[ad_1] For two decades, Ilya Solkan served as the parish priest in a tiny Ukrainian village outside the capital, Kyiv. He baptized babies, blessed marriages and conducted funerals. The Orthodox church stood at the heart of the village and Mr. Solkan was central to its life. “Being a priest is my God-given calling,” he said in an interview at his house in the village of Blystavytsya, describing the church as his “second home.” Today, he…
"Ukrainians Shun a Church Seen as a Kremlin Tool"Tag: church
[ad_1] NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — Chrysostomos II, the leader of Cyprus’ Orthodox Church, was laid to rest Saturday with a ceremony that reflected centuries of ecclesiastical tradition, eulogized as his church’s greatest reformer and an outspoken fighter for his people. The spiritual head of the world’s 300 million Orthodox, Istanbul-based Patriarch Bartholomew, was dressed in resplendent Byzantine vestments to preside over the funeral service at the St. Barnabas Cathedral on the grounds of the church’s…
"Cyprus Church leader Archbishop Chrysostomos II laid to rest"
[ad_1] A man opened fire during a lunch reception at a Southern California church on Sunday, killing one person and wounding five senior citizens before being stopped and hog-tied by parishioners in what a sheriff’s official called an act of “exceptional heroism and bravery.” Four of the five people wounded suffered critical gunshot injuries during the violence at Geneva Presbyterian Church in the city of Laguna Woods, Orange County Sheriff’s Department officials said. The suspect…
"1 killed, 5 injured in mass shooting at California church"
[ad_1] The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) says it arrested Ugochukwu Ekwem, general overseer of Christ Living Hope Church, and seized 54 sticks of drugs wrapped around his body. In a statement issued on Sunday, Femi Babafemi, NDLEA spokesperson, said Ekwem was apprehended at Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, on March 7, while on his way to Kenya for a three-week crusade. According to Babafemi, a laboratory test revealed that the sticks tested positive for…
"NDLEA arrests church general overseer with ‘cannabis wrapped around his body’ at Lagos airport"