Orthodox Churches

Moscow’s landmark 16th century Novodevichy Convent on fire

Emergency crews have extinguished a fire that raged for three hours at Moscow’s iconic Novodevichy (New Maiden) Convent. The blaze was concentrated on scaffolds surrounding the convent’s bell tower. Authorities are currently estimating the damage.

The fire was reported at 22:41 local time. Firefighters arrived four minutes after receiving the emergency call.

Fire in bell tower of Nizhny Novgorod cathedral extinguished

The fire in the bell tower of the St. Alexander Nevsky Cathedral in Nizhny Novgorod has been extinguished, the regional branch of the Russian Emergency Situations Ministry said in a press release.

“The open fire was extinguished at 12:31 p.m. No one was killed or injured,” it said.

The city’s emergency services were alerted about the fire at 11:42 a.m. Moscow time. The first firefighters who arrived at the site observed plumes of smoke billowing from the third floor of the building.

Pan-Orthodox Liturgy in Munich

Regular session of the Episcopal Council of the Orthodox Church in Germany was held in Munich from 6 until 8 March 2015.

The Orthodox Episcopal Council of Germany was founded in 2010 and it consists of 16 Metropolitans and Bishops of all Canonical Orthodox Churches in Germany. On Friday, 6 March 2015 Bishops gathered along with 25 priests and deacons who serve in Munich, deliberating about the pastoral problems of the Orthodox believers in Bayern.

Celebration of the First and Second Finding of the Venerable Head of St John the Baptist on the Mt of Olives in Jerusalem

On Monday, March 9, 2015, the feast day of the Chapel of the Finding of the Venerable Head of St John the Baptist was celebrated at Ascension Convent on the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem.

Primate of Russian Church celebrates Liturgy at Convent of Protecting Veil of the Mother of God on the 2nd Sunday of Lent

On 8 March 2015, the 2nd Sunday of Lent, the commemoration day of St Gregory Palamas the Archbishop of Thessalonica and the feast of the finding of the holy relics of the Blessed Matrona of Moscow, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia visited the Stavropegic Convent of the Protecting Veil of the Mother of God in Moscow. This year marks the 380th anniversary of the foundation of the convent and the 20th anniversary of its revival.

Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew visits refugee camp

On Wednesday, March 4, 2015, His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew visited refugees from Iraq on the northeast Turkish border of Yalova, near the east coast of the Sea of Marmara. Over the last two years, some 700 refugees – mostly of Syro-Jacobite and Chaldean background – are living in accommodations rented by the Syro-Jacobites of Istanbul. Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew was received by the Archbishop of Istanbul and Ankara, His Eminence Mor Filüksinos Yusuf Çetin.