English

More about this topic

Iran

Blame game: Iranians to miss out on hajj

Iranians will not be able to travel to Saudi Arabia for the pilgrimage to Islam's holiest site this year as the two countries fail to agree to organisation and accuse each other of being at fault.

Vatican

Female deacons in the Catholic Church?

Pope Francis tells a conference of nuns at the Vatican that he is willing to create a commission to study the idea.

No Comment

Russia: President Putin attends Easter Mass in Moscow cathedral

An Easter service was held in Moscow’s Christ the Savior Cathedral. Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill led the service which was attended by several

Germany

Germany's AfD party adopts anti-Islam manifesto

The German ant-immigration party, ‘Alternative for Germany’ (AfD), has adopted an anti-Islam manifesto on the second day of its two-day conference in

ADVERTISEMENT

World News

From Jerusalem to Damascus to Moscow, Orthodox Christians celebrate Easter

Millions of Orthodox Christians across Eastern Europe, the Middle East and beyond have been celebrating Easter this weekend, the most important date

No Comment

Orthodox Easter: Holy Fire ceremony in Jerusalem

Clerics and followers take part in the Christian Orthodox Holy Fire ceremony at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem’s Old City.

Greece

Easter rocket ban on Greek island leads to protest

Some residents on the Greek island of Chios are up in arms over the banning of rocket firing on the eve of Orthodox Easter. Villagers from two rival

Russia

Orthodox Christians celebrate Easter

Orthodox Christians across Eastern Europe and the Middle East have been celebrating Easter, the most important date in their religious calendar

World News

A leading German politician says the country's mosques should come under state control

An influential politician from Angela Merkel’s ruling CDU party says all mosques in Germany should be subject to state supervision in light of what

Focus

The UN's Alliance of Civilisations calls for hate speech crackdown

Two thousand five hundred heads of state and government officials, religious leaders and civil society representatives from 120 countries have

Culture news

Sitgimgut, the Jindo art of cleansing the soul of the dead

The sitgimgut ceremony is a shamanist ritual for cleansing a dead person’s soul that comes from Jindo, a tiny island off the coast of South Korea

Vatican

Pope Francis visits Syrian refugees on Lesbos: a 'day to cry'

Pope Francis said his day visiting refugees on the Greek island of Lesbos had been a “day to cry.” He returned to Rome, with a dozen extra passengers

Greece

Pope Francis to take 12 Syrian refugees to the Vatican after Lesbos visit

Pope Francis is to take 12 Syrian refugees – including six children – back to the Vatican following a visit to the Moria migrant and refugee camp on

Greece

"Do not lose hope" Pope tells migrants on Lesbos

Pope Francis joined by Patriarch Bartholomew and the Archbishop of Athens, Ieronimos II.

Greece

The Pope meets migrants and refugees on Lesbos

Pope Francis joined by Patriarch Bartholomew and the Archbishop of Athens, Ieronimos II.

Greece

Lesbos refugee camp cleaned-up ahead of Pope's visit

A refugee centre on the Greek island of Lesbos is undergoing a clean-up ahead of a visit from the Pope on Saturday. Moria was one of two refugee

Vatican

Pope Francis urges more compassion towards 'imperfect' Catholics in family life

New guidelines issued by the pope on family life call for the church to be less strict and more compassionate to those he describes as being in

Iraq

In Iraq, fighting ISIL's ideology in mosques, prisons and schools

The war against the group calling itself Islamic State, or ISIL, is also a war against its beliefs.

Europe News

Religious leaders in unity pledge after Brussels bombings

Religious leaders vow to unify all communities in the wake of the Brussels attacks, as Muslims fear reprisals for the March 22 suicide bombings.

Iraq

Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr enters Baghdad's Green Zone

Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr has entered Baghdad’s fortified Green Zone, beginning a sit-in to call for government reform. On February 13, Sadr