Divine Dispatch 📫: 15-24 December, 2024
Greece defending Christians in Syria, Vatican's mediation role in Ukraine, Patriarch Kirill avoids EU sanctions and much more.
Welcome to Divine Dispatch, a brand new Divine Diplomacy product that tracks the pulse of church geopolitics weekly.
For those who celebrated Christmas yesterday, I wish you peace, joy, and hope this season.
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The new format is a product I aim to build in public with your support. It’s a carefully curated, one-stop shop for reliable sources and trusted insights into the complex world of church politics.
This format offers a snapshot of key stories from the often inaccessible worlds of the Orthodox Church and the Vatican, highlighting their clear political and security implications.
My name is Andreja Bogdanovski, and here’s a roundup of church developments from the past week that caught my attention.
📌 Let’s begin 3,2,1
🇬🇷 Greece assumes a greater role in protecting Christians in Syria and Libya via the Antioch Orthodox Church. See here and here.
🇺🇦 Leader of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, Sviatoslav Shevchuk, confirms that the Vatican is “not undertaking any mediation mission, nor has it been asked to do so” in Ukraine.
🇷🇺 Dmitri Trenin, the former director of the Carnegie Moscow Center, writes about different scenarios for Ukraine after Russia’s “victory”, describing the Russian Orthodox Church as a “spiritual anchor of the new state.”
🇷🇺 Russia’s Vladimir Putin has been accused of antisemitism after asserting that “ethnic Jews” are responsible for destroying the Russian Orthodox Church, a claim he made during his annual press conference in Moscow.
🇭🇺 Thanks to Hungary’s veto powers, Patriarch Kirill escapes EU sanctions (again).
🇦🇱 Albanian Orthodox Church expresses solidarity with the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (under Metropolitan Onufry) and criticises Law 8371, which bans the Russian Orthodox Church and could lead to the ban of UOC parishes in Ukraine. The Albanian Orthodox Church says Ukrainian believers face “a violation of their religious rights.”
🇻🇦Adopting a common Easter date among Catholics and Orthodox is likely as both the Ecumenical Patriarch and the Pope show readiness for such a step. See also a text by me.
🇻🇦🇺🇦 Historical first meeting between Pope Francis and Metropolitan Epifaniy (OCU), the leader of the independent Ukrainian church. See also a text by me. The meeting went unreported by the Vatican.
🇬🇪 🇷🇸 Church leaders of Georgia (here 18 Dec. and here 13 Dec.), as well as Serbia (here 22 Dec.), issued statements regarding ongoing protests in the two countries.
🇧🇬 Bulgarian Orthodox Church categorically refuses to rename the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral in Sofia after such an initiative entered the public domain.
📖 In Depth:
Natalya Frolova writes about Patriarch Kirill’s stance on the death penalty for The Insider. See also my text from November.
An article for The Conversation about the role of the Romanian Orthodox Church in the (annulled) presidential elections in Romania and Georgescu’s campaign -the ultranationalist TikTok star who won the first round.
🆎 My latest articles:
The Tablet
Independent Ukrainian Primate thanks Pope for prayers at first meeting
Syrian Christians left in fear by fall of Assad
Nicaea anniversary to witness ‘growing communion’ of Catholic and Orthodox
Balkan Insight
Balkan Pioneer: NATO’s New Deputy Chief, Radmila Sekerinska of North Macedonia
Church Times
Churches look towards one date for Easter
🔎 Developments to watch out:
6/7 January: Patriarch Kirill and Russia’s leadership messages and speeches around Christmas, which is celebrated on January 7th.
6/7 January: Christmas message of the leadership of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (formerly known as the UOC-Moscow Patriarchate). The church celebrates Christmas on this date.
10 January - US President Joe Biden will visit Italy and meet Pope Francis.
14 January - Pope Francis's autobiography (Hope) goes on sale.
20 January - US. Presidential Inauguration Day
☎️ Weekly poll:
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