On October 16, 2023, in a report by Massimo Introvigne for BitterWinter.org, an important legal case involving the Spanish Jehovah’s Witnesses and the newspaper “El Mundo” is highlighted.
The lawsuit centers on an article that was published by “El Mundo” on November 21, 2022. The article relied on information provided by the Association of Victims of the Jehovah’s Witnesses, an organization opposed to the group.
On October 2, the Court of First Instance no. 1 of Torrejón de Ardoz, Spain, made a decision in favor of the Jehovah’s Witnesses (Ruling 287/2023). It has ordered “El Mundo” to publish a right of response, from the religious group. The court recognized that the newspaper had uncritically accepted and spread information from a dissatisfied former association of Witnesses.
Additionally, the court dismissed the newspaper’s argument that the Association of Victims of Jehovah’s Witnesses held sole responsibility for the content of the article and mandated that “El Mundo” cover the litigation expenses.
Importantly the court’s ruling extended beyond granting the Jehovah’s Witnesses the right to respond. It also carefully examined the accuracy of the allegations made by the Association of Victims of Jehovah’s Witnesses. The court determined that these allegations had the potential to damage the reputation of the organization and found that, in many cases, they were not entirely accurate.
The court emphasized that the article’s title, which included the term ‘cult’ (‘secta’ in Spanish), carried negative connotations for any religion. The court found that the claims originating from the Association of Victims of Jehovah’s Witnesses, such as labeling the Jehovah’s Witnesses as a ‘cult’ with ‘cultic practices,’ alleging that it leads to ‘social death,’ and asserting that it ‘compels’ members not to report crimes, all caused undeniable harm to the religious association.
Furthermore, the court examined the accuracy of the allegations in the article. It pointed out that referring to the Jehovah’s Christian Witnesses as a ‘cult’ was legally erroneous, as the organization was a registered religious denomination in Spain, like many others. The court also found inaccuracies in the article’s references to alleged sexual abuse within the religious group.
The court expressed that there was no definitive record of any conviction against the religious entity as a whole in connection with sexual abuse allegations, making such claims inaccurate. Additionally, the court noted that the article inappropriately assigned collective responsibility to the religious denomination for alleged sexual abuses rather than focusing on individual cases.
The court also addressed allegations concerning the practice of ostracism or shunning by the Jehovah’s Witnesses. It found that the description of these practices by the Association of Victims of Jehovah’s Witnesses was not convincingly substantiated. The court ruled that the claim that members are forced to associate only with other faithful members was inaccurate.
The court also dismissed the assertions made in the article regarding the Jehovah’s Witnesses having ‘double standards and a significant number of their elders being ‘adulterers or pedophiles.’ It found these allegations to be without any foundation and deemed them as highly detrimental, to the reputation of the religious organization.
In conclusion, the court’s decision exposed the dissemination of false information by the Association of Victims of Jehovah’s Witnesses and the uncritical reporting of these claims by “El Mundo.” The court emphasized the importance of legally sanctioning erroneous or false facts supporting opinions, rather than merely refuting or censoring opinions.
Moreover, the court emphasized that media outlets have a responsibility for the content they share even if it is based on allegations from parties. This ruling reinforces the importance for media organizations to verify the accuracy of information before publishing it and to distinguish between reporting and personal opinions.
This case is a warning to media organizations regarding the dissemination of information from self-proclaimed “cult experts” (in this instance, Carlos Bardavio (RedUNE-FECRIS), who is often presented as “the greatest expert on cults in Spain” for propagandistic purposes) and former members who have distanced themselves from their faith. It also emphasizes the importance of respecting a community’s right to respond to defamatory articles.
This legal victory stands as a reminder to media outlets to uphold their responsibility to ensure accuracy and fairness in their reporting.
“It is not the first time that media fall into the trap of publishing slander fed to them by anti-cult organizations, “experts” on “cults” (in this case, the “expert” interviewed was Carlos Bardavío, i.e., the lawyer representing the Association of Victims of Jehovah’s Witnesses in another case), and “apostate” ex-members. It is also not the first time that a media outlet—even one that is a member of The Trust Project—refuses to publish a religious community’s reply to an insulting article. The decision should teach these media a lesson. However, it is unlikely this will happen. Some journalists are like the crow in Aesop’s fable, which kept being deceived by the fox and swearing that it had happened for the last time, only to be duped again at the next opportunity.”
The Hamas used the palestinian despair to legitimise itself and win the support of a section of Palestinian public opinion. This is the context in which Hamas carried out its attack.
The scale of Hamas’ attack on Israel on 7 and 8 October is unprecedented and the failure of the Israeli army and secret services, astonishing. Yet for observers such as former Israeli ambassador to France, Elie Barnavi, the events that have unfolded in the region over the past days were “surprising but predictable”.
On the ground, from which I have just returned, there is a clear sense of growing despair and latent violence among the Palestinian population. No one is talking about “peace” any more, but rather “the end of the occupation”, as young people evoke “resistance, by all means”.
The Hamas used the palestinian despair to legitimise itself and win the support of a section of Palestinian public opinion. This is the context in which Hamas carried out its attack.
Gaza, an open-air prison
In Gaza, where Hamas operates, 2.3 million Palestinians are crammed into 365 km2, making the Gaza Strip one of the world’s most densely populated territories. More than two thirds of the population live below the poverty line and, according to the Israeli NGO B’Tselem, the unemployment rate is 75% among people under 29.
Since 2007, this territory has also been subject to an Israeli blockade by sea, air and land, which almost entirely deprives it of contact with the outside world.
Gazans are regularly cut off from water and electricity, and depend mainly on international aid. Entry into and exit from Gaza depend on permits given by Israeli forces and are extremely rare, earning it the nickname of “open-air prison”.
In these conditions, the Gazan population, and in particular the youth, who are isolated from the world, are becoming increasingly radical. Most feel they have nothing left to lose and no longer believe in political solutions or peace. The idea that the occupation of the Jewish state must be resisted through violence, as advocated by Islamist groups, is gradually spreading. This is playing into the hands of Hamas and Islamic Jihad, who are gathering more and more fighters.
The West Bank, a dismembered territory
In the West Bank, the Hamas attack was not condemned, some Palestinians even showed their support in demonstrations.
The rest of the world is astonished that anyone could support such cruelty, which is unequivocally unacceptable. But we must also look at the roots of this support.
The Palestinian territory is completely dismembered. More than 280 settlements and 710,000 Israeli settlers have been counted by the United Nations. Palestinian homes are regularly destroyed.
Evolution of Palestine since 1946. M.Durrieu
Since 2002, more than 700km of wall have been built between the Palestinian territories and Israel. This security wall was supposed to follow the 315km green line outlined in the 1947 UN partition plan, but the past years have seen it snake on and on, gradually encroaching on Palestinian territory and isolating certain Palestinian towns.
One Palestinian MP told me “It’s the Arab Wailing Wall”, while others referred to it as the “Wall of Shame”. Even East Jerusalem is increasingly occupied, including the Esplanade of the Mosques, home to the Al-Aqsa Mosque, Islam’s third-holiest site. In fact, the name that the Hamas gave to its attack, “Operation Al-Aqsa Flood”, shows just how the Islamist group has managed to act as a soundboard to the population’s grievances.
Daily despair
The freedom of movement of the inhabitants of the West Bank is extremely limited – they depend entirely on permits obtained from the Israeli authorities. Every day, Palestinians have to laboriously cross through checkpoints.
Some children explain to me that they cross the checkpoint between Abu Dis in the West Bank and Jerusalem to go to school; they go alone because their parents don’t have the necessary permits and spend at least an hour there every day. Older students tell me that they used to be able to walk to their university, but now there’s the wall and a checkpoint. The UN estimates that there are around 593 checkpoints, mostly designed to protect Israeli settlers.
The economic situation in the West Bank is also deplorable. Israeli restrictions on the movement of people and goods – such as bans on the importation of certain technologies and inputs, bureaucratic controls, checkpoints, gates, earth mounds, roadblocks and trenches – are choking development. The poverty rate stands at 36% and the unemployment rate at 26%.
The Israeli army, especially since the arrival of the most recent Netanyahu government, has stepped up its interventions and preventive raids. Before the Hamas attack, 200 Palestinians had been killed since the beginning of the year. The UN counts 4,900 Palestinian political prisoners and notes the deplorable conditions in Israeli prisons and the ill-treatment inflicted.
Political deadlock, latent violence
Added to all this is the political impasse. There have been no elections in Palestine since 2006. The Palestinian Authority, recognised as the legitimate representative of the Palestinian people, has become an empty shell with no real power. Power is concentrated in the hands of 87-year-old Mahmoud Abbas, who has lost the support of his people. After the repeated failure of negotiations between the Palestinian Authority and Israel, some even consider Mahmoud Abbas to be an accomplice to the Israeli occupation. Corruption is paralysing all Palestinian institutions.
The population no longer expects anything from politics and even less from negotiations. Since the beginning of the year, there has been a resurgence of “lone wolf” attacks driven by despair. Like the Palestinian driver who, at the end of August, ploughed into a group of Israeli soldiers as he was about to cross a checkpoint.
It is this same despair that drives a section of the Palestinian population to rally around Hamas’s cruel attacks today. As Elie Barnavi points out, we could even fear the outbreak of a new intifada.
Hamas’ rise
Over the years, Hamas has been able to weaponise these sentiments and so affirm itself as the “true defender” of the Palestinian cause.
In 2006, the militant group won the Palestinian legislative elections. Despite the democratic nature of these elections, the result was not recognised by the international community, which refused to allow a terrorist organisation to take power. Hamas therefore fell back onto the Gaza Strip, of which it took control. From Gaza, it continued to radicalise and delegitimise the Palestinian Authority, and waited for momentum to build before putting its words into action. In the eyes of the organisation, this moment has arrived. The leaders no doubt felt that the context was favourable for a large-scale attack.
On the one hand, the internal destabilisation in Israel offered a breach of which Hamas could take advantage. Never has Israel been as divided as it has been since the arrival of Netanyahu’s coalition of ultra-Orthodox and national-religious parties. Large-scale demonstrations against the reform of the justice system shook the country for several months. In an unprecedented move, Israeli reservists, essential to Israeli defence, refused to serve for weeks in protest against the reforms.
Shifting geopolitics
Hamas likely also had an eye on geopolitics, sensing that the balance of power in the region is shifting. Witness the agreement between Tehran and Riyadh, and the Abraham Accords which normalised Israel’s relations with the Gulf states. Today, global tectonic plates continue to wobble, the status quo in Nagorno-Karabakh has been shattered and Africa is experiencing one coup after another. The time was ripe for the group to strike.
Fifty years after the Yom Kippur War and 30 years after the Oslo Accords, the past days’ tragic events ought to be viewed through the prism of a complex conflict that has pitted two peoples against each other since 1948. Hamas has instrumentalised the anger and despair of Palestinians to commit unprecedented violence, thereby delegitimising a legitimate cause.
Associate doctoral student at the Strategic Research Institute of the Military School in political science and international relations (CMH EA 4232-UCA), Sciences Po
As humanitarian workers echoed the urgent calls of the UN Secretary-General, urging Israel to open a secure corridor for delivering aid, Gaza will soon run out of basic supplies, according to UN agencies on the ground, who raised alarms about a looming unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe.
Following the outbreak of violence on October 7th, Israel closed all borders with Gaza, resulting in the UN’s inability to restock its lifesaving aid supplies. As a result, supplies in the region have dwindled due to the daily bombardment, prompting UN agencies, partners, and nations to quickly send aid to the area.
Egypt’s El Arish International Airport, usually catering to Palestinians journeying to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, for the yearly Hajj pilgrimage, bustled with humanitarian efforts over the weekend.
Hundreds of tonnes of vital goods, including ready-to-eat food and emergency surgical latex gloves, were delivered by UN agencies, partners, and nations such as Jordan, Türkiye, and the United Arab Emirates to the airport situated 45 km (28 miles) from Gaza’s border.
The essential donations were unloaded and transferred into trucks bound for the border. Egypt also added 100 trucks to the convoy, carrying 1,000 tonnes of aid.
They include UN agency deliveries of pallets of tents, blankets, and a range of medicines.
In addition, the UN humanitarian affairs agency, OCHA, reported plans to provide 300,000 people with emergency kits containing essential items, and the UN sexual and reproductive health agency, UNFPA, had at the ready supplies to promote women’s hygiene, including 3,000 dignity kits.
Media reports observed ambulances and emergency health workers near the aid convoy, ready to tend to injured Gazans.
Medical supplies from the World Health Organization’s logistics hub in Dubai arrive in Egypt.
Medical supplies
The World Health Organization (WHO) dispatched a plane carrying medical supplies to replenish its depleted stocks in Gaza. Recently, the UN health agency sent two shipments from its logistics hub in Dubai.
Every hour these supplies remain on the Egyptian side of the border, more girls and boys, women and men, especially those vulnerable or disabled, will die – WHO Director-General
A plane arrived in Beirut, Lebanon, carrying surgical and trauma medicines and supplies to tend to 800 to 1,000 injured patients, addressing the increasing demands due to escalating clashes along its border with Israel.
Following the weekend delivery of 78 cubic metres of emergency aid to El Arish Airport, enough supplies were provided to assist over 300,000 Palestinians. In order to ensure access through the Rafah border area, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus met with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi last week, who granted the request.
The ready-to-be-delivered shipment contains basic health essentials alongside emergency supplies. These include enough trauma medicines and health supplies to treat 1,200 wounded patients and 1,500 patients suffering from heart diseases, hypertension, diabetes, and respiratory problems as well as trauma “pouches” ready to treat 235 wounded people.
Early Monday morning, a WFP-chartered aircraft landed at El Arish Airport, delivering 22 tonnes of humanitarian relief, including 15 tonnes of fortified biscuits and two mobile storage units to address the shortages in Gaza, according to the UN Humanitarian Air Service (UNHAS).
The UN food agency launched an emergency operation to get food, water, and other essential supplies to Gaza and the West Bank, and is also awaiting five trucks carrying, among other things,100 tonnes of food parcels.
Food is rapidly running out in Gaza.
Water and fuel
For the fifth consecutive day, the enclave had no electricity and residents have “severely limited access to clean drinking water”, according to the UN relief agency for Palestine refugees, UNRWA, which operates in Gaza and the West Bank.
What is really key is to lift the siege; the UN should be allowed to bring in much-needed supplies. – UNRWA spokesperson
According to the latest UNRWA situation report, an advance team has been dispatched to Egypt in anticipation of a potential humanitarian corridor opening to provide aid supplies to the Strip.
UNRWA emphasizes the crucial importance of fuel for the desalination plant and water pumping stations. Additionally, fuel deliveries are urgently needed to replenish rapidly depleting supplies that have been utilized to operate emergency generators, including those in hospitals, across Gaza.
Meanwhile, OCHA is progressing plans at its service hub in Rafah with a supply chain sourced from local markets and agency stocks. This includes fuel, bottled water, hygiene kits, and water storage bladder tanks. Additionally, the agency is evaluating and verifying the viability of water trucking operations.
The siege has prevented UNRWA from receiving supplies since 7 October, according to agency spokesperson Juliette Touma. In response to Israel’s evacuation order, UNRWA has moved its operations centre closer to the Rafah border crossing in southern Gaza.
“What is really key is to lift the siege,” she said. “The UN should be allowed to bring in much-needed supplies.”
Isabel WISELER-LIMA from Luxembourg-Martin HOJSÍK from Slovakia
The newly elected Vice-President and Quaestor replace Michal Šimečka (Renew, SK) and Cristophe Hansen (EPP, LU), respectively, following their departure from Parliament.
Based on Parliament’s Rules of Procedure, a new Vice-President (VP) or Quaestor is elected to fill a vacancy in the existing order of precedence – so the MEPs elected have become Parliament’s tenth VP and second Quaestor. The President delegates specific duties to Parliament’s 14 Vice-Presidents, who can replace her when necessary, including chairing plenary sittings. Quaestors are primarily responsible for administrative and financial matters directly concerning MEPs. MEPs aim to ensure that the composition of the Bureau (comprising the President and Vice-Presidents, with Quaestors participating in an advisory capacity) broadly reflects the numerical strength of the political groups in Parliament.
The 15-member body responsible for peace and security matters is expected to make a decision on a second draft resolution later today, led by Brazil.
This proposal, although not yet officially representing the Council’s position until adoption, seeks to alleviate the persistent humanitarian distress on the ground. It also aims to create secure passageways for aid delivery and safeguard the UN and other humanitarian personnel who are facing challenges in providing vital assistance to the residents of Gaza.
While both texts aim for a humanitarian pause, they differ in their approach, particularly regarding the main point of disagreement in the Russian proposal: the explicit mention of the extremist group Hamas, which currently controls Gaza.
Russia’s ambassador told the emergency meeting on Monday, Western powers opposing their resolution had “stomped” on hopes of de-escalation, while the US ambassador said in failing to condemn Hamas, Russia was “giving cover to a terrorist group that brutalizes innocent civilians.”
In the pursuit of consensus and collective action, which is especially crucial in times of global crisis, ambassadors typically strive to garner support through resolutions that outline a clear course of action.
It is common for rival or parallel drafts of resolutions to emerge, requiring delegations to negotiate the specifics and find compromises, often in private discussions.
UN chief to visit region
UN officials are actively engaging with all parties involved in the expanding crisis to reduce tensions, create safe zones, and provide vital aid and medical assistance to those in immediate need.
World leaders are appealing for de-escalation, as President Joe Biden plans to visit Israel and Jordan to show solidarity. The crisis began when Hamas attacked Israel on October 7th, leading to a declaration of war. Aid agencies have been working tirelessly to provide assistance, but the southern frontier of Gaza remains closed. Tragically, UN staff, medical personnel, and aid workers have also lost their lives. There are concerns that the violence could spread to neighboring countries, destabilizing the entire region and beyond.
Yesterday, Tuesday around 7:00 p.m. a strike hit a hospital in Gaza and at least 200 people died and many injured, including women and children. Both camps reject responsibility, with the Israeli army saying it can provide proof of the involvement of Islamic Jihad.
This morning during a press conference the Israeli army revealed its evidence, it consists of aerial photos and above all a one-minute audio recording of a conversation in Arabic between two Hamas militants. Two men who discuss the responsibility of their ally, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, an ally which is also affiliated with Iran. According to them, the rocket was launched from a cemetery near the hospital, suggesting that this missed launch would have caused the tragedy.
This is information to be taken with great caution, because in times of war information is a weapon. Hamas very quickly communicated after the explosion the figure of 500 dead, according to the Israelis these figures are inflated.
The doctors on site had to deal with a chaos of bodies and screams and we improvised a press conference among the bodies. Gaza’s hospitals are full, after 12 days of bombardment, hundreds of people had found refuge there, people who lost their homes, or who were unable to leave the area. According to the UN refugee agency, there were at least 4,000 people inside the hospital.
For the moment, it is impossible to attribute responsibility to one camp or another, because it would not be the first time that defective rockets sent by Islamic groups in the enclave missed their target and fell. on Gaza and this would not be the first time that Israel has bombed civilian infrastructure in the enclave.
Hours before the explosion, the UN accused Israel of bombing a school one of its agencies operated in the Al-Maghazi refugee camp in Gaza and killing six civilians. The condemnations are unanimous throughout the world, in several Arab countries angry demonstrations have broken out, in Lebanon, Turkey, Tunisia, Iran and particularly in the occupied West Bank, hundreds of Palestinians have called for the resignation of Hamoud Abbas, the president of the Palestinian authority. In Jordan, demonstrators tried to enter the Israeli embassy in Amman and the government had to cancel the summit with the American president where the Egyptian president was also due to visit.
I am horrified by the killing of hundreds of Palestinian civilians in a strike on a hospital in Gaza today, which I strongly condemn. My heart is with the families of the victims. Hospitals and medical personnel are protected under international humanitarian law.
Mr. Guterres stressed in his message on X that hospitals and all medical personnel are protected under international law.
The UN human rights chief described the strike on the hospital as “totally unacceptable”.
“WHO strongly condemns the attack,” agency chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus wrote in a post on the social media platform X, formerly Twitter:
“WHO strongly condemns the attack on Al Ahli Arab Hospital in the north of the Gaza Strip. The hospital was operational, with patients, health and care givers, and internally displaced people sheltering there. Early reports indicate hundreds of fatalities and injuries.
The hospital was one of 20 in the north of the Gaza Strip facing evacuation orders from the Israeli military. The order for evacuation has been impossible to carry out given the current insecurity, critical condition of many patients, and lack of ambulances, staff, health system bed capacity, and alternative shelter for those displaced”.
On Tuesday night in New York, the United Arab Emirates said they along with Russia have called for an emergency UN Security Council meeting on Palestine, including the strike on the hospital in Gaza City.
Everyone is following what is happening, the question of Hamas remains essential but the conflagration of the West Bank which would pass through the North of Israel and which would bring Lebanon and Hezbollah to a real war would be the next step and hopefully no one wants it.
The number of borrowings from antiquity greatly increased in the 13th and 14th centuries, borrowed ancient motifs entered church art no longer only as additions; they permeate the plot itself and its character. There is a tendency to give volume through depth. A certain mannerism appears, depicting in the back, in profile, foreshortening, drawing in perspective. Stories from the Old Testament became especially popular; among them are the images of the Virgin (for example, the unburnt blackberry, Gideon’s fleece), of Christ (for example, Abraham, Melchizedek), as well as some symbolic images of Christ (in the form of an angel). Church decoration lost the strict unity and monumental laconicism so characteristic of the previous period. It is not a question of retreating from dogmatic principles, but its organic connection with architecture is beginning to be disturbed. “Iconographers and mosaicists no longer obey the inner space of the temple… to reveal its meaning. They juxtapose countless images”. An essentially spatial art, which up to that time had conveyed more relationships than gestures, more a state of mind than a string of emotions, now gets involved in the conveyance of what flows in time: narrative, narration, psychological reactions, etc. n. The relationship between the depicted and the viewer also changes: regardless of whether a single figure or a complex composition is depicted, it is no longer always turned outwards, towards the believer who prays in front of it. Often the image unfolds like a picture living its own life, as if closed in on itself, without relation to the viewer.
At that time, the images on the altar partition also increased, the theme of which must be directly related to the meaning of the main sacrament of the Church, the Eucharist. In its figurative interpretation, two currents appear: on the one hand, a search for a coherent theological system, which, by means of images, reveals the entire housekeeping of our salvation. This trend led to the shaping of the theme of the iconostasis, the classical form of which was formed in the 15th century in Russia. On the other hand, there is a tendency, so characteristic of this period, to clarify the meaning of the sacrament in an image, illustrating individual moments of the liturgy, for example the Great Entrance. It is precisely in this iconographic theme that the boundary between the imageable and the non-imageable is often violated. There is, for example, a scene of the priest’s offering of the Christ Child lying on a discus – a scene reaching extreme naturalism and reminiscent of a ritual murder (14th century church in Matej, Serbia). It is undeniable that the motif with the Child on the discus is a reaction to the liturgical controversies of the twelfth century, or rather their echo in the camp of Western theologians. By the time of the Palaeologians such disputes had evidently grown on the fertile soil of the hijacked wisdom of the humanists about rationalism.
Along with the illustrations of individual moments of the liturgy, a number of iconographic themes appear, apparently intended to reveal the meaning of the sacrament by means of stolen symbolic images: Sophia’s Table (The Banquet of Wisdom), or Sophia Wisdom communions the apostles, etc. These motifs figuratively recreate the text from Solomon’s Proverbs, 9:1-6 – “Wisdom built her house”. The text is presented in two plots. On the one hand, Sophia Wisdom – Angel – personification of divine wisdom according to the type of ancient personifications: on the other hand – Christ – Wisdom in the form of an Angel of the Great Council. It must be borne in mind that the subject of wisdom was quite prevalent during the controversy between the Hesychasts and their opponents; Undoubtedly, it is precisely in this context that the symbolic image of Sophia Wisdom spread during the time of the Palaeologians. In this symbolism, one cannot fail to notice the influence of the humanistic renaissance. Although it does not correspond to Hesychast ideas, this symbolism, as well as borrowings from antiquity, is not always alien to the Hesychasts. The symbolic depiction of Wisdom can be understood not only as an influence of humanism, but also as an attempt on the part of the Hesychasts to oppose God’s Wisdom to the wisdom of the philosophers. This type of symbolism, used consciously or not by artists, undermines the true Orthodox teaching on icons and leads to a violation of the canonical rules, in particular Rule 82 of the Fifth-Sixth Council.
This rule, we recall, removes those symbols that displace the direct image of the incarnate Word of God: “Honoring the ancient images and shadows as signs and types of truth…, we now prefer grace and truth, which are the fulfillment of the law.” Now, in the paleolog time, such “incarnation”, violating the principle of evangelical realism, is especially paradoxical in the case of the eucharistic theme. The fruit of abducted thoughts, this symbolism does not correspond to traditional Orthodox thinking, just as it does not correspond to the mixing of the imageable with the unimageable.
And the symbolic images replacing the direct human image, and the expressive artistic reflections of emotional life, and the aspiration to Hellenistic naturalism, and the extraordinary variety of new iconographic themes, and the multiplication of Old Testament types – all this is the fruit of the age, covered by the raging new ideas, the age of revival of humanism and hesychasm. If the traditional artists were not always protected from the humanist influence, then the sympathizers of humanism, in turn, did not leave the traditional forms of Orthodox art, represented by Hesychasm. The Paleo-Renaissance did not abandon these traditional forms. But under the influence of the ideas of the era, elements penetrated into them that lowered the spirituality of the image, and sometimes undermined even the very concept of the icon, its meaning, and as a consequence – its function in the Church. These ideas, the fruit of an abstract idea of God based on the material knowledge of the world, relate to the Orthodox tradition as the humanistic worldview relates to the traditional Hesychast approach. That is why the role and importance that humanists attach to philosophy and worldly knowledge of spiritual life, on the one hand, and the hesychastic approach to them, on the other hand, can give us indirect signals to understand the views of both sides regarding church art.
In his disputes with the humanists, St. Gregory Palamas wrote: “We do not stop anyone from becoming acquainted with worldly sciences if he wishes, unless he has adopted a monastic life. But we advise not to delve too deeply into them, and strictly forbid the expectation of obtaining an accurate knowledge of divine things, because no one can derive from them a true teaching about God.”
Further we read: “Indeed, there is something useful in worldly philosophers, just as there is pollen from poisonous grasses in honey. But there is a great danger that those who wish to separate the honey from the bitter herbs will unexpectedly swallow the poisonous residue.” Saint Gregory Palamas dwells at length and in great detail on the question of the relationship between secular science and philosophy in general and the knowledge of God. Despite the above-mentioned sharp judgment, he does not deny the importance of worldly knowledge, but even admits that it is relatively useful. Like Barlaam, he sees in it one of the ways to indirect, relative knowledge of God. But he stubbornly rejects religious philosophy and worldly knowledge as a means of communicating with God and knowing God. Not only is science incapable of giving “any true teaching about God,” but when applied to fields not proper to it, it leads to perversions, moreover, it can hinder true communion with God; can be “deadly”. As we see, St. Gregory Palamas only protects the area of communication with God from mixing with religious philosophy and natural, i.e., natural knowledge of God. Proceeding from this attitude of hesychasm to the mixing of secular sciences and religious philosophy with the field of theology, it can be concluded that the tasks and functions of ecclesiastical art were set in such a light.
It must be said that if a certain impartiality towards the image can be noticed in the psychosomatic technique of the hesychasts, their attitude towards icon veneration and the importance of the icon in worship and prayer remains completely true to Orthodox teaching. When St. Gregory speaks of icons, he not only expresses the classical Orthodox view, but also adds some clarifications characteristic of Hesychast teaching and the general direction of Orthodox art. He says: “To Him who became man for our sake, create an icon out of love for Him, through it worship Him, through it raise your thoughts to the Savior, who sits in glory at the right hand of the Father in heaven and whom we worship. In the same way, create icons for the saints … and worship them not as gods – which is forbidden, but as a testimony of your communion with them, love for them, in their honor, raising through their icons your mind towards them”.
As can be seen, St. Gregory expresses traditional Orthodox teaching both in his veneration of the image and in his understanding of its basis and content. But in the context of his theology this content sounds with a note typical of the pneumatological period. For St. Gregory, the Incarnation is the starting point from which the fruits are expected: the divine glory manifested in the human image of God the Word. The deified body of Christ has received and imparts to us the eternal glory of the Godhead. It is this image that is depicted on icons and worshiped to the extent of revealing the Deity of Christ. And inasmuch as God and the saints have the same grace, their images are also made “in likeness.”
In the light of such an attitude towards the image and such an understanding of its content, it is certain that for the hesychasts the only image that can serve as a means of communion with God is that which reflects the experience of this communion in harmony with the teaching of hesychasm. The artistic elements, based on abstract thoughts and empirical perception of the world, just like philosophy and secular sciences, cannot give “any true teaching about God”. The symbolic depiction of Jesus Christ, which replaces the personal image of the Bearer of divine glory, undermines the very foundation of the teaching of the icon as a testimony of the Incarnation of God. Such an icon, therefore, cannot “raise the thought to the Savior standing at the right hand of God the Father.” It is natural that with the victory of hesychasm, the Church puts an end to those elements in the cult art, which in one way or another undermine its teachings. It is due to hesychasm that “the last Byzantines, unlike the Italians, gave place to naturalness without turning it into naturalism; they use depth, but without locking it in the laws of perspective; explore the human, but without isolating it from the divine”. Art preserves its connection with revelation and preserves its synergistic nature of relationship between God and man.
The teaching of St. Gregory Palamas on the essence of communion with divine energies “destroys all the remnants of rationalism and iconoclastic positivism”, revealing also more distant problems that are noticeable in the teaching of icon veneration. Further dogmatic work could proceed only by expressing the very content of the spiritual experience, and thus also the content of ecclesiastical art. In the dogma of icon veneration, it is recognized that it is possible for the artist, by means of forms, colors, lines, to translate the result of divine action into man; and that this result may be shown, made manifest. In the teaching of the Light of Tabor, it is recognized that this divine action transforming man is the uncreated and imperishable light, the energy of the Divine, sensuously felt and contemplated. Thus the doctrine of divine energies merges with the doctrine of icons; and just as in the dispute about the Light of Tabor a dogmatic formulation of the deification of man is given, so also a dogmatic justification is given to the content of the icon. This is the time when those frameworks are defined, behind which ecclesiastical art cannot go without ceasing to be ecclesiastical.
The victory of the teaching of St. Gregory Palamas was decisive for the further history of the Orthodox Church. If the Church had remained passive in the face of the onslaught of humanism, the hurricane of new ideas of the age would undoubtedly have led to crises analogous to those in Western Christianity—the neopaganism of the Renaissance and the Reformation in accordance
with the new philosophies – and therefore also to the confirmation of completely different ways of church art.
And if, thanks to hesychasm, church art did not cross the boundaries beyond which it would have ceased to express Orthodox teaching, nevertheless, in the second half of the 14th century, the living creative tradition that defined the Palaeologian revival began to give way to a kind of conservatism. After the fall of Constantinople in 1453 and the conquest of the Balkans by the Turks, the leading role in the field of church art passed to Russia. The living impulse of Hesychasm and the dogmas that shaped Orthodox anthropology, the grounded teaching of Palamism, will bear priceless fruits in Russian art and spiritual life. There, the flourishing of the 14th and 15th centuries had a basis different from that created during the Byzantine Palaeologous Renaissance. Conservatism, by its very nature, will prove powerless to resist the push coming from the West. S. Radojcic has the right to say: “Western influences did more damage to Byzantine art than the Turks”.
The Council of Constantinople in 1351 was the most solemn act by which the Church affirmed the teaching of St. Gregory Palamas. The fourteenth century witnessed how the decisions of this council were accepted by the entire Orthodox Church. One year after the council, its decisions were elevated to the canonical succession as the Solemnity of Orthodoxy. In 1368, soon after his death, St. Gregory Palamas was canonized. His memory is celebrated on November 14. The second Sunday of Great Lent is also dedicated to his memory as a “preacher of the divine light” (vespers, third verse). Here he is sung as “luminary of Orthodoxy, teacher and pillar of the Church” (tropar). Thus, after Sunday, the Orthodox Church celebrates the proclamation of the doctrine of the deification of man; and the council of 843, which closed the Christological period of the Church’s history, is liturgically associated with the peak of the pneumatological period.
Source: Ouspensky, Leonid. Theology of the Icon, Vol. I and II, New York: St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 1992.
The Government of Pakistan, which has hosted millions of Afghans for decades, recently announced that all “undocumented” foreign nationals must leave the country by 1 November or face deportation to their countries of origin.
These plans would impact many Afghans who fled to Pakistan seeking safety and protection due to serious human rights concerns and the years-long humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan.
“Pakistan should stop all forced returns and continue to host Afghan nationals who fled for safety,” the experts said.
“The Government must also ensure their full access to procedures where their individual human rights protection needs and their need for effective protection in line with international human rights and refugee standards, are fully assessed,” they added.
The experts expressed concern over the risk of refoulement, particularly for Afghan nationals. They warned many families, women, and children would be at risk of irreparable harm, including serious human rights violations and abuses in their home country.
“We urge Pakistan to uphold the absolute and non-derogable principle of non-refoulement and prevent collective expulsion and forced return,” the experts said.
“We are also concerned by reports that Afghans living in Pakistan have been subjected to arrests, exploitation and undignified treatment, including since Pakistan announced its repatriation plans.”
The prohibition of refoulement is explicitly included in the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, to which Pakistan is a State party.
Safe and dignified return
In a letter dated 23 December 2021, the group of UN experts urged Pakistan to halt deportations of Afghan nationals following the Taliban takeover, until the circumstances and human rights situation in Afghanistan allows for the safe and dignified return of foreign nationals.
The experts also urged Pakistan to continue its collaboration with relevant UN entities to ensure protection for those seeking safety in the country.
Independent experts
Special Rapporteurs are appointed by the UN Human Rights Council and form part of what is known as its Special Procedures. The experts are mandated to monitor and report on specific thematic issues or country situations.
They serve in their individual capacity, are not UN staff, and do not receive a salary.
The draft resolution led by Russia received support from five countries (China, Gabon, Mozambique, Russia, and the United Arab Emirates) and opposition from four countries (France, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States). Six countries (Albania, Brazil, Ecuador, Ghana, Malta, and Switzerland) chose to abstain from voting.
There was a division among members regarding the absence of a clear condemnation of the extremist group Hamas. It was Hamas that initiated the ongoing escalation of violence by deploying hundreds of fighters to carry out massacres in settlements near the Gaza Strip on 7 October.
For the Council to adopt a resolution, the proposal must receive at least nine votes in favour, with none of its five permanent members opposing or casting a veto.
The initial version of the text had requested a ceasefire for humanitarian purposes, the release of all hostages, access for aid, and the safe evacuation of civilians.
Another version of the resolution, proposed by Brazil, is scheduled for discussion on Tuesday at the Council’s agenda. According to news reports, it proposes humanitarian breaks in the conflict and condemns Hamas and all acts of terrorism against civilians.
Vassily Nebenzia, Permanent Representative of Russia to the UN expressed regret over the Security Council’s failure to adopt the resolution, blaming the “selfish intention of the western bloc.”
During a recent meeting of the United Nations Security Council, the Russian draft resolution to end violence in Gaza was vetoed by Western countries. Russian Ambassador Nebenzia expressed concern over the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and accused those blocking the resolution of doing so for “selfish and political interests”.
However, the US Permanent Representative Linda Thomas-Greenfield argued that the resolution ignored Hamas’ terrorism and therefore could not be supported. She condemned Hamas for their actions, including killing civilians and taking hostages, and stated that the Council should not unfairly shift the blame to Israel.
The Permanent Observer of the Observer State of Palestine to the UN, Riyad Mansour, urged the Security Council to be guided by international law and not to send signals that Palestinian lives do not matter. He noted that what is happening in Gaza is a full-scale assault against innocent civilians. The Permanent Representative of Israel to the UN, Gilad Erdan, called on the Council to designate Hamas as a terrorist organization and to hold it accountable for the situation in Gaza. He also called for the Council to fully support Israel’s right to defend itself and demand the release of all hostages.
The experts were alarmed that hundreds of escapees – the vast majority of whom are women – have been sent back, despite repeated appeals by multiple international human rights bodies. Hundreds more reportedly are in detention awaiting the same fate.
There are long-standing and credible reports that people returned to the DPRK, more commonly known as North Korea, would face serious human rights violations such as torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment and punishment, they said in a statement on Tuesday.
The DPRK authorities label citizens “criminals” if they commit “illegal border-crossing”, and “traitors” if any link is found suggesting an “intention to escape to the Republic of Korea”, the official name for South Korea.
“Traitors” receive harsh punishments, including imprisonment without due process, and they may be subjected to enforced disappearance and even execution, the experts warned.
“No one should be returned to a country where they would face the risk of torture, cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment and other irreparable harm, including the use of the death penalty, and enforced disappearance,” they said.
Respect international law
The rights experts urged China to respect the principle of non-refoulement, which guarantees that no one should be returned to a country where they would face torture, cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment and other irreparable harm.
They stressed that the principle is guaranteed under international law and must be applied to all individuals at all times, regardless of their migratory status.
The UN experts wrote to Beijing raising concerns over the forcible returns and said they appreciated the official response from the authorities.
They called on China to abide by its international legal obligations and not forcibly repatriate remaining North Korean escapees.
“We welcome the reopening of the border and urge the DPRK to allow UN agencies, other humanitarian organisations and diplomatic missions to return to the country as soon as possible and engage the relevant Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council to review its human rights,” they said.
They also called on the DPRK “to comply with its international legal obligations in respect to all citizens returning to the country, including the absolute prohibition on torture and enforced disappearance, the prohibition of arbitrary detention, and fair trial guarantees.”
Elizabeth Salmón, Special Rapporteur on the situation on human rights in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, briefs the Security Council meeting on the situation in the country (file).
They are part of what is known as the Special Procedures of the Council, which is the general name of its independent fact-finding and monitoring mechanisms that address either specific country situations or thematic issues in all parts of the world.
These experts work on a voluntary basis, are independent from any government or organization and serve in their individual capacity.
