We need a split of Orthodoxy and the breakdown of Russia, and Ukraine, where betrayal is the norm of public morality, will help us in this - Brzezinski

We need a split of Orthodoxy and the breakdown of Russia, and Ukraine, where betrayal is the norm of public morality, will help us in this - Brzezinski:

American political scientist Zbigniew Brzezinski, back in 1997, in his book The Grand Chessboard: American Primacy and Its Geostrategic Imperatives wrote: “After the victory over communism, we need a split of Orthodoxy and the breakdown of Russia, and Ukraine, where betrayal is the norm of public morality, will help us in this."

Putin Runs The Russian State--And The Russian Church Too

Putin Runs The Russian State--And The Russian Church Too:

Kirill, who was the Metropolitan of Smolensk, succeeds Alexei II who died in December after 18 years as head of the Russian Church. According to material from the Soviet archives, Kirill was a KGB agent (as was Alexei). This means he was more than just an informer, of whom there were millions in the Soviet Union. He was an active officer of the organization. Neither Kirill nor Alexei ever acknowledged or apologized for their ties with the security agencies.

Ukraine: Poroshenko Embraces Orthodox Church as Political Ally - Bloomberg

Ukraine: Poroshenko Embraces Orthodox Church as Political Ally - Bloomberg:

On Dec. 15, Poroshenko attended the unification conference even though the Ukrainian Constitution ensures the separation of church and state. He told the audience of priests that spiritual independence was as important as the political kind. He described the prospective granting of autocephaly as a step toward Ukraine’s decolonization from Russia.

Liveleak.com - Ukrainian Church of the CIA?

Liveleak.com - Ukrainian Church of the CIA?:

After Ukrainian president Poroshenko announced creation of new "united" Ukrainian Orthodox church, Head of unrecognized Ukrainian Orthodox church and close ally of Ukrainian president Poroshenko patriarch Filaret awarded the order of St. Andrew the Apostle, church highest award, to Jack Devine for "support of the independence of Ukraine and the creation of a single local Ukrainian Orthodox Church."

Russia, Ukraine, and the Orthodox Church | Council on Foreign Relations

Russia, Ukraine, and the Orthodox Church | Council on Foreign Relations:

President Poroshenko and the Ukrainian legislature, the Rada, were crucial actors in the move towards a canonically legitimate national Orthodox church. One of the president’s key advisors, Rostyslav Pavleko, was charged with a long-term effort to lead out to the leaders of the world’s Orthodox churches and their home governments to build support for the process that was occurring and the dialogue that was ongoing with the Constantinople patriarch. And so that it was in fact a parliamentary resolution which was cited by the patriarch as one of the triggers for action by Constantinople.

What Really Happened in Constantinople Last Week

What Really Happened in Constantinople Last Week:

Although this decision seems to deal with the remote past, it has a wide array of political and ecclesial implications that apply today. The most important ecclesial implication is that the schism in Ukraine has effectively ended. Those faithful who belonged to unrecognized Orthodox churches are now in communion with the rest of Orthodox churches worldwide. The leaders of the unrecognized churches were restored to their episcopal and priestly degrees. Constantinople thus exercised its right to entertain appeals from outside its own jurisdiction. Constantinople also invited these churches to form a new ecclesial structure, which it intends to grant full independence (or autocephaly) by issuing a founding document, called a Tomos, to it.

Putin Is the Biggest Loser of Orthodox Schism - Bloomberg

Putin Is the Biggest Loser of Orthodox Schism - Bloomberg:

Moscow’s only hope in this lose-lose situation is that Ukrainians will shoot themselves in the foot, as they’ve often done before. To receive autocephaly from the Ecumenical Patriarchate, Ukrainian Christians must unite and select a leader. Whether this will happen depends in part on the two clerics reinstated by the Ecumenical Patriarchate – Filaret, who was excommunicated by the Russian church in 1997 for splitting off the so-called Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kiev Patriarchate, and Metropolitan Makariy, who runs the relatively small Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church.

Ukraine Is Dangerously Close to a Religious War - Bloomberg

Ukraine Is Dangerously Close to a Religious War - Bloomberg:

So far, Russia has taken a hard line. The Moscow Patriarchate has portrayed autocephaly in Ukraine as an unacceptable catastrophe. It has officially condemned Bartholomew’s intention to grant Poroshenko’s request, and has even stopped using Bartholomew’s name in prayers. Given the stakes, it’s entirely possible that factional violence could break out, much as happened when Russia incited parts of Eastern Ukraine to seek independence. To prevent that from happening, Russian and Ukrainian leaders must display wisdom and restraint.

Russia, Ukraine, and the battle for religion | European Council on Foreign Relations

Russia, Ukraine, and the battle for religion | European Council on Foreign Relations:

There are no fewer than three main Orthodox churches in Ukraine. Why so many? One of these, the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church (UAOC), was set up in 1921 but banned under Stalin in 1930. It survived in the diaspora and returned to Ukraine in 1990. The current trio derives from an unsuccessful attempt in 1992, just after Ukraine’s political independence in 1991, to broker a merger between the UAOC and the existing Orthodox hierarchy in Ukraine. The merger created a new church, dubbed the Ukrainian Orthodox Church – Kievan Patriarchate (OUC-KP). But there was resistance on both sides: many in the UAOC refused to join, because they saw the existing Orthodox hierarchy as compromised by the KGB. While most of that compromised hierarchy refused to join the Kievan Patriarchate, for additional reasons of ‘canonicity’, traditionalism, and Russian nationalism. They remained under the Russian church, but relabelled it as the Ukrainian Orthodox Church – Moscow Patriarchate (OUC-MP). Just for good measure, there is a fourth church, the Greek Catholic Church – half-Orthodox and half-Catholic – banned in 1946, but revived in 1989, largely based in western Ukraine.

Onesimus: Contextualization Weirdness: Some Thoughts on Orthodox Missions and Evangelism in Kenya

Onesimus: Contextualization Weirdness: Some Thoughts on Orthodox Missions and Evangelism in Kenya:

when Orthodox Christians choose to do evangelism here in Kenya, how should we go about doing it? Should we organise pilgrimages and processions and carry icons around the community whilst chanting? Should we run seminars to better acquaint our neighbours with who we are and where we come from? It has been said that funerals are actually a significant (and for many the only) point of contact with Orthodox priests and services. To our credit (in my opinion) the simplicity and beauty of our funeral liturgy compares favourably with the way funerals are done in other denominations. But this is more on the lines of exposure as opposed to evangelism.

Blogging highlights of 2014

Here are some of the highlights of my blog posts in 2014.

They are not necessarily the most popular, or the most commented-on, but the ones that I think were worth reading, and the ones I would most like to see comments on.

January 2014

• Healing ministry book may get some readers | Khanya


• Memories of Pete Seeger | Notes from underground

February 2014

• St Benedict’s House, Rosettenville past and present | Khanya


• Tales from Dystopia XVI: The SB | Khanya

March 2014

• Some observations on the Ukraine crisis | Notes from underground


• Farewell to Father Pantelejmon | Khanya

April 2014

• Centenary of St Alphege’s Church, Pietermaritzburg | Khanya


• Tales from Dystopia XVII: Ethnic cleansing and Christian objections to it | Khanya


• The End of Dystopia: 20 Years of Freedom | Khanya

May 2014

• Racism in the Church | Khanya


• Tales from Dystopia XVIII: Europeans are cordially invited | Khanya

June 2014

• Memoir of St Martin’s Anglican Church, Durban North | Khanya


• Pentecost at Gerardville | Khanya

July 2014

• The Gadarene rush to war | Khanya

August 2014

• Tuesday 4 August 1914 | Khanya


• Fire and water | Notes from underground

September 2014

• Church planting in Madidi | Khanya


• Neopentecostal megachurches and their celebrity pastors | Khanya

October 2014

• Neoliberalism and the Gospel | Khanya


• Blessed are the crazy: Mental illness and the Christian faith | Khanya


• The City of Tshwane gets it right: a service-delivery thank you | Notes from underground

November 2014

• Patronal Feast of St Andrew’s Romanian Orthodox Church | Khanya

December 2014

• Christianity, sin and morality | Khanya


• Apartheid and racism in children’s literature | Notes from underground


• In Memoriam: Assaria Kamburona (1932-2014) | Khanya

Could there be said to be any outstanding highlights for the whole year?

Probably it is

• Pentecost at Gerardville | Khanya

Three-Hundred Sayings of the Ascetics of the Orthodox Church

Three-Hundred Sayings of the Ascetics of the Orthodox Church:

Once some thieves came to an old hermit and said, "We are taking everything in your cell." He answered, "Take whatever you need, my children." They took almost everything in the cell and left. But they missed a little bag of money that was hidden. The elder picked it up and went after them, crying, "Children! You forgot something!" The thieves were amazed. Not only did they not take the money, but they returned everything that they had taken. "Truly," they said, "this is a man of God."

ORTHODOXY IN THE 21st CENTURY: PERSONALISM: a brief critique

ORTHODOXY IN THE 21st CENTURY: PERSONALISM: a brief critique: "While one cannot consent to the theology expressed in Personalism, it is an admirable philosophy, and since it includes the wonderful Dorothy Day, at least some of its adherents actually put its concepts into real practice. My critique is with regards to the theological precepts, not the philosophical concepts, and certainly not a critique of those self-less people who put those concepts into practice."