Cornerstone Laid for First Romanian Orthodox Church in Africa

In what seems to be an increasingly rare act of inter-Orthodox cooperation on its part, a bishop of the Bucharest Patriarchate has laid the cornerstone for a church to serve Romanian immigrants in metropolitan Johannesburg, South Africa, with the blessing of Pope Theodore II (Horeftakis) of Alexandria and All Africa. The cornerstone was laid this past Saturday in Midrand, a suburn of Joburg, by Metropolitan Damascene (Papandreou) of Johannesburg, the local ruling hierarch, and Bishop Petronius (Florea) of Zalau, a suffragan bishop of the Romanian Orthodox Metropolitanate of Cluj in Transylvania. A full account of the day with pictures of the service can be found here.

It is unclear whether the church will function as a representation of the Bucharest Patriarchate to the Church of Alexandria or as a Romanian-speaking parish of the Metropolis of Johannesburg.

First Orthodox Bishop of Brazzaville Consecrated in Egypt

Pope Theodore II (Horeftakis) of All Africa concelebrated the consecration this past Sunday of the newest hierarch of the Alexandrian Orthodox Church, Bishop Panteleimon (Arathymos) of Brazzaville. The service, concelebrated by metropolitans of the Church of Alexandria and Greek Orthodox Metropolitan Dorotheus II of Tinos, was held in the papal Cathedral of the Annunciation in Alexandria, Egypt. More here.

New Syriac Orthodox Metropolitans Consecrated in Lebanon, Syria

In keeping with the decisions of the recent session of the Holy Synod of the Syriac Orthodox Church of Antioch two new metropolitans have been consecrated for the service of the Syriac Orthodox Church. In late October Patriarch Moran Mor Ignatius Zacchaeus (Iwas) consecrated Rabban Nathaniel (Yousif) in St. Gabriel's Church in A’ajaltoun, Lebanon, to the episcopacy as Metropolitan Mor Bartholomew to serve the Syriac Orthodox Church in the United Arab Emirates and the Gulf states. In early November, at the patriarchal Cathedral of Sts. Peter and Paul in Ma’arat Saydnaya, Syria, the patriarch concelebrated the consecration of Rabban Matta Fadel (Alkhoury), patriarchal secretary for India, to the episcopacy as Metropolitan Mor Timothy. Axios! More here and here.

Newest Bishop Consecrated for Russian Orthodox Church

During services this past Sunday Patriarch Cyril (Gundyayev) of Moscow concelebrated the consecration of Archimandrite Fyodor (Belkov) in Moscow's Church of Christ the Savior. Axios! Bishop Theodore was consecrated Bishop of Alatyr and Poretskoye to serve a new diocese in the recently erected Metropolitanate of Cheboksary in Chuvashia, a constituent republic of the Russian Federation. More here.

New ACROD Bishop Consecrated, Enthroned

Bishop-elect Gregory (Tatsis) of Nyssa has been consecrated to the episcopacy and enthroned as ruling bishop of the American Carpatho-Rusyn Orthodox Diocese (ACROD) in services led by Greek Orthodox Archbishop Demetrius (Trakatellis) of New York and concelebrated by Metropolitan Anthony (Scherba) of Hierapolis of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the USA (UOCUSA) and the Diaspora, Metropolitans Alexis (Panagiotopoulos) of Atlanta and Sabbas (Zembillas) of Pittsburgh of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, and Bishop Daniel (Zelinskyy) of Pamphilon of the UOCUSA. Axios! Bishop Gregory is the fourth hierarch of the ACROD. More here.

New Coptic Orthodox Pope Enthroned

Pope Theodore II (al-Anba Bishoy) has been enthroned at St. Mark's Cathedral in the Cairene district of Abbasiya as patriarch of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria and 118th successor to St. Mark. The enthronement prayer was read by Patriarch Moran Mor Ignatius Zacchaeus (Iwas) of the Syriac Orthodox Church. Axios!

Serbian Orthodox Patriarch Remembered in Rakovica

Yesterday marked the third anniversary of the repose of Patriarch Paul (Stojcevic) of Serbia of thrice blessed memory. The day was marked at Serbia's Rakovica Monastery of the Trinity, where Patriarch Paul was buried, with a memorial Divine Liturgy led by Serbian Orthodox Patriarch Irenaeus (Gavrilovic) and attended by the Serbian president and prime minister as well as other hierarchs and prominent Serbs. More here.

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.

Consecration Date for New ACROD Bishop Announced

The American Carpatho-Russian Orthodox Diocese (ACROD) has announced that Bishop-elect Gregory (Tatsis) will be consecrated ruling Bishop of Nyssa and the ACROD this coming November in the diocesan Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Johnstown, Pennsylvania. Hierarchs of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America and the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the USA will concelebrate the consecration. More 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.

Son of Kenyan PM Baptized in Nairobi

Fidel Castro Odinga, son of Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga, has been made a member of the Alexandrian Orthodox Church by Metropolitan Macarius () of Nairobi. The metropolitan personally served Odinga's baptism and chrismation, giving him the name Macarius. Not long after Odinga's reception into the Church he was married to his Eritrean/Ethiopian fiancee by Metropolitan Macarius in Nairobi's Cathedral of the Holy Unmercenaries. More here.

New Bishop for Tajikistan Consecrated in Diveyevo

This past Wednesday, the commemoration of the discovery of the relics of St. Seraphim of Sarov, Patriarch Cyril (Gundyayev) of Moscow led the services in honor of the feast at the renowned Diveyevo Monastery of the Holy Trinity in central Russia. During the festal Divine Liturgy the patriarch, Metropolitan Vincent (Morar') of Tashkent and Central Asia, and twenty-two other hierarchs of the Russian Orthodox Church consecrated Archimandrite Pitirim (Tvorogov) as Bishop of Dushanbe. Axios! The newly consecrated Bishop Pitirim will be shepherding the Orthodox Church in Tajikistan, whose faithful belong to the Metropolitanate of Tashkent and Central Asia. More in Russian here.

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.

New Ukrainian Orthodox Bishops Consecrated in Kiev

It has been reported that this past Sunday Metropolitan Volodymyr (Sabodan) of Kiev and nine other hierarchs of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church consecrated Archimandrite Roman (Kymovych) as Bishop of Konotop. Axios! Bishop Roman will shepherd the Eparchy of Konotop in northeastern Ukraine. More in Ukrainian here.

The following day, the commemoration of St. Anthony of the Kiev Caves, Metropolitan Volodymyr led festal services at the Kiev Caves Lavra, during which he consecrated Archimandrite Clement (Vecher) as Bishop of Irpin' together with nineteen other hierarchs of the Church of Ukraine. Axios! The newly consecrated Bishop Clement will serve as an auxiliary of the Metropolitanate of Kiev and chairman of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church's education committee. More in Ukrainian here.

New Bishops for Siberia, Western Russia Consecrated in Moscow

On the recent commemoration of the Kazan Icon' Patriarch Cyril (Gundyayev) of Moscow led the festal celebrations in Moscow's Holy Theophany Cathedral, during which he consecrated Archimandrite Sabbatius (Zagrebel'niy) as Bishop of Tara together with eight other hierarchs of the Russian Orthodox Church. Axios! Bishop Sabbatius will shepherd the recently established Eparchy of Tara in western Siberia. More in Russian on Bishop Sabbatius' consecration can be found here.

This past Sunday Patriarch Cyril celebrated the Sunday Liturgy in Holy Transfiguration Church in Tushino, a district of Moscow. During the services the patriarch and six other hierarchs of the Russian Orthodox Church consecrated Archimandrite Sophronius (Kitayev) as Bishop of Gubkin. Axios! Bishop Sophronius will serve in the newly established Eparchy of Gubkin of the Belgorod Metropolitanate in western Russia. More in Russian on Sunday's events can be found here.

Russian Orthodox Patriarch Visits Katyn Memorial

Patriarch Cyril (Gundyayev) of Moscow has visited the Katyn Memorial in Russia's Smolensk region to pay his respects to the memory of the many thousands of Russians and Poles executed there by the Soviet government. As part of his visit to the memorial the patriarch celebrated the Sunday Liturgy in the memorial Church of the Resurrection. More here and here.

Photo of the Day: Festal Services in Haiti

The festal services at the Church of St. Augustine in Jacmel, Haiti, on the eve of St. Augustine's day.

Russian Orthodox Patriarch Consecrates New Suffragan Bishop for Omsk Region

On the recent feast of Sts. Peter and Paul Patriarch Cyril (Gundyayev) of Moscow led the festal services in the Church of Sts. Peter and Paul in Lefortovo. During the services the patriarch and four other hierarchs of the Russian Orthodox Church consecrated Archimandrite Peter (Mansurov) as Bishop of Kalachinsk. Axios! Bishop Peter is one of the new suffragan bishops of the Metropolitanate of Omsk. More in Russian here.

Russian Orthodox Patriarch Visits Valaam, Consecrates New Bishop for Tatarstan

Patriarch Cyril (Gundyayev) of Moscow has undertaken a pastoral visit to the patriarchal Valaam Monastery of the Transfiguration in northern Russia, which has seen an extraordinary transformation from the ruins it was left in after the collapse of the Soviet Union to one of the best known Russian Orthodox monasteries in the world.

During his time on Valaam the patriarch led the celebrations in honor of the Monastery's founders, Sts. Sergius and Herman. During the festal Divine Liturgy Patriarch Cyril, Valaam's abbot Bishop Pancratius (Zhyerdyev) of Troitsk, and six other hierarchs of the Russian Orthodox Church consecrated Archimandrite Mefodiy (Zaitsev) as Bishop Methodius of Almetyevsk, one of the new eparchies established for the Orthodox Church in Tatarstan.

More in Russian on the patriarch's visit to Valaam and the festal services can be found here and here.

Prayers Requested for Flood Victims in Krasnodar Territory

During the festal services celebrated by Metropolitan Isidore (Kirichenko) of Yekaterinodar and Bishop Herman (Kamalov) of Yeysk this morning in honor of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist at the Cathedral of St. Catherine in Yekaterinodar, Russia, special petitions were included for the victims victims of the recent flooding in southern Russia's Krasnodar Territory, which so far have claimed ninety-nine lives. Per Metropolitan Isidore's request please keep the Krasnodar Territory and its residents in your prayers as they continue to deal with the damage caused by the flooding. More here and in Russian here.