Source: International Orthodox Christian Charities Baltimore, MD (IOCC) — Joumana will never forget the day she, her husband and two children abandoned their home in the war-torn Syrian city of Homs. “The situation was getting worse and worse each day, but we didn’t want to leave our neighborhood,” Joumana recalled. The need to flee came suddenly when they witnessed her mother-in-law killed right before them. After a hasty burial, they left for Damascus with few possessions. The horrifying memories of war and personal loss continue to haunt Joumana and her family more than a year after they were uprooted from their…
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Source: Acton Institute GRAND RAPIDS, MICH. (January 14, 2014) – Rooted in the Tradition of the Orthodox Church and its teaching on the relationship between God, humanity, and all creation, Fr. Michael Butler and Prof. Andrew Morriss offer a new contribution to Orthodox environmental theology. Creation and the Heart of Man is the first monograph in a new series of Orthodox Christian Social Thought from the Acton Institute. Too often policy recommendations from theologians and Church authorities have taken the form of pontifications, obscuring many important economic and public policy realities. The authors establish a framework for responsible engagement with environmental issues…
Source: ABC News By VLADIMIR ISACHENKOV Associated Press In a regretful letter penned a few months before his death, Mikhail Kalashnikov, the designer of the AK-47 assault rifle, asked the head of the Russian Orthodox Church if he was to blame for the deaths of those killed by his weapon. The Russian daily Izvestia on Monday published the letter, in which Kalashnikov, who died last month at 94, told Patriarch Kirill that he kept asking himself if he was responsible. The AK-47 is the world’s most popular firearm, with an estimated 100 million spread around the world. “The pain in…
Source: Orthodox Christian Laity (West Palm Beach, FL) His Eminence Metropolitan Alexios – Atlanta, GA (Greek Orthodox Archdiocese – GOA) and His Grace Bishop Antoun – Miami, FL (Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese – AOCA) celebrated the Feast of Theophany in an Inter-Orthodox Service ON January 11 at Saint Catherine Greek Orthodox Church, West Palm Beach, FL. Clergy and Laity from South East Florida gathered together with the Hierarchs for the celebration. This is the first time a hierarch from a jurisdiction other than the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese was invited to serve. The invitation and the concelebration are symbolic of efforts…
Source: Orthodox Church in America SYOSSET, NY [OCA] – In response to a letter from the Orthodox Church in the Czech Lands and Slovakia, dated January 13, 2014, His Beatitude, Metropolitan Tikhon, sent a congratulatory message to Sister Church’s newly elected Primate, Metropolitan-elect Rastislav, Archbishop of Presov and Slovakia. Metropolitan-elect Rastislav was elected at the 13th General Assembly of the Church in the Czech Lands and Slovakia on January 11, 2014. “I accept this result of the elections as my service to our Orthodox community which, after the abdication of His Beatitude, Metropolitan Christopher, found itself in a challenging ecclesial…
Source: Press Republican By Terry Mattingly, On Religion This elderly patriarch’s image is striking, with his stern face and a gray beard that flows over his chest, contrasting with the colorful clothing typical of his flock and his unique line of work. Just before Christmas, he created a stir with a blunt statement on a very controversial issue. No, this wasn’t the Duck Commander in Louisiana. This patriarch resides in the city his followers formally refer to as Constantinople-New Rome. “The Lord appointed the marriage of male and female in the blessed family,” proclaimed Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, while discussing Mary,…
Source: Asia News by NAT da Polis (January 7, 2014) Meeting to set guidelines and time frame for Preparatory Commission of the Pan-Orthodox Synod . But also to highlight the need to go beyond “localisms” and undertake joint initiatives . Zizioulas: self-marginalization the greatest danger of the Christian world today. Istanbul (AsiaNews ) – The Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew has convoked the patriarchs and archbishops of all the Orthodox Churches to a meeting in Istanbul, next March, for an exchange of views on the guidelines and time frame for the Preparatory Commission of the Pan-Orthodox Synod, scheduled for 2015. Thus far,…
Source: St Peter Orthodox Church, Ft. Myers FL DECEMBER 23, 2013 I held off talking about this miracle by Elder Paisios publicly until the miracle was complete, which it nearly is. I was asked to write an account of the miracle to be included in the papers sent to the Ecumenical Patriarchate where a decision will be made soon on the canonization of Elder Paisios as a Saint. I offer it here for the glory of God and the edification of the reader. December 18, 2013 Naples, Florida USA Early morning on April 2, 2013 I looked down at my…
Source: Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America MEMORY ETERNAL! Your prayers are requested for the repose of the soul of the newly-departed servant of God Dr. George J. Farha of St. George Cathedral in Wichita, KS, immediate past Vice Chairman of the Antiochian Archdiocese Board of Trustees and the Antiochian Heritage Foundation’s “Man of the Year” for 2013. Dr. Farha quietly fell asleep in Christ surrounded by his family at his home, shortly before nine o’clock on January 7, 2013. Condolences may be sent to his wife Brenda and their daughters Gayle (Mrs. Douglas) Malone, Joan (Mrs. David) Farha, Laura Farha, and…
Source: The Globe and Mail by TOM HENEGHAN [LONDON — Reuters] Reported cases of Christians killed for their faith around the world doubled in 2013 from the year before, with Syria accounting for more than the whole global total in 2012, according to an annual survey. Open Doors, a non-denominational group supporting persecuted Christians worldwide, said on Wednesday it had documented 2,123 “martyr” killings, compared with 1,201 in 2012. There were 1,213 such deaths in Syria alone last year, it said. “This is a very minimal count based on what has been reported in the media and we can confirm,”…
Source: Ma’an News Agency BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — The Orthodox, Assyrian, Coptic, and Ethiopian patriarchs arrived in Bethlehem on Monday to commence the celebration of Eastern Orthodox Christmas, which takes place on Tuesday. The Assyrian patriarch was first to arrive, followed by the Coptic Patriarch and Patriarch Theophilos III of Jerusalem, while the Ethiopian patriarch is expected to arrive later. Most Eastern Orthodox Christian denominations celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ on January 7th, in contrast to the Western Christian tradition of celebrating on December 25. Armenian denominations, meanwhile, celebrate Christmas on January 6th. The Eastern Orthodox date is in accordance…
Source: ABC News January 5, 2014 (Associated Press – VATICAN CITY) — Pope Francis says his upcoming trip to the Holy Land aims to boost relations with Orthodox Christians. But the three-day visit in May also underscores Francis’ close ties to the Jewish community, his outreach to Muslims and the Vatican’s longstanding call for peace between Israel and the Palestinians. The announcement was made Sunday just as U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry wrapped up three days of talks with Israeli and Palestinian leaders in a new U.S. bid for peace. Francis told thousands gathered in the rain for his…