There has been a clash between the Orthodox Church in Moscow and the branch in Kiev over who the Ukrainians take authority from – with Moscow wanting to remain their spiritual heads and many Ukrainians desiring independence.
Now the Ukrainians have installed Metorpolitan Epifaniy, 40, as their primate after he was elected in December 2018.
The Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople Bartholomew I (the de facto leader of the global Orthodox church) formally recognised Ukraine’s autocephalos – or independence – in January, paving the way for them to establish separate leaderships.
The service took place at St. Sophia Cathedral in Kiev on Sunday, attended by the Polish President Poroshenko, who has also approved the country’s separation from the Mosow Patriachate, saying in December that the Russian affiliated church in Ukraine should change their name to reflect its links with Russia.
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Zaxby’s Super Bowl Ad Mocked Chick-fil-A for Closing Sundays and it Backfired
A Zaxby’s Super Bowl commercial that took a shot at Chick-fil-A for being closed on Sundays may have backfired.
The ad shows former NFL player Jeff Saturday and former Major League Baseball player Rick Monday walking up to a restaurant as the announcer says, “The only thing that comes between them is where to go for chicken on Sunday.”
“You think they’re closed?” Saturday asks as he tries to pull the door open.
Monday then tells him to “push” the door, not pull it. After that, they sit down and eat.
The announcer concludes, “Hand-breaded chicken, fresh-made salads and world-famous sauces. On Sunday and every day, only at Zaxby’s.”
Zaxby’s YouTube channel titled the commercial, “Zaxby’s Sunday (And Every Day) Chicken.”
Its competitor, Chick-fil-A, is never mentioned in the ad, but it’s common knowledge Chick-fil-A is closed on Sundays. Interstate exit signs acknowledge that fact.
Mentions of the ad on social media were overwhelmingly negative. Zaxby’s did not post the commercial on its Facebook page, but Chick-fil-A fans still were posting their thoughts by hijacking an unrelated post. The commercial apparently was not a national ad but a local one broadcast only in some markets. Still, Zaxby’s website called it the “super-sized commercial from the Big Game.”
Bishop Byrne, who was appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Birmingham in 2014, will succeed Bishop Seamus Cunningham.
Speaking to Premier about his latest appointment, the Catholic bishop said he was pleased to be moving to the North East.
“I was made a Bishop five years ago and asked to serve in Birmingham and now I’ve been asked to serve here.
“I come here with a full heart and determined to make this my home and to serve the people of this area as best I can.”
Bishop Seamus Cunningham (L) and Bishop Robert Byrne (R)
The 62-year-old becomes the fourteenth man to lead the diocese after Bishop Cunningham’s held the position for ten years.
Rt Rev Robert Byrne was born in Manchester in September 1956, entered Birmingham Oratory in 1980 and was ordained to the priesthood in January 1985.
He has served as a prison chaplain for over 35 years.
Rt Rev Cunningham, who submitted his resignation after turning 75 two years ago, welcomed his successor in a statement: “I am delighted to welcome Bishop Byrne as my successor at a time of great challenge and hope in this Diocese.
“The Lord Jesus is leading us along a road of rich discernment for the future of the Church and its mission. I know that the priests, deacons, religious and people of the Diocese will warmly welcome him and assure him of our prayers.”
Rhode Island Proposes Act that Repeals Restrictions on Partial-Birth Abortions
Rhode Island seems to be following in New York’s footsteps as legislators propose the “Reproductive Health Care Act” which will legalize abortion up until the moment of birth.
According to WPRI News, Representatives Edith Ajello and Sen. Gayle Goldin first introduced the “Reproductive Health Care Act” in 2017, and last month, they brought it up again. Currently, abortion is illegal in Rhode Island except for when the mother’s life is at risk. The act will not only repeal language that outlaws abortion but it will also eliminate state restrictions on women seeking abortions after the fetus is deemed viable if the mothers “health or life” is at risk.
The act says that “the state, nor any of its agencies, or political subdivisions shall… restrict an individual person from terminating that individual’s pregnancy after fetal viability when necessary to preserve the health or life of that individual…”
This would mean that if a woman’s health or life is at risk, she could abort her baby after a doctor has already determined that it could survive outside of the womb.
The bill also eliminates terminology which deems that an unborn child is a person and that life begins at conception. The section that reads: “It shall be conclusively presumed in any action concerning the construction, application or validity of section 11-3-1, that human life…
Alarms were set off at the cathedral when an attempt was made to smash the protective glass box surrounding the ancient manuscript.
Visitors watched in horror as the protective glass casing around the historic document in the Chapter House of the building was smashed, leaving three holes in the display.
The manuscript, which is more than 800-years-old, was saved from being damaged by a second layer of glass.
Since the incident, the Magna Carta has been held in storage while work was carried out to replace the outer casing.
Emily Naish, cathedral archivist and curator of the Magna Carta exhibition, said: “Something like this is an archivist’s nightmare and it was a great relief to know that the charter had escaped unscathed.
“Luckily, no glass dust or shards had penetrated the seal on the inner case. I am thankful that both cases did the job they were designed to do and the document emerged unharmed.”
The original case was made by specialist showcase makers Click Netherfield and installed at the cathedral in 2015 as part of Magna Carta 800 – the celebrations marking the 800th anniversary of the sealing of the 1215 Magna Carta in…
Prominent Democrats Call Virginia’s Governor to Resign following Discovery of Racist Photo
Virginia’s Governor was back in the headlines late last week after he refused to resign following the discovery of a photo on his medical school yearbook page that featured one person in a Ku Klux Klan robe standing next to a man in blackface.
According to the Virginia Pilot, after they released the photo on Friday, many people – including former Governor Terry McAuliffe whom Northam worked under as lieutenant governor from 2014 to 2018 – called for the 59-year-old to resign.
Northam appeared to confirm that he was in the photo on his yearbook page when he issued a statement on Twitter apologizing for his “clearly racist and offensive” decision.
Northam said, “I am deeply sorry for the decision I made to appear as I did in this photo and for the hurt that decision caused then and now.”
“This behavior is not in keeping with who I am today and the values I have fought for throughout my career in the military, in medicine and in public service,” he continued.
“But I want to be clear, I understand how this decision shakes Virginians’ faith in that commitment. I recognize that it will take time and serious effort to heal the damage this conduct has caused. I am ready to do that important work. The first step is to offer my sincerest apology and to state my absolute commitment to living up to the expectations Virginians set for…
The national police chief Oscar Albayalde reported that Kammah Pae, a man from the group that has sworn loyalty to the Islamic State, helped an Indonesian couple carry out the 27th Jan suicide attack.
Albayalde told a press conference: “He was forced to surrender.
“He probably didn’t want to die during the military offensive.”
At least 21 people were killed and 112 people were injured after a woman left a bomb inside the Cathedral of Our Lady of Mount Carmel on the island of Jolo and fled before her husband blew himself up outside.
While Pae has denied involvement in the twin bombings, Albayalde told reporters that eyewitnesses’ accounts showed he did escort the Indonesian couple.
Philippine troops killed three suspected Abu Sayyaf militants and suffered five fatalities in a gun battle on Saturday in the province of Sulu, as troops continued to find those behind the church attack.
The national police have been placed on full alert and security has been strengthened in churches and other public areas.
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Rhapsody of Realities 5 February 2019 By Pastor Chris Oyakhilome – Strong and Tough in the Holy Ghost
Topic: Strong and Tough in the Holy Ghost
…none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God (Acts 20:24).
Like the Apostle Paul, it makes no difference the adversities we face; we stand strong and tough in the Holy Ghost! We affirm, “None of these things move me.” Hallelujah!
Occasionally, your commitment to Christ and convictions about the Gospel will be tested; as someone who lives by God’s Word, you’ll surely be persecuted. But be of good cheer, because greater is He that’s in you than all your adversaries and persecutors put together. They may come out against you one way, but they’ll flee before you seven ways.
Never be bothered about the tests and trials that come your way; the Lord allows them because He knows the stuff you’re made of. You’re more than a conqueror (Romans 8:37); you always win. You reign and rule in union with Christ; nothing can put you down. The fiercer the challenges you face, the greater your victories and testimonies. That’s why James, in his epistle, admonished, “My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations” (James 1:2).
The reason the Lord would ask you to rejoice when all hell seems to be breaking loose is that He knows you’re a victor. No situation that you face has the power to overwhelm you. 2 Corinthians 4:8-9 says, “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”; why? The answer is in the preceding verse 7; “…we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.”
The power in you to always win, to consistently triumph, make progress, rise like an edifice—towering far above and beyond the adversities and persecutions that come your way, is of God! Therefore, never cower, give in or faint under any pressure whatsoever. Remain strong and tough, for you’re born to reign, rule and win. Blessed be God!
CONFESSION I’m born of God; therefore, I’ve overcome the world and its failing systems. Irrespective of raging opposition, I win; I triumph gloriously by the power of the Holy Ghost that’s at work in me mightily. I’m more than a conqueror; convinced of my eternal victory over Satan, advancing in life from glory to glory, in Jesus’ Name. Amen.
FURTHER STUDY: Romans 8:36-39; James 1:2-4
1 YEAR BIBLE READING PLAN: Matthew 25:1-30 & Exodus 29-30
2 YEAR BIBLE READING PLAN: Matthew 12:31-38 & Genesis 36
Rhapsody of Realities 5th February 2019 Devotional was written by Pastor Pastor Chris Oyakhilome (D.Sc., D.D.). President of Loveworld Inc. aka Christ Embassy Int’l.
Robert Biedron, 42, rose to prominence as the country’s first openly gay MP in 2011, elected as part of the ‘Your Movement’ party, a liberal, anti-clerical party.
In 2014, he became Mayor of the northern town of Slupsk.
On Sunday, he announced the name of his new party as Wiosna (Spring) and said he wanted to bring an end to deep divisions in Polish society.
In a bid to curb the influence of the Catholic Church, he said Wiosna would end tax breaks for the church, stop religious lessons in school, and guarantee access to contraception and the right to an abortion until the 12th week of pregnancy.
The current governing Law and Justice party has close links to the Catholic Church and was recently in conflict with the EU over its appointment of judges.
Biedron told his audience at his party’s launch in the capital, Warsaw:
“We want no more Polish-Polish war, we want mutual respect and dialogue.
“These last years have been cold and gloomy. Instead of talks we got unending conflict, instead of common good, party interests, instead of empathy, growing enmity. May this change at last.”
Poland will hold both European and national parliamentary elections this year.
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Indeed, I could see church members using this post to advocate that the pastor needs to do more of the work of ministry like evangelism. I’ve heard similar words many times: “After all, that’s what we pay the pastor to do.”
Such words are shameful. Such words are unbiblical.
But I do have to challenge pastors and church leaders. In recent years I have noticed a precipitous decline in the amount of time church leaders spend doing evangelism or doing activities that have an outward focus.
And here is the reality: If the pastors and church leaders are not serious about reaching people with the gospel, you can’t expect the members to do so. Most pastors are spending less than two hours a week in outwardly-focused ministries, specifically evangelism. They have become so busy doing good things they neglect obedience to the Great Commission.
Here is my simple challenge: Commit at least five hours a week to evangelism and outwardly-focused ministries. Mark those five hours on your calendar like any other appointment. Make those five hours a priority. Do not come up with busyness and excuses that keep you from fulfilling your challenge.
This challenge should apply to all vocational ministers on staff. If you are full-time, commit five hours. If you are half-time, commit three hours (yeah, I rounded up).
Here are some suggestions for your five hours each week:
Take a non-Christian or unchurched person to lunch.
Write five handwritten notes to people who do not…
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