Source: The Daily Beast by Candida Moss Meeting the head of the Eastern Orthodox church, the pope set a date for a third historic meeting of Christian factions—a savvy move to control how his successors lead. After all the speculation surrounding Pope Francis’s ability to engineer peace on his big Middle East trip, the biggest news from the visit came from his visit with Patriarch Bartholomew I, the primary leader of the Eastern Orthodox Church. Not to gloat, but we totally called it. Following the meeting, Bartholomew gave an interview in which he said that he and Francis are planning a gathering in 2025 in…
Monthly Archives: June, 2014
Source: The Blade (Toledo) Saliba led Antiochian Orthodox church since ’66 BY PETER SMITH BLOCK NEWS ALLIANCE CHICAGO — Three bishops have been nominated to be the first new leader in half a century of the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America. The candidates were chosen Thursday at a special assembly in Chicago, called to recommend a successor to the late Metropolitan Philip Saliba, who died March 19 at age 82 after leading the growing denomination since 1966. Among the nominees for his successor is Bishop John Abdalah of the Diocese of Worcester and New England, who served for…
Source: United Press International (UPI) Pope Francis on married priests: “The door is always open.” By Matt Bradwell BETHESDA, Md., June 6 (UPI) –A group of Catholic and Orthodox theologians is calling on Pope Francis to end the Catholic church’s prohibition of married men within the priesthood for members of the faith who practice in Eastern Catholic churches. Eastern Catholic and Orthodox churches recognize the divine authority of the papacy, but often have different ceremonial practices and cultural traditions. In most of the world, Eastern priests are allowed to wed, but in North America they are not. In a statement released Friday, The…
Source: The Times Tribune By Peter Cameron Standing in his empty 90-year-old church, the Rev. Father Konstantine Eleftherakis pulls a Verizon smartphone from his faded black cassock. With half the walls at the Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church in Scranton covered with fresh and colorful icons, and the other half exhibiting older, smaller and faded ones, the priest projects an apt symbol of the building, which has become a mixture of old and new. Last fall, two brothers from the city of Thessaloniki in Greece came to the church and revitalized the interior with vibrant portraits of Jesus and Mary, saints…
Source: Catholic World News Speaking in Belarus, the chairman of the Russian Orthodox Church’s Department of External Church Relations told the European Orthodox-Catholic Forum that “the Greek Catholics have played a very destructive role” in the current Ukrainian crisis. “Unlike the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church, which has been able during these difficult months to unite people of various political persuasions, including those who have found themselves on both sides of the barricades, the Uniates have ostentatiously associated themselves with only one of the belligerent forces,” said Metropolitan Hilarion, referring to members of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, the largest of…
Source: International Orthodox Christian Charities Nineteen New “Frontliners” Trained with Support from Leadership 100 June 4, 2014 Archbishop Nicolae of the Romanian Orthodox Archdiocese in the Americas (front, center) hosted Bishop Peter of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia, IOCC Executive Director Constantine Triantafilou, IOCC U.S. Program Representative Daniel Christopulos and members of the IOCC Emergency Response Network gathered for training in Chicago, IL. With support from Leadership 100, there are now more than 100 Orthodox Christians trained to respond to disasters in the United States. photo: IOCC His Grace Bishop Demetrios, Chancellor of the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Chicago…
Source: Orthodox Church in America SYOSSET, NY [OCA] Over three dozen individuals were honored at commencement ceremonies at the Orthodox Church in America’s three seminaries during the month of May 2014. On the second weeked of May, Saint Herman’s Seminary, Kodiak, AK, honored and celebrated the ordinations of three graduates—Priests Simeon Askoak and Jason Isaac and Deacon Michael Trefon. Three additional students—Luke Levi, Mary Madsen and Alexander Larson—were awarded Reader Certificates. His Grace, Bishop David of Sitka and Alaska, delivered the commencement address, while Archimandrite Juvenaly [Repass], the seminary’s Chaplain, offered a special reflection on his six years of ministry…
Source: Orthodox Christian Laity At its recently adjourned board meeting in Akron, Ohio (May 30, 2014), four OCL members were elected to the Board of Directors. Each member is passionately committed to Orthodox Christian Unity. The variety of ages and interests of the new members will strengthen the vision and mission of OCL. The new board members are: Ellen Pantazis, Ocala, FL (GOA); Michael Pacurar, Long Beach CA and Akron, OH (OCA); John Regule, The Villages, FL (OCA); and Roy Snyder, St Louis, MO (Antiochian Archdiocese). Ellen Pantazis has had professional experiences as an educator and technology coordinator. She also…
Source: National Catholic Reporter by Josephine McKenna Religion News Service VATICAN CITY — A Vatican spokesman said it’s premature to suggest a gathering between Catholic and Orthodox faiths to mark the 1700th anniversary of the first church council held in Nicea in 325 A.D. Despite cordial meetings between Pope Francis and Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople during the pontiff’s visit to Jerusalem in May, the Vatican has rejected media reports that a 2025 event had been confirmed. “Several news agencies, publications and individuals have reported on this gathering as a fait accompli,” said the Rev. Thomas Rosica, a Vatican spokesman, in a statement. “No formal announcement…
Source: Orthodox Church in America SYOSSET, NY [OCA] Intensified prayers for Meriam Yehya Ibrahim, the 27-year-old mother who had received a death sentence from a Sudanese court in mid-May 2014, and her family are being requested in light of a BBC report issued Saturday afternoon, May 31, indicating that a government official had announced her impending release from prison. [See related stories here and here .] Meriam, who gave birth to her second child in prison on Tuesday, May 27, also had been sentenced to 100 lashes on the grounds that she had married a Christian. When pressured to renounce her faith—Meriam is an Ethiopian…