International

Polish Church adds 30 names to Synaxis of Chełm and Podlasie martyrs

The Bishops’ Council of the Polish Church, involving every hierarch of the Church, gathered in Warsaw on Tuesday, October 29, under the chairmanship of His Beatitude Metropolitan Sawa of Warsaw and All Poland, to discuss a number of issues, including the veneration of a group of 30 martyrs. The communiqué from the session quoted by Orthochristian…

Oct 31, 2019Sorin Ioniţe

Durrës Theological Academy, one of the most modern schools in Albania

The St. Vlasius Theological Academy in Durrës is one of the most modern schools in Albania, Orthodox Times informs. Archbishop Anastasios opened the school, which started operating as a seminar in 1992. Its main aim is to become a nursery for priests. Initially, a hotel was the first building to house the academy when 45…

Oct 29, 2019Gheorghe Anghel

Number of Orthodox parishes in Latvia has increased by 1/3 since 1992

The Latvian Orthodox Church has been restoring previously defunct churches and building new churches since Latvia separated from the Soviet Union in 1991. Meeting in Riga today, the Council of the Latvian Orthodox Church announced that since 1992, the number of Orthodox communities in Latvia has grown from 93 to 126, Orthochristians reports. The Council…

Oct 29, 2019Mihail Mere-Albe

President of Greece venerates relics of Saint Demetrios the Myrrh-gusher – PHOTO

The President of the Hellenic Republic, Prokopis Pavlopoulos, venerated the holy relics of the Holy Great Martyr Demetrios the Myrrh-gusher during a Doxology officiated on Saturday in Thessaloniki marking the 107th anniversary of the city’s liberation from Ottoman rule. The celebrations in honour of the Patron Saint of Thessaloniki began on Friday, October 25, when…

Oct 28, 2019Aurelian Iftimiu

Artists finish frescoes at main dome of new Warsaw Orthodox Church

The main dome of the new Orthodox Church in Warsaw has been completely painted by iconographers. The completion of the frescoes was announced by the local archdiocese in a communique published on the Polish Church’s website. The Church of Hagia Sophia in Warsaw has five domes with the main dome towering at a height of…

Oct 28, 2019Aurelian Iftimiu

Thessaloniki procession honours Patron Saint Demetrios: Photos

Metropolitan Theologos of Serres and Nigriti on Friday morning celebrated the Divine Liturgy at the church of St Demetrios the Myrrh-gusher in Thessaloniki marking the beginning of the celebrations honouring the city’s Patron Saint. Following the Divine Liturgy, the military Saint’s relics and a large icon decorated with flowers were carried in procession on the…

Oct 28, 2019Aurelian Iftimiu

Divine Liturgy celebrated in Georgian Church in Azerbaijan for first time in 100 years

The Orthodox faithful of the village of Kotoklo in the Kakhi District in the historical Georgian section of Azerbaijan known as Saingilo had great cause to rejoice earlier this month, as the Divine Liturgy was celebrated in their local church for the first time in just under a century. His Grace Bishop Dimitri (Kapanadze) of…

Oct 28, 2019Aurelian Iftimiu

Metropolis of Chisinau representative thanks Romanian Patriarch for canonization of Bishop Dionysius Erhan

‘We are here as part of the delegation of the Metropolis of Chisinau to bring thanks to His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel for the gesture he made for the entire clergy and the people in Bessarabia by including among the Saints Bishop Dionysius, who had a monastic vocation and a holy life and who gives us…

Oct 27, 2019Aurelian Iftimiu

Patriarch Bartholomew: Christianity is a religion of love and dialogue

Christianity is a religion of love and dialogue, and the Church’s unique contribution to our modern world is precisely its openness to meeting and having dialogue, Patriarch Bartholomew said in a recent interview with the Romanian outlet evz.ro. “If there is a unique and contributing element of the Orthodox Church for our time and our world,…

Oct 25, 2019Sorin Ioniţe

1,500-Year-Old Byzantine Church Near Jerusalem Uncovers Enigma

An important archaeological discovery was made public on Wednesday by members of the Israel Antiquities Authority. After three years of painstaking excavations, a Byzantine-era Christian church with spectacular, well-preserved mosaics and frescoes has finally been completely unearthed. The structure is located approximately ten miles west of the city of Jerusalem, World.greekreporter reports. The fascinating, yet mysterious,…

Oct 24, 2019Mihail Mere-Albe

Relics of Saint John of Valaam exhumed at New Valaam Monastery in Finland

On November 29, the Holy Synod of the Patriarchate of Constantinople announced its decision to glorify among the saints Schema-Elder John of Valaam (1873-1958) at the proposal of the Finnish Orthodox Church. The liturgical proclamation of this glorification was celebrated this year on June 1 at the Holy Transfiguration-New Valaam Monastery in Heinävesi by Metropolitan…

Oct 23, 2019Aurelian Iftimiu