Source: Orthodox Christian Laity 20th Anniversary Program (2007): The Need For A Great And Holy Council Dr. Vigen Gurorian, Professor of Theology at Loyola College in Baltimore
Browsing: Governance & Unity Essays
Child of Governance
Source: Orthodox Studies Institute By Matthew Namee and Dn. Seraphim Richard Rohlin Last year, two major surveys were conducted on the American population: the Pew Religious Landscape Study (with nearly 37,000 respondents) and the Cooperative Election Study (with almost 60,000 respondents). Both Pew and CES asked respondents a battery of questions, and we can learn a lot about our own Orthodox community from the data. In this report, we’ll present some key findings from the two new surveys…. Read the complete article here.
Source: Peter Anderson, Seattle USA Late yesterday, July 8, 2025, the State Service of Ukraine for Ethnopolitics and Freedom of Conscience (DESS) found that the Kyiv Metropolis of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) had signs of affiliation with the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC). This announcement was posted on the official website of DESS at https://dess.gov.ua/vyiavleno-oznaky-afiliyovanosti-kyivskoi-mytropolii-upts-z-rpts/. Yesterday’s findings were made pursuant to the controversial Ukrainian Law 3894, which, among other things, amended the Law of Ukraine “On Freedom of Conscience and Religious Organizations.” A Google translation of the complete text of Law 3894, together with my comments, can be accessed at https://www.unifr.ch/orthodoxia/de/assets/public/files/Dokumentation/Anderson/LAW…
Source: Holy Dormition Monastery A Vision for Orthodox Christianity’s Future in North America A clip from a Tribute to Archimandrite Roman Braga at Holy Dormition Monastery, Rives Junction, Michigan on the 10th Anniversary of his blessed repose. His Eminence Daniel, Archbishop of Chicago & The Midwest Orthodox Church in America Introduced by Very Reverend Abbess Mother Gabriella
Source: Public Orthodoxy Sergei Chapnin Director of Communications at the OCSC of Fordham University and Chief Editor of The Gifts (Дары) Almanac As an Orthodox Christian witnessing the systematic persecution of clergy and faithful in Russia, I find myself compelled to break the deafening indifference within our American Orthodox communities. My heart grows heavier each day as friends—priests I’ve known for decades—suffer for their faithfulness to the Gospel of peace. Here, I must acknowledge that Ukrainians are dying daily under Russian aggression. At the same time, hundreds of pro-war priests from Russia actively support the war efforts in the occupied…
Source: The National Herald Analysis by Theodore Kalmoukos It seems to be the tragic fate of the beleaguered Holy Cross Theological School in Boston that, every so often, various self-styled “wise men” appear out of nowhere and begin conducting experiments, invoking dreams and visions of every kind. Most recently, in the long parade of those who have held leadership of the School in recent years, were the priests Nicholas Triantafilou and Christopher Mitropoulos, and more recently, the layman from Florida, George Cantonis — each leaving behind his own “mark,” all of which are painfully familiar and have been thoroughly documented…
Source: Orthodox Christian Studies Center (OCSC) – Fordham University Religion in Russia – Chapnin – UN presentation 2025 Sergei Chapnin presented his report “Religious Communities Under Pressure: Documenting Religious Persecution in Russia 2022-2025” at the Free Peoples of Russia House in Washington, DC, during a panel discussion entitled “Can Post-Regime Russia Embrace Christian Democracy? Religious Persecution in Modern Russia and Occupied Ukraine.” The panel examined the potential role of Russian Orthodoxy in democratic restoration following regime change, approaches to securing freedom of conscience in a multi-confessional Russia, and the current realities of religious persecution. Download the Report here Sergei Chapnin…
Source: Peter Anderson, Seattle USA Relations between the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) and the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU) continue to worsen. Certainly, a major factor has been the loss of UOC churches to the OCU. The loss of churches is a complex issue. There are situations where a UOC religious community voluntarily decides by a fair vote to change its affiliation to the OCU. However, difficult questions can arise as to who is eligible to vote. If a village has only one church, should villagers who rarely attend services be able to vote or should the voters be limited…
Source: Public Orthodoxy by Varvara Gulina Doctoral Student at the University of California San Diego Churches are some of the most common places where abuse occurs. Patriarchal structures, lack of resources, community norms that ascribe higher status to men and lower status to women, pregnancy, and traditional gender norms and inequality, all increase the risk of a woman becoming a victim of spiritual, interpersonal, and sexual violence. Impacts of violence against women include: Miscarriages and other adverse pregnancy outcomes such as stillbirths, low birth weight babies, early deliveries, complications, etc. Children becoming vicariously traumatized through violent experiences of parents (a…
Source: Religion News Service Christian leaders stress that the council and its anniversary still have relevance in the modern day, despite theological divides. By David I. Klein İZNIK, Turkey (RNS) — For Christian leaders across the world and across denominations, the anniversary of the first Council of Nicaea is providing an opportunity for introspection and, potentially, the beginning of further dialogue. Seventeen hundred years ago — from May through July 325 — more than 200 bishops of early Christian churches gathered in the town of Nicaea, then in the Roman province of Bithynia (now İznik, Turkey), to determine a unified…
Source: Public Orthodoxy [Preface of the Signatories]: The diaconate is one of the higher orders of ordained ministry in the Orthodox Church. Unlike the episcopacy or presbyterate, it is not a sacerdotal ministry, but one focused primarily on service. It seeks to meet the faithful where they are in this world and draw them into the Body of Christ more fully. In short, it connects the liturgy of our lives to the liturgy of the Church. The diaconate has always been part of the life of the Church and, in the Orthodox tradition, both men and women have been ordained to this ministry to…
Source: Orthodox Christianity Originally published on April 24, 2023 Archpriest George Larin Archpriest George Larin, one of the oldest priests of the Russian Church Abroad, had a special blessing in his life: As a young boy, he got to personally know St. John of Shanghai and San-Francisco, and he learned a lot from him. The future Fr. George, known at the time simply as Zhora, happened to celebrate the Bright Resurrection of Christ with Vladyka John several times and so he remembered well how Vladyka would literally fly around the packed church. He preserved this Paschal joy throughout his life. —Father…