Source: Last News from Russia Deputies of the state Duma supported the idea to return the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul Turkish Orthodox Church. As reported by RIA «Novosti», said the head of the Duma Committee on property issues,coordinator of the Interfactional parliamentary group for the protection of Christian valuables Sergey Gavrilov. International campaign for the return of the Cathedral of the Patriarchate of Constantinople has been held for several years. The temple currently has the status of a Museum. The Deputy reminded that on 23 September 2015 in Moscow, was inaugurated the Moscow Cathedral mosque. «The significance of the event…
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Source: Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops in the USA Istanbul—On Tuesday, June 16, 2015 His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew warmly received the Executive Committee of the Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of the United States of America at the Phanar in Constantinople. During the meeting, which took place in a spirit of open exchange in the personal office of the Ecumenical Patriarch, the hierarchs reviewed with His All-Holiness the work of the Assembly of Bishops, especially as it relates to the overall work of its committees. Particular attention was given to the work of the Committees for Pastoral Practice and…
Source: Today’s Zaman A man attacked a church in the Kadıköy district of İstanbul with a Molotov cocktail on Tuesday, setting the building’s door on fire. In a video purporting to show the attack, the man is seen shouting “Allahu Akbar” (God is great) and “Revenge will be taken for Al-Aqsa Mosque” as he throws a bomb at the Aya Triada Orthodox Church in the Bahariye area of Kadıköy. The door of the church caught fire, but the blaze was extinguished shortly after the attack. The man was detained by police. [subscribe2]
Source: First Things THE GREAT COUNCIL OF THE ORTHODOX CHURCH IN 2016 by Rev. Dr. John Chryssavgis A Holy and Great Council of the Orthodox Church has been scheduled for 2016. In March of 2014, the leaders of all the autocephalous (independent) Orthodox Churches met in Istanbul, the sacred see of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, which historically (since at least the fifth century) coordinates such assemblies, facilitating unity while serving as a center of appeal among these churches. Arguably the foremost decision unanimously agreed upon at that assembly of church heads was the convocation of a Great Council in 2016, tentatively planned…
Source: Religion & Ethics Newsweekly Halki Seminary Once the world’s leading Eastern Orthodox seminary, Halki was closed by the Turkish government 43 years ago. The US and religious freedom activists want it reopened. But Turkish officials have long said that won’t happen until Greece improves conditions for Turkish minorities living there. Transcript of Video KIM LAWTON (@KimLawtonRandE), correspondent: The Theological School of Halki was once the world’s leading Eastern Orthodox seminary. But it was closed by the Turkish government in 1971. More than 43 years later, the US government and many faith-based activists around the world are still waging a campaign to…
Source: Alteteia “Now we see it is not in any way true” that the Pope wants to subjugate the Orthodox Churches. by JOHN BURGER A leading Orthodox theologian has said that Pope Francis’s words while visiting Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I in Istanbul “represent a big step forward.” While speaking at the Patriarchal Church of St. George in Istanbul’s Phanar district Nov. 30, Pope Francis said that in the context of the efforts being made to achieve full communion with the Orthodox Churches, the Catholic Church “does not intend to impose any conditions except that of the shared profession of faith.” “Coming…
Source: Ecumenical Patriarchate Your Holiness Pope Francis, beloved brother in Christ, bishop of Senior Rome, We offer glory and praise to our God in Trinity for deeming us worthy of the ineffable joy and special honor of the personal presence here of Your Holiness on the occasion of this year’s celebration of the sacred memory of the First-called Apostle Andrew, who founded our Church through his preaching. We are profoundly grateful to Your Holiness for the precious gift of Your blessed presence among us, together with Your honorable entourage. We embrace you wholeheartedly and honorably, addressing you fervently with a…
Source: The Hurriyet Daily News by Cansu Çamlıbel ISTANBUL The Turkish government can ‘only benefit from recognizing the ecumenical status of the Patriarchate’ a senior official from the Fener Orthodox Patriarchate says in an exclusive interview Stopping resistance to the title “Ecumenical Patriarchate” and reopening the Halki Seminary can only elevate the reputation of Turkey as a democratic nation, according to a senior official from the Fener Orthodox Patriarchate. “The ‘ecumenical’ status is a spiritual and religious jurisdiction. It is not legal or secular,” John Chryssavgis, who holds the title of Archdeacon of the Ecumenical Throne, told Hürriyet. “The Ecumenical Patriarch has…
Source: The Gazette (Montreal) ISTANBUL March 5, 2014 (AP) By AYSE WIETING Associated Press ISTANBUL – Although shut down for more than four decades, one of the Orthodox Church’s most pre-eminent seminaries is kept in pristine condition in the hope that it may reopen one day to educate future patriarchs and clergy. The Theological School of Halki, perched atop a hill on Heybeli Island off Istanbul’s coast, closed its doors in 1971 under a Turkish law that required private higher education to be controlled by the state. Since then, classrooms with desks dating back to the 19th century are ready…
Source: Asia News by NAT da Polis (January 7, 2014) Meeting to set guidelines and time frame for Preparatory Commission of the Pan-Orthodox Synod . But also to highlight the need to go beyond “localisms” and undertake joint initiatives . Zizioulas: self-marginalization the greatest danger of the Christian world today. Istanbul (AsiaNews ) – The Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew has convoked the patriarchs and archbishops of all the Orthodox Churches to a meeting in Istanbul, next March, for an exchange of views on the guidelines and time frame for the Preparatory Commission of the Pan-Orthodox Synod, scheduled for 2015. Thus far,…
Source: Huffington Post Religion News Service | By Jacob Resneck ISTANBUL (RNS) In this ancient city, there are few sights more iconic than the dome of the Hagia Sophia, towering over the old city for more than 1,400 years. But recent conversions of former Byzantine-era churches from museums into mosques, encouraged by religious and political leaders, have caused alarm among religious minorities and Turkey’s Christian neighbors. “We currently stand next to the Hagia Sophia Mosque,” Turkey’s deputy prime minister, Bulent Arinc, remarked last month during a dedication of a museum of Caucasus carpets and rugs in the Hagia Sophia complex.…
Source: Hurriyet Daily News ISTANBUL – Hürriyet Daily News Halki Greek Orthodox Seminary becomes the stage for Greek and Turkish musicians amid growing expectations over the school’s opening as part of the much-awaited democratization package Vercihan Ziflioğlu (vercihan.ziflioglu@hurriyet.com.tr) The Halki Greek Orthodox Seminary symbolically opened its doors for a historic concert on Istanbul’s Heybeliada Island on Sept. 22. The concert, titled “A Cultural Trip from Greece to Turkey,” in which musicians from Turkey and Greeceperformed for peace and friendship, marked a first for the Halki Seminary, as the school has been closed since 1971. Professor Elpidophoros Lambriniadis, Halki Seminary’s archpriest and Metropolitan of Bursa, told the Hürriyet…