-
Eastern Europe
Ukraine will not ban the Moscow-oriented church
There will be no ban on the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) of the Moscow Patriarchate in Ukraine for the time being. As parliamentary speaker Ruslan Stefanchuk told the news portal RBC Ukraine, it was agreed upon not to pass a law that would divide society given the current war. Opposition…
Read More » -
Southern Europe
Chinese open theological seminary in Italy
The first Chinese Theological Seminary was opened in Italy earlier this month. A group of 55 Chinese churches founded the seminary in Rome. The goal of the theological school is to train pastors for Chinese-speaking communities in Italy, and the rest of Europe, Protestante Digital reports. Furthermore, graduated students should…
Read More » -
Southern Europe
Asturian Bible translation wins literary prize
The Spanish Bible Society has won a literary prize with its Bible translation into Asturian. Last week, the Minister of Culture, Language Policy and Tourism awarded the Florina Alías Award for the Best Translation into Asturian last week. The award is a recognition of the “impressive work carried out over…
Read More » -
Western Europe
Why so many French Catholics voted for the far-right
During the last French presidential elections last Sunday, about 40 per cent of the French Catholics voted for Marine Le Pen. Le Pen is the leader of the far-right party Rassemblement National. Earlier, Catholics tended to vote for centrist or centre-right parties, La Croix Internationale reported. The French news agency…
Read More » -
Northern Europe
Norwegian church divided over apology to LGBT community
Should the Church of Norway apologise officially to the LGBT community for its attitude against homosexuals? The chief representative of the Church of Norway thinks it ought to. Some critics call the move unbiblical. Presiding bishop Olav Fykse Tveit argued in a Facebook post that the highest body of the…
Read More » -
Northern Europe
More Norwegians contacted church during Covid pandemic
Most Norwegian churches have seen an increase in conversations with individuals during the Covid pandemic. More people contacted the church to find someone to talk to, the Church of Norway diocese of Oslo told Vart Land. The large majority of the churches (70 per cent) noted an increase in the…
Read More » -
Eastern Europe
Lithuania calls for sanctions against Russian Patriarch Kirill
Lithuania proposed to implement sanctions against the Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill for supporting Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The Lithuanian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Gabrielius Landsbergis, asked the European Union to act against the Russian Patriarch of the Eastern Orthodox Church under the Moscow Patriarchate, Laikmetis reports. The news was announced…
Read More » -
Central Europe
German Christians form a minority
Christians in Germany are a minority of the population. Research showed that less than 50 per cent of the Germans are members of a Catholic or Protestant church. Christian churches, both Protestant and Catholic, have lost many members over the past months, Evangeliques.info reports. Currently, less than 50 per cent…
Read More » -
Northern Europe
“Swedish government might succeed in banning denominational schools”
The Swedish government might succeed in banning denominational independent schools, a Swedish religious freedom expert thinks. She believes that the European Court of Justice acted cowardly in similar matters and wants a debate. The governing Swedish Social Democrats want to tighten rules for founding private schools in order to strengthen…
Read More » -
Western Europe
Dutch coalition not in favour of suicide drug
The Dutch Health Minister Ernst Kuipers is “absolutely not in favour” of the movement of people who “want to keep control of their own lives” and therefore want to end their lives with a suicide drug. According to Kuipers, “an impulsive intake is extremely risky”. The liberal democratic minister considers…
Read More »