Science

Religious Freedoms from the Orthodox Christian perspective

Protodeacon Radomir Rakic, Serbian Orthodox Church

RELIGIOUS FREEDOMS FROM THE ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN PERSPECTIVE

It is not in the spirit of Eastern Christianity to formulate relations between people primarily in view of certain rights and obligations. The Orthodox prefer to speak about relations that are “appropriate and corresponding”. These relations originate from a common experience of Christians as members of Christ’s Kingdom. They express our common understanding of the Kingdom of God, and in life they are implemented by the growth of the person according to the image and likeness of God (Genesis 1:27) into the condition of deification (Greek  Theosis) becoming more like God.

The History of Christian Thought

On 3 September 2013, Metropolitan Hilarion, head of the Moscow Patriarchate’s Department for External Church Relations; chairman of the Synodal Biblical and Theological Commission and rector of the Ss Cyril and Methodius Theological Institute for Post-Graduate and Doctoral Studies delivered the first lecture in a special course “The History of Christian Thought” at the National Research Nuclear University MePhI.

The Holy Monastery of St John the Baptist on the banks of the Jordan River

The Holy Monastery of St John the Baptist on the banks of the Jordan River/Qasr-el-Yahud (PART I)

By Dr Theodosios Mitropoulos, architect

Topography of the area of the Monastery and of the baptismal site (In Arab: El – Maghtas), (images 1,2)

Historical Elements

The history of this Holy Monastery begins in very ancient times, prior to the 4th c. AD. The present-day monastery, which was built in later times, has a rectangular ground plan measuring 37,74 m. x 36,93 m. and occupies an area of approximately 1.343 m2. The perimeter walls, specifically their uppermost portion, terminate at battlements, which lend the monument the form of a Medieval castle. This is in all likelihood why its Arabian name is Qasr el Yahud [The castle of the Jews] (see image 13).

14th General Assembly of the Conference of European Churches, Budapest, 3-8 July 2013.

14^th General Assembly of the Conference of European Churches, Budapest, 3-8 July 2013.

14^th General Assembly of the Conference of European Churches (CEC) started its work in Budapest on 3 July 2013. On this Assembly are present 470 participants of which 220 are delegates with the right to vote and who represent 120 registered Churches and religious communities: Orthodox, Anglicans, Protestants and Old-Catholic. Roman Catholic Church is not an official member of CEC, but actively participate in the work of CEC through the Council of the Bishop’s Conference of Europe.    

Eminent Byzantinologists in Decani monastery

In the monastery of Decani and in  Prizren a conference of a group of Byzantinologists on preserving art and cultural heritage on Kosovo and Metohija took place on May 30 and 31, 2013. Besides issues concerning the protection of cultural and spiritual heritage, improvement of the dialogue among members of various religions and confessions, as well as the dialogue and contacts between Eastern and Western Christians arts was also discussed.

Nis: International Scientific Symposion on the occasion of the 1700th anniversary of the Edict of Milan concluded

Under auspices of His Holiness Irinej, Serbian Patriarch, the International Scientific Symposion was held on the occasion of the 1700th anniversary of the Edict of Milan (31 May – 2 June 2013)

The organizers of this symposion are the Center for religious studies Nis, the Institute for Orthodox Christian Studies of the University of Cambridge, the Center for Religious and Slav Studies „Ivan Dujchev“ from Sofia, the Institute for National and Religious Issues (Thessaloniki), the History Department of the Faculty of Philosophy in Belgrade and the Faculty of Philosophy in Nis.