Source: The National Herald by TNH staff CONSTANTINOPLE – Illustrating that Constantinople is still a “Byzantine” place regardless of what Turks call it, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew said during an interview with the Turkish Daily Milliyet that he only learned from newspapers that a special commission was set up to decide the fate of the Halki Seminary, which has been closed for more than four decades. “There is no representative of the Patriarchate on this commission. It is as if we are not a party relevant to this issue,” the Patriarch said to Milliyet. The seminary was closed by the Turkish…
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Source: Orthodox Church in America SYOSSET, NY [OCA] – The February edition of “Wonder”—the on-line journal of the Orthodox Church in America’s Department of Youth, Young Adult, and Campus Ministry—is now available. This month’s theme, “The Gospel and the City,” features transcriptions of sermons delivered by Orthodox Christian participants in the recent Festival of Young Preachers in Atlanta, GA. Ms. Anna Vander Wall reflects on Psalm 137 in her article, “Zion in Babylon.” A student at Saint Vladimir’s Seminary, Harrison Russin, relates the theme to the first chapter of Genesis in “Out of the Garden, Into the City.” Father James…
Source: Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of North and Central America The Secretariat welcomes Chrysanthe Loizos, the newly-appointed Communications Officer for the Assembly, to its ranks. Over the past fifteen years, Chrysanthe has worked for a number of nonprofit organizations, primarily in the humanitarian and social service sectors. Most recently she worked for International Orthodox Christian Charities as International Programs Coordinator. In that capacity she provided programmatic support to IOCC’s field offices abroad. During her tenure with IOCC, she worked in a number of its offices, including Beirut, Tbilisi, and Banja Luka. She has a bachelor’s degree in history from…
Source: The Sofia Globe by CLIVE LEVIEV-SAWYER After a day and a half of voting in more than 24 rounds, the governing body of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church, the Holy Synod, chose on February 16 2013 the three metropolitans who will be the candidates in the election for the next Patriarch – Galaktion of Stara Zagora, Neofit of Rousse and Gavril of Lovetch. This puts Gavril – the only metropolitan eligible for election who was not a communist-era State Security agent – back in the race after he appeared to have been eliminated early in the first rounds of voting…
Source: Catholic Online By Fr. Johannes L. Jacobse When faith dies man gradually loses the knowledge that he was created by God and so he loses himself. Pope Benedict’s rare insight and erudition of the Eastern patrimony strengthens both West and East and many Orthodox believers are grateful for it. May God grant us more teachers like him. May his remaining years bear much fruit. We still need him. NAPLES, FL. (Catholic Online) – Like almost everyone, the resignation of Pope Benedict came as a shock to Orthodox believers. Those of us who have watched Pope Benedict and his predecessor…
Source: Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America AUSTIN, Texas – The 11th Annual Orthodox Christian Camp & Youth Worker Conference took place at the Transfiguration Greek Orthodox Church in Austin, Texas January 24-26. Over 100 youth workers from around the United States and Bahamas assembled for this three-day conference hosted by the Department of Youth and Young Adult Ministries of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America. This year’s theme was “Shine Forth: Helping our Orthodox Youth Follow and Represent Christ.” Father Apostolos Hill, of St. George Greek Orthodox Church of Prescott, Ariz., offered the keynote address. He distilled his years of pastoral experience…
Our Logo CHRIST CENTERED At the center of the logo is a cross. It represents OCL’s commitment to keep the gospel of Christ and His Church at the center of the organization’s ministry efforts. The cross is the compass for the organization, steering it toward ministry opportunities that elevate the gospel and strengthen the Church. UNITY The silhouette of the circle reiterates that the church is and must be one, just as Christ has one body, undivided. The concept of oneness permeates every part of the organization’s mission and ministry. Most explicitly, the organization’s promotion of jurisdictional unity in North…
Source: Orthodox Church in America SYOSSET, NY [OCA] – Archpriest Eric G. Tosi, Secretary of the Orthodox Church in America, recently offered an update on Chancery activities for the remainder of February 2013. Among them: Members of the Board of Theological Education [BTE] will meet February 15-16 at Saint Stephen Cathedral, Philadelphia, PA. The Board oversees theological education and ensures standards for the OCA’s seminaries and other vocational programs. It also has specific oversight of the Diaconal Vocations Program and presents the names of candidates for ordination to the Holy Synod from among those who have completed their studies. Members…
Source: Orthodox Church in America SYOSSET, NY [OCA] – The Orthodox Church in America’s Department of Liturgical Music and Translations recently announced that the first phase of its self-study tutorial for learning the eight tones is now available on the OCA web site. The tutorial initially introduces the stikhera melodies for tones one through four in Common [L’vov-Bakhmetev Obikhod] and Kievan melodies. Recorded choral demonstrations of the written examples for each tone are presented, including full (SATB) choir, and individual lines for soprano, alto, tenor, and bass. Tones five through eight will be made available in the immediate future. Additional…
Source: Russia Beyond the Headlines by Lucia Bellinello A few hours after Pope Benedict XVI announced his resignation, Russia was already thinking about building relations with his successor. It had not happened for nearly 600 years. On February 11, 2013 Pope Benedict XVI (Ratzinger) announced his resignation in Latin to the Vatican. “I have come to the certainty that my strengths, due to an advanced age, are no longer suited to an adequate exercise of the Petrine ministry,” he said. In Russia, the pope’s Russian hashtag immediately became one of the most tweeted in the hours following the news, and…
Source: Orthodox Church in America SYOSSET, NY [OCA] – The Department of Youth, Young Adult, and Campus Ministry of the Orthodox Church in America will host its second in a series of job search skills webinars on Thursday, February 21 at 8:30 p.m. Eastern Time. “The topic for this month’s webinar is ‘Cover Letters, Branding, and Networking: The Finer Details of the Job Search’,” according to Andrew Boyd, OCA Youth Director. “The webinar will focus on creating a personal and unique ‘brand’ that builds an accurate and attractive image of you to potential employers. We will also look at how…
Source: Orthodox Church in America YONKERS, NY [SVOTS Communications] – St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary, Yonkers, NY, and the Faculty of Orthodox Theology at the University of Belgrade have made a formal agreement to work together with the aim of establishing a Serbian House of Studies on the campus of St. Vladimir’s Seminary. The House of Studies has several goals, including the promotion of sustained dialogue and educational exchanges between Orthodox Christians in America and Serbia. The Serbian House of Studies is one of many endeavors outlined in the Seminary’s newly crafted “SVS Strategic Plan 2020,” and the first to…