On June 6, the All-Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious Organizations (AUCCRO ) published its manifesto in defense of the rights of children and families. It emphasizes that everyone has the right to a decent life in a loving family. Source: AUCCRO "Life: from natural conception to natural death. This is not a human whim or a letter of the law, it is God's plan. God created us in His own image, so each of us is called to unity with him, as well as to unity with those whom God also c...

On February 25, at 18: 30 Kyiv time, His Holiness Francis had a phone conversation with His Beatitude Sviatoslav, Head and Father of the UGCC. The Pope asked questions about the situation in Kyiv and all of Ukraine, and also assured His Beatitude Sviatoslav: "I will do everything in my power." The Holy Father also asked about the situation of bishops and priests in the territories that had been most affected by the Russian military operation. Pope Francis expressed gratitude to the Ukraini...

The Conference of Bishops of the Roman Catholic Church in Ukraine issued a message to the faithful in connection with the full-scale Russian offensive in Ukraine. The hierarchs urge us to remain calm, pray, make peace with our neighbors and take care of the most defenseless and needy. Please see the full version of the document: Dear brothers and sisters, dear compatriots! Unfortunately, this morning has started a new page in our history. In this situation, when Russia has launched a fu...

Der Konflikt um die neugegründete „Orthodoxe Kirche der Ukraine“, der vom Ökumenischen Patriarchen Bartholomaios I. im Januar dieses Jahres die Autokephalie verliehen wurde, dürfte weiter anhalten: So wurde nun in einem nächsten Schritt auf dem Weg in die vollständige Eigenständigkeit ein Programm für die eigenständige Theologenausbildung erarbeitet. Verantwortlich für das Programm zeichnet die Theologische Akademie von Volos. Die Gläubigen wurden über diesen Schritt im Rahmen der Göttlichen...

The Primate of the OCU, Metropolitan Epifaniy said this on May 24, in a speech at the Council of Bishops. The Primate's report was published on the official website of the OCU. “Since the onset of the large-scale aggression of Russia against Ukraine, about 400 religious communities, 120 clergymen and 2 monasteries have joined the OCU from the jurisdiction of the Moscow Patriarchate. Why do I say "about"? When preparing this report, we collected relevant data across the dioceses, but they ...

Unique manuscripts of the 14th century, including the Kiev Psalter and the Lavrishev Gospel from Volhynia can now be viewed online. The illuminated manuscripts with miniature illustrations were published by the Zelo Center for Research of Ancient Russian Culture, using the archives of national libraries, reports Foma in Ukraine. The Kiev Psalter was created in Kiev in 1397, with 303 miniatures on 230 pages, as well as headpieces ornamented in a neo-Byzantine style. Many of the miniatures inte...

Bei den seit einem Monat andauernden Kampfhandlungen in der Ukraine sind nach offiziellen Angaben 44 religiöse Bauten beschädigt worden. Laut ukrainischen Behörden sind 36 orthodoxe Kirchen, je drei protestantische und jüdische Gotteshäuser, eine römisch-katholische Kirche und eine Moschee betroffen. Einige der Gebäude seien vollständig zerstört, darunter auch historische Kirchen, einige seien teilweise beschädigt. Sie befinden sich in den Regionen Kiew, Donezk, Zhytomyr, Zaporizhzhja, Luhans...

To date, 53 deputies of the Verkhovna Rada have signed an appeal to the Speaker of the Ukrainian Parliament, demanding that Bill No. 8371, with which the authorities aim to ban the Orthodox Church, be sent to the Council of Europe’s advisory body on constitutional matters. The deputies ask that the European Commission for Democracy through Law, better known as the Venice Commission, examine the bill to determine whether it complies with European standards and values in the field of law, repor...

The level of trust in the Church has not changed compared to 2020: today, 70% of Ukrainians trust it. These are the results of the survey conducted by the Razumkov Center's Sociological Service. The Church enjoys the highest level of trust in the western region (86%), in the central region it is trusted by 72%, and in the South — by 62%. Only in the Eastern region, the shares of those who trust it and those who do not trust it do not differ statistically significantly (48% and 51%, respective...

The Cathedral of St. Alexander in Kyiv hosted celebrations on the occasion of the 700th anniversary of the restoration of the Diocese of Kyiv-Zhytomyr. This is reported by CREDO. The Divine service was led by Bishop-ordinary of the Diocese of Kyiv-Zhytomyr Vitaly Kryvytsky in concelebration with Apostolic Nuncio to Ukraine Visvaldas Kulbokas. "We have gathered here today to thank God for seven centuries of the history of our church in the Ukrainian open spaces," Bishop Kryvytsky said. "Thank ...

Since the beginning of the full-scale war, Russia has destroyed or damaged 78 churches in the Donetsk region, according to the head of the Donetsk Regional State Administration (RSA), Pavlo Kyrylenko. In an interview with Ukrinform, Kyrylenko stated, "The figures are as follows: 78 temples in the Donetsk region have suffered either complete or partial destruction. Of these, 46 belong to the Moscow Patriarchate,” LB.ua reports. He reminded that during the heavy fighting for Svyatohirsk, the oc...

Thousands of Orthodox faithful attended the celebrations on the occasion of the 800th anniversary of the founding of the Holy Dormition-Pochaev Lavra’s Holy Spirit Skete on the feast of the Holy Spirit. The festive Divine Liturgy was celebrated by His Eminence Metropolitan Theodore of Kamenets-Podolsky and Gorodok in the skete’s Iveron Church, reports the Lavra website. The Iveron Church was just consecrated by His Eminence Metropolitan Sergei of Ternopil and Kremenets on Sunday, June 9, comm...

Im Zentrum der ukrainischen Hauptstadt Kiew haben Aktivisten einen Marsch mit dem Titel „Gemeinsam für Frieden, gegen Gewalt“ organisiert, mit dem sie ein Zeichen gegen häusliche Gewalt setzen wollten. Sie begannen die Demonstration in der Nähe des Ministerkabinetts und forderten von der Regierung, ein Netzwerk spezialisierter Institutionen für die Opfer häuslicher Gewalt auf lokaler Ebene einzurichten. Später verlangten die Protestierenden vor dem Parlamentsgebäude die Ratifizierung der Ista...

The All-Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious Organizations pursues inter-confessional interaction in the conditions of quarantine, using the means of online communication. On March 26, a meeting of the AUCCRO Secretariat was held in the format of a video conference chaired by the senior bishop of the Ukrainian Evangelical Church Vasyl Raychynets, the Institute for Religious Freedom reports. Representatives of faiths shared their experience of conducting services in various churches an...

Der Allukrainische Rat der Kirchen und Religionsgemeinschaften hat sich gegen eine Annahme der Istanbul-Konvention, einem Übereinkommen des Europarats zur Verhütung und Bekämpfung von Gewalt gegen Frauen und häusliche Gewalt, durch die Ukraine ausgesprochen. Die Religionsvertreter begründeten ihre ablehnende Haltung damit, dass die Konvention eine für das ukrainische Rechtssystem neue Terminologie, mit Begriffen wie „Gender“, „Genderidentität“ und „sexuelle Orientierung“ einführen würde.

Andriy Yurash is pleased with the Vatican's statement on the war in Ukraine. He called the statement that Pope Francis unequivocally condemns the war started by Russia against Ukraine key in the document. Andriy Yurash said this in the comments for the Polish media outlet RAR. Andrey Yurash was asked to comment on the Vatican's statement, which was now made public in connection with the reaction to the Pope's recent words about the "innocent victim of war" Daria Dugina - the daughter of the k...

First Deputy Head of the President's Office Sergey Trofimov considers the re-registration of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate of the UOC-MP to be a pressure. Serhiy Trofimov said this in an interview with Glavkom in response to a question about why the law (No. 5309) is not implemented in Ukraine, which stipulates that a religious organization that has a center in another country must indicate this fact in its name. The official also noted that this law is being challe...

The Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Andriy Yermak had a telephone conversation with the President of the Italian Bishops' Conference Cardinal Matteo Zuppi. Source: President.gov.ua The Head of the Presidential Office noted that our country consistently pays special attention to the return of Ukrainian children illegally deported by Russia in the framework of diplomatic dialogue with all states. "You also continue your work in this direction. Thank you. This is a slow process, ...

The 30th Colloquium of European Parishes (CEP) started in Lviv on July 27. 110 European citizens, priests and laymen came to Ukraine to find the answer to the question "How to be active Christians in modern Europe" in discussions. The organizer of the forum in Ukraine is the Foundation of St Volodymyr supported by the charity Foundation "Renovabis."The most numerous groups came from Germany, France, Spain (Catalonia), Italy, Romania, Malta, Austria, Switzerland, Belgium. The Ukrainian delegat...

The NGO “Local Armenian National-Cultural Autonomy of Municipal Education in Bielogorsk District” initiated a project for the revival of St Elias Church of the X-XIV centuries, the ruins of which rest in the Bielogorsk district of the annexed Crimea, near Bagate village, reports Religion in Ukraine citing Crimea.mk.ru. “This church is a heritage of Armenian culture, architecture and urban planning. And we are determined not only to reconstruct the architectural ensemble in its original form, ...