Today’s Gospel extract refers to the dialogue Jesus Christ had with a Samaritan woman, who was in fact considered by the Jews to be a fallen, sinful woman, who had denied and betrayed her national Jewish identity. This is why John the Evangelist stresses that it was not common for the Jews to have any…

Beirut’s Metropolitan Greek Orthodox Archbishop, Elias Aoude, presided over Sunday Mass service at St. George’s Cathedral in Central Beirut this morning, during which he affirmed that the Greek Orthodox Sect has always called for justice and equality, respect for the constitution and the application of laws, as well as the adoption of accountability, reward and…

The public must avoid crowding in churches which could result in spreading the coronavirus, Archbishop Chrysostomos said on Sunday. In his speech during the liturgy in Ayia Varvara church in Kaimakli, Nicosia, he outlined all clerics were given instructions so as to ensure churches could allow more faithful through their doors, while maintaining social distancing….

His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros Homily for the Sunday of the Samaritan Woman May 17, 2020 Saints Constantine & Helen Greek Orthodox Church West Nyack, New York   Brothers and Sisters in Christ, Χριστὸς Ἀνέστη! [and in response: Ἀληθῶς Ἀνέστη!] Christ is Risen! [and in response: Truly He is Risen!] Today, we come together virtually once again, to celebrate…

Over the past week, Greek Orthodox churches across Australia have been organising efficient procedures to allow worshipers to attend Sunday services and engage in private prayer in the church. Places of worship were given approval to reopen last week as part of the Australian Government’s “three-step plan” to relax coronavirus restrictions. As part of the…

Turkey is once again on a U.S. State Department’s “Special Watch List” in the 2020 Annual Report by the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF). Turkey was the only country in NATO to be on the “Special Watch List” because “in 2019, religious freedom conditions in Turkey remained worrisome, with the perpetuation of…

On Wednesday, May 13, 2020, the day of Mid-Pentecost, in response to pleas by many Orthodox Christians and with the blessing of His Eminence Metropolitan Hilarion of Eastern America and New York, First Hierarch of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia, His Grace Bishop Nicholas of Manhattan, after Divine Liturgy at St Seraphim Memorial…

Four Iranian Christian converts who were arrested in February have been sent to Lakan Prison after they were unable to afford the bail established by Branch 10 of the Revolutionary Courts. Each individual was set a bail of 500 million tomans ($30,000) after they appeared before the court on May 14th. The exact nature of…

Beloved Brothers and Sisters in the Lord, Christ is Risen! Χριστὸς Ἀνέστη! On this Sunday, our Church remembers the meeting of Jesus Christ with the Samaritan Woman. Our tradition has named her Φωτεινή (Fotini), meaning the illuminated one. Jesus encountered Fotini at a well, where she was about to draw water. In their conversation, Jesus…