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FILE - Ukraine President Petro Poroshenko, left, and Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I sign an agreement following their meeting at the patriarchate in Istanbul, Saturday, Nov. 3, 2018. (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis)

The Geopolitical Context of Russian and Turkish Ambitions and the Ecumenical Patriarchate

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Source: The National Herald By Dr. André Gerolymatos Moscow’s interest in Eastern Orthodoxy is an integral part of Russia’s geopolitical grand strategy with the Middle East and central to its ambitions. Moscow has supported the regime in Syria in order to maintain its naval facility, however, there are other considerations, especially religious matters. The naval base located in Tartus, a city in Northern Syria, is the only foreign Russian base. In 2017, Moscow signed a new lease with Bashir al-Assad that will permit Moscow to expand the base and service larger Russian warships. The base enables the Russian navy to…

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Metropolitan Epiphanius, head of the new Orthodox Church of Ukraine, which is newly independent of the Russian Orthodox Church. AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky

Why a centuries-old religious dispute over Ukraine’s Orthodox Church matters today

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Source: The Conversation A new Orthodox Church was recently established in Ukraine. Shortly after, Bartholomew I, the Patriarch of Constantinople and the spiritual head of global Orthodox Christianity, granted independence to the new Orthodox Church of Ukraine and transferred its jurisdiction from the church of Moscow to the church of Constantinople, located in Istanbul. This competition between the churches of Constantinople and Moscow for dominance in the Orthodox Christian world is not new – it goes back more than 500 years. But the birth of the new Orthodox Church in Ukraine opens a new chapter in this history. So what is Ukraine’s new church, and…

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PATRIARCH BARTHOLOMEW PULLING ARCHBISHOP DEMETRIOS FROM AMERICA

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Source: Orthodox Christianity Istanbul, February 19, 2019 — Changes are coming to the American, Australian, and British Churches under the Ecumenical Patriarchate, according to Patriarch Bartholomew’s own words following a recent Divine Liturgy in Istanbul. In a video posted on the Patriarchate’s Facebook page, Pat. Bartholomew speaks about holding elections to replace the primates of the Greek Orthodox Archdioceses in the English-speaking world, reports the National Herald. There have long been reports that Pat. Bartholomew has been trying to oust Archbishop Demetrios of America, though this is the first time the plans have been publicly addressed. It is unclear who will replace…

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Fr Frank Marangos

UNFREEZING THE PANTS OF HIGHER EDUCATION: DEALING WITH THE VORTEX OF ADMINISTRATIVE ACEDIA

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Source: OINOS Educational Consulting by Frank Marangos, D.Min., Ed.D., FCEP “The only man who never makes mistakes is the man who never does anything.” Theodore Roosevelt The polar vortex is a large upper-level zone of cold air that hovers over the northern artic region of the globe during the winter season. When the polar vortex is pushed further south, this frigid air pocket can occasionally reach portions of the United States. According to AccuWeather’s Senior Meteorologist Brett Anderson, “such a vortex is capable of delivering subzero temperatures for several days at a time.” The recent polar vortex of 2019 has created…

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Nick Karakas

Why Can’t I Criticize My Religion?

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I have had a number of faithful find fault with my op-ed essays regarding the actions or non-actions of members of the hierarchy and the Archdiocesan Council. When one observes the egregious errors committed by church officials in observing the rules and policies promulgated by themselves, how could any faithful remain quiet? My thoughtful, yet provocative criticisms are meant to be constructive as well as poignant reminders to the church administration to follow their own decrees. By concealing, disregarding and objecting to any criticism to our faith, we are making it more difficult or impossible for any reforms to occur,…

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Academics for the Church: A Father-Son Reflection on IOTA

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Source: Public Orthodoxy by Fr. Marc Dunaway and Benjamin Dunaway This post is a two-part reflection by a father and son who traveled from Alaska to attend the inaugural conference of the International Orthodox Theological Association (IOTA) in Iasi, Romania. Fr. Marc Dunaway Many Christians are suspicious of “academic theologians,” and this is understandable. I remember as a young man eagerly tuning into TV documentaries about how the early Church grew or what the world Jesus lived in was like, only to realize in a few minutes that many of these supposedly “Christian” scholars didn’t actually believe in Jesus, or…

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Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko attends the enthronement of the newly elected head of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, Metropolitan of Kyiv and All Ukraine Epiphanius in the St. Sophia Cathedral in Kiev, Ukraine, Sunday, Feb. 3, 2019. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)

Removing Orthodoxy’s Threatening Schism

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Source: The National Herald By Dennis Menos It’s been almost a month since Patriarch Kirill of Moscow suspended Eucharistic Communion between the Church of Russia and the Ecumenical Patriarchate, in response to the granting by Patriarch Bartholomew of the Tomos of Autocephaly to the Church of the Ukraine. By his action, the Russian Patriarch set into motion a schism within Orthodoxy with a potential for harming not only the relations between Moscow and Constantinople, but also between other Churches within the Orthodox family. One would assume that because of the seriousness of the Russian action and its potential for damage,…

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George Matsoukas, Executive Director of Orthodox Christian Laity

Musings of the OCL Executive Director on the IOTA Conference

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Source: Orthodox Christian Laity Happy New Year to all our supporters and friends! I had the privilege of representing Orthodox Christian Laity at the Inaugural Conference of the International Orthodox Theological Association (IOTA). The meeting was entitled “Pan-Orthodox Unity and Conciliarity.” It took place in the City of International Orthodox Academic Dialogue, Iasi, Romania, from January 9-12, 2019. What a prayerful and positive way to start the New Year! Over 470 Orthodox theologians, clergy, professionals and ecumenical observers participated, representing 40 countries. About 73 workshops were offered by at least 300 presenters. It has been called the largest gathering of…

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The Ukrainian Orthodox Church and the “Holy Church of Ukraine”: Who Has More Independence?

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Source: OrthoChristian.com by Kirill Alexandrov A comparison of the relationship of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church with the Moscow Patriarchate and the “Holy Church of Ukraine” with the Phanar. Petro Poroshenko and Epiphany Dumenko have received their desired tomos. Already well before that, the majority of religious experts argued that the Phanar would never give the Ukrainian Church true autocephaly, and that’s what happened. Even the most ardent supporters of autocephaly have to admit that the Ukrainian so-called autocephaly has a number of very significant restrictions. They also expressed the opinion that the new Ukrainian Church, which will be called autocephalous, will in…

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