Earlier this month, Russian police raided a prominent Baptist minister’s home for criticizing the military. But before they could arrest him, he slipped out of the country. We spoke with him as he recalled his ministry and courageous defiance.
When the war started, most priests remained silent, fearing pressure from the church and state authorities; only a small fraction have spoken out. Of more than 40,000 clergymen in the Russian Orthodox Church, only 300 priests signed a public letter calling for peace in Ukraine.
Keeping channels for dialogue open with the Kremlin, Pope Francis has bucked the Western world's refusal to take a mediated approach to ending the Ukraine war.
The explanatory note attached to the law said its goal is to “abandon the Russian heritage,” including that of “imposing the celebration of Christmas” on Jan. 7.
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre confirmed Biden would meet with Zuppi on Tuesday to “discuss the widespread suffering caused by Russia’s brutal war in Ukraine."
They include religious sites, museums, monuments and libraries.
Cardinal Mateo Zuppi returned from Kyiv on Tuesday where he was sent by the pope to promote a just peace in Ukraine.
Ukraine's top security agency said Metropolitan Pavel, the abbott of a famed Orthodox monastery, was suspected of justifying Russian aggression, a criminal offense. It was the latest move in a bitter dispute over .
This issue of A Public Witness scopes out the recent controversies in Russia and Ukraine about conscientious objectors before considering what lessons we might learn to see more clearly despite the fog of war.
Vladimir Putin ordered Russian troops to recognize a 36-hour truce throughout Ukraine during the Orthodox Christmas holiday weekend. Russia’s gesture comes almost 11 months into the invasion that has cost more than 6,000 civilian lives.