Tag: Christianity

Astoria, New York, February 11, 2025

Photo: stirene.org   

A new abbot for the St. Irene Chrysovalantou Monastery in Astoria, New York, was ceremonially enthroned on Sunday, February 10.

The previous abbot, Bishop Hierotheos of Efkarpia, Reposed in the Lord: Bishop Antonije of Moravica (Serbian) and Bishop Hierotheos of Efkarpia (Constantinople)Two hierarchs of the Orthodox Church reposed in the Lord yesterday, March 11.

“>reposed in the Lord on March 11, 2024, after several years of service as head of the monastery. Though located in New York, the monastery is stavropegial, meaning it is directly under the omophorion of Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople.

Photo: stirene.org   

The new abbot is Archimandrite Meletios, who was enthroned by Archbishop Nikitas of Thyateira and Great Britain, the monastery reports.

Archbishop Elpidophoros and other hierarchs of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America were present, as well as His Grace Bishop Irinej of the Serbian Orthodox Diocese of Eastern America. The church was filled with parishioners and pilgrims.

Photo: stirene.org     

“The enthronement of Archimandrite Meletios marks a new spiritual era for the Holy Monastery, which has historically functioned as a beacon of faith and prayer for the Greek-American community.”

The new abbot expressed his gratitude to Pat. Bartholomew, Abp. Nikitas, Abp. Elpidophoros, and all the clergy and laity who were present for his enthronement.

A monastic meal followed in the monastery reception hall.

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Colorado Springs, February 11, 2025

Photo: theophany.org   

A beautiful new church was consecrated in Colorado Springs over the weekend.

St. John the Baptist Orthodox Church (Orthodox Church in America), located on the east side of the city, began as an offshoot of the well-established Holy Theophany Church, which was led for nearly three decades by the missionary priest Fr. Anthony Karbo, who Orthodox priest described as ‘profound religious leader in Colorado Springs’ dies at age 60The 60-year-old priest had served as rector of Holy Theophany Orthodox Church for nearly 30 years.

“>reposed in the Lord last March.

Like many parishes throughout the country, Holy Theophany has been experiencing explosive growth lately, with more than 160 people being baptized in just two years from 2022 to 2024.

Photo: theophany.org     

Thus, it became necessary to build a new church to accommodate the growing number of Orthodox Christians in the city, where there is also a strong Greek Orthodox parish. The church is built in the same 12th-century architectural style as Holy Theophany Church.

And on Sunday, February 9, the new church was festively consecrated by the primate of the OCA, His Beatitude Metropolitan Tikhon of Washington and His Eminence Archbishop Benjamin of San Francisco, reports Holy Theophany Orthodox Church.

The Consecration and Divine Liturgy were attended by clergy and faithful from throughout the Diocese of the West, including rector Fr. Anthony Machnee (a 2022 graduate of St. Vladimir’s Seminary who first spent nearly three years as assistant priest at Holy Theophany) and Fr. Andreas Blom, the current rector of Holy Theophany.

Photo: theophany.org     

The evening before, Hieromonk Vasily (Permiakov) offered a talk on the service of Consecration following Great Vespers at Holy Theophany Church.

The parish describes itself:

Visiting St John the Baptist, you will find approximately 200 or so of us struggling to live the fullness of Christian life together as it has been preserved and handed down. More than half of us are relatively new to Orthodoxy, a third of us range from new-born to young adult, we are not just a few young families, while a few of our respected original founders are still among us to this day. We are Greek, Russian, Bulgarian, Romanian, Serbian… we are also South African, German, Anglo, Hispanic, Swedish… Texan, Californian, Pennsylvanian… American. You will find us regularly participating in our Liturgical life as a community. We have our Sunday fellowship meals, our social activities, our small groups, church schools, camps, and retreats. We keep the fasts, we celebrate the Feasts. We struggle, we pray, we take to heart the Lord’s commandment: “deny yourself, take up your cross… come and follow Me” (Matthew 16:24). We seek to be evangelists by acquiring the virtues of Christ, becoming the “savour” of acceptable sacrifice (2 Corinthians 2:15; Matthew 5:16). We work to love one another (1 John 4:12). We strive to be faithful.

Photo: stjohnscos.org     

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Grand Junction, Tennessee, February 11, 2025

Hieroschemamonk Paul (left), Met. Saba (right). Photo: antiochian.org     

The Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America is opening a new monastery in southwestern Tennessee.

The monastery, named for the Life-giving Trinity, hopes to start receiving pilgrims after Pascha, the Archdiocese reports.

The holy habitation is in Grand Junction, on the same property where the women’s Skete of St. Paul was located. Mother Nektaria, who labored alone at the skete for nearly three decades, reposed in the Lord on August 9, 2023.

Photo: antiochian.org     

The monastery will be headed by the newly ordained Hieroschemamonk Paul, who has monastic experience in America, Syria, and Mt. Athos. He was ordained to the diaconate by His Eminence Metropolitan Saba, the head of the Archdiocese, at Balamand Monastery in Lebanon on Saturday, February 8, and to the priesthood the next day by His Beatitude Patriarch John X of Antioch and All the East.

Following the Divine Liturgy on Sunday, Pat. John addressed Fr. Paul, saying: “The message of the Church to you today—the Sunday of the Pharisee and Publican, and the day of your ordination as a priest—is to be humble, following the example of your Lord Jesus, Who humbled Himself to the point of death, even death on the Cross.”

“We seek to preserve this deposit, the deposit of faith in the Church of Antioch that bears witness to the word of truth, to Christ Jesus in all parts of the world,” the Patriarch added.

In the video below, Fr. Paul’s ordination to the priesthood begins at 2:00:25:

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Fr. Paul’s biography from the Antiochian Archdiocese:

Hieromonk Paul (born 1966) entered the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America in 1993. Two years later, he joined His Grace Bishop Basil to assist him in the Wichita Chancery. Hieromonk Paul departed for Damascus, Syria in the winter of that year, coming under the direction of His Grace Bishop John (now His Beatitude Patriarch John X) of Houmayra, Syria.

Father Paul traveled to St. Paul Monastery on Mt. Athos in the summer of 1996. On Great and Holy Wednesday of 1997, he received the Great Schema.

In 1998, Hieromonk Paul returned to U.S. to assist Bishop Basil at the Wichita Chancery, visiting St. Paul Monastery every two years for confession to his elder, Parthenios. He also visited friends like His Eminence Metropolitan Saba (when he was metropolitan of the Archdiocese of Bosra, Hauran and Jabal Al-Arab, Syria) and the monasteries of the Patriarchate of Antioch.

In 2006, Fr. Paul took up residence at St. Paul Monastery for four years. In 2010, he again returned to the U.S. where he cared for his aging parents for the next 11 years.

Hieromonk Paul accepted the request by Metropolitan Saba to assist him upon his election as Metropolitan of the Archdiocese of North America in 2023. The next year, His Eminence assigned him as supervisor (dikaios) of the monastic property in Grand Junction, Tenn. (now named for the Life-giving Trinity), after the repose of Mother Nektaria.

On Feb. 8, 2025, at Our Lady of Balamand Monastery in Lebanon, Schemamonk Paul was ordained to the holy diaconate by His Eminence Metropolitan Saba at St. George Church, and then to the holy priesthood the next day by His Beatitude Patriarch John X at Dormition Church.

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“Our national debate about immigration frustrates me. … Many of our leaders seriously believe the issue can best be ‘solved’ by rounding up and removing everyone caught living in our midst without proper legal documents. This would be a human rights nightmare, involving the forced repatriation of a population roughly the size of Ohio. …

“Politicians talk in euphemisms about … making life so scary and harsh for people who are here illegally that they will want to leave the country of their own accord. From the courts and legislatures to the media and popular opinion, there is an outraged, personal tone to our immigration debate that you don’t hear very often in our politics.”

I wrote those words in 2013 at the beginning of my book, “Immigration and the Next America” (Our Sunday Visitor, $11.95). I could write the same words today.

I’ve been ministering to migrants for nearly 40 years, from the time I was a young priest in Texas and Colorado. During that whole time immigration has continued to be a flashpoint in American life.

The recent controversies with the new administration in Washington, D.C., reflect a lack of awareness of the history and confusion about the duties of the Church and government.

The Church has been a good partner. Working with the government through Catholic Charities and other agencies, we have helped our nation welcome and settle millions of legal immigrants and refugees.

We work with efficiency and compassion and use the taxpayer monies entrusted to us wisely. On top of that, the Catholic faithful give very generously, not only their money but countless volunteer hours, to help those seeking a new life in our country.

The Catholic Church did not break the nation’s immigration system, but every day we deal with the human damage caused by that broken system: women and children who have been trafficked by coyotes and cartels; people who’ve been living and working in this country for decades but don’t have the rights or benefits of citizens; those addicted by the drugs being smuggled across our borders.

Now, once again, we are dealing with the fears of ordinary men, women, and children in our neighborhoods, parishes, and schools.

We all agree that we don’t want undocumented immigrants who are known terrorists or violent criminals in our communities. They should be removed from our country in a way that respects their rights and dignity as human beings.

But we still need to fix the broken system that allowed them to cross our borders in the first place. Not enough people in Washington seem to be serious about that.

The last comprehensive reform of our nation’s immigration system was in 1986.

It was a different world then: the Cold War was going on, the European Union was in its infancy. The internet was experimental, there was no such thing as a “smart” phone; Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of Facebook, was two years old.

Forty years is a long time for our leaders to avoid solving an important problem. The failure of political will and courage has truly been bipartisan, and both parties have shown themselves willing to exploit the issue for political gain.

In the meantime, the American economy has changed and so has the global economic and financial system. The mass migration of poor peoples, displaced by wars, disasters, and instability in their home countries, has become a crisis for America and almost every nation in Europe.

The criticism of the Church is misplaced and distracts from the real issues, which are deep and decades old.

In 2013, a very different administration, from the other political party, was in power in Washington. That administration deported more than 5 million immigrants.

I said then and it’s still true today: Deportation is not an immigration policy.

Every nation has the solemn duty to control and secure its borders. But border walls need doors, too.

People are born with the natural right to emigrate in search of a better life, and prosperous nations are called to be generous in welcoming them.

But we cannot let everyone in who wants to live here, so there need to be rules and an orderly process for deciding who we welcome, how many we welcome, and under what conditions.

These are basic principles of Catholic teaching and international law. Other industrialized nations in the West have a coherent immigration policy. America should too.

Government has its responsibility and the Church has her mission. And I am praying that in the months ahead we will find ways to work together for the common good.

Pray for me and I will pray for you.

May Our Lady of Guadalupe, mother of Jesus and mother of all the peoples of the Americas, keep us close to her Son in this moment. May she help us to work together as neighbors, in a spirit of unity, to truly become one nation under God.

Prešov, Slovakia, February 11, 2025

Photo: orthodox.sk     

The Holy Synod of the Orthodox Church of the Czech Lands and Slovakia met in Prešov on January 28, under the chairmanship of His Beatitude Metropolitan Rastislav. Among other matters, the hierarchs addressed the turmoil in Syria.

The hierarchs took note of the Patriarch John and Syrian Christian leaders issue statement calling for national reconciliation and reformThe ecclesiastical leaders called for comprehensive national dialogue across all provinces to address social cohesion challenges and rebuild trust among Syrians.

“>joint declaration of His Beatitude Patriarch John X of Antioch and All the East and other Christian leaders in Syria, attached to the letter from the Antiochian primate from January 22, and declared:

We express our fraternal solidarity and support to His Beatitude the Patriarch of Antioch and All the East John, all bishops, clergy and faithful of the Patriarchate of Antioch, as well as other ancient Christian churches of the Middle East. With pain and deep sorrow, we observe the tragic events and continuing violence in this region. We strongly condemn any manifestations of extremism, terrorism and violence that lead to the destruction of sacred places and human dwellings, to the displacement of population and to loss of lives. We consider these acts unacceptable not only out of respect for God’s image in man and the commandment of love for neighbor, but also for fundamental human rights and freedom, as well as the immense value of every human life. We join in prayers for the earliest possible end to military conflicts and the establishment of lasting peace in places that are connected with the life of our Savior, the work of His Apostles and the spread of Christian faith throughout the world.

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In 2014, more than 40 million people watched the Academy Awards show on television. Since then, viewership has seen a steady decline, with occasional upticks, but the result is that the under 20 million who watched last year’s broadcast is considered a plus. 

There was a time that I never missed the Oscars, and a time where I had seen most, if not all, of the best picture nominees. Those days are gone, not just for me, but as the declining viewership numbers indicate, for a lot of other people as well.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (a kind of high-flying name for an industry in the popcorn-selling business) announced its nominations for this year’s awards later than usual, in light of the wildfire disasters in Southern California. When I look at the 10 movies that have been nominated, I think of a different kind of cataclysm may be in the offering.

None of the movies nominated are what anyone who is counting box office receipts would call a blockbuster. Granted, in recent decades the Academy has tended to ignore movies that were too popular with audiences and deemed not “artistic” enough. Still, the nominated movies of the recent past would be mostly mainstream films produced by the major studios. There would be a few overtly preachy movies and maybe a small film or two independently produced and zeroed in on a niche audience. But for the most part it would be films with box office potential in the running.

Something else is going on now. Take the film “I’m Still Here,” the story about a leftist Brazilian who is kidnapped and disappeared by the right-wing government and how his wife deals with the struggle. If you have never heard of it, you are not alone. To date, the film has grossed just $150,000. To give that number some scale, Disney’s sequel “Inside Out 2” made $1 billion internationally. That is not to say “I’m Still Here” is not a more artistic film than “Inside Out 2,” but it certainly demonstrates that few people have seen it.

There are other movies on the list of this year’s Best Picture nominees that not very many people have seen. Even the ones that have reached broader audiences are mostly dominated by explicit messaging of the social engineering kind.

The not-so-coded messaging in these films is proof beyond a reasonable doubt that the so-called “culture wars” are an ongoing battle on many fronts. Many of these films fully embrace takes on ethics and gender that are in direct opposition to what we as Catholics are obligated to affirm.

Best Picture nominee “Wicked” is dripping with LGBT characters, presented with all the subtlety of a jackhammer. It is a part of a growing list of films that turn traditional stories on their heads by presenting the “good” people as the bad people and the “bad” people as the heroes.

And “Wicked” is not the exception in this year’s lineup. The movie getting substantial industry buzz — and one I am willing to predict right now will garner more than a few Oscars — is “Emelia Perez.” It has been described as a “musical crime comedy.” It centers around a cartel boss who wants to change his gender, and the part is played by an actor who in real life has tried to change his gender. That is a win-win for gender ideology proponents and flies in the face of Pope Francis’ caution about the damage this ideology poses.

Then there is the nominee “Conclave,” which Rotten Tomatoes only gave a 73% rating. The New York Times’ review was likewise tepid. But the Academy nominated this for best picture. Besides unpacking all the usual anti-Catholic tropes, the film’s “shock” ending of the College of the Cardinals electing an intersexed person as the next pope absolutely oozes ideology. It is almost as if there is a concerted effort on the part of moviemakers from all walks of life to highlight, focus, and celebrate one particular walk of life above all others.

This is not about the artistic merits of any of the films on the list. What the list of “best” pictures exposes is the almost universal systems of beliefs about gender, ethics, and ideology that run counter to our Catholic faith, which have been grafted into the DNA of Hollywood filmmakers.

So when the big awards night comes, and the envelope for best picture is opened, we will hear: “And the Oscar goes to…” and we can probably guess that the destination will not be heaven.

Emporio, Santorini, Greece, February 11, 2025

Photo: orthodoxianewsagency.gr     

As earthquakes continue in Santorini and Amorgos, the Orthodox faithful held a procession with holy icons and relics yesterday, calling on the Lord for relief.

A state of emergency has been declared on Santorini as the Greek volcanic island experiences an intense “earthquake swarm,” with over 800 tremors of magnitude 3 and above recorded since January 31, including a 5.2 magnitude quake on February 5. The ongoing seismic activity, expected to last for weeks or months, has prompted mass evacuations from Santorini and neighboring islands, with more than 200 undersea earthquakes recorded in the area.

On the feast of St. Charalambos yesterday, before the dismissal, Metropolitan Amphilochios of Thira reminded that the saint, as protector against plagues and natural disasters, is an example of faith and endurance, reports the Orthodoxia News Agency.

He also referred to the earthquakes, emphasizing the need for prayer and trust in Divine grace. Despite the seismic activity, many faithful came to the holy church, demonstrating their devotion and deep faith in the saint.

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“The events of recent days are causing intense concern in our lives and activities,” the Metropolitan said. “However, my beloved brothers, fear and any danger in our life, beyond its emotional dimension, also has spiritual significance. It teaches every person the quick way to approach the source of peace, love, and light, Jesus Christ. It mobilizes us as persons, as community, as Church, that is, the Body of Christ.”

Following the Divine Liturgy, clergy and faithful processed with relics of St. Charalambos, the Panagia Prousiotissa Icon, and the skull of St. Prosdokios, “seeking Divine protection and peace for their region.”

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Tbilisi, February 10, 2025

Photo: sazu.ge     

The Georgian Orthodox Church is celebrating the 900th anniversary of one of its most beloved saints, King David the Builder, this year.

St. David the IV, also known as the Builder, was the fifth king of the Kingdom of Georgia from 1089 until his death in 1125. He is widely considered the greatest ruler in Georgian history. He drove the Seljuk Turks out of the country in the Battle of Didgori in 1121. He was also a notable proponent of Christian culture.

The main events in his honor were celebrated in churches throughout the country over the weekend, with St. David’s feast on Saturday. The day before, an academic conference on the life and work of the great saint was held.

On his feast day, in addition to the Divine Liturgies celebrated in the churches and monasteries of the Georgian Church, streets named for St. David in Mtskheta and Tbilisi were blessed, and a state of St. David at the entrance to Tbilisi was adorned with a royal crown, reports the Georgian Church’s Public Relations Service.

His Holiness Catholicos-Patriarch Ilia II offered a short homily:

David the Builder was great, but this greatness wasn’t just about military victories and glory, it was about how he built the church and state, how he united and strengthened them, and what legacy he left that still teaches us today. A genius is someone who is not just a genius in isolation—if you look at his deeds from various angles, you’ll see he was a royal builder who not only thought and cared about the present but also about the future. David the Builder, who created a powerful state and at the same time was an absolute servant of the spiritual life—his name would be immortalized not just in Georgia but across the world. This absolute servitude to spiritual life tells us how spiritually elevated this person was, how deeply he understood and served the world, understood and felt that higher divine power that lies beyond human reach. David the Builder’s joy and his prayer are the strength of Georgia.

His Eminence Metropolitan Shio of Senaki, Patriarchal Locum Tenens, also preached on the saint, emphasizing how the 12th-century Georgian king combined political wisdom with deep Christian faith. The Metropolitan highlighted that St David transformed a divided, war-torn Georgia into a powerful Christian state not merely through military and political skill, but through his profound religious devotion, humility, and commitment to education and culture. He also attention to St. David’s personal piety, evidenced in his Hymns of Repentance, and presents him as a model ruler who understood that national strength comes from the unity of Church and state, suggesting that modern Georgia should follow his example.

Blessed David IV the King of GeorgiaThis most valiant, powerful, and righteous Georgian king left his heirs with a brilliant confession when he died. It recalled all the sins he had committed with profound lamentation and beseeched the Almighty God for forgiveness.

“>Read more about St. David here.

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Efforts to repeal the death penalty have been introduced in two Republican-led states, with some lawmakers citing their Catholic faith as a factor in their opposition to capital punishment. The efforts come even as President Donald Trump has moved to expand the use of the practice.

Krisanne Vaillancourt Murphy, executive director of Catholic Mobilizing Network, a group that advocates for the abolition of capital punishment in line with Catholic teaching, told OSV News, “There’s a stark contrast between this special Jubilee Year of hope and the retribution and vengeance we see from the early action of the Trump Administration on the death penalty.”

Among the first actions of his second term, Trump signed an executive order directing the U.S. attorney general to “pursue the death penalty for all crimes of a severity demanding its use,” and to “seek the death penalty regardless of other factors for every federal capital crime” that involves the “murder of a law-enforcement officer” or a “capital crime committed by an alien illegally present in this country.”

Almost immediately following her confirmation to lead the U.S. Justice Department, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi issued her own directives to implement those orders.

Trump’s order also directed the attorney general to “encourage” state attorneys general and district attorneys to pursue death sentences, and to “take all necessary and lawful action to ensure that each state that allows capital punishment has a sufficient supply of drugs needed to carry out lethal injection.”

The death penalty order was among those Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and head of the U.S. Archdiocese for the Military Services, called “deeply troubling” in a statement about Trump’s first batch of executive orders in his second term, which also included criticism of some of his immigration policies. The bishops have also praised some of Trump’s other orders, such those on gender policy and school choice.

“Especially in this Jubilee Year, we are called to ‘proclaim liberty to captives, recovery of sight to the blind and letting the oppressed go free,’” Vaillancourt Murphy said of the 2025 Jubilee Year underway in the Catholic Church. “Indeed, liberation, conversion and reconciliation set us on the path toward right-relationship with God and our neighbors — retribution does not.”

“We know that both the state and federal death penalty systems are broken beyond repair, and emblematic of a throwaway culture,” she added. “We remain committed to the work we have done for 15 years. And so, as pilgrims of hope, we will pray and advocate and educate and advance restorative practices until this system of death is dismantled and our communities flourish amid a culture of life.”

Amid Trump’s efforts to expand the use of capital punishment, some efforts to repeal capital punishment at the state level have been introduced in states with Republican legislative majorities.

A bipartisan, bicameral group of lawmakers in Ohio recently introduced a bill to block funding for three different life issues: abortion, physician-assisted suicide and capital punishment.

Ohio law already prohibits state funds from paying for elective abortion procedures, and the state has not legalized physician-assisted suicide, but the legislation is meant to prohibit “state-funded” death, said its proponents, including the Ohio Catholic Conference.

Brian Hickey, executive director of the Catholic Conference of Ohio, said in a statement the group “fully supports this unique and urgent answer to the moral dangers facing our state and its fiscal consequences.”

“Our taxpayer dollars should be used for the common good, not in a way that takes life and is opposed by more than half of Ohioans,” he said. “We urge the House and Senate to act decisively to pass this bill, making Ohio a leader in affirming a culture of life.”

Hickey added the Catholic faith “teaches us that every life is a gift, created in the image and likeness of God. This belief compels us to act with courage and compassion, especially when facing suffering. This legislation exemplifies that courage, offering a consistent and holistic affirmation of life that transcends partisanship by denying the state the ability to fund death.”

Asked about the Ohio effort to link the three issues, Vaillancourt Murphy said, “People around the country — from faithful grassroots advocates, to state legislators and political leaders — are assessing what this particular moment calls for, and what opportunities or challenges are before us at this deeply polarized time.”

“We have long said that Ohio may very well be the next state to abolish the death penalty. There’s much momentum in this state and a growing opposition among its citizens to the practice of capital punishment,” she said.

“This state-funded death bill, which is backed by the Catholic Bishops in Ohio, is a new approach which situates the death penalty squarely along the continuum of life issues,” she continued. “We often see the death penalty left out of conversations around pro-life policy and advocacy, or regarded as a ‘lesser’ concern. Unlike those historic experiences of a limited approach to life issues, this bill defends a broader and more consistent ethic of life.”

Meanwhile, in Indiana, House Bill 1030, which would repeal the death penalty in that state, was introduced by a Republican and has gained additional Republican co-sponsors.

Vaillancourt Murphy called that effort “fitting for this Jubilee Year, in the wake of last year’s disheartening resumption of executions” in Indiana.

Indiana Rep. Bob Morris, R-Fort Wayne, a Catholic who introduced the legislation, previously told OSV News that his heart had “been changed” on the issue of capital punishment, now seeing its use as inconsistent with his pro-life beliefs.

Pope Francis revised the Catechism of the Catholic Church in 2018 to reflect that capital punishment is morally “inadmissible” in the modern world and that the church works with determination for its abolishment worldwide.

Europe, February 10, 2025

Photo: intoleranceagainstchristians.eu     

Systematic violence against Christians in Europe is on the rise, as documented in the latest annual report by the Observatory on Intolerance and Discrimination against Christians in Europe (OIDAC Europe), an Austrian NGO that monitors the situation regarding religious freedoms.

Drawing from data spanning 35 European nations, the report reveals a troubling pattern of anti-Christian incidents in 2023.

Of the total 2,444 documented hate crimes against Christians, 232 involved direct personal attacks, ranging from harassment to physical violence. France remained the epicenter of these incidents, accounting for approximately 1,000 cases, many involving church vandalism, arson, and defacement with anti-Christian messages.

Following France, the United Kingdom recorded over 700 incidents, while Germany experienced an alarming surge—incidents more than doubled from 135 in 2022 to 277 in 2023, representing a 105% increase.

Christian converts from Muslim backgrounds are especially at risk of violence if their Christian faith is discovered. Christians also continue to face discrimination precisely for their Christian beliefs. “Recent evidence has revealed widespread discrimination against Christians in the workplace and in various areas of society,” the report states, particularly pointing to traditional beliefs such as that God created human beings as male and female.

The report concludes:

With increasing secularization leading to growing religious illiteracy among public leaders and the influence of secularist ethics, Christians in Europe to continue to face restrictions on the exercise of their religious freedom, including the right to express religious views on various issues relating to human nature and human relationships. Public awareness and government action are therefore needed more than ever.

By raising awareness and providing data as well as a thorough human rights analysis about these developments, OIDAC Europe hopes to contribute to the safeguarding of religious freedom of Christians and all believers across Europe. As freedom of thought, conscience, and religion is a cornerstone for free and democratic societies, we hope that states will not compromise on the protection of these fundamental rights, and thus ensure an open and peaceful climate in our societies.

A report from the General Secretariat for Religious Affairs of the Ministry of Education, Religious Affairs, and Sports of Greece revealed that the Greek Orthodox Church also faced record number of attacks in 2023.

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