A World Religious Summit for Peace in Sapporo

A World Religious Summit for Peace is to be held ahead of the G8 summit in Sapporo, Hokkaido, on July 2 and 3.

The world religious forum will bring together leaders of traditional religious organizations from several dozen countries, Archpriest Vsevolod Chaplin, a delegate and the deputy head of the Moscow Patriarchate Department for External Church Relations, told Interfax-Religion.

The ordinations of the new Metropolites

His Beatitude the Archbishop of Athens and all Greece Hieronymus will participate to the ordinations of the new Metropolites on the 27th, 28th and 30th of June 2008. The ordinations of the elected Metropolites will take place as follows:

Bishops' Council of the Russian Orthodox Church completed its work on the Feast of All Saints

On 29 June 2008, the day when the Russian Orthodox Church commemorates All Saints who shone forth in the Land of Russia, the Bishops' Council of the Russian Orthodox Church completed its work taking part in which were one hundred and eighty-three archpastors from twenty countries. His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Russia officiated at the Divine Liturgy in the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour. Metropolitan Philaret of Minsk and Slutsk, Patriarchal Exarch of Al Belarus, read out the Message of the Blessed Bishops' Council to the clergy, monastics and all faithful children of the Russian Orthodox Church.

Visit of His All Holiness to Kiev

During its regular session, held on June 23-25, 2008, The Holy and Sacred Synod reviewed the invitations of His Beatitude Alexy, Patriarch of Moscow, requesting a Patriarchal Delegation to attend the festivities of the 1020th anniversary of the Christianization of the Kievan Rus and of His Excellency Viktor Yushchenko, President of Ukraine, to His All Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew to personally lead the aforementioned festivities.

On Vidovdan celebrated Holy Eucharist in Serbian Orthodox temples all over the world

St. Vitus Day (Vidovdan), a religious holiday when Serbs commemorate the 1389 Battle of Kosovo, was marked in all Serbian Orthodox Christian temples today.