For Russia's Future Priests, An Education In Church-State Ties

If it weren't for the black uniforms and the fact that all of the young students are male, this classroom could be almost any educational institution in Russia.

Desks are stacked with piles of books. Some students have brought laptops, many of which are open to Vkontakte, the Russian equivalent of Facebook. Other pupils chat casually with friends.

But then a teacher enters the classroom. The students stand up and, turning to face an icon hanging on the wall, begin morning prayers before starting a lesson on early Christian martyrs.

This is Sergiyev Posad, home to the Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius, the most important monastery in Russia and the spiritual home of the Russian Orthodox Church. Located on Russia's Golden Ring, a circle of historic cities just northeast of Moscow, it is also home to the Moscow Theological Academy and Seminary, where budding priests from all over Russia come to train.
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http://www.rferl.org/content/For_Russias_Future_Priests_An_Education_In_ChurchState_Ties/2112024.html

Christian-Muslim relations in Palestine

The estimated number of Palestinian Christians in the West Bank, the Gaza Strip and Jerusalem is 51,710, making the percentage of the Palestinian Christians in the Occupied Territories two percent of the Palestinian population.i There is, in contrast, a higher percentage of Christians in Israel. The percentage of the Arab Christians in Israel - including Israeli Occupied Jerusalem - is 1.66, according to the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics. Bethlehem, which traces its roots to the very origin of the Christian faith, is the home to the highest percentage of Christians in Palestine (43.4%), followed by Ramallah (24.7%), then Jerusalem (17.9%).

Christianity has a long standing history in Palestine, and Palestinian Christians belong to several traditional communities of faith. The first are the traditions of the Eastern Orthodox churches, the second is made up of the Syrian, Coptic and Armenian Orthodox churches, and a third category consists of those churches belonging to the Catholic family of churches. There are also a small but increasing number of evangelical churches, including the Lutheran and Episcopal churches.

Over the past century, the percentage of Christian Palestinians has been in decline. The influx of Jewish immigrants since the late 1880s, the Nakba of 1948 and the expulsions of 1967 played a big role in diminishing the presence of Palestinian Christians. During the Deir Yassin Massacre of 1948, over a quarter of a million Palestinians, many of them Christian, were displaced or disappeared. Many of the 531 villages that were levelled in 1948 had a mix of Christian and Muslim inhabitants. To this day, millions of Palestinians have been expelled from their lands, and rendered homeless and as refugees. Of the remaining Palestinian Christians, most of them have emigrated at an increasing rate from 1990 onwards, because of lack of freedom and security and due to the deteriorating economic situation.
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http://www.middleeastmonitor.org.uk/resources/briefing-papers/1208-christian-muslim-relations-in-palestine

INAUGURAL MEETING OF THE PAN-ORTHODOX ASSEMBLY FOR THE BRITISH ISLES

The Inaugural Meeting of the Pan-Orthodox Assembly of Bishops with Churches in the British Isles was held on 21st June 2010 at Thyateira House, the centre of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Thyateira and Great Britain. The Assembly operates in accordance with the Decision reached at the 4th Pre-conciliar Pan-Orthodox Conference Meeting at Chambésy (Switzerland) on 13th June 2009.
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http://www.antiocheurope.org/EN/News-2010/UK/INAUGURAL%20MEETING%20OF%20THE%20PAN-ORTHODOX%20ASSEMBLY%20FOR%20THE%20BRITISH%20ISLES-Eng.html

Aide: Cyprus Is Key in Evangelization History

VATICAN CITY, JUNE 6, 2010 (Zenit.org).- Paphos was an "optimal" place to begin Benedict XVI's visit to Cyprus, said a Vatican spokesman, because Paul and Barnabas arrived here on one of their first evangelization missions. "It is an extremely significant place in the history of evangelization," said Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, director of the Vatican press office, in a Vatican Radio interview on Saturday.

"The Pope also came here truly as a pilgrim to continue the itinerary that he followed in the Holy Land and that he also followed in Malta on the Pauline anniversary," he added.
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http://www.catholic.net/index.php?option=zenit&id=29507

Patriarch Bartholomew urged Ukrainian dissenters to join the Orthodox Church

Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople urged Ukrainian dissenters to repent and join the canonic Orthodox Church.
"Let them (dissenters - IF) not hesitate, but join the canonic Orthodox Church which is a ship of salvation," Patriarch Bartholomew said in an interview to Vesti 24 TV which was recorded Sunday in the Constantinovsky Palace in Strelna near St. Petersburg.
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http://www.interfax-religion.com/?act=news&div=7318

Build churches to surmount the crisis: Romanian Orthodox leader

BUCHAREST — The Romanian Orthodox Church on Thursday called on the authorities to build more churches in order to surmount the economic crisis and help believers fight "despair".

"Continuing work on churches under construction and building new ones will help surmount the moral and spiritual crisis, just like the economic and financial one," the Orthodox patriarchy wrote in a press release.
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http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5g-X-MBgyuGucS5ncVKc9pkkLVQ0Q

We cannot be bound by the evils of the past, says Metropolitan Zizioulas

The past cannot bind the present. Ioannis Zizioulas, metropolitan of Pergamon, made this very important point as he celebrated Mass (pictured) among the ruins of the Church of Saint John the Evangelist in Bergama (Turkey) in the presence of Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew. In it, the great theologian of the Orthodox Church, who co-chairs the Joint Catholic-Orthodox Commission for the unity of the two Churches, addressed both Christians and non-Christians. Bartholomew, who was pleased by the event, could not hide his emotions. His presence was in itself something highly significant.

Mass was celebrated with the permission of Turkish authorities in an atmosphere that was different from the past. The function was disrupted in 2006 by members of a Turkish ultranationalist group, the Gray Wolves.

The presence of locals was most noteworthy as they stood or sat beside Christians from the nearby Greek islands.
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http://www.asianews.it/news-en/We-cannot-be-bound-to-the-evils-of-the-past,-says-Metropolitan-Zizioulas-18387.html