Orthodox Churches

Ecumenical Patriarch Visits Athens and Cappadocia

On Tuesday, June 17, 2014, His All-Holiness traveled to Greece, where he attended and offered the keynote address at an academic conference held at the historic Herod Atticus Amphitheater at the foot of the Acropolis in Athens.

The Ecumenical Patriarch was invited to officially open the environmental conference organized by the Biomedical Research Foundation of the Academy of Athens. Among those in attendance were many hierarchs and local representatives of the political, academic, professional, and business communities. His All-Holiness was welcomed and introduced by the President of the Biomedical Research Foundation, Archon Gregorios Skalkeas. Together with the occasional festivities of Greece’s assumption of the presidency of the European Union, the conference was the primary purpose of the Ecumenical Patriarch’s visit.

Monument to Tsar and Passion-bearer Nicolas II to be unveiled in Bosnia and Herzegovina

A monument to the Holy Russian Tsar and Passion-Bearer Nicolas II was to be unveiled in Bosnia and Herzegovina, reports Sedmitza.ru, citing the SRBIN INFO agency.

The monument was to be unveiled on June 21, 2014, in Banja Luka on the initiative of the Serbian Republic’s (Bosnia and Herzegovina) president, the Russian Institute for Strategic Studies, the St. Basil the Great Charitable Foundation, and the Russian Military Historical Society.

Ukrainian Orthodox Church asks Poroshenko to stop war in southeastern Ukraine

The Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate has called on Ukrainian President Pyotr Poroshenko to stop the military actions in the Lugansk and Donetsk regions.

“The clergy and believers from these regions are asking for all possible measures to be taken to stop the bloodshed, which is hurting civilians. Our believers in the eastern part of the country think that any contradictions should be resolved through dialogue and negotiation. Our entire church believes that problems should be resolved peacefully. Together we should do everything to prevent the deaths of civilians,” the Holy Synod of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church said in its address to Poroshenko, which was posted on its official website.

Members of the Synod also expressed hopes that Poroshenko will guarantee religious peace in the country. “Peaceful relations between churches and religious organizations in Ukraine are an important achievement of the years of independence. Despite the extremely tense public conflict of the past few months, we have managed to maintain religious peace,” the document says.

Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew Joins Pope Francis at Vatican Invocation for Peace

With a renewed commitment to Christian unity and an enduring desire to include people of all faiths in dialogue, His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, spiritual leader of over 300 million Orthodox Christians worldwide, joined his brother Pope Francis at the Vatican during an Invocation for Peace. Together with the Pope and the Ecumenical Patriarch, Israeli President Shimon Peres and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas participated in the interfaith summit of Jews, Christians and Muslims.

Religious leaders read passages from the scriptures and offered prayers of thanksgiving for God’s creation, asking for God’s forgiveness and peace in the Middle East. Reading from the Prophet Isaiah, His All-Holiness reminded the people of the region that God had not abandoned them and that He would answer before they call, and hear while they yet speak (Isaiah 65.24). The Ecumenical Patriarch also invoked God’s blessings upon the Jewish, Christian and Muslim people in the Holy Land and prayed that their shared thanksgiving for all of God’s blessings may remind them that they are brothers and sisters.

Message of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia to the Fullness of the Russian Orthodox Church

Dear brothers and sisters, I address now the entire Fullness of our Church, all the peoples of historical Rus.

There can be nothing more important for us today than the continuing fratricide which rages on the territory of the Ukraine, taking away ever more lives.What is happening today, primarily in the Donetsk and Lugansk regions, and how are the members of our Holy Church to think of what is happening?

Tunisia: Marzouki attends celebration of Pentecost at Greek Orthodox Church in Tunis

Caretaker President Moncef Marzouki attended, Sunday, at the Greek Orthodox Church in Tunis, the celebration by the Orthodox Christian community in Tunisia of the day of Pentecost, reads the official "Facebook" page of the Presidency of the Republic.

The ceremony was attended by the ambassadors of Russia and Serbia in Tunis. The Pentecost is celebrated each year, fifty days after the celebration of Easter.

Source: Pravoslavie.ru