News
Patriarch-Pope talks possible after rifts overcome: Moscow Patriarchate
26. September 2008 - 7:58The Moscow Patriarchate has again said that it is not rejecting talks between Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Russia and Pope Benedict XVI, but noted problems dividing the two Churches must be settled first.
"If we forge joint decisions that will help resolve the problems dividing the two Churches, it will not be difficult to find a time and venue for such talks. Many plans have been proposed, and all of them will be assessed, of course," Archpriest Vsevolod Chaplin, the vice-chairman of the Moscow Patriarchate Department for External Church Relations, told Interfax-Religion.
The Dialogue of Civilizations forum in Greece to have over 400 participants
26. September 2008 - 7:55More than 400 politicians, public dignitaries, representatives of religious circles and creative intellectuals, journalists will gather from the 9th to the 13th of October this year on the Greek Island of Rhodes to participate in the VI annual session of the World Public Forum Dialogue of Civilizations.
The main topic for discussion is as follows: "The dialogue community as a model of contemporary development." In one way or another, this subject will come up in the reports presented by participants in the discussions within the framework of nine panels and roundtables of the Forum: religious, political, economics, legal, education and migration.
Patriarch Lauds Catholic Magazine in Russian
26. September 2008 - 7:54Russian Orthodox Patriarch Alexy II says he is very pleased with the publication of a Russian edition of the Catholic magazine "30 Days."
In a letter to its director, former Italian Prime Minister Giulio Andreotti, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church said he is "very happy to see that this authoritative monthly, published in seven languages, now also has a Russian edition."
SVS Press title Father Arseny reaches thousands of U.S. prisoners
26. September 2008 - 7:54Through one of its most endearing and best-selling titles, Father Arseny: Priest, Prisoner, Spiritual Father 1893-1973, St Vladimir's Seminary Press (SVS Press) will reach more than 15,000 inmates incarcerated in U.S. prisons and offer them much needed spiritual solace and strength.
Since 2001, the press and The Human Kindness Foundation in Durham, NC have cooperated in a venture to provide prisoners with the book, which recounts the spiritual struggle of a Russian Orthodox priest in a Soviet gulag and his victory in Christ over human depravity.
Address of Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew to the Plenary Session of the European Parliament (full version)
25. September 2008 - 8:18Your Excellency Mr President of the European Parliament,
Your Excellencies, Honorable Members of the European Parliament,Distinguished Guests, Dear Friends,
First and foremost, we convey to you salutations from the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, based for many many centuries in what is today Istanbul - greetings replete with esteem and respect. In particular, we express our gratitude to an old friend of ours, His Excellency Hans-Gert Pöttering, President of the European Parliament. We likewise express our sincerest appreciation for the extraordinary honor to address the Plenary of the European Parliament, especially on this occasion that commemorates the European Year of Intercultural Dialogue.
Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew delivered a major address to the Plenary Assembly of the European Parliament
25. September 2008 - 8:12His All Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew delivered a major address to the Plenary Assembly of the European Parliament during the formal sitting of the assembly in Brussels, Belgium on Wednesday, September 24, 2008. His All Holiness was introduced by Mr. Hans-Gert Pöttering, President of the European Parliament. The Press Release of the European Parliament highlighting His All Holiness' address is given in full below, as well as a link to the address in its entirety.
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"We are all brothers and sisters", Ecumenical Patriarch tells MEPs
24-09-2007 14:21
Addressing a formal sitting of the House as part of European Year of Intercultural Dialogue, the Ecumenical Patriarch of the Orthodox Church, Bartholomew I, spoke of the value of the European project in promoting peace and tolerance, the importance of accepting minorities and the need for the EU to accept Turkey as a member. He also underlined his church's efforts to encourage respect for the environment.