Bleak winter

My 2 best friends while I recuperate

The weather has been getting cooler and cooler. Last night was only 15 degrees. It was cold enough that I had to use a blanket. Daytime though continues to be hot ... 27 degrees. Much as I wanted to rest, I had to go to work ... more document work over the library accounts, postal service that refuse to send books to use ... it is mentally exhausting. But still I have to do it. My volunteers in the library have finished their terms and returned to their countries so I'm doing 3 people's work. I try my best given that I'm still recovering. Everyone I meet at our main monastery told me to go home and rest ... but no one is willing to do my work. So I do my job as is required, as they say in italian: grit your teeth and do it.

Russian Church spokesman announces
the schism (photo from The Moscow
Times)

Anyway the big news right now is the Russian Orthodox Church has officially cut off ties with the Patriarch of Constantinople ... spiritual head of the Orthodox churches. It's all political of course ... over the war in Ukraine. Russia's claim over part of Crimea has led to a war with Ukraine and when the Orthodox Synod voted to make Ukraine's Church independent from the Moscow Patriarchate, the Russian Patriarch in turn left the Orthodox federation under Constantinople (read Istanbul). Tit-for-tat. It's the greatest schism in christianity since a thousand years when the Roman Church and the Orthodox churches divided. Russia's Church will be in crisis because more than half of it's followers are Ukrainians.  https://www.reuters.com/article/us-ukraine-church-russia/russian-orthodox-church-breaks-with-constantinople-in-row-over-ukraine-idUSKCN1MP24G

The long anticipated walkout of the ultra-orthodox jewish parties from the govt. coalition was an anti-climax. They backed down ... they know they have no support from both the left and right and will lose all their privileges if they are not in power. Now they're asking only to make some changes to the draft law which will require ultra-orthodox youths to register for compulsory military service.

Another stabbing attempt near the jewish settlement in Palestine. Arab attacker shot dead. This is the 3rd stabbing attack in one week. Not a good sign. And with the tensions at the demolition of the bedouin village, and the border violence with Gaza ... this winter looks bleak.   https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/palestinian-shot-and-killed-in-suspected-west-bank-stabbing-attempt-1.6555322