Tag: Christianity

For as long as he’s been alive, Pedro Salceda has needed miracles. Lots of them.

While still in his mother’s womb, doctors discovered he had gastroschisis, a condition where a hole in his abdomen caused his intestines to develop outside his body. As soon as he was born, surgeons worked to put his intestines back into his abdomen – only to find them riddled with small holes in some places and blocked in others.

They managed to save Pedro’s life, but doctors told his parents he wouldn’t live past his fourth birthday.

But early on a recent Saturday morning, 25 years and 10 surgeries later, Pedro put on his LA Football Club jersey and got in a car with his mother and father, Gerardo and Claudia, for the three-hour drive from San Diego to Santa Paula, California. 

They came to pay tribute to Santo Niño de Atocha, a centuries-old statue of the child Jesus whose devotion in Mexico is almost comparable to that of Our Lady of Guadalupe. Santo Niño, they believe, is the reason Pedro is alive. 

“We come here out of gratitude,” said Gerardo. “He suffered from this for 20 years, and there was no solution.”

Stories like the Salcedas’ were not hard to find among the more than 2,000 people who descended on Santa Paula on May 25, when Archbishop José H. Gomez kicked off the annual two-week pilgrimage of this replica statue of the child Jesus brought from the Santo Niño shrine in Zacatecas, Mexico.

Devotion to the Holy Child image began in medieval Spain and became popular among Spanish speakers in the New World, especially in Mexico and the Philippines. 

For nearly twenty years now, the statue’s visit has drawn faithful from around the U.S. to this town in the scenic Santa Clara River Valley, transforming the little parish of Our Lady of Guadalupe into a scene resembling small-town Mexico, complete with a makeshift food court serving tamales and sugary buñuelos, pop-up shops selling religious items from Mexico, and Mariachi bands singing during Mass.

Before the Saturday vigil liturgy, a pick-up truck brought the Holy Child, sitting in a golden throne and canopy, in procession from a local park to the parish. In front and behind him followed a full marching band, folk dance troops from neighboring parishes in Ventura County, and children with feathered headdresses bearing the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe. Whether performing during the procession, trying out the different foods, or standing in line to get their Santo Niño statues blessed, everyone seemed to have something to do.

Farm workers make up the biggest contingent of worshippers Dome sees at Our Lady of Guadalupe: some Santa Paula longtime residents, others itinerant workers who spend a few months each year in the nearby fields before moving on to jobs in other parts of California.

One constant over the years is that many of these migrants to Santa Paula have hailed from Zacatecas, the North-Central Mexican state where the Santo Niño devotion started.

As the parish grew, so did a grassroots campaign to bring the Holy Child to faithful who, often due to their complicated legal status in the U.S., couldn’t return to the town of Plateros in Zacatecas, where the Santo Niño’s shrine is located. The pilgrim image made its first visit in 2007.

“The event was born from the parish itself,” explained Claudio Frias, a Zacatecas native and Guadalupe parishioner who’s lived in Santa Paula since 1970. “First they started coming from the counties nearby, then up from Fresno, Merced, Sacramento. Then Utah, Colorado, Texas.”

Apart from the Zacatecas connection, the statue also speaks to migrant workers for historical reasons.

Devotion to the Santo Niño dates to the 13th century, when parts of Spain were under Islamic rule. In the town of Atocha (located in present-day Madrid), Christian prisoners were refused food by their Muslim captors, but were allowed to be brought food by their children – a rule that meant starvation for childless prisoners.

Turning to a statue of the Virgin Mary holding her infant Son at the town’s church, the women of Atocha pleaded to the child on those prisoners’ behalf.

Soon after, the story goes, witnesses reported seeing a small child with a basket quietly slip past the prison guards to bring the hungry inmates food and water. Meanwhile, visitors to the Marian statue noticed the child’s sandals were showing signs of wear – generating the belief that it was the “Niño” himself who was making the nighttime visits.

When the Spaniards brought the devotion to Mexico centuries later, the child had a reputation as an intercessor who liked to stay on the move.

“Those little sandals tell us of a walking child, an itinerant child,” said Father José de Jesús López Acosta, rector of the sanctuary in Plateros that’s home to the original Mexican Santo Niño statue. “For that reason, many of our migrant brothers who’ve had to walk through the desert identify with Him a lot.”

López brought the pilgrim statue to Santa Paula, and will accompany it until June 9, when the Bishop of Zacatecas will come to celebrate a closing Mass expected to draw at least 5,000 people.

Back home, López has seen a surge in devotion to the Holy Child amid an increase in cartel-related kidnappings across Mexico.

“Mothers bring many images of their sons to the sanctuary to pray that if the Santo Niño allows it, their children may return home,” said the priest. “Or at least that they may be able to recover their remains for burial.”

In Santa Paula, visitors asked for health, protection, and strength to endure difficulties – but brought prayers of thanksgiving, too.

Jessica Sanchez came from Bakersfield with her husband and 11-month-old daughter, Eloise, who was born with what doctors worried was cancer in her lymph nodes. Sanchez’s mother, a Zacatecas native who attributes her multiple recoveries from cancer to the Santo Niño’s intercession, encouraged them to ask for his help. Three months later, X-rays showed “there was nothing there.”

“It’s my first time coming, actually,” said Sanchez. “I would hear about [the Santo Niño’s visit], but after the whole thing with my baby, I said, ‘We should make the drive.’ ”

Years ago, Carmela Arellano of Palmdale asked the Santo Niño to intercede for her own infant, who could only swallow water and rice due to a problem with his esophagus. Arellano made a manda, or promise, to the Santo Niño:  if he healed her son, she would visit his shrine in Plateros and fill his altar with flowers. Soon, the boy’s ailment went away.

Until they can return to Mexico to fulfill the manda, Carmela and her husband Antonio come each year to Santa Paula.

“Sometimes we come when he arrives, other times when he leaves. But we have to be here by law,” said Antonio with a laugh.

After the Saturday evening Mass, celebrated outdoors by Archbishop Gomez, Pedro embraced his mom, Claudia, near a white Santo Niño statue in the parish patio.

“I know that if I went through this, it was to make me a stronger person,” said Pedro, whose intestinal problems have stopped since a successful operation at the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio three years ago. “Although I suffered a lot, everything had a reason.”

Incidentally, the elder Salceda’s belief in the Holy Child came from his mother’s prayers for an intestinal problem (unrelated to his son’s) he had as a young boy. Asking for miracles, Gerardo says, takes patience.

“Everything has its time, and God knows when to act.”

Photo: AP Photo / Maya Alleruzzo   

When you start talking to people about The Mystery of Primordial Paradise. Part 1. What is life in Paradise like?Divine Revelation tells us that God didn’t place man in the primordial Paradise to relax under the palms and pick the fruit of the trees of Paradise.

“>Paradise and/or On The Sufferings in Hell and the Kingdom of GodThe kingdom of God is within you (Lk. 17:21), said the Lord; that is, in the heart. Therefore, it is necessary to seek it out in the heart, cleansing it of the passions and assaults of the enemy, judging and reproaching no one…—St. Macarius of Optina”>hell, you face a fairly well-established notion of them as a reward or retribution from God in the afterlife. People see Paradise as the final reward for a righteous and good way of life,¹ and hell as the final punishment for a sinful and evil one.²

At the same time, they are understood as something external to man, something that he is still approaching and inherits only after death and then only partially—that is, only with his soul, and eventually with his whole being (with his soul and body) after the universal Resurrection and the On the Last JudgmentThe Gospel calls to purity and a pious life us who await the “day of the Lord”.

“>Last Judgment.

Hell and Paradise are imagined as special external—first spiritual, and then physical—states, certain places and “time periods” of a person’s afterlife.

In this perspective, the relationship with God is built according to a simple business scheme, expressed by the proverb: “You scratch my back and I will scratch yours.” I give God my righteous thoughts, words and deeds during my earthly life, and God grants me eternal Heavenly bliss after death.

If we look at ourselves honestly, it is clear that each one of us, with very rare exceptions, does not fulfill his obligations under the “contract” with God and therefore rightly deserves hell.

Thus, our only hope is What Is True Repentance?True repentance is impossible without the renewal of a constant petition, invocation, repentant falling, prayer, and supplication to the Heavenly Father. It’s also a sign of the forgiveness of sins—the constant turning of the mind and heart to God.

“>repentance on the model of the Gospel Good Thief, who, by his prayer of repentance alone, Lord, remember me when Thou comest into Thy kingdom (Lk. 23:42), was immediately vouchsafed the Heavenly Kingdom by Christ. He managed to “jump into the last car of the departing train” of salvation, as it were.

Based on this example and their vanity, many make a false and crafty conclusion that repentance at the end of earthly life is enough for their salvation, and therefore, before that they can enjoy all the pleasures of life without denying themselves anything.

However, from the Gospel perspective, hell and Paradise are not so much rewards/retributions in the afterlife and people’s “abodes”, as they are the inner states of human hearts here and now, during our earthly lives. Just as the Kingdom of God is within you (Lk. 17:21), so is hell within us.

Besides, if in the afterlife they are separated, so that there is a great gulf fixed (Lk. 16:26) between them and they can’t cross over or each other, then here on earth they often coexist in the same heart,³ are expressed by the same tongue,⁴ manifest themselves in actions of one and the same person, and are mixed to the point that they are extremely difficult to separate from each other, like the mixing of the wheat and the tares in the Lord’s parable.⁵

It is imperative for us to understand that hell and Paradise are not somewhere “out there” and in an uncertain moment in the future, but already here and now; that the everlasting Heavenly bliss and torments of hell in the afterlife are the natural fruits and natural consequences of our earthly lives: our intentions, thoughts, decisions, words, deeds, feelings, will, reason, and attitude towards God and our neighbor.

As the Apostle Paul said, Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting (Gal. 6:7–8). By his own will, words and deeds everyone sows in himself either hell or Paradise, either life or death.⁶

By committing sin, we already plunge ourselves into the infernal abyss here, incur burning reproaches of conscience, harm our spiritual, mental and physical health, and often kill ourselves; we set ourselves in opposition to others, feud with them and with God, suffering from all this. He who commits a sin thereby punishes himself, for sin as the destruction of relations with God, our neighbors, and the world, and already contains retribution for it.⁷

Therefore, hell is Sin Is Marriage with SatanSin will never lead us to good; it brings only evil, torment, and suffering. It’s the consequence of our deeds, not the punishment of God.

“>sin, and sin is hell. Just as a path is inseparable from its goal and is meaningless without it, just as a tree is inseparable from its fruits and loses its meaning without them, so hell is inseparable from sin and is absolutely inconceivable without it.

Unlike the “hell beyond the grave”, the situation with our “earthly hell” is made easier by the opportunity to be distracted from our sins, obscuring them in our consciousness with new interests, work, chores, hobbies and pleasures, pushing them out of our memory and forgetting them as if nothing had happened. Therefore, sin is often perceived by many as a tolerable, acceptable, and even normal pattern of behavior.

Man seeks to drown out his spiritual torments, mental anguish and bodily suffering on earth with sensual pleasures, entertainment, and amusements; for example, with drugs. A secular person is guided by the “commandment” of, “Strive for pleasure and avoid suffering.”⁸

It is especially easy and convenient for non-believers to “anesthetize” the tragic and painful consequences of sins and even justify them, making them a natural “norm”. “If there is no God, then there is no soul, no existence beyond the grave,” they argue: “if so, then Let us eat and drink; for tomorrow we die (1 Cor. 15:32).”

A person gets used to living irresponsibly and believes that it can continue until his death, which will be followed by non–existence. “As long as we exist, death is not here. And when it does come, we will no longer exist,”⁹ they argue, like the ancient Epicureans.

In this case, there is no one to answer to, no one from above will judge or punish you. This means that only man himself is the master of his life, he alone is the measure of good and evil, the criterion of truth and reality—in essence, a god to himself. “If there is no God, then everything is permitted.”¹⁰ As the ancient godless sophists used to say: “Man is the measure of all things—of the things that are, that they are, and of the things that are not, that they are not.”¹¹

“And what about conscience?” you may ask.

“It’s a chimera created by humans themselves,” they will reply. “The prejudices imposed on us by society about good and evil.”¹²

This shameless worship of man is the deep psychological cause of atheism and agnosticism, the basis of their rootedness in culture, the source of their power, attractiveness and influence on human minds and hearts.

There is always hedonistic selfishness behind agnosticism and atheism. It is their origin, source, root and foundation. It is in it that they draw their inspiration and driving force.¹³ Vanity and pride, if not combated, naturally grow in someone’s heart to the point that they supplant and expel faith in God from it, leaving there only faith in himself.

First of all, faith in God is a feat of self-denial for a self-loving person.

The Apostle Paul addresses his disciple and each one of us, Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses (1 Tim. 6:12).

Faith in God is a Deadly Cross for Human PrideFrom the moment you meet and convert to Christ, your intensely difficult spiritual work begins of self-improvement, of being transformed into the image and likeness of Jesus of Nazareth.

“>Part 2

When I was an evangelical pastor, many of my colleagues were preoccupied with the “end times.” The airwaves were alive with preachers predicting Jesus’ imminent return. And bestselling books gave dates to mark on your calendar. The Greek word parousia entered the vocabulary of ordinary English-speaking Christians.

Christians have always used parousia to denote the coming of Christ, with all its attendant events, such as judgment and the renewal of the world.

In popular Christian parlance, though, it has come to mean, specifically, Christ’s return in glory at the end of time. Jesus himself used the term to describe that eschatological moment: “as the lightning comes from the east and shines as far as the west, so will be the coming [parousia] of the Son of man.”

But parousia did not always refer to spectacular future events. In the New Testament — in most instances — parousia meant something simple and ordinary.

For example, when St. Paul spoke of his own parousia, he gave it a self-deprecating cast. In Second Corinthians 10:10, he’s talking about his critics, and he says: “For they say, ‘His letters are weighty and strong, but his bodily presence is weak.’ ” In that sentence, the translators render parousia as Paul’s “bodily presence,” which is unimpressive. Paul uses the word in the same way in his Letter to the Philippians (2:12).

Jesus may have intended the same humble connotations.

None of this rules out a parousia of Christ at the end of history. Theologians call that “coming” of Christ the “final advent” or “plenary parousia” — not because Christ will have a greater fullness, but because humankind will be able to behold him in his fullness.

Since Jesus’ first coming, he is present in the world in a way that he was not during the old covenant. Yet he remains veiled in a way that he will not be veiled at the consummation of history.

In his incarnation, Jesus came; and, as he passed from human sight, he promised to sustain his presence forever: “I am with you always, to the close of the age.” Thus, his parousia — his presence — remained with Christians even as they prayed for its plenitude.

The scholar Jaroslav Pelikan observed that in the early Church, “The coming of Christ was ‘already’ and ‘not yet’: he had come already — in the incarnation, and on the basis of the incarnation would come in the Eucharist; he had come already in the Eucharist, and would come at the last in the new cup that he would drink with them in his Father’s kingdom.” The Mass was “a way of celebrating the presence of one who had promised to return.”

What the ancients saw in the liturgy was the coming of Christ: the parousia; and what they meant by parousia is what Catholic theology came to express as the “real presence” of Jesus Christ.

The parousia is what the Church celebrates at every Mass and in every act of Eucharistic adoration — and on the feast of Corpus Christi, which this year falls on Sunday, June 2, in the United States.

Are Hell and Paradise Outside Ourselves?The everlasting Heavenly bliss and torments of hell in the afterlife are the natural fruits and natural consequences of our earthly lives.

“>Part 1: Paradise and Hell Are Already Here and Now. Part 1

The Parable of the Wheat and the Tares     

Faith in God is a deadly cross for human Pride is the First Daughter of the DevilFirst of all, we need to love God, because for this temporary life He gave us such a large, comfortable earth, a great variety of plants, springs, rivers, seas, fish, animals, as well as air, fire, day, night, sky, stars, sun, and moon.

“>pride and a painful crucifixion for selfishness.

The Lord testified to this: Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit. He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal (Jn. 12:24–25).

That is why it is so hard for us to come to believe in the Lord sincerely and wholeheartedly; or rather, it is absolutely impossible by our efforts alone, without grace and help from above.

To come to believe in Christ you first need to meet Him, by hearing and responding to His call, so that He Himself can touch your heart with His Spirit and kindle a gentle flickering of faith in it. As long as there has been no such touch, you in fact are not yet a believer. Your faith is not yet living, burning, or spiritualized. Either you have no faith or it has a superficial, formal, and worldly nature.¹ Without faith quickened by the spirit you are still outside the fold of Christ,² outside His Body, the Church.³

At the same time, outwardly you may seem to yourself and to others a believer, since you correspond to certain formal indicators. For example, you are baptized, know the basics of the Christian faith and attend church services. “But this is not enough,” as one poet said.⁴ Such people lack the most important thing—being inwardly filled with the Holy Spirit.⁵ One of His most precious gifts is sincere faith in the Lord.

Every person needs to take pains to ensure the presence in his soul of a living, gracious flickering of Christian faith, without which all our words and deeds become futile, worldly and vain, and our whole life loses its salvific meaning.

It is through the Lord’s kindling the flame of faith in the human heart that a grace-filled seed of paradisiacal life begins to dwell and grow in it, struggling through to the Light through the thorns of sinful passions.

From the moment you meet and convert to Christ, your intensely difficult spiritual work begins of self-improvement, of being transformed into the image and likeness of Jesus of Nazareth. The Lord Himself compared this work to cultivating a field diligently to reap a good and rich harvest.⁶

The preparation of the soil for sowing corresponds to your life before meeting Christ, when the “soil” of your soul is softened and humbled by trials, discoveries, sorrows, joys, meetings and separations, fascinations and disappointments, losses and acquisitions.

The tool that “digs up” and “loosens” the “soil” of your heart is the cross that we all have to bear. By bearing it or rejecting it you accumulate positive or negative experience, realizing your weakness and dependence on others, humbling yourself, growing wiser, and becoming more open to hearing the call of the Lord.

Sowing corresponds to meeting with The Parable of the SowerWhoever desires to know the truth, whoever does not silence the voice of conscience within himself, let him ponder the meaning of this parable and apply it to himself…

“>Christ the Sower, Who sows into our hearts the seed of living faith. At first this seed is tiny; however, as it gradually grows, it embraces one’s entire being.⁷

The germination of wheat and its growth together with weeds corresponds to the stage of ascetic labor or spiritual warfare—the practice of implanting virtues and eradicating sinful passions. This stage can end in both defeat and victory for you.

In case of defeat in spiritual warfare the seeds and/or buds of faith are completely choked by the weeds of sinful passions, plunging your soul into the darkness of unbelief, despondency and eternal perdition.

If there is victory, the tares of sinful passions are completely eradicated and destroyed in your heart, which becomes a field covered with pure, virtuous wheat that has yielded a rich harvest. The whole person is filled with the grace of God, attains salvation and inherits Gospel beatitude.⁸

Reaping the harvest corresponds, firstly, to your final spiritual state at the end of your earthly life; secondly, to the partial judgment that takes place after your death; and thirdly, to the universal Last Judgment of all people by Christ. At the very end, the Lord will sum up our earthly lives and pronounce His righteous judgment based on the absolute knowledge of what is in our souls, and all the spiritual and worldly fruits that we have yielded, both good and evil.

As a result of God’s judgment, some will be vouchsafed a festive wedding banquet—that is, an everlasting blessed celebration in the Heavenly Kingdom, while others will be cast… into outer darkness: there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth (Mt. 25:30).

Thus, hell and Paradise begin and grow already here on earth, in the human hearts. God and the devil are in a battle for authority over these hearts. At the same time, each one of us consciously and voluntarily takes sides, “planting” and “cultivating” either hell or Paradise, or both alternately. Ultimately, every person brings himself to a state of either Paradise or hell here on earth, voluntarily joining the ranks of either the disciples or the enemies of Christ. In effect, by their seeds, shoots, stalks, and first fruits, Paradise and hell are here in earthly life, while in the afterlife are only the final, sublime fruits.

In this regard, , all the arguments by, on one hand, supporters of the theory of universal salvation,⁹ and on the other hand, by atheists, that the torments of hell are a manifestation of God’s cruelty, contrary to His absolute Love, are completely incorrect. The former conclude from this that hell is a temporary state and everyone, even the demons, will eventually be saved by our loving God; the latter conclude that Christianity is fundamentally contradictory, and if so, then there is no God, nor can there be.¹⁰ If there is an eternal hell, then there is no God of Love! That’s what they think. Therefore, “if we accept God, we should reject hell; if we accept hell, we should reject God.”

In reality, the presence of eternal torments in hell is a manifestation of God’s respect for human freedom, which, in turn, is a manifestation of His love. God respects and accepts our free choices, even if they are hostile to His will. If someone decides to live without God, tormenting himself with his own sins, God gives him the opportunity to do so (to use an Orthodox term, He allows it).¹¹

Thus, the responsibility for the fact that someone by his own sins ended up in this godless and painful state in hell, and not in Paradise, lies on him alone. An unrepentant sinner brings himself to such a godless state—that is, hostile to God—in which the love of God becomes an unbearable source of suffering for him. For those possessed by malice, the most unpleasant, detestable and painful thing is goodness, just as for those possessed by darkness, worst of all is the light. He who hates everyone and everything perceives the light of God’s love as a burning and tormenting fire.

Descending the ladder of sinful passions, which are based on satanic pride, a sinner, with the help of evil spirits, naturally brings himself into a state of hatred and malice towards God, his neighbors, the world, and even himself—a state of utter loneliness, the deepest disappointment, hopeless despondency and the unwillingness to live.

According to the Holy Fathers, the seed or root of all passions is self-love, which consists of striving for sensual pleasures. The first passion that originates from self–love is gluttony. From gluttony comes the passion of the love of money; from them both—the passion of lust; from the three of them—the passion of vanity; from vanity comes pride; from vanity and pride comes anger, from anger comes sadness, and lastly, from sadness comes despondency.¹²

Sin begins with pleasure and the hope that this pleasure will only increase and intensify. It ends in anxiety, worries, doubts, fear, illnesses, suffering, total disappointment and everlasting perdition. A sinner who does not repent and does not reform is eventually left with nothing in his life.

The state of hell is that of cold, empty darkness, filled only with pangs of conscience, an awareness of a life lived meaninglessly and abominably, and an insatiable thirst for pleasure that can no longer be satiated, along with a strong fear of an eternity filled with suffering.

There is no need for physical torment in such a hell! It is so frightening and terrible. At the same time, it is entirely the work of human hands,¹³ the totality of your conscious and voluntary aspirations, beliefs, words and actions directed against God and your neighbors. There is absolutely no one to blame for it except yourself.

The opposite of this, by ascending the ladder of virtues based on Divine humility, with God’s help a believer, naturally attains a state of profound conciliar unity with God, with his neighbors, the world, and with himself in love, which fills his whole being with joy, gratitude and a sense of the infinite fullness of being and life.

This is a state of absolute enlightenment by the Light of Christ, in which you completely come to know God, others, the world, and yourself as you yourself are known by God.¹⁴ Your whole being becomes a sanctified temple of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, filled with the grace of the Holy Trinity.¹⁵

According to the Holy Fathers, the seed or root of all virtues is humility, which opens the human heart to the grace of God, inviting into it Christ Himself—Who humbly stands at the door, knocking at it and waiting for us to open and invite Him to enter.¹⁶ First of all, abstinence originates from humility, from abstinence, chastity, from chastity and other virtues, patience, meekness and mercy, ad from them, love. And love fills you with infinite, grateful joy.¹⁷

So, by living with God on earth, being in communion with Him, in Paradise we simply attain the fullness of communion with God, bringing the Paradise of our souls to the infinity of Divine love. If we live only for ourselves on earth, for our selfish desires, then after death we find ourselves in the proud void of loneliness, bringing the hell of our souls to the infinity of satanic malice. We ourselves are the free creators of our eternity—either blissful or agonizing, either Heaven or hell.

On June 1, Archbishop José H. Gomez will ordain 11 new priests for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels.

In the days leading up to their ordination, we’ll be introducing a new soon-to-be Father. Los Angeles, meet your new priests!

Age: 34

Hometown: Modesto

Home parish: St. Kateri Tekakwitha Church, Santa Clarita

Parish assignment: St. Kateri Tekakwitha Church, Santa Clarita

For being the happiest place on earth, working at Disney World ultimately isn’t what made Stephen Watson happy.

Working in the culinary world, he had reached a dream destination but was still left unfulfilled.

This was where Watson found himself: A culinary graduate from Modesto who had landed a dream gig at Disney World, and was now grinding 75 hours a week as a caterer in Portland, Oregon.

“I do think it was God’s way of saying if this is what you want to do, I think you need to do it before you come to me,” Watson said.

The middle child of five kids, Watson grew up the “peacekeeper” in his family and with a more agricultural upbringing having been raised in Modesto. Rather than taking physics or chemistry in school, he studied agricultural science or horticulture.

Not that school was something that was interesting to him

“While I was in high school, I made the decision that I wasn’t going to a four-year college,” Watson said. “It wasn’t that I didn’t like school or I wasn’t good at it. It just didn’t appeal to me.”

What he did enjoy was cooking, and especially baking. After graduating high school, he attended culinary school in Portland, where he had family living.

And that’s where the Disney World opportunity came to be, with a Disney representative at the school offering a 1-in-2,500 chance to join its culinary intern program.

Incredibly, Watson earned the spot.

“I don’t know how,” he said.

During this time, balancing all that was going on in his life, he had fallen away from the Church.

Back in Portland and working as a caterer, he decided to start going back to Mass and later to adoration regularly.

It was then he realized that he had been following the wrong path and so did what anyone might do in 2010: He messaged his parish pastor on Facebook, “Father, can we talk?”

Waiting outside the pastor’s office, he finally had this undeniable feeling he was meant to become a priest.

“He said, ‘Stephen, what do you want to talk about?’ ” Watson said.

“I said, ‘Well, Father, I think I might be called to be a priest.’

“That’s great. How long have you been thinking about it?”

“Well, about five seconds.”

When it came to telling his family, he planned to make a big meal and read a letter he had written because he didn’t think he could say it out loud.

“I read them this letter thinking it would be this grand revelation, and they all said, ‘Oh, we knew that,’ ” Watson said.

Then discernment came, and like the rest of his life so far, that process wasn’t a straight line either. After a few months of spiritual direction, he was told that he needed to make a decision, take a leap of faith, and enter into a formation program.

Having already gone from Modesto to Florida to Oregon, Watson found himself in San Diego at a formation house run by the Eudists. He spent nine years there, but not after discerning out after a few years and spending a year in France.

In 2017, he entered St. John’s Seminary and finally felt like he had found the right fit and where he was called to be.

“Like in dating, it takes a couple of people before you get to the right one,” Watson said.

As his ordination arrives, and after a formation journey that lasted 14 years, he is ready to serve in a region that did not start out as his home but has become one.

“At 17 or 18 years old, if you were to ask me to move to Los Angeles and become a priest here, I could not have imagined that,” Watson said. “God was the great storyteller and the one who married our lives that really brought me here.”

New Prokopion, Evia, Greece, May 28, 2024

Photo: YouTube     

It was announced earlier this month that a portion of the right hand of St. John the Russian and Confessor, whose relics are on the island of EuboiaThe Holy Confessor John the Russian was born in Little Russia around 1690, and was raised in piety and love for the Church of God. Upon attaining the age of maturity he was called to military service, and he served as a simple soldier in the army of Peter I and took part in the Russo-Turkish War. During the Prutsk Campaign of 1711 he and other soldiers were captured by the Tatars, who handed him over to the commander of the Turkish cavalry.

“>St. John the Russian would be reunited with the full body of the saint during the annual pilgrimage held in his honor in Evia, Greece, at the end of May.

Metropolitan Chrysostomos of Chalkida of the Orthodox Church of Greece noted that the right hand has long been separated from the rest of the relics, replaced by a golden replica. “But the astonishing news is that at this year’s feast of the saint, we’ll have his hand returned,” the hierarch said, reports newsbomb.gr.

The bishop explained that it had come to his attention that a portion of the right hand had been preserved and protected by a devout family, and through their spiritual father, he encouraged them to give the precious relics to be placed with the fullness of St. John’s relics in the church built in his honor in New Prokopion, Evia.

Photo: newsbomb.gr     

St. Panteleimon’s Monastery on Mt. Athos is also home to another portion of St. John’s right hand.

This year’s festivities, centered on the commemoration of St. John on Sunday evening and Monday, May 26-27, also marked the 100th anniversary of the transfer of his relics from Cappadocia to Evia. More than a thousand pilgrims began arriving to venerate the saint as early as Pilgrimage to relics of St. John the Russian in Evia draws 1,500+The holy walk, held on Sunday, May 19, marks the 9th annual Pilgrimage organized by the Region of Central Greece with the blessing and support of the Metropolis of Chalkida.

“>May 19.

And on Sunday afternoon, before the start of the solemn Vespers, the precious right hand was received by Archbishop Ieronymos of Athens, stirring the faithful to great emotion.

​

“The relic of St. John the Russian represents the future of all human bodies. The human body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. This body will be resurrected at the second coming. The body of St. John the Russian foreshadows immortality,” the Archbishop said.

That evening, an all-night vigil was held until the early hours of Monday morning. On Monday morning, Metropolitan Georgios of Karpenisi presided over the Orthros service, and Metropolitan Nikandros of Eirenoupolis led the Hierarchical Divine Liturgy.

Photo: newsbomb.gr     

Following the service, a procession with the holy relics of St. John was held through the streets of Neo Prokopion. In the city square, a prayer service for the health of all pilgrims was held.

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St. Bernard of Menthon was born in 923 in Savoy. He was a member of a rich, noble family, and received the best in education. Although his father arranged an honorable marriage for him, Bernard refused, devoting himself instead to serving the Church. 

Under the guidance of Peter, Archdeacon of Aosta, Bernard was ordained a priest and was made archdeacon of Aosta in 966. He devoted himself to the conversion of his people, and for 42 years, he preached the Gospel in the area. He converted many, and performed many miracles. 

Since ancient times, there was a path across the Pennine Alps that led from Aosta to the Swiss canton of Valais. The pass is covered in perpetual snow, usually 7-8 feet deep, and drifts sometimes accumulate up to 40 feet. The pass was extremely dangerous, but often used by pilgrims traveling to Rome. 

In 962, Bernard founded a monastery and hospice at the highest point of the pass, 8,000 feet above sea-level. A few years later, he established another hospice on a mountain of the Graian Alps, 7,076 feet above sea-level. He placed both in the care of Augustinian monks. 

These hospices are known for their generosity and hospitality for all travelers who use what are now called the Great and Little St. Bernard passes over the mountain, in honor of their founder. Throughout the year, the heroic monks, and their well-trained dogs, go out in search of travelers who may have been victims of bad weather, offering them food, clothing, and shelter when needed.

St. Bernard was interred in the cloister of St. Lawrence after his death. He was venerated as a saint from the 12th century on in many places, and was canonized by Innocent XI in 1681. 

On February 3, 2021, a solemn award ceremony took place in the Transfiguration Church in Moscow, when the volunteers of the “Miloserdie” (“Charity”) mercy service who volunteered at the time of the pandemic were presented thank you letters from the City of Moscow’s labor and social security department.

We were able to talk to a few of them:

    

Julia, a volunteer (since a few months ago):

“I’m a new volunteer who started as recently as March of last year. Volunteering has always been a part of me, but I guess everything comes when the time is right.

It just so happened that my aunt fell seriously ill and we kept visiting her in the hospital. I noticed there were lonely patients there who never received any visitors. So, I think, it was then when I already began to think about the ways to help the lonely hospital patients.

Then I stumbled upon a free newspaper where I read an article written by a sister of mercy from the St. Dimitry Sisterhood. She spoke about volunteering in hospitals and concluded by inviting anyone interested to receive training in the School of Mercy at the Church of the Holy Blessed Tsarevich Dimitry.

In actual practice, not everyone can join the volunteeri force, as you must have the ability and free time to do this. With God’s help, everything worked out for me. When my children started school, I had more time and my husband enthusiastically supported my desire to become a volunteer.

My day goes like this: I take the children to school and rush happily to the hospital to get there in time for the breakfast routine.

When I became a volunteer, it somehow changed me from within and I had a huge sudden increase in motivation and spiritual joy. Even my husband noticed it as he kept saying: “You should go there more often!” (she laughs).

Then suddenly the pandemic started. So, we couldn’t visit hospitals as easily as before… But how could we leave our sisters, our angels, behind?! I learned from them by observing how lovingly and attentively they treated patients; it was their main lesson. They always stayed so calm and never panicked, but at the same time they used all possible precautionary measures. We had been given gloves, masks, special goggles and gowns. So, there was more danger of getting sick outside the hospital.

Every day our coordinator Natalia would call us to check about our health. I felt such care and love from the sisters and it energized me to help even more as a volunteer.

When the Lord allows at least one member of a family to work as a volunteer, it is beneficial for the family as a whole

I think when the Lord gives time and opportunity to at least one family member to work as a volunteer, it benefits the whole family.

When I found out that we are to be rewarded, I can say in all honesty: I was really surprised! Our award awaits us in heaven, and all believers know that. As for something like this, an earthly reward… Sure, you don’t expect it, you aren’t seeking material awards. Because it can actually cause you harm. But then I thought that it still comes from the Lord, I accepted it with gratitude.”

Oleg, a volunteer (has been volunteering for twelve years):

“I was baptized fourteen years ago and it was then I realized that I needed to make a radical change in my life. In the Old Testament, Moses says that we should work for ourselves for six days a week and dedicate one day to the Lord. And so, I began to look for such an opportunity. Probably, when we already feel the urge to give ourselves to others, the Lord Himself directs us where we need to be.

One day I struck up a conversation with a man who lives in the same block of flats as me. It often happens this way—people live next to each other, but they barely if ever speak with one another. But for some reason we did have a conversation and I learned from him about the Church of Tsarevich Dimitry at the First Municipal Hospital.

We used to attend another church, but most of its parishioners were elderly people, the so-called grannies, who were always willing to help us with our children, which was quite nice. But when we came to the Church of Tsarevich Dimitry, I was struck by the fact that it had a really immense number of young people and that everyone interested could come together for a common meal, and socialize after liturgy. It was exactly what I was looking for. We became regular parishioners of this church and that’s where I learned that they have a group of people who go and assist the sisters in the hospital’s neurology department. That’s how I became a volunteer for the “Miloserdie” mercy service.

At first, we helped them to do the cleaning, dusting the bedside stands, and later, when we were deemed sufficiently prepared, we were allowed to change diapers. It is often very important when a male patient gets his diaper changed by a male assistant. A patient may become embarrassed if a woman does it. And as for the Muslims, it is a prerequisite.

Julia, Alexey, Svetlana, Oleg. Photo by: Pelagia Zamiatina   

By the way, not all of our volunteers are Orthodox, as there is one Muslim in our midst.

In fact, not everyone can afford to come and volunteer. Some have to work a lot and he don’t have any extra time at all. I always inform Natalia, our coordinator, what day and what time I am available and she adjusts the schedule so that it is convenient for me. Of course, it is a great joy to have such an opportunity to volunteer.

When you have such a circle of people around you—extraordinary people—you begin to see changes inside you, too. As for our sisters, they are in a league of their own! We are simply amazed at the level of spirituality, patience and love they display while they care for the sick. You are immersed in a different world, full of good stories and good people, and it simply cannot but transform you as well!

You are immersed in a world full of good stories and good people, and it just cannot but change you as well

For example, one case registered in my mind, and it has to do with a canteen worker named Valentina. She is a woman of exceptional kindness who always helps everyone. We had at the time one young, strong patient who was recovering after a stroke. His body was paralyzed on one side. Using his opposite, healthy hand and foot, he desperately resisted every attempt to care for him and he could actually hit someone with his healthy hand. Besides, he was muscular, strong-bodied, and very healthy-looking guy. But, after the stroke he became delusional. No one could change his diaper and he didn’t want to let anyone near him.

Then Valentina, the canteen worker, comes up to him and tells him ever so tenderly and sweetly: “Oh, honey, what is it with you? Just hold on for a little while!” The guy froze once he saw her loving eyes fixed at him. And so, saying all those affectionate words, she calmly continued to change his diaper, and he let her do it. When you see people like her, you start seeing the world outside quite differently. It sobers you up, and you suddenly begin to find joy in ordinary things. Like in the fact that you’re healthy and you can take care of yourself.

When the pandemic came, I had no fear of getting infected. You know, it’s much better to have COVID-19 and Christ than to have neither COVID-19 nor Christ. (he laughs).

But speaking seriously, we had to wear such protective gear and there were so many security measures in the hospital that it was impossible to get infected in the hospital. I take the bus on my way home daily, and I think it’s much more dangerous there than in our hospital.

Of course, none of us expected to get any awards. We, as believers, know that material awards can only feed our vanity and we should try to avoid it… But, if a decision was made like that, it was meant to be then. We’re grateful for everything!”

Tatiana, the volunteer (has been volunteering for three years):

“I’ve been a practicing Christian for a very long time and so I was looking for opportunities to do some good deeds. One day I just searched online for “Orthodox Volunteers”, and the first link that came out was the “Miloserdie” mercy service. That’s how I became a volunteer.

I work in commerce, but on weekends I come to assist at the hospital. When I first started I wasn’t married, and had a lot of free time on my hands. But now I have a husband—and he was very happy when he found out I was a volunteer. Perhaps when we have children, I can’t rule out that I am going to have less time to do this.

My biggest worry is when I feel that the sick people we care for are prone to depression and despondency. You attempt to speak to them, but they want nothing, they don’t even want to eat. Then it becomes really scary, because—what if they never grow interested in life again?!

At the same time, it is such joy to observe the patients helping each other. Those who can walk give a hand to those who are bedridden. It is really exciting to see this, and it does happen often.

I decided to take the fact that we were rewarded as true volunteers. I was told to go and receive the award, and that means I should go and receive it.”

Bulgaria, May 27, 2024

​Bulgarian hierarch Met. Nicholas of Plovdiv embraces “Archbishop” Evstraty Zorya of the schismatic “Orthodox Church of Ukraine,” one of the main enemies of Orthodoxy in Ukraine. Photo: ec-patr.org     

On May 19, five hierarchs of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church (three metropolitans and two bishops) concelebrated with representatives of the schismatic “Orthodox Church of Ukraine” for the first time, while the Bulgarian Holy Synod has never made the decision to enter into communion with the schismatics.

The concelebration came at a time when the Bulgarian Church has no Patriarch. His Holiness Patriarch Neofit reposed Patriarch Neofit of Bulgaria reposes in the LordThe Patriarch was in poor health in recent years.

“>in March. Metropolitan Nikolay of Plovdiv, who served with the OCU sectarians, is one of the top names in the upcoming Patriarch elections, the outcome of which Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople has showed great interest in.

It is noteworthy that the official site of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church never published any news about the concelebration. However, it didn’t escape the attention of the Bulgarian clergy, monastics, and faithful.

A group of priests from the Lovech Diocese (whose hierarch, His Eminence Metropolitan Gabriel is known for his strong Orthodox stance against the schismatics) sent an open letter to the Holy Synod demanding that the five hierarchs who violated Orthodox ecclesiology and concelebrated with the schismatics, Metropolitans Nicholas of Plovdiv, Cyprian of Stara Zagora, Iakov of Dorostol, and Bishops Zion of Velichka and Vissarion of Smolyan, should be held responsible for their actions.

They also object to the rhetoric coming from the Patriarchate of Constantinople and its interference in the life of the Bulgarian Church.

The priests write:

1. “We categorically oppose the Bulgarian Orthodox Church participating in political affairs, especially those outside our country’s borders. We remind you that the canonical Church of Christ in Ukraine has always been, and remains, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, currently led by Metropolitan Onuphry of Kiev. The Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU), newly created and heavily promoted by Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, is, at best, a geopolitical project in Church vestments and, in any case, a false church.

2. “We insist that the three metropolitans and two bishops be held accountable for their serious misconduct, which has harmed not only themselves but the entire Church body. Their actions have caused significant turmoil just before the Patriarchal election, threatening the unity of Christ’s Church in Bulgaria.

3. “We express our dissatisfaction with the newly introduced and increasingly used ecclesiological terminology from the Ecumenical Patriarchate regarding the “Mother Church” and its “daughters.” This terminology undermines the traditional understanding of the Church as the mystical Body of Christ and as the visible flock with the shepherd Lord Jesus Christ. Instead, it imposes the view of the Church as a global human institution with a corporate character. We are surprised and deeply confused as to why such terminology is starting to be heard from Bulgarian hierarchs, and from the highest positions at that.

4. “We state that the presence of Patriarch Bartholomew at the upcoming election for the Bulgarian Patriarch, which he claims to have been invited to, is absolutely undesirable. His actions and statements in recent years have consistently been a source of great scandal for many believers in Bulgaria, and after the establishment of the OCU, even for the Universal Church. We do not want his presence due to the current involvement of Bulgarian hierarchs in his lawlessness.

5. “We emphasize that no one has forced, proposed, or urged us to write this letter. We are guided solely by our conscience as priests and Christians.”

According to the Bulgarian outlet afera.bg, the Synod was flooded with similar complaints from clergy and laity across the country, though the office of the Holy Synod did not send them on to be considered at the Synodal session yesterday. The hierarchs elected a new hierarch for the Sliven Diocese but seem not to have discussed the concelebration with schismatics.

Photo: Pravblog     

However, the Synodal session was met by a protest of priests, monks, and laymen from across the country reports Pravblog.

The protestors greeted Met. Iakov of Dorostol, one of the hierarchs who concelebrated with schismatics, with shouts of “Judas!”

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Although this article is from the beginning of April and there have been a number of updates, and the bill has for all intents and purposes been accepted, the author’s explanation of the essence of the matter continues to be relevant.—OC.

The Verkhovna Rada [Ukrainian Parliament] is currently considering bill 8371, which proposes banning the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC). However, the Ukrainian Parliament seems to be dragging its feet on adopting this controversial initiative. This story involves American Republicans and Ukrainian industrialists. Will the Church be banned in Ukraine? Read about it in our article.

    

History of the Issue

In October 2023, Ukrainian Parliament votes for bill to ban UOC in first reading, second reading still to comeMany local administrations have declared bans on the Church, though at the same time, the Church’s activities have continued in those localities.

“>the Verkhovna Rada supported bill 8371 with 267 votes, which Ukrainian believers call the “law on banning the UOC.” After this, it was supposed to be brought to a vote for the second reading, but this has not yet happened.

Bill 8371 bans the activities of the Russian Orthodox Church or religious organizations associated with it in Ukraine. There is already a conclusion from a religious studies examination stating that the UOC is such an organization. Previously, the bill only allowed courts to issue rulings banning such religious organizations.

After the first vote, the UOC turned to American lawyer Truth about what’s happening to the Ukrainian Church is banned in the U.S., UOC lawyer tells Tucker Carlson (+VIDEO)“It is shocking to me that a country such as the United States, with strong Christian leadership—I thought—could allow this to go on,” Amsterdam says.

“>Robert Amsterdam, head of the international human rights firm “Amsterdam & Partners LLP,” to protect the Church’s interests. The human rights lawyer gave an interview to TV host Tucker Carlson, in which he spoke about the persecution of the UOC. The interview garnered 50 million views.

In one of his statements, Amsterdam threatened the deputies with US sanctions if bill 8371 is passed. He also mentioned that the ban on the UOC would negatively impact US support for Ukraine.

Anglican Bishop Nick Baines from the UK appealed to the Ukrainian ambassador in London to withdraw the bill. In his opinion, the provisions of the bill are discriminatory and violate international norms.

Additionally, there are dissenters among the Rada deputies regarding bill 8371. In November 2023, fifty-one deputies appealed to Speaker Ruslan Stefanchuk, requesting that the bill be sent to the Venice Commission.

As a result, despite Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s call to pass bill 8371 as quickly as possible, it has yet to be brought to a vote. The deputy head of the parliamentary committee on humanitarian policy, Yevhenia Kravchuk, had previously promised that the document would reach the floor by February. However, it was only finalized in March.

Foreign Influence

The problem with passing bill 8371 is that the issue of persecution of the UOC is being It was U.S. policy to destroy the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, says Church’s lawyerIn an interview published yesterday, Amsterdam reveals that his team recently learned from the Assistant Secretary of State under Trump that the destruction of the UOC was a point of U.S. policy, which involved former Ukrainian President Poroshenko and Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople.

“>actively used in the election campaign by American Republicans. In 2022, the son of former president and election candidate Donald Trump stated that Zelensky is banning Orthodoxy in Ukraine.

“Zelensky is going to ban the activities of the UOC. His government is also conducting raids in UOC churches and detaining priests. Maybe that’s why he’s become a superstar among Democrats?” he wrote on the social network X (formerly Twitter).

In addition, TV host Truth about what’s happening to the Ukrainian Church is banned in the U.S., UOC lawyer tells Tucker Carlson (+VIDEO)“It is shocking to me that a country such as the United States, with strong Christian leadership—I thought—could allow this to go on,” Amsterdam says.

“>Tucker Carlson has repeatedly spoken about the persecution of the Church and the involvement of current Democratic President Joe Biden. In one broadcast, he said:

“The US government, under several presidents, has effectively funded the killing of Christians in Syria, and this continues throughout the Middle East and Eastern Europe, in Ukraine. The most obvious example: The Ukrainian government has now banned an entire Christian denomination,¹ and almost no one in the US has said anything about it.”

Some Ukrainian publications link the support for the UOC in Washington to the activities of major Ukrainian businessman Vadym Novinsky. Novinsky is part of the financial and industrial group of Ukraine’s wealthiest man, Rinat Akhmetov, who has his own contacts in the US. Securing support from Republicans, who need reasons to criticize Democrats, is quite feasible.

Under such circumstances, it is plausible that the White House asked the Kyiv authorities to slow down the passage of the bill to avoid providing grounds for criticism. However, the problems for the UOC have not ended.

Ongoing Persecution of the Church

Alongside the saga surrounding bill 8371, there are ongoing arrests of clergy and seizures of UOC churches in Ukraine. The main instigators in this process are the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), schismatics from the “Orthodox Church of Ukraine,” and nationalists.

In mid-March, journalists from the publication “Union of Orthodox Journalists” and representatives of the human rights initiative “Center for Legal Protection” Security Service raids offices of Orthodox journalists and lawyersOne of the four men detained is the rector of a church in the capital.

“>were detained. On March 14, one of them, UOC Archpriest Sergey Chertilina, was sent to a pre-trial detention center for two months by the court. The SBU stated that the journalists and public activists were engaged in “information sabotage” and face life imprisonment.

In Zakarpattia, unknown individuals kidnapped the secretary of the Khust Diocese, Archpriest Ioann Rozman. He was first summoned to the police by a subpoena, but upon leaving, he was detained by masked, armed men who took him away in a minibus to an unknown location.

Additionally, UOC churches are being seized across Ukraine. For example, on March 13 alone, two churches in the village of Kotsiubynske in the Kiev region were seized: St. George’s Church and the Dormition Church.

The usual method for seizing a church involves a well-practiced scheme akin to a corporate raid. A “gathering of believers” is organized, where “activists” are brought in, and then they storm the church, with complete indifference from the police.

In some cases, churches have managed to fend off these seizures. For instance, on March 14 in Volhyn, parishioners of the Nativity of the Theotokos Church in Kamin-Kashyrskyi were able to defend their church. Schismatics and nationalists broke the gates and repeatedly stormed the church, but about 200 parishioners gathered to protect their parish and succeeded.

In Cherkasy, despite the prosecutor’s petition, the court did not detain Metropolitan Theodosy (Snihiryov) of Cherkasy and Kaniv. The demand the bishop be sent to pre-trial detention also came from the SBU [formerly the KGB of Ukraine].

The lack of legal mechanisms and the general uncertainty of the Ukrainian authorities regarding the church issue prevent judges from making repressive decisions. However, the pressure from the Ukrainian security services and the nationalist segment of Ukrainian society on the Church persists.

Will the Bill Be Passed?

We managed to speak with a former employee of the Kiev Metropolia of the UOC and an expert on religious relations. He believes that the US is indeed pressuring the Kiev authorities to not pass the bill. However, there are other factors as well.

Firstly, given the setbacks on the front, Zelensky desperately needs any kind of victory. The ban on the “pro-Russian” UOC could serve as such a symbolic victory.

Secondly, Kiev is currently highly dependent on London, which, according to this expert, is actively turning Ukraine into an “anti-Russia.” This process also involves religion—there is an attempt to “Catholicize” Ukrainians. Banning the UOC would allow the transfer of believers first to the schismatic OCU, and then to the Greek Catholic Church of Ukraine.

“What will come of this remains to be seen. But the likelihood that the bill will be passed has increased. Most likely, it will be done under the pretext of strengthening national security,” the expert believes.