WHAT ARE EUTHANASIA AND ASSISTED SUICIDE?
from: Medical News Today

Euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide refer to deliberate action taken with the intention of ending a life, in order to relieve persistent suffering. In most countries, euthanasia is against the law and it may carry a jail sentence. In the United States, the law varies between states. Euthanasia has long been a controversial and emotive topic.

The definitions of euthanasia and assisted suicide vary. One useful distinction is:

Euthanasia: A doctor is allowed by law to end a person's life by a painless means, as long as the patient and their family agree.

Assisted suicide: A doctor assists a patient to commit suicide if they request it.

Voluntary and involuntary euthanasia - Euthanasia can also be classed as voluntary or involuntary.

Voluntary: When euthanasia is conducted with consent. Voluntary euthanasia is currently legal in Belgium, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, Switzerland, and the states of Oregon and Washington in the U.S.

Non-voluntary: When euthanasia is conducted on a person who is unable to consent due to their current health condition. In this scenario, the decision is made by another appropriate person, on behalf of the patient, based on their quality of life and suffering.

Involuntary: When euthanasia is performed on a person who would be able to provide informed consent, but does not, either because they do not want to die, or because they were not asked. This is called murder, as it's often against the patient's will.

Passive and active euthanasia - There are two procedural classifications of euthanasia.

Passive euthanasia: when life-sustaining treatments are withheld. The definitions are not precise. If a doctor prescribes increasing doses of strong painkilling medications, such as opioids, this may eventually be toxic for the patient. Some may argue that this is passive euthanasia. Others, however, would say this is not euthanasia, because there is no intention to take life.

Active euthanasia: when someone uses lethal substances or forces to end a patient's life, whether by the patient or somebody else. Active euthanasia is more controversial, and it is more likely to involve religious, moral, ethical, and compassionate arguments.

What is assisted suicide? - Assisted suicide has several different interpretations and definitions.

One is: "Intentionally helping a person commit suicide by providing drugs for self-administration, at that person's voluntary and competent request." Some definitions include the words, "in order to relieve intractable (persistent, unstoppable) suffering." [read more --]

LUHANSK, DONBAS: COMMUNITY WORK, FINES, PROPERTY SEIZURE
by Felix Corley: Forum 18 News Service

(16 Oct.) A Baptist leader in Krasnodon hopes to overturn a punishment of 20 hours' community work when the case resumes at the Supreme Court in Luhansk on 21 October. Krasnodon court punished Pastor Vladimir Rytikov for leading an unapproved Sunday worship meeting which police raided in April. Another pastor was fined in October for leading worship in August, which police also raided.

Baptist pastor Vladimir Rytikov is hoping to overturn a sentence of 20 hours' community work handed down to punish him for leading a Sunday meeting for worship without official permission which police raided in April. The case is due to resume at noon on 21 October under Judge Tatyana Minskaya at the Supreme Court of the unrecognized Luhansk People's Republic in eastern Ukraine.

Pastor Rytikov, who is 60, leads the Council of Churches Baptist congregation in the town of Krasnodon [new Russian name: official Ukrainian name Sorokyne], just a few kilometers from the eastern border with Russia. Like all Council of Churches congregations, it does not seek official registration. One of the officers involved in the April raid on the Baptist community, Major Ruslan Volodin, defended it and the subsequent prosecutions. "They meet illegally," he insisted to Forum 18. "Under our laws they must be registered."

Another leader of the Krasnodon Baptist congregation, Pastor Pyotr Tatarenko, is to appeal to the Supreme Court after he was fined more than a month's average local wage on 7 October after an August police raid on the church's Sunday worship. In mid-October, court bailiffs started selling off property seized from Pastor Rytikov to meet a 2018 fine for leading unapproved worship meetings which he had refused to pay. Krasnodon's chief bailiff refused to discuss why she and her colleagues were seizing and selling Pastor Rytikov's property [read more --]

OCU PRIMATE ARRIVES IN THE USA TO RECEIVE THE ATHENAGORAS HUMAN RIGHTS AWARD
from: Religious Information Service of Ukraine

(18 Oct.) Metropolitan Epifaniy of Kyiv and all Ukraine is on a visit to the United States. He shared this information on his Facebook page. ”My first visit to the United States of America as the Primate of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine has begun," the Metropolitan said.

Metropolitan Epifaniy informed that he and the delegation of the Ecumenical Patriarchate arrived in New York, where they started their visit with a special place - the Church of St. Nicholas of the American Archdiocese of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, which is located on the territory of the World Trade Center in Manhattan. According to him, today the temple is still under construction, the previous temple of the same name was destroyed in the terrible terrorist attack on September 11, 2001, when the South and North towers of the world trade center were attacked by terrorists.

The Metropolitan stressed that this Church is the only building that was not part of the original world trade center complex that was completely destroyed in the attacks. As the head of the OCU noted, although there is still a lot of work ahead, the temple resembles the Cathedral of St. Sophia of Constantinople, which was inspired by the architect of the project Santiago Calatrava.

"Located in Liberty Park overlooking the September 11 National Memorial and Museum, the Church of St. Nicholas is like a window into eternity, where those who died here innocently and unjustly departed. In the middle of one of the most powerful and dynamic cities in the world, the temple is a good haven for strengthening the spirit and sincere prayer for the victims of the terrorist attack - it is officially established that more than 3,000 people died, including 12 Ukrainians. The names of the victims are immortalized in the memory of the whole country and inscribed on memorial plaques of grief, which are exhibited in Lower Manhattan," said the First Hierarch of the OCU. [read more --]

SYNOD AUTHORIZES PATRIARCH KIRILL TO STOP COMMEMORATING HEAD OF GREEK ORTHODOX CHURCH
from: Interfax-Religion

(17 Oct.) The Synod of the Moscow Patriarchate has warned the bishops of the Greek Orthodox Church about the consequences that the recognition by them of the non-canonical Church of Ukraine (the Orthodox Church of Ukraine - OCU) may have.

"The Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church authorizes the Holy Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia to stop mentioning His Beatitude Archbishop of Athens and All Greece in the diptychs if the head of the Greek Orthodox Church starts mentioning in his services the head of one of Ukraine's schismatic groups or takes other actions indicating recognition by him of the Ukrainian church schism," the Synod said in a final document released during its extraordinary session held in Moscow on Thursday.

On October 12, the assembly of the hierarchs of the Greek Orthodox Church recognized the right of the Constantinople Patriarchate to grant autocephaly, in particular, to the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, which was created in December 2018 with support from the Constantinople Patriarchate and the then-administration of Ukraine on the basis of two non-canonical religious organizations of the country. The new Church of Ukraine has until now not been recognized by any of the regional Orthodox churches except for Constantinople.

At the same time, the Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church, having studied the details of the Assembly in Athens, doubted that the position of Archbishop Hieronymus was shared by the other Greek hierarchs, and also said that the votes of those who disagreed had been ignored at the forum, there had been no voting and an assembly document with the hierarchs' signatures was not available in public access. [read more --]

RUSSIA'S POPULATION SET TO DECLINE FROM 143 MILLION TODAY TO 111 MILLION IN 2050
from: ThoughtCo

(2 Sep.) In 2006, Russian President Vladimir Putin directed his nation's parliament to develop a plan to reduce the country's falling birthrate. In a speech to parliament on May 10, 2006, Putin called the problem of Russia's dramatically declining population, "The most acute problem of contemporary Russia." The president called on parliament to provide incentives for couples to have a second child to increase the birth rate in order to stop the country's plummeting population.

Russia's population peaked in the early 1990s (at the time of the end of the Soviet Union) with about 148 million people in the country. Today, Russia's population is approximately 144 million. In 2010, the United States Census Bureau estimated that Russia's population will decline from the 2010 estimate of 143 million to a mere 111 million by 2050, a loss of more than 30 million people and a decrease of more than 20%. The primary causes of Russia's population decrease and loss of about 700,000 to 800,000 citizens each year are related to a high death rate, low birth rate, high rate of abortions, and a low level of immigration.

According to the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency's World Factbook, Russia has a very high death rate of 13.4 deaths per 1000 people per year. While it decreased from a high of 15 in 2010, this is still far higher than the world's average death rate of just under 9. The death rate in the U.S. is 8.2 per 1000 and for the United Kingdom, it's 9.4 per 1000. Alcohol-related deaths in Russia are very high and alcohol-related emergencies represent the bulk of emergency room visits in the country.

With this high death rate, Russian life expectancy is low—the World Health Organization estimates the life expectancy of Russian men at 66 years while women's life expectancy is considerably better at 77 years. This difference is primarily a result of high rates of alcoholism among males. Understandably, due to these high rates of alcoholism and economic hardship, women feel less than encouraged to have children in Russia.

Russia's total fertility rate is low at 1.6 births per woman; the number represents the number of children each Russian woman has during her lifetime. For comparison, the entire world's fertility rate is 2.4; the U.S.'s rate is 1.8. A replacement total fertility rate to maintain a stable population is 2.1 births per woman. Obviously, with such a low total fertility rate Russian women are contributing to a declining population.

During the Soviet era, abortion was quite common and was utilized as a method of birth control. That technique remains common and quite popular today, keeping the country's birth rate exceptionally low. According to a 2017 article in Foreign Policy, Russia has a ratio of around 480 abortions per 1,000 live births, only half what it was in 1995, but still enormously higher than European countries or the U.S. (about 200 abortions per 1,000 live births). Many Russian women use abortion as their sole course of birth control, and an estimated 930,000 women terminate a pregnancy each year. Surveys indicate that 72% of the population wants abortion to stay legal. [read more --]

IN A FIRST, GREEK CHURCH RECOGNIZES ORTHODOX CHURCH OF UKRAINE
from: Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty

(12 Oct.) An extraordinary meeting of the leadership of the Church of Greece decided on October 12 to recognize the autocephalous Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU), making it the first of the Eastern Orthodox churches to take such a step.

The Orthodox Times said the Greeks' formal recognition will take place on October 19 in Thessaloniki, with Archbishop Ieronymos and the OCU's Metropolitan Epifaniy of Kyiv and All Ukraine present. The Church of Greece's so-called Hierarchy's majority vote was reportedly opposed by seven metropolitans.

The Patriarchate of Constantinople, generally considered the spiritual headquarters for Orthodoxy, granted the Orthodox Church of Ukraine independence in January in a move that was adamantly resisted by Moscow and the Russian Orthodox Church. The new Orthodox Church of Ukraine installed its first metropolitan, Epifaniy, at a ceremony in Kyiv on February 3 in a process that further established the new church body's independence.

But recognition has not followed from other Orthodox churches - until now. Supporters hope the Greek move could give impetus to other Orthodox churches that have been balking at such a step. For years there were three main rival Orthodox churches in Ukraine, the Moscow Patriarchate being the largest among them.

Russia's annexation of Ukraine's Crimea Peninsula and the ongoing five-year war between Ukrainian government forces and Russia-backed separatists exacerbated tensions over that rivalry, with Ukraine's then-president, Petro Poroshenko, making independence for the Ukrainian national church a priority last year. [read more --]

OCA'S METROPOLITAN EPIFANIY COMMEMORATED, MUCH TO MOSCOW'S CHAGRIN
from Ekathimerini.com

METROPOLITAN OLEKSANDR (DRABYNKO) NAMES TWO CAUSES OF THE OCU DEVELOPMENT SLOWDOWN
from Religious Information Service of Ukraine

SIBERIAN DRUG ADDICTS FIND HOPE IN HALFWAY HOUSE MINISTRY
from Mission Network News

PATRIARCH KIRILL COMPARES ABORTION PRACTICE TO PAGAN SACRIFICES
from Interfax-Religion

PUTIN'S ADVISORS POINT OUT FLAWS IN TREATMENT OF RELIGION
from Izvestia

STATEMENT OF THE HOLY SYNOD OF THE RUSSIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH CONCERNING THE OCU
from Russian Orthodox Church - Moscow Patriarchate

"CHILDREN FEEL GOOD WHEN THEIR PARENTS FEEL GOOD" - THE NAGORNOVS’ FAMILY LIFE
from Orthodox Christianity

HOW RECOGNIZING AUTOCEPHALOUS CHURCH OF UKRAINE WILL AFFECT FUTURE OF HELLENISM – OPED
from Eurasia Review

UN CALLS ON RUSSIA TO ROLL BACK EVICTION OF UKRAINIAN CHURCH IN CRIMEA
from Unian

With deep sorrow we must report that Donald, the disabled man in the above photos, passed away last weekend. Cheryl and I have been caring for him over the past five years, taking him to church, shopping, barber shop, doctor's office, and bank. Then one and a half years ago, he fell twice in his apartment and lay on the floor for a total of three days and nights. After the second fall, he spent the rest of his life in hospitals, rehab, and a nursing home, where we visited him twice a week until his death last weekend. We attended memorial and funeral services for him during the week.

None of us wants to think that we're as bad as "those other people." EUTHANASIA AND ASSISTED SUICIDE, described in our first news article, is something that happens in other, uncivilized places, not here in our own country, right? Wrong! As far back as 22 years ago, we admitted it: "'Passive Euthanasia' in Hospitals Is the Norm, Doctors Say." And just a few years ago, "Hospice Nurse Observes Illegal Euthanasia in Hospice." When doctors and nurses quietly end the lives of patients and write some medical jargon as the cause of death, it doesn't attract any attention. But when a relative or friend take the matter into their own hands, it's national news: "Grandmother kills autistic grandson because she felt no one would care for him after her death."

After being sentenced to perform 20 hours of community work, being fined one month's wages, and having personal property confiscated, as described in our second news article LUHANSK, DONBAS: COMMUNITY WORK, FINES, PROPERTY SEIZURE, these two pastors are still standing firm. They haven't folded or backed down or given up: they are examples to me personally to persevere in our efforts to build an Agape Restoration Community.

Metropolitan Epifaniy, OCU PRIMATE ARRIVES TO THE USA TO RECEIVE THE ATHENAGORAS HUMAN RIGHTS AWARD, explains our third news article. He visited the Church of St. Nicholas which is located in Manhattan. It was the only building apart from the World Trade Center that was completely destroyed in the September 11 terrorist attacks. The new church building is still under construction.

The sad situation between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople has now extended to the Greek Orthodox Church, as our fourth news article SYNOD AUTHORIZES PATRIARCH KIRILL TO STOP COMMORATING HEAD OF GREEK ORTHODOX CHURCH IF IT ASSOCIATES ITSELF WITH OCU reports. May the Lord have mercy on these brothers quarreling over real estate!

The declining birth rate of 1.6 babies per woman in Russia is endangering the survival of that nation: if the birth rate stays below 1.8 for an extended period, that society is doomed to disappear. News article #5 RUSSIA'S POPULATION SET TO DECLINE FROM 143 MILLION TODAY TO 111 MILLION IN 2050 also tells us that Russia's abortion rate of 480 abortions per 1,000 live births - nearly one of every three babies conceived in Russia is killed by abortion - contributes greatly to this grim statistic.

The Greek Orthodox Church's formal recognition of the new Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU) may signal the start of a movement, as our sixth news article IN A FIRST, GREEK CHURCH RECOGNIZES ORTHODOX CHURCH OF UKRAINE reports. It may, however, have a negative effect on both the Greek Orthodox Church and Orthodoxy worldwide, as our eighth news headline HOW RECOGNIZING AUTOCEPHALOUS CHURCH OF UKRAINE WILL AFFECT FUTURE OF HELLENISM – OPED explains.