Russia to take ownership of Orthodox church in Rome
19. March 2009 - 10:33Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin ordered the Foreign Ministry to carry through formalities for the Russian state to take ownership of a Russian Orthodox church compound that is under construction in Rome and to hand the compound over to the Moscow Patriarchate for unpaid use, the government said.
The history of the St. Catherine church compound goes back to the 19th century, when a proposal was put forward for building an Orthodox church in the Italian capital.
The Russian Orthodox Church acclaims ban on hunting the Greenland seal calves
19. March 2009 - 10:31Fr. Andrey Kurayev, a well-known Orthodox missionary deacon, acclaimed newly introduced Russia's ban on hunting calves of the Greenland seal, which reach the ices of the White Sea each spring to breed their calves.
"If someone comes to Russia to procreate, this is really great! Why do we need to kill those, bread and born here? If the only thing we are able to do is turning everything around us into ashes, this is definitely not to our credit," Fr. Andrey told Interfax-Religion.
Bartholomew I Gives Tribute to Focolare Founder
19. March 2009 - 10:29
Chiara Lubich, founder of the Focolare movement, was not only a gift for the Catholic Church, but also for Orthodox Christians, affirmed Bartholomew I.
The ecumenical patriarch of Constantinople said this Sunday in an address on the first anniversary of the death of the founder, with whom he had a friendship for many years.
Patriarch Kirill urges PACE, UNESCO to give hope to Serbians in Kosovo
17. March 2009 - 17:40Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia has sent messages to Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) President Luis Maria de Puig and UNESCO Director General Koichiro Matsuura. Patriarch Kirill reminded them that it will be five years on March 17 since the tragic developments in Kosovo and Metochia when radical nationalists started ethnic cleansing against Serbs, which he said resulted in the massive violation of human rights, hundreds of deaths, flows of refugees and the destruction of scores of churches and monasteries in the area.
Patriarch Kirill celebrates 33 years of his service as bishop
17. March 2009 - 17:33Last Saturday, March 14, Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Kirill celebrated the 33rd anniversary of his elevation to the rank of bishop by his confessor Metropolitan Nikodim. To commemorate this event, Patriarch Kirill conducted the Divine Liturgy at the Moscow Church of the Life-Giving Trinity in Khoroshovo and upon its completion appealed to the clergy to selflessly serve God and people without concerns for health and career.
