CHURCH OF CYPRUS RECOGNIZES AUTOCEPHALY OF THE ORTHODOX CHURCH OF UKRAINE
from: The National Herald

(29 Oct.) His Beatitude Archbishop Chrysostomos of Cyprus commemorated for the first time the name of Metropolitan Epiphanios of Kyiv and All Ukraine, thereby recognizing the Autocephalous Orthodox Church of Ukraine, during the Divine Liturgy for the ordination of the new Bishop of Arsinoe, Pagkratios, at the Monastery of Panagia Chrysorroiatissa in Paphos on Saturday morning, October 24.

In a post on Twitter, the Orthodox Church of Ukraine thanked the Church of Cyprus for the recognition saying "the Church of Cyprus, one of the oldest local Churches, was recognized as Autocephalous at the Third Ecumenical Council, 10th in the Diptych, joined the Tomos recognition of the Autocephaly of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine and became the fourth Church to recognize the Local OCU."

It is noted that the Church of Cyprus became the fourth Church to recognize the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, after the Ecumenical Patriarchate, the Church of Greece, and the Patriarchate of Alexandria, which commemorated Metropolitan Epiphanios during the celebration of the Divine Liturgy by Archbishop Ieronymos of Athens and Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew in Thessaloniki on October 19, 2019, and Patriarch Theodoros of Alexandria in November of 2019.

Theodoros declared at that time that "from here in Cairo, the capital of Egypt, I would like to refer to a great event for our Church. The Patriarchate of Alexandria, the second in rank, after much prayer and consideration, in the presence of the Holy Hierarchs, in the presence of His Excellency Ambassador of Greece, I would like to officially announce that our Patriarchate included today the Autocephalous Orthodox Church of Ukraine and His Beatitude Metropolitan Epiphanios."

Archbishop Elpidophoros of America welcomed the decision of Archbishop Chrysostomos of Cyprus to recognize the Orthodox Church of Ukraine and commemorate Metropolitan Epiphanios. In a post on social media, the Archbishop called it a "Historic day in the Church of Cyprus, the only Autocephalous Church of the Ecumenical Councils. H.B. Archbishop Chrysostom recognizes the Orthodox Church of Ukraine and commemorates H.B. Metropolitan Epiphany. The Ecumenical Patriarchate’s stewardship of the Church continues."

Archbishop Chrysostomos of Cyprus said that "my decision to commemorate Metropolitan Epiphanios first serves Orthodoxy. The Church of Cyprus recognizes the autocephaly of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine," after the ordination of Bishop Pagkratios of Arsinoe at the Monastery of Panagia Chrysorroiatissa. [read more...]

COMMENTARY: Autocephaly (independence) of a national Orthodox Church can only be granted by an Ecumenical Council or by the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, which is why the granting of autocephaly for the Orthodox Church of America by its mother-church in Moscow is not recognized by many other autocephalous Orthodox Churches. But the Russian Orthodox Church believes that it is the "third Rome," i.e., that it has taken over headship of worldwide Orthodoxy after Constantinople ("New Rome") fell to the Turks in the fifteenth century. At least, this is the religious rationalization for Moscow's conducting its hybrid war against Ukraine for the past six years in order to restore the Russian/Soviet Empire.

UZBEKISTAN: TRIAL POSTPONED, HOME RAIDED TO PRESSURE HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDER
by Felix Corley: Forum 18 News Service

(30 Oct.) The criminal trial of surgeon and human rights defender Doctor Alimardon Sultonov continues but has been postponed to 24 November, and after the second hearing, his home was raided while human rights defender Solmaz Akhmedova of the Human Rights Alliance was present. Police confirmed to Forum 18 that this was the reason for the raid.

Dr. Sultonov had called the local medical emergency service to ask whether there were any coronavirus cases in Karakalpakstan, as he suspected the authorities of concealing this information which he as a doctor needed to know. After Dr. Sultonov called, five police, Interior Ministry, and State Security Service (SSS) secret police officers came from the regional capital Nukus to question him, confiscated a computer with religious texts, and then opened a criminal case against him.

First Deputy Karakalpakstan Health Minister Kallibek Khudaybergenov said "I do not know," when asked by Forum 18 on 30 October whether he thinks it was right for a criminal case to be opened for asking the authorities for the exact picture of the pandemic. When asked whether the five police, Interior Ministry and SSS secret police officials should have risked exposing Dr. Sultonov and others to the coronavirus by visiting the hospital, the Deputy Health Minister replied: "No. This was not an adequate step. I do not know why they did so."

Judge Orazbay Maulenov of Ellikala District Criminal Court began the trial of the criminal case against Doctor Alimardon Sultonov on 14 October, and the second hearing was on 21 October. Judge Maulenov would not answer when Forum 18 asked him why a criminal case was started when a surgeon known for defending freedom of religion and belief asked about the number of coronavirus cases.

When Forum 18 noted that there are credible claims that the witnesses gave false statements, and asked whether he thinks the case is fabricated, the judge paused. He then said: "I do not know what they said to you, and I cannot say anything at the moment." Human rights defender Akhmedova of the Human Rights Alliance told Forum 18 that "when Sultonov asked the Court about this during the 21 October hearing, neither Zebo Kenjayeva from Ellikala District Prosecutor's Office nor the Judge could answer."

A day after the 21 October hearing, on 22 October police officer and mahalla officials raided Dr. Sultonov's home. "They came to our home when rights defender Akhmedova of the Human Rights Alliance was visiting us from Tashkent," Dr. Sultonov told Forum 18. The officials "pretended that it was a normal routine passport check, but concentrated more on Akhmedova. They asked her who she was and why she came, and wrote her down her details." But, Dr. Sultonov said, "when they realized that Akhmedova was recording their questioning, they immediately left." [read more...]

COMMENTARY: This sort of heavy-handed thuggery by police and State Security is the norm for the post-USSR states, but sadly such actions have become all too common also in the West, using any and every pretext to shut down religious and political freedom of expression.

PRIMATES OF CYPRIOT AND UKRAINIAN CHURCHES HAD A TELEPHONE CONVERSATION
from: Religious Information Service of Ukraine

(3 Nov.) As reported by the OCU website, the Primate of the local Orthodox Church of Ukraine, on his own behalf and behalf of the fullness of the Church, extended his gratitude for the Church of Cyprus joining with those Local Churches that have assented to the Tomos of autocephaly of the OCU.

"We all rejoice at the establishment of the fullness of prayerful and Eucharistic communion between our local churches," Metropolitan Epifaniy stressed. He also recalled his visit to Cyprus in April 2016 and a warm meeting with Archbishop Chrysostomos. The Primate of the Church of Cyprus noted that by the decision of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, certified by a tomos, all new autocephalous churches receive their autocephalous status. Therefore, there is no reason to question the Tomos of Autocephaly of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine.

Archbishop Chrysostomos expressed his confidence that other local churches, including the Russian one, should accept the fact that the Ukrainian Church had been granted a Tomos and added to the diptych of autocephalous churches. "We remember your holy name at the Liturgy among the names of the Primates of autocephalous churches after the name of the Metropolitan of the Czech Republic and Slovakia, and wish you, our beloved brother, a successful ministry," the Archbishop of Cyprus said.

His Beatitude Chrysostomos also invited Metropolitan Epifany to make a visit of peace to the Church of Cyprus. "All countries are currently in difficult circumstances due to the pandemic, but I ask your Beatitude to remember this invitation, we will be glad to see you in Cyprus and offer you a prayer," the Primate said. In turn, His Beatitude Metropolitan Epifaniy thanked for the invitation and spoke about the current circumstances of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, the attitude of society and the state towards it, and relations with other religious communities.

"Ukrainian society was pleased to hear that Your Beatitude was remembered in the diptych the name of the Primate of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, which attests the full communion of the two Churches. The news about this event was widely covered by all the mass media, and everyone with whom I have to communicate these days congratulates our Church on this and warmly thanks Your Beatitude," the Metropolitan said. [read more...]

COMMENTARY: As Moses told Pharaoh - "The LORD says, 'Let My people go, so that they may serve Me!'" Moscow, let the Ukrainian Church be truly independent!

FEDS PUSH STATES TO PRIORITIZE COMMUNITY-BASED SERVICES
from: Disability Scoop

(6 Nov.) Medicaid officials are encouraging states to accelerate efforts to "rebalance" long-term care offerings for people with disabilities to favor home- and community-based services over institutions. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services released a toolkit this week featuring examples of how states have expanded home- and community-based services and decreased reliance on institutional care.

The 66-page toolkit includes models and best practices for increasing transitions from institutions to the community, diverting people from segregated settings, making sure that state policies align with the market of service providers and improving community living for beneficiaries receiving Medicaid home- and community-based services.

"The COVID-19 crisis has shone a harsh light on the human costs of a long-term care system that relies too heavily on institutional services like nursing homes. Too often, they are seen as the default option, even for those who may not require round-the-clock care," said Seema Verma, administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

The toolkit should be of use to states no matter how far along they are in the process of rebalancing their long-term care services, federal officials said. States with strong community-based services may need to make tweaks in light of COVID-19, for example, while other states may be poised to speed up their restructuring of such offerings.

Community-based services are often more cost effective than institutional care, Medicaid officials said. Nonetheless, the state-federal program has traditionally been partial to institutional care - a mandatory benefit - over community-based services, which are optional. [read more...]

COMMENTARY: As of 2013, 50% or more of Medicaid long-term care payments have been for community-based services (home healthcare), which saves the government a considerable amount of money. It appears that the above toolkit might be more a cost-saving measure than an effort to provide for better health outcomes.

MORE THAN A CHURCH – NEW 'HAGIA SOPHIA' IS A BIG DEAL FOR SERBIA
from: Balkan Insight

(23 Oct.) In a land where faith and national identity are intertwined, the formal opening of the huge new cathedral dedicated to St Sava this year is an event of more than religious significance. After no less than 85 years of construction, Belgrade's St. Sava Cathedral will formally open this year. This monumental project, which has both historical and cultural as well as religious aspects, is being completed with significant support from the Serbian government as well as from Russia and the Russian Orthodox Church.

The great edifice is dedicated to St Sava, a 12th-century prince and saint, the Serbian Orthodox Church’s first archbishop and one of the most important figures in Serbia's history. With its 27-metre high dome, weighing 4,000 tons, the church dominates the skyline of the Serbian capital, and looks set to become the city's number-one landmark. Referencing the famous sixth-century church in Istanbul that served as the centre of Orthodox Christianity for many centuries, and which it resembles in its appearance, Serbia’s President, Aleksandar Vucic, this year called the building the "new Hagia Sophia."

Still, despite is sacred character, its construction has also been marked by numerous controversies, especially on financing, which have rumbled on over the years. The idea for the church emerged in the second half of the 19th century, after Serbia regained its independence. In 1900, then King Aleksandar Obrenovic declared it a "national edifice." Construction in the Vracar hill area of Belgrade started in the 1930s; the first stone was laid in 1935. The hilly site was chosen as the place where it is believed the Ottoman conquerors of Serbia burned the relics of St Sava back in 1594.

But from the start, there were funding problems. The major part of the construction site was donated by a Scottish missionary, Francis Mackenzie, who had bought it in the late 19th century. Other donations followed from the Karadjordjevic royal family. But work stopped when Germany invaded Yugoslavia in 1941, and did not resume for decades in the post-war communist period. It only restarted in the mid-1980s after Yugoslavia’s longtime communist ruler, Josip Broz Tito, had died.

On May 1985, then-Patriarch German and the Serbian bishops held an inaugural service at the church attended by a huge crowd of about 100,000 people. The event was a historic turning point, marking the collapse of the communist system in Serbia, and Europe. The 4,000-ton central dome was lifted into place in 1989. New impetus followed the democratic changes in Serbia of 2000. After fall of Slobodan Milosevic, Serbia’s new prime minister, Zoran Djindic, and then Patriarch, Pavle, renewed Church-state relations. One of the first things they resumed was construction of the cathedral.

Djindjic supported collecting money for the cathedral. Since then, Serbia’s authorities have consistently supported the Church in financing the cathedral. One of the ways chosen to do this was through issuing special stamps. From 2001, the government and Church reached several deals on printing stamps whose income was used to fund the cathedral. Exterior construction was completed in 2004 and interior work was completed this year. The 15,000 square meters of unique mosaics have been completed with Russia’s financial help, and with the help of Russian mosaic-iconographers. [read more...]

COMMENTARY: As a gesture of "gratitude" to Russia for its help with finishing this cathedral, the Serbian Orthodox Patriarch Irinej supports the Moscow Patriarchate's non-recognition of the new Orthodox Church of Ukraine. Wait, there's another word that starts with "gra**" but I can't quite think of it.

LUKASHENKO ACCUSES CATHOLIC ARCHBISHOP KONDRUSIEWICZ OF PLANNING TO DESTROY BELARUS
from: Interfax-Religion

(2 Nov.) Archbishop Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz, Metropolitan of Minsk and Mogilev, wants to destroy Belarus, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said.

During a meeting with Metropolitan Veniamin of Minsk and Zaslavl on Monday, Lukashenko raised the question of the situation surrounding Archbishop Metropolitan Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz of Minsk and Mogilev, who, according to Lukashenko, "visited Poland and received consultations on how to destroy the country." The president was quoted by the Belarusian state-run news agency BelTA.

"The president warned that no one is allowed to do such things," BelTA said. Lukashenko also spoke in favor of training the Catholic clergy in Belarus more intensively. "How can we now take clergymen from Poland, when the Polish state, purely Catholic, has taken such a stance on Belarus? It's not normal," Lukashenko said.

After the August 9 presidential election in Belarus, the website of the Roman Catholic Church in Belarus published excerpts from an interview Kondrusiewicz did with a Polish Catholic television channel, in which he said the vote had been rigged. Some time later, Kondrusiewicz left for Poland. Kondrusiewicz was then denied entry back into Belarus without being giving any reason for this, despite the fact that he is a citizen of Belarus.

Lukashenko said in early September that Kondrusiewicz was denied entry to Belarus as "he had received an assignment in Poland." U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has called on Minsk several times to allow Kondrusiewicz to return to the country. The Vatican has insisted on his return, as well. [read more...]

COMMENTARY: It is sad to read of such outlandish claims by the purported leader of a modern state that an outsider is trying to destroy the country. The archbishop merely repeated on Polish television what is being reported all over the world: that the recent presidential vote in Belarus had been rigged. The evidence is overwhelming that it was indeed rigged - by Lukashenko's own crew.

TAJIKISTAN: ONE CONSCIENTIOUS OBJECTOR FREED, BUT ANOTHER JAILED
from Forum 18 News Service

CHINA: BANNED FROM CHURCHES, YOUTH ARE ONLY ALLOWED TO BELIEVE IN SOCIALISM
from Christian Persecution

CANADA: PROPOSED CHANGES TO 'MEDICAL ASSISTANCE IN DYING' (MAID) LEGISLATION
from Disabled World

ORTHODOX CHURCHES FINANCIALLY DEPENDENT ON MOSCOW FOR WHICH OCU RECOGNITION IS A CHALLENGE
from Religious Information Service of Ukraine

WHY THE INTERNATIONAL DAY OF PRAYER FOR THE PERSECUTED CHURCH MATTERS
from Mission Network News

RUSSIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH ADVISES FRANCE TO ADOPT LAW PROTECTING BELIEVERS' FEELINGS
from Interfax-Religion

PEOPLE IN HUNGARY NOW CAN LEARN OF ORTHODOX FAITH IN HUNGARIAN-LANGUAGE ONLINE STUDIES
from Russian Orthodox Church - Moscow Patriarchate

THE CHURCH HELPS SEXUAL MINORITIES OVERCOME UNNATURAL ATTRACTIONS - METROPOLITAN HILARION
from Orthodox Christianity

CHINA: CATHOLIC NUNS FORCED OUT OF CONVENT AMID GOVERNMENT HARASSMENT
from Eurasia Review

ROMANIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH HEAD SUGGESTS DIVINE PUNISHMENT FOR POLITICIANS WHO BANNED PILGRIMAGE
from Romania Insider

NEW ZEALAND WILL SOON HAVE LEGAL VOLUNTARY EUTHANASIA
from BioEdge

(← click!) A few issues ago, I mentioned an article about Ukraine that I had co-authored for The World Christian Encyclopedia 3rd Edition, which was recently published. I just received this info on the most popular graph in the Encyclopedia, "The World as 100 Christians," representing all the beauty and diversity of World Christianity:

"If 100 Christians represented all of global Christianity, 67 would live in Asia, Africa, Latin America or Oceania, while 33 would live in Europe or Northern America. Most would be found in urban areas (65) as opposed to rural (35). Linguistically, 16 would speak Spanish as their mother tongue, 10 English, 8 Portuguese, 5 Russian and 3 Mandarin Chinese. Most (64) would be between the ages of 15–64, while 26 would be under 15. Eleven Christians would be illiterate, and 35 would have little to no access to secondary education. Roughly half of Christians would have access to the internet. Fourteen would have no access to safe water, and five would have malaria. Most Christians (79) would live in countries with moderate to high corruption; 35 would live in countries with low development. A typical Christian today is a non-white woman living in the global South, with lower-than-average levels of societal safety and proper health care. This represents a vastly different typical Christian than that of 100 years ago, who was likely a white, affluent European."

The COVID-19 pandemic and the ensuing panic have caused many millions of Americans to vote by mail or at drop-boxes rather than in-person. But this has opened up the possibility of massive vote fraud by ballot harvesting, votes of deceased being cast, voting from multiple addresses, non-citizens voting, fake voter registrations and addresses, and illegal voting, in addition to the old problems of motor-voters, same-day registrations, and lack of requiring positive ID. Now we are in the middle of hotly-contested vote re-counts in the U.S. Some of the stories floating around on social media are patently false, but some are true: see Is Voter Fraud Afoot? A Look at 7 Claims; also, see Confessions of a Vote Fraudster: I Was a Master at Fixing Mail-in Ballots.

When millions of ballots begin showing up late in swing states that have voted the "wrong" way, the vast majority of these ballots being for the other candidate, it should be obvious to any calm, unbiased observer that "the fix is in." And here is one way they "fixed" those mail-in ballots: A Pro Bono Lawyer for Trump Campaign Shares What He Saw in Pennsylvania. This same thing – preventing election monitors from being close enough to see if ballots were valid – was happening in many of the swing states. Another way was by back-dating the postmark date on late ballots (that may have been manufactured), and then trying to force a whistleblower to recant: Democrats to Deep State to WaPo: How the Richard Hopkins USPS story 'recant' was manufactured. By writing this, I'm not assuming that one side is all-good and the other is all-evil: see my 2020 positions (updated) on the candidates.

But fear is a powerful motivator. Was there really sufficient reason for the pandemic panic that resulted in millions of mail-in ballots, or is this simply false fear that's being hyped-up by the media? An excellent article, A Sensible and Compassionate Anti-COVID Strategy by Jay Bhattacharya, M.D. and Ph.D., Professor of Medicine at Stanford University, explains that in early March 2020, when the WHO said "three percent of people who get COVID die from it, they were wrong by at least one order of magnitude. The true COVID fatality rate was much closer to 0.2 or 0.3 percent. The reason for the highly inaccurate early estimates is simple: in early March, we were not identifying most of the people who had been infected by COVID."

Now that methods of treatment have improved in the past six months, the fatality rate is currently about half that: only about 0.125 percent of those tested and found infected die from COVID. But the CDC article Excess Deaths Associated with COVID-19 gives an even brighter picture: only about 6 people out of 10,000, or 0.06 percent of the general population, are dying from COVID: multiply 0.06 percent by the population of the U.S. and it turns out to be very close to the reported number COVID deaths in the U.S.

This means many people with a little cough, runny nose, or aches and pains just shrug it off, get over it in a week or so, and don't bother getting tested for COVID. Compare that to the mortality rate of newborns, which is about 50 out of 10,000 or 0.5 percent: that's more than eight times as many! And yet, we're not panicking about infant death rate... or the millions of cardiovascular, cancer, obesity, diabetes, smoking, and Alzheimer's deaths every year. It's time to calm down as Dr. Bhattacharya writes: restrict large gatherings, wear masks when going out, protect those who are most vulnerable, but put the children back in school and the rest of us get on with our normal lives. And pray for our country, that the political scene will calm down and straighten out.

What? Are we really asking you to LEARN something new? Why should you take 15-20 minutes 3 times a week from your precious time you spend "Clickety-click-clicking" and "Likety-like-liking" on your mesmerizing Social Media sites, or those hours spent watching stupid YouTube videos? How? Instead, Watch Our Slide Show!

Actually, it's nothing new, it's something we should have learned from the beginning as Christians: "Love God with all your heart, and also love your neighbor as yourself." When you see your neighbor in a health crisis or spiritual crisis or financial crisis, do you help, or do you look the other way? What Will You DO About It? Will you keep on "Clickety-click-clicking" and "Likety-like-liking" ...or will you buckle down and learn how to love your neighbor in need?