Search for "Ukraine International Airlines Flight 800-299-7264 Booking Phone Number Reservations Toll Free"

A Great Evangelical Divorce? — Speaker Mike Johnson’s Breakup with Marjorie Taylor Greene Could Be Bad News For Trump

By Diana Butler Bass

…on Steve Bannon’s show, insisting that Russia was a champion of religious freedom and Ukraine was its enemy: Let’s talk about what this really is, Steve: This is a war against Christianity. The Ukrainian government is attacking Christians; the Ukrainian government is executing priests. Russia is not doing that; they’re not attacking Christianity. As a matter of fact, they seem to be protecting it. Indeed, Greene has been attacking Mike Johnson’s…

An Open Letter to CEO Jeff Smisek On United Airlines’ Blasphemous Safety Video

By Austin Dacey

…ual recompense. In the video message that was played before my last United Airlines flight, you expressed your desire to greet each and every passenger; you invited us to sit back, relax, and enjoy the flight. If I could greet you now, I would want to know: were you unaware of the monstrosity that was about to follow? There, rising above the hiss of the pressurized air, as the video monitors snapped to the image of an engorged sun bursting from be…

The Enigmatic Role of Anti-Semitism in the Russia-Ukraine Conflict

By Katherine Kelaidis

…of historical trauma is very much alive. But as Russia commences a war in Ukraine, history isn’t the only reason for Ukraine’s Jewish community to be afraid. A not-so-latent anti-semitism lies at the heart of Putin’s propaganda machine, and appeals to anti-semitic sentiments have been a central theme in the kultur politik advanced by both Russia and the Russian Orthodox Church in the Putin era. For example, whatever sympathy Russia does get from…

New Mormon Anti-Gay Policy Sparks Mass Exodus From Church; Christian AID Workers in Africa Refuse to Help Gay Refugees; Ukraine Rejects, Then Accepts EU-Required Gay Rights Law; Global LGBT Recap

By Peter Montgomery

…event is a significant milestone along the way and a historical event for Ukraine. The Gay Alliance of Ukraine celebrated, and said the first appearance in law of the terms sexual orientation and gender identity should make it easier in the future given that thunder did not burst from heaven and Jesus did not show up personally to vent his outrage at the vote. They also said that activists’ unwillingness to remain invisible and push for the vote…

Espionage Allegations Against Russian Church Raise Religious Freedom Issue in Ukraine

By Katherine Kelaidis

…security reasons to do so, is unquestionably placing a limit on religious freedom in Ukraine. Which in theory should be a problem for a country that, seemingly as part of its national security strategy, is increasingly positioning itself on the world stage as dedicated to liberalism and pluralism. The easiest answer to this problem is to say that the Russian Orthodox Church deserves to be banned if it’s operating as a spy network for Putin; that…

Putin Escalates Ukraine Invasion to ‘Cosmic War’ — But There is Hope

By Mark Juergensmeyer

…rthodox Church. On March 5, 2022, at the outset of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Patriarch delivered a sermon on what is known as Forgiveness Sunday in the Russian Orthodox tradition. In it, he portrayed the battle in Ukraine as not just a mundane military encounter, but a conflict of “metaphysical significance,” in which the existential forces of good and darkness were contesting. Kirill, and now Putin, have raised the stakes in what was i…

Holy Father, You’re Not Helping: The Problem with the Pope’s Plan to Consecrate Russia and Ukraine to the Immaculate Heart of Mary

By Katherine Kelaidis

…l as implying exactly that. And that’s ignoring the fact that consecrating Ukraine and Russia at the same time, because of a prophecy about Russia, is probably less than ideal in the midst of a war in which the independence of Ukraine is at issue. To be clear, there’s almost certainly no ill intent on the part of Pope Francis, the Vatican, or all the well meaning Catholics cheering this on. They all probably believe they’re doing a very good thing…

Putin Theo-Propaganda Minister Kirill Invokes 600 Years of History to Lay Claim to Ukraine — Here’s What it Means

By Katherine Kelaidis

…ing shows that about a third of Ukrainans see him as a “man who fought for Ukraine’s independence,” while nearly a quarter see him as a traitor. And the former president of Ukraine, Viktor Yushchenko, wouldn’t rule out the idea that his family was connected to the former Hetman. He even had a statue of him built in the middle of Kyiv. But that’s kind of the point. History isn’t just a series of things that happened. History is what we think those…

In Sermon on Birth of the ‘Fatherland,’ Putin’s Patriarch Kirill Equates Invasion of Ukraine with Defense of Orthodox Faith

By Katherine Kelaidis

…d in his sermons, which draws an equivalency between Russian aggression in Ukraine and defending and living the Orthodox faith. He then goes on to once again erase Ukraine from the historical map, saying that the people ought to pray that “Holy Russia would be reunited.” As he’s made clear before, Ukraine is not, to his mind, an independent nation, but a rogue territory within Russia. And keeping Ukraine as part of Russia is a sacred obligation. I…

Make no Mistake, if There’s a War Between Russia and Ukraine, it Will be a Religious War

By Katherine Kelaidis

…stolic Throne of St. Andrew speaks the language of human rights, religious freedom, and trust in science. This position arises in no small part from the Patriarchate’s own precarious role as a representative of minority religion in Turkey. At the same time, the Patriarch of Moscow, having reclaimed much of his post’s former political influence in a post-Soviet Russia, has taken to spearheading not only the traditionalist Orthodox cause, but acting…