International

HB Metr. Sawa celebrates his 80th Birthday

His Beatitude Sawa (Hrycuniak), Archbishop of Warsaw and Metropolitan of All Poland celebrates Sunday his 80th Birthday. His Beatitude Sawa is the current head of the autocephalous Church of Poland. He is the eighth hierarch to head the Polish church since it was granted autocephaly by the Patriarch of Constantinople in 1924. As Archbishop of…

Apr 15, 2018Iulian Dumitraşcu

Only Holy Relics survive fire that ravaged Greek Parish in Australia

A fire tore through St. Panteleimon’s Greek Orthodox Church in the seaside town of Glenelg North in Southern Australia on Tuesday, leaving the parish community without a home for their Holy Week and Paschal services, reports orthochristian.com. In what parishioners are calling a miracle, only the gold-plated reliquary containing a piece of the holy relics of…

Apr 7, 2018Sorin Ioniţe

Ecumenical Patriarch’s Easter Message 2018: The Gospel of Resurrection resounds in a world-Golgotha of social injustice

The gospel of the Resurrection resounds today in a society replete with social injustice and reduction of the human person, in a world that resembles a Golgotha of refugees with myriads of innocent children, says Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople in this year’s Easter Message. He recalls the strong connection between the Cross and the…

Apr 7, 2018Aurelian Iftimiu

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 2:15 PM. A delegation of the Romanian Patriarchate, headed by His Grace Bishop Timotei of Prahova, will bring the Holy Fire to…

Apr 7, 2018Aurelian Iftimiu

Patriarch Theophilos III celebrates his 66th Birthday

His Beatitude Theophilos III, Patriarch of the Holy City of Jerusalem and All Palestine, celebrates on 4 April 2018 his 66th Birthday. His Beatitude Patriarch Theophilos III (known in the world as Elias Giannopoulos, his parents, Panagiotes-Triseugenia) was born in Gargalianes of the County of Triphylia-Messinia, in 1952.  He arrived in Jerusalem in July 1964…

Apr 4, 2018Iulian Dumitraşcu

Original 1590 Synodal Tomos of Foundation of Moscow Patriarchate

A photograph of the May 8, 1590 tomos of the Council of Constantinople on the foundation of the Russian Orthodox Church as a patriarchate has been published online by the channel “Athonite Herald” on Telegram, a cloud-based instant messaging service, reports OrthoChristian. The historical document is written in ink on parchment in the Greek language.…

Mar 22, 2018Aurelian Iftimiu

Work starts to clear mines from traditional site of Jesus’s baptism

Israeli and international experts have started clearing thousands of wartime landmines and explosive devices from one of Christianity’s holiest sites, in the occupied West Bank, the Israeli defense ministry said Tuesday. It said work began this week to clear about 3,000 pieces of ordnance believed to be scattered around the Qasr Al-Yahud Greek Orthodox monastery,…

Mar 21, 2018Iulian Dumitraşcu

Metropolitan Sawa invites believers at first liturgy in new Warsaw Cathedral

His Beatitude Metropolitan Sawa of Warsaw and All Poland has invited the clergy and faithful of the Polish Orthodox Church to attend the first Divine Liturgy in the capital’s new Agia Sophia Cathedral on Saturday May 19, 2018. According to the press release from the metropolitan’s chancellery, this will be the second important moment in…

Mar 20, 2018Aurelian Iftimiu

Pat. Irinej supports Serbian Church’s proposed name change

His Holiness Patriarch Irinej of Serbia has voiced his approval of the proposal to amend the name of the Serbian Orthodox Church to emphasize its inextricable ties to much-suffering Kosovo, reports B92. The Serbian Church is set to vote on a new Church constitution in May, which includes the addition of “the Patriarchate of Peć” to the title…

Mar 14, 2018Gheorghe Anghel

Finnish Orthodox Church condemns initiative to legalize euthanasia

The Council of Bishops of the Finnish Orthodox Church under the Ecumenical Patriarchate recently expressed its official opinion on the civil initiative to legalize euthanasia, at the request of the Parliamentary Committee on Social and Health Issues, reports the site of the Finnish Church. Reflecting Orthodox Tradition, the Finnish Church stated its disapproval of the practice…

Mar 14, 2018Gheorghe Anghel

Patriarch Kirill celebrates 42nd Anniversary of Ordination to Episcopate

His Beatitude Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia celebrates Wednesday, 14 March 2018, the 42nd Anniversary of his Ordination to the Episcopate. His Beatitude Kirill (secular name Vladimir M. Gundyaev) was born on 20 November 1946, in Leningrad. After graduation from school, he entered the Leningrad Seminary and later the Leningrad Theological Academy, from…

Mar 14, 2018Iulian Dumitraşcu