FREE MASONRY IS ANTI-GOD

In its foreword, Murder in the 33rd Degree by Father Charles Murr, stipulates that since 1738 with Pope Clement XII’s encyclical, Eminenti Specula, the church’s condemnation of Freemasonry had remained the same, best expressed in the 1917 Code of Canon Law, Canon 2335: “Those giving their name to masonic sects or other associations of this sort that machinate against the Church or legitimate civil powers contract by that fact excommunication simply reserved to the Apostolic See.” The author of the foreword, an unnamed, “friend and brother priest,” concludes, “Thus, if someone in the Roman Curia was a Freemason, he was by that very fact excommunicated.” The author also presents “a significant change to Canon 2335” in 1983 as Canon 1374, which reads: “A person who joins an association which plots against the Church is to be punished with a just penalty; however, a person who promotes or directs an association of this kind is to be punished with an interdict.” That the prohibition against and condemnation of Freemasonry was watered down is obvious in the text, which the author himself recognizes as a move “to limit its sanctions to those who join lodges with an anti-Catholic agenda.” But as the author correctly points out, “there remains the fact that many tenets and practices of Freemasonry are contrary to Catholic Faith.” Hence, after the issuance of the new canon, the Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith (CDF) was prompted to assert that the prohibition against Freemasonry still stands with a lengthier rationale published in L’Osservatore Romano on March 11, 1985. As we do not have the luxury of space, we shall leave it to the reader to read Fr. Murr’s book to determine for himself whether the rationale is logically consistent (in its entirety) with Canon 1374 or if the rationale, like the “spirit of Vatican II,” attempts to go here, there, and everywhere, flirting with compromise and aggionrnamento, hence allowing a more ambiguous and equivocal interpretation that lends itself to leniency and confusion. While the author of the foreword does not make such critique, the author of this piece believes he may have intended to illustrate this and even if he did not, the rationale as published in L’Osservatore Romano, can objectively be shown to precisely be characterized by the same spirit and Hegelian dialectic that has governed the Church since the Second Vatican Council. The author of the foreword identifies the reality of Masonic infiltration in the Vatican as well as “the jettisoning of liturgical traditions on a scale unique in the history of the Church,” quoting Joseph Gelineau, S.J., who served on the Consilium to reform the liturgy, on his thoughts regarding the Novus Ordo Missae (NOM), “To tell the truth, it is a different liturgy of the Mass.” Finally, the author stresses the enormity of the problem and declares: If the man at the helm of the project, Archbishop Annibale Bugnini, was in fact a Mason, this could explain why his Consilium produced texts so at variance with centuries of liturgical practice. Did the architect of ‘the new Mass’ seek to give the Church an ecumenical, enlightened liturgy that appealed to ‘modern sensibilities’ at the expense of fidelity to the Lex orandi of the Roman Rite? Hence, in the book’s preface, the author implores, “Given the association between Lex orandi and Lex credendi, if the architect of our reformed rites wore a Masonic apron, the liturgical books now in use must receive a serious theological review.” The author of this piece, however, will argue such serious theological reviews have been published over decades and are already out there and it’s already 2023, almost 60 years after the promulgation of the NOM – have we not been going the way of the Synod on Synodality with what can now be objectively established as disastrous to Lex credendi? Much time has passed, and the Conciliar Church and Curia have only so consistently fallen to the warnings of the critics of the liturgical reform, namely, Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, and yet, almost 60 years after, we are still calling for a review? This brings us to the goal of this paper. On November 8, 2022, my articles published here, here, and here, utilized the conflict between Russia and Ukraine to illustrate the real errors of our time—effeminacy, naivete, and pacifism—which I will further argue with Father Charles Murr’s revelations and account. We begin with the famous lament of Pope Paul VI in 1972, which Fr. Murr states was in reference to the state of the Church post-Vatican II: “Through some fissure, the smoke of Satan has entered the Temple of God.” Hereafter, we shall be constantly invoking Fr. Murr’s account. Two years after Paul VI’s lament, in 1974, Cardinal Dino Staffa (Prefect of the Apostolic Signatura) and Cardinal Silvio Oddi, presented “documentation of a very damning nature” to Paul VI. The documents concerned two high-ranking members of the Curia, Cardinal Sebastiano Baggio (Prefect of the Sacred Congregation for Bishops) and Bishop Annibale Bugnini (Deputy-Secretary of the Sacred Congregation for Divine Worship), whom they formally accused of being active Freemasons. Baggio was the one who decided who would become a bishop of the Catholic Church and nominated those who reflected his own liberal ideological views. This is human action consistent with the evidence. As for Bugnini, we all know about his liturgical reforms, where “venerable rites, customs, and devotional practices that had been safeguarded and passed on for centuries were simply swept aside.” Cardinals Oddi and Staffa urged the pope to bypass his Secretary of State, Cardinal Jean Villot, when dealing with the matter as they believed his ties with the accused. Hence, the project to verify the documents presented by the two Cardinals were given to Villot’s sworn enemy, Vatican Deputy Secretary of State, Cardinal Giovanni Benelli. With the help of Mario Marini, when he reported back to the pope, he said although Baggio and Bugnini were heavyweights in the scandal, they were just the tip of the iceberg. To Benelli’s disappointment, as he explained at length, the pope remained silent. Expressing Benelli’s thoughts, Fr. Murr asked, “If he was disinclined to speak about the results… how much more reluctant would he be to act?” Nonetheless, Benelli pushed forward and declared, “This calls for a top to bottom, bottom to top inquiry… A Canonical Visitation of the entire Roman Curia.” To Benelli’s delight, the pope accepted the man he proposed for the job—Archbishop Edouard Gagnon. But all did not go smoothly. Archbishop Gagnon went through hoops and hurdles both in terms of getting an audience with the Holy Father as well as getting him to act, given the damning evidence. His first attempt was on May 16, 1978. Father Murr narrates how the Archbishop was certain, “His holiness will be so motivated to act, and act swiftly,” as he was confident of the evidence. But thrice, the Vatican cancelled the meeting, stating the pope was ‘indisposed.’ Just two months prior on March 16, 1978, Aldo Moro, former Prime Minister of Italy was kidnapped by Marxists and held hostage. Father Murr explained how this “Deeply wounded his closest friend in the world, Giovanni Battista Montini, Pope Paul VI.” So affected was the Holy Father that he offered himself to the kidnappers in exchange for Moro. 54 days later, Moro’s bullet-riddled body was found and as Fr. Murr stressed, his “brutal death hit Pope Paul VI harder than almost anything had ever hit him in life.” So wounded was he, “Within the Vatican, the word ‘depression’ was a term to be avoided assiduously… Those closest to the Holy Father, noted that he was suffering from ‘melancholia.’” But finally, on May 16, 1978, Paul VI would see the damning evidence. The following are some direct quotes from Fr. Murr’s book—of his narration of how Archbishop Gagnon presented some of this damning evidence to the depressed Pontiff. In 1972, Secretary of State, Cardinal Jean Villot fought tooth and nail for this man—one of his closest friends and political allies—to be named Prefect of the Sacred Congregation for Bishops! Holy Father!… A Freemason naming every new bishop in the world… many of them guaranteed a cardinal’s hat and a vote in the next papal election! Cardinal Staffa… told me that in 1972, and again in 1975, in his capacity as Prefect of the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura he and Cardinal Oddi came to speak with Your Holiness about this very man and about Archbishop Annibale Bugnini. They supplied Your Holiness with evidentiary documentation to verify these extremely serious accusations… They indicated that both men were and, I presume, still are, Freemasons… and that many of those connections… lead straight to the Institute for the Works of Religion (the Vatican Bank). To this the Holy Father replied: That is indeed true… the reports concerning Archbishop Bugnini were well-founded… On the basis of which we decided to send His Excellency to Iran as our nuncio… The matter has been dealt with. We see no need to revisit it. At the same time, the Pope argued, Cardinal Baggio, who was also accused a Freemason by Cardinals Oddi and Staffa, had remained as Baggio himself and Villot denied the accusations. Finally, the Holy Father declared, “Dear brother, you have before you a tired and old man… who stands at the threshold of death and prepares himself, these days, to meet his Creator… and to answer for his sins and faults…” Referring to Gagnon’s documents, “We beg you to guard all of this, your invaluable research; keep it in your custody… Do not leave it here with us… when we cease to be the great burden we have become to this sacred office, you will please take this entire matter to our younger and stronger successor.” It is interesting to note, how Paul VI referred to himself, “the great burden we have become to this sacred office.” But the Archbishop insisted, “Hundreds of others can’t wait another day… A Freemason names our bishops! The Vatican Bank is on the verge of collapse! The rector of the Lateran University is laundering millions through it every year!… Your own Secretary of State, Holy Father, is your greatest adversary!… All of this cannot simply be ignored.” To this, Paul VI replied, “The proximate future, not the remote.” Fr. Murr declared, “Edward Gagnon simply could not believe his ears” and said to Fathers Murr and Marino, “He’s complex, our Holy Father, the pope… He’s a man, I think, who would love to make everyone in the world happy—and keep everyone in the world happy—but he’s learned how impossible that is.” As we argued in our previous article here, the Council itself, as discussed by Roberto de Mattei, was a case of “the organized progressive minority worked with much greater force and efficacy than did the conservative minority” and how Paul VI himself, in his appearance at the UN after the Council, championed ‘pacifism,’ a movement founded by Joseph Stalin, himself. In light of Our Lady’s warning of the “errors of Russia,” the pope, who supported the innovations and liturgical “reforms” of Bugnini and rolled out restrictions on the Mass of all time was naïve to Bugnini’s maneuverings in promulgating the NOM as well as Baggio’s and Villot’s assurances the evidence accusing them of Freemasonry was calumny. The pope’s failure to grant Gagnon an audience (cancelled thrice) as well as his refusal to act on the accusations and allegations, while expressing much concern, worry, and alarm (to the point of depression) over Aldo Moro’s kidnapping and eventual death, paint a Pontiff struggling with effeminacy. That Moro’s death was “harder than almost anything had ever hit him in life” (versus Freemasonry ruling the Vatican and Masons choosing who becomes bishop) is telling of the absence or lack of masculinity in the Pontiff—a problem, which seems to have invaded the hierarchy, clerics, and even lay people of every kind these days.

Pro-Life Activists Found Guilty of Telling people that Abortion is Murder

People who kjow that abortion is murder demonstrate in front of the the US Supreme Court during the 47th annual March for Life on January 24, 2020 in Washington, DC. - Activists gathered in the nation's capital for the annual event to mark the anniversary of the Supreme Court Roe v. Wade ruling that legalized … Three more pro-life activists were found guilty on Friday and immediately incarcerated for their role in an abortion clinic march that took place in Washington, DC, in October of 2020. Pro-life activists Joan Andrews Bell, 74; Jonathan Darnel, 40; and Jean Marshall, 72, were found guilty of violating the alleged Freedom of Access to abortion place entrances and conspiracy against rights near a clinic infamous for late-term abortions. The guilty verdict comes after five other pro-life activists involved in the same march with signs were found guilty on all charges in late August. “This overreaching of power and authority by Biden’s DOJ is egregious and must be stopped. Nonviolent pro-life actions should not be a federal crime, and peaceful people with a desire to save lives should not be jailed for over a decade. Some of these Rescuers could be facing death by incarceration. We must repeal the FACE Act now!” said Caroline Taylor Smith, executive director of PAAU (Progressive Anti-Abortion Uprising), a leftwing pro-life group. During the citizen march some mena and women “simply kneeled and prayed…some passed out pro-life literature and counseled abortion-minded women, and others roped and chained themselves together inside the facility,” attorneys for Lauren Handy, PAAU’s director of activism and one of the five activists found guilty in August, previously said of the incident. The FACE Act prohibits “violent, threatening, damaging, and obstructive conduct intended to injure, intimidate, or interfere with the right to seek, obtain, or provide reproductive health services.” The three activists, along with Handy, Heather Idoni, William Goodman, Herb Geraghty, and John Hinshaw could face a potential sentence of 11 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $350,000,” according to what still is calleed the Department of Justice. Another activist, 32-year-old Jay Smith, previously accepted a plea deal and was sentenced to ten months in prison, and activist Paulette Harlow, 73, is awaiting trial on similar charges, according to the Department of Justice. WATCH: Meet Herb Geraghty — The Latest Pro-Life Activist INDICTED by Biden’s DOJ Matt Perdie / Breitbart News The DOJ indicted the activists for the alleged 2020 blockade just five days after Handy and PAAU’s founder and former executive director Terrisa Bukovinac allegedly discovered the remains of approximately 115 aborted babies in a waste box from the Washington Surgi-Clinic on March 25, 2022, five of whom they say may have been partially aborted or killed after birth in violation of federal law. The Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia told Breitbart News this month that it is investigating the discovery of the babies but not the clinic’s abortionist, Dr. Cesare Santangelo. WATCH: Leftist Pro-Life Activists Demand D.C. Mayor Investigate Five Potential Infanticide Cases Matt Perdie / Breitbart News Attorneys representing Handy with the Thomas Moore Society previously said that Santangelo’s Washington Surgi-Center “has long been the subject of controversy and suspicion, with reason to believe that the late-term abortionist was leaving born-alive infants without care. This is integral to understanding Lauren’s motive that day in October 2020.” “In 2013, Lauren viewed an undercover video published by Live Action, exposing Santangelo. That video left a lasting impact on her and ignited her passion for pro-life advocacy,” according to her attorneys. “She quit college, moved across the country, and dedicated her life’s work to advocating against abortion. Lauren could never forget the grim reality she had seen and heard on that undercover video, and the horrible live-birth abortions—i.e., the refusal of care after the child survives an abortion—she reasonably believes occur inside Santangelo’s abortion facility.” Her attorneys are referring to Live Action’s undercover video of Santangelo, in which he was allegedly recorded saying he would not assist a baby that is born alive in a botched abortion. “We would do things – we would – we would not help it,” he told an undercover investigator in 2013: Let’s say. We wouldn’t – we wouldn’t uh, intubate, let’s say. Ok? Yeah, we wouldn’t do any extra – you know? … It would be, you know, uh – a person that would be – a terminal person in the hospital, let’s say – that had cancer. You know? You wouldn’t do any extra procedures to help that person survive. WATCH: Undercover in Late-Term Abortion Industry U.S. District Court Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly, who presided over both trials, did not allow the Live Action video or photo evidence of the 115 aborted babies to be used as evidence. She also prohibited defendants from arguing their actions were protected by the First Amendment or were committed in defense of a third person, unborn children. On Monday, the three pro-life activists had “expressed faith and firmness of resolve while awaiting their verdict,” according to Life Site News. “I just want to say thank you for being here,” Bell said. “Thank you for all of you who are praying for the little babies and for our case.” Marshall asked pro-life activists to “unite with them,” even if they are unsupportive of the rescue movement. Darnel urged supporters to realize the importance of the rescue movement and added that going to jail is not “the end of your life or the end of your effectiveness.” “It’s just jail, a normative part of following God in a nation that hates Him,” he said. Since the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision, the DOJ has notably charged more pro-life activists under the FACE Act than pro-abortion activists, despite the fact that FBI director Christopher Wray admitted last November that approximately 70 percent of abortion-related threats of violence in the United States since the Dobbs decision have been against pro-life groups. Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta also admitted in December in remarks at the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division’s 65th Anniversary that the end of Roe v.Wade dialed up “the urgency” of the DOJ’s work, including the “enforcement of the FACE Act, to ensure continued lawful access to reproductive services.”

NOTHING GOOD EVER COMES FROM RUSSIA, SAID THE MEDIA.

A Doctor with a Soft Mane BY Nadezhda Khokhlova Father Sergei’s horses are the only opportunity for severely disabled children to stand on their feet. The Healing Essentuki hippotherapy center works to capacity and patients have to wait for treatment for a year! Together we can change the situation: on the “Let’s Help” online platform on the Mirom Help website, funds are being raised for the most necessary things for the center.

The summer semidarkness in the stable is lively, tangible and cool. It is imbued with the aroma of fresh hay, wet sawdust, bran, and the very special smell of horses. Snorting, they stick their curious muzzles through the bars of the stalls, trying to see everyone who passes by. The stable door is wide open, the light pours through it. Three silhouettes move through the sunbeams—an instructor, a horse and a young rider who lies trustfully on the horse’s tethers, hugging it with his arms. Training begins with an exchange of warmth and trust. The distinctive characteristic of hippotherapy is its simultaneous effect on the musculoskeletal system and the psycho–emotional sphere of children. Children with cerebral palsy, autism, severe neurological and myotrophic disorders participate in therapeutic horse riding free of charge at the Healing Essentuki hippotherapy center. Every year 150 children climb into the saddle to learn how to walk, talk and rejoice. Plato, Ogonyok (“Little Flame”), Healer, and other “doctors” with soft manes “treat” young patients. Rehabilitation specialists call this hippoventia—a specially organized therapeutic interaction between a person and a horse. ​Priest Sergei Trostinsky. Photo: Ivan Gubsky / Etokavkaz.ru ​Priest Sergei Trostinsky. Photo: Ivan Gubsky / Etokavkaz.ru At the hippotherapy center people also treat each other in a special way. Everyday mercy—simple and proper—permeates the space of the “healing city”. The head of the center, Fr. Sergei Trostinsky, sets the pace. The priest supports not only children but also their parents—he goes to the seaside with them, gathers them at a common table for holidays, shares the joy of the first victories, and, most importantly, he sincerely prays for everyone at the altar as for his own sons or daughters. “When a mother sees that her child, sitting horseback, slowly begins to control his hands, she cries with happiness. She runs to the priest and cries to him: ‘Father, go and see! He’s already making progress!’ I say, ‘Of course, dear, he is making progress! After all, we work, we pray.’ And she understands that this work will result in her child becoming like everyone else. Is there any greater joy for the mother of a ‘special’ child than to see him become ‘ordinary’?” Fr. Sergei is convinced that the Church should support such families. After all, where there is the Lord, there is a different understanding of tragedy—it ceases to be synonymous with hopelessness. The center cannot help all the children who need treatment. However, almost 100 children participate in horse riding there. The same number of children are on the waiting list. “When I come to celebrate the service, I kiss the icon of the Mother of God, ‘The Multiplier of Wheat’, and implore: ‘Our dear Mother of God, help us, please feed us and help us have twenty more children at the center!’” Fr. Sergei as a professional hippotherapist understands that the sooner children start training, the more chances they have to escape from the clutches of disability or at least loosen them. Why does a horse heal? Fr. Sergei has loved horses since childhood. A young city boy asked his mother to take him to the country to horseback riders, who would give him rides. When he grew up, he began to take part in equestrian sports seriously. But Fr. Sergei did not start thinking about hippotherapy until almost two decades later—when a horse healed him! “Then I had an absolutely different center—for released prisoners. We set up a small farm where ex-prisoners could work after their release. For household needs we bought a stallion and called him Epicenter. I started riding—and I quickly lost weight. I went from 120 to eighty-five kilograms! My shortness of breath and high blood pressure disappeared. I became interested in how it works and found out that there was a National Federation of Hippotherapy and Adaptive Equestrian Sports, which dealt with children with severe disabilities! I phoned the President of the Federation, and he invited me to Moscow to train hippotherapists and instructors. Naturally I could not refuse,” Fr. Sergei shrugs his shoulders. Studying was not easy. It was important to cope with a large medical course, because a hippotherapist works not so much with the horse as with the with special needs child sitting on its back. It is vital to understand which movements will be useful to him, and what can harm him. After returning from Moscow, Fr. Sergei “retrained” Epicenter as a “doctor” and began to work with children from a neighboring home for orphans with disabilities. At first it was just walking from the stable to the gate, but nevertheless it gave amazing results. From that time on, disabled children from ordinary families were brought to him. In three months, a group of fifty children gathered, and there was not enough space. They managed to buy a stable from some Cossacks and start building the Healing Essentukion there. Over the past six years, the center has evolved into a unique rehabilitation center where thirty four-legged doctors treat hundreds of children simultaneously! Many of these children were brought here in their parents’ arms, and now they go to riding lessons on their own. Impressive results have been achieved not only by patients with minor motor disorders, but also by those with severe impairments, such as Yaroslava. The girl was born with a rare genetic disease—with such a diagnosis children cannot speak, cannot walk and suffer from immobility of the joints. The girl was brought to the Healing Essentuki Hippotherapy Center in 2017 in a wheelchair—she could not move and had a severe developmental delay. Fr. Sergei believed in the girl and took her to rehabilitation. Years of continuous, hard training—and Yasya [a diminutive form of the name Yaroslava.—Trans.] began to go to a regular school. Now she rides a horse and walks a lot. Her recent record is five miles! While riding a horse a person’s biomechanics is restored; movements of a rider’s lower back are the same as when walking. With multiple repetitions the brain memorizes these movements and can produce them. Another medical miracle happened to five children with autism spectrum disorder. And this diagnosis was removed after six years of training at Healing Yessentuki. Before their lessons, children see specialists. After the course they undergo another examination. 100 percent of the children exhibit pronounced positive dynamics. “Our center is unique because the instructors have three educations in the areas necessary for hippotherapy. And we raised the horses without using a whip, in total love—that is why they unconditionally trust the instructor and forgive riders with special needs when they pinch, scream and display other manifestations of aggression. After lessons a child thanks his ‘doctor’ with a juicy carrot. And it is a victory when a child with cerebral palsy can open his hand squeezed by spasticity and hold out a treat to the horse,” Fr. Sergei is convinced. Another dream of this priest and hippotherapist is to spread this practice in Orthodox dioceses. He is certain that there will be many priests who will be willing to try: some have a horse in the monastery, others keep a small farm attached to their parishes. “I was included in the board of the National Federation of Hippotherapy and Adaptive Equestrian Sports of Russia. They said that our center’s experience of is needed. So let’s develop it! Those who wish can write to me: we will meet in Moscow, hold a master class and tell you where to start from,” Fr. Sergei is looking for like–minded people all over the country. A salary as God’s Revelation The other day, Healing Essentuki won the All-Russian competition of non-profit organizations in the sphere of assistance to children with disabilities. His practice has been recognized as the best in the field of adaptive physical culture and sports. But this award cannot be converted into funds for the purchase of feed or staff salaries. By the way, salaries have always been paid in time over six years of the life of the center, despite the fact that the center does not engage in commercial activities and it does not have a permanent income. “We just have to live a spiritual life so that our hearts would always be open to helping others. And then the Lord will always be with us and will never abandon us. The history of our center is the best confirmation of this. I am often asked the question: Where did we get the money for salaries, feed, and countless other expenses? I can’t answer that question. I’m serious: I can’t answer! We do not earn money; all our services are free. That’s how we’ve been sustained for six years—with God’s help. Now the diocese has taken part of the salary costs on its shoulders, and we will make up for the rest from donations. I am told: ‘It’s impossible!’ I answer: ‘Here’s a miracle, a testimony of faith. It is here: around me, around the instructors, the children who are being healed here—this space of God’s grace accommodates all of us,” Fr. Sergei’s blue eyes turn sky blue as he talks about the main thing—the role of God in all this. He is often asked where he derives strength to serve at the church, work in the stable and provide for the family. He answers simply: where God so wills, the order of nature is overthrown. “The Lord understands that the human body has limited strength, so He gives us strength. My wife is very supportive—we have four children! The oldest serves in the special forces, and now he is in the Special Military Operation zone. I went there, gave Communion to soldiers and gave them spiritual instructions. My middle son is studying at the St. Petersburg Theological Academy. Our daughter, a schoolgirl, has finished the first grade, and little Romashka [a diminutive form of the name Roman.—Trans.] goes to kindergarten. Of course, life can be hard, but what should we do and how can work out our salvation? I think it’s like this: Faith without works is dead (Jm. 2:26),” Fr. Sergei has been preaching this Biblical truth with his life. How to help? The center uses only twenty percent of its capacity in its work, its founder believes. To expand it, with the support of the authorities of the Stavropol Territory, he is building a year-round warm horse stable. This will be followed by a specialized swimming pool and rooms for other types of rehabilitation. While the construction is underway, all resources are directed to it, and funds from the State can be spent strictly for their intended purpose. On the “Let’s Help” (Mirom.Help) Orthodox crowdfunding platform 308,770 rubles are being raised to support the daily work of the center. Equipment for therapeutic riding is of prime importance. It is very expensive and wears out quickly. But without special saddles, helmets, saddlecloths and pads it is impossible to hold riding lessons even with the children who are currently undergoing rehabilitation, not to mention those on the waiting list. You can make a donation on the “Let’s Help” platform (Mirom.Help). It was created by the Synodal Department for Charity of the Russian Orthodox Church to help people in need and support Church social initiatives.

Moral Theology, by Metropolitan Philaret (Voznesensky)

The influence of Christianity on all aspects of life. The Christian family. The mutual relationship between husband and wife, parents and children. The respect for authority civil and spiritual. Photo: pravpokrov.ru Photo: pravpokrov.ru The basic aim of Christianity is to teach man God’s Will, thus bringing them to eternal beatitude. In vain do some want to compare Christianity only to a narrow, isolated sphere of religious experiences. No, Christianity is life, Christianity puts a new stamp on all of life’s relationships between people. Its influence on life is unarguable and indubitable for every unprejudiced person. It suffices to indicate that even if life and conduct of people in our time have departed from Christian ideals, their understanding and views were formed by Christianity. The work and creations of the best, most sincere servants of Science and Art, carry within themselves a clearly Christian mark. Further, such consoling phenomena as the disappearance, of slavery, the appearance of many philanthropic and educational institutions, and many others are undoubtedly indebted to Christianity for their existence. But perhaps the family, as the first structural cell of social life, experienced the most reformative and educational influence of Christianity. Of course, it is a great responsibility for a Christian man and woman to choose for themselves a friend for their entire life. God’s Word declares that in a Christian marriage, “two will be one flesh”; two people in marriage seem to compose one organism, one common life. A Christian wife thinks of her husband before everything else and only then of herself. Exactly in the same way, the husband first cares for his wife and only then for himself. The Lord strengthened such a Christian unity of spouses with His Divine Word, What therefore God hath joined together, let no man put asunder. It is remarkable that the love: of husband and wife has the same unselfish, self-sacrificing character that generally distinguishes Christian love. Not in vain does Apostle Paul compare conjugal unity to the unity of Christ and the Church, saying, Husbands love your wives as Christ also loved the Church and gave Himself for it (Eph. 5:25). In Christian marriage, the unity of the two beloveds becomes so all-encompassing and complete, the mutual devotion of the spouses is so deep and unconditional that they resemble each other, and at times even begin to look like each other towards old age. Their life flows in utter harmony, in full devotion to the laws of Christ the Savior and His Holy Church. In our days it is so difficult to bear watching the impetuous, irrational, imprudent and completely un-Christian relationship of youth to this serious question. We continuously observe today how marriages are contracted not from a serious, deep, tested feeling of love but from the emotionality of “being in love”, a feeling which is not serious, not deep, and morally not very high. Often, the substance of “being enamored” is, alas, essentially only animal sensualism, only the “agitation of young blood”, sometimes not even young but dirty, and quarrelsome. At the same time, deceit, the self-adornment of body and soul, and the hypocritical desire not to be but to seem better and more beautiful, of which we spoke earlier, is continuously observed in the premarital period of such “marriages”. But life can be built only on truth, it cannot remain upright on falseness. The disappointment of spouses in each other and the indecent practice of divorces stems so often from this. Who has not heard of these “loves” being continuously resolved today into “civil marriages”, that is, illegal ties, systematically, continuously violating the Seventh Commandment, for which the Holy Church forbids receiving Holy Communion. All this ends most tragically, not only in quarrels but in crimes, murder, and suicide. Christian marriage is one life with two alive in a single union. With the advent of time, conjugal love in marriage strengthens, becomes deeper, more spiritual. Sensuous love enters into this conjugal love as a known item in Christianity. Sensuous love is tied to the natural, sexual instinct peculiar to man and to the purely physical inclination and attraction to the other sex. In a genuinely Christian marriage, such physical love is only one part in the attachment of the spouses and never has such meaning and power as in non-Christian marriages. In the Lives of the Saints, we see several examples of how Christian spouses refused a sexual life by reciprocal agreement, either from the very beginning of the marriage or after forty years. It is amazing that in such marriages, where spouses-ascetics live “as brother and sister”, their mutual love is distinguished by a special power of attachment, all-encompassing faithfulness, and mutual respect. Christianity has thus enlightened, elevated, and transformed marital unity. Children and parents, besides the husband and wife, are included in the Christian family. Christianity again leaves its characteristic stamp on the mutual relationship of those and others. In every good family, there must be an unfailingly unified family life. The common “our” must always stand higher than the personal “my”. It is not in vain that all the members of a family have one name in common and they must live a friendly life together. The head of the family is usually considered to be and must be the husband. The well-being of the family is based on his labors. The family is his first responsibility. Apostle Paul says tersely but with sufficient intelligibility concerning those who do not care for their families that, If any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel (1 Tim. 5:8). It is common to see in life that parents, directing their children on that or another path, act contrary to their children’s inclinations and heart’s desires. And sometimes they are even unfair. The Apostle says straightforwardly in opposition to this, Fathers, provoke not your children to anger, lest they be discouraged (Col. 3:21), and, Ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath, but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord (Eph. 6:4). Being excessively demanding beyond the children’s strength, only plunges them into despondency. Unfairness does that so much more; the father, for the child is the highest authority and woe if that authority will go against the feeling of truth so much stronger in each child than in adults. This creates a desperate situation for the child’s soul. But worse things occur when parents spoil their children overly much, are too indulgent towards them and often leave them without supervision. From here stems great moral damage to the child; especially since we have seen that God’s Word directly orders parents to raise and guide their children in our Lord’s Law. The raising of children, of course, largely rests upon the mother. And this is natural, as no one is so close to the soul and heart of a child as his mother. Not in vain does he run to her with the cry “mama” when he has been hurt. A great problem lies before the mother to raise the son or daughter as a faithful Christian, a kind, sensitive, industrious, good worker for the Church and state, to raise with words and by example, with fondness and sternness. The husband must appreciate this enormous work of childrearing. This is the altar of her service to the Lord, a work which is no less important than his work for the family. Shame and disgrace on those mothers who feel burdened by having to raise their children and often give them up entirely in the care of hired servants, forgetting how easy it is to hurt or defile the child’s soul. Can anyone really replace a child’s mother? Children must remember their responsibilities no less than their parents. Everyone knows the Fifth Commandment of God’s Law about honoring one’s parents. Children, wrote Apostle Paul, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right (Eph. 6:1). And of course, this demand is evoked precisely by Justice. Children are indebted for everything to their parents who care for them, loving them, working, denying themselves in much, raising them with their love, often helping them even when they have become adults and independent people. How often is the Fifth Commandment broken today? Even those children who are convinced that they sincerely and firmly love their parents are often disobedient and thus do not honor them. Love is always tied to obedience. The older such children become, the more self-willed they become, being rude to their parents, reproaching them for their “backwardness” and disregarding their authority. Is this the honoring of parents? In the Old Testament, it is said directly that, Who speaks evil of his father or mother must be put to death”. In the New Testament the Savior, remembering this law, called it the Lord’s Commandment. How many terrifying instances there are in life when the Lord severely punishes (sometimes fatally) offenders of their fathers or mothers! It is not said in vain that a mother’s prayer saves (a child) from water and fire, and that, “A parent’s blessing confirms their children’s house”; on the other hand, who has not heard of what terrible unhappiness it is to inflict upon yourself a mother’s or father’s curse. Thus, basically the meaning of the Fifth Commandment speaks about respecting our parents. But of course, for a Christian included here is everyone taking the parent’s place: teachers, governesses, and so forth, and especially the representatives of the legal authorities who preserve the state’s order. Apostle Paul directly orders us to pray for the Kings and for all that are in authority (1 Tim 2:2), and in many other places of his Epistles he teaches us to submit ourselves to the authorities. Even more important for a Christian is to honor the spiritual authorities—the Church pastors, especially the bishops and also that pastor who is our spiritual father and answers before God for our souls. Apostle Paul said, Obey them that have rule over you and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account (Heb. 13:17). The Lord Himself said to His Apostles and through their person to the Church pastors, He that heareth you heareth Me, and he who despiseth you (does not listen to you) despiseth Me...” -0-

How to Make Your Life an Unceasing Prayer

How to Make Your Life an Unceasing Prayer Protosinghel Petroniu (Tănase) On April 27, 2023, the relics of a modern ascetic of piety, the abbot of the Romanian Athonite Prodromou Skete Protosinghel Petroniu (Tănase), who reposed in the Lord twelve years prior on February 22, 2011, were uncovered at the skete. Elder Petroniu is one of the Romanian spiritual confessors proposed for canonization in 2025. We present in this article the Elder’s counsel on the work of prayer. Protosinghel Petroniu Protosinghel Petroniu —Tell us about unceasing prayer. —The Holy Fathers call prayer the “breath of the soul.” As the body can’t live without air and must constantly breathe, so the soul can’t live a moment without a connection with God; it must always be connected with Him and pray unceasingly. Therefore, St. Paul exhorts the Thessalonians, and through them all Christians: Pray without ceasing (1 Thess. 5:17). Throughout the centuries, Christians have tried to fulfill this commandment from the Apostle. But as it’s not such a simple matter, the Fathers of the Church have taught us how to pray unceasingly. St. Maximus the Confessor says, describing the conversation of a brother with his spiritual father: And the brother said: “How can the mind pray without ceasing? After all, when we sing or read, when we meet with others and serve, we turn away towards many thoughts and contemplations.” And the Elder responded: “The Divine Scriptures don’t command anything impossible, for the Apostle also sang, read, and served, but nevertheless he prayed unceasingly. Continuous prayer consists in reverently and lovingly keeping your mind attached to God, always hanging on Him with hope, relying on Him in everything, no matter what you do and no matter what happens. True, unceasing prayer consists, first of all, in the soul constantly hoping in God,” and not in verbosity. True faith in God lives by this prayer, full of simple hope. Being in such a disposition, the Apostle Paul says: Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress? And: For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels… (Rom. 8:35, 38). And also: We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed; Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body (2 Cor. 4:8-10). In this state, the Apostle prayed without ceasing, because in everything he did and everything that happened to him, he placed his hope in God. In his Dialogues and Homilies, St. Basil the Great teaches us how to attain unceasing prayer: Prayer is a petition sent by the faithful to God for the acquisition of some good. The petition doesn’t necessarily have to be sent in words, and I don’t think that God needs us to remind Him in words of our desires, for He knows what’s good for us, even if we don’t ask Him for it. It’s not necessary to pray with articulation of the words—it’s better to replenish the power of prayer with the free will of the soul and virtuous deeds that would extend throughout our lives. Whether therefore ye eat, says the Apostle, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God (1 Cor. 10:31). When you sit down at the table, pray; when you take your bread to eat, give thanks to Him Who gave it to you; when you strengthen the weakness of the flesh with wine, remember Him Who gave you this gift for the gladdening of the heart and the weakening of diseases. When you eat your fill, don’t forget about your Benefactor; when you put on a robe, give thanks to Him Who gave it to you; when you put on your outer garment, may your love for God multiply, for Him Who gave us a garment suitable for winter and summer—a garment that preserves our life and covers our shame. When the day has passed, thank Him Who gave us the sun to serve our daily affairs; Him Who gave us fire to enlighten the night and to serve our other daily needs. May the night give you other reasons for prayer. When you raise your eyes to Heaven and behold the beauty of the stars, pray to the Lord of what you have seen and worship God, the all-surpassing Master of the universe, Who created all things with wisdom. When you see that all living things have sunk into sleep, again worship Him Who allowed us, against our will, to suspend work for sleep, to rest a little and thereby renew our strength for further work. Don’t allow your whole night to be devoted to sleep; don’t make half your life useless by allowing yourself to sleep, but divide the night between sleep and prayer. Even dreams give you the opportunity to think about faith. Most of the time images in our dreams are echoes of our concerns during the day. What concerns we have during the day we also have in our dreams. By doing so, you will pray without ceasing. Don’t pray with words alone, but by uniting your whole life to God, and your life will be an unceasing and continuous prayer.1 —Tell us about the unceasing prayer that comes from saying, “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.” —This is the hesychast or hermit prayer, because in a special way, it’s the monastics who have renounced and fled the world in order to be in constant prayerful contact with God who repeat this prayer. To this end, they found a simple prayer: “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.” Every monastic, when he takes on the angelic habit, is given a commandment to say this prayer without ceasing, for which he’s given a prayer rope with which he recites it. However, in the monastery, the monks have the liturgical life, the daily Church services, and work for the good governance of the community, and therefore unceasing prayer became the work of hermits leading a solitary life, simple and ascetic, whose main work is unceasing prayer. While practicing this prayer, the hermits encountered some difficult obstacles, therefore certain Fathers who succeeded in prayer developed a spiritual art—methods for overcoming these obstacles. We find several such methods in the Philokalia, from St. Nikephoros the Hermit, St. Gregory the Sinaite, St. Symeon the New Theologian, and others. Whoever desires to engage in unceasing prayer must first of all acquire a certain inner disposition, having a pure conscience in relation to God, neighbor, and things: towards God not doing anything that displeases Him; towards his neighbor not doing anything he wouldn’t want done to him; towards material things abstaining in everything: in food, in drink, in clothes, save for what’s necessary. Do everything as before God, and then add dispassion; that is, be free from every passion. Only after you have acquired all of this do you begin to pray without ceasing. Practicing unceasing prayer isn’t so easy even for hermits, and even less so for men in the world. A man in the world can also pray the hermit’s prayer: “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner,” but that doesn’t mean he becomes a hermit, a hesychast, or that hesychasm has descended into the world—that would be the easiest path for men today, as some have said. Christians in the world also pray the hermit’s prayer, but to the extent that it’s possible in the world and with the corresponding result. In this regard, there’s a saying in the spiritual world: “For the small, the great is not great, and for the great, the small is not small.” The meaning is clear: Hesychastic prayer is simple and brief, but for hermits it’s not small; and conversely, hermetic prayer is great for the hermits, but small for a man in the world. —How can we acquire a peaceful conscience towards things? —God created things and we can’t live without them. Some serve us for food, others for other needs. We use things our entire lives, but they were created not only for bodily use, but also for the soul. Things have their own language, and if we understand it, we learn how to live in a spiritually correct way. In the third volume of the Philokalia, St. Maximus the Confessor explains in detail how this should be understood.2 God created man with a need for food,3 although He could have created him without it. God created man to live at the expense of lower things so he would understand that he’s not an autonomous being, that he doesn’t live by himself. He didn’t create himself, because he lives thanks to things lower than himself. And then the need for food forcing him to be humble, and see that he isn’t as Lucifer considered himself to be, pridefully imagining he could ascend to Heaven by himself to become higher than God. Man is not only a body but also a soul, and as the body needs food, so the soul needs God and must find spiritual food. The food of the soul is prayer, divine contemplation. Because just as a man can’t live without air and food for the body, so he can’t live without Divine food for the soul. He must always be connected with God by unceasing prayer. God created him for a purpose. And if we understand why God created him this way, then we learn how to lead a spiritual life. Not seeing the spiritual side, man has violated nature. He didn’t use it properly, he abused it with the rights he has over it, and now nature is taking its revenge. Not having the right understanding he overused it for the body alone; and as a result, all the mistakes wreak havoc on him. Man must always be sparing with his use of food and things. For example, television isn’t useful for man, because it isn’t necessary. If man lived without television for two thousand years, that means it’s not a real human need, but a false one, made up. One need is to cover my body, but I cover it with a simple garment, not something made of very expensive silk. Moderation is very important. I wear inexpensive clothing because it makes less fuss, I spend less, and there’s more time left for spiritual things. People who live in moderation are healthier than those who live in satiety. Protosinghel Petroniu (Tănase) Translation by Jesse Dominick Pravoslavie.ru 5/18/2023 1 St. Basil the Great, Dialogue 5: In Memory of the Martyr Julitta 2 In the Romanian Philokalia, the entire third volume is dedicated to the 65 Questions of Thalassius by St. Maximus. 3 To be more precise, man was created such that he would have a need for food after he sinned. Man was created without any bodily needs and would not have died if not for sin. St. Maximus teaches in Ambiguum 8: “God, at the very moment humanity fell ... gave the body the capacity to suffer, undergo corruption, and be wholly dissolved—as was evinced when God covered the body with garments of skin.”

EVEN MORE CHRISTIANS IN RUSSIA ?

“Since You’ve Come, Read the Prayer” Svetlana Rybakova

In the early twenty-first century, the wonderworking “Unfading Blossom” Icon of the Mother of God, not made by hands, was revealed to the world in Russia’s Samara region. On April 16, 2010, an image of the Theotokos with the Divine Infant, not made by hands, appeared on the window glass of an ordinary house in the village of Chernovka of the Sergiyevsk District of the Samara region. The owner of this house was Ekaterina Ivanovna Malygina,1 a very pious eighty-seven-year old lady and a World War II veteran. Photo: Soksmr.livejournal.com Photo: Soksmr.livejournal.com In winter Ekaterina Ivanovna covered her window with an oilcloth to protect herself from the terrible drafts. In the spring the woman decided to remove the “protective layer” that had saved her from cold winds. Imagine her amazement when she suddenly saw an icon there... “Half of the window was all aflame, there was something white on the glass, and there were images of the Mother of God with the Christ Child in the very middle. I cried with joy, ‘Lord, how has the Mother of God appeared to me, a sinner?’...” Ekaterina Ivanovna said. Subsequently, she learned that this icon is called “the Unfading Bloom”. Then the woman went to her Chernovka parish in honor of Sts. Cosmas and Damian, told Priest Sergei Derzhavin about everything and asked him to look at the icon that had appeared. Metropolitan John (Snychev) Metropolitan John (Snychev) Among the religious villagers Ekaterina Ivanovna was well-known for her piety. In the 1980s, she travelled to Archbishop John2, the future Metropolitan of St. Petersburg, with the request to help her acquire a Bible. In those days it was impossible to buy the Holy Scriptures. Vladyka blessed the devout parishioner and told her what day to come for the Bible. On the worktable Ekaterina Ivanovna saw a photograph of her beloved archpastor and asked him to give it to her. With a smile Vladyka John gave her the photograph, which she placed in the holy corner, next to her icons, as a token of respect. Ekaterina Ivanovna also came to Archbishop Sergei of Samara3 more than once to request for a place in their village for a prayer house, because the nearest church was twenty-five miles away, and it was impossible to travel there on foot. Previously, there were very pious old women in Chernovka: everyone would gather and pray with them, but by that time all of them were dead. “Where will we pray?” Ekaterina Ivanovna lamented. Then she knocked on the doors of 300 houses, collected thirty signatures with a request to allocate at least some corner for prayer, and went to Vladyka Sergei. He listened to her attentively, accepted the signatures and said that they should pray and things would sort themselves. And so it happened! The believers secured a place for themselves in a former pharmacy, and there was an opportunity to pray in their native Chernovka. Now the indifferent parishioner thought about how to build a church, because before the 1917 Revolution there used to be two churches in their village. The example of Ekaterina Ivanovna shows us how in the twentieth century the “white headscarves” preserved the Russian Church in the times of godless persecution. Metropolitan Sergei (Poletkin) Metropolitan Sergei (Poletkin) Knowing Ekaterina Ivanovna’s pious life, Fr. Sergei came to her house with the head of the deanery, Fr. Vasily Anisimov, and with choristers. They celebrated a prayer service to the Mother of God with an akathist outside, by the window with the icon. On the first day the icon remained till the evening, and at about eleven it slowly disappeared, but reappeared in the morning. This went on for fifteen days. And the next evening the image of the Mother of God did not disappear and was with the owner all the time. Ekaterina Ivanovna did not sleep for several nights in a row: she kept sitting and looking… She told Olga Kruglova, a journalist of the Blagovest newspaper, about her observations of the miraculous icon: “It does not suddenly appear and then disappear; rather, everything happens gradually. At about four in the morning a white canvas emerges with a thread on it, and behind it another, blue one, and the whole image is painted, moving slowly, in small stitches. A white thread then appears and circles around the future face of the Infant Jesus Christ, and in half an hour the entire head of the Infant emerges. As I look, I weep and make the sign of the cross: ‘Lord, I am unworthy of seeing all this4‘…” Pilgrims began to flock to the icon. Some of them saw three burning candles by the icon. Believers touched them with their hands and felt a “soft heat”: real warmth emanated from the “fire” on the glass... And some people with little faith tried to erase the image with a solvent, and a local scratched it off with a nail, as Ekaterina Ivanovna explained: “They wanted to make sure we hadn’t painted the image and hadn’t made an imprint on the glass. Why insult us like that?…” After that red spots appeared in these places on the image of the Mother of God, as on a living body with a wound. After a few days they disappeared, though. However, Ekaterina Ivanovna, despite some people’s strong skepticism, perceived the appearance of pilgrims in her house as her service to God. She began to teach people to pray: “Since you’ve come, read the prayer—I found the troparion to the ‘Unfading Blossom’ Icon of the Mother of God and specially placed it next to the icon. Read it and then tell the Theotokos about your sorrows...” She continued: “And I pray with them, write down their names and then at night I look at the icon and pray, ‘O Mother of God, forgive us, heal us, have mercy on us. Help us in all troubles and misfortunes and lead us all to prayer to God, enlighten us all and bring us to salvation through Your prayers so that we all can honor God and pray to Him.’ Everything happens according to our faith and according to our prayers… A few days ago a woman came from Samara and prayed so earnestly by the icon, imploring so fervently, weeping so much. Her niece gave birth to a baby and it became very ill. It was at the hospital, but the doctors did not give a good prognosis. So she prayed for the baby, and today she called me and said that the baby has recovered. She cried and thanked the Mother of God5.” “Unfading Bloom” Icon of the Mother of God “Unfading Bloom” Icon of the Mother of God Ekaterina Ivanovna prayed throughout her long life. She was taught to pray by her relatives, “nuns”, whom she would run to visit. When her father died, her mother was left alone with four young children in her arms. Katya helped her mother in her hard work, so she knew how to work and pray from her childhood. No one intentionally taught her how to pray—it just came naturally. She heard and remembered it, and then she always prayed like that. When Olga wondered if she was tired of such an influx of pilgrims, the toiler of Christ answered, “Of course, I often get tired, and everything hurts; but this is God’s work, how can I stop doing it? Since the Lord Himself assigned this to me, how can I do otherwise? I should hold out and communicate with everyone who comes to look at the icon.” True, Ekaterina Ivanovna admitted that when she was dead on her feet, she would close the door and ask pilgrims to pray and kiss the image of the Theotokos from outside. After the publication of an interview about the icon in the Blagovest newspaper, people from other cities, towns, villages and even from other regions began to call the editorial office. They wondered how to get there, and some shared stories about their pilgrimages to the relic. We offer our readers the testimonies of some eyewitnesses. The retired colonel of internal service Mikhail Borisovich Dekatov shared his reflections. “An undoubtable miracle, which pierces the soul! It’s just astounding. Now many cases of myrrh-streaming icons are known, but appearances of such holy images as this are very rare. The only thing that saddens me is that the icon may disappear. As this miracle came to us, so it will go. Priests should celebrate prayer services at the wonderworking image so that real church services can resume in the village. So far, there is not even a real prayer house in Chernovka (only a prayer room), let alone a church. Maybe that’s why this miracle occurred in Chernovka—so that a church can appear in the village? This has always been the case in Rus’—whenever a miraculous appearance of a holy icon took place, a church was erected in memory of the event.” Tamara Plokhova, a parishioner of the Cathedral of Sts. Cyril and Methodius in Samara, related her story: “I have already been to Chernovka at the miraculous image twice. And every time I leave with an indescribable feeling! What grace this holy image possesses… From morning till evening pilgrims flock with reverence to ‘the Unfading Bloom’ Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos, not made by hands, candles in their hands. People enter a small room and weep with tenderness and reverence for the Mother of God Who visited us, sinners. On June 7, Ekaterina Ivanovna Malygina greeted us with tears: ‘I stayed up the whole night! When I looked at the icon I saw that the veil of the Queen of Heaven, the eyes of the Theotokos and of Her Divine Son had become sky-blue!’ So, all night long she prayed and was touched by this gentle Heavenly azure... And in the morning again she saw the veil on the Mother of God of a deep blue color. The pilgrims from our cathedral who arrived three days later became eyewitnesses of the amazing phenomenon: The veil of the Virgin Mary on the glass began to sway slightly in waves, as if from a breath of wind, and an iridescent radiance began to emanate from the image. Everyone sobbed... If earlier the image of the Most Holy Theotokos with the Divine Child would disappear from the glass at night, now from outside it remains. Ekaterina Ivanovna placed a bedside-table beneath the window, on which she put a piece of paper with a prayer to the Mother of God in front of ‘the Unfading Bloom’ icon. Photo: Soksmr.livejournal.com Photo: Soksmr.livejournal.com “Now at night she hears people drive up to her house, come up and pray silently. Every evening, lights from invisible candles emerge by the icon... After praying, many pilgrims put handkerchiefs and other little things on the marvelous image. Cases of healings through prayers in front of the icon, not made by hands, are known. Two women with sore legs were healed. The companions of one of them barely pulled her out of the car when they arrived. The woman with great difficulty limped to the house with a walking stick. She prayed and wept together with Ekaterina Ivanovna. And then she walked back to the car with easy steps and got into it... Only then did she remember, ‘Oh, I’ve left my stick in the house!...’ “Five pilgrims arrived from Sergiyevsk, all very sick. They didn’t even enter the house: they just stood, praying outside and weeping with a tender feeling. The next day they called Ekaterina Ivanovna with great joy: all five felt much better! Ekaterina Ivanovna’s neighbor, a very religious woman, twice saw in a dream, as if in reality, the Most Holy Theotokos in black abbess’ garments standing all night long on the porch of Malygina’s house, hearing our prayers... “And I want to say one more thing. Ekaterina Ivanovna collects every kopeck, every ten-ruble note that grateful pilgrims sometimes donate, to help decorate the prayer house. God willing, new good icons will be purchased for the prayer house. “Even at the tram stop, Vera Kozhaeva, whom I often see at services at Sts. Cyril and Methodius Cathedral, also spoke about the miracle in Chernovka: ‘I didn’t plan to go anywhere, as there are lots of things to do at home... But once I saw in the Blagovest newspaper a photo of the icon that had appeared on the window, I was blown away by it. I so wanted to go there! I phoned my religious friends. One of them, Elena, asked her husband Andrei to drive us there. Although he had just arrived from work and was very tired, he immediately agreed. He found the house on a computer map and printed out the route... The trip was a real blessing! It was easy to find the right house in Chernovka. We approached the house, looked and saw a table beneath the window. But we could not see any image on the glass! We wailed, ‘The Queen of Heaven does not want to show us Her image...’ “We entered the house and immediately our sadness gave way to joyful admiration. From inside, the wondrous images of the Mother of God and the Divine Infant were perfectly visible. Although, there is cause for concern, too. The image is getting smaller. And probably the day will come when it completely disappears because of our sins… It was not without reason that the “Unfading Blossom” Icon of the Mother of God appeared on the glass—to call on us to come to our senses and to break free from the slavery to our passions. How else could She get through to our withered souls and hearts?... “Ekaterina Ivanovna was not at home, and her sick son was lying in bed. We asked permission to pray in front of the icon, and he nodded benevolently: ‘Of course, pray!’ With reverence we put our small icons and crosses along the edge of the image on the glass, and when we left we saw the images of the Virgin Mary and the Infant Christ from outside.” Marina Alexandrovna Bereza from the city of Novokuybyshevsk shared her impressions: “I first heard about the miracle in Chernovka from my acquaintances. Lydia Viktorovna Andriyanova (she lives in Samara and works at the Holy Trinity Church at Voronezhskiye Ozera) related how she had seen it with her own eyes: The image appeared literally thread by thread on the window—and in a few moments it became full... Then I read about it in the Blagovest newspaper; I wanted to go to Chernovka, to see the image of the Most Holy Theotokos and the Infant Christ, to pray and bow to Them. We met with our friends and drove in two cars. Ekaterina Ivanovna Malygina greeted us like family. I marvel at how hospitable and tireless she is. Once she has received one group of visitors, prayed with them and seen them to the door, another group arrives: they need to be greeted, shown the image, explained everything and given an akathist to read. After all, not everyone brings an akathist with them. We read the Akathist to the Unfading Blossom Icon of the Mother of God, and my friend Lyubov said in a low voice: ‘Look, the Mother of God is smiling at us!’ I myself thought so, but I was afraid to believe my eyes... Such a great miracle!” The Orthodox entrepreneur Lyudmila Alexandrovna Akintseva arrived in Chernovka on the day when the newspaper issue describing the miracle was just coming out. This is how it happened. She stopped by the editorial office of Blagovest on business when the publication about the miraculous appearance of the icon on the window was being prepared for publication, so she learned about the phenomenon in advance. At the Holy Trinity Church she heard from the pilgrims who had been there that the miracle was authentic! And she decided to go there. In her time Lyudmila was involved in organizing and holding pilgrimage trips, and so it was not the first time she experienced God’s special mercy. In 1994, in Tashla [Orenburg region.—Trans.] together with her group of pilgrims she saw a dense shroud of clouds disperse over the holy spring and the Most Holy Theotokos spread Her veil over the worshipers. In 1995, Lyudmila witnessed the myrrh-streaming of icons at the Holy Trinity Zheltovodsky (“of the Yellow Water Lake”) St. Makary’s Convent in the Lyskovo diocese, Nizhny Novgorod region. Lyudmila Alexandrovna reacted to the news of the miracle in Chernovka calmly and without exaltation. In her soul she had a feeling of gratitude to our Lord Jesus Christ and His Most Pure Mother and a sincere desire to pray in front of the icon not made by hands. She didn’t arrive at the house with the miraculous images empty-handed—she took lamp oil with her, bought small “Unfading Blossom” Icons of the Mother of God, and headscarves. She put some icons and headscarves on the images on the glass and took them with her as relics, leaving the rest of them, along with the oil, at Ekaterina Ivanovna’s house for other pilgrims to use. A few days later she heard that many pilgrims were being anointed in front of the icon with holy oil. “When they anointed me at the icon that had appeared on the glass, from top to toe I felt an incomprehensible warmth,” said her friend Marina Limonnikova, an employee of the Moskovsky shopping center in Samara. “An ineffable feeling overwhelmed my soul!” Marina Limonnikova brought to Chernovka an icon of the Mother of God, which had been kept in her house for a very long time. She had no idea what kind of icon it was—the image of the Most Holy Theotokos had gone too dark with time. Ekaterina Ivanovna said in admiration: “What an old icon you have!” While praying she put the icon on the image on the glass. And after returning to Samara, Marina prayed fervently in front of her icon—and a few days later she saw that it was renewed and became lighter, and now it was clear that it was the “Helper in childbirth” Icon of the Mother of God in sky-turquoise tones…6 The rector of the prayer house, Priest Sergei Derzhavin, testified to another miracle. Once a family with a child with cerebral palsy arrived from Moscow in a minibus. The father carried the child into the house with the wonderful icon. The family stayed with Ekaterina Ivanovna, praying in front of the miracle-working icon of the Virgin Mary. The priest said that he saw that the boy went back home on his own two feet. These simple stories of believing souls testify to the grace of God poured out on people through prayers in front of the icon, revealed on the glass in Ekaterina Ivanovna’s small house. As the Russian proverb goes, a village can’t exist without one righteous person, and a city without one saint. Photo: Soksmr.livejournal.com Photo: Soksmr.livejournal.com The journalist Olga Kruglova concluded her conversation with the owner of the house, where “the Unfading Blossom” Icon of the Mother of God miraculously appeared, with kind words: “After seeing pilgrims to the door, Ekaterina Ivanovna prays by the image, not made by hands. She prays out of her great love for Christ; she simply cannot help but pray and can’t do otherwise. And many who have come to her house over this month discovered in amazement that this is what it means to pray and to believe... Now many people visit Ekaterina Ivanovna’s house—she strengthens pilgrims in the faith, reveals Christ to the curious and teaches everyone fervent prayer. I saw a real miracle there—an eighty-seven-year-old woman who does not spare her heart for prayer and weeps bitterly in front of the image of the Most Pure Virgin for all of us. Ekaterina Ivanovna needs no signs and wonders to believe in and love the Lord. It is we (with our withered hearts) who need to stop in front of the miracle-working ‘Unfading Blossom Icon of the Mother of God and listen to our hearts, to test whether faith burns in them or only smolders.” Many years have passed since the appearance of the icon. In 2016 Ekaterina Ivanovna fell asleep in the Lord. The “Unfading Blossom” Icon on glass, according to it’s keeper’s will, was transferred to the prayer house of Sts. Cosmas and Damian, where Fr. Sergei Derzhavin is the rector. Unfortunately, a church has not yet been built due to the small number of parishioners of the prayer house in Chernovka. However, spiritual life goes on there, and pilgrims come and pray in front of “the Unfading Blossom” Icon of the Mother of God. Many receive help according to their faith. Fr. Sergei cordially receives pilgrims. And the construction of a house of the Queen of Heaven in the village depends on all the faithful—on the parishioners of the community of Sts. Cosmas and Damian, pilgrims who come to Chernovka to pray, and even on the prayers of those who are reading these lines now.

“Consider these observations about life in our country today: In the last fifty years there has been an increase of more than 500% in violent crime. There are more than half a million abortions each year. Since 1970, the divorce rate has quadrupled. The overall number of divorces may have declined recently, but it is due more to people not getting married in the first place. More than 40% of children today do not live with both their biological parents. Since the 1970s, the percentage of children living in single-parent homes has tripled. As the family has broken down, here is what has been happening to our young: a quadrupling in juvenile arrests, a 400% increase in births outside of wedlock, one million teenage pregnancies annually, three million teenagers treated annually for sexually transmitted diseases, a 200% increase in the rate of teenage suicide, a drop in average SAT scores, two-thirds of high school students have experimented with illegal drugs. In the schools, one cannot pray or mention religion, yet condoms are freely available and all sorts of aberrant and alternative lifestyles and philosophies are openly promoted. Parental consent is required for a child to go on a field trip or to get an aspirin, but in many states abortion referrals can be made without parental consent. Our neighborhoods are devastated by poverty, injustice, crime, and despair.”

WHAT IS MORALITY ?

The responsibilities of a Christian to his neighbor. Justice and its forms. Supremacy of Christian Justice. Christian Sternness and Indulgence. Christian Trust

Up to now, we have spoken about the responsibilities of a Christian to himself. Now let us examine his responsibilities to his neighbor, to other people. The first step of a proper relationship with other people is the prerequisite of Justice. Without this basic need, even man’s kindness may become unhealthy if truth is not felt within it, if partiality and onesidedness are present. Various forms of justice may be seen in the very establishment of just relations between people. Justice of loyalty This is this lowest foam of justice, the most widespread in civil and government life. A loyal man tries to stand up in his life for the exact fulfillment of government and civil laws, obligatory for himself and others. Besides this, he ordinarily fulfills exactly and opportunely all his personal agreements and duties. But he does not take one step further than these legal norms and boundaries in the sense of conceding and condescending to others and may become dry, unresponsive, and heartless. Such a man does not act “unlawfully”, does not break laws, but will take his own and not concede anything to anyone, even if his neighbor will suffer as a consequence. Of course, in our time even such loyal people are relatively respectable, inasmuch as they honestly fulfill their duties. However, it is clear to everyone that such a relationship is insufficient for a Christian as it is purely pagan, and not Christian. Justice of Correct Manners This form of justice in moral relationships is considerably higher than the former. We call that man correct, who tries to comport himself as he should in his surrounding relationships, not only in external laws and customs, but in general, according to his conscience. Thus, he is measured, calm, polite, and attentive to everyone; he willingly responds to any requests and tries to do everything he promises, often freeing other people from difficulties. In contrast, to drily loyal people, it is easy and pleasant to live and work with such correct, attentive people. However, all such people are still far away from Christianity, inasmuch as their meekness and responsiveness are far from always being constant and truthful in themselves, but wilt and dry up in a short time, (“expire”, as it is said). Such a man may perhaps remain correct and courteous externally in his relationships to other people, but ordinarily tries to quickly and politely disengage himself from them, not tying himself up with their requests aid needs. Christian Justice This is the fullest form, of justice, the justice of a Christian heart. A fundamental, wise, and simultaneously clear and understandable principle is expressed in the words of the Holy Gospel, In everything do unto others as you would have than do unto you. (Matt. 7:12). The Apostolic Council repeats this in a negative form: “Do not do unto others what you do not wish for yourself”. Do not bring into life any falseness, nor lies, nor hurt, nor evil. All people are your neighbors, do not do anything to them which you do not wish for yourself. It is not enough rot to do evil only, but according to your conscience to do good, from your heart, receiving inspiration from the Holy Gospel’s law “of love, mercy, and all forgiveness. If you wish for people to relate to you from their hearts, yourself open your heart to your neighbor. Do not be an egotist, do not count your rights as loyal and correct people do, but place the good and health of your neighbor higher than all your rights, according to the Christian law of love. Often, it happens that we are too indulgent with ourselves in life but demanding and strict with our neighbors. Christian justice says something different. But the Lord said, And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye? Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s eye (Matt. 7:3–5). Thus, Christian ascetics, grieving over their sins, were mercilessly stern and demanding with themselves but all forgiving, condescending towards others, covering the shortcomings of their neighbors with kindness and love. The Christian rule in life generally teaches us to search for the cause of grievous situations such as quarrels, unpleasantness and so forth not in others but within ourselves, in our love of sin, unyieldingness, self-love and egotism. In such a manner, Christian justice demands indulgence towards others from us. But even this is insufficient. Love summons us to see our brother in every person, our brother in Christ, the beloved creation and image of Almighty God. However far a man should fall, however much he darkens within himself the divine linage with sins and vices, we should always seek God’s spark in his soil as Dostoevsky was able to do in his Memoirs from the House of the Dead (from a hard labor camp). “Sins remain with sins, but the foundation in man is God’s image. Hate sin but love the sinner”, said St. John of Kronstadt. Besides respecting the person of your neighbor, you also need to trust him. This is especially needed when a man, confesses his guilt with the words from the Holy Gospel, “I repent”, and promises to become better. How often is the kind intention of such a repenting person greeted with mistrust and coldness, so that the good wishes to improve disappear, replaced by resentment and, and the destructive decision: “Oh well, you just wait, I will show myself. I’ll have my revenge.” Who answers for the ruin of this soul? On the contrary, a sincere, loving Christian strives to greet the kind impulse of his brother with love, underlining his full trust and respect towards him, often supporting and confirming someone who is still shaky and unfirm on this good path. It often havens that having promised to improve, a person takes advantage of his brothers’ trust because of weak will or conscious wish to deceive him. But can this stifle the feelings of trust and well-wishing for one’s brother in a faithful Christian? For he is the son and follower of the law of Christian love, of that love which Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things… (1 Cor. 13:7), as the apostle said.

LGBT, pedophilia, and sex change propaganda completely outlawed in Russia

Moscow, November 28, 2022 “Propaganda of non-traditional sexual relations to minors” has been illegal in Russia since the relevant amendment to the Child Protection Law was adopted in 2013. A recent example of the law being applied was when Netflix had to reclassify a number of cartoons featuring LGBT content in 2020, moving them from Netflix Kids to the 18+ section. However, as of Thursday, November 14, all LGBT propaganda of any kind, aimed at any age is now illegal in Russia, reports the official site of the Russian State Duma. The new amendment, authored by more than 300 Parliamentarian deputies, was unanimously adopted in its third reading. The legislation also bans pedophilia and sex change propaganda, and provides for fines of up to 10 million rubles ($164,555) for legal entities found guilty of propagandizing pedophilia. “This decision will protect our children and the future of the country from the darkness spread by the United States and European states. We have our own traditions and values,” commented Deputy Vyacheslav Volodin. “Don’t impose alien values on us. You destroyed yours—we’ll see how it all ends,” Volodin said, “but it’s definitely said, because this is Sodom. There’s no other way to say it, and the United States has become the center of this Sodom in the world. Let them live there, but not come to us.” The new law covers websites, the sale of goods, advertising, television, film, and more. Follow OrthoChristian on Twitter, Vkontakte, Telegram, WhatsApp, MeWe, and Gab!

AN ARTICLE FOR MEN TO READ, ESPECIALLY MEN IN THEIR 20s

This article is by an Iraq Veteran who knows the truth. If you are a man and in your 20s, please read this:

I came of age in Ronald Reagan’s neon-tinted 1980s, complete with big hair and big action heroes. My role models were people like Arnold Schwarzenegger in Commando, Sylvester Stallone in Rambo, and Carl Weathers in Predator. Even James Cameron’s Colonial Marines from 1986’s Aliens made militarism cool well before the word “tacticool” (a portmanteau of tactical and cool) was invented in 2004. These over-the-top action heroes glorified the unstoppable might of the American military. Even Oliver Stone’s Platoon, arguably an anti-war movie, taught me about self-sacrifice. Things have changed now and woke culture is taking its toll on the U.S. army! Now you are about to read a lot of common sense packed into a few short paragraphs. It’s a rare thing to see. The thread was censored and removed from Facebook and Twitter after one Iraq war veteran decided to explain why our military is in trouble. Luckily he sent us a copy of his thread. Buckle in for some of the best analysis of our military collapse from a veteran. 1. No faith in the administrative state. Come on…Is this one really so hard to figure out. Most combat arms troops generally come from right-wing or conservative backgrounds. You’ve been spending the last 4-6 years dragging police and military through the mud, most conservative. You’ve got a weaponized DOJ, ATF, FBI, CIA, and God knows what else. It’s no mystery that they are being specifically used to target Conservatives. Do you really expect a rural Conservative to join a combat arms MOS when you’re telling them they are terrorists and extremists? 2. A woke military. I can’t believe this one even needs to be mentioned, but isn’t it obvious? Like it or not, the military is an environment of alphas who are being trained to kill human beings. The political token of the woke culture has no place in military ranks. War is a deadly environment, and soldiers need to be focused on their job, not on your made up Marxist bullcrap. Don’t even mention soldiers being kicked out over the coof poke. Get out of here with that cowardly BS. 3. 20 years of lies will make you wise. Some of us have been there and bought the T-shirt. You know that the Government is willing to lie to get their way. They don’t care who they hurt, or who dies. As long as those military industrial complex checks are wet, they are good. To make it even worse, we know Dick Cheney lied about WMDs. He lives a comfortable life outside of a prison cell while our troops live on the streets. Experience is the greatest teacher, so obviously why would a young person with half a brain sign up for that? 4. The people who are currently serving are treated like 2nd rate citizens. I mean…would you join the military if you knew the answer to inflation was to “go get on food stamps”. That’s not a very comforting prospect, is it? Also, knowing your going to be subjected to woke critical race theory, inclusiveness, and no telling what leftist politically driven “training” is enough to make anyone run the other way. 5. You’re not worth dying for. Think about it. Society has spent the last 4-6 years telling us how bad America is, how bad military and law enforcement members are, and how unfair life is in our Country. We’ve been told our masculinity is toxic and that we are racists. Society is sitting on their butts and have zero work ethic, and there’s a lot of great jobs out there that pay better than the military and don’t subject you to loss of life and limb over half of society wanting you dead because of who you are and your political identity. 6. They don’t want to fight Americans. Yep…I said it. The writing is on the wall. Many areas are already starting to peacefully Balkanize, if only in the logistical sense of banking, goods, and services. It’s happening Geographically, too. Look at the mass exodus from CA. Depression in our youth is at an all time high. They feel defeated and downtrodden. They feel like society doesn’t support them. All they have is their family and friends for support. They aren’t dumb, either. Gen Zs are very well educated. They see the turmoil our Gov is causing. The God honest truth is that Gen Z is more afraid of our own Government than anyone else in the World. Why should they wear your uniform when you support disarming us? Why in the world would they risk their lives for you? 7. Troops from the last 20 years of war are parents now. What do think we are telling our kids? LOL. You’re INSANE if you think we are recommending our kids sign up for your endless wars. 8. We are tired of endless wars. I don’t think Gen Z is comprised of cowards. I think they are smart enough to realize what they are signing up for. They would rather take their chances with the thousands of GWOT veterans in the streets of America if we are invaded. Invasion is the only way you’ll get a lot of them to be willing to take up arms. In which case, they will have 1,000s of capable GWOT vets to help them survive. Don’t worry, we will find equipment. While y’all are playing drag, we will defend the Country. Many American will understand what this brave man is talking about! OPINION: This article contains commentary which reflects the author’s opinion

Appeals Court: Foster Parents Can Share Religious Truth with Children

Michael and Jennifer Lasche say that a state agency — New Jersey’s Division of Child Protection and Permanency — removed their foster child and suspended their foster license in 2018 because of their “religious beliefs”. In essence the social workers are of the opinion that people who are Christians, like almost 1.5 billion others on the planet, cannot be foster parents. However, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit recently ruled in favor of the Christian couple. The man and his wife simply wanted legal protection to welcome foster children into their home without hiding their religion. Michael and Jennifer Lasche revealed that New Jersey’s Division of Child Protection and “Permanency” — removed their foster child and suspended their foster license in 2018 because of their religion. The man and wife, who have served as foster parents for more than a decade, sued state officials for infringing on their right to religious freedom. It is pleasing to see the court affirms that Mr. And Mrs. Lasche can continue to practice their fundamental right to pray and attend church services as guaranteed by the Constitution of te United States. The government cannot punish the Lasches — or any other American —simply because it disagrees with Christian practice that has been taught for the past 2,000 years. The involved attorney pointed out that Michael and Jennifer are wonderful foster parents, and the children entrusted to their care over the last 10 years thrive under their loving care. And even though the foster child wanted to be a part of the couple’s religious life, the state sought to punish them for their Christian faith. The Lasches are grateful for the opportunity to continue to challenge action by the state. As it is wrong for government employed social workers to exclude families from fostering because of their Christian belief. That’s not keeping childfren first. “If the government can exclude qualified families like theirs today, especially after serving children in foster care for more than 10 years, it can exclude other qualified families for other reasons tomorrow,” he added. “When this case returns to the district court, the Lasches will finally have a chance to show that peacefully sharing their religious views was constitutionally protected.” Background In 2017, Michael and Jennifer Lasche agreed to foster two sisters, ages 13 and 10, after the Monmouth County Office of the New Jersey Division of Child Placement and Permanency (DCPP) contacted them. Later that year, a caseworker, Kyle Higgins, told them that they were under consideration to adopt the girls. Three weeks passed, and the Lasches learned that a couple in Illinois also wanted to adopt the sisters, in addition to their three younger siblings also in foster care. That couple, the Lasches later discovered, was “two wealthy gay men.” At that point, Higgins questioned the 13-year-old “about whether she would change her religious beliefs about homosexual conduct — which she held before meeting the Lasches — if she were placed with another family,” the opinion from the appeals court reads. A few months later, both the DCPP and the Lasche family agreed that the 10 year old should be removed from her current home, for reasons that remain confidential. The 13-year-old stayed. Then, the men in Illinois decided against adopting the siblings. After a hearing about the children’s future, in June 2018, “inquiries about the Lasches’ religious beliefs intensified.” The 13-year-old, after one therapy session, appeared “visibly upset” because “the therapist repeatedly brought up religion and told her not to feel pressured to follow the Lasches’ religious beliefs.” Higgins and an unidentified woman also questioned the teenager about her religious beliefs. “Although Higgins told Foster Child 1 that the Lasches could not ‘meet her needs,’ that did not dissuade Foster Child 1 from wanting to remain with the Lasches,” the opinion describes. At a June 2018 meeting that the Lasche family attended, DCPP employees “agreed that the Lasches’ religious beliefs were a problem.” These employees “sought assurance from the Lasches that they would not reject Foster Child 1 if she ever decided to explore her sexuality,” the opinion continues. “One representative remarked that Foster Child 1 would need therapy to deal with her belief that homosexual conduct is a sin.” In early July 2018, the 13-year-old, whom Michael and Jennifer had hoped to adopt, was removed from the Lasches’ home — even though her appointed attorney objected. The DCPP pursued the teenager’s removal without providing the Lasches with a statutorily required notice. Three months later, during the foster-parent license renewal process, the Lasche family discovered that the DCPP had suspended their license, without notice or explanation. Ruling Judge Peter Phipps, joined by Judges Thomas Hardiman and Robert Cowen, wrote the March 1 opinion by the appeals court. The decision allows the Lasche family to continue their case by returning to the lower court. The appellate judges affirmed the lower court’s finding in part, and vacated it in part. At the same time, the court ruled, the Lasche family’s religious beliefs are constitutionally protected. “Through the Free Exercise Clause, the First Amendment secures the ‘freedom to believe and [the] freedom to act,’’' the opinion reads. “Consistent with that protection, the Lasches allege two forms of constitutionally protected activity – one involving religious belief, and the other, action inspired by religious belief.” “With respect to belief, the Lasches identify their religious opposition to same-sex marriage as constitutionally protected,” the opinion continues. “That is correct: the Free Exercise Clause provides an absolute right to hold religious beliefs.” Citing high-profile Supreme Court cases concerning religious liberty (Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission and Fulton v. Philadelphia), the opinion also states that the Lasches “plausibly allege that they engaged in constitutionally protected conduct by sharing their religious views on same-sex marriage.”