(RNS) — On Thursday (May 2), the Orthodox Patriarchate ... in the global Eastern Orthodox Church, marking the culmination of years of efforts to revive the female diaconate in the Church.

The symposium received “best wishes” from the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I, the first among equals among Eastern ... area Orthodox congregation, of presenting supporters of the female ...

On May 2, the Orthodox Patriarchate of Alexandria and all of Africa ordained in Zimbabwe the first deaconess of any patriarchate in the global Eastern Orthodox Church, marking the culmination of years ...