Tag: Christianity

Visitors at the Draganac monastery It’s quiet in the monastery after the Monday morning liturgy. Birds are chirping in between the services—their singing soothes the tired worshipers. Surrounded by the woods, Draganac indeed feels like a big, warm nest. A nest where the birds and people tend to return—especially the young Serbs, who increasingly come to the monastery from afar or from the remaining neighboring Serbian villages. We asked Fr. Christopher, what does Draganac mean to people? Why is it so well loved by the Kosovo Orthodox? Does the monastery have the same or a different meaning for those who come here?

Everyone feels its holiness. I can see this. But each one feels it in his or her own way, of course. If they come from afar, they are probably more open-minded and will immediately notice certain differences. It is always like this: If we come to a new place, we are more observant and quicker to talk about our feelings. For me personally, every such revelation is another example of a good miracle that we can’t explain and no language in the world can help us. We cannot explain it, nor can we understand it—only rejoice. Well, of course, the monastery adheres to the rules of traditional monastic hospitality—every guest of ours is welcome, we will greet and offer food to everyone, just as we’ll speak with and pray for them. This has been our tradition since time immemorial. But there is also something that cannot be explained solely by a kind attitude towards pilgrims. Our young Serbs from the surrounding Serbian villages are also a well-kept secret. They come to Draganac continually, and they help us in all kinds of obediences. They are more inclined to remain silent than to talk; they will think ten times before saying something—that’s how they were brought up. They come from different villages: Shilovo, Kusce, Koretishte, Priluzha, and Pasjane… But they come here as a family, as it is their own monastery, and this care is natural for them. That is why you won’t see any obvious enthusiasm in them—all they show is the joy from working quietly and peacefully for their own holy place.

The Serbian churches are filled with young people. People are looking for the meaning of life

—It sounds odd, but in our time, when the world is busy mocking and criticizing everything and everyone, our churches are full of young people, and more and more young pilgrims go especially to Kosovo. How can you explain it? What are these young people looking for?

—Well, in fact the Serbian churches in general are full of young people. And yes, you are right, more and more young people are coming to Kosovo and Metohija. People are looking for meaning. And what meaning is there for a Serb without Kosovo? That’s how it happened to me at one point in time. There seemed to be no relatives of mine living here, but I felt like it was my native place. In this sense, Kosovo and Metohija are completely otherworldly places, totally incomprehensible. It has the spirit of blissful disobedience, of keeping the covenant, and a vivid perception that there is something greater and more important than we are probably accustomed to thinking.

It is somewhere above us, but it is also something that makes us feel complete as men: St. Lazar, Prince of Serbia, and the Battle of KosovoToday is the feast of Serbia’s St. Lazar, who gave his life for his people on Kosovo field. King Lazar chose the Heavenly Kingdom over the earthly kingdom, and became Serbia’s protector for the ages.

“>Holy Prince Lazar, Miloš Obilić, Milan Toplica, the Maiden of Kosovo, Holy King Repose of Saint Stephen of Dečani, SerbiaSaint Stephen was the son of King Milutin and the father of King Dushan.”>Stefan of Dečani, Gračanica, and St Stephen Milutin of SerbiaSaint Stephen was the younger son of King Stephen Urosh I, and grandson of First-Crowned King St Stephen. He ruled Serbia from 1275 to 1320.”>St. Milutin, King of Serbia. Somehow Kosovo is calling us, the people of the twenty-first century, lost in the chaos of our restless and spiteful world. Kosovo helps us break through this hellish chaos to see the source of true light. Once you feel it, you will begin to realize that you have returned to yourself. Anything else the modern world has to offer (what it literally peddles to us) exudes death. Everything is so secondary, all those things like social progress, projects, “fake spirituality,” “the fight for the rights and equality,”—all this has been elevated to a cult, none of this will ever answer the main question that brings us to church: “What is the purpose of my life?” Once you find the answer, you will truly hear the message of the Church about Christ, the unprecedented event in history— God’s coming into the world for the sake of our salvation. You will hear about God crucified, and the Truth that there is no Resurrection without death, and there is no joy without Golgotha. It is a paradox, but deep in our hearts we all know it is true. So, when we learn about the Church, when we come to church, we will realize that we have found what we were looking for, even if we are possibly still unable to articulate our question clearly. Because man is a complex being. Even if we could explain to himself what we are looking for, we would walk to the nearest store and buy what we need. But we do not have such stores. And thank God that we don’t!

Fr. Christopher and Maria Vasic   

—What is the “secret” of the Draganac monastery? Wherein lies this monastery’s “key” that opens the hearts of men?

There is no resurrection without death, just like there is no joy without Golgotha

I have already told you about incomprehensible miracles, which are absolutely unexplainable. However, perhaps we should not even look for an explanation! I think this is how God’s grace acts, and it would be quite presumptuous to explain “the mechanism of its action.” Let’s put it this way: Draganac is an “ordinary” miracle of God. Yes, this small, modest monastery hidden in the woods and hills of Kosovo Pomoravlje is a miracle of God. On the other hand, let us not forget that a person should also do his part. I spoke about the hospitality so common in our monasteries, our ability and desire to welcome and comfort people, and to help them. As St. Nikolai Velimirovich said, “If the Serbs ever learned anything from Christ, it must have been hospitality.” And this is probably true. We, the residents of Draganac, are bad monks; there is no way we can be an example of spiritual life. We are not holy elders or the monastic saints our Church is so famous for. We aren’t so good at prayer either—it’s as the Russians say, “my prayer makes the chickens die.” But at the same time, I think we have an opportunity to bring joy to people and to comfort them. People see our joy that the Lord has brought us to live and pray here in Kosovo and Metohija. Such a life really changes the soul for the good. The people see our joy and they rejoice in it. It means a lot. Working together also means a lot. Nothing monumental, but something easy and simple, such as collecting nuts or peeling onions or sweeping the monastery yard… There is a great cause in small deeds. People are excited when they talk about the monastery, when they bring back memories of doing various tasks together. “Remember how we peeled onions? The whole monastery was crying! I wish we could cry like this over our sins!” “And do you remember how we went to the farm?” “Shall we go to Draganac again?” “Of course!” When we work together, our fears disappear, and most often they are irrational fears about losing a job or life in general. Human nature is a peculiar thing—what is ours is what we give to others. This is particularly noticeable here in the monastery.

Brethren of the Draganac monastery It is now Lent. How can we overcome the anxiety “leaking out” of the latest news, and how can we retain inner peace in our un-peaceful time?

—We must have peace in our hearts, regardless of what happens in our lives. We must seek out such peace and strive for it. People often say to me, “You left the world to live in a monastery and it’s all calm and quiet there…” To be frank, when it comes to peace and quiet, I had a much quieter and calmer life when I was still living in the world. I actually had a rather comfortable lifestyle and I dealt with fewer people. I could also choose whom to meet with and what to do—a life full of pleasures. So, I had a cozy place by worldly standards. But this cozy little peace (what I call an external peace) is not what we should strive to gain. Peace in the world and the quiet of a monastery are different things. I experience true peace here in Draganac, because this is where I have discovered the meaning of my existence. There is no shortage of trials and temptations in the monastery—all of us monks are different people and had different lives before we came. We harbor different thoughts, ideas, and shortcomings; we have obediences, and we get to meet all kinds of people all the time. How many times did I want to give it all up and leave, but I felt, or my heart was telling me, that it was wrong, that God’s blessing was not on it, that I shouldn’t grumble. Later, I realized that despite all the temptations, this is where there is real peace and quiet. So, my advice would sound like this: A man should fight to acquire peace within.

There is a book entitled, Father Arseny, which I often re-read, recalling the stories from it. A Russian priest and Confessor, who was imprisoned in the Bolshevik GULAG, had experienced all the horrors of Soviet godlessness. But he had so much peace in his heart, and this peace saved him and those around him! I think that whenever someone is reading this book, he is convinced that inner peace is a matter of personal choice and personal commitment to Christ. To murmur, to curse, or to fight for peace in your heart—this is where our choice lies. We won’t achieve this without sufferings that deprive us of our comfort. The Acts of the Apostles tells us that through much tribulation we must enter into the Kingdom of God (Acts 14:22). No one promised that we would have “comfort” and wellbeing here on earth, which the those yapping TVs scream about non-stop—no, it is just the opposite! The world is replete with grief, suffering, wars—and who knows how much more of this we have left! We can’t observe it from here, and I’m certainly glad we can’t. But what we can see is Christ Who Is before us. And if we hold onto Him, we will have already found salvation here on earth. Not just sometime in the future, when it’s time for us to go, but here and now—through the Holy Communion and confession… Hold on to Christ, please!

Pilgrims   

To murmur, to curse, or to fight for peace in your heart—this is where our choice lies

I can give you a recent example from the time of the pandemic of how someone followed Christ against all odds. An elderly lady named Stojanka from the village of Gornje Kusce, our regular parishioner, walked (!) across the hills and woods to Draganac, bypassing police security cordons to deliver fresh lettuce to the monastery. She walked about ten kilometers! She came, put the lettuce down, prayed outside of our church, and went back. On her way back, as we found out later, she also dug beds in our garden. As simple as that, doing it all by herself! She never said a word to anyone—she just came, prayed, and labored here. Isn’t this an ascetic feat? This is someone who can teach us about faithfulness to Christ, in my opinion. That is what our old women are like!

However, it must be said that it’s not just the older generation: Your charitable organization “Kosovsko Pomoravlje” has also been a really good example of preserving, or rather nurturing, the love for your neighbor. It seems to me that the young people, for whom active love is more important than career or fruitless dreams, are the future of Serbia. This is where the beauty of our country lies. We have people with whom we share our prayers, for whom we also pray, and who will join us to glorify the crucified but risen Christ. Greetings with Great Lent!

Las Vegas, April 24, 2024

Met. Nicolae with Lieutenant Governor Anthony of Nevada. Photo: basilica.ro     

The local Romanian Orthodox priest and the Metropolitan of the Americas received formal recognition from city officials in Las Vegas, Nevada, this week.

His Eminence Metropolitan Nicolae and Fr. Mihail Balan, rector of the Church of St. George and St. Dimitrie the New, received certificates of gratitude from the city for their efforts for the benefit of the Romanian Orthodox community in the city, reports the Basilica News Agency.

Met. Nicolae also received a second certificate of recognition from the office of Governor Joe Lombardo, handed over by Lieutenant Governor Stavros Anthony.

The awards were given on the occasion of the 29th anniversary of the St. George and St. Dimitrie parish community.

The community has its own church building, which began to be built in 2009. The iconostasis and altar furniture were donated by His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel of Romania.

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On May 4, I will have the privilege to celebrate Mass at the Grotto in Lourdes, France, where the Virgin Mary was said to appear to St. Bernadette Soubirous in 1858.

It will be my first time in Lourdes, and I’m grateful for the invitation of the Order of Malta to join them on their yearly pilgrimage. And as I’ve been preparing for the Mass and for the Marian month of May, I find myself reflecting on the Blessed Mother’s role in salvation history and in our spiritual lives.

There is a simple line in the Gospel account of the wedding feast at Cana. It reads: “And the mother of Jesus was there.”

For me, this is the great truth: the Mother of Jesus was there. Not only at Cana, but from the beginning. Salvation history unfolds through her.

In the fullness of time, God sent his holy angel to Mary to announce the coming of Jesus. 

She was also there to present him as an infant in the Temple, and again to find him teaching in his “Father’s house.”

Mary helped Jesus to grow from a child to a man during the long, hidden years at Nazareth.

And Mary was there at Cana when he began his public ministry. She was the one who asked him to perform his first miracle.

She followed him in the crowds as he proclaimed the kingdom. And the mother of Jesus was there when her Son died, keeping her station at the foot of his cross.

Finally, Mary was there at the birth of the Church, praying with the apostles for the Holy Spirit to come down at Pentecost.

St. Pope John Paul II once said, “Where she is, her Son cannot fail to be.”

That was true in the days of Gospel. And it will always be true. Mary continues to be the maternal face of the Father’s mercy. In every age, in every place, and in every heart.

In the course of history, some have claimed to see apparitions of Our Lady, and the Church has recognized some of these private revelations, such as those at Lourdes.

Here in the Americas, we are already preparing to celebrate, in 2031, the 500th anniversary of the apparitions of Our Lady of Guadalupe to St. Juan Diego at Tepeyac, near Mexico City.

The Catechism says that these private revelations do not add to what God revealed in sending Jesus Christ into the world. Instead, these apparitions help us to live his Gospel “more fully” in a “certain period of history.”

When Mary comes, as she did at Lourdes and Tepeyac, she brings a message of hope and healing, telling us that God is with us until the end of ages, and he will never leave us.

At Lourdes, Mary chose to reveal herself to a humble girl from a poor family, who knew her prayers and went to church, but didn’t know how to read or write.

Mary appeared as a young woman, dressed in white, making the sign of the cross, with a rosary in her hand.

St. Bernadette said the Lady was too beautiful to describe.

When Bernadette asked who she was, the Lady smiled sweetly and said, “I am the Immaculate Conception.” Then she disappeared, still smiling.

In this simple way, Mary reminded us that she is the Immaculate One, the holy mother of God, who brings a new beginning to the human race, by the blessed fruit of her womb, Jesus.

The saints teach us, “To Jesus through Mary.” We go to Jesus through Mary because Jesus came to us through Mary.

Through Mary, we understand the truth that she is our mother, too, that we are God’s children, his sons and daughters, beloved by the Father who made us and knows our name.

Through Mary, we know that Jesus wants to be born in every heart, that he wants to make all things new, to heal what is broken, to wipe away all the tears, to free us from sorrow and death.

As a good mother, Mary teaches us the way to live as children of God. Her last words in the Gospels are in the story of Cana, when she tells the servants: “Do whatever he tells you.”

This is the way: to follow Jesus, to know him and love him; to listen to him, and to make him the model for our lives. To do whatever he tells us to do.

Pray for me and I will pray for you.

And in this Marian month of May, let us all deepen our love for our Blessed Mother.

Let’s pray the rosary with new devotion, with new love, with new desire to enter into its mysteries.

Tanzania, April 24, 2024

Photo: exarchate-africa.ru     

Thanks to the efforts of clerics from the Russian Orthodox Church’s African Exarchate, Scriptural, Patristic, and catechetical works have been published in various African languages.

With financial support from the Moscow-based Nicea publishing house, the Gospel of Mark with Patristic commentary was published in Swahili, translated by Archimandrite Zachariah (Mulingua), the Exarchate reports.

The new edition was distributed by African Exarch Metropolitan Konstantin of Zaraisk during a recent trip to Tanzania. Copies also reached Exarch clerics in Kenya.

The Catechism of St. Nicholai (Velimirović) was published in the Chewa language, translated by Deacon Savva Kajava, and distributed amongst parishioners in Malawi.

Additionally, a catechism for children was published in Bemba, translated by Fr. Sylvester Mumbi, and distributed to the faithful of Zambia.

There have been several pieces of joyous news from Africa lately. About 1,000 Malawians baptized in one weekThe newly baptized were given cross necklaces and icons to start an icon corner with, as well as an Orthodox catechism in the Chewa language, prepared specifically for this trip.

“>About 1,000 Malawians were baptized during the recent visit of Met. Konstantin, Mass Baptism and Wedding service in TanzaniaMore than twelve dozen people were baptized into Christ in the Holy Orthodox Church in Tanzania this weekend.”>132 people were recently baptized by Metropolitan Dimitrios of Irinoupolis (Tanzania) of the Patriarchate of Constantinople, followed by the wedding of 17 couples, and 10 novices tonsured as nuns at Ugandan Monastery of St. Mary of EgyptSt. Mary of Egypt Convent was founded in the early 2000s at Holy Transfiguration Church in Degeya with the support and spiritual blessings of Metropolitan Jonah Lwanga of thrice-blessed memory.”>10 women were tonsured as nuns at a Ugandan monastery over the weekend.

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Bangkok, April 23, 2024

Photo: dioceseofthailand.org On Saturday, April 20, the faithful of the Diocese of Thailand of the Russian Orthodox Church were blessed to receive a special new publication.

With the blessing of Metropolitan Sergei of Singapore and Southeast Asia, the temporary administrator of the Diocese of Thailand, the Akathist Hymn to the Most Holy Theotokos was published in the Thai language, the diocese reports.

The publication includes the history and interpretation of the Akathist.

The translation was carried out by the diocese’s Missionary and Publishing Department. On the Saturday of the Akathist, the books were presented to the clergy and parishioners.

Great Canon of St. Andrew published in Thai languageThe published translations are being distributed to the churches in Thailand.

“>During Lent 2021, a Thai translation of the Great Canon of St. Andrew was distributed throughout the diocese.

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The Supreme Court on April 22 heard a case concerning the constitutionality of local laws that ban public camping and their impact on people who are homeless.

The case concerns an ordinance adopted by Grants Pass, Oregon, prohibiting public camping within city limits. The city claimed the ordinance prohibiting public camping — which it defined as sleeping outside and using materials including blankets — applies to everyone, but challengers argued the ordinance criminalized homelessness, violating the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment.

The case, City of Grants Pass, Oregon v. Johnson, is the most significant case concerning homelessness to reach the high court in decades.

During oral arguments lasting more than two hours, justices and lawyers grappled with the balance between the civil rights of individuals experiencing homelessness and city officials seeking to regulate public spaces.

Justice Elena Kagan suggested the city’s ordinance may have veered too far from protecting public spaces into criminalizing a basic human function.

“Sleeping is a biological necessity,” Kagan said. “Sleeping in public is kind of like breathing in public.”

In a tense line of questioning, Kagan asked a lawyer for the city where homeless individuals were expected to go.

“Where do we put them if every city, every village, every town lacks compassion? And passes a law identical to this? Where are they supposed to sleep? Are they supposed to kill themselves not sleeping?” she asked.

Meanwhile, some of the court’s justices from its conservative wing expressed concern that implementing such policies was improperly falling to judges rather than state and local lawmakers. Chief Justice John Roberts at one point asked a lawyer for the federal government why “these nine people” — referring to the high court — were the right venue for the question.

The case made for some strange political bedfellows, with some liberal or progressive leaders joining conservatives in backing stricter ordinances.

In a friend-of-the-court brief urging the justices to side with Grant’s Pass, Gov. Gavin Newsom, D-Calif., acknowledged problems presented by criminalizing homelessness, but argued that state and local officials are “trapped, at risk of suit for taking action but also accountable for the consequences of inaction.”

Newsom pointed out that the problem of homeless camping is nationwide and requires officials to balance competing concerns. He stated the National Park Service, after attempting to get individuals into long-term housing, ultimately had to clear a homeless encampment in Washington’s McPherson Square near the White House — but noted that the City of San Francisco, facing a similar situation, has its hands tied by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

As some of the arguments in the case centered around how many beds in homeless shelters were available in the city, Becket, a Washington-based religious liberty law firm, filed a friend-of-the-court brief arguing that religious shelters were improperly excluded from the city’s tally of available beds in shelters for the homeless.

“Ignoring the good work of religious homeless shelters flouts basic human decency and common sense,” Daniel Chen, counsel at Becket, said in a statement. “These ministries should not be treated as suspect when they are on the front lines helping solve our nation’s homelessness problem.”

A decision in the case is expected by the end of the Supreme Court’s term, typically in June.

Valinhos, São Paulo, Brazil, April 23, 2024

    

Thanks in large part to the generosity of the readers of OrthoChristian.com, an Orthodox church in Brazil was able to raise the necessary funds for urgent repairs to its ceiling and roof.

OrthoChristian published an appeal Fr. Nicholas of the Church of the New Martyr Elizabeth in Valinhos, São Paulo (Polish Orthodox Diocese of Rio de Janeiro and Olinda-Recife) Brazil: Help Orthodox church in urgent need of repairsAn Orthodox church in Brazil is in urgent need of repairs.

“>in November, and today we received a message of gratitude from a parishioner:

Thanks to your post on your page, we were able to quickly raise the amount we needed and then some! We were able to repair the roof and the part of the ceiling that had collapsed. Additionally, with the extra donations received, we were also able to repaint the interior of the parish!

    

She also shared with us a thank you note from Fr. Nicholas to all who helped the church in its time of need:

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. Both now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

I write to you today with a heart full of gratitude. As you know, we worked to raise funds to repair the roof of our beloved church, St. Elizabeth’s Orthodox Parish in Brazil. And thanks to your overwhelming generosity, we have met our goal!

I am truly humbled by the outpouring of support we have received from all corners of the globe. Your kindness and selflessness have shown me that we are not alone in our faith, and that we are part of a much larger community of Orthodox Christians who care deeply for one another and are willing to extend a helping hand in times of need.

    

I am aware that many of you have made personal sacrifices, giving from your hard-earned money to help us achieve our goal. I want to assure you that your donations have not been in vain. They have made a profound difference in our lives.

On behalf of the entire parish, I extend our deepest gratitude to each and every one of you for your generosity. Your unwavering support has meant the world to us.

I must also apologize for the delay in providing an update on the project. We have encountered a few unforeseen challenges along the way, but I am confident everything will be settled soon.

In the meantime, I humbly ask for your continued prayers. We need your prayers for strength, guidance, and protection as we continue to struggle in Brazil.

I also ask for your prayers for the continued growth and prosperity of our parish. We are committed to serving our community and sharing the love of Christ with all who come through our doors.

Thank you again for your generosity and your unwavering support. May the Almighty God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit bless you abundantly.

In Christ,

Father Nicholas
St. Elizabeth’s Orthodox Parish Brazil

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There is a segment of the general population that takes sports and sports stars way too seriously.

Some of us — names withheld in the interest of self-revelation — elevate sports stars too high and denigrate them too low over the bounce of a ball, the hitch in a step, or a momentary lapse in otherwise supernatural hand/eye coordination. 

It is not a new phenomenon. Professional sports stars have been larger than life since the time of the gladiators, where men who once started out property were able to not only gain their freedom via acts of life-or-death athleticism, but become idolized in Roman society.

Some things change. We no longer require our sporting entertainment to conclude when a thumbs down really means a thumbs down. Other things remain constant. Sports stars can and do become billionaires. Young people hang on every word they say, and camp out outside of storefronts waiting for the chance to purchase the latest footwear attached to a specific athlete.

In golf, no one epitomizes this zenith of stardom more than Tiger Woods. At the height of his career, he was untouchable. There were no known devices that could fully calibrate his ability. He was a child prodigy who grew into a strong and new athletic archetype of modern golfers. In his prime, he could hit a driver farther and with more accuracy than any of his contemporaries, and he used his putter the way a brain surgeon uses a scalpel.

One thing Tiger Woods could not compete with was time. As great as one might be at golf, playing with a fused back, a fused ankle, and approaching 50 is a recipe for what happened to Woods at this year’s Masters golf tournament. He may have made the cut — which, considering his physical problems, is a feat in and of itself — but he ended the tournament in last place.

The man who finished first at this year’s Masters and who was fitted for its iconic green jacket for the second time in his young career is not like Tiger Woods or many other golfers at all.

Tiger Woods lived, breathed, and ate golf. Scottie Scheffler does not. He shares Woods’ innate ability for the game, but watching him as I did during the final round of one of the most important professional golf tournaments in the world, it was obvious he was different. He seemed distracted because he was. The reason was clear, and if you asked him, as people have, he would tell you what makes him different from Tiger Woods and many other professional athletes: Golf is not the No. 1 priority in his life.

Actually, golf is not his No. 2 or No. 3 priority in life. This is almost sacrilege in American sports fanaticism. What makes Scheffler’s heresy worse is what his No. 1 priority is: his relationship with his Lord and Savior. 

Every time I see Scheffler on television speaking about his faith, I can almost hear the collective air leaking out of the press corps on the other side of the camera. They want to talk about birdies and bogies and killer instincts and how much winning a golf tournament means to the champion.

Scheffler wants to give honor and glory to God through his Son Jesus first. Before golf, but just after Jesus, Scheffler’s love for his wife takes precedence, followed by his family. During this year’s Masters, Scottie had another priority waiting, which was probably why he looked distracted as he played.

Scheffler’s wife was home in Texas, ready to go into labor at any moment with the couple’s first child. Scheffler told reporters before the tournament began that if or when his wife did go into labor, he would leave the tournament, no matter where he stood and no matter what day of the tournament it was. He said something to the effect that he would leave in “mid-swing” if his baby was on the way. His unborn child cooperated and waited, and the rest is Masters history.

In his after-tournament press conference, Scheffler continued to deflect questions about golf with simple wisdom. “I’ve been given a gift with this talent and I use it for God’s glory.” That quote made me think of earlier in the week at Augusta seeing Tiger Woods spending some special bonding time with his own son. He may still want another major championship, but it looks like maybe his priorities are reconfiguring as well.

Tallinn, April 23, 2024

dzen.ru     

His Eminence Metropolitan Evgeny of Tallinn, the primate of the Estonian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate called for the faithful to observe a strict fast today and pray for peace in Church life.

His call comes as state pressure ramps up against the Church following the publication of a Estonian Minister calls to recognize Moscow Patriarchate as terrorist organization, Church respondsThe Estonian Minister of the Interior wants the state to recognize the Moscow Patriarchate as a terrorist organization and therefore ban the Estonian Orthodox Church—an autonomous body within the Patriarchate.

“>document from the World Russian People’s Council, chaired by Patriarch Kirill, that speaks of a “holy war” in Ukraine.

The Estonian Minister of the Interior has spoken of the Moscow Patriarchate as a “terrorist organization,” and a Estonian Minister softens language about call to recognize Russian Church as “terrorist organization”Meanwhile, Ahti Kallikorm, a member of the Isamaa (Fatherland) Party, called on the state to break its church leases with the Estonian Orthodox Church (an autonomous body within the Moscow Patriarchate).

“>bill has been submitted to the national Parliament characterizing the Church as an accomplice to Russian aggression. The Ministry is also sending representatives to churches and monasteries to try to convince them to move from the jurisdiction of the Moscow Patriarchate to that of the Patriarchate of Constantinople, which operates a parallel jurisdiction in the country.

The mayor of Tallinn has already initiated the process of terminating the lease for the Metropolitan’s office.

Met. Evgeny’s call for prayer and fasting, published on April 20, reads:

Beloved in the Lord archpastors,
venerable fathers, dear brothers and sisters!

Great Lent is coming to an end, a time that was associated for us not only with bodily restrictions but also with many concerns about the fate of our Church.

We have made efforts to reduce tensions in society, but the danger of upheavals in Church life has not passed. We initiated the negotiation process and hope that with God’s help, we will be able to find ways to overcome the crisis.

I call on everyone to remain calm, to maintain loyalty to the hierarchy of the Estonian Orthodox Church-Moscow Patriarchate, and to remember that fasting and prayer are the main means of overcoming all situations. In this regard, I bless all those who are able, to observe a strict one-day fast on April 23. I ask the church rectors to serve molebens at the end of the evening service on this day.

May the All-Merciful Lord accept our labors and grant us to meet His Glorious Resurrection in peace and harmony.

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Several leading Republicans, including former president Donald Trump and Florida Sen. Rick Scott, have since embraced less protective pro-life positions.

Despite floating the idea of supporting a national abortion ban earlier in his campaign, Trump announced on April 8 that he would not support any federal abortion policy and that the issue is “up to the states.”

For his part, Scott said that he would support replacing Florida’s six-week law with a more permissive 15-week abortion limit.

President Joe Biden, meanwhile, criticized the Florida six-week law as “extreme” and has signaled his belief that support for abortion will propel him to victory in the 2024 general election.

“Trump is scrambling,” Biden said. “He’s worried that since he’s the one responsible for overturning Roe, the voters will hold him accountable in 2024. Well, I have news for Donald: They will.”

Biden is set to make a campaign stop in Tampa on Tuesday, where he is expected to speak on abortion and the six-week pro-life law.

Can Florida buck the trend?

With all this at play, John White, a professor of politics at the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., told CNA that from a purely political perspective, “there is very little that can be done to defeat the initiative.”

“The six-week abortion ban in Florida is very likely to be overturned by the ballot initiative,” he said. “In every state in which a ballot initiative has appeared, the pro-life forces have lost. I don’t think Florida will be any different.”

“We have already seen the national significance of this issue and its ability to galvanize majorities of voters. Florida will only add to this,” he added.

Yet, Seana Sugrue, a politics professor at Ave Maria University in southwest Florida, said that this abortion showdown is “different from the other states both procedurally and substantively.”

She pointed out that while the abortion amendments in Ohio and Michigan only required a simple majority to pass, the Florida amendment must clear a 60% threshold to be added to the state’s constitution. This will make a major difference, she said, predicting that the pro-abortion camp will find it very difficult to rally that much support in the state.

According to an Emerson College poll published April 11, 57% of Florida voters believe the six-week pro-life law is too strict. According to the Pew Research Center, 56% of Florida adults believe abortion should be legal in all or most cases.

Sugrue said the Florida amendment is “much more radical” than the other abortion proposals such as the one in Ohio and is “actually very, very broad.”

The amendment bans restrictions on abortion before viability, but late-term abortions would still be allowed if determined necessary by a health provider. According to Sugrue’s analysis of the amendment, it would allow abortion until birth in Florida because it doesn’t define what it means by necessary for one’s health and does not specify what type of health care providers are allowed to make that determination.

What the pro-life movement needs to win in Florida

Sugrue said the pro-life movement needs to prioritize communicating the truth about the radical nature of the amendment to the public.

“Messaging is going to be very important,” she said, adding that the “constant, faithful, and clear support” from the Catholic Church in Florida will be needed.

So far, the Florida Conference of Catholic Bishops (FCCB) and Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Catholic, have both criticized the amendment.

In a statement shared with CNA on April 1, Michael Sheedy, FCCB executive director, said that the Florida bishops “will work hard to oppose this cruel and dangerous amendment and urge all Floridians to vote no.”

DeSantis, meanwhile, has called the amendment “very, very extreme” and said that voters will reject it once they figure out how radical it is.

According to Pritchard, there is already a coalition of pro-life groups formed to defeat the amendment. She said that “what’s going to be key to our success is the willingness of Gov. DeSantis to get in this fight.”

“We would hope that he would be vocal, continue to be vocal early and often, because that awareness of what this measure actually does is very important starting now rather than waiting until the last couple of weeks before the election,” she said.

But just as important as being vocally supportive, according to Pritchard, is for the governor to help with fundraising. In Ohio, the campaign in favor of the abortion amendment outraised the pro-life campaign by a large margin.

“We know the other side is going to easily pour millions upon millions into this, from George Soros to the abortion lobby and abortion industry,” Pritchard said. “So, the dollars will be as crucial as him [DeSantis] being willing to be a vocal advocate.”

With the help of the governor, Pritchard believes the pro-life movement can break its losing slump.

“Florida is the state where the red wave materialized in 2022. We were all hoping and expecting and praying for a red wave throughout the entire nation in those midterms, but that didn’t happen, except for in Florida, where Ron DeSantis won by double digits and took both houses of the Legislature,” she said. “We have reasons to be hopeful in that respect. At the same time, we have a lot of work to do.”