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,…
Browsing: Governance & Unity Commentary
Child of Governance
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…
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,…
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…
Click here to go to IOTA’s YouTube Channel to view talks by Orthodox Christian scholars who participated in IOTA’s Inaugural Conference in Iasi, Romania in January 2019.
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…
Source: Asia News by NAT da Polis On the feast day of Saint Gregory of Nazianzus, the ecumenical patriarch defends his decision to grant autonomy to the Ukrainian Church, as well as upholding the “primus inter pares” status for himself and the Mother Church of Orthodoxy. Istanbul (AsiaNews) – The anniversary of the death of one of the great Fathers of the undivided Church was commemorated yesterday at the Phanar, headquarters of the Ecumenical Patriarchate. Gregory of Nazianzus, theologian and patriarch of Constantinople, was a close friend of Saint Basil the Great, whose cultural and ecclesial education he shared, and a…
Source: Orthodox Christianity Priest Sergei Begiyan The current conflict between the Russian and Constantinopolitan Orthodox Churches has agitated everyone. Both believers and unbelievers, those leading an active Church life and those “with God in their souls,” have all become “specialists” in canon law and Church history overnight. It’s discouraging. It’s discouraging that the word “specialist” is placed in quotes here. It’s discouraging that everyone started yelling in a chorus and blaming one another. It can’t but discourage any Christian who desires unity and peace for the universal Church. Who’s right, who’s wrong? I have absolutely no desire to wander through the canonical…
Source: The New York Times When the Ukrainian Orthodox Church broke from Russia’s, it dealt a blow to President Vladimir Putin’s efforts to portray his country as one people with a single identity. By Michael Khodarkovsky Mr. Khodarkovsky is the author of the forthcoming book “Russia’s 20th Century: A Journey in 100 Histories.” On Jan. 5, some 150,000 people lined up in front of the St. Sophia Cathedral in Ukraine’s capital, Kiev. They came to see a single document called a tomos, issued a few days before by the ecumenical patriarch of Constantinople, Bartholomew. There, on a piece of parchment,…
Source: Orthodox Christianity Metropolitan Jonah (Paffhausen) The actions of the Patriarchate of Constantinople (EP) in its process of granting a Tomos of autocephaly to the schismatic groups in Ukraine have created a canonical crisis. This point of “judgment” (the real meaning of “crisis”) is not so much about Ukraine, per se; but about the nature of the authority of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, and of primacy, indeed of episcopacy in the Orthodox Church. Thus, it affects every Orthodox Church and every Orthodox Christian. It has nothing to do with nationalism, though this has been a tool for manipulation of various parties involved; it has…
Source: The National Herald By Theodore Kalmoukos BOSTON – The naves in many parishes of the San Francisco Metropolis were filled to capacity this past Christmas season, in contrast with other areas of the country where attendance was sparse. In an exclusive interview with The National Herald Metropolitan Gerasimos explained, “the naves were filled with people that we have not seen in years. They are returning to their churches and customs. We also see young people who have established their families returning to the Church and it gives us hope about the future,” adding “I hope it continues that way.”…
Source: The National Herald By Dennis Menos The fact that Orthodoxy finds itself today in the midst of disastrous schism between the Ecumenical Patriarchate and the Church of Russia is hardly a secret. It is all the result of the recent issuance of a Tomos of Autocephaly to the Church of the Ukraine by the Ecumenical Patriarch, a move that the Patriarchate of Russia strongly opposed. Because of the issuance of the Tomos, the Patriarchate of Moscow has directed that all religious co-celebrations between its hierarchs and those of the Ecumenical Patriarchate cease, and that the two Patriarchates no longer…