Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew

Bulgarian worshippers thronged Sofia's golden-domed Alexander Nevsky Cathedral on Friday to pay their last respects to Orthodox Christian Patriarch Neophyte, the first elected head of the church in the post-communist Balkan country, who died this week aged 78.

Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, the spiritual leader of the world's roughly 300 million Greek Orthodox Christians, is planning to visit Australia later this year. 

The visit, according to Australian Archbishop Makarios, is part of a series of celebrations marking the 100th anniversary of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia.

His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I, spiritual leader to the worlds 300 million Orthodox Christians, made his first official visit to Iceland from October 12-15, 2017 as the official guest and keynote speaker of the 2017 Arctic Circle Assembly.

US Vice President Joe Biden is scheduled to meet with Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu and Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew during a visit to Istanbul this weekend, according to a report by the Athens News Agency on Wednesday.

Talks are expected to focus on the Cyprus issue and developments in the eastern Mediterranean region.

Serbian patriarch visits Albania, nationalist protest

TIRANA -- Leaders of Orthodox Christian churches - including a delegation of the Serbian Orthodox Church (SPC) headed by Patriarch Irinej - were in Albania on Sunday.

They consecrated the Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ in the country's capital, Tirana.

TIRANA - Leaders of Orthodox churches - including a delegation of the Serbian Orthodox Church headed by Patriarch Irinej - consecrated the Resurrection of Christ Cathedral in Tirana on Sunday.

The consecration service - a major event for all Orthodox churches - was led by Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I, Albania's Balkanweb reports.