Clipmarks | Orthodox easter Clips

Putin picks a church?

Tue, 06 May 2008 18:02:15 GMT

clipped by: hayesstw
clipper's remarks: Another example of the truism that the media just don't "get" religion!

There was a time after the fall of Communism when small Protestant congregations blossomed here in southwestern Russia, when a church was almost as easy to set up as a general store. Today, this industrial region has become emblematic of the suppression of religious freedom under President Vladimir V. Putin.

Just as the government has tightened control over political life, so, too, has it intruded in matters of faith. The Kremlin’s surrogates in many areas have turned the Russian Orthodox Church into a de facto official religion, warding off other Christian denominations that seem to offer the most significant competition for worshipers.

Mr. Putin makes frequent appearances with the church’s leader, Patriarch Aleksei II, on the Kremlin-controlled national television networks. Last week, Mr. Putin was shown prominently accepting an invitation from Aleksei II to attend services for Russian Orthodox Easter, which is this Sunday.

Tags: christianity, culture, missiology, media

In pictures: Orthodox Easter

Mon, 28 Apr 2008 10:40:09 GMT

clipped by: Charolastra

Clip Source: news.bbc.co.uk

The Eastern Orthodox Church is celebrating Easter. At Jerusalem's Holy Sepulchre church, believed to be the site of the burial of Jesus Christ, an Easter Saturday's Holy Fire service was held.

In the West Bank city of Bethlehem, worshippers hold candles lit from the Holy Fire, which they consider miraculous and sacred.

Tags: orthodox easter

Holy Smoke, Holy Fire

Sat, 26 Apr 2008 19:41:24 GMT

clipped by: Charolastra

Clip Source: www.time.com

Down the ancient lanes of old Jerusalem last Saturday, thousands of Christian worshipers surged toward the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, where Jesus Christ is said to have risen bodily from his tomb. Many of the devout carried candles for the "Holy Fire Ritual," in which Orthodox priests descend to Christ's tomb and emerge with a flame that they say appears spontaneously — miraculous proof, believers say, that Christ has not forgotten his followers.

Tags: easter, orthodox christians, church, holy fire, jerusalem

24 hours in pictures - April 24th

Thu, 24 Apr 2008 18:08:38 GMT

clipped by: righthand
clipper's remarks: 11 Montevideo, Uruguay: Nacional fans celebrate after their team scored during a Copa Libertadores football match against Peru's Cienciano

8 Alkmaar, Netherlands: A picture taken inside the new HVC group bio-energy waste storage opened earlier by Queen Beatrix

7 Amsterdam, Netherlands: Employees carry the winning photo of World Press Photo 2008 to its place in the Oude Kerk church

6 Kabul, Afghanistan: A woman begs for alms as a man rides past outside the Darul Aman's palace, which was destroyed during the 1992 civil war

5 Havana, Cuba: Cuban models present creations of the Italian desginer Rocco Barrocco

4 Baramulla, India: An Indian soldier looks on during a gun battle

3 Matongo, Zambia: Villagers examine mosquito nets given to them by members of the Roll Back Malaria Expedition

2 London, UK: Patriotic pensioner Jim Diper braves the rain to don his plastic England bowler hat and join the festivities celebrating Saint Georges's Day in Trafalgar Squa

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Bulgaria: An Orthodox monk holds painted eggs at Rakovishki Sveta Troitsa monastery. Orthodox Christians celebrate Easter this weekend

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Kabul, Afghanistan: Newly graduated Afghan National Army soldiers march during a graduation ceremony

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Irvine, US: Californian monkey flowers bloom in Laguna Coast Wilderness Park, part of a nearly 40,000-acre swath of Orange County designated as the first California natural landmark

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Panama: Mexican singer Marco Antonio Solis performs during a concert

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Canberra, Australia: A police officer looks at a message written in the sky during the Olympic torch relay

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Boston, US: Boston Celtics forward Paul Pierce takes a shot over the defending Atlanta Hawks guard Joe Johnson

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Singapore: A teacher checks the hand of a student for signs of hand, foot and mouth disease

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Greensburg, US: A horse braces itself against high winds and heavy rain in a pasture

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

India: Men drive bullock carts used for transporting oil

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Tags: photos

Doomsday sect to leave cave - before world's end

Thu, 27 Mar 2008 08:51:30 GMT

clipped by: tabsey
clipper's remarks: Think they would stay there another month until the forecast date. Maybe they are losing faith; it being the only thing I can think would make me stay in a cave with 34 others for 4/5 months.

Clip Source: www.abc.net.au

Members of a doomsday sect who have been in a cave in southern Russia for more than four months have indicated they will come out in late April.

The doomsday sect's 35 members, including four children, sealed themselves inside a cave in the Penza region, about 700 kilometres south east of Moscow, in November.

They vowed to remain there until the world ended, which they forecast will happen in May.

Authorities and relatives have tried to persuade the group to leave the cave, and the sect members threatened suicide if any attempt was made to drag them out.

Now the region's Vice Governor has announced that after talks the sect members have agreed to return to the outside world on April 27, which is the Russian Orthodox Easter.

Tags: bo