January 22, the Sixth Court of Appeal ordered the State Migration Service of Ukraine in the Volyn Oblast to return Ukrainian citizenship to His Grace Bishop Gideon (Kharon) of Makarov, the abbot of the Tithes Monastery in Kiev, repots Ukrainska Pravda. The court also recognized that the Migration Service had no right to cancel the decision to grant His Grace citizenship by territorial origin in accordance with part 1, article 8 of the Law of Ukraine, “On Ukrainian Citizenship.” Bp. Gideon wa...

Unique manuscripts of the 14th century, including the Kiev Psalter and the Lavrishev Gospel from Volhynia can now be viewed online. The illuminated manuscripts with miniature illustrations were published by the Zelo Center for Research of Ancient Russian Culture, using the archives of national libraries, reports Foma in Ukraine. The Kiev Psalter was created in Kiev in 1397, with 303 miniatures on 230 pages, as well as headpieces ornamented in a neo-Byzantine style. Many of the miniatures inte...

St. Sophia’s Cathedral in Kiev is a beautiful 11th-century monument of Kievan Rus’, erected by Yaroslav the Wise. It is one of Ukraine’s best known landmarks and was the first site to be included in the UNESCO World Heritage List along with the Kiev Caves Lavra complex. Now, the beauty of secrets of the famous cathedral are accessible to all Orthodox faithful worldwide, even for those who cannot visit Kiev, as the National Kievan Sophia Museum has launched a high-quality virtual tour online. ...

Die Ukrainische Orthodoxe Kirche (UOK), die dem Moskauer Patriarchat untersteht, begrüßt die Friedensinitiativen des ukrainischen Präsidenten Volodymyr Zelenskyj zur Eindämmung des Konflikts im Osten der Ukraine. Die Mitglieder des Hl. Synods der UOK hätten eindeutig festgehalten, dass „Frieden im Donbass die ersehnteste Erwartung und ein Anliegen der Millionen von Anhängern der UOK ist“, erklärte der Geschäftsführer der UOK, Metropolit Antonij (Pakanič) von Borispol, Ende Dezember in einem I...

There are three conditions for the visit of Pope Francis to Ukraine, said the Head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, Patriarch Svyatoslav (Shevchuk) said in an interview with Radio Liberty. "When Vatican Secretary of state Parolin came to our working session, we asked him directly: what is necessary for the Pope to come? He said there were several conditions. The first is the invitation of the Catholic Churches. The second is an invitation from the Ukrainian government. We have a new Pr...

From January 1, 2020, for the next half a year, Vasyl Raychynets, senior Bishop of the Ukrainian Evangelical Church, will be the Chairman of the AUCCRO, according to the Institute of Religious Freedom. It should be noted that according to the regulation on the AUCCRO, the rotation of the chairperson takes place automatically according to the list of participants and does not require a separate vote. This principle allows maintaining independence and self-government in the AUCCRO. It should b...

Most Ukrainians are opposed to the idea of the transition of the Orthodox Church to the Gregorian calendar and the celebration of Christmas on December 25. This is evidenced by the opinion poll conducted by the group "Rating", according to BBCnews. During the study, 2000 respondents were interviewed, the margin of error does not exceed 2.2%. Currently, 25% of respondents support the idea of moving the celebration of Christmas from January 7 to December 25, 64% are opposed, and 7% of responden...

Pfarrer Pawlo Schwarz, der seit Oktober 2018 als Bischöflicher Visitator der Deutschen Evangelisch-Lutherischen Kirche in der Ukraine (DELKU) amtiert, wurde am 26. Oktober 2019 von der Synode zum Bischof der DELKU gewählt und am 30. November in der Kirche der Deutschen Evangelisch-Lutherischen Gemeinde in Kiew als Bischof eingesetzt. Die Einsegnung erfolgte durch Alexander Scheiermann, den Vorsitzenden des Bischöflichen Rates des Bundes der Evangelisch-Lutherischen Kirchen und den Bischof der...

In Sewastopol, dem Heimathafen der russischen Schwarzmeerflotte, wurde an der mutmaßlichen Stelle des Martyriums des Heiligen Papstes Klemens I. ein Denkmal errichtet. Die Aufstellung erfolgte Samstag, 4. Januar, dem Tag an dem die orthodoxe Kirche das Fest des Heiligen Klemens feiert. Das Denkmal steht auf einem Podest im Wasser, an der Stelle, wo der auf die Krim verbannte Papst von den Schergen Kaiser Trajans mit einer Kette und einem Anker um den Hals ins Meer gestoßen wurde. Als Bischof ...