[ditty_news_ticker id="27897"] March, 2013 - Orthodox Christian Laity - Page 3
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Monthly Archives: March, 2013

Source: Orthodox Church in America The recently refurbished main reception room at the Chancery of the Orthodox Church in America here was dedicated to the memory of the late Metropolitan Leonty on Tuesday evening, March 12, 2013. After celebrating a Panikhida for the repose of Metropolitan Leonty’s soul, His Beatitude, Metropolitan Tikhon presided at the dedication. Members of the Holy Synod of Bishops, who began their spring session earlier in the day, were present, as were members of the late Primate’s family and guests associated with him. His Eminence, Archbishop Justinian of Naro-Fominsk, Administrator of the Patriarchal Parishes in the…

Source: Orthodox Church in America SYOSSET, NY [OCA] – In a letter dated March 14, 2013, His Beatitude, Metropolitan Tikhon offered congratulations to the newly elected Pope Francis. “It is with joy that I convey to You the congratulations of the Holy Synod of the Orthodox Church in America on the occasion of Your election as Pope,” the letter opens. “Your example as Archbishop of Buenos Aires has told the world that Your commitment is to the Gospel of Christ, its truth and its love. Your witness during Your first steps as Pope confirms this commitment strongly and without reservation.”…

Source: Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America The Holy Synod of Antioch has issued the attached statement in English and Arabic. It begins: March 13, 2013 The Fathers of the Holy Synod of Antioch held a meeting on Wednesday, March 13, 2013, in the Monastery of Our Lady of Balamand. The meeting was chaired by His Beatitude Patriarch JOHN X. The Fathers discussed the situation arising from the election of Archimandrite Makarios by the Holy Synod of the Patriarchate of Jerusalem as the “Archbishop of Qatar”, on March 4, 2013. This election is against the Ecclesiastical Canons of the…

Source: Congressman Frank Wolf WOLF ISSUES REPORT FOLLOWING VISIT TO MIDDLE EAST DURING TUMULTUOUS TIME OF CHANGE IN THE REGION Renews Call for Special Envoy to Advocate for Beleaguered Minority Faith Communities, Which are Increasingly Under Assault Washington, D.C. (March 7, 2013) – Rep. Frank Wolf today made a series of policy recommendations – including his continued push for the creation of a Special Envoy for Religious Minorities in the Middle East and South Central Asia – following a recent trip to Lebanon and Egypt, where he met with high-ranking government officials, religious leaders, humanitarian aid organizations and refugees who…

Source: Notes on Arab Orthodoxy Dated February 17, 2013 (also available in PDF format here). Pastoral Letter  In Grace we grow,  In service we transcend  And in love the structure is strengthened  With the Mercy of God John X  Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch and all the East  To all our beloved in the Lord  The Children of the Holy Antiochian See  Clergy and lay people  “Having been built on the foundation of the Apostles and Prophets, Christ Jesus  Himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure is strengthened, and will  grow into a holy temple in the Lord”…

Source: The Reporter BY RYAN CHALK/ [email protected] Clutching a handwritten apology, a former Fairfield pastor asked for forgiveness in front of a packed courtroom just before being sentenced to 18 years in state prison for the molestation of children at his parish. Robert E. Ruark, 65, of Suisun City, a former reverend at St. Timothy Orthodox Church, received the sentence in Solano County Superior Court after pleading guilty in January to 19 felony counts related to committing lewd acts on children. The molestation allegations spanned as far back as 1994. Known by parishioners as “Father Silas,” Ruark was arrested in…

Source: St Tikhon’s Orthodox Theological Seminary [South Canaan, PA] The Board of Trustees has announced that they have officially appointed the search committee to hire the next Dean of St. Tikhon’s Seminary. More details to follow. The Board of Trustees of St. Tikhon’s Seminary has also appointed Igumen Sergius, Abbot of St. Tikhon’s Monastery, as the Acting Dean of the seminary until a new Dean can been found. As acting Dean Fr. Sergius will report directly to the Rector of the Seminary, His Grace Bishop Michael. The Board of Trustees of St. Tikhon’s Seminary gathered in South Canaan for their…

Source: Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America ECUMENICAL PATRIARCHATE Prot. No. 240 CATECHETICAL HOMILY ON THE OCCASION OF THE BEGINNING OF GREAT LENT † B A R T H O L O M E W By the Mercy of God Archbishop of Constantinople-New Rome and Ecumenical Patriarch To the Plenitude of the Church Grace and Peace be with you from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ together with our Prayer, Blessing and Forgiveness Beloved brothers and sisters, children in the Lord, The holy fathers, who arranged everything in an orderly manner, instituted a period of ascetic discipline and spiritual purification for…

Source: Orthodox Church in America YONKERS, NY [SVOTS/OCA] At the invitation of His Eminence, Archbishop Nicolae of the Romanian Orthodox Archdiocese in the Americas, Archpriest Dr. John Behr, Dean of Saint Vladimir’s Seminary here, traveled to Bucharest to sign a cooperative agreement between Saint Vladimir’s and the Faculty of Orthodox Theology, University of Bucharest. His visit, blessed by His Beatitude, Patiarch Daniel, began on the Sunday of the Publican and the Pharisee when he celebrated the Divine Liturgy in Bucharest’s Patriarchal Cathedral of Saints Constantine and Helen. On Sunday afternoon, Patriarch Daniel hosted Archbishop Nicolae and Father John for an…

Source: Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of North and Central America and Orthodox Church in America [YONKERS, NY] – The Assembly of Bishops convened a meeting to share ideas and discuss collaboration between the Assembly’s communications team and the internet staff of member jurisdictions. The meeting was held on the campus of St Vladimir’s Seminary in Crestwood, NY on March 6 and brought together representatives from the Assembly’s Secretariat, the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese, the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese, the Orthodox Church in America, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, and the American Carpatho-Russian Orthodox Diocese. All of the Assembly’s member jurisdictions were invited…

Source: MYSTAGOGY By Dan Graves It was one of the strangest episodes in all of military and Christian history–an army killing its own best soldiers. The time: A.D. 320. The place: Sevaste, in present-day Turkey. The issue: Would Christian soldiers obey and bow to pagan gods? How many agreed to sacrifice? A legion consisted from 3,000 to 6,000 infantry plus cavalry. Apparently at least 2,960 men from the Sevaste legion sacrificed at Licinius’s order. Barely 1% bucked his demand! The famous Thundering Legion. The legion stationed at Sevaste may have been the famed Thundering Legion. Dating back to Caesar Augustus,…