The Columbian

Churches & Religion

FILE - Italian communications expert Francesca Chaouqui talks to journalists July 7, 2016, after a Vatican court convicted her and a Vatican monsignor for having conspired to pass documents to two Italian journalist. A Vatican trial into a money-losing investment has been jolted by revelations that a key prosecution witness was apparently manipulated into changing his story and cooperating with prosecutors.

Vatican vendettas: Alleged witness manipulation jolts trial

December 5, 2022, 7:33am Churches & Religion

The text message to the Vatican monsignor offered forgiveness along with a threat: “I know everything about you … and I keep it all in my archives,” it read. “I pardon you, Perlasca, but remember, you owe me a favor.” Read story

Eli Chitrik from Turkey shows bagel sandwiches in his hotel room in Doha, Qatar, on Monday.

Bagels, challah for Jews keeping kosher at World Cup

December 3, 2022, 6:00am Churches & Religion

Rabbi Eli Chitrik’s phone buzzes. A woman is about to show up at his Doha hotel to pick up her lunch: two bagel sandwiches. Read story

General view of snow-covered Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, Dec. 2, 2022.

Ukraine bans religious organizations with links to Russia

December 2, 2022, 8:17am Churches & Religion

Ukraine on Friday banned the activities of religious organizations “affiliated with centers of influence” in Russia and said it would examine the links between the Ukrainian and Russian Orthodox churches. Read story

FILE - The Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby listens to debate at the General Synod in London, on Feb. 13, 2017. Less than half of people in England and Wales consider themselves Christian, according to the most recent census - the first time the country's official religion has been followed by a minority of the population. Figures from the 2021 census released Tuesday, Nov. 29, 2022, by the Office for National Statistics reveal that Britain has become less religious, and less white, in the decade since the last census in 2011.

Census: Christians a minority in England; non-religious grow

November 29, 2022, 8:59am Churches & Religion

Fewer than half the people in England and Wales consider themselves Christian, according to the most recent census — the first time the country’s official religion has been followed by a minority of the population. Read story

FILE - Staff member pours a beer at a fan zone ahead of the FIFA World Cup, in Doha, Qatar Saturday, Nov. 19, 2022. The last-minute decision to ban the sale of beer at World Cup stadiums in Qatar is the latest example of some the tensions that have played out ahead of the tournament. Qatari officials have for long said they were eager to welcome everybody but that visitors should also respect their culture and traditions.

Islam, alcohol in focus at World Cup

November 26, 2022, 6:52am Churches & Religion

Just two days before the World Cup opener, host nation Qatar banned the sale of beer at stadiums in a sudden U-turn that was criticized by some and welcomed by others. Read story

Pastor Kenneth Drayton of Mantels of Promise Ministries sits in his car Nov. 15 in New York. "You don't always have to go to a church or sanctuary to experience the restoration and the power of God," said Drayton, 61, an ordained minister who also drives part-time for a ride-hailing service.

Lyft drivers spread the Gospel

November 26, 2022, 6:51am Churches & Religion

One is an ordained pastor in Brooklyn, the other a single mother and children’s book author in New Jersey. Both drive for Lyft. Both share the word of God as roving preachers. Read story

Roses adorn crosses at a makeshift memorial for the victims of a mass shooting at Club Q, gay nightclub, Wednesday, Nov. 23, 2022, in Colorado Springs, Colo.

Vancouver pastor condemned for anti-LGBTQ sermon

November 25, 2022, 8:10pm Churches & Religion

The pastor for Vancouver’s Sure Foundation Baptist Church is drawing online condemnation after a Tuesday sermon during which he said “it’s a good thing” five people were killed in a shooting at an LGBTQ nightclub in Colorado, in what he acknowledged are hate-filled views. Read story

FILE - An aerial photo shows the thousand-year-old Monastery of Caves, also known as Kiev Pechersk Lavra, the holiest site of Eastern Orthodox Christians taken through morning fog during a sunrise in Kyiv, Ukraine, Saturday, Nov. 10, 2018. Ukraine's counter-intelligence service, police and the country's National Guard on Tuesday, Nov. 22, 2022 searched the Pechersk Lavra monastic complex, one of the most famous Orthodox Christian sites in the capital, Kyiv, after a priest spoke favorably about Russia - Ukraine's invader - during a service there.

Ukraine searches monastic complex, prompts anger in Moscow

November 22, 2022, 8:10am Churches & Religion

Ukraine’s counter-intelligence service, police officers and the country’s National Guard on Tuesday searched one of the most famous Orthodox Christian sites in the capital, Kyiv, after a priest spoke favorably about Russia – Ukraine’s invader – during a service. Read story

River City Church offers free Thanksgiving meal

November 22, 2022, 5:58am Churches & Religion

River City Church is hosting a free, nontraditional Thanksgiving dinner of tamales, beans and rice Thursday at 2400 E. Fourth Plain Blvd., Vancouver. The event is open to all. Read story

Resident priest Genmyo Jana Zeedyk, second from left, and other members of the Anchorage Zen Community meditate during a Sunday service Oct. 9 in Anchorage, Alaska. (Jae C.

Zen Community seeks awareness

November 19, 2022, 6:00am Churches & Religion

For more than three decades, members of the Anchorage Zen Community have gathered in unusual venues — from a busy strip mall to a converted garage — with the same intention: simply to sit and meditate in silence. Read story