Browsing: Governance & Unity Essays

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

Source: Orthodox Christian Laity West Palm Beach, Florida, is the Epiphany City for the Orthodox Christian Community in Southeast Florida. The faithful gather from Fort Meyers, Miami, Coral Gables, Kendell, Fort Lauderdale, Hollywood, Davie, Boca Raton, Lantana, West Palm Beach, and Fort Pierce. The Metropolis of Atlanta proclaims the event one or two weeks after the ceremony at Tarpon Springs, Florida, on the actual feast day (January 6). For thirty years, this inspirational event has been organized and implemented by the parish community of St. Catherine. St. Catherine Parish is located on the Southeast corner of Flagler Drive and the…

Source: Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America – Center for Family Care by Presvytera Melanie DiStefano What does the phrase “eternal memory” mean really, for us mere mortals? This question begs at me much now that I am in my sixth decade of life and have witnessed so many lovely souls pass on to the next life. My sweet grandmother passed away on Theophany 6 years ago. She is in my thoughts at times, but I must admit not at all times – thus her memory is certainly not eternally in my small mind. There are moments when my heart throbs…

Source: The National Herald By Theodore Kalmoukos BOSTON – His Eminence Metropolitan Chrysostomos of Messinia, one of the most prominent and learned hierarchs of the Church of Greece and Orthodoxy in general, professor at the University of Athens, presented an interview to The National Herald. He spoke about the meaning of the Incarnation of God, violence, same-sex marriage, elderism and more. The National Herald: Your Eminence, these are Holy Days, marking the incarnate presence of God among us. What does this mean today for the modern man? Metropolitan Chrysostomos: First of all, the very fact of the Incarnation of the…

Source: Notes on Arab Orthodoxy Jad Ganem Patriarch Bartholomew celebrated the Feast of Saint Nicholas at the church-turned-museum bearing his name in the city of Demre, Turkey. During the liturgy, he gave a sermon that included the following: “The East is not just the birthplace of great saints but also the cradle of the Church in its present form. Our theology and ecclesiology originated in these sacred lands, within the canonical jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarchate. It was here that the Ecumenical Synods convened, shaping the ecclesiastical conscience rooted in the ministry of the Lord, transcending national or other distinctions. The wisdom…

Source: Public Orthodoxy Talia Zajac Assistant Professor of Religious Studies at Niagara University I first heard the rumor’s confirmation as I was heading out the church door. The cantor was saying goodbye to me and added with a half-smile that change was inevitable. The Julian calendar was bound to fall behind the Gregorian calendar, he said, so much that Christmas according to the two calendars eventually would be celebrated hundreds of days apart, instead of the current difference of thirteen days. I knew then that the rumor was true. Parishioners and priests had whispered for years that the Ukrainian Greek…