Dearly Beloved in the Lord, The bells of the Churches of the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Orthodox Church of the World will ring happily again this year to remind us that ‘The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Emmanuel, which means God is with us’ (Matt….

Please find below the pastoral letter sent by the members of the Holy Synod of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church on the Feast of the Nativity of the Lord 2018. Pastoral Letter of the Holy Synod of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church on the Nativity of the Lord 2018 “Today is coming about an unheard of mystery…

Archbishop Anastasios of Tirana, Durres and All Albania, called on the faithful to fight against all fear, keeping in mind that “Christ offers the effective antidote to the worry created by the virus of insecurity.” This is the message of Archbishop Anastasios on the occasion of Christmas 2018: In this era that pervasive uncertainty and…

The Russian Orthodox Church is prepared for a dialogue with the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople but is not going to renounce the truth, Vladimir Legoyda, the head of the Synodal Department for Church, Society and Media Relations, said on RT. The Russian Orthodox Church is “extremely concerned about the situation in Ukraine in various fields,”…

Patriarch of Moscow and all Russia Kirill has expressed condolences to Indonesian President Joko Widodo in connection with a devastating tsunami that killed hundreds of people, saying he would pray that those injured get well soon, the press service of the Moscow Patriarchate said on Monday. “I learned with deep sorrow about catastrophic consequences of…

What is happening in Ukraine is regrettable and threatens to trigger greater divisions in the Orthodox world, believes His Eminence Metropolitan Nektarios of Corfu, Paxoi, and the Diapontian Islands. Met. Nektarios discussed the ongoing crisis situation in Ukraine created by Constantinople’s intervention there with His Eminence Metropolitan Hilarion (Alfeyev), the head of the Moscow Patriarchate’s…

Montenegrin President Milo Đukanović has said that the country wishes to follow Ukraine’s lead and will seek formal autocephaly (independence) for its Orthodox church. “The Serbian Orthodox Church is very persistently undermining Montenegrin independence,” Mr Đukanović told TV station RTCG. “I believe that it is necessary to continue the work of restoring the autocephalous Montenegrin…

GREEK ORTHODOX ARCHDIOCESE OF AUSTRALIA CHRISTMAS ENCYCLICAL 2018 STYLIANOS By God’s Mercy Archbishop of Australia   To all Clergy and the faithful of our Archdiocese Brother concelebrants and children in the Lord, “Christ is born, glorify Him!” Thus we have been chanting for centuries every year in our Churches. But it seems that we have…

On 20 December 2018, Divine Liturgy was celebrated on St. Nicholas Island located in the Turkish Gulf of Fethiye. Rev. Georgy Sergeyev, rector of Ss Constantine and Helen church in Istanbul who cares for the Russian-speaking believers in the Republic of Turkey, officiated. A group of pilgrims from the Pskov and St. Petersburg metropolias attended….