox Church asks world leaders to protect it from Ukrainian persecution
****
![[Image: g181214b.jpg]](http://Media.GenerationalDynamics.com/ww2010/g181214b.jpg)
Ukrainian border guards prevent Russian men, aged 16-60, from entering Ukraine. Sign says: 'Do not stop between the striped columns.' (RFE/RL)
Patriarch Kirill of Moscow, the leader of the the Moscow Patriarchate
of the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC), has sent a letter to the pope and
a number of other world leaders urging them to protect bishops and
clergy of the ROC in Ukraine, who are under pressure to change
allegiance to the Kiev Patriarchate of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.
The Ukrainian Orthodox Church is the biggest Orthodox Christian Church
in Ukraine, and is subordinate to the Moscow Patriarchate When the
Soviet Union collapsed in the 1990s, the Church was also split, with a
separate Kiev Patriarchate of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.
In October, Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople, the "first among
equals" leader of all Orthodox Christian churches and of the world's
300 million Orthodox Christians, announced that he was reversing a 330
year old policy, and would make the Kiev Patriarchate a separate
Church, independent of the Moscow Patriarchate.
This infuriated the Russians, who promised revenge. This has led
to pressure in Ukraine for clergy and bishops in Ukraine belonging
to the Moscow Patriarchate to switch allegiance to
the Kiev Patriarchate.
According to Kirill:
<QUOTE>"Recently, the intervention of the leaders of the
secular Ukrainian state in church affairs has acquired the
character of gross pressure on the episcopate and clergy of the
Ukrainian Orthodox Church, which allows us to speak about the
beginning of full-scale persecutions."<END QUOTE>
Kirill also accused Ukraine's government of a kind of identity
theft:
<QUOTE>"The state-run media continues a massive company to
discredit the Ukrainian Church. In violation of the right to
privacy and the prohibition of the use of personal data, personal
information about the bishops and clergymen of the Ukrainian
Orthodox Church, available to the state, is published. In
particular, the personal data of a significant part of the
episcopate of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church were published on the
Peacemaker website along with comments that incited religious
hatred,
[The Peacemaker website exists with the direct support of the
Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine], and has previously
become notorious for publishing information about Ukrainian,
American and European journalists, after which they were
threatened, beaten and even deprived of life."<END QUOTE>
Kirill's plea was sent to numerous world leaders, including Pope
Francis, the head of the Anglican Community to the Archbishop of
Canterbury Justin Welby, the Secretary General of the World Council of
Churches O. Fuxse Tveit, and the UN Secretary General A. Guterres,
Secretary General of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in
Europe T. Gremymhramhym, the President of France E. Macron and the
German Chancellor A. Merkel as heads of states of the Normandy Four.
Kirill appealed to religious and state leaders, leaders of
intergovernmental organizations to make every effort to protect the
bishops, clergy and believers of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church from
discrimination and pressure from the Ukrainian authorities, to defend
the freedom of conscience and religion enshrined in international law.
Moscow Times and Russian Orthodox Church (Trans) and AP and Moscow Times
****
**** Military tensions between Ukraine and Russia are increasing
****
The dispute over the Orthodox Church in Ukraine comes four years after
Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and at a time, when military tensions
are rising again.
The problem with Kirill's plea is that Kirill is following the
policies of Russia's president Vladimir Putin, and Putin lies about
everything. These include lying about Russian soldiers in Ukraine,
lying after Russians shot down a passenger plane with a Buk missile,
lying about not invading Crimea, lying about whether Russia is going
to annex Crimea, and then annexing Crimea. There are lots more lies
related to Bashar al-Assad's use of Sarin gas and chlorine gas.
So we have to assume that Kirill is just as much a liar as Putin is.
Maybe bishops and clergy are being targeted with "full-scale
persecutions," and maybe they aren't -- we can't conclude anything
from anything that Kirill says.
On the other hand, Ukraine’s Security Service, the SBU, is claiming
that Russians in east Ukraine are organizing church marches in
numerous cities across Ukraine on Sunday, in order to disrupt a
meeting of the unification council of Ukrainian Orthodox Church.
We'll see if these church marches actually take place tomorrow
(Sunday). Unfortunately, no one can exclude the possibility that
Moscow may launch more serious military actions this weekend with the
same purpose.
What is apparent is that military tensions are purposely increasing on
both sides. The original Ukraine war that started four years ago has
not been in the news much, but it's still continuing at a low level,
with both Russians and Ukrainians being killed every week.
On November 25, Russia conducted an act of war by firing on Ukrainian
navy ships in the Black Sea, boarding and seizing the ships, and
blockading Ukraine's ports at the Kerch Strait. Russia abducted the
crew of 24, and apparently tortured some of them in order to create a
video and forcing them to confess to crimes they didn't commit.
Russia continues to hold and bury the 24 Ukrainian sailors, possibly
in retaliation for the Orthodox Church issue, just as the Chinese have
abducted and buried two Canadian journalists, in apparent retaliation
for the arrest in Canada of Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou, after an
multi-year investigation revealed massive bank fraud by Huawei in
order to violate US sanctions against Iran.
On November 26, in retaliation for the Kerch Strait seizure, Ukraine's
parliament voted to implement Martial Law in ten regions of Ukraine
for 30 days, in preparation for a possible new invasion by Russia.
Then, on November 30, the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine
prohibited Russian men aged 16-60 from entering Russia. The reason
given was to prevent Russia from sending in troops to form private
armies, but the restriction played havoc with men who cross the border
every day for work.
On December 1, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (UAF)
announced short-term, 15-day training courses for reservists and
members of the territorial defense forces. Window on Eurasia and Reuters and Jamestown and RFE/RL (Trans)
Related Articles:
KEYS: Generational Dynamics, Russia, Ukraine, Constantinople,
Russian Orthodox Church, Ukrainian Orthodox Church,
Moscow Patriarchate, Kiev Patriarchate,
Patriarch Bartholomew I, Patriarch Kirill,
Black Sea, Sea of Azov, Kerch Strait
Permanent web link to this article
Receive daily World View columns by e-mail
Contribute to Generational Dynamics via PayPal
John J. Xenakis
100 Memorial Drive Apt 8-13A
Cambridge, MA 02142
Phone: 617-864-0010
E-mail: john@GenerationalDynamics.com
Web site: http://www.GenerationalDynamics.com
Forum: http://www.gdxforum.com/forum
Subscribe to World View: http://generationaldynamics.com/subscribe
This morning's key headlines from GenerationalDynamics.com
- Russian Orthodox Church asks world leaders to protect it from Ukrainian persecution
- Military tensions between Ukraine and Russia are increasing
****
**** Russian Orthodox Church asks world leaders to protect it from Ukrainian persecution
****
Ukrainian border guards prevent Russian men, aged 16-60, from entering Ukraine. Sign says: 'Do not stop between the striped columns.' (RFE/RL)
Patriarch Kirill of Moscow, the leader of the the Moscow Patriarchate
of the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC), has sent a letter to the pope and
a number of other world leaders urging them to protect bishops and
clergy of the ROC in Ukraine, who are under pressure to change
allegiance to the Kiev Patriarchate of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.
The Ukrainian Orthodox Church is the biggest Orthodox Christian Church
in Ukraine, and is subordinate to the Moscow Patriarchate When the
Soviet Union collapsed in the 1990s, the Church was also split, with a
separate Kiev Patriarchate of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.
In October, Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople, the "first among
equals" leader of all Orthodox Christian churches and of the world's
300 million Orthodox Christians, announced that he was reversing a 330
year old policy, and would make the Kiev Patriarchate a separate
Church, independent of the Moscow Patriarchate.
This infuriated the Russians, who promised revenge. This has led
to pressure in Ukraine for clergy and bishops in Ukraine belonging
to the Moscow Patriarchate to switch allegiance to
the Kiev Patriarchate.
According to Kirill:
<QUOTE>"Recently, the intervention of the leaders of the
secular Ukrainian state in church affairs has acquired the
character of gross pressure on the episcopate and clergy of the
Ukrainian Orthodox Church, which allows us to speak about the
beginning of full-scale persecutions."<END QUOTE>
Kirill also accused Ukraine's government of a kind of identity
theft:
<QUOTE>"The state-run media continues a massive company to
discredit the Ukrainian Church. In violation of the right to
privacy and the prohibition of the use of personal data, personal
information about the bishops and clergymen of the Ukrainian
Orthodox Church, available to the state, is published. In
particular, the personal data of a significant part of the
episcopate of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church were published on the
Peacemaker website along with comments that incited religious
hatred,
[The Peacemaker website exists with the direct support of the
Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine], and has previously
become notorious for publishing information about Ukrainian,
American and European journalists, after which they were
threatened, beaten and even deprived of life."<END QUOTE>
Kirill's plea was sent to numerous world leaders, including Pope
Francis, the head of the Anglican Community to the Archbishop of
Canterbury Justin Welby, the Secretary General of the World Council of
Churches O. Fuxse Tveit, and the UN Secretary General A. Guterres,
Secretary General of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in
Europe T. Gremymhramhym, the President of France E. Macron and the
German Chancellor A. Merkel as heads of states of the Normandy Four.
Kirill appealed to religious and state leaders, leaders of
intergovernmental organizations to make every effort to protect the
bishops, clergy and believers of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church from
discrimination and pressure from the Ukrainian authorities, to defend
the freedom of conscience and religion enshrined in international law.
Moscow Times and Russian Orthodox Church (Trans) and AP and Moscow Times
****
**** Military tensions between Ukraine and Russia are increasing
****
The dispute over the Orthodox Church in Ukraine comes four years after
Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and at a time, when military tensions
are rising again.
The problem with Kirill's plea is that Kirill is following the
policies of Russia's president Vladimir Putin, and Putin lies about
everything. These include lying about Russian soldiers in Ukraine,
lying after Russians shot down a passenger plane with a Buk missile,
lying about not invading Crimea, lying about whether Russia is going
to annex Crimea, and then annexing Crimea. There are lots more lies
related to Bashar al-Assad's use of Sarin gas and chlorine gas.
So we have to assume that Kirill is just as much a liar as Putin is.
Maybe bishops and clergy are being targeted with "full-scale
persecutions," and maybe they aren't -- we can't conclude anything
from anything that Kirill says.
On the other hand, Ukraine’s Security Service, the SBU, is claiming
that Russians in east Ukraine are organizing church marches in
numerous cities across Ukraine on Sunday, in order to disrupt a
meeting of the unification council of Ukrainian Orthodox Church.
We'll see if these church marches actually take place tomorrow
(Sunday). Unfortunately, no one can exclude the possibility that
Moscow may launch more serious military actions this weekend with the
same purpose.
What is apparent is that military tensions are purposely increasing on
both sides. The original Ukraine war that started four years ago has
not been in the news much, but it's still continuing at a low level,
with both Russians and Ukrainians being killed every week.
On November 25, Russia conducted an act of war by firing on Ukrainian
navy ships in the Black Sea, boarding and seizing the ships, and
blockading Ukraine's ports at the Kerch Strait. Russia abducted the
crew of 24, and apparently tortured some of them in order to create a
video and forcing them to confess to crimes they didn't commit.
Russia continues to hold and bury the 24 Ukrainian sailors, possibly
in retaliation for the Orthodox Church issue, just as the Chinese have
abducted and buried two Canadian journalists, in apparent retaliation
for the arrest in Canada of Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou, after an
multi-year investigation revealed massive bank fraud by Huawei in
order to violate US sanctions against Iran.
On November 26, in retaliation for the Kerch Strait seizure, Ukraine's
parliament voted to implement Martial Law in ten regions of Ukraine
for 30 days, in preparation for a possible new invasion by Russia.
Then, on November 30, the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine
prohibited Russian men aged 16-60 from entering Russia. The reason
given was to prevent Russia from sending in troops to form private
armies, but the restriction played havoc with men who cross the border
every day for work.
On December 1, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (UAF)
announced short-term, 15-day training courses for reservists and
members of the territorial defense forces. Window on Eurasia and Reuters and Jamestown and RFE/RL (Trans)
Related Articles:
- Constantinople grants Ukrainian Orthodox Church independence, causing historic split with Russia (12-Oct-2018)
- Russia attacks Ukraine's navy and blockades Ukraine's ports at Kerch Strait (26-Nov-2018)
- Russian Orthodox Church in historic split with Constantinople over Ukraine issue (16-Sep-2018)
- Russia's annexation of Crimea splits the Russian Orthodox Church (20-Mar-2014)
- Russian Orthodox Church reunites 80 years after Bolshevik Revolution (17-May-2007)
KEYS: Generational Dynamics, Russia, Ukraine, Constantinople,
Russian Orthodox Church, Ukrainian Orthodox Church,
Moscow Patriarchate, Kiev Patriarchate,
Patriarch Bartholomew I, Patriarch Kirill,
Black Sea, Sea of Azov, Kerch Strait
Permanent web link to this article
Receive daily World View columns by e-mail
Contribute to Generational Dynamics via PayPal
John J. Xenakis
100 Memorial Drive Apt 8-13A
Cambridge, MA 02142
Phone: 617-864-0010
E-mail: john@GenerationalDynamics.com
Web site: http://www.GenerationalDynamics.com
Forum: http://www.gdxforum.com/forum
Subscribe to World View: http://generationaldynamics.com/subscribe
