International

A letter from the Bishops of the Orthodox Church in Germany to young people concerning love, sexuality and marriage

On the day that God made Adam, He made him in the likeness of God. Male and female He made them, He blessed them and He named them ‘Man’. (Gen 5:1-2) Dear young Orthodox Christians in Germany, As bishops of your Church in Germany we wish to speak about some topical issues in this letter…

Feb 8, 2018Gheorghe Anghel

Ruined Albanian churches could be tourist magnet if repaired: experts

Many old Albanian Orthodox churches and the art they contain lie in ruins due to decades of neglect but they could attract tourists if they are repaired, according to experts. A man lights candles at The Orthodox church of Saint Mary in Labova Kryqit, Gjirokaster, Albania January 24, 2018. The government and the Orthodox church…

Feb 8, 2018Iulian Dumitraşcu

Archimandrite Nathanael Symeonides elected Metropolitan of Chicago

The Holy Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate elected unanimously Wednesday the Very Reverend Archimandrite Nathanael Symeonides as Metropolitan of Chicago. Immediately following the election, His Eminence Archbishop Demetrios of America stated: “I express my wholehearted congratulations on the election of Very Reverend Archimandrite Nathanael Symeonides as Metropolitan of Chicago, wishing the abundant blessing of God…

Feb 8, 2018Aurelian Iftimiu

Patriarch Kirill to visit Bulgaria in March – The 140th anniversary of the liberation

Patriarch of Moscow and all Russia Cyril will visit Bulgaria in early March. This is what the spokesman of the Russian Foreign Ministry Maria Zaharova said. “The visit of the patriarch of Moscow and all Russia Kirill is planned for the 140th anniversary of the liberation of Bulgaria from the Ottoman yoke as a result of the Russo-Turkish War of Liberation (1877-1878). The program…

Feb 7, 2018Sorin Ioniţe

HB Arch. Hieronymos II of Athens celebrates a decade since his election as head of the Greek Orthodox Church

His Beatitude Hieronymos II, Archbishop of Athens and All Greece celebrates on 7 February 2018 a decade since his election as head of the Greek Orthodox Church. His Beatitude Hieronymos II born Ioannis Liapis in Oinofyta, Boeotia, in 1938, is a graduate of the Faculty of Philosophy and of the Faculty of Theology of the…

Feb 7, 2018Iulian Dumitraşcu

Bulgarian Orthodox Church elects Bishop Daniil as new Metropolitan of Vidin

By a vote of 11 to two on February 4, the Bulgarian Orthodox Church’s governing body, the Holy Synod, elected Bishop Daniil as the new Metropolitan of Vidin, informs sofiaglobe.com. Daniil, who since 2010 has been vicar to the Bulgarian Orthodox Church’s Metropolitan of the United States, Canada, and Australia Yosif, will be ex officio a…

Feb 5, 2018Iulian Dumitraşcu

Sümela Monastery’s secret ‘Observation Chapel’ opens to visitors in northeast Turkey’s Trabzon

A recently-discovered chapel that doubled as a watchtower at the Sümela Monastery in Turkey’s northeast Trabzon province has opened to visitors, providing new insight into the 1,600-year history of the ancient site. The structure, termed the “Observation Chapel,” is believed to have served a dual purpose both as a place of worship for monks and also…

Feb 3, 2018Gheorghe Anghel

Georgian Minister of Defense visits St Anthimos Monastery. ‘Hieromartyr Anthimos created a bridge between the Romanian Orthodox Church and other Churches,’ Bishop Varlaam says

During the visit of Georgian DefMin Levan Izoria at St Anthimos Monastery in Bucharest on Wednesday, Bishop Varlaam of Ploiesti stressed the importance of the monastic settlement founded by Saint Anthimos the Iberian who ‘with his typographical work, represents a bridge between the Romanian Orthodox Church, the Romanian nation, and the other Churches, especially the…

Feb 1, 2018Aurelian Iftimiu

Finnish Orthodox Church to honor exemplary mothers

Since 1994, the Finnish Orthodox Church under the Ecumenical Patriarchate has celebrated the achievements of the mothers among its flock. Mothers who have served the work of the Church in various ways, by educating, guiding, supporting and participating are annually awarded. All of the recipients are women who have their Orthodox faith at the center…

Feb 1, 2018Gheorghe Anghel

His Beatitude Kirill celebrates his 9th anniversary as Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia

His Beatitude Patriarch Kirill celebrates on 1 February 2018 his 9th enthronement anniversary as Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church. 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 which he graduated cum laude in…

Feb 1, 2018Iulian Dumitraşcu

The Monastery of St. John the Baptist in the Bethabara is reopened

It is announced that the historic Holy Monastery of St. John the Baptist in the Bethabara area, east of Jericho, on the west bank of the river Jordan will be reopened as an Orthodox Shrine of the Jerusalem Patriarchate from Monday, January 16/29, 2018. According to the tradition of the Gospel and the Church, this area…

Jan 31, 2018Gheorghe Anghel