Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I has received the Plaque of St Erik for his commitment to religious freedom, human rights and care for creation. Church of Sweden Archbishop Dr Antje Jackelén presented the award on 1 October during the Orthodox church leader’s visit to the Lutheran church. The citation reads: “His All Holiness, Archbishop of Constantinople,…

A senior delegation from the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement, Hamas, visited the Church of Saint Porphyrius in Gaza on Thursday and met with Greek Orthodox Archbishop Alexios and Issa Tarazi, the head of the refugee committee of the Near East Council of Churches. The church is named after Saint Porphyry, who was Bishop of Gaza…

On September 26, 2019, the Summer Institute for representatives of the Church of England completed its work in Moscow. It was organized by the Ss Cyril and Methodius Institute for Post-Graduate Studies (CMI) and supported by the Russkiy Mir foundation. The institute organized for the attendees visits to Synodal departments and theological schools of the…

From September 27-29, 2019, the choir of the Cathedral of the Epiphany, with a blessing of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia and His Beatitude Metropolitan Rostislav of the Czech Lands and Slovakia, gave recitals in Slovakia and Czechia. The choir was conducted by the cathedral’s chief precentor Alexander Majorov. The tour…

The Divine Liturgy marked the beginning of the new 2019/2020 academic academic year at the Theological Faculty of Sofia University. With the blessing of His Holiness the Bulgarian Patriarch Neophyte the Holy Liturgy was celebrated by His Holiness the Bishop of Melnik Gerasim. Bishop Gerasim sent greetings and blessings on behalf of His Holiness Patriarch…

The Patriarch of Bulgaria, His Holiness Neophyte, received the US ambassador to the country, Justin Freedman. In his statements, the Bulgarian Patriarch reminded that the Orthodox Church backs all the positive initiatives in the country, while also referring to the Bulgarian expatriates in the United States.  

The European Court of Human Rights ruled Monday that Bosnia and Herzegovina must take “all necessary measures” to remove a Serbian Orthodox church that was built in the courtyard of a Muslim woman expelled from her village during the country’s 1992-95 war. The court ruled that the 1998 church construction had been illegal and constituted…

A persecution analyst has told Premier that Christianity is growing in China despite 70 years of the government clamping down on religious freedom. The Communist Party celebrated its 70th year in power on Tuesday as the government takes steps toward continuing to tighten its control over religious minorities. Christian charity Open Doors said a draft…

From September 23-26, 2019, the 2nd International Conference of New Testament researchers devoted to the Gospel of St. Mark was held at the Ss Cyril and Methodius Institute of Post-Graduate Studies (CMI). For four days, leading biblical scholars from Russia, Europe and America discussed the findings of over fifteen studies on the historical and theological…