Weekly News

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.

Russia and Ukraine agreed to a 32-hour Easter ceasefire (11–12 April), the second in consecutive years. Jerusalem’s Old City holy sites reopened on 9 April after a six-week wartime closure, but the Holy Fire ceremony (11 April) proceeds under restrictions. Bulgaria declined for a second year to send a delegation; Romania and Greece secured special flights for the flame.
In Armenia, Pashinyan’s party formally included the removal of Catholicos Garegin II in its election platform. The Georgian patriarchal election remains unresolved, with the Synod leaving key eligibility criteria open ahead of the 24 April triprosopon selection.
Patriarch Bartholomew hosted Zelenskyy at the Phanar (4 April), visited the Neve Şalom Synagogue and the Armenian Patriarchate of Constantinople. Patriarch Kirill praised Russia’s National Guard and dedicated a military church in Moscow. Syrian Christians observed a muted Easter, confined to indoor services after the Al-Suqaylabiyah attack. Patriarch Porfirije of Serbia received UK Special Envoy Karen Pierce in Belgrade.

Holy Week 2026 unfolds under the shadow of the US-Israel-Iran war. In Jerusalem, Israeli police barred Latin Patriarch Pizzaballa from the Holy Sepulchre on Palm Sunday — the first such ban in centuries — before international pressure from Macron, Meloni, and Huckabee secured a limited-format agreement. The Holy Fire ceremony on 11 April may admit only 50 people behind closed doors, and Greek authorities are exploring an alternative transfer route via Egypt. In Tehran, a 1 April US-Israeli strike damaged St Nicholas Cathedral of the Moscow Patriarchate. In Syria, sectarian violence struck the Christian town of Al-Suqaylabiyah on the eve of Holy Week; the country’s Orthodox and Catholic patriarchs jointly condemned the attack and restricted Easter celebrations to prayer inside churches across Syria.
Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew visited Paris, where he was admitted to the French Academy of Moral and Political Sciences — in the seat of Pope Benedict XVI — and met President Macron, PM Lecornu, and UNESCO Director-General Le-Anany. In Georgia, the Holy Synod advanced preparations for the patriarchal election set for 24 April, while Russia’s SVR accused Constantinople of interference — a claim the Georgian Church itself rejected. Armenia’s church-state crisis deepened as rallies supported Catholicos Garegin II against criminal prosecution.