Christian world

Evangelical Lutheran Archbishop of Finland and Leo of Finland at the Phanar

Archbishop Leo of Karelia and All Finland, who is the head of the Finnish Orthodox Church, and Archbishop Tapio Luoma of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland met with Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, on Tuesday, August 13, at the Phanar, during a pilgrimage visit at the Ecumenical Patriarchate and Constantinople.  During their meeting, attended by associates of the two Archbishops, issues related to inter-Christian dialogue and cooperation in Finland, as well as the course of relations between Orthodox and Evangelical Lutherans in general, were discussed.

Monastery in Evia evacuated due to fire break out

Metropolitan Chrysostomos of Chalkis spoke to OPEN TV station about the evacuation of the Holy Monastery of Panagia Makrymallis due to the big fire in the area of Agrilitsa, between Kontodespoti and Makrymalli villages.  The Metropolitan said that the fire was reported at around 3.30 am, that the monks are safe and that the Monastery is not currently in danger. “The Monastery has been evacuated for precautionary reasons. There are three Monks there who notified us at dawn, around 3.30 am to 4am”, explained Metropolitan of Chalkis.

Petition to cancel transfer of St. Andrew’s Church to Constantinople

A new petition was registered on the official website of the President of Ukraine on Saturday, calling for the cancelation of the transfer of Kiev’s historic 18th-century St. Andrew’s Church to the Patriarchate of Constantinople, reports the Union of Orthodox Journalists. As of 2:30 PM (Moscow) today, the petition has gathered 171 signatures of the necessary 25,000, with 91 days remaining. On October 17, former President Petro Poroshenko introduced a bill to transfer St. Andrew’s to the permanent use of the Patriarchate of Constantinople, in order “to eliminate the negative consequence of the interference of Russia—an aggressor country—in Ukrainian Orthodoxy.”

Joint Statement by the Leaders of the Christian Churches in Damascus

A joint statement was issued today, Monday, August 12, after the meeting of the Leaders of the Christian Churches in Damascus.

In particular, Patriarch John X of Antioch, the Patriarch of the Syriac Orthodox Church, Ignatius Aphrem II, and the Patriarch of the Melkite Greek Catholic Church of Antioch, Youssef Absi, met at the Monastery of Saint Ephraim the Syrian, in the presence of the Apostolic Nuncio to Syria, Mario Zenari.

Turkish President Erdogan Laid Cornerstone for the First Orthodox Church to be Built in Modern Turkey

  On 3/8/2019 Tayyip Erdogan the President of Turkey laid the cornerstone for the first Orthodox Church (Mor Efrem Syriac Orthodox Church in Istanbul) which will be built in modern Turkey.

The new Church will be built in the Istanbul suburb of Yesilkoy. The President stated that the new Syriac Orthodox Church will be a “new wealth” for the city’. Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I, Yusuf Çetin- Patriarchal Vicar of the Syriac Orthodox Church in Istanbul and Ankara, several religious and political leaders attended the historic event. The Syriac Orthodox Church is one of the ancient communities in the world, established by St. Peter the Apostle of Jesus Christ. 

17th Century St. Stephanos Church Re-Opens in Hochants Village after Renovation

Tufenkian Charitable Foundation, Artsakh’s Ministry of Culture, Youth and Tourism and Armenian Apostolic Church recently completed the restoration of Saint Stepanos church in the village of Hochants in liberated Kashatagh region.