Following an investigation of the Russian Orthodox Church in Sweden, Stockholm authorities have decided not to grant organizational grants to the Church in 2024. Säpo, the Swedish Security Service, “assess that the Russian state is using the Russian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate in Sweden as a platform for the purpose of conducting intelligence gathering and other security-threatening activities in the form of influence against Sweden,” the service said in a statement reported on...

(Radio Free Europe, www.rferl.org, 14. Februar 2019) A senior official in Tajikistan's Customs Service has confirmed that the authorities have confiscated and burned 5'000 evangelical Christian calendars ordered by a Baptist church in the Central Asian country. Rahmonali Rahimzoda, who heads the enforcement branch of the Customs Service, told RFE/RL on February 14 that the calendars were confiscated at Dushanbe International Airport in December and later burned. Rahimzoda said that the calend...

Am 28. August 2017 hat Tadschikistan eine Verschärfung des Gesetzes „Über die Regulierung von Traditionen, Feiern und Riten in der Republik“ verabschiedet, das verschiedene Neuerungen bezüglich religiöser Handlungen beinhaltet. Beide Parlamentskammern haben den Gesetzesänderungen zugestimmt, die der tadschikische Präsident Emomoli Rahmon vorgeschlagen hatte und die nun mit seiner Unterschrift in Kraft getreten sind.

The public youth organization Sozandagoni Vatan (Builders of Motherland) has expressed support for amendments to the law on traditions, festivities and rites recently adopted at the initiative of Tajik President Emomali Rahmon. The organization's statement published in the Tajik official media says that the amendments are aimed at protecting national and cultural values and qualitatively improving life in the country, especially for young people. "With the adoption of the amendments and adde...

Established in 2014, Byzanfest is the world’s first and only online festival that screens short-films made by Eastern Orthodox Christian filmmakers. The Festival goes live from Sunday 21st July until 4th August 2019, running concurrently with live venue screenings which are hosted by Global Screening Partners. „As the world’s media and entertainment have become increasingly on-demand and interwoven with social media, Byzanfest saw the opportunity to venture into an emerging concept: the onlin...

Ioannis Orfanoudakis, a Greek expert in Doctrinal Theology of the Catholic Church, Canon Law sent a letter to Acting Secretary General of the World Council of Churches Father Ioan (Sauca), calling for the exclusion of the Russian Orthodox Church. On March 07 2022 (Ukraine), he wrote to the Most Reverend Father Ioan (Sauca), Acting Secretary General of the World Council of Churches: Your Bless, I am sending you this letter as a faithfull child of the Church and an expert in the Doctrinal The...

Als überaus produktiv hat sich das 2. Treffen des „Pro Oriente Steering Commitee for Orthodox-Catholic Dialogue“ („Pro Oriente“-Kommission für orthodox-katholischen Dialog) Anfang November in Wien erwiesen. „Pro Oriente“-Generalsekretär Bernd Mussinghoff stellte fest, dass die Kommissionssitzung von einer „hervorragenden Atmosphäre respektvoller Zusammenarbeit und des Aufeinander Hörens gekennzeichnet“ war: „So kann der inoffizielle ökumenische Dialog Schritt für Schritt weiterkommen, wie es ...

Der Ökumenische Patriarch Bartholomaios hat im Hinblick auf den innerorthodoxen Konflikt um die Unabhängigkeit der Orthodoxen Kirche der Ukraine betont, dass er "ein ruhiges Gewissen" habe. Die Kirche sei "ein lebendiger Organismus", auch wenn es unter seinem Patriarchat nicht nur angenehme, sondern auch unangenehme Ereignisse gegeben habe, sagte Bartholomaios laut einem Bericht des Pro-Oriente-Informationsdienstes in Istanbul. Wörtlich meinte der Patriarch demnach unter Bezugnahme auf die "u...

Der Ökumenische Patriarch Bartholomaios I. hat eine der bedeutendsten orthodoxen Kirchen der Gründerzeit in Konstantinopel nach umfassender Restaurierung neu geweiht: Es handelt sich um die Verklärung-Kirche-Christi ("Metamorphosis") auf dem Sisli-Friedhof. Der 1859 angelegte Sisli-Friedhof ist der größte griechisch-orthodoxe Friedhof außerhalb Griechenlands. Mehr als 85.000 griechisch-orthodoxe Christen haben hier ihre letzte Ruhestätte gefunden. Auf dem Friedhof befinden sich die Grabstätte...

Unter der Leitung des Ökumenischen Patriarchen Bartholomaios haben in Istanbul Bischöfe der Bulgarischen Orthodoxen Kirche (BOK) und der Orthodoxen Kirche der Ukraine (OKU) gemeinsam die Hl. Liturgie gefeiert. Der Gottesdienst fand am 19. Mai, am Sonntag der Myrrheträgerinnen, in der Klosterkirche der Muttergottes von der lebenspendenden Quelle statt. Von der BOK nahmen die Metropoliten Nikolaj (Sevastijanov) von Plovdiv, Kiprian (Dobrinov) von Stara Zagora und Jakov (Dončev) von Dorostol sow...

Mit scharfen Worten hat der Ökumenische Patriarch Bartholomaios einmal mehr den russisch-orthodoxen Patriarchen Kirill bzw. die gesamte Hierarchie der Russischen Orthodoxen Kirche (ROK) kritisiert. In einem Schreiben an den Patriarchen von Alexandria, Theodoros, prangerte er u.a. das Eindringen der ROK in Afrika, das traditionell Jurisdiktionsgebiet des Patriarchats von Alexandria ist, als „unbrüderlich“ und „antichristlich“ an. Die Verantwortlichen der ROK mit Patriarch Kirill an der Spitze...

Der Ökumenische Patriarch Bartholomaios hat sich schockiert über den Angriff Russlands auf die Ukraine gezeigt und dem Oberhaupt der Orthodoxen Kirche der Ukraine, Metropolit Epifanij (Dumenko), telefonisch seine Unterstützung versichert. Bartholomaios verurteilte „den grundlosen Angriff auf die Ukraine, die Verletzung der Menschenrechte und die brutale Gewalt gegen unsere Mitmenschen und vor allem gegen Zivilisten“. Er bete zu Gott, dass er die Führung der Russischen Föderation erleuchte, u...

Der Ökumenische Patriarch von Konstantinopel, Bartholomaios, hat seinen Unmut über die Unterstützung des Moskauer Patriarchen Kirill für Russlands Krieg gegen die Ukraine Luft gemacht. In einem Interview des griechischen TV-Senders ERT sagte das Ehrenoberhaupt der Weltorthodoxie, er hätte erwartet, dass Kirill den russischen Einmarsch in die Ukraine verurteilt. Der russische Patriarch hätte "seinen Thron opfern" und zu Vladimir Putin sagen sollen: "Herr Präsident, ich kann Ihnen nicht zustimm...

On the occasion of the celebration of Indiction (ecclesiastical New Year), a meeting took place in the Throne Room of the residence of Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew on the Phanar (Istanbul) on September 1st. The participants included Patriarch Bartholomew, His Beatitude Metropolitan Epifaniy of Kyiv, hierarchs, as well as diplomats from Greece and representatives of the leadership of the Interparliamentary Assembly of Orthodoxy, including the President of the IAO and Polish Sejm Deputy, Eu...

On October 23, 2020, the first ever divine service was celebrated in Turkish Samsun for the Russian-speaking faithful of the Moscow Patriarchate living on the Black Sea cost in Turkey. The Divine Liturgy was celebrated by Rev. George Sergeyev, who is in charge of pastoral care for the Russian-speaking faithful in the Republic of Turkey. After the service, Father George held a meeting with the parishioners. He told them about the life of the Moscow Patriarchate communities in Turkey and the pr...

On October 20, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky put into effect the decision of the National Security and Defense Council on sanctions against Russian oligarchs, companies, collaborators and artists. Patriarch Kirill Gundyaev of Moscow is also among those who are subject to restrictions. This was reported by the President's Office website. But, unlike everyone else, sanctions against the Russian "spiritual leader" are imposed for five years. The individuals and legal entities included ...

Responding to an appeal from Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia, World Council of Churches Secretary General Rev. Dr. Olav Fykse Tveit has forwarded messages to Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and Ukrainian Verkhovnaya Rada Chairman Andrey Parubiy to express "deep concern" over the prospect of passing bills that would be "detrimental" to the rights of the canonical Orthodox Church of Ukraine and calling for these bills to be withdrawn. It was reported that Bill No. 4511, which the...

Although the planned cross processions in Kiev and several other dioceses of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church had to be postponed due to new COVID lockdown measures, processions were still held in a number of dioceses. In his Lenten epistle, His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry of Kiev and All Ukraine blessed for cross processions to be held in every diocese as a way for the faithful to raise their voice against the persecutorial laws adopted by the previous Poroshenko government that remain in pl...

The three-member commission for the liquidation of the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church has completed its work, commission member “Fr.” Vital Danchak reports on his Facebook page. The final meeting was held on Tuesday, December 3 at the chancery of the “Orthodox Church of Ukraine” at St. Michael’s Golden-Domed Monastery in Kiev. The commission consisted of the former “bishops” of the UAOC Vladimir Shlapak and Herman Semanchuk and “Fr.” Vitaly Danchak. As OrthoChristian previously repo...

On April 25, a meeting took place between the Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine (NSDC), Oleksandr Lytvynenko and members of the All-Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious Organizations (AUCCRO). The meeting was also attended by the Chairman of the State Service for Ethnic Policy and Freedom of Conscience, Viktor Yelensky. This was reported by the IRS. During the meeting, the parties discussed various aspects of the activities of Ukrainian Churches and rel...