Source: Greek Reporter A fierce conflict between the Ecumenical Patriarchate and the Patriarchate of Moscow, that may lead to a new schism, threatens a forthcoming Orthodox Ecumenical Council. The reason is the effort of the Russian Church to degrade the primacy of Constantinople in the Orthodox world and to expand in China and Japan. This expansive strategy has clear political extensions of a geopolitical character, with the assistance of president Putin. Patriarch Bartholomew reacted intensely, sending a letter to the Patriarch of Moscow, Kyrill, and two others, of informative character to Archbishop Ieronymos. According to the letter to Kyrill, the facts that caused…
Browsing: Governance Top Stories
Source: Patriarchate of Antioch Facebook Page Statement by the Secretariat of Holy Synod of Antioch Balamand, October 17, 2013 The Holy Synod of Antioch held its second session from October 15th through 17th, 2013. His Beatitude Patriarch JOHN X presided over the meeting, with the participation of Their Eminences, the Metropolitans and Fathers of the Holy Synod of Antioch: Spiridon of Zahleh and its dependencies; Georges of Jbeil, Batroun and their dependencies; Yuhanna of Lattakia and its dependencies; Elias of Beirut and its dependencies; Iliya of Hama and its dependencies; Elias of Tyre, Sidon; and their dependencies, Damaskinos of Sao…
Source: Orthodox Church in America SYOSSET, NY [OCA] – Archimandrite David [Mahaffey] was elected by the members of the Holy Synod of Bishops of the Orthodox Church in America to fill the vacant Episcopal See of Sitka and Alaska on Wednesday, October 16, 2013. The election took place during the fall session of the Holy Synod at the OCA Chancery. Delegates to the Assembly of the Diocese of Alaska on September 15, 2012 had nominated Father David, who has been serving as the diocese’s Administrator and Chancellor, to fill the vacant See. His Eminence, Archbishop Benjamin, Locum Tenens of Episcopal…
Source: Orthodox Church in America SYOSSET, NY [OCA] – The fall session of the Holy Synod of Bishops of the Orthodox Church in America opened on Tuesday, October 15, 2013, and will run through Thursday, October 17. According to Archpriest Eric G. Tosi, OCA Secretary, on Monday, October 14, the eve of the meeting, His Beatitude, Metropolitan Tikhon, will meet with members of the Sexual Misconduct Policy Advisorary Committee (SMPAC), at which time a final revision of the new Policies, Standards and Procedures (PSP) will be reviewed. The PSP will be presented to the members of the Holy Synod for approval. Much…
Source: Orthodox Church in America SYOSSET, NY [OCA] – The independent audit of the Orthodox Church in America’s financial records for the year ending December 31, 2012, conducted by the auditors Lambrides, Lamos, Taylor LLP, has been completed and is available on-line. “For the third consecutive year the OCA has been issued an unqualified or ‘clean’ audit opinion,” said Melanie Ringa, OCA Treasurer. “The unqualified opinion is the best type of report an auditee can receive from the external auditor.” Ms. Ringa also noted that “the financial results for 2012 show total revenues of $2,780,295.00, total operating expenses of $2,124,224.00, with a…
Source: Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia On Wednesday, July 10, 2013, an extraordinary session of the Synod of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia was held, presided over by its First Hierarch, His Eminence Metropolitan Hilarion of Eastern America and New York. Participating in the meeting were permanent members of the Synod of Bishops: His Eminence Archbishop Mark of Berlin and Germany; His Eminence Archbishop Kyrill of San Francisco and Western America; His Eminence Archbishop Gabriel of Montreal and Canada, and His Grace Bishop Peter of Cleveland, Administrator of the Diocese of Chicago and Mid-America. Deliberating…
Source: Orthodox Church in America SYOSSET, NY [OCA] – The fall session of theMetropolitan Council of the Orthodox Church in America drew to a close on Thursday, September 26, 2013. Metropolitan Council members participated in a full-day retreat led by Priest Nicholas Solak and Dr. Al Rossi on the topic of conflict resolution on Monday, September 23. Council members were presented with a variety of techniques and methods to enhance communication and to identify and work through conflicts on the personal and group levels. On Tuesday afternoon, September 24, His Beatitude, Metropolitan Tikhon, delivered his report to Council members. “It has been…
Source: Chicago Tribune By Lisa Black and Alexandra Chachkevitch, Chicago Tribune reporters A request by a Glenview church to suspend its priest until the conclusion of a criminal investigation that involves him has prompted a sharp rebuke from the leader of the Greek Orthodox Church in Chicago, who then ordered the removal of the parish council president who made the request. James Gottreich, council president at Sts. Peter and Paul Church, wrote last week to Metropolitan Iakovos, the leader of the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Chicago, asking that the Glenview church’s pastor, the Rev. James Dokos, be placed on leave until the out-of-state…
Source: The National Herald by Theodore Kalmoukos BOSTON, MA – A newly-assigned priest that has just graduated from the Seminary should make an annual salary of $49,128-$66,528 plus extra benefits such as insurance, an automobile, a house (or an allowance for one) retirement contributions, seminars expenses, among other ones. A priest with 35 years of ministry and more will earn $113,856-$120,144, according to the Clergy Compensation Plan for 2013. The priests’ salaries are the biggest expense of the parishes’ annual budgets, along with the annual monetary allocation they pay to the Archdiocese for what are called ministries. According to the…
Source: Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of North and Central America In the final day of its annual meeting, the Assembly agreed to issue two statements—one on the Church’s unchanging position on marriage and one expressing grave concern over the escalating violence in the Middle East. The Assembly also released a message to the faithful on the conclusion of Assembly IV. The three statements can be found here: statement on marriage; statement on violence in the Middle East; and message to the faithful. In other business, the Assembly voted unanimously to re-elect Bishop Basil as secretary and Metropolitan Antony as treasurer. Archbishop Demetrios…
Source: Orthodox Church in America SYOSSET, NY [OCA] – Members of the Metropolitan Council of the Orthodox Church in America will gather at the Chancery here for their fall session September 23-26, 2-13. According to Archpriest Eric G. Tosi, OCA Secretary, the session will begin with a one-day retreat at which Priest Nicholas Solak, Rector of Holy Trinity Church, Stroudsburg, PA, and Dr. Albert S. Rossi, Director of Field Education at Saint Vladimir’s Seminary, Yonkers, NY, will address the issue of conflict resolution. “The retreat,” said Father Eric, “is the most recent in a series that had been recommended by the Metropolitan Council’s…
Source: Assembly of Orthodox Canonical Bishops of North and Central America http://assemblyofbishops.org/news/2013/canonical-restructuring-and-national-youth-meeting-key-topics-on-day-two#sthash.C5nM8r97.dpuf The Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops endorsed a proposal to plan for a North American Pan-Orthodox Youth Gathering of high school students. The proposal was put forth by the Committee for Youth. The gathering will enable Orthodox youth from all jurisdictions to come together, share in their faith, bear witness to the Church, and build bridges across our Orthodox family. The gathering, which will be organized by jurisdictional youth departments, is slated to happen in 2016 or 2017. In the period leading up to the national event, local…