The bill on the cultivation of marijuana in Georgia will be withdrawn, Parliament Chairman Irakli Kobakhidze said after a meeting with His Holiness Catholicos-Patriarch Ilia II. “The main issue discussed with the Patriarch was the issue of the draft law on the cultivation of marijuana. We discussed this issue earlier in our team and decided to withdraw it from Parliament. We have repeatedly said we will not consider this legislation without broad discussion and the achievement of consensus wi...

In der slowakischen Hauptstadt Bratislava erinnert ein neues Denkmal an den vor bald drei Jahren verstorbenen Priester, Dissidenten und Menschenrechtsaktivisten Pater Anton Srholec (1929-2016). Aufgestellt wurde die rund zweieinhalb Meter hohe und vom Bildhauer Peter Mészároš geschaffene steinerne Plastik in der Nähe von Srholec' früherem Wohnort in der Vorstadt Ružinov. Das Denkmal befindet sich in einer Parkanlage, die häufig von Obdachlosen aufgesucht wird, um die sich Srholec jahrzehntela...

Ein Besuch von Papst Franziskus in Serbien wäre aus vielerlei Hinsicht für Serbien ein großer Gewinn. Das hat der katholische Erzbischof von Belgrad, Stanislav Hočevar, im "Kathpress"-Interview vor Ort betont. Ein Papstbesuch wäre zum einen eine große Ermutigung für die kleine katholische Minderheit in Serbien, zum anderen aber auch für das ganze Land wichtig. Das Interesse Europas für Serbien sei gering, das Land brauche aber auf seinem Weg Richtung Europa viel mehr internationale Aufmerksam...

On the forefeast of Saint John Chrysostom, November 12, His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel inaugurated the Consilium House of the National Cathedral’s Chapel. Following the blessing service, His Beatitude referred to the way the new building will be used by the priests and believers. He said that given its capacity, agape meals will be held inside. Also, that it may serve as a place of gathering for the Chapel’s volunteers, as well as for those who work on the National Cathedral’s construction si...

Kardinal Christoph Schönborn ist im Rahmen seines Belgrad-Besuchs mit dem serbisch-orthodoxen Patriarchen Irinej zusammengetroffen. Im Mittelpunkt des Gesprächs im serbischen Patriarchat standen dabei die Beziehungen zwischen der serbisch-orthodoxen und katholischen Kirche. An der Begegnung nahmen zahlreiche Bischöfe der serbisch-orthodoxen Kirche, der Belgrader katholische Erzbischof Stanislav Hočevar, der Apostolische Nuntius in Serbien, Erzbischof Luciano Suriani, und als Vertreter von Sta...

The parishioners of the Good News Church in Slovyansk are set to build an educational center based on the model of the Ukrainian Catholic University in Lviv. A pastor of the church, Peter Dudnik said this according to Depo.Donbass citing Cvoi.City. He noted that the construction of the university, that relies on Christian values ​​and high educational standards of the European level, is an important step in the transformation of Donbas. According to Dudnik, in March 2018, he appealed to Slov...

The Orthodox Church in America (OCA) has recently published a document entitled “Social Media Guidelines for Clergy and Lay Leaders”. The document was approved by the Holy Synod of Bishops at their working session on October 24, 2018. The updated Guidelines are recommended by the Holy Synod for implementation by the Central Church Administration, ministries, dioceses, parishes, clergy, lay leaders, staff and volunteers who work within the institutional, social, and legal environment of the Ch...

The Monastery of the Kykkotissa Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos in Cyprus is hosting an international conference on Monasticism of Russia and Cyprus: Spiritual and Cultural Ties. The meeting is organized by the Synodal Department for Monasteries and Monasticism of the Russian Orthodox Church, the Kykkos Monastery, the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation and St. Basil the Great Foundation. A delegation of the Russian Orthodox Church, led by Metropolitan Arseny of Svyatogorsk, vicar o...

The 2nd All-Russia Academic Conference on Theology in the Present-Day Academia held its final session at the National Research Nuclear University MEPhI in cooperation with the Ss Cyril and Methodius Institute of Post-Graduate Studies (CMI). The main plenary session heard a paper presented by Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk on Theology in Education and Science: Development of the Industry. In his address, Metropolitan Hilarion put an emphasis on the problems of theological scholarship an...