The first baptism was held at the under-construction Orthodox Cathedral of the Holy Wisdom in the Polish capital, with the sacrament conducted by the Archbishop of Warsaw and Metropolitan of All Poland, His Beatitude Sawa. The baptized infant is the child of the chief architect of the cathedral’s construction, a fact joyously cited by…

  The Serbian Orthodox bishop of Budimlija-Niksic, His Grace Ioannicus, again referred to the dire situation for Christians in Kosovo and Metohija, as well as recent developments in Montenegro, which the Serbian Patriarchate charges are a thinly veiled attempt to appropriate Church property. The Serbian bishop warned that Albanian authorities in Kosovo are planning to…

  Russian Orthodox bishop of Orekhovo-Zuevо, His Grace Panteleimon, the chairman for the synodal department for Church charity, officiated at a blessing ceremony at a children’s hospital in the Russian capital. Afterwards, Panteleimon presented his book, entitled the “Hospital Chaplain”, to the clinic’s physicians and staff. In a brief address, he said that “… the…

  A Holy Relic of St. Euphemia, known as the All-praised by the Orthodox Church, has been placed in the middle of the Ecumenical Patriarchal Church of St. George, for veneration by the faithful. Orthodoxy commemorates her miracle at the 5th Century Council of Chalcedon on July 11. The Ecumenical Patriarch on Wednesday presided at…

NEW YORK – The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America is announcing a new ten-episode video series introducing the faithful to the new Policies for the Safety of Children and Youth. These new resources also include step-by-step checklists designed to help parishioners and communities follow the new guidelines. “The new Policies are an important achievement. Implementing…

Meeting at the Valaam Holy Transfiguration Monastery on Tuesday, the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church made a number of decisions regarding its dioceses abroad. In particular, the hierarchs officially accepted 8 parishes from throughout the dioceses of the Church’s newly-established Southeast Asian Exarchate and one from its newly-established Western European Exarchate into the…

St. Luke of Crimea, known as the “Blessed Surgeon,” is loved and venerated throughout the Orthodox world, and churches dedicated in his honor have been built in a number of Orthodox countries. On June 22, the Polish Orthodox Church joined them, consecrating its first church to the great 20th-century saint in the village of Łaźnie…

The assistant bishop to the Archdiocese of Timisoara, Paisie of Lugoj, concelebrated at the Divine Liturgy held at the Cathedral of the Mother of God “Joy of All Who Sorrow” in San Francisco marking the 25th anniversary of the canonization of St John (Maximovich) of Shanghai and San Francisco the Miracle-worker. Heading the June 29…

The Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, His All Holiness Bartholomew I, on Thursday morning expressed his condolences and solidarity to the families of the six victims, including two children, that died late Wednesday evening in northern Greece’s Halkidiki prefecture amid an extreme storm front that passed through the area. “At this dire moment for the residents…