September, 2015 - Orthodox Christian Laity

Monthly Archives: September, 2015

An Orthodox Church Canonist Comments on Whether or not an Exarch of Constantinople Can Lead the Assembly of Bishops

By Webmaster on September 15, 2015 Governance & Unity Essays, Governance & Unity News

Source: Orthodox Christian Laity The argument presented to me by the Antiochian Archdiocese leadership is that Archbishop Demetrios cannot preside over the Assembly of Bishops of the USA, because he is an Exarch. (See a reasonable explanation to the contrary below by Very Rev. Dr. Alexander Rentel, Assistant Professor of Canon Law and Byzantine Studies at St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary). The games must stop! The bishops have the responsibility to make canonical the Churches outside the boundaries of the former Roman Empire. Orthodox Christianity as presently organized in the so-called Orthodox Diaspora is uncanonical. The Assembly of Bishops of the…

The Canonical Status of the Patriarch of Constantinople in the Orthodox Church

By Webmaster on September 14, 2015 Governance & Unity Essays, Governance & Unity News

Source: Holy Trinity Cathedral, San Franciso CA by Archbishop Gregory (Afonsky) The Russian canonical school of the 19th and 20th centuries studied the question of the Patriarch of Constantinople’s canonical status in the Orthodox Church with care and diligence. For the most part books and monographs on the subject were well-disposed, explaining the Patriarch of Constantinople’s exceptionally high position in the Church both during the Byzantine and Turkish periods as a result of particular historical circumstances. During the Byzantine era the Patriarch of Constantinople, as the hierarch of the imperial capital and bishop of New Rome, received not only the…

Will Metropolitan Joseph Attend the Meeting of the Assembly of Bishops?

By Webmaster on September 11, 2015 Governance & Unity News, Governance Top Stories

Source: Orthodox Christian Laity Can it be that the First-Vice Chair of the Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of the United States of America, Metropolitan Joseph, may not attend the 6th Meeting that will take place in Chicago from September 15-17? As of September 10, he has not responded to the invitation to attend. He has received special calls to obtain his response. He is also chairman of an important committee on Pastoral Practices. Why is he not going? He did not attend the meeting in mid-June at the Phanar in Istanbul with the other heads of committees who met…

“Orthodox Working Together” – Annual OCL Meeting and Forum

By Webmaster on September 11, 2015 OCL News, Orthodox Christian Laity, Orthodox News, Orthodox News Top Stories

Source: Orthodox Christian Laity The Orthodox Christian Laity (OCL) is holding its 28th Annual Meeting and Community Forum in San Diego, California, November 4-7, 2015. “Orthodox Working Together” will be the theme of the event with a special emphasis on Project Mexico. Conference hotel is the Catamaran Resort on Mission Bay. The Business Meeting will take place at the Catamaran at 3 p.m. on Friday, November 6. That evening, beginning at 7 p.m., a community forum will be held at St. John of Damascus Orthodox Church (OCA), 16902 Espola Road in Poway, a San Diego suburb. The first part of…

Assembly of Bishops USA Releases New Study on Orthodox Christian Generosity and Giving to the Church

By Webmaster on September 10, 2015 Orthodox News, Orthodox News Top Stories

Source: Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops in the USA The Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of the United States of America has released a new study today, “Exploring Orthodox Generosity: Giving in US Orthodox Parishes.” The 138-page report is accompanied by a brief summary that shares the highlights of the study. The study was prepared by the Assembly’s research coordinator, Alexei Krindatch. The study addresses religious giving of Orthodox Christian Church members to their home parishes and to wider religious causes and explores the differences in giving between members of various Orthodox jurisdictions and parishioners according to certain demographics. Based on its findings,…

Assembly of Bishops USA 2013 Audit Now Available Online

By Webmaster on September 8, 2015 Governance & Unity News, Governance Top Stories

Source: Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of the USA An independent audit of the financial records of the Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of the United States of America has been completed and is available online. The audit was conducted by Barnes Wendling CPAs Inc. and covers the year ending December 31, 2013. The audit report compares 2013 and 2012. The Assembly is pleased to have received an unqualified (“clean”) opinion from the auditors. The report can be read here. An earlier report, covering the period from the Assembly’s inception through December 31, 2012, can be found here. [subscribe2]

The Turkish Kristallnacht

By Webmaster on September 7, 2015 Orthodox News, Orthodox News Top Stories

Source: Politico Sixty years after its pogroms against ethnic Greeks, Turkey grapples with its ugly history. By AYKAN ERDEMIR ANKARA — A belated commemoration — 60 years late, in fact — was held on September 6 at Istanbul’s Panagia Greek Orthodox Church. It was in memory of the victims of the 1955 pogrom targeting the Polites, short for Konstantinoupolites, namely the Greeks of Istanbul. This was the first divine liturgy-cum-memorial service ever to remember what’s known in Turkey as “the events of September 6 and 7.” In what some refer to as the “Kristallnacht in Constantinople,” 71 churches, 41 schools, eight newspapers, more…

Syrian Orthodox Patriarch talks refugee crisis in Laval visit

By Webmaster on September 6, 2015 Orthodox News, Orthodox News Top Stories, Uncategorized

Source: CJAD 800AM by Andrew Brennan As the world tries to figure out how to respond to the millions of Syrian refugees fleeing war and strife, the leader of the Syrian Orthodox Church gave his take while in Laval on Sunday. “The world should unite in order to defeat terrorism and to restore peace to Syria, to Iraq and to the entire region,” said Morignatius Aphrem II, Patriarch of the Syriac Orthodox Church. “I’m saddened by the fact that it took the photo of a young boy floating on the shore to draw the attention of the world to the…

Greek Orthodox convert new leader at St. George’s in Bangor

By Webmaster on September 6, 2015 Orthodox News, Orthodox News Top Stories

Source: Bangor Daily News By Judy Harrison, BDN Staff BANGOR, Maine — The Rev. Leo Schefe, the new pastor at St. George Greek Orthodox Church, has something in common with one-third of his congregation — he’s a convert to Orthodox Christianity. Schefe, a native of Chicago, was an evangelical Protestant working in the 1990s at a hospital in Portland, Oregon, in the Internet Technology department when he joined the Greek Orthodox Church. He quickly felt called to the priesthood and moved to Greece for five years to study and become familiar with the language. Since then, Schefe, 58, has served…

Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople rebukes Moscow, underlines importance of ties with Rome

By Webmaster on September 5, 2015 Governance & Unity News, Governance Top Stories

Source: Orthodox Post Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople rebukes Moscow, underlines importance of ties with Rome Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople underlined the importance of ecumenical ties with Rome, and criticized the resistance of the Russian Orthodox Church, in an August 29 address. The Ecumenical Patriarch—recognized as the “first among equals” of the world’s Orthodox leaders—stressed the primary importance of ecumenical affairs, and reiterated that his role involves “protecting the unity of the whole Orthodox Church.” He said that opposition to ecumenical unity reflects a “diabolical” impulse. Patriarch Bartholomew said that his continuing contacts with the Holy See are a critical…

Will Canonical Order – Orthodox Christian Unity in the USA – Emerge from the Sixth Meeting of the Assembly of Bishops?

By Webmaster on September 2, 2015 Governance & Unity Essays, Governance & Unity News, Uncategorized

Source: Orthodox Christian Laity Will Canonical Order – Orthodox Christian Unity in the USA – Emerge from the Sixth Meeting of the Assembly of Bishops? Canonical Orthodox Churches have always been Churches in specific geographical areas. Where the Bishop is, so too is the Church. The Church is not a colonial extension of bishops ruling or directing from other geographic areas. Canonical order is bishops in a geographic area meeting as a Synod, electing their own head and working with clergy and laity to build up the body of Christ. This is not true for the Churches outside the boundaries…

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Monthly Archives: September, 2015