This year's European Prayer Breakfast stood in the light of the conflict in Israel and Gaza.

Working hard exists; the Biblebelt in Finland is famous for it. People there also have reverence for God and respect for parents. Those are some fruits of God’s work in various revivals in the coastal region on the Gulf of Bothnia.

There is little to gain for a Christian party in Seinäjoki, laughs Aki Ruotsala. The Christian Democratic KD (Kristillisdemokraatit) has only 3 seats out of 49. “All parties here have respect for Christian values,” he says.

Is Ukraine allowed to legislate for limitations on the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) because it has formal connections with the Moscow Patriarchate (MP)? Western observers doubt this.

Jaakko casually crossed my path last week while I was on the road in Finland’s Biblebelt. As a reporter, I had arranged with a pastor there. He was waiting for me at the church entrance with two others. One of them was Jaakko.

Abraham Kuyper was open-minded and international but had no problem using anti-Semitic clichés. In some churches in America, South Korea and South Africa, he is still famous. In his own country, the Netherlands, he is nearly forgotten. To prevent this, Johan Snel wrote a new biography – an alternative one.

The Israeli representative at the UN in New York put on a yellow star last Monday. His photo was used all over the world, confirming the observation that the conflict between Israel and Hamas still dominates all the news. Why is that?

Overwhelming – that was the support Israel received from political leaders. Almost all political leaders from the Western world defended Israel’s right to self-defence after the attacks on October 7th. After a few weeks, people feel free to say more. And then, things become sensitive.

Visiting school groups from Europe are evacuated from Israel. Almost all churches in Europe have prayed for the conflict on Sunday. And all talks about this are filled with emotion. Three questions about the Holy Land in Europe.

Believing is not easy in Ukraine. The largest church in the country stands under suspicion of being pro-Russian. What can Kyiv do with the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC)?