Yeah, I’d say so.
There’s this old Japanese saying that goes something like this: “If you sit by the river long enough, you will see the dead bodies of your enemies float by.”
Those of us on the Right have long been called racists and xenophobes. Even when we weren’t. Our makeup is quite multi-racial, multi-ethnic, and multi-confessional. No matter, just because we believed in national sovereignty, that’s how we were labeled.
“Nazi” and “fascist” was one particular slur that was used all too often. “Ethnonationalist” was another term hurled at us.
But oh, how the worm has turned. Now, “liberals” are singing the praises of Ukraine, a nation that has more than its share of *ahem* ethnonationalism. A nation that in fact has engaged in an eight-year-long war of genocide against those who aren’t “real Ukrainians.” They’ve been real charmers about it too: back in 2014, in the city of Odessa, they burned to death over twenty people who were trapped in a building. Those that tried to escape were beaten to death. In the interim, they’ve slaughtered 14,000 civilians who lived in the Donbas region. Their crime?
Wanting to preserve their Russian language. In case you didn’t know, one-third of all Ukrainians identify as Russophiles, one-sixth speak Russian as a first language and 40 percent speak Russian as a second language.
It’s ironic but one thing about this latest conflict is the raising of racial consciousness among Europeans. They “look like us!” To drive home the point, several European (but not many American) reporters said, “They have blue eyes and blond hair.”
We can –and will–discuss the implications of this new-found racial awareness more fully at a future time. For now, we need to delve a little further into that part of the Ukrainian Army that is doing most of the fighting. That would be the Azov Battalion and other neo-Nazi street gangs like the Pravy Sektor. You will notice several Aryan symbols in their standards. Things like the Wolfsangel rune and the Black Sun (both of which are on the soldier’s shield in the images to the left. And don’t tell Justin Trudeau, who clutched his pearls when he thought he saw a single Nazi flag in the Freedom Convoy. Let’s just put it this way: there are elements of Ukrainians in the West of that country who don’t get all hot and bothered whenever they see a swastika flying in the breeze.
Nor should we be surprised. Their grandparents welcomed Hitler as a liberator back in 1940 during Operation Barbarossa. In all honesty, I can’t say that I would have done any different had I been in their shoes. But many of them went above and beyond merely throwing rose petals in front of the German tanks. They swelled the ranks of the Waffen SS. (I’ll let you fill in the blanks.) They didn’t only go after the Jews of Eastern Europe but killed thousands of Poles as well. Thousands. Their hero was Stepan Bandera, a man who broke with the Third Reich in the waning days of the war when it was clear that the Allies were going to win.
This just in: the official salute of the “Ukrainian” Army is the good old “Roman salute.” (You know what I mean when I say “Roman salute,” don’t you? Sure you do.) https://youtu.be/Ttd@vZ-iO1l Now, I realize that Zelinsky, who is Jewish, is a puppet who got caught between the devil and the deep blue sea. But what’s Victoria Nuland’s excuse? And where in the hell is the Anti Defamation League? Here in the States, anybody who raises questions about Israeli influence in the Congress gets raked over the coals faster than you can say Jackie Robinson.
Now, when the final word on this conflict is written, Zelinsky will be given the lion’s share of the blame. He deserves it, after all, he’s the “president.” But of what? A failed state by every metric. He never controlled the Ukrainian streets, the Ukronazis did; these people called the shots: Pravy Sektor, Svoboda, and the Azov Battalion. For an in-depth look, please read the following summation: https://www.unz.com/mwhitney/uncle-sams-nazi-warriors/
The word on the street is that if Zelinsky so much as gives even an inch in negotiations with the Russians, they’re going to slaughter him in ways that are positively medieval. Probably his family as well. Don’t believe me? Last week, one of the Ukrainian negotiators was summarily killed by these dudes. Two other Ukrainian intel people were killed as well.
Zelinsky has no room to maneuver. If that’s not the definition of a failed state, I don’t know what is. Even if he absconds to his mansion in Miami, they’ll seek him out and assassinate him if they feel that he let them down.
But that’s in the future. Right now, Europe (and Europeans) are receiving a big wake-up call. The heightening of that continent’s racial consciousness will help destroy the neoliberal order. It will also cleave Europe from America. Soon enough, the million or so Ukrainian refugees fleeing into the West will fight tooth-and-claw against the African and Middle-Eastern migrants for the generous government benefits.
<—The “Hero” of Ukraine. Multiple layers of irony here, considering he’s Jewish and supposedly lost some relatives in the Holocaust.
It’s going to be a bumpy ride, folks.
Anyway, check this out: https://rumble.com/vwythc-svoboda-annual-torch-march-honors-stepan-bandera-bbc.html (Looks like these guys had a better publicist than the “Unite the Right” guys who marched with tiki torches in Charlottesville in 2017. Quick! Where’s the ADL? [Crickets].)
And if you do nothing else, please take the time to watch this interview with Lara Logan. If nothing else, you will see why FOX news fired her. Truth be told, I’m surprised they didn’t kill her mic: https://www.bitchute.com/video/yrwD23ilv03M/
BLM and Antifa could not be reached for comment. But you can be sure that they’ll scream bloody murder when the pie of welfare goodies starts shrinking.
https://www.b92.net/eng/news/world.php?yyyy=2022&mm=03&dd=17&nav_id=113304
The Russians published a video – Biden ordered the bombing of Belgrade VIDEO
And he says Putin is war criminal. That is so funny.
But that is when there is no balance of power.
It may have been intended as a statement, but the jersey photo is not the original.
https://factcheck.afp.com/doc.afp.com.326C94R
The poster says “Slava natzii,” meaning “Glory to the nation.”
A more natural, Slavonic expression would be “Slava narodu!,” meaning “Glory to the People”. In Slavonic languages, narod (people) is much more commonly used than natzia (nation), which seems more like a modern term in Slavonic languages, being associated with the rise of modern Nationalism. Natzia in Slavonic comes from the Latin word natio (meaning nation).
So “Slava natzii” might be a play on words for some people. This is because the word “natziya” is a phonetic cognate to the root word for Nazism in Slavic: “Natzism”.
That is, when you hear the term “Slava natsii” used by militant right wingers, you might want to ask why it’s used instead of something that sounds more natural for Slavonic, like “Slava narodu.” (Glory to the people).
Good question.
This is kind of a Slavonic nuance.
Strana (country) is a common word (377 million Google hits), and so is Narod (78 million hits), but Natsia (nation) is much less common (9 million hits). So Ukraine would typically called a “strana” (country), and in typical verbiage, people would normally say something like “A toast to the people” (Tost Narodu) or “Glory to the People” (Slava Narodu). Maybe some Ukrainians could have some more insight on this.
Perhaps it is a Janus comment, with two faces…
You gotta hand it to Joke Bribem, he is leaving no stone unturned. Everything he touches turns to boo boo, without exception, and everyone that goes along with him on his ideological escapades automatically discredits himself (Hannity, Watters, as well as the old media). Now the NYT is saying the Hunter laptop is real and that the Russians have lost 7000 in the Ukraine (with no supporting evidence for the latter).
When he’s done, there will be no one to believe but Trump and MAGA.
Just 7000 Russian dead? Last I heard it was 13,000.
These people can’t even lie straight.
George,
And it doesn’t matter. Russia is winding down its economic involvement with the West. They are turning toward the East and likely will not issue any more securities in the West for the foreseeable future. JPMorgan is paying Russia’s interest payments out of reputedly sanctioned/seized Russian holdings here in the West. The Fed knows, Treasury knows, how much American pension money is involved. No one wants a default except the ideologues in the WH and Western capitals.
If you read between the lines, the Davos crowd is beginning to understand. The ruble has stabilized and will likely be pegged to gold in the future.
Zelensky’s Hollywood scripted speech and video, “Don’t Cry For Me, Malorossiya”, reminds one of the president’s scripted cry fest in Wag the Dog. Pure, saccharine theater, full of sound and fury, fooling no one. “I have a dream!”? Please. That’s rabid desperation, not the activity of a winning side.
Very well put.
Those are different estimates from different sources made earlier in the week. The 7,000 dead figure is averaged from a 6-8K estimate given by the US DOD. The 13,000 dead figure is from the Ukraine MoD.
Personally, I suspect the US figure is probably reasonably close to the actual number. Supporting evidence (and this is part of what gets used in the DOD methodology) is the sheer amount of vehicle destruction. There are open-source projects attempting to document and count equipment losses of both Russia and Ukraine requiring visual verification of type and uniqueness. The famous one is this:
https://www.oryxspioenkop.com/2022/02/attack-on-europe-documenting-equipment.html
As I write this, on the Russian side, the total is 1,538 vehicles lost, of which 710 have a status of destroyed (versus abandoned or captured). This is a floor, not a ceiling. The actual number is going to be higher.
This of course leads to the inevitable multipart question. Why do you think a figure of 7,000 is unrealistic? What would your estimate of deaths be? What is the methodology used to derive that estimate?
How about “Slava Isusu Christu”? That’s “Glory to Jesus Christ”, the traditional Rusyn and Ukrainian greeting. I AM a Ukrainian, but I think Our Lord deserves glory more than a nation. One priest’s opinion.
“Slava Ukrainye” might be derived from that similar sounding, but more universal Orthodox proclamation, since “Glory to (nation’s name)” doesn’t come to my mind in relation to other nations.
I went to a a Ukrainian church a few times and was put off by all the “слава Україну” chants and myself thought, “what happened to ‘слава Ісусу Хрісту‘“?
Never heard “слава Руси” in my Russian parish.
Always thought it odd that they’re the only Slavic church that doesn’t use old Slavonic too.
“Yugoslavia did not pose a direct or indirect threat to the United States or its citizens. They just needed it,” Zakharova concluded.
So who is bigger criminal? Biden or Putin?
At least 30 percent of Ukrainians speak Russian as a first language and all Ukrainians or over 95 percent understand Russian as a second language. But that is actually misleading as to the underlying reality. There is a lot of nationalist wishful thinking that goes on in these polls and as one survey found, only 53% claim that Ukrainian is the normal language that they speak at home.
The truth is that up until the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russian was more common even in Kiev and Ukrainian was seen as a parochial dialect. But, like the revival of Irish in Ireland, nationalism has had some effect.
What Could Possibly Go Wrong?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hu_0wzADQ24
[Video – 03:20]
I am anti-NATO and think the US is a giant axis of evil. I’m no fan of the Ukraine. However, just to be clear, that picture of Zelinsky holding the t-shirt is a known (and quite clear) photoshop edit. The real image is on his Instagram account. Please, remove or clarify!
John
George,
https://www.bitchute.com/video/yrwD23ilv03M/ 404 – PAGE NOT FOUND
When only one side of an issue is presented, the truth is suppressed.
That’s not “the side” we want to be on!
Nationalism and, in particular, ethnonationalism are natural to man and ultimately preferable to other systems of state-building. Fascism and national socialism are not inherently bad, either. The problem is when your nationalism is not built on a love for your own people, customs, traditions, etc., which should lead to a healthy respect for those of others, but instead on a hatred of some other guy next door, and a desire to do everything you can to make his life difficult.
Ukrainian nationalism would be fine if they could be friends with Russia and not their mortal enemies (a feeling not seemingly reciprocated by the Russian people), and especially if they didn’t invite Russia’s real enemies to her border.
Probably most Ukrainians were friendly with Russia and want to be friendly with Russia, but how can they be friendly to invading Russian armies now? Friendship is based on respect of boundaries.
Sir:
Did you not once say that the US and Russia should leave Ukraine alone? That’s just it; we( the US) didn’t leave Ukraine alone. We went in and disrupted a lawfully elected government. Most Orthodox Ukrainians I have spoken with agree with what I just said. The lady from Kyiv who was my Ukrainian teacher is one of them.
Fr. I realize that during the fog of war, we cannot get the full picture. And I am under no illusions that the “bad blood” factor between Russians and Ukrainians went up several notches.
Having said that, I am in contact with people on the ground in the Ukraine and can tell you that there is a growing sense of bitterness by many Ukrainians towards the Azov/Ukronazis who are purposely using them as human shields. Also, many cities and towns that have been taken over by the Russians have been turned back over to Ukrainian civilians.
In other words, things are not as clear-cut as they seem and –I’m going out on a limb here–if the Russians do achieve their overall objectives within a relatively short period of time, there will be a new, largely peaceful equilibrium established between these two nations.
What worries me is about the economic blowback that we here in America will suffer from. Once the Beatlemania-type of Ukrophillia is gone (which will happen when the price of gasoline goes up another buck or two per gallon), then the American population will forget about the current invasion.
Of course, we cannot discount a false flag attack, say a gas attack on Poland which will scramble the table. (Or some crazed neocon getting access to the nuclear codes.)
Then of course, all bets are off.
Well, in my opinion, it would have been best for Ukraine to be a politically neutral country, like Switzerland. I suspect that wanting a neutral candidate was the reason Ukrainians overwhelmingly voted for Zelensky, giving him 73% of the votes in the second round of voting. Indeed, unlike Poroshenko, Zelensky has mostly stayed out of Ukraine’s religious controversies. However, given the circumstance of civil war that he inherited, perhaps being politically neutral wasn’t a viable option for him from the beginning.
Now with the current invasion, it seems Russia is quite willing to fight until the very last Ukrainian is dead.
So, in line with “Just War” theory, Ukrainian Orthodox Christian soldiers can be said to be authorized by a sufficiently legitimate political authority. They are also being called to defend and protect their families, churches and homeland from an invading force. This creates a justifiable context for Ukrainians to engage in killing and warfare, perhaps even as a “lesser good”.
Indeed, the concept of “Just War” theory is expounded by this Ukrainian:
“As a nation, we do not seek the death of our neighbors. But because they came to our home, we protect our family, our homeland, our country. Our soldiers are defending all Ukrainians. Protecting, killing the enemy, is not a sin”. – Metropolitan Epiphany
https://www.azerbaycan24.com/en/ukraine-orthodox-church-head-says-not-a-sin-to-kill-enemy/
Well, soliciting military alliances that would place offensive missiles on your territory aimed at your “friends” is not the act of a friend. Nor is going on ethnic cleansing expeditions in areas of your country inhabited by an ethnic group identified with your “friends”. These are belligerent activities and one should expect a less than friendly response.
Agreed, these are not friendly acts, but does it really justify Russia’s invasion?
That question is irrelevant. Russia is there and they’re not going to leave until Zeleski signs the bottom line.
Perhaps, but Putin could still pull his troops out. That seems to be what the OCA’s Metropolitan Tikhon is requesting when he asked for Putin to stop the war in Ukraine.
Of course he could. But to what end? Putin has stipulated the conditions necessary for a troop pull-out.
If Zelensky was smart (questionable) he’d take the offer on the table. Unfortunately, he’s not in charge. His puppet-masters will fight to the last Ukrainian.
When Metropolitan Tikhon of the OCA requests that the USA pulls its troops out of Iraq, Syria, wherever else we are not supposed to be, I will see him as credible. Until then…
That’s a very good point, Basil.
Thirty years ago, Pat Buchanan sounded the alarm and said “Come home, America.” How many hundreds of military bases do we have overseas? Close to 1000.
Could that money not be better spent here, on a “peace dividend”?
Fifteen years ago, almost to the day, the U.S. invaded Iraq. Those who criticized that invasion were labeled as un-American and aiding the demise of Western Civilization. If anything, that invasion demoralized Western Civilization. The main winners were not Christians, but rather the State of Israel, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, having their enemy Iraq neutralized.
At any rate, the invasion of Ukraine by Russia can’t possibly be a victory for Christianity. It’s demoralizing. Instead, the main beneficiaries are probably intended to be the same people as before with the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq.
In the end, we may very well see that Russia’s invasion will provide cover and distraction for the State of Israel bombing their avowed enemy (and Russia’s ally), the Shia Muslim country of Iran. If that happens, then the winners are once again the same people: the State of Israel and Sunni Muslims.
It was nineteen years ago, for the record.
And Russia’s invasion is a second Triumph of Orthodoxy in that it is an existential war for the survival and prosperity of an Orthodox nation under the assault of the heretical and apostate West. As Russia pivots East and rejects (even cancels) the West, it continues its rebirth as a Christian nation. Russia, China, India, etc., are the future. Eighty percent of the world’s population reside outside the West. Russia is neither isolated nor a pariah vis a vis anyone outside the West.
The West has done this because of its religious fundamentalism – its neo-liberal ideology – which it will ride right to the bottom. The West has a pathological need to proselytize the entire world to this sick ideology under the banner of a “rules based order”. Shariah is also a “rules based order”, for that matter.
If Russia succeeds, and it will, globalism will have been driven into remission.
You are comparing eggs and apples my friend and in vain attempt. Iraq is 5000 miles from US and Putin is Orthodox. If you have problem and you are demoralized that Putin is Orthodox who is fighting for our Church defending It from Nazis, I don’t know how we can help You. :)) They are other so called churches in US and around the world waiting for this mess some even call themselves orthodox like is Poroshenko’s and Bartholomew’s one and then they are others ….like this one in Netherlands where you can find support for your beliefs.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/mar/13/russian-orthodox-church-in-amsterdam-announces-split-with-moscow
Hmm, having some math difficulties, ok, nineteen years ago… U.S. invasion of Iraq.
When Met Tikhon issues statements about Yemen, Syria, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Sudan, Somalia, Kenya, Apure, Iraq, Afghanistan, Kurdistan, Libya, Myanmar, North Korea, Tibet, Xinjiang Uyghur and many, many others… All places of current war and conflict deserve his attention, but no statements to date on any of them. Entire populations have been eradicated through ethnic cleansing and genocide with not a single word. But by all means, jump on the propaganda bandwagon about Russia, Met. Tikhon.
Christine,
very well put!
Until 2014, Ukraine had a democratically elected government that worked agreeably with both the US and Russia.
Then the Obama Administration, with globalist powers of various kinds, engineered a color revolution in Ukraine. It was fake, drummed up by hand-picked and CIA-trained social media influencers that whipped the youth into the Maidan frenzy and coup.
After this new and illegitimate government took control, the ethnic Russians in the Donbass justifiably voted for independence. Then the Kiev regime started bombing the people of the Donbass and killed some 14,000 civilians over the last 8 years.
Then, and only then, Russia stepped in.
The West is trying to create another 1980s Afghanistan situation in Ukraine to bleed Russian blood and money dry: fund and arm terrorists and keep the war going. The Ukrainian people are cannon fodder in the West’s insane war.
Not to mention that Russia is only trying to uphold the Minsk Agreement. If Zelensky would accept Russia’s very reasonable terms, stop the war and commit to neutrality, this would all end. But Zelensky is a puppet who only remains in power while he acts in behalf of Western powers.
And now we have the spectacle of Resident Joe Biden going hat in hand to truckle before his overlord, President Xi Jingpen of China, begging him to disassociate China from the Russian Federation.
I’m going to ask an honest question: what leverage do we have over China?
Another honest question: what leverage do they have over us?
We have all the leverage over China that we need, but none of the courage and none of the integrity that we need from our leaders. See, way back when China had an Emperor, they sold bonds to fund the building of a railroad, bonds that were bought by foreigners. The current thug government acknowledged this debt and payed back what the owed to citizens of the UK as part of the deal to get Hong Kong back. They owe a hell of a lot more to Americans, in fact more than all the bonds they hold from us. All the US government has to do is a debt swap. Assume the debt owed to the American holders of those bonds, which wipes out any debt that we owe to China, while further demanding that China pay what the debt swap didn’t cover. Good Bye Chinese economy but, of course, good bye Biden family wealth gained through deals with China.
And therein lies the rub.
Exactly.
I’m sure there are some Ukrainians who don’t like Zelensky, especially the separatists in Donbass.
Yet since the Russian invasion, it seems his popularity has only gone way up:
https://www.economist.com/europe/2022/02/26/how-volodymyr-zelensky-found-his-roar?gclid=Cj0KCQjw29CRBhCUARIsAOboZbKRFJLLuGvzJBIdwZHhfuNNQEyuOIwXSydCf7PF1uSZaA5ehJoWA8QaAhFLEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds
So important for the One Holly Chruch.
It’s bound to, until they find out that he’s been in Poland the entire time:
https://twitter.com/morphonios/status/1505245406187462666
The truth is in the plug sockets, strangely enough.
That socket is used in many countries.
That particular kind is only in Poland and Israel, strangely.
Probably most Ukrainians were friendly with Russia and want to be friendly with Russia, but how can they be friendly to invading Russian armies now? Friendship is based on respect of boundaries.
ha ha what abot this, what Russians should do?
President Vladimir Putin is “a murderous dictator, a pure thug
What a prefined language of US president. Whne will Putin use this language? Beacuse he is an orthodox.
“Especially for us, priests and monks, it is very important not to be political at all, because we offer our sacrifice to God, the Holy Liturgy, for the whole world; and if we are for some and against others, our sacrifice is annulled.” – Elder Zacharias Zacharou
https://orthochristian.com/145241.html
Tell that to the GOA Archbishop who marched with BLM. Tell that to the(uncanonical) Uke priest who said that voting against Poroshenko could land you in hellfire. I have never ever as a priest endorsed a political candidate. I came close to it in 2000 with Pat Buchanan. He was one of the few people in the west to speak out on behalf on the beleaguered Serbs.
And yet we pray in the liturgy for victory in time of war and in “Save, O Lord, Thy People” we pray for victory of the emperor against the barbarians (in the original version). Isolated sayings of purported elders should not become rules of thumb unless they comport with Tradtion.
But is not the victory of the Emperor prayed for
a victory in defensive war, not aggressive war?
Brendan not really. There is no such thing as a “just war” theory, nor moral rules of engagement or anything else in Orthodoxy or in the empire. It was basically defeat your enemy first, and then afterwards we can debate the morality of it.
Exactly, Kosta.
Brendan, Kosta, Misha:
“…he proclaims beforehand the good things which were to befall the world through Him. And what are these? Sins removed and done away.193“For He shall save His people from their sins.”
Here again the thing is signified to be beyond all expectation. For not from visible wars, neither from barbarians, but what was far greater than these, from sins, he declares the glad tidings of deliverance; a work which had never been possible to any one before.”
NPNF1-10. St. Chrysostom: Homilies on the Gospel of Saint Matthew, p.60
Brendan,
Interesting question. I’ve seen others make the case for an Orthodox doctrine of just(ifiable) war. You are free to make yours.
Matt 7:12 [KJV]
Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you,
do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets.
And the corollary is:
Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should not do to you,
do ye not so to them: for this is the law and the prophets.
Interesting. More directly to the point:
“. . . it is not right to kill, yet in war it is lawful and praiseworthy to destroy the enemy; accordingly not only are they who have distinguished themselves in the field held worthy of great honours, but monuments are put up proclaiming their achievements.” – St. Athanasios, Letter to Amun
I do not see this saint, or Basil, distinguishing between “offensive” and “defensive” wars. Basil spoke of defense of sobriety and piety, but not as to who commenced hostilities.
Sometimes, the only peace to be had is on the other side of war. And if you know there is going to be a war in the immediate term, strike first and preserve the element of surprise.
Lastly, any Orthodox doctrine of war must account for the adventures of the Israelites in the Old Testament period. God does not command evil. I personally do not believe there is anything like a “necessary evil”. And that is why, as I have told George, given the circumstances, the Russo-Ukrainian War from the Russian perspective is a positive good, necessary to restore a peace ruptured by the expansion of Western military alliances, much like the wars of commandment in the Old Testament.
St Athanasius then goes on to say:
“So that the same act is at one time
and under some circumstances unlawful,
while under others, and at the right time,
it is lawful and permissible.”
I would say that aggressive war is unlawful
while defensive war is lawful and permissible.
I regard Russia’s action in Ukraine as defensive.
Brendan, that’s a very good question. However is it possible to conceive that the Russian invasion was not an act of aggression but a spoiling attack? Not unlike what the Israelis did when they bombed Iraq’s nuclear plant at Osirak back in 1978?
Leaving aside the fact that no sane man can accept anything at all from the media, the knowledge that the Pentagon was operating biowarfare labs changes the moral calculus, doesn’t it?
The Russian action is defensive, George.
I have no doubt of that.
But I wanted to make the point clear.
As a member of the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad under Metropolitan Agafangel (ROCA) the part of ROCOR that did not merge with the Moscow Patriarchate in 2007, but remained in communion with the Old Calendar Greek, Bulgarian, and Romanian Churches, my information regarding the current conflict comes not from the “Western media” but from people on the ground in Ukraine.
That information includes video clips from a friend and 8 year old daughter hiding first in the subway, then a root cellar, before finally managing to flee to Czech Republic from Russian-speaking Kharkov; acquaintances trying to flee Kiev; a ROCA church shelled in Malin, outside Kiev, and steady descriptions of the increasingly dangerous situation in Odessa from nuns of the St John Of Shanghai Convent located about 25 miles NW of the city of Odessa.
The 20+ nuns, primarily Russian, but also including 3 Americans, 2 Canadians, Bulgarians, Romanians, an Israeli, and an Irish woman ( 5 of these nuns are former members of the ROCOR Convent of St Mary Magdalene in Jerusalem where I also lived from 1996-2006) are safe for now but are preparing for the expected RF assault on Odessa by stocking up on supplies, preparing makeshift bombs shelter, etc.
Explosions can occasionally be heard at night in the distance; military checkpoints and blockades on the main highway leading to the city of Odessa from their small village turned the normal 45 minute trip to the city into a 3 hour trip last week; today it has become virtually impossible.
Adding to the tension of waiting for an imminent attack the nuns were plunged into great sorrow when they heard news of the death of 20 year old Vladimir whose family lives next to the Convent and has been a great help to the nuns for many years.
I’ve quietly read comments on this site and refrained from commenting because not sure that any words or argument made would resonate. However had enough of the view which appears to come from those who do not know anyone in Ukraine besmirching the name of the many innocent and brave people in Ukraine suffering and fighting for the land they live on, nothing more, nothing less.
Please read the eloquent description of the life of young Vladimir by Abbess Alexandra, remember his grieving parents Vitaly and Tatiana, and 13 year old sister Maria.
Eternal memory!
***
On March 14, 2022, Volodymyr Vitaliyevich Sidoryuk, a private of the Ukrainian Army, died. He would have turned 21 this May. What did this short life contain and what did this death on the battlefield highlight for us who remained to live?
We knew Vova since childhood, when he was still a preschooler. His family lives next door to the monastery, and from an early age Vova (Vladimir), like his parents, was our regular parishioner. Together with another neighbor boy, Vova served during divine services. His father began to help the monastery when men needed help. As you know, a person inherits values from the family. Without exaggeration, Vova’s family was an example of true Christian life. On their part, we have always met with participation and disinterested help.
After school, Vladimir graduated from a nautical school and went sailing twice. Apparently the sea was his element. He dreamed of nothing else. The difficulties and dangers of this profession did not stop him. Arriving from the second voyage, Vladimir received a summons from the military registration and enlistment office. This was in the spring of 2021. Before being sent to the army, the whole family (parents, Vova and his younger sister) confessed and took communion; The priest served a parting prayer service. For about half a year, Vladimir served in Odessa, and three months before the start of the war, he was transferred to serve in Zaporozhye.
Two weeks have passed since the start of hostilities in Ukraine, when the names of those soldiers who were heading to the “hot” spot were read before the formation. Vladimir was not on this list.
War is scary, and not everyone can overcome this fear. One soldier began to cry that he could not go … “Send me instead of him,” Vladimir volunteered. Several days in the trenches, constant skirmishes, unusually difficult conditions. Vova had the opportunity to call home. He didn’t complain about how hard it was for him; he only laughed off his mother’s questions.
On March 14, during one of the skirmishes, there was a danger of a fire at the facility, which was guarded by Vladimir’s unit. Because of the shelling, none of the guys dared to get up from the trench, and Vladimir ran to put out the fire and died.
When you know a person from childhood, when he grows before your eyes, it is difficult to perceive him as an adult, and the age of 20 is not great. In our eyes, he was a young man who did not yet know life, who had not yet seen anything bad. We remember his soft, kind smile, how touchingly he treated his younger sister, parents and all of us…
War changes people, always reveals the essence of a person, testing for strength: it makes scoundrels even meaner, and makes people with high principles heroes. Today we see it every day. Vladimir’s death cannot be called accidental, since twice he made a conscious choice and died like a true warrior of Christ, overcoming the fear of death and laying down his soul for his friends.
Abbess Alexandra with her sisters
Original in Russian with photos can be found here:
http://internetsobor.org/index.php/novosti/rptsz/vechnaya-pamyat-voin-vladimir
This of course is sad. The division between the historic Rus’ nation is of great merriment to Satan. But who provoked the Russian Bear for thirty years now?
Who is meaner in God’s estimation? The devil or those who serve him?
George and Gail, I love the new(ish) design of your site and all the awesome links at top! I had never been to Russian Faith and a couple of your other linked sites, so thank you! I am always grateful for this community you’ve built. The past two years have been the most bizarre ever–on so many fronts from the plandemic, to Trump’s ousting, to the horror of mandatory vaccinations, to now the mass-scale propaganda against Russia and her true reasons for liberating Ukraine. More than ever, we need the Church and each other. It has been a true blessing to be able to come here to this bastion of free speech. As always, a heartfelt thank you to you both. One of these days, we simply must have a Monomakhos family gathering.
Thank you so much, Christine. You have no idea how much we appreciate the encouragement. We feel that way about all of you, too. It’s kind of funny, but we’ll sit around and say, “Did you see what Christine said about. . .?” Or, “Misha had a good argument today about. . .”, etc. You are all very real to us. Like a family.
What abour kids in Donbas that died after shelling with cassette bombing or Serbs in the passanger train over the bridge destroyed by NATO bomb in 1999. They are not humans? There are casualties in the war. For Church they are all alive in our God if they have repented and are Orthoodx. But looks like you are in shism.
Yes, in the church of Agafangel the CIA agent, no less.
For sure,
https://orthochristian.com/123911.html
This is an example and an excellent article that Orthodox should read. But Church has no time to waste for those who are in the schism. It can offer them to repent but is going to the Kingdom no matter what schismatic are saying.
Thanks, VSWR. I had exactly that article in mind, but didn’t expend any effort in looking for it to share. You put me to shame.
Essential reading.
With the number of Ukrainians who have left Ukraine in the past couple of week, specifically to Poland, it will be interesting to see if those members of the OCU will be absorbed into the Polish Orthodox Church, or if they will have their own parishes.
Metropolitan Sawa has been a vocal supporter of Metropolitan Onuphry so it would be interesting how they would be received into the POC.
Petros, that’s an interesting point you bring up. The Church of Poland might very well do a 180 and recognize the OCU soon. They’ve already made a statement condemning the Russian invasion, calling it “wicked and incomprehensible”:
https://orthochristian.com/145301.html
If they recognize the OCU solely because of the war and not based on a resolution of the actual canonical problems, they are weak men without chests.
Metropolitan Sawa has invited Patriarch Bartholomew to Poland. Sounds like recognition of the OCU is inevitable:
https://orthodoxtimes.com/invitation-of-the-metropolitan-of-warsaw-to-patriarch-bartholomew-to-visit-poland/
Talk about a non-sequitor.
Yet word on the street is that Poland is getting ready to invade Ukraine from the West.
Interesting, this time they would be the “carvers” rather than the “carvees.”
If that’s the case, then they wouldn’t recognize Epiphony but “absorb” the Ukrainian refugees into their autocephalous Church, wouldn’t they?
George, that’s interesting, but what would Poland be trying to accomplish by invading Ukraine? Retribution for the Volhynia Massacre? Expanding Poland? I don’t know.
And why would Patriarch Bartholomew suddenly be invited to Ukraine by both the president of Poland *and* Metropolitan Sawa? There must be some connection. I can’t imagine that Patriarch Bartholomew would give his blessing to a Polish invasion of Ukraine.
Why would they need it?
…Who is saying this, exactly?
NATO, the EU, and Biden would like very much to get Poland involved as if it weren’t already. They’re the ones trying to take care of the refugees and the American troops! NATO had, at one point, suggested that Poland give military equipment to Ukraine and NATO would replace what they gave to Ukraine with newer and better equipment. The West would like nothing better than to get Poland involved.
I’ve been to Poland, it’s an Amazing country, but they are about as anti-Russia/pro-America as it gets. They have a view of 1950’s America that just does not exist anymore and their cultural/social values are totally at odds with modern American culture & social values….they just don’t realize that since they view us through rose colored glasses.
It would be a travesty for them to get involved fighting for something like globohomo.
George,
Nature abhors a vacuum. It is an open question as to whether Russia intends to occupy Western Ukraine. If not, and if they simply use that area as a dumping ground for surrendering Ukrainian forces, etc., then it will likely become radicalized, or even more than it is now.
Banderastan.
Russia, of course, would not allow them to attack eastward so their efforts would be refocused westward on the people who led them down the primrose path. So, to avoid receiving this little gift that will keep on giving headaches, Poland/Europe may be contemplating just going in in order to informally partition and thus avoid the glory that would be Banderastan. They may want to establish Novaya Pol’sha in its place.
Interestingly, Western Europe is going to experience a tremendous blow-back from all the radicalized Ukronazis and the criminals who Zelensky not only pardoned but armed with AK-47s, Stinger missiles and whatnot. Not only will these criminals not fight for the Ukraine, but will head west and sell their new toys to jihadis in Europe and the far-right/neo-nationalist parties in there as well.
In America, an Ar-15 retails for a little over $1,000. With inflation and a new-found demand for these among ultra-rights, I can easily see them going for at least $2000 (or Euro equivalent). Stingers can sell for 8 million on the black market.
And this of course discounts the cache which many of the Azov/felon types have in the West. I can easily see them not only joining far-right parties but leading them as well.
To stay that this will be a destabilizing factor as far as Europe is concerned would be the understatement of the year. In time, many Western European governments will be begging Putin to come in and save their hides. Otherwise, the ultranats will wind up taking over several of their parliaments, just like they did the Rada. And that doesn’t even take into account how they (together with Uke “refugees” are going to rain terror on all the non-European immigrants.
George, it is curious that both Met. Sawa and Duda have invited Bartholomew to Poland. As far as I’ve been able to tell over the past few years since paying attention to international politics Duda is a devout Roman Catholic, what need would he have with Bartholomew? This has Poroshenko vibes all over it. Poland might be a conservative/religious country but it is still heavily influenced by the U.S.
I did not think that Met. Sawa would cave, but, I thought the same thing about Alexandria. I’m sure Met. Sawa is under a lot of political pressure because the Orthodox are a minority in Poland, and Poland is pretty anti-Russian.
I’d be interested to see if Bartholomew plans on taking part in the “consecration” of Russia and Ukraine to “immaculate heart”
OK, the Lara Logan link went to “404-Error Land.”
Try this instead: https://rumble.com/vxon9j-putin-knew-exactly-what-he-was-doing-when-he-went-into-ukraine..html
Genocide much? Amazing what our govt and its acolytes are openly aligned with, instead of secretly as in the good ol’ grampa Bush years with the German originals. https://www.voltairenet.org/article216124.html
The youtube video has since been removed “video not found”
https://youtu.be/Ttd@vZ-iO1l
The core problem with political ideology of all stripes including much advocated here is they are built on moralistic nihilism rather than surrendering to God in Thanksgiving and humility.
The Nihilist world view is neatly summed up in the title of Nietzche’s magnum opus ‘The Will to Power’. The artificial and demonic idea that my individual will is supreme God. It is the core belief that motivated those who crucified Jesus.
Fundamentally it is the mind of the world. No good thing can come from it. Only despair, destruction and death including death to the soul.
All the wars fought since the American Civil war have been launched as moral crusades. There have been at least 20 of them, the vast majority in my life time.
I am guilty of partaking deeply of the same spirit in my life.
The only life a giving and virtuous response is the call of Jesus: “Repent, for the Kingdom of heaven is st hand!” (Mt 4:17).
So I the sinner do implore the mercy of Our Lord to be upon me and all others in my life especially the people and controllers of the provacators, liars, murders and thieves in power in the US, Russia, Ukraine and other states.
I ask the the prayers from each of you here as well for mercy, grace and peace through repentance.
The Risen Christ is in our midst yet we seek out lies to justifying His Crucifixion.
Forgive me; I’m still trying to wrap my head and heart around the Orthodox phronema. Our spiritual discipline is painfully introspective, yet most of those who comment here are focused on external events. For that reason, some Orthodox may wonder why George and Gail have worked so hard to maintain this weblog.
We in the United States have been betrayed by our own country for the last two years. Once we thought that we could put the so-called pandemic and the election in the rearview mirror, war broke out in Ukraine. The two most populous Orthodox countries in the world are shooting at each other. Lord, have mercy.
I’ve vaguely been waiting for someone to say something akin to what Mr. Bauman has said: That is that all political ideologies are essentially “moralistic nihilisms”. I’ll grant him that the United States’ belligerent adventures have turned out to be nihilistic indeed. My count starts from Vietnam, the war that made so many young Americans of the time to question their government’s motives. And their own. Our generation may never quite get over that one. I was hoping to think that the War on Terror would prove to have been fought with greater honor and success. Now, I have gravely ambivalent feelings about both recent wars and the surveillance state that they spawned.
“All is vanity,” saith the preacher. Nihilism is a rejection of the motivation that make us live, work and pray. Political nihilism, if I am to understand Mr. Bauman correctly, is a negation of the purpose for a nation-state. In other words, for Americans, America is not a country worth fighting to preserve. For the Russian people, the Russian lands are not worth fighting for. Where the boundaries of the Russian lands fall, I am not sure. I’m trying to understand the vast expanses and their long history, but I’m having trouble drawing lines. I suppose Mr. Putin will soon be drawing new lines on an old map.
One thing I can say is that all peoples have a country that they call home, even those who remind themselves that they are citizens of heaven who place more emphasis on their loyalty to God’s kingdom than any man’s. Our Lord was born a Jew and offered a new way of life to the Jews first and then to the Greeks. I’m trying to say that our lives are bound by time and space into which the Holy Spirit steps with exquisite particularity.
For the last half century, I have lived apart from the region of the country where I was born and bred, but the desktop picture on my computer is the nineteenth-century lakeside church where I first caught the wistful glimpses and heard the lofty melodies of the mystery which lifted my soul and transcended all physicality.
Especially in troubled times like this, many of us wish that we could go back to a time when our world was quieter. I almost wish that I weren’t witnessing the period in history when our nation is ruled by charlatans who supposedly represent us but who, in many cases, represent nothing but their own lust for power. It can make you bitter. Oh, how betrayed by tenfold the Ukrainians must feel about their recent government and about the violent intrusion by the Russian army! Many of them now wish they had never even been born, to be sure.
There’s a bond that both draws the Russian peoples together and tears them apart. I don’t understand it. God help them all. What I am trying to understand is the root of attachment that I have to my own country. Due in part to the fact that my own son was twice deployed to the Middle East, and in part to the fact that I lived outside this country for many years, the attachment is very strong indeed. There is a fury in my soul that has no outlet and deepens ever further as I see the way that the black dog bites and tears at the fabric of our society, once so new and strong.
Maybe Mr. Bauman is right. Maybe all of us should just turn off our electronic devises and create little monasteries in our icon corners. Maybe I should just repent in sackcloth and ashes, knowing that my fellow man’s sin is my own. After all, it is Lent.
But, I can’t just let it go. I love my country too much to sit back and watch it without saying something about it. It’s that old “not-on-my-watch” defiance. I trust that most of us here feel the same way. Deeply. Some of us have an attachment to another country, like Ukraine or Russia. Without that sense of a homeland, especially for those who have been separated from their homeland as the millions of Ukrainian refugees have been, then we are nothing but nomads. Listless.
I’m proud of the America whose ideal I hold close to my heart: God-fearing, hard-working, generous, and strong. I suppose the Russians peoples have a similar pride in the Russkiy mir. and I suppose those adjectives describe them as well.
In that sense, and if I haven’t misunderstood Mr. Bauman, I would say that a political philosophy that longs for one’s homeland and fights to retain it is not a nihilistic pursuit. It’s what one does when one’s country is under attack.
This blog may be guilty of many things, but embracing the view that nothing is morally right or wrong is not one of them! Quite the opposite.
I also take exception to your characterization that we (all of us, I guess) don’t “surrender to God in Thanksgiving and humility.”
I am not entirely sure you know what nihilism means, Michael. If we were nihilistic, we wouldn’t have anything to write about, now would we? And yet we do. We engage in these discussions because we do NOT believe “human values are baseless, that life is meaningless, that knowledge is impossible, or that some set of entities do not exist or are meaningless or pointless.”
I also don’t think you understand what surrendering to God means. It doesn’t mean giving up your God-given free will. It means choosing to align your will with the Will of God.
You keep circling back to repentance, as well. It’s as if it means to you to hang your head in shame for our “nihilist” approach to things. You frequently quote Matthew 4:17 as if this explains your POV. It actually doesn’t.
These were John the Baptist’s words, Michael. John the Baptist was the prophet who preceded Jesus; as a servant preparing the way of his Master. Jesus only began preaching after John the Baptist was arrested and could no longer fulfill this role.
The kingdom of heaven is not some future, far-off place that one gets to by asking forgiveness for their sins, which frankly should be done in front of a confessor, as opposed to an icon corner.
The kingdom is Jesus and the ability to live a life of virtue that is possible only through Christ. From a scriptural context to repent means to “change one’s mind.”
When you say, “The Risen Christ is in our midst yet we seek out lies to justify His Crucifixion,” it’s as if you’re accusing us of trying to justify His crucifixion! That is so unfair.
Talking about how to navigate this world from a Christian, conservative POV is not evil, Michael. It’s OK to love and defend the place God put you. It’s also OK to see both sides, fairly. One side doesn’t have to be evil for the other to be good.
Going forward, let’s try to only mention the need for “repentance” if we’re talking about ourselves and not use it as an indictment of other people, especially if they’re on this blog.
This would include your hosts. We honestly don’t deserve this from you.
Thank you.
This is more of Michael Bauman’s borderline gnosticism. Christ became incarnate in the world and His followers have to navigate and deal with things of the world using the example that He set before us and the commandments that He gave us. This includes politics. Church Fathers and holy men throughout history have been involved in politics and discussions revolving around politics from the beginning, and many political systems have derived directly from Christian teaching. To call traditionalist Christian monarchy “moralistic nihilism” is piety-signaling, hand-wringing posturing.
Masochism is quite ugly.
May be is a hoax with the shirt of Zelensky but definitely the country this clown is presenting is supporting Nazis.
Look at the vote in UN on fascism in the world that happened couple of months ago. Europe was sustained, which is crazy by default, but US and Ukraine were not even sustained. And what dose that tell? That Putin is a maniac or war criminal or that the West is supporting Natzi team?
https://countercurrents.org/2021/12/u-s-and-ukraine-only-two-countries-vote-against-un-resolution-condemning-nazism/
Ridiculous explanation of US why they support Nazi.
https://usun.usmission.gov/explanation-of-vote-at-the-third-committee-adoption-of-the-combating-glorification-of-nazism/
Here’s the Lara Logan link that was “lost” from my piece:
‘
https://www.helleniscope.com/2022/03/18/lara-logan-they-are-lying-to-us-big-time-on-ukraine-must-watch-video/
File this one under “white Ukrainian refugees good/brown Syrian refugees bad”:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FLPVMk9FEwU
Great video! Well, everyone’s a little bit racist sometimes.
Big difference is that Syria, Libya, Yemen, and Iraq weren’t serving the NWO and shelling civilians for close to a decade before they got attacked.
It looks like Z’s triumphant tour hit a roadblock on it’s stopover in Greece today:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fjfxW6ZihJc
Using Ukro-Greek Nazis to help him make his case. Not a good look. Is it possible that the State Dept’s agents are losing their touch?