Orthodox Churches

Dormition Cathedral and Monastery on Sviyazhsk Island added to UNESCO World Heritage List

By decision of the 41st session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee on July 9 in Krakov, Poland, Dormition Cathedral and Monastery on the island-town of Sviyazhsk in Tatarstan have been included in the World Heritage List, reports patriarchia.ru.

The nomination dossier for the cathedral and monastery was submitted to the World Heritage Committee in early 2016. Large-scale restoration work on the island, including the monastery, and preparation for the dossier were carried out with the assistance of the Republic Fund “Revival,” under the guidance of the State Advisor of the Republic of Tatarstan Mintimer Shaimiev.

Georgian Patriarchate’s radio station now available as cell phone app

The Patriarchate of the Georgian Orthodox Church announced on its official site today that its radio station “Iveria” is now available 24 hours a day on Android, Windows, and Apple mobile devices.

The station’s programming includes daily prayers seven times a day, the lives of the saints, readings from the New Testament, poetry, and much more.

Ukrainian Council of Churches rejects unchristian gender terminology

A meeting of members of the Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious Organizations with Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman was held yesterday, in which a number of issues in the Church-state sphere were discussed, including the possibility of introducing foreign gender terminology into the Ukrainian legal field, reports the Information-Education Department of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.

Patriarch of Jerusalem celebrates the Divine Liturgy in Zababde of Samaria

On Sunday, 19th June/2nd July 2017, the day of the memory of St. Jude the Apostle, brother of the Lord and memory of our Father among the Saints Paissious, H.H.B. our Father and Patriarch of Jerusalem Theophilos led the Divine Liturgy at the old Holy Church of St. George in the town Zababde, in Samaria district past Jacob’s well.

Lukashenko allocates funds for restoration of two 12th century churches

President Alexander Lukashenko of Belarus signed decree No. 109 yesterday, approving the decision of the council of the Foundation of the President of Belarus for the Support of Culture and Art, allocating $188,355 (369,834 rubles) for financing creative projects, reports the official site of the president of Belarus.

Specifically, the money will be directed towards restoration and major repairs for the 12th-century Sts. Boris and Gleb Church (the Kalozha Church) in Grodno, and the preservation of the 14th-century Princely Towers of the Kreva Castle in Kreva, Belarus. Funds will also be allocated to the Polotsk National Histoircal-Cultural Museum-Reserve for restoring the chipping 18th-19th-century paintings of the 12th century Transfiguration Church.

Metropolitan of Spain celebrates St. John Maximovitch in Greek Monastery of St. Nektarios

The feast of St. John Maximovitch was festively celebrated on July 1 and 2 at the Holy Monastery of Sts. Nektarios and Fanourios in Trikorfo, Fokidos, Greece, with the participation of Metropolitan Polycarpos of Spain and Portugal, reports ortodoxia.info.