Representative of the Ukrainian president in the Verkhovna Rada Iryna Lutsenko says over 200 parishes of the former Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate (UOC-MP) have become part of the newly created Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU) since the unification council and the creation of the local OCU independent of Russia’s influence. “As of…

Ecumenical Patriarch Vartholomaios on Wednesday hailed a “highly symbolic” visit by Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras to the Halki Orthodox Seminary on an island off the Istanbul coast. Vartholomaios expressed the hope that the school, which was shut down by Turkish authorities in 1971, will reopen soon. In his comments, Tsipras said a decision to…

Alexis Tsipras on Wednesday visited an Istanbul seminary shut down in 1971, becoming the first serving Greek prime minister to do so. He was greeted upon his arrival by Metropolitan Elpidoforos of Bursa (Proussa in Greek). The Greek premier was accompanied by Education Minister Costas Gavroglou, Alternate Foreign Minister Giorgos Katrougalos, Deputy Foreign Minister Markos…

On February 2nd, 2019, His Beatitude Theodoros II, Pope and Patriarch of Alexandria and All Africa officiated during Orthros and the Divine Liturgy at the Holy Patriarchal Monastery of St Savvas in Alexandria, for the Feast of the Meeting of the Lord. Before the dismissal of the Divine Eucharist, the Alexandrian Primate performed the consecration…

(Source: theologicalschoolhalki.com)

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras on Wednesday visited the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul. Ibrahim Kalin, a spokesman of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, accompanied Tsipras on his tour. The Greek premier was also accompanied by Education Minister Costas Gavroglou, Alternate Foreign Minister Giorgos Katrougalos, Deputy Foreign Minister Markos Bolaris, as well as his wife Betty…

Addressing the faithful after the Divine Liturgy at the Church of the Virgin Mary of Belgrade in Istanbul on Friday, February 1, His All-Holiness spoke, among other things, about his forthcoming meeting with the Greek Prime Minister, Mr. Alexis Tsipras, in Halki. The Ecumenical Patriarch spoke of the special symbolism of the visit of Greek…

Archimandrite Ephraim, the Superior Abbot of Vatopedi Monastery on Mount Athos, is hospitalized in a clinic in Europe after balloon angioplasty and stents placement he underwent on Tuesday, February 5th. Elder Ephraim suffered a heart attack, on Friday noon, soon after the arrival of his flight from Constantinople to Kiev. The coronary angiography forced doctors…

Delegations of most of the Local Orthodox Churches arrived in Moscow for the celebrations marking the 10th anniversary of enthronement of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia. One of the major topics discussed during the meetings was the situation of the Church in Ukraine. In an interview to RIA Novosti news agency,…