The former archbishop of York has said that Vladimir Putin will 'have one day to answer to God' for the 'absolute viciousness' he is unleashing on the Ukrainian people.John Sentamu, 72, questioned how the president, who identifies as a Russian Orthodox Christian, can say his prayers at night after inflicting acts of 'evil' in Ukraine.The Russian Orthodox Church has backed Putin's invasion of Ukraine that has seen the Russian President accused of war crimes.Mass graves were found at the weekend on the outskirts of Ukraine's capital Kyiv, as Ukrainians claimed Russian forces 'booby-trap corpses and execute civilians while retreating from recaptured Kyiv area'.Territorial defence fighters told The Times they found the mutilated bodies of 18 people, including women and children as young as 14, in a cellar. Mr Sentamu joined other church leaders yesterday (Sunday) in saying prayers outside the Ukrainian Embassy in Holland Park, west London.Around a hundred Christians, including some from Ukraine, held a minute's silence for the war-torn country while holding blue and yellow hearts in the air.Mr Sentamu described Ukraine as a 'very, very strong Christian country' and condemned the violence seen over the weekend in Bucha, near Kyiv, as 'brutality, absolute viciousness'. When asked whether Mr Putin can ever be forgiven for his actions in the eyes of the church, Mr Sentamu said: 'First of all, the people who are going to forgive him are the Ukrainians, and the rest of us can try to remind him that the Cross of Jesus is the end of violence.'If you really wear a cross like I do, you must be non-violent.'To unleash such brutality is just beyond me.'If I was a Russian Orthodox Bishop, actually, I would be going and telling Putin that what he's doing is contrary to the love of God, contrary to humanity as we know it, contrary really to anything else.'To invade another free country in the way he is doing is just not on.'He will have one day to answer to God.'When asked whether he held any hope in the ability of Christian leaders to appeal to Mr Putin through religious reasoning, he said: 'What I would say to him, is whenever you see the poor, the vulnerable, looking at you - that's Jesus looking at you.'Because he [Jesus] is among the poor, the weak, the vulnerable, the unloved.'So Putin, if he is saying he is doing all this - how can he say his prayers at night, particularly that phrase in the Lord's Prayer: "Deliver us from evil?"'How can he do evil acts and then say: "I'm on God's side" - never, never, never.'Horrific images emerged of bodies strewn across the streets of commuter town Bucha, which was retaken by Ukrainian forces on Friday.However, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church held a service for Russian soldiers on Sunday in which he called on them to defend their country 'as only Russians can' as Moscow continues its military campaign in Ukraine.At the lavishly decorated Main Cathedral of the Armed Forces opened two years ago in Kubinka outside Moscow, Patriarch Kirill told a group of servicemen and servicewomen that Russia was a 'peace-loving' country that had suffered greatly from war.'We absolutely do not strive for war or to do anything that could harm others,' said the patriarch, a close ally of President Vladimir Putin.'But we have been raised throughout our history to love our fatherland. And we will be ready to protect it, as only Russians can defend their country.'Kirill's support for the military intervention, in which thousands of soldiers and Ukrainian civilians have been killed, has angered some within the Orthodox church at home as well as in churches abroad linked to the Moscow Patriarchate.
Up to half a million story books will be given to primary school-aged children ahead of Her Majesty the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee by the Church of England and Thy Kingdom Come, the Archbishops of Canterbury and York’s global prayer movement.The book, ‘Queen CJ and the Bouncy Castle’, is the latest development from the Cheeky Pandas, a children’s online cartoon series created by Swell Revolution, led by Pete and Nicola James which has featured contributions from people including Archbishop Justin Welby, Nicky Gumbel, and CBeebies' Gemma Hunt previously. The free storybook, based on the theme of faithfulness, helps children understand the faithfulness of the God – in honour of Her Majesty the Queen’s 70 years of faithful service. The book’s creation and distribution is part of plans for this year’s Thy Kingdom Come, a global ecumenical prayer movement initiated by the Archbishops of Canterbury and York, which unites Christians in nearly 90% of countries worldwide to pray for evangelisation from Ascension to Pentecost. It is also an official Church of England schools resource for the Queen's Platinum Jubilee. Alongside the book, similar in size to Mr Men and Little Miss books, there will be a brand new five-part online TV series of the Cheeky Pandas, based on the Fruit of the Spirit and inspired by the Bible.There are also Platinum Jubilee music videos for toddlers and young children, and a special ‘Royal’ episode to accompany the story book, created by the makers of CBBC’s ‘Andy and the Band’ and CBeebies' ‘The Baby Club’, with voiceovers from Gemma Hunt.Other free resources will include activity packs, assembly plans, TV episodes online and music videos of original songs created especially for the series. These can be used in homes, churches and schools, who are encouraged to order bulk copies of the free book to give out as they choose. They have been generously funded by a range of external funders. More than a quarter(135,000) of the half a million books have already been ordered. Nigel Genders, the Church of England’s Chief Education Officer, said: “We are really excited to be a part of Thy Kingdom Come again this year.“It continues to offer a fantastic opportunity for schools to engage children and young people in thinking creatively about prayer, faith and offers the opportunity to put this into practice both within school and through serving their local communities.” Pete James, the creator of the Cheeky Pandas said: “It is an honour to partner with Thy Kingdom Come and the Church of England this year to create these resources to nurture young children’s faith in a fun way, in celebration of Her Majesty the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.“The new series of online TV cartoons and the book are based on the Fruit of the Spirit from Galatians. With new songs to dance along to, and activity packs to enjoy, we hope these fun resources will help children grow deeper in their faith during this year’s Thy Kingdom Come.”More information and how to Order the books.
Our joint parish Holy Communion service on Sunday is at St Mary and All Saints' Church, Dunsfold at 10am. We hope you can be with us but if you're housebound, or elsewhere, please click on the link below to join us via Zoom.<a href="https://us02web.zoom.us/j/5253921788?pwd=MC9kNmpldmFrRSsrV1pkc1k5aU1vZz09">https://us02web.zoom.us/j/5253921788?pwd=MC9kNmpldmFrRSsrV1pkc1k5aU1vZz09</a><br>
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, has called on the Government to work with faith groups to achieve net zero carbon.Speaking in the House of Lords during a debate on Behaviour Change for Net Zero, he said: "My Lords, like the Government, the Church of England has targets for reaching net-zero carbon, in our case by 2030."Churches across the Anglican Communion are deeply affected by climate change."For example, Madagascar recently had four cyclones in two months. We are working right across the communion on this question."This week, we have had a gathering of Archbishops from across the Communion representing more than 100 countries."Will the Minister set out the plans that the Government have to work further with faith communities, which have unique distribution and contacts, from the grass roots to the highest level, both nationally and internationally, and will he commend the work that they are already doing?"
