News

Heavily damaged Orthodox church in Iraq

On the first day of the Dormition Fast, on Sunday, 14th August 2011, in Iraqi town of Kirkuk a bomb was thrown on the Orthodox church of St. Ephraim. The church is located few hundred meters from Chaldean Cathedral Church in the downtown. The bomb exploded after midnight, so there were no victims of this crime. However, this Orthodox holy place is heavily damaged.

Russian icons discovered in Egypt

Researchers attribute the unique climate of Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula as a leading factor in the preservation of a treasure trove of Russian icons and liturgical objects recently found in St Catherine’s Monastery. The discovery of around 100 Russian icons and decorative objects dating from the 16th to 19th century at the Unesco World Heritage Site was reported in Russia last month. Almost all of the works were unknown to scholars, according to Natalia Komashko, a research project manager at Moscow’s Andrei Rublev Museum of Early Russian Art and Culture.

St Catherine’s Monastery is famous for its library, which houses one of the world’s largest collections of ancient manuscripts and codices, as well as for its sizable collection of sixth-century icons that survived the wave of Byzantine iconoclasm that destroyed most at that time.

Tomb of St. Philip the Apostle Discovered in Turkey

A tomb believed to be that of St. Philip the Apostle was unearthed during excavations in the ancient city of Hierapolis, in the Turkish southwestern province of Denizli.

Italian professor Francesco D'Andria said archeologists found the tomb of the biblical figure -- one of the 12 original disciples of Jesus -- while working on the ruins of a newly-unearthed church, Turkish news agency Anadolu reported Wednesday.

Orthodox Mission in Manado

In Indonesia, in the state where the population is mostly moslem, father Jovan Bambang has preached for years Orthodox christianity in areas where until today it hasn't come. He himself as a convert from the moslem faith, father Jovan baptized six persons at the beginning of this month in a town of Manado, the capital of the province North Sulawasi. In all Indonesia there are three to four percent Orthodox believers. In many cases one priest serves several communions, and some communions are very small, they count less than ten believers.

Serbia Land of the Frescos, a travelling exhibition

The Gallery of Frescoes of the National Museum in Belgrade will be exhibiting facsimiles of medieval and Byzantine Serbian frescos and sculptures at the Basilica dei Santi Apostoli in Rome from 6 July to 29 July 2011.

Google logotype on Tuesday was dedicated to the 450th anniversary of St.Basil's Cathedral

A Google Doodle marked on Tuesday, July 12, 2011  the 450th anniversary of St. Basil’s Cathedral in Russia. The famous Russian landmark, which features nine multi-colored onion-shaped domes and is located outside of the Kremlin in Moscow’s Red Square, replaces the “l” in Google’s famous logo.