Orthodox Churches

New Patriarch of Antioch elected

The Holy Synod of the Orthodox Church of Antioch has elected a new Patriarch of Great Antioch and All the East. The elections took place in the Balamand Monastery of the Most Holy Mother of God in Lebanon. Taking part in the voting were 18 hierarchs. Metropolitan Youhanna (Yaziji) of Western and Central Europe has been elected the 139th Primate of the Orthodox Church of Antioch.

His Beatitude Youhanna X, Patriarch of the Great City of God Antioch, Cilicia, Iberia, Mesopotamia and All the East, was born in 1966 in Latakia, Syria. In 1978 he graduated from the St. John of Damascus Orthodox Theological Institute at the Balamand Monastery. In 1983 he earned the degree of Doctor of Theology at the University of Thessaloniki, Greece.

Patriarch Ignatius of Antioch and All East laid to rest in Damascus

The memorial service for Patriarch Ignatius of Antioch served on Sunday, 9 December 2012, at Saint Nicholas Cathedral church in Beirut 

Officiating at the funeral service in the Cathedral of St Nicholas the Wonderworker in Beirut were His Holiness Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople, His Beatitude Archbishop Chrysostomos of Cyprus, and His Beatitude Archbishop Anastasios of Albania. Taking part in the funeral service were also delegations of the Local Orthodox Churches, led by Metropolitan Nicholas of Hermopolis (Patriarchate of Alexandria), Metropolitan Benedict of Philadelphia (Patriarchate of Jerusalem), Metropolitan Stephan of Tsageri and Lentekhi (Patriarchate of Georgia), Bishop Antonije of Moravicí (Serbian Patriarchate), Archbishop Casian of Lower Danube (Romanian Patriarchate), Metropolitan Ioannis of Langadas (Greek Orthodox Church), and Bishop Irénée of Quebec (Orthodox Church in America).

Metropolitan Hilarion offers up prayers for the repose of Patriarch Ignatius

A delegation of the Russian Orthodox Church led by Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, chairman of the Moscow Patriarchate’s Department for External Church Relations (DECR), arrived in Beirut on 8 December 2012 with the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia to attend funeral ceremonies for His Beatitude Ignatius IV, Patriarch of the Great Antioch and All the East. The delegation includes archpriest Nikolai Balashov, DECR deputy chairman; hieromonk Stefan (Igumnov), a DECR staff member; and Mr. Leonid Sevastianov, executive director of the St. Gregory the Theologian Charity Foundation.

Metropolitan Saba Esper – Locum Tenens of Patriarch of Antioch

Metropolitan Saba (Esper) was elected Locum Tenens of the throne of the patriarchs of Antioch. The appointment came on Friday, 7 December 2012, during a meeting at Balamand monastery, some 85 kilometers north of Beirut. Metropolitan Saba has jurisdiction over the south areas of Syria. Lebanese leaders announced Sunday as an official day of mourning over the patriarch’s death and described Hazim’s death as a loss for Lebanon and the region.

Russian government continues to restore Orthodox holy sites in Kosovo

In 2010-2011, the Russian government has voluntarily contributed 2 million US dollars to the UNESCO to finance the restoration of Orthodox holy sites in Kosovo, Republic of Serbia.

The decision was taken in compliance with the UN Security Council Resolution 1244 on Kosovo and within the UNESCO international action on humanitarian aid to the Republic of Serbia in restoration and maintaining its monuments of culture.

Serbian Patriarch Irinej sends condolences to Holy Synod of the Patriarchate of Antioch

To the Holy Synod of Bishops
of the Antiochian Orthodox Church
Patriarchate of Antioch and All the East
Damascus
SYRIA

After receiving the sad news of passing away of Patriarch of Antioch and All the East, blessed memory Kyr Ignatius, We prayerfully remember his beloved Beatitude, Head of the Holy Throne of the Antiochian Patriarchs, who worthily served his whole life to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, in particular, in very difficult times in which the Antiochian Church finds itself today.

On behalf of the Holy Synod of Bishops of the Serbian Orthodox Church, all the honorable hierarchy, God-loving clergy, venerable monastics and faithful people of the Serbian Orthodox Church, and Us personally, We express to our sister Orthodox Church of Antioch Our sincere condolences.

We pray to our Savior and Lord Jesus Christ, Who is Resurrection and Life, to give repose to the noble soul of Patriarch Ignatius and grant him memory eternal.

SERBIAN PATRIARCH
+IRINEJ