Source: The National Herald By Archbishop Sotirios of Canada “Darkness covers once more cities and towns while our souls wait and our anguish abounds. Lies and bitter hatred have poisoned us all the tragically spilled blood of countless dead. Come dear Christ to us who patiently await, bring us peace and comfort.” Darkness. Everywhere darkness. Thick black clouds cover the sky. Wars everywhere. Bloodshed. People uprooted from their homes are running to find peace. They drown in the seas. Decimated, they seek out new countries in which to relocate. Incredible to witness. They commit suicide and kill innocent people. Furious…
Author: Webmaster
Source: Orthodox Christian Laity The founding mother of Orthodox Christian Laity, Mary (Dallianis) Koulogeorge, fell asleep in the Lord on December 21, 2023. Her funeral prayers will be offered on January 2, 2024, at her home parish of Saints Peter and Paul Orthodox Church, Glenview, Illinois, where she and her late husband were benefactors and members. She was predeceased by her husband Jim of blessed memory in 2015. In 1987, Mary and Jim opened their Northbrook home and hosted the organizational meeting for what would become Orthodox Christian Laity. They gathered lifetime friends and neighbors who were devout Orthodox Christians…
Source: Peter Anderson, Seattle USA The Holy Synod of the Moscow Patriarchate met in Moscow on December 27, 2023. The minutes of the meeting can be read at link. There were some important decisions made. The most important decision is that the Synod created a new diocese, carving it out of the existing Kherson diocese of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC). In this regard, Journal Entry 120 includes the following decision: “1. To form, within the administrative boundaries of the left bank [eastern side of the Dnipro River] districts of the Kherson region: Aleshkinsky, Golopristansky, Kalanchaksky, Skadovsky, Chaplynsky, the Skadovsky…
Source: The National Herald By Theodore Kalmoukos BOSTON – His Eminence Metropolitan Chrysostomos of Messinia, one of the most prominent and learned hierarchs of the Church of Greece and Orthodoxy in general, professor at the University of Athens, presented an interview to The National Herald. He spoke about the meaning of the Incarnation of God, violence, same-sex marriage, elderism and more. The National Herald: Your Eminence, these are Holy Days, marking the incarnate presence of God among us. What does this mean today for the modern man? Metropolitan Chrysostomos: First of all, the very fact of the Incarnation of the…
Source: Patriarchate of Jerusalem Click here to view PDF
Source: Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America (Message in English) (الرسالة باللغة العربية) By the mercy of God Almighty John X Patriarch of Antioch and all the East to My brothers, Pastors of the Holy Church of Antioch My sons and daughters, all over this Apostolic See “Bethlehem has opened Eden: come let us see!… come, let us seize Paradise hidden in the cave! … here the Virgin has borne a child, quenching Adam’s thirst…” With these words, voicing the hymnographer, the Holy Church invites us to contemplate the Nativity of Christ. The Nativity of Christ is the birth…
Source: Orthodox Church in America To the clergy, monastics, and faithful of the Orthodox Church in America, my beloved children in the Lord, Christ is born! Glorify him! At the Vigil for today’s feast, we sang with the words of St. Germanus of Constantinople: “Today the Virgin gives birth to the Maker of all. Eden offers a cave and a star discloses Christ, the Sun, to those in darkness” (second sticheron at the aposticha). In a supreme paradox, the created world today offers shelter to the one who contains all things in the palm of his hand. Coming among us…
Source: Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America Prot. No. 350/2023 Archepiscopal Encyclical on the Feast of Christmas December 25, 2023 Unto the Most Reverend and Right Reverend Hierarchs, Pious Priests and Deacons, Monks and Nuns, Presidents and Members of the Parish Councils, Honorable Archons of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, Members of Leadership 100, Day and Afternoon Schools, Philoptochos Societies, Youth, Greek Orthodox Organizations, and entirety of the Christ-loving Plenitude of the Sacred Archdiocese of America: Thus says the Lord: a rod shall come forth out of the root of Jesse, and a blossom shall rise from that root. (Prophecy of Isaiah 11:1)…
Source: Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America Patriarch Bartholomew. Photo: Nicholas Papachristou + B A R T H O L O M E W By God’s Mercy, Archbishop of Constantinople-New Rome and Ecumenical Patriarch to All the Plenitude of the Church Grace, Mercy, and Peace from the Saviour Christ Born in Bethlehem Most honorable brother hierarchs, Beloved children in the Lord, With the grace of God, we are once again this year celebrating in chant, hymn, and spiritual song the Nativity according to the flesh of the pre-eternal Son and Word of God, namely the manifestation of the mystery of God…
Source: Orthodox Christian Laity May the Good Lord bless you abundantly with Health, Happiness, Joy, and Prosperity, immersing ourselves in His Love and Wisdom during this blessed Nativity Season and the coming New Year. We pray that He will bless OCL and our efforts to restore proper order to His Church in America and across the world. May He enlighten His Hierarchy, Clergy, and Laity to be diligent, obedient, and united in pursuing the fulfillment of His will. I thank you all for your continued interest and support of OCL and its most worthy mission. For the past 36 years,…
Source: International Orthodox Christian Charities Abeer, a 31-year-old Palestinian-Jordanian, volunteers with IOCC in Jordan, supporting some of our programs there for people with impairments and disabilities. She’s now volunteered with IOCC for six years. Abeer’s story reflects her determination and resilience. She was diagnosed at age 12 with macular edema, a disease that causes blurred vision, and visual disabilities run in her family. But Abeer worked hard in school and, with support from her parents and her school principal (who printed books for her in larger font so she could read more easily), she graduated from high school with distinction. She…
Source: Notes on Arab Orthodoxy Jad Ganem Patriarch Bartholomew celebrated the Feast of Saint Nicholas at the church-turned-museum bearing his name in the city of Demre, Turkey. During the liturgy, he gave a sermon that included the following: “The East is not just the birthplace of great saints but also the cradle of the Church in its present form. Our theology and ecclesiology originated in these sacred lands, within the canonical jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarchate. It was here that the Ecumenical Synods convened, shaping the ecclesiastical conscience rooted in the ministry of the Lord, transcending national or other distinctions. The wisdom…