Sts. Peter and Paul Cathedral in Kazan, one of the most recognized architectural and spiritual landmarks in the capital of Tatarstan, is marking its 300th anniversary this year. His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia visited the cathedral on July 20 as part of a primatial visit to the Tatarstan Metropolis.
The service marked the first time the Brotherhood solemnly celebrated the feast of its Heavenly patron since choosing St. John (Maximovitch) in 2025.
An Orthodox hierarch in Tanzania recently walked through the gates of a prison in one of the country’s poorest regions and came away with an unexpected mission: freeing inmates who qualify for release but simply can’t afford to pay their way out.
More than 44,000 pilgrims took part in the main services of the Royal Days festival in Ekaterinburg on July 16-17, marking the 108th anniversary of the martyrdom of the holy Royal Family and their faithful servants, including a nighttime Divine Liturgy at the Church on the Blood and a cross procession to Ganina Yama.
The newly baptized, representatives of the Yao and Mang’anja peoples, underwent four months of preparation before being baptized.
St. Paul the Apostle Monastery in Boscobel, Wisconsin, hosted its first hierarchical services in 20 years on July 11-12, when His Eminence Archbishop Daniel of Chicago and the Diocese of the Midwest (OCA) made an archpastoral visit for the monastery’s patronal feast.
Schemamonk Panteleimon (Volkov)
Divine providence rules everything. Not a single process in the world is random. We need to be able to feel it inwardly. It’s like developing a ear for music.
Pilgrims from Naxos and from across Greece gathered for the liturgical events in an atmosphere described as one of deep reverence.
The last service held in the cathedral before the Soviet closure took place on Pascha 1923. Church valuables were confiscated the previous year, and in 1927 the building was partially demolished by explosion, losing its domes, drums, vaults, arches, and pillars. The ruins stood for decades.
The Lavra, which was restored from ruins over the course of three decades by the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church, has been at the center of an ongoing effort by the Ukrainian state and the OCU to remove the Church from the premises.
The Orthodox Church continues to experience significant growth around the world, with mass Baptisms throughout the diaspora and mission fields now a regular occurrence.
Abp. Damianos argues that under property law, possession without ownership offers no real security, and that any future Egyptian government of a more extreme orientation could overturn such an arrangement overnight.
The community now serves as one of the principal spiritual centers of Rivne Province and receives pilgrims from across Ukraine.
The Ecocompass certification reflects practices already embedded in monastic life at Lintula.
The feast of St. Paisios the Athonite was solemnly celebrated on Sunday throughout Greece and the entire Orthodox world.
Valaam holds particular significance for Orthodox Christians in America, as St. Herman of Alaska, who brought Orthodoxy to the North American continent, came from Valaam Monastery.
The Holy Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church has officially added the Burning Bush Icon of the Mother of God to the Church’s liturgical calendar, setting September 4 as its annual feast day.
The Church of Cyprus has moved its program to counter low birth rates into the implementation phase, offering financial support to families having a third child or more.
The church in the OCA Diocese of the West is served by rector Fr. Michael Rozdilski. It is the only church in its region.
Conrad Franz
Orthodox blogger Conrad Franz tells us about his trip to the Donbas—what he saw with his own eyes and heard with his own ears.
