News
UN conference in Geneva recognized the problem of Christianophobia
30. April 2009 - 12:15Participants in the Geneva UN conference against racism and xenophobia condemned discrimination of Christians. The Forum's final document voiced concerns with "incidents of racial or religious intolerance and violence, including Islamophobia, anti-Semitism, Christianophobia and anti-Arabism," the Moscow Patriarchate official web site has reported. The Russian Church has recently urged the participants in the conference to introduce an idea of Christianophobia into international laws.
Dialogue of Civilizations Forum to discuss problems of Europe in Prague monastery
29. April 2009 - 12:18The International Conference Dialogue in Prague: Europe in the 21st Century is to be held on May 13-15 in the Břevnov cloister, Prague. The participants in the conference will focus on such subjects as the world economic crisis and potential influence of the state on contemporary development, international cooperation and interreligious dialogue in the changing model of social development in Europe, the World Public Forum Dialogue of Civilizations, which convenes the conference, told Interfax.
Pan-orthodox calendar first of its kind
28. April 2009 - 8:49A work-in-progress Bay Area Pan-Orthodox events calendar is now available online. The calendar intends to provide announcements of all publicized events across all parishes and jurisdictions in the greater Bay Area (Active membership in SCOBA is the criteria for inclusion). Roll-out is intended to take place in three phases. Phase one is now complete. All diocesan and metropolitan events for 2009 have been posted, including conferences and retreats. Antiochian, Greek, ROCOR, and OCA calendars are currently collected in this central location.
Russian bishop: Europe is exposed to threat of weak Christianity rather than strong Islam
15. April 2009 - 8:16Head of the Moscow Patriarchate Department for External Church Relations Bishop Hilarion of Volokolamsk urges European countries to be more active in promoting Christian value system instead of talking about islamisation. "Today there's a lot of talking about islamisation of Europe, about demographic conquest of Europe. Big Muslim families shouldn't irritate us, it's natural to have a lot of children. We should better think why Christians prefer to have so few children?" the Bishop said at a Moscow meeting with Italian Ambassador in the Russian Federation Vittorio Claudio Surdo on Tuesday.
Holy Fire to be delivered from Jerusalem to Moscow on Easter eve for the seventh time
15. April 2009 - 8:11The Holy Fire, which miraculously descents in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, will be delivered by a special flight at 10.30 p.m. to Vnukovo airport on April 18, Saturday. The shrine will be taken to Christ the Savior Cathedral and conveyed to Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia for the Easter service, press service of St. Andrew the First-Called Foundation has told Interfax-Religion on Tuesday.
Lukashenko hopes Russian Church to actively help in strengthening Slavic unity
15. April 2009 - 8:10Byelorussian President Alexander Lukashenko believes the Russian Orthodox Church will be more active in building unity between Byelorussia and Russia. "We much anticipate and believe that the Russian Orthodox Church should become a more active participant in the process of uniting our states, and perhaps even in uniting Slavic civilization based on Byelorussia, Ukraine and Russia," Lukashenko told journalists in Minsk speaking on the results of his Friday meeting with Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia.
