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Putin orders ceasefire in Ukraine over Orthodox Christmas - Kremlin
Putin orders ceasefire in Ukraine over Orthodox Christmas - Kremlin
MOSCOW (Reuters) -Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday ordered a 36-hour ceasefire in Ukraine over Orthodox Christmas, the first major truce of the more than 10-month long war that has killed tens of thousands and devastated swathes of Ukraine.
Putin ordered the ceasefire to begin on Jan. 6, the Kremlin said. Many Orthodox Christians, including those living in Russia and Ukraine, celebrate Christmas on Jan. 6-7.
Patriarch Kirill of Moscow called earlier on Thursday for both sides of the war in Ukraine to observe a Christmas truce.
"Taking into account the appeal of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill, I instruct the Minister of Defence of the Russian Federation to introduce a ceasefire regime along the entire line of contact of the parties in Ukraine from 12.00 on January 6, 2023 to 24.00 on January 7, 2023," Putin said in the order.
Statements from the Kremlin invariably use Russian time.
"Proceeding from the fact that a large number of citizens professing Orthodoxy live in the areas of hostilities, we call on the Ukrainian side to declare a ceasefire and allow them to attend services on Christmas Eve, as well as on Christmas Day," Putin said.
Ukraine earlier dismissed Kirill's appeal, though there was no immediate reaction to Putin's ceasefire announcement.
A senior aide to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Mykhailo Podolyak, cast the Russian Orthodox Church as a "war propagandist" that had incited the "mass murder" of Ukrainians and the militarisation of Russia.
"The statement of the Russian Orthodox Church about the 'Christmas Truce' is a cynical trap and an element of propaganda," he said.
(Reporting by Reuters; Editing by Andrew Heavens)
Archbishop of Canterbury condemns desecration of Christian graves in Jerusalem cemetery
Archbishop of Canterbury condemns desecration of Christian graves in Jerusalem cemetery
The Archbishop of Canterbury and the UK Government on Wednesday condemned the “blasphemous” desecration of Christian graves in Jerusalem, including a British soldier’s memorial.
Israeli police launched a hunt for the vandals after more than 30 gravestones in the Protestant Cemetery, south of Jerusalem’s Old City, were toppled and smashed on Sunday.
The attack came soon after Benjamin Netanyahu was sworn in as Israel’s prime minister alongside the most far-Right, religiously conservative government in the country’s history.
Justin Welby, the Archbishop of Canterbury, said: “The desecration of Christian graves in Jerusalem is a blasphemous act. I join the Chief Rabbi and religious leaders in Jerusalem in condemning it and hope those responsible will be brought swiftly to justice.”
The UK Government also condemned the vandalism, which is suspected to have been carried out by Jewish extremists.
Security footage showed what appears to be two youths, who were wearing the religious Jewish garments of the kippah and knotted tassels, smashing the graves.
“This is the latest in a string of attacks against Christians and their property in and around the Old City,” the Government consulate in Jerusalem in a tweet. “The perpetrators of religiously motivated attacks should be held accountable.”
‘Motivated by religious bigotry’
Hosam Naoum, Jerusalem’s Anglican Archbishop, said on Wednesday: “This really shows a clear hate crime towards Christians in Jerusalem, which we absolutely reject and condemn.” He also said there had been a recent increase in people spitting at Christians in Jerusalem.
Images from the cemetery on Wednesday showed that some gravestones had been split in two, including Commonwealth war graves.
The cemetery was established in 1848 and is watched over by Anglican and Lutheran communities in Jerusalem, where tensions have soared in recent weeks over the appointment of the new Israeli government with extremist elements.
Israeli police said they had inspected the damage and were investigating the attack. In a tweet, the Israeli foreign ministry said: “This immoral act is an affront to religion, and the perpetrators should be prosecuted.” No suspects had been detained or arrested as of Wednesday evening.
In a statement, the Anglican Church said it was likely that “these criminal acts were motivated by religious bigotry and hatred against Christians”.
A spokesman for the Commonwealth War Grave commission told the BBC the organisation was “appalled” by the incident, adding: “A very small number of CWGC headstones were damaged.
“We are co-operating closely with the authorities on the matter and our in-country staff are already working to carry out full repairs and return the graves to their normal condition.”
Reference: The Telegraph: Story by James Rothwell
Pope Benedict to be entombed in triple coffin made of cypress, zinc and oak
Pope Benedict to be entombed in triple coffin made of cypress, zinc and oak
Pope Benedict will be entombed in the crypt underneath St Peter's Basilica in three coffins made of cypress, zinc and oak, one placed inside the other, it has been confirmed. Earlier today, the Vatican released the official history of Benedict's life, a short document in Latin which was placed in a metal cylinder in his coffin before it was sealed, along with the various coins and medallions minted during his papacy and his pallium stoles.
The document gave ample attention to Benedict's historic resignation and referred to him as "pope emeritus," citing verbatim the Latin words he uttered on February 11, 2013, when he announced he would retire.
Known as a "rogito" or deed, the document also cited his theological and papal legacy, including his outreach to Anglicans and Jews and his efforts to combat clergy sexual abuse "continually calling the church to conversion, prayer, penance and purification".
The funeral ritual itself is based on the code used for dead popes, but includes some modifications due to the fact that Benedict was not a reigning pontiff when he died.
After the Mass, presided over by his successor Pope Francis, Benedict's cypress coffin will to be placed inside a zinc one, then an outer oak casket before being entombed in the crypt in the grottos underneath St Peter's Basilica, which once held the tomb of St John Paul II before it was moved upstairs.
Pope Francis Nd Pope Benedict
While the ritual is novel, it does have some precedent: in 1802, Pope Pius VII presided over the funeral in St Peter's of his predecessor, Pius VI, who had died in exile in France in 1799 as a prisoner of Napoleon.
Some 200,000 paid tribute to Benedict during three days of public viewing in the basilica, with one of the last, Friar Rosario Vitale, spending an hour praying by his body.
He said Benedict had given him a special dispensation to begin the process of becoming a priest, which was required because of a physical disability.
He added: "So today I came here to pray on his tomb, on his body and to say 'thank you' for my future priesthood, for my ministry."
Benedict never intended his retirement to last as long as it did at almost 10 years it was longer than his eight-year pontificate.
And the unprecedented situation of a retired pope living alongside a reigning one prompted calls for protocols to guide future popes emeritus to prevent any confusion about who is really in charge.
The relationship between the pair was explored in the 2019 film The Two Popes, starring Sir Anthony Hopkins as Benedict, and Jonathan Pryce as Francis.
Reference: Daily Express: Story by Ciaran McGrath
Anti-abortion priest who backed Donald Trump is defrocked by Vatican
Anti-abortion priest who backed Donald Trump is defrocked by Vatican
A Donald Trump-supporting Catholic priest and outspoken leader of an anti-abortion group has been defrocked by the Vatican.
Frank Pavone’s dismissal was announced in a letter from Pope Francis’s representative in the US, Archbishop Christophe Pierre, which was obtained by the New York Times.
The letter censured Mr Pavone, 63, for “blasphemous communications on social media, and persistent disobedience of the lawful instructions of his diocesan bishop”. He has also been told that there is no possibility of appeal.
Mr Pavone remained defiant in a statement issued on Monday, proclaiming that he would not be “silenced or cancelled”.
He added: “This is not just an attack on me, but an effort by forces both inside and outside the church to intimidate every courageous pro-life priest and lay activist.”
Mr Pavone, who served as Donald Trump’s religious adviser, was among those who questioned the result of the 2020 US presidential election.
He attracted controversy as the director of Priests for Life, a Florida-based organisation that takes a hard line against abortion.
Just ahead of the 2016 presidential election, he placed an aborted foetus on a church altar in a video shared on Facebook. In the video, which was viewed nearly half a million times, he urged voters to oppose continued “child killing” and back Mr Trump.
Mr Pavone’s anti-abortion activism is not mentioned in the dismissal letter from Archbishop Pierre. Even within the anti-abortion movement, there was some unease at his tactics, which were seen as incendiary.
Mr Pavone’s support for Mr Trump has been unstinting, hailing his 2016 election victory as an opportunity “to root out the liberal, anti-life, anti-God poison that has saturated our nation”.
He wears a Make America Great Again hat in his Twitter portrait, with the page also showing him alongside the former president.
Mr Pavone told the New York Times he had not been formally notified of the decision, adding he would appeal to the next pope and “to the people of God”.
Laicisation – losing status as a priest – is one of the most severe sanctions that can be imposed by the Catholic Church.
Reference:Daily Telegraph: Story by David Millward
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- Meditation
- Using Essential Oils for Spiritual Connection
- Heaven Scent
- Purification
- Plants that Feel and Speak-2
- Making the Spiritual Connection
- Anointing
- Essential Oils: The unseen Energies
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- The Aroma Of Worship-Foreward
- Methods Of Use
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