Pope Leo: Gaza Ceasefire “Spark of Hope”
As the cease-fire in Gaza held on Sunday, October 12, Pope Leo XIV welcomed the peace agreement for giving “a spark of hope in the Holy Land.” He encouraged “the parties involved to courageously continue along the path mapped out, towards a just, lasting peace that respects the legitimate aspirations of the Israeli people and the Palestinian people.”
The 20-point agreement that started with the cease-fire and the exchange of hostages and prisoners is mainly attributable to the work of President Donald Trump, who pressured Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu into accepting the plan, with the assistance of officials from Qatar, Egypt and Turkey, who pushed Hamas to do likewise.
Pope Leo recalled that the “two years of conflict” that started on October 7, 2023, “have left death and ruin everywhere, especially in the hearts of those who have brutally lost their children, parents, friends, everything.”
He was referring to the some 2,000 Israelis who have died, and hundreds more Israelis wounded in that conflict, and the more than 67,000 Palestinians who have been killed and over 167,000 wounded in these past two years. Most disturbing of all are the number of children who have been killed in the conflict, an estimated 18,000 of them, and the number of W.C.N.S.F.s—“wounded child, no surviving family”—compiled by U.N. officials.(NCR)
Catholic-Orthodox Dialogue Commission Concludes Work
The Coordinating Committee of the Joint International Commission for Theological Dialogue between the Roman Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church, under the co-presidency of Cardinal Kurt Koch, Prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity, and Metropolitan Job of Pisidia, Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, met from 8–12 September 2025 at the Holy Metropolis of Rethymno and Avlopotamos, Crete.
The work of the Coordinating Committee began with the consideration of two draft texts. These texts, on the historical and theological issues related to Infallibility and the Filioque were drafted by two subcommittees formed following the decisions taken by the Coordinating Committee in Bari, Italy, in 2024. Once completed, the revised first draft — on infallibility — will be considered next year by the Coordinating Committee, with the hope of preparing it for consideration at a Plenary Meeting of the Commission. (OrthodoxTimes)
Multiple Orthodox Jurisdictions at Pope’s Commemoration of Martyrs Ecumenical Service
Basilica of Saint Paul Outside-the-Walls. Pope Leo’s ecumenical service dedicated to the Commemoration of Martyrs and Witnesses of the Faith in the 21st Century
Hierarchical and clerical representatives from at least nine Orthodox Churches attended Pope Leo’s ecumenical service dedicated to the Commemoration of Martyrs and Witnesses of the Faith in the 21st Century, held at the papal Basilica of Saint Paul Outside-the-Walls on Sunday, September 14.
The service featured hymns, readings, and prayers led by Orthodox, Catholic, Protestant, and Oriental representatives, including several female Protestant pastors.
The first Orthodox cleric at the mic was Archbishop Ilia of Helsinki and All Finland of the Patriarchate of Constantinople, who offered a short prayer:
“Let us remember those who facing death, placed their trust in God alone, proving their faith in resurrection and those who, embracing Christian faith, were killed because of their Baptism. Let us also remember with them the witness of the Gospel of all denominations, catechists, and missionaries, whose lives were cut short for having led others to love the Lord Jesus. This is the Kingdom of Heaven.”
The last prayer to be offered was the Our Father, which everyone present said together, each in his own tongue. (OrthoChristian)
Pope Leo Holds First Audience for Armenian Catholicos Karekin II
Karekin II, Catholicos of All Armenians
Karekin II, Catholicos of All Armenians, was received in audience by Pope Leo XIV on September 16, the first meeting between the two. Since his election twenty-five years ago, Catholicos Karekin has met with Saint John Paul II, Benedict XVI, and Francis.
The meeting unfolded in “a fraternal and cordial atmosphere, during which various ecclesial issues were discussed, and the Armenian Patriarch emphasized the fate of the Armenians of Artsakh,” said Archbishop Khajag Barsamian, representative of the Armenian Apostolic Church of Etchmiadzin to the Holy See. The Patriarch extended an invitation to the Pope to visit Armenia, Archbishop Barsamian continued, and both reaffirmed the necessity of peace founded on justice. (VaticanNews)
Vance Questions Ecumenical Patriarch About Granting “Autocephaly” to Orthodox Church of Ukraine
His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew met privately with U.S. President Donald Trump in the Oval Office on Monday, September 15, 2025. (The Ecumenical Patriarchate).
Ukrainian political analyst Kostiantyn Bondarenko has revealed purported details of the September 15 White House meeting between Vice President J.D. Vance and Patriarch Bartholomew, as shared in a discussion with blogger Oleksandr Shelest.
Vance, a known advocate for religious freedoms, reportedly confronted the Patriarch about the persecution of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in Ukraine.
Bartholomew attempted to justify his stance by referencing historical events like the Holodomor and Stalinist repressions. The Americans, however, reportedly found this claim unconvincing.
The Patriarch was also questioned about his ties to former U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, including Pompeo’s role in the creation of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine.
Vance supposedly suggested the Ecumenical Patriarchate may have received money from the U.S. government in exchange for granting autocephaly to the Orthodox Church in Ukraine. (UOJ)
During U.S. Visit, Bartholomew Warns of Dangers of Nationalism
During his Apostolic Visit to the U.S. in Washington, D.C., on September 16 Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew attended a dinner hosted in his honor by Michael J. Rigas, Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources. Bartholomew issued a pointed warning about the dangers of nationalism in religion, urging instead a renewed global commitment to dialogue, coexistence, and the dignity of every human being.
“As followers of the Lord Jesus Christ, we are called to pursue the kingdom of God, not any kingdom of man, no matter how inviting,” the Ecumenical Patriarch told an audience of ambassadors, diplomats, clergy, and U.S. officials.
The Patriarch acknowledged that many Orthodox churches are structured around national identities, shaped by culture and history. But he was emphatic that the role of the church is not to reinforce nationalism. “Religion was used to consolidate peoples around specific governments, giving coherence to earthly empires, kingdoms and nation-states,” he said. “But has not the human family arrived at a point when such rigid forms of conformity no longer serve the interest of the people?” (OrthodoxTimes)
All Activities of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church Now Illegal
On August 27, the State Service of Ukraine for Ethnopolitics and Freedom of Conscience (DESS) issued an order to “recognize the Kyiv Metropolis Of The Ukrainian Orthodox Church… as affiliated with a foreign religious organization, the activities of which are prohibited in Ukraine in accordance with Article 3 of the Law of Ukraine ‘On Protection of the Constitutional Order in the Sphere of Activities of Religious Organizations’ [Law 3894].” This order was expected as Metropolitan Onufry (head of the UOC) had written a letter to DESS on August 16 informing the government agency that the Kyiv Metropolis would not comply with DESS’s order to eliminate certain claimed signs of affiliation with the Russian Orthodox Church.
The Order triggers three actions that DESS must now take.
The first is that DESS now sends “an order to eliminate violations” to all religious organizations which are affiliated with or are a part of the Kyiv Metropolis. The list of them posted by DESS included 52 eparchies of the UOC and many monasteries. As one will recall, Law 3894 prohibits the activities of all religious organizations which are affiliated with a religious organization which is affiliated with the Russian Orthodox Church.
The second action is that notice is sent “to the State Property Fund of Ukraine, local self-government bodies, other legal and natural persons, in respect of whom there is information about their provision of property to the relevant religious organization [the Kyiv Metropolis, UOC], for the early termination of the rights to use the property, including the early termination of lease agreements for the relevant property concluded with the religious organization, the cancellation (early termination) of decisions on the provision of the relevant property for use;” From the language of the Law, it appears that effective immediately it is illegal for anyone to provide property for use by the Kyiv Metropolis, UOC.
The third required action is to file with the court a claim to terminate the Kyiv Metropolis itself. Under Law 3894, the claim must be filed with the appellate administrative court for Kyiv. The appeals court must consider the case “within one month after the opening of the appellate proceedings.”
Additionally, Vasyl Malyuk, the head of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), has stated that the SBU has been investigating more than 170 cases against priests of the UOC for treason or inciting enmity. It is my understanding that UOC bishops and priests are being placed under suspension by the SBU for contending that the government-favored Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU) does not have valid ordinations, is not a Church, and does not have Grace. It is claimed that making such assertions is inciting interreligious hatred. (PeterAnderson)
