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…
Browsing: Governance Top Stories
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!
Source: The National Herald ATHENS – On May 29 a ceremony of particular solemnity took place in the Great Hall of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA) to confer the title of Honorary Doctor of the Department of Theology of the School of Theology of NKUA to His Eminence Metropolitan Elder Dimitrios of the Princes’ Islands and Exarch of Propontis. The ceremony began with an address by the rector of NKUA, Professor Gerasimos Siasos, who praised the honoree’s multifaceted contribution to Orthodox Theology, the Church, and Hellenism in Constantinople. An overview of His Eminence’s work and personality was…
Source: Orthodox Christianity Originally published on November 20, 2013 By Leigh Ann Laube (Times News) Not too long ago, Holy Resurrection Antiochian Orthodox Church in Johnson City had a priest, but no church building to call its own. In Bluff City, Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church had a church building, but no priest. So the Greek bishop and the Antiochian bishop put their heads together and came up with a plan to merge the two parishes under a new name — Christ the Savior Greek Orthodox Church — using Holy Trinity’s building and Holy Resurrection’s pastor, Father Stephen Mathewes. “When…
Source: Orthodox Church in America SPRINGFIELD, VA [OCA] The services celebrating the canonization of Matushka Olga Michael of Kwethluk, AK, will take place June 19 -22, 2025, in Kwethluk and Anchorage, AK. In November 2023, Matushka Olga was numbered among the saints by act of the Holy Synod of Bishops of the Orthodox Church in America, making her the first North American woman and the first Yup’ik person to be glorified as a saint in the Orthodox Church. His Beatitude Metropolitan Tikhon will preside over the canonization services, concelebrating with other hierarchs and clergy of the Orthodox Church in America as well as delegations from other…
Source: Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America Patriarchal and Synodal Encyclical Issued on the Occasion of the 1700th Anniversary of the First Ecumenical Council in Nicaea Prot. No. 335 + B A R T H O L O M E W By God’s Mercy, Archbishop of Constantinople-New Rome and Ecumenical Patriarch To the Plenitude of the Church: May God’s Grace and Peace be with you! We offer a hymn of thanks to the almighty, all-seeing, and benevolent God in Trinity, who vouchsafed that His people reach the 1700th anniversary of the First Ecumenical Council in Nicaea, which bore spiritual witness to…
Source: Orthodox Church in America SPRINGFIELD, VA [OCA] During a special session held via teleconference on Wednesday, May 21, the Holy Synod of Bishops of the Orthodox Church in America confirmed His Beatitude Metropolitan Tikhon’s nomination of Archpriest Alessandro Margheritino as Chancellor of the Orthodox Church in America. Father Alessandro’s appointment was made in accordance with Article VI, Section 2 of the Statute of the Orthodox Church in America. His nomination was endorsed by the Metropolitan Council during a special session earlier the same day. He succeeds Archpriest Alexander Rentel, who served as Chancellor from 2019 to 2024, when he was appointed Rector of Three Hierarchs Chapel at St. Vladimir’s…
Source: Archons of the Ecumenical Patriarchate The Archons of the Ecumenical Patriarchate held the first-ever Pilgrimage of Discovery (POD) Alumni Retreat on May 16-18, 2025, in Chicago. The event was organized by the Pilgrimage of Discovery Alumni Leadership Network (ALN), a branch of the Archon Youth Participation Activities Engagement Committee, to bring together as many of the 21 young adults that participated in the first two Archon POD programs in 2023 and 2024. Funded by the Archons, the POD is a religious and educational journey through Constantinople awarded to Orthodox Christian young adults across America who went through a rigorous…
Source: Archons of the Ecumenical Patriarchate New details have emerged regarding the private meeting between His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew and His Holiness Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican on Monday, May 19, 2025, the day after the inauguration of the new Pope. According to the Zenit News Agency, which reports on the activities of the Pope and the Church of Rome, “This was not merely a handshake between dignitaries. It was a renewed embrace between two ancient churches still walking the long and often fractured road toward unity.” Zenit added that “for Bartholomew, the longest-serving Ecumenical Patriarch in centuries and a tireless…
Source: Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America Huffington Ecumenical Institute at HCHC Brookline, MA – May 2025 — The Huffington Ecumenical Institute (HEI) at Hellenic College Holy Cross is pleased to announce two compelling and engaging online courses for Fall 2025. 1. For the Life of the World: Toward an Orthodox Social Ethos This groundbreaking course invites students to engage with the document entitled For the Life of the World: Toward a Social Ethos of the Orthodox Church (FLOW), a landmark document of the Ecumenical Patriarchate that provides general parameters for an Orthodox Christian engagement with the modern world. Addressing issues…