In the Vatican on January 31, 2024, a meeting took place between Cardinal Claudio Gudgerotti, Prefect of the Dicastery for the Eastern Churches, and representatives of the Pastoral Migration Department of the UGCC. This was reported by the Secretariat of the Synod of Bishops of the UGCC. During the meeting, they discussed the situation in Ukraine and the activities of the Pastoral Migration Department of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church. Bishop Stepan presented a report on the department'...

The Pechersk District Court of Kyiv extended the term of the precautionary measures for Metropolitan Pavlo (Lebed) of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate (UOC-MP) for two months. This information was provided to Hromadske by the lawyer of Metropolitan Pavlo, Mykita Chekman. On January 22, journalist Yan Dobronosov published a video showing Metropolitan Pavlo getting into a car near the courthouse, where a hearing on his precautionary measures was taking place. According ...

Das Kirchengericht der Stadt Moskau hat am 13. Januar Erzpriester Alexej Uminskij die Priesterwürde aberkannt. Der prominente Moskauer Geistliche hatte wiederholt Russlands Angriffskrieg gegen die Ukraine kritisiert, zuletzt im November 2023 in einem Interview mit dem ehemaligen Chefredakteur des aufgelösten Radiosenders Echo Moskvy. Am 5. Januar 2024 war er vom Dienst suspendiert und von seinem Posten als Vorsteher der Dreifaltigkeitskirche an der Chochlovskij-Gasse im Zentrum Moskaus entfer...

Aus der Dreifaltigkeitskathedrale in Tbilisi ist eine Ikone entfernt worden, die Anfang Januar eine heftige gesellschaftliche Debatte in Georgien ausgelöst hatte. Die Ikone stellt die Hl. Matrona von Moskau dar, wobei das Hauptbild von kleinen Bildern mit Darstellungen aus ihrem Leben umgeben ist. Auf einer davon ist die Heilige mit dem sowjetischen Gewaltherrscher Josef Stalin, der aus Georgien stammte, zu sehen. Die Ikone war von der konservativen, prorussischen Partei Allianz der Patrioten...

Metropolit Leonid (Gorbatschov), der erste Leiter des Afrikanischen Exarchats der Russischen Orthodoxen Kirche (ROK), ist vor ein Kirchengericht gerufen worden. Von seiner Aufgabe als Exarch hatte ihn der Hl. Synod der ROK am 11. Oktober 2023 entbunden. Bereits am 9. September war er von seinem Posten als Vorsteher einer Moskauer Kirche entfernt worden. Am 27. Dezember wurde er schließlich von der temporären Leitung der Eparchie Armenien befreit und in den Ruhestand versetzt, wobei er erst 55...

On Jan. 10th, 2024, a meeting of heads and authorized representatives of Ukraine Christian Churches was held in Kyiv and Declaration of the Christian Churches of Ukraine was adopted to condemn the aggressive ideology of the Russian World. Source: IRF It is well known that the ideological basis of Russia's aggression against Ukraine, Russian war crimes, and the genocide of the Ukrainian people is the chauvinistic doctrine of the "Russian world" which is implemented, in practice, in the form o...

According to the State Service of Ukraine for Ethnic Policy and Freedom of Conscience, the total number of religious communities that changed affiliation and transitioned from the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate (UOC-MP) to the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU) in 2023 is 472 religious communities. In total, during 2022-2023, 968 communities joined the OCU. These figures were disclosed by the State Service in response to an information request from Professor Andriy Smyrnov...

Construction on an interfaith cultural and educational center in the Kommunarka section of Moscow will begin this year. The site will include an Orthodox church, a mosque, a Jewish temple, and a Buddhist temple, representing what the Russian constitution recognizes as the four traditional religions of Russia. The site will also include a social center for public activists, people with disabilities, and the elderly, and a school for the blind. It is also planned to hold educational events, wo...

Online visits are now possible to the Monastery of the Caves (Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra), the oldest Orthodox monastery in Ukraine. The initiative, under the supervision of the city of Kyiv, seeks to publicise the expansive 26-hectare monastery complex. The virtual tour encompasses several notable landmarks, including the Great Belfry, the “Ascension of the Lord” Cathedral, the “Saints Anthony and Theodosius” Church, and a section of the caverns housing the relics of the monastic com...