On Monday, 25th March / 7th April 2025, the Patriarchate celebrated the Theotokos’ Feast of the Annunciation. On this feast, the Church commemorates the event when the Archangel Gabriel, who had previously appeared in the Old Testament as the angel of the Mighty God, visited the maiden Mary in Nazareth and announced to her that,…

His Eminence Metropolitan Damaskinos of Kydonia and Apokoronou fell asleep in the Lord, after a long battle with cancer, at the age of 67 on the 8th of April 2025. Metropolitan Damaskinos (Papagiannakis) of Kydonia and Apokoronou, Primate and Exarch of the Cretan and Myrtoan Sea, was born in Chania, Crete in 1958. Following his…

On Monday, 7th April 2025, His Grace Bishop Kyriakos of Melbourne presided over the Matins and Hierarchical Divine Liturgy at the Church of the Protection of Our Most Holy Lady Theotokos in South Yarra, marking the Feast of the Annunciation of the Theotokos. This Slavic-speaking parish, which follows the Julian calendar, was filled with faithful…

The feast of the Annunciation of the Theotokos was celebrated with great splendour and with the participation of a multitude of believers, according to the Julian calendar, in the celebrating Holy Cell of the Annunciation of the Theotokos in Karyes on Mount Athos, which belongs to the Holy Monastery of Simonos Petras. At the Holy…

On the Fifth Sunday of Lent, 6 April 2025, a Hierarchical Divine Liturgy took place at the Church of the Holy Twelve Apostles, of the Feriköy Community in Constantinople, and was presided over by His Eminence Metropolitan Stephanos of Kallioupolis and Madytos, Patriarchal Supervisor of the District, who also preached the holy sermon. At the…

On 5 April 2025, the Exarchate of the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Lithuania held its Second Annual Assembly in Vilnius. The event brought together clergy and lay representatives from across the country for a day of prayer, fellowship, and administrative reflection. Held at the Church of the Our Lady of Consolation, the Assembly opened with the…

Her Excellency Tamar Beruchashvili, Ambassador of Georgia to Bucharest, visited the Romanian Patriarchate on Wednesday, where she held discussions with representatives of Trinitas TV and Basilica Travel. The meeting was attended by Archdeacon Gheorghe-Cristian Popa, Director of Trinitas TV, alongside Oana Lungu and Father Mihai Profiroiu from the Basilica Travel Agency. The ambassador was accompanied…

On Holy Thursday, April 17, 2025, just days before the 140th anniversary of the recognition of its autocephaly, the Romanian Orthodox Church will consecrate the Holy and Great Chrism for the 23rd time. The event, marked by special solemnity, is part of the Romanian Patriarchate’s Centennial Year program. Before consecration, the Great Chrism is prepared…

Fr. Peter Spiro, Director of the FREEDOM Ministry, met with senior seminarians from Holy Cross School of Theology at the Archdiocese headquarters in New York for an important discussion on the harsh realities of Human Trafficking. As these future ministry leaders prepare to graduate and step into their vocations, Fr. Peter offered a compelling presentation…