Source: Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of the USA Youngstown, OH On June 12th, clergy and laity gathered at St. John the Forerunner parish for an informational and brainstorming session on Inter-Parish Associations. Participants presented creative ideas for collaborative ministry, and parishes in the area expressed excitement in taking the next step toward officially becoming an Inter-Parish Association. Following the event, Spyridoula Fotinis, the AoB Director of Inter-Parish Associations, said, “we are excited by the enthusiasm of the Orthodox Christian community in Youngstown and look forward to working with them to establish their IPA and their ministries in the area!”…
Browsing: Governance Top Stories
Source: Orthodox Church in America SPOKANE, WA [OCA] ADF attorneys file suit on behalf of the Orthodox Church in America and Orthodox Churches, priests over state law that violates constitutional rights On behalf of Orthodox Churches and priests, Alliance Defending Freedom attorneys, with co-counsel Eric Kniffin and George Ahrend, filed a federal lawsuit on June 16, 2025, to challenge a Washington state law that targets priests by criminalizing their religious obligation to keep confessions confidential. “The First Amendment guarantees that governments cannot single out religious believers for worse treatment,” said ADF Senior Counsel and Vice President of Appellate Advocacy John…
Source: The National Herald By Theodore Kalmoukos BOSTON – Archbishop George of New Justiniana and All Cyprus, in an exclusive interview with The National Herald, explains the reasons and developments that led the Holy Synod of the Church of Cyprus to dethrone Metropolitan Tychikos of Paphos. He referred to Tychikos’s involvement with schismatics and clarified the appeal he submitted to Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew. Regarding the issues at Avvakoum Monastery, he noted: “The matter has been closed for the Church; the individuals involved have been defrocked.” The interview follows: The National Herald (TNH): Your Beatitude, thank you very much for speaking with us. Please…
Source: Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of the USA The Assembly of Bishops committee for liturgy met in Rives Junction, Michigan, graciously hosted by Archbishop Nathaniel and sisters of the Holy Dormition Orthodox Monastery, from June 9-10, 2025. After attending Vespers on June 9th, the committee members gathered in fellowship and discussed ongoing topics of interest as well as potential future projects. On June 10th – fulfilling the commitment made by the entire Assembly of Bishops in the statement entitled On the Sacredness of Human Life and its Untimely Termination to “continue to provide new rituals and ways to address these circumstances,…
Source: Archons of the Ecumenical Patriarchate The news from Egypt in late May was frankly shocking. The Times of London reported on May 29, 2025 that “Egypt could be set to close the world’s oldest continuously functioning Christian monastery after almost 15 centuries, igniting international concern and fury from the Greek Orthodox community.” Saint Catherine’s Monastery in Mount Sinai was established in the sixth century by the order of the Roman Emperor Justinian, and has functioned continuously as a Greek Orthodox Christian monastery since then. The idea that it could be suddenly closed on the order of the Egyptian government was a…
Source: Catholic Review By Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service ROME (CNS) — The Council of Nicaea 1,700 years ago recognized that Christian unity had to be based on a common faith and should be demonstrated by a common celebration of Easter, the most sacred feast of the Christian year, said speakers at a Rome conference. Yet as Christians mark the anniversary of the council, held in 325, they celebrate their common profession of the basics of faith in the Creed adopted at Nicaea while also continuing to experience division, said Paul L. Gavrilyuk, president of the International Orthodox Theological Association. The…
Source: Orthodox History Editor’s note: Last year, Scott Kenworthy (whose landmark biography of St Tikhon comes out in November and is available now for preorder) sent me a remarkable email. He had discovered a letter written by Patriarch Tikhon to Patriarch Gregory IV of Antioch in 1922, dealing with the jurisdiction of Syrians/Antiochians in North America. The letter was in Russian, so I sent it to Sam Noble, who translated it into English. Click here to download the original Russian letter. The full translation is below, but before we get to that, I asked Scott to write a short introduction, giving context…
Source: Peter Anderson, Seattle USA At the very short negotiation session in Istanbul between Russia and Ukraine on the afternoon of June 2, Russia presented a three-page memorandum on its proposed terms for settlement. TASS reported: The memorandum Russia handed over to the Ukrainian side today in Istanbul consists of two parts, Russia’s chief negotiator Vladimir Medinsky said. “We handed over to the Ukrainian side our memorandum, which consists of two parts. The first one is about how to reach a truly lasting peace. The second part highlights the steps to be taken toward a real ceasefire,” he said, adding that…
Source: Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of the USA Throughout the United States there is an increase in legislation related to assisted suicide. In 2022, the Assembly of Bishops’ Statement on the Sacredness of Human Life and its Untimely Termination addresses this issue: “In recent years, the possibilities for ill persons to choose to end their own lives have increased with access to medications that hasten death and legislation that allows for physicians to assist in the death of their patients. The Church grieves the pain and suffering many people experience in this life, but it cannot and does…
Source: Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of the USA During the October 2024 Assembly of Bishops meeting in Atlanta, Dr. Gayle Woloschak and Eric Namee received the first ever official recognition from the Assembly of Bishops for their dedication to Orthodox Christian Unity in the USA as lay leaders. Following their bestowals, the Executive Committee decided during their April 25, 2025 meeting to institutionalize an annual award: The Medal of Saint Theodora. The Medal of St. Theodora is an annual award recognizing strong lay leaders of various backgrounds and fields who have contributed to the work and development of the…
Orthodox Christian Laity 38th Annual Conference Saints Constantine & Elena Orthodox Christian Church 3237 W 16th St, Indianapolis, Indiana October 11, 2025 Featured Presentations & Speakers “Behold How (Mostly) Good It Is: A Surprise Experiment in Jurisdictional Unity” – Khouria Frederica Mathewes-Green and Rev. Fr. Stephen Mathewes “Inter-Parish Associations: A Futuristic Vision” – Spyridoula Fotinis, Director of Inter-Parish Associations for the Assembly of Bishops “There is Always Room for Surprise: New Findings about US Orthodox Churches from the EPIC Study” – Alexei Krindatch Mark your calendar and plan to attend!