Armenia's Turn to the West

https://www.euractiv.com/news/armenia-to-start-eu-bid-in-near-future/    

The struggle over Armenia and the Caucasus continues. The region has been caught in geopolitical wranglings since the fall of the Soviet Union thirty-five years ago.

An Evangelical Call for the State to Sanction Religious Speech

https://evangelicalfocus.com/europe/35103/patriarch-kirill-has-built-a-theological-architecture-built-to-sanctify-aggression

It would seem Tatiana Kopaleishvili, a female theologian from the Evangelical Alliance supports the notion of EU sanctions against Kirill, the Patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church. The charge is that he has employed propaganda in which the war against Ukraine is deemed by Kirill, a holy conflict. As such, given his teachings are deemed authoritative by his flock, he is guilty of war crimes and worthy of sanctions.

Christian Zionism and the Jerusalem Patriarchs

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/1/18/jerusalem-patriarch-churches-say-christian-zionism-threatens-christianity

I won't pretend the Latin, Orthodox, and other Eastern Patriarchs have some of kind of great standing with me. It's not as if I respect their Christian opinions or ethical stands on the issues of the day.

The Politics of Orthodoxy in Old Bessarabia

https://www.asianews.it/news-en/Romanian-and-Moldovan-Orthodox-Christians-in-conflict-64314.html

I have previously reported on the contest within Eastern Orthodoxy over the question of Moldova - an episode that somewhat parallels events in Ukraine.

Anti-Semitism and the GOP - Then and Now

https://forward.com/opinion/524649/trump-destroyed-guardrails-against-antisemitism-gorka-kyrie-kanye/

The concept of Anti-Semitism has become confused in our day. There is a kind of three-fold debate over race-based Anti-Semitism associated with Right-wing ideology, Anti-Zionism opposed to the state of Israel and its policies vis-à-vis the Palestinians, and even some other forms of Anti-Semitism which often defy the Left/Right divide, focusing on the corrupt nature of Western Capitalist (or for some Globalist) society and the role Jews play in the banking, academic, and political world - and of course the Hollywood and media-entertainment complexes.

A Double Standard When it Comes to Ukraine's Clampdown on Dissenting Churches

https://www.asianews.it/news-en/The-trials-of-pro-Russian-clergy-in-Ukraine-63875.html

We see supposedly Liberal Ukraine applying its Western values by dissolving denominations the state does not favour. How is this any different from what Russia is going to Evangelicals, Jehovah's Witness, and others? Or China with unregistered churches?

More Ecclesiastical Cover-Ups

https://coreyjmahler.com/adolf-hitler-christian/

I already touched on this issue a couple of years ago when LPR's Issues Etc. chose not to cover a story of an LCMS minister caught up in the attempt to overturn the 2020 election in favour of Donald Trump.

Romania's Failed Election and Shift to the Right

https://www.politico.eu/article/could-romania-break-eu-and-nato-elections-russia-influence-moldova-georgia-calin-georgescu/

https://evangelicalfocus.com/europe/29889/at-a-time-of-social-upheaval-christians-in-romania-are-very-interested-in-how-politics-and-theology-relate-to-each-other

In late November, Romania's presidential election resulted in Calin Georgescu winning the first round with 23% of the vote. He stood poised to win the second (run-off) round and yet before this could happen, the state intervened and annulled the election. After battles in the courts, it was decided that entirely new elections would take place in May of 2025. It is unclear as to whether or not Georgescu will be allowed to run again - even though he continues to lead in every poll.

Kyiv Moves to Ban the Historic Ukrainian Orthodox Church

https://apnews.com/article/ukraine-parliament-legislative-ban-ukrainian-orthodox-church-539e0f3a6d657277aa4fa93b8ec53505

We're told the Zelenskiy regime in Ukraine stands for freedom and liberal democracy. In the United States the First Amendment is often invoked as the foundation from which all the other freedoms spring. This would include the freedom of religion and nations like Russia and China are frequently castigated for denying these rights and freedoms. And yet, we see the Zelenskiy government (which embraces the fascist remnants and permutations of the World War II era) denying these basic freedoms to large sections of its population. Kyiv has intervened and has banned expressions of religion that it does not approve of - those elements of Orthodoxy that retain historical and liturgical ties to Russia. Though the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (UOC) denounced the 2022 Russian invasion and has broken formal ties with the Moscow Patriarchate, this is insufficient in the eyes of the Zelenskiy government. Because the UOC was part of the Moscow Patriarchate it must be eradicated.

More Signals from Armenia

https://eurasianet.org/armenia-sending-signals-that-it-wants-to-back-out-of-a-nuclear-energy-deal-with-russia

https://theworld.org/stories/2024/09/06/the-rise-of-an-armenian-church-opposition-leader

Yerevan continues to signal its shift to the West. There's little doubt that Moscow is alarmed as now Armenia seeks to re-orient its nuclear energy programme to the West and to cut out the Russians.

Protestantism and the Judiciary in Türkiye

https://www.asianews.it/news-en/Turkey,-Constitutional-Court:-Expulsion-of-Protestant-leaders-does-not-violate-freedom-of-faith-60914.html

Ankara fears these Western-connected congregations are a Fifth Column, a means of cycling subversion into Turkish society, laundering money, and the like. While mostly exaggeration or simply untrue, I don't doubt there are some instances where this is the case. It may even be that some church leaders don't quite understand who they're affiliating with and where their money is coming from.

Orthodox Intrigues in Moldova

https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/romanian-orthodox-church-welcomes-moldovan-priests-wanting-join-2024-04-25/

https://www.euractiv.com/section/enlargement/news/romanian-orthodox-church-welcomes-moldovan-priests-wanting-to-join/

As I have often reported, political programmes of subversion and transformation often contain a religious component. Moldova and its place in the West's Anti-Russia campaign has been overshadowed by the war in neighbouring Ukraine as well as other global conflicts, but in fact the campaign is intensifying as Brussels seeks to fast-track both Chișinău and Kyiv into the EU. Whether that actually happens or not is yet to be seen.

Rehabilitating Vlad the Impaler: The Extreme End of Revisionist Church History

https://www.christianpost.com/news/historical-dracula-was-actually-a-committed-christian.html

I've written on more than one occasion about the growth of Right-wing revisionism surrounding the Crusades. When I was growing up the Crusades were universally condemned within Evangelical and Fundamentalist circles. It was but another of the abominable episodes connected to the false Church of Rome.

Georgian Orthodoxy and East-West Intrigues

https://www.asianews.it/news-en/Conflicts-and-alleged-poisonings:-the-internal-war-in-Georgian-Church-58834.html

The sources cited here are not above scrutiny, but given the history of the Orthodox world, and the present tensions within Georgia and the Caucasus in general, the intrigues and attempted assassinations are not altogether surprising. In fact the Georgian Orthodox Church had a similar incident in 2017.

More Western Misunderstandings of Orthodoxy

https://www.npr.org/2023/09/30/1201065400/ukraine-russian-orthodox-church-tensions

Whenever these questions are addressed by Western news outlets the stories are tainted by phony democratic and liberal assumptions that are imposed on the discussion of the Church. This is true even when the discussion deals with Protestants or Roman Catholics.

Christmas and the Ukrainian Orthodox Church

There have been on again off again discussion for the past month or so over Christmas in Ukraine. And once again this has come up in the news cycle as a result of Putin's suggestion of temporary ceasefire for the Orthodox holiday.

Kidnapped: The Poison of Russian Sacralism and the Twin Dangers of Persecution and Seduction

https://evangelicalfocus.com/europe/19077/pastor-and-wife-in-mariupol-kidnapped-after-refusing-to-open-premises-for-annexation-referendum

It's very sad to read of this couple that has been seemingly kidnapped by Russian soldiers. Being in Eastern Ukraine, their congregation has undoubtedly suffered from schism, the horrors and violence of war – and now this.

Francis Tacitly Condemns NATO's Role in Fomenting the Ukraine War

https://www.politico.eu/article/pope-francis-nato-cause-ukraine-invasion-russia/

The comments of Pope Francis on Ukraine are certain to raise eyebrows. He's not following the dominant (and in many cases mandatory) narrative that the Western Establishment continues to promote.  Initially a darling of the Left, the tenure of Francis has proven to be complicated and he has alienated many. One wonders if his ambiguity on the question of Ukraine and his tacit condemnation of US-led NATO machinations in the region will not turn more of his former allies against him.

The Threat of Persecution in Ukraine

https://www.mnnonline.org/news/russian-invasion-brings-threat-of-persecution-to-ukraine/

The warning that a Russian occupation of Ukraine will potentially invite forms of persecution is true enough but at the same time it must be noted that Voice of the Martyrs (VOM), Mission Network News (MNN), and many other missions and Evangelical organisations like Door of Hope International (DOHI) are not to be fully trusted. Some radio programs spread more false information than anything else especially when it comes to politics and certainly international relations.

Serbian Orthodoxy and the Politics of the Djokovic Affair

https://premierchristian.news/en/news/article/serbian-orthodox-church-profoundly-disappointed-over-djokovic-s-visa-cancellation-asks-for-immediate-repeal-and-written-apology

In times past you wouldn't have found a Western-connected Evangelical group sympathizing with the plight and positions of the Orthodox world and indeed were Djokovic a Russian, the response would have likely been different.