KYIV PRIDE AND THE ORTHODOX CHURCH OF UKRAINE by Giacomo Sanfilippo

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Kyiv Pride 2018

The Orthodox Church of Georgia, one of the world’s most ancient Orthodox Christian communities, has adopted a unique way to give the middle finger to the International Day against Homophobia, Transphobia & Biphobia each year in May: it observes “Family Purity Day” on the same date by staging a religious procession through Tbilisi and persuading several hundreds of couples to get married in mass weddings around the capital.

Despite Patriarch Ilia’s disclaimer that the event is not “against someone,” and that the “Church is distancing itself from any kinds of violence,” it seems clear that he instituted the observance as the Georgian Church’s annual anti-LGBTQ protest. In showing no pastoral concern whatever for the united cry of queer people around the globe to halt the physical and discursive violence that culminates far too often in their beatings, rapes, imprisonment, expulsion from jobs and homes, deprivation of medical services and police protections, deaths, and suicides, the Patriarch and his Church consent to this violence by their silent refusal to confront it. Silence equals consent. Read More

A GUIDE TO RUSSIAN PROPAGANDA (Video) by EuroMaidan Press

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The relevance of this Guide for readers of Orthodoxy in Dialogue lies in the complicity of the Moscow Patriarchate in the Kremlin’s endless manufacture of fake news. The main organs for the church-related disinformation campaign from Russia—particularly as it pertains to Ukraine—seem to be the Department for External Church Relations, the Union of Orthodox Journalists, and Pravmir (“Orthoworld”). These three report regularly on the nonexistent “persecution” and “violence” directed against  Ukraine’s Moscow Patriarchate adherents—nonexistent because never corroborated in the secular press such as the Kyiv Post. (For more context see our When Kremlin and Patriarchate Cry Wolf Together.)
See EuroMaidan Press for the original of this Guide and other reporting on Ukraine.

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A GUIDE TO RUSSIAN PROPAGANDA

The Russian propaganda machine produces endless streams of fakes and manipulative stories. While at times they may seem outrageous or silly, they are far from being random. Russian propaganda for both domestic and foreign audiences follows techniques that stem from Goebbel’s times. Ultimately, it is a weapon of war. In our series A guide to Russian propaganda, we examine how propaganda works, and how one can avoid falling for it.

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IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: MAY

In-Case-You-Missed-It

MAY 2019

The Face of God: Orthodoxy and Climate Change

Conjugal Friendship: Two Years Later

Pastoral Practice in the 21st Century: Some Thoughts on Premarital Counseling

Editorial: Orthodox Popery Comes to America? or Time for a Greek Orthodox Revolt in America?

Time to Depose the “Patriarch”

How Did We Get Here? The Story of the Movement for Autocephaly in Ukrainian Orthodoxy

Orthodoxy, Sexuality, and Gender in Ukraine

Ukrainian Voices from Abroad: Giacomo Sanfilippo’s Advice for Zelenskiy

Just as God Sees Them: My Response to Cardinal Burke

For How Many Rubles Will a Patriarch Sell His Soul? Read More

ECCLESIOLOGY: CONSTANTINOPLE’S PRIMACY, KYIV’S AUTOCEPHALY, AND TBILISI’S CONUNDRUM by Tamar Lomidze

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While Orthodoxy in Dialogue continues to support the autocephaly of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine as an ecclesological, pastoral, and political necessity, Ms. Lomidze’s brief report underscores the conundrum that it presents for the Church of Georgia and the other autocephalous Churches.
We have argued previously that the primacy of the Ecumenical Patriarchate in the 21st century—almost six centuries after the fall of Constantinople and twelve centuries after the last Ecumenical Council—must be formulated through ecclesial consensus and not by autocratic decree from the Phanar. (See, for instance, our Editorial: Orthodox Popery Comes to America? or Time for a Greek Orthodox Revolt in America?.)

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Catholicos-Patriarch Ilia II of All Georgia

The Synod of the Georgian Orthodox Church is about to convene in the next few days. A group of hierarchs allegedly led by Metropolitan Daniel of Chiatura and Sachkhere is up to discuss the recognition of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU), which was established in Kyiv in December 2018 and received autocephalous status from the Ecumenical Patriarch on January 5-6, 2019.

Constantinople is especially interested in the OCU’s recognition. If recognized, Metropolitan Epiphanius and his organization can augment the Ecumenical Patriarchate’s power in the Orthodox world, weaken the Moscow Patriarchate’s influence, and allow the Patriarch of Constantinople to make decisions on extremely important matters for Orthodoxy by his sole authority. Read More