Bulgarians line the streets of the capital to bid farewell to Orthodox Patriarch Neophyte
Sofia, Bulgaria AP Bulgarians lined the streets of Sofia on Saturday to bid farewell to the late Orthodox Patriarch Neophyte. The spiritual leader of Bulgaria’s Orthodox Christians died on Wednesday at the age of 78 after a long illness. Hundreds of people, officials and Orthodox Church clergy attend the solemn holy liturgy and funeral service for […]
Orthodox Church: US symposium on women deacons proposes a way forward
MEAGAN SALIASHVILI, of Religion News Service, reports on how a consortium of Orthodox Christian scholars, clergy and lay supporters meeting this week outside Boston proposed guidelines for the church to revive the ancient practice of allowing women to be deacons…
Russian Church shares blame for “crimes” in Ukraine, says Ecumenical Patriarch
Vilnius, Lithuania Reuters The spiritual head of the world’s Orthodox Christians said on Wednesday that Russia’s powerful Orthodox Church shared responsibility for the conflict in Ukraine but that he stood ready to help in Russia’s postwar “spiritual regeneration”. Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew’s comments are a rebuke for Russian Patriarch Kirill, whose full-throated blessing for Moscow’s invasion […]
Ecumenical Orthodox Patriarch plans Lithuanian branch, in blow to Moscow
Vilnius, Lithuania Reuters The spiritual head of Orthodox Christians worldwide said on Tuesday he would work with Lithuanian authorities to establish a new branch in the Baltic nation to ensure that believers are no longer under the sole supervision of Moscow. In 2019, Patriarch Bartholomew infuriated Moscow by recognising the newly established Orthodox Church of […]
Rare 1,000-year-old manuscript returned to Greece from US
Athens, GreeceAP A US museum has returned a valuable 1,000-year-old Christian manuscript to a monastery in northern Greece it was looted from by Bulgarian forces more than a century ago together with hundreds of other documents and artifacts. The 11th century Gospel was formally presented Thursday at the Eikosiphoinissa Monastery, in a ceremony attended by […]
Ukrainian church seeks Kirill’s removal over ‘heretical’ defence of Russian invasion
United StatesRNS Metropolitan Epiphanius, the head of the independent Orthodox Church of Ukraine, has issued a letter to Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, “first among equals” of Orthodox Christian leaders, asking Bartholomew to call Patriarch Kirill, leader of the Russian Orthodox Church, a teacher of heresy for his theological backing of the Ukraine war and deprive Kirill […]
Pope implicitly accuses Russia of aggression, imperialism in Ukraine
Vatican CtyReuters Pope Francis implicitly accused Russia on Thursday of “armed conquest, expansionism and imperialism” in Ukraine, calling the conflict a “cruel and senseless war of aggression”. The Pope, speaking to a delegation of Orthodox leaders from the Istanbul-based Ecumenical Patriarchate, said the conflict had pitted Christians against one another. Pope Francis meets with Job […]
Pope greets Russian Patriarch, criticised for “naïve” policy; Orthodox leader “disappointed” over Russian church’s stance on Ukraine war
AP Pope Francis has sent a protocol greeting to the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, assuring him of prayers on his patron’s feast day and stressing the value of human life and wisdom, as the Vatican insists on maintaining cordial relations amid the war in Ukraine. ORTHODOX SPIRITUAL LEADER SAYS RUSSIAN CHURCH HAS ‘DISAPPOINTED US’ […]
Churches of Serbia, North Macedonia, end decades-old dispute
Skopje, North Macedonia AP The head of Serbia’s Orthodox Church said Tuesday that he would recognise the full independence of the church in neighbouring North Macedonia, signaling an end to a decades-old religious dispute. The Macedonian Church unilaterally announced its independence, or autocephaly, from the Serbian Church in 1967, while the two predominantly Orthodox republics […]
Christian Orthodox spiritual leader says indescribable tragedy in Ukraine
Istanbul, TurkeyReuters Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, the spiritual head of Eastern Orthodox Christians worldwide, called overnight for the opening of humanitarian corridors in Ukraine where he said “an indescribable human tragedy is unfolding”. Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I, the spiritual head of some 300 million Orthodox Christians worldwide, leads the Easter Resurrection Service at the courtyard of […]