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Thursday, September 26, 2019

International Religious Freedom, American-Style

Many Evangelical Protestants like Tony Perkins are tickled to death that Pres Trump said some words in support of what they call ‘religious freedom’ at the United Nations earlier this week:


We have discussed what this term entails, broadly speaking, in past posts:



But now let’s have a closer look at its implications. 

First, if you are a country that believes in traditional sexual morality, you had better be willing to throw that away and embrace the LGBTQ lifestyle.  Pres Trump sees no contradiction between religious freedom and LGBTQ ‘rights’, and he seems to thinks the rest of the world shouldn’t, either.  In his address before the UN, he pushed countries to accept both:

As we defend American values, we affirm the right of all people to live in dignity. For this reason, my administration is working with other nations to stop criminalizing homosexuality and we stand in solidarity with LGBTQ people who live in countries that punish, jail or execute individuals based upon sexual orientation.

 . . .

This fundamental right is under growing threat around the world. Hard to believe, but 80 percent of the world's population lives in countries where religious liberty is in significant danger or even completely outlawed. Americans will never fire or tire in our effort to defend and promote freedom of worship and religion. We want and support religious liberty for all.


The message is pretty clear:  If you accept American-style religious freedom, you will get gay pride parades, pride month, enormous economic pressure from international corporations to normalize LGBTQ behavior, and all the rest of that rubbish.

American-style religious freedom also mean allowing Washington City to meddle in your country’s internal religious affairs.  The Ukraine is the current victim on the altar of American religious freedom.  And what has it gotten them and their fellow Orthodox Christians?  The worsening of a religious schism in their country; the legitimization of violent, neo-Nazi sympathizers who call themselves Orthodox Christians; government persecution against the legitimate Orthodox Church in the Ukraine; arm-twisting of bishops in the Orthodox Church in Greece to accept the schismatics in the Ukraine; division within worldwide Orthodoxy; and turning the Patriarch of Constantinople into a geopolitical pawn.

While Patriarch Bartholomew and other representatives of the Patriarchate of Constantinople have repeatedly stated that politics played no part in the decision to create the “Orthodox Church of Ukraine” (OCU) and grant it a tomos of autocephaly, Makary Maletich, the head of one of the two schismatic bodies that united into the OCU, contradicts this assertion, confirming the decisive role played by the U.S. and other Western secular powers.

In a new interview with the Ukrainian outlet Channel 24, Makary Maletich states that were it not for the support of the U.S. along with Germany, France, and the UK, Pat. Bartholomew would never have dared to give the tomos.

 . . .

Besides those Ukrainians who have remained loyal to the Orthodox Church, several Local Churches had already expressed their disapproval of Constantinople’s unilateral interference in Ukraine, even before the rehabilitation of Philaret and Makary and the creation of the OCU.

While Makary gives much credit to Poroshenko, he clarifies: “It is not only the merit of Poroshenko, but also the Verkhovna Rada, Ukrainians themselves, and the diplomats of the U.S.A., Great Britain, France, and Germany, who were interested in the church.”

Maletich is certain “that if the Ecumenical Patriarch had not seen the support in the leading states of the world, he wouldn’t have done this. Then neither Poroshenko, nor the Rada, nor Philaret, nor I would have done anything.”

He spoke of the influence of foreign diplomats in December, on the eve of the “unification council” as well, though at that time he mentioned only that they had spoken with him and Philaret to discern if they were ready to receive a tomos.

The new head of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, Archbishop Elpidophoros, received U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for Religious Freedom Samuel Brownback in his office recently, thanking him for the U.S.’s support for the Patriarchate of Constantinople. Ambassador Brownback and Ambassador to Greece Geoffrey Pyatt (former Ambassador to Ukraine) have been actively meeting with religious figures in the Greek Orthodox world, trying to shore up support for the OCU, which is thus far entirely lacking in the Orthodox world.

 . . .


More on this theme at these links, plus stories linked at the end of them:



Video has emerged show that on Friday, September 13, in the village of Priputin in the Chernigov region of Ukraine, OCU schismatics attacked a priest of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church and brutally beat a woman during a church seizure.

A “hieromonk” of the schismatic OCU, Leonty, not only stood by and watched this happen, but actively participated, as the video shows. Despite the aggressiveness of the schismatic, the canonical priest barely defended himself, and displayed Christ-like meekness.

The Ukrainian Orthodox Church reports that all this happened in the presence of police, who did nothing to stop the schismatics from cutting off the locks of the church with power tools. The poor woman was hospitalized with a possible concussion and various injuries, and it’s a miracle she wasn’t killed, as the video clearly shows her being thrown around by strong young people.

The police apparently did nothing, because they were reportedly deceived by “Hieromonk” Leonty into thinking the parish was legally transferred to the OCU. It was only after the schismatics cut the locks off the doors that the police realized they were being lied to, and the documents were false, although it was not explained why nothing was done to help the assaulted faithful. It is suspected that local officials sympathetic to the schism helped forge the documents the schismatics were carrying, claiming the church was theirs.

In the end, it turned out that “Hieromonk” Leonty is a criminal, previously forbidden from serving as a priest after he was sentenced to a prison term. Thank God, the faithful of the Nezhin Diocese got their church back, replaced the locks, and will continue services there.

One must wonder why the schismatics wanted the church in the first place, as they don’t even appear to care very much for God. A video was released by the Ukrainian Church showing a woman spotted with the schismatics in the church seizure here, and here, responding rudely to the call “Glory to God.”

An Orthodox Christian says “Glory to God,” and she sneers back “Glory to the nation…death to the enemies.” The believer answers back “Glory to God!” to which she again responds, “Death to the enemies of the Ukrainian nation.”

This “glory to the nation — death to the enemies” chant is very popular at “cross processions” of the schismatic churches.


More on this theme:




In a disgusting, yet tragically unsurprising speech, it recently came to light that yet another “priest” of the schismatic “Orthodox Church of Ukraine”(OCU) literally glorifies Nazis.

On July 28, 2019, Vasily Sagan, a “priest” of the schismatic OCU, which is recognized only by the Ecumenical Patriarchate, recently declared that he is certain that many members of the Nazi SS Galicia division, which fought with Adolf Hitler in WW2, are among the saints.

The “cleric” declared this while performing a funeral in the village of Chervone of the Zolochiv district of the Lviv Province. The funeral was in fact, a reburial service for 29 actual members of the SS division, who fought during WW2, and whose remains were rediscovered. The OCU priest served together with members of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, as the SS fighters were given full military honors. Specifically, Sagan said during the service:

“I think there will be a moment, not only for the recognition of SS Division Galicia, but a moment when many of these heroes of the church will be recognized in their own way, in due time. And not simply as heroes, but as saints, which many of them are in fact… Glory to the heroes!”

At the funeral, there was an honor guard dressed not only in modern Ukrainian military uniform, but in the WW2 era fascist style uniform of the Galician SS Division. The red and black flag of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army can also be seen.

 . . .


More on this theme:


This is what lurks in the background as a possibility for any country that accepts the religious freedom preached by Trump, Brownback, Pompeo, Perkins, et al.  It is not freedom at all - just another way for the American Empire to dig its demonic claws into others.

Do you still believe you can ‘fix Washington’, Southron?  Isn’t it rather time to leave all this evil behind?

--

Holy Ælfred the Great, King of England, South Patron, pray for us sinners at the Souð, unworthy though we are!

Anathema to the Union!

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