Australian police say Assyrian church stabbing was terrorist attack
Updated: 5:30pm (AEDT) Sydney, Australia Reuters Australian police on Tuesday said a knife attack on an Assyrian church bishop and some followers in Sydney was a terrorist act motivated by suspected religious extremism, as the country reeled from a second stabbing incident in three days. At least four people were wounded in the attack, including […]
Five years after challenging miracle of Holy Fire, Greek journalist is acquitted
RNS On Friday, Dimitris Alikakos, a Greek journalist, walked out of court in Athens without the shadow of prosecution for the first time in almost half a decade. His alleged crime: debunking miracles. Christian pilgrims hold candles as they gather during the ceremony of the Holy Fire at Church of the Holy Sepulchre, where many […]
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 […]
Bulgarians pay their last respects to the late Orthodox Patriarch
Sofia, Bulgaria AP Thousands of Orthodox Christians from across Bulgaria flocked to Sofia’s main Alexander Nevsky Cathedral on Friday to pay their respects to their late spiritual leader, Patriarch Neophyte, who died Wednesday at the age of 78. Neophyte, who became Patriarch in 2013, was the first head of the Bulgarian church to be chosen after the […]
Lifestory: Patriarch Neophyte I of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church dead at 78
DAVID I KLEIN, of Religion News Service, reports that a soft-spoken theologian, Neophyte I was a critic of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine…
Neophyte, Patriarch of Bulgaria’s Orthodox Church, dies at 78
Sofia, Bulgaria AP Patriarch Neophyte of Bulgaria, who was the first elected head of the Orthodox Church in the post-communist Balkan country, died at a hospital in Sofia. He was 78. The Orthodox Holy Synod said Wednesday in a statement that the Patriarch had been hospitalized for four months for lung ailments. Clergymen and the […]
Silencing dissent: Belarus cracks down on clergy who supported protests of its authoritarian leader
YURAS KARMANAU, of Associated Press, reports on the increasing crackdown on clergy and religious organisations who are critical of the government of President Alexander Lukashenko…
High-ranking Orthodox prelate warns against spread of anti-Semitism by religious officials
Thessaloniki, Greece AP Speaking on the day for commemorating the victims of the Holocaust, a high-ranking official of the Orthodox Church warned Sunday against the spread of anti-Semitism by religious and church officials. “I am worried by the spread of anti-Semitism internationally,” Archbishop Elpidophoros of America, spiritual leader of Greek Orthodox faithful in North and […]
Bulgarians celebrate the feast of Epiphany with traditional rituals…while Florida’s Greek community celebrates with annual dive
Sofia, Bulgaria AP Thousands of Orthodox Christian worshippers dived into the wintry waters of rivers and lakes across Bulgaria on Saturday to retrieve crucifixes cast by priests in Epiphany ceremonies commemorating the baptism of Jesus Christ. The legend goes that the person who retrieves the wooden cross will be freed from evil spirits and will be healthy […]
The Explainer: Orthodox Christmas – why it’s celebrated by some believers 13 days after 25th December
PETER SMITH, of Associated Press, looks at why some Christians are celebrating Christmas on 7th December…