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…
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…
The consecration ceremony of the century-long desired Romanian People’s Salvation Cathedral is scheduled for the end of November to mark the 100th anniversary of Romania’s 1918 Great Union. We have looked into the next stages of construction that must be completed until the new Patriarchal Cathedral in Bucharest will be consecrated. ‘At present the works…
The Synod (assembly of bishops) of the Metropolis of Muntenia and Dobrudja met Tuesday at the patriarchal residence in Bucharest under the chairmanship of His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel. During the February 6 meeting, the hierarchs agreed on proposing Saint Matrona of Moscow to be added to the calendar of the Romanian Orthodox Church. The procedure…
‘Unity. Faith. Nation’ is the motto under which 2,500 young people from Romania and abroad will meet in Sibiu during the fifth edition of the International Meeting of Orthodox Youth (ITO) on 6-9 September 2018. The ITO 2018 event was launched officially at the Metropolitan Cathedral of Sibiu, on the International Day of Orthodox Youth,…
During his Sunday homily Patriarch Daniel of Romania reflected on the parable of the prodigal son stressing the inestimable value of the human soul and spoke about man’s freedom, the mystery of repentance and God’s infinite forgiving love for every repenting sinner. The Romanian Patriarch noted that the Heavenly Father refers to us with a…
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…
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…
We released this year’s first issue of the Basilica.ro monthly review. The January 2018 edition is now available in colour pdf format for downloading and local distribution. Each monthly edition will feature select articles that had been published on the Basilica News Agency website during the previous month. Feel free to download, read and distribute the Good to Know.
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
The professors and students of the Patriarch Justinian Faculty of Orthodox Theology in Bucharest on Tuesday prayerfully celebrated the feast of the Three Holy Hierarchs, the patrons of theological education. Celebrating the Divine Liturgy at the Faculty’s St Catherine Chapel was His Grace Bishop Varlaam of Ploiesti, who conveyed the blessings and congratulations of Patriarch…
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…
During a ceremony led by His Beatitude Archbishop Hieronymos of Athens Wednesday, Jan. 17, Saint George of Ioannina also known as St George of Fustanella was proclaimed Protector Saint of the ceremonial infantry unit that guards the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and the Presidential Mansion in Athens, Greece. The Archbishop blessed a memorial in…
His Eminence Andrei, Metropolitan of Cluj, Maramures and Salaj, celebrated the Sunday Divine Liturgy at the katholikon of the Athonite Vatopedi Monastery, during which he spoke about our earthly existence stressing that ‘our whole life should be a permanent and sincere repentance.’ Allegedly built by St Constantine the Great, the Vatopedi Monastery received much support…
His Beatitude Rastislav, the Metropolitan of the Orthodox Church in the Czech Lands and Slovakia, celebrates on 25 January 2018 his 40th Birthday. Rastislav or Rostislav, also known as St. Rastislav, was the second known ruler of Moravia (846–870). Upon his initiative two brothers, Cyril and Methodius sent by the Byzantine Emperor Michael III in…
The Patriarch of Romania, the President of Romania, the President of the Romanian Academy, academicians, professors, clergy and other officials were among the attendees of the Wednesday scientific session ‘The Union of the Romanian Principalities: the foundation of the 1918 Great Union’ that took place at the Patriarch Teoctist Aula of the Patriarchal Palace, the…