Orthodox
After unrest at Al-Aqsa Mosque, Israel curtails freedom of worship for Christians
By Daoud Kuttab — April 13, 2023
(RNS) — Negotiations between church officials and the Israeli police have broken down.
Can ecumenism survive some Orthodox churches’ resistance to ordained women?
By Anna Piela — April 13, 2023
(RNS) — The issue of female ordination is threatening to define the future of ecumenism and Orthodoxy at large.
Church: Israel limiting rights of ‘Holy Fire’ worshippers
By Laurie Kellman and Audrey Horowitz — April 12, 2023
JERUSALEM (AP) — The chief superintendent of the Jerusalem District Police told reporters that the police's top priority is safety on a day when Muslims, Christians and Jews are celebrating their own holidays in the square-kilometer (square-half mile) Old City.
Ukrainians celebrate Palm Sunday in church marred by dispute
By Samya Kullab — April 10, 2023
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainians marked Palm Sunday in the country’s most revered Orthodox site that has been at the heart of a religious dispute playing out in parallel with Russia's war on Ukraine.
Ukrainian court puts an Orthodox leader under house arrest
By Karl Ritter and Elena Becatoros — April 2, 2023
(RNS) — 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 .
Study: Religious attendance dips slightly after pandemic
By Yonat Shimron — March 28, 2023
(RNS) — The study found the share of U.S. adults who generally say they attend religious services at least once a month dropped from 33% in 2019, before the COVID-19 outbreak, to 30% in 2022.
‘Prayer is our only weapon’: Monks at Kyiv monastery resist planned eviction
By Meagan Saliashvili — March 28, 2023
(RNS) — The monastery’s fate has been in question since Russia’s invasion in February 2022 has brought a series of crackdowns on the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, which has historical ties to Moscow.
Faith leaders urge Biden to sign executive order for reparations study by Juneteenth
By Adelle M. Banks — March 1, 2023
(RNS) — They urged Biden to base an order on the structure of H.R. 40, legislation proposed for decades that has yet to pass on Capitol Hill.
A US rabbi bears witness to the trauma in Ukraine one year after Russian invasion
By Yonat Shimron — February 24, 2023
(RNS) — Rabbi Charles Feinberg joined an interfaith delegation that traveled to Kyiv and its surroundings where they saw leveled buildings, displaced people's centers and evidence of human rights abuses and atrocities.
Debates over sacred images in the Byzantine Empire show why it’s hard to appease any side
By Paroma Chatterjee — February 23, 2023
(The Conversation) — Fierce debates about visual depictions of the sacred have existed for centuries. An art historian explains the controversies in the Byzantine Empire over images of Christ.
Harvard, National Council of Churches, Reform Jews seeking reparations blueprint
By Adelle M. Banks — February 20, 2023
(RNS) — ‘This is not a mere research paper,’ said the Rev. Cornell William Brooks, a Kennedy School professor and former president of the NAACP.
His popular blog debunks Christian myths. With the profits, he does the Christian thing.
By Yonat Shimron — February 10, 2023
(RNS) — Bart Ehrman is known for challenging established Christian teachings. But there’s a part of him that still honors his abandoned Christian faith and what he sees as its moral obligations, such as giving to charity.
Progressive National Baptists to deploy $1 million grant to boost ‘compelling preaching’
By Adelle M. Banks — January 31, 2023
(RNS) — The Lilly Endowment grants to the 32 organizations total $31.7 million and were distributed in November.
Flyers’ Provorov cites religion for boycott on Pride night
By Dan Gelston — January 19, 2023
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The Philadelphia hockey defenseman did not participate in pregame warmups when the team wore Pride-themed jerseys and used sticks wrapped in rainbow Pride tape.
A historic meeting of Orthodox Christian scholars convenes to confront divisions and war
By Meagan Saliashvili — January 13, 2023
(RNS) — Contentious issues of church polity have been exposed by Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February.
