<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><rss xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/" version="2.0"><channel><title>News and articles UOJ</title><link>https://spzh.eu/en/</link><description>Articles and news about Orthodoxy, UOC and Christianity</description><language>en</language><lastBuildDate>Thu, 23 Jul 2026 09:59:53 +0300</lastBuildDate><atom:link href="https://spzh.eu/en/rss" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml" /><item><title><![CDATA[Albanian Archbishop: Christians Must Set an Example of Striving for Peace]]></title><link>https://spzh.eu/en/news/94539-albanian-archbishop-christians-must-set-an-example-of-striving-for-peace</link><description><![CDATA[The Albanian Archbishop stated that it is not enough for religious communities to call for peace – they must be the first to set an example of respect and reconciliation.]]></description><pubDate>Thu, 23 Jul 2026 08:59:00 +0300</pubDate><category>News</category><content:encoded><![CDATA[On July 21, 2026, Archbishop of Tirana, Durrës and All Albania Anastasios spoke at the European Regional Forum "Religions for Peace in Europe" and called on representatives of religious communities to be the first to set an example of peaceful coexistence for society, as reported by the Union of Orthodox Journalists in Albania.
“It is not enough simply to call for peace. We are the first called to set an example of peace,” said the Primate of the Albanian Orthodox Church. According to him, the words, decisions, and attitude of believers toward people who differ from them must bear witness to the fact that faith is capable of freeing a person from fear and prejudice.
Блок - по темі (Архиепископ Албанский Иоанн: Искажение учения Церкви меняет духовную жизнь)
Archbishop Anastasios described the human striving toward God as a profound spiritual need. “The search for God must never become a cause of conflict, hatred, or violence. The name of God cannot be used to humiliate a person,” he emphasized. Faith, the Archbishop added, cannot serve as a means of exclusion, fanaticism, or domination over others.
The Primate noted that genuine interreligious dialogue does not require believers to abandon their convictions or to conceal theological disagreements. “We can disagree without hating one another. We can bear witness to our faith without giving offense. We can cooperate without blending our traditions,” he said.
According to Archbishop Anastasios, peace means not only the absence of armed conflict. “It is a daily act of justice, mutual trust, and reconciliation,” he stated. The Primate called on religious communities to protect the dignity of every person, to help those who have suffered, and to prevent the actions of one individual from becoming grounds for accusations against an entire people or religious community.
The Union of Orthodox Journalists previously reported that the Primates of Constantinople and Albania made a pilgrimage together.]]></content:encoded><guid>https://spzh.eu/en/news/94539-albanian-archbishop-christians-must-set-an-example-of-striving-for-peace</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[Festivities to honor St. Anthony of the Caves begin at Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra]]></title><link>https://spzh.eu/en/news/94538-celebrations-in-honor-of-st-anthony-of-the-caves-begin-at-the-lavra</link><description><![CDATA[On the eve of the feast of the founder of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry led the All-Night Vigil at the Church of St. Agapitus.]]></description><pubDate>Wed, 22 Jul 2026 22:08:00 +0300</pubDate><category>News</category><content:encoded><![CDATA[On July 22, 2026, festive services began at the Holy Dormition Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra on the eve of the feast of St. Anthony of the Caves, the monastery reported on its Telegram channel.
His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry of Kyiv and All Ukraine led the All-Night Vigil at the Church of St. Agapitus of the Caves.
Блок - по темі (Как основателя Киево-Печерской лавры изгнали из Лавры)
The Primate of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church was concelebrated by Metropolitan Anthony of Boryspil and Brovary, Chancellor of the UOC; Metropolitan Clement of Nizhyn and Pryluky, Chairman of the UOC Synodal Information and Education Department; other hierarchs; the monastery brotherhood; and clergy.
Numerous faithful who had come to the Lavra to honor the memory of St. Anthony of the Caves prayed during the service.


As the UOJ reported earlier, the Primate of the UOC said that St. Anthony is an example of prayer and quiet self-sacrifice.]]></content:encoded><guid>https://spzh.eu/en/news/94538-celebrations-in-honor-of-st-anthony-of-the-caves-begin-at-the-lavra</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[Zhytomyr Eparchy pilgrims meet Patriarch Theophilos in Jerusalem]]></title><link>https://spzh.eu/en/news/94536-believers-of-the-zhytomyr-diocese-met-with-patriarch-theophilos-in-jerusalem</link><description><![CDATA[Pilgrims from the Ukrainian Orthodox Church venerated the holy sites of the Holy Land and received the blessing of the Primate of the Jerusalem Church.]]></description><pubDate>Wed, 22 Jul 2026 21:47:00 +0300</pubDate><category>News</category><content:encoded><![CDATA[A group of pilgrims from the Zhytomyr Eparchy of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church completed a seven-day pilgrimage to the Holy Land, during which they met with Patriarch Theophilos III of Jerusalem, the eparchy's press service reported.
During their stay in Israel, the pilgrims visited the principal Christian holy sites in Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Nazareth, Jaffa, Cana of Galilee, Capernaum, and Lydda.
Блок - по темі (Патриарх Феофил рассказал послу США о посредничестве между РФ и Украиной)
According to the eparchy, the highlight of the pilgrimage was the audience with Patriarch Theophilos III of the Holy City of Jerusalem and All Palestine. To commemorate the meeting, the Primate of the Jerusalem Orthodox Church presented each pilgrim with an icon of the Jerusalem Mother of God.
On the feast of the Holy Chief Apostles Peter and Paul, the pilgrims attended the festal Divine Liturgy at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and received Holy Communion.
They also walked the Via Dolorosa to Golgotha, visited the Praetorium, the Garden of Gethsemane, the Valley of Jehoshaphat, the site of the Dormition and the Tomb of the Most Holy Theotokos, and venerated the wonderworking Jerusalem, Bethlehem, and Lydda icons of the Mother of God.
The pilgrimage also included visits to the monasteries of St. Gerasimos of the Jordan, St. Theodosius the Cenobiarch, St. Sabbas the Sanctified, the Monastery of the Transfiguration, the Monastery of the Holy Cross, and other holy places of the Holy Land. The pilgrims also immersed themselves in the waters of the Jordan River, where the Lord Jesus Christ was baptized.
The Zhytomyr Eparchy said the pilgrimage became a time of common prayer, spiritual renewal, and a profound encounter with the places connected to the earthly life of the Savior and the Most Holy Theotokos.
As the UOJ reported earlier, the Patriarch of Constantinople received the Primate of the Jerusalem Church at the Phanar.]]></content:encoded><guid>https://spzh.eu/en/news/94536-believers-of-the-zhytomyr-diocese-met-with-patriarch-theophilos-in-jerusalem</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[Self-defense techniques from Saint John Chrysostom]]></title><link>https://spzh.eu/en/chelovek-i-cerkovy/94535-self-defense-techniques-from-saint-john-chrysostom</link><description><![CDATA[A seized church, arrest, the threat of mobilization – fear will always find something to cling to. We turn to a saint who endured exile, when there was almost nothing left to lose.]]></description><pubDate>Wed, 22 Jul 2026 21:06:00 +0300</pubDate><category>Man and Church</category><content:encoded><![CDATA[For nearly five years now, Ukrainians have lived in constant fear. After nighttime attacks, we are afraid to open the news, expecting reports of tragedy. Men recoil from uniformed officers in the streets, fearing they may run into a military enlistment patrol. All of us fear the sudden loss of a way of life that, though precarious, has at least become familiar.
When a UOC community is deprived of the only church in its village, and a husband or son may at any moment be seized by enlistment officers and sent into the meat grinder at the front, a sense of utter defenselessness becomes a constant companion. It feels as though a vast machinery of repression could crush us, erase our human dignity, and take away everything precious – even life itself.

In search of spiritual support, we often look for easy consolation. But the worn-out phrase that we simply have to endure no longer works – it sounds sugary and false.

To find invisible armor, let us travel in our minds to the village of Cucusus during the snowy winter of 406. There, in remote exile, a gravely ill elderly man suffers in a worn cassock, a panagia resting on his chest. Behind him lie expulsion from the imperial see, betrayal by friends, and public humiliation. Wild Isaurian raiders roam around his humble shelter, while in the distant capital his followers are thrown into prison cells and tortured.
Блок - по темі (Почему Бог допускает разорение храмов: ответ ссыльного святителя)
From this place of torment, St. John Chrysostom writes a sobering manifesto, setting out a rigorous theorem of spiritual self-defense. We enter his cold dwelling to ask him the painful questions of our own time.
Recognizing what belongs to someone else
– Your Eminence, how can we remain sane when church life is being destroyed around us? Our brothers are deprived of their churches, expelled from holy places, and stripped of property accumulated over many years. It seems that we have suffered total defeat and been left destitute.
St. John looks us directly in the eyes and answers without the slightest hesitation:
– Has the man whose possessions were taken through the schemes of slanderers truly suffered harm by losing everything? No, he has not. He may even have benefited, provided that he remains attentive to himself.
Then he asks:
– What have they taken from you, man? Money? But it is not your property. If you think otherwise, you harm yourself by becoming attached to what belongs to another. All of it belongs to the Lord, while you are only its temporary steward.

To deprive a person of something is simply to lighten his burden on a difficult journey.

We fall silent before this paradoxical reasoning: the holy father instantly dismantles our familiar system of values. We are accustomed to regarding earthly comfort and social standing as our inalienable possessions – and so their loss feels like a mortal wound.
But viewed through the lens of the Gospel, our relationship with the world looks very different. Everything external turns out to be little more than old furniture in a rented apartment. Raiders may confiscate money, seize the keys to a church, or freeze bank accounts, yet all of this remains outside us. Our true treasure – faithfulness to Christ, purity of conscience, and inner peace – is kept in an inviolable vault to which our enemies have no access. They can only beat their fists against empty air unless we ourselves open the door of our hearts to them.
The limits of their power
– Your Eminence, the state is now taking away more than property. People are afraid of losing their freedom. We fear violence. We fear being dragged into a van, locked in a cell, or sent to the front line, where death may be inevitable. How can we keep from losing our minds from fear?
St. John answers firmly and clearly, for he himself endured a succession of arrests:
– Have you been driven beyond the borders of your homeland? Consider that you have no homeland here. Indeed, if you wish to live wisely, you have been commanded to regard the whole earth as foreign to you. Have you been condemned to death? Remember that death is a debt owed to nature, which every one of us must eventually pay. If you are killed for the sake of truth, they will merely hasten your meeting with the Heavenly Father.
Then, after a brief pause, he adds the crucial words:

No one can harm a person unless that person first harms himself.

These words strike like shock therapy. The saint strips us of every illusion. Those who seek to pressure us through laws, threats, or weapons imagine themselves to be the sole directors of our destiny – and it truly seems to us that they have complete control over our lives.
But from the perspective of eternity, the powerful of this world resemble stagehands. They can move the scenery, replacing a comfortable room with a damp trench or a prison cell. But they are powerless to write the script of our soul. They cannot force a person to hate, betray, or curse.
The only way to inflict spiritual harm on someone is to make him surrender his spiritual ground. If, under the pressure of circumstances, we turn into embittered beasts, fall into despair, or betray our faith and our Church, then we ourselves hand the hostile world a warrant authorizing the destruction of our own hearts.
Who alone holds the keys to the soul?
– St. John, your theorem sounds almost incredible. Does this mean that in the whole vast universe there is only one person capable of ruining our life – ourselves?
The universal teacher narrows his eyes and smiles with gentle calm:
– Do you see that the person who does not harm himself suffers no true evil, even if everyone insults him? Neither a demon nor the devil himself can destroy us unless we first harm ourselves. The only real evil on earth is sin, because only sin separates a person from God. Everything else is merely shadow and cloud, dispersed by the light of the sun.

Our conversation with St. John Chrysostom leaves us with an astonishing sense of restored human dignity.

We leave his cell as different people. Fear of repression gives way to collected vigilance. At last, we understand that all the threats of the modern world can strike only the outer shell of a person. No official, judge, police officer, or armed enlistment squad has authority over our conscience unless we ourselves hand them the keys to its door.
As we part, the saint gives us final guidance on how to live through any upheaval:
– Guard your soul against malice and despair. If the house of your heart is clean, no storm outside can shake it from its foundation. Glory to God for all things!]]></content:encoded><guid>https://spzh.eu/en/chelovek-i-cerkovy/94535-self-defense-techniques-from-saint-john-chrysostom</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[Deaths outnumber births nearly four to one in Ukraine – official data]]></title><link>https://spzh.eu/en/news/94534-in-ukraine-mortality-rate-is-four-times-higher-than-birth-rate-statistics</link><description><![CDATA[During the first half of the year, 73,000 children were born in Ukraine, while nearly 260,000 people died.]]></description><pubDate>Wed, 22 Jul 2026 20:09:00 +0300</pubDate><category>News</category><content:encoded><![CDATA[On July 22, 2026, official statistics showed that 73,292 children were born in Ukraine during the first six months of the year, while 259,853 people died. As a result, the country's death rate was nearly four times higher than its birth rate, according to OpenDataBot, citing data from Ukraine's Ministry of Justice.
Block - on topic (Head of the Office of Migration Policy: In the future, Ukrainians may become mixed-race)
Compared with the first half of 2025, the number of births fell by 16%, and compared with the same period in 2021, it almost halved. Ukraine is now recording about 12,000 births per month, compared to roughly 32,000 a decade ago.
Kyiv recorded the highest number of births, with 8,352 newborns. Among the regions, Lviv led with 6,617 births, followed by Dnipropetrovsk (5,611), Odesa (5,450), and Kyiv region (4,584). The sharpest declines in births were recorded in frontline regions, as well as in Vinnytsia, Lviv, and Ternopil regions.
A total of 259,853 deaths were registered during the first half of the year – 4% more than during the same period in 2025. This marks the first official increase in mortality in the past five years. The highest number of deaths was recorded in Dnipropetrovsk region (28,386), while Kyiv saw the steepest increase, with mortality rising by 11%.
The most severe demographic imbalance was recorded in Donetsk region, where there were 19 deaths for every birth, followed by Kherson region with 14 deaths per newborn. In Sumy, Chernihiv, and Kharkiv regions, the ratio stood at six deaths for every birth. The most favorable figures were reported in Rivne, Volyn, and Zakarpattia regions, where there were two deaths for every newborn.
As the UOJ reported earlier, the UGCC priest spoke out against bringing foreign labor migrants to Ukraine.]]></content:encoded><guid>https://spzh.eu/en/news/94534-in-ukraine-mortality-rate-is-four-times-higher-than-birth-rate-statistics</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[Odesa marks feast of uncovering of St. Gabriel of Athos’ relics]]></title><link>https://spzh.eu/en/news/94530-in-odessa-the-day-of-the-finding-of-the-relics-of-st-gabriel-of-athos-was-commemorated</link><description><![CDATA[Metropolitan Agafangel celebrated the Divine Liturgy at Odesa’s St. Elijah Monastery on the feast of the uncovering of the relics of the monastery’s founder.]]></description><pubDate>Wed, 22 Jul 2026 18:16:00 +0300</pubDate><category>News</category><content:encoded><![CDATA[On July 22, 2026, the St. Elijah Monastery in Odesa marked the feast of the discovery of the relics of Venerable Gabriel of Athos, the monastery’s founder and heavenly patron, the press service of the Odesa Eparchy of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church reported.
The festal Divine Liturgy was celebrated by Metropolitan Agafangel of Odesa and Izmail. He was concelebrated by Archbishop Viktor of Artsyz, Archbishop Spirydon of Dobropillia, Bishop Anastasiy of Ovidiopol, Bishop Mark of Rakhiv, the monastery’s brotherhood, and numerous clergy.
Блок - по темі (Тысячи верующих УПЦ совершили крестный ход в Покровскую обитель в Мариновке)
During the service, the clergy and faithful offered special prayers for peace in Ukraine, for the Ukrainian people and the armed forces, and for a swift end to the war.
The relics of Venerable Gabriel of Athos were discovered on July 22, 1994, beneath the baptistery of the monastery church with the blessing of Metropolitan Agafangel. Today, the saint’s relics are enshrined in the monastery’s main cathedral and are among its principal holy treasures.
Following the Divine Liturgy, a festal service of glorification was celebrated before the shrine containing the saint’s relics.
As the UOJ reported earlier, a procession with a reliquary containing the relics of the Alexandrian saints was held in Znamyanka.]]></content:encoded><guid>https://spzh.eu/en/news/94530-in-odessa-the-day-of-the-finding-of-the-relics-of-st-gabriel-of-athos-was-commemorated</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[The plot against the inventor of musical notation]]></title><link>https://spzh.eu/en/istorija-i-kulytrua/94529-the-plot-against-the-inventor-of-musical-notation</link><description><![CDATA[The invention that rescued church music from oblivion cost its creator persecution and exile. The documents of the eleventh century allow us to reconstruct how it happened.]]></description><pubDate>Wed, 22 Jul 2026 18:06:00 +0300</pubDate><category>History and Culture</category><content:encoded><![CDATA[At the beginning of the seventh century, the great Spanish scholar St. Isidore of Seville delivered a bleak verdict on the state of European music: “Unless sounds are held in human memory, they perish, for they cannot be written down.”
For centuries, music in Europe existed in a state of continual crisis. A melody died the moment it left the singer’s lips. If an epidemic or a military raid claimed the life of a monastery’s choirmaster, hundreds of unique liturgical chants disappeared with him. The only archive of Europe’s sacred music was human memory – and memory has never been a reliable vault.
Блок - по темі (Шестеренки вечности или зачем бенедиктинцы придумали часы)
By the beginning of the eleventh century, the Christian world had accumulated an immense treasury of liturgical chant, yet its method of notation resembled an encrypted code. Scribes placed above the sacred texts small signs known as neumes – hooks, strokes, and dots that merely hinted at whether the melody should rise or fall, without indicating its precise pitch.
A young monk could spend up to ten years memorizing the complete cycle of liturgical chants, while a single mistake in performance could distort the service itself. At a time when kingdoms collapsed and libraries were consumed by fire during invasions, the entire tradition of sacred singing survived only through extraordinary feats of human memory.
A revolt against the loss of music
The musical revolution began at the Benedictine Abbey of Pomposa in northern Italy. A young monk, Guido of Arezzo, refused to accept this system. In the introduction to his instructional Antiphonary, he offered a sharp criticism of the musical education of his day:
“Most clerics and monks labor over singing until old age, yet even then cannot sing the smallest antiphon without a teacher. They spend on music the very time in which they could have mastered both sacred and secular learning.”

Guido approached the problem with the precision of an engineer. He understood that sound required a stable and visible framework.

In his monastic cell, he drew four parallel lines across a sheet of parchment. To make them immediately recognizable, he colored the F line red and the C line yellow. These colored guides became a navigational system within the fog of memory. Once the neumes were placed on or between these lines, every note acquired an exact pitch.
Yet inventing the staff was only part of the solution. Singers also needed to learn how to read unfamiliar music directly from the page.
For this purpose Guido turned to a well-known hymn to St. John the Baptist composed by Paul the Deacon. Each successive phrase begins one note higher than the previous one. Taking the opening syllables of each line – Ut, Re, Mi, Fa, Sol, and La – he transformed them into the first practical system of musical syllables.
For the first time in history, invisible sound had been fixed permanently on paper. A singer could now perform an unfamiliar melody correctly without first hearing it.
The plot against the inventor
One might expect Guido’s invention to have been greeted with enthusiasm. Instead, it provoked open rebellion among the senior monks of Pomposa.

The conflict was rooted in ordinary human ambition and the struggle for status.

The elder cantors had devoted the best years of their lives to memorizing the Church’s immense musical repertoire. Their prestige rested on the fact that virtually no one else knew these melodies. They possessed what amounted to secret knowledge, earning them the abbot’s respect and unquestioned authority over younger monks.
Then a young monk arrived who, using colored lines and simple syllables, enabled choirboys to master the same repertoire in only a few months. Overnight, a system that had demanded a decade of painstaking memorization became unnecessary. Guido’s innovation threatened not only tradition but also the privileged position of the monastery’s musical elite.
A determined campaign was launched against him.
Guido was accused of pride, of violating the monastic rule, and of corrupting the ancient chant tradition. Eventually, the monks succeeded in forcing the gifted innovator out of Pomposa. He sought refuge in Tuscany, in the city of Arezzo, under the protection of Bishop Theodald.
In a letter to a friend, the exiled monk remarked with bitter irony that God's blessing had been repaid with jealousy by those who should have rejoiced in the triumph of learning.
The "turning-point" audience
News of Guido’s extraordinary teaching method quickly spread beyond the Diocese of Arezzo.
In 1028, Pope John XIX summoned the exiled monk to Rome to demonstrate his invention.
Contemporary records preserve remarkable details of the meeting. The Pope personally took Guido’s Antiphonary, unfolded the parchment marked with its colored lines, and attempted to sing an unfamiliar antiphon by following the notation with his finger.
Without any formal musical training, the pontiff successfully sang the melody correctly on his very first attempt.

Astonished by what he had witnessed, Pope John XIX immediately approved Guido’s method for use throughout the Church and invited him to remain in Rome.

Poor health, however, prevented Guido from enduring the malarial climate of the city. He returned to Tuscany, where he spent the remainder of his life at the Benedictine monastery of Fonte Avellana.
In the introduction to his final work, Guido summarized the significance of his life's achievement:
“What once required ten years of blind memorization, by God's grace we now accomplish in one year, or even less, thereby gaining true freedom.”
The invention of the musical staff liberated European culture from the tyranny of time itself. Sound, once fleeting and fragile, was given a permanent home on parchment. No longer would sacred music depend entirely on memory or risk disappearing through war, disease, or forgetfulness.
The Abbey of Pomposa has long since fallen into ruin. Yet the four colored lines drawn by an exiled monk continue to preserve the musical heritage of the world.]]></content:encoded><guid>https://spzh.eu/en/istorija-i-kulytrua/94529-the-plot-against-the-inventor-of-musical-notation</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[Hearing in DESS lawsuit against UOC's Kyiv Metropolis postponed]]></title><link>https://spzh.eu/en/news/94526-hearing-on-sess-lawsuit-against-the-kyiv-metropolis-of-the-uoc-postponed</link><description><![CDATA[The court postponed consideration of the DESS lawsuit seeking the dissolution of the UOC’s Kyiv Metropolis until September 10.]]></description><pubDate>Wed, 22 Jul 2026 17:55:00 +0300</pubDate><category>News</category><content:encoded><![CDATA[On July 22, 2026, the Sixth Administrative Court of Appeal in Kyiv postponed consideration of the lawsuit filed by Ukraine’s State Service for Ethnopolitics and Freedom of Conscience against the UOC’s Kyiv Metropolis until September 10. The next hearing is scheduled for 10:00 a.m., according to the Metropolis’s lawyer, Archpriest Nikita Chekman.
Before the hearing began, UOC faithful held a prayer vigil outside the courthouse. During the proceedings, the court called a recess, after which the judges continued reading out the names of citizens who had applied to join the case as third parties. Around 10,000 such applications were submitted in total.
Блок - по темі (Сторонники ПЦУ устроили провокацию у суда по иску ГЭСС против УПЦ)
Outside the courthouse, OCU supporters staged a provocation, walking near the praying faithful with a bucket and pouring an unidentified liquid onto the ground. The believers did not engage with them and continued reciting Psalm 90 together.
After the hearing was postponed, the lawyer for the Kyiv Metropolis thanked Orthodox Christians for their prayers and support.
The court proceedings have been ongoing since September 2025, when DESS filed a lawsuit seeking the dissolution of the UOC’s Kyiv Metropolis. Church representatives filed a counterclaim demanding that the actions of the head of the state agency be declared unlawful and that the order approving the religious expert assessment of the UOC Statute be overturned. In May 2026, the cassation court overturned the decision to separate the claims contained in the counterclaim.
As the UOJ reported earlier, DESS claimed that the Pochaiv Lavra was “affiliated” with the Russian Orthodox Church.]]></content:encoded><guid>https://spzh.eu/en/news/94526-hearing-on-sess-lawsuit-against-the-kyiv-metropolis-of-the-uoc-postponed</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[UK appoints first Catholic prime minister]]></title><link>https://spzh.eu/en/news/94525-for-the-first-time-a-catholic-has-become-prime-minister-of-the-united-kingdom</link><description><![CDATA[Britain’s new prime minister, Andy Burnham, was raised in a Catholic family, attended Catholic schools, and has spoken publicly about his faith on numerous occasions.]]></description><pubDate>Wed, 22 Jul 2026 17:34:00 +0300</pubDate><category>News</category><content:encoded><![CDATA[On July 20, 2026, Andy Burnham became prime minister of the United Kingdom following Keir Starmer’s resignation, making him the first Catholic to head the British government, The Catholic Herald reports.
King Charles III accepted Starmer’s resignation and asked the new prime minister to form a government. Several days earlier, Burnham had been elected leader of the ruling Labour Party.
Related block (Anglicans announced the creation of one million new churches in ten years)
Burnham was born in Liverpool to a family of Irish heritage, attended Roman Catholic schools, and has repeatedly spoken about his faith. In 2023, he met with Pope Francis.
Archbishop Richard Moth, President of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales, has offered his congratulations to new Prime Minister Andy Burnham, encouraging him to respond to injustice with “respect for the dignity of the person”.
Historically, most British prime ministers have belonged to the Church of England. Recent heads of government, however, have represented a range of religious beliefs: Keir Starmer described himself as an atheist, while Rishi Sunak is a Hindu.
Before becoming prime minister, Burnham served as mayor of Greater Manchester for nine years. He is married and has three children.
As the UOJ reported earlier, the Church of England approved special liturgies for euthanasia deaths.]]></content:encoded><guid>https://spzh.eu/en/news/94525-for-the-first-time-a-catholic-has-become-prime-minister-of-the-united-kingdom</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[DESS claims Pochaiv Lavra is “affiliated” with Russian Orthodox Church]]></title><link>https://spzh.eu/en/news/94524-ssrfc-declared-the-affiliation-of-the-pochaiv-lavra-with-the-roc</link><description><![CDATA[DESS cited the Lavra’s affiliation with the UOC’s Kyiv Metropolis and provisions of the Russian Orthodox Church Statute, without presenting the monastery’s own position.]]></description><pubDate>Wed, 22 Jul 2026 17:16:00 +0300</pubDate><category>News</category><content:encoded><![CDATA[On July 22, 2026, Ukraine’s State Service for Ethnopolitics and Freedom of Conscience announced that it had completed an assessment which, according to the agency, found signs that the UOC’s Holy Dormition Pochaiv Lavra was “affiliated” with a foreign religious organization banned in Ukraine, DESS said on its official page.
The agency said its conclusion was based on the Pochaiv Lavra’s inclusion in the structure of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church and the UOC’s Kyiv Metropolis, which DESS had previously declared to be linked to a foreign religious organization.
Block - on the topic (Court opened proceedings on the UOC's lawsuit against the Cabinet of Ministers regarding the liquidation of the SESS)
According to the agency, the monastery’s subordination to the Kyiv Metropolis is confirmed by the Lavra’s statute and other documents governing its activities. The statement, however, did not include the position of either the Pochaiv Lavra itself or the Ukrainian Orthodox Church regarding the assessment’s findings.
DESS also cited provisions of the Statute of the Russian Orthodox Church which, according to the agency, provide for the abbot of the Pochaiv Lavra to participate in the governing bodies of the ROC.
The corresponding order was issued under the laws on freedom of conscience and the protection of the constitutional order in the sphere of religious organizations. The assessment had been underway since June 24, 2026.
As the UOJ reported earlier, a court opened proceedings in a DESS lawsuit seeking the dissolution of the Holosiiv Hermitage.]]></content:encoded><guid>https://spzh.eu/en/news/94524-ssrfc-declared-the-affiliation-of-the-pochaiv-lavra-with-the-roc</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[OCU supporters stage provocation outside court hearing DESS lawsuit against UOC]]></title><link>https://spzh.eu/en/news/94523-ocu-supporters-staged-a-provocation-outside-the-court-hearing-the-ssetnpcs-lawsuit-against-the-uoc</link><description><![CDATA[While a Kyiv court was hearing DESS’s lawsuit against the UOC, OCU supporters poured an unidentified liquid on the ground as UOC faithful stood nearby praying Psalm 90.]]></description><pubDate>Wed, 22 Jul 2026 13:38:00 +0300</pubDate><category>News</category><content:encoded><![CDATA[On July 22, 2026, outside the Sixth Administrative Court of Appeal in Kyiv, where the case brought by Ukraine’s State Service for Ethnopolitics and Freedom of Conscience (DESS) against the UOC’s Kyiv Metropolis was being heard, a group of OCU supporters staged what witnesses described as a provocative performance, according to Pershyi Kozatskyi.
The group, led by activist Davyd Pshenychnyi and accompanied by several masked individuals wearing the insignia of the Foundation of the Future organization, approached members of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church who had gathered outside the courthouse to support the Kyiv Metropolis.
Блок - по темі (В Малиновке ПЦУ готовит захват храма Ровенской епархии УПЦ)
Pshenychnyi previously took part in the attack on the UOC’s St. Michael’s Cathedral in Cherkasy. During the seizure of the cathedral in October 2024, he was filmed inside the church carrying a handgun.
According to witnesses, the activists walked around the Orthodox faithful carrying a bucket filled with an unidentified liquid and poured it onto the ground. Witnesses said the group appeared to be mocking the Orthodox rite of blessing with holy water and deliberately attempting to offend the believers.
Despite the provocation, the UOC faithful did not respond or engage with the activists. Instead, they continued praying outside the courthouse and recited Psalm 90 together.


As the UOJ reported earlier, OCU activists called recruitment officers to a service of a persecuted UOC community in Kremenchuk.]]></content:encoded><guid>https://spzh.eu/en/news/94523-ocu-supporters-staged-a-provocation-outside-the-court-hearing-the-ssetnpcs-lawsuit-against-the-uoc</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[TRC officers detain 52-year-old rector of two UOC churches in Uman Eparchy]]></title><link>https://spzh.eu/en/news/94522-tcc-detained-a-52-year-old-rector-of-three-churches-in-the-uman-diocese</link><description><![CDATA[Priest Mykola Yevtushenko was taken to a recruitment center to update his military registration records and undergo a military medical examination, after which his family was denied permission to see him.]]></description><pubDate>Wed, 22 Jul 2026 13:08:00 +0300</pubDate><category>News</category><content:encoded><![CDATA[On July 21, 2026, police and recruitment officers stopped a car traveling to Uman, checked the passengers’ documents, detained 52-year-old Uman Eparchy cleric Priest Mykola Yevtushenko, and took him to a Territorial Recruitment and Social Support Center, the priest’s family told the UOJ.
According to Fr. Mykola’s relatives, recruitment officers said the priest was listed as wanted. They asked him to accompany them to update his military registration records and undergo a military medical examination, assuring him that he would be released once the required procedures had been completed.
Блок - по темі (В Ровенской епархии сообщили о ситуации с мобилизованным 59-летним клириком)
“I waited until 5:30 p.m. The duty officer confirmed that he was there but said they had no other information,” the family’s statement reads.
The priest was not allowed to take his phone with him. His family later received a note from him asking them to bring clothing and medication, as he is still undergoing treatment. His relatives were not permitted to see him.
Priest Mykola Yevtushenko serves in the UOC’s Uman Eparchy. He is the rector of the Church of Hieromartyr Demetrius of Thessaloniki in the village of Tanske and the Church of the Holy Unmercenary Healers Cosmas and Damian in the village of Dobrovody.
The following morning, the recruitment center’s duty officer contacted the priest’s family again and relayed his request for additional belongings, medication, fruit, and vegetables. The items were accepted, but the family was once again denied permission to see him.
Recruitment center officials said only that representatives of a local military unit were interviewing Fr. Mykola.
As the UOJ reported earlier, recruitment officers abducted the vice-rector of Sumy Theological Seminary.]]></content:encoded><guid>https://spzh.eu/en/news/94522-tcc-detained-a-52-year-old-rector-of-three-churches-in-the-uman-diocese</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[Procession with relics of St. Avvakum of Cherkasy held in Cherkasy Eparchy]]></title><link>https://spzh.eu/en/news/94521-a-procession-with-the-relics-of-avvakum-of-cherkasy-took-place-in-the-cherkasy-diocese</link><description><![CDATA[At the Lebedyn St. Nicholas Convent of the Cherkasy Eparchy, Metropolitan Anthony led the Liturgy and a procession with the relics of St. Avvakum of Cherkasy.]]></description><pubDate>Wed, 22 Jul 2026 12:35:00 +0300</pubDate><category>News</category><content:encoded><![CDATA[On July 21, 2026, a Divine Liturgy and procession with the relics of Venerable Confessor Avvakum of Cherkasy were held at the Lebedyn St. Nicholas Convent of the UOC’s Cherkasy Eparchy, the eparchy’s press service reports.
The service, celebrated on the feast of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God and the saint’s commemoration day, was led by Metropolitan Anthony, Chancellor of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. The relics of St. Avvakum of Cherkasy rest at the convent.
Блок - по темі (Православные буковинцы совершили крестный ход в Афанасьевский монастырь)
Metropolitan Anthony was concelebrated by Metropolitan Theodosiy of Cherkasy and Kaniv, Bishop Anthony of Korsun-Shevchenkivskyi, vicar of the Cherkasy Eparchy, as well as eparchial clergy and visiting clergy.
During the Liturgy, the abbesses of the women’s monasteries of the Cherkasy Eparchy, the convent’s sisters, and the faithful prayed in the church. Those attending offered prayers for peace in Ukraine and for the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, which is suffering persecution.
Following the service, the clergy and parishioners carried the relics of St. Avvakum of Cherkasy in procession around the grounds of the Lebedyn Convent.
As the UOJ reported earlier, thousands of UOC faithful took part in a procession to the Protection Convent in Marynivka.]]></content:encoded><guid>https://spzh.eu/en/news/94521-a-procession-with-the-relics-of-avvakum-of-cherkasy-took-place-in-the-cherkasy-diocese</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[Bulgarian Church voices support for UOC ahead of DESS lawsuit hearing]]></title><link>https://spzh.eu/en/news/94520-bulgarian-church-supported-the-uoc-before-the-court-in-the-ssesc-lawsuit</link><description><![CDATA[Patriarch Daniel and hierarchs of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church sent letters to the court hearing the case seeking the dissolution of the Kyiv Metropolis, as well as to the Metropolis itself.]]></description><pubDate>Wed, 22 Jul 2026 12:17:00 +0300</pubDate><category>News</category><content:encoded><![CDATA[On July 22, 2026, the Sixth Administrative Court of Appeal in Kyiv and the UOC’s Kyiv Metropolis received letters from Bulgarian Patriarch Daniil and metropolitans of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church, UOC lawyer Archpriest Nikita Chekman reported.
The letters were sent in connection with the court’s consideration of a lawsuit filed by Ukraine’s State Service for Ethnopolitics and Freedom of Conscience seeking the dissolution of the Kyiv Metropolis. The contents of the Bulgarian hierarchs’ letters have not yet been published.
Block - on topic (Court opened proceedings on the SSESC lawsuit for the liquidation of the Holoseyevska Pustyn)
Nikita Chekman also posted a link to a livestream of the court hearing.
The proceedings can be followed on the official portal of Ukraine’s judiciary.
As the UOJ reported earlier, the court proceedings have been underway since September 2025, when DESS filed a lawsuit seeking the dissolution of the UOC’s Kyiv Metropolis. Church representatives filed a counterclaim demanding that the actions of the head of the state agency be declared unlawful and that the order approving the religious expert assessment of the UOC Statute be overturned.
In May 2026, the Administrative Court of Cassation upheld the Metropolis’s appeal and overturned the decision to separate the claims contained in the counterclaim. Before that, the appellate court had ruled that the DESS assessment was “defective” and had no legal force.]]></content:encoded><guid>https://spzh.eu/en/news/94520-bulgarian-church-supported-the-uoc-before-the-court-in-the-ssesc-lawsuit</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[AR model to recreate UOC monastery and hetmans’ burial vault in Sumy region]]></title><link>https://spzh.eu/en/news/94519-an-ar-model-of-a-uoc-monastery-with-a-hetmans-burial-vault-will-be-created-in-sumy-oblast</link><description><![CDATA[An augmented reality model will recreate the UOC’s Hamaliivka Monastery, while Orthodox churches in Hlukhiv, Poloshky, Voronezh, and other communities will also be digitized.]]></description><pubDate>Wed, 22 Jul 2026 11:13:00 +0300</pubDate><category>News</category><content:encoded><![CDATA[An interactive AR model of the St. Charalambos Convent in Hamaliivka, part of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church’s Konotop Eparchy, is planned for Ukraine’s Sumy region, Hlukhiv.City reports.
The monastic complex will be recreated as it appeared more than 200 years ago – in the 18th century. Specialists have already produced three 3D models of the monastery’s buildings and now plan to add its historic monastic cells and combine the structures into an interactive augmented reality scene.
Блок - по темі (В Улановом на Сумщине из-за обстрела разрушен храм УПЦ)
The monastery’s St. Charalambos Church contains Ukraine’s only burial vault of Ukrainian hetmans – members of the Skoropadsky family. The digital model will allow visitors to see the monastery’s historical appearance and examine its architecture in detail.
The work is being carried out as part of the project Hlukhiv Region Through the Centuries: A Digital Collection of Historical and Architectural Monuments. A total of 15 sites in the Hlukhiv region are to be digitized using 3D laser scanning, while five lost structures will be reconstructed from archival photographs, drawings, and other historical materials.
The digital collection will also include the Ascension Church in Hlukhiv, St. Nicholas Church in Poloshky, the Church of the Archangel Michael and the Transfiguration Church in Voronezh, as well as other regional landmarks. The project is being implemented by Oleksandr Dovzhenko Hlukhiv National Pedagogical University with support from the Ukrainian Cultural Foundation.
As the UOJ reported earlier, a new chapel was consecrated in Hlukhiv.]]></content:encoded><guid>https://spzh.eu/en/news/94519-an-ar-model-of-a-uoc-monastery-with-a-hetmans-burial-vault-will-be-created-in-sumy-oblast</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[French parliament bans social media for children under 15]]></title><link>https://spzh.eu/en/news/94518-frances-parliament-bans-social-media-for-children-under-15</link><description><![CDATA[Beginning September 1, children under 15 in France will be prohibited from creating social media accounts, while platforms will be required to verify users’ ages.]]></description><pubDate>Wed, 22 Jul 2026 10:45:00 +0300</pubDate><category>News</category><content:encoded><![CDATA[On July 21, 2026, the French Parliament approved a ban on social media use by children under the age of 15. The bill was passed by both chambers – the National Assembly and the Senate, Reuters reports.
Under the new rules, children under 15 will be prohibited from creating social media accounts beginning September 1. Platforms will be given an additional four months to identify and close existing accounts belonging to underage users.
Блок - по темі (Парламент Франции принял закон о легализации эвтаназии)
Social media platforms will also be required to introduce an age-verification system approved by France’s data protection regulator. French President Emmanuel Macron expects the law to take effect by the beginning of the new school year.
Minister Delegate for Artificial Intelligence and Digital Affairs Anne Le Hénanff said France had become the first country in Europe to establish what she called an age of digital adulthood. Australia previously introduced similar restrictions, banning social media use by people under the age of 16.
Macron said the ban was necessary because of the harmful effects of social media on adolescents’ attention, health, and safety. He said the authorities must help young people “become adults and, above all, citizens,” and that access to social media platforms should therefore be restricted until the age of 15.
As the UOJ reported earlier, religious hospitals in France will be required to perform euthanasia.]]></content:encoded><guid>https://spzh.eu/en/news/94518-frances-parliament-bans-social-media-for-children-under-15</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[Lightning strike sets Orthodox church dome ablaze in Finland]]></title><link>https://spzh.eu/en/news/94517-in-finland-a-lightning-strike-set-fire-to-the-dome-of-an-orthodox-church</link><description><![CDATA[Firefighters had to remove the cross from the dome to extinguish the blaze.]]></description><pubDate>Wed, 22 Jul 2026 09:52:00 +0300</pubDate><category>News</category><content:encoded><![CDATA[A lightning strike set fire to the dome of the Orthodox Church of St. Alexander Nevsky and St. Nicholas in Tampere. The fire broke out in the historic church’s tallest tower on the afternoon of July 18, while wedding and baptism services were underway, Yle Arenan reports.
The strike caused the wooden structures supporting the dome, located at a height of about 17 meters, to begin smoldering. Church caretaker Mika Kangasaho said there was a deafening crash when the lightning struck, and the lights inside the building began to flicker.
Despite damage to the alarm system, the clergy completed the services. Passersby noticed smoke rising above the building only after the parishioners had left the church.
Блок - по темі (В Новоселках на Киевщине подожгли место молитвы гонимой общины УПЦ)
Emergency services deployed 20 crews and a high-reach crane to extinguish the fire. Firefighters had to remove the cross from the dome, dismantle part of the roof, and gain access to the seat of the blaze.
By Sunday morning, emergency crews had fully extinguished the fire and prevented the damaged structures from collapsing onto the church’s brick building.
As the UOJ reported earlier, lightning struck a UOC church in Ukraine’s Odesa region for the second time in one week.]]></content:encoded><guid>https://spzh.eu/en/news/94517-in-finland-a-lightning-strike-set-fire-to-the-dome-of-an-orthodox-church</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[EP adopts resolutions on persecution of Christians in Nigeria and Pakistan]]></title><link>https://spzh.eu/en/news/94516-the-european-parliament-adopted-resolutions-on-the-persecution-of-christians-in-nigeria-and-pakistan</link><description><![CDATA[The European Parliament has condemned the persecution of Christians in Nigeria's Plateau State and in Pakistan, calling on both governments to strengthen protections for religious minorities.]]></description><pubDate>Wed, 22 Jul 2026 09:37:00 +0300</pubDate><category>News</category><content:encoded><![CDATA[On July 9, 2026, the European Parliament adopted two resolutions condemning the killings, kidnappings, forced conversions to Islam, and forced marriages targeting Christians in Nigeria and Pakistan, Tribune Chrétienne reports.
The first resolution followed the massacre of Christians in the village of Kwall in Nigeria's Plateau State. Dozens of people were killed in the attack, many others were injured, and homes and property were destroyed. The resolution was adopted by 510 votes in favor, with one vote against and 86 abstentions.
The European Parliament called on the Nigerian authorities to conduct an independent investigation, bring those responsible to justice, strengthen protection for civilians, and intensify efforts against terrorist groups, including Boko Haram. The resolution notes that the violence in central Nigeria is driven by Islamist terrorism, ethnic and religious tensions, land disputes, and organized crime.
Блок - по темі (В США заблокировали финансовую поддержку Нигерии из-за гонений на христиан)
The second resolution focuses on the case of 13-year-old Pakistani Christian Maria Shahbaz, who was reportedly abducted, forcibly converted to Islam, and compelled to marry her kidnapper. Members of the European Parliament called for her to receive legal and psychological support and to be safely reunited with her family.
The Parliament also urged the Pakistani authorities to intensify efforts to combat child marriage and review the country's blasphemy laws. The resolution stresses that such legislation is frequently used to persecute members of religious minorities, including Christians.
As the UOJ previously reported, Islamists in Nigeria killed five kidnapped Catholics.]]></content:encoded><guid>https://spzh.eu/en/news/94516-the-european-parliament-adopted-resolutions-on-the-persecution-of-christians-in-nigeria-and-pakistan</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[Islamists kidnap pastor’s wife and three children in Nigeria]]></title><link>https://spzh.eu/en/news/94515-in-nigeria-islamists-abduct-pastors-wife-and-three-children</link><description><![CDATA[Islamist militants stopped a passenger vehicle near a military checkpoint, released the Muslim passengers, and abducted a pastor’s wife and her three children.]]></description><pubDate>Wed, 22 Jul 2026 09:11:00 +0300</pubDate><category>News</category><content:encoded><![CDATA[On July 18, 2026, armed Islamists kidnapped the wife of Pastor Moses Guguma and their three children in northeastern Nigeria, according to Persecution.org.
The family was traveling from Maiduguri to Damasak, where Pastor Guguma leads a congregation of the Church of Christ in All Nations. Near a military checkpoint in the village of Kareto, militants stopped the passenger vehicle, boarded it, and ordered the pastor’s wife and the three children to get out.
Блок - по темі (В Нигерии исламисты убили пятерых похищенных католиков)
According to an eyewitness, the attackers allowed the driver and the other passengers to continue because they were Muslims. The pastor’s wife and children were then taken away by force to an unknown location. The kidnapping is believed to have been carried out by militants from either Boko Haram or the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP).
“My wife was sick,” Pastor Guguma said. “She just recovered, and she was discharged from the hospital, coming to my station to see me and continued the ministry. Pray for us. My wife is still recovering from the illness.”
Members of the congregation believe the family was targeted because of their Christian faith. They said Islamist militants frequently demand large ransoms, force captives to convert to Islam, or kill those who refuse. As of publication, no ransom demand had been made.
As the UOJ previously reported, the United States blocked financial assistance to Nigeria over the persecution of Christians.]]></content:encoded><guid>https://spzh.eu/en/news/94515-in-nigeria-islamists-abduct-pastors-wife-and-three-children</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[King Charles III makes first official royal visit to Cambridge Mosque]]></title><link>https://spzh.eu/en/news/94514-king-of-britain-officially-visits-mosque-in-cambridge-for-the-first-time</link><description><![CDATA[King Charles III toured the mosque alongside the local bishop and rabbi.]]></description><pubDate>Wed, 22 Jul 2026 09:02:00 +0300</pubDate><category>News</category><content:encoded><![CDATA[King Charles III, the British monarch and Supreme Governor of the Church of England, has made the first official visit by a member of the Royal Family to Cambridge Central Mosque "at a time when Islamophobia and discrimination are on the rise," Anadolu Ajansı reports.
Block - on topic (The name Muhammad leads among newborns in England for the third year)
The King toured "Europe's first eco-friendly mosque," which was built with Turkish support. During the visit, he met with imams, trustees, and representatives of the city's Muslim community. Among those present were Türkiye's Ambassador to the United Kingdom Osman Koray Ertaş and members of the Cambridge Mosque Trust.
"For the first time, a British king paid an official visit to a mosque. Previously, his mother, Queen (Elizabeth), paid a visit to a mosque in 2002, but there had not been a visit for 20 years, and a king had never officially visited a mosque before," Cambridge Mosque Trust Board member Zeynep Coskun Koc said.
Charles III was also shown the exhibition Science and Technology in Islam, highlighting the contributions of Islamic civilization to scientific progress. He received two gifts: a glass paperweight inspired by the architecture of the Selimiye Mosque and a copy of Fuat Sezgin's work on the history of Islamic science.
The King was also presented with a letter from Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan inviting him to visit Türkiye. The meeting was attended by the local bishop and rabbi as well.
As the UOJ previously reported, the UK government is introducing a new definition of "anti-Muslim hatred."]]></content:encoded><guid>https://spzh.eu/en/news/94514-king-of-britain-officially-visits-mosque-in-cambridge-for-the-first-time</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[Vatican delegation venerates relics of early pope at Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra]]></title><link>https://spzh.eu/en/news/94513-vatican-delegation-venerated-popes-relics-at-the-lavra</link><description><![CDATA[The Lavra reserve said the relics of Pope Clement hold “special significance for Christians of different denominations.”]]></description><pubDate>Wed, 22 Jul 2026 08:54:00 +0300</pubDate><category>News</category><content:encoded><![CDATA[A Vatican delegation led by Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, the Holy See’s Secretary for Relations with States, visited the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra and venerated the relics of Hieromartyr Clement – one of the earliest popes of Rome – in the Far Caves. This was reported on the Facebook page of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra National Reserve.
Gallagher was accompanied by Apostolic Nuncio to Ukraine Visvaldas Kulbokas and Ukrainian Ambassador to the Holy See Andrii Yurash. At the Dormition Cathedral, Maksym Ostapenko, director general of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra National Reserve, showed the visitors the damage caused by a Russian drone strike.
The reserve said the relics of Hieromartyr Clement hold “special significance for Christians of different denominations.”
“The shrine serves as a reminder of the shared roots of the Christian tradition and today once again brings Churches together in preserving spiritual heritage and supporting Ukraine,” the statement said.
Block - on topic (A Cardinal from the UGCC was given a tour of the Far Caves of the Lavra)
As the UOJ reported earlier, the authorities conducted a tour of the Lavra for the president of the European Commission.]]></content:encoded><guid>https://spzh.eu/en/news/94513-vatican-delegation-venerated-popes-relics-at-the-lavra</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[Holocaust memorial desecrated in Ukraine's Dnipropetrovsk region]]></title><link>https://spzh.eu/en/news/94512-vandals-desecrated-a-holocaust-memorial-in-dnipropetrovsk-region</link><description><![CDATA[Vandals painted Nazi symbols and antisemitic graffiti on a Holocaust memorial in Ukraine's Dnipropetrovsk region and damaged its granite surface.]]></description><pubDate>Wed, 22 Jul 2026 08:39:00 +0300</pubDate><category>News</category><content:encoded><![CDATA[On July 21, 2026, unidentified individuals desecrated the Remember for the Future Holocaust memorial in the city of Samara, Dnipropetrovsk region, the Federation of Jewish Communities of Ukraine reported.
The vandals defaced the monument with Nazi symbols and antisemitic graffiti and also damaged its granite cladding.
Блок - по темі (В Стамбуле неизвестные осквернили армянское церковное кладбище)
The memorial commemorates nearly 4,000 civilians murdered during the Nazi occupation, including 360 children.
Samara Mayor Serhii Reznik said he had reported the incident to law enforcement and announced a reward of 50,000 hryvnias for credible information leading to the identification of those responsible. Informants will be guaranteed anonymity if necessary.
According to Reznik, those responsible should be held accountable not only for desecrating a memorial site but also for displaying Nazi symbols and antisemitic slogans. City authorities pledged to restore the damaged memorial, while law enforcement vowed to identify and prosecute the perpetrators.
As the UOJ reported earlier, unknown individuals looted a historic Russian Orthodox church in Tehran.]]></content:encoded><guid>https://spzh.eu/en/news/94512-vandals-desecrated-a-holocaust-memorial-in-dnipropetrovsk-region</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[Hatred is free food for your offender]]></title><link>https://spzh.eu/en/chelovek-i-cerkovy/94511-hatred-is-free-food-for-your-offender</link><description><![CDATA[The call to pray for our enemies is often mistaken for a demand to surrender. In reality, the Gospel offers something far more practical – a way to protect the soul.]]></description><pubDate>Wed, 22 Jul 2026 00:59:00 +0300</pubDate><category>Man and Church</category><content:encoded><![CDATA[Whenever we hear yet another sermon reminding us to forgive those who have wronged us, something inside often rebels. It can sound less like spiritual wisdom than like one more burden laid upon an already wounded heart. And the reaction is understandable. When another church is taken from the faithful, when UOC parishioners are buried under waves of slander on social media, being told to smile and wish your persecutors well can feel almost insulting.
It seems as though we are expected to excuse betrayal, justify cynicism, or concede that people have the right to shatter the lives of others. But that is a profound misunderstanding of what Christ's commandment actually means. Christ never called anyone to practice artificial piety.
Блок - по темі (Свобода без прописки: богословие изгнанников)
Praying for an enemy is not a generous gift to the person who has hurt us. It is an act of spiritual self-defense – something we ourselves need if we are to survive in a world consumed by chaos.
The uninvited tenant in our mind
Pause for a moment and consider what happens to a person consumed by hatred. The one who lied to us, betrayed us, or caused us pain may be peacefully eating dinner, sleeping soundly, or planning a vacation. Chances are, they have not thought about us in a long time.
Meanwhile, we hand them the most precious thing we possess – our time. We replay old conversations over and over, invent cutting replies we will never speak, fantasize about divine punishment, and feed the fire of our own resentment.
In doing so, we invite that person into the very house of our soul. We give them a room, free of charge, and provide everything they need. They feed on our strength, consume our health, wreck our nervous system, and rob us of sleep.

Hatred turns us into lifelong hostages of someone else's sin. We no longer belong to ourselves, because our minds have become occupied with endlessly chewing over another person's evil.

Seen in that light, prayer for an enemy ceases to be an exercise in sentimental forgiveness. It becomes something far more concrete. It is an eviction notice served upon an unwanted intruder. Through prayer we walk to the door of our soul, open it wide, and show the destroyer the way out.
When we pray for the person who has wronged us, we hand the case over to the highest court. We tell God honestly: "Lord, I cannot cope with this person's hatred. My heart boils over, my mind has lost its peace. I place this person into Your hands. Deal with them as You know best, but do not let their evil continue poisoning my life."
And at that very moment something fundamental changes. We cease to mirror another person's cruelty, and we no longer allow ourselves to become executioners in return.
A lead shield against another person's poison
Someone who works with radioactive waste does not try to embrace it or carry it home. They put on a lead apron, protective gear, and set about neutralizing it. Hatred works in much the same way. It is a form of spiritual radiation. And if we absorb it with an unprotected heart, it can leave burns upon the soul that ache for years.
Prayer for our enemies is that lead shield. It prevents another person's malice from seeping into our hearts and reshaping us in its own image and likeness.

Evil's greatest victory is not that it has wounded us, but that it has persuaded us to answer hatred with hatred of our own.

The great teachers of the Church arrived at this truth not in times of comfort, but in the midst of life's fiercest storms. Consider St. John Chrysostom. He was persecuted, betrayed, and driven from his episcopal throne by his own brothers in the faith. The imperial court conspired against him, while jealous bishops plotted his downfall. Worn out by exile and nearing the end of his strength, he wrote:
"Whatever your enemy may have done, he has not harmed you nearly as much as you harm yourself by refusing to be reconciled with him and by trampling on God's commandments."
The saint saw straight into the human heart. He understood that outward blows destroy only the circumstances of our earthly life, while personal hatred cripples the eternal soul. An enemy may take away our possessions or strip us of legal rights, but only our own thirst for revenge can drive us away from God.
On the Holy Mountain of Athos, St. Silouan the Athonite, who lived through the upheavals of the twentieth century, expressed the same truth in different words: "He who has not acquired the Holy Spirit cannot pray for his enemies."
Indeed, when we refuse to pray for the one who has wounded us, we do not hurt them in the slightest. We merely cut off the oxygen to our own hearts, making them incapable of receiving God's grace.
Reclaiming our freedom
It is time to stop confusing Christian love with naïveté or cowardice. Praying for an enemy does not mean entrusting them with our secrets, welcoming them into our home, or offering our neck for another blow. We have every right to defend our families, protect our holy places through lawful means, and keep toxic people at a safe distance.

The Gospel does not forbid wisdom or civic responsibility. It forbids us from becoming wild beasts.

When we pray for the person who has wronged us, we are not asking God to reward their ambitions or overlook their crimes. We are asking Him to break the destructive chain of evil that has bound both them and us. We ask Him to enlighten their mind, heal their soul, and deprive them of the ability to harm others.
That is how we step out of the futile race of mutual curses. In a world where everyone is eager to sting back, the willingness to entrust justice to God is a remarkable act of inner strength. Today, when hatred has reached a fever pitch and the very air seems charged with conflict, we desperately need this kind of spiritual exorcism.

Every sincere prayer for the person who wishes us harm is a small victory over the chaos consuming our world.

By praying in this way, we stop adding to the darkness. Instead, we preserve our hearts in purity for eternal life.]]></content:encoded><guid>https://spzh.eu/en/chelovek-i-cerkovy/94511-hatred-is-free-food-for-your-offender</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[Ukrainian Baptists publish a list of forcibly mobilized fellow believers]]></title><link>https://spzh.eu/en/news/94510-ukrainian-baptists-publish-list-of-forcibly-mobilized-co-religionists</link><description><![CDATA[The International Council of Evangelical Christian Baptist Churches has published the names of 54 congregation members affected by forced mobilization, including several who have died.]]></description><pubDate>Tue, 21 Jul 2026 23:14:00 +0300</pubDate><category>News</category><content:encoded><![CDATA[Baptists in Ukraine have released a list of 54 members of their religious organization who have suffered as a result of forced military mobilization. The list was published by the International Council of Evangelical Christian Baptist Churches, which brings together congregations whose members refuse to participate in warfare on religious grounds.
Блок - по темі (Мобилизация духовенства УПЦ: власть просто зачищает «московских попов»?)
The names are divided into several categories: believers who refused to take up arms and are being held in military units; those facing prosecution for refusing military service on grounds of conscience; those missing in action; and those who have died.
According to the organization, some of those mobilized were injured during forcible actions by Territorial Recruitment Center officers, while two have died. Believers who refuse armed service are also being threatened with imprisonment.
As the UOJ previously reported, clergy of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church have faced similar violations – several hundred clergymen have been forcibly mobilized, and some have been subjected to pressure by Territorial Recruitment Center officers.
]]></content:encoded><guid>https://spzh.eu/en/news/94510-ukrainian-baptists-publish-list-of-forcibly-mobilized-co-religionists</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[Man arrested in Germany for cutting down LGBT flag outside Catholic church]]></title><link>https://spzh.eu/en/news/94509-man-arrested-in-germany-for-cutting-down-lgbt-flag-at-catholic-church</link><description><![CDATA[Police in Mannheim detained a 58-year-old man who allegedly sawed down a flagpole displaying a rainbow flag outside St. Sebastian’s Church.]]></description><pubDate>Tue, 21 Jul 2026 22:58:00 +0300</pubDate><category>News</category><content:encoded><![CDATA[German police have arrested a 58-year-old Mannheim resident on suspicion of property damage after he allegedly cut down a flagpole bearing an LGBT flag outside the Catholic parish of St. Sebastian, Catholic News Agency reports.
The incident occurred at around 6:45 p.m. local time on July 13. Witnesses said the man used a saw to cut through the metal flagpole, causing it to fall onto the market square, before leaving the scene. The rainbow flag had been raised by the parish priest, Fr. Lukas Glocker, to mark the local LGBT pride event, Monnem Pride.
Блок - по темі (В Венгрии мужчине грозит до трех лет тюрьмы за снятые ЛГБТ-флаги)
Glocker said the flag symbolized respect for every person “regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity, origin, religion, appearance, or skin color.” Following the incident, the priest filed a police complaint.
A specialized unit of the Heidelberg Criminal Police Department investigated the incident as a case of property damage. Authorities announced on Thursday that the 58-year-old Mannheim suspect had been arrested.
As the UOJ previously reported, LGBT Catholics marched through Rome carrying a rainbow-colored cross.]]></content:encoded><guid>https://spzh.eu/en/news/94509-man-arrested-in-germany-for-cutting-down-lgbt-flag-at-catholic-church</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[Metropolitan Victor leads patronal feast at persecuted parish]]></title><link>https://spzh.eu/en/news/94507-metropolitan-viktor-led-the-patronal-feast-at-the-persecuted-kazan-community</link><description><![CDATA[The UOC parish in Khmelnytskyi, which lost its church after it was seized, celebrated its patronal feast in a repurposed building.]]></description><pubDate>Tue, 21 Jul 2026 22:16:00 +0300</pubDate><category>News</category><content:encoded><![CDATA[On July 21, 2026, the feast of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God, Metropolitan Victor of Khmelnytskyi and Starokostiantyniv celebrated the Divine Liturgy in premises converted into a church for the Kazan Icon parish in Khmelnytskyi, the UOC eparchy’s press service reports.
Блок - по темі (В селе Пышки Хмельницкой епархии отметили 255-летие Покровского храма)
More than two years ago, the church dedicated to the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God was seized by supporters of the OCU. Since then, the religious community has held services in a building adapted for worship.
Metropolitan Victor was concelebrated by the parish rector, Archpriest Petro Diachuk, and clergy of the eparchy. During the augmented litany, prayers were offered for soldiers, peace in Ukraine, and all those in need and affected by the war.
At the conclusion of the Liturgy, a hymn of praise was offered before the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God. Metropolitan Victor then congratulated the rector and parishioners on their patronal feast.
As the UOJ previously reported, following the seizure of the Kazan Church, the UOC community has continued its liturgical life despite the loss of its church building.]]></content:encoded><guid>https://spzh.eu/en/news/94507-metropolitan-viktor-led-the-patronal-feast-at-the-persecuted-kazan-community</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[Patriarch of Constantinople receives head of Jerusalem Church at Phanar]]></title><link>https://spzh.eu/en/news/94508-ecumenical-patriarch-receives-head-of-jerusalem-church-at-phanar</link><description><![CDATA[Patriarchs Theophilos and Bartholomew in Istanbul discussed inter-Orthodox and other pressing issues in Istanbul.]]></description><pubDate>Tue, 21 Jul 2026 22:00:00 +0300</pubDate><category>News</category><content:encoded><![CDATA[Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew received Patriarch Theophilos III of Jerusalem on Tuesday, July 21, 2026, during a visit to the patriarchal residence at the Phanar, the Greek edition of the UOJ reports.
The meeting between the primates took place in the Throne Room of the Patriarchal House. The Jerusalem Patriarch was said to have accepted repeated invitations from Patriarch Bartholomew.
Upon his arrival at the residence, the guest was welcomed by clergy of the Patriarchal Court led by Metropolitan Grigorios of Ankara, after which Patriarch Theophilos III venerated the holy relics and shrines in the Patriarchal Cathedral. Also present at the meeting were Metropolitan Joseph of Proikonnesos, Bishop Paisios of Xanthoupolis, members of the Patriarchal Court, and members of Theophilos III’s delegation – Archbishop Nektarios of Anthedon, representative of the Holy Sepulchre in Istanbul, Archdeacon Mark, and lay staff members.
Блок - по темі (Патриарх Феофил обсудил с Эрдоганом защиту Иерусалима)
Following the official portion of the visit, the primates held a private conversation during which they discussed inter-Church relations and other current matters of mutual interest. Patriarch Bartholomew expressed his personal concern over the situation facing Christians in the Holy Land and voiced hope for peace in the Middle East for the benefit of all the region’s peoples.
His Beatitude Patriarch Theophilos is scheduled to return to the Jerusalem Patriarchate tomorrow.
As the UOJ previously reported, a vicar bishop of the Odesa Eparchy earlier addressed whether the UOC was holding talks with the Phanar.]]></content:encoded><guid>https://spzh.eu/en/news/94508-ecumenical-patriarch-receives-head-of-jerusalem-church-at-phanar</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[Archbishop John of Albania: Distorting Church teaching alters spiritual life]]></title><link>https://spzh.eu/en/news/94506-archbishop-of-albania-john-distortion-of-church-teaching-changes-spiritual-life</link><description><![CDATA[The primate of the Albanian Orthodox Church stressed that preserving Orthodox doctrine is inseparably connected with a person’s spiritual life and salvation.]]></description><pubDate>Tue, 21 Jul 2026 18:37:00 +0300</pubDate><category>News</category><content:encoded><![CDATA[Archbishop John of Tirana, Durrës, and All Albania said that preserving the purity of Orthodox doctrine is of crucial importance to a person’s spiritual life. He made the remarks in a sermon on the Sunday of the Holy Fathers of the Fourth Ecumenical Council, according to the official website of the Albanian Orthodox Church.
The archbishop recalled that the Fourth Ecumenical Council was convened to defend the Orthodox teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ and condemn the heresy of Eutyches, who claimed that after the Incarnation, the Savior’s human nature was absorbed into His Divine nature.
According to the primate, the Holy Fathers understood that this was not merely a theological dispute but a matter touching the very foundation of Christian life.
“If the teaching of the Church is distorted, spiritual life changes as well, and with it, a person’s salvation,” Archbishop John stressed.
Блок - по темі (Константинопольский и Албанский предстоятели вместе совершили паломничество)
He noted that this is why the Church has courageously defended Orthodox doctrine throughout the centuries. At the Council of Chalcedon, the Holy Fathers confessed that Christ has two natures – Divine and human – which exist “without confusion, without change, without division, and without separation.”
The primate of the Albanian Church also turned to the Gospel words, “You are the light of the world,” reminding the faithful that every Christian is called to bear the Light of Christ.
He said that a person cannot bring this light to others without first attending to their own spiritual condition.
“If we do not kindle the light in our own hearts, we cannot enlighten either ourselves or those around us,” the archbishop said.
He emphasized that the Light of Christ is spread not only through words but above all through one’s way of life. If a Christian does not live in accordance with the Gospel, their witness to the faith loses its power.
Concluding his sermon, the primate called on believers to cleanse their hearts of sin, acquire humility, and preserve the purity of the Orthodox faith. Through personal spiritual transformation, he said, a person can become a light to others and help change the world for the better.
As the UOJ previously reported, the Albanian primate outlined possible ways to resolve the issue of the OCU.]]></content:encoded><guid>https://spzh.eu/en/news/94506-archbishop-of-albania-john-distortion-of-church-teaching-changes-spiritual-life</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[Woman stabbed during Mass at Catholic church in Ireland]]></title><link>https://spzh.eu/en/news/94505-a-parishioner-was-stabbed-at-a-catholic-church-in-ireland-during-mass</link><description><![CDATA[An unidentified man attacked a 50-year-old Catholic woman with a knife during Sunday worship in a town in County Waterford.]]></description><pubDate>Tue, 21 Jul 2026 17:42:00 +0300</pubDate><category>News</category><content:encoded><![CDATA[A woman was stabbed at Holy Cross Catholic Church in Tramore, County Waterford, Ireland, on July 20, 2026, while the Rosary was being recited before morning Mass, RTÉ reports.
Police said the victim, a woman in her 50s, suffered serious but non-life-threatening injuries and was taken to University Hospital Waterford.
The suspect – a man in his 30s – was arrested shortly after the attack. Police also recovered a knife believed to have been used in the assault.
Блок - по темі (В Ирландии задержали мужчину за поджог мечети)
Parish priest Fr. Richard O’Halloran said the attack occurred in the presence of around 50–60 people who had gathered in the church for communal prayer before the Sunday service.
The Diocese of Waterford and Lismore said it was "deeply shocked" by the incident, expressed support for the victim, and thanked parishioners and emergency services for their swift response.
Town councillor Joe Kelly described a knife attack inside a church as “kind of off the scales.”
“It's not something that we regularly see or indeed have ever seen. And I think it's scaring people and it's worrying because you just don't know. You think a church and mass is a safe place to be. And with an attack like this, it shows that, there really is no place safe,” Kelly said.
Police are continuing to investigate the circumstances of the incident.
As the UOJ previously reported, a priest was earlier stabbed at a Russian Orthodox cathedral in Kalmykia.]]></content:encoded><guid>https://spzh.eu/en/news/94505-a-parishioner-was-stabbed-at-a-catholic-church-in-ireland-during-mass</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[Phanar hierarchs attend Bastille Day reception in Istanbul]]></title><link>https://spzh.eu/en/news/94504-phanar-hierarchs-attended-bastille-day-celebrations</link><description><![CDATA[Patriarch Bartholomew and Metropolitan Emmanuel attended a reception at the French Consulate General in Istanbul.]]></description><pubDate>Tue, 21 Jul 2026 15:17:00 +0300</pubDate><category>News</category><content:encoded><![CDATA[Patriarch Bartholomew and Metropolitan Emmanuel of Chalcedon attended a Bastille Day reception at the French Consulate General in Istanbul, Fos Fanariou reports.
Блок - по темі (Патриарх Варфоломей рискует, но идет навстречу украинцам, – Еленский)
On behalf of the Patriarchate of Constantinople, the hierarchs congratulated the French ambassador to Türkiye and the consul general on the country’s national holiday.
Metropolitan Emmanuel of Chalcedon attended the event wearing a secular business suit.
During the Reign of Terror that followed the French Revolution, the authorities launched a campaign to dechristianize society. Churches were closed en masse across the country, church bells were melted down to make cannons, and clergy were persecuted.
Christianity was aggressively replaced with artificial pagan cults – the “Cult of Reason” and the “Cult of the Supreme Being.” In an effort to eradicate the very memory of God, the revolutionaries even abolished the Christian calendar and Sundays, replacing them with a new “progressive” revolutionary calendar.
As the UOJ previously reported, Patriarch Bartholomew blessed the establishment of an institute for ethics and artificial intelligence in Greece.]]></content:encoded><guid>https://spzh.eu/en/news/94504-phanar-hierarchs-attended-bastille-day-celebrations</guid></item></channel></rss>