Христос Воскрес!
Tomorrow, April 34, 2022, is Easter, or Пасха, on the Eastern Orthodox
calendar.
Unfortunately, the two countries with the largest Orthodox populations are
now at war with each other, and Russia has refused Ukraine's offer of an
Easter Truce.  This is a terrible situation indeed.

My heritage is Eastern European, but not Russian or Ukrainian.  I was not
raised in the Orthocox faith, but attended many church services and
cultural celebrations with my father's family when I was younger, including
midnight masses on Orthodox Christmas and Orthodox Easter.  They are still
a part of my identity.

Tragically, Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and all Rus' has declared Putin's
war on Ukraine a holy war, despite the religious affinity and the fact that
there are 1200 Russian Orthodox parishes in Ukraine in addition to the many
Ukrainian Orthodox churches and cathedrals.  Mariupol', which has been
leveled by Russian artillery, was inhabited mostly by ethnic Russians, the
people Putin claims his invasion is to protect.

For the occasion, I resurrected the below old image of my grandparents'
church,
the Holy Ghost Orthodox Church in Manville, NJ.  It is typical of the type
of church one might find in any smaller Russian or Ukrainian community.

http://dan-matyola.squarespace.com/danmatyolas-pesos/2022/4/23/holy-ghost

Ironically, Zelenskyy's first name, Volodymyr, is the Ukrainian version of
Vladimir, Putin's first name. Since in both languages "mir/myr" can either
mean "peace" or "the world," the name can translate as either peaceful
lord, or lord of the world.  I suspect Putin focuses on the latter.

*PRAY FOR PEACE!*

Dan Matyola
*https://tinyurl.com/DJM-Pentax-Gallery
<https://tinyurl.com/DJM-Pentax-Gallery>*
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