The Church today venerates the memory of Joseph, the Righteous of Arimathea. St. Joseph was a prominent Jewish leader during the time of Jesus Christ. He is mentioned in the Gospels as being a wealthy man from a location called Armiathea, and also a secret disciple of Christ. After the crucifixion and death of the…

Media reports from Israel this week cite the discovery of the remains of a 1,300-year-old Byzantine-era church, which appears to have once been part of a larger monastery complex. The site was uncovered in the Galilee. Working ahead of construction of a playground in the village of Kfar Kama, archaeologists discovered the roughly 40-by-120-foot foundations…

The issue of pastoral education and theology studies was discussed by members of a committee established to study and resolve matters affecting the autocephalous Orthodox Church of Greece. The meeting on Friday was held at the education ministry in Athens, following an invitation by relevant education and religious affairs minister Niki Kerameos.

The World Day Against Trafficking in Persons was observed yesterday, on Thursday. The observance is a United Nations initiative that aims to sensitize public opinion and to combat the modern-day scourge of human trafficking. Every year, thousands of men, women and children fall into the hands of traffickers, in their own countries and abroad. Almost…

A dawn prayer on the occasion of Muslim holiday “Eid al-Adha”, or Eid Qurban, was held today for the first time in 86 years at the iconic Hagia Sophia basilica – coming on the last day of a month that witnessed the shocking decision by Islamist Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to reconvert the landmark…

The Archbishop of Athens and All Greece, His Beatitude Ieronymos, this week left open the possibility of the Holy Synod of the Autocephalous Orthodox Church of Greece again requiring the mandatory use of masks by worshippers, during indoor church services and sacraments. The Archbishop, in an interview with an Athens-based television station, said the measure…

The Church today venerates the memory of Silas, Silvan, Crescens, Epenetus and Andronicus, five of the Apostles of the 70. A feature is posted today on the pages of the diakonima.gr on the lives of these saints.

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A round-table discussion on the topic of “Orthodoxy and Nation” was held this week in Podgorica, the capital of Montenegro, with the participation of the Bishop of Niksic, His Grace Ioannicus. His Grace reminded that, as he said, in the name of Christ, all peoples are one, regardless of the nation from where each individual…