Browsing: Governance & Unity Essays

Source: Commonweal By John Chryssavgis As the bishop’s role has grown in stature through the centuries, with bishops becoming the ultimate arbiter of things doctrinal and canonical, the way we elect bishops has changed and evolved. The participation of the laity in the electoral process has waned. In his late fourth-century treatise On the Priesthood, St. John Chrysostom was already lamenting how bishops were promoted: Tell me, then, where do you think these great disturbances in the church come from? Personally, I think that they transpire from the ill-considered and random manner in which bishops are chosen. (Book III, 10) The…

Source: St. Phoebe Center for the Deaconess Our September 1 Zoom event ran overtime which meant we were not able to answer all of the excellent questions posed by participants. We are pleased to be able to answer those questions here. Reasons Against Deaconesses Q: What are the reasons against having women Deacons in the Church?  To me it’s a Win-Win situation! A: We agree that women deacons are win-win! We addressed common concerns or objections in a recent article: “Toward a Reasoned and Respectful Conversation about Deaconesses,” Public Orthodoxy, April 2018. Possibilities for the St. Phoebe Network Q: When I joined…

Source: The National Herald By Stavros Stavridis In the post-1922 period, the Greek church in the United States was divided along Venizelist and Royalist lines with the National Herald and Atlantis newspapers supporting the former and latter respectively. It should be noted that the National Herald reported on the movements of Metropolitan Joachim of Kozani during his visit to the United States, whereas the Atlantis overall remained silent. The Holy Synod of the Patriarchate had chosen Meletios as Ecumenical Patriarch, giving him jurisdiction over the Church in North America in early 1922 despite protests emanating from Athens. Joachim’s visit should…

Source: Public Orthodoxy by Matthew Namee | български | ქართული | ελληνικά | Română | Русский | Српски One of the keystone prerogatives claimed by the Ecumenical Patriarchate is its jurisdiction over the so-called “diaspora”—regions not included within the geographic boundaries of the other Autocephalous Churches. She insists that this exclusive extraterritorial jurisdiction is rooted in Canon 28 of Chalcedon which states: [O]nly the metropolitans of the Pontian, Asian, and Thracian dioceses, as well as the bishops of the aforementioned dioceses among barbarians are ordained by the aforementioned most holy throne of the most Holy Church of Constantinople. This phrase—“the bishops of the aforementioned dioceses among barbarians”—is interpreted by supporters of the EP’s…

Source: Orthodox History by MATTHEW NAMEE The recent retirement of Metropolitan Joseph has left the Antiochian Archdiocese of North America without a primate. In the coming months, the Archdiocese will undoubtedly hold a special convention to nominate candidates to be the next Metropolitan, and then the Holy Synod of Antioch will elect one of those nominees. Remarkably, this will be just the fifth election of a Metropolitan in the 100-year history of the Archdiocese (which was established in 1923). Today, we’ll review the previous four elections. Prior to 1923, the Patriarchate of Antioch did not have an official presence in North…

Source: Public Orthodoxy We Orthodox need to ask ourselves some hard questions about the episcopal ethos that has come down to us from Byzantium and was then magnified in the Russian tradition. This was an aspect of Orthodoxy that for his entire life troubled Fr. Sergius Bulgakov (1871-1944), one of the most prolific Orthodox thinkers of the 20th century. He came from a long line of priests in Russia but gave up on Christianity at age 14 because he despised the servility of the clerical world. My revolt against my surroundings was morally right in so far as it was inspired…

ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN LAITY 35TH ANNUAL CONFERENCE “Pan-Orthodoxy in Action” October 13-16, 2022 EVENT FLYER – PDF / PNG Join us to celebrate the 35th Anniversary of Orthodox Christian Laity in the Metro Atlanta area where we will feature the impressive progress of the Atlanta Inter-Orthodox Parish Association (AIOPA), an initiative of the Committee for Canonical Regional Planning of the Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of the USA (AOB). AIOPA consists of clergy and laity representatives from all Orthodox parishes in the Atlanta area whose purpose is to effectively facilitate and maintain pan-Orthodox parish-to-parish communications, activities and cooperation (the “One Church Initiative”).  Since the…

Source: Public Orthodoxy by George Demacopoulos In 1095, Pope Urban II told a large gathering of knights in Southern France that it was their responsibility to avenge the Islamic conquest of the Holy Land (he did not mention that the conquest had occurred nearly 500 years earlier). Urban’s sermon led to the First Crusade, and it forever changed the dynamics between Western Europe, Eastern Christianity, and the Islamic world. From a Christian theological perspective, Urban introduced an entirely novel—some might say heretical—way of thinking about the relationship between Christian piety and violence. Near the end of his sermon, Urban declared, “Set out on…

Source: St. Phoebe Center for the Deaconess The recording of our September 1 event, Why Are Deaconesses Needed in the Church Today is now available for viewing. The event was held to recognize St. Phoebe who is commemorated in the Church on September 3. Presentations were thoughtful and engaging. Our panelists gave us much to think about, helped us understand what influences the decisions of bishops, and offered new considerations for carrying out our mission. You may want to gather a group to watch it in someone’s home or at your parish. If you do, please share your thoughts and feedback with us at: stphoebecenter@gmail.com.

Source: Orthodox Reality The report, The “New Traditional” in a Most Traditional Church: How the Pandemic Has Reshaped American Orthodox Christian Churches. What Do Lay People Think about It?, is available now. More than 2,000 ordinary parishioners from all parts of the USA participated in this study, and shared their thoughts about Orthodox Church life in America during and post-pandemic An executive summary (4 pages) can be downloaded here: https://orthodoxreality.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/NewTraditionalLaityReportExecSummary.pdf A summary of major findings and conclusions (10 pages) can be downloaded here: https://orthodoxreality.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/NewTraditionalLaityReportConcludingPart.pdf The full report can be downloaded here: https://orthodoxreality.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/NewTraditionalLaityReportFinalSecured.pdf The core question addressed in this report is: how…

Source: Public Orthodoxy by Emil Saggau This spring, the Serbian Orthodox Church (SOC) sealed significant and important deals, which has solidified and strengthened the SOC’s position. The first “deal” in May turned the Macedonian Orthodox Church (MOC), formally the Ohrid Archbishopric, into a canonical church, which ended around 50 years of estrangement between the SOC and MOC. The second one in July was between the SOC and the Montenegrin government, which granted the SOC privileges in Montenegro and closed almost twenty years of uncertainty between the two parties. These deals are not just a sign of the new diplomatic strength of…

Source: International Orthodox Theological Association IOTA has launched its new video series, IOTA Talks™. The purpose of IOTA Talks is to produce short, engaging videos where Orthodox scholars share an idea about which they feel passionate with lay Christians in a manner they can understand. Some talks are primarily intended for inquirers wishing to learn more about the Christian faith. Other talks are more suitable for those engaged in Christian education, from Sunday School teachers to clergy. IOTA Talks will engage the fundamental questions of Christian faith and contemporary issues. Three talks are now available on IOTA’s YouTube Channel: Dr. Paul…