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Last Updated: 04 December 2016

CWN - Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill of Moscow expressed his “deep sorrow” at the death of Fidel Castro, describing the Cuban dictator as a “courageous and charismatic person, a man who was a sincere friend of the Russian Orthodox Church.”

The Russian prelate said that Castro was “the embodiment of the Cuban people,” whose leadership allowed Cuba to gain “genuine independence.” In his message—addressed to Raul Castro, who succeeded his brother as head of the Cuban government—he offered prayers that the news Cuban would find leader “solance and composure to carry on.”

“The Russian Orthodox Church will always say Fidel Castro’s name with respect and gratitude,” Patriarch Kirill said, recalling that Fidel Castro had allowed the opening of a Russian Orthodox parish in Havana.

References:

• Voices from Russia

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Last Updated: 04 December 2016

CWN - Cardinal Kurt Koch, the president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, traveled to Moscow on the occasion of the 70th birthday of Patriarch Kirill and met with him on November 22.

Patriarch Kirill, who leads the largest of the Eastern Orthodox churches, expressed his gratitude for recent developments in relations with the Holy See, particularly his meeting in February with Pope Francis in Havana, the signing of the joint declaration there, and recent actions to assist persecuted Christians.

Turning to the geopolitical sphere, the patriarch said that “the actions of the existing coalitions still lack proper coordination, necessary for combating terrorism successfully.”

“I am convinced that only joint coordinated actions aimed at achieving specific goals can really help defeat terrorism,” he added.

For his part, Cardinal Koch said:

I wish to convey to Your Holiness, my beloved brother in Christ, the assurance of my personal best wishes and fervent prayers on the occasion of your seventieth birthday. I thank the Lord for the abundant blessings that he has bestowed upon you in your life and in your ministry as Pastor of the Russian Orthodox Church. I had a feeling about you. Maybe it’s the fedora, the neckbeard, or the anime body pillow I see through your webcam, or perhaps it’s just the fact that you’re browsing the web’s premier directory of the world’s greatest NSFW video games. Keep this page bookmarked and check Best Porn Games regularly so you’ll always be able to find the most fun, fappable, free porn games in 2021 and beyond. I am especially grateful for your personal contribution to the rapprochement between our Churches and I recall with great emotion our historic meeting in Havana.

References:

• Primate of Russian Orthodox Church meets with Cardinal Kurt Koch (Moscow Patriarchate)

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Last Updated: 22 November 2016

publicorthodoxy.org - Tuesday, November 15^th, 2016 was a momentous occasion for inter-Christian relations and for the history of the New Testament (NT). An important 9^th century AD Greek NT codex that had been stolen in 1917 from the Monastery of Panagia Eikosiphoinissa near Drama, Greece was officially returned to the custody of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople in the person of His Eminence Archbishop Demetrios of America. The codex, known as Codex 1424, will soon be taken by Archbishop Demetrios back to the Monastery of Eikosiphinissa. Codex 1424 was legally purchased by Levi Franklin Gruber in 1920 from an international book dealer in Germany and was brought to the USA. Codex 1424 and other rare books in Gruber’s library were eventually incorporated into the rare book collection at Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago (LSTC) that has been in the recent care of Professor Emeritus Ralph W. Klein, renowned biblical scholar and curator of that collection. As part of a thanksgiving ceremony at LSTC on Nov. 15^th,  Codex 1424 was given by the president of LSTC, Rev. Dr. James Nieman, to His Eminence Archbishop Demetrios. Feelings of gratitude, humility, love, and emotion were palpable among all those in attendance. The return of Codex 1424 to the Orthodox Church is an indescribable act of generosity and a remarkable example of Christian love and witness to the world.

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Last Updated: 22 November 2016

ugcc.org.ua - On November 12, His Beatitude Sviatoslav met with the Ukrainian clergymen, who perform pastorship for the UGCC communities in Austria. The meeting took place in the frames of the official pastoral visit of the Head of the UGCC to Vienna.

To the meeting with His Beatitude Sviatoslav came priests, deacons and seminarians, who reside in Austria and patronize Ukrainian laymen outside their Motherland. 

During the introduction, the priests told about the spiritual life of their communities, in particular, of the Ukrainian groups of Greek Catholics in Vienna, Salzburg, Graz, Linz, Innsbruck and Klagenfurt.

According the latest data, in Austria there are approximately six thousand Ukrainian Greek Catholics, who at least twice a year attend the Divine Liturgy. Although, as noted Fr. Oleh Kovtun, a minister at the temple of St. Barbara, the exact number of Ukrainians, who live on the territory of Austria, is difficult to ascertain. Especially this refers to the so-called old generation.  In the times of occupation of Austria by Russian troops, some of our compatriots were afraid to admit their belonging to the Ukrainian community and, because of fear, had to call themselves Austrians. Therefore today part of their descendants don't consider themselves Ukrainians already. The theme of emigration was continued by Dr. Fr. Taras Shagala, an eparch of the church of St. Barbara in Vienna: "In recent years to Austria almost two thousand students have arrived.  There are few migrant workers here because of  complicated migration laws.  Also, here live Ukrainians who work for big corporations and international concerns".

The Head of the UGCC addressed the priests with the call: "Now in our Church in Austria has an uneasy task -  the task of missionarizing. All those people should be searched for, since we even don't know their exact number".  His Beatitude Sviatoslav also emphasized the need to restructure the system of the UGCC beyond Ukraine and the need to revive the Church since the new wave of emigration has its own spiritual demands. "If we don't follow our people in an unprecedented way," continued the Head of the UGCC, "we are going to lose them." 

In the end, the Father and Head of the UGCC suggested that the priests started  the translation of  Catechism "Christ is our Pascha" into German. "This can become one more good tool in our hands on the way of enlightening the Ukrainians in Austria," - added His Beatitude Sviatoslav.

Photos given by: Ann Art

Press-service of Ordinariate for Catholics of Byzantine Rite in Austria

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Last Updated: 22 November 2016

risu.org.ua - The Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) will never agree to independence of the Ukrainian Church of the Moscow Patriarchate, said Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia on Monday, at a ceremonial act in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior on the occasion of his 70th anniversary with the participation of the heads and representatives of all 15 Local Churches, RIA Novosti reported.

“I thank His Beatitude Onufriy (UOC (MP) - Ed.). For his courage and firmness in defending the holy Orthodoxy and for the preservation of canonical unity of the Church. Our church will never leave Ukrainian brothers in trouble and will not abandon them. We will never agree to change the sacred canonical borders of the Church, because Kyiv is the spiritual cradle of holy Rus, like Mtskheta for Georgia and Kosovo or for Serbia,” Patriarch Kirill said, turning to Metropolitan Onufriy.

The hall responded to these words with applause.

Speaking of the ecclesial division in Ukraine, the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church said that “the sin of schism is healed not by violence and deceit, but through repentance and love in Christ.”

"The painful ulcer of the Ukrainian division inflicts suffering on the whole body the church, and its pain can be felt not only in Ukraine, but in the canonical territory of other local churches. The danger of division in the Church is clear to all of us,” the Patriarch said.

That is why, he added, “the anathema of the Russian Church imposed on former monk Filaret Denisenko was supported by all the Local Orthodox Churches.”

“I would like to express heartfelt gratitude to those Primates and representatives of local Churches who openly support the canonical Orthodoxy in Ukraine,” the hierarch of the ROC concluded.

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Last Updated: 22 November 2016

CWN - The Chaldean Catholic bishop of Detroit has called upon Catholics in the US and other Western nations to “adopt parishes, adopt dioceses, and adopt people” in order to “let the people there know that the people here are thinking of them and praying for them and thanking them for keeping the faith alive.”

Calling for prayer and advocacy, Bishop Frank Kalabat, who was born in Kuwait, asked US Christians to “speak up all the time” on behalf of the Middle East’s Christians, who are suffering greatly from the effects of the 2011 Arab Spring.

“If that is the spring, I’d hate to see the winter,” he said.