International

Church of Greece declares 2020 the Commemorative Year of St Nectarios of Aegina

During its working session on Feb. 7, the Permanent Holy Synod of the Greek Orthodox Church declared 2020 as Commemorative Year of Saint Nectarios of Aegina, marking the 100th anniversary of his blessed repose in the Lord. The hierarchs announced that the annual Diptycha volume of the Church of Greece for 2020, containing details regarding…

Feb 12, 2019Aurelian Iftimiu

Bulgarian Orthodox Church calls for abortion ban, compulsory religion in schools, no sex education

The Bulgarian Orthodox Church’s governing body, the Holy Synod, has called for a complete rewrite of the government’s National Strategy for the Child 2019-2030, urging a ban on terminations of pregnancy, for religion to be a compulsory subject in schools, no sex education, The Sofia Globe reports. The strategy, which succeeds the 2008/2018 version, was…

Feb 10, 2019Iulian Dumitraşcu

Patriarch Bartholomew, Greek PM in joint call for reopening of Halki seminary

Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew and Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras on Wednesday expressed their shared hope that the Halki Orthodox seminary, which was shut down by Turkish authorities in 1971, will soon reopen. Tsipras thanked Ecumenical Vartholomeos for the tour of the school (high school and seminary) where he went from the island of Imvros at…

Feb 10, 2019Iulian Dumitraşcu

Cyprus: Holy Synod discusses ecclesiastical issue of Ukraine

The ecclesiastical issue of Ukraine was on the agenda of the Holy Synod of the Church of Cyprus, Romfea News reports. At today’s meeting of the Holy Synod, under the supervision of the Archbishop Chrysostomos of Cyprus, there was an exchange of views on the ecclesiastical issue of Ukraine. It was decided to continue the…

Feb 7, 2019Gheorghe Anghel

Metropolitan Nifon attends festivities dedicated to Patriarch Kirill’s 10th enthronement anniversary

His Eminence Hon Metropolitan Nifon, Archbishop of Targoviste and patriarchal exarch, attended the festivities held in Moscow to mark Patriarch Kirill’s 10th enthronement anniversary, on Jan. 30 – Feb. 2, 2019. Taking part in the event were delegations of the local Orthodox Churches of Alexandria, Antioch, Jerusalem, Serbia, Romania, Bulgaria, Georgia, Poland and the Czech…

Feb 5, 2019Aurelian Iftimiu

US Orthodox Bishops deeply concerned that the taking of innocent life through abortion has become an acceptable cultural norm

‘While recognizing that there are rare but serious medical instances where mother and child may require extraordinary actions, the Assembly of Bishops is deeply concerned that the taking of innocent life through abortion has become an acceptable cultural norm.’ The Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of the United States of America has released a statement…

Feb 4, 2019Aurelian Iftimiu

Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom translated into Urdu, language of Pakistan

For the first time ever, the text of the Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom has been translated into Urdu, the official language of Pakistan, and one of 22 official languages in India, Orthochristian reports. The Liturgy was translated from Church Slavonic and English texts by Fr. Paul and Matushka Elizabeth Sushil who serve in the Moscow…

Feb 2, 2019Gheorghe Anghel

Stolen fresco fragments welcomed home

Archbishop Chrysostomos said on Friday that the Cyprus Church would spare no expense or effort to make sure stolen icons from Cypriot churches would be returned to where they belong, after receiving from Transport Minister, Vassiliki Anastasiadou, four fragments of religious frescoes removed from churches in the north following the 1974 invasion. The frescoes were recently handed…

Jan 29, 2019Gheorghe Anghel

Four stolen frescoes were repatriated to Cyprus

Four frescoes stolen from monasteries of the island were delivered for repatriation to the Republic of Cyprus, Romfea reports. According to CNA, the frescoes were delivered to the Minister of Transport, Vasiliki Anastasiadou, by the President of the Walk of Truth NGO, Tasoula Hadjitofi, at a special ceremony of the Embassy of the Republic of…

Jan 23, 2019Gheorghe Anghel

The Ecumenical Patriarch performs the Blessing of the Waters in Triglia for the first time since 1922

For the first time in history, an Ecumenical Patriarch celebrated the Divine Liturgy in Triglia (Tirilye), in the Province of Bursa, and the ceremony of the Blessing of the Waters with the diving for the Cross in the Sea of Marmara. It was the first time for 97 years that a diving for the Cross…

Jan 22, 2019Gheorghe Anghel

Archbishop of Albania honoured with Botsis Foundation Honorary Award for promoting Hellenic culture

His Beatitude Archbishop Anastasios of Albania received an honorary award of the Athanassios Botsis Foundation for the Promotion of Journalism during a ceremony held at Sarogleio Palace in Athens on Thursday, January 17, 2019. The award was handed over to the Albanian Archbishop by His Excellency, Prokopis Pavlopoulos, President of the Hellenic Republic, for His…

Jan 21, 2019Aurelian Iftimiu