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Moscow, September 6, Interfax - The claim by Patriarch Bartholomew at a Synaxis in Istanbul that his Church of Constantinople has exclusive rights to resolve the problems of the Christian Orthodox world was pure heresy, Archpriest Andrey Novikov, a member of the Moscow Patriarchate's Bible Theological Commission, said. "All these expressions - that without the Patriarchate of Constantinople all other local Churches are sheep without a shepherd, that Constantinople possesses certain exclusivity, that it represents an ethos, or nation, of the Orthodoxy, that it has the special rights of ultimate jurisdiction over the whole Church and ensures its unity -...

Biography of the newly-reposed Archimandrite Lazarus (Abashidze), written by his spiritual children... Our ever-memorable spiritual father and mentor, Archimandrite Lazarus (born Michael Petrovich Abashidze-Desimon), was born on July 23, 1959, in the town of Gagra in Abkhazia, one of the most beautiful corners of the Caucasus. He graduated from the Russian school of Gagra and studied architecture at one of Moscow institutes. According to the future archimandrite, he had a vague feeling of dissatisfaction from his childhood. As a student of an institute of higher education in Moscow, Michael Abashidze became distrustful of both the existing regime and the general...

War continues to ravage eastern Ukraine, where conflict erupted in April 2014 following Russia’s annexation of Crimea and the violent actions of pro-Russian separatists. Along with forcing at least 1.6 million people from their homes, the ongoing conflict has also resulted in the persecution of Protestant pastors and churches throughout the territories that are occupied by pro-Russian separatist groups. One such group is the Luhansk People’s Republic (LNR). According to a new law passed on Feb. 2, 2018 (#211-II “About Freedom of Conscience and Religious Organizations”), the LNR is permitted to discriminate against any and all non-Orthodox religious communities. While...

Washington/Moscow, September 3, Interfax - Patriarch Bartholomew has insisted on the right by the Church of Constantinople to resolve the Ukrainian church problem without the Moscow Patriarchate. "Since Russia, as the one responsible for the current painful situation in Ukraine, is unable to solve the problem, the Ecumenical Patriarchate assumed the initiative of resolving the problem in accordance with the authority afforded to it by the Sacred Canons and the jurisdictional responsibility over the eparchy of Kiev, receiving a request to this end by the honorable Ukrainian Government, as well as recurring requests by 'Patriarch' Philaret of Kiev appealing for...

The Holy Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate has decided to allow a second marriage for Greek Orthodox priests in the event that they are widowed or abandoned by their wife, religious news website Romfea.gr says. The decision, that is considered historic in the Orthodox Church, specifies that a second marriage will not be allowed if the priest wishes to leave his wife and marry another woman. It is underlined that each case will be examined separately and the bishop of the priest’s parish will be sending the specifics to be judged by the Holy Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate. Also,...

Ukraine can’t reclaim territory annexed by Russia or held by its proxies – but it’s increasingly likely to deprive its larger neighbor of something arguably as valuable: Its power over Ukraine’s Orthodox Christian believers, and with it Moscow’s claim to a central role in eastern Christianity. Moscow Patriarch Kirill went to Istanbul late last month to meet with Bartholomew (of Constantinople). A bishop who was present said that while no final decision was made on Ukrainian autocephaly, the process has now gone too far to reverse it. Russian clerics have warned that granting independence to the Ukrainian church could cause...

A sermon by Fr. Peter Heers on the sin of cremation in the light of the traditional Christian belief in the Incarnation, the Resurrection and the sanctification of both the body and soul as evidenced by the holy relics of the saints.

Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I has informed Patriarch Kirill of Moscow of his plans to grant autocephaly to the Ukrainian church. Their meeting took place in Istanbul, Turkey. "First, there was a meeting in front of all the members of the Synod. Then there were tete-a-tete talks, only with translation," Kyiv Archbishop Yevstratiy (Zorya), wrote on Facebook on August 31. Later, Metropolitan of France Emmanuel came out to reporters. He represented Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I at the celebration of the 1030th anniversary of the Baptism of Kyiv Rus in Kyiv in July 2018. "He made a short statement, "We have informed...

8,000 people traveled to the Pskov Caves Monastery on its patronal feast of the Dormition of the Mother of God. On August 27, the monastery’s main sacred item, the wonderworking icon of the Dormition of the Mother of God, was, according to tradition, carried in procession from the Dormition Church to St. Michael’s Cathedral, where Metropolitan Tikhon of Pskov and Porkhov led the All-Night Vigil. On the day of the feast itself, Vladyka Tikhon, the abbot of Pskov Caves Monastery, celebrated the Divine Liturgy with the concelebration of the monastery brethren. In addition to the numerous pilgrims, the abbesses and...

In the past five or six years, I have known several people who have left Reformed Christianity for Eastern Orthodoxy. Their reasons for making that decision varied. Some were mesmerized by the beauty of the Divine Liturgy. Others found Eastern Orthodoxy (hereafter EO) to offer a greater appreciation for mystery and religious experience than what they had known as a Protestant. All of them, however, were attracted by and eventually convinced of EO’s claim to be the original church founded by Christ. While I do not agree with their decision, I sympathize with their desire to be part of the...

As Kiev and Moscow clash on the battlefields of eastern Ukraine, a new front has opened up in the religious sphere. ...A campaign to persuade Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I to grant Ukrainian clerics full ecclesiastical independence from the Russian Orthodox Church. Ukrainian politicians see such a declaration, known as a "Tomos of Autocephaly," as a key step in consolidating their country's national identity. To hear the religious leaders in Moscow tell it, separating the Ukrainian Orthodox Church from Russia would spark the worst schism since Orthodox and Catholic Christianity parted ways nearly 1,000 years ago. More immediately, the move would...

The Leader of the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) Patriarch Kirill said Monday that he intends to send a delegation to Pyongyang in October to celebrate the 70th anniversary of Russia-DPRK ties. Kirill announced the plans during a meeting in Moscow with members of the DPRK Orthodox Committee, where he thanked North Korean leader Kim Jong Un personally for his “attention” to the ROC presence in Pyongyang – the Church of the Life-Giving Trinity – and invited him to visit the building. Kirill also met with North Korean Ambassador to Russia Kim Hyun Jun and other DPRK embassy Moscow officials. During...

Authorities of the self-declared Luhansk People’s Republic (LPR), an unrecognized entity that declared independence from Ukraine in 2014, have halted worship meetings by a range of religious communities, seized religious literature and fined religious leaders. The most recent raid came on a Pentecostal Church in Alchevsk on Aug. 6. Earlier raids included one June 10 on a Baptist congregation in the town of Krasnodon (official Ukrainian name Sorokyne), near the eastern border with Russia. The church had gathered for its regular Sunday morning worship meeting when police arrived. State registration Officers told church members there that under Article 9 of...

A great spiritual event took place recently when the Divine Liturgy was served in the St. Thekla Monastery in Maaloula, Syria on August 12. This was the first Liturgy served there in several years after the city was taken over by terrorists and several of the nuns were kidnapped for several months, reports ekklisiaonline.gr. The service was celebrated by His Grace Bishop Luke of Damascus. The city was freed from terrorists in 2014, after which the restoration of the city and the monastery began. OrthoChristian.com earlier reported that the nuns had returned to the monastery which had reopened its...

Talk about spiritual warfare. An LGBT pride parade took place this last weekend in Odessa, Ukraine. LGBT pride parades are not particularly noteworthy these days. But what happened after the parade this weekend is: an Eastern Orthodox priest visited the parade site and cleansed the space with holy water. (Pictures below!) The head of the Missionary Department of the Eastern Orthodox Diocese of Odessa Fr. Oleg Mokryak led the cleansing, with help from a group of laypeople. Together, the dispensed holy water on people, the road, and on monuments as they walked, explaining to onlookers that they were specifically cleansing...

A priest of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church went through the Odessa city center on Saturday, blessing the street with Holy Water following a LGBT pride parade, reports Odessa Media. The head of the Odessa Diocese Missionary Department Fr. Oleg Mokryak went along Seaside Boulevard with parishioners dousing the road, people, and monuments with Holy Water. He explained as he went that he was cleansing the boulevard after the sexual deviancy parade that defiled the street.

Africa’s youngest head of state heals the wounds of one of its oldest churches.Ending 27 years of schism, Ethiopian Orthodox Christians in their homeland and in America reunited the two feuding branches of one of the world’s oldest churches. Ironically, the push came from the Horn of Africa nation’s new evangelical prime minister. “It is impossible to think of Ethiopia without taking note of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, which is both great and sacred,” said Abiy Ahmed at the July 27 ceremony in Washington, reported the Fana state-run news agency. A member of the World Council of Churches, the...

Hours and Divine Liturgy (Mass) for the Feast of the Transfiguration. (English appx 2 hrs)

Full Vigil for the Feast of the Transfiguration. (English/Slavonic appx 2:23 hrs)

DAHUK, Iraq - The Chaldean Catholic Church concluded a weeklong synod in Baghdad offering thanks to God for the return of numerous displaced Christians to their hometowns in the Ninevah Plain and for pastoral achievements in their dioceses. The synod, held Aug. 7-13 at the invitation of Cardinal Louis Raphael I Sako, the Chaldean Catholic patriarch, brought together church leaders and participants from Iraq, the United States, Iran, Syria, Lebanon, Canada, Australia and Europe to discuss issues vital for the church’s future both in Iraq and among its diaspora. Patriarchs and other leaders proposed potential candidates for election as new...