The spiritual head of Orthodox Christians worldwide formally granted independence to the Ukrainian church on Saturday, marking an historic split from Russia which Ukrainian leaders see as vital to the country’s security.

The decree, granting “autocephaly”, was signed by Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew at a service with the head of the Ukrainian church Metropolitan Epifaniy and President Petro Poroshenko in St George’s Cathedral in Istanbul.

“I want to thank the millions of Ukrainians around the world who responded to my appeal to pray for the church to be established,” Poroshenko said at a ceremony accompanied by solemn liturgical singing.

“I want to thank the generations of Ukrainians who dreamed…and finally God sent us the Orthodox Church of Ukraine,” he told the congregation in the crowded church.

The patriarchate, the seat of the spiritual leader of some 300 million Orthodox Christians worldwide, endorsed Ukraine’s request for the new church in October. The decree, or Tomos, will be handed to Epifaniy at a ceremony on Sunday, completing the process of recognition by the Ecumenical Patriarchate.

Ukraine last month chose 39-year-old Epifaniy to head the new church, in a move which Poroshenko compared to Ukraine’s referendum for independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.

The move incensed Moscow, and prompted President Vladimir Putin to warn of possible bloodshed in his annual news conference. Relations between Ukraine and Russia collapsed after Moscow’s seizure of Crimea in 2014.

Ukraine imposed martial law in November, citing the threat of a full-scale invasion after Russia captured three of its vessels in the Kerch Strait.

Bitter Russian opposition

The Ukrainian Orthodox church has been beholden to Moscow for hundreds of years, and Ukraine’s leaders see church independence as vital to tackling Russian meddling.

Kiev says Moscow-backed churches on its soil are a Kremlin tool to spread propaganda and support fighters in the eastern Donbass region in a conflict that has killed more than 10,000 people. The churches strongly deny this.

“Tomos – is just a paper, the result of restless political and personal ambitions. It was signed in breach of canonicity and this is why it has no power,” Vladimir Legoida, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church Synodal Department for Church-Society and Media Relations, posted in Telegram messenger.

Epifaniy was chosen by a council at the St Sophia Cathedral in Kiev, built by the son of Prince Volodymyr whose baptism in 988 led to the spread of Christianity in the region.

The new church may boost pro-Western leader Poroshenko, who lobbied hard for its creation and faces a tight election race in March.

Russia bitterly opposes the split, comparing it to the Great Schism of 1054 that divided western and eastern Christianity. Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill made a last ditch appeal against the process last month.

“Huge win for Ukraine, defeat for the Kremlin,” economist Timothy Ash wrote on Twitter. “(It) will make Moscow’s hope of some future pull of Ukraine back into its ‘orbit’ nigh on impossible without the use of overwhelming (catastrophic) military force.”

Religious divisions deepened in Ukraine after 2014 and two Orthodox factions vie for dominance.

The church known as the Moscow Patriarchate, aligned with the Russian Orthodox Church, sees itself as the only legitimate church in Ukraine. On Dec. 20, Ukrainian MPs passed a law that could force the church to add “Russian” to its name.

The rival Kiev Patriarchate was born after the collapse of the Soviet Union and its popularity has grown since 2014. It favours European integration and championed the independent church but the Moscow Patriarchate denounces it as schismatic.

(REUTERS)

In his annual Christmas message, Pope Francis, the head of the Roman Catholic Church, has urged people to overcome their differences and find political solutions to conflicts, especially those gripping the Middle East region.

Addressing a 50,000-strong crowd at Saint Peter’s Square in Vatican City on Tuesday, the pope called for a spirit of “fraternity” to be rekindled in conflict zones such as Syria, Yemen and Palestine.

“My wish for a happy Christmas is a wish for fraternity,” among individuals of “every nation and culture” as well as among people “with different ideas, yet capable of respecting and listening to one another,” the 82-year-old pontiff said.

He also stressed that differences should not be seen as a “detriment or a danger” but rather “a source of richness.”

“May the international community work decisively for a political solution that can put aside divisions and partisan interests, so that the Syrian people, especially all those who were forced to leave their own lands and seek refuge elsewhere, can return to live in peace in their own country,” the pope said.

The pontiff also used the occasion as an opportunity to address the ongoing war and the humanitarian disaster in Yemen.

“My thoughts turn to Yemen, in the hope that the truce brokered by the international community may finally bring relief to all those children and people exhausted by war and famine,” he added.

Pope Francis also expressed hopes for a resumption of dialog between Israelis and Palestinians to “put an end to a conflict that for over 70 years has rent the land chosen by the Lord to show his face of love.”

He further affirmed the Palestinian side’s readiness to hold new discussions with the Tel Aviv regime on the basis of the international law and relevant United Nations General Assembly and Security Council resolutions.

Referring to other hotspots across the globe, Pope Francis further called for rapprochement on the Korean Peninsula, peace in Ukraine, “social harmony” in Venezuela, reconciliation in Nicaragua and an end to conflict in Africa, “where millions of people are refugees, or displaced or in need of humanitarian assistance and food security.”

Source: Presstv

During the Christmas Eve Mass, Pope Francis has denounced the yawning gap between the rich and the poor, calling on people in the developed world to seek a less materialistic life and help the poor.

Leading a solemn service for about 10,000 people in St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican for his traditional Christmas Eve Mass, Pope Francis said, “Let us ask ourselves: Do I really need all these material objects and complicated recipes for living? Can I manage without all these unnecessary extras and live a life of greater simplicity?”

“In our day, for many people, life’s meaning is found in possessing, in having an excess of material objects. An insatiable greed marks all human history, even today, when, paradoxically, a few dine luxuriantly while all too many go without the daily bread needed to survive,” the head of the Catholic Church said.

The pope has made defending the poor a hallmark of his papacy since his election on March 13, 2013.

Late in 2017, the Catholic charity Caritas estimated that there were over 16,000 homeless people in Rome and the number of such people congregating near the Vatican had increased obviously, particularly at night when they clustered under arcades to sleep.

Francis is set to deliver his twice-yearly “Urbi et Orbi” (to the city and the world) message from the central balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica on Christmas Day on Tuesday.

Source: Presstv

The Presbyterian Church in Ireland (PCI) has encouraged its members to pray for people affected by escalating violence in the Republic of Cameroon in West Africa. Violent clashes, with increasing loss of life, is growing between Cameroon’s English-speaking Anglophone community and French-speaking Francophone community, according to reports.

 Rev Uel Marrs, secretary to PCI’s Council for Global Mission, explained: “Through reports coming via family contacts of Cameroonians who attend Presbyterian churches in the Republic of Ireland, we understand that thousands of people have been displaced as the situation in parts of the country deteriorates, particularly in the northwest region and southwest region.

 “The increasingly violent situation has its origins in the division of the region during various colonial administrations and post-independence settlements. The situation is amounting to a ‘silent civil war’, as some have described it, as that has the potential to be a second Rwanda. Today we wanted to highlight the situation in the country and ask people to pray,” he said. “Prayer is an essential and powerful part of the Christian life and we are asking people to pray specifically for peace and calm in all areas of Cameroon and for tensions to decrease. For just and fair treatment of all people by the authorities and prayer for help and support for those affected by the violence.”

Speaking about the situation, Rev Alan Boal, minister of Abbey Presbyterian Church in Dublin, said one member of his congregation recently described the escalating crisis as “a second Rwanda” – a reference to the genocide which claimed hundreds of thousands of lives in 1994.

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World Council of Churches general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit condemned the killing of two Catholic priests, one in South Sudan and another, less than one week later, in Cameroon.

Jesuit priest Fr Victor Luke Odhiambo was attacked and killed by unknown people on the night of 15 November in Cueibet South Sudan. The late priest was known for his commitment to education and social transformation for the people of South Sudan.

Odhiambo, who was the first Kenyan Jesuit priest, was also the principal of Mazzolari Teachers College and acting superior of the Cuibet Community of the Jesuits in South Sudan since 30 January.

In Cameroon, on 21 November, Kenyan priest Fr Cosmos Omboto was killed outside his office by crossfire between the military and separatists. His death came only months after he was ordained.

He served at the Miller Hill Catholic Church in the Diocese of Mamfe, and was known for working with people displaced by conflict in Cameroon.

“We condemn these attacks, and we hold the victims, their families, their communities and their church in prayer,” said Tveit. “These attacks are even more abhorrent because we have lost two peacemakers who had dedicated their lives to bringing justice to their respective countries.”

Tveit further called for political and social action in the contexts in which these crimes are taking place. “We must redouble our efforts to counter the hate and intolerance, and promote respect for diversity, human dignity and rights, and for freedom of religion or belief for all.”

WCC member churches in South Sudan

WCC member churches in Cameroon

A sombre mood has engulfed Sengera area in Kisii, the home village of Father Cosmas Ondari Thursday who was killed by suspected Cameroon soldiers on Wednesday evening.

Family members and relatives of the slain priest said they received news of his death with utmost shock.

SHOOTING

Fr Omboto was holding an evening church mass when a soldier shot him in the head killing him on the spot, according to reports the family received from Cameroon.

The country has been experiencing a surge in conflicts in volatile English-speaking Southwest region where a group is vouching for separation from Yaoundé.

His father Charles Omboto said his son was on a missionary mission when he was killed.

“The news we have is that he was holding a mass but the congregants upon seeing the soldiers scampered leaving him alone and that is the time he was shot dead,” Mr Omboto said.

His body was discovered by a group of worshippers who had returned to the church compound shortly after the soldiers left.

SPIRITUAL

“He had remained alone because he had not known that people there always run away when the see the military and that is how he got killed,” Mr Omboto told the Nation at his Sengera home in Bomachoge Borabu.

Relatives and church members on Thursday flocked to the home to offer condolences.

Family members of the deceased and the church on Friday condemned the incident terming it uncalled for.

Most parishioners described the late cleric as “very spiritual” and a man fired by the missionary spirit.

“He grew amongst us and was concerned with spiritual things and that is how he ended up in serving the church as a missionary,” said Sister Mary Naitumbi.

Family members said they may not be able to travel to bury the body in Cameroon and requested the Mill Hill Society to make arrangements so that the body can be brought to Kenya.

“We are not compelling them but if they can bring him back home, it will be better for us,” Mr Omboto said.

Fr Ondari’s brother Bonface Omboto said they had learnt of the death of his brother with a heavy heart.

CONDOLENSES

He was away in Uganda when he got a phone call breaking the news of his brother’s death on Thursday.

Kisii Parish Bishop John Mairura described the late priest as one who was dedicated to the work of the Catholic Church.

“He was a young priest fired with missionary spirit but death has snubbed him at a time we knew he had much still left to do in reaching out to lost souls,” Fr Mairura told the Nation by phone.

Kisii University Catholic Chaplain Lawrence Nyaanga condemned the attack and the killing of the Kenyan priest by Cameroon soldiers.

“Priests are in a different war frontline, to save souls not to fight. Fr Ondari was not armed, he was preaching the word and healing a society wracked by conflicts and that is why we condemn the incident in the strongest terms possible,” he said.

Similar sentiments were shared by sisters and priests from Sengera Parish where the late cleric was laid on hands before he set off in the missionary work.

Until his death, Fr Omboto was a Mill Hill priest serving in the Diocese of Mamfe.

He was ordained in Kisii alongside two other priests and appointed to the Diocese of Mamfe, according to the St Joseph Missionary Society.

On Thursday, his father said Fr Omboto had recently returned home to renew his passports before he went back to Cameroon only to meet his death months later.

OTHERS

Fr Omboto’s death has shone the light on the rising number of religious leaders killed amid a conflict that has lasted two-years and gripped the two English-speaking regions of Cameroon.

The priest had been working with people displaced by the conflict.

An American Catholic missionary was killed at the beginning of November in the Northeast region. The government blamed separatists but Washington said he died in cross-fire.

Last October, US Baptist Missionary Charles Truman Wesco was killed in the Northwestern town of Bambui near Bamenda.

A Roman Catholic priest, Fr Alexander Nougi Sob, was killed in the South western town of Muyuka in July.

THE CONFLICT

The Cameroonian conflict began as an industrial strike by lawyers and teachers in 2016 and snowballed into an internal armed conflict last year, when separatists joined in and symbolically declared the independence of the Federal Republic of Ambazonia.

At least 400 “ordinary people” and more than 175 members of the security forces have been killed, according to statistics by local and international groups that have been documenting abuses in the escalating violence. They include Amnesty International.

More than 300,000 people have fled the violence and now live from hand-to-mouth, in forests and across the border into Nigeria, where they are exposed to various dangers.

Source: Daily Nation