Occupied

For John, BLUF:  If you want to look at the Russia approach, follow the TV Series Okkupert (Occupied).  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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AN ORTHODOX FRACTURE WITH SERIOUS CONSEQUENCES

Here is the sub-headline:

Should a reunited Ukrainian Orthodoxy be recognized by Constantinople as "autocephalous" and therefore not subordinate to Russian Orthodoxy, Moscow's claim to be the "third Rome" would be gravely imperiled.

From The Boston Pilot, by Mr George Weigel, 26 September 2018.

Here is the lede plus one:

While Catholicism has been embroiled in a crisis of sexual abuse and episcopal malfeasance reaching to the highest levels of the Church, Eastern Orthodoxy may be on the verge of an epic crack-up with major ecumenical and geopolitical consequences.

There are three competing Orthodox jurisdictions in Ukraine today.  The Ukrainian Orthodox Church-Moscow Patriarchate is in full communion with, and subordinate to, the Russian Orthodox Patriarchate of Moscow.  Then there are two breakaways from Moscow:  the Ukrainian Orthodox Church-Kyivan Patriarchate and the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church.  This tripartite fracture is a scandal, an obstacle to re-evangelizing a broken culture, and an impediment to ecumenism.

There are two reasons this might be of interest to folks in the Greater Lowell area.  The First is the large Orthodox population in our area.  I expect each of us knows someone tied to the Eastern Church.

The second reason is that part of the Ukraine is still under Russian occupation, as Ukraine President Poroshenko pointed out to the UN General Assembly yesterday.

The action in the area of religion detracts from President Putin's view of a vast Russian People.

Regards  —  Cliff