OC

The statue of “Christ the Redeemer,” towering over the picturesque mountain of Corcovado in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, is probably the most iconic representation of Jesus in the world. But when it comes to actual size, Cristo Redentor actually ranks in second place. According to the Guiness Book of World Records, the tallest statue of Jesus is in Świebodzin, Poland.

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On the occasion of the Reaching the Last Mile Forum in Abu Dhabi, we reaffirm our mutual cooperation towards the improvement of the health and wellbeing of communities in need.

Stephen Rickerby and Lisa Shekede need a head for heights. As wall painting conservation experts, they often clamber up scaffolding to view rare surviving images in churches across Britain.  --  But this year they have faced risks that are extreme even by their standards: scaling death-defying heights and sheer cliff faces to reach extraordinary paintings within churches in remote areas of northern Ethiopia.

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On Friday, November 15, 2019, the Vatican announced that the Synod of Bishops of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, having received the prior consent of the Pope, made the canonical election of Father Stepan Sus, priest of the Lviv Archdiocese of the UGCC, as Bishop of the Curia of the Major Archbishop of the UGCC. He has been assigned the Titular See of Zygris.

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“Peace between religions is a fundamental prerequisite for peace between peoples and cultures,” Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew points out in his recorded message to the International Conference on “Religion in the Modern World: Challenges and Prospects for Dialogue and Peace”, which is co-organized by “Foreign Affairs The Hellenic Edition” magazine and the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens.

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After the Archbishop of Athens and All Greece, who first commemorated with Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew the name of the new Metropolitan of Kyiv, follows Patriarch Theodore of Alexandria who commemorated Metropolitan Epifaniy, thus recognizing the new Orthodox Church of Ukraine.

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Metropolitan Hilarion, head of the Moscow Patriarchate department for external church relations, told the KP daily how he was received in Washington, how the church situation has changed under Zelensky and whether Russia needs building ‘three churches a day’. ---   Under Zelensky the faithful have been able to sigh with relief

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On the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, EU Bishops call upon all Europeans to work together towards a free and united Europe “through a renewed process of dialogue […] for a common peaceful future”. COMECE Vice-President H.E. Mgr. Overbeck (Germany): “it is a call on the European people to cooperate in solidarity”.

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Moscow, November 6, Interfax - The United States had a hand in the granting of autocephaly to the new church of Ukraine and is seeking to split the Orthodox world even more, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said. --  "I didn't hear that the Church of Greece officially recognized the schismatic Orthodox Church of Ukraine. I've heard that there is a letter by Archbishop Ieronymos II of Athens and All Greece addressed to the leader of the schismatics, but I didn't see an official statement by the Church of Greece," Lavrov said at a press conference following negotiations with the foreign minister of Greece in Moscow on Wednesday.

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(The Conversation) — Senators Jacky Rosen and James Lankford, who describe themselves as “a practicing Jewish Democrat from Nevada and a devoted Christian Republican from Oklahoma,” are spearheading a new effort to fight an old problem: anti-Semitism in America.

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The Consul General of China in Istanbul made an official visit to the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew on Wednesday. --  Cui Wei is the first Chinese official to visit the Ecumenical Patriarchate, and was briefed by the Greek Orthodox Patriarch on the activities of the Greek Orthodox metropolitan diocese of Hong Kong on spiritual and religious activities, including the latest news on the Orthodox Christians who live there.
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BOSTON – His All Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew is expected to visit the United States in May of 2020, invited by the U.S. government and more specifically by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, in order to speak at a conference about the protection of the Natural Environment.

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(Budapest, Hungary) Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday at a meeting with heads of Christian churches in the Middle East Russia was worried about a mass exodus of Christians from the Middle East and their plight in that region.

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October 30, 2019 – the Christian Inter-Confessional Consultative Committee is holding its 6th Plenary Session at the conference hall of President Hotel in Moscow under the theme ‘The Eternal Power of the Gospel and Its Significance for the Modern Society’. Among the attendees are representatives of Christian confessions in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Estonia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Russian Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Ukraine.
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BERUIT - Lebanon’s Maronite bishops, commending the unity of the Lebanese people amid a peaceful mass uprising demanding a new government, called for a “constructive spirit” following the resignation of the country’s prime minister. -  “The Lord is leading the ship of the homeland and we hope that this step will be the beginning of the solution,” Cardinal Bechara Rai, Maronite patriarch, said in response to the resignation of Saad Hariri.

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On October 30, 2019, following the invitation of His Excellency Mr. Viktor Orban, Prime Minister of Hungary and in his presence, His Holiness Patriarch Mor Ignatius Aphrem II met His Excellency Mr. Vladimir Putin, President of Russia, at the Buda Castle in Budapest.

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President Salih got a phone call today from Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin.  --  
Over the phone call, Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin affirmed his support for Iraq. He
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On 23-25 October 2019 delegates of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Union gathered in Brussels for the COMECE Autumn 2019 Assembly. The meeting was dedicated to post-EU elections challenges and, in particular, to ecological policies centered on persons, families and communities.

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The United Arab Emirates is partnering with UNESCO to rebuild two Catholic churches in Mosul that were destroyed in 2014 by the Islamic State. -  The initiative will help rebuild Al-Tahera Church and Al-Saa’a Church.

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Metropolitan Epiphanius of Kiev trusted that all Orthodox Churches would follow the canonical decision of the Ecumenical Patriarchate and would recognise the Orthodox Church of Ukraine as equal Sister Church. In addition, he received the “Patriarch Athenagoras” Human Rights Award in the US.

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(Peter Anderson) Yesterday (Thursday), the Holy Synod of the Moscow Patriarchate held an extraordinary session to respond to the decision made by the Holy Synod of the Hierarchy of the Church of Greece last Saturday relating to Ukraine. (link) At yesterday’s meeting, the Holy Synod of the Moscow Patriarchate adopted a detailed statement setting forth its position.

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(Peter Anderson) This morning the Holy Synod of the Hierarchy of the Church of Greece recognized the new Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU).  There is a brief English-languagearticle relating to this event. The official press release in Greek can be read here.  An English translation of the press release has been very promptly posted at this link.  The written recommendation of the primate, Archbishop Ieronymos,

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Metropolitan Epifaniy of the OCU expressed gratitude OCU on his Facebook page to the Primate of the Church of Greece, His Beatitude Archbishop Hieronymos and all the Greek hierarchs for recognizing the autocephaly of the OCU.    ---   “I express gratitude to my brother in Christ and the Head of the Holy Synod of the Church of Greece, His Beatitude Archbishop of Athens and all Greece Hieronymos, and fellow bishops who at the session of the Council of Bishops supported....   read more

Metropolitan of Kyiv and All Ukraine, Primate of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU) Epifaniy (Epiphanius) says the Holy Synod of the Church of Greece has decided to recognize the autocephaly of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.

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Read more on UNIAN: https://www.unian.info/society/10717875-greek-church-recognizes-autocephaly-of-ukrainian-orthodox-church.html

Mr. Chair,

DDuring our meeting with Patriarch Bartholomew, we stated that for our Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church the Ecumenical Patriarchate is the Mother Church. And so communication, dialogue with His Holiness Bartholomew is very important to us. As well as for the Orthodox Church of Ukraine. The Father and Head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, His Beatitude Sviatoslav, said this in the Open Church program. The interlocutor of the Head of the UGCC was the editor-in-chief of LB.ua Oleh Bazar.
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Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Secretary of State of the Holy See, is traveling from the Vatican to New York to serve as the Head of Delegation for the Holy See for the General Debate of the 74th Session of the United Nations General Assembly.

From 25 to 29 September, Cape Town will host an international youth pilgrimage of trust, organized by the France-based Taizé community. Sarah-Leah Pimentel writes about the healing potential of this event that brings together young people of different faiths and cultures, especially after the violence in South Africa over the last few weeks.

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Archbishop Elpidophoros of America today convened the first ever Monastic Assembly in the United States to promote the value and importance of monasticism in our Orthodox Christian tradition and the spiritual life of the faithful. The abbots and abbesses of 18 monasteries are attending the Assembly, which is taking place at the Holy Monastery of Saint Nektarios in Roscoe, NY.‬
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“Unfortunately, today we are witnessing an escalation of violence hidden behind religious slogans.” This is the alarm launched in Madrid by Orthodox Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, of the Patriarchate of Moscow. But “the transfiguration of the surrounding world begins with the transfiguration of the inner world of man,” he added, speaking yesterday in Madrid to the audience of “Peace without borders,” gathering more than 300 leaders and representatives of all world religions, coming from 60 countries.
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