By Matthew Trojacek
Moscow Patriarchate seeks to “open more parishes” across Africa
Amid songs and dances, a diplomatic-plated car pulled up in front of a church in Akpakpa, a suburb of Cotonou, the largest city in Benin. Exiting with a smile, Constantin of Zaraïsk, Metropolitan of the Russian Patriarchal Exarchate of Africa and representative of the Russian Orthodox Church’s Patriarch Kirill, greeted those waiting.
This was his first visit to the Nativity of Christ parish in Akpakpa. The visit reflected the Moscow Patriarchate’s current mission to expand its influence in Africa, a region traditionally under the jurisdiction of the Alexandria Patriarchate. Tensions within Orthodoxy over the Ukrainian Orthodox Church’s independence have driven Moscow to expand its reach.
“It’s a great day!” exclaimed Father Partheny Dansou, Dean—meaning episcopal vicar—for the Russian Orthodox Church in Ivory Coast, Benin, Togo, Burkina Faso and Liberia. Metropolitan Zaraïsk arrived in Cotonou “to formally incorporate this new Russian Orthodox community,” Father Dansou added. The October 23 Benin visit was part of a tour that began on October 10 in Gabon and continued through Cameroon, Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast and Togo.
“The Russian Orthodox Church has a presence in 30 African countries,” Metropolitan Zaraïsk told La Croix International, adding that he currently counted “250 priests and over 300 communities in Africa.” His objective? “To establish even more Russian Orthodox parishes in Africa to better serve the continent.” (LaCroix)
Honoring persecuted Middle East Christians, Pope Francis adds Assyrian Saint to Martyrology
Pope Francis, on the occasion of the meeting with Mar Awa III, Catholicos Patriarch of the Assyrian Church of the East, announces that Saint Isaac (below, left) will be added to the Roman Martyrology
Pope Francis announced on November 9 that Saint Isaac of Nineveh, a seventh-century Assyrian bishop venerated across Christian traditions, will be added to the Roman Martyrology.
The Pope made the announcement on the occasion of a Vatican meeting with Mar Awa III, Catholicos-Patriarch of the Assyrian Church of the East.
The gathering commemorated two milestones: almost 30 years since the Common Christological Declaration was signed, ending a 1,500-year doctrinal dispute, and 40 years since the first historic meeting between a Pope and an Assyrian patriarch.
Quoting from the Second Vatican Council’s Unitatis Redintegratio, the Pope emphasized that both Churches share “the same faith, handed down by the apostles,” even if expressed differently.
Francis pointed to recent achievements in Catholic-Assyrian dialogue, such as the 2001 agreement on the Anaphora of Addai and Mari, an ancient Eucharistic prayer recognized for its apostolic roots, and the 2017 joint statement on sacramental life.
A 2022 document titled “The Images of the Church in the Syriac and Latin Patristic Traditions” laid further groundwork for mutual understanding.
Pope Francis’ decision to add Saint Isaac to the Martyrology follows a recommendation from the recent Synod on Synodality to recognize saints from other Christian traditions in the Catholic liturgical calendar. (CNA)
Russia blocks Catholic, other religious websites
Amid its war against Ukraine, Russia continues to block a number of external religious websites, social media accounts and apps from several countries, preventing believers of various faiths from accessing information and engaging in dialogue, according to a human rights watch group.
Forum 18 – a news service that partners with the Norwegian Helsinki Committee in defending freedom of religion, thought and conscience – posted an updated list of affected sites on October 4.
“I think it illustrates the Russian authorities’ … obsessions, if you like, in blocking what they call extremist content,” Felix Corley, Forum 18 editor and researcher, told OSV News, noting that the bans are also operative in Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine.
Forum 18 found that Russia’s ban extends to sites “related to Jehovah’s Witnesses … Muslim sites related to theologian Said Nursi (blocked as ‘extremist’); a website supporting LGBT+ people in religious communities; religious sites criticizing Russia’s war against Ukraine, including Christians Against War and Christianity Today,” as well as “Ukrainian religious sites … social media sites of those opposing the war on religious grounds … and news and NGO sites which include coverage of freedom of religion or belief violations.” (UCANews)
Cardinal Koch travels to Istanbul for St. Andrew’s Feast
As is customary, a Vatican delegation, led by Cardinal Kurt Koch, prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity, traveled to Istanbul to take part in the Orthodox Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew’s celebration on November 30 of the feast of St. Andrew the Apostle, brother of St. Peter and patron saint of Constantinople.
Speaking to EWTN News about this anniversary on November 21, Cardinal Koch emphasized that unity efforts must focus on “the innermost center of self-revelation in Jesus Christ.”
The Swiss cardinal also highlighted what he called an “ecumenism of blood,” noting that “Christians are not persecuted because they are Catholic, Lutheran or Anglican, but because they are Christians.” (EWTN News)
Liturgy Dispute in India’s Syro-Malabar Church deepens
The apostolic administrator in a troubled Syro-Malabar archdiocese in India has warned of “canonical actions” against priests and the laity over a simmering decades-old liturgy dispute.
Bishop Bosco Puthur of Ernakulam-Angamaly in southern Kerala, in an October 30 circular read at Sunday Masses November 3, said the Eastern Rite Church will no longer tolerate those who publicly tarnish the image of its leaders.
Dissenting priests and the laity decided to burn copies of the circular.
The decades-long liturgy row over the rubrics of Mass was settled in July after the priests and the laity agreed to celebrate at least one uniform Eucharistic liturgy according to the new form, in which the celebrant faces the altar during the Eucharistic prayer, on Sundays and other feast days in every parish.
The opposing priests and laity want to continue with their traditional Mass, during which the celebrant faces the congregation throughout. (UCANews)
“Not just banned, but under threat of destruction” —Metropolitan Luke on state of Orthodoxy in Ukraine
Metropolitan Luke of Zaporozhye of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church gave an interview to the Georgian outlet tvalsazrisi.ge on November 25.
The Metropolitan is one of the most outspoken hierarchs of the UOC, and the territory of his diocese is located right on the line of battle in the ongoing war. In the interview, he discussed the persecution of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in Ukraine, including church seizures and legal restrictions, which he attributes primarily to ecclesiastical schism and the interference of the Constantinople Patriarchate, while also theorizing about what he sees as a broader plan to merge the Orthodox and Catholic churches. Asked whether the present persecution of the canonical UOC by the Ukrainian state has its root in the war, Metropolitan Luke notes that, in fact, “The root of all troubles is the ecclesiastical schism.”
“And this is just a small fraction of the violations of the rights of the faithful of our Church — violations for which it’s not so much the OCU that bears responsibility, but rather the Patriarchate of Constantinople,” Metropolitan Luke states.
Next, the Georgian outlet asks: “After the adoption of Law No. 8371, can one say that not only the UOC, but Orthodoxy as a whole, as a confession, has been effectively banned?”
The Metropolitan responds strongly: “I would even strengthen the emphasis—not just banned, but under threat of destruction.”
According to Metropolitan Luke, this is part of a larger plan, first to dismantle the UOC and merge its remnants into a new structure, which, he claims, might then be united with the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church. This is part of a broader Vatican and Phanar strategy for Orthodox-Catholic unification, with Ukraine serving as a test case, the Metropolitan believes — evidence that Orthodox-Catholic reunification is feasible without doctrinal changes. (OrthoChristian)
Orthodoxy could become the state religion in Georgia
The apse of Saint George’s Church of Kashveti in the heart of Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia
Beka Mindiashvili is a disappointed man. This elderly Georgian theologian no longer sees many people praying before the iconostasis of Saint George’s Church of Kashveti in the heart of Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia. The imposing religious edifice, central to his daily life of faith, is gradually emptying out. “Faith and trust in the institution are being severely tested,” he said, dressed entirely in black. The Orthodox Church, a cornerstone of Georgian identity, faces unprecedented political intrusion.
The fate of the Orthodox Church’s Georgian Patriarchate was one of the central issues in the country’s parliamentary elections held on October 26. Accused by several European Union countries of illiberal tendencies — claims it denied — the Georgian Dream party, which won the election with 53.9% of the vote, plans to amend the Constitution to make Orthodoxy the official state religion. This would mark a first in the history of the Eastern Churches. Never since the Great Schism of 1054 have religion and politics been so intertwined. (LaCroix)
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