President Putin Venerates Shrines in Jerusalem and Bethlehem

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President Vladimir Putin in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre

During the night of June 26, 2012, while on a working visit to Israel, President Vladimir Putin visited the Church of the Lord’s Sepulchre. At the church entrance, the head of the Russian State was welcomed by His Beatitude Theophilos III, Patriarch of the Holy City of Jerusalem and All Palestine, together with members of the Brotherhood of the Holy Sepulchre. Among the welcoming party were also Archbishop Mark of Yegoryevsk, head of the Moscow Patriarchate’s office for institutions abroad, Archimandrite Isidore (Minaev), head of the Russian Ecclesiastical Mission in Jerusalem, as well as his deputy, Hegumen Feofan (Lukyanov) and secretary of the Mission, Hieromonk Anthony (Gutnik).

Entering the church, Vladimir Putting kneeled at the Stone of the Anointing. It was at this place that Righteous Joseph and Nicodim laid the lifeless body of Jesus after taking Him down from the Cross and anointed Him with incense and wrapped Him in the Shroud.

After that the president was taken to the Kuviklia, the chapel erected at the place of the three days-long burial of the Saviour.

Then Mr. Putin ascended Golgotha, the place where the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ was crucified and after that descended to the cave in which St. Helen Equal-to-the-Apostles found Christ’s Life-Giving Cross.

President Putin presented Patriarch Theophilos with an icon of the Saviour.

In the morning of June 26, Mr. Putin came to the Church of the Nativity of Christ in Bethlehem, a Byzantine basilica with the 5th century mosaics built over the cave in which Jesus Christ was born.

In the church the head of the Russian State was welcomed by Archbishop Theophylactos of Jordan (Patriarchate of Jerusalem), who told him the story of the basilica.

Then Mr. Putin was presented with a token, a copy of the Star of Bethlehem executed by Palestinian masters.

The president lighted a candle at the place where Christ was born.

Original Author: Department for External Church Relations of the Russian Orthodox Church -

Patriarch: Church will never agree to surrender of Kosovo

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Patriarch Irinej (Source: Tanjug)

BELGRADE -- Serbian Orthodox Patriarch Irinej called for unity among Serbs, adding that the Church (SPC) would never agree or come to terms with Kosovo "being given away".  

Irinej called on the people to be united in politics and everything else, because the Serbs are a small people and the only way to survive was through unity and some values the world would understand and support.

"It is unrealistic to us, and I think the Serbs and the SPC, which has always been with the people, will never agree to what can be read in the press nowadays - 'a civilized surrender of Kosovo'," he told Tanjug in an interview on Wednesday.

No one in the world has ever done something like that and called it civilized, Irinej noted, adding that it was well known how territories were taken and conquered - through war and force.

The Serbs do not see Kosovo as a geographical area, but as holy ground, he stressed, adding that it was also the view of the SPC Holy Assembly of Bishops.

The holy sites in Kosovo are not from yesterday, but have been there for centuries, he noted.

"And finally, the patriarchal residence is in the Peć Patriarchate (in western Kosovo), which means the residence would, according to that logic, be in another country," he remarked.

He fears that some day, when there is no military force in Kosovo, Serbs will not be able to survive.

"Everything has been done to make survival impossible for what few Serbs have returned. The murders (of Serbs) that are happening were conceived to intimidate them into leaving their homes," the patriarch believes. 

Greek Orthodox Church in the Israel (Holy Land)

Languages: English, Hebrew The Greek Orthodox Church of Jerusalem is considered the “Mother Church” of the Holy Land. The biggest single group of Holy Land Christians belongs to this Church and many Christians who belong today to other Churches have their origins in the Greek Orthodox Church. The Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem sees itself as a direct descendant of the chair of St James the Apostle, venerated as first bishop of Jerusalem. The Church celebrates its liturgy in the Byzantine rite, whose original language is Greek, and follows its own calendar of feasts, preserving the Julian calendar (that is thirteen days behind the Western (Gregorian) calendar. Although most Greek Orthodox Christians in the Holy Land are Arabs and Greek refers to the original language of the liturgy of the Church, ethnic Greek priests administer the Church. The Patriarch, the vast majority of bishops and many of the monks are thus ethnic Greeks whilst the lower clergy are mostly Arabs. In the course of its history, the Church began to celebrate the liturgy in Arabic for the numerous parishes of Arab faithful where Greek is neither spoken nor understood. The Greek Orthodox Church is also a custodian of the Holy Places in the Holy Land, maintaining an unbroken presence at the two most important churches: the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem (in Greek and Arabic, the Church of the Resurrection) and the Nativity in Bethlehem. The seat of the Patriarchate is in Jerusalem, where the Patriarch is assisted by numerous bishops and administers parishes, monasteries and other institutions in Israel, the Palestinian territories and in Jordan, also directing a network of schools and centers of social service. One of the best schools in the Arab sector in Israel is the Orthodox School in Haifa. The Church has a seminary for training the clergy on Mount Zion. The Church owns extensive properties throughout the Holy Land, making it one the most important landowners in the area. The supreme authority in the Church is the Fraternity of the Holy Sepulcher that elects the Patriarch. The Patriarch of Jerusalem, because of Jerusalem’s historic and symbolic importance, is looked upon with particular esteem by the other Orthodox Patriarchs. Greek Orthodox churches can be found throughout the Holy Land. At the Holy Places, Greek Orthodox churches often exist alongside Roman Catholic and/or Armenian churches that commemorate the same event (eg. Bethlehem, Nazareth, Mount Tabor, Capharnaum, etc). The Church of the Holy Sepulcher is shared by numerous denominations, most importantly by the Greek Orthodox, Armenians and Roman Catholics with smaller chapels belonging to the Syrian Orthodox, the Copts and the Ethiopians. Greek Orthodox parishes are to be found in most towns and many villages throughout Israel and Palestine.

The Law of Moses in Eastern Orthodox

The Law of Moses can refer to either the Pentateuch or the first five books of the Bible. These books contain the story of the creation of the world, the stories of the Jewish patriarchs, Israel's enslavement in and its liberation from Egypt under the leadership of Moses, and Israel's journey to Sinai towards the Promised Land. These books contain a great deal of legal material that makes up much of the covenantal agreement between God and Israel, hence the name The Law of Moses. The term can also refer to the covenant itself, the agreement between God and Israel, transmitted by Moses. . The Eastern Orthodox church preserves the text of the Law of Moses.

Orthodox Chant of Psalm 102 (103) Mt Athos, Byzantine style.

Holy Fire on Eastern Orthodox Easter at Old Jerusalem's Church of the Holy Sepulchre

Principles for relations

The following principles were adopted at the meeting:

• Judaism and Christianity while hearkening to common sources inviolably maintain their internal individuality and particularity.

• The purpose of our dialogue is to remove prejudice and to promote a spirit of mutual understanding and constructive cooperation in order to confront common problems.

• Specific proposals will be developed to educate the faithful of both religions to promote healthy relationships based on mutual respect and understanding to confront bigotry and fanaticism.

• Being conscious of the crises of ethical and spiritual values in the contemporary world, we will endeavor to identify historical models of peaceful coexistence, which can be applied to minority Jewish and Orthodox communities in the Diaspora.

• We will draw from our spiritual sources to develop programs to promote and enhance our common values such as peace, social justice and human rights, specifically addressing the concerns of religious minorities.

Participants agreed to establish a permanent coordinating committee to maintain and foster continuing relationships. The Committee would jointly monitor principles enunciated at the meeting and would further enhance the dialogue and foster understanding between the respective religious communities.

Views on salvation and pluralism

The traditional Jewish view is that non-Jews may receive God's saving grace (see Noahides), and this view is reciprocated in Orthodox Christianity. Writing for the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, Rev. Protopresbyter George C. Papademetriou has written a summary of classical Christian and Greek Orthodox Christian views on the subject of the salvation of non-Christians, entitled An Orthodox Christian View of Non-Christian Religions.

In our times, Professor John N. Karmiris, University of Athens, based on his studies of the Church Fathers, concludes that the salvation of non-Christians, non-Orthodox and heretics depends on the all-good, allwise and all-powerful God, who acts in the Church but also through other "ways." God's saving grace is also channeled outside the Church. It cannot be assumed that salvation is denied non-Christians living in true piety and according to natural law by the God who "is love" (1 John 4:8), In his justice and mercy God will judge them worthy even though they are outside the true Church. This position is shared by many Orthodox who agree that God's salvation extends to all who live according to His "image" and "participate in the Logos." The Holy Spirit acted through the prophets of the Old Testament and in the nations. Salvation is also open outside the Church.

Some compare the Church to Noah's Ark. It is not impossible for someone to "survive the flood" of sin by clinging to whatever driftwood is around or by trying to cobble together a raft from bits and pieces of whatever floats, but the Ark is a far safer choice to make. Likewise, the heterodox and even non-Christians might be saved simply through God's own choice, made for His own reasons, but it is far safer for any individual person to turn to the Orthodox Church. Thus, it behooves Orthodox Christians to exhort others to take this safer path. Likewise, the Orthodox remember that Christ mentions one, and only one thing that unfailingly leads to perdition—blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. No other path is explicitly and universally excluded by Christ's words.

As is common in many other faiths, the question of salvation for those outside of Orthodox Christianity is understandably secondary to what the Church expects of its own adherents. As St. Theophan the Recluse put the matter: "You ask, will the heterodox be saved... Why do you worry about them? They have a Saviour Who desires the salvation of every human being. He will take care of them. You and I should not be burdened with such a concern. Study yourself and your own sins... I will tell you one thing, however: should you, being Orthodox and possessing the Truth in its fullness, betray Orthodoxy, and enter a different faith, you will lose your soul forever."

Fifth Academic Meeting Orthodoxy & Judaism

The Fifth Academic Meeting between Judaism And Orthodox Christianity was held in Thessaloniki, Greece, on May 27-29, 2003. The meeting was organized by Metropolitan Emmanuel of France, who heads the Office of International and Intercultural Affairs to the Liaison Office of the Ecumenical Patriarchate to the European Union, Brussels, in cooperation with the International Jewish Committee for Interreligious Consultations, New York, Co-Chaired by Rabbi Israel Singer who is also Chairman of the World Jewish Congress, and Rabbi Joel Meyers who is also the Executive Vice President of the Rabbinical Assembly. In his opening remarks, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew denounced religious fanaticism and rejected attempts by any faith to denigrate others