November, 2012 - Orthodox Christian Laity

Monthly Archives: November, 2012

Metropolitan Tikhon celebrates Divine Liturgy at St. Nicholas Cathedral, Washington, DC

By Webmaster on November 18, 2012 Governance & Unity News, Governance Top Stories

Source: Orthodox Church in America WASHINGTON, DC [OCA] On Sunday, November 18, 2012, His Beatitude, Metropolitan Tikhon, presided at the Divine Liturgy at Saint Nicholas Cathedral here for the first time since his election as Primate of the Orthodox Church in America and Archbishop of Washington, DC at the 17th All-American Council. At the conclusion of the Divine Liturgy, the cathedral community presented to Metropolitan Tikhon relics of Saints Tikhon of Moscow—November 18 marked the 94th anniversary of his election as Patriarch of Moscow—Nicholas of Myra, and John Chrysostom. Metropolitan Tikhon was elected on November 13, the feastday of Saint…

New pope installed to lead church in Islamist-run Egypt

By Webmaster on November 18, 2012 Orthodox News, Orthodox News Top Stories

Source: Reuters By Yasmine Saleh CAIRO (Reuters) – The Coptic Orthodox church staged a ceremony rich in ritual on Sunday to install its pope, Tawadros II, who Christians hope will guide them through the new, Islamist-led Egypt. The 60-year-old pope was picked on November 4 and the ceremony on Sunday filled with incense, elaborate robes and chanting marked his formal ascendance as the 118th leader of the church. Coptic Christians, whose church predates the arrival of Islam in Egypt, make up a tenth of Egypt’s 83 million people. Many fear their community, the biggest Christian group in the Middle East…

Interim Patriarch Calls for Unity of Bulgarian Orthodox Church – UPDATED

By Webmaster on November 18, 2012 Orthodox News, Orthodox News Top Stories

Source: Sofia News Agency The unity of the Holy Synod and of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church is the most important issue for Orthodox Christians in Bulgaria, according to Varna Metropolitan Kiril. Kiril made the statement Sunday in the Bulgarian capital during his very first mass as Sofia Metropolitan and interim Patriarch. “When opinions differ, each must be well-grounded. I hope that all metropolitans will attend the next meeting of the Holy Synod and that those who would be absent would provide excusable reasons for it. They have all made an oath to respond to the invitations of the Synod,” said…

Moscow on the Seine: The Controversy Over Russian Cathedral Plans in Paris – UPDATED

By Webmaster on November 18, 2012 Orthodox News, Orthodox News Top Stories

Source: The Atlantic Backlash builds against a planned Orthodox church that’s backed and would be partly funded by the Kremlin. Orthodox cathedrals with their trademark golden onion domes are a familiar sight across Russia. And one may soon become part of Paris’s famed skyline, right near the Eiffel Tower. French President Francois Hollande has just weeks to decide on a controversial plan to build a massive Russian Orthodox Spiritual and Cultural Center in downtown Paris on the banks of the Seine River, on a UNESCO-protected world heritage site. The project is staunchly opposed by Paris Mayor Bertrand Delanoe, who has…

Laura Jones 1931-2012

By Webmaster on November 18, 2012 OCL News, Orthodox Christian Laity

Memory Eternal as we remember Laura Mead Jones on her 40 Day Memorial. “Blessed are those who mourn for they will be comforted…”. Laura was a member of the board of Orthodox Christian Laity (OCL) for a number of years in the mid 1990’s. I was on her extensive mailing list and received many of her letters to religious, political, cultural leaders until her death. OCL Board members remember her fondly. We were so happy to hear from her on May 1 when she informed me she was coming to our 25th Anniversary Meeting in Washington DC. I smiled, and…

IOCC Assists Sandy Survivors With Recovery Efforts

By Webmaster on November 16, 2012 Orthodox News, Orthodox News Top Stories

Members of New Jersey chapters of AHEPA, Philoptochos and GOYA gathered at St. George Greek Orthodox Church to assemble emergency clean-up buckets (left) and then distribute them (right) at Silverton Volunteer Fire Station for survivors of Superstorm Sandy. Cleaning supplies and other disaster relief items are still urgently needed by hundreds of families trying to make their damaged homes livable again. photo: Rada Tierney/IOCC Baltimore, MD (IOCC) — Two weeks after Superstorm Sandy slammed into the East Coast and obliterated entire neighborhoods along New York’s and New Jersey’s shorelines, International Orthodox Christian Charities (IOCC) remains on the ground supporting cleanup and recovery…

O, Lord, Have Mercy on Us! – Bulgaria’s Orthodox Church

By Webmaster on November 16, 2012 Orthodox News, Orthodox News Top Stories

Source: Sofia News Agency by Milena Hristova Plagued by wrangling and greed, greatly discredited – this is what Bulgaria’s Orthodox church has come to be in recent years, leaving Christian believers nothing but disturbed. The disagreements between the clergy and the two churches in the country have been smouldering for years, but exploded beyond belief after the death of Patriarch Maxim. The battle among the different lobbies inside the official church, legitimized by the old political regime, erupted with a vengeance and even overshadowed their battle with the purported arch enemy – the alternative church set up in protest against…

Real Break 2013 – Registration opens today!

By Webmaster on November 15, 2012 Orthodox News, Orthodox News Top Stories

Registration opens TODAY at 9:00 pm EST for Real Break 2013 For over 10 years, Orthodox Christian Fellowship has sent over a thousand College students around the world during Spring Break to serve those less fortunate, becoming lights of Christ to the world. Join other college-aged young adults from across the country in a team, lead by both a Clergy and Lay leader, who will grow and serve together on either a domestic or international trip. Although teams go out to serve, they return transformed having experienced Christ’s immense love through the people they meet and the work they do.…

Orthodoxy in America – an Interconnected and Shared History

By Webmaster on November 15, 2012 Focused Study and Research Topics, Orthodox Christian Laity

Presentation given by Nicholas Chapman of Herkimer NY at the OCL 25th Anniversary Conference, Washington DC on Oct 27, 2012 Before I begin let me thank George Matsoukas and the Board of OCL for the invitation to present today. I would also like to acknowledge Matthew Namee whose place I have filled due to his current work and other commitments. His constant support over the past three years has stimulated, informed and helped to sustain my own research. Introduction Your Grace’s, Reverend Fathers and Mothers, Brothers and Sisters: The study of the history of Orthodoxy in America is still at a…

Archbishop Tikhon elected Metropolitan of All America and Canada

By Webmaster on November 13, 2012 Governance & Unity News, Governance Top Stories

Source: Orthodox Church in America PARMA, OH [OCA] Archbishop Tikhon, Archbishop of Philadelphia and Eastern Pennsylvania, was elected Primate of the Orthodox Church in America during the 17th All-American Council of the Orthodox Church in America at Holy Trinity Church here Tuesday, November 13, 2012. Six hundred and sixty three hierarchs, clergy and lay delegates and observers representing OCA parishes across the US, Canada and Alaska participated in the Council. Five hundred and ninety were eligible to vote. The Council opened with the celebration of the Divine Liturgy and, at noon, the plenary session. After the celebration of a Service…

Michael and Mary Jaharis Make Major Gift to Chicago Museum

By Webmaster on November 12, 2012 Orthodox News, Orthodox News Top Stories

Source: The National Herald by Constantine S. Sirigos Special to The National Herald NEW YORK – The new Mary and Michael Jaharis Galleries of Greek, Roman and Byzantine Art at the Art Institute of Chicago were introduced to the art world, the city of Chicago, and the Greek-American Community with a special preview and gala dinner on Saturday evening, November 10. Friends, including Archbishop Demetrios of America traveled, from New York and points more distant to congratulate and thank the Jaharis family for their latest philanthropic offering in the form of new spaces in American’s leading museums dedicated to the…