Weekly News

The election and enthronement of Shio III as Catholicos-Patriarch of Georgia dominated the week’s Orthodox news. The divided Synod vote (22 out of 39) and documented ties between the new Patriarch and pro-Kremlin networks immediately raised questions about Russian influence in one of Orthodoxy’s oldest Churches. In Munich, the ROCOR Council of Bishops advanced the canonisation process of Hieromonk Seraphim Rose, a decision that exposes tensions between Rose’s anti-ecumenist legacy and ROCOR’s 2007 union with Moscow. Pope Tawadros II’s European tour reached its climax with a historic Coptic Divine Liturgy at Saint Mark’s Basilica in Venice, while Pope Leo XIV telephoned the Coptic Pope to revive dialogue suspended since 2024 over *Fiducia Supplicans*. The Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church, meeting on 14 May at the Danilov Monastery, canonised two new confessors and made key personnel appointments. In Ukraine, the OCU moved to consolidate its position by defrocking remnant UOC–KP claimants, while the forced conscription of UOC clergy intensified. The Serbian Orthodox Church opened its 2026 Bishops’ Council in Belgrade.

The Georgian Orthodox Church confirmed its patriarchal election for 11 May. Metropolitan Shio, locum tenens, leads with 20 synodal votes against seven each for Metropolitans Iob and Grigol. Grigol of Poti and Khobi, seen as the most reform-minded candidate, warned against letting the process resemble a political contest and stated the Church must not fall into Russia’s orbit.
In Athens, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew addressed the Greek Parliament for the first time in 27 years, receiving its Gold Medal. He met PM Mitsotakis, who spoke of “positive news” regarding the Halki seminary’s reopening, now targeted for September 2026.
The ROCOR Council of Bishops decided to bless the process of preparing the ecclesiastical glorification (canonisation) of Hieromonk Seraphim Rose — who, once the process is completed, would become the first U.S.-born ROCOR saint.
In Syria, Patriarch Aphrem II inaugurated the restored Mor Jirjis Cathedral in Hasakah after a four-year rehabilitation, during his first pastoral visit to the Jazira region since the political transition.

The Georgian Holy Synod selected the triprosopon on 28 April: Metropolitan Shio (20 votes), Metropolitan Job (7), and Metropolitan Gregory (7). The expanded assembly will elect the new Patriarch by 17 May. The process has become intensely politicised.
A Kyiv appeals court overturned on 30 April the expert assessment underpinning the UOC liquidation process, effectively stalling the ban — though the 2024 law remains in force.
Patriarch John X of Antioch visited the Ecumenical Patriarchate (28–30 April), strengthening bilateral ties. The ROCOR Council of Bishops opened in Munich (29 April–5 May), marking the German Diocese’s centennial.
The Mother See of Etchmiadzin condemned Azerbaijan’s Caucasus Muslim Board for calling demolished Armenian churches in Stepanakert “illegal buildings,” terming the destruction cultural genocide.
Pope Tawadros II continued his European tour (Austria, Italy, Croatia). Patriarch Bartholomew will address the Greek Parliament on 5 May. Over 250 were baptised in Britain through the Thyateira “Discover Orthodoxy” programme, while US Orthodox leaders grapple with ideological concerns among converts.

The Georgian Church entered the decisive phase of its patriarchal succession as the Holy Synod convened on the 40th day since Ilia II’s funeral — but deferred the selection of candidates to 28 April, leaving the triprosopon yet to be drawn. In occupied Artsakh, satellite imagery confirmed Azerbaijan’s demolition of Stepanakert’s Holy Mother of God Cathedral, the largest church in the territory, just days before the 111th Armenian Genocide anniversary.
At the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Patriarch Kirill and Foreign Minister Lavrov used the annual Paschal reception to mount a joint attack on Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew over Ukraine and the Georgian election. Meanwhile, Pope Tawadros II of the Coptic Orthodox Church arrived in Constantinople on Saturday evening for an official visit to the Ecumenical Patriarchate — a significant ecumenical encounter between the Eastern and Oriental traditions.
Across the United States, researchers reported that an estimated 16,000–18,000 converts were received into Orthodoxy at Pascha, with mass baptisms also recorded in Finland, Australia, and Vietnam. And in southern Turkey, Patriarch John X of Antioch visited the ruins of the Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul in earthquake-devastated Antakya and announced the establishment of a new diocese for the region’s 11,000 faithful.

The Orthodox Easter ceasefire declared by President Putin collapsed within hours, with Ukraine recording 7,696 Russian violations and Russia 1,971 Ukrainian violations — deepening scepticism about religiously framed truces for the second consecutive year. In Moscow, Patriarch Kirill interrupted the Paschal service at the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour to thank Putin for ordering the transfer of two medieval icons from the Tretyakov Gallery to the Church, a gesture that crystallised the accelerating fusion of ecclesiastical and state symbolism in Russia. The Armenian church–state crisis entered a new phase as the Prosecutor General’s Office moved to reinstate a travel ban on Catholicos Garegin II, while a diaspora conference in Paris rallied 150 participants from 26 countries in defence of the Church’s autonomy ahead of June elections. In Sydney, the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia became the first Orthodox synodal body to issue formal guidelines against clergy self-promotion on social media. And as the Georgian Orthodox Church prepares to elect a new Patriarch on 24 April, unresolved eligibility criteria continue to function as a proxy for the geopolitical direction of one of the world’s oldest Christian communities.