Browsing: Governance & Unity Essays

Source: Orthodox Studies Institute Originally published March 2024 by Dr. Mary Ford in collaboration with Dr. David C. Ford “While we recognize that some Orthodox Christians believe that a female diaconate with a liturgical role similar to a male deacon’s is needed in our Church today, we strongly disagree that there is such a need, or that it would be advisable, for the reasons outlined below. There are already a multitude of opportunities for lay ministry, and sometimes Orthodox laity, both women and men, need to hear the message: ‘You don’t need to be ordained to serve Christ and His…

Source: Orthodox Studies Institute Originally published November 2023 by Matthew Namee “For at least the past quarter-century, Orthodox jurisdictions in America have been discussing the ‘priest shortage’ problem. The OCA addressed this at its All-American Council in 1999 and again in 2005, when it observed that 400 priests would soon retire and 100 new missions were expected to open over the next decade, with only 20-25 priests per year being ordained. The same year, 2005, the Greek Archdiocese also addressed the priest shortage problem. Then in 2020, the OCA website reported that 30% of active OCA were aged 65 or…

Christ is risen! I just saw all these emails!  Roula and I appreciate all of your prayers and good wishes. We love all of you.  OCL’s mission is inevitable. It is what God wants. A single Autocephalous Orthodox Church in America. It is up to us to make it happen.  Do not give up!  — Love, George (May 31, 2024)  This is the message that George Karcazes sent from his hospital room a few days before he fell asleep in the Lord on June 6, 2024.   For the last 37 years, he devoted himself to the mission of Orthodox Christian Laity…

Source: Axia Women We are glad to be able to share with you, by permission, a reflection by Abbess Katherine Weston–superior of the St. Xenia Monastic Community for over 30 years and the President of the Fellowship of St. Moses the Black–in which she considers the role of deaconesses and abbesses.  Today, because of the recent and conspicuous ordination of a female deacon in Zimbabwe, I want to start to say something about ordination. In our hyper-individualistic age, the most important thing to remember is the people are elevated to meet a need of the Church. I know a man…

Source: The National Herald Analysis by Theodore Kalmoukos We have occasionally dealt with the issue of the financial contributions of the parishes to the Archdiocese, either indirectly, when the ‘taxation’ increases periodically – because that’s essentially what it is – or when problems arise from parishes that struggle financially and cannot keep up with the ever-increasing demands from the Archdiocese. These demands are passed down to the Metropolises and then to the communities. There is a chain system that ultimately ends with the faithful, who are bombarded with requests for donations week after week. This week’s Analysis is prompted by…

Source: The National Herald By Theodore Kalmoukos BOSTON – Bishop Constantine of Sasima is the new Metropolitan of Denver, according to the ‘triprosopon’ (the list of three candidates) prepared by the Eparchial Synod of the Archdiocese of America, which met on Monday, May 13 under the presidency of Archbishop Elpidophoros. During the voting, Bishop Constantine, who serves in the Metropolis of Denver as the chancellor, received eight votes. Bishop Sevastianos of Zela, chancellor of the Metropolis of Atlanta, received two votes, and Fr. George Nikas, presiding priest of the Holy Trinity community in Salt Lake City, UT, also received two…

Source: The National Herald Boston – The presence of Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew at the official dinner hosted by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in honor of Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, following their official meeting in Ankara on Monday, May 13, remains an enigma. The Patriarch sat at the table with the foreign ministers and directors and officials of the intelligence services of both countries, with whom he had cordial conversations. The National Herald has learned that his attendance at the official dinner was not pre-arranged but was instead a last-minute invitation from the Turkish Presidency on Monday morning. According…

Source: The National Herald By Theodore Kalmoukos BOSTON – The Archdiocese of America is increasing the annual financial assessment of each parish by 5.9 percent for 2025 and 3.0 percent for 2026, according to financial documents obtained by The National Herald. It is emphasized that this increase, in conjunction with the financial budget of the next two years, 2025 and 2026, was discussed and approved by the Archdiocesan Council at its remote meeting on Monday, May 13. The National Herald was informed that at least seventeen members of the Archdiocesan Council voted against the proposals. It was not said how…

Source: St. Phoebe Center for the Deaconess St. Phoebe Center Zoom Event – Sunday, May 19, 7 pm Eastern (Sunday of the Myrrhbearers) Does the Church really need a female diaconate? Couldn’t lay people just do this type of work? These are questions that have been posed to us.  While the St. Phoebe Center wholeheartedly supports lay ministry in the Church, we also acknowledge a place for ordained ministry as well. This seminar will focus on the question of the diaconate more broadly as well as the female diaconate specifically. We will first contextualize the issue—examining the order and its…

Source: Public Orthodoxy by Gayle Woloschak The Orthodox Church has generally taken a pro-life stand with regard to life in the womb, but the Church has not officially commented on embryos that remain in the test-tube or in freezers as “leftovers” following the In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) procedure. For the Church, the personhood and the ensoulment of the embryo have been issues of theological debate over the years, with room for continued dialogue and discussion. When giving a blessing for IVF, many Orthodox bishops have asked couples to implant only one embryo into a woman’s womb at a time in…

Source: The National Herald By Theodore Kalmoukos BOSTON – Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew will be absent from the major Conference, with the theme ‘Protection of Religious Freedom, Democracy, and Human Rights’ organized by Archons of the Ecumenical Patriarchate that will take place May 26 to 29, 2024. The Order Saint Andrew of the United are the lead organizers under the leadership of Dr. Anthony Limberakis, Megas Aktouarios and National Commander in the U.S., and the Very Reverend Alexander Karloutsos, the Order’s Spiritual Advisor. Participating are the orders of the Archons of Greece, Canada, Europe, and Australia. Dr. Limberakis is president of…

Source: Public Orthodoxy by Very Rev. Dr. John Behr Regius Professor of Humanity at the University of Aberdeen In recent days several articles have appeared on this site raising profound, difficult, and unsettling questions. Sr. Vassa bravely asked whether “heresy” is a charge that can be applied to the “Edict” of the XXV “All-World Council of the Russian People,” approved under the chairmanship of Patriarch Kirill of Moscow on March 27, 2024, concluding, rightly, that it does indeed express, in the words of St. Basil about heresy, “a clear difference in the very faith of God” (see also this analysis by Serhii Shumylo).…