OC

Cardinal Péter Erdő, the head of the Hungarian Catholic Church, met Holy See Secretary of State Pietro Parolin in Vatican City on Wednesday.

On the 29th of January, 2022, on The Church and the World TV program shown on Saturdays and Sundays on “Rossiya 24”, Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, Chairman of the Moscow Patriarchate’s Department for External Church Relations (DECR), answered questions fr om the anchor Ekaterina Gracheva
E. Gracheva: Hello! This is the time of the program “The Church and the World” on the TV channel “Rossia 24”, where we talk weekly with the Chairman of the Moscow Patriarchate’s Department for External Church Relations Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk. Hello, Vladyka!--- 

During a visit to the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi on Monday, President Isaac Herzog said the Middle East had a stark choice of possible futures, between one of hope and peace and another of Tehran-led chaos.

Answering questions from a correspondent of the "Izvestia" newspaper Sofia Devyatova, the Primate of the Orthodox Church of Jerusalem spoke, in particular, about the threats to the Christian presence in the Holy Land, about his vision of ways to overcome problems in the inter-Orthodox relations, and about vaccination and pilgrimage during the pandemic.

read more

NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — The head of Cyprus’ Orthodox Christian Church said Sunday that he will suspend a dozen priests from his diocese because they refused to heed his call to get vaccinated against COVID-19.

BEIRUT, Jan 30 (Reuters) - A decision by Lebanon's leading Sunni Muslim politician to step back from politics and boycott a parliamentary election in May must not be used as an excuse to call for a delay, the Maronite Christian patriarch said on Sunday.

Visit to the Maronite Patriarchate at Bkerke: L-R: Archbishop Paul El-Sayah; H.E. Cardinal Michael Fitzgerald; H.B. Cardinal Béchara Raï, Patriarch of Antioch; John Fox, chairman of FACE
© Maronite Patriarchate of Antioch

BEIRUT: Maronite Patriarch Bechara Boutros Al-Rahi has reiterated the necessity of implementing the Taif Agreement, international resolutions and the removal of illegal weapons from Lebanon.

(Peter Anderson) On January 22, a delegation from the and met with Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew.Patriarchate of Alexandria visited the Phanar and met with Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew.  At the meeting, the establishment of an exarchate in Africa by the Moscow Patriarchate was discussed.  The delegation also gave the Ecumenical Patriarch a letter from Patriarch Theodoros of Alexandria.(link) The three-person delegation consisted of Metropolitan Gregory of Cameroon, Metropolitan Ioannis of Zambia, and Bishop Prodromos of Toliara and South Madagascar.  At the January 10-12 meeting of the Holy Synod of the Patriarchate of Alexandria, Metropolitan Gregory was the hierarch who made the main presentation relating to the Moscow Patriarchate’s actions in Africa.  The full text of his presentation at the Holy Synod can be read at (link) (in Greek).

Le patriarche maronite, Béchara Raï, s'est déclaré dimanche opposé à de nouvelles taxes qui pourraient être imposées aux Libanais dans le cadre du projet de budget 2022, à l'ordre du jour du premier Conseil des ministres prévu demain lundi après plus de trois mois de paralysie gouvernementale.

Church leaders in Poland and Ukraine have issued a joint appeal for dialogue and understanding – and international support for the Ukrainian people – amid growing military tension with Russia.

Touching upon the situation in Ukraine in his interview to Mezhdunarodnaya zhizn (International life) magazine, His Holiness Patriarch Porfirije of Serbia stressed, “We will not change our position. We give and continue giving considerable support to Metropolitan Onufry and his Church”.

In the upheavals of the late 20th century, which involved the disintegration of states, “the enemies of Orthodoxy - but I would say the enemies of Christianity - saw an opportunity to split up autocephalous or autonomous Churches”, noted the Primate of the Serbian Orthodox Church.

read more

Azerbaijan is seeking the Vatican’s diplomatic help in its ongoing conflict with Armenia, and Pope Francis and his team are showing a willingness to provide hands-on support.

Archbishop Borys Gudziak is the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Archeparch of Philadelphia — leader of the 50,000 Ukrainian Catholics in the United States.

VATICAN CITY (AP) — The Vatican secretary of state and his deputy have both tested positive for the coronavirus, Vatican officials said Tuesday.

Answering the question of whether the head of the UGCC sees a threat in the fact that the Russian Orthodox Church, which relies on Putin's power, claims to be a global spiritual leader and the main guardian of conservative values, His Beatitude Sviatoslav replied that he does not see "the truth of these statements."

Cardinal Silvano Tomasi, the special delegate of Pope Francis to the Order of Malta, has written to the order’s regional leadership stressing that a revised constitution for the order is only “provisional,” and could be changed. 

SIR interviewed the Bishop of Almaty, President of the Catholic Bishops of Kazakhstan, following days of armed conflict that left marks of siege and destruction in the city. “The Holy Father's words concerning the situation in Kazakhstan last Sunday is a sign of communion. His appeal for dialogue and fraternity is the way forward for this country", said Msgr. José Luis Mumbiela Sierra. He added: "Peace is a gift from God but it is also the fruit of our commitment and of our efforts. Peace is also the dream of a multi-ethnic, multi-religious Kazakhstan, a Kazakhstan of concord. We are dreaming, but we are also working to make this dream come true"

read more

Via a post on Instagram, Patriarch Porfirije said that from the sufferings and temptations you go through at Christmas, only a pale shadow will remain tomorrow.  -- God is great and you know who you are, great with the sound of the Nemanjic bell. Millions of Orthodox Serbs pray for you, as we do.  --  May the warmth and love of the cave of Bethlehem warm and strengthen your heart and soul”.  read more

MOSCOW (AP) — Orthodox Christians in Russia, Serbia and other countries observed Christmas on Friday amid restrictions aimed at dampening the spread of the coronavirus, but few worshipers appeared concerned as they streamed into churches on Christmas Eve.

Do Catholics have a moral reason to object to receiving any of the currently available F.D.A.-authorized Covid-19 vaccines? The short answer is no.

Metropolitan Kosmas of Aetolia and Acarnania, western Greece, a staunch anti-vaxxer, has died of Covid-19 after a month-long with the virus. He was 76.

The Russian Orthodox Church seems to be determined to create tension that will reach even the rift by directly challenging and challenging the jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarchate.

Selon le site d’information arabi21, dans un message adressé au Pape François, au pape Tawadros II, chef des chrétiens coptes de l’Egypte, à l'archevêque de Cantorbéry, Justin Welby, et aux chefs des églises et aux chrétiens de l’Orient et de l’Occident, le cheikh d’Al-Azhar les a félicité à l’occasion de l’arrivée du nouvel an chrétien.

read more

Patriarch Theodore of Alexandria sent a message to any church that plots the area of missionary work, apparently commenting on the latest developments with the decision of the Moscow Patriarchate to accept under its jurisdiction 102 clergy of the Patriarchate of Alexandria, and to establish an “Exarchate of Africa.”

 
Head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church Sviatoslav said this during the live program "Actors" on Channel 5.

BOSTON – Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew was discharged from the Central Hospital of Constantinople on Thursday afternoon, December 30. The Patriarch is expected to stay at his home until next Monday or Tuesday and then will return to his office at the Phanar. His All-Holiness worked intensively throughout his treatment during the hospital stay.  --  As was previously reported, Patriarch Bartholomew tested positive for COVID-19 during a routine test at the Phanar for Patriarchal employees two days before Christmas. The Patriarch, who experienced mild symptoms, was admitted to the hospital for preventive purposes and also to be under the constant care of the physicians.
read more

(Associated Press Television News) A ban on nearly all incoming air traffic by Israel -- the main entry point for foreign visitors heading to the occupied West Bank -- kept international tourists away for a second consecutive year. -- The top Roman Catholic clergyman in the Holy Land, Pierbattista Pizzaballa, hoped Friday for an end to the COVID-19 pandemic as he addressed Christian faithful in the seat of the Latin Patriarchate in Jerusalem. Pizzaballa said the Christian community was working to find a balance between precautions to maintain health but also get pilgrims back into the Holy Land. "It's very sad to see the Old City almost empty," Pizzaballa said. A ban on nearly all incoming air traffic by Israel -- the main entry point for foreign visitors heading to the occupied West Bank -- kept international tourists away for a second consecutive year. The ban is meant to slow the spread of the highly contagious omicron variant, which has shaken Christmas celebrations around the world. Pizzaballa was scheduled to celebrate Midnight Mass at the nearby Church of the Nativity — which houses the grotto where Christians believe Jesus was born. The Holy Land is home to over 200,000 Christians, a small but tight-knit community that makes up an estimated one to two percent of the population in Israel and the occupied West Bank.

©  https://ilsismografo.blogspot.com/2021/12/gerusalemme-latin-patriarch-of.html

Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew has tested positive for Covid-19, the Patriarchate at Constantinople announced on Friday.

On December 22, 2021, Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk met with Pope Francis of Rome at the Paul VI Audience Hall in the Vatican. -- 
In the beginning of the conversation, Metropolitan Hilarion, speaking on behalf of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia, congratulated the Primate of the Roman Catholic Church on his 85th birthday.
Pope Francis greeted His Eminence and expressed cordial gratitude to His Holiness Patriarch Kirill for the congratulation and for the invariably high level of cooperation.

read more