September, 2015 - Orthodox Christian Laity

Monthly Archives: September, 2015

Russian Orthodox Church, Muslims Back ‘Holy Battle’ Against ISIS

By Webmaster on September 30, 2015 Orthodox News, Orthodox News Top Stories, Uncategorized

Source: Israel National News Powerful Orthodox Church hails government decision to initiate airstrikes against rebels in Syria. Russia’s powerful Orthodox Church on Wednesday voiced support for Moscow’s decision to carry out air strikes in Syria against the Islamic State group (ISIS), calling it a “holy battle.” “The fight with terrorism is a holy battle and today our country is perhaps the most active force in the world fighting it,” said the head of the Church’s public affairs department, Vsevolod Chaplin, quoted by Interfax news agency. Chaplin explicitly said the Church backs Russia’s decision to deploy its airforce in Syria to…

The 8th anniversary of the enthronement of Patriarch Daniel of Romania

By Webmaster on September 28, 2015 Orthodox News, Orthodox News Top Stories

Source: Serbian Orthodox Church His Beatitude Daniel celebrates on Wednesday, 30 September 2015, the 8th anniversary of the enthronement as Patriarch of the Romanian Orthodox Church (30 September 2007). The Romanian Patriarch will officiate at the Divine Liturgy, from 09:30, in the Patriarchal Cathedral, assisted by hierarchs, members of the Holy Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church, priests and deacons. After the Divine Liturgy, A Te Deum service will be officiated, at 11:30, as a sign of thanksgiving for the divine help received in the faithful service of the Romanian Orthodox Church and the Romanian people. Next, during the anniversary moment…

Advancing Freedom of Religion or Belief for All: Experts gather at Halki

By Webmaster on September 28, 2015 Orthodox News, Orthodox News Top Stories, Uncategorized

Source: Conference of European Churches (CEC) Istanbul/Heybeliada From September 7 to 9 more than 40 human rights experts from across Europe journeyed to the hilltop theological school of Halki on the Turkish island of Heybeliada. Once the heart of theological education for the Orthodox world, the school closed in 1971 as a result of a ban on private higher education in Turkey. Arriving by plane, train, and even by foot, participants discussed and debated approaches to advancing freedom of religion or belief. Participants were drawn from CEC Member Churches, civil society, academia, and the European Institutions. Topics covered included the…

Fresh Perspective on Serving God through Others Embraced at IOCC Youth Conferences

By Webmaster on September 28, 2015 Orthodox News, Orthodox News Top Stories

Source: International Orthodox Christian Charities Baltimore, MD (IOCC) — More than 50 Orthodox Christian high school students representing over 30 different dioceses under the Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops in the United States of America gathered this summer in Minneapolis and Chicago for two Serv-X-Treme! conferences. Participants strengthened their understanding of Christ-centered service and Orthodox Christian philanthropy through theoretical and hands-on service activities at the week-long gatherings. “Being given the opportunity to practice my faith in so many different environments was truly a blessing,” said participant Dimitri Godur of Miami, Florida. “Our projects and discussions truly gave me a different…

Prominent New York Priest Suspended for Sexual Misconduct

By Webmaster on September 28, 2015 Orthodox News, Orthodox News Top Stories

Source: Greek News Network The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America has suspended a prominent New York City priest who once even held the position of Chancellor of the Archdiocese in the late 1990s. Fr. George Passias, pastor at St. Spyridon in New York City was officially suspended from his pastoral duties after an extra-marital affair came to light with a woman from his parish. That affair, which has allegedly been going on for years, resulted in the pregnancy of the woman. Both the priest, and the woman involved in the affair are married and each have children of their own. The relationship between…

On Refugees, Be ‘Wise as Serpents’

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

Source: Raymond Ibrahim – Islam Translated This article was written for RaymondIbrahim.com by Ralph Sidway, an Orthodox Christian researcher and writer, and author of Facing Islam: What the Ancient Church has to say about the Religion of Muhammad. He operates the Facing Islam blog. The Bulgarian Orthodox Church has announced it will help migrants who have arrived in Bulgaria, but has urged authorities not to let any more migrants in, clarifying sharp differences between Eastern European Christian nations and Western secular/post-Christian responses to the mass Muslim refugee crisis. It is very interesting that most Orthodox and Eastern Christian bishops have shown great restraint in…

Archbishop Demetrios Shares 9/11 Memories

By Webmaster on September 27, 2015 Orthodox News, Orthodox News Top Stories, Uncategorized

Source: The National Herald BY THEODORE KALMOUKOS One of the people who lived very close to the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001 was the leader of our Greek Orthodox Church in America, Archbishop Demetrios. In the ensuing days, weeks, months… and beyond, the archbishop became a source of comfort to those who lost their loved ones in that horrific tragedy. Demetrios remembers the details quite vividly, and he shares those memories with The National Herald. “We were in Boston the day before, September 10, for the Constantine G. Karamanlis Chair in Hellenic and European Studies at The Fletcher…

Saving Russian Religious Music Tradition

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

Source: Voice of America Many religions use music to help communicate their message. What you are listening to now is a choral workperformed in the Russian Orthodox Church. This kind of singing is different from the music of other religious traditions. And it is this kind of singing that a U.S.-based choir hopes to keep alive. The choir is part of the Patriarch Tikhon Russian-American Music Institute. The group recently went to Russia for training in what is known as theSlavonic tradition of music. All 35 members of this choir are Russian and citizens of the United States. The group sang during religious services in…

John T. Tavlarides, longtime priest at Greek Orthodox cathedral, dies at 84

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

Source: The Washington Post By Matt Schudel The Rev. Dr. John T. Tavlarides, who spent more than 50 years as the senior priest and later dean of St. Sophia Greek Orthodox Cathedral in Washington, building it into one of the country’s most prominent Orthodox Christian congregations, died Sept. 21 at a hospital in Berlin, Md., near his vacation home in Ocean City, Md. He was 84. He had a heart ailment, said a son, Mark Tavlarides. Rev. Tavlarides arrived at St. Sophia in 1956 as the first American-born priest to serve at Washington’s oldest Greek Orthodox congregation. During his 55…

Don’t let Muslim refugees in, says Bulgaria’s Orthodox Church

By Webmaster on September 26, 2015 Orthodox News, Orthodox News Top Stories, Uncategorized

Source: Middle East Eye (MEE) Far right groups across Europe are calling for Muslims not to be allowed in amid a huge refugee crisis Bulgaria’s Orthodox Church has called on its government not to let any more Muslim refugees into the country to prevent an “invasion”. The Balkan EU member has largely been bypassed by the hundreds of thousands of refugees fleeing conflict and poverty, many of whom set off from Greece through neighbouring Macedonia and Serbia towards northern Europe. But Bulgaria has still seen Syrians, Afghans and Iraqis cross its southeastern border from Turkey. “We help refugees who have…

Why Tsar Nicholas II and his wife Alexandra have been exhumed

By Webmaster on September 24, 2015 Orthodox News, Orthodox News Top Stories

Source: The Week Romanov royal couple and their five children were brutally murdered by Bolsheviks in 1918 The remains of Tsar Nicholas II and his wife Alexandra have been exhumed as part of a Russian investigation into the Romanov royal family’s murder. The couple and their children – Olga, Tatiana, Maria, Anastasia and Alexei – were murdered by Bolsheviks in 1918. Nicholas II, Alexandra, Olga, Tatiana and Anastasia are buried at Peter and Paul Cathedral in St Petersburg after their bodies were discovered in a mass grave in the Urals in 1991. Remains, believed to be Alexei and Maria, were found in…

Opinion Piece on Sixth Assembly of Bishops in Chicago, IL – September 15-17, 2015

By Webmaster on September 24, 2015 Governance & Unity Essays, Governance & Unity News

Source: Orthodox Christian Laity by George Matsoukas The case for Unity among the Orthodox Jurisdictions is made more manifest by the sabotaging of the Assembly of Bishops by the Antiochian Archdiocese. The dispute between Old World Patriarchs undermines the establishment of canonical order in the USA. The dispute over Qatar appears to be the reason why the Patriarchate of Antioch changed its mind and negated its signature on the Chambésy Accord of 2008. The act and statement presented to the Assembly of Bishops are contrary to the integrity and history of the Antiochian Archdiocese that brought seekers home to the…

1 2 3 Next

Sign “A Declaration for Orthodox Christian Unity in America”…Support this website – every donation helps! Thank you!…

Monthly Archives: September, 2015