Clergy

Men with deep-rooted homosexual tendencies should not be admitted to the Catholic clergy, and priests who are gay should be celibate or leave rather than lead a double life, Pope Francis said in a new book.

The upcoming Holy Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate is expected to accept the resignation of Archbishop Demetrios of America and, if necessary, to depose him.

The Holy Synod will meet in Istanbul from Tuesday to Thursday.

The Church of Ilion, Acharnon and Petroupoli has denied reports that bogus priests conducted dozens of fake weddings on its premises, saying that the alleged ceremonies occurred before the church's foundation in 2010.

An endowment fund supporting the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, Leadership 100, has announced a donation of 250,000 dollars for the victims of July's east Attica wildfires.

Leadership 100 Chairman Argyris Vassiliou said that 200,000 dollars of the donation was approved by the endowment's executive committee, while the remaining 50,000 was raised from members.

The Greek Orthodox Church of America has always been considered the nucleus of community life and a significant part of the Greek-American identity.

Archbishop Ieronymos said on Monday that the content of new schoolbooks on religion must have the Church's approval.

Pope Francis defended Oct. 4 marriage and heterosexual couples as he opened a synod on the family overshadowed by a challenge to Vatican orthodoxy by a gay priest.

During a mass to mark the three-week meeting of Roman Catholic bishops, the pope delivered a homily on "solitude, love between man and woman, and the family."

Last month, social media giant Facebook cracked down on the Christian clergy by demanding the removal of the title “Father” from user profile names. Facebook administrators showed a lack of understanding that priests are actually called Father when others refer to them in real life.

Members of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) attacked a Shiite mosque in Istanbul last week, a human rights association has claimed in report, refuting official statements about the incident.