Religion and Philosophy

Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew believes there is no schism in Orthodoxy. At the same time, he is not going to take a "single step back" on the Ukrainian issue. This was stated by Patriarch Bartholomew in a comment to the newspaper Το Βήμα, Channel 24 reports. In addition, the first hierarch was asked how he assesses the course of the "new Church" in Ukraine 2 years after granting it the Tomos of autocephaly. Isn't he still worried about Pan-Orthodox unity? Bartholomew replied: "All those who question the rights and responsibilities of the Patriarchate of Constantinople question the very structure of Orthodoxy." The unity of Orthodoxy will not be tested due to the Ecumenical Patriarchate's response to the request of the Ukrainian Orthodox. Ukrainian autocephaly was an action of the responsibility of the Mother Church in relation to millions of our Orthodox brothers who...

On December 15, St. Andrew's Church has been scheduled to open to visitors. In 2009, the temple as an architectural monument was declared an emergency: the building stands on the slopes of the Dnieper and could move at any moment. From the very beginning, UAH 10 million was allocated for its restoration, and this year another UAH 6,800,000 was added. Igor Netudikhatkin, the head of the St. Andrew's Church Museum sector, told the Public in an interview what the St. Andrew's Church is like. About the restoration of the iconostasis of Rastrelli St. Andrew's Church has been a museum since 1968. Until now, maximum repair work has been carried out. The icons were in poor condition, the plots were not viewed. The left and right icon frames are the same. The icons were removed and hemmed because they...

We should pray also for those at the frontlines – especially doctors, said the Father and Head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, His Beatitude Sviatoslav, during the Liturgy at the Patriarchal Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ, broadcast online by Zhyve TV. ’Whoever wants to save his soul will destroy it, and whoever destroys it for Me will save it.’ I want to address these words to our doctors. Yesterday I saw one photo of a doctor with wounds on his forehead and face from wearing a protective mask. Dear healthcare professionals, you are at the forefront today. Your Church is with you,” assured the Head of the UGCC. As in the time of the Maidan, said the Primate, "if necessary, the whole church space will become hospitals, where we will save human lives with you,” said the Primate. His Beatitude Sviatoslav also appealed to wealthy people, owners of big, small, and...

The creation of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU) on December 15, 2018 at a Unification Council in Kyiv attended by representatives of three previously divided Orthodox jurisdictions in Ukraine, is a seismic event in world Christian history that could also have significant geopolitical repercussions. For centuries, Orthodoxy in Ukraine was subordinate to the Moscow Patriarchate of the Russian Orthodox Church, as Ukraine itself was subjected to Russian suzerainty (sometimes under the guise of Soviet “republicanism”). After the Soviet crack-up, Ukrainian Orthodoxy fractured into contentious, rival churches. Now, an independent Ukraine insisting on cultural as well as political independence from Russia will have an autocephalous, nationwide church independent of the Moscow Patriarchate. The formalization of the...

On a Sunday afternoon in the hall of Holy Spirit Church in Hamilton, a film premiered about Metropolitan Josyf Slipyj. U Spravakh Ryfy (“The Ryf Cases”) was presented by Ihor Yatsiv, the press secretary of Patriarch Sviatoslav on 12 November 2017. This documentary film was produced in Ukraine but uses archival material and interviews from Ukraine, Rome, Italy and the United States. The film’s title is a reference to all of the criminal investigations and operations attempting to liquidate the Church in western Ukraine during the post-war Soviet period. All of these operations were put into one KGB folder codenamed “Ryf.” It features the first years of Metropolitan Slipyj’s life...

In 1916 several Ukrainian families sat around a table and decided to form a parish. That parish was called Holy Spirit Ukrainian Catholic Church and in October 2016 it is celebrating its 100 year anniversary. While this is a time for celebration, the new priest at Holy Spirit, Father Andrija Petresin, also wants to remind everyone of the hardships the parish has faced over its 100 year existence. In 1916 there were several hundred families that were active participants in the religious and national life of the Ukrainian community in Hamilton, and since then that number has ebbed and flowed. The original church was built by the first wave of Ukrainians to Canada, while the second, more modern church was built by the post-war Ukrainians. These Ukrainians were traumatized by the war itself, by their own personal experiences of that war, but were familiar with Ukrainian organizational skills from their time in the DP camps. This influenced their passion for their parish which was a link to their homeland - a homeland many would never see again. In 1965, these Ukrainians organized themselves and broke ground on Hamilton’s only Ukrainian Catholic primary school...

Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall officially proclaimed 2016 as the Year of Saskatchewan Ukrainians. The proclamation acknowledges the 125th anniversary of Ukrainian immigration to Canada while recognizing contributions that Ukrainians have made to the province. Ukrainian Canadians are an important part of Sas­katchewan's cultural diversity making up 13 per cent of its population; they proudly share their identity and culture, thereby, enriching our communities. UCC Saskatchewan President Mary Ann Trischuk and Vice-President Orest Gawdyda were on hand for the official proclamation at the Saskatchewan Legislative Building and presented Premier Brad Wall with a Ukrainian shirt on behalf of UCC Saskatchewan. The...

Ever since then Maidan revolution of dignity erupted in Kyiv in November 2013, Russian propaganda has been pumped into the world in a steady stream of bilge reminiscent of what spewed out of Germany in the 1930s. That propaganda has come through governmental and putatively independent channels, through senior Kremlin officials, TV outlets like “Russia Today,” and Russian internet trolls. Most unfortunately, it has come from senior officials of the Russian Orthodox Church, who have too often misrepresented what the Kremlin is up to in Ukraine while slandering Ukraine’s Greek Catholic leaders with false accusations of...

The Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky Institute of Eastern Christian Studies at Saint Paul University in Ottawa, Canada, welcomes the announcement of the Holy Father’s meeting with Patriarch Kirill in Cuba this Friday, February 12. We consider this an opportunity for Pope Francis to raise important issues that have been of grave concern to Eastern Catholics and many others for more than two decades. Among these issues, beginning with the most recent, are the following: 1) The support by representatives of the...

Over the past year, I met with religious, cultural, and political leaders throughout Canada, Ukraine, Turkey, and the United States, discussing the prospect of establishing a single national autocephalous Ukrainian Orthodox Church recognized by the Ecumenical Patriarch. The foundation of this new Church would be based on historical precedent and the legacy of the conversion of Kyivan-Rus’ to Orthodox Christianity in 988, which, arguably, was the beginning of Orthodoxy in mainland Europe. Everyone that I met with agreed that unity of the Orthodoxies in Ukraine was a desirous and necessary goal. Most recently, from January 15th to January 25th, I travelled to...