Source: Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America NEW YORK – His Eminence Archbishop Demetrios of America has been invited to offer the benediction at the 2013 Presidential Inaugural Luncheon following the Inaugural ceremonies at the U.S. Capitol on January 21, 2013. The invitation was extended by U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer, Chairman of the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies (JCCIC), which also hosts the luncheon to honor President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden. “It’s my honor to select Archbishop Demetrios to offer this important task at the Inaugural Luncheon,” Schumer said. “The Archbishop is a tremendous and respected…
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Source: Tampa Bay Times By Stephanie Wang and Keyonna Summers, Times Staff Writers TARPON SPRINGS First-time diver Vassilios Harding, 16, crouched Sunday atop an overturned dinghy in Spring Bayou. He worried the position put him at a disadvantage in diving with 46 other Greek boys for the Epiphany cross. “I want this,” he thought to himself, “and I want this bad.” Archbishop Demetrios, primate of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, blessed the waters, then dropped the coveted cross into Spring Bayou. Ahead of the other divers, churning through the water, Vassilios reached the bobbing white cross within seconds. “God…
Source: Reuters By Steve Gutterman MOSCOW (Reuters) – The head of Russia’s Orthodox Church urged citizens in a Christmas address on Monday to adopt Russian children after President Vladimir Putin signed a law last month barring Americans from doing so. The ban retaliates for U.S. legislation designed to punish Russian human rights violators which Putin said is poisoning relations. Critics of Russia’s legislation say Putin has made the welfare of children trapped in a troubled orphanage system hostage to political maneuvering, dimming their chances of finding loving homes or adequate medical care. Orthodox Patriarch Kirill, a strong supporter of Putin, paid special…
Source: MYSTAGOGY By Professor Ioannes Fountoulis On January 6th our Church celebrates the great despotic feast of “Theophany” or “Epiphany” or “Holy Lights”. The forefeast begins the day after New Years, January 2nd. In this preparatory period is found the “Sunday Before the Lights”. This fits into the functional forefeast preparation. In the Gospel reading from the Divine Liturgy on this Sunday we hear: “The beginning of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God” from the prologue of the Gospel of Mark, who narrates the appearance of John the Forerunner in the Jordan desert, preaching and prophesying about…
Source: Orthodox Church in America WASHINGTON, DC [OCA] On Friday, January 25, 2013—the eve of the enthronement of His Beatitude, Metropolitan Tikhon at Saint Nicholas Cathedral here—Orthodox Christians from across the country will gather in the US capital for the annual March for Life. The members of the Orthodox Church in America’s Holy Synod of Bishops will join Metropolitan Tikhon, students from Saint Tikhon’s Seminary, South Canaan, PA and Saint Vladimir’s Seminary, Crestwood, NY, and clergy and faithful from the region and beyond for the march. According to Archpriest John Kowalczyk, a pro-life activist and co-founder of the Orthodox presence…
There are nearly two hundred Orthodox women in North America who have received graduate degrees in Orthodox theology, primarily from Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology or St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary. A number of these Orthodox women, committed to Christ and to His Gospel, have come together to form SAINT CATHERINE’S VISION. Blessed by the Standing Conference of the Canonical Orthodox Bishops in the Americas (SCOBA), this group came together in reunion held at Antiochian in November of 2005. Founded in a discipline of love, seeking the discernment of the Holy Spirit, Saint Catherine’s Vision strives to explore, study, and…
Mission The Sts. Cyril & Athanasius Institute for Orthodox Studies serves and supports the Orthodox Church by fostering theological education, scholarship, worship and prayer. Promoting the acquisition of higher learning and scholarship in the context of traditional Orthodox life, practice and thought, it offers a venue for foundational and higher study in theological, historical, liturgical and practical areas of Orthodox Christianity. Goals and Aims The Institute, as a new venture of the Orthodox Church in North America, will be a centre for higher learning in Orthodox Christianity, fostering and supporting the life of the Church and its mission in the…
Source: Arutz Sheva 7 Pay your bills as the Kotel and Knesset do, a spokesperson for the Jerusalem Municipality told officials at a major Jerusalem church. by David Lev Reports that the government and the Jerusalem municipality were planning to pick up the tab for eight years of water bills unpaid by the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in the Old City were premature, said a member of the City Council. Jewish Home (Bayit Yehudi) representative David Hadari, who is a member of the Council as well as a Deputy Mayor in the city, said that the Council’s finance committee…
Source: Asia News by Nina Achmatova Amid controversy and criticism from civil society groups and some government ministers, Putin signs into law controversial bill passed by parliament in retaliation against US Magnitsky Act. For Archpriest Chaplin, orphans raised by foreigners cannot go to heaven. Patriarch Kirill speaks about possible help to families. Moscow (AsiaNews) – Despite a wave of criticism from civil society groups and members of the Russian government, the Russian Orthodox Church has backed the controversial ‘anti- Magnitsky bill’ that President Vladimir Putin signed into law last Friday. As of 1 January, the new law bans adoptions of…
By Susan Abram, Staff Writer Detectives with the LAPD’s Hollywood station are asking for the public’s help in providing any information that will lead to the arrest of the suspect who burglarized the church at 5432 Fernwood Ave. on Dec. 22. “An unknown individual entered the Holy Transfiguration Russian Orthodox Church, gained access to the altar room and stole numerous religious artifacts,” police said in a statement. A total of 37 items were taken, police said. Photographs of the missing items include ornate crosses and chalices for communion. “The community is very upset,” said a member of the church, who gave…
(West Palm Beach, FL) Susan W. Haikalis, President of the Orthodox Christian Laity, finds Michael Jaharis’ (Vice Chair of the Archdiocese Council) overview on the State of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese, an essential starting point for assessing and re-evaluating the administration of the Greek Orthodox Church in America, the education of the clergy for our future and the assimilation of monasticism into an organized structure of the Church. These issues are especially relevant in the context of looking to a time of administrative unity of Orthodoxy in the United States. Mr. Jaharis has put before us some issues that need…
Source: Zenit Prelates Release Joint Statement on Revisions to Legislation WASHINGTON, D.C., December 28, 2012 (Zenit.org). The U. S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) Department of Communications and the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America issued the following statement in support of the Federal Trade Commission’s revisions to the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) that were announced on December 20. “We applaud the Federal Trade Commission and Chairman Jon Leibowitz for these important steps to keep children safe in the ever-evolving digital world,” said Helen Osman, Secretary of Communications for the USCCB. “The Commission is to be especially commended for…