Eastern Christianity

The Bulgarian Holy Synod has expressed gratitude to the deputies for adopting the ban on promoting non-traditional sexual orientation in schools. The Bulgarian Patriarchate issued a statement expressing satisfaction with the consensus on values that are of significant importance to Bulgarian society, particularly regarding the upbringing, education, and protection of Bulgarian children.

In a decision echoing the broader geopolitical concerns, Bulgaria's Holy Synod has opted to forgo the traditional journey to Israel to obtain the Holy Fire this year, Metropolitan Cyprian of Stara Zagora announced, as reported by BTA.

As was expected, the Holy Synod of the Church of Greece, which convened on Tuesday, was unanimous in its opposition to the legalization of same-sex marriage and equally unanimous regarding the next steps it will take.

The Holy Synod of the Church of Greece is set to vote unanimously against same-sex marriage legislation at its extraordinary meeting on Tuesday. 

Archbishop Atallah Hanna of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem strongly condemned the assault, dubbing it an “unprecedented phenomenon.”

A circular issued by the Holy Synod about protecting unborn children will be read today in all the Churches

By George Gilson

Ecumenical Patriarch Vartholomeos, the top-ranking bishop of the world's 300 million Orthodox Christians, has unleashed scathing criticism of Moscow Patriarch Kirill over the latter's decision to lend the Russian Church's full support to Vladimir Putin's war against Ukraine, with countless civilian deaths and brutal murders.

By Evangelos Venizelos*

In the wake of the Russian attack and the war in Ukraine, the arguments heard in 2018-2019 regarding the granting of autocephaly [independence from the Moscow Patriarchate] to the Orthodox Church of Ukraine came to the surface once more, mainly due to a speech by Vladimir Putin.

A bill banning the Russian Orthodox Church has been submitted to Ukraine's parliament, the country's media reported.

Old Serbia stretches from Kaimakcalan in North Macedonia to the present-day lands of Slovenia, where Serbs live. This was said by the Serbian Bishop of Bačka, Irinej Bulovic, during the service at the Cathedral in Novi Sad, in Vojvodina, in the northern part of Serbia.