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How Moscow Grabs Ukrainian Kids and Makes Them Russians

 

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(← Click on the photo to watch the whole slide show!) The first slide narrates – "Olga Lopatkina embraces her adopted children in a park in Loue, western France, Saturday, July 2, 2022. After two months of negotiation and an initial objection from a senior Russian official, DPR authorities finally agreed to allow a volunteer with power of attorney from Lopatkina to collect her children who were evacuated from Mariupol. An Associated Press investigation has found that Russia’s strategy to take Ukrainian orphans and bring them up as Russian is well underway."

Another slide from the above slide show states – "Children from an orphanage in the Donetsk region, eat a meal at a camp in Zolotaya Kosa, the settlement on the Sea of Azov, Rostov region, southwestern Russia, Friday, July 8, 2022. Russia's open effort to adopt Ukrainian children and bring them up as Russian is emerging as one of the most explosive issues of the war." The accompaying photo shows sad-faced little children eating a skimpy meal in their new "homeland" in Russia. Once, when we visited Latvia to get new visas to return to Russia, we saw a memorial statue to the thousands of Latvian children who had been kidnapped by the Russians during WW2 and taken to Russia to become Russians. These instances are much like when Nebuchadnezzar conquered Israel and took Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednigo to Babylon, along with thousands of other Hebrew children, to be raised as Babylonians. Pray that God will raise up prophets like Daniel among these children.

Why are up to 60,000 Ukrainians being forced to "evacuate" Kherson? See "Ethnic Cleansing? Fear? Damage Control? Why Russia Really Wants To Get Ukrainians Out Of Kherson" ... and why are Russian soldiers looting everything ("televisions, refrigerators, furniture, kettles and other household items") in sight: see "Russian Soldiers Looting as They Flee Zaporizhzhia, Kherson – Report." They are behaving just like the ancient barbarians.

The recent article "PATRIARCH KIRILL’S CRUSADE" in the "Orthodox Christian Laity" newsletter tells how Kirill has followed the tactic of Pope Urban II who, in 1095, "told a large gathering of knights in Southern France that it was their responsibility to avenge the Islamic conquest of the Holy Land. ...Urban introduced an entirely novel – some might say heretical – way of thinking about the relationship between Christian piety and violence. Near the end of his sermon, Urban declared, 'Set out on this journey and you will obtain the remission of your sins and be sure of the incorruptible glory of the kingdom of heaven.i"

In the same way, "Kirill declared in a recent sermon that Russian soldiers who die in Ukraine will have their sins forgiven. The only difference between Kirill’s declaration and Urban’s is that Kirill is directing Russian soldiers to make war against fellow Orthodox Christians. It is a sad irony that Kirill believes Ukrainian Christians belong to his own super-jurisdiction." So Kirill's jihad promises that if Russian soldiers are killed while raping, murdering, plundering Ukrainian civilians and kidnapping their children, they get an immediate ticket to paradise.

But Metropolitan Evgeny of Tallinn and All Estonia, the Estonian Orthodox hierarch under the Moscow Patriarch, chooses to disagree: "METROPOLITAN OF ESTONIA DISTANCES HIMSELF FROM PATRIARCH’S HOMILY ABOUT FORGIVENESS OF SINS FOR SOLDIERS." He issued this statement –

"Based on Orthodox doctrine, the Estonian Orthodox Church opposes war; it stands for peace and for the peaceful resolution of any conflicts, which was once again emphasized in the address of the Synod of the Estonian Orthodox Church of October 6 this year.

"In this regard, I inform you that I do not share the words of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill, pronounced by him in a sermon on 09.25.2022, about the absolution of all sins to soldiers who die while fulfilling their military duty.

On March 19 of this year, I joined the Statement of the Council of Churches of Estonia condemning the war and calling for the cessation of hostilities. Since then, my position has remained unchanged."

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The Rainbow: a Blessing, or a Curse?

 

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Click the pic to see our mini-vacation photos! In 1 week we visited 7 friends and relatives in 5 cities in 4 states who have disabilities. My wife Cheryl is a good counselor and comforter to these people. Altogether, we drove 1,550 miles in 7 days. As we were approaching our home in Pittsburgh, we were treated to a double rainbow, the brightest one shining right over the area where we live. It was a real blessing!

As you know, the first appearance of a rainbow recorded in the Bible was after Noah and his family survived the Great Flood. In Genesis 9:12 & 15 we read – "And God said, 'This is the sign of the covenant which I make between Me and you and every living creature with you, for everlasting generations: I set My rainbow in the cloud, and it shall be the sign of the covenant between Me and the earth . . . and the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh.'"

But as you also know, symbols of God's goodness and mercy can sometimes be distorted into just the opposite: when the Israelites in the wilderness grumbled against Moses – "Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? for there is no bread, and there is no water; and our soul loathes this disgusting bread", God sent serpents to bite them. When they repented, God told Moses to make a bronze serpent, and "if a serpent had bitten any man, when he looked to the serpent of brass, he lived" (Genesis 21:5-9).

So Israel kept the bronze serpent and it passed down from generation to generation. But in 2 Kings 18:4 we read that when Hezekiah became king – "he cut down the poles of Asherah worship and demolished the bronze serpent which Moses had made, for up to those days the Israelites were offering incense to it and called it Nehushtan." They made this life-saving bronze serpent into an idol and used it in their sex orgies that were part of Asherah worship. It's interesting that in the Bible idolatry is almost always linked with sexual sins.

In the same way, the rainbow that was a symbol of God's mercy has become a symbol of sexual sins: lesbians, homosexuals, bisexuals, and transgenders all claim the rainbow as their symbol. This transmutation of symbols, meanings, and values is common throughout history. The Israelites had holy days for harvest time, but rather than worshiping God they turned away from holiness to wickedness –

"Neither do they say in their heart, Let us now fear the Lord our God, who gives rain, both the former and the latter, in its season; who preserves to us the appointed weeks of the harvest. Your iniquities have turned away these things, and your sins have withheld good from you. For among my people are found wicked men: they watch, as fowlers lie in wait; they set a trap, they catch men. As a cage is full of birds, so are their houses full of deceit: therefore they are become great, and grew rich. They have grown fat, they shine: yes, they surpass in deeds of wickedness; they don't plead the cause, the cause of the fatherless, that they may prosper; and the right of the needy they don't judge. Shall I not visit for these things? says the Lord; shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this? An awesome and horrible thing is happening in the land: the prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests bear rule by their means; and my people love to have it so: and what will you do in the end of it?" (Jeremiah 5:24-31).

Notice here that some people use deceit to become great and rich – embezzlement, and it involved the religious leaders, the prophets. And the "people love to have it so." People often play religious games, "play church," thinking that their religious jargon, costumes, symbols, and rituals will somehow earn God's favor. Meanwhile, they practice deceit, embezzlement, and extortion... especially the religious leaders who know how to misuse these religious symbols in order to manipulate and deceive, become great, and grow rich.

How long will we have to put up with this? "God presides in the great assembly. He judges among the gods. 'How long will you judge unjustly, and show partiality to the wicked?' Selah. 'Defend the weak, the poor, and the fatherless. Maintain the rights of the poor and oppressed. Rescue the weak and needy. Deliver them out of the hand of the wicked'" (Psalm 82:1-4). God presides, He rules over all. He will call to account all those phony religious leaders who extort, embezzle, and commit adultery. But here's what the Lord requires –

"Thus says the Lord, Keep justice, and do righteousness; for my salvation is near to come, and my righteousness to be revealed. Blessed is the man who does this, and the son of man who holds it fast; who keeps the Sabbath from profaning it, and keeps his hand from doing any evil. Neither let the foreigner, who has joined himself to the Lord, speak, saying, the Lord will surely separate me from his people; neither let the eunuch say, Behold, I am a dry tree. For thus says the Lord of the eunuchs who keep my Sabbaths, and choose the things that please me, and hold fast my covenant: To them I will give in my house and within my walls a memorial and a name better than of sons and of daughters; I will give them an everlasting name, that shall not be cut off" (Isaiah. 56:1-5).

The eunuch is one who is celebate, or should be. Such people sometimes wish to break their celibacy and they fall into sin. Those who fall will have their names in ignominy. But those who remain pure will be memorialized with "a name better than of sons and of daughters."

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JUDGMENT MUST BEGIN AT THE HOUSE OF GOD

 

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"For the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God.
If it begins first with us,
what will happen to those who don't obey the gospel of God?
If it is hard for the righteous to be saved,
what will happen to the ungodly and the sinner?" (1 Peter 4:17-18)

From the section on St. Augustine on our Literature page, I quote: "Around A.D. 385, a certain young and ambitious teacher of public speaking named Augustine came to Milan to learn from Ambrose his oratorical technique, became a Christian and was baptized by Ambrose in A.D. 386. ... Saints Ambrose and Augustine both were proponents of priestly celibacy. Later, Emperor Justinian called the Quinisext Council (Trullo) in 692, in which the Canon XIII reaffirmed the Apostolic Tradition of married clergy, and it recognized that the Church in Rome was not observing Apostolic Tradition." So at least ever since the fourth century, there has been disagreement among Christian leaders concerning monastic and priestly celibacy. Enforcing celibacy for most religious workers has led to all sorts of scandals in the Church. In Matthew 19:10-12, when the Lord had been teaching about marriage and divorce, we read –

"His disciples said to Him, 'If this is the case of the man with his wife, it is not expedient to marry.' But He said to them, 'Not all men can receive this saying, but those to whom it is given. For there are eunuchs who were born that way from their mother's womb, and there are eunuchs who were made eunuchs by men; and there are eunuchs who made themselves eunuchs for the Kingdom of Heaven's sake. He who is able to receive it, let him receive it.'"

A eunuch is a man who for various reasons does not have sexual relations. As the Lord said, some are "born that way from their mother's womb" – this is not a justification for homosexuals to say they were just "born that way" in order claim a Scriptural basis for their homosexual lifestyle: a eunuch doesn't have any sexual relations. The point here is that celibacy is a valid lifestyle "for the Kingdom of Heaven's sake." It's not for everyone, though, only for those who are able to receive it. Those who cannot receive it should not take a vow of celibacy in the first place.

In 1 Corinthians ch. 7, St. Paul wrote about abstinence before marriage and faithfulness in marriage – "Now concerning the things about which you wrote to me: it is good for a man not to touch a woman. But, because of sexual immoralities, let each man have his own wife, and let each woman have her own husband" (verses 1-2). And later, in verse 24 – "Brothers, let each man, in whatever condition he was called, stay in that condition with God." This has been understood to mean that if a man is single when called into ministry, he should remain single, and if he is married, he should remain married to his spouse: divorce is not allowed for clergy. So priests are allowed to be married before they are ordained, but if they are single when ordained they should remain in that condition.

Why then are higher ranks of clergy such as bishops, archbishops, and patriarchs all celibate? First of all, this doesn't mean they have never been married, because a widowed priest can become a bishop: we know such a priest whose wife died and he was made a bishop. Second, this is a general rule, not an iron-clad law in the Church: we also knew a married Russian priest in Moscow who was elected to be a bishop because he was such a good priest. So there are exceptions to the rule. But if any celibate ordained clergyman wants to marry, he must renounce his vows and leave ordained ministry. Any celibate clergy who marries or has sexual relations outside of marriage must be "defrocked" – removed from the ordained ministry.

In my article SEEK THE WELFARE OF THE CITY, PART 2, you will read my comments on 1 Cor. 5:7-12 – "By mentioning "Christ, our Passover" and "let us keep the feast" it is clear that St. Paul is referring to fellowship at the communion table, the early Church's 'agape feast.' He also uses the Greek word "pornos" that is translated here as 'sexual sinners' and in this context refers to incest. But the root meaning of "pornos" is a male prostitute, that is, a homosexual. The Apostle Paul teaches here that sexual sinners, the covetous, extortioners, drunkards or idolaters should not be allowed to partake of communion" – i.e., be excommunicated, disfellowshipped. This applies especially to homosexual acts and extramarital affairs as more to be condemned than the other types of sin mentioned here.

Christ is the Head of the Church, and He expects the Church to discipline its members when it is necessary, and especially the leadership is not above discipline. They are to be an example to the flock, just as the Church is to be an example to the world:
      "Judgment Must Begin At The House Of God." May God have mercy on me too, a sinner!

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