International

Archbishop Demetrios of America resigns

His Eminence Archbishop Demetrios on Saturday officially tendered his resignation in writing during a meeting in Constantinople with Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew. The 91-year-old Archbishop’s resignation will be considered by the Holy Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate at its next session on Thursday, May 9, when it is expected to discuss the matter of succession to…

May 4, 2019Aurelian Iftimiu

Bilateral meeting between Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew and Metropolitan Sawa of Poland

As part of his three-day visit to Poland, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew met with the Primate of the Polish Orthodox Church in Warsaw on Bright Friday, May 3, 2019. After joining the March of the Living, an event that takes place every year to commemorate the victims of the Holocaust, the Ecumenical Patriarch was welcomed at…

May 4, 2019Aurelian Iftimiu

Ecumenical Patriarch about Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp: This place will always be a symbol of radical evil

Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew on Thursday joined the March of the Living, a 3-kilometer walk from the Auschwitz concentration camp to Birkenau in Poland, to commemorate the victims of the Holocaust. The annual march coincides with Israel’s Holocaust Remembrance Day (Yom Hashoah) and marks the murder of 6 million Jews in the Holocaust. Participants in the…

May 4, 2019Aurelian Iftimiu

Thousands of faithful celebrate the Resurrection of the Lord in Tirana

“The Lord is risen” – “Indeed, He is risen” one could hear all over Albania. The Primate of the Orthodox Church of Albania, Archbishop Anastasios, presided the Service at the Cathedral in Tirana assisted by the Metropolitan Nathaniel of Amadiya (Amadia) and Bishop Astis of Vilidos as well as priest of the Archdiocese, Romfea News…

Apr 28, 2019Gheorghe Anghel

Holy Fire has descended in Church of Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem

The Holy Fire has descended in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, as seen on the live stream on the Facebook page of the Jerusalem Patriarchate. The Holy Light descended at about 2:30 PM. The Holy Fire appeared in the edicule (the small chapel built over the burial place of Christ) after the Orthodox…

Apr 27, 2019Iulian Dumitraşcu

Photo | The Service of the sacred washing of the feet at the Jerusalem Patriarchate

On Holy Thursday morning, April 125, 2019, the Divine Liturgy of St. Basil the Great was celebrated at the Holy Cathedral of St. James the Brother of God, led by  His Beatitude Teophilos III, Patriarch of Jerusalem and All Palestine, with co-celebrants the Most Reverend Archbishop Aristarchos of Constantina, the Most Reverend Archbishop Theodosios of…

Apr 26, 2019Iulian Dumitraşcu

In Easter message, Ecumenical Patriarch rejects conception that Orthodoxy is “introverted, unworldly and indifferent”

In this year’s patriarchal encyclical for Holy Pascha, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew rejected the conception that ‘Orthodoxy is introverted, unworldly and indifferent to history and civilization’, saying that this is ‘a complete misinterpretation of Orthodox self-consciousness as well as of the social and charitable work of the Church’. Pascha is not only the greatest feast of…

Apr 26, 2019Aurelian Iftimiu

Holy Land Easter message: lasting peace in Jerusalem and the world

Thirteen Patriarchs and Heads of Christian Churches in Jerusalem have issued an Easter Message praying for lasting peace throughout the world and urging that the multi-religious and multi-cultural status of Jerusalem be maintained. The 13 spiritual leaders in Jerusalem have expressed their Easter greeting to the people of the Holy Land, the larger Middle East…

Apr 25, 2019Aurelian Iftimiu

Syria | Joint statement issued in memory of abducted Aleppo bishops

The joint statement issued by Patriarch John X of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch and All the East and Ignatius Aphrem II of the Syriac Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch and All the East, on the 6th anniversary of the kidnapping of the Aleppo bishops, namely Bishop Youhanna Ibrahim and Bishop Paul Yazigi: Beloved Brothers…

Apr 25, 2019Iulian Dumitraşcu

Inter-religious Council of Albania asks for property restitution by the Albanian State

On Friday, the Inter-religious Council of Albania conducted a meeting between religious leaders, to discuss, among other things, the issue of the return of religious property by the Albanian State, Romfea News reports. The meeting was attended by Archbishop Anastasios of the Orthodox Church of Albania, who is also the president of the Council, the…

Apr 23, 2019Gheorghe Anghel

Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew expresses horror at Sri Lanka attacks

Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew expressed his solidarity with the Sri Lankan people and voiced his horror at a series of explosions at churches and hotels that killed more than 200 people and injured hundreds during Easter observed by the Catholic Church. His Holiness unambiguously condemned all acts of terror, as well as any act of hatred,…

Apr 22, 2019Aurelian Iftimiu