Orthodox Churches

Primate of Russian Orthodox Church celebrates Liturgy at the Church of Kazan Icon of the Mother of God in Havana

On 14 February 2016, 37^th Sunday after Pentecost, forefeast of the Meeting of the Lord, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia celebrated the Divine Liturgy at the Russian Orthodox church of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God in Havana.

Concelebrating with His Holiness were: Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, Chairman of the Moscow Patriarchate’s Department for External Church Relations; Metropolitan Anthony of Borispol and Brovary, Chancellor of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church; Bishop Sergiy of Solnechnogorsk, head of the Moscow Patriarchate’s Administrative Secretariat; Bishop Kallistrat of Gorno-Altaysk and Chemal; Bishop Anthony of Bogorodsk, head of the Moscow Patriarchate’s Administration for Institutions Abroad; Archimandrite Philaret (Bulekov), DECR vice-chairman; archpriest Andrey Milkin, head of the Patriarchal Protocol Service; and Rev. Alexander Volkov, head of the Patriarchal Press Service.

Joint Declaration of Pope Francis and Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God the Father and the fellowship of the holy Spirit be with all of you (2 Cor 13:13).

1. By God the Father’s will, from which all gifts come, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, and with the help of the Holy Spirit Consolator, we, Pope Francis and Kirill, Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, have met today in Havana. We give thanks to God, glorified in the Trinity, for this meeting, the first in history.

It is with joy that we have met like brothers in the Christian faith who encounter one anotherto speak face to face (2 Jn. 12), from heart to heart, to discuss the mutual relations between the Churches, the crucial problems of our faithful, and the outlook for the progress of human civilization.

Saint Xenia of Petersburg is commemorated in Serbia

On 6 February 2016, the commemoration day of St. Xenia of Petersburg was celebrated at the Church o f the Holy Trinity, the metochion of the Russian Orthodox Church in Belgrade. St. Xenia is venerated in Serbia as deeply as in Russia.

Every year even more worshippers from Belgrade and other cities come to a small Russian church at the Tašmajdan park to venerate the icon with a particle of stone from St. Xenia’s coffin.

Greece should keep the tradition of Mount Athos, despite EU pressure

The Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) hopes that Greece will not succumb to pressure from a number of European parliamentarians and officials, and will preserve the spiritual tradition and history of Athos's status as a multinational center of the entire Orthodox world, said Archpriest Igor Yakymchuk, a representative of the Department of External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate (DECR) at a press conference on MIA "Russia today" on Friday.

Patriarch Kirill: An attempt to expel Christianity from the Middle East is a tragedy of historic scale

In the introductory part of his report to the Bishops’ Council of the Russian Orthodox Church, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia raised the problem of global terrorism.

“Using religion and various ideologies as a cover, terrorists try to sow fear and enmity in the hearts of people and to stir up inter-religious and inter-ethnic hatred. Several heart-breaking tragedies have happened within living memory, among them the explosion of the Russian plane over the Sinai, a series of terrorist attacks in Paris, the attack on Garissa University College in Kenya, and mass killings in Baga, Nigeria. These are just some of the atrocities committed by the terrorists in recent months. The world community is called to stop terror and restore just peace in Syria, in particular, thus setting an example for all those Middle Eastern countries where blood is being shed now,” the Primate of the Russian Church said.

Relation of the Orthodox Church with the rest of the Christian world

Draft document of the Pan-Orthodox Council, adopted by the 5th Pan-Orthodox Pre-Council Conference in Chambésy on October, 10-17, 2015.

Published in compliance with the decision of the Synaxis of Primates of the Local Orthodox Churches, Chambésy, January, 21-28, 2016.

1.    The Orthodox Church, being the One, Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church, in her profound ecclesiastical consciousness firmly believes that she occupies a central place in matters relating to the promotion of Christian unity within the contemporary world.

2.    The Orthodox Church grounds her unity on the fact that she was founded by Our Lord Jesus Christ, as well as on the communion in the Holy Trinity and in the Sacraments. This unity is manifested through the apostolic succession and the patristic tradition and to this day is lived within her. It is the mission and duty of the Orthodox Church to transmit and proclaim the truth, in all its fullness, contained in the Holy Scripture and the Holy Tradition, the truth which gives to the Church her catholic character.