Religion Today Summaries - Jan. 26, 2007
Daily briefs of the top news stories impacting Christians around the world.
In today's edition:
- Pope Notes Difficult Road toward Christian Unity, Also Sees Progress
- Christian Doctor Says Believers Need to 'Live by Design'
- Episcopal Church Bars 21 Clergy from Duties
- Uzbek Secret Police Arrest Andijan Pastor
Pope Notes Difficult Road toward Christian Unity, also Sees Progress
The search for Christian unity is a long and difficult journey because it is a process of repentance and humility, Pope Benedict XVI said. According to a Catholic News Service report, at the same time, the Pope said over the past 40 years God has given Christians "broad spaces of joy, refreshing pauses, from time to time allowing us to breathe freely the pure air of full communion." During the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, Pope Benedict offered a list of the ecumenical encounters he had in 2006 which he said provide proof of progress in the search for unity: his meetings with leaders of the World Alliance of Reformed Churches, the World Baptist Alliance and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, his meetings and prayer with the spiritual leaders of the Anglican Communion and the Orthodox Church of Greece, and his visit in Turkey with Orthodox Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew.
Christian Doctor Says Believers Need to 'Live by Design'
Christian physician Ray Strand says many believers are allowing stress, frustration and worries to impact their health, AgapePress reports. In his new book, Living by Design: Discovering the Spirit, Soul, and Body Connection, Strand explains the relationship not only between mind, body and soul but also between well-being and the Word. Dr. Strand, a leading authority on health and nutritional medicine, says people of faith are often stressed out because they try to do things using their own strength, instead of relying on God's power. "Many Christians are just in what I call this vicious cycle of self effort," he explains. This self-reliant lifestyle creates "a tremendous amount of stress." Strand advocates a sensible diet, exercise, proper rest, and the use of quality nutritional supplements. However, in his book he makes a point of driving home the fact that God has a design and a plan for each individual's life, and therein lies the key to good health.
Episcopal Church Bars 21 Clergy from Duties
According to the Richmond Times-Dispatch, the clergy in the 15 Virginia churches that split from the Episcopal Church recently have six months to reverse their decision or they will be removed from the ordained ministry. 21 clergy from the departed churches were barred for six months from performing any priestly duties in the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia or participating in the councils of the church or diocese. The majority of members of the 15 churches voted to leave the Episcopal denomination and affiliate with the Convocation of Anglicans in North America, under the authority of Nigerian Archbishop Peter Akinola. The churches left the denomination over disagreements of the role of gays and lesbians in the church and the authority of the Bible.
Uzbek Secret Police Arrest Andijan Pastor
Uzbek secret police arrested Protestant Pastor Dmitry Shestakov at his church from Andijan last weekend, seven months after a regional prosecutor had accused him of committing high treason, Compass Direct News reports. Apparently now accused of “incitement of national, racial and religious enmity” under Article 156 of Uzbekistan’s penal code, if convicted, he could face up to five years in prison. Authorities began to harass him in May 2006, apparently in reaction to the conversion to Christianity of some ethnic Uzbeks. In November, U.S. Ambassador for Religious Freedom John Hanford announced the addition of Uzbekistan to Washington’s annual list of Countries of Particular Concern for its “abysmal record on religious freedom and other human rights.”
Originally published January 26, 2007.
