Orthodox bishops denounce Alaska Archbishop’s meeting with Putin
Ukrainian Orthodox bishops in the US have denounced a meeting between Archbishop Alexei, Orthodox bishop of Alaska, and Russian President Vladimir Putin, following the summit in Alaska last weekend. The Canadian Press reports they met at the Fort Richardson National Cemetery in Anchorage, where Putin placed flowers on the graves of Soviet-era airmen killed during World War II, after which they exchanged warm greetings and gifts of holy icons. The bishops called it a “betrayal of Christian witness” in the wake of the Russia-Ukraine war. There are an estimated 30,000 members of the Russian Orthodox church in Alaska, a legacy of the Russian Empire’s presence there until they sold the territory to the US in 1867.
Russian Orthodox incursion into Africa condemned
The Orthodox leader in Africa, Patriarch Theodoros of Alexandria, has condemned the incursion into Africa of the Russian Orthodox church, which has formed a new patriarchate of Africa, with two dioceses in the South and North. The church is closely aligned with the Russian state and its African move has been seen as part of Russia’s strategy of soft diplomacy, offering humanitarian aid and vaccines in addition to spiritual help. In a newspaper interview, Patriarch Theodoros described the incursion as a “serious canonical, ecclesiological, and intra-Orthodox problem”, confronting his Patriarchate with a “historic challenge to defend its jurisdiction and canonical order, and on the other, to avoid wounding Orthodox unity”.
Mail reports drug dealing at Westminster Cathedral
The Daily Mail reports that Westminster Cathedral has been “overrun with petty criminals pushing a range of Class A drugs – including cocaine, heroin and the synthetic drug known as spice.” People are reported to have even seen drug exchanges in the pews during mass. The Diocese of Westminster told Premier Christian News that it took the allegations seriously, but “Our team has received no direct reports of drug dealing inside the cathedral. We are confident that, each day, more than 5,000 people visit and experience a welcoming, prayerful and safe environment.” The Diocese is quoted saying that it is continuing to work closely with police and the local authority to address the problem.
New Archbishop of Wales replies to critics of her sexuality
The new Archbishop of Wales, Cherry Vann, who is the first woman and lesbian archbishop in Britain, has responded to conservative Christians who have complained that her appointment is wrong because her lifestyle is against Biblical teaching. Criticism has come from the Global Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans and from Anglican Futures, whose director Susie Leafe said the move scuppered any chance of the Anglican Communion coming together. Cherry Vann told Premier Christian News that God had never told her that loving her partner was wrong. She said the Bible is open to interpretation and that there is “not one view on this matter, even amongst theologians and Christians”.
‘Welsh Camino’ pilgrimage route gets £78k to improve the journey
Plans to develop the North Wales Pilgrims Way, known as “The Welsh Camino”, have been given a significant boost with the awarding of a £78,000 grant from The National Lottery Heritage Fund. The 130 miles North Wales Pilgrims Way starts at Basingwerk Abbey close to St Winefried’s Well in Holywell and ends in Aberdaron with a boat trip across the Ynys Enlli/Bardsey Island. It passes through some of North Wales’ most stunning scenery and well-known landmarks and is known to many through the BBC Pilgrimage TV series. The Diocese of St Asaph’s lead engagement officer, Sarah Wheat, said there was more interest in the Welsh Camino, but “there is little in the way of infrastructure, such as accommodation for pilgrims along the route or public transport. We’d like to explore how local churches could assist with offering shelter and hospitality to pilgrims and consider how we can showcase more of Wales’ heritage, culture, language and spirituality. By bringing together local churches, businesses, accommodation providers and key stakeholders we think we can improve the pilgrimage and tourist experience and attract much needed investment into the area.” Press release here
Pro-lifer investigated for third time for silent prayer near abortion clinic
Police are investigating Isabel Vaughan-Spruce for another incident of silent prayer near an abortion facility in Birmingham. The Christian legal group, ADF International, says this is the third time police have intervened after her silent prayers. In 2023, she was acquitted in court after being arrested for praying in a local “buffer zone” when the prosecution offered no evidence. ADF says this latest investigation will be a test case for new CPS guidance saying conduct which was not “overt” would fall outside the scope of criminality. More here
Two elderly Sikh men attacked outside Wolverhampton railway station
Three young men aged 17, 19 and 25, have been arrested and bailed on suspicion of racially-aggravated assault in connection with an attack on two Sikh men outside Wolverhampton Railway Station. A film allegedly of the attack is circulating online and a spokesperson for British Transport Police said they are investigating the attack. The victims were men in their 60s and 70s and were taken to hospital for treatment, before being discharged. The police said they would not tolerate this sort of behaviour on the railway network.
A profile of Reform backing theologian James Orr and his influence on JD Vance
The Times profiles James Orr, Cambridge associate professor of the philosophy of religion and chair of the think tank Centre for a Better Britain, which is feeding policy ideas to Reform. Dr Orr was one of three conservative Christians invited to meet JD Vance at his Cotswold holiday retreat, after being introduced through mutual friends. Their friendship developed through long walks and conversations, and Orr describes Vance as “just a normal guy.” In The Times interview, he runs through his ideas – the abolition of abortion in all circumstances, support of American gun laws, the “spiteful animus” of Labour’s fox hunting ban, and the “politics of national preference”. After a double first in Classics at Balliol College, and time as a city lawyer in London, he speaks of his “functional atheism” followed by conversion through an Alpha course at Holy Trinity Brompton. Married to Helen, daughter of the former bishop of Coventry, Simon Barrington Ward, he says he is a High Anglican, hanging on to membership of the Church of England “by his fingernails”. He concludes: “Secularism evacuates the human world of meaning, significance, transcendence, and demons rush in in the form of totalitarian dictators. Religion always buries its undertakers”.
Who are the young people in the Quiet Revival?
The Times sent reporter James Marriott in search of new young Christian converts, to find out why they were turning to religion. He starts with the assumption that religion wanes when society becomes more affluent but increases when people fall on hard times, such as now in Britain where young people feel economically insecure and believe they will be worse off than their parents. He found young converts at St Bartholomew the Great church in London yearning for something bigger and better than the triviality of secular society, a young Catholic in west London mesmerised by the beauty of the liturgy, a young evangelical relieved to be in a church with happier, less anxious people. He saw new influencers on social media, many of them ultra conservative in their religious ideas, attract disaffected young men and he heard stories of supernatural encounters with God and curiosity with the “irrationality” of astrology or tarot cards. He said his sense is that the new religious subculture “has most purchase among the relatively educated and culturally engaged parts of society”, in a phenomenon especially pronounced at elite universities. He concludes: “If man is a religious animal, God may never really be banished”. Article is here
Buckland Abbey monks’ songs silenced by Henry VIII, are heard again
Songs created by Buckland Abbey monks in Devon 500 years ago, have been performed again after a historian found manuscripts on parchment at the British Library. Prof James Clark, a University of Exeter historian, was researching customs at the Abbey, which closed with the dissolution of the monasteries under Henry VIII, when he found the parchment at the back of “The Buckland Book”. The Guardian reports that the song themes include threats from disease, crop failures and powerful rulers, and says the music is bright, with several voices singing different melodies at once in a polyphonic style, in contrast to mournful chants. The songs were performed by the University of Exeter Chapel Choir at Buckland Abbey last weekend. Story is here
Pope hosts lunch at his summer palace, for the marginalised in the local area
Pope Leo XIV ends his summer holiday at the summer palace, Castel Gandolfo, today and on his last Sunday, he hosted lunch for 110 local people cared by the charity Caritas. There were several dozen refugees, homeless and people living in poverty, as well as the church volunteers who help them. He celebrated a special Mass for them and they dined on lasagna and roast veal. He encouraged all present “not to distinguish between those who assist and those who are assisted, between those who appear poor and those who feel they have something to offer in terms of time, skills, and help”. AP story here
