Orthodox Catholic Church

Some 45,000 Christians who fled Syria and Iraq are forced to hide their religious identity in the Turkish provinces of Yozgat, Aksaray and Çorum. 

Archbishop of Athens and All Greece Ieronymos said on Sunday that it was every person’s right to choose to have his or her body cremated, but this decision would be contrary to the beliefs of the Orthodox Church and therefore crematoriums could not operate within Greek Church cemeteries.

Israeli photographer Dafna Tal’s work is to be featured at the Byzantine and Christian Museum in an exhibition, titled The Orthodox of the Holy Land, that is set to run from December 8 through to January 21.

The Byzantine and Christian Museum will host an exhibition of 40 photographs taken between 2013 and 2015 by Israeli photographer Dafna Tal from December 8 until January 21.

The photographs reflect the heritage of the Orthodox Church in the Holy Lands and are the result of close collaboration with the Greek and Russian Orthodox Churches.

Cemeteries in Greece are overcrowded and have nowhere to expand . For this reason bodies are often kept underground for three years before being exhumed so that bones can be stored at an ossuary.

Families have the option of leasing for another three years, but the costs are prohibitive. Most people choose to exhume the graves.

Almost a decade ago, Russian art was a making a big statement in the Guggenheim Museum in New York. The exhibit brought more than 275 Russian works of art to the United States, with some of the works leaving their homeland for the first time. Among the gigantic paintings I saw was one covering an entire wall. It was a single Russian soldier among a sea of dead soldiers.

Patriarch Irinej's statement, saying Serbs should use force if Kosovo becomes a member of UNESCO and all peaceful attempts to stop it gaining control over Serbian religious monuments fail, was condemned on Wednesday by experts who warned that it could provoke instability.

Some European Christian Churches are altering their places of worship to accommodate the arrival of refugees from conflict areas. Adjustments include removing the altars, even crucifixes, from their places of worship.

Greeks who scoff at Halloween, saying it has nothing to do with the traditional Greek way of life, should think again. While much of the Western world enjoys the festivities associated with the ghoulish festival, Greece is actually the place where celebrations in honor of the dead had begun.

Maya Manolova, a former socialist MP and one-time Deputy Parliament Speaker, has assumed her duties as the National Ombudsman of Bulgaria.

At a ceremony also attended by Orthodox Church Members, she has taken over from Kostantin Penchev.