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Archaeologists in Turkey suspect the church may have been built in the year 325, following the First Council of Nicaea.The remains of a 1,600-year-old Byzantine basilica have been discovered at the site of the Councils of Nicaea, at the bottom of a lake in northwest Turkey. “We have found church remains. It is in a basilica plan and has three naves,” said Mustafa Şahin, an archaeology professor at Bursa Uludağ University, told Hurriyet News. Plans are now underway to open an underwater museum to allow tourists to view the foundation of the church, which was found lying in 5-7 feet...

As the time for afternoon prayers approaches, Onder Soy puts on a white robe and cap and switches on the microphone in a small 19th century room adjoining the Hagia Sophia. Soon, Soy’s melodic call to prayer rings out over a square filled with tourists hurrying to visit some of Turkey’s most famous historical sights before they close for the day. The room Soy is in — built as a resting place for the sultan and now officially called the Hagia Sophia mosque — fills up with around 40 worshipers, drawn not by the modestly decorated space itself, but by...

NEW YORK – His Eminence Archbishop Demetrios of America announces with a heavy heart and deep sorrow the passing of Metropolitan Iakovos of Chicago, 89, who fell asleep in the Lord this evening, June 2, 2017, at Chicago’s Weiss Memorial Hospital following a short illness. In accordance with article 12 of the Charter of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America Archbishop Demetrios in consultation with the Eparchial Synod named His Eminence Metropolitan Nicholas of Detroit as locum tenens, until a successor is elected

An evangelical radio personality known as "The Bible Answer Man" and president and chairman of the Christian Research Institute was formally received into the Eastern Orthodox Church Sunday.The Christian Post confirmed that Hank Hannegraaf was chrismated on Palm Sunday at Saint Nektarios Greek Orthodox Church in Charlotte, North Carolina."What astounding news," said Rod Dreher, an Orthodox Christian and author of the New York Times best-selling book The Benedict Option, in an interview with The Christian Post Monday."Many evangelicals seek the early church; well here it is, in Orthodoxy," he continued."I am sure some will be scandalized by Hannegraaf's conversion but I...

NEW YORK CITY, October 25, 2016 (LifeSiteNews) — Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew's representatives, known as "Archons," bestowed the church's highest lay honor on one of the country's most notorious promoters of abortion, same-sex "marriage," and transgender bathrooms in schools. Archons of the Ecumenical Patriarchate led by Archbishop Demetrios presented the Athenagoras Human Rights Award to New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo on October 15 at the New York Hilton. Once again, those who lead the Greek Orthodox Church have proved with a “humanitarian” award that in their overriding quest to be approved by Caesar they couldn't care less about the most vulnerable...

La ville d’Alep est deux fois encerclée : l’armée syrienne encercle 300 000 personnes à l’est et les rebelles encerclent 2 millions de personnes à l’ouest. Pour ouvrir un passage et briser le siège, les rebelles ont attaqué la banlieue 1070 à l’ouest d’Alep. Cette banlieue était composée de dizaines de grands immeubles inachevés. Les agences des Nations Unies et les ONG internationales avaient dépensé des millions pour réhabiliter ces immeubles et y loger des milliers de familles déplacées de la partie est et des campagnes du nord et de l’ouest. video on link..also in French.

Tbilisi, June 10, Interfax - The Georgian Orthodox Church will not participate in the Pan-Orthodox Council in Crete which is slated for June 16-27. "This decision was adopted during today's session of the Holy Synod of the Georgian Orthodox Church in which the Catholicos-Patriarch Ilia II of All Georgia participated," the report of the Georgian Patriarchate said. Ilia II said in February that the Holy Synod rejected the document 'The relation of the Orthodox Church towards the rest of the Christian world' which was prepared for discussion at the Pan-Orthodox Council. The Synod also opposed a number of other documents...

Documents on the upcoming Great and Holy Council 1. Communication of the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia to the Clerics and Faithfulhttp://www.synod.com/synod/eng2016/Holy%20Synod%20Response%20to%20Preconciliar%20Documents%20en.pdf2. OBSERVATIONS ON THE TEXT PREPARED FOR THE PAN-ORTHODOX COUNCIL: “RELATIONS OF THE ORTHODOX CHURCH WITH THE REST OF THE CHRISTIAN WORLD” by Dr. Demetrios Tselengideshttp://www.pravoslavie.ru/english/90489.htm3. A SECOND INTERVENTION-CONFESSION OF FAITH: ON THE DOCUMENT "ORGANIZATION AND WORKING PROCEDURE OF THE HOLY AND GREAT COUNCIL" by Dr. Demetrios Tselengideshttp://www.pravoslavie.ru/english/90694.htm4. METROPOLITAN OF LIMASSOL: "WHAT UNITY ARE WE TALKING ABOUT? THOSE WHO DEPARTED FROM THE CHURCH ARE HERETICS AND SCHISMATICS"http://www.pravoslavie.ru/english/90619.htm5. A WORD ABOUT THE "COMMON CUP" AND...

Nicosia, June 10, Interfax - The Orthodox Church of Cyprus opposed the idea to postpone the convocation of the Pan-Orthodox Council, which has been prepared for over half a century and has been slated to take place on Crete in late June, the message of the Archbishop Chrysostom of Cyprus said. "We invite all of the local Orthodox Churches to participate in the work of the Holy and Great Council with a spirit of love, humility, and common mind, so that our witness to the world may be fruitful and effective," the message said. The document said that earlier the...

Belgrade, June 9, Interfax - The Serbian Orthodox Church joined a number of local Churches which do not consider participation in the Pan-Orthodox Council slated for late June on Crete possible. "Our Church sees obstacles to participation in the Holy and Great Council and proposes to postpone it for the time being," the letter of the Serbian Orthodox Church Synod to the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople, who is responsible for coordination of the preparations of the Council, said. Before holding this historical event it is necessary to resolve the differences between the local Churches, reach a consensus and revise...

"Unity is an objective, not a given," says the Rev. John Chryssavgis, an archdeacon and theological adviser to Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople. "It may be there spiritually and liturgically and sacramentally, but to make it visible is hard, painful, slow work, and it takes time." In a sense, the “Great and Holy Council of the Orthodox Church”, conceived as a gathering of all the heads of the 14 independent Orthodox churches around the world in Crete June 16-27, has been at least a millennium in the making. More proximately, planning has been underway since 1961, meaning more than a half-century....

The historic Manhattan cathedral that was gutted in a massive fire was one of four Christian Orthodox churches to go up in flames on Orthodox Easter Sunday — sparking fears of a coordinated attack on the religion. While FDNY officials said the blaze at the Serbian Orthodox Cathedral of St. Sava on West 25th Street does not appear suspicious, members of the Orthodox community have doubts. They are worried that the blaze — along with church fires in Australia and Russia — were set in retaliation for the religion’s role in blocking the canonization of Croatian Nazi supporter Cardinal Aloysius...

The symbolism of the "complete" Cross (much of which is contained in the Old Rite Russian prosphora seal and on metal and wood icons) is quite complex. Since the OId Rite tradition of the Russian Orthodox Church is much richer than the New Rite Church in its use of symbolism to teach the faithful, this article should be of benefit to those unfamiliar with this tradition.Through the Cross came our Salvation. We are constantly reminded that Christ died for us when we see the Image of the Cross (depicting the crucified Lord), and we are reminded that He rose from...

Athens, January 21, 2016 Hierarchs of the Church of Greece have commented on the decision of local authorities to open a crematorium in the city of Patras, reports AgionOros. Bishop Chrysanthos stressed that "the war against the Church is now being waged openly. Cremation and other manifestations of the new morality (for example, "free cohabitation", civil partnerships and so on) have nothing to do with the Orthodox tradition of Greece". *** Metropolitan Justin of Kalamaria, commenting on the decision to open the crematorium, said: "Many claim that the Church should care for people's souls only and leave the body alone....

For the first time since the Asia Minor Catastrophe of 1922, a Greek Orthodox Epiphany celebration is set to take place in Izmir on January 6, 2016. The Greek Orthodox community has received permission from the Turkish authorities to perform the Diving for the Holy Cross ceremony on the local pier. "For the first year we will be performing the Blessing of the Waters at the port of Izmir. Officially, this is the first year. We had also done it around 10 years ago, but not officially. This time we have received a license from the Turkish government, the Ministry...

A Church Near Ground Zero Reimagined St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church Designed by Santiago Calatrava By Ralph Gardner Jr. Oct. 15, 2014 8:54 p.m. ET It took two hours of talking with architect Santiago Calatrava—we touched on rock climbing, the Swiss cheese dish raclette, Rembrandt’s self-portraits and New York City’s tradition of great civic architecture—before I realized how appropriate the placement is of St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church, which will overlook the 9/11 Memorial. And not just because it’s the rebirth of the church, a fixture in the neighborhood since the 19th century until it was destroyed by the collapse...

Constantinople, September 16, 2015 (LifeSiteNews) – A firestorm of controversy has erupted in the Orthodox Church over its Ecumenical Patriarch planning to honor vice president and possible presidential candidate Joe Biden. Vice President Biden is scheduled to receive the highest award bestowed by the Greek Orthodox Church, the Athenagoras Human Rights Award. The award will be presented at the organization's annual banquet Saturday, October 17, at the New York City Hilton Hotel. We should remember that Abp. Demetrios famously compared President Obama to Alexander the Great in 2009. The award is a kind of "thanks" to Biden for two publicized...

Greece in teetering on the brink of ruin - and it is hard not to feel sympathy for the pensioners crying in the street and the mothers facing empty supermarket shelves. Yet those reading a new book may find themselves feeling a little less compassionate towards the Greeks. It reveals an eye-popping catalogue of benefits scams and tax avoidance schemes that have robbed the public purse. James Angelos' The Full Catastrophe: Travels among the New Greek Ruins lays bare the corruption which filtered through all levels of society - from the islanders who pretended to be blind, to the families...

Nearly everyone but the Obama administration has heard of the genocide of TurkeyÂ’s Armenian minority in which as many as 1.5 million Armenians were deliberately murdered by the Turkish government. While the Armenians were targeted for their ethnicity, what is widely overlooked is the fact that the Armenians were Orthodox Christians who inconveniently enjoyed conspicuous success in an Islamic nation. Now that the Turks have essentially finished off the Armenians, they have been hard at work eliminating the remaining Christians. On the eve of World War I, over 20% of Turkey was Christian. Now it is less than 2%. This...

DANBURY, CT - St. Nicholas Church, founded in the city 90 years ago, was decimated by fire Saturday afternoon. "My guess is the church is totaled," said Fire Chief Geoff Herald as fire crews from out the area shot cascades of water over its collapsed roof and into the gold-dome church on Pembroke Road. The Rev. John Cigan, the church's pastor, who had held services in the church Saturday morning, sobbed as he watched firefighters battle the blaze and was too overcome with emotion to speak about the loss. "It's awful," said church member Donna Stelzel, as steam and gray...