If you ask anybody in America, “When do you commemorate Christmas?” the individual will take a look at you cross-eyed and question if you were psychologically lacking or in the early phases of dementia (I reside in Florida and there are a great deal of old individuals. I’m now among them!). December 25 th, obviously! The bulk do not recognize that the members of the Eastern Orthodox Church commemorate Christmas on January 7th.
The distinctions in between the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church (that includes Greek Orthodox and Russian Orthodox) is among the characteristics at play in Ukraine.
About 9 percent of Ukrainians (about 3.6 million individuals) are Greek Catholics, implying they are Catholics who come from Churches of the Byzantine rite. The huge bulk of these belong to the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, which is led by Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuck of the Ukrainian Archeparchy of Kyiv-Halych.
https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/250474/ things-to-know-about-the-catholic-church-in-ukraine
The bulk of Christians in Ukraine are Eastern Orthodox; particularly those who reside in eastern Ukraine:
The Eastern Orthodox Church, likewise called the Orthodox Church, is the second-largest Christian church, [a] [6] [7] with around 220 million baptized members. [8] [5] [9] It runs as a communion of autocephalous churches, each governed by its bishops by means of regional synods [9] The church has no main doctrinal or governmental authority comparable to the head of the Roman Catholic Church– the Pope— however the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople is acknowledged by them as primus inter pares(” initially amongst equates to”), which might be discussed as an agent of the church. [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] As one of the earliest enduring spiritual organizations worldwide, the Eastern Orthodox Church has actually played a popular function in the history and culture of Eastern and Southeastern Europe [15] The Eastern Orthodox Church formally calls itself the Orthodox Catholic Church [
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_Orthodox_Church
Although both churches think in Jesus, the Catholics and the Eastern Orthodox do not see each other as siblings and sis in Christ. Unfortunate. It gets even worse– Zelensky’s Ukrainian federal government is targeting the Eastern Orthodox Church.
Ukrainian counter-intelligence services have actually turned their sights on some Orthodox clergy whom they think of pro-Russian belief and activity. Ukraine’s secret service analyzed valuables of a parishioner at the entryway to the Pechersk Lavra monastic complex in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Tuesday, Nov. 22,2022 Ukraine’s counter-intelligence service, policeman and the nation’s National Guard browsed among the most popular Orthodox Christian websites in the capital, Kyiv, after a priest spoke positively about Russia– Ukraine’s intruder– throughout a service. (AP Photo/Efrem Luka)
https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/searches-ukraine-focuses-suspicions-orthodox-clergy-93860359
I was called tonight by a Ukrainian pal who spoke just recently to the head of the Lavra Metropolit, Vladyka Pavel. He shared the following:
Pavel stated that next week the extreme church UPC Poroshenko Tomos church may take control of the Kiev Lavra as the federal government of Ukraine Zelenskiy and his Ministers are neglecting the calls of the head of Lavra Metropolite Pavel to continue the agreement for the Church service in Svyato Uspebskaya church and TrapeNaya church of the Kiev Pechersk Lavra. The radicals from Azov and Pravin Secfor will enter Lavra and attempt to take control while the program chooses what to with Lavra next.
This is the type of spiritual persecution typically connected with Stalin’s Soviet Union. The prospective participation of the Azov motion in this action is troubling since the Azov followers are not Christian. They accept pagan images and practices.
The spiritual leaders of the Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church, if they truly think in the gospel of Jesus, need to be coming together to require peace and an end to the killing. History informs us that when it comes to eliminating, religious beliefs takes a back seat to nationalism. Or, even worse, religious beliefs ends up being a reason for killing.
I wish to take this chance to want all of my readers from all over the world a Merry Christmas. You do not need to be a Christian to get the welcoming. In composing this I was advised of something that I experienced in the Colon Free Trade Zone in Panama twenty years back.
First a word about the Colon Free Trade Zone aka CFZ. It is among the biggest open market zones worldwide and sits at the north end of the Panama Canal. Every item possible is offered there. It is a warehouse for Central America, South America and the Caribbean Islands. It is a walled city and there are no dining establishments or hotels within– just shops and banks. Oh yeah. The huge bulk of the merchants are Jewish or Muslim.
A Jewish merchant by the name of Jose, who offered infant clothes, remained in a bind. His service was among the smaller sized ones in the CFZ and he had yearly earnings of $80 million. He was a rotund fellow with a heart condition and took a trip frequently to New York to see his physician (he did not rely on the Docs in Panama). Jose’s issue took place due to the fact that he partnered with some other merchants and delivered his items to consumers in a “combined container” (i.e., a container which contains products from several merchants). When it came to its location, customizeds authorities found drug concealed in the container. It was unclear which merchant was guilty.
Jose, horrified he would lose his visa, went to DEA and pleaded with them to investigate his company to confirm he was not trafficking in drug or taking drug cash. DEA concurred and advised that Jose employ my company (my partner formerly directed DEA’s undercover cash laundering operations in New York City). We got the task and me and my partner were offered complete access to his service.
A couple of months prior to getting this task I remained in Panama doing a raid on a company that was trafficking in fake Sunbeam items. As I rode with the attorneys towards the CFZ they informed me the story of the displeasure in between the Jews and the Muslims. Throughout the U.S. intrusion of Panama, the muslim merchants required to the streets with automated weapons and the Jewish merchants concealed in worry. The muslim merchants managed the city gates and avoided U.S. soldiers from getting in.
So, a couple of months later on, my partner and I are auditing Jose’s company and going through his genuine set of books and I saw he was creating present baskets.
” Hey, Jose, what are you doing?”
Jose responded, “Preparing baskets for my muslim next-door neighbors. Tomorrow is Eid.”
” What? I was informed that throughout the U.S. intrusion the muslims had weapons and individuals like you were concealing in worry.”
Jose began chuckling. “No, no, no. Yes, the muslims had weapons and they obstructed the entryways to the Free Zone with containers. They weren’t searching me. They were safeguarding the city. We were all scared that the residents would attempt to loot the Free Zone.”
Strange world. We are informed that Muslims and Jews are opponents and can not get along. In the Colon Free Trade Zone, these 2 ethnic spiritual groups have actually discovered a method to live together and to assist each other. I do not suggest to recommend that the CFZ is a paradise. The males and females who run those organizations are tough nosed capitalists and contend versus each other. They do not let faith end up being a casus belli.
It remains in this spirit that I want you a Merry Christmas. That memory of a chubby Jewish merchant preparing a present for his Muslim next-door neighbor as a method of stating thank you is the real significance of Christmas for me. Doing great to others due to the fact that you can, not due to the fact that it is needed.
I count myself lucky that there are numerous clever, well-informed individuals reading this blog site and requiring time to comment. That is the very best present I might ever get. Thank you.
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