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Athens, January 21, 2016 Hierarchs of the Church of Greece have commented on the decision of local authorities to open a crematorium in the city of Patras, reports AgionOros. Bishop Chrysanthos stressed that "the war against the Church is now being waged openly. Cremation and other manifestations of the new morality (for example, "free cohabitation", civil partnerships and so on) have nothing to do with the Orthodox tradition of Greece". *** Metropolitan Justin of Kalamaria, commenting on the decision to open the crematorium, said: "Many claim that the Church should care for people's souls only and leave the body alone....

Tbilisi, January 21, 2016 On January 19, 2016, the feast of Holy Theophany, the 42nd mass baptism of infants took place at the Holy Trinity Cathedral in Tbilisi. 659 infants became new godchildren of His Holiness Catholicos-Patriarch Ilia II of All Georgia. In 2008 Ilia II announced that he would become godfather of every third and subsequent baby born into a family whose parents were married in the Church. This decision was caused by the demographic crisis in Georgia at that time. In connection with this, many Georgian residents recall the story once related by the saint of our...

The text of the decree in Latin and Italian, signed by Robert Cardinal Sarah: Decreto della Congregazione per il Culto Divino e la Disciplina dei Sacramenti sul Rito della “Lavanda dei Piedi”, 21.01.2016 From Vatican Information Service: The Pope decrees that not only men may be chosen for the washing of the feet in the Liturgy of Holy Thursday Vatican City, 21 January 2016 (VIS) – The Holy Father has written a letter, dated 20 December and published today, to Cardinal Robert Sarah, prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, in which he decrees...

Introduction According to Vatican Radio, on Monday, January 18, 2016, the day after Pope Francis' visit to the Great Synagogue of Rome, the pontiff delivered a homily at his daily Mass in which he condemned Christians who are of "closed heart" and resisters to "change," calling them "obstinate rebels" and "idolaters." Stopping short of excommunicating Christians "who obstinately cling to what has always been done and who do not allow others to change," it was not until the last paragraph of his talk in the pew-less, kneeler-less chapel of the Domus Sanctae Marthae, that Francis attempted to make a distinction...

The United Methodist Church has rejected an Intelligent Design group's request to have an information table at the denomination's 2016 General Conference. Reaffirming a decision from December, the UMC's Commission on the General Conference decided last week to not allow the Seattle-based Discovery Institute an information table at the Mainline Protestant denomination's gathering in Portland, Oregon. Diane Degnan, spokeswoman for the UMC, told The Christian Post that this was the first General Conference to allow for "outside exhibitors." "The Commission on the General Conference determined that the application by the Discovery Institute did not meet the guidelines established for exhibitors...

IRBIL, Iraq (AP) - Satellite photos obtained by The Associated Press confirm what church leaders and Middle East preservationists had feared: The oldest Christian monastery in Iraq has been reduced to a field of rubble, yet another victim of the Islamic State group's relentless destruction of heritage sites it considers heretical. St. Elijah's Monastery stood as a place of worship for 1,400 years, including most recently for U.S. troops. In earlier millennia, generations of monks tucked candles in the niches, prayed in the chapel, worshipped at the altar. The Greek letters chi and rho, representing the first two letters of...

Hundreds of mosques throughout France held open houses recently to offer a "tea of fraternity" and "create spaces of conviviality and exchange," according to a report in Le Figaro. The open houses typically attracted 100 to 300 visitors. Nationwide participation figures were not available. In eight of France's administrative regions, an estimated 75% of mosques participated, according to Anwar Kbibech, president of the French Council of the Muslim Faith.

While the Synod of Bishops on the Family was being conducted in Rome last October, the revelation of a letter expressing the concerns of 13 cardinals over the proceedings marked a turning point in the event. As I reported at the time, it was on 8 October, 2015, that a close friend of the pope himself - the La Stampa journalist Andrea Tornielli - first publicly mentioned the existence of the 13 Cardinals Letter, which had been given to Pope Francis three days earlier by George Cardinal Pell. The cardinals' main concern was that the Synod was being manipulated in...

Last year, when we interviewed Raymond Cardinal Burke (see here) he confirmed Catholics can no longer look towards Rome -- towards Pope Francis -- for guidance on critical issues. The good Cardinal said, instead, to turn to the catechism and tradition. With that sage advice in mind, we bring you this guest Op-Ed, written by the highly-esteemed John Rao who, among numerous other things, was Rorate Caeli's first-ever credentialed Conclave correspondent in 2013: A Not So Surprising Surprise of the Holy Spirit: The Need to Close One's Ears to the Rehashed Messages of the Pope Today we were treated to...

The slogan of the United Methodist Church (UMC) is "Open Hearts, Open Minds, Open Doors." But UMC officials are now under fire for being closed-minded and intolerant after they banned Discovery Institute, from sponsoring an information table at the denomination's upcoming General Conference in May. Intelligent design is the idea that life and the universe show evidence of being the result of purposeful design rather than unguided processes. "Preventing United Methodist leaders from even hearing about intelligent design isn't open-minded. It's intolerant and exclusionary," said Dr. John West, Vice President of Discovery Institute. "Maybe United Methodist officials should change their...

Germany's ambassador to the Vatican, Annette Schavan, still sees religion as a peacemaker, despite wars and terrorism. In an interview with DW, she calls for more interfaith dialogue and respect between all religions. Deutsche Welle: After the New Year's Eve harassment incidents in Cologne, a highly charged atmosphere with regard to migrants has developed in Germany. How do people in Rome assess the events in Germany?Annette Schavan: The Vatican knows about all the new attempts to exploit religion as a justification for violence. Germany is viewed as a country that does a lot for refugees. The pope has explicitly commended...

Prague (AFP) - Czech President Milos Zeman, known for his fiery anti-migrant rhetoric, said on Sunday it was "practically impossible" to integrate the Muslim community into European society. "The experience of Western European countries which have ghettos and excluded localities shows that the integration of the Muslim community is practically impossible," Zeman said in a televised interview. "Let them have their culture in their countries and not take it to Europe, otherwise it will end up like Cologne," he added, referring to the mass New Year's Eve assaults on women in Germany and elsewhere. "Integration is possible with cultures that...

A 70-year-old hermit who has spent her entire life in the Siberian wilderness has been introduced to the 21st century after being airlifted to a hospital for leg pain. Agafya Lykova was born in the wilderness after her family fled civilization in 1936, The Guardian reported. On Wednesday she called for help using an emergency satellite phone and said she had pain in her leg, according to a release from the Kemerovo regional government. Lykova's remarkable story first surfaced in the late 1970s after geologists flying overhead discovered her remote family, the Siberian Times reported. When contacted, her family reportedly...

Jeremiah 17:7,8 Blessed is the Man that Trusteth in the LORD, And whose Hope the LORD is. For he shall be as a Tree that is Planted by the Water, Which Spreadeth Out her Roots by the River, And shall not Feel when the Heat Cometh, But her Leaf shall be Green, And shall not Care for the Year of Drought, Neither shall Cease from Yielding Fruit.

Was Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Saved? This is a question that I have often asked myself. There is no doubt that he had the trappings of a “Christian”, but was he saved as the Word of Almighty God requires (Matt. 7:21-23, Rom. 10:2-4)? This is not a black or white issue but a sound biblical one, for in the END that is what life is ALL about. Yes, Dr. King had a great dream, vision and was fearless about bringing civil rights to America tragically the lawless white and black Left in this country has hijacked and corrupted his...

Moscow, January 18, Interfax - Russian sculptors have frozen the project of a Christ statue in Syria. "We were planning [it], and there were talks to create a Christ statue of a relevantly large size. As of now, it has been frozen at the stage of a working 8-meter model, which was planned to be enlarged afterwards. Perhaps, it's pointless talking about this story, as nobody knows where the current events will eventually lead," Russian People's Artist sculptor Salavat Shcherbakov said in a live broadcast of the Russkaya Sluzhba Novostey (Russian News Service) radio. Shcherbakov also revealed that another statue...

Southern California pastor Greg Laurie, who led prayer rallies for the release of American pastor Saeed Abedini from an Iranian prison where he was held captive for more than three years, said Abedini's freedom, announced on Saturday, occurred in God's perfect timing. "Christians around the world have been praying faithfully for the release of Pastor Saeed Abedini," Laurie told this reporter late Saturday. "It did not happen as quickly as we had hoped, but it happened in God's perfect timing. Now we want to remember to continue to pray for Saeed, his wife, Naghmeh, and their children as they are...

The book God or Nothing, a wide-ranging interview with Cardinal Robert Sarah, Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, by the French journalist Nicolas Diat is one of the most refreshing things published in recent memory. I cannot praise this book too highly. It breathes forth the wisdom, insight, and deep faith of a truly devoted servant of the Church. It is a prophetic witness to the truth. Sarah gets to the root of what is ailing the world today, and proposes the Church's unchanging remedy: faith in God as revealed by His Son...

An appeals court ruled that the owners of a farm in New York State must pay a $13,000 fine for refusing to have a same-sex wedding on their property despite their religious objection to gay marriage. The Third Judicial Department of the New York Supreme Court's Appellate Division ruled on Thursday that Cynthia and Robert Gifford engaged in unlawful discrimination when they refused to have a gay wedding performed on their property in 2012. In their ruling the New York court concluded that the Gifford's farm, which is known as Liberty Ridge Farm, fit the legal definition of a place...

“It’s hard to demonstrate love from the institution now,” says Jimmy Wolfe, a pastor and married father of four who lives near Atlanta. “But in a relationship, I can live out love: If I have an opinion about same-sex marriage, and I’m talking with someone who has same-sex attraction, then I’m able to figure out what’s in their heart.... And I can share what I think God shows me in Scripture, and be open to go on a journey with them whether I’m right or I’m wrong.” Mr. Wolfe left the institutional setting of church but still ministers to people...