International

“Freedom is a journey upward and toward our neighbour”: Ecumenical Patriarch in Easter Encyclical

In his encyclical for Holy Pascha, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew notes that “all that we believe, all that we love, and all that we hope as Orthodox Christians is associated with Pascha, from which everything derives its vividness, through which everything is interpreted, and in which everything acquires its true meaning.” Patriarch Bartholomew highlights that “the…

Apr 30, 2021Aurelian Iftimiu

Patriarch Porfirije meets Romanian Ambassador to Serbia

On the 14th of April 2021, His Holiness Porfirije, Serbian Patriarch received Mrs. Silvia Davidoiu, Ambassador of Romania to the Republic of Serbia, at the Serbian Patriarchate in Belgrade. Serbian Patriarch Porfirije, welcoming the Romanian ambassador, mentioned the fraternal relations existing between the two Orthodox Churches and expressed His hope that he will have the…

Apr 16, 2021Iulian Dumitraşcu

Bulgarian Bachkovo Monastery awarded as “Monastery of the Decade”

On March 19, the first Friday of Great Lent, the Holy Dormition Bachkovo Monastery of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church was solemnly awarded the title of “Monastery of the Decade.” The honor was given as part of the large-scale “Wonders of Bulgaria” campaign for the preservation and promotion of the national cultural and historical heritage, reports…

Mar 24, 2021Iulian Dumitraşcu

Benelux Orthodox Bishops postpone inter-Orthodox concelebration on Sunday of Orthodoxy

During an extraordinary coordination meeting held March 11, the Orthodox Episcopal Assembly of Benelux (CEOB-OBB) announced that the inter-Orthodox concelebration on the Sunday of Orthodoxy will not take place this year due to the coronavirus pandemic.  The hierarchs discussed the difficulties caused by the pandemic in officiating holy services and not allowing believers access to…

Mar 16, 2021Aurelian Iftimiu

Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew: Great Lent is also a quarantine

‘Some of you may wonder why the Church, in the midst of the current pandemic, would add to the already existing health restrictions yet another “quarantine,” namely Great Lent.’ “Indeed, Great Lent is also a quarantine, a period that lasts forty days,” wrote Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew in his catechetical message at the beginning of Great…

Mar 16, 2021Aurelian Iftimiu

Warsaw Metropolitan at beginning of Lent: Union with Christ through repentance is the path of the modern Orthodox in the fight against evil

“For Orthodox Christians in our complex, difficult times, full of spiritual disappointments, temptations and limitations of all kinds, Lent is of great spiritual importance,” His Beatitude Metropolitan Sawa of Poland begins his Lenten epistle. Lent is a time for increased prayer and the struggle for purification, which give us renewed strength to struggle with the temptations…

Mar 11, 2021Aurelian Iftimiu

Georgian PM condemns “unprecedented attack” against Patriarch Ilia and the Orthodox Church

Georgia’s Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili expressed his admiration for the Catholicos-Patriarch Ilia II and disapproved of the slanders brought in the public space against the Georgian Orthodox Church. The Prime Minister of Georgia met on Tuesday, March 2, with His Beatitude Patriarch Ilia at the Patriarchate’s headquarters in Tbilisi a week after being appointed to…

Mar 5, 2021Aurelian Iftimiu

Patriarch of Jerusalem: We look forward to serving together to further the unity of our communion

Patriarch Theophilos of Jerusalem published an open letter in which he referred to the dialogue that was held last year in Jordan for the sake of the unity of the Local Orthodox Churches. On February 26, 2020, a meeting of Primates and representatives of Local Orthodox Churches was held in Amman, Jordan, with the primary…

Mar 1, 2021Gheorghe Anghel

First liturgy after enthronment: Patriarch Porfirije offers the publican’s humility as a model of spiritual health

Serbian Patriarch Porfirije celebrated his first official Patriarchal Liturgy this Sunday at Saint Sava Cathedral in Belgrade. In his homily, he said that man’s natural state is illustrated by the publican’s humility. Only by following his model can we function healthily: “To be Christian means to be authentically human,” he said. “What seems great, powerful and…

Feb 22, 2021Ștefana Totorcea

The mission of the Church is to build peace, new Serbian Patriarch says at enthronement ceremony

Metropolitan Porfirije Perić officially became the 46th Patriarch on the Throne of St. Sava, after his enthronement as the new Archbishop of Pec, Metropolitan of Belgrade-Karlovac and Patriarch of Serbia Hundreds gathered on Friday at St. Michael’s Cathedral in Belgrade to attend the enthronement ceremony of His Beatitude Porfirije, the new Patriarch of the Serbian…

Feb 22, 2021Aurelian Iftimiu

Dacia Felix Bishop about Serbian Patriarch Porfirije: “He knows very well the realities of this blessed, multiethnic space”

His Grace Bishop Daniil of Dacia Felix conveyed congratulations to the newly elected Patriarch of the Serbian Orthodox Church after his enthronement at St Michael Cathedral in Belgrade on Friday. “The election and enthronement of Metropolitan Porfirije of Zagreb and Ljubljana as new Patriarch of the Serbian Orthodox Church is a spiritual joy for the…

Feb 20, 2021Aurelian Iftimiu