New Armenian Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem Elected

A meeting of the Brotherhood of St. James of the Armenian Orthodox Church of Jerusalem has elected Archbishop Nourhan (Manoogian), patriarchal grand sacristan and a native of Aleppo, Syria, as the 97th Armenian Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem. Axios! More here.

Bulgarian Orthodox Church to Elect New Patriarch in February

The Bulgarian Orthodox Church has announced that it will hold a council, comprised of the members of the hierarchy and representatives of the metropolises, stavropeghial monastic communities, and seminaries, this coming February to elect its next patriarch. Of the current hierarchy of the Sofia Patriarchate two members are ineligible for election, whilst two others have already stated that they will not allow themselves to be candidates for election. More here. H/t to Byzantine Texas for posting this.

Philadelphia Archbishop Elected OCA Metropolitan

The Holy Synod of the American Orthodox Church (OCA) has elected Archbishop Tikhon (Mollard) of Philadelphia as Metropolitan of Washington and All America and Canada. Axios! The election closed the special All-American Council in Parma, Ohio, held to nominate a new first hierarch for the OCA to succeed Metropolitan Jonah (Paffhausen). The Council was held on the old style feast of St. John (Kochurov) of Chicago, and was lifted up in the prayers of many, no doubt especially by Sts. John of Chicago and John (Maximovich) of San Francisco, before whose relics a supplication for the Council was held by cathedral clergy in San Francisco on 12 November.

Archbishop Tikhon was a frontrunner on the Council's first and second ballots, but was second in number of votes to Bishop Michael (Dahulich) of New York. There were no disruptions of the Council by supporters of Metropolitan Jonah, who himself only received seventeen votes on each round of voting, and there was no effort on anyone's part to have the election held off so that the former metropolitan could be reinstated. Metropolitan Tikhon's election was received by the Council with joy, and he was warmly acclaimed when he was presented to the Council.

UOCUSA Nominates Next Metropolitan

An extraordinary council (собор) of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the USA (UOCUSA) and the Diaspora has nominated Archbishop Antony (Scharba) of Hierapolis and the Eastern American Eparchy for election by the Holy Synod of the Constantinopolitan Orthodox Church as first hierarch of the UOCUSA. Axios! More here.

New Coptic Orthodox Pope to be Chosen in November

The Coptic Orthodox Church has changed the date for its upcoming papal elections from the end of November to 29 October, with the lot between the final nominees to be drawn on 4 November. The list of candidates for the papacy was recently reduced to five, with all of the diocesan hierarchs previously included being dropped from the list for canonical reasons. More here.

Widowed Archpriest Nominated for Election as Bishop of Alaska

It has been announced that the recent diocesan assembly of the Diocese of Sitka and Alaska has nominated Archpriest David Mahaffey, a widowed clergyman of the Diocese of Philadelphia and Eastern Pennsylvania, for election by the Holy Synod of the American Orthodox Church (OCA) as Bishop of Sitka and Alaska. More here.

OCA to Elect New Metropolitan in November

The American Orthodox Church (OCA) has announced that a special All-American Council will be held this November in the Cleveland area. The council will be convened with the sole purpose of nominating a candidate for election by the Holy Synod as Metropolitan of All America and Canada. More here.

Coptic Orthodox Church Releases List of Papal Candidates

The Coptic Orthodox Church has released the names of the seventeen candidates in the Church's upcoming papal elections. Of the candidates seven are ruling or auxiliary bishops, which contradicts the tradition of the Coptic Orthodox Church forbidding the transfer of hierarchs from one diocese to another, and ten are monks. Of the monks named three are from the former monastery of Pope Shenouda III (al-Suriani), the Syrian Monastery of the Mother of God in Wadi Natroun. The full list can be found here.

Pope Shenouda Bans Political Campaigning in Churches

Pope Shenouda III (al-Suriani) of Alexandria has banned candidates for Parliament from campaigning in Egypt's Coptic Orthodox churches, calling on the country's Copts who are running for Parliament not to use religious slogans in their campaigns or otherwise mix religion and politics. More here.

Abkhazia Votes for New President

Abkhazians are voting today to elect their next president, who will be the third elected since Abkhazia gained independence from neighboring Georgia in the 1990s. No clear frontrunner emerged prior to today's elections, with three main candidates competing for votes. If no candidate receives more than 50% of the total votes, then a run-off election will be held between the two leading candidates. More here.

Suryoyo Candidate for Turkish Parliament Leading in Polls

According to unofficial results Syriac Orthodox Erol Dora has won one of the five seats held by the province of Mardin in the Turkish Parliament. If the results are confirmed Dora will become the first Christian member of the Turkish Parliament in over 50 years. More (in Turkish) here.

Macedonian Orthodox Holy Synod Calls for Peace as Elections Approach

At the close of its recent meeting the Holy Synod of the independent Macedonian Orthodox Church called on its faithful and all the citizens of free Macedonia to display "worthy inter-ethnic and inter-religious respect and understanding" as the country prepares for upcoming parliamentary elections. More (in Macedonian) here.

Turkish Politician Visits Patriarchates of Constantinople

A leader of a major Turkish political party made visits yesterday to the seats of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople and the Armenian Orthodox Patriarchate of Constantinople to discuss the upcoming Turkish elections and the reason for his party's failure to include an Armenian candidate on its list despite the large size of Turkey's native Armenian minority. More here.

Suryoyo Man Poised to Become First Ethnic Syrian Turkish MP

An independent Suryoyo parliamentary candidate, Erol Dora, may become the first ethnic Syrian to serve in the Turkish Parliament. If elected to Parliament, Erol says that he will be "the voice of the Syriac community as well as all the other ethnicities living in [southeastern Turkey]." More here.

Ukrainian Catholics Nominate Next Primate

On the third day of voting the Holy Synod of the Ukrainian Catholic Church finally nominated one of its members for appointment by the Vatican as the next primate of the Ukrainian Catholic Church. The name will not be released until the head of the Ukrainian Catholic Church's sister church, the Roman Catholic Church, confirms the appointment. More here.

Second Day of Ukrainian Catholic Synod Concludes

Another four rounds of voting by the Holy Synod of the Ukrainian Catholic Church have failed to produce a nominee for appointment as its next primate. If tomorrow's voting fails to produce a nominee, then the following day the Synod will only consider the top two candidates. More here.

First Day of Ukrainian Catholic Synod Concludes

The Holy Synod of the Ukrainian Catholic Church has completed its first day of voting to nominate its next primate, with four rounds of voting having been held. If a candidate isn't nominated by two-thirds of the Synod in twelve rounds of voting, then a special round of voting will nominate by a majority one of the two candidates with the most votes so far. More here.

MOSC Seeks Greater Representation for Keralan Christians in INC

Representatives of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church will meet with Sonia Gandhi, leader of the Indian National Congress party, to seek wider representation for Kerala's Orthodox Christians in the party. The hope is to have Congress and its Keralan affiliate to commit to giving Kerala's Christians eleven representatives in the upcoming parliamentary elections (Orthodox Christians, Roman and Eastern Catholics, and Anglicans together form roughly 20% of the population of Kerala). More here.

Russian Priest Running for Mayoral Post

The first clerical candidate for public office since the Russian Orthodox Church lifted its complete ban on clergy in government has announced the beginning of his mayoral campaign in southern Russia. More here.

Moscow Bishops' Council Okays Clergy Standing for Election

The ongoing Bishops' Council of the Russian Orthodox Church has moderated its ban on hierarchs and clergy standing in elections to exempt races that are "exceptional cases" that could effect the Church's place in society. Hierarchs and clergy do, however, remain forbidden to join political parties. More here.