Patriarch

The Holy Light from Jerusalem will be brought on Saturday evening aboard a special aircraft by a delegation of the Romanian Patriarchy, headed by Vicar Bishop of the Archbishopric of Bucharest Timotei Prahoveanul.

The Holy Light will be offered at the Resurrection mass by Romanian Orthodox Church Patriarch Daniel to the clergy and believers present at the Patriarchal Cathedral.

However, he said he would not move to Kosovo, i.e., to the town of Pec.

The media reported at the beginning of the week that the Serbian Orthodox Church is preparing major changes in May to the way its leader is elected, and to its internal organization and name.

Russia's Patriarch Kirill arrives in Bulgaria on 2nd of March on a three-day visit. His visit is at the invitation of the Bulgarian Patriarch Neophyte and the Holy Synod of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church, as the Russian Patriarch will participate in the celebrations dedicated to the 140th anniversary of the Liberation of Bulgaria from Ottoman Rule.

Among those attending the unveiling on Thursday were Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, and Serbian Patriarch Irinej.

Vucic recalled that 70 artists from Russia and Serbia worked to create the decoration, made in Moscow - "weaving in millions of glittering pieces into one single message of brotherhood and solidarity."

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.

The leader of the ancient Antioch Christian church in the Middle East said on Tuesday that Christians are essential for a lasting peace in the region.

The Greek Orthodox Church is denouncing an Israeli court decision that ruled a 2004 sale of prime church property to companies representing Jews seeking to expand their presence in Jerusalem's Old City was done legally.

By George Kaklikis*

It’s nothing out of the ordinary for Turkey to take and promulgate a distorted view of what’s happening beyond its borders. The Turkish foreign ministry rebuked Greece for its statements regarding the recitation of extracts from the Koran at the Hagia Sophia museum.

Aram Ateşyan, the acting patriarch of the Armenian Patriarchate of Turkey, resigned on May 24, paving the way for patriarchal elections, Turkish-Armenian weekly Agos has reported.

“The Patriarchate is our cradle and the Turkish leadership must realise that the presence of the Patriarchate in Constantinople is one of Turkey’s most powerful ties with the EU and the West”, Greek President Prokopis Pavlopoulos said during his meeting with the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew at the Patriarchate, Monday.