Am 20. Februar 2020 wurde in Wien der „Arbeitskreis orthodoxer Theologinnen und Theologen im deutschsprachigen Raum“ gegründet. Zwanzig orthodoxe Fachleute aus Deutschland, Österreich und der Schweiz haben sich am 19. und 20. Februar 2020 zu einem Workshop an der Universität Wien versammelt und anschließend den Arbeitskreis ins Leben gerufen.

In the Holy Synod convened on Friday, February 21 2020, by His Beatitude Patriarch Theophilos III various matters relating to the Patriarchate’s ministry were discussed, including the pending matter with the Patriarchate of Antioch relating to Qatar. It was asserted by Patriarch Theophilos that since the two Primates met together mid last year in Cyprus dialogue has been taking place between the two Patriarchates on the matter. In yesterday’s Synod, Patriarch Theophilos positively commended th…

This morning, at 09:15 Italian time, Pope Francis met with His Beatitude Sviatoslav. The meeting was held at St. Martha's House in the Vatican, in the Holy Father's private office. Secretariat of the Head of the UGCC in Rome report. His Beatitude Sviatoslav informed the Holy Father Francis about the preparation for the Patriarchal Sobor of the UGCC on the subject of emigration, settlement, and global unity of the UGCC. He also told the Pope about the implementation of the decisions of last year…

Der Ökumenische Patriarch Bartholomaios hat gegenüber einer Delegation des Patriarchats von Jerusalem erneut seine Ablehnung eines Treffens der orthodoxen Oberhäupter in Amman bekundet. Die Delegation hatte versucht, Bartholomaios von der Wichtigkeit eines Treffens zu überzeugen, das Theophilos III. von Jerusalem angeregt hat. Dieser hat die Leiter der Lokalkirchen eingeladen, vom 25. bis 27. Februar in Jordanien die Ukraine-Frage zu diskutieren.

Der russische Patriarch Kirill hat vorgeschlagen, Gott in der Präambel der russischen Verfassung zu erwähnen, weil die „Mehrheit der russischen Bürger an Gott glaubt“. Damit meine er nicht nur die Orthodoxen, sondern auch die Muslime und „viele, viele andere“. Schließlich heiße es auch in der russischen Nationalhymne „von Gott geschütztes Heimatland“, daher sei eine analoge Formulierung in der Verfassung legitim.

On February 4, 2020, the Holy Synod of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Orthodox Church of Ukraine) met at the Congregational Hall of the Kyiv Orthodox Theological Academy presided over by His Beatitude Metropolitan Epifaniy of Kyiv and All Ukraine. All members of the Synod except Patriarch Emeritus Filaret, who was absent for no good reason, attended the meeting, according to the official website of the OCU. After considering the present activities of the Honorable Patriarch Filaret and taking…

On 13th February 2020, at the Apostolic Palace in the Vatican, Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, chairman of the Moscow Patriarchate’s Department for External Church Relations, met with Pope Francis. The DECR chairman conveyed to the Pope of Rome greetings from His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia. Pope Francis also conveyed his warm brotherly regards to the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church. Discussed at the meeting held in the atmosphere of mutual understanding and…

His Eminence Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, the head of the Moscow Patriarchate’s Department for External Church Relations, supports the recent statements from President Vladimir Putin in favor of the traditional understanding of the family as the union of a man and a woman. “As for ‘parent # 1’ and ‘parent # 2, I have already said publicly once before, and I will repeat again: as long as I am President, we will not have parents one and two—we will have a father and mother,” the Presiden…

The Ukrainian government has no plans to seize the world-famous Kiev Caves and Pochaev Lavras from the Ukrainian Orthodox Church and transfer them to the “Orthodox Church of Ukraine,” says Minister of Culture, Youth, and Sports Vladimir Borodyansky.  Both sites have been state-owned since soviet times and are leased to the use of the UOC. If there are no violations of the law, then there are no legal grounds for revising the existing contracts, the Minister said in an interview with rbc.ua…

Das Oberhaupt der Orthodoxen Kirche der Ukraine (OKU) hofft, dass im laufenden Jahr weitere orthodoxe Kirchen die OKU anerkennen werden. Anlässlich des ersten Jahrestags seiner Inthronisation am 3. Februar schrieb Metropolit Epifanij (Dumenko) von Kiew auf Facebook, das letzte Jahr sei „nicht einfach und voller verschiedener Herausforderungen“ gewesen. Doch „dank ihrer Einheit“ hätten das Patriarchat von Konstantinopel, das Patriarchat von Alexandria und die Orthodoxe Kirche von Griechenland di…

Der prominente russisch-orthodoxe Erzpriester Vsevolod Tschaplin ist am 26. Januar unerwartet im 52. Lebensjahr an den Folgen eines Herzinfarkts verstorben. Tschaplin war von 2001 bis 2009 stellv. Leiter des Außenamts des Moskauer Patriarchats, das in diesen Jahren vom künftigen Patriarchen, Metropolit Kirill (Gundjaev), geleitet wurde. Von 2009 bis zu seiner überraschenden Entlassung im Jahr 2015 wirkte er als Vorsitzender der Synodalabteilung für die Beziehungen zwischen Kirche und Gesellsch…

Das Erzbistum der Gemeinden russischer Tradition in Westeuropa hat zwei Auxiliarbischöfe gewählt. Archimandrit Syméon (Cossec), Vorsteher des Klosters Saint Silouane in Saint-Mars-de-Locquenay, und Igumen Elisée (Germain), der Rektor der Gemeinde de la Sainte Trinité (Krypta der Kathedrale des Hl. Alexander Nevski in Paris), wurden am 24. Januar 2020 an der der ersten ordentlichen Generalversammlung des vormaligen Pariser Exarchats seit seiner Vereinigung mit dem Moskauer Patriarchat einstimmig…

In Kasachstan ist anlässlich der Weltgebetswoche für die Einheit der Christen der „Rat der traditionellen christlichen Konfessionen Kasachstans“ der Öffentlichkeit vorgestellt worden. Darin sind die Russische Orthodoxe Kirche (ROK), die römisch-katholische Kirche und die evangelisch-lutherische Kirche des Landes vertreten. Am 25. Januar habe ein ökumenisches Gebetstreffen stattgefunden, am 13. Januar die erste offizielle Sitzung des Rats, berichtete der Vorsitzende der katholischen Bischofskonf…

January 22, the Sixth Court of Appeal ordered the State Migration Service of Ukraine in the Volyn Oblast to return Ukrainian citizenship to His Grace Bishop Gideon (Kharon) of Makarov, the abbot of the Tithes Monastery in Kiev, repots Ukrainska Pravda. The court also recognized that the Migration Service had no right to cancel the decision to grant His Grace citizenship by territorial origin in accordance with part 1, article 8 of the Law of Ukraine, “On Ukrainian Citizenship.” Bp. Gideon was…

“The majority of Russian citizens believe in God. I’m not only talking about the Orthodox—I’m also talking about Muslims and many others,” His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia said at a reception on February 1 on the occasion of the 11th anniversary of his enthronement as Patriarch, calling a reference to God to be added to the Russian constitution. After all, the Russian national anthem, one of the state symbols of the country, contains the words, “God-protected native land,”…

In der katholischen Kathedrale von Saratov an der Wolga wurde vor Kurzem das diözesane Seligsprechungsverfahren für die russlanddeutsche katholische Laienapostolin Gertrude Detzel (1904–1971) eröffnet, wie die Stiftung Pro Oriente berichtet. Bischof Kliment Pickel betonte beim Eröffnungsgottesdienst, dass es ein „historischer Moment“ sei. Gertrude Detzel stammte aus dem russlanddeutschen Dorf Roschdestwenskoje. 1949 wurde sie zu zehn Jahren Arbeitslager verurteilt, 1954 erlangte sie durch eine…

On 1st February 2020, after the Divine Liturgy celebrated at the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow by His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia, and an assembly of hierarchs and clergymen of the Russian Orthodox Church, a reception took place in the Cathedral’s Refectory Chambers on the occasion of the 11th anniversary of His Holiness’ enthronement. Among those delivering speeches of greetings were Metropolitan Vladimir of Kishinev and Moldova; Mr. Igor Schegolev, President…

Unique manuscripts of the 14th century, including the Kiev Psalter and the Lavrishev Gospel from Volhynia can now be viewed online. The illuminated manuscripts with miniature illustrations were published by the Zelo Center for Research of Ancient Russian Culture, using the archives of national libraries, reports Foma in Ukraine. The Kiev Psalter was created in Kiev in 1397, with 303 miniatures on 230 pages, as well as headpieces ornamented in a neo-Byzantine style. Many of the miniatures interp…

St. Sophia’s Cathedral in Kiev is a beautiful 11th-century monument of Kievan Rus’, erected by Yaroslav the Wise. It is one of Ukraine’s best known landmarks and was the first site to be included in the UNESCO World Heritage List along with the Kiev Caves Lavra complex. Now, the beauty of secrets of the famous cathedral are accessible to all Orthodox faithful worldwide, even for those who cannot visit Kiev, as the National Kievan Sophia Museum has launched a high-quality virtual tour online. “…

Joseph Stalin could have become a good Church leader if he had graduated from the Seminary and had not left the Church, the Educational Committee of the Russian Orthodox Church suggested, according to Interfax-religion. "He had the ability to manage, have a global vision, and make strategic decisions. If this man had not drifted away from the Christian tradition (or if he had not been pushed away), and his ability to make strategic decisions and global worldview would have been intertwined with…