Orthodox Churches

Presidential working group for preparation of events dedicated to St. Vladimir’s commemoration and the St. Tikhon University’s Board of Trustees hold common session

On 24 February 2015, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia chaired a common session of the Presidential working group for preparation of the events dedicated to the commemoration of St. Vladimir Equal-to-the-Apostles, the Baptizer of Russia, and the Board of Trustees of the St. Tikhon’s Orthodox University (PSTGU).

Christian seminary torched in suspected hate crime in Jerusalem

 President Reuven Rivlin expressed outrage Thursday after a Greek Orthodox seminary on Jerusalem’s Mount Zion was set on fire and daubed with anti-Christian graffiti overnight Wednesday, in what is being investigated as a hate crime.

Sunday of Orthodoxy

Longsuffering Lord, how wonderful are your works! Who will number your love for humankind? Who, when they see your Priests and Ascetics slain for the sake of your Icon, would not reject deceivers? But you, when insulted, endured. (Synodikon of the Sunday of Orthodoxy, 9^th Ode)

 Sunday of Orthodoxy 2015 

To the Reverend Priests and Deacons, the Monks and Nuns, the Presidents and Members of Parish Councils, the Day, Afternoon, and Church Schools, the Members of Philanthropic Organizations, the Youth and Youth Workers, and the entire Orthodox Christian Family in the United States of America

Saint Simeon commemorated in Holy monastery of Katamonas

On Monday, the 3rd/16th of February 2015, the feast of St Simeon the Receiver of the Lord was observed at the Monastery dedicated to him in Katamonas, West Jerusalem.
The tomb and partial relics of St Simeon are kept in this historical Monastery of the Patriarchate, granted to it by the Metropolis of Zatar, Croatia, three years ago.

Patriarch John X decorates Sergey Lavrov with the Order of Sts Peter and Paul

On February 20, 2015, His Beatitude Patriarch John X of Antioch met with the head of the Russian foreign policy departments, Mr. Sergey Lavrov.

Mr. Lavrov congratulated the Primate of the Orthodox Church of Antioch on winning the prize of the International Public Foundation for the Unity of Orthodox Nations. He noted the special contribution that Patriarch John X made to the promotion of peace and accord between various religious communities in the Middle East. ‘Undoubtedly, the decision of the Foundation reflects the recognition of your role as Primate of the Church of Antioch who has done very much to preserve the multi-cultural nature of this very important region, to advocate the rights of Christians and to respect their more than two thousand years old history’, Mr. Lavrov stated.

Having emphasized the importance of defending the interests of the Christian population in the Middle East, Mr Lavrov said, ‘We are seeking to actively help establish truly collective efforts for overcoming the crisis in Syria and Yemen in a peaceful way and to prevent destabilization of the situation in Lebanon, Iraq and other countries of the region’.

Patriarch John, on his part, thanked the Russian leaders on behalf of the Orthodox Church of Antioch and stressed, ‘We can see what you have undertaken to restore peace both in the whole world and in the Middle East region’.

His Beatitude also noted that he was grateful to His Holiness Patriarch Kirill for the invitation to visit Moscow.

Speaking about the prize of the Foundation for the Unity of Orthodox Nations, Patriarch John said, ‘I believe this award becomes a kind of recognition of the suffering experienced by people in the region. The prize will be devoted, in the first place, to our people and the two metropolitans who are in captivity’.

‘We thank Russia, its government and people and the Russian Orthodox Church’, he continued, ‘for the stand they have adopted politically and internationally, for their support of peace, for their efforts to settle conflicts and crises throughout the world, especially in Syria and the Middle East. I am also grateful for the humanitarian aid which comes from Russia to Syria and other countries in the region, to those who very much need it. We also appreciate the efforts made by Russia for a peaceful solution of problems in the region’.

In conclusion of the meeting, Patriarch John X presented Mr. Lavrov with the Order of Sts Peter and Paul (1st degree). This highest award of the Orthodox Church of Antioch was granted to the Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs in recognition of his efforts to support peace in the Middle East.

Source: Moscow Patriarchate
 

Ilia II of Georgia: there was never a time that humanity has fallen so low

“People today think only of material goods and do not see how low they have fallen spiritually and how unhappy they are, Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia Ilia II said during his Sunday sermon.

The Catholicos-Patriarch emphasized that the choice of heaven or hell always remains within a person. “Man himself stands to the right or to the left of the Saviour. An evil person, a non-believer, will not stand in the Kingdom of Heaven,” he claimed.