Code on Holy Sites presented in Istanbul

On 28 April 2010, Code on Holy Sites was presented at the session of the European Council of Religious Leaders. The document, compiled on the initiative of representatives of religious communities and expert circles from different countries, was adopted at the Conference in Trondheim in 2009. It was prepared with the aim of regulating the situation with holy sites of Christianity, Islam, and Judaism.

The document seeks to define the notion of holy sites: "Holy sites are places of religious significance for particular religious communities. They include, but are not limited to, places of worship, cemeteries and shrines, incorporating their immediate surroundings when these form an integral part of the site. For the purposes of this Code, holy sites are places of defined and limited area that are designated as such by each religious community according to its customs, recognizing also that a single site can be sacred to more than one community."

Prime Minister Vladimir Putin visits St. Nicholas’s in Vienna

Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, while on a working visit to Austria, visited after the Divine Liturgy on 25 April 2010, St. Nicholas's Cathedral in Vienna. He was welcomed at the gates by Archpriest Vladimir Tyschuk, rector of the cathedral, and numerous parishioners.

The high guest surveyed the restored church and kissed the venerated icons. He gave the cathedral, which belongs to the Russian Orthodox Church's diocese of Vienna and Austria, an icon of St. Nicholas.

Meeting of the European Council of Religious Leaders opens in Istanbul

The annual meeting of the European Council of Religious Leaders (ECRL) opened in Istanbul on 26 April 2010. The Council is comprised of thirty representatives of Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Buddhism, Hinduism, Sikhism, and Zoroastrism from European countries. The ECRL objective is to promote peaceful coexistence of the communities of different religions in Europe. This years the Council's meeting is being held under the headline "At the Crossroads: Justice, Equality and Sharing as Basis for Cultures of Peace."

Beginning of the session of the Holy Assembly of Bishops of the SOC

Holy Assembly of Bishops of the SOC begins with Holy Hierarchal Liturgy

A regular session of the Holy Assembly of Bishops has began with the Holy Hierarchal Liturgy in the Belgrade Cathedral church led by His Holiness Patriarch Irinej of Serbia with the concelebration of all Bishops of our Holy Church.

International Conference: “Saint Mark, the Apostle of Christianity in Egypt”

Under the auspices of His Beatitude the Patriarch of Alexandria and all Africa Theodoros II and in collaboration with the Roman Catholic Missionary Community of St. Egidio, International Conference under the title: "Saint Mark, the Apostle of Christianity in Egypt", will be held at the Seat of the Patriarchate on 24 April, on the occasion of St. Mark's celebration.

Conference's goal is to trace and evaluate the life and work of the Apostle and Evangelist St. Mark, the founder of the Alexandrian Church. Particular emphasis will be given to the role played by St. Mark in the propagation and consolidation of Christianity in Egypt, as well as in the historical development of the Alexandrian Church. Moreover it will be examined the framework that enabled Apostle Mark to write the most ancient of the four Gospels, known as the Gospel of Jesus Christ's miracles, as well as the impact that his Gospel exercised in spreading the Christian message in world level. Finally it will be presented the diachronic contribution of Apostle and Evangelist Mark in molding the spiritual and missionary activity of the Alexandrian Throne in the African continent.