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…
In Moldova, the Christmas spirit is conflict and rivalry for parishioners
Chisinau, MoldovaReuters The head of Moldova’s largest Orthodox Church, subordinated to its Russian parent church, has complained that his ranks were coming under attack in the run-up to Christmas – marked on two separate days by rival churches in the former Soviet state. More than 90 per cent of residents of the country, which lies […]
Essay: New date, same traditions – Ukraine’s wartime Christmas celebrations
IRYNA VOLOSHYNA, in an article first published on The Conversation, says amid a change in the date of Christmas for Orthodox Ukrainians, traditions, such as the singing of “koliadky” – Ukrainian carols – will continue…
Ukrainians prepare for first wartime Christmas on new calendar
Kyiv/Donetsk region, Ukraine Reuters Ukrainians are gearing up to celebrate their first Christmas according to a new calendar, another step towards erasing all traces of Russian influence as their military fends off a Kremlin invasion. Most Ukrainians are Orthodox Christians and the country’s main church agreed this year to move away from the traditional Julian […]