06. April 2022
At its session held in Moscow’s Danilov Monastery March 24th, the Holy Synod of the Russian Church approved the internal regulations of the African Exarchate it created in late December. The regulations state that the Exarchate “is a canonical subdivision of the Russian Orthodox Church established for the purpose of coordinating the religious and educational, publishing, social, educational and missionary activities of dioceses and other canonical subdivisions of the Russian Orthodox Church l...
19. März 2020
The Archdiocese of Russian Churches of Western Europe, under His Eminence Metropolitan John of Dubna, will soon have two new vicar bishops. Until late last year, the Archdiocese was under the Patriarchate of Constantinople, which refused to allow it to elect new bishops to help the aging Met. John. Meeting under the chairmanship of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia in Moscow on March 11, the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church considered the issue of approving the t...
22. April 2021
Meeting under the chairmanship of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia at Moscow’s Danilov Monastery, the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church resolved to create a Bioethics Committee to continue to study the issue of in-vitro fertilization, reports the press service of the Russian Orthodox Church. The document, “Ethical Problems Associated with In Vitro Fertilization,” was earlier prepared by the Inter-Council Presence’s Committee for Theology and Theological Education...
18. Juli 2019
Meeting at Valaam Monastery, the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church issued a statement concerning the present persecution and legal threat against the Serbian Orthodox Church on the territory of Montenegro, reports Patriarchia.ru. In May, the Montenegrin Cabinet approved a draft law according to which, “All religious buildings that were property of the State of Montenegro before the loss of its independence and merging into the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes in 1918, and which s...
Internationale Themen wie die Situation in Syrien, der Ukraine und Venezuela haben im Mittelpunkt des Besuchs von Kardinalstaatssekretär Pietro Parolin in Russland gestanden. Der nach Papst Franziskus zweithöchste Vertreter des Vatikans traf bei seinem viertätigen Russlandaufenthalt (21.-24. August 2017) mit zahlreichen ranghohen Kirchen- und politischen Vertretern zusammen. Ein Russlandbesuch von Papst Franziskus wurde jedoch nicht thematisiert.
06. März 2019
His Eminence Metropolitan Panteleimon of Krasnoyarsk and Achinsk celebrated the rite of consecration of the tallest memorial cross in Russia on Drokino Mountain at the border of Krasnoyarsk with the Emelianovsky Region, reports the press service of the Krasnoyarsk Diocese. At a height of 154 ft., the stainless steel cross is the tallest in Russia and the third tallest in the world. It was designed to become the new symbol of Krasnoyarsk. Located at the symbolic “gate” to the city, it is perfe...
04. Dezember 2017
As His Holiness Patriarch Kirill noted in his report at the Bishops’ Council of 2017, the reorganization of the system of theological education remains the priority for the supreme church authorities and dioceses in their work. In 2011 the Bishops’ Council approved new principles of education for seminaries and academies within the Bachelor’s, Master’s and postgraduate programmes. For the next several years, the complex of necessary curricula and standards was formed. Since September 2015, th...
18. April 2019
On 6 April 2019, Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, chairman of the Moscow Patriarchate’s Department for External Church Relations, rector of the Ss. Cyril and Methodius Theological Institute of Postgraduate Studies, celebrated the Divine Liturgy at the Moscow Church of Beheading of St. John the Baptist in-the-Woods. This church is a part of the Patriarchal Metochion of Chernigov Wonder-Workers, where the Theological Institute of Postgraduate Studies, celebrating the 10th anniversary of it...
01. Juni 2017
Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia solemnly met at the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Moscow relics of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker first time in history delivered from Italy to Russia. Hundreds clerics made a living corridor outside the church and the patriarch went through it to the bus, which brought the relics from the Vnukovo Airport. Then the shrine was taken inside. Four bishops carried the reliquary on their shoulders. Believers filled the cathedral that can house about 10,...
In der Nähe von Moskau hat eine zweitägige Versammlung von Militärgeistlichen, die Abteilungen der Rosgvardija betreuen, stattgefunden. Es war die größte Veranstaltung dieser Art, seit die Rosgvardija – die russische Nationalgarde – und die Russische Orthodoxe Kirche (ROK) im März 2024 eine Vereinbarung über ihre Zusammenarbeit unterzeichnet haben. Über 30 Geistliche aus verschiedenen russischen Regionen nahmen an dem Treffen teil, das vom „Hauptgeistlichen in der Zone der Militärischen Spezi...
20. April 2022
Metropolit Ilarion (Alfejev), der Leiter des Außenamts des Moskauer Patriachats, hält ein Treffen zwischen Papst Franziskus und dem russischen Patriarchen Kirill noch im Jahr 2022 für möglich. Zumindest sei ein solches persönliches Treffen schon in Vorbereitung, erklärte Ilarion Ende März in seiner wöchentlichen Fernsehsendung „Kirche und Welt“ auf Rossija 24.
In einer späteren Sendung vom 10. April führte Metropolit Ilarion aus, er sei persönlich an den Vorbereitungen für die Begegnung bete...
28. September 2017
The Trinity Cathedral and the Spiritual and Cultural Center on Quai Branly have become one of the most visited places in the prestigious 7th District of Paris during the Days of the French National Heritage. It was the first time that they took part in this celebration of republican significance. The Days of the National Heritage have been held in France for already 35 years. This year, an open access was made on September 16 and 17 to 15 thousand cultural establishments and governmental inst...
26. September 2019
“The majority of our youth—63 percent—are believers,” commented the head of the Department for External Church Relations, His Eminence Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, citing a VTSIOM survey, according to which only 37% of young Russians aged 18-24 consider themselves unbelievers, reports Foma. “It’s another question how they believe? There are young people who are churched. There are young people who are seeking, who consider themselves believers but haven’t yet decided which religious ...
24. Oktober 2024
Kardinal Matteo Zuppi, der Sondergesandte des Papstes für die Ukraine, hat auf seiner Russlandreise vom 14. bis 16. Oktober eine Reihe staatlicher und kirchlicher Vertreter getroffen. Bei dem Besuch in Moskau ging es laut Pressemitteilung des Vatikans darum, die „ihm von Papst Franziskus anvertraute Mission fortzusetzen“. Dabei seien die bisherigen Maßnahmen zur Familienzusammenführung von Minderjährigen und zum Austausch von Gefangenen, Verwundeten und sterblichen Überresten von Gefallenen b...
09. Mai 2017
Die geplante Übergabe der Isaakskathedrale in St. Petersburg, die zum UNESCO-Weltkulturerbe zählt und heute in erster Linie als Museum dient, an die Russische Orthodoxe Kirche (ROK) stößt auf verbreitete Kritik. Der Gouverneur von St. Petersburg, Georgij Poltavtschenko, hatte angeordnet, die größte Kirche St. Petersburgs der ROK für 49 Jahre zur kostenlosen Nutzung zu überlassen, nachdem im Dezember 2016 der russische Patriarch Kirill einen solchen Antrag gestellt hatte. Bis spätestens in z...
12. September 2019
The Chudov Monastery, named in honor of the miracle of the Archangel Michael at Conae, was built in 1358, and stood within the Kremlin walls until it was destroyed by the godless soviets in 1929. The 14th building of the Kremlin was built over the site of the Chudov and Ascension monasteries between the Spassky Gate and the Senate Palace from 1932 to 1934; the dismantling of the building began in the fall of 2015, revealing a number of archaeological treasures. Now those treasures will be on ...
18. Juli 2019
Seventeen unique buildings in the northwest Russian city of Pskov were among the latest cultural gems to join UNESCO’s list of World Heritage Sites. Pskov is one of Russia’s oldest cities, first mentioned in ancient annals of the 9th century. In the Middle Ages, it was the bustling, wealthy capital of the Pskov Republic, acting as a bridge between Russia and Europe. The buildings, located in Pskov’s historic old city, include churches, cathedrals, monasteries, fortification towers and adminis...
04. Juli 2019
In the St. Cyril of White Lake Museum in Vologda province, an unprecedented exhibition “St. Nicholas the God-Pleaser” opened. It presents around 350 images of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker from the 11th to the early 20th century as Rossiyskaya Gazeta reports. It is an incredibly unique exhibition. Artifacts for it were provided by 14 museums throughout the Arkhangelsk, Vologda, and Yekaterinburg provinces, as well as from collections in different cities across Russia. Many of the artifacts, i...
14. Juni 2018
A unique carved 17th-century iconostasis from Moscow’s Visoko-Petrovsky Monastery, created by order of Tsar Peter I and believed to have been lost, has been found in the storerooms of the “Kolomenskoe” Metropolitan Museum-Reserve, reports TASS. “The iconostasis of St. Peter’s Cathedral of Visoko-Petrovsky Monastery was not destroyed when the soviet authorities closed the monastery as was previously believed. A presentation was held in the State Institute for Art Studies on the first results o...
24. Oktober 2024
One of the oldest churches of the Ryazan Kremlin was recently returned to the Russian Orthodox Church and the first prayer service was held. While the Moscow Kremlin is the most famous, there are in fact several Kremlins (fortified complexes) in ancient Russians cities and towns.
On October 11, the Ryazan Diocese announced the return of the Church of the Descent of the Holy Apostles, of a unique architectural style, and invited the faithful to help clean and restore the holy site the next da...