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

Source: Orthodox Church in America YONKERS, NY [SVOTS Communications]- The Dean and Chancellor/CEO of Saint Vladimir’s Seminary here—Archpriest Dr. John Behr and Archpriest Dr. Chad Hatfield—signed an agreement with Saints Cyril and Methodius Theological Institute of Post-Graduate Studies in Moscow, laying the foundation for the establishment of the “Saint Philaret of Moscow Russian House of Studies” at Saint Vladimir’s. The cooperative statement was signed at the culmination of the Dean and Chancellor’s visit to Russia October 7–14, 2013.  The Russian House of Studies, a part of the seminary’s International Houses of Studies program, will welcome the exchange of teachers and…

Source: Orthodox Church in America SYOSSET, NY [OCA] – The fall session of the Holy Synod of Bishops of the Orthodox Church in America opened on Tuesday, October 15, 2013, and will run through Thursday, October 17. According to Archpriest Eric G. Tosi, OCA Secretary, on Monday, October 14, the eve of the meeting, His Beatitude, Metropolitan Tikhon, will meet with members of the Sexual Misconduct Policy Advisorary Committee (SMPAC), at which time a final revision of the new Policies, Standards and Procedures (PSP) will be reviewed.  The PSP will be presented to the members of the Holy Synod for approval. Much…

Source: Estiator – The Restaurateur Peter S. Makrias, Publisher-Editor October 2013 In addition to all that we have already written about the hegemonic authority exercised by the Metropolitans of our Church in America, we must also note the fact that they do not offer an account for their actions and decisions.  Among other things, they do not offer any public accounting of their income and expenses, as the Archdiocese does at its Clergy-Laity Congresses.  It is there that the Archdiocese’s finances are discussed, along with its income from parishes and expenditures for various institutions. The incidents involving Metropolitan Evangelos of New Jersey…

Source: The Herald-Star By DAVE GOSSETT – Staff writer, The Herald-Star STEUBENVILLE – It is very quiet and peaceful inside the Holy Transfiguration Orthodox Church. The faint sound of traffic can be heard on nearby Washington Street. A visitor to the church can often find the Rev. Gregory Thompson sitting in a front pew praying or reflecting on his day as a jobs coach at the county’s Board of Developmental Disabilities. On a sunny day Thompson might be found painting the church’s stairway railing with a volunteer. The spiritual work comes naturally to Thompson and the physical work stems from…

Source: Ekklesia 2013 marks the 1700th anniversary of the Edict of Milan, when emperor Constantine ended the persecution of Christianity, to which he had converted. In early October, World Council of Churches General Secretary Dr Olav Fykse Tveit praised Constantine’s legacy in glowing terms. Yet in reality it has been a mixture of harm and good. Tveit sent his regrets to Serbian church leaders for being unable to attend anniversary ceremonies to which they had invited him, stating that the legacy of Constantine – the first ruler to do battle and kill in Christ’s name – “is still helping to…

Source: San Jose Mercury News By NICOLE KLAUSS Kodiak Daily Mirror KODIAK, Alaska—A 200-year-old Russian Orthodox bell has been returned to Alaska after being held by Catholics for more than a century in Southern California. The bell, known as the San Fernando bell, was returned to Holy Resurrection Orthodox Cathedral on Oct. 1 and is waiting to be placed in a permanent outside display. Rev. Innocent Dresdow, dean of Holy Resurrection Orthodox Cathedral, said repatriation of the bell is significant since bells are considered joyful and a sign of hope in the Orthodox Church. “This is very, very important,” he…

WXOW News 19 La Crosse, WI – News, Weather and Sports | Source: WXOW.com – ABC News 19 By Pete Zervakis, MMJ The United Nations estimates the continued tensions between the government and rebel forces will have displaced 3.5-million people by the end of 2013. Kids at La Crosse’s St. Elias Orthodox Church are seeking to help the refugees displaced by the conflict. Children from the church’s Sunday school program Sunday put together what teacher Stacey Kalas called “hygiene kits.” The kids took up the challenge of assembling the care packages after being made aware by the International Orthodox Christian…

Source: The National Herald Constantinos E. Scaros Special to The National Herald In our September 30 edition we unveiled our new “Question of the Week” format, which the readers, given the number of total votes, received favorably. The question was whether the Greek Orthodox Church should remain independent, combine only with the Catholic Church, or whether all Christian churches ought to unite. In last week’s issue (Oct. 5), we published the results: 52% (slightly more than half) believed the Orthodox should not unite with any other Christian counterpart, 20% thought they should unite only with the Catholics, and 28% thought…

Source: Orthodox Church in America SYOSSET, NY [OCA] – The independent audit of the Orthodox Church in America’s financial records for the year ending December 31, 2012, conducted by the auditors Lambrides, Lamos, Taylor LLP, has been completed and is available on-line. “For the third consecutive year the OCA has been issued an unqualified or ‘clean’ audit opinion,” said Melanie Ringa, OCA Treasurer.  “The unqualified opinion is the best type of report an auditee can receive from the external auditor.” Ms. Ringa also noted that “the financial results for 2012 show total revenues of $2,780,295.00, total operating expenses of $2,124,224.00, with a…

Source: The Southampton Press (27east.com) By Dana Shaw Work on the mosaic that will grace the entrance to the Dormition of the Virgin Mary Greek Orthodox Church of the Hamptons in Shinnecock Hills began last week. Artisans from Tuscany began assembling the mosaic, which was constructed in Italy and brought over in pieces. According to Father Constantine Lazarakis, the mosaic depicts the Dormition of the Virgin Mary, sometimes translated as the “Falling Asleep of the Theotokos.” Theotokos is the term used most often in the Orthodox Church to refer to the Virgin Mary; it means “the Mother of God.” The…

By ROSE BOUBOUSHIAN Source: Courthouse News Service (CN) – An Antiochian priest kicked, bit, slapped, hit with a baseball bat and sexually abused a parishioner during her so-called therapy sessions, she claims in court. Susan Manter, of Holden, Mass., sued the Rev. Michael Abdelahad, St. George’s Antiochian Orthodox Cathedral of Worcester; three Antiochian Orthodox Christian archdioceses; and 13 individuals associated with those organizations in Worcester Superior Court. From 2007 to September 2010, Abdelahad, “under the ruse of providing to the plaintiff Susan Manter psychological ‘therapy,’ hit, kicked, bit and slapped the plaintiff in the body and head with his hands,…