Sudan: UN rights chief calls for a return to talks, amid reports of 24-hour pause

Sudan: UN rights chief calls for a return to talks, amid reports of 24-hour pause
By United Nations News

https://bit.ly/43HESUg

INTERVIEW: Knowledge of indigenous peoples can promote harmony with Earth

INTERVIEW: Knowledge of indigenous peoples can promote harmony with Earth
By United Nations News

https://bit.ly/3A8Cngb

Aid operations in Sudan suspended after three staff members killed in unrest

Aid operations in Sudan suspended after three staff members killed in unrest
By United Nations News
The World Food Programme (WFP) has temporarily halted aid operations in Sudan as a result of the fighting between rival military groups, which led to the deaths of three WFP employees
https://bit.ly/40lAwiC

Tiny DNA circles are key drivers of cancer

Tiny DNA circles are key drivers of cancer
By Newsdesk

https://bit.ly/3A6ly5F

How to Survive Death, a book that provides "a safe trip between lives"

“How to Survive Death” is also about the author’s journey, an autobiography, from rebellious youth to a fulfilling life, helping others achieve their full potential. On that journey, he never stopped searching for better answers to life’s mysteries—solutions that consistently work. Many of those who read the book will tell you that you can find those answers in it.

Niels Kjeldsen, Credit photo: NK

“Death could be considered as natural as life itself. There is no life without death. It begins and goes on for some time, hopefully long, but for sure, it ends. And it’s better to know before it ends. Perhaps you can learn something about it, something not so bad, something even magical, that is worth knowing.” says Niels Kjeldsen, the author of the book “How to Survive Death“.

In the last chapter “What to do and what not to do when you leave the body” Kjeldsen approaches the “three parts of man” and hints that you may finish being equipped with “enough information to help any being that wants to know. It guarantees a safe trip between lives. You and your loved ones need that.“

In this hectic life that we live in “far too many things can happen so why not be on the safe side. It’s like a spiritual ‘life insurance’ you get” said Kjeldsen to The European Times.

Of course, Kjeldsen says, “you can leave it up to luck and hope everything goes well“, but according to the author who has studied the subject for many, many years “it’s not recommended. Do not hope before you go, but know before you go” affirms with serenity and certainty. 

After death, whether the body is cremated or buried, we know that flesh perishes. “But what about the spirit that animated the body, that gave it personality? What happens to it after body death? Some call this entity that runs the body the spirit or soul” says the author. 

Others use different names. How come there are so many different opinions about such an important subject? This is what is covered in this book. In the last chapter, you will find body, mind, and spirit defined in detail with the appropriate references. 

For the longest time, science has been unable to recognize the spirit, for the simple reason that the spirit is non-physical, and science has too often dealt exclusively with the material universe. However, Niels Kjeldsen continues, “the technological age has finally advanced enough to prove that there is a spiritual aspect to life and that it can be measured“. 

“The reason for this book“, tells the author “is to clarify where the soul goes after the body is dead“. Why does one want to know? Well, when you reach a certain age or lose too many loved ones, death is sort of thrown in your face, like it or not. It is worth knowing that “death might not be as bad as you have been led to believe” concludes.

“You were not given an instruction book on how to live life when you were born, but you’ve had plenty of advice—good or bad—along the way. There’s been no instruction at all on how to handle the end of this life properly” Niels tells me, “this book remedies the omission“.

I must say that Niels had left me with the candy two centimetres away from my lips, and now I can tell you, after the easy and capturing reading of the 117 pages, that this book is certainly for you, whether you believe it now or not. I hope you also enjoy the reading.

15 NGOs+ send letter to Secretary Blinken to throw pro-Russian anticult organization out from United Nations

On June 2, 15 NGOs plus 33 scholars and well-known activists have written to the US Secretary of State, to ask him to start a procedure to have the UN ECOSOC’s consultative status of the organization FECRIS withdrawn. It’s a very rare request based on the fact that affiliate associations of the FECRIS, a French “anti-sectarian” umbrella organization, has engaged in the Russian anti-western propaganda for years, and continued to support the Kremlin in ominous ways at the beginning of the war against Ukraine. We reproduce here the content of the letter followed by the list of signatories, which includes 15 prominent Ukrainian scholars.

Dear Secretary Blinken,
We write as an informal group of organizations and individuals who are religious and secular leaders, human rights advocates, practitioners, and scholars to respectfully urge you, as a member of the Committee on Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) at the United Nations (UN), to request the withdrawal of consultative status that is currently held by FECRIS (the European Federation of Centres for Research and Information on Sects and Cults) with the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC).

This letter is a multi-faith initiative of the International Religious Freedom (IRF) Roundtable, a multi-faith, inclusive (of all faiths and beliefs), equal citizenship forum that has proven it is possible to engage cooperatively and constructively across deep differences and increase mutual understanding, respect, trust, and reliance through joint advocacy actions.

While we hold an extremely broad diversity of theological views and political positions, we all agree on the importance of international religious freedom. It strengthens cultures and provides the foundation for stable democracies and their components, including civil society, economic growth, and social harmony. As such, it is also an effective counter-terrorism weapon as it pre-emptively undermines religious extremism. History and modern scholarship make it clear that where people are allowed to practice their faith freely, they are less likely to be alienated from the government, and more likely to be good citizens.
In signing this letter, we have opted into a multi-faith coalition to urge you to strip FECRIS of its consultative status with ECOSOC.

Indeed, per ECOSOC Resolution 1996/31, the consultative status of NGOs with ECOSOC shall be suspended up to three years or withdrawn in the following case:

If an organization, either directly or through its affiliates or representatives acting on its behalf, clearly abuses its status by engaging in a pattern of acts contrary to the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations including unsubstantiated or politically motivated acts against Member States of the United Nations incompatible with those purposes and principles.

FECRIS is a French-based umbrella organization that coordinates with member associations in more than 40 EU countries, and beyond. It was created in 1994 by a French anti-cult association named UNADFI and receives all of its funding from the French government (while its member associations may receive funding from their own governments). In 2009, FECRIS was granted “ECOSOC Special Consultative Status” by the UN.

During its history, FECRIS and its members have accumulated a great number of civil and criminal convictions for their actions that defame minority religions and spread hate-speech against them.

From 2009 to 2021, Alexander Dvorkin, head of the Saint Irenaeus of Lyons Center for Religious Studies in Russia, served as Vice-President of FECRIS. Since 2021, he has continued to serve as a member of its board of directors. Dvorkin, on behalf of FECRIS, has been a key architect of the crackdown on religious minorities in Russia and beyond, as he spread his anti-religious propaganda and misinformation to other countries, including as far as China.

Moreover, Alexander Dvorkin has been a driver of the Anti-West propaganda of the Kremlin for years, and directly and publicly attacked the democratic institutions of Ukraine after the Euromaidan protests, accusing them of being members of cults (Baptists, Evangelicals, Greek Catholics, pagans and Scientologists) being used by Western secret services to harm Russia.

Further, Dvorkin and other members and correspondents of the Russian FECRIS have been involved in the constant propaganda, which prepared the ground and justified the current war in Ukraine, as a war against Western decadence and a war to protect Russian spiritual values.

During the first four weeks of the war in Ukraine, Russian FECRIS associations have been actively supporting the war and openly working with Russian law enforcement agencies to gather information on anyone who would oppose it or even just share information on the casualties in Ukraine.

At the same time, Russia has enacted a law that established a jail sentence of up to 15 years for any person “discrediting the armed forces,” which includes speaking of “war” instead of the official Russian term, “special military operation.”

Until now, no discipline has ever been taken against Dvorkin and/or Russian FECRIS associations for their actions that spread propaganda and catalyze discrimination and persecution of religious communities.

It is known and understood that FECRIS has known about the ideology and actions of its Russian members for years, and has continued to support them, nonetheless.
FECRIS as an entity must be held accountable for the activities of its Russian member associations for the following reasons:

While FECRIS has been alerted about the outrageous ideology and actions of Alexander Dvorkin and Russian member associations for years, it has kept Dvorkin on its board of directors, which elected him twice as Vice President, and has supported the associations all along, having never taken any disciplinary actions against any of them.

In fact, FECRIS has been actively coordinating as an entity with Russian authorities to trigger the crackdown on religious minorities since as far back as 2009—the same year it was granted “ECOSOC Special Consultative Status” by the UN.

The mere ideology and methodology of FECRIS, as a constant, is to use authoritative governments to trigger crackdowns on religious communities it stigmatizes as sects or cults, with no regard to their human dignity, liberty of conscience, and other fundamentals human rights.

In conclusion, FECRIS should be stripped of its ECOSOC consultative status at the UN. Its aims and activities are in complete opposition to the aims and purposes of the UN. Further, Russian FECRIS associates are actively supporting the war in Ukraine.

Thank you for your attention to this important matter.

Respectfully

ORGANIZATIONS
Bitter Winter, a daily magazine on religious liberty and human rights
Boat People SOS (BPSOS)
Campaign to Abolish Modern-day Slavery in Asia (CAMSA)
CESNUR, Center for Studies on New Religions
Committee for Religious Freedom in Vietnam
European Federation for Freedom of Belief (FOB)
European Interreligious Forum for Religious Freedom (EIFRF)
Gerard Noodt Foundation
Human Rights Without Frontiers
Jubilee Campaign USA
The All Faiths Network UK
The Center for Studies on Freedom of Religion Belief and Conscience (LIREC)
The Orthodox Public Affairs Committee (OPAC)
Ukrainian Association of Religious Studies (UARR)
Union of Councils for Jews in the former Soviet Union (UCSJ)
INDIVIDUALS
Greg Mitchell , Chair, IRF Roundtable, Chair, IRF Secretariat
Prof. Alla Aristova, Ukrainian Encyclopedia
Eileen Barker OBE FBA, Professor Emeritus, London School of Economics
Prof. Alla Boyko , Institute of Journalism, Shevchenko University of Kyiv – Ukraine
Keegan Burke, DC branch director Alliance of Religions
Prof. Yurii Chornomorets, Drahomanov University – Ukraine
Anuttama Dasa, Global Director of Communications, International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON)
Soraya M Deen, Founder, Muslim Women Speakers
Nguyen Dinh Thang, PhD, Laureate of the 2011 Asia Democracy and Human Rights Award
Prof. Vitalii Dokash, Vice-President, Ukrainian Association of Religious Studies (UARR)
Prof. Liudmyla Fylypovych, Vice-President Ukrainian Association of Religious Studies (UARR)
George Gigicos, Co-Founder and Chairman, The Orthodox Public Affairs Committee (OPAC)
Nathan Haddad, Coordinator, OIAC (Organization of Iranian American Communities)
Lauren Homer, President, Law and Liberty Trust
PhD Oksana Horkusha, Institute of Philosophy of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine
Massimo Introvigne, Editor in Chief, Bitter Winter, a daily magazine on religious liberty and human rights
Ruslan Khalikov, PhD, Member of the Board, Ukrainian Association of Researchers of Religion
Prof. Anatolii Kolodnyi, President, Ukrainian Association of Religious Studies (UARR)
PhD. Hanna Kulagina-Stadnichenko, Secretary, Ukrainian Association of Religious Studies (UARR)
Larry Lerner, President of Union of Councils for Jews in the former Soviet Union (UCSJ)
PhD Svitlana Loznytsia, Institute of Philosophy of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine
Prof. Raffaella Di Marzio, Managing Director, Center for Freedom of Religion Belief and Conscience (LIREC)
Hans Noot, President, Gerard Noodt Foundation
Prof. Oleksandr Sagan, Vice-President, Ukrainian Association of Religious Studies (UARR)
Bachittar Singh Ughrha, Founder and President, Center for defence of human rights
Prof. Roman Sitarchuk, Vice-President, Ukrainian Association of Religious Studies (UARR)
Rev. Dr. Scott Stearman, UN Representative, Baptist World Alliance
Prof. Vita Tytarenko, Grinchenko University – Ukraine
Andrew Veniopoulos, Co-Founder and Vice-Chairman, The Orthodox Public Affairs Committee (OPAC)
PhD Volodymyr Volkovsky, Institute of Philosophy of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine
Martin Weightman, Director, The All Faith Network
Prof. Leonid Vyhovsky, Khmelnytsky University of Law – Ukraine
Prof. Victor Yelenski, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Former member of the Ukrainian Parliament
Honorary Member of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe

Luis F Salazar and Digital Art: "I love giving the freedom for the observer to interpret my art"

Digital Art – Luis Fernando Salazar is a Colombian contemporary artist who captures in his work the colours and sensations, he says: “I like to represent the warmth of bright colours, the beauty of the world around us“.

Writer of verses, he found his inspiration at the age of 8, drawing. At the age of 16, he began to write short verses in classical poetry. A lover of the mountains and nature, he wanted to capture his perceptions of the world around him in painting and drawing.

Image credit: Luis Fernando Salazar (from his Facebook account)

Very skilled since childhood, he began to create decorative objects for Christmas while he also learned pyrography on wood.

Then, in this ever-growing digital era, Digital abstract art has been the focus of his work, without losing his affinity for brushes and canvases. With not too many resources, Salazar decided to continue with his inspiration and creation in Digital Art composing with diverse methods, editing, assemblies, and diverse digital techniques to create a variety and artistic works that express his love, especially, for the colourful forms, many abstract and insinuating, “I love giving the freedom for the observer to interpret my art” he told to The European Times.

For the first time, a newsroom portrays these works and presents them to the public to share for inspiration.

See his gallery here

Latvia files Allegations of Genocide re Ukraine v. Russian Federation

Latvia files a declaration of intervention in the proceedings under Article 63 of the Statute

THE HAGUE, 22 July 2022. Genocide – On 21 July 2022, the Republic of Latvia, invoking Article 63 of the Statute of the Court, filed in the Registry of the Court a declaration of intervention in the case concerning Allegations of Genocide under the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (Ukraine v. Russian Federation).

Pursuant to Article 63 of the Statute, whenever the construction of a convention to which States other than those concerned in the case are parties is in question, each of these States has the right to intervene in the proceedings. In this case, the construction given by the judgment of the Court will be equally binding upon them.

To avail itself of the right of intervention conferred by Article 63 of the Statute, Latvia relies on its status as a party to the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (the “Genocide Convention”). It states that “[a]s a Party to the Genocide Convention, Latvia has a direct interest in the construction that might be placed upon that treaty in the Court’s decision in the [proceedings”, indicating that it “wishes to intervene in order to make submissions on [the] construction of the Genocide Convention on issues relating to merits as well as jurisdiction”.

In accordance with Article 83 of the Rules of Court, Ukraine and the Russian Federation have been invited to furnish written observations on Latvia’s declaration of intervention.

Latvia’s declaration of intervention will soon be available on the Court’s website.

History of the proceedings

The history of the proceedings can be found in press releases Nos. 2022/4, 2022/6, 2022/7 and 2022/11, available on the Court’s website.

Note. The Court’s press releases are prepared by its Registry for information purposes only and do not constitute official documents.

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) is the principal judicial organ of the United Nations. It was established by the United Nations Charter in June 1945 and began its activities in April 1946. The Court is composed of 15 judges elected for a nine-year term by the General Assembly and the Security Council of the United Nations. The seat of the Court is at the Peace Palace in The Hague (Netherlands). The Court has a twofold role. first, to settle, in accordance with international law, through judgments which have binding force and are without appeal for the parties concerned, legal disputes submitted to it by States; and, second, to give advisory opinions on legal questions referred to it by duly authorized United Nations organs and agencies of the system.

President Macron in Benin should demand the release of Reckya Madougou and Joel Aivo

On the eve of President Emmanuel Macron’s visit to Benin, the Brussels-based NGO “Human Rights Without Frontiers” urged the French President to demand the release of two famous opposition leaders, Reckya Madougou and Joël Aivo, respectively sentenced to 20 years and 10 years in prison.

This month, Human Rights Without Frontiers (HRWF) has filed a report with the United Nations Universal Periodic Review (UPR) for Benin, in which the organisation outlined its concerns over human rights abuses in Benin, with particular regard to the continued detention of opposition figures Reckya Madougou and Joël Aivo and the fact that they were not included in a list of 17 detainees due to be temporarily released after a 13 June 2022 meeting between President Patrice Talon and Thomas Boni Yayi, former President of Benin (2006-2016).

Reckya Madougou, from her Facebook account

The submission by HRWF included details about the case of Reckya Madougou who was sentenced at the end of 2021 to 20 years in prison for allegedly financing terrorism. She had been arrested in March 2021 accused of wiring thousands of dollars to a military officer for the purpose of killing unnamed authorities. Her candidacy had earlier been rejected by the electoral commission. HRWF went on to detail that Ms Madougou was the leader of the opposition party, Les Démocrates, and a presidential candidate. HRWF’s statement also described Ms Madougou’s civil society campaign — “Don’t touch my constitution” — that rallied against leaders seeking to extend their rule under the guise of constitutional reform. The movement spread across West Africa, gaining her a high profile.

RMTB, CC BY-SA 4.0, Joel Aivo – via Wikimedia Commons

The HRWF report to the UPR also gave details about the case of Joël Aivo and his December 2021 sentencing by the controversial Economic Crime and Terrorism Court (CRIET) to 10 years in prison for allegedly plotting against the state and laundering money.

HRWF explained in their submission that Mr Aivo is a law professor who challenged Talon in the 2021 election. He was held for eight months ahead of sentencing and pleaded not guilty to the charges of plotting against the state and money laundering.

HRWF has been monitoring the backsliding that has been taking place around human rights in Benin since 2016. “We were especially dismayed to see that Reckya Madougou and Joël Aivo were not on the June 2022 list of 17 detainees to be temporarily released. Ms Madougou and Mr Aivo should be fully released immediately. The persecution and detention of opposition figures has no place in a democracy and we are concerned for the welfare of these two politicians. President Macron must use his visit to Benin to demand that President Patrice Talon release them,” Willy Fautré, director of Human Rights Without Frontiers told The European Times.

The Russian Idea. Orthodoxy and Statehood

Orthodoxy and Statehood – Policy Report of the Head of the Holy International Synaxis of the True Orthodox Churches, the Head of True-Orthodox Church in Russia, His Holiness Metropolitan Seraphim

It is well known that the following paradigmatic statement has been perceived by the Russian, orthodox people, so to say genetically, since the very moment of the baptism of Rus’ and up to the present day: «Moscow is the Third Rome, and there will be no Fourth».

This claim is categoric and, essentially, very true.

During the reign of Emperor Nicholas I, the above-mentioned statement gained some transformation in understanding or, to sound more correct, acquired a new meaning in addition. It became easier in perception, yet it preserved its categorical sense: «Orthodoxy – Autocracy — Nationality». These are three statements, unified in themselves and impossible to be sustained one without the another. At least, it concerns our state.

Of course, there have been some certain attempts to substitute notions, through over the long history of our Fatherland. Moreover, even up to elimination of one or two conceptual parts away from the philosophical triad under discussion. But it did no good. Even more, all these false transformations, into which the statehood turned during the time of experiments, could exist only for a short period and broke down into pieces, like a house of cards in the wind, without completeness of the wise maxim.

History itself demonstrated that there are undeniable truths, on which the identity and self-consciousness of entire nations are being based, and which toughly fix the grounds of autocracy for centuries and thousands of years ahead.

Thereupon Russia seems to be the absolute proof of such autocracy, as it possesses an outstanding power based on antiquity of the nation and fulness of its faith. Yet, because it was precisely Great Russia that has become the Spiritual Center of our planet for real, while retaining its status of the Third Rome, which prevents the world from facing the total lawlessness.   

Our long-suffering Fatherland has gone through essential dramas for the present 120 years.

The revolutionary turmoil in 1905 was the first sign of the coming vague time. The attempt of forceful overthrow of the legal government in order to change the current political system, as well as empty slogans and unsubstantiated statements – this all twisted minds of the Russians. Basing myself on historical experience and on the practice of international relations of nowadays, I am pretty sure that these events were thoroughly planned from the outside even then. It was the first serious try to destroy a mighty stronghold of spirituality and the purity of Orthodoxy in troubled and uncertain world of vice and temptation.

Then follows an absolutely unnecessary and useless, at least from our point of view, participation of the Russian Empire in the First World War, in which the members of Entente tried their best to destroy the Russian army, our economy and our state from inside, by means of total and unlimited sponsorship of all possible oppositional and destructive parties, terroristic organizations, criminal units and anarchic groups.   

It resulted in the February Revoluion of 1917, abdication of the sovereign, and thereafter in October putsch, which led to atheism, accompanied by attempt to destroy the spiritual pivot in the once great Orthodox Empire.

Revolutionaries encouraged by the West managed to weaken the age-old Power. However, in order to build something new they required a sacrificial victim. Yet, not just a victim but the Victim with a capital V. It was necessary to destroy the very symbol that represented itself the true sense of being of the Russian people. There was a certain need for a challenge to God, furthermore a need for trampling the soul of Russia.

The Bolsheviks, in fact, were not even atheists. They were outright theomachists! Covered by pride, they considered the true sense of their life to be a total annihilation of Orthodoxy as religion and oblivion of the very memory of God and His Commandments.

Even the words of the ancient Jews could not frighten them: «Let His blood be on us». They were not scared of the sacrilege of a considerably awful scale. They would do absolutely anything, guided by the hate of God and Orthodoxy Russia.

The choice of the sacrificial victim was pretty clear to them.

In their opinion, it was Russian Emperor. However, not only him but all his royal family, all members of the Imperial House, — any of them whom the bloody hand of the mad overthrowers could only reach.

The crime was committed.

The Empire collapse was imbued with blood of the royal martyrs, and the execution of the tsar’s family put an end to that historical period of time, what resulted in strict separation between the great past and the unclear future.

I dare not, unlike some others, compare even in my mind the Sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ for the atonement of our sins with the sacrificial death of the last Emperor as the anointed of the Lord. Still, I discern a few parallels between what happened two thousand years ago and that what was committed by the crime — not so long ago – in 1918.  

However, the things did not turn out as the enemies of Orthodoxy had planned.

Namely by means of the Sacrifice of the Lord, the world survived and people got a chance to witness the Kingdom of Heaven.

And by the sacrifice of the Emperor his people were saved from annihilation, as well as the hope for revival of the Great Empire in the future was also preserved. 

But I am deeply upset by the fact that in the latter case, just like in the former one, people failed to understand the whole greatness of the Sacrifice.

Just like in case when the persecutors of Jesus did not repent, the murderers of the tsar’s family have not confessed yet. And the followers of them have taken upon themselves a terrible sin of the regicide.  

Unfortunately, we still can’t find sincere repentance. Because even in church we face hypocrisy and theatricalization of mysteries.

We keep on humbly begging God to give us an Orthodoxy Sovereign, yet I am not sure if our voice will be heard within all this bacchanalia of sin and vice. Still, I have hope in my heart…

There exist a lot of prophesies of the so-called «end times». All of them tell about an inevitable bloody outcome.

But in many of them Russia plays the key role as the state which possesses a chance to save the rest of the world and the humanity.

For example, the Prophesy by monk Abel, given to Emperor Paul, openly declares that there would take place a lot of attempts to vanquish evil by means of evil. But people would understand that it was only a temporary measure and they would start to pray for Russia. With the help of the entire world, all peoples, with one mouth and one heart. And the shackles that hold the Great Empire will fall down, and Great Russia – the House of the Most Holy Mother of God – will rise up full of its spiritual beauty and strength.

I am eager to believe that there is a certain piece of this prophesy concerning our True Orthodox Church. Because who is going to be that tocsin to wake the people up from the age-old sleep, calling up for pray and showing the way from darkness to light?

Loving heart is always regained by us through good deeds. I have said about that many times before. So, I will repeat the same thing now.

The essence of the True Orthodox Church is to serve God by serving people, by caring about them, by guiding each soul from the countless Lord’s flock.

It has always been like that in Russia. And I hope it will be the same in the entire world, with the help of the Holy International Synaxis of the True Orthodox Churches which I am to head till the rest of my days and which is supposed to bring the Light of Truth and Love of God to people, what reveals the real meaning of His Great Sacrifice.

I often ask myself: «What do I need this all for?». I address this question not only to myself but also to those who have stayed by me all these years, as well as to those who come today and perhaps will come tomorrow.

And I know the answer.

Christianity, rather Orthodoxy, cannot stand loneliness. Neither it can stand isolation within oneself and one’s problems. It is longing for cognition of one’s own self, growing and spreading among those who haven’t yet accepted God in their heart and mind but have already turned to God in their soul.

Today we face roaming and chaos within the Orthodox world which calls itself canonical. Churches are separating from one another. They are tearing the Lord’s garments in a bloody madness, they discontinue communication and stop their common praying, they deny each other and call enemies all those, with whom they have been recently taken the Holy Sacrament together by the Throne.

Religious hierarchs are intentionally neglecting to the words of the Symbol of our Faith, to everything on which the doctrine of the international Church is being grounded, and what we keep on repeating every time we dare start acceptance of the Holy Mysteries of Christ: «I believe in a single Holy Cathedral and Apostolic Church». As I see it, they are consciously replacing the Truth by their momentary wishes, by their enormous pride and unstoppable hunger for power.

To my great sadness, some of the «canonical» churches are becoming more and more similar to totalitarian sects, concerned about their wellness and prosperity of their own religious leaders of various scale.

However, those who have ears – let them hear, those who have eyes – let them see.

God’s people learned to distinguish between the good and the bad, to separate lambs from goats and wheat from chaff. And they are openly turning away from those who make falsehood and obscenity the meaning of their lives, who drop their serving down to the level of sin, finally who hide their animal bared teeth under a lambskin.

Moreover, as soon as the world Orthodoxy was directed towards disunity and mutual accusations, the True Orthodox Churches, on the contrary, are joining one another to build a family.

It’s been 25 years since I started my episcopal service to the church. During this time I have had an opportunity to watch the formation, development and collapse of many True Orthodox communities, which used to call themselves metropolis and churches. Every time I saw the same thing and the same mistake, which finally became fatal. All of them considered themselves only to be the ultimate truth, and they all wanted to be chiefs, without acceptance of other authorities and separating themselves from the rest of the world. They enjoyed their existence within self-isolated religious communities. 

In the end, it resulted in collapse, termination of activity or rebirth into real sects and marginal units.

Those who were open to dialogue, were longing for unity and who put first their serving to God and people – today they have become the true conscience of people, the voice the spiritual candlestick, the real hope for that God will stay by us till the very end.

Our International Synaxis is the way forward, the way to God, the way of spiritual creation and true faith.

This is the way of consolidation of those who dismiss lies and injustice with their lives, who believe in a single Holy Cathedral and Apostolic Church, as it is stated in the Symbol of Faith, and who help building the International True Orthodox Church by means of ascetism.

You can take it from me: this way is predestined by the history and predetermined by God. We feel it and we are ready to go through any difficulties, as we clearly realize that it was like that and it will be like that further. 

Those who disjoin, hate, deny and are self-isolated – they all lose themselves in nothingness, they turn into garbage and stay forever at the historical dump, just to display with their own example the depravity of such a mistaken way.

Those who strive to meet each other, who open themselves to love and common praying, who are not scared of difficulties of the thorny path and who follow Christ’s Commandments – they all stay forever, as they become the cornerstone, upon which The Church of Christ is grounded.

Well, we have a long road ahead. It will be the way of prayer and creation. The way of love and spiritual feat. The way of serving and church building. And I am sincerely glad that the revival of the True Orthodoxy, just like a century ago, starts from Russia again.

I must say once more. I have read a plenty of prophesies, well known and absolutely unknown, manifested to the world and hidden from anyone who seek for them with hunger and greed. They all are totally different and not each of them is supposed to go under comprehension and understanding.

Still, there is one statement that is a cross-cutting theme in all of them.

Salvation of the world will come from Russia. As the Star of the East, Russia will unite all those who are filled with faith, light and love.

Precisely under the canopy of the Russian Royal Crown comes the long-awaited «peace on earth and goodwill toward men» as Russia symbolizes the Crown of the Queen of Heaven, our Most Holy and Most Pure Lady Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary.

Our common task is as follows: let our descendants and successors continue our path of creation, union and gathering the True Orthodoxy around the world, and let us lay a solid foundation for that by means of The Universal True Orthodoxy Church.

Today I can feel with all my soul those changes happening in the society and state of Russia.

The consciousness of people is being renewed, the moral background of the Russian citizen is being strengthened, the Orthodox faith is being filled with true sense, and there is the Lord’s spark that lightens up in the heart of everyone.

I hope so much that one day The Russian Orthodox Church which is dominating now in the Russian state will realize that its target is a little different from care about itself and its clergy, its institutions and profit. Anyway, it’s not our business.

However, let no one judge us by the deeds of Moscow Patriarchy. We are totally different from them. We do not welcome conviction of brothers. We do not stand for disorder and separation in the Orthodoxy world.

We follow the path of creation and union.

Our main goal is to bring love and peace, by means of protecting from sins, misfortune and temptations for the soul of those who shares with us and accepts our path.

We have chosen not an easy burden, indeed.

But… as they say, a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.

Let our all-good Lord help us about that.

Humble +SERAPHIM

His Holiness and Blessed Metropolitan

Of Moscow and of all Russia

The Head of the True Orthodox Church of Russia

The Head of the Holy International Synaxis

Of the True Orthodox Churches

N.B. N.B. As a branch of the Local Russian Church organizationally began its formation in the end. 20s – early. 30s 20th century It was formed as a result of the refusal of the majority of the episcopate and clergy of the Russian Church to cooperate with the communist atheistic regime in the USSR, which was done by the pro-renovation group headed by Metropolitan Sergius (Stragorodsky). As a result of what Mr. Sergius under the leadership of the OGPU-NKVD schism, in the USSR since that time there existed in parallel the official (“Soviet” or “red”) church, which in 1943, by order of Stalin, was formalized into the “Moscow Patriarchate”, and independent of the God-fighting regime of the True- Orthodox Russian Church (TOC). The latter, as a result of cruel repressions and persecution, was forced to switch to an illegal way of serving, which is why she got a different name – the Catacomb Church.

The Catacomb Church, as a branch of the once united Local Russian Church, is also called “Tikhon’s” – after the name of the Holy Patriarch Tikhon (Belavin, +1925).

The canonical foundation of the Russian True Orthodox Church is based on the Decree of the Holy Patriarch Tikhon No. 362 of November 7/20, 1920.

Saint Tikhon was the last legitimate patriarch of the Russian Church, elected by the All-Russian Local Council, expressing the fullness of the Russian Church.

http://ipckatakomb.ru/2022/07/18/policy-report-of-the-head-of-the-true-orthodox-church-in-russia-his-holiness-metropolitan-seraphim-the-russian-idea-orthodoxy-and-statehood/

Switzerland is particularly concerned about the increasing number of hate crimes (FoRB Ministerial)

Message from Switzerlands’s Ambassador to the UK, H.E. Ambassador Markus Leitner on 5th July 2022 to the International Ministerial on Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB Ministerial) hosted by the Foreign and Commonwealth and Development Office of the United Kingdom.

Full message (original transcript by The European Times):

Ministers, Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen.

Switzerland thanks the United Kingdom for convening and hosting this important conference.

The peaceful coexistence of and respect between different religious, linguistic and cultural groups are core values of Switzerland.

As a multicultural and multilingual society, Switzerland is particularly committed to promoting inclusive societies based on respect for differences and the protection of minorities contributing to a country’s stability and well-being.

My country stays convinced that no one should be discriminated, disadvantaged or treated differently based on their religion or the way to express their belief.

Freedom of thought, conscience, religion or belief for all is firmly established in the Swiss Constitution and forms an integral part of the Swiss international human rights policy.

Serious violations of freedom of religion, violence, persecution, discrimination, domination and hatred against religious, linguistic and cultural minorities continue to occur across the world and pose a threat to democracies and durable peace.

Switzerland is particularly concerned about the increasing number of hate crimes and violent attacks on discriminatory motives offline and online.

Racism and hate speech are spreading today, mostly through Internet and social media, fueled during the COVID pandemic, and conspiracy theories, especially anti-Semitic ones, are proliferating.

The promotion and protection of the right to freedom of thought, conscience, religion and or belief is also a key element of Switzerland’s international peace-building policies.

Social and political exclusions are part of society and lead either to resignation or violence, both of which are detrimental to the development of lasting peace and security.

There is a strong correlation between inequality, less economic development, more political instability, and increased violence.

The political participation of religious or belief communities on the basis of the principle of citizenship is, therefore, a necessary precondition for a peaceful resolution of conflicts. Switzerland addresses violations against ethnic and religious minorities on the bilateral and multilateral levels and encourages a mutual understanding by means of dialogue.

We are convinced that it is primarily through experience and knowledge and through contacts and dialogue in everyday situations that the coexistence of different cultures and religions can be successful.

Every citizen can and must contribute to non-discrimination.

Finally, it is up to policymakers to provide adequate conditions in order to effectively and sustainably combat all forms and manifestations of discrimination.