[ditty_news_ticker id="27897"] May, 2016 - Orthodox Christian Laity - Page 2
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Monthly Archives: May, 2016

Source: The National Herald BANGOR, ME – Adam Metropoulos, a 53-year-old former Greek Orthodox Priest, who in March was convicted on four felony counts of sexual abuse of a minor, and in April was sentenced to 12 years in prison, is now being sued by the victim, the Bangor Daily News reported. The name of the plaintiff, now 24, is not being released publicly because he was the victim of sexual abuse, the News reported. The lawsuit also names as co-defendants Metropoulos’ supervisors and the Greek-American community in Bangor, although it does not specifically name St. George Greek Orthodox Church,…

Source: Orthodox Church in America LOUISVILLE, KY [SVOTS Communications]  Seasoned and recently ordained Orthodox Christian priests may want to take advantage of grant awards being offered by the Louisville Institute. The awards offer pastoral leaders the opportunity and resources to investigate issues related to Christian life, faith, and ministry.  Through its Pastoral Study Project program [PSP], the Institute enables pastoral leaders to bracket daily work routines in order to pursue a pressing and significant question for the life of faith. The Louisville Institute is a Lilly Endowment-funded program based at Louisville Seminary supporting those who lead and study North American…

Source: Sputnik Moscow and the Holy See are working together on the issue of moral values and persecuted Christians. This cooperation is beneficial for both parties, from a diplomatic and political viewpoint, the French newspaper Le Figaro wrote. According to Le Figaro, since the end of the Cold War, the Vatican has always been willing to hold a dialogue with Moscow. “Russia has become one of the centers of a new polycentric world order, an empire in the process of establishment, which one should offer one’s hand,” political expert Canstance Colonna-Cesari said cited by the newspaper. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the relations between Moscow and the Vatican were characterized…

Source: Daily Mail Grandmother of air hostess Yara Hani Tawfik collapsed at service in Cairo Hundreds attended the memorial service with friends calling her ‘perfect’ All 66 people onboard EgyptAir MS804 flight died over Mediterranean Sea By Arthur Martin In Cairo For The Mailonline The elderly grandmother of air hostess Yara Hani Tawfik who died on the doomed EgyptAir MS804 flight collapsed at her memorial service today. Concerned friends and relatives rushed to Anna Yara’s aid as she sat wailing on a pew in a church in Cairo. One held the grandmother face as she was overcome with grief in…

Source: First Things by Charlotte Allen When Pope Francis announced his willingness to appoint a commission to study whether women can serve as deacons in the Catholic Church, my first thought was: Here we go! And sure enough, FutureChurch, the liberal Catholic organization that has subtly pushed for the ordination of women to the hitherto all-male Catholic priesthood, not only praised Francis for his statement but announced its intention to set up a CatholicWomenDeacons.org website, sponsor a retreat for women feeling the “call” to become deacons, and, clearly most important of all, lobby the U.S. bishops to start pestering Rome…

Source: Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America NEW YORK – An historic gathering for the Orthodox Christian Churches, the first of its kind in 1200 years, is being supported with both digital communications and a multilingual team of experts. A website, www.orthodoxcouncil.org, provides background information on the Holy and Great Council, which will meet in Crete June 16-27 and gathers representatives from the 14 autocephalous (internally self-governing) Orthodox Churches to discuss issues ranging from the mission of the Orthodox Church in the modern world and its relations with other Christian churches, to the importance of fasting and the sacrament of marriage.…

Source: Notes on Arab Orthodoxy Arabic original here. Note that in Arabic, the word for “synod” and “council” is the same. For a succinct expression of a similar understanding of primacy by a medieval patriarch of Antioch, seehere. For more discussions of Antiochian ecclesiology, see here andhere. The Holy Synod It is the gathering  of the regional church, which they call the local church, and in most churches it is made up of their bishops. For example, the churches gathered around the patriarch of Antioch are called the Antiochian Church, those around the patriarch of Alexandria the Church of Alexandria,…

Source: Orthodox Church in America SOUTH CANAAN, PA [STOTS Communications]  With great joy, the Board of Trustees of Saint Tikhon’s Orthodox Theological Seminaryhere announced during the second week of May that the speaker for the school’s 74th annual Commencement will be His Eminence, Archbishop Demetrios of the Greek Orthodox Church of America. Commencement exercises will be held at the outdoor chapel on the grounds of Saint Tikhon’s Monastery on Saturday, May 28, 2016 at 1:00 p.m.  See related story. During the festivities, Archbishop Demetrios will be awarded a Doctor of Divinity, Honoris Causa, in recognition of his yeoman service to…

Source: Pravoslavie.ru Originally posted on January 22, 2014 by Metropolitan Nikolaos of Mesogaia and Lavreotiki It is impossible to describe how exquisite and noble are the podvizhniki![1] These people—although they bear the traces of harsh struggles, although their bodies are so withered and emaciated—have a fragrance and grace imprinted on their wondrous souls. 1976. The month of August—July 22 Old Style. The Altar Feast (Panegyr) of St. Mary Magdalene in Simonopetra. How they love this saint in her monastery! Her left hand is kept here—her wrist, palm, and fingers—with the skin and tendons. Its temperature holds steadily at 98.6 °F/37° C—proof…

Source: Change.org Petitioning Secretariat for the Preparation of the Great and Holy Council Centre Orthodoxe, Chambesy The Pan-Orthodox Council will meet in Crete at Pentecost. Its voting members will consist of hierarchs from each of the fourteen autocephalous churches. Those delegates will be accompanied by non-voting consultants that may include clergy, monastic, and/or lay participants, with no guarantee that any of them will be female. As a result, the Council is structured in such a way that women—who comprise at least 50% of Orthodox congregations—will have virtually no opportunity to make a substantive contribution on matters that affect the entire body…

Source: Orthodox Church in America DALLAS, TX [OCA]  The Enthronement of His Grace, Bishop Alexander as the second Bishop of Dallas and the South will be celebrated at Saint Seraphim Cathedral, 4112 Throckmorton, Dallas, TX on Saturday, June 11, 2016.  [See related story.] Canonically elected by the Holy Synod of Bishops of the Orthodox Church in America during their Spring Session on March 29, 2016, Bishop Alexander succeeds His Eminence, Archbishop Dmitri, who in retirement fell asleep in the Lord at the age of 87 on August 28, 2011. The celebration will begin on Friday, June 10, with a reception…

Source: Chicago Tribune By Tribune news services  Contact Reporter VATICAN CITY – Pope Francis said Thursday he is willing to create a commission to study whether women can be deacons in the Catholic Church, signaling an openness to letting women serve in ordained ministry currently reserved to men. Francis agreed to the proposal during a closed-door meeting with some 900 superiors of women’s religious orders. Deacons are ordained ministers but are not priests, though they can perform many of the same functions as priests: preside at weddings, baptisms and funerals, and preach. They cannot, however, celebrate Mass. Currently, married men — who…