Browsing: Governance & Unity Commentary

Source: St. Sophia Ukrainian Orthodox Theological Seminary View the PDF here or click on the image below Articles in this issue Preamble: Holy Wisdom-Holy Sophia (English & Ukrainian) – EDITORIAL TEAM Wisdom: Those Who Came Before Us (English & Ukrainian) – GAYLE E. WOLOSCHAK, PHD Letter of Introduction for Quarterly (English & Ukrainian) – METROPOLITAN ANTONY Welcome Message – ARCHBISHOP DANIEL Thousand-day Anniversary of the Onslaught Against Ukraine (English & Ukrainian) – COUNCIL OF BISHOPS OF THE UOC OF THE USA AND DIASPORA Ukrainian Orthodox Church Independence as a Decolonization Movement (English & Ukrainian) – VERY REV. BOHDAN HLADIO Pluralism,…

Source: Public Orthodoxy Where Do We Go from Here? by Dr. Sarita Melkon Maldjian, Professor at Seton Hall University Following the two-year long process of the Synod of Synodality led by Pope Francis, we must ask why it is mainly Western Catholic women advocating for the right to be ordained. The Orthodox, Apostolic, and Eastern Catholic churches need to be fully included in this conversation. As an American member of the Armenian Apostolic Church, I have never seen a diasporan Armenian church thrive without its hard working, devoutly faithful women members. Looking at the history of deaconesses in the Armenian Apostolic Church is…

Source: Peter Anderson, Seattle USA On October 26, 2024, the XVI Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops of the Catholic Church issued its Final Document on the subject, “For a Synodal Church: Communion, Participation, Mission.”  At the present time, the Final Document is only available in Italian and can be read at https://www.synod.va/content/dam/synod/news/2024-10-26_final-document/ITA—Documento-finale-26.10.pdf .  Official translations in other languages will be available in the near future.  However, in the meantime, I have attached a Google English translation of the Final Document. The Final Document is the culmination of a long process that began three years ago and included consultations at…

Source: Peter Anderson, Seattle USA On October 20, a very important election was held in Moldova.  In the election for president, the current president Maia Sandu received 42% of the vote and will face a November 3 runoff against Alexandr Stoianoglo, who received 26%.  However, the greatest media attention has been focused on a referendum which posed the following question to the voters:  “Do you support the amendment of the Constitution with a view to the accession of the Republic of Moldova to the European Union?”  With almost all of the votes counted, the “yes” votes are prevailing by an…

Source: Public Orthodoxy Varvara Gulina Doctoral Student at San Diego State University Imagine a young woman who has just been sexually assaulted by a priest during confession. Leaving what was meant to be a sacred experience, she feels lost and unsure of whom to turn to in her parish, wondering if anyone would truly understand or believe her. Now picture another woman enduring domestic violence at home; after mustering the courage to confide in a bishop, she is met with the suggestion that she simply needs a change of scenery, leaving her feeling invalidated and dismissed. Envision a young woman…

CLICK HERE to view and download the PDF of the above flier. If you are not able to attend in person, register to participate live via ZOOM at the following link: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZMtcuurqzstG9fHQtDDpwqZwG28ptvgb30d After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting. OCL ANNUAL CONFERENCE PROGRAM 9:00 a.m. – 10:00 a.m.:  Registration and continental breakfast 10:00 a.m. – 10:15 a.m.:  Archbishop Nathaniel will open the Meeting with a prayer.  An OCL Board member will introduce Fr. Nick Anton. 10:15 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.:  Fr. Anton will deliver his address on the theme: Inter-Parish Associations and Dialogue Across Orthodox…

Source: St. Phoebe Center Document to be Reviewed at September Zoom Event August 23, 2024 – The St. Phoebe Center for the Deaconess has released a new set of proposed guidelines for ordaining women as deaconesses in the Orthodox Church today. In a Zoom event to be held September 23, 2024, three St. Phoebe Center board members — Dr. Carrie Frederick Frost, Dr. Teva Regule, and Dr. Helen Creticos Theodoropoulos — will introduce and comment on this new version of the “Proposed Guidelines.” They will review the document section by section and explain the incorporated feedback. St. Phoebe Center Advisory…

Source: Peter Anderson, Seattle USA The meeting of the Synaxis of Hierarchs of the Ecumenical Throne was held at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Istanbul, September 1-3.  This meeting, which is held every three years, included more than one hundred bishops of the Ecumenical Patriarchate from throughout the world.  At the beginning of the Synaxis, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew gave an address.   https://ec-patr.org/%e1%bc%90%ce%bd%ce%b1%cf%81%ce%ba%cf%84%ce%ae%cf%81%ce%b9%ce%bf%cf%82-%e1%bd%81%ce%bc%ce%b9%ce%bb%ce%af%ce%b1-%cf%84%e1%bf%86%cf%82-%ce%b1-%ce%b8-%cf%80%ce%b1%ce%bd%ce%b1%ce%b3%ce%b9%cf%8c-3/  The following are some of his observations:  A major problem in this connection is the anthropological and moral confusion about the essentials of life, even among Christians.  It is self-evident that we are concerned with the division of Christianity…

by S. P. Stamatis. M.A. Many years ago, an Orthodox bishop of Great Britain was asked this question during a gathering. His reply was simple, but profound: “It’s the Church that Celebrates the Divine Liturgy”                                     –Bishop Timothy “Kallistos” Ware  On the surface, this statement by Bishop Ware suggests that it’s the primary mission of the Church. But before we allow the 1960s song “Is That All There Is?” to fall from our lips, let’s take a closer look at the Holy Rite from a lay perspective. Indeed, the bishop’s focus showcased the Liturgy as the “Main Event” that defines…

Source: Public Orthodoxy Dr. Sergii Bortnyk Director of the ‘Academic Initiative’ Charitable Foundation (Kyiv, Ukraine) Recent weeks have been quite intense in Ukraine’s religious sphere. Undoubtedly, the most resonant event was the adoption of Bill No. 8371 by the Ukrainian Parliament on August 20. In its latest version, it was titled “On the Protection of the Constitutional Order in the Sphere of Activities of Religious Organizations,” but it is informally known as the “law banning the UOC (Ukrainian Orthodox Church).” The bill’s adoption was demanded by a significant number of opposition deputies, particularly from the “European Solidarity” party, led by former President…

Source: The National Herald By Theodore Karakostas The glorious churches of Aghia Sophia and the Holy Savior at the monastery of Chora in Constantinople have been converted into mosques by the current Turkish government. While the future of these edifices of Greek Orthodoxy may seem bleak, they cannot be abandoned to their fate. Constantinople will always be the greatest of all Greek cities and the spiritual heart of Orthodoxy. As I told an official of UNESCO in Paris in 2015, Aghia Sophia is the product of the Gospel and Orthodox theology. I have been in touch with UNESCO officials since…

Source: Public Orthodoxy Evgenios Voulgaris and Platon Levshin— a Model for Future Greek-Russian Exchange and Rapprochement? Dr. Vasilios N. Makrides Professor of Religious Studies at the University of Erfurt (Germany) It is well known that the current Orthodox Christian positions, either official or unofficial, towards modern human rights differ considerably. Suffice it to point here to the different evaluations of human rights by the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople under Patriarch Bartholomew[i] and by the Russian Orthodox Church in post-communist times, especially under Patriarch Kirill.[ii] This also becomes evident if one compares the related official documents of these two Churches: on the one…