Orthodox Catholic Church

Hollywood super star Tom Hanks has never hidden his love of all things Greeks. The 2-times Oscar winner is married to Greek-American actress and producer Rita Wilson and the couple follow all the religious traditions of the Orthodox Church. The two were seen once more holding their candles on Easter night at the Church.

There have been many claims over the years of miracles in the Christian faith. Some have proven to be exaggerations, while others could not be explained in any scientific way, like the Vastas Orthodox Church of St. Theodoroa in Arkadia, Greece, where scientists are baffled on how a small chapel is still standing with a large tree growing out of it.

A new survey presented on Wednesday in Belgrade, on public attitudes to national security, foreign policy, challenges, threats and potential alliances, says most people still want to join the EU - but don't want to join NATO.

The timeframe of the survey was from 26 December to January 14, using a sample of 1,403 citizens.

The Bulgarian Armed Forces, the Orthodox Church, the European Union and universities are the only institutions in Bulgaria enjoying "trust of around and more than 50%," a survey has shown.

The representatives survey, conducted by the Open Society Institute - Sofia, shows "the majority of citizens express permanent distrust of the main institutions of representative democracy."

According to a recent Gallop survey, some 22 per cent of Americans now say they have a favourable opinion of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Although his unfavourable rating is still far higher, at 72 per cent, the number of Americans who view Putin positively is the highest since 2003.

The current Greek population in Turkey is estimated at fewer than 2,000.  But this population decline was not due to natural causes; the Greek community has become nearly extinct due to many state-sponsored attacks and pressure.

The largest attacks took place during the last years of the Ottoman Empire with pogroms and discrimination continuing until the present day.

During his official visit to Ukraine, Greek PM Alexis Tsipras received a guided tour of the historic Christian Orthodox Church of St. Sophia. Built in the 11th century AD by many groups of craftsmen, including Greeks, the cathedral’s walls are adorned with beautiful frescoes and magnificent mosaics in the Orthodox tradition, many of which had Greek inscriptions.

The Orthodox Church honours St John the Baptist on January 7 - the last Old Testament prophet who baptised Jesus.

The celebration, also known as Ivanovden is one of the most popular and respected in Bulgaria.

Over 360,000 Bulgarians celebrate their name day on January 7.

A right-wing NGO and an obscure Orthodox church group have been accused of deliberately provoking the country's Serbian community as it gets ready to mark Orthodox Christmas Eve.

On the third day after Christmas Eve, the Orthodox Church commemorates Saint Stephan's day. Saint Stephan is the first martyr for the Christian faith.

He is the creator of the first Christian community which is why he was tried and stoned to death by Jewish authorities in 37 AD.