The Far Abroad

• His Holiness Patriarch Bartholomew concelebrates prayer service with pilgrims from the Russian Orthodox Church at St. George’s church of the Patriarchate of Constantinople
  18.12.2009 10:22 ·
  

  That same day the Primate of the Orthodox Church of Constantinople had a talk with Bishop Mark of Yegorievsk and Bishop Seraphim of Bobruisk and Bykhov.

  
  
• Archbishop Hilarion of Volokolamsk congratulates Metropolitan Emmanuel of France on his election as President of the Conference of European Churches
  17.12.2009 11:32 · , Conference of European Churches
  

  The Central Committee of the Conference of European Church (CEC) at its session on December 16, 2009, elected Metropolitan Emmanuel of France (Patriarchate of Constantinople) as new President of the CEC.

  
  
• Metropolitan Vladimir of Kiev and All Ukraine to visit Italy
  17.12.2009 10:59 ·
  

  On December 18, the head of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church will officiate at All-Night Vigil and on December 19 will celebrate the Divine Liturgy at the honorable relics of St. Nicholas the Miracle-worker in Bare.

  
  
• A consultation on Orthodox ecclesiology held in Great Britain
  16.12.2009 14:50 ·
  

  A consultation on Orthodox Ecclesiology was held on December 7-9, 2009, in Windsor Palace, an official residence of the Queen of Great Britain. It was initiated by the Church of England in the person of Bishop Geoffrey Rowell of Gibraltar, Deaconess Christine Hall and Prof. Sven-Erik Brodd of Uppsala University, Sweden.

  
  
• Moscow Patriarchate representative meets with Council of Europe Secretary General in Strasbourg
  16.12.2009 13:44 ·
  

  The Rev. Hegumen Philaret (Bulekov), Moscow Patriarchate representative to the Council of Europe, met on 15 December 2009 with the newly-elected Secretary General of this major European international organization, Mr. Thorbjørn Jagland.

  
  
• Patriarch Kirill sends a letter to Italian Prime Minister Sylvio Berlusconi wishing him speedy recovery
  16.12.2009 13:10 ·
  

  His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia sent the following letter to Italian Prime Minister Sylvio Berlusconi wishing him a speedy recovery:

  Dear Mr. Berlusconi,

  Please accept my sincere

  
  
• Archbishop Hilarion visits Russian Diplomatic Mission in Geneva
  15.12.2009 23:21 ·
  

  Archbishop Hilarion and members of the delegation had a talk with the permanent Russian representative Ambassador Valery Loshcinin. They discussed cooperation between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the dialogue with world community on the meaning of traditional values in the life of the people and the problems of social morals and spiritual component in international relations.

  
  
• Patriarch Kirill’s letter to Council of Europe Secretary General Thorbjørn Jagland
  15.12.2009 16:52 ·
  

  His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia sent the following letter to the Council of Europe Secretary General Thorbjørn Jagland:

  Dear Mr. Jagland,

  Kindly accept my cordial congratulations

  
  
• Archbishop Hilarion of Volokolamsk celebrates Divine Liturgy at the cathedral of the Russian Church Outside Russia in Geneva
  15.12.2009 11:40 ·
  

  Archbishop Hilarion of Volokolamsk, chairman of the Moscow Patriarchate department for external church relations, who are in Switzerland for a meeting of the Inter-Orthodox Preparatory Commission for a Holy and Great Council of the Orthodox Church, celebrated on December 13, 2009, the Divine Liturgy at the Church of the Elevation of the Honorable and Life-giving Cross in Geneva.

  
  
• Archbishop Hilarion’s answers questions from Der Spiegel
  14.12.2009 17:04 · , Chairman's Interview, Protestant churches, Roman Catholic Church
  

  Archbishop Hilarion of Volokolamsk, chairman of the Moscow Patriarchate department for external church relations, answered questions from Der Spiegel magazine. Below is the text of the talk His Eminence Hilarion

  
  
• Vandalism committed against the Russian Church Representation in Jerusalem
  14.12.2009 12:30 ·
  

  During the night of December 11, 2009, the walls of the Cathedral of the Trinity in the Russian Ecclesiastical Mission were defiled with graffiti in Hebrew ‘Death’, ‘Death to Christians’. A statement was lodged with the police.

  
  
• DECR Chairman expounds position of the Russian Orthodox Church on the prospects of dialogue with the Evangelical Church in Germany in his letter to the ECG leadership
  10.12.2009 16:53 · , Protestant churches
  

  Archbishop Hilarion recalls an opinion expressed by the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church on the ordination of women. There were no objections against any decision of this matter in the confessions that do not recognize ordination as a sacrament, and the ordained women in the ECG had not prevented our meetings and discussions in the past.

  
  
• Recital in memory of Archimandrite Matthews Mormyl to be given in London
  10.12.2009 13:53 ·
  

  A recital in memory of Archimandrite Matthews Mormyl (d. September 15, 2009) will be given on December 10 at St. Peter’s Church, within the Sourozh Musical Evenings in London series.

  
  
• Archbishop Hilarion of Volokolamsk: Mass Media ignore the genocide of Serbs in Kosovo
  10.12.2009 11:18 · , Chairman's Interview
  

  On 5 December 2009, Archbishop Hilarion of Volokolamsk told the viewers of “The Church and the World” TV programme about the difficulties experienced by Orthodox Serbs in Kosovo.

  
  
• Metropolitan Philaret of Minsk and Slutsk visits France
  08.12.2009 13:19 ·
  

  Metropolitan Philaret of Minsk and Slutsk, Patriarchal Exarch of All Belarus, visited France on November 27 to December 4, 2009. He arrived in Lyon at the invitation of the Primate of the Catholic Church in France, archbishop Philippe Barbarin, the official portal of the Belarus Orthodox Church reports.

  
  
• 3d World Congress of Compatriots section meeting on ‘The role of the ROC and other traditional confessions in consolidation of united space of the Russian World’
  02.12.2009 14:34 ·
  

  The 3d World Congress of Compatriots section meeting on ‘The role of the ROC and other traditional confessions in consolidation of united space of the Russian World’ on Dec. 2 at the Danilovskaya Hotel discussed the experience of work with compatriots on diocesan and parochial levels, prospects of this work in the far- and near-abroad countries and challenges faced in this area.

  
  
• His Holiness Patriarch Kirill meets with auditors of Higher Diplomatic Courses
  02.12.2009 11:43 ·
  

  On 1 December 2009, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia met with a group of auditors of Higher Diplomatic Courses at the Diplomatic Academy of the Russian Ministry for Foreign Affairs (MID). The meeting took place at the Red Hall of the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour.

  
  
• Patriarch Kirill’s address to the 3d Congress of Compatriots
  02.12.2009 11:37 · , Patriarch's speeches
  

  His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia addressed the 3d World Congress of Compatriots living abroad at its opening on December 1, 2009, at the House of Unions

  
  
• Archbishop Hilarion’s assessment of the 2009 State Department Religious Freedom Report
  30.11.2009 12:25 ·
  

  In his letter to US Ambassador to Russia, Mr John Beyrle, the chairman of the Moscow Patriarchate department for external church relations, Archbishop Hilarion of Volokolamsk, makes an assessment of

  
  
• Victims of mass starvation in 1930s in USSR and those who died in Neva Express crash commemorated in Damascus
  30.11.2009 10:24 ·
  

  The Office for the Dead was said on Nov. 29 at the Church of St. Ignatius the God-Bearer in the Moscow Patriarchate’s Representation to the Patriarch of Antioch in Damascus to commemorate victims of the mass starvation in the 1930s in the USSR.