Greek Orthodox Church

ATHENS, Greece (AP) – Pope Francis was heckled by an elderly Greek Orthodox priest on Saturday as he arrived for a meeting with the head of the country’s Orthodox Church, evidence of the lingering distrust between some Orthodox and Catholics centuries after Christianity was cleaved in half.

Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbán has marked the 20th anniversary of the September 11th attacks by saying that it proved “Christian civilisation” must be defended at all times, and vowing to stop mass migration from facilitating further terror.

At least six bells have been stolen from Greek churches in Distromo in the last two months, with speculation thieves are melting the bells down for scrap metal.

Greek churches in Thessaloniki have been accused of making secret lists of worshipers to help them get around Wuhan coronavirus restrictions and kiss church icons.

Greek far-left Antifa anarchists are said to have been behind the placement of a banner outside the  Metropolis of Piraeus this week, calling on the church to obey the government’s Wuhan virus lockdown.

Christians in Greece defied coronavirus restrictions to attend Epiphany services Wednesday morning, ultimately prompting the government to relent and officially allow churches to open, with some limits remaining on attendance.

The Greek Orthodox church has vowed not to obey Chinese coronavirus lockdown measures imposed by the Greek government, with the Holy Synod announcing it will keep its places of worship open.

LYON, France (AP) – French police on Sunday released an initial suspect in the shooting of a Greek Orthodox priest and widened their search for the gunman who critically wounded the priest as he closed the door to his official residence at a church in the city of Lyon.

LYON, France (AP) – French police interrogated one suspect and searched for others Sunday after a Greek Orthodox priest was shot and critically wounded while closing the door to his church in the French city of Lyon.

Nigel Farage has reacted to the shooting of a Greek Orthodox priest at a church in Lyon, France, by saying that “Every terror attack in France is another reason to vote Trump.”

A gunman is on the run after a Greek Orthodox priest was shot at a church in Lyon, France, according to reports.

The Greek Orthodox Church of the United States petitioned the United Nations on Tuesday to force Turkey into protecting Orthodox Christianity’s cultural heritage following the Turkish government’s unilateral decision to convert Istanbul’s landmark former cathedral Hagia Sophia into a mosque.

Greek police have arrested a 38-year-old Algerian migrant after he caused damage to a cathedral twice in less than a week.

The United States Catholic bishops have joined the Greek Orthodox Church in proclaiming June 24 a day of “mourning and manifest grief” over Turkey’s decision to recommission the basilica of Santa Sophia as a mosque.

A majority of Greeks have expressed dissatisfaction with the international response to the Turkish regime announcing it would be converting the Hagia Sophia into a mosque.

Greek government spokesman Stelios Petsas has come out against the proposal from Turkey to convert Istanbul’s Hagia Sophia back into a mosque, saying such a move would strain relations between Christians and Turkey.

ATHENS, Greece (AP) – The Metropolitan Amvrosios of Kalavryta, a fiery conservative Greek Orthodox bishop known for criticizing, often in intemperate terms, those who he believed acted in a “non-Christian” or “non-Greek” way, including gays, migrants, and politicians, has resigned.

Turkey’s Greek, Armenian, and Assyrian Christian communities, who predominated in the region before its colonisation by Turkic Muslims, were subjected to a “staggered campaign of genocide” from 1894 to 1924, which reduced them from 20 per cent of the population to less than 2 per cent, according to Israeli researchers. 

Alexis Tsipras has moved forward with plans to abolish Christianity as the state religion in Greece, announcing that 10,000 Orthodox Church employees will be taken off the public payroll.

Residents on the Greek island of Lesbos have reacted with anger to the destruction of a large stone cross by an unknown group of people, just weeks after an open borders-backing NGO demanded its removal on the basis it promoted “hate” against migrants.

Contents: Russian Orthodox Church in historic split with Constantinople over Ukraine issue; Consequences of an independent Ukrainian Orthodox Church

A spokesman for the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem has denounced the “genocide” facing Christians in the Holy Land, declaring: “Every five minutes, a Christian dies in the Middle East, and Muslim leaders know it.”

JERUSALEM (AP) — Jerusalem’s mayor on Tuesday suspended a plan to impose taxes on properties owned by Christian churches, backing away from a move that had enraged religious leaders and led to the closure of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

The archbishop of Athens has denounced a bill allowing persons as early as 15 years old to choose their legal gender, even if it disagrees with their biological sex.

German supermarket giant Lidl has been caught doctoring pictures of the iconic Anastasis Church in Santorini, Greece, which appears on some of its products, to erase the crosses which adorn the building.

The Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL) has claimed responsibility for an attack on a security checkpoint near the ancient St. Catherine’s monastery in the volatile Sinai peninsula that killed at least one policeman and wounded four others.