Saint Gabriel Syriac-Orthodox Monastery, located in Tur Abdin, south-east Turkey, is the oldest functioning Christian monastery in the world. It was founded in 397, but its survival is now imperilled by a series of lawsuits launched by Muslim neighbours who are seeking to have the monastery closed or deprived of its land.
[T]he future of [...]

The Supreme Court of Nova Scotia has ordered the province’s Human Rights Commission (HRC) to reverse its decision to appoint a board of inquiry to adjudicate allegations that French public schools were unfairly deprived of funding.
The Nova Scotia Human Rights Commission does not have the jurisdiction to look into the complaint of an Acadian parent [...]

A report in today’s The Times of London indicates that the Chinese government wants to find a way to live with the officially illegal house church movement.
A secret meeting between Chinese officials and leaders of the banned underground Protestant Church has marked the first significant step towards reconciliation in decades.
The discussions, which were held in [...]

The National Post reports today that it has seen evidence that payouts to residential school survivors have contributed to social pathologies, including suicide, depression, and alcohol and drug abuse.  The “Common Experience Payment” (CEP), which began in the fall of 2007, was intended to compensate aboriginals who were taken away from their communities to attend [...]

The collect for today, the Feast Day of St Polycarp, Bishop of Smyrna, Martyr (source):
Almighty God,
who gavest to thy servant Polycarp
boldness to confess the name of our Saviour Jesus Christ
before the rulers of this world
and courage to suffer death for his faith:
grant that we too may be ready
to give an answer for the faith that [...]