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Source: The National Herald BY THEODORE KALMOUKOS The case of Fr. James Dokos, former presiding priest of the Annunciation Parish in Milwaukee has brought to light once again a lack of leadership in the Greek Orthodox Church, on the Archdiocesan and Metropolis levels. The Milwaukee DA has charged Dokos with theft of trust funds, and Bishop Demetrios of Mokissos with attempt to interfere with the judicial process. First of all Fr. Dokos should not have been involved with financial issues involving his parishioners including assuming the role of caretaker of the trust established by the Franczak family. Undoubtedly, this entire…

Source: The National Herald BY THEODORE KALMOUKOS Metropolitan Kallistos Ware, one of the most prolific writers and prominent Orthodox theologians of our times, sat down with TNH in Boston. BOSTON, MA – Metropolitan Kallistos Ware is one of the most prolific writers and prominent Orthodox theologians of our times. He came to know Orthodoxy at age 17 in London, when he accidentally entered a Russian Orthodox Church that happened to have been conducting a vigil Service at the moment, and immediately realized “this is my home.” Worship, the mystical tradition and especially the prayer attracted him, so six years later…

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: The National Herald by Theodore Kalmoukos BOSTON, MA – A newly-assigned priest that has just graduated from the Seminary should make an annual salary of $49,128-$66,528 plus extra benefits such as insurance, an automobile, a house (or an allowance for one) retirement contributions, seminars expenses, among other ones. A priest with 35 years of ministry and more will earn $113,856-$120,144, according to the Clergy Compensation Plan for 2013. The priests’ salaries are the biggest expense of the parishes’ annual budgets, along with the annual monetary allocation they pay to the Archdiocese for what are called ministries. According to the…

Source: The National Herald by Constantine S. Sirigos NEW YORK, NY – Orthodox Christian Laity (OCL), a national organization of Orthodox Christian laypersons that will mark its 25th anniversary at its annual conference this Fall in California, has been at the forefront of critical Church issues through its publications, conferences, and meetings, despite the fact that few know of its existence. Whether or not people agree with OCL positions – they have met numerous times with hierarchs from of Archdiocese and the Ecumenical Patriarchate, whose officials have alternately viewed them with interest and suspicion – they have a vision for…

Source: The National Herald by Theodore Kalmoukos, Special to The National Herald The preservation of small Greek Orthodox parishes, and their ability to continue to exist in the United States, is very serious matter which should concern all of us as members of both the Church and the Greek American Community. Some of our small parishes have already gone down on a withering path. Among them are parishes which flourished in the past, especially during the early decades after their establishment by Greek immigrant pioneers. With the passing of time and changing of demographic circumstances, and the loss of jobs…

Source: The National Herald by Constantinos E. Scaros This being the week of the “Christmas column,” I was torn between issuing my annual Christmas message and writing about the topic at the forefront of most readers’ minds: the horrific mass pedocide that occurred last week in Connecticut. Keeping in mind that I was midway through a trip to my beloved hometown of Manhattan (I live a considerable distance away these days, in Central Pennsylvania) when the tragedy took place. I pondered that, while visiting family and friends last Wednesday and Thursday, the victims of the Newtown, CT shooting and their…

Source: The National Herald For the last two decades the Orthodox Church in America (OCA) and other Orthodox Christian groupings have been tested by internal and external forces. The OCA has been humbled by its testing. It remains to be seen if it will be able to rise up with wisdom. The OCA’s internal problems have been presented impartially by Dr. Andrew Walsh in the Spring 2012 issue of Religion in the News. Vol. 14, No. 1. Dr. Walsh asks an important question: “Does or should anyone outside the group care what happens to a tiny, historically ethnic religious body…

Source: The National Herald | By Peter Marudas Like his predecessors, Eastern Orthodox Patriarch Bartholomew during his twenty year tenure has had to confront two fundamental challenges: the survival of the Patriarchate in a generally hostile Turkish environment, and his relations with the other independent Orthodox Churches including the administration of his own flock dispersed in Western Europe, parts of Greece, North and South America, and Australia. His All Holiness has certainly made progress in improving the Patriarchate’s position in Turkey, and after a very rocky beginning has advanced greater Pan-Orthodox cooperation, while his record with his own jurisdictions, especially in…

Source: National Herald | Theodore Kalmoukas Clergy Compensation in Greek Orthodox Churches BOSTON – A newly-assigned priest who has just graduated from the Seminary should make an annual salary of $49,128 – $66,528 plus extras such as insurance, an automobile, a house (or an allowance for one) retirement contributions, seminars expenses, and many more. A priest with 35 years of ministry and more will earn $113,856 – $120,144, according to the Clergy Compensation Plan for 2012. The priests’ salaries are the biggest expense of the Parishes’ annual budget along with the annual monetary allocation they pay to the Archdiocese for…