At 10:30 on the morning of Wednesday, 15/28 October 2026, a Doxology was celebrated in the Catholicon of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre to commemorate the national anniversary of 28 October 1940. This Doxology was offered in honour of the combatants of 1940–1945, who fought valiantly to cast off the yoke of the Italian…

To His Grace the Bishop, the Reverend Clergy, the Monastic Brotherhoods and Sisterhoods, the Esteemed Archons of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, the Parish Councils of our Greek Orthodox Churches and Communities, the Principals and Educators of our Greek Day and Afternoon Schools, our Beloved Students and Youth, and all the Christ-loving Faithful of the Greek Orthodox…

The grand military parade marking Greece’s national holiday of 28 October began on Wednesday, 28 October 2026, along Megalou Alexandrou Avenue on the Thessaloniki waterfront, in the presence of President of the Hellenic Republic Constantine Tassoulas. The parade commemorated the historic “OXI” (No) of 28 October 1940, when Greece rejected an Italian ultimatum, marking the…

On the morning of Wednesday, 28 October, His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew visited the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome, where he laid a few flowers at the tomb of his friend, the late Pope Francis. His All-Holiness was welcomed by the Cardinal Archpriest of the Basilica, His Eminence Rolandas Makrickas, who guided him…

Each year, at this time, the historic eventsthat comprise the heroic Epic of 1940 comealive in our memory. We conjure up imagesof the young men of our homeland biddingfarewell to their parents, siblings, wives, andchildren and, as Archbishop ChrysanthosPhilippidis (the Archbishop during the timeof the “OXI”) so aptly wrote, “taking upontheir shoulders the Cross of…

His Beatitude John X Patriarch of Antioch and All the East sent a message of condolence regarding the martyrs of the Al-Karak Church to Patriarch Theophilus III of Jerusalem and All Palestine. His Beatitude stated in the letter: “With deep sadness and sorrow, I received the news of the painful incident at the Al-Karak Church….

Patriarch John X Sends Condolences to King Abdullah II bin Al-Hussein of Jordan Regarding the Martyrs of the Karak Church: “I send Your Majesty my deepest condolences, praying to the Almighty to embrace the martyrs of the heinous attack in His mercy.” His Beatitude John X Patriarch of Antioch and All the East sent a…

On Monday, 13/26 October 2026, the Patriarchate solemnly commemorated the return of the sacred relics of our Venerable Father Sabas the Sanctified to his renowned Lavra. This historic event took place on 13/26 October 1965, a day still remembered by many of the Fathers of the Holy Sepulchre Brotherhood who witnessed this momentous occasion. Following…

A solemn Hierarchical Great Vespers service was celebrated at the Church of Saint Dimitrios in Thessaloniki on Sunday evening, 25 October 2026, on the eve of the feast of Saint Dimitrios the Myrrh-Streamer, the city’s patron saint. The service was presided over by His Eminence Metropolitan Chrysostomos of Kyrenia, with numerous Orthodox hierarchs, priests and…