[ditty_news_ticker id="27897"] July, 2016 - Orthodox Christian Laity
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Monthly Archives: July, 2016

Source: Orthodox Christian Laity I had prepared myself to go to Chania, Crete and see, as a reporter, the events and hear the commentary and behind-the-scenes events that would be part of the excitement and surroundings of this monumental historical event, the Holy and Great Council of the Orthodox Church.    I sent in the information that was necessary to be approved as an observer.  The approval came.  I was excited about going.  I have been an advocate for the Council for 28 years.  In 1994, I was a member of a delegation sent to meet with His All Holiness Bartholomew. …

Source: Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch and All the East At the end of the seventh extraordinary session which begun on May 25th 2016, the Holy Synod of Antioch convened on June 27, 2016 in Balamand. The Synod was presided by His Beatitude Patriarch John X, with the participation of the Bishops of the Holy See of Antioch, The fathers congratulated their children on the occasion of the feast of Saints Peter and Paul, the holy, glorious and all-praised leaders of the Apostles, and the founders of the Holy See of Antioch. This See is where the disciples were called…

Source: Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America NEW YORK – His Eminence Archbishop Demetrios, Primate of the Greek Orthodox Church in America, offered the Prayer of Invocation today, Thursday July 28, at the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia, Pa. In the long established tradition of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese to offer a prayer in both the Democratic and the Republican Conventions, Archbishop Demetrios was invited by the Democratic National Committee and was introduced by Kevin Washo, executive director of the Philadelphia 2016 DNC host committee. His Eminence delivered the invocation at the beginning of the fourth and last day of the…

Source: OSV Newsweekly Member of the delegation of the Ecumenical Patriarchate hopes June’s meeting is the first in a series Michael Heinlein OSV Newsweekly July 5, 2016 Gathering Orthodox hierarchs from around the world, the Holy and Great Council of the Orthodox Church wrapped-up on the Greek island of Crete on June 26. In the works for over a century, the event was historic to say the least. But what did it accomplish? Our Sunday Visitor spoke with His Eminence Metropolitan Kallistos (Ware) of Diokleia — renowned Orthodox theologian, based in Oxford, England, and invited member of the Ecumenical Patriarchate’s…

Source: Breitbart by BREITBART JERUSALEM (AFP) – Violence against Egypt’s Coptic Orthodox Christian minority, one of the largest and oldest groups of Christians in the Middle East, has escalated at an alarming rate in the last several weeks, with little official response. Since late May, Christians in Egypt have been the victims of at least a dozen sectarian attacks, and activists and politicians say the government has done little to stop it, despite Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi’s early overtures to the Coptic community and their staunch support of him. “It is escalating in a very short time,” said Mina Thabet,…

Source: Daily Mail Fedor Konyukhov flew around the world in a hot air balloon in 11 days – beating the last record by two days He began his trip from an airstrip near Northam, a town east of Perth, then headed east across South America   The 65-year-old battled with lack of sleep and freezing temperatures near the end of his historic trip  By ASSOCIATED PRESS and ASHLEIGH DAVIS FOR DAILY MAIL AUSTRALIA CLICK HERE FOR VIDEO A Russian Orthodox priest has entered the record books after enduring 11 days of freezing temperatures and ferocious storms to become the fastest person to fly…

Source: The Christian Post BY BRANDON SHOWALTER , CP CONTRIBUTOR Russia’s so-called “anti-extremism” law that restricts evangelism and missionary activities went into effect on Wednesday, and religious freedom advocacy groups say they are starting to assess the impact it will have on Christians in the country. “For Christian advocates inside the country, there are challenges and risks,” the American Center for Law and Justice’s Gene Kapp said in a statement to The Christian Post on Thursday. “Our team at the Slavic Centre for Law and Justice [ACLJ’s Moscow affiliate that has argued against the law] is in the process of evaluating…

Source: Deseret News By Tom Heneghan, Religion News Service The Russian Orthodox Church, whose boycott of a major summit of Orthodox Christian leaders in Crete last month threatened to slow down efforts to promote greater unity, has declared the meeting “an important event in the history of the conciliar process.” The church’s synod, in its official reaction to the June 20-26 Holy and Great Council, also said the meeting could not be called “pan-Orthodox” because four of the 14 independent Orthodox member churches did not attend. The Moscow Patriarchate, which represents between half and two-thirds of the world’s 300 million…

Source: Orthodox Ethos An “Open Letter” from Athonite Fathers to the Holy Community of the Holy Mountain of Athos is calling for an immediate convocation of the governing body of Mt. Athos in order to condemn the “false council” of Crete and cease the comemoration of the Patriarch of Constantinople on Mt. Athos. OVER 60 Hieromonk and monks, with a disciple of Saint Paisios, Elder Gabriel of the Kelli of St. Christodoulos (Holy Monastery of Koutloumosiou) at their head, have written an open letter to the Holy Community of Mt. Athos calling upon the Abbots to reject the Council in…

Source: Pravoslavie.ru Moscow – Thousands of women in Ukraine, Russia and Belarus have taken to social media to share their experiences of sexual violence in an online flash mob under the hashtags #янебоюсьсказати and #янебоюсьсказать (I am not afraid to speak) started by Ukrainian social activist Anastasia Melnichenko. Russia has responded, with the Russian Orthodox Church at the forefront. Archpriest Dmitry Roschin, head of the synodal department for church governance with the public and the media, advised women participating in the online flash mob to turn to priests instead of posting their stories on Facebook. According to Roschin, the sexual harassment…

Source: Interfax Moscow, July 15, Interfax – The Council which took place in Crete on June 20-25 cannot be regarded as pan-Orthodox, the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church said in Moscow on Friday. “The Holy Synod determined that the Council, which took place in Crete, cannot be regarded as pan-Orthodox, and the documents it approved as expressing a pan-Orthodox consensus,” said the head of the Synodal Department for Church, Society and Media Relations Vladimir Legoyda, commenting on the results of a Synod meeting. The meeting attendees acknowledged that the Council, which was attended by abbots and hierarchs from…

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