In the latest sign of the strain that the Ukraine war is putting on the global Orthodox community, Amsterdam’s Russian Orthodox parish has formally asked for canonical permission to break away from Moscow and to join the Orthodox Patriarchate of Constantinople.
On Sunday the Orthodox-majority nation of Romania marked its first ever National Day of Awareness of Violence against Christians, a move intended to honor Romanian martyrs and raise awareness about global anti-Christian persecution.
Pope Francis landed in the Eastern European country of Romania on Friday, where he warned about the “hurdles” created by progress and called for “a greater collaboration” among its political and religious authorities.
Both clad in white in the cream-colored hall of the Patriarchal Palace, Pope Francis and the Orthodox Patriarch of Romania on Friday confirmed their commitment to strengthening relations twenty years after Saint John Paul II’s historic visit to the country.
In a jam-packed Saint Joseph Cathedral in Romania on Friday, Pope Francis encouraged the local church to embrace a culture of encounter while giving a shout-out to women in the country.
Pope Francis hopes his visit to Romania will strengthen the bonds of faith that unite Orthodox and Catholics in the country.
