It is often said in recent years that events in Europe present as the precursor for events that later follow in the U.S. and North America. Indeed, there are many points of reference which support this outlook.
According to recent media reporting, various state police agencies in Europe took action against Islamic extremists, identified as ISIS-k affiliates, to stop planned terror attacks against Christian targets, specifically well-known cathedrals, this Christmas holiday season. The events took place in Austria and Germany, with targets identified in Vienna and Western Germany.
(Jerusalem Post) – Austrian, German, and Spanish police were on high alert at cathedrals in several cities due to concerns that Islamists were planning a terrorist attack on Christmas or New Year’s Eve, with several suspects already arrested in Vienna and Germany, according to German reports.
According to the Bild, several suspects were arrested in the Ottakring district of Vienna, while another was arrested in Saarland, Germany. The arrested suspects are Tajiks allegedly affiliated with the Islamic State in Khorasan Province, the branch of ISIS in south-central Asia, according to the report.
Vienna Police noted in a press release that there is an “increased terror alert level” and “generally an increased risk in Austria during the Christmas holidays.”
“Since terrorist actors across Europe are calling for attacks on Christian events – especially around [Christmas Eve,] December 24 – the security authorities have increased the corresponding protective measures in public spaces in Vienna and the federal states,” Vienna Police said, adding that there would be increased patrols and surveillance during the holidays, with attention focused primarily on churches, religious events, and Christmas markets. (read more)
I would be remiss if I did not add context to this report, literal boots on the ground reporting, something that many U.S. readers might find of interest.
The cultural crisis within the EU rests just under the surface. It is very visible if you look with eyes to see and have discussions with native Europeans in almost every country.
The import of millions, actually tens-of-millions of Muslim oriented migrants is problematic for the domestic tranquility of multiple nations. The more “progressive” or multicultural minded the country’s political leadership, the greater the turmoil.
The issue is simply a percentage of extremism within the larger Islamic migrant population. Not all Muslim immigrants are extremists, but a significant percentage of them reject even the concept of assimilation. That percentage might only be around 25%, but when you think of the scale of the denominator, 25% of a large number is a very significant issue.
Very well-known Christian cathedrals and monuments are now essentially operating like guarded fortresses. It is a very sad thing to witness, as this reality has turned the churches, synagogues and places of faith into risk zones. Even the smaller churches and lesser known -albeit generationally old- houses of faith, have very visible security.
In almost all areas, the days of just walking into a civically positioned church, beautiful old churches built for the local population that eventually built houses around the church, are gone.
The doors of the church are locked, the grounds secured and only at scheduled times is the church available.
There’s another even more sad aspect to this, it’s become the new normal.
Again, to emphasize, the scale of the issue is directly proportionate to the ideology of the political structures that sit atop the society. The more “progressive” or multicultural the emphasis of the political leadership, the stronger the security and threat around the churches.
France is the worst, and fear has become a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Portugal, Spain, Italy, Germany and the rest of the Western EU all experience this fear/threat/security situation in varying degrees.
Additionally, and this is where it gets really interesting, the further North and East toward Russia you travel, the lesser the threat dynamic seems to show. Belarus, Poland, Hungary, Lithuania, Estonia, and some of the Baltic states do not have as severe a Christian security problem.
Look at a map (with non-pretending eyes), plot the highest threats/incidences and you will clearly see the overlay. Much of Europe is killing its own Christian faith simply by reacting to being threatened, taking security efforts and being politically/culturally correct, according to their own stages of pretense.
Remarkably, and this is where it becomes an astonishingly big lie, Russia…. Yes, RUSSIA, is the safest place for openly visible social/societal Christianity to exist.
In the former Soviet Union, cathedrals and massive places of Christian orthodox worship were essentially turned into warehouses and devalued. Thankfully, these beautiful buildings and architectural masterpieces were not destroyed, they were just neglected. However, in the past 20+ years something amazing has happened, and the people in almost every Russian region talk about what is happening with incredible optimism and fondness.
All of the old monuments and cathedrals are now considered as national cultural prizes. The restoration and preservation are simply stunning, I mean drop your jaw on the ground stunning and overwhelming. The beauty and Christian grandeur are bigger, brighter and feels more alive, cherished and respected than any place in Western Europe.
Yes, this perspective, this modern valuation, this incredible, remarkable and social celebration of Christianity that exists in Russia, far surpasses almost EVERY historic Christian monument and building in the EU in comparison to Russia. It’s not just the building, it’s the way the social fabric of the people thinks about the values reflected within the represented imagery.
I don’t know when this modern Russia began to restore itself, and I have no concept of time to give it context. But what I witnessed is nothing even remotely within the ballpark of what I previously imagined or believed.
Even the Muslims in Russia that don’t celebrate Christmas have found a way to enjoin themselves culturally to the representation of faith and values, in their celebration of the New Year. I found this expressed and open religious cohesion/respect to be incredible and uplifting. It reminded me… and this is going to sound really odd… of the United States many years ago.
Risking a little diminishment I will let you in on a secret, … I was so overwhelmed at times, while visiting these places more than once I had to leave, find a quiet place, and just sit still so I could openly cry with the sense of joy and wonderment – without anyone thinking I was weird. When you feel close to God, you shrink… and nothing in a long time made me as irrelevant and miniscule as those moments of awe.
Socially the valuation system in St Petersburg Russia, formerly Leningrad, is nothing like what you might have been led to believe. The value of the family structure is the apex of expressed social, public and governing policy. Family values are celebrated, men are men, women are women and children are children, nurtured and protected.
Everything in Russian culture is very deliberate, very forceful, incredibly non-pretending, and that sentiment carries forth in the way the Christian religion is presented.
I guess the best way to encapsulate religion and this time of year in a way that most could understand, is to say: Christmastime in St Petersburg, Russia, is like traveling back to Christmastime in 1950’s USA. The purity of it is overwhelming.
Merry Christmas!
Having spent years in Europe from England to Italy to Turkey (and met many from other countries) I’ll say that it’s not hard at all to believe there’s a giant powder keg waiting to blow. We don’t typically hear about how thousands of Greeks hit the streets to protest a national prohibition against smoking in public or how the French or Germans react against “renewable” energy politics, “identity” and other games. But it’s there. It’s been riding below the surface in many Europeans’ conversations for decades, and the more frequent and energetic those conversations become – such as just about any conversatioon about immigrants these days – we could very possibly see 1848 happen again.
I’ll say that it’s not hard at all to believe there’s a giant powder keg waiting to blow
European “betters” are fearing their own home-grown “deplorables”:
European Commission ‘Afraid’ of Populist Surge in 2024 Euro Elections, Accuses Right of Preying on Fear
European voters are base, hormone-driven creatures who can be manipulated through fear and this may lead to a right-wing surge in the 2024 European Union elections if they ignore the “lucid” left, Commission Vice-President and bloc Foreign Affairs boss Josep Borrell appears to make implicit in remarks to a left-wing newspaper.
… the “lucid left”, mind you
So the Leftist outlook is “lucid”
whereas populist views are “hormone driven” and “manipulated by fear”
And if you feel that mass immigration of low-skilled muslims and Africans is unhealthy for the survival of European societies, you’re not “lucid”
Ship all those muslims to Davos!
Americans are their own worst enemies. We would rather sit cozy in our caves and complain than do what is needed to stop this monster taking over our country.
Of course, obama and biden know our greatest weakness is greed and they are equipped to make sure we are AFRAID to stand out against them.
👍
Merry Christmas to you SD !
Thank you Dmitry for sharing. Growing up during the Cold War, I could have never imagined Moscow to look like this. Amazing! Merry Christmas to all!
“Socially the valuation system in St Petersburg Russia, formerly Leningrad, is nothing like what you might have been led to believe. The value of the family structure is the apex of expressed social, public and governing policy. Family values are celebrated, men are men, women are women and children are children, nurtured and protected.”
The open embracing/celebration of Christianity and Christian values is the reason the demonic “rulers” of the “west” hate Russia/Russians.
Those inspiring photos show why demonic Communists were so maniacally fixated on ruining and secularizing Russia.
I see we both responded pretty the same way at the same time. It really is that clear.
Well, SOMEONE or SOMETHING will be God, and because totalitarian think it should be THEM, they will try to eradicate any competition.
Just a quick note: They defaced and vandalized the Nativity scene on the Boston Common. With Terrorist themed graffiti. No doubt Ignorant College kids who they indoctrinated at an early age. It was a blip on the news. Boston is now run from another leftist loser from Chicago. Just as the previous Governor. Who was more than a little incompetent. and was promoted in at least 2 companies who had to get rid of him because of his obvious incompetence due to the bottom line. He wasted no time on a race hustle with them both . No doubt to help mask his deficiencies. And BTW he was a good friend of O’bama
Deval?
It took Spain over 700 years of war, followed by an Inquisition to finally cleanse itself after being conquered by Muslim invaders. Europe is in for a rough millennium.
This time the Muslims simply walked in.
More like certain globalist elites forced Western European countries to open the door (as a requirement to join the EU), invited them in.
Which by the way, it’s exactly how the Muslim invaders first entered Spain in the 8th Century: invited by a member of the ruling aristocracy to help in a power struggle against another member of his family.
Mustafa Ataturk did it much faster. We can too.
We aren’t willing to genocide 90% of Armenians.
And us?
Merry Christmas everyone!
Can these people please solve the crimes the FBI and CIA commit everyday?
A picture is worth a thousand words!
Battle of Kosovo. Serbian Prince Lazar Hrebeljanović vs the Ottoman Muslims.
And poor Serbia, trying to maintain its peace and neutrality, is still under constant attack by radical Muzzies and NATO. I admire President Vucic.
The Serbs are our old friends,allies, and fellow Christians.
I remember.
The Muslim invasion is not an accident. It is planned, orchestrated, and controlled by our government. It is primarily a diversion, but, secondarily, it is another fear factor to control the non-muslim population.
The solution is manageable. Mustafa Ataturk did it; we can too. Our advantage is that these people are insistent on identifying themselves as the enemy. No disagreement there.
Merry Christmas Sundance and family. Just spectacular!
Wow,
just wow!
Thank you so much Sundance ❤️.
Beautiful, expressive and humbling to hear.
Thank you for herding your flock into this wonderful place.
I don’t pretend to know anything but I can’t help myself.
I truly believe that the Lord has chosen you to guide us through these difficult moments in life.
I am truly grateful and blessed to be in your flock.
Glory In Excelsis Deo!
Merry Christmas, Sundance.
Sending Joy, Peace, Love and Blessings.
Xoxox ❤️❤️🙏🏻🙏🏻
I am not sure I could believe anyone else about this. Thank you so much for going and for sharing.
Here is a short video about Russia’s newest cathedral. The official Russian website for the cathedral blocked my access, likely due to me being located in the USA.
The Globalists-NATO war against the Orthodox Christian Serbs. So many lies. Christ’s enemies control most media.
“On April 30th 2001, an accusation began that the Serbs under Slobodan Milosevic had supposedly shipped thousands of dead bodies in freezer trucks from Kosovo into other areas of Serbia to hide them from the forensics hired by the Hague Tribunal (ICTY – International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia).
It was an extraordinary claim for NATO, but so was NATO’s embarrassment: the Hague Tribunal forensics had found exactly zero bodies of Albanian civilians murdered by Milosevic’s forces (as opposed to, say, 100,000, or 500,000, which had been the earlier NATO claims). So which is it? Did the Serbs carry out a spectacular cover up? Or did NATO simply lie?
Well, NATO clearly had a motive to lie, because it needed to get President Slobodan Milosevic tried at The Hague for war crimes, and an absence of evidence of war crimes is a bit awkward under these circumstances. NATO also needed to justify the bombing of Serbia as a humanitarian expedition to save all those Albanians whom the Serbs had supposedly been murdering. So a double motive”
The Freezer Truck Hoax
How NATO framed the Serbs
http://www.hirhome.com/yugo/freezer1.htm
Remarkably, and this is where it becomes an astonishingly big lie, Russia…. Yes, RUSSIA, is the safest place for openly visible social/societal Christianity to exist.
This is why Russia is inherently an ally not an enemy. Unfortunately in America churches and schools have been abandoned and bought by muslim communities, at least around St Paul MN. Beautiful old catholic churches are now blasting the muslim prayers in neighborhoods that used to be the bread and butter of America, blue collar hard working families displaced by cultures that have no connections to each other, their neighbors, or America.
Maybe it takes 60-80 years of communist rule to instill pride in our history and culture.
In the latest manufactured war, are the Christians in Palestine or Israel?
MP, take a read on my comment above about the fake news/propaganda against the Serbs by the globalist/nato war criminals. Much of the ‘news’ taking place at the time, and that has stuck in most people’s programming is all lies of what had really happened in Bosnia,Croatia,Kosovo. The Kangaroo Hague court against Milosevic is also very interesting. Speculation is of a few Serbs being demonized killed off in prison before their trials so thus easier to maintain the lies and crimes of US/NATO. PDJT opened so many eyes that it is much much harder, though using Israel now really awakens strong religious views and is harder to fight than was Ukraine. Take a look, much is there of what I had been posting about the Balkans that backs you up mate
No one has seen God. God is a spirit. He was furious with Israel for worshipping the golden calf. No artistic visualization or graven image will draw anyone closer to God; you think you’re having a spiritual experience but have been led astray.
If you believe all this glorifies God, then what do underground persecuted Christians in China have to look at in order to “get closer to God?”
The Holy Spirit uses their tattered pages of the Bible they memorize and share with the lost to save and sanctify.
Re: the Russian church
Anyone interested in the topic should watch this documentary, “Faces among Icons”, about the Russian Orthodox Church in Post-Soviet times (2017). It is American-produced by Catholic News Service, consists of interviews with famous and ordinary people of the church, and gives a lot of historical context plus a look into how people of that church think today: