The Balkan Chronicle

Bulgarian Orthodox Patriarch Maxim Dies at 98

The Bulgarian Ortodox Patriarch Maxim, who weathered a revolt over his Communist-era ties to lead his country's Orthodox Christians for more than 40 years, died here on Tuesday at age of 98.

The Bulgarian Ortodox church's top clerical body Holy Synod said in a statement that the cause of death was heart failure.

Maxim was born as Marin Naidenov Minkov on Oct. 29, 1914. He has graduated from the Sofia Seminary in 1935 and then studied theology in Sofia University's, before rising in the hierarchy of the Ortodox church and to be named Patriarch on July 4, 1971.

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Benedict's reign ends with a promise to obey next pope

Pope Benedict has ended his difficult reign pledging unconditional obedience to whoever succeeds him to guide the Roman Catholic Church at one of the most crisis-ridden periods in its 2,000-year history.

The papacy became vacant at 8pm on Thursday (8am today NZT), marking the first time in six centuries a pope has resigned instead of ruling for life.

In a symbolic gesture, the Swiss Guards who stood sentry at the papal summer residence south of Rome, where the pope flew by helicopter less than three hours earlier, quit their posts and the massive wooden doors of the hilltop residence were closed.

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The concept of communication in Islam

The ability to communicate effectively is necessary to carry out thoughts and visions to people. It helps convey directions and provide synchronization. Without communication, there is no way to express thoughts, ideas and feelings. The importance of communication becomes much more crucial when you are on a mission or need to fulfill a goal. Without a means to communicate, you will stand isolated. The ability to effectively communicate is very important when it is usually underestimated and overlooked. Communication is a necessity as we need to convey the message and spread ideas. The importance of communication is crucial for any success because we need to reach out to people in order to fulfill the mission. It is in the basic nature of every individual to communicate, even a person who is dumb communicates through action.

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Catholic Church faces black and white issue

Is the Catholic Church ready for a black pope? That is the question many inside and outside the world's largest Christian organization are asking following the surprise resignation of Pope Benedict XVI this week.

The German pontiff, formerly known as Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger before he was elected in 2005, is the first leader of the Catholic Church in 600 years to retire before death. Most of his predecessors, who trace their official lineage back nearly 2,000 years to Saint Peter, the first pope, have died while still in the top job.

At age 85 and citing failing health, the outgoing pope has triggered a wave of speculation on who will be his successor. That will be decided next month when the church's cardinals from various parts of the world convene in Rome to elect the new pontiff.

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Thus far the last strong Islamic Calipha Abdülhamid II

Throughout Islamic history, one of the uniting aspects of the Muslim world was the caliphate. After the death of Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessing upon him, his close companion, Abu Bakr, was elected as the first khalifah, or caliph, of the Muslim community. His job as leader combined political power over the Muslim state as well as spiritual guidance for Muslims. After the third caliph Umar, the person who holds the tile is also known as the Emir al-Mumiminum (the leader of the faithful). Eventually, after the rule of the fourth rightly guided caliph Ali, caliphate becomes a hereditary position, occupied at first by the Umayyad family, and later by the Abbasids. In 1517, the caliphate was transferred to the Ottoman family, who ruled the largest and most powerful empire in the world in the 1500s.

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Israel detains 10 women for wearing men’s prayer shawls

Israeli police detained 10 women at one of Judaism's most sacred sites Monday for wearing prayer shawls, which Orthodox tradition sees as solely for men, a spokesman said.

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Mexico becoming more Muslim, one person at a time

Gathering from different countries at the sleepy beach of Tijuana, a growing number of the city's population are becoming Muslims, finding Islamic values close to the country's Catholic traditions.

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Thank God It’s Friday, for Muslims

For most people, Friday represents the beginning of the weekend. For Muslims, however, Fridays mean more. In the Islamic context, Friday or jummah is the high day. Not only does the jummah prayer, a special congregational prayer, occur on Friday but it is believed to have other virtues.

In every mosque around the world, Muslims gather for the jummah prayer, as commanded in the following verses of the Qur'an:

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Suppressed scientific evidence proves Free Energy Source dating back 25,000 years

A monumental discovery with four years of comprehensive geo-archaeological research has failed to reach mainstream audiences for some reason.The most active pyramid site in the world dating the pyramid complex back 25,000 years has also released scientific evidence supporting the theory that the pyramids were used as an energy source.The recent study reveals energy beams transmitting electromagnetic signals unexplainable by our science in what is now documented as the largest Pyramid complex in the world.Overwhelming evidence, supported by scientific research from all over the archeological community proves that our recorded history is wrong concerning ancient cultures which in turn changes religion, science and academics.

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Halal Pork - Muslims have themselves to blame

Investigations following the detection of horse meat DNA in burgers sold in British supermarkets eventually also led to the discovery of pork DNA in processed food supplied as halal produce to prisons throughout the UK. The response is probably as scandalous as the discovery. On the non-Muslim side the emphasis was on this having been an unfortunate isolated accident.

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