Mr. Lacey’s video responds to Part 1 and Part 2 of Father John Whiteford’s screed against Sister Vassa (Larin), Public Orthodoxy, and Ukraine.

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(Illustration by author)

One could hear crying, weeping, and groaning everywhere, the blood that the Tsar was shedding on a daily basis cried to the Martyr.[…] And there! The merciful and great Demetrius came around! Holy Demetrius set off to rescue his people saying, “I have other sheep that are not of this fold, and I must bring them in as well.” Demetrius himself delivered a blow to the wretched Tsar and knocked him from his horse. And those who walked with him saw it clearly, how the great Martyr had swiftly and vigorously attacked him, killing him with his spear.  (From John Staurakios, The Miracles of Holy Demetrius, 13^th century  [author’s translation and adjustment])

Philippe Buc writes in his book on War, Martyrdom, and Terror (2012) that Eastern Orthodoxy has no tradition of religious wars or even a theology that justifies violence. This might be true to some extent if one looks for a Western-style comprehensive theology of just wars. The majority of Orthodox theology does not, at a glance, mention war as an option, but only peace. The business of war will frequently be dismissed from theological works. More often will quotes appear like the ones from Canon XII of Nicaea I that explicitly compares military service to men returning “like dogs, to their own vomit.” [i] Read More

The following letter was sent out by the Orthodox Christian Studies Center at Fordham University. We reprint it here to urge Orthodoxy in Dialogue’s readers around the world to sign it. Click the three links to add your name, read the Declaration, and check daily on the updated list of signatures.

The Volos Academy in Greece co-sponsored this project with OCSC.

Dear Friends,
 
In the wake of Vladimir Putin’s unconscionable and horrendously destructive invasion of Ukraine, Orthodox Christians across the globe must face a difficult question: how can a nation whose majority embraces Orthodox Christianity possibly justify attacking and killing the people of a sibling nation, who almost all share the same faith?

How, at the beginning of Great Lent, when our tradition calls us to forgiveness, fasting, and prayer, can Orthodox Christians unleash violence and bloodshed against their brothers and sisters in Christ?
 
The painful truth, but one that we need to confront in this time of repentance, is that our own leadership, and specifically, the leadership of the Russian Orthodox Church, has developed and promoted a false teaching known as “Russkii Mir” or “Russian World,” providing Mr. Putin with the religious “blank cheque” that underwrites his heinous invasion and annexation of Russia’s peaceful, democratic neighbors: Ukraine. Read More

From the Orthodox Church in America’s Pastoral Changes of January 2022

It seems hardly surprising that the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia, whose locum tenens has gone on public record in favour of the slaughter of the Ukrainian people—including women giving birth—and the destruction of their cities, should provide a welcoming home to the OCA priest who gained instant global notoriety for his presence at the deadly January 6, 2021 pro-Trump riot. Read More