Source: Public Orthodoxy A Look at the Recent Influx of Converts Rev. Matthew Brown Doctoral Student in Systematic Theology at Fordham University Ever since emerging from the lockdowns, Orthodox parishes—almost exclusively English-speaking ones—have experienced a historic increase in inquirers and converts. It is probably safe to say that there hasn’t been such an intense and sustained period of growth in the history of Orthodoxy in America. What is remarkable is not only the sheer number of newcomers but also the short timeframe in which this has occurred. This past July, I participated in the Orthodox Church in America’s All-American Council,…
Browsing: Governance & Unity Commentary
Child of Governance
A Simple Introduction to Orthodox Christian Administrative Unity in the United States Who this is for: Orthodox Christians who love the Church and want to understand—without pressure or polemics—what “administrative unity” means, why it is discussed, and why it matters. 1. What do we mean by “administrative unity”? Administrative unity refers to Orthodox Christians in a given country being organized under a unified, coordinated ecclesiastical structure, rather than multiple overlapping jurisdictions based on ethnic or historical lines. It does not mean: Changing Orthodox theology or doctrine Eliminating legitimate liturgical or cultural diversity Disrespecting the episcopacy or canonical order It does…
Source: Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick The Orthodox Studies Institute’s Matthew Namee and Dcn. Seraphim Rohlin join Fr. Andrew to talk about statistical trends in Orthodox Christianity in America and speculate about how they might play out in the coming decades.
Source: Frederica’s World Eighteen years later, what’s changed? Frederica Mathewes-Green Originally published November 25, 2025 Inside the OrthoSphere, everyone’s talking about Ruth Graham’s New York Times article about the influx of converts—particularly men—into American Orthodoxy. Funnily enough, I wrote an article about this very thing eighteen years ago. It was a surprising phenomenon, back then, that the majority of converts were young men. These guys were just showing up at the doors of Orthodox churches, usually after a lot of independent study. (There’s a saying: “Why did he become Orthodox?” “He read too much.”) Back then the predominance of male inquirers really stood…
Source: The National Herald By Theodore Kalmoukos BOSTON – At the 35th Leadership 100 Conference, held in Phoenix, Arizona, Archbishop Elpidophoros of America set forth his intentions regarding the transformation of the Theological School into a university—as The National Herald had previously revealed—as well as the relocation of the Archdiocesan Cathedral of New York to St. Bartholomew’s Church in Manhattan. He also spoke of the sale of one of the two Archdiocesan Office buildings to finance the acquisition of St. Bartholomew’s, while the other building would be converted into the Archbishop’s residence. It is noted that Archbishop Elpidophoros has resided within the Archdiocesan building since the day of…
Source: Peter Anderson, Seattle USA The tensions between the Armenian Apostolic Church – Etchmiadzin Catholicosate (“AAC”), headed by Catholicos Karekin II, and the Armenian government, headed by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, have continued to increase with each side taking stronger actions. Most recently, the increased tensions have related to the status of Bishop Gevorg Saroyan, one of the ten bishops of AAC who, together with the Prime Minister, signed on January 4 a document which urged the retirement of Catholicos Karekin II and which created a Coordinating Council to reform the AAC. https://www.panorama.am/am/news/2026/01/05/%D5%93%D5%A1%D5%B7%D5%AB%D5%B6%D5%B5%D5%A1%D5%B6-%D5%B0%D5%A1%D5%B5%D5%BF%D5%A1%D6%80%D5%A1%D6%80%D5%B8%D6%82%D5%A9%D5%B5%D5%B8%D6%82%D5%B6/3148925. The confrontations relating to Saroyan began on January 10, when…
Source: Faith Encouraged My thoughts on Minneapolis and the Immigration Crisis hopefully informed by my Orthodox faith. Fr. Barnabas Powell The images from Minneapolis are jarring. ICE agents confronting protesters. Violence erupts in the streets. Cities declaring themselves “sanctuaries” that decide that Federal law is none of their business. Political leaders on both sides are manufacturing outrage for their respective bases. And somewhere in the chaos, actual human beings—immigrants, citizens, law enforcement officers—caught in the grinding machinery of our broken discourse. And because of this, people are dying. The Reality We Must Face Let me say plainly what should be…
Source: The National Herald A drowsy wind blows across the blue-gray waters of the Bosphorus. On it a lone seagull flies, lilting along the air current. Behind it looms Constantinople: colossal, gleaming, age-old, alive. I recently spent a week in the Queen of Cities with the Pilgrimage of Discovery, an immersion program sponsored by the Archons of the Ecumenical Patriarchate. The Pilgrimage aims to bring young Orthodox Christians face-to-face with the situation of the Patriarchate and the remaining Greek-speaking Orthodox (or Romaioi) community in modern-day Istanbul. The Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople— the spiritual capital of the Eastern Orthodox Church—…
Source: St. Sophia Ukrainian Orthodox Theological Seminary CLICK HERE to view or download the issue This issue is devoted to the Orthodox Social Ethos document “For the Life of the World.” We are happy for comments and perspectives. Please send them to gayle.woloschak@gmail.com.
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Source: Church Roadmap Beloved Brothers and Sisters in Christ, I have not communicated with you for the past three years because I have been deeply immersed in doctoral church research with a singular focus on identifying how to help parishes thrive and not merely survive. I emerge from that research with a clear conclusion: Your parish’s root cause challenges are solvable. If your parish has a clear long-term vision and plan, achieved complete financial stewardship independence from festivals & fundraisers, and if you have abundant ministries and volunteers, well-trained leadership, and growing sacramental and liturgical participation – Glory to God!…
Source: Orthodox Church in America Reflections in Christ by Fr. Alexander Schmemann About the Author Protobresbyter Alexander Schmemann (1921-1983) was born in Estonia to Russian émigrés. As a child he moved to PaFrance. He taught for a time in Paris, and came to America in 1951 to teach at St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary. He was dean of the seminary from 1962 until his death in 1983. An Urgent Issue No one would deny that the clergy-laity issue in our church here in America is both an urgent and confused one. It is urgent because the progress of the church…