Browsing: Governance & Unity Commentary

Source: National Catholic Register The Hope for Ecumenical Unity Includes the Desire for a Reconciliation of the Gregorian and Julian Calendar Jim Graves In an ongoing dialogue with Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople, the successor of St. Andrew the Apostle and “first among equals” among the bishops of the Eastern Orthodox Church, Pope Francis has expressed his belief that Catholics and Orthodox will one day attain full communion. Eastern Orthodox — as opposed to Eastern-rite Catholics who differ from Latin-rite Catholics in custom and liturgical practices but accept the primacy of jurisdiction of the Bishop of Rome — gradually separated…

Source: The National Herald By Theodore Kalmoukos BOSTON – Metropolitan Isaiah of Denver has resigned and the Synod of the Phanar in Constantinople, with Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew presiding, has elected him Metropolitan of Lystra, an honorary position. The National Herald in its publication on Friday, March 15, 2024, titled ‘Eparchial Synod Meets, Elect Two new Bishops for Archdiocese of America’ also reported on other matters addressed by the Synod and revealed, among other things, the following: “Extensive discussion took place regarding Metropolitan Isaiah of Denver, who has been residing for several months now at the Monastery of the Archangels in…

Source: Public Orthodoxy Archimandrite Nicanor (Mishcoff) Abbot of Tsarnogorsky Monastery “Holy Wonderworkers Kosma and Damian” It is said that after the Soviet army occupied Bulgaria, Winston Churchill wrote on a napkin in Yalta, “Bulgaria – 25%,” representing the portion of influence the Western allies should have in the new, post-war Bulgaria. Of course, that turned out to be wishful thinking. In two years’ time, the last opposition politician was hanged, and the Soviet influence in the country was so comprehensive that it was referred to as the “16th Republic” (of the former USSR). After the collapse of the communist regimes,…

Source: The National Herald By Theodore Kalmoukos BOSTON – On the occasion of the election and enthronement last weekend of the new Metropolitan Iakovos of Mexico, formerly Archimandrite Fr. Iakovos Andriopoulos, who is Greek-American and studied at Holy Cross School of Theology in Boston, The National Herald can now reveal how Patriarch Bartholomew overturned the plans of Archbishop Elpidophoros of America and his spiritual son, Metropolitan Joseph of Buenos Aires, regarding Mexico, Panama, Colombia, Venezuela, and the Caribbean islands. Specifically, The National Herald is in a position to know that Archbishop Elpidophoros, for some time, tried to persuade Patriarch Bartholomew…

Source: Public Orthodoxy Inga Leonova Editor-in-Chief at The Wheel Journal On Friday, February 16, 2024, Russian Penitentiary Service (FSIN) that is responsible for the thriving GULAG system informed the world that Russia’s “Prisoner no. 1,” Alexey Navalny, collapsed during the daily walk in the camp and died shortly thereafter. While everyone who cared about Navalny had feared for his life every day since January 17, 2021, when he returned to Russia after recovering in Germany from an assassination attempt by the Kremlin, the news still came as a gut-punching shock. Despite three years of imprisonment in inhuman, torturous conditions, despite…

Source: The National Herald By Matthew Namee* For a while now, I’ve been documenting the close relationship between the U.S. government and Ecumenical Patriarch Athenagoras in the early years of the Cold War. It was thanks in large part to American influence that Athenagoras attained the throne in Constantinople, and he relished the idea that he was an agent of Americanism, the West’s counterweight to the ascendant Soviet-backed Moscow Patriarchate. Things began to shift in the mid-1950s, as Greek Cypriots revolted against British rule in Cyprus, leading to tensions between the Greeks and Turks of the island. Turkey began to…

Source: Public Orthodoxy Rev. Dr. John Chryssavgis Director of the Huffington Ecumenical Institute at HCHC One of the temptations invariably plaguing priests and preachers as they proffer declarations and proclamations is the tendency to offer solutions to non-existent dilemmas, providing answers to questions nobody is asking or addressing the wrong audience. Which is why it is hardly surprising that various Orthodox hierarchs and circles feel the need to express disproportionate fervor and excessive alarm on the current debate around the same-sex marriage bill that just passed in the Greek parliament. With the legalization of same-sex marriage, Greece becomes the first…

Source: Public Orthodoxy To: His Holiness Bartholomew, Archbishop of Constantinople, the New Rome, and Oecumenical Patriarch The Holy Father Francis, Pope of the Catholic Church His Holiness Garegin, Primate and Catholicos of All Armenians His Grace Justin Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury, Primate of All England and Head of the Anglican Communion Rev Dr. Panti Filibus Musa, Archbishop of the Lutheran Church in Nigeria, Chairman of the Lutheran World Federation Mrs. Najla Kassab Abousawan, President of the World Communion of Reformed Churches (WCRC) Rev Dr Jerry Pillay, General Secretary of the World Council of Churches We address your Excellencies, leaders of…

Source: Public Orthodoxy Very Rev. Barouyr Shernezian Dean of Armenian Theological Seminary of the Catholicosate of the Holy See of Cilicia Historical imagery has always fascinated me for the significant value it holds for research and inquiry. In my research attempts to explore photographs depicting historical moments, I came across the December 1959 edition of the official magazine of the Armenian Catholicosate of the Holy See of Cilicia, “Hasg,” through which a striking photograph of two spiritual leaders—His Holiness Zareh I Catholicos Payasilian of the Armenian Catholicosate of the Holy See of Cilicia and His Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Athenagoras, united…

Source: St. Phoebe Center for the Deaconess The St. Phoebe Center for the Deaconess expresses its appreciation for the work that went into the preparation and production of the recent AFR presentation aired on January 30, 2024, “The Orthodox Deaconess: Examining the Call for Restoration,” with special thanks to John Maddex. Securing a number of scholars and other faithful Orthodox Christians from across the spectrum of perspectives about the female diaconate, gathering hours of primary interviews, and offering a serious look at a controversial topic was a monumental task, and we appreciate being asked to participate. While the presentation had…

Source: Ancient Faith Ministries January 30, 2024 Length: 1:42:22 Have there ever been female deacons in the Orthodox Church? The answer is yes but several centuries ago. In the last decade or so, there have been calls to restore the office of Deaconess today which is a rather touchy subject in the Orthodox world. As part of our mission to Educate, Edify, and Evangelize, Ancient Faith Radio presents an in-depth audio documentary examining the call to restore Deaconesses in the Orthodox Church today. We talk with both proponents and opponents as well as those in the nuanced middle. We do not…

Source: Orthodox History by Matthew Namee In 1894, Pope Leo XIII issued a papal encyclical on the “Eastern Rites” — that is, the Uniates, those groups who use ancient Orthodox liturgical rites but submit themselves to the Pope of Rome. In 1898, St Raphael Hawaweeny, then an archimandrite in New York, published a response in a periodical called Faith and Reason, and […] Click here to read the article