Source: Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of the USA Christ “came not to heal the healthy, but the sick; not to save the righteous, but sinners” (Mark 2:17) As the world continues to battle COVID-19, we are ever grateful to the frontline workers – including medical professionals, emergency responders, and scientists – for their unwavering dedication to making the world a better place. In light of the same, given our clergy and lay faithful are seeking archpastoral guidance regarding developments in medicine, such as COVID-19 vaccines and immunizations, we offer the following guidance: Scripture encourages us to respect and protect the…
Browsing: Governance Top Stories
Source: Halki Summit A series of three webinars. January 26–28, 2021, 8:00 – 9:30 pm (EST). COVID-19 has lowered global carbon emissions; but it hasn’t slowed climate change. Our response to COVID-19 has precipitated the discovery of a vaccine; but it has left the world with a staggering number of deaths. The pandemic has permanently affected our planet and altered our lives; but what are the lessons that we have learned? What has been the impact on nature and the environment? What have been the implications for healthcare? And what have we understood about the relevance and importance of science?…
Source: Orthodox Church in America On Thursday, December 31, 2020, the Holy Synod of Bishops of the Orthodox Church in America has issued an encyclical entitled, “We Rejoice Even in Tribulation”: An Encyclical of Hope. The Holy Synod offers this work out of love and gratitude to its faithful at the end of this year. The Synod also intends for the encyclical to be seen as an encouragement for the year to come. In the encyclical, the Synod seeks to find meaning in the year that has past, which has been marked by a pandemic, political polarization, economic anxiety, and civil unrest, and…
Source: Helleniscope EDITOR’S NOTE (Nick Stamatakis): How many seemingly unexpected facts in just the six words of our title! To have a growing community in today’s Orthodoxy in America is a rather rare exception… But it is true as I found out by speaking to our friends of “Monomakhos”, George Michalopulos and Gail Sheppard… How is the Oklahoma community growing? Mostly from new converts, as I learned, and as we are informed by the news piece below… What is the major attraction of Orthodoxy? “The depth of the Church and the richness of the faith”, explains Gail, a convert…
Source: Orthodox Church in America To the Venerable Hierarchs, Esteemed Clergy, Reverend Monastics, and Beloved Faithful of the Orthodox Church in America, My Beloved Brethren and Blessed Children in the Lord, on this the glorious and light-filled Feast of the Nativity in the Flesh of our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ, I greet you with the words that resound throughout our Churches and homes during this season: Christ is Born! Glorify Him! By the grace of God, we have come through an extraordinary year fraught with challenges and trials that none of us could have expected. We have found…
Source: Orthodox Christian Laity Due to the pandemic restrictions, Orthodox Christian Laity’s 33rd Annual Meeting and Program took place online on November 13, 2020. We looked forward to the opportunity to be on the campus of St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary as originally planned; however, the online events did allow wider participation by board members, supporters, and other interested individuals from any geographic location. The annual business meeting held on the morning of November 13, opened with a memorable prayer by His Eminence, Archbishop Nathaniel (see below) who is celebrating his 40th Anniversary of ordination into the Episcopacy. His…
Source: Solia – The Herald Published in the Summer 2020 edition, pgs 3-4. Holiday or Holy Day? What is in a “word?” In Canada, people take a “Holiday;” in the US, it’s a “Vacation.” For both, a “Holiday” is a “different day.” The origin of the English word, “Holiday,” is “Holy Day,” a day of sacred significance, a day of faith, a day when work was suspended in honor of a holy event. In North America, there are “National Holidays” as well as other holidays based on some long-forgotten event. Canada and the US each has its own “Thanksgiving Day.”…
Source: Serbian Orthodox Church The Archbishop of Pec, Metropolitan of Belgrade-Karlovci and Serbian Patriarch (Gavrilovic) reposed in the Lord in the Military Covid Hospital “Karaburma” in Belgrade, on Friday, November 20, 2020, at 7:07 AM. All other details regarding the funeral of His Holiness the Patriarch will be announced soon. Eternal memory and the Kingdom of Heaven! His pious parents Zdravko and MilijanaGavrilovic from the village of Vidova near Cacak – and with them the entire Serbian family – were blessed the by the Lord, on August 27, 1930, with the birth of a male child whose baptismal name was Miroslav. He finished elementary school in his native village and high school in Cacak and the Theological School in Prizren, Kosovo and Metohia. Thereupon he graduated from the Faculty of Theology in…
Source: The Pastor’s Institute Our father among the saints Tikhon of Moscow, Enlightener of North America, was Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia. While in America, he established his cathedral in New York City, and presided over a vast archdiocese, encouraging and authorizing many publications in the English language. Among these, he encouraged the translation of the Eastern liturgy into English by Isabel Florence Hapgood, and he wrote an extensive catechism based on the Nicene Creed and the Our Father. Given on the Sunday of the Triumph of Orthodoxy, during Great Lent in 1907, St. Tikhon of Moscow’s Last Sermon during…
Source: Orthodox Church in America SYOSSET, NY [OCA] The Chancellor of the Orthodox Church in America, Archpriest Alexander Rentel, made the following statement today, Friday, October 30, 2020: In recent weeks, the members of the Chancery of the Orthodox Church in America have been sent numerous reports that clergy and faithful have received emails purportedly from His Beatitude Metropolitan Tikhon asking for money, gift cards, or for further contact. These spoofing emails are completely false, perhaps malicious, and should be reported as such to internet providers or email applications, and deleted without further action. No one should respond to these emails under…
Source: Peter Anderson, Seattle USA Metropolitan Amfilohije of Montenegro and the Littoral (age 82) died this morning after receiving communion. On October 6, he had been hospitalized with the Covid virus, but had subsequently conquered the virus. He died from pneumomediastinum (air in the space between the two lungs), caused by the earlier inflammation of his lungs and oxygen therapy. The Serbian Church has lost a giant of a man. The following is his official biography: https://mitropolija.com/2020/10/30/zivotopis-mitropolita-crnogorsko-primorskog-amfilohija-1938-2020/ . The letter of condolence from Patriarch Kirill can be read in English at https://mospat.ru/en/2020/10/30/news187619/ . It is providential that the Metropolitan lived to see the election…