Pan-Orthodox Funeral for Bulgarian Orthodox Patriarch Held in Sofia

This past Friday the Bulgarian Orthodox Church held the funeral of newly reposed Patriarch Maxim (Minkov) of Sofia in the Bulgarian capital's Cathedral of St. Alexander of the Neva. The funeral was concelebrated by Patriarchs Bartholomew (Arhondonis) and Irenaeus (Gavrilovic) of the Constantinopolitan and Serbian Orthodox Churches, Archbishops Jerome II (Liapis) and Anastasius (Yannoulatos) of the Greek and Albanian Orthodox Churches, and hierarchs and clergy of the Church of Bulgaria and other Local Orthodox Churches. Archbishop Stephen (Veljanovski) of the Macedonian Orthodox Church was also present, and met with Patriarchs Bartholomew and Irenaeus after the funeral services.

May Patriarch Maxim's memory be eternal! More here and, in Macedonian, here.

Pictures from Ethiopian Orthodox Patriarch's Funeral Posted

Some wonderful pictures from Patriarch Abune Paul of Ethiopia's funeral this past Thursday at Addis Abeba's Holy Trinity Cathedral can be found here. Hierarchs representing the Alexandrian Orthodox, Armenian Orthodox, Coptic Orthodox, Malankara Orthodox Syrian, and Syriac Orthodox Churches, including the locum tenens of the Alexandria Patriarchate, were present for the funeral services.

Local Orthodox Churches Celebrate the Baptism of Rus' in Kiev

This past Saturday Patriarch Cyril (Gundyayev) of Moscow led the celebrations in honor of the feast of St. Vladimir and the anniversary of the Baptism of Rus' at Ukraine's historic Kiev Caves Lavra, concelebrating the festal Divine Liturgy in the square fronting the Lavra's Cathedral of the Dormition with Metropolitans Volodymyr (Sabodan) of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church and Vladimir (Canterean) of the Moldovan Orthodox Church; hierarchs representing the Constantinopolitan, Alexandrian, Antiochian, Jerusalemite, Georgian, Bulgarian, Serbian, Cypriot, Greek, Polish, Czechoslovak, and American Orthodox Churches; and numerous hierarchs of the Russian, Ukrainian, and Belorussian Orthodox Churches. Following the services Patriarch Cyril congratulated Metropolitan Volodymyr on the 20th anniversary of his service as primate of the Church of Ukraine. More here and in Russian here.

OCA Holy Synod Meets in Spring Session

At its recent spring session the Holy Synod of the American Orthodox Church (OCA) reviewed recent developments in the life of the OCA, among other things excommunicating Oriental Orthodox Christians received into the OCA should they maintain communion with their native Orthodox Churches and elevating four of the Church's diocesan bishops to the rank of archbishop. More here.

South American Episcopal Assembly Meets in Buenos Aires

The second session of the Episcopal Assembly of South America has been held in Buenos Aires, with hierarchs representing the dioceses of the Constantinopolitan, Russian, Serbian, and Polish Orthodox Churches present on the continent. During the session the Episcopal Assembly established committees on inter-church relations, canonical and liturgical issues, religious education, and catechetical issues. More here and here.

SCOOCH Concelebration Scheduled for November

The Standing Conference of Oriental Orthodox Churches (SCOOCH) in the United States has scheduled a concelebration of the Divine Liturgy by SCOOCH member hierarchs for 19 November at the Coptic Orthodox Church of Sts. Michael and Menas on Staten Island. More here.

Annual UN Orthodox Prayer Service Held in NYC

The annual United Nations Orthodox Prayer Service has been held in New York, hosted this year by Archbishop Khajag (Barsamian) of New York and the city's Armenian Orthodox Cathedral of St. Vartan. The annual UN Orthodox Prayer Service is organized jointly by the Standing Conference of Oriental Orthodox Churches and the Episcopal Assembly of North America and this year included special prayers for Egypt's Coptic Orthodox Christians. A full account of this year's service can be found here.

Georgian Orthodox Patriarch Fears Possible Schism

Upon returning from his recent visit to Constantinople Catholicos-Patriarch Ilia II (Ghudushauri-Shiolashvili) of the Georgian Orthodox Church expressed reservations about the convening of a general council of the Local Orthodox Churches, saying that he feared holding such a council in the near future could lead to a schism within world Orthodoxy due to the assorted issues between the Orthodox Churches that remain contentious and unresolved. Patriarch Ilia also expressed disagreement with the Ecumenical Patriarchate's recent reinterpretation of the 28th canon of the Council of Chalcedon that would give the Church of Constantinople jurisdiction over Orthodox Christians living outside the canonical territories of the existing Orthodox Churches. More (in Russian) here.

Episcopal Assembly of Oceania Holds 2nd Session

The hierarchs of the Local Orthodox Churches serving in Australia and Oceania have met for the second session of the Episcopal Assembly of Oceania at the headquarters of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia in the greater Sydney area. Hierarchs and clergy representing the Greek, Antiochian, Russian, Serbian, Romanian, and Ukrainian Orthodox dioceses in Oceania were present for the Assembly. More here. Hat tip to Byzantine Texas!

First Hierarchs of Ancient Orthodox Churches Gather in Constantinople

A synaxis of the ancient Local Orthodox Churches in the Middle East bringing together Patriarch Bartholomew (Arhondonis) of Constantinople, Pope Theodoros II (Horeftakis) of Alexandria, Patriarch Theophilos III (Giannopoulos) of Jerusalem, Archbishop Chrysostomos II (Demetriou) of Nea Justiniana, and a representative of Patriarch Ignatios IV (Hazim) of Antioch, Bishop Isaac of Apamea, has been held at the patriarchal Church of St. George in Constantinople. During the meeting the assembled hierarchs discussed issues relating to the life of the Orthodox Church in the Middle East and Africa as well as the preparations for a general council of the Local Orthodox Churches. More (in Greek) here and here.

Patriarch Ignatius IV, Metropolitan Hilarion Meet in Damascus

Patriarch Ignatios IV (Hazim) of the Antiochian Orthodox Church received Metropolitan Hilarion (Alfeyev) of Volokolamsk earlier today at the seat of the Antioch Patriarchate in Damascus, Syria, to discuss relations between the Antiochian and Russian Orthodox Churches and issues concerning world Orthodoxy as a whole. The two also discussed the ongoing unrest in Syria and other countries in the Middle East before Metropolitan Hilarion's departure for Constantinople. More (in Russian) here.

Hierarchs of Middle Eastern Orthodox Churches Meet in Amman

Patriarch Theophilos III (Giannopoulos) of Jerusalem and the Holy Land; Archbishop Chrysostomos II (Demetriou) of the Cypriot Orthodox Church; Metropolitan Nikolaos of Hermopolis of the Alexandrian Orthodox Church; Metropolitans Aristarchos (Peristeris) of Constantina, Venediktos (Tsekouras) of Philadelphia, and Dorotheos (Leovaris) of Avila of the Jerusalemite Orthodox Church; and a clergyman representing the Antiochian Orthodox Church have met in Amman, Jordan, to discuss the current state of the Local Orthodox Churches based in the Middle East, inter-Orthodox issues in the Middle East and abroad, and ongoing political developments in the Middle East. More (in Greek) here.

International Celebrations for the Anniversary of the Baptism of Rus' Held in Kiev

In celebration of the anniversary of the Baptism of Rus' in 988 and in honor of today's feast of St. Vladimir Patriarch Kirill (Gundyayev) of Moscow, Catholicos-Patriarch Ilia II (Gudushauri-Shiolashvili) of Mtskheta-Tbilisi, and Metropolitan Volodymyr (Sabodan) of Kiev together with the participation of Metropolitans Vladimir (Canterean) of Chisinau and Philaret (Vakhromeyev) of Minsk and hierarchs of the Russian, Georgian, Romanian, Cypriot, Ukrainian, and Belorussian Orthodox Churches concelebrated the festal Divine Liturgy on the square of the Kiev Caves Lavra's Cathedral of the Dormition.

The services were celebrated in a mixture of Georgian, Greek, and Slavonic, with choirs from Georgia and Ukraine singing the responses. Today's celebrations marked the first time that a ruling patriarch of the Georgian Orthodox Church has visited and served in Kiev. More (in Russian) on today's celebrations can be found here.

Patriarch Daniel, Metropolitan Hilarion Meet in Bucharest

As part of his recent visit to Romania Metropolitan Hilarion (Alfeyev) of Volokolamsk has met with Patriarch Daniel of the Romanian Orthodox Church at the seat of the Bucharest Patriarchate in the Romanian capital. During their lengthy meeting the hierarchs discussed issues in relations between the Local Orthodox Churches as well as the existing problems in relations between the Russian and Romanian Orthodox Churches, in particularly the activities of the schismatic Metropolitanate of Chisinau and Bessarabia on the canonical territories of the Moldovan and Ukrainian Orthodox Churches. More here and here.

"Growth and Attendance in Orthodox Parishes in Canada"

An interesting survey of the state of the Orthodox Churches in Canada by Fr. Geoffrey Korz, rector of All Saints of North America Church in Hamilton, Ontario, has been posted here. Hat tip to Byzantine Texas for posting this first!

40th Anniversary of Patriarch Maxim's Enthronement Celebrated in Sofia

Celebrations are being held today in Sofia, Bulgaria, to mark the 40th anniversary of the enthronement of Patriarch Maxim (Minkov) of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church. Delegations representing the Constantinopolitan, Alexandrian, Jerusalemite, Russian, Georgian, Serbian, Cypriot, Greek, Albanian, Polish, and Czechoslovak Orthodox Churches are present in the Bulgarian capital to participate in the celebratory Sunday Liturgy served this morning in Sofia's Cathedral of St. Alexander of the Neva.

Archbishop Chrysostomos II (Demetriou) of the Cypriot Orthodox Church and Metropolitan Christopher (Pulec) of the Czechoslovak Orthodox Church are present in person to participate in the celebrations. More (in Bulgarian) here.

New Martyrs of Naousa Glorified in Greece

This past Sunday Metropolitan Panteleimon of Berea and Naousa together with brother hierarchs of the Constantinopolitan Orthodox Church; hierarchs representing the Alexandrian, Jerusalemite, Russian, Bulgarian, Serbian, Cypriot, Greek, and Czechoslovak Orthodox Churches; and clergymen representing the Albanian and Polish Orthodox Churches celebrated the glorification of the New Martyrs of Naousa in Naousa's Church of the Transfiguration. More (in Greek) here.

The New Martyrs of Naousa were martyred for the Orthodox Faith by the Ottoman Turks in 1822 following the city's capture of the city during an unsuccessful attempts by Macedonian Greeks to liberate the region from Ottoman rule. The glorification of the Naousa New Martyrs was recently approved by the Holy Synod of the Constantinopolitan Orthodox Church, which holds jurisdiction over the region despite its oversight by the Church of Greece.

Metropolitan Christopher Celebrates 5th Anniversary of Enthronement

Metropolitan Christopher (Pulec) of Prague is celebrating the 5th anniversary of his enthronement as First Hierarch of the Czechoslovak Orthodox Church today. Representatives of the Constantinopolitan, Russian, Georgian, Bulgarian, Romanian, Greek, Albanian, Polish, and American Orthodox Churches were present in Prague to concelebrate the Sunday Liturgy with him, as were clergy of the Czechoslovak Orthodox Church. More here.

Chicago Meeting of the North American Episcopal Assembly Ends

The Episcopal Assembly of North America has concluded its second session in Chicago. This year's session was not attended by most of the hierarchs serving in Canada, who are pushing for the creation of a separate Episcopal Assembly of Canada, or by the bishops of the Serbian Orthodox Church in the Americas, who were attending a session of the Serbian Orthodox Holy Assembly of Bishops in Belgrade. More here and here.

Photo of the Day: Members of the North American Episcopal Assembly in Chicago

The hierarchs of the Orthodox Churches in North America at the ongoing session of the Episcopal Assembly of North America in Chicago. More pictures can be found here.