The former administrator of a Venice church, accused of embezzling funds, will not go to jail as part of a plea deal. Robert Kondratick was arrested in March for embezzling more than $50,000 from Holy Spirit Orthodox Church, 700 Shamrock Blvd. The case was supposed to go to trial this week, but instead Kondratick entered […]

Glenview, IL – In a controversy regarding alleged trust fund misappropriations by a current priest at the Saints Peter and Paul Church in Glenview, IL when he had served at another parish, Metropolitan Iakovos of Chicago removed James Gottriech from the presidency of the Saints Peter and Paul Parish Council, as well as from the […]

Leader was suspended after seeking removal of a priest in Wisconsin financial inquiry A Glenview church is seeking to reinstate its parish council president, who was removed by the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Chicago last week amid controversy involving the Glenview church’s pastor. Chicago church leaders stripped James Gottreich of his council post at Sts. […]

A request by a Glenview church to suspend its priest until the conclusion of a criminal investigation that involves him has prompted a sharp rebuke from the leader of the Greek Orthodox Church in Chicago, who then ordered the removal of the parish council president who made the request. James Gottreich, council president at Sts. […]

* Bishop Cyril of Varna was communist-era secret police spy * Built new churches but business deals raised questions * Orthodox Church never held him to account for past deeds * Bulgarians have little trust in public institutions VARNA, Bulgaria, July 16 (Reuters) – The death last week of one of Bulgaria’s most senior bishops, […]

Bishop Cyril of Varna, a prominent Bulgarian Orthodox cleric who was ousted last year as a secret police collaborator under Communist rule, was found dead on a Black Sea beach on Tuesday, regional police said. The body of Cyril, 59, who headed one of Bulgaria’s biggest Christian Orthodox eparchies and also served as an interim […]

The rumors about foul play in the drowning death of Varna metropolitan bishop Kiril are complete non-sense, according to bishop Tihon. Tihon, who leads the Alexander Nevsky cathedral in the Bulgarian capital Sofia, says that he had received information from Varna that Kiril died from hypothermia after diving in a very cold Black Sea current. […]

The Bishop of Varna and Veliki Preslav, Kiril, stunned Tuesday his congregation, arriving to serve the festive Divine Liturgy for St Nicholas Day in a luxury limousine. Kiril arrived at the St Nikola church in the Black Sea city in a brand new “Lincoln MKZ Hybrid” – model 2012. The vehicle is not offered on […]

SOFIA—One of Bulgaria’s most powerful and controversial Orthodox Church bishops was found dead Tuesday on a Black Sea beach, authorities said, dismissing early media reports that there might have been foul play. The 59-year-old Metropolitan Kiril, a man who had spied for the communists and had a taste for luxury cars, was believed to have […]

The Bishop of Varna and Veliki Preslav, Kiril, has resigned from his post a day after he startled his congregation with a 2012 Lincoln MKZ Hybrid. Kiril quit his job late Wednesday, citing “dissatisfaction with the management of the Holy Synod of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church” as the reasons for his resignation. However, many in […]