https://politicalresearch.org/ The latest research related to russian orthodox church en https://religiondispatches.org/2022/09/23/sermon-birth-fatherland-putins-patriarch-kirill-equates-invasion-ukraine-defense If you’ve been educated in North America or Western Europe, you might be forgiven for having never heard of the Battle of Kulikovo, a battle between Russian forces and the Golden Horde, on September 8, 1380, in which the Russian… Fri, 23 Sep 2022 12:30:46 EDT Katherine Kelaidis f8ee2255-f7d7-4495-94b4-7c3b6fc0aef1 https://religiondispatches.org/2022/07/29/orthodox-churchs-authoritarian-anti-lgbtq-statement-poses-serious-threat-academic As discussed earlier this week on RD , the Orthodox Church in America recently released an encyclical that, on the surface at least, recapitulates the long-held doctrines of the OCA concerning same-sex marriage and gay rights, reinforcing heterosexual hegemony as… Fri, 29 Jul 2022 04:36:54 EDT Sarah Riccardi-Swartz 89f85464-36fc-45f1-b122-e3739b75efc4 https://religiondispatches.org/2022/06/14/largely-overlooked-shakeup-russian-orthodox-church-looking-westernize-yes-and-no A major shakeup at the highest levels in the Russian Orthodox Church is offering new insight into the Moscow-based church’s internal struggles and strategic position towards the West — and oddly no one in the West seems to care. Metropolitan… Tue, 14 Jun 2022 04:06:17 EDT Katherine Kelaidis 26b51eb6-968c-4a81-95d6-f2df6acfedef https://religiondispatches.org/2022/05/30/moscow-suffers-its-most-high-profile-defection-yet The Russian invasion of Ukraine is now over 100 days old. When the war began, there were two competing Orthodox churches in Ukraine: the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU), which was created and granted complete independence by the Patriarch of… Mon, 30 May 2022 03:43:19 EDT Katherine Kelaidis e2c4e67a-0baa-49b0-8489-8a6e86677858 https://religiondispatches.org/2022/05/19/putin-theo-propaganda-minister-kirill-invokes-600-years-history-lay-claim-ukraine-heres On May 17, Patriarch Kirill of Moscow addressed the upper house of the Russian Parliament in a speech that highlighted the role of the Russian Orthodox Church and its primate as a propaganda agent par excellence for the Putin regime… Thu, 19 May 2022 01:33:01 EDT Katherine Kelaidis 6fdac85f-ffe8-432c-af26-effa39a6a791 https://religiondispatches.org/2022/05/09/how-belief-moscow-new-rome-explains-kirills-astonishing-declaration-russia-has-never Saying outrageous, verifiably untrue things has sort of become Patriarch Kirill of Moscow’s brand. The chief Russian Orthodox cleric had a history of outrageous statements before the Russian invasion of Ukraine ( including calling the concept of human rights a… Mon, 09 May 2022 03:06:58 EDT Katherine Kelaidis ad93c729-d612-45cc-8cab-a93fe228181e https://religiondispatches.org/2022/05/05/tiny-divided-orthodox-nation-next-front-russias-religious-war I’m writing from Iași, Romania, which was the capital of the Principality of Moldova between 1564 and 1859 and the capital of Romania between 1916 and 1918, as well as the seat of the Romanian Orthodox Metropolitan of Moldavia and… Thu, 05 May 2022 09:36:18 EDT Katherine Kelaidis 9aa37c21-5c4c-4777-87e3-2de3d048207c https://religiondispatches.org/2022/04/22/sanctioning-patriarch-kirill-would-send-strong-message-problem-he-doesnt-wear-mullahs Since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine , sanctions against Russian officials have been the most visible and powerful form of support offered by the global community to the Ukrainian people. These sanctions have targeted high-ranking Russian officials… Fri, 22 Apr 2022 01:29:31 EDT Katherine Kelaidis d1a7753e-048d-482c-82b7-2b53e7cdc219 https://religiondispatches.org/2022/04/14/be-careful-what-you-wish-downside-kicking-russian-orthodox-church-out-world-council Calls have grown for the Russian Orthodox Church to be expelled from the World Council of Churches (WCC) due to the support of the Moscow-based, Patriarch Kirill-led church for the Russian invasion of Ukraine . This effort has in recent… Thu, 14 Apr 2022 03:40:58 EDT Katherine Kelaidis da7a6748-0d4f-4ccc-bcb1-f85855e989f6 https://religiondispatches.org/2022/04/04/russian-patriarch-just-gave-his-most-dangerous-speech-yet-and-almost-no-one-west-has There’s little doubt that Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill’s Forgiveness Sunday Sermon last month received more attention than any Orthodox cleric’s sermon has received in the Western media in a long time. Beyond its frightening absurdity, it’s likely this attention is… Mon, 04 Apr 2022 02:12:16 EDT Katherine Kelaidis b04b81d6-c1c5-4ed5-b268-7863037c1986 https://religiondispatches.org/2022/03/21/failure-grasp-distinct-character-and-history-eastern-christianity-compromising-our Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine began three weeks ago, it’s likely you’ve heard the term Russian World (or Russkii Mir ). It’s easy to conflate this concept with nostalgia for the Soviet Union (it’s just another term for Russia… Mon, 21 Mar 2022 01:14:17 EDT Katherine Kelaidis 9dda69ec-56e9-4d8e-930f-e183c4100433 https://religiondispatches.org/2022/03/17/russkii-mir-russian-equivalent-blood-soil-ideology-heart-putins-war-explained-and A new statement by Orthodox Christian theologians—some of whom sign from Russia—dramatically illustrates what’s at stake in this war of (mostly) Christians against Christians, and what implications it has for the American scene. The statement sets its organizers in opposition… Thu, 17 Mar 2022 04:52:10 EDT Daniel Schultz 5eb0b277-8f63-4f09-8634-9afb427ff638 https://religiondispatches.org/2022/03/15/putin-real-christian-understand-conflict-we-need-ask-different-questions Vladimir Putin’s campaign of violence in Ukraine has brought to the fore questions about his longstanding religious connections, prompting scholars and journalists to challenge his well-marketed piety and seemingly deep devotion to Russian Orthodox spirituality — the latter of which… Tue, 15 Mar 2022 12:00:16 EDT Sarah Riccardi-Swartz, Robert Saler 3ad3244f-b812-465c-adb3-1206d99052f4 https://religiondispatches.org/2022/03/14/prominent-russian-orthodox-church-rejects-pro-putin-patriarch-kirill-raising-tensions The Russian Orthodox Church of St. Nicholas in Amsterdam has a rather prominent place in the Orthodox Christian pacifist movement, insofar as such a movement exists. St. Nicholas was, after all, the home parish of Jim Forest, an American writer… Mon, 14 Mar 2022 03:51:25 EDT Katherine Kelaidis 0956836a-fe21-4a55-a46a-35f0f0b41be8 https://religiondispatches.org/2022/03/07/kirills-sermon-may-be-bad-preaching-and-even-worse-theology-its-top-notch-rejection Patriarch Kirill, the leader of the Russian Orthodox Church, gave a sermon on forgiveness this past Sunday at the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Moscow. It was a doozy , to use the vernacular. Many will rightly zero in… Mon, 07 Mar 2022 04:45:53 EST Daniel Schultz ad9434a1-ae06-4c28-b7a3-3a94154110c1 https://religiondispatches.org/2022/03/07/if-kirills-bizarre-sermon-blaming-war-pride-parades-comes-surprise-its-time-learn Today is Clean Monday, the first day of the Orthodox Christian Lent. Yesterday was Forgiveness Sunday, a day traditionally dedicated to reflecting upon one’s own sins and preparing for and anticipating the long period of fasting and repentance encouraged by… Mon, 07 Mar 2022 01:38:42 EST Katherine Kelaidis 5adcf3dc-13f5-4cf7-b926-c5b21494503a https://religiondispatches.org/2022/03/07/his-forgiveness-day-sermon-slightly-more-sophisticated-globohomo-rant-kirill-lays-out Since the start of the war in Ukraine, Patriarch Kirill, the leader of the Russian Orthodox Church, has been complicit in the political rhetoric used by Vladimir Putin. In one of her first articles on the topic, Katie Kelaidis reminded… Mon, 07 Mar 2022 01:31:04 EST Sarah Riccardi-Swartz 1f11723d-b69e-4480-a3b3-7cc5f8418e2c https://religiondispatches.org/2022/02/28/could-patriarch-kirills-evil-forces-against-russia-and-russian-church-refer-jews If it wasn’t already blatantly apparent that Patriarch Kirill of Moscow is not “calling for peace,” he’s now described Russia’s opponents — in its unprovoked, illegal invasion of the Ukraine — as “evil forces,” telling the faithful : “God forbid… Mon, 28 Feb 2022 02:14:39 EST Katherine Kelaidis 67fb5b1a-fb2a-4885-bbf5-d386f7b9c4fa https://religiondispatches.org/2022/02/25/no-patriarch-kirill-moscow-not-calling-peace-fact-hes-putins-accomplice Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus is not calling for peace in Ukraine, and the fact that some in the Western media seem to think he has done so is evidence of how much the West has to learn… Fri, 25 Feb 2022 03:56:44 EST Katherine Kelaidis 9398d1c8-4be8-4f31-a9d3-9fdab37eebef https://religiondispatches.org/2022/02/21/make-no-mistake-if-theres-war-between-russia-and-ukraine-it-will-be-religious-war Putin has now ordered Russian troops into Donetsk and Luhansk. The first major conflict between two Orthodox Christian nations since the War of the Stray Dogs in 1925 has likely just begun. That conflict (the resolution of which was incidentally… Mon, 21 Feb 2022 05:16:09 EST Katherine Kelaidis e621f018-890b-469e-a997-05377d61c959 https://religiondispatches.org/2021/01/26/after-orthodox-priest-suspended-stop-steal-activity-renewed-spotlight-orthodox-far-right When insurrectionists stormed the Capitol building on January 6, 2021, most news reports focused on those who were Pro-Trump evangelicals and their ties to white Christian nationalism . Yet, as the events of the day continue to be interrogated by… Tue, 26 Jan 2021 02:16:58 EST Sarah Riccardi-Swartz 931ac0aa-ce92-4f6b-9e13-5156192a7858 https://religiondispatches.org/2017/05/12/pence-meets-one-putins-top-clerics-strange-bedfellows-bgeas-world-summit-defense Yesterday, U.S. Vice President Mike Pence made headlines for his appearance at the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association’s World Summit in Defense of Persecuted Christians, where he proclaimed Christians to be among the most persecuted people in the world. While there… Fri, 12 May 2017 08:12:01 EDT Chrissy Stroop c1d8983c-325a-4826-a519-c8ae0900ec82 https://religiondispatches.org/2017/02/21/warships-animals-pubs-eligible-blessings-church-england-not-same-sex-couples-global-lgbt Vitit Muntarbhorn, the UN independent expert charged with investigating discrimination and violence on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity told the Washington Blade’s Michael Lavers that he sees his job as “an engaging process with all actors.” A… Tue, 21 Feb 2017 12:24:57 EST Peter Montgomery ade51f20-dcb3-41af-82ca-257cfbcf18cc https://religiondispatches.org/2016/12/19/weeks-lgbt-recap-are-gay-priests-overdue-stonewall-moment “Unless gay priests decide that it’s time for their Stonewall moment, Church leaders—some of them closeted, sometimes self-loathing, homosexually-oriented men themselves—will continue to utter the slander that affects not just ordained gay men and seminarians, but every LGBTQ person in the Church.” Mon, 19 Dec 2016 07:32:15 EST Peter Montgomery 4e0861a5-100c-4f91-b39e-f3ba9ad0cb0f https://religiondispatches.org/2016/09/17/more-bleak-times-indonesian-lgbts-south-africa-bans-extremist-anti-gay-us-pastor-mexican OutRight Action International’s Rashima Kwatra reviews the record of human rights work by Vitit Muntarbhorn, who has been tapped to fill a historic role created by the UN Human Rights Council this summer over the strong objections of anti-gay countries… Sat, 17 Sep 2016 12:10:47 EDT Peter Montgomery e2c50241-4183-432d-ae6c-68216f846ee3