-
European Union
Russian churches in Europe target of hate crime
All over Europe, Russian Orthodox Church buildings suffer because of the war in Ukraine. After the invasion of Ukraine, Russians have increasingly become targets of hate crime. For example, the rector of the Church of All Saints in Strasbourg, Archimandrite Philip Ryabykh, reported on Facebook that he found two letters…
Read More » -
Northern Europe
Swedish proposal to limit private schools threatens Christian education
The Swedish government wants to tighten rules for founding private schools and vocational schools. With the new law, they aim to strengthen the public school system. The goal of the Social Democrats, the driving force behind the proposal, is to get a total ban on denominational schools, Dagen reports. This…
Read More » -
Southern Europe
Pope wants to meet Patriarch Kirill in Jerusalem
The Vatican is preparing a meeting between Pope Francis and the Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill. The two will possibly speak to each other in mid-June in Jerusalem. The Vatican is preparing a meeting between Pope Francis and the Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill. The two will possibly speak to each other…
Read More » -
Northern Europe
Swedish priest accuses bishops of lying about freedom in ordaining same-sex marriages
The Swedish priest Lars Gårdfeldt has sued the bishops to a special committee. He accuses the leadership of the Church of Sweden of lying about the ordination of same-sex marriages and sinning against the eighth commandment, “Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.” Gårdfeldt disagrees with the decision…
Read More » -
Eastern Europe
Idea of Russian world is no heresy at all: Diptych on Russian ideology (2/2)
In the West, it sounds very self-evident to call the idea of the “Russkiy mir” heretical. The people and the mass media accept that view quite easily. But Orthodox scholars are still not impressed by the criticism of the doctrine of the Russian Orthodox Church. They think the Western authors…
Read More » -
Northern Europe
Should Bach's Passion be corrected to combat anti-Semitism?
What does Bach with his St. John’s Passion have to do with anti-Judaism? Everything, according to Øivind Varkøy, Professor at the Norwegian Academy of Music. Therefore, Varkøy suggests adjusting the text of the Passion. In the Norwegian daily Vårt Land, Varkøy explains that the Christian Passover has been a particularly…
Read More » -
Eastern Europe
Russian church in Ukraine works “for the enemy”, Ukrainian Metropolitan says
The Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) from the Moscow Patriarchate “works for the enemy”. That says Metropolitan Epiphanius of the independent Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU). In a lengthy interview with LB.ua, he states that the Moscow-oriented church is not independent. “It is clear that they are part of the Russian…
Read More » -
Southern Europe
Spanish church loses more and more members
The majority of Spaniards under 34 are atheists or agnostics now. This is not a new trend. But the corona pandemic has accelerated this in Spain. This is reported by Die Tagespost. In 2019, only 27 per cent of the Spanish population identified as non-believers. In 2021, this percentage rose…
Read More » -
Eastern Europe
Seven people killed in Russian attack on Catholic aid organisation Mariupol
Seven people were killed when a Russian tank fired on an office of the Catholic help organisation Caritas in the besieged Ukrainian city of Mariupol. Two others were forcibly taken to Russia. This reports the Ukrainian branch of Caritas via Twitter. The attack happened on March 15th, but the news…
Read More » -
Northern Europe
Should teachers tell the Biblical Easter story to kindergarten classes?
Several Norwegian kindergarten teachers omit the Christian Easter story when celebrating the Christian holiday with their pupils. Their decision led to a discussion in Norway. Kristin Hoen, leader of Hamna kindergarten in Oslo, says to Vart Land that the Easter celebration at her school does not contain any religious message.…
Read More »