Tag: Christianity

The following is Metropolitan Luke’s answer to a question posed on the Ukrainian web resource Pravlife.info concerning the modern nature of persecutions now taking place on all fronts against the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church.

    

I think that right now we should not place ourselves in harm’s way, because in modern social science a new name has arisen for analogous processes—cancel culture (boycott culture, cancelling people, and others). The only thing that distinguishes this phenomenon from persecution as we are accustomed to thinking of it is the absence of the mass destruction of people—although in the case of church seizures, we see that the raiders do not limit their use of physical violence against people in our Church.

Just look around. Our times are such that even the sad saying that “a man is a wolf to another man” [or, it’s a dog-eat-dog world] has long ceased to be an objective description of certain interpersonal relations. Modern man has trampled underfoot all possible and impossible taboos. Hatred has become a norm; even more than that—those who do not want to hate are condemned. Revenge even between some Christians has all but ceased to evoke any natural revulsion.

Participation in trolling attacks in social media, for example, is now an everyday affair. But what of trolling—in the so-called civilized world there exists and is even cultivated the phenomenon of dehumanization, which is hard to compare with anything else. Humaneness is frankly superfluous, the world disdains it as a sort of relic of the past. In conditions where competition lies at the foundation of human interrelations, humaneness becomes an obstacle to success. And it’s much easier to fight with an opponent, especially an enemy, if you condition yourself to not see him as human. Unfortunately, we can see that there are such disseminators and bearers of this culture even in our religious milieu.

Cancel culture touches every person who has an opposing viewpoint, and any such person can become the object of aggression from online mobs. Their main goal is to speculate in scandals and to spread toxicity. It is also a very effective means of manipulation. It divides people into “us” and “them”.

“Cancelling” an object means publicly condemning him, trying to boycott him in the media, and generally removing him from public space, demanding his liquidation.

This “culture” has replaced the “culture of dialogue”. Undoubtedly, simply “shutting the mouth” of an opponent is much easier than trying to understand his point of view and engaging in discussion, or seeking a compromise.

An uncompromising “cancellation” with no right to self-explanation is conducted not only in order to condemn the object, but also in order to earn the respect of those who side with this “cancellation”.

Cancel culture is an instrument of the mob. And a mob itself can be controlled, often deprived of the ability to critically make sense of what is happening and to analyze the essence of events.

The front men at the wheel of the process are always those who have the most resources.

    

Unfortunately, we can state that today it is the representatives of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church who are being subjected to cancellation. This means that the Christian truths they preach are becoming irritating and unacceptable to modern Ukrainian society. Endless cancellations are snowballing and forming people who are not capable of looking at those unlike themselves with any goodwill, not capable of accepting anyone other than themselves.

Now, due to the accessibility of information technology, clip-thinking, various cognitive distortions, and problems with memory and attention span, people very readily and emotionally receive information, and so it’s easier to influence them.

We have observed how in the information sphere three main emotions are exploited: fear, humiliation, and hope. Fear of losing one’s status in society, humiliation because this is happening, and hope that this status will again be restored. Within the framework of exploiting these three emotions, those who are trying to destroy the UOC are fully and concretely declaring their aim of religious opposition.

From the speeches of those who hate the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) or see it as the source of their earthly troubles, a clear agenda emerges—to exploit nationalism and patriotism, creating an internal division of “us versus them.” And we see how this works: even now, there is segregation into so-called “Ukrainian” and “Moscow” believers, the “correct” and the “schismatics,” even within the UOC itself.

This process occurs as follows: a group of people—whether a majority or a minority—defines the boundaries of “norms”, proclaims themselves as proud bearers of these norms, and everyone else automatically becomes “disturbers of the peace”. This principle underpins the operations of social media communities of varying degrees of radicalism.

Next, the target is isolated using media tools and digital technologies. For example, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) is portrayed in all media and social networks in no other way than as a hostile organization, with no mention of the good deeds it performs.

The deepest level of “cancellation” happens in the realms of history and culture, where much is rewritten to conform with the patterns of cancel culture. The presence of the UOC is entirely removed from historical sources, films, and books. For instance, during a performance of Natalka Poltavka¹ at the Zaporozhie theater, one character asks, “Is that deacon from the Moscow Patriarchate?”

The fundamental element of cancel culture is public shaming. This is one of the oldest of practices, which has been used throughout the history of mankind. If someone does not correspond to the current political expediency, then societal censure is the best way to “put him in his place.” The cancelled individual becomes a scapegoat. He is used as an example of what will happen to anyone who displays the same behavior.

The so-called scapegoat often becomes an element that strengthens the unity of opposition groups, who then as a united front speak publicly against him, as we say here, “Who are we friends against?” One example is that all the members of the All-Ukrainian parliament of churches and religious organizations are coming out against the UOC. These formerly competing groups are now unified in a general outburst against what in their opinion deserves the greatest condemnation.

Cancel culture is taking off like a chain reaction. Ideas pass from person to person and grow in geometric progression. Due to the lowering of empathy and tolerance with regards to others, society is heading into decline. Moreover, it is practically impossible to stop the process of cancellation after its active phase, just as it’s impossible to stop an avalanche. The growth of digital technology makes it possible for a local boycott to expand into global persecution. Any idea can be spread through the internet in a moment.

This process weakens the authorities’ monopoly on violence. If in law there exists an understanding of the presumption of innocence, and according to it people cannot be punished without thorough proof of guilt, then a mob of activists is an unknown concept. Groups can form within it who will cancel people left and right with the aid of firearms. But that the government cannot completely control the situation is a clear sign of degradation. One example is the seizure of the cathedral in Cherkasy.

The attempt to completely cancel a whole portion of society is fraught with the danger of a huge schism in society in the future. And this will be yet another component on the path to the deterioration and self-destruction of the Ukrainian nation.

Communication is taking on the character of ultimatums, and the condemned side has no right to its own voice. Communication will be possible when people begin to conduct discussions, in our case, based on canons and the Church’s experience and not political expediency. Moreover, all participants should have the right to their own voice, the right to express their own opinion, and the right to be, not overpowered, but heard.

Tbilisi, December 2, 2024

Photo: aljazeera.com     

Georgia’s ruling Georgian Dream party won 89 seats in the 150-seat Parliament in the recent elections in October, with 53.95% of the vote.

However, in an attempt to impose its own will on Georgia, the European Parliament adopted a resolution last week condemning the parliamentary elections as undemocratic, demanding a redo under international supervision within a year. The Georgian Dream party, which supports the important role of the Georgian Orthodox Church in the country, is routinely presented in the media as pro-Russian, anti-European, and anti-democratic.

In response to the European Parliament’s decision, Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze said the government will suspend talks on joining the European Union until 2028 and accused Brussels of “blackmail.”

In response, thousands of protestors have taken to the streets of the capital for several days in a row, with clashes with the police sometimes turning into violence.

As always, the Georgian Orthodox Church has called for peace, and for the people to remember their Orthodox heritage.

In its statement on November 29, the Church notes that while protestors damaged property and tried to enter buildings, police responded with excessive force, including against journalists. The statement criticizes the increasingly common pattern of political polarization and aggression in Georgian society, calling on both protesters and authorities to show restraint, respect differing views, and express disagreements peacefully in line with Christian values and principles.

The statement reads:

The events that unfolded at dawn on November 29th of this year on Rustaveli Avenue in the capital cause us great concern and distress.

Despite explanations from government representatives, both yesterday and today, that Georgia is not deviating from its European course and is not rejecting European values, these explanations proved insufficient and unconvincing for part of society. As a result, a peaceful demonstration gradually escalated into physical confrontation between law enforcement representatives and protest participants.

Numerous media footage shows protesters confronting police officers, attempting to break into buildings, and damaging infrastructure. In turn, we witnessed aggressive actions from law enforcement. They physically assaulted protest participants of various ages, including journalists, whose primary professional duty is to document facts and distribute objective information.

It’s unfortunate that today, as in recent years, this picture remains unchanged. A grave scenario periodically unfolds before our eyes. The categorical rejection of others by individuals and political parties, radical attitudes due to different opinions and positions, aggression, and discord have become commonplace.

Alongside all this, the Orthodox Church has always called and continues to call for restraint and mutual respect among people, regardless of differences of opinion, different political views, or courses. Members of society should still be oriented towards maintaining peace, so as not to cross the line.

We call upon both the authorities and law enforcement representatives, as well as all other members of society who actively express their protest, to refrain from aggressive and offensive actions, physical and verbal confrontation. Let us not harm each other due to different opinions and views, and let us be able to express our positions in a much more civil manner.

Such negative attitudes and actions are foreign to the Church’s vision and generally to the Christian spirit. Therefore, we once again call for peace and prudence.

Be at peace, and may the God of peace and love be with you (2 Cor. 3:11).

The Church issued a follow-up statement the next day:

We are deeply saddened that despite the Church’s appeal, the demonstration on Rustaveli Avenue escalated into serious confrontation again on November 30th. The footage distributed in mass media and social networks clearly shows actions that have exceeded the bounds of law and morality.

The current situation causes confrontation and threatens the peaceful coexistence of citizens.

Those standing on both sides are dear to us and we pray for them; we pray for the quick recovery of those who were injured. Furthermore, we once again ask the youth, and protesters in general, to show wisdom and maintain the boundaries of expressing protest; we also ask law enforcement to show maximum patience and not exceed the limits of legal action; it is essential for the state to quickly inform the public about violations and investigations.

No matter how great the value we strive for, we must not forget that humans are made in God’s image and likeness and are the creatures bearing the highest dignity in this world.

We beseech the Most Holy Mother of God to protect Georgia, her inheritance, with peace.

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Ohrid, North Macedonia, December 2, 2024

Photo: liturgija.mk     

Hierarchs of the Serbian and Bulgarian Orthodox Churches joined the hierarchs of the Macedonian Orthodox Church-Ohrid Archbishopric for the funeral of His Eminence Metropolitan Timotej of Debar and Kičevo last week.

Met. Timotej, who served as a hierarch of the MOC-OA for 43 years, reposed in the Lord on Metropolitan Timotej of Macedonian Orthodox Church-Ohrid Archbishopric reposes in the LordHis Eminence Metropolitan Timotej of Debar and Kičevo of the Macedonian Orthodox Church-Ohrid Archbishopric reposed in the Lord yesterday, November 25, after a short illness. He was 73 years old.

“>November 25.

On Thursday morning, November 28, a memorial Divine Liturgy was served at St. Sophia Church in Ohrid, presided over by the MOC-OA primate, His Eminence Archbishop Stephan of Ohrid. He was joined by a host of hierarchs of the Macedonian Church, His Eminence Metropolitan Pahomije of Vranje and His Grace Bishop Alexej of Hvosno of the Serbian Orthodox Church, and His Eminence Metropolitan Kiprian of Stara Zagora of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church, reports liturgija.mk.

Photo: liturgija.mk     

The hierarchs were joined by a number of clerics, and a host of believers arrived from throughout the country to bid farewell to Met. Timotej.

After the service, His Eminence’s body was taken in procession to Plaošnik Monastery of Sts. Panteleimon and Clement of Ohrid, where he was buried near the southern apse of the church.

The municipality of Ohrid declared a day of mourning in honor of Met. Timotej’s repose and all cultural and entertainment events were canceled.

May Met. Timotej’s memory be eternal!

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If you haven’t heard by now, Hollywood is at it again, offering viewers another serving of one of the staples of ancient Roman society: gladiators.

As Russell Crowe famously asked the crowds in the Coliseum: Are you not entertained?

“Gladiator II” certainly tries, with director Ridley Scott trying to recreate the magic of his award-winning box office hit from 2000. Irish actor Paul Mescal plays Lucius Verus, a young man seeking to continue the legacy of Crowe’s character, Maximus Decimus Meridius.

Although not as entertaining as its predecessor, “Gladiator II” offers a window into one of the most puzzling and outrageous vices of ancient Rome, begging the question: Were the Romans as obsessed with gladiators as Hollywood makes them to be?

The short answer is yes. Gladiators were celebrities, their pictures and names adorning everything from baby’s nursing bottles to dining room mosaics. Most gladiators were slaves, but free people (including women) would enlist, too, attracted by the lure of popularity and the chance of support from powerful patrons.

A slave gladiator could earn his freedom fighting, yet we know of several gladiators who preferred to remain enslaved to keep fighting in the arena. (Like today’s elite athletes, gladiators found it hard to retire after many years in the spotlight.)

Despite their popularity, their status in Rome was controversial. The Christian writer Tertullian writes: “The art they glorify, the artist they debase.” A gladiator used his body to entertain others. The Roman mentality considered this slave-like and demeaning, but it did not stop the emperor Commodus, the villain of the first “Gladiator,” from fighting more than 700 times in gladiatorial contests!

“Gladiator II” takes the spectacle of the arena to the next level, with a gladiator riding a rhino and a naval battle in the flooded Coliseum featuring famished sharks roaming the waters — scenes that are not that far removed from historical reality. While we don’t know of anybody riding a rhino, their presence in the games is well attested. And yes, the Coliseum was flooded to stage naval battles, sometimes featuring marine animals.

The more serious inaccuracies have to do with the distinctions between the different combat shows. A typical day at the games began in the morning with hunts (venationes), during which trained specialists (bestiarii) fought wild animals. Then came the midday show, mostly featuring the punishment of convicts: criminals (sometimes including Christians) or prisoners of war, who were often executed by being fed to wild animals or forced to fight one another to death in staged battles.

But all of this was the ancient equivalent of tailgating: the real show was the afternoon gladiator fights, fought only one-on-one and with special rules.  

Despite their lower status, Romans admired gladiators for their ability to face death fearlessly. A defeated gladiator would kneel, grab his opponent’s leg, and stretch his neck to receive the final blow.

The great Roman orator Cicero writes: “What even mediocre gladiator ever groans, ever alters the expression on his face? And which of them, even when he does succumb, ever contracts his neck when ordered to receive the blow?” Gladiators didn’t flinch.

The public execution and humiliation of convicts was meant to inspire terror in those who opposed the emperor’s power. The spectacle of Christians accepting death for their faith, often displaying the same bravery as gladiators, deeply impressed the Romans. The “Passion of Perpetua and Felicity” from the third century recounts how Perpetua, after being wounded, requested to be taken back to the arena to receive the final blow like a proper gladiator. This might be one of the reasons the persecution of Christians spectacularly failed to dissuade new conversions.

In its soppy Hollywood ending, Lucius waxes about “a home worth fighting for.” As in the first “Gladiator,” the sequel casts its conflict as being between good guys and bad guys, republic vs. empire, tyranny vs. democracy. When it comes to the period of history in which the movies are set (third century), nothing could be further from the truth.

Love for freedom was a key value for Romans (quite the paradox for a slave-owning society), and one they have bequeathed the Western world. But the Roman republic, with its system of elected magistrates, was eminently unsuited to administer an empire the size of Rome. 

After about 60 years of almost uninterrupted civil war, Augustus turned Rome into a monarchy. There was an attempt to return to the republican system after the death of Caligula (A.D. 41), but by the time of “Gladiator”-era emperors like Marcus Aurelius and Caracalla, no one would have believed a return to the Republic to be feasible.

Bad emperors like Caracalla and Nero were loathed by the senators, but very popular with the plebians, or common people. Thanks to their games and donations, the plebians regarded them as the champions of the oppressed. Challenges to the emperors tended to come from high-ranking generals and members of the senatorial elite, not plebs.

One thing that sets “Gladiator II” apart from the original is its citations of ancient literature. In Virgil’s famous poem “The Aeneid,” the titular hero begs the sibyl, a prophetess of the god Apollo, to let him descend to the underworld. She replies: “The gates of hell are open night and day; | Smooth the descent, and easy is the way: | But to return, and view the cheerful skies, | In this the task and mighty labor lies.’

Probably the meaning is that, in the world of gladiators, dying is easy, and staying outside of the underworld is the real task. Or maybe the idea is that Lucius Verus is in some way a reincarnation of his father Maximus, returned from the dead to get revenge on a corrupt emperor.

Aleppo, Syria, December 2, 2024

Photo: Greco-Levantines World Wide     

In a pastoral message issued on November 30, 2024, His Eminence Metropolitan Ephraim of Aleppo of the Antiochian Orthodox Church addresses his flock amidst the current flare-up in the 13-year Syrian war.

His Eminence confirms that he and others remaining in Aleppo are safe while advising residents to stay indoors and maintain calm.

He commits to staying in Aleppo to support his congregation, encourages continued prayer, and offers prayers for those who have left the city, while assuring that church services will continue as circumstances permit.

Aleppo has the largest Christian population (of various denominations) in Syria, though it the percentage has fallen dramatically since the war began in 2011.

On November 29, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (formerly known as Al-Nusra Front) and Turkish-backed opposition groups launched an offensive on Aleppo, entering the government-held city. By November 30, these opposition forces had reportedly captured most of the city, marking the first major fighting in Aleppo since government forces took control from rebels in 2016.

Read Met. Ephraim’s full statement amidst the fighting:

Our beloved children, may the peace of the Lord be with you,

First, I would like to greet you and say: Good evening, hoping that our world remains well, and that you are in good health. Thank you to everyone who has contacted us to check on those of us remaining in Aleppo. We assure you all that we are well, thank God.

In these circumstances, beloved ones, it is wise for those who remained in Aleppo to avoid wandering around and to maintain calm and patience, and to commit to praying to the Lord God to have mercy on His world and bring peace to it. As for those who have left us, we pray to the Lord to guide their steps and help them reach their destinations safely.

We assure you, our beloved children in Aleppo, that we are staying in Aleppo alongside our flock in all circumstances, from the harshest to the sweetest. This is our pastoral mission and we will remain steadfast in it. We will be your support when needed, so do not hesitate to contact us directly.

We affirm that prayers will continue in our churches, according to the circumstances and available conditions. For in prayer, beloved ones, we cast the weight of our burden upon God and fix our hope in Him. Therefore, I tell you to pray without ceasing. Let us endure, sharing in Christ’s path of the cross until we rise with Him in His resurrection.

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The Reading from the Holy Gospel according to St. Luke. (12:16-21)

In today’s reading the Lord gives a simple parable about the subject of treasure. Namely, what do we consider to be our treasure and how do we use or misuse our treasure. He tells us about a rich man whose crops flourished. They flourished to such a degree that in fact he ran out of space in his barns and storehouses. So upon seeing all of his abundance and the situation that was caused by this over abundance of crops, he asks “What shall I do?” On the surface, he did what any logical person would do. He decided to pull down the barns and build even bigger barns to store all of his wealth, meaning, his grains and produce. Now as he was contemplated all of this, he finished his daydream by thinking about the result of building new larger barns. He thought about how he would say these words “Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; take your ease, eat, drink, be merry.”

Now at this point in the parable we are told that God spoke to the man saying ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you; and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.” I think that this message is very clear for us. And it is a two sided message. The first and plain reading is that we focus too much of our attention to our financial wellbeing without thinking about the “well-being” of the things of God. We worry too much about caring for our needs, and not nearly enough in caring for the needs of the things of God. But what are the things of God? Namely, the care of the poor and the care of the church. After all doesn’t our Lord Jesus tell us that the one who serves the poor serves Him? And doesn’t St. Paul also tell us that the Church is the body of Christ and the house of God?

When one is rich towards God, he starts from a point of view of gratitude towards God for all things. He looks at his treasures and his bank account and he doesn’t worry about his wealth, he worries instead about how he can show love and gratitude to God for all of the gifts that He has poured out on us, although we are unworthy of these gifts. He thinks about how he can glorify God with a small portion of his treasures. And he trusts that God receives these through the church and uses them to bless the lives of countless others.

My brothers and sisters, you know that we are raising funds to build a simple but beautiful church and now you can see the skeleton of that church. Do you think that this is simply a building? No! It will be a hospital for the many wounded who enter. It will be a refuge for those who feel unsafe. It will be a shelter and a home for those who feel homeless and without a family. It will be a lighthouse for those who are wandering in the darkness. You and your children and your grandchildren for generations will come here to take blessings and to commune with God. It becomes all of those things by the grace of God and by the love offerings and offerings of thanksgiving that we provide according to our ability. And Our Lord mentions these things not for His benefit but for our benefit.

St. Cyril the Archbishop of AlexandriaSt Cyril was the nephew of Patriarch Theophilus of Alexandria, who educated him from his youth.

“>St. Cyril of Alexandria says “How carefully and with what great skill he brings the lives of the holy apostles to spiritual excellence. And with them he benefits us too, because he desires all humankind to be saved and to choose the wise and more excellent life.” In desiring that we choose the excellent way, the Lord wants to free us of worldliness. He wants to free us of greed and orient our hearts to what is lasting, to what has eternal value.

Now I told you that there is also another meaning to this text. Specifically, that one who is rich towards God is focused on righteousness. He is not so focused on the condition of his bank account as much as he is focused on the condition of his soul because his soul will live forever. St. Cyril again writes, “It is true that a person’s life is not from one’s possessions or because of having an overabundance. He who is rich toward God is very blessed and has glorious hope. Who is he? Evidently, one who does not love wealth but rather loves virtue, and to whom few things are sufficient…. It is one whose hand is open to the needs of the poor, comforting the sorrows of those in poverty according to his means and the utmost of his power. He gathers in the storehouses that are above and lays up treasures in heaven. Such a one shall find the interest of his virtue and the reward of his right and blameless life.”

So St. Cyril actually connects the two. He tells us that when we care for the poor we are actually caring for our own souls. We can also say that the reverse is also true. When we focus only on ourselves, somehow we are not caring for but mutilating our own souls. The treasures we have are temporary possessions but if they are not properly and wisely used, they take possession of us. St. Leo the Great the Pope of RomeSaint Leo I the Great, Pope of Rome (440-461), received a fine and diverse education, which opened for him the possibility of an excellent worldly career.

“>St. Leo of Rome tells us that as Christians we should always be focused on preparing for the end of our earthly life. He writes, “This should be the careful consideration of wise people, that since the days of this life are short and the time uncertain, death should never be unexpected for those who are to die. Those who know that they are mortal should not come to an unprepared end.” Sermon 90.4.1.

What is so important about this idea is that it is a common idea found among the ancient desert fathers as well. That we should always be preparing for our death. It seems from the outside like a strange and dark sentiment, but in fact, it is a spiritual boost and it allows us to focus on reality as it is. No matter who we are, king or queen, emperor or president, billionaire or philanthropist, doctor, lawyer, engineer, priest, builder, farmer, athlete, soldier, stay at home mom, or even a rich landowner, this is still our reality. May we love God and the things of God and keep these things in proper order in our lives so that we will not hear this dreadful word “Fool!” but will instead hear the Lord say to us “Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.”

St. Nikephoros (Tzanakakis) the Leper. Part 2“No one had ever told us what repentance is. We had never heard that there is the prayer of the heart, that there are prayer ropes, that there is the prayer ‘Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me, a sinner!’ We learned about this from a leper, the nearly blind and almost entirely paralyzed Father Nikephoros.”

“>Part 2

    

I can’t forget about one amazing event. Meniko and Akaki in Cyprus became the first villages in the world to depict it in their churches.

One day Confessor for the LeprousElder Eumenios (Saridakis ) was an amazing ascetic, a saint of our times who diligently took care to conceal his holiness.

“>Fr. Evmenios (at that time he was still Fr. Sophronios), put St. Nikephoros to bed. It was very cold in winter, so he turned on the electric fire in the saint’s cell, but Fr. Nikephoros told him:

“My child, turn the fire off before leaving!”

“All right, Geronda, bless me!”

Fr. Evmenios went to his cell. And while he was praying there, the thought came to him whether he had turned the electric fire off in Fr. Nikephoros’ cell. And since this thought kept bothering him, he said to himself:

“I’ll go and quietly, without waking the elder, check if the electric fire is off.”

And so he went. We are talking about a paralyzed and blind man—St. Nikephoros. Elder Evmenios opened the door of his spiritual brother’s cell quietly, thinking that he was asleep. And what did he see there?

He found St. Nikephoros in the air five feet above his bed, praying in the midst of a great light, raising his hands towards the icon of the Most Holy Theotokos. Elder Evmenios was astonished. He closed the door soundlessly so as not to disturb the saint in contemplation of the uncreated light, came back to his cell, knelt down and said:

“Forgive me, O Lord, for interfering in Thy communion with my elder!”

Afterwards Elder Evmenios told me:

“Then such joy seized me—it filled my whole body in waves, and I said to myself: ‘My Christ, Thou hast sent me this great saint, this spiritual mentor. Lord, in my prayers I asked Thee to send me a man as a mentor, and Thou sent me a saint!”

Of all the events that was the best for me, and I told myself that when I found a good iconographer, I would ask him to paint an icon of St. Nikephoros. And when we were frescoing the church in Meniko and by the grace of God the work was finished, I asked Anthony, a Russian iconographer, to paint a fresco with this saint’s image.

The church singer Yorgos was very ill and dying. His children came, and I told them to order an icon of St. Nikephoros. I visited Yorgos at the hospital. The disease struck him where his strength and joy were—his vocal cords. And I told him, “My God, when Thou wantest to strike, Thou strikest the spot!”

I knew that St. Nikephoros was a good singer, as was our Yorgos, who lost his voice after a tracheotomy. I was thinking about which book to bring him to read. And I decided to take one on St. Nikephoros. And do you know what happened?

The night before he told his wife, “Nikephoros is coming to me tomorrow.”

Maria, his wife, asked, “Which Nikephoros? Metropolitan Nikephoros of Kykkos?”

“No. Another Nikephoros will come. I don’t know. But the day before yesterday I was told in a dream that certain Nikephoros would come to me tomorrow.”

The next day I went to the hospital and brought him a book on St. Nikephoros. Once Yorgos saw it, he and his wife burst into tears.

    

“Nikephoros is here! And we believed that Metropolitan Nikephoros would come today!”

And I told him, “Yorgos, my friend, if the saint wants to, he can heal you. You may not be healed physically, and then St. Nikephoros will accompany you to eternal life.”

He replied, “It will be better if the latter happened!”

He was a wise man and chose eternal spiritual good. A few days later, Yorgos died.

His children remembered this and paid for the painting of St. Nikephoros’ icon. Every year on January 4 it is displayed for the veneration of the parishioners.

The saints inspire us by their lives to not lead an impious life where we eat and drink and tomorrow we die! Thus, if the saints’ way of life inspires us, then our life has meaning, there is grace and joy in it.

Let me share some other very good news with you. When Fr. Evmenios entered St. Nikephoros’ cell again, he found him praying a prayer of repentance:

“My Christ, forgive me, a liar! My Christ, forgive me, a lecher! My Christ, forgive me, a robber! My Christ, forgive me, one who judges, says spiteful things to others, is easily irritated, and upsets others!”

Fr. Evmenios said nothing. The next day, when they were having a meal together, he asked his spiritual father:

“Geronda, yesterday I heard you praying. What kind of prayer was that?”

“It was a prayer of repentance.”

“But Geronda, isn’t it extreme? When did you have time to commit all these sins? You contracted leprosy at the age of sixteen. When did you fornicate? When did you steal? When did you murder? Why are you saying such things?”

“Because, my child, maybe I didn’t commit these sins, but I thought about them! And in the Gospel Christ tells us that whether you have sinned in thought, in words, or in deeds, it is almost the same thing. And we know such a saint as St. Anthimos, who was strict with us. Therefore, it is useful to blame ourselves in our prayers.”

This is the only way a person comes to repentance, which leads him to mercy. Mercy leads him to compassion, and compassion leads to holiness. You will not hear of any saint who did not have repentance, mercy, and compassion for his neighbors. This is precisely what St. Nikephoros teaches us.

St. Nikephoros (Tzanakakis) The Leper One day Elder Evmenios was alone. It was very hot, there were a lot of mosquitoes. Someone brought him some insect repellent, and he began to spray it all over his cell. The whole cell was filled with the smell of poison. After that, he walked back into his cell and went to sleep. And he would certainly have died there. It was like entering a furnace with poison.

“As soon as I went to bed,” he later related, “and fell into the first sleep, I saw St. Nikephoros take me by the shoulders, throw me out of my cell, and command me, ‘My child, what are you doing? You’ll die this way! Don’t you understand that? Don’t come into the cell until the morning!’”

If you’re a father, you take care of your child. You control him after even your death. And St. Nikephoros said to Elder Evmenios:

“Don’t enter the cell again! Open the doors, open the windows and ventilate the cell!”

Elder Evmenios also related:

“I was extremely upset: something very bad happened to me, my heart turned ‘black’ with anguish, I fell into despair, was sad and crying. I said, ‘Where are you, Father Nikephoros? You were my support, inspiration and consolation, and now I’m left alone and in agony.’

“As I was thinking about that, I felt someone’s hand stroking my head. I turned around, and who did I see? The reposed Father Nikephoros! He said to me: ‘Father, don’t get too frustrated, you shouldn’t do that. We have the Holy Spirit, and we shouldn’t get so upset.’

“When he stroked my head, it was as if a breeze had blown into my heart, which gradually became stronger and stronger, and anxiety vanished, giving way to the joy in the Holy Spirit.”

This is how saints of God communicate with each other and transmit each other the power, inspiration and grace of the Holy Spirit, and this is the most important thing. As we have already said, neither our fathers nor our mothers will abandon us as long as they are righteous. The righteous will live forever and ever. Perhaps we are unworthy to have such an intercessor as the holy Elder Evmenios, whom St. Porphyrios called “the hidden saint of Athens.” When St. Porphyrios was going to Mt. Athos for respite, his spiritual children asked him:

“What will we do without you? Are you really going to leave us orphans?”

He sent most of them to Elder Evmenios, who was the successor of Sts. Pachomios, Nectarios, Anthimos and Nikephoros.

Elder Evmenios (left) and Metropolitan Neophytos of Morphou (right) Such was the wonderful life of St. Nikephoros.

Not long ago, two people from the metropolis fell very ill. I was also sick and couldn’t go outside. The abbess of St. Nicholas Convent told me:

“I’ll go and visit the sick people.”

This abbess was a mutual acquaintance of ours.

I answered her:

“Don’t go alone! Take St. Nikephoros with you for company. Take his relics and make the sign of the cross over the sick people with them.”

And so she did. One of them was at a Nicosia hospital, and the other was at hospital in another city. First the abbess went to see the latter, named Anastasios. No sooner had she entered the ward where Anastasios was than the holy relics began to exhale fragrance, which filled not only the ward, but also the entire floor. The nurses came up wondering:

“Why does it smell like this? Mother, did you bring perfume to the ward?”

“No, I have no perfume,” the abbess replied and showed them the reliquary, and they came up and venerated St. Nikephoros’ relics.

The same thing occurred when she arrived at the hospital in Nicosia.

You see how God arranges such events to show us that we have holy fathers and mothers who take care of us. They do it not only to heal us from physical illness—not all of us will recover, and miracles will not occur to everybody—but to show us that we must all live by the miracle of our spiritual and mental healing, namely by repentance and regular Communion, mercy and compassion. In this way we will become true children of St. Nikephoros.

A second icon was recently painted. It depicts St. Anthimos of Chios, in the center is St. Nikephoros, and on the right is Elder Evmenios (Saridakis), who has not yet been canonized, but for us he is a modern saint and will soon become one for the whole world [Elder Evmenios was canonized in 2022.—Ed.].

Before my consecration as bishop, I went to Elder Evmenios. The elder was bedridden at Evangelismos Hospital, and I went to receive his blessing. I also sent Fr. Michalis from Peristeron, who was young and preparing for ordination as well. I told him:

“My son, if you are going with your wife [he had just gotten married] on your honeymoon to Athens, go and see a real saint!”

So he went and met Elder Evmenios. And he told me:

“Once my wife and I went outside, we cried for half an hour, without knowing why we were crying.”

I replied to him, “This is an effect of holiness. One of the ways to feel holiness is through tears.”

I told Elder Evmenios: “Geronda, thank you for everything. Pray for me continuously, because now that I have become a bishop, I am beginning to have problems!”

“I will always be with you!”

“And whatever may happen to you, I’ll come,” I said, meaning his funeral.

And what did he tell me?

“You want to, and I want you to, but you can’t.”

“Why?”

“On the day of my funeral a high-ranking guest will come to you and you will not be able to attend my funeral. But I’ll come to keep an eye on you.”

Sts. Anthimos, Nikephoros and Evmenios The day of his funeral was May 24. At that time, the feast of St. Cyriacus of Eurychou was being celebrated, and the Archbishopric decided to receive the ever-memorable Pope and Patriarch Petros of Alexandria in Eurychou. He was on an official visit to Cyprus. A visit to the Archdiocese of Morphou was scheduled for that day. A year earlier the elder had foretold it to me.

Eighteen years later I decided to go to Crete, which produced these saintly men: St. Nikephoros and the holy Elder Evmenios. They, together with Elder Iakovos (Tsalikis), are the greatest boon to me. I decided to serve a litiya at the grave of our Elder Evmenios in his native village of Ethia. And I did it. I returned to Athens very tired and told my friend Andreas with whom I was staying that I wanted to get some rest and sleep the following day. But the next morning I suddenly heard Andreas talking on the phone loudly:

“Madam, it’s impossible, he’s very tired! He’s sleeping now.”

Since I was awake, I told him:

“Andreas, who is there?”

“A woman who says that she called the diocese in Eurychou. She was told that you were in Athens and that you must meet with her.”

“Give me her phone number.”

I called the woman back. She gave me her name and I asked her:

“Why do we need to meet?”

“Don’t you remember me?”

“No.”

“Twenty-five years ago, I came from Germany, you brought me to Elder Iakovos (Tsalikis), and I confessed my sins to him.”

“But I have brought many people to Elder Iakovos—how can I remember them all!”

“I asked Elder Iakovos: ‘Should I come to you for confession?’ He answered, ‘No, I’m going to die soon. I don’t want to leave you a spiritual orphan.’ I asked, ‘Then who should I go to confess to?’

“He told me: ‘Ask the deacon; he knows and will tell you what you should do.’

“I asked you: ‘Father, where should I go to confession?’

“And you told me: ‘Go to Father Evmenios.’

“Then you gave me the best gift in my life.”

Believe me, I don’t remember anything of what the woman told me. She went to confession to Fr. Evmenios until his repose in 1999. Shortly before his death he said to her:

“I want you to perform the prayers I taught you in your apartment in Athens for the rest of your life.”

I wondered, “What prayers did he teach you?”

“The prayers that Elder Evmenios himself performed.”

“But that’s five hours of praying?”

“Well, yes, five hours! I’m a single woman. What should I do alone in my apartment? I read the texts of the services, as Father Evmenios did.”

    

I said to myself, “There have always been secret ascetics in Athens.”

Here’s what she told me: “Your Eminence, these days, while you are in Crete, I heard Father Evmenios’ voice, and he said to me: ‘Give St. Nikephoros’ cane to the Metropolitan of Morphou!’”

I said to her, “Oh my God! Do you really have St. Nikephoros’ cane?”

When Elder Evmenios was still alive, multitudes of people flocked to him, and he gave something to each, because he knew when he would die. Someone even asked him:

“Geronda, when will you depart from this world?”

And the elder replied, “Well, it will be in May. Seventeen, eighteen, nineteen, twenty, twenty-one, twenty-two, twenty-three. I don’t see any other numbers.”

On May 23, Elder Evmenios fell asleep in the Lord.

He told the woman, “You will perform the services that I performed, and I will give you two particles of St. Nikephoros’ relics and his cane as a blessing. When the time comes, I will let you know, and you will take these to another place.”

And now this sister was in Athens. She lived in a poor neighborhood. She was already an elderly woman and devoted five hours a day to prayers. She called the diocese and was told that I was in Crete.

“In Crete?” she asked.

“She is in Crete now to order a litiya.”

“For whose repose?”

“Father Evmenios’. That’s why I hear his voice!”

I told her, “Sister, why are you in Crete? Have you brought me the relics and the saint’s cane? I must come to the saint, not vice versa!”

“No!!!” she shouted into the phone. “You should not come to my sinful home! I’ll come and find you! Tell me where you are now.”

I told her where I was. She came to me, brought St. Nikephoros’ cane, two particles of the saint’s relics, and we made a shrine for them for the nursing home in Peristeron.

You see that our life is like a circle. In the center is Christ, and around Him, like bright stars, are the saints who send us their light and power. Don’t lose heart—we are not alone regardless of what may happen to us. We have God as our Father, the Most Holy Theotokos as our Mother, and the saints as our brothers and sisters in Heaven who take care of us all!

A broad constitutional reform promoted by the Sandinista leader Daniel Ortega and his wife, Vice President Rosario Murillo, will probably increase the political persecution of the Catholic Church – as well as other Christian churches and denominations – in Nicaragua, according to analysts.

Among 200 articles, more than 140 will be changed, while 37 will be canceled. The Congress has already approved the new Constitution, but it has to vote for it again, something that will probably happen only in 2025.

The new Constitution further concentrates the power in the hands of Ortega and Murillo, from now on considered to be “co-presidents.” All State branches will remain under control of the Executive. The Armed Forces and the police, also directly subordinated to the ruling couple, will receive the official complementation of the so-called Voluntary Police, mostly formed by citizens. Such a force was key to repressing the demonstrators that opposed Ortega’s reform in 2018 and took to the streets.

Changes also allow a stronger control over the press and over citizens, who now can be more easily stripped of their Nicaraguan nationality if they’re considered traitors. As a matter of fact, many political dissidents sent to exile by the regime have already lost their citizenship.

When it comes to religion, a number of dispositions weaken the churches operating in Nicaragua. That’s the case of article 14, which establishes that “under the protection of religion, no person or organization can carry out activities that threaten public order.” It also determines that “the religious organizations must keep free from all foreign control.”

That article was seen by many opponents of Ortega’s regime as a move to dominate the Christian churches located in Nicaragua, including the Catholic Church.

“That modification eliminates the spirit of what we know as religion. Religions are not limited to specific territories. They don’t see barriers,” Yader Valdivia told Crux.

Valdivia is coordinator of documentation and research at the non-governmental organization Nicarágua Nunca Más, which gathers human rights activists exiled in Costa Rica.

One of the most obvious examples of what the regime may consider as “foreign control” is the relation between the Vatican and the Catholic Church in Nicaragua. But other Christian denominations, especially those founded and established in other countries, may be impacted.

“In the State that is being created by the new Constitution, only the Ortega-Murillo couple will be able to control religion in the country,” Valdivia said.

Article 69 mentions that the public or private manifestation of religious creeds must be carried out in accordance with the fundamental principles established by the Constitution. Article 120 determines that private schools can educate the children in matters of faith, but also according to the principles of the Constitution.

“And which are such principles? Those principles are the ones established by the new Constitution, they’re the revolutionary principles,” Valdivia said, adding that it is a direct aggression against all religions to subordinate their creeds to Sandinismo.

The Catholic Church has been continuously attacked by Ortega’s regime since the 2018 mass protests. According to Nicarágua Nunca Más, the government has arrested at least 74 religious people between 2018-2024. Most of them are priests. Sixty-three of them were released and sent to exile. Thirty-five lost their nationality.

Three Catholic bishops have been sent to exile by now. The most recent of them was Bishop Carlos Enrique Herrera of Jinotega, who heads the Bishops’ Conference. After criticizing a noisy activity promoted by the local city government during the Holy Mass on Nov. 10, Herrera was taken to Managua’s airport and put into a flight to Guatemala. The mayor that was criticized by the bishop, named Leonidas Centeno, is one of the most important ones in Nicaragua, due to his ties with the ruling couple.

In Guatemala, Herrera was welcomed by his Congregation’s brothers, the Franciscan friars, according to Spanish newspaper El Pais.

More recently, the regime also promoted a broad attack on Evangelical churches, canceling the legal status of hundreds of them with very weak motivations of bureaucratic nature.

According to Yader Valdivia, Nicarágua Nunca Más is not mentioning the Constitutional changes as a reform, given that most of the original articles are gone.

“The way how the State is run is based on the Constitution. Ortega and Murillo are completely changing it, so what they’re doing is really a coup d’état,” Valdivia said.

Catholic bishops in England have decried a vote for assisted suicide, with one saying it represented a “dark day” in the history of the country.

Members of Parliament voted by 330 to 275 for the “Terminally Ill (End of Life) Bill,” which will permit doctor-assisted deaths for adult patients deemed to have less than six months to live.

Although the bill must pass through several stages in both Houses of Parliament in London, the Nov. 29 vote in the House of Commons means that it is extremely likely that the bill will pass into law.

Following the vote, Bishop Philip Egan of Portsmouth told OSV News that he expected the outcome.

“It leaves me sad as it will put an intolerable pressure on the elderly and the terminally ill and undermine the trust normally placed in doctors and carers,” he said.

“I fear too the ever-growing expansion of eligibility to other categories of people. Britain has now crossed a line: things will not be the same again. May God help us,” Bishop Egan lamented.

Bishop Mark Davies of Shrewsbury, who in September issued a pastoral letter urging Catholics to campaign against the bill, also expressed disappointment in a message to OSV News. He said: “It is a dark day for our country when the Christian witness to genuine compassion and the value of human life is more needed than ever.”

Auxiliary Bishop John Sherrington of Westminster, the lead bishop for life issues of the bishops’ conference of England and Wales, issued a press statement on behalf of all of the bishops in which he described the bill as “flawed in principle.”

The bishops said: “We ask the Catholic community to pray that members of parliament will have the wisdom to reject this bill at a later stage in its progress.

“We are particularly concerned with clauses in the Bill that prevent doctors from properly exercising conscientious objection, provide inadequate protection to hospices and care homes that do not wish to participate in assisted suicide and allow doctors to initiate conversations about assisted suicide,” they said.

“We ask that these voices be heard in the next stages of the Bill to strengthen the deep concerns about this proposed legislation.”

The bill allows medical practitioners to assist in the suicides with the approval of two doctors and a High Court judge. It will be sent to Committee Stage for scrutiny and amendments before it goes to a vote in the House of Lords, Britain’s second political chamber.

It was introduced by Labour Member of Parliament Kim Leadbeater and was supported by Prime Minister Keir Starmer and the majority of government ministers.

Opening a five-hour debate, Leadbeater said her bill would bring “choice, autonomy and dignity” at the end of life.

She said: “We should all have the right to make the choices and decisions we want about our own bodies,” adding that “we are talking about giving dying people a choice of how to die.”

Conservative MP Danny Kruger warned politicians, however, that the bill could lead to the assisted suicides of people with a range of illnesses or disabilities.

“All that someone needs to do to qualify for an assisted death — for the definition of terminal illness — is refuse treatment, such as insulin if the person is diabetic,” he said.

“In the case of eating disorders … a person just needs to refuse food. The evidence from jurisdictions around the world, and our own jurisprudence, shows that that would be enough to qualify someone for an assisted death,” Kruger lamented.

A previous bill on assisted suicide was defeated by 330 votes to 118 in Britain’s lower House of Commons in September 2015, while an August survey highlighted public fear the practice could be encouraged to ease pressures in the National Health Service.

Seven European countries — Belgium, Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain and Switzerland — currently permit assisted suicide. Austria, Finland, and Norway allow passive euthanasia under strict circumstances.

Responding to the Nov. 29 vote, Andrea Williams, chief executive of Christian Concern, a British advocacy group, said the vote represented “a very Black Friday for the vulnerable in this country.”

“But this is not over,” she said in a press statement. “The proposals in this dangerous Bill have been completely exposed … it must be stopped.”

Catherine Robinson of Right to Life, a pro-life group, said in a statement that activists would “redouble our efforts to ensure we fight this Bill at every stage and ensure that it is defeated to protect the most vulnerable.”

She said: “This Bill can and must be defeated in Parliament. It still has a long way to go and presents an acute threat to vulnerable people, especially in the context of an overstretched healthcare system.”

When 10 Black bishops decided to issue a pastoral letter on the state of Black Catholicism in the U.S. in 1984, they identified a few basic priorities: overcoming racism, creating opportunities to experience the Church as a community, and passing the faith to future generations.

Forty years later, more than 100 Black Catholics marked the anniversary of the release of “What We Have Seen And Heard,” by gathering for a two-day congress in the Wilmington area of Los Angeles. The agenda: to look at how far Black Catholicism in the U.S. has come, and where it may be headed.

“It’s just another opportunity for us to gather the community and say, ‘Look at what the Lord has done in 40 years and what is ahead of us in the future,’ ” said Michael Donaldson, senior director of the archdiocese’s Office of Life, Justice and Peace and one of the Regional Black Catholic Congress’ main organizers.

Held at Sts. Peter and Paul Church in Wilmington, the event featured workshops, keynote speakers, a youth track, music, liturgies, and even time for the sacrament of confession.

Sponsored by Donaldson’s office, this is the first such congress held on the West Coast. According to Cynthia Jones-Campbell, the LA Archdiocese’s associate director for race relations, the congress is about providing “a platform for Black Catholics of all ages to discuss and learn how to evangelize more effectively and connect locally.”

The idea for the event started with Father Claude Williams — a Norbertine priest who was pastor of Sts. Peter & Paul until this summer — after he returned from the National Black Catholic Congress last year in Maryland. Leaders there saw a need for senior members to facilitate passing the torch to the up-and-coming generation of Black leaders. In Wilmington, participants talked about what that should look like. 

“I think the biggest priorities I would hope for would be elevating the voices of young people — not just their voices, but for them to take up space, take on leadership roles, and become more active in our Church,” said keynote speaker Lauren Warner, an Inglewood native and Ph.D. candidate at Boston College’s Clough School of Theology and Ministry.

Empowering the younger generation is especially important, said Williams, since traditionally Black religious spaces around the country — namely parishes and schools, where Black ministry has traditionally taken place — are disappearing.

“The blessing is that the power of the Gospel in our lives as baptized individuals is still very much at work and alive,” said the priest, who was assigned to a leadership position in Rome by his religious order a few months ago.

“So as certain structures seem to be dismantled or [are] dismantling, God himself is building up in the hearts of believers who trust him, the same ability to communicate faith in him to others.”

Another challenge raised in the 1984 letter was how to preserve distinctively Black Catholic styles of worship. From Gospel music to movement and other forms of joyful expression, the pastoral letter outlines how these are Black gifts that enrich the Church.

Resistance to the way Blacks worship, along with racism and trying to find solidarity within the broader Catholic church and Catholic experience, are the biggest obstacles from Warner’s perspective.

“I think that’s a big challenge we have fought for a very long time and continue to,” Warner said.

The issue is more than such “outward expressions,” said speaker Chika Anyanwu, a Catholic author, evangelist, and former youth and young adult minister. Although it’s a part of the problem, Anyanwu said Black Catholics often experience a sense of being watched and questioned uncomfortably in Catholic spaces.

“I don’t think that it is a paranoia,” Anyanwu said. “So just the welcome really needs to be a welcome. We belong just as much as the next person, just as much as any Catholic, and some of the ways that can be expressed are just like with other cultures: the beauty of the Vietnamese traditions, the Mexican traditions.”

Being open, welcoming, and celebratory of one another’s gifts is key, said Donia Brooks, a Redlands resident who works with the Office of Ministry to Catholics of African Descent in the Diocese of San Bernardino. Citing the assertions made in “What We Have Seen and Heard,” Brooks said the Catholic Church is universal — but that doesn’t mean being uniform.

“There is still that resistance to allowing the community to be as God made us in his image and likeness,” Brooks added. “We are a people that he made of movement and worship and music in our being. It’s who we are.”

At Mass on the congress’ first day, Archbishop José H. Gomez noted that the conference was happening during Black Catholic History Month, while recalling the “presence of such a great cloud of witnesses, the holy men and women who make up our Black Catholic communion of saints,” including Servant of God Thea Bowman.

A convert to Catholicism at the age of 9, Bowman eventually entered religious life and helped found the National Black Sisters’ Conference. Bowman’s emphasis on the day-to-day lived witnesses of Catholics, Archbishop Gomez recalled, was a “rich and beautiful expression of the meaning of evangelization, which always begins in love, in the desire to share with others the love that we have found in Jesus.

“This is …the kind of love that can change people’s lives, the kind of love that opens their hearts to the love of Jesus.”

In some ways, the congress can trace its roots back to Archbishop Gomez’s decision to form an anti-racism task force in the LA Archdiocese in the wake of nationwide unrest following the death of George Floyd at the hands of police in Minnesota. Made up of 14 men and women of various backgrounds and focusing initially on Black issues, its work has resulted in the formation of similar task forces in parishes around Southern California.

Greg Hogan serves on such a task force at his parish, St. Edward the Confessor in Orange. He said the congress provided a rare opportunity to meet and connect with other Black Catholics.

While the Catholic Church has done a good job of “analyzing racism, its sources and different forms of racism” and in providing direction to the broader Church on how to face it, Hogan believes it should create “action steps that we can take to make sure that every person of color in our Church feels that our Church is home to him or her.

“The Church has to have our back when we face racial issues,” said Hogan. “We still face them.”

Donaldson agreed, calling racism “a sin that we have to confront” as a Church.

“We are definitely working on that portion of it, but we also know that we need to go back to the basic roots, foundation, and the biblical point of view on what we’re doing here,” said Donaldson. “God created one holy nation, and we’re called to unite and celebrate that diversity among the community.”