News

Georgian Orthodox Church celebrate St. Nina’s Day

On January 27, the Georgian Orthodox Church marks St. Nino's Day. In all churches of Georgian Patriarchate will be heldspecial festive prayer. His Holiness Ilia the Second, Catholicos Patriarch of All Georgians, is delivering a religious service at Sioni Cathedral.

On January 26, Saint Nina's Cross was brought to the Dusk Prayer and put down at the center of the temple. This is the very cross with which the saint baptized the whole Georgia. The believers will have a chance to visit the cathedral in the evening of January 27 and worship the miraculous cross.

SVS Seminarians March for Life

Twenty-six St. Vladimir's seminarians, along with family members, seminary staff, and SVS Chancellor Archpriest Chad Hatfield, joined a large "Orthodox Christians for Life" contingent in the annual "March for Life" in Washington, D.C. on January 22, 2009. This year marks the 36th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the U.S. Supreme Court's landmark 1973 decision legalizing abortion, and the SVS delegation traveled to the nation's capital to show their compassionate and protective stance toward the unborn and to express their strong disagreement with the Supreme Court decision.

New church in Levski

A new church, built almost entirely with private donations, opened Sunday in the Sofia "Levski" district. The construction of the Saint John Chrysostom; church began in 1995, but was completed just recently due to lack of funds, which have been collected mostly from the district's residents.

Awarded the departing Ambassador of Cyprus to Egypt , His excellency Mr. Petros Eftychiou

On 22nd January 2009, His Beatitude Theodoros II, Pope and Patriarch of Alexandria and All Africa, in the Throne Room of the Patriarchal Mansion , awarded the departing Ambassador of Cyprus to Egypt , His excellency Mr. Petros Eftychiou, the Cross of the Apostle and Evangelsit Mark, with a Star.

Candidates for Moscow Patriarchal See to be elected on Jan 25, Patriarch - on Jan 27

Candidates for Moscow Patriarchal See will be elected at the Archbishop Council on January 25, while the Patriarch will be elected on the first day of work of the Local Council, on January 27, a statement posted on the official website of the Councils reads.

The agenda of the Local Council stipulates that the election of the Patriarch will take place at 5.30 p.m. Moscow time: the final part of the first day of the Council after its program, the order of meetings and the election of its working bodies and the procedure of electing a new Patriarch are approved.

Russian Church against compromise on belief-preaching with Catholics

There can be no room for any compromises on belief-preaching issues in the dialogue between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Catholic Church, Metropolitan Kirill, the Moscow Patriarchate Locum Tenens, said in an interview published in the Argumenty i Fakty weekly on Wednesday.

"The Roman Catholic Church's position on many issues of social life is closer to the Orthodox point of view [than that of the Protestants]. Anyway, we bear in mind a whole range of differences in the belief-preaching and practice of the Orthodox and Catholic Churches. No compromises can be made in this area," he said.