Ukrainian Church establishes new feast of wonderworking Viliya Icon of Mother of God
10. December 2019 - 17:00
The Holy Synod of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church established a new feast at its session in the Kiev Caves Lavra on December 6, in honor of the wonderworking Viliya Icon of the Mother of God “of the Sign.”
By decision of the Synod, the miraculous icon will be celebrated annually on the Thursday before Pentecost, as it was on that day 130 years ago that the small copper icon miraculously came out from under the floor of the Ostapchuk family.
Elder Ephraim of Arizona passed away
9. December 2019 - 10:49
Elder Ephraim of Arizona fell asleep in the Lord early this morning (EET) at the age of 91 after a long illness.
Elder Ephraim, also known as Ioannis Moraitis, was born on June 24, 1928, in Volos, Greece. He spent his childhood in poverty helping his father with his work, but he always followed the example of his mother (who later became a nun and bore the name “Theophano”).
Removal of religion from school diplomas
9. December 2019 - 10:45
From the next school year, secondary school diplomas and any proof of study in secondary education will be issued without mentioning religion or citizenship.
This is stated by an order of the Ministry of Education, according to the website kathimerini.gr, with the aim of harmonizing the current regime with the decision of the Plenary Council of State, following the Principle on Personal Data Protection, which considered that the mandatory or optional indication of religion on these documents constitute an infringement of Article 13 of the Constitution, Article 9 of the ECHR, as well as of provisions of the personal data protection legislation.
Archbishop Anastasios: The principle of the unity of Orthodoxy is Council
9. December 2019 - 9:56
The Primate of the Albanian Church believes that procedures to overcome schism were developed in Orthodoxy long ago, in particular at Ecumenical Councils.
Archbishop Anastasios, Primate of the Albanian Orthodox Church, explained his position regarding the support of the Pan-Orthodox Assembly to resolve the “Ukrainian issue”, reports the Greek outlet “Democracy”.
Meeting of the Joint Commission of Eastern and Oriental Orthodox Churches in the United States
6. December 2019 - 15:13 
Representatives of Eastern and Oriental Orthodox churches met Dec. 4, at the headquarters of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America.
The meeting of the Joint Commission of Eastern and Oriental Orthodox Churches in the United States (Joint Commission) was the continuation of a first encounter that took place on October 8, 2019 at the Armenian Cathedral of St. Vartan and participated in the revival of the Joint Commission’s work.
