Browsing: Governance & Unity News

by Alan Rummel Farrell is a small town in western Pennsylvania which once thrived as a steel town and supported five very active Orthodox parishes.  Today, the steel mills are gone and the parishes are struggling.  This is a story of how they have made a beginning to work together so as to survive. It all started during a general assembly meeting of Annunciation (Evangelismos) Greek Orthodox Church. Our membership is now down to 28 families, and we needed some help from other parishes to pull off another festival. It was suggested at the meeting to ask the assistance of other Orthodox…

Source: OCP Media Network November 2013 The working session of the Holy Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church was held in the Synodal Hall of the Patriarchal Residence, under the chairmanship of His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel during the last week of October 2013. We mention some of the decisions adopted: Approval of the text of the Pastoral letter of the Holy Synod at the end of the Solemn Year of Saints Emperors Constantine and Helen and of “Dumitru Staniloae” Commemorative Year, which will be read in all the churches and monasteries of the Romanian Patriarchate on the first Sunday of…

Source: Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of North and Central America Nearly 300 clergy and laity attended a pan-Orthodox forum on Sunday, October 27 to learn about the Assembly of Bishops, pose questions, and comment on the progress of Orthodox unity in America. Metropolitan Savas of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America and Bishop Peter of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia served as panelists, together with Protodeacon Peter Danilchick, member of the Assembly’s Secretariat. The event, which was held at Holy Trinity Orthodox Church in suburban Cleveland, Ohio, began with Vespers and a presentation by Protodeacon Danilchick, who…

Source: The National Herald To the Editor: A report of an interview given by Pope Francis to an Italian journalist was recently published in the International Herald Tribune. Although the pope was speaking of the Roman Curia and the Catholic Church, his comments accurately described the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America (GOA). In the interview, the Pope called the church “overly clerical and insular, interested in temporal power”. He pointed out that the “heads of the church have often been narcissists, flattered and thrilled by their courtiers.” As for the Roman Curia he said: “The court is the leprosy of…

Source: First Things by Ivan Plis October was not a month of especial cooperation in the global Eastern Orthodox communion. Protesting the appointment in March of an archbishop for Qatar by the Church of Jerusalem, the Church of Antioch withdrew its participation from “all the Assemblies of Canonical Orthodox Bishops abroad.” The Antiochian Patriarchate claims sole authority over the small Gulf state though at present it has no parishes of its own there. The assemblies affected by this decision include the canonical episcopal council in North America, which counts several Antiochian bishops among its officers. Meanwhile, following a visit to Indonesia by Serbia’s Patriarch Irinej,…

Mandate The Assembly has been established in accordance with the Decision of the 4th Pre-Conciliar Pan-Orthodox Conference, convoked in Chambésy, Switzerland, June 6-12, 2009, at which met representatives from all the universally-recognized autocephalous Orthodox churches. These representatives recognized substantial canonical “anomalies” in the organization and life of the Church in these regions, and realized that, though these anomalies had arisen from specific historical circumstances and pastoral needs, they nonetheless present a number of serious problems for the faithful; moreover, they give an appearance of disunity in the one holy Church. As such, these representatives unanimously agreed to the formation of…

Source: Orthodox Church in America SYOSSET, NY [OCA] – New guidelines for ordination, appointments, and clergy transfers are now available on the web site of the Orthodox Church in America.  Also available is a summary regarding the transfer of non-OCA clergy into the OCA. “Revising these guidelines represents a year-long process,” said Archpriest Eric G. Tosi, OCA Secretary.  “It involved the Holy Synod of Bishops, canonists, and seminary representatives working through the Board of Theological Education.  The members of the Holy Synod offered their approval at their Fall 2013 session.” Guidelines for Ordination, Appointment and Transfer of Clergy Guidelines for Petitioning for…

Source: WBLX Local By Alan Silverman WAUWATOSA (WITI) — The Milwaukee County District Attorney’s Office is investigating whether a former priest stole money from Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church in Wauwatosa. Members of the congregation gathered on Sunday, October 27th to learn more about the alleged activity of their former priest, Father James Dokos. Church attorney Emmanuel Mamalakis presented members with the findings and sequence of events that led them to the District Attorney’s Office. “We were doing some work on accounting. We were cleaning up papers and as we were going through, we noticed some issues,” explained Mamalakis. The issue was…

Source: Pravoslavie.ru Damascus, October 24, 2013 The Greek Church news agency Romphea has reported the decision of the Synod of the Church of Antioch regarding the issue of jurisdiction over the state of Qatar, stated by the Patriarch of Antioch. Patriarch John X has warned the head of the Church of Jerusalem that if within two months he does not take steps to resolve the problem with Qatar, then the Church of Antioch will have to break off relations with the Church of Jerusalem. Both local Churches consider the state of Qatar to be their canonical territory. The conflict happened…

Source: Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of North America Editor’s Note: The first Public Forum on Unity and the Assembly of Bishops was hosted by Orthodox Christian Laity on October 25 2012 at St George Antiochian Orthodox Church, Washington D.C. Bishop Maxim, Serbian Orthodox Church Western Diocese, Alhambra, CA and Protodeacon Peter Danilchick were presenters. OCL will present “The Assembly of Bishops and the Future of Orthodoxy in America” on Saturday November 2 at 9:00 am at Holy Trinity Serbian Orthodox Church, Moraga, CA. The Orthodox Christian community of Cleveland, Ohio will host a public forum on the Assembly of Bishops…

Source: Greek Reporter A fierce conflict between the Ecumenical Patriarchate and the Patriarchate of Moscow, that may lead to a new schism, threatens a forthcoming Orthodox Ecumenical Council. The reason is the effort of the Russian Church to degrade the primacy of Constantinople in the Orthodox world and to expand in China and Japan. This expansive strategy has clear political extensions of a geopolitical character, with the assistance of president Putin. Patriarch Bartholomew reacted intensely, sending a letter to the Patriarch of Moscow, Kyrill, and two others, of informative character to Archbishop Ieronymos. According to the letter to Kyrill, the facts that caused…

Source: Patriarchate of Antioch Facebook Page Statement by the Secretariat of Holy Synod of Antioch Balamand, October 17, 2013 The Holy Synod of Antioch held its second session from October 15th through 17th, 2013. His Beatitude Patriarch JOHN X presided over the meeting, with the participation of Their Eminences, the Metropolitans and Fathers of the Holy Synod of Antioch: Spiridon of Zahleh and its dependencies; Georges of Jbeil, Batroun and their dependencies; Yuhanna of Lattakia and its dependencies; Elias of Beirut and its dependencies; Iliya of Hama and its dependencies; Elias of Tyre, Sidon; and their dependencies, Damaskinos of Sao…