The trial of the Bishop of Niksic, His Grace Ioannicus, and another eight Orthodox priests in Montenegro was again postponed this week. The nine clergymen were arrested and held for three days in early May by Montenegro authorities on flimsy charges of violating coronavirus-related restrictions against public assembly. Dozens of people had gathered outside a…

Fast-paced preparations continue in Turkey to transform the iconic Hagia Sophia into a mosque — a shocking development that now stands as the most egregious provocation and insult yet by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan against Christianity, especially Orthodoxy, and the world’s cultural heritage. Turkish authorities, following Erdogan’s snap decision hours after a Turkish high…

«As you know, as of March 16, 1983, the Turkish State has ratified the International “Convention concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage” (UNESCO, Paris 1972). The Church of the Holy Wisdom (Aghia Sophia) of God was founded by the Christian Emperor Justinian, inaugurated on December 27, 537AD and was designed as…

The Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Sweden and All Scandinavia expresses its grave concern regarding the preservation of the status of the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul – an UNESCO world heritage site – following a decision by the Turkish Council of State on July 2, 2020 regarding this 1,500-year-old structure. The ruling opened the way for…

  A short film about the life of St Sophrony the Athonite Made for the Sunday School of the Greek Orthodox Church of Manchester St Sophrony was born in 1896 in Moscow. He had a big family with many siblings. He loved painting from a very young age. He started painting before he could say…

Work is underway to convert Hagia Sophia from a museum to a mosque. Videos broadcasted by Turkish Media show municipal officials taking down all signs of the Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism that identified Hagia Sophia as a museum. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan signed the decree last Friday, allowing the operation of Hagia…

The North Aegean Regional Governor, Costas Moutzouris, made a request to the Minister of Development, Adonis Georgiadis, and the Minister of Finance, Christos Staikouras, to suspend the financing to restore the Valide mosque in Mytilene, as reported by Greek City Times. “The North Aegean Regional Governor and the Regional Authority consider that in the current…

  Archbishop Sotirios of Canada With the advent of the coronavirus, our churches were closed to the public on March 17, 2020, by order of the government authorities in Canada (we are generally referring to government authorities in Canada, because matters in regard to health do not fall under the jurisdiction of the federal government,…

The Turkish government’s decision to turn Hagia Sophia, a World Heritage Site, into a mosque is unacceptable and confrontational. This action is not only a direct insult to the character of the UNESCO World Heritage Site, it is a link in the overall challenging and aggressive policy of the Turkish government. The Greek Orthodox Community…