Christian world

Christmas in Bethlehem

Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Archbishop Fouad Twal, led the mass in the Church of the Nativity. Abbas greets Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem Fouad Twal

 Hundreds of worshipers attended a midnight Christmas Eve mass in the West Bank town of Bethlehem in the late hours of Tuesday.

Gornensky Convent in Jerusalem asking for help

Winter comes unexpectedly not only in Russia. Weather forecasters had predicted snow fall in Jerusalem on December 11, but the reality surpassed all forecasts, reports the website of the Russian Ecclesiastical Mission (Moscow Patriarchate) in Jerusalem.

After rain with gale, which poured for a whole day, it was snowing with hurricane force winds non-stop for three following days. Over 50 centimeters of snow fell in Jerusalem. According to the information of meteorological observations, nothing of the kind has happened over last 100 years.

A new dawn of hope

Christmas Message 2013 from the World Council of Churches general secretary

In New Testament accounts of the Nativity, humble shepherds watch their flocks by night while wise scholars, travelling in the east, look up at the same night’s sky and discern something new amid the rotation of stars. They were all open for a move, to see something, someone that brings hope for the world.

Orthodox Missionary Brotherhood in Africa celebrates its 50th Anniversary

 The Pope (Patriarch) Theodore II of Alexandria and All Africa has congratulated the Orthodox Missionary Brotherhood, which was founded in 1963, on its "golden" anniversary, thanking it for its self-sacrificing work that now embraces the whole continent.

Inter-Parliamentary Assembly of Orthodoxy’s statement on the kidnapping of nuns from St Thecla’s Convent

In connection with the brutal attack carried out by extremists against Syrian Christians, the IAO expressed solidarity with the Christian population in Syria and the Middle East. The statement reads:

The Inter-Parliamentary Assembly of Orthodoxy with strong indignation and deep concern took the news about a new brutal attack carried out against Christians in Syria by extremist radical Muslim armed groups, in particular, the kidnapping of nuns from the Greek Orthodox Convent of St Thecla at the town of Maalula and their forced removal.

First service in Sochi church built for the Olympics to be celebrated on Christmas

The Church complex of the Image of Christ the Savior "Made Without Hands" in Sochi is to be consecrated on January 3, reports Interfax-Religion.

According to the press service of the head of the Krasnodar territory, the first service in this Church will be celebrated on Christmas, reported its rector to the Krasnodar Territory governor Alexander Tkachev during the latter’s visit to the Church on Friday.