Patriarch Theodore of Alexandria celebrates a service on board of cruiser "Varyag"

On November 14, His Beatitude Theodore (Theodoros) II, Pope and Patriarch of Alexandria and All Africa, on invitation of Captain first Rank Alexander V. Potapov arrived on board of the flagship of the Russian Pacific fleet—the guard missile cruiser "Varyag" (Varangian) which is currently located by the shores of Egypt, reports Patriarchia.ru.

The head of the Orthodox Church of Alexandria was given a solemn reception, at which Sergei Petlyakov, Consul General of the Russian Federation in Alexandria, was also present.

Feast of St. John Chrysostom

On Wednesday, November 13, 2013, His All-Holiness celebrated the Divine Liturgy at the Patriarchal Church of St. George in commemoration and celebration of his saintly predecessor on the Archdiocesan Throne of Constantinople.

In accordance with tradition, the relics and icon of St. John Chrysostom were placed before the patriarchal throne to symbolize the saint presiding over the service. The sacred relics of St. John were returned to the Phanar from Rome in 2004.

Metropolitan Hilarion attends conference on protecting the family

November 13, 2013 – a conference on “Orthodox and Catholics Protecting the Family Together” took place in Rome under the auspices of the Department for the External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate and the Pontifical Council for the Family.

Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia, president of the Pontifical Council for the Family, opened the conference, addressing the problem of the globalization and the crisis of the family. Then Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, head of the DECR, spoke on “The family, Christianity, society: Orthodox perspective”.

The feast of Saint Demetrius at Patriarchate of Jerusalem

The feast of Saint Demetrius at Patriarchate of Jerusalem
The feast of Saint Demetrius at Patriarchate of Jerusalem
The feast of Saint Demetrius at Patriarchate of Jerusalem
The feast of Saint Demetrius at Patriarchate of Jerusalem

On Friday the 26th of October/8th of November 2013, the feast of St Demetrius the Great Martyr and Myrrh-Streamer was celebrated at the ancient chapeldedicated to him. The chapel lies between the Central Monastery of the Hagiotaphites and the School of St Demetrius, named thus after the chapel.

Metropolitan Hilarion completes his visit to Lebanon

On 10 November 2013, Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, chairman of the Moscow Patriarchate’s Department for External Church Relations (DECR), who visited Lebanon in connection with the celebration of the 25th anniversary of consecration of Archbishop Nifon of Philippopolis, representative of the Patriarch of Antioch and all the East to the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, met with the Patriarch of the Maronite Church, Cardinal Bechara Boutros al-Raï, at his residence near Beirut.