Orthodox Christianity

Christian Orthodox worshippers gather in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalems Old City as they await the Holy Fire on April 27, 2019 during the Orthodox Easter. (GALI TIBBON / AFP)

April 28, 2019, 2:08 am

Orthodox Christians mark ‘Holy Fire’ Easter ceremony in Jerusalem

Over 10,000 pilgrims carrying candles pack Church of the Holy Sepulchre for annual ritual dating back 1,200 years

By AFP

Egyptian Coptic leader Pope Tawadros II leads Christmas celebration at the St. Mark's Coptic Orthodox Cathedral in the Abbassia District of Cairo on January 6, 2017. (AFP/Khaled Desouki)

August 14, 2018, 2:27 pm

Abbot’s murder in desert monastery shocks Egypt’s Christians

Arrest of two monks suspected of killing Bishop Epiphanius opens rare window into the cloistered world of the country’s revered Coptic Church

By Hazma Hendawi and Samy Magdy

People on a boat hold flares as they sail behind the effigy of Judas during the revival of the old Easter tradition of the "burning of the Judas," in the port town of Ermioni, in the Peloponnese peninsula, southwest of Athens, April 8, 2018. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)

April 9, 2018, 5:09 pm

Greek towns ritually burn Judas as Orthodox celebrate Easter

Custom has a history of implied hostility toward Jews as ‘killers of Christ,’ but this year some dressed their effigies up as Erdogan

By Petros Giannakouris and DEMETRIS NELLAS

Roman Catholic clergymen pray during the Easter Sunday procession on April 1, 2018, at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. (AFP PHOTO / GALI TIBBON)

April 1, 2018, 4:31 pm

Catholics celebrate Easter in ancient Jerusalem church

Roman Catholic worshipers pray and sing hymns in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre as eastern Orthodox Christians celebrate Palm Sunday

By AP

A sapper working to clear mines from the area around the Qasr al-Yahud Baptism site on the Jordan River, March 2018. (Defense Ministry)

March 20, 2018, 1:39 pm

Israel begins clearing thousands of landmines from Jordan River baptism site

Defense Ministry says there are over 3,000 munitions in Qasr al-Yahud area, including anti-personnel, anti-tank mines and booby-traps

By Melanie Lidman and TOI staff

Orthodox Christian pilgrims take a dip in the Jordan river as part of a traditional Epiphany baptism ceremony at the site of Qasr el Yahud on January 18, 2018.(Yaniv Nadav/Flash90)

February 13, 2018, 5:20 pm

Israel will soon clear 4,000 landmines at Qasr al-Yahud baptism site

Defense Ministry says de-mining effort on banks of Jordan River, led by international nonprofit HALO Trust, could begin within 6 weeks

By Melanie Lidman

Greek Orthodox priests celebrating Easter at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem (photo credit: Shmuel Bar-Am)

December 6, 2017, 4:41 pm

Heads of Jerusalem churches deliver last-minute plea to Trump

13 Christian leaders warn of the ‘hatred, conflict, violence and suffering’ and ‘irreparable harm’ that a change in US policy on Jerusalem could create

By Sue Surkes

The Petrikov, Belarus monument to Holocaust victims with a crucifix on it. (Julie Masis/Times of Israel)

July 9, 2017, 3:24 pm

With no Jews left to protest, Christian crosses grace Holocaust memorials in Belarus

In addition to problems with Jewish law, where some in the scant Jewish community see a positive gesture, others see cultural insensitivity

By Julie Masis

Participants attend a hearing of the justice ministry request to ban the Jehovah's Witnesses at Russia's Supreme Court in Moscow on April 20, 2017. (AFP/Vasily Maximov)

April 22, 2017, 2:13 am

Russia bans Jehovah’s Witnesses as ‘extremist’

Supreme Court rules group’s property will be turned over to state after justice ministry claims it is a ‘threat to public safety’

By victoria LOGUINOVA-YAKOVLEVA

Christian pilgrims light candles during the Easter Sunday procession at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, traditionally believed by many Christians to be the site of the crucifixion and burial of Jesus Christ, in Jerusalem, Sunday, April 16, 2017. (AP Photo/Sebastian Scheiner)

April 16, 2017, 6:03 pm

Christians mark Easter at Jerusalem site of Jesus’s resurrection

Large crowds flock to Church of the Holy Sepulchre for event, held at newly renovated tomb

By AFP

Foreign students of the Bethlehem Icon Center work on their painting during their course, in the biblical West Bank city of Bethlehem on April 11, 2017. (AFP PHOTO / THOMAS COEX)

April 13, 2017, 8:03 am

Ancient sacred art resurrected in city of Jesus’s birth

In Bethlehem, a group of enthusiasts specializing in the sacred craft of iconography work to keep the 2,000-year-old tradition alive

By Sarah Benhaida

Egyptians walk past bloodstains in a street near a church in Alexandria after a bomb blast struck worshippers gathering to celebrate Palm Sunday on April 9, 2017. ( AFP PHOTO / STRINGER)

April 9, 2017, 4:24 pm

Islamic State claims bloody Egypt church bombings

Interior ministry says suicide bomber carried out Alexandria attack in attempt to target Coptic Pope Tawadros II

By Agencies and TOI staff

A general view shows forensics collecting evidence at the site of a bomb blast which struck worshipers gathering to celebrate Palm Sunday at the Mar Girgis Coptic Church in the Nile Delta City of Tanta, Egypt on April 9, 2017. (AFP PHOTO / STRINGER)

April 9, 2017, 2:58 pm

At least 37 killed in onslaught on Egyptian Copts on Palm Sunday

Over two dozen killed in a church attack near Cairo; then bomb hits Alexandria’s St. Mark’s Church, where Coptic pope was conducting mass, killing 11

By TOI staff and Agencies

Illustrative image of relatives and onlookers gathered outside a church after a bomb attack in the Nile Delta town of Tanta, Egypt, Sunday, April 9, 2017 (AP Photo/Ahmed Hatem)

April 9, 2017, 11:40 am

At least 26 killed in attack on church in Egypt, 71 injured

Bomb goes off in St. George’s Church in Tanta, north of Cairo, as Coptic Christians celebrate Palm Sunday

By Hamza Hendawi

January 7, 2017, 5:52 pm

Fearful Egypt Copts mark Christmas after church bombing

Recent surge of deadly attacks by Muslims heightens concerns among small Christian minority; ‘Even in church you can’t feel safe,’ one says

By Haitham el-Tabei