News

Ecumenical gathering in Washington DC in June

The thirteenth annual Orientale Lumen Conference will be held in Washington D.C, June 15-18, 2009. This ecumenical conference will focus on the Christian East and is open to the public, for both lay persons and clergy. The speakers and attendees come from four main religious groups: Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Eastern Catholic and Oriental Orthodox churches. Orientale Lumen XIII will be held at the Pope John Paul II Cultural Center in Washington, DC and will focus on the theme of "Monastic Spirituality for Everyday Life".

Orthodox Church eyes Maya Indians

Metropolitan Jonah of All America and Canada is looking to students from Moscow with a Russian Orthodox background to work as missionaries among Maya Indians. The proposal was announced in the St. Tikhon's Orthodox University on Saturday, during Metropolitan Jonah's first official visit to Russia, ITAR-TASS reports.

Orthodox Church leader jets into Zambia

Pope Beatitude Theodoros II of the Orthodox Church has commended President Rupiah Banda and his administration for putting in place prudent economic measures aimed at addressing the problems the country was faced with. Pope Beatitude Theodoros II expressed satisfaction with the leadership of President Banda and pledged that the Orthodox community will closely work with the Zambian government in ensuring that economic development was attained in the country.

More than 160,000 People Hear the Gospel During Historic Festival in Honduras

A 6 day, region-wide evangelistic campaign that included more than 300 participating churches, and involved food and clothing distribution, spiritual leadership training, business conferences, and much more. It came to a joyous end as more than 110,000 people came together on the grounds of Esadio Olipico for Fiesta Catracha with Mike Silva. The two-day attendance for the festival was more than 160,000.

Restriction of religious teaching in public schools in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia

An independent United Nations human rights expert expressed disbelief today at the backlash targeted against a recent court decision to restrict religious teaching in public schools in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.

Wrapping up a five-day visit to the country, the Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief, Asma Jahangir, issued a statement noting that the Constitution "provides that religious communities and groups are separate from the State and equal before the law.

Meeting of the Israel-Vatican Bilateral Commission held in Jerusalem

The Bilateral Permanent Working Commission between the State of Israel and the Holy See has held a Plenary meeting at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the State of Israel today, Thursday, 30 April 2009, for the purpose of advancing the negotiations pursuant to Article 10 §2 of the Fundamental Agreement between the Holy See and the State of Israel (30 Dec.1993).

The Delegation of the State of Israel was led by Mr. Daniel Ayalon, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, and was composed, in addition, of the following Members: