Source: San Francisco Chronicle By ALBERT AJI, Associated Press DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — A suicide bomber blew himself up near the headquarters of Syria’s Greek Orthodox Church in Damascus’ Old City, killing at least four people Thursday, minutes after the patriarch had entered the cathedral, state-run TV and a church official said. The blast in the ancient quarter of narrow streets and historic buildings was the first reported suicide attack of the Syrian civil war inside the Old City, although other such bombs have struck the capital of Damascus during the conflict. The blast struck in the vicinity of the Virgin Mary Cathedral in the…
Monthly Archives: June, 2013
St Ignatius Orthodox Church Cultural Center April 10-12, 2013 Wednesday Evening, April 10, OCL Board Members attended the Lenten Pre-Sanctified Liturgy at the new Sanctuary of St Ignatius and following the Liturgy participated in a fellowship pot-luck dinner. Father Stephen Rogers greeted His Eminence Archbishop Nathaniel and the OCL Board. The 25th Anniversary video was shown to the group and a short introduction to the work of OCL was presented by President Susan Haikalis. A highlight of the Lenten Pre-Sanctified Liturgy was sharing the service with many families and their children of all ages. Formal Board meeting convened at the…
Approved Minutes [WASHINGTON, D.C.] Wednesday, October 24 at 6:30 pm dinner meeting begins at Savoy Hotel. Those present included: George Karcazes, Andy Kartalis, His Eminence Archbishop Nathaniel, His Grace Bishop Mark, Alice Kopan, Chis Xeros, Peter Marudas, Bill Souvall, Peter J Petkas, George Pontikes, George Matsoukas, Guest was Joel Kalvesmaki, a member of the web oversight committee. The first item of discussion was about the revised web site. Alice Kopan started discussion by stating that the purpose of the web site overhaul is to attract youth. Who is our audience? How will we measure this objective? A history of the…
Source: CNN From Errol Barnett, CNN Lalibela, Ethiopia (CNN) — It’s 4 o’clock on a Sunday morning when a trail of figures dressed in white emerges from the deep darkness. Quietly, the summoned crowd makes its way down a cluster of ancient structures as the slow beat from traditional skin drums beckons. It’s a common scene here in Lalibela, a small town in northern Ethiopia that’s home to 11 spectacular churches carved both inside and out from a single rock some 900 years ago. The chiseled creations have turned this mountain town into a place of pride and pilgrimage for worshipers…
Source: Orthodox Church in America SYOSSET, NY [OCA] – The Orthodox Church in America is accepting applications for the position of Executive Assistant. A detailed job description may be found in PDF format. The Executive Assistant serves as the personal secretary to the Metropolitan with responsibility for all matters of correspondence to and from the Office of the Metropolitan, including the logging in of mail and the preparation of responses for review to both postal and electronic correspondence, the drafting of letters, scheduling and calendar maintenance, and follow-up work on Primatial visits. The Executive Assistant also serves the Chancery office as…
Pentecost 2013 As we take leave of the Paschal Liturgical Cycle of Lent through Pentecost, I want to take this opportunity to reflect upon a book I re-read during this period: Christ in Our Midst by Father Theodore Stylianopoulos. The book was written in 1980, and I was familiar with it when I was putting together the Chapter on “Spiritual Renewal” in the OCL publication “Project for Orthodox Renewal”. You can read this work online on our website. The discussion and insights presented in Christ In Our Midst, which was written by Father Ted as he worked on the Commission…
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: Holy Resurrection Orthodox Church The following is the statement made by Fr. Stephen Mathewes to the parish on Sunday, June 9th: To my most beloved brothers and sisters in Christ, Christ is risen! Holy Resurrection has had a long history. A convoluted one, shall we say. For 15 years, faithful and tremendously dedicated people have labored in this humble little vineyard to make it a true Orthodox community—a part of the great worldwide Church. There have been many struggles, many crises, many ups and downs. More than once, the end was thought to be near, only for this plucky…
Source: News Channel 5 NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Flames destroyed a Donelson Church just hours after the congregation wrapped up Sunday services. Firefighters were called out to St. Mary Coptic Orthodox Church, in the 1900 block of Dabbs Avenue, around 3 p.m. The first crews arrived to find flames shooting from the building, and a huge plume of smoke was visible for miles around. Fire officials said the blaze started in the kitchen, and spread quickly. There were people inside the church when the fire broke out, but no one was hurt. High temperatures Sunday afternoon created serious challenges for firefighters. More…
Οn Saturday, June 1, 2013, His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, together with members of the Holy and Sacred Synod and other Hierarchy of the Ecumenical Throne, welcomed His Beatitude Patriarch John X of Antioch to the Phanar. Patriarch John of Antioch was making his first stop in his Irenic Visitations following his election last December. Patriarch John and his entourage were received in a spirit of warm fraternal love and honor. The members of the delegation from the Church of Antioch included Metropolitans Elias of Tyre and Sidon and Saba of Bosra, Bishop Efraim of Seleucia, Frs. Silouan Oner and Michel…
Source: Patheos Press Blog By Peter Enns I came across this blog post, now over 3 years old, while meandering through the internet this morning. The point is made so succinctly and expresses so well my own thinking, I wanted to post it to see what you think. The author is Fr. Ted Bobosh, a priest at St. Paul the Apostle Church, Dayton, OH (Orthodox Church in America). He has degrees from the Ohio State University, St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary and Fordham University, and was for 12 years an adjunct professor at the University of Dayton, Religious Studies Department. The title…
Source: WKBN 27 TV News By WKBN Staff [Youngstown, OH] Father’s Day has a whole new meaning for a Boardman man whose son gave him a one of a kind gift. Father Thomas Constantine of Saint John the Forerunner Greek Orthodox Church has been a part of plenty of Sunday liturgies, but the one celebrated Sunday is one he’s never going to forget. He stood side by side with his son, Eleftherios Constantine, as he became a deacon in the Greek Orthodox Church. Growing up in the church, Father Constantine taught all the children to love God. Eleftherios always wanted…