Patriarch Kirill encourages pilgrimage for all Orthodox

Patriarch Kirill hopes to turn Kiev in a center of Orthodox pilgrimage

Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia says he is ready to discuss a possibility of making Kiev a center of Orthodox pilgrimage with Ukrainian authorities during his visit to the country, reportsInterfax-Religion.

"We should restore traditions of Orthodox pilgrimage and Kiev should become one of its world centers," the Ukrainian Church website has cited the Patriarch as saying.

According to him, today millions of Russian tourists "plough Spain, Great Britain, Italy, and France and get acquainted with culture and history of these countries, while Kiev and other centers of our Church and our culture are not included in the list of popular routes."

Besides, Patriarch Kirill is ready to discuss with Ukrainian leaders other important for Ukrainian believers questions such as "problem of gaining a status of legal entity for our Church, questions of giving back Church property expropriated by atheistic regime, teaching Orthodox disciplines in higher educational establishments and schools, helping the Church in its mission of social service at legislative level."

"These questions, to greater or lesser extent, are actual for the entire post-Soviet space, and many countries have experience of overcoming them, and I'd to discuss it as well," Patriarch Kirill said.

The Primate of the Russian Church is to visit Ukraine from July 27 to August 5.

Pilgrimage to Venice

The Pilgrimage To Orthodox Italy Concludes

On Sunday, June 28, 2009, the pilgrims who went on a tour of Italy returned home. Most of the group are from San Francisco, CA, and most were young. They were joined by other pilgrims from the East Coast, Canada and England.

The pilgrims arrived in Venice on Tuesday, June 16, and immediately departed for Padua, where the ancient Basilica of Martyr Justinia contains the relics of Apostle Luke the Evangelist. The pilgrims sang the megalinarion before the relics and prayed for their loved ones. The ancient church, built by Byzantine architects, houses the relics of St Justinia and of many unnamed martyrs of the 14th century.

On Wednesday, June 17, the guide, Priest Alexei of the local parish of the Moscow Patriarchate, met us. He told us about the history of Venice, noting that it was Venetians who led the 4th Crusade, which, instead of liberating the Holy Land from Muslims, stormed and looted Constantinople. As a result, many Orthodox holy things ended up in Venice. The batiushka led the pilgrims to several churches where the relics of saints are kept. It is worth noting that the veneration of the saints and especially of their relics has fallen drastically among Catholics. For this reason, Catholic clergymen greet Orthodox pilgrims with great enthusiasm, bringing out our common holy relics for veneration. That is what happened at the Church of St John the Merciful, Patriarch of Alexandria.

Moni Agios Nikolaou Anapafsa

Moni Agios Nikolaou Anapafsa, originally uploaded by poljacek.

Meteora: The second most ancient extant 'group' or community of Orthodox monasteries in the Mediteranean. Unlike Mt. Athos, you do not need permission to visit, and women are welcome on a limited basis.