Orthodox Churches

Bishop Tikhon of Podolsk on archpastoral visit to Hungary

On June 27, His Grace Tikhon met with Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban and Vice-Premier Semjén Zsolt. They discussed the development of cooperation between the state and the Diocese of Budapest and Hungary in the task of preserving and developing Christian values in society. They also dealt with the organization of a visit of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia to Hungary. Special attention was given to the work to restore Orthodox churches carried out thanks to a monetary subsidy granted by the Hungarian Government. The respective agreements were signed in March 2017.

Dormition Liturgy not allowed in Panagia Sumela Monastery

For the second year in a row, His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew will not be allowed to visit and serve the Divine Liturgy in the ancient Panagia Sumela Monastery on the feast of the Dormition, reports Sedmitza.

The Patriarchate of Constantinople has published a communiqué addressed to all who have inquired about the Divine Liturgy on August 15, the new calendar day of the feast of the Dormition of the Mother of God, in the inactive Panagia Sumela Monastery in Trebizond, Turkey, where the patriarch celebrated the feast every year from 2010-2015. Turkish authorities did not allow the traditional celebration to take place in 2016, citing the ongoing reconstruction on the monastery grounds.

Mass Baptism in Arakan, Philippines

Another mass Baptism has been celebrated in the Philippines, reports Fr. George Maximov. According to a post on his Vkontakte social media page, 19 Filipinos were united to Christ in the holy Orthodox Church on Saturday, July 1.

More than 14,500 rare manuscripts available on site of Trinity-St. Sergius Lavra

14,568 rare manuscripts have been made publicly available on the official website of the Trinity-St. Sergius Lavra. The digitization of the literary treasure was carried out as a joint project between the Lavra and the Russian State Library.

All the manuscripts are divided into archives and collections. There is a section of “Unique Books” which includes six publications: several volumes of the Russian Bible and the Life of St. Sergius of Radonezh.

Valaam Monastery breeding peacocks

Valaam Monastery in the Russian north is now busy raising and breeding peacocks, according to the monastery’s page on the social network Vkontakte.

Greek villager builds chapel of St. Paisios inside oak tree

A 300-year-old oak tree has been saved from destruction by a pious Greek villager who decided to build a chapel to St. Paisios the Athonite inside its trunk, reports kontranews.gr.