Faith-based Organisations (FBOs) established an interfaith working group to support faith communities understanding of, and engagement on, issues related to Stockholm+50.
This page is a resource guide to facilitate networking, in-person collaboration, and to inspire and build partnerships with civil society, indigenous groups and all other stakeholders.
The protection and improvement of the human environment is a major issue which affects the well-being of peoples and economic development throughout the world; it is the urgent desire of the peoples of the whole world and the duty of all Governments.
1972 Stockholm Declaration
On 4 March 2022 UNEP Faith for Earth facilitated a session during the Faith for Earth Dialogue that spurred coordinated efforts for a consultative interreligious and interfaith approaches to Stockholm+50.
In the dialogue session, FBOs were encouraged to engage in the Stockholm+50 process early enough to set their expectations for governments/leaders for the next 50 years of environment policy and action. Watch the recording
Latin America and Carribean Regional Multi-Stakeholder Consultation
FBOs provide good practice at a local and regional level stressing the need to mobilise FBOs and faith communities. Advance FBO engagement (SDG Platform) and work closely with indigenous groups.
Need for environmental education – collaborate with local experts and scientists about environmental issues.
Faith literacy – how to engage with faith-based organisations in international meetings and need to facilitate faith-based interventions within other Major Groups & Stakeholders.
Africa Regional Multi-Stakeholder Consultation
Faith actors as drivers of behavioural change.
Mobilise funding for smaller local actors – encourage divestment of faith-owned assets and investments from the fossil industry and need to secure adequate funding for grassroots stakeholders.
Reimagining the Human-Environment Relationship
Stockholm+50 is a commemoration and a time for reflection on the interconnectedness of humans and the environment. The UN University Centre for Policy Research and the UN Environment Programme are co-leading a collaborative effort that captures, interrogates, and elevates alternative paradigms of the human/nature relationship, by inviting a diverse community of thinkers and voices to supply evidence and shape viewpoints in this important global conversation.
Stockholm+50 is an opportunity to take stock of the progress achieved in the 50 years since the 1972 Conference on the Environment, and instigate serious reflection on today’s environmental crisis. There remains a significant gap between the urgency of the challenges facing humanity and the willingness to undertake the kind of radical action necessary to collectively shift towards more sustainable forms of consumption. Most proposals by the world’s largest emitters remain framed by longstanding models of infinite growth, exploitative energy production, and a belief that human survival will come by way of technological innovation. Current public discourse features limited propositions to tackle pollution, biodiversity loss, and the degradation of our natural environment — the triple planetary crisis that threatens humanity.
The sources of alternative paradigms are both extraordinarily diverse and still unfamiliar to most. Widely differing religious practices offer a range of environmental ethics that could underpin a shift in how the human-nature relationship is conceptualized. Forms of traditional ecological knowledge and indigenous knowledge propose sophisticated and deeply symbiotic frameworks that can also broaden understandings through key ideas such as reciprocity and intergenerational fairness. Paradigm shifts may also come from innovations in more traditional domains. Legal scholars and some states are exploring how the environment and the interests of future generations might be given a legal personality, alongside contemporary humans. Biology and ecosystems research offer non-anthropocentric models for sustainable coexistence, while astrophysics can shift the starting point for many of these conversations, moving beyond the human-environment binary as we identify potentially infinite forms of life.
This curated collection of ideas captures, interrogates, and elevates alternative paradigms of the human-nature relationship – existing and new, and from various disciplines and societies – creating a space to recast our relationship with the environment and inform future policymaking. It has been made possible through a grant by the International Development Research Centre (IDRC).
Managing these security risks requires action across the entire impact chain: work to mitigate climate change; reducing its consequences on ecosystems; adapting socio-economic systems; better management of climate-induced heightened resource competition; and strengthening governance and conflict management institutions. And every dimension of the response must be conflict-sensitive and climate proof. Without the right responses, climate change will mean more fragility, less peace and less security. But this paper sets out illustrative examples of how, with a greater understanding of how climate change interacts with social, political, economic and environmental drivers of conflict and fragility, we will be better placed to make the kind of risk-informed decisions is integral to achieving international peace and security.
Salvatore Cordilleone’s decision comes after information leaked about a draft opinion of the US Supreme Court
U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi will no longer be able to take communion because she supports the right to abortion and publicly expresses her Catholic faith in expressing her views, San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore Cordilleone said in a letter. from Reuters.
An open letter from the archbishop addressed to Pelosi, and another addressed to the faithful, noted that “over the years, Pelosi’s position on abortion has become increasingly extreme, especially in the last few months.”
There is no comment from her office yet.
The archbishop’s decision comes after information leaked earlier this month about a draft U.S. Supreme Court ruling that the 1973 Rowe v. Wade ruling, which legalized abortion in the United States, would be overturned.
Cordilleone said Pelosi had not responded to his requests to meet in the months since she promised to make abortion protection enshrined in US federal law after lawmakers in some conservative states introduced almost full state-level protection. ban on abortion.
The archbishop said he sent a personal letter to Pelosi in April warning her that he would forbid her to take communion until she publicly renounced her support for the right to abortion and stopped publicly invoking her views. of his Catholic faith.
In his letter to the faithful, Cordileone wrote that “his actions are purely pastoral, not political.”
“President Pelosi remains our sister in Christ,” he said. “Her advocacy for the care of the poor and vulnerable arouses admiration in me.”
The Russian optical surveillance satellite has only been in space for 20 days. The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation hopes that its successor Cosmos-2556 will be more reliable.
The Russian military satellite Cosmos-2555, launched on April 29 by the Angara-1.2 carrier rocket, burned up in the atmosphere. This was reported by TASS with reference to the data of the US Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD).
The device was launched late in the evening from the Plesetsk cosmodrome into a circumpolar orbit. The letter Z was applied to the satellite – a symbol of a full-scale war between the Russian Federation and Ukraine. According to NORAD, the satellite deorbited and entered the atmosphere on the morning of May 18. Now the object does not exist in space, experts say.
Astronautics expert and popularizer Vitaly Egorov told The Insider that it could be a visual reconnaissance satellite that conducted optical surveillance.
“Cosmos-2555” burned down – how the satellite lost its trajectory
Yegorov added that on May 18 the satellite did not send radio signals and did not stay in orbit. They wanted to correct its trajectory by turning on the engines, but this did not give results. Cosmos-2555 was able to carry out only one short-term orbital correction for 15 days – on May 6.
After that, its orbit decreased, but in 10–12 days it lost 30 km and dropped to an altitude of about 260 km. In the next three days, the fall of the satellite accelerated, it approached the Earth at a distance of 120 km.
On May 19, the Russian Defense Ministry reported on the successful launch of another satellite into orbit, which was given the name Cosmos-2556. A stable telemetry connection has been established and maintained with the satellite, its on-board systems are functioning normally, military officials said.
Focus previously wrote that the US Space Force tracked the Cosmos-2555 satellite in orbit, tracking data confirmed the “death” of the launched satellite.
Recall that on May 3, the British tabloid Daily Mail wrote about sending a new top-secret radar satellite Cosmos-2555 into orbit, journalists reported on its use during the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Space Intelligence previously noted that the Russian Federation launched the third Bars-M optoelectronic reconnaissance satellite into orbit.
Scientists have named a bird that can fly more than 11 thousand km without rest
Many people at least once in their lives dreamed of having wings, but birds not only have this part of the body, but they can also fly for a long time, some of them without stops, food and water.
Birds have a superpower that people can only dream of – they can fly. The ability to fly means being able to move quickly, and some birds, such as geese, are known for migrating up to 2,400 km in 24 hours, writes Grunge.
This is an impressive feat, but there are birds that cover much greater distances. For example, a relatively small shore bird, the bartail godwit, with an unusually long beak, made the longest flight ever recorded by scientists.
According to experts, the godwit is able to overcome more than 11 thousand km without stopping. Even more impressive is the fact that godwit are active fliers, meaning their wings are in motion throughout their flight, unlike the albatross.
Incredible Flyers
Experts have been tracking these birds since 2007 and found that they regularly cover up to 11 thousand km.
Some godwit species are known to travel from Australia to New Siberia, while others migrate from New Zealand to Alaska.
Experts have been tracking these birds since 2007 and found that they regularly cover up to 11,000 km. In the spring, these shorebirds are found along fertile coastlines, where they find plenty of food among beaches and swamps. They also lay their eggs in grassy nests in spring.
In June or July they start their long journey home, where some stop in the Americas or North Africa to feed. Others do not stop at all, spending 8 days on a flight without rest.
The Secret of the Godwit
Godwit has a different way of storing and disposing of fat than many other creatures.
Like most migratory birds, godwit have incredible skills that allow them to navigate the terrain. To make such long flights, birds must be able to navigate, keep track of time, estimate distance, and even predict the weather. But the most important thing they need to do before flying is to put on enough fat to give them energy for the long journey.
It is important to note that godwits have a different way of storing and disposing of fat than many other creatures. While the body of these birds burns fat, it also produces carbon dioxide and water, which are stored in fat. This “superpower” allows them to survive without drinking any water for days on end.
Not without biology
Godwitches’ bodies and wings are aerodynamic, and their respiratory system allows them to survive on less oxygen.
Godwitches’ bodies and wings are aerodynamic, and their respiratory system allows them to survive on less oxygen as they soar above sea level, where there is less oxygen than on land.
Scientists’ research shows that before flying, their pectoral muscles, heart, and lungs double or triple in size, while their stomach, liver, intestines, and kidneys decrease in size. These changes return to normal after the birds reach their destination.
Moreover, these amazing creatures have another ability that many people would probably like to have – they can sleep during the flight.
This is because their brains are unihemispheric, which allows them to experience non-REM sleep. This means that one side of their brain is asleep while the other is awake until they get to their destination.
global call – The fifteenth session of the Conference of the Parties (COP15) of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) will take place in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, from 9 to 20 May 2022.
Land restoration project in Africa
Countries have sent a united call about the importance of healthy and productive land for securing future prosperity for all”
ABIDJAN, CôTE D’IVOIRE, May 20, 2022 – In brief:* UNCCD COP15 adopts 38 decisions, including on tenure, migration and gender, that highlight the role of land in addressing multiple crises
Robust monitoring and data to track progress against land restoration commitments
New political and financial impetus to help nations deal with devastating impacts of drought and build resilience
US $2.5 billion Abidjan Legacy Programme will help future-proof supply chainswhile tackling deforestation and climate change
Regional initiatives launched in support of the Africa-led Great Green Wall
Nearly 7,000 participants at two-week meeting included delegationsfrom 196 countries and the European Union
Future UNCCD meetings to be held in Saudi Arabia, Mongolia, Uzbekistan
A united global pledge to boost drought resilience and invest in land restoration for future prosperity today concluded the 15th Conference of Parties (COP15) of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), held in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire.
This two-week meeting on the future of land management drew nearly 7,000 participants, including Heads of State, ministers, delegates from the UNCCD’s 196 Parties and the European Union, as well as members of the private sector, civil society, women, youth leaders and media.
Speaking at the closing ceremony of UNCCD COP15, Patrick Achi, Prime Minister of Côte d’Ivoire, said: “Each generation faces this thorny question of how to meet the production needs of our societies […] without destroying our forests and lands and thus condemning the future of those on whose behalf we endeavour.”
He also drew attention to the US$2.5 billion raised for the Abidjan Legacy Programme launched by Côte d’Ivoire President Alassane Ouattara at the Heads of State Summit on 9 May, which has already surpassed the US$1.5 billion anticipated for it.
At a news conference, Alain-Richard Donwahi, COP15 President, highlighted that it was the first time Côte d’Ivoire hosted a COP for one of the three Rio Conventions, and emphasized his country’s continued commitment to keep land issues high on the international agenda.
Ibrahim Thiaw, UNCCD Executive Secretary, said: “Meeting against the backdrop of multiple global challenges, including the worst-in-40-years drought in Eastern Africa, as well as food and economic crises fuelled by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and conflicts, countries have sent a united call about the importance of healthy and productive land for securing future prosperity for all.”
Highlights among the new commitments:
Accelerate the restoration of one billion hectares of degraded land by 2030 by improving data gathering and monitoring to track progress against the achievement of land restoration commitments and establishing a new partnership model for large-scale integrated landscape investment programmes;
Boost drought resilience by identifying the expansion of drylands, improving national policies and early warning, monitoring and assessment; learning and sharing knowledge; building partnerships and coordinating action; and mobilizing drought finance.
Establish an Intergovernmental Working Group on Drought for 2022-2024 to look into possible options, including global policy instruments and regional policy frameworks, to support a shift from reactive to proactive drought management.
Address forced migration and displacement driven by desertification and land degradation by creating social and economic opportunities that increase rural resilience and livelihood stability, and by mobilizing resources, including from the diaspora, for land restoration projects;
Improve women’s involvement in land management as important enablers for effective land restoration, by addressing commonly encountered land tenure challenges by people in vulnerable situations, and collecting gender-disaggregated data on the impacts of desertification, land degradation and drought;
Address sand and dust storms and other escalating disaster risks by designing and implementing plans and policies including early warning and risk assessment, and mitigating their human-made causes at source;
Promote decent land-based jobs for youth and land-based youth entrepreneurship and strengthen youth participation in the UNCCD process; and
Ensure greater synergies among the three Rio Conventions, including complementarities in the implementation of these treaties through nature-based solutions and target-setting at the national level.
In addition to the decisions, three declarations were issued during the COP, namely:
The Abidjan Call issued by the Heads of State and Government attending the Summit hosted by Côte d’Ivoire President Alassane Ouattara on 9 May. It aims to boost long-term environmental sustainability across major value chains in Côte d’Ivoire while protecting and restoring forests and lands and improving communities’ resilience to climate change, which will require mobilization of US$1.5 billion over the next five years.
Abidjan Declaration on achieving gender equality for successful land restoration, which emerged from the Gender Caucus chaired by the First Lady Dominique Ouattara.
The COP15 “Land, Life and Legacy” Declaration, which responds to the findings of the UNCCD’s flagship report, Global Land Outlook 2, a five-year study with 21 partner organizations, and with over 1,000 scientific references. Released 27 April, it reported up to 40% of all ice-free land is already degraded, with dire consequences for climate, biodiversity and livelihoods.
Climate change is set to increase pressure significantly on people’s access to water and sanitation unless governments do more to prepare key infrastructure now, the UN warned on Friday.
“Climate change is already posing serious challenges to water and sanitation systems in countries around the world,” said Thomas Croll-Knight, spokesperson for the UN Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE).
Rising risks
According to UNECE and the World Health Organization’s Regional Office for Europe (WHO/Europe), despite being a priority aligned with the Paris Climate Agreement, plans to make water access possible in the face of climate pressures, “are absent” in the pan-European region.
And “in most cases” throughout the region of 56 countries, there is also a lack of coordination on drinking water, sanitation and health, intergovernmental discussions in Geneva heard this week.
“From reduced water availability and contamination of water supplies to damage to sewerage infrastructure, these risks are set to increase significantly unless countries step up measures to increase resilience now,” warned Mr. Croll-Knight.
It is estimated that more than one third of the European Union will be under “high water stress” by the 2070s, by which time the number of additional people affected (compared to 2007) is expected to surge to 16–44 million.
And globally, each 1°C increase caused by global warming is projected to result in a 20 per cent reduction in renewable water resources, affecting an additional seven per cent of the population.
Dangers are real
Meanwhile, as governments prepare for the next UN climate conference (COP 27) in November and the UN 2023 Water Conference, UNECE painted a potentially grim picture moving forward in parts of Europe.
From water supply and sewerage infrastructure damage to water quality degradation and sewage spillage, impacts are already being felt.
For example, increased energy demand and disruption to treatment plants in Hungary are threatening significant additional operational costs for wastewater treatment.
And challenges in ensuring adequate water supply in the Netherlands have increased, while Spain struggles to maintain a minimum drinking water supply during drought periods.
Resilience
Despite water management adaptation initiatives in many Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and National Action Programmes (NAPs) under the Paris Agreement, governance mechanisms and methods for integrating water and climate are absent, leaving the interface of drinking water, sanitation and health is worryingly unaddressed, in most cases.
Lacking adequate governance mechanisms, stepping up measures under the Protocol on Water and Health – a unique multilateral agreement serviced by UNECE and WHO/Europe – can play a key role
It can support developing more options for the inclusion of water, sanitation, and health in NDCs and NAPs and ensure that national and sub-national drinking water supply and sanitation strategies, integrate a clear rationale towards mitigating climate change, and risk analysis.
Sci-fi books: Speculative fiction has long attracted teens and young adults—the lure of the unknown and magic. From space opera to hard sci-fi, from military science fiction to post-apocalyptic and dystopian, and from magical realism to dragons, we know the stories we love and grew up on and those that enthrall readers today.
Guest blogger Judith Duckhorn
RECOMMENDED BOOKS FOR TEENS
Teen readers will love these sci-fi and fantasy novels.
But who are your favorite authors? This is more important than the genre.
With any luck, your list is long.
With their marvelous imaginations, sense of humor, deep personal understanding of honor and hard choices, and adventurousness, these authors engage us in a way only a book can. Then they add scientific and technical knowledge to convince and often teach us.
If these qualities match your taste in reading, you will enjoy these truly stellar books and authors! This is not a complete list of young adult books (which would be impossible), but recommended books for teens and young adults and for those of us who are young-at-heart.
I love these books and these authors. You may already know some of them, but maybe I can introduce you to another winner or two with my book review.
WELCOME TO SCIENCE FICTION CLASSICS
I have been friends with the Gaiman family (the world-famous fantasy author Neil Gaiman) for many years. His spot-on truth about the term “classic” became crystal clear to me:
Neil had simply said that “books are special; books are the way we talk to generations that have not turned up yet.”
Simply said, but a profound datum for any author to know, isn’t it?
I want to start with a couple of my favorite science fiction classics, novels by L. Ron Hubbard and Orson Scott Card.
L. Ron Hubbard wrote in the field of sci-fi and other fiction for decades. To celebrate 50 years with the muse, he delivered a knockout with his masterful 1,000-page novel: Battlefield Earth. I bought and read the book, and so did everyone in my household, from teens on up. It was abuzz with people reading it everywhere—busses, taxis, airplanes, libraries, and restaurants. Even one prominent politician declared that this sci-fi novel was his favorite book. It raced up the bestseller charts.
It is a saga of adventure, daring, and courage when man is an endangered species and the future survival of what’s left of the human race is at stake. A young hero rises from the ashes to unite humankind in a final quest for freedom that erupts across the continents of Earth and ultimately across the cosmic sprawl of the Galaxy. Truly epic sci-fi.
This year celebrates the 40th anniversary of this outstanding volume. Decade in and out, the publisher still receives letters detailing admiration for this imaginative story and thousands of reviews on Amazon and Audible (one of the best sci-fi audiobooks ever). In fact, I reread it this year, and it is even richer than I remembered!
Because it is so popular with teens and a perfect science fiction book for middle school, it is part of the accelerated reader program (AR 5.8 / 62 points, Lexile 780, GRL Z+). It has a lesson plan and a reading group guide available. You can read the first 13 chapters free or listen to the first hour of the audio to check it for yourself. I warn you, it is addictive.
I am very pleased to offer a salute to Orson Scott Card’s mind-boggling Ender’s Game. He followed up with a series of books to further his unique and stimulating world where children suddenly became the highlighted heroes and often the villains in a world of astounding new technology and fantastic, futuristic war. Excellent stuff, and another author who bears rereading and rereading.
In this one, our young hero (and I mean really young when his adventure begins) needs to overcome bullying in his family and onboard the space station when training. The peer pressure and Ender’s resilience in this hero’s journey are perfect for teens. They will be able to relate.
One of my early favorites is H. G. Wells’ War of the Worlds, which I first heard dramatized as a play on the radio. When the librarian got me the book, I noticed it was first published in 1897. The librarian assured me that many 11 and 12-year-old readers pick it up when their teenage siblings bring the book home for their own reading. She called it “a perennial favorite,” that has continued to engage young readers!
This is a story of our planet being invaded by Mars. H. G. Wells does such a thorough job of putting you in the story, it sent people panicking in the streets when the radio show first ran. The Martians’ planet is becoming uninhabitable as their resources are dwindling, so they invade Earth with plans to take it over and make it their new home. Scary and engaging.
This story took me to a strange territory far across space. The hero is a teenager who inherits a tremendous responsibility due to a twisted enemy plan that his father, Duke Leto, falls prey to. It is a complex plot with a lot going on, but the integrity and honor of the hero and his family to set things right shines through.
Frank Herbert developed the story into a brilliant series of novels, followed avidly by readers around the world. There is a very recent remake of the movie. Awesome.
The world-building is vast, stretching across galaxies. The majority of the story is on the desert planet Arrakis (also called Dune) whose only valuable export is a drug know as “spice” or melange. It is a dangerous world where your body water needs to be preserved when outside. In addition to the dangers of the enemy factions who want control of the spice, there are also massive sandworms that can can destroy the spice mining facilities. It is so well written, you can feel the grit of living on a plant covered in sand.
But if you have not actually read the book, don’t cheat yourself of that experience, okay?
Star Wars should be mentioned here, but only because the storyline and characters created by George Lucas and ghostwritten by Alan Dean Foster have become an epic franchise inspiring the love of science fiction in teens, young adults, and the rest of us for decades.
It was so stunning to see on the screen. The opening lines will remain with me forever, introducing a space opera story as coming to us from long ago in a galaxy far away. The public surrendered to this tale instantly. Now it is a “multimedia property” in the hands of dozens of writers and illustrators, including many Star Wars novels (great young adult sci-fi books).
In rounding out this collection of truly treasured classic sci-fi, the last story I want to mention would have to be Suzanne Collins for her astonishing trilogy, Hunger Games. It swept up a fan base around the world. This young adult book series bears the “YA” designation, but I know readers from 9 to 99 that are fans of these books.
In this dystopian story, our young hero Katniss Everdeen kicks off the action by volunteering in place of her younger sister in a cruel game where teens are pitted against one another to fight to the death (or nearly so). It is one of the top young adult books with good reason. Katniss has courage and strength and wants to survive. She is down to earth and relatable. The odds are impossible and the cast of characters memorable. It is a great escape.
ADDITIONAL THOUGHTS
I wanted to add something more on Battlefield Earth.
I have seen evidence of the impact of this novel for years and years now. A high school teacher once told me that in her fourteen years of teaching, “Mr. Hubbard’s Battlefield Earth was a great read for my students interested in science fiction. It is set way in the future, in the year 3000, when Psychlos have ruled the planet for 1000 years, and Man is now an endangered species.”
Her students became deeply involved with the story. They could just throw themselves into the author’s imagination, into the universe he built, and run with it. These teen readers were caught up in the theme of what one man can do in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds while being thoroughly entertained scene after scene like a really engaging movie. The high adventure is heady, and new perspectives on the developing situations raise the readers’ hopes again and again.
My own daughter first picked up Battlefield Earth when she was 10 and couldn’t quit reading it. She read it again a couple of years later, and again when she was 16. As an adult, she has continued reading it periodically. She still bubbles over with observations on the richness of the story, its settings, characters, scope, and more, whenever anyone introduces sci-fi or Battlefield Earth as a topic of discussion.
HOW MY LOVE OF READING STARTED
I’ve been an avid reader from the age of six, and though I have sampled all kinds of novels, I have to admit that sci-fi gets me most often.
This started when I was 9 or 10 and got a hold of Jules Verne’s novel Journey to the Center of the Earth. I withheld it from my brother for a couple of weeks while I poured over it, again and again, trying to believe my good fortune at discovering this amazing story! And when I finally decided I could give the book back to the library, I began recruiting family members and friends to read it.
Why? Because I was on fire with enthusiasm and amazement. I wanted to discuss the book with others! I am sure this is why book clubs are so popular. Through sharing the love of a good book—and an ignited love of reading—I found out that there were more fascinating books, more “science fiction.” I was hooked.
That would have been in the 1950s (don’t do the math to come up with my age, okay?). The important point is that the book I fell in love with was already NINETY YEARS OLD back then!
What is your story? What book made its way into your heart and imagination that began your life-long love of reading?
CONCLUSION
What a grand sweep of creativity these sci-fi classics can bring to a reader. My goal here is to recommend a few truly great stories. They may not be the most popular young adult books, but they are sure to be engaging and will help teens and young adults discover the love of reading.
I congratulate you on choosing this rich genre for your own, and I wish you many, many enormously happy hours of reading.
Judith Duckhorn, known to her friends as Jae, is a self-described “grown-up army brat,” since her father, a career officer in the army through WW II, Korea, and the Cold War, took his little family everywhere he was assigned, on three continents. She had the opportunity to study one year at Oxford University in putting together a BA degree in literature, philosophy, and music. Later, she turned most of that education into teaching skills and fell in love with that profession. Nowadays, Jae has advanced happily up the scale of Toastmasters training, as a public speaker, and also is readying to teach Tai chi. L. Ron Hubbard’s books came to her attention many years ago, and remain a central fascination in her world. “I always learn so much from reading Ron,” she says, “What a storyteller, what an author!”
In the context of the controversy over the way in which the Church has received persons ordained in schismatic communities, references to various historical precedents can be constantly heard. In particular, the defenders of the position of the Patriarchate of Constantinople, which received members of the UOC-KP and UAOC in communion without repeating their ordinations, cite examples of the Church accepting persons ordained not only by schismatics but even by schismatics. heretics. However, on closer inspection, these examples are far from clear.
Here we will pay attention to only one such example, because references to it are quite common. This refers to the ordination of St. Meletius, who ascended the throne of Antioch in 360. There are claims in the literature that he was ordained by Arians. This is what both ancient church writers and modern researchers say. For example, Socrates the Scholastic in his Church History reports that in Antioch the followers of the Nicene Creed believed that “Meletius was ordained by the decision of the Arians” (Book II, ch. 44). St. Epiphanius of Cyprus writes that St. Meletius was “ordained by Arians, supporters of Acacius [Caesarea]” (Panarion, 73, 28) [2]. Most recently, Bishop Cyril (Caterelos, currently Metropolitan of Cyrene in the jurisdiction of the Patriarchate of Constantinople) [3] and the abbot of the cell “St. Anna “in Mount Athos Archimandrite Antipas [4].
As we know, St. Meletius was surrounded with special reverence during his lifetime both in Antioch and in Constantinople. And in 381 he was even chairman of the Second Ecumenical Council. How can these facts be reconciled with the accusations of Arianism? Answers to this question have already been given by some Orthodox authors, [5] and yet we will try to look more closely at this episode in church history.
The life of St. Meletius until his election to the Cathedral of Antioch
Very little is known about the life of St. Meletius before his election to the Antioch Cathedral. In the sources there is only very little information about his fate 360 years ago.
At the time of his election to the Antioch Cathedral, St. Meletius was already a bishop. Around 358, he received the chair in Sebastia (now Sivas, eastern Turkey) in place of the deposed Bishop Eustathius. But St. Meletius’s stay in Sebastia was very short. As bl. Theodoret of Cyrene, Meletius, “dissatisfied with the unrestrainedness of his subordinates, retired and lived in another city” (Church History. Book II, Chapter 31) [7]. It is possible that this was a conflict with the flock, which retained sympathy for the exiled Bishop Eustathius. Socrates the Scholastic writes that from Sebastia St. Meletius moved to Veroia the Syrian, where he also occupied the episcopal chair (Book II, Chapter 44) [8]. But in the research literature the fact of the episcopal ministry of St. Meletius in Veroia is questioned. It is obvious that he simply lived in Veroia in solitude, but did not perform episcopal functions there. It was from Berea that Meletius was called to serve in Antioch.
There are no indications in the preserved sources as to who ordained St. Meletius Bishop of Sevastopol. The question of what theological position Meletius held at the time of his episcopal ordination also remains unclear. In science, these issues remain controversial. As we have said, in Sebastia St. Meletius was appointed instead of the exiled Bishop Eustathius. The latter belonged to the Omiusians (from грμοιούσιος – similar). shared the doctrine of the “likeness” of the Son of God the Father.
The Omiusians rejected the terminology of the Council of Nicaea. They believed that the doctrine of the oneness of the Father and the Son contained the heresy of modalism (Savelianism). In the term “one in essence” (omousios, ὁμοούσιος), used in the Nicene Creed, they saw the danger of merging the Father and the Son “into one essence.” At the same time, they often used a term close to the Nicene Creed in the term “similar”.
The removal of Bishop Eustathius from the Cathedral of Sebastopol was most likely the result of the activity of Bishop Acacius of Caesarea, who was the leader of another theological movement, the Omii. Omii (from the Greek ὅμοιος – similar) is a term used to refer to the followers of Eusebius of Caesarea – the predecessor of Acacius of Caesarea. In their theology, the Omias proceeded from the fact that God the Father could not enter into direct contact with the world, and therefore for the creation of the world he produced by his own will in an unattainable way the only begotten Son. They did not recognize the equality of the Father and the Son, although they did not place the Son of God in line with the created beings, because they considered Him to be the Creator of the world. They believed that the origin of the Son from the Father was unspeakable and unknown. Moreover, if the Omiusians considered the Son to be similar in essence to the Father, the Omii, recognizing the Son as similar to the Father, still did not consider it possible to speak of similarity in essence. Thus the concept of the Omias was not identical with strict Arianism, nor with Omiusianism, nor with the Nicene Creed.
It is believed that the Omii first stated clearly their existence at the Council of Ancyra in 358. This council anathematized both strict Arianism (anomeism) and the Nicene Creed. The participants in the Ancyra Council rejected the term “one in essence”, also seeing in it a danger of Savelianism. Yet, as modern scholars acknowledge, the Council of Ancyra of 358 objectively brought the Church’s victory over Arianism closer.
The testimonies of St. Epiphanius of Cyprus are especially important here. In his Panarion, he included the name of St. Meletius in the list of washes, placing him second only to Acacius of Caesarea (Panarion, 73, 23). Moreover, St. Epiphanius, quoting the text of the confession adopted in 359 at the Council of Seleucia, does not mention Meletius among the 43 bishops who signed this document (Panarion, 73, 26) [13]. This means that the name of St. Meletius was missing from the list of signatories of the Confession of the Seleucid Council, which St. Epiphanius had. That is why modern researchers consider the fact of St. Meletius’ participation in the Seleucia Council to be unproven. It is possible that his absence from the Council of Seleucia is explained by the fact that at that time he no longer ruled the Diocese of Sebastia and as a bishop removed from his chair, he could not participate in the council.
As St. Epiphanius writes, the Omias “hid their thoughts” according to the circumstances of the time. For this reason, among those who joined the current of the Omias, there were people with completely Orthodox views (Panarion, 73, 23) [14]. This remark of St. Epiphanius testifies to the great complexity of the situation in which the Church found itself in the period between the First and Second Ecumenical Councils. It was practically impossible to draw a clear line between the various theological currents at that time. French researcher Ferdinand Cavalera, analyzing church life in the East during the years when different Arian and semi-Arian currents celebrated, notes that in the chaos of the struggle between different currents, it was extremely difficult to distinguish those who remained faithful to the Council of Nicaea from those who in principle rejected his teaching [15] *.
It is clear that St. Meletius can in no way be considered a supporter of strict Arianism (anomie). He also could hardly have been an Omiusian, because he was appointed to the chair in Seleucia instead of the Emiusian of Omius. On the other hand, there is no evidence that St. Meletius openly supported the Nicene Creed 360 years ago. Most likely, he was really close to the circle of Acacius of Caesarea. But, as the Cavalier insists, one should not speak here of St. Meletius’ solidarity with the theological position of the Omii, but only of a kind of “belonging to the group.” There is no evidence that St. Meletius was an ideologue and propagandist of the doctrine of the Omii. Contemporaries, although acknowledging the fact that Meletius was close to the circle of Acacius of Caesarea, never spoke of him as a heretic.
The election of St. Meletius of the Antioch Cathedral
Now we must say a few words about the situation that arose in Antioch at the time when St. Meletius was elected to this chair. As early as around 327-330, St. Eustathius (not to be confused with Eustathius of Sebastopol), who was a participant in the First Ecumenical Council and consistently defended its determinations, was removed from the Antioch Cathedral. It is obvious that he was overthrown as a result of the intrigues of Eusebius of Nicomedia. Various accusations were leveled against St. Eustatius: moral impurity, insulting the emperor’s mother, and Savellianism. However, Eustathius was overthrown. He seems to have died in exile soon after, although the year of his death remains a subject of debate in science.
After the expulsion of St. Eustatius, the throne of Antioch passed for a long time into the hands of the Arians, and the strict Nicaeans (who began to call them “Eustathians” after the exiled Orthodox bishop) did not have a single temple in Antioch.
The Council of Seleucia in 359 removed from the Cathedral of Antioch the ultimate Arian Eudoxius, who soon after succeeded to the throne of Constantinople. The Antioch Cathedral remained empty. It was in this situation in 360 that St. Meletius ascended it.
Virtually all available sources unequivocally testify that St. Meletius was appointed to the throne of Antioch under the protection of Acacius of Caesarea. At the same time, most ancient writers are equally unequivocal in claiming that Meletius did not live up to the hopes of the Omiya group. When Meletius arrived in Antioch, he publicly “expressed the literal meaning of the doctrine of God” (Book II, ch. 31). St. Epiphanius also writes that the group of Acacius was deceived in their expectations of Meletius: “This Meletius, appointed by the followers of Acacius, was considered by them to be a follower of their opinion, but he did not turn out to be one, as many say” (Panarion, 73, 28) [18].
The first available document setting out the theological position of St. Meletius dates back to 360. This is his discourse on the words of the Book of Proverbs “The Lord had me as the beginning of His way, before His creation, from time immemorial” (Proverbs 8:22). According to the version of bl. Theodoret’s election of a new bishop took place in Antioch in the presence of Emperor Constantius, who wished all the candidates to deliver a speech on the said biblical verse. The choice of this verse was not accidental, because it was on it that the Arians based their teaching. Therefore, by interpreting this verse, the theological position of each candidate could be clearly manifested. Based on this testimony of Theodoret, some scholars believe that a theological debate was in fact held in Antioch, which led to the decision to appoint a new bishop.
Other sources, however, do not link the sermon of St. Meletius with the procedure for electing the bishop of Antioch. For example, St. Epiphanius writes that this was the first sermon of St. Meletius to the flock of Antioch after his appointment to this chair (Panarion, 73, 28) [21]. It was St. Epiphanius who preserved for us the text of this discourse (Panarion, 73, 29-33) [22].
As can be seen from the text of the discourse, St. Meletius was extremely cautious in expounding the doctrine of the Son of God. He apparently avoids the use of the term “One”, preferring biblical terms. St. Epiphanius generally appreciates this discourse (Panarion, 73, 35) [23].
In the discourse of St. Meletius, the Son is directly called God and Creator of the world. St. Meletius clearly points out that the Son is not just a force, voice or soulless image of the Father, but has an independent hypostatic being. Perhaps the only place where the influence of Omiya theology can be seen is the claim that the Son is like the Father. Still, we can agree with the French researcher Emile Amman, who believes that in the quoted speech of St. Meletius “the Nicaeans could have known themselves.” According to Haman, St. Meletius in this discourse deliberately “stands on the side of traditional faith.” In fact, Meletius here “claims everything that the Nicene Creed claimed”; he rejects all ambiguous interpretations bordering on Arianism from near or far ”[24].
Only a few months after his election to the chair of Antioch, St. Meletius was removed from it. In describing the reasons for his removal, the ancient church writers are practically unanimous. Ascending the Cathedral of Antioch, St. Meletius began to unequivocally support the Nicene Creed. In fact, he joined the emerging “New Nicene” current, which developed the Trinitarian theological terminology. According to both Theodoret and Sozomen, it was the confession of the doctrine of the Trinity that led to the expulsion of St. Meletius from his chair.
The Eustatians and the Meletians
The followers of St. Eustatius, who refused to unite with the followers of St. Meletius, continued to exist in Antioch. Therefore, in fact, two groups of Orthodox were formed in Antioch: the еustatians ani and meletiani. As bl. Theodoret, “in Antioch the Orthodox people split into two streams: the adherents of the omnipotent Eustathius, who had separated before, gathered separately for worship, and those who withdrew from Arian society together with the wonderful Meletius worshiped separately in the so-called” old church “. . At the same time, both groups professed the same faith, because both defended the symbol of the teachings of Nicaea with equal zeal. They were divided only by the mutual enmity and attachment of each group to its leader ”(Book III, Chapter 4) [25].
Because the community of St. Eustatius’ followers had existed for decades, it was considered the only Orthodox community in Antioch in other local churches. St. Athanasius of Alexandria, as well as the Roman bishops, kept in touch with the followers of Eustathius. However, the Eustathians did not have a bishop. Their leader was the priest Pavlin. In 362, when St. Meletius was in exile, Antioch was visited by Bishop Lucifer of Caralis. He ordained Pavlin bishop. This significantly aggravated the situation, because now two bishops of the Orthodox faith have claimed the chair of Antioch: Pauline and Meletius.
St. Meletius of Antioch became one of the main allies of the Neo-Nicaeans. He was a supporter of St. Basil the Great and St. Gregory the Theologian. However, Rome remained skeptical of him. St. In his correspondence with the Western bishops, Basil the Great tried to dispel their distrust of St. Meletius and persuade them to recognize him as the legitimate bishop of Antioch. For example, in 372 he sent a letter to Rome, signed by 32 Eastern bishops (Letter 92). But these efforts of St. Basil were unsuccessful. The Roman Church continued to deny the authority of St. Meletius as head of the Church of Antioch. Despite all this, in 381 St. Meletius not only took part in the work of the Second Ecumenical Council, but was also elected its chairman. The Fathers of the Council, trying to find a solution to the complicated situation in Antioch, did not question the reality (legality) of the ordination of St. Meletius, nor did they question his Orthodoxy [27].
Even during the work of the Second Ecumenical Council, St. Meletius died without entering into canonical communion with Rome. Therefore, in the Catholic tradition, the term “Meletian schism” was used. This phrase derives from the Catholic teaching of the Church: if the followers of St. Meletius in Antioch did not have communion with the Roman throne, then they must be qualified as schismatics. In the twentieth century, however, Catholic historians and theologians began to abandon this view of St. Meletius. For example, Haman called the phrase “Meletian schism” “too inappropriate.”
Overcoming the church schism in Antioch
After St. Meletius died, some authoritative hierarchs (for example, St. Gregory the Theologian and St. Ambrose of Milan) suggested to their brethren not to elect a new bishop for the Cathedral of Antioch, but to give it to Bishop Pauline and thus put an end to split. However, another point of view prevailed. His closest ally Flavian was chosen as the successor of St. Meletius, and the division in Antioch was preserved. Although Bishop Pavlin’s Orthodoxy was not in doubt, in the East he was considered the culprit of the Antiochian schism. At the same time, the Roman Church continued to maintain official communion with Bishop Pauline.
Bishop Pavlin died in 388. However, he succeeded in ordaining a successor, Bishop Evagrius. That is why the schism did not end even after Pavlin’s death. Evagrius died around 392-393, but Flavian succeeded in persuading the Eustathians not to elect more bishops. This helped to gradually overcome the schism. In 394 the authority of Bishop Flavian was recognized by the Church of Alexandria, and in 398 by the Church of Rome.
We must also mention another important aspect of the ecclesiastical conflict in Antioch. The point is that Bishop Pavlin ordained Evagrius alone. It seems that Pavlin himself was ordained alone by Bishop Lucifer Karaliski. Therefore, St. Flavian did not recognize the legitimacy of the priesthood in the Eustatian community and insisted that all their clergy should be ordained.
How serious the opposition was in Antioch can be seen from the sermons of St. John Chrysostom, who served there as a presbyter from 386 to 397 and was one of St. Flavian’s closest associates. For example, in his discourse on the words of the Apostle Paul, “One is the Lord, one is the faith, one is the baptism” (Ephesians 4: 5). from the Church. ” Addressing the defenders of the Eustathians, Chrysostom exclaims: “What are you talking about? “Their faith is the same, they are also Orthodox”… Tell me: do you think it is enough to call them Orthodox, after the grace of ordination has been scarce and disappeared from them? That what is the use of everything else, since the latter has not been preserved? We must hold on to faith as well as to it (for the grace of the priesthood). And if everyone is allowed, as the ancient proverb says, to fill his hands, to be a priest, then let everyone step forward, and this altar is built in vain, in vain – the church rank, in vain – the priestly image: to destroy and destroy them “( Sermons on the Epistle to the Ephesians, 11, 5) [30]. As we see, St. John directly denies the existence of the grace of the priesthood among Pauline’s followers and qualifies them as a schismatic community opposed to the Church.
The quoted passage also contains a rather harsh assessment of church schisms as such: “Nothing offends God as much as divisions in the Church. Even if we have done a thousand good deeds, we will still be condemned no less than those who have tormented His body if we destroy the integrity of the Church… A holy man has said something that might seem bold if not he had said. What exactly? He said that such a sin cannot be blotted out even by martyrdom. And really, tell me, what are you accepting torture for? Isn’t it for the glory of Christ? So, being ready to give your soul for Christ, how do you decide to destroy the Church for which Christ gave his soul?… The harm (from divisions) is not less than that caused by our enemies, that even much greater ”(Epistles to the Ephesians, 11, 4) [31].
In the quoted words of St. John Chrysostom, a clear criterion is formulated for the attitude towards the communities separated from the Church. He clearly states that it is necessary, firstly, to take into account whether the Orthodox faith has been preserved in the schism, and secondly, the legality of the ordinations. Neither of these two factors should be overlooked. The canonical rules of the order for ordinations should not be ignored, because otherwise anyone can declare himself a priest and the whole “church order” will be destroyed.
The question of how to receive the “Eustatian clergy” has long complicated church life in Antioch. Only during the time of the Bishop of Antioch Alexander I (414-424) the schism was overcome, for which there is preserved information in the “Church History” of bl. Theodoret (Book V, Chapter 35) [32]. Thus the ecclesiastical conflict in Antioch lasted a total of about eighty-five years (330 to 414).
The Meletius Case and the Seventh Ecumenical Council
In the following centuries, church hierarchs, theologians, and canonists repeatedly referred to the events described in Antioch as an important precedent in overcoming divisions. However, these events gave rise to different interpretations and assessments.
In particular, the question of the acceptance of heretics in the Church was discussed specifically at the VII Ecumenical Council in connection with the question of overcoming the iconoclast heresy. It should be emphasized, however, that at this council the question of the reception of iconoclast bishops was considered not in the context of the legality of ordinations received by Iconoclastic hierarchs, but exclusively in terms of the involvement of one or another bishop in iconoclastic unrest. A decision was made for each bishop individually after examining the question of the degree of his personal participation in the iconoclast movement.
It was during this discussion at the first council meeting that the “Meletius case” was mentioned. During the discussion, the representative of Pope Hadrian – Presbyter Peter said: “As historians say, St. Meletius was ordained by Arians; but, ascending the pulpit, he proclaimed the word “One,” and his ordination was not rejected. ” This assertion was also supported by the Sicilian bishops.
As can be seen from the minutes of the meeting, the reply of the representative of Rome was not specifically discussed. The chairman of the council, St. Tarasius of Constantinople, did not react to it at all. However, the words of the Roman legate did not fully reflect the real history of the ordination of St. Meletius as bishop. It is quite obvious that in the words of Elder Peter, three different historical events merged into one plot: the ordination of Meletius as bishop, his election to the Antioch Cathedral, and his expulsion from Antioch. The Roman legate says that St. Meletius was ordained by Arians, but, ascending the pulpit (ie immediately after his ordination), he professed the Nicene Creed and was immediately expelled from his cathedral. Apparently, Elder Peter simply recounts from memory the plot described by Theodoret and Sozomen. Yet, as shown above, St. Meletius was appointed to the chair of Antioch, already a bishop. And the confession of faith mentioned by Presbyter Peter, St. Meletius, pronounced not immediately after his ordination. Also in his discourse in Antioch, St. Meletius did not use the word “One”.
There is no doubt that the representative of the Bishop of Rome expressed at the council the point of view traditional for the Western Church. This is confirmed by the fact that his words were supported only by the Sicilian bishops (ie again by representatives of the Western Church). The Eastern bishops, on the other hand, did not react in any way to the words of the Roman legate.
Thus, the VII Ecumenical Council did not come out with any assessment of the ordination of St. Meletius. The name of the Saint of Antioch was only mentioned, among other things, during the conciliar discussions.
Conclusions
In the end, several conclusions can be drawn.
First, there is no clear information in the surviving sources as to who ordained St. Meletius bishop of the Sevastopol Cathedral. There is no reliable evidence on the other question – what exactly is the theological position of St. Meletius at the time of his ordination. Although we have reason to suppose that at that time he was close to the group of Acacius of Caesarea, the signature of St. Meletius is still missing from the confession of the Seleucus Council of 359, composed of the Omii.
Secondly, one must take into account the special situation in which the Church found itself in the period between the First and Second Ecumenical Councils. At that time, strict Arianism (anomeism) was officially condemned. As for the Omiusians and Omii, these are theological currents, usually classified as semi-Arian and in opposition to the strict Aryans. The theological formulas of the Omias were not condemned at that time, although they were not accepted by the strict Nicaeans. It is also important to emphasize that the Omias (as well as the Omiusians) did not represent a parallel hierarchy. According to Archimandrite Dorothea (Vulisma), at that time heretics and Orthodox were “mixed with each other.” Opponents of the Nicene Creed did not establish their own hierarchy, but sought to elevate their adherents to episcopal chairs. In this situation, in the same church at the same time, the chairs could be occupied by representatives of various groups, religious movements and religious views. Often on the same chair bishops with different dogmatic positions could legitimately be replaced.
That is why in such large ecclesiastical centers as Antioch, adherents of different theological doctrines were able to visit the same temples and participate together in the sacraments.
Only the formulation of New Nicene orthodoxy and its acceptance by the Church led to a strict distinction between heresy and orthodoxy. Therefore, using Archimandrite Dorothea’s terminology, it would be most appropriate to call the Omias “undisclosed heretics.” Their ordination did not at all mean opposition to the Church and a conscious transition to a heretical community.
Third, the appointment of St. Meletius to the Antioch Cathedral was not an ordination but an election. At that time he was already a bishop. Therefore, when the ancient historians of the Church say that he was ascended to the chair of Antioch by the followers of Acacius of Caesarea, they mean election, not ordination. It is this understanding that Archimandrite Dorothea Vulisma has in mind when she claims that St. Meletius was a bishop in Sebastia, and for the Cathedral of Antioch he was not ordained, but only elected.
Fourth, the term ‘Meletian schism’ must be considered incorrect. This phrase is typical of the Catholic tradition because St. Meletius was not in communion with the Roman throne. But in the twentieth century in Catholic literature there is a tendency to abandon this phrase as incorrect.
Fifth, St. Meletius not only took part in the work of the Second Ecumenical Council, but was also elected its chairman. The Fathers of the Council, trying to find a solution to the complicated situation in Antioch, nevertheless did not question the reality (legality) of the ordination of St. Meletius, nor did they question his Orthodoxy. The question of ordination (its recognition or non-recognition) was not considered at all. And the reasons for the “Antiochian schism” lay on a completely different plane.
Sixth, the younger contemporary of St. Meletius, St. John Chrysostom, who lived in Antioch, unequivocally viewed St. Meletius as a legitimate hierarch, without any discussion of his ordination. And he unequivocally defined the opponents of St. Meletius as schismatics. Moreover, St. John pointed out clear criteria according to which they must be taken into account: first, the extent to which the Orthodox faith is preserved in the schism, and second, the legality of the ordinations performed. Neither of these two factors should be overlooked. The canonical rules for the order of ordinations should not be ignored, because otherwise anyone can declare himself a priest and the whole “church rank” will be destroyed.
In our opinion, all this fully proves how incorrect it is to cite the “case of Meletius” as an example of how the Church could recognize ordinations performed by heretics or schismatics.
I consider it my duty to thank the Department of Ancient Languages and Philology of the Kiev Theological Academy for its assistance in my work with foreign language literature.
Bishop Sylvester of Belgorod, rector of the Kiev Theological Academy and Seminary
Notes:
[1] Socrates the Scholastic. Church history. Moscow, 1996. S. 126.
[2] Epiphanius of Cyprus, St. Creations. Part 4. Moscow, 1880. S. 345.
[3] ιριλλος (τατερελος), επισκοπος Αβύδου. Α Αυτοκέφαλη Εκκλησία της Ουκρανίας // δωδεκάνησος: Επισημον Δελτίον νων Εν Δωδεκανήσω Επαρχιών ου ου υου ΚΓ΄. Ύουλιος-Δεκέμβριος 2019. Σ. 38-39.
[4] Antipa Svyatogorets, hieromonk. Dissenters who became saints upon their return to the Church. [Electronic resource:] https://bogoslov.ru/article/6171932.
[5] Cf. for example: Vasily I. Tulumtsis. Ordinations performed by heretics as arguments in the question of Ukrainian autocephaly. [Electronic resource:] https://web.archive.org/web/20220602043124/https://mospat.ru/ru/articles/87403/.
[6] See: Zaitsev DV Meletius I of Antioch, St. // Orthodox Encyclopedia. T. 44. M., 2016. S. 573-574.
[7] Theodoret of Cyrus. Church history. Moscow, 1993. S. 115.
[8] Socrates the Scholastic. Church history. S. 126.
[9] For more details, see in: Shmaliy V., Rev. Arianism // Orthodox Encyclopedia. T. 3. M., 2001. S. 221-223.
[10] Cf. for example: Shmaliy V., saint. Arianism. Pp. 223-225.
[11] Cf. for example: E.P.G. Ancyra Cathedrals // Orthodox Encyclopedia. T. 2. M., 2001. S. 448-449.
[12] Epiphanius of Cyprus, St. Creations. Ch. 4. M., 1880. S. 337.
[13] Epiphanius of Cyprus, St. Creations. Part 4. pp. 342-343.
[14] Epiphanius of Cyprus, St. Creations. Ch. 4. S. 337.
[15] Cavallera F. Le schisme d’Antioche (IV-V siècle). P. 44-46.
[16] See: Nikiforov MV Eustaphius of Antioch, St. // Orthodox Encyclopedia. T. 17. M., 2008. S. 286-287.
[17] Theodoret of Cyrus. Church history. Pp. 115-116.
[18] Epiphanius of Cyprus, St. Creations. Ch. 4. S. 345.
[19] Theodoret of Cyrus. Church history. P. 116.
[20] Zaitsev DV Meletius I of Antioch, St. S. 574.
[21] Epiphanius of Cyprus, St. Creations. Part 4. pp. 345-346.
[22] Epiphanius of Cyprus, St. Creations. Ch. 4. S. 346-355.
[23] Epiphanius of Cyprus, St. Creations. Ch. 4. S. 356-357.
[24] Amman E. Mélèce d’Antioche. P. 523.
[25] Theodoret of Cyrus. Church history. S. 120.
[26] Basil the Great, St. Creations. T. 3. SPb., 1911. S. 115-118.
[27] Peter (Louis), archbishop. Rules of the first four Ecumenical Councils. Pp. 210-212.
[28] Amman E. Mélèce d’Antioche. P. 520.
[29] Theodoret of Cyrus. Church history. S. 200.
[30] John Chrysostom, St. Creations in Russian translation. T. 11. Book. 1. Petersburg, 1905. S. 103.
[31] John Chrysostom, St. Creations in Russian translation. T. 11. Book. 1. S. 102.
[32] Theodoret of Cyrus. Church history. S. 209.
[33] Cf. more details in: υουλουμτσής Βασίλειος. The Ecclesiastical Church and the Prophecy of the Church of the Ecclesiastical Council of the Church of the Church 2022
[34] Acts of the Ecumenical Councils, published in Russian translation at the Kazan Theological Academy. T. 7. Kazan, 1909. S. 55.
[35] The biography of the famous Eusebius of Nicomedia is very characteristic in this sense – see: Zaitsev DV Eusebius of Nicomedia, Ep. // Orthodox Encyclopedia. T. 17. M., 2013. S. 246-249.
[36] See: Young F. “Pidalion” history of compilation and publication. Pp. 94-95.
Flights to and from Geneva Airport were suspended yesterday after a large fire broke out just behind the fence. Some incoming flights were diverted to Lyon and Basel. Initially, black smoke could be seen coming from a construction site intended for a future asylum center.
“Due to a fire at the end of the runway, landings and takeoffs have been suspended since 5:35 pm (15:35 GMT),” the airport said on Twitter. “The reopening of the runway, initially for take-offs, is scheduled for around 19:00 (17:00 GMT).” In the evening, airport spokesman Ignas Janerat told AFP that the fire was “under control”, but officials must “secure the area and remove the rubble”. The fire is “outside the perimeter of the airport” and “creates a lot of smoke”.
Geneva is the second busiest airport in Switzerland after Zurich. Located on the edge of Swiss territory, the track is near the border with France.
In 2021, the airport welcomed more than 5.9 million passengers, which is less than the level before the pandemic – nearly 18 million in 2019.
Monkeypox outbreak – The World Health Organization (WHO) is working closely with countries where cases of the rare viral disease monkeypox have been reported, the UN agency said on Friday. The UN agency said in a statement that there were around 80 cases confirmed so far, across 11 countries, with a further 50 cases pending investigation. Monkeypox occurs primarily in tropical rainforest areas of Central and West Africa, but outbreaks have emerged in other parts of the world in recent days. Symptoms include fever, rash, and swollen lymph nodes.
WHO said it was “working with the affected countries and others to expand disease surveillance to find and support people who may be affected, and to provide guidance on how to manage the disease.”
The UN health agency stressed that monkeypox spreads differently from COVID-19, encouraging all people “to stay informed from reliable sources, such as national health authorities” on the extent of any outbreak in their own communities.
WHO said in an earlier news release at least eight countries are affected in Europe – Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom.
No travel link
Hans Kluge, Europe Regional Director for the UN agency, said the cases are atypical, citing three reasons.
All but one, are not linked to travel to endemic countries. Many were detected through sexual health services and are among men who have sex with men. Furthermore, it is suspected that transmission may have been ongoing for some time, as the cases are geographically dispersed across Europe and beyond.
Most of the cases are so far mild, he added.
“monkeypox is usually a self-limiting illness, and most of those infected will recover within a few weeks without treatment,” said Dr. Kluge. “However, the disease can be more severe, especially in young children, pregnant women, and individuals who are immunocompromised.”
Working to limit transmission
WHO is working with the concerned countries, including to determine the likely source of infection, how the virus is spreading, and how to limit further transmission.
Countries are also receiving guidance and support on surveillance, testing, infection prevention and control, clinical management, risk communication and community engagement.
Concern over summer uptick
monkeypox virus is mostly transmitted to humans from wild animals such as rodents and primates. It is also spread between humans during close contact – through infected skin lesions, exhaled droplets or body fluids, including sexual contact – or through contact with contaminated materials such as bedding.
People suspected of having the disease should be checked and isolated.
“As we enter the summer season in the European Region, with mass gatherings, festivals and parties, I am concerned that transmission could accelerate, as the cases currently being detected are among those engaging in sexual activity, and the symptoms are unfamiliar to many,” said Dr. Kluge.
He added that handwashing, as well as other measures implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic, are also critical to reduce transmission in healthcare settings.
Cases in other regions
Australia, Canada, and the United States are also among non-endemic countries that have reported cases of monkeypox.
The US detected its first case for the year after a man in the northeastern state of Massachusetts tested positive on Tuesday following recent travel to Canada.
Health authorities in New York City, home to UN Headquarters, are also investigating a possible case after a patient at a hospital tested positive on Thursday.
The US recorded two monkeypox cases in 2021, both related to travel from Nigeria.
