Orthodox Churches

24 new churches opened in Moscow in 2017

According to a report of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow at today’s annual Moscow Diocesan meeting, 24 new churches have popped up throughout Moscow over the course of the preceding year, reports Interfax-Religion.

“As of December 1 this year, the number of churches and chapels of the patriarchal diocese [of Moscow—O.C.] comes to 1,154, which is 24 more than last year,” the patriarch said at today’s session.

Faithful in Khabarovsk call for rebuilding arch to commemorate 1891 visit of future Tsar Nicholas II

A meeting of the initiative group advocating for the re-establishment of Khabarovsk’s triumphal arch took place in Friday at the Khabarovsk Theological Seminary, under the chairmanship of Metropolitan Vladimir of Khabarovsk. The arch was initially constructed in time with the 1891 visit of then-Tsarevich Nicholas Alexandrovich Romanov, the future tsar and royal martyr, reports the site of the Khabarovsk Diocese.

Library at St. Catherine’s Monastery reopens after restoration

The collection of ancient handwritten manuscripts, preserved in the Monastery of St. Catherine on the Sinai Peninsula, has opened again for research upon completion of the first stage of restoration in the monastery library. The process of restoring part of the storage room has continued for nearly nine years, under the patronage of the Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities, reports TASS.

Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk visits Bari Inter-Christian relations, News

On December 18-19, 2017, Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, head of the Moscow Patriarchate’s Department for External Church Relations (DECR), visited Bari, Italy, with the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia.

First complete Greek-language biography of Royal Martyrs to be released in January

The holy Royal Martyrs are among the most beloved Russian saints today. Their icons adorn every Russian parish, monuments to them are popping up all over Russia, and a whole host of religious and cultural events throughout Russia are planned in their honor for 2018, when the centenary of their martyrdom—their entrance into the Kingdom of Heaven—will be celebrated on July 17.

However, the truth of their lives and deaths often remains shrouded in mystery, and their importance and sanctity can be misunderstood even by other Orthodox Christians. A new biography, The Romanov Holy Royal Martyrs: What Silence Could Not Conceal, the first complete biography of the Royal Martyrs to be published in Greek, aims to clear away some of the misconceptions and clearly portray the full scope of the martyric feat of the last Russian Royal Family, demonstrating why they are so greatly loved and venerated in Russia, and beyond.

Foundation stone of Church of Romanov doctor St. Eugene Botkin consecrated in St. Petersburg

The celebration of the rite of the consecration of the foundation stone of a future church in honor of St. Eugene Botkin took place yesterday at the multidisciplinary clinic at the St. Petersburg Military-Medical Academy, from which the saintly doctor himself graduated.