Orthodox Churches

News from Patriarchate of Alexandria and All Africa

On 19th January 2013, His Beatitude Theodoros II, Pope and Patriarch of Alexandria and All Africa, received the courtesy call in the Patriarchal See of the Melkite Patriarch Gregorios III of Antioch and All the East, who was in Egypt. During the meeting best wishes were exchanged for the New year and the situation of the Christians in the Middle East was discussed. His Beatitude had the opportunity of presenting the missionary and philanthropic activities of the Alexandrian Patriarchate and Patriarch Gregorios with warm words expressed his admiration for the missionary work being undertaken by the Alexandrian Church on the African continent.

Bishops’ Council of Russian Orthodox Church continues its work

The third day of the Council’s work began with the Divine Liturgy praying at which were His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia and members of the Council.

In the beginning of the plenary session at the Hall of Church Council in the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour, Metropolitan Juvenaly of Krutitsy and Kolomna, chairman of the Inter-Council Presence’s Commission on Cooperation between the Church, State and Society, presented a draft document on the position of the Church on the development of technologies of recording and processing of personal data; discussion followed.

Concerning the growing tension in Kosovo and Metohija

Statement by the Communication Service of the Moscow Patriarchate Department for External Church Relations

In January 2013, a wave of the defilement of Orthodox churches and burial places has swept Kosovo.

According to the press service of the Raska-Prizren diocese of the Serbian Orthodox Church, the 19th century Church of the Holy Trinity at the Babljak village near Urosevac was plundered and defiled. In 1999, it survived arson by extremists.

Bishop Maxim, Professors Predrag Puzovic & Bogdan Lubardic at St. Vladimir's Seminary

St Vladimir's Theological Seminary commemorated the feast of the Three Hierarchs. Among the celebrants were His Grace The Right Rev. Maxim, bishop of the Western Diocese of the Serbian Orthodox Church in North and South America (an episcopal member of the SVOTS Board of Trustees),  the Very Rev. Dr. Predrag Puzovic, dean of the Faculty of Orthodox Theology, University of Belgrade, Serbia, and Dr. Bogdan Lubardic, assistant professor at the Faculty of Orthodox Theology.

Feast of the Three Hierarchs

On Thursday, January 31, 2013, His All-Holiness presided over the concelebration of the Divine Liturgy for the Feast of the Three Hierarchs. The commemoration of St. Basil the Great, St. Gregory the Theologian, and St. John Chrysostom at the Patriarchal Church of St. George was attended by Metropolitans Geron Constantine of Nicaea, Geron Apostolos of Derkoi, Evangelos of Perghe, Germanos of Theodoroupolis, Iakovos of the Princes Islands, Meliton of Philadelphia, Demetrios of Sebasteia, Ireneos of Myriophyton and Peristasis, Chrysostomos of Myra, and Stephanos of Kallioupolis and Madytos.

Bishops’ Council of Russian Orthodox Church opens in Moscow

The Bishops’ Council of the Russian Orthodox Churches began its work at the Hall of Church Councils in the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour on 2 February 2013. 290 archpastors from 247 dioceses of the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) were invited to take part in the Council. They arrived from Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kirghistan, Latvia, Lithuania, Tadjikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Estonia, and from some far abroad countries in which the ROC dioceses exist.