Christian world

Biblical-era town discovered along Sea of Galilee

A town dating back more than 2,000 years has been discovered on the northwest coast of the Sea of Galilee, in Israel's Ginosar valley.

The ancient town may be Dalmanutha (also spelled Dalmanoutha), described in the Gospel of Mark as the place Jesus sailed to after miraculously feeding 4,000 people by multiplying a few fish and loaves of bread, said Ken Dark, of the University of Reading in the U.K., whose team discovered the town during a field survey.

Medieval church treasures from Hildesheim featured in fall exhibition at the Metropolitan

Germany's Hildesheim Cathedral in Lower Saxony has one of the most complete surviving ensembles of ecclesiastical furnishings and treasures in Europe, including many medieval masterpieces made between about 1000 and 1250. The cathedral was designated a UNESCO world cultural heritage site in 1985. Major renovations that are currently underway provide the opportunity for Medieval Treasures from Hildesheim-an extraordinary selection of about 50 medieval church treasures, most of which have never been shown outside Europe-to travel to The Metropolitan Museum of Art, where they will be on view beginning September 17.

SOYA meets in Canberra for the 2013 Annual General Meeting

"You are the best thing that has happened to the Church" said Bishop IRINEJ of the Serbian Orthodox Metropolitanate of Australia and New Zealand to the youth in attendance at the 2013 Annual General Meeting of the Serbian Orthodox Youth Association (SOYA).

SOYA, which has been in existence since May of 2008, meets annually in a different state of Australia to discuss the strategic direction of the organisation and define their goals as representatives of the Serbian Orthodox Youth of Australia and New Zealand.

Monument of Common Conscience revealed in East Anatolian city of Diyarbakir

The Sur Municipality of Diyarbakir held the official inauguration of the Monument of Common Conscience on Sept. 12, with mayor Abdullah Demirbaş apologizing in the name of Kurds for the Armenian and Assyrian “massacre and deportations.”

Montenegro’s Praskvica Monastery: ‘Our love to Russians may seem strange but it’s sincere’

One of the most famous monasteries of Montenegro – Praskvica Monastery – celebrates the 600th anniversary of its foundation. This is the oldest spiritual and religious complex which is inseparably linked with Russia. According to a legend, it was Russian monks who were among its founders and came and lived there through the ages.

Haghia Sophia: The First Great Martyr of Christian Art and Architecture

It all started with the Church of Haghia Sophia in Nicaea. Then Haghia Sophia in Trabzon. Both of these glorious Byzantine churches – which functioned for many decades as museums – have now been turned into mosques, a harsh reminder of their forced conversion centuries ago. And this in accordance with recent sudden decisions by modern political authorities.