[ditty_news_ticker id="27897"] September, 2013 - Orthodox Christian Laity - Page 2
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Monthly Archives: September, 2013

Source: The Spectator by Ed West The last month and a half has seen perhaps the worst anti-Christian violence in Egypt in seven centuries, with dozens of churches torched. Yet the western media has mainly focussed on army assaults on the Muslim Brotherhood, and no major political figure has said anything about the sectarian attacks. Last week at the National Liberal Club there was a discussion asking why the American and British press have ignored or under-reported this persecution, and (in some people’s minds) given a distorted narrative of what is happening. Among the four speakers was the frighteningly impressive Betsy Hiel of…

Source: Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of North and Central America In the final day of its annual meeting, the Assembly agreed to issue two statements—one on the Church’s unchanging position on marriage and one expressing grave concern over the escalating violence in the Middle East. The Assembly also released a message to the faithful on the conclusion of Assembly IV. The three statements can be found here: statement on marriage; statement on violence in the Middle East; and message to the faithful. In other business, the Assembly voted unanimously to re-elect Bishop Basil as secretary and Metropolitan Antony as treasurer. Archbishop Demetrios…

Source: Orthodox Church in America SYOSSET, NY [OCA] – As part of its mission to train late vocation candidates for ordination to the the Holy Diaconate of the Orthodox Church in America, an on-line course in Church History is being offered beginning September 27, 2013. This course is being offered with the blessing of His Beatitude, Metropolitan Tikhon, and at the direction of the Board of Theological Education of the Holy Synod of Bishops. Archpriest John H. Erickson, the Peter N. Gramowich Professor of Church History, Emeritus, of Saint Vladimir’s Seminary, Yonkers, NY, will teach the course, which will span approximately 14 consecutive…

Source: Orthodox Church in America SYOSSET, NY [OCA] – Members of the Metropolitan Council of the Orthodox Church in America will gather at the Chancery here for their fall session September 23-26, 2-13. According to Archpriest Eric G. Tosi, OCA Secretary, the session will begin with a one-day retreat at which Priest Nicholas Solak, Rector of Holy Trinity Church, Stroudsburg, PA, and Dr. Albert S. Rossi, Director of Field Education at Saint Vladimir’s Seminary, Yonkers, NY, will address the issue of conflict resolution. “The retreat,” said Father Eric, “is the most recent in a series that had been recommended by the Metropolitan Council’s…

Source: National Catholic Reporter By Melissa Jones TOWARD AN ECOLOGY OF TRANSFIGURATION: ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN PERSPECTIVES ON ENVIRONMENT, NATURE, AND CREATION Edited by John Chryssavgis and Bruce V. Foltz Published by Fordham University Press, $125 hardback, $35 paperback Every year on or around Epiphany, a group of Eastern Orthodox Christian faithful from Denver forms a carpool caravan and drives three hours to the Continental Divide at Monarch Pass, Colo. They make this trek to bless the snowpack because they know that the spring melt will flow east and west down the Rockies to feed the life-giving streams and rivers of the…

Source: The Sofia Globe Members of Bulgaria’s parliamentary committee on religious affairs are proposing for the first time to include the Roman Catholic church in the country in the list of religious bodies to receive state subsidies. This emerged after a meeting between the chairperson of the committee, Plamen Slavov, and the head of the bishops’ conference of the Roman Catholic church in Bulgaria, Hristo Proykov. “So far, we have been self-supporting, and if we get this grant, it would be a good helping hand for us,” local media quoted Proykov as saying. Slavov said that the committee supported the…

Source: Assembly of Orthodox Canonical Bishops of North and Central America http://assemblyofbishops.org/news/2013/canonical-restructuring-and-national-youth-meeting-key-topics-on-day-two#sthash.C5nM8r97.dpuf The Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops endorsed a proposal to plan for a North American Pan-Orthodox Youth Gathering of high school students. The proposal was put forth by the Committee for Youth. The gathering will enable Orthodox youth from all jurisdictions to come together, share in their faith, bear witness to the Church, and build bridges across our Orthodox family. The gathering, which will be organized by jurisdictional youth departments, is slated to happen in 2016 or 2017. In the period leading up to the national event, local…

Source: America – The National Catholic Review Antonio Spadaro, S.J. The exclusive interview with Pope Francis  Editor’s Note: This interview with Pope Francis took place over the course of three meetings during August 2013 in Rome. The interview was conducted in person by Antonio Spadaro, S.J., editor in chief of La Civiltà Cattolica, the Italian Jesuit journal. Father Spadaro conducted the interview on behalf of La Civiltà Cattolica, America and several other major Jesuit journals around the world. The editorial teams at each of the journals prepared questions and sent them to Father Spadaro, who then consolidated and organized them. The…

Source: Slate By Atlas Obscura From the scorching deserts of Sinai to the frozen tundras of Siberia, Orthodox Christianity has a history of building its churches and monasteries in inhospitable places. But only a few can rival Trinity Church on King George Island. The southernmost Orthodox church in the world, Trinity was built near Bellingshausen Station, Russia’s permanent outpost in Antarctica. In the mid-1990s Patriarch Alexius II of Moscow gave his blessing for this audacious project. The church was constructed in Russia and transported by a supply ship to its present location. One or two monks from Troitse-Sergiyeva Lavra — considered…

Source: Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of North and Central America The first day of meetings of the Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of North and Central America reflected a growing collegiality and cooperation among those present. Forty-three hierarchs representing 11 jurisdictions are in attendance. The morning began with hierarchs participating in a common celebration of the Divine Liturgy at the Holy Virgin Protection Cathedral in Des Plaines, IL. “Today…we are here together in unity and joy in full awareness of the truth that the love of Christ has brought us together and is with us,” said Archbishop Demetrios, Chairman…

Source: Orthodox Church in America SCHAUMBURG, IL [OCA] – His Beatitude, Metropolitan Tikhon and the members of the Holy Synod of Bishops of the Orthodox Church in America are among 65 hierarchs participating in the 2013 annual meeting of the Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of North and Central America at the Chicago Marriott here Tuesday through Thursday, September 17-19, 2013. The first annual meeting was held in New York City in 2010, while the second and third gatherings were held in Chicago in 2011 and 2012. The schedule and agenda as posted on the Assembly web site may be accessed here. According to…

Source: Here & Now Syrian military forces continue to battle Islamic rebels near the ancient Christian town of Maaloula, Syria, where some residents still speak Aramaic, the language of Jesus Christ. Most Maaloula residents have fled, but nuns and orphans remain holed up in Mar Tekla, one of the town’s two early Christian monasteries. They are members of the eastern orthodox Church of Antioch. Its leader in the U.S., Metropolitan Philip Saliba, is concerned about their safety. Philip is a strong supporter of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. He joined church leaders in calling for a special “Day of Solidarity” in…