Orthodox Christianity

February 20, 2019 - 8:43 am

Cyprus Orthodox Church backs Ukrainian church's independence

NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — Cyprus' Orthodox Church says it supports the Ukrainian Orthodox Church's right to independence that was granted by the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople last month, aiming to heal its divisions. Holy Synod also said Wednesday, however, that Patriarch Bartholomew should...
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Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko gestures during a parliament session in Kiev, Ukraine, Thursday, Feb. 7, 2019. During the plenary session the Ukrainian parliament voted to the Constitution on joining the EU and NATO. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)
February 09, 2019 - 10:01 am

Ukrainian president vows to push for EU, NATO membership

KIEV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine must join the European Union and NATO to protect itself from Russia's expansionist actions, Ukraine's president said Saturday as he officially launched his re-election campaign. President Petro Poroshenko, who is seeking a second five-year term in the March 31 vote,...
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Metropolitan Epiphanius, newly elected head of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, Metropolitan of Kyiv and All Ukraine, conducts a service during his enthronement in the St. Sophia Cathedral in Kiev, Ukraine, Sunday, Feb. 3, 2019. Epiphanius has been elected to head the new Ukrainian church independent from the Russian Orthodox Church. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)
February 03, 2019 - 9:26 am

Head of Ukraine's new Orthodox Church assumes office

KIEV, Ukraine (AP) — The newly elected head of the independent Ukrainian Orthodox Church has officially assumed office in the capital of Kiev, a month after the church severed its centuries-long ties with the Russian Orthodox Church. Metropolitan Epiphanius I, 40, was enthroned during a lavish...
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Russian President Vladimir Putin listens to Moldovan President Igor Dodon during their talks at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, Wednesday, Jan. 30, 2019. (Maxim Shemetov/Pool Photo via AP)
January 31, 2019 - 9:55 am

Russian leader assails Ukraine Orthodox church reform

MOSCOW (AP) — President Vladimir Putin has criticized Ukraine's move to set up a new Orthodox church independent from Moscow and promised to defend religious freedom. Earlier this month, the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople granted independence to a new Orthodox Church of Ukraine, formally...
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Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko gestures while speaking at a meeting with supporters in Kiev, Ukraine, Tuesday, Jan. 29, 2019. Poroshenko declared his intention to run for re-election in March's presidential vote. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)
January 29, 2019 - 8:11 am

Ukraine's incumbent president announces re-election bid

KIEV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko says he will run for re-election in March's presidential vote. Poroshenko declared Tuesday that he will seek another five-year term in office on March 31. Long before the formal announcement, the president has sought to bolster his sagging...
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January 28, 2019 - 2:50 pm

Greek bishop convicted over comments attacking gays

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — A Greek court has convicted a prominent Orthodox Church official of violating laws against racism and abusing his office over an anti-gay blog posting. Amvrossios, Bishop of Kalavryta and Aigialeia in the southern Peloponnese region, received a seven-month sentence, suspended...
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Russian Emergency Situations employees help a boy to bath in the icy water on Epiphany at the Church of the Holy Trinity in Ostankino near TV Tower in Moscow, Russia, Friday, Jan. 18, 2019. Across Russia, the devout and the daring are observing the Orthodox Christian feast day of Epiphany by immersing themselves in frigid water through holes cut through the ice of lakes and rivers. Epiphany celebrates the revelation of Jesus Christ as the incarnation of God through his baptism in the River Jordan. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)
January 18, 2019 - 4:05 pm

Russians plunge into icy waters to mark feast of Epiphany

MOSCOW (AP) — Across Russia, the devout and the daring are observing the Orthodox Christian feast day of Epiphany by immersing themselves in frigid water through holes cut through the ice of lakes and rivers. Epiphany celebrates the revelation of Jesus Christ as the incarnation of God through his...
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Metropolitan Epiphanius, the head of the independent Ukrainian Orthodox Church, conducts the Christmas service in the St. Sophia Cathedral in Kiev, Ukraine, Monday, Jan. 7, 2019. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)
January 17, 2019 - 7:40 am

Ukraine OKs property law that could affect 12,000 churches

MINSK, Belarus (AP) — Ukraine's parliament has adopted a bill spelling out procedures for transferring church property after a new unified Ukrainian church was granted independence. The Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople earlier this month granted independence to a new Ukrainian Orthodox Church...
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January 08, 2019 - 6:36 am

Russian church head: Smartphones could precede Antichrist

MOSCOW (AP) — The head of the Russian Orthodox Church says the data-gathering capacity of devices such as smartphones risks bringing humanity closer to the arrival of the Antichrist. In an interview shown Monday on state TV, Patriarch Kirill said the church does not oppose technological progress...
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Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, prepares to shoot a fortress cannon, during a traditional midday cannon shot at the Peter and Paul Fortress in St. Petersburg, Russia, Monday, Jan. 7, 2019. (Alexei Druzhinin, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)
January 07, 2019 - 7:46 am

Putin gets to fire cannon at Russian Christmas

MOSCOW (AP) — For Christmas, Vladimir Putin got to do something that many children dream of: fire a really big gun. Under the Russian Orthodox liturgical calendar, Christmas is observed on Jan. 7. During a visit to his hometown of St. Petersburg on Monday, the Russian president visited the...
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