Browsing: Governance & Unity Essays

Source: Orthodox Christian Laity We are entering the month of May, and we are about 9 to 12 weeks away from the National Assemblies of three different Orthodox Christian Groups in the USA.  The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese (GOA) will hold its 44th Clergy-Laity Congress in Boston on July 1-5.  The 19th All- American Council of the Orthodox Church in America (OCA) will take place in St. Louis on July 23-27.  The 93rd Fellowship of Orthodox Christians in America (FOCA) will take place in   conjunction with the All-American Council.   If in fact, as Jesus Christ said, “all things are possible to…

Source: The National Herald By Antonis H. Diamataris The issue of leadership is one of the most discussed issues of our time because, as it is often said, there is a void of great leaders in today’s tumultuous world. The elements, of course, concerning a leader are first, that position does not make the leader, and second, that the leader becomes a leader when he is fortunate enough in his time to have to face a crisis. Then, his key leadership qualities are distinguished: the integrity of his character, a mindset to go against the grain of popular opinion, “if…

Source: Public Orthodoxy by the St. Phoebe Center for the Deaconess Board: AnnMarie Mecera, President; Caren Stayer, Ph.D.; Gust Mecera; Teva Regule, Ph.D.; Carrie Frederick Frost, Ph.D.; Helen Theodoropoulos, Ph.D. Originally posted on April 17, 2018 The St. Phoebe Center for the Deaconess advocates for the reinstitution of the ordained order of deaconesses for the benefit of the Orthodox Church today. We also appreciate that this is a significant issue that prompts a range of opinions, and we consider it to be part of our work to promote empirically grounded conversation.[1] Unfortunately, distortions and misrepresentations of the historical record, as well…

Source: New York Post By Melissa Klein St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church was to be a “beacon of hope” at the World Trade Center site, glowing at night as a symbol to the faithful and those seeking solace on hallowed ground. Thousands of visitors were to walk through the church doors on Liberty Street to worship, light a candle or just sit quietly in a nondenominational meditation room overlooking one of the 9/11 Memorial’s reflecting pools. Now the church is a half-built eyesore, and when those doors will open is uncertain. The project has been stalled for five months and become a quagmire…

Source: The National Herald By Theodoros Kalmoukos It is really unbelievable that the [Greek Orthodox] Archdiocese will mortgage its office buildings in Manhattan in order to get a bank loan of $7.5 to $10 million to pay its debts. I remind you the essence of the news that we revealed on April 14: “the Archdiocesan Council’s Executive Committee at a meeting on April 10 approved the Archdiocese’s seeking a $7.5 to $10 million loan, which the Archdiocese will now attempt to obtain from the Greek-American-owned Alma Bank of New York. If approved, the loan will be used by the Archdiocese…

Source: The National Herald By Theodoros Kalmoukos BOSTON – The 2018 budget of the Archdiocese has been dramatically reduced by $8 million. Specifically, it was reduced to $22 million from $30,240,112 for the year 2018 and $27,816,483 for the year 2017. The budget has more than double in the 19 years since Archbishop Demetrios took office with an increase from $13 to $30,240,112. The new budget was approved by the Executive Committee of the Archdiocesan Council and it will be presented to the 44th Clergy Laity Congress of the Archdiocese which will be convened in Boston from July 1-5. This…

Source: Orthodox Christian Laity Saturday of Lazarus The Saturday of Lazarus and Palm Sunday precede and foreshadow the events of Holy Week. In addition to showing Christ’s divinity, the feast of the Resurrection of Lazarus is a prophecy of the resurrection of Christ and all the dead for all time.  The events of Holy Week are overwhelming, but in the end, the light of Christ prevails. There is hope! It is in this Season of Hope that I reflect upon my experience of witnessing the Enthronement of the Metropolitan of Chicago, Nathanael, on March 24, 2018.  I am hopeful, because…

Source: Orthodox Christian Network Originally published in our Sounding Blog in January 2017, the OCN is again sharing this post as Giannis Antetokounmpo of the NBA’s Milwaukee Bucks is making news again.  For more on this story, check out this video from CBS News 60 Minutes.  There are times I find it difficult to attend Church. As a Greek Orthodox parishioner and father of a multi-cultural family, I hear the words that are whispered. You’re not Greek, are you? The Church is for Greek people first. There are two types of people, Greeks and those who want to be Greek. Statements like…

Source: The National Herald By Theodoros Kalmoukos After all of the astonishing revelations The National Herald has made about the Archdiocese’s dire financial situation, the crucial question on the minds of thousands of Greek-Americans throughout the United States is: where are we going as an Archdiocese and a community in general? Those who are in charge at the Archdiocese – along with Archbishop Demetrios, who is at the top – are trying to capitulate with spin and propaganda, using as tactics slogans that all is well and good. Unfortunately, that spin seems to have affected the Church’s ultimate authority, Ecumenical…

Source: The National Herald In Chicago, after waiting for decades for a house cleaning, we will be patient with Metropolitan Nathanael to learn the ropes. In the Archdiocese as a whole, I completely agree with Mr. Kalmoukos about audits of all Metropolises. Bravo to the Metropolis of Pittsburgh for releasing information – the rest must follow. He is also right that the lay leaders bear much responsibility. Everyone knew administration was not Archbishop Demetrios’ strength. How long did the Archdiocesan Council need to see they needed to take bolder action when he unwilling to cut staff – a few years…

Source: The National Herald By Antonis H. Diamataris This year’s National Prayer Breakfast, an important annual American tradition involving many hundreds of religious and political leaders and other officials from all over the world, was held on February 8. This year’s main speaker was President Trump, and so much importance is attached to that fact. The president said that “religion plays a central role in American life and freedom.” And so it does. Americans, on average, are religious people. They do not hesitate to express their faith in words and deeds, Their faith is a deeply rooted human need and…

Source: The National Herald In June, 2012, an Orthodox Church was built in Tirana, Albania. Yes, Tirana, Albania. That marvelous cathedral was built largely through the blood, sweat, and tears of Archbishop Anastasios, the Primate of the Church of Albania. The Resurrection Cathedral currently stands as the third-largest Orthodox church in Europe. This was nothing less than a miraculous accomplishment considering Albania, a very poor country, was not that long ago under the grips of communism and fiercely anti-Christian. Yet, in a largely Muslim country, Archbishop Anastasios has managed to revitalize the Orthodox Church, building new churches and restoring many…