Metropolitan Hilarion, the head of the Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate, said he is concerned about the possibility of Hagia Sophia in Istanbul being made a mosque. “We are closely following with serious concerns the events surrounding the Hagia Sophia Cathedral. We are waiting for the official publication of the decision…

Today’s Gospel extract (Mathew 8, 5-13) refers to the great virtue of faith in God, which however must always be accompanied by the other great virtues which must characterize the life of the virtuous person, as are the virtues of humanity and indiscriminate love towards every person who is in need of our help. The…

July 5, 2020 Kimisis Tis Theotokou Greek Orthodox Church Poughkeepsie, NY Beloved Brothers and Sisters in Christ, I am delighted to be with the Kimisis community of Poughkeepsie this morning, and experience your faith and your devotion as we continue to reopen our churches. We do so still exercising great caution and abundant concern for the…

US Ambassador Geoffrey Pyatt and Archbishop Ieronymos of Athens and All Greece paid a visit to the ‘Dimitrio’ Center for Creative Work affiliated with the Greek Orthodox Church through the NGO ‘Apostoli’. As the American embassy has cancelled this year’s reception for Independence Day (July 4), it is donating instead 400 plates of food for…

The shutting down of 10 postcodes across Melbourne due to COVID-19 outbreaks has lead to the closure of various churches around the area for the sake of public health. In this framework, Archbishop Makarios announced to public worship at eight Orthodox Churches which are in the danger zone. These churches are: 1. Holy Trinity, Footscray,…

“Our concern is that the current conflict, until now only a ‘war of words’, could result in similarly careless treatment of Hagia Sophia in Istanbul” On July 2, the Turkish Council of State will announce a decision regarding the status of Hagia Sophia in Istanbul. Multiple learned organisations have expressed concern regarding this news. As…

18 JUNE / 1 JULY 2020: Following publication of new Government guidelines, the Diocese is pleased to announce that from this coming weekend (Saturday 21 June / 4 July and Sunday 22 June / 5 July) parishes in England will re-open for public worship. The ever-benevolent hand of God, Who is wondrous in His Saints,…

Bring my soul out of prison that I may give thanks to your name. The Hierarchs of the Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops have approved the Sunday before the feast of St. Silas (the patron of prison ministry) to be Prison Ministry Awareness Sunday in all Orthodox parishes in the US. This year, this occurs on…

On July 1st, 2020 it was 36 years of the episcopal ministry of His Grace Bishop Lukijan of Budim and Temisoara. On this occasion, His Grace Bishop Lukijan of Budim and the Administrator of Temisoara celebrated the Holy Hierarchal Liturgy in the monastery of Saint George (in Romania) with the concelebration of the clergy of…