June, 2015 - Orthodox Christian Laity

Monthly Archives: June, 2015

Questions for Metropolitan Joseph and the Faithful of the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese

By Webmaster on June 30, 2015 Governance & Unity Essays, Governance & Unity News, Uncategorized

Source: Orthodox Christian Laity Where is ANTIOCHIAN participation in the Assembly of Bishops in the USA and in Europe? Where is the participation of the Laity of the Antiochian Archdiocese on the matter of Unity? Why have the many years of leadership – promoting Unity, the legacy Metropolitan Philip, been reversed by Metropolitan Joseph? Why do the problems of the Patriarchates in Europe and other regions have ripple effects on the work of the Assembly of Bishops in charge of the spiritual lives of the faithful in the United States? Controversy between Patriarchs of Antioch and Jerusalem caused a directive to…

Reflections on a Conference in Preparation for the Great and Holy Council of the Orthodox Church

By Webmaster on June 30, 2015 Governance & Unity Essays, Governance & Unity News

Source: Orthodox Christian Laity George Karcazes, Vice President and George Matsoukas, Executive Director of Orthodox Christian Laity (OCL) had the privilege of attending the recently-held conference co-sponsored by the Orthodox Theological Society in America (OTSA ) and the Orthodox Christian Studies Center of Fordham University held at Fordham University School of Law, Lincoln Center Campus, on Friday, June 26 and Saturday, June 27, 2015. On Friday evening, the Florovsky Lecture on “The Decisive Importance of Councils in the Life of the Church” was delivered by His Eminence, Metropolitan Kallistos Ware at the Leon Lowenstein Center of the Lincoln Center Campus,…

How are WE doing with marriage? An Orthodox Perspective

By Webmaster on June 30, 2015 Orthodox News, Orthodox News Top Stories

by Archbishop Lazar Puhalo We need to start looking to our own housekeeping now. What is the average lifespan of a marriage in Canada? For the past 25 or so years, we have been told that it is 5 years. I do not have concrete statistics on that figure, but it has been mentioned by government agencies. Divorce is far too easy to obtain, without any form of counselling or attempts to save marriages. I have no idea what the stats are in America, or in the Commonwealth outside of Canada. However, it seems that we need to work very hard…

Defend Your Flock! Please.

By Webmaster on June 29, 2015 Governance & Unity Essays, Governance & Unity News

Source: Women in Theology by Maria Gwyn McDowell The Orthodox Church in America (OCA) has issued a statement regarding the recent Supreme Court decision regarding same-sex marriage. I appreciate the following from His Beatitude Metropolitan Tikhon: The ruling does not change the teaching of the Church, but it does remind us of the need to be Christ-like in our dealings with everyone. The state has the responsibility to enact laws that protect the rights of each individual. The Church, while it does not bless “same-sex marriages” or view them as sacramental, does see the image of Christ in every individual,…

Statement concerning June 26 US Supreme Court decision released

By Webmaster on June 27, 2015 Orthodox News, Orthodox News Top Stories

Source: Orthodox Church in America SYOSSET, NY [OCA] In a statement released the last weekend of June 2015, His Beatitude, Metropolitan Tikhon, on behalf of the Holy Synod of Bishops of the Orthodox Church in America, addressed the June 26 decision of the Supreme Court of the US legalizing same-sex marriages. The text of the message, together with links to numerous similar statements from recent years, appears below. Statement concerning June 26 US Supreme Court decision June 28, 2015 To the Venerable Hierarchs, Reverend Clergy, Monastics, and Faithful of the Orthodox Church in America: Dearly Beloved, The recent ruling by…

Archbishop Demetrios Attends Funeral of South Carolina Slain Pastor Rev. Clementa Pinckney

By Webmaster on June 26, 2015 Orthodox News, Orthodox News Top Stories

Source: Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America NEW YORK – His Eminence Archbishop Demetrios, Primate of the Greek Orthodox Church in America, attended today, Jun. 26, 2015, the funeral service for South Carolina State Sen. Rev. Clementa Pinckney, who was slain last Wednesday with eight others inside the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston. Archbishop Demetrios attended the service from its start, in the filled to capacity TD Arena at the College of Charleston. The service concluded with the moving eulogy of President Barack Obama. Following the conclusion of the service, His Eminence greeted and expressed his condolences to the…

How the Supreme Court’s decision for gay marriage could affect religious institutions

By Webmaster on June 26, 2015 Orthodox News, Orthodox News Top Stories

Source: Pew Research Center BY DAVID MASCI Even before the Supreme Court’s decision granting same-sex couples a constitutional right to wed, legal scholars and others have been trying to determine how such a ruling might affect religious institutions. It has been a question on the minds of the justices, too. Indeed, during the April 28 oral arguments in the case, Obergefell v. Hodges, most of the justices asked about or commented on this issue. Justice Samuel Alito drew a possible parallel with Bob Jones University, a fundamentalist Christian institution that lost its nonprofit, tax-exempt status in 1983 as a result of its policy banning interracial…

Assembly of Bishops Videos Now Online from Dallas Clergy Laity Gathering

By Webmaster on June 25, 2015 Governance & Unity News, Governance Top Stories

Source: Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops in the USA The Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of the United States of America posted two videos today of the Pan-Orthodox Doxology and Clergy Laity Gathering held in Dallas during Assembly V. The first video features highlights of the Doxology and the opening remarks of Assembly Chairman Archbishop Demetrios. The second video presents, in full, the question and answer session with five of the Assembly’s hierarchs. The Assembly is grateful to the Virginia H Farah Foundation for its recent grant to the Assembly, which enabled the final production of the videos. …

July 10 marks deadline for AAC registrations

By Webmaster on June 24, 2015 Governance & Unity News, Governance Top Stories

Source: Orthodox Church in America SYOSSET, NY [OCA] Participants in the 18th All-American Council of the Orthodox Church in America, slated to convene July 20-24, 2015 in Atlanta, GA, are reminded that the registration deadline Is Friday, July 10. “Registration must be completed by that date to ensure a place at the Council,” said Archpriest Eric G. Tosi, OCA Secretary. “Registrations that arrive after that date will require special approval by the Preconciliar Commission and the registrants’ diocesan bishops.” The on-line registration procedure may be completed here. In related news, the Atlanta Convention Bureau has created two special web sites…

The 5 Most Important Points of Pope Francis’s Climate Change Encyclical / Patriarch Bartholomew’s Efforts on Environmental Issues by Comparison

By Webmaster on June 18, 2015 Orthodox News, Orthodox News Top Stories

Source: Time by Christopher J. Hale Christopher Hale is executive director at Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good and the co-founder of Millennial. We can and must make things better Pope Francis’s groundbreaking encyclical letter on care for creation made its anticipated debut Thursday morning, and once again, the Bishop of Rome has delivered a masterpiece. The document will play a key role in United Nations Paris Climate Change Conference this November and will be a pivotal point of debate as the 2016 presidential campaign heats up here at home. So what exactly does the pope address in this letter?…

Assembly Executive Committee Meets with Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew in Constantinople

By Webmaster on June 18, 2015 Governance & Unity News, Governance Top Stories

Source: Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops in the USA Istanbul—On Tuesday, June 16, 2015 His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew warmly received the Executive Committee of the Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of the United States of America at the Phanar in Constantinople. During the meeting, which took place in a spirit of open exchange in the personal office of the Ecumenical Patriarch, the hierarchs reviewed with His All-Holiness the work of the Assembly of Bishops, especially as it relates to the overall work of its committees. Particular attention was given to the work of the Committees for Pastoral Practice and…

Pope Francis to receive Syrian Orthodox Patriarch

By Webmaster on June 17, 2015 Orthodox News, Orthodox News Top Stories

Source: Vatican Radio (Vatican Radio) From June 17-20, Moran Mor Ignatius Aphrem II, Syrian Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch and all the East, will be in Rome to meet with Pope Francis. Aphrem II was elected the 123rd Syrian Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch in 2014. The Syrian Orthodox Church traces its history to the first Christian communities established in Antioch. Both St Peter and St Paul resided in Antioch. It was from Antioch that the first missionaries went forth to evangelize Asia and Europe. The Syrian Orthodox Church arose from divisions following the Council of Chalcedon in 451. The Syrian Orthodox…

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Monthly Archives: June, 2015