Calling for a Return to the Doctrinal Ideals and Kingdom Ethics of the First Reformation
Ignatius of Antioch (d.108) is counted among the Apostolic Fathers, those who had direct connection to the Apostles or were taught second-hand by someone connected to them. In other words they represent the earliest testimonies of Christian leaders in the period just after the New Testament was completed (around the year 95).
Ignatius was the Bishop of Antioch, the city where the disciples were first called 'Christians' (Acts 11:26).
Putin is afraid of a fifth column at work within his country. He knows the West has been scheming to remove him from power. He also is attempting to forge a Russian unity or monolith - or what I would call a sacral state. But even this is nuanced as Russia has no issues with its Tatar population or those of Central Asian heritage who are Muslim. They may live as something akin to second-class citizens (in some cases) but they are not persecuted on the basis of religion. There are even indigenous Buddhists in Russia - such as the Kalmyks who have their own autonomous republic. This too is not a problem for the Kremlin.
I was in Oberlin, Ohio recently. Every once in a blue moon, we take a trip over to Cleveland, and I've been meaning to do the little side-trip over to Oberlin for years. I'm not fan of Charles Finney but (like him or not) his influence on American Church history has been nothing less than profound.
The instability of the world order is starting to snowball. It's overwhelming and frankly it's hard to keep up. I cannot remember a time like this where a combination of factors are coming together to create a situation in which the world seems precarious, and precedent provides little guidance.