Bulgarian Government Supports Jerusalem Church Initiative

An initiative launched in western Bulgaria for the construction of a Bulgarian Orthodox representation church in Jerusalem has gained the support of the Bulgarian Foreign Ministry. The Bulgarian Orthodox Church attempted in the past to establish a representation in the Holy City, but was later forced by the Bulgarian Communist regime to halt its efforts. More here.

Israel Approves Construction of 1,600 Housing Units in East Jerusalem

The Israeli Interior Ministry has authorized the construction of 1,600-unit apartment complex in predominantly Palestinian Arab East Jerusalem. The Interior Ministry simultaneously announced that it would shortly approve the construction of a further 2,700 more housing units in East Jerusalem. The approval comes as the Palestinian National Authority prepares to request admission to the United Nations as an independent state. More here.

Palestinian Orthodox Metropolitan Backs Calls for Preservation of Jerusalem Cemetery

Metropolitan Theodosius (Hanna) of Sebaste of the Jerusalemite Orthodox Church has added his voice to calls from Palestinian and Israeli Arabs that the destruction of the Holy City's historic Mamilla Cemetery be halted. The cemetery, which is the burial place of many Palestinian Arab residents of Jerusalem, is being razed to make way for the 'Museum of Tolerance.' More here.

Eritrean Orthodox Patriarch Returns from Jerusalem

Patriarch Abune Diyosqoros of Asmera, the government-backed head of the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahdo Church, has returned to Eritrea from a pilgrimage to the Holy City of Jerusalem. More here.

Efforts Made to Reduce Immigration of Jerusalem's Christians

The Roman Catholic Patriarchate of Jerusalem and the Holy Land's Franciscans have agreed to work together to expand the availability of affordable housing to Jerusalem's Christians in the hopes of stemming the immigrations of the Holy City's Christian residents. More here.

Metropolitan Volodymyr Concludes Pilgrimage to the Holy Land

Metropolitan Volodymyr (Sabodan) of Kiev has returned from his pilgrimage to the Holy Land. During the course of his pilgrimage he met with Patriarch Theophilos III (Giannopoulos) of Jerusalem in the Holy City, concelebrated the festal services for the Annunciation in Nazareth, and celebrated the Divine Liturgy on the Tomb of the Lord in Jerusalem's Church of the Resurrection.

Metropolitan Volodymyr was accompanied on his pilgrimage by Archbishops Filipp (Osadchenko) of Poltava and Alexander (Drabinko) of Pereslavl and Bishop Feodor (Mamasuyev) of Mukachevo and Uzhhorod, all hierarchs of the autonomous Ukrainian Orthodox Church. More on his travels can be found here.

Sarah Palin at the Wailing Wall

After a visit to Jerusalem's Wailing Wall last month the controversial US politician Sarah Palin said that she it was "overwhelming to be able to see and touch the cornerstone of our faith." Palin is apparently Jewish as she might otherwise have made her comments after visiting the Holy Sepulchre...

Palestinians Demand Access to Jerusalem During Holy Week, Pascha

Palestinian Arabs from the West Bank are demanding greater access to Jerusalem during Holy Week and Pascha. This year Israel's Passover holidays fall over part of Holy Week and Pascha and as Israel has enforced a military closing off of the West Bank during the Passover holidays for the past several years the West Bank's Orthodox Christians and Roman Catholics will be unable to attend the services in the Holy City if the blockade is not lifted. More here.

CIS Official Calls for an International Jerusalem

The co-chairman of the Interreligious Council of the Commonwealth of Independent States, the loose cooperative organization that replaced the Soviet Union after its collapse, has called for the Holy City of Jerusalem to be designated as an international city, possibly under United Nations supervision, as a way to lessen the tensions of the political and religious conflicts in Palestine. More here.