"Entertaining Maths" of the Opponents of the UOC

On July 30, a critical article was posted on the website religion.in.ua about the number of the faithful of the UOC, who took part in the celebrations to commemorate the Millennium of the demise of the Holy Prince Vladimir Equal-to-the-Apostles and the Day of Baptism of Rus’. It goes about a prayer service at Vladimir's Hill, and the procession, organized by the UOC.

Its authors questioned the data, voiced by official representatives of the UOC, although the figure of 20-30 thousand believers was fully confirmed by hundreds of photos and dozens of videos. In addition, the official figure, voiced by law enforcement bodies, is not 6,000, as it was written in the article on the site, but about15,000 people( in contrast, the column of the UOC(KP) in Kiev, according to the data on the official site of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, comes up to 600 people, while some mass media gave the incredible figure of 15,000 believers; why this discrepancy did not attract the attention of those who write about the UOC is not clear).

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Generally, it could be accounted for the authors’ carelessness – they didn’t follow the updated data of the police, but for the picture posted in confirmation of the "paucity" of a procession of the UOC. What do we see in it? If we read the satellite map to get our bearings, it turns out that in the picture the column of the faithful, led by the Primate of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, stretches almost 10 meters long from turning on Petrovskaya Alley, and slightly up the street. This fact alone is enough to suspect the absurdity of this "optical illusion" and clumsy work in Photoshop. If you compare with other photographs, everything fits together.

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July 31 was an end date for a poll conducted by the site RISU on what religious leader inspires most trust among Ukrainians. It shows that Sheikh Ahmed Tamim…rates first with 68.9% of votes! No comments.

In our opinion, these surveys have long failed to inspire confidence, and the main criterion of strength of varying denominations is the number of religious communities. It should be recalled that it’s the Ukrainian Orthodox Church which has the largest number of registered Orthodox religious communities - more than 12 thousand parishes.

From Protestant Pastor to Orthodox Priest

Joshua Genig was the son of devout Lutherans. From an early age, he dreamed of serving the Lutheran church as a pastor and teacher. He got his wish—and yet one thought kept him up at night: "Is any of this real?" After years of searching, Genig and his family were received into the Orthodox Church, and the Rev. Mr. Genig is now Father Joshua.

Analysis: The ‘Appeal’ of Metropolitan Tikhikos and the Patriarchal Synod

The Synod of the Church of Constantinople is going to review the high-profile appeal of Metropolitan Tychikos, who was removed from the Paphos See by the Cypriot Synod. What decision will the Synod members of Constantinople make?

The Abp. of Cyprus, the Euros, and the Phanar

What explains the certainty of the Archbishop of Cyprus that the Patriarchate will validate his own and the Synod’s illegal actions in the case of Tychikos? Does he know the decision long before the Synod convenes?

Why the Uniates are Not the "Kyiv Church" and No One Should Believe Shevchuk

The head of the UGCC has moved from manipulation to the open dissemination of falsehoods. Here is a detailed analysis.

The Myth of the 'Female Diaconate'

The St. Phoebe Center for the Deaconess was denied a booth at the OCA's All-American Council. They claim that an ordained female diaconate is part of "our tradition" as Orthodox Christians. But they're wrong. Deaconesses were not “ordained” in the modern sense of the term; therefore, they were not “deacons” in the modern sense of the term. The OCA's response—a gentle but firm refusal even to discuss this error—is the right one.