Divine Dispatch: Suicide bomber kills 25 Christians in Syria
Estonia cracks down on Moscow Patriarchate ties ● Kyiv St Sophia historical church damaged in air attack
Welcome to this week’s very packed Divine Dispatch, your curated briefing on the shifting frontlines of church geopolitics.
Undoubtedly, this week's main story concerns the devastating tragedy caused by a terrorist attack in Syria. Many are seeking answers and decisive actions from the new Syrian government and are concerned whether the country’s new leader, Ahmed al-Sharaa, will be able to fulfil promises to respect minorities, including religious minorities. The attack has sparked considerable anger and, at the same time, worries about the future of Christians in Syria. Please share your stories with me in case I’ve missed things.
Stories that caught my attention:
📌 Let’s begin 3,2,1
🇸🇾 Syria Christians mourn. A terrorist attack in Syria claimed the lives of 25 Orthodox Christians and injured many more when a suicide bomber first opened fire at the Prophet Elias Greek Orthodox church in the Dweila neighbourhood in Damascus and then detonated a suicide vest. This act of terror has received widespread condemnation from the Orthodox world, the Vatican, and the international community. According to Syrian officials, the attacker was affiliated with ISIS. Abdul Rahim Atoun, the head of the Advisory Office for Religious Affairs in Syria, stated that such a crime contradicts Syria’s customs and values. Following the attack, arrests have been made in Syria of those believed to be involved in this heinous crime.
Read more here [France 24]
🇪🇪 Estonia cracks down on Moscow Patriarchate ties. The Parliament in Estonia voted again on updated legislation that requires the Estonian Christian Orthodox Church (EKOK) to end relations with the Moscow Patriarchate. This follows after Estonia's president vetoed the legislation that was passed in Parliament in April this year. The EKOK now has six months to cut ties with the Russian Orthodox Church, compared to the two months originally specified in the law from April.
🇺🇦🇷🇺 Kyiv’s 11th‑century Cathedral under fire. The historic St. Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv, a UNESCO world heritage site, was damaged during one of Russia's largest air attacks on Ukraine's capital on 10 June. This caused reactions in Ukraine as well as abroad. The Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious organisations issued a statement in which it said that this is not an isolated incident, as Russia continues to destroy Ukraine's religious heritage. It underscored that the church managed to survive throughout several bloody periods, including the period under Stalin and World War II. The church is one of the oldest in Kyiv, dating back to the 11th century.
I wrote about this in The Tablet: Historic Kyiv cathedral damaged in Russian strike
🇹🇷🇷🇺🇺🇸 Putin’s ecclesiastical chess. Renowned Ukrainian theologian and professor at the Stockholm School of Theology, Cyril Hovorun, warned that Putin has asked Trump to expel the Ecumenical Patriarchate from Istanbul.
“I learned from reliable sources that one of the demands that Putin conveyed to Trump was the expulsion of the Ecumenical Patriarchate from Istanbul,” Hovorun shared on his social media.
🇻🇦 Vatican–Orthodoxy rapprochement? We continue to observe an increasing level of activity surrounding the Nicaea anniversary across both the Catholic and Orthodox churches. One thing we were still uncertain about was whether Pope Leo would adhere to the commitment made by Pope Francis to agree on a common date for Easter. Well, he did!
He made a recent statement at the international ecumenical symposium on Nicaea at the Vatican, expressing support for agreeing on a common date for Easter.
The Pope highlighted how calendar differences cause “pastoral problems within communities, divide families, and weaken the credibility of our witness to the Gospel.”
🇷🇺🇻🇦 First conversation between Russia’s Putin and the Pope. Putin and Pope Leo had their first phone call to discuss the war in Ukraine. The Pope asked Putin to take "a gesture that would favour peace." Other humanitarian aspects were discussed as well, such as POW exchanges.
The phone call follows Russia’s Foreign Minister Lavrov rejecting the Vatican as a venue for talks between the parties, describing it as “inelegant” for two Orthodox nations to hold discussions using a Catholic platform.
🇷🇺 🇻🇦 Kirill eager to deepen ties with Vatican? While visiting Belarus, Russian Patriarch Kirill stated that he supported the development of relations with the Catholic Church.
“The Russian Orthodox Church has developed good relations with the Roman Catholic Church in recent years, including with the pontiffs who used to head the Catholic Church. I support the development of relations, which could be a very important factor in promoting reconciliation where there are wars, an important factor in the development of trust between countries and peoples,” Patriarch Kirill has said.
🇬🇷🇹🇷 Map ignites anger. A historical Thrace map, given as a gift by Greek Chief of the Armed Forces General Dimitrios Choupis during a recent trip to Istanbul, sparked fierce condemnation in Turkey. Greek authorities defended the gesture as “symbolic” in nature. In Turkey, the gesture was perceived as a provocation and “policisation of the past.”
🇷🇸🇻🇦 Cardinal Nemet speaks out about Serbia papal visit. Serbia’s newly appointed Cardinal Vladislav Nemet remarked that the Serbian Orthodox Church is the final obstacle to extending an official invitation for the new Pope Leo to visit Serbia.
“We know that the pope never goes where there is resistance from part of the Church and society that would prefer that the visit does not occur,” Cardinal Nemet stated.
🇷🇺🌍 ROCOR versus Putin’s nostalgia.The ROCOR Synod condemned changes to Russia’s commemoration of victims of political repression, including the installation of statues of Stalin and Dzerzhinsky, and the potential restoration of Lenin’s mausoleum.
“[T]he Russian state and society are wandering onto an extremely dangerous path: instead of the promulgation of Christian repentance and purification, we observe in certain circles a return to a false, God-opposing ideology that prevailed in the last century. This return is fraught with harmful consequences. Should it continue, we fear that modern Russia risks being considered a dark stain amongst the nations, marked by a revival of spiritual corruption, instead of her being a radiant beacon of Orthodox Truth.”
The statement may signal a serious rift developing with Patriarch Kirill and a more rigid stance against Russia’s leadership.
🆘 Jerusalem church leaders SOS Gaza. Christian representatives in Jerusalem have issued an SOS call for Gaza. The ecumenical group urged action regarding the ongoing situation, claiming that Israeli authorities are weaponising food as a “war strategy.”
“More than two million Gazans and the remaining 24 live Israeli hostages are all at risk of their lives at every moment,”
Divine Dispatch: Crisis in the Ohrid Archdiocese
Welcome to Divine Dispatch, your curated weekly briefing on church geopolitics.
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Andreja Bogdanovski