Source: Ancient Faith Ministries Reconciling the Racial Divide (Part 1) June 9, 2020 Length: 1:04:31 Fr. Martin Johnson joins Fr. Nick and Dr. Roxanne for a conversation about America’s national struggle with race. Play in popup and browse while listening Dowload audio file Direct link (play in browser) Reconciling the Racial Divide (Part 2) June 24, 2020 Length: 1:02:26 Fr. Martin Johnson joins Fr. Nick and Dr. Roxanne again for the second part of a deeply honest and insightful conversation about America’s national struggle with race. Play in popup and browse while listening Download audio file Direct link (play in browser)…
Browsing: Governance & Unity News
Parent of Governance Category
Source: Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America July 8, 2020 The Holy Eparchial Synod met today in an extraordinary video conference at the invitation of His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros with an exclusive objective to discuss the recent public debate on an official proposal to change the pension program of the Hierarchs. Following a discussion, it is stated that in accordance with the Sacred Canons of the Orthodox Church, there is no age limit for the exercise of the duties of Hierarchs. The retirement from active ministry (or not) of an individual Hierarch is entrusted exclusively to the individual choice and sole…
Source: Orthodox Christianity TORONTO – On June 20, the city government of Toronto issued revised COVID-19 guidelines that ban the offering of Holy Communion to the faithful. The new guidelines read: All places of worship must adhere to the following requirements: General Guidance Suspend all communion-related activities as advised by Ontario’s Chief Medical Officer of Health. The Ontario Ministry of Health’s COVID-19 advice calls for “Suspend[ing] activities that increase risk of disease transmission, including,” “Sharing or distributing materials or objects, which may include but is not limited to: books, communion, microphones, prayer mats, prayer shawls, water, etc.” The new guidelines also “Suspend…
Source: Middle East Eye The three properties are of high importance due to their strategic locations in both the Christian and Muslim quarters of the Old City By MEE staff An Israeli court in Jerusalem has rejected a request by the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate to cancel the sale of three properties in the Old City to the settler organisation Ateret Cohanim. The three assets are of high importance due to their strategic locations in both the Christian and Muslim quarters of the Old City, which lies in occupied East Jerusalem. In June 2019, Israel’s Supreme Court approved the purchase of the three properties, putting an end to…
Source: Archons of the Ecumenical Patriarchate in America This informative article details how His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew’s swift and decisive action in the face of the Covid-19 pandemic unified the Church, staved off disaster, and protected the faithful. His All-Holiness provided crucial explanations for why it was so important to adhere to the guidelines provided by government and health authorities and overcoming various objections to doing so. These explanations were further elaborated by His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros of America for the safety of the faithful of the Omogeneia. The pandemic, Greece and the Patriarchate Read this article on the…
Source: Patheos – The Free Thinker BY BARRY DUKE BACK in 2017, ahead of Australia’s plebiscite to legalise gay marriage, the Greek Orthodox Church spent a great deal of time and money opposing same-sex unions. Then, at the beginning of this year, church members had a WTF? moment when the man who successfully pushed hard for marriage equality – Liberal Party Senator Andrew Bragg – was awarded the highest honour the Greek Orthodox Church in Australia can bestow. Bragg became the the first non-Greek and non-Orthodox person to receive the Order of Christ-Loving and was proclaimed a Grand Commander by the church’s newly-appointed head, His Eminence…
Source: Public Orthodoxy by George Demacopoulos and Aristotle Papanikolaou When Archbishop Iakovos stood alongside Martin Luther King Jr. in Selma in 1965, he was maligned by many Greek Americans who took offense that their Archbishop would “fraternize with Civil Rights agitators.” Fifty-five years later, opinion has shifted dramatically. Iakovos’ march alongside MLK is widely regarded as one of the iconic moments of Orthodox Christianity in the United States, if not globally. Today, we either ignore or apologize for that generation of Orthodox who did not understand the moral necessity of the Civil Rights movement. We now find ourselves at a similar moment. Will our…
Source: Peter Anderson, Seattle USA Distribution of Communion Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew has sent a letter to the primates of the Local Orthodox Churches seeking their opinions and thoughts “so that we may commonly walk in the pastoral approach to controversies over the established mode of the distribution of divine communion” during the Covid-19 pandemic. The full text of the letter in Greek was posted yesterday (June 1) at https://www.romfea.gr/epikairotita-xronika/37382-ektakto-to-oikoumeniko-patriarxeio-zita-epikoinonia-me-tis-orthodojes-ekklisies-gia-tin-theia-koinonia . Today, a good English translation was posted at https://orthodoxia.info/news/correspondence-of-the-ecumenical-patriarchy-with-primates-of-other-local-orthodox-churches-regarding-the-way-of-distribution-of-the-eucharist/ The letter includes the following important points: Since, nevertheless, after the praiseworthy interest of the authorities and the priceless prevention of the leaders during the…
Source: Orthodox Church in America The Holy Synod of Bishops of the Orthodox Church in America today issued the following statement on the recent tragic events in Minneapolis, MN. The full statement follows: “We, the members of the Holy Synod of Bishops of the Orthodox Church in America, mourn the tragic death of Mr. George Floyd on May 25, 2020. We too have looked with horror at the footage of this episode, and condemn the brutal actions that caused his violent death. We look to the civil authorities to bring to justice those who participated in this senseless tragedy. “We categorically reject racism in…
Source: Orthodox Christian Laity CLICK HERE or on the image below to open the booklet in PDF format.
Source: Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of the USA Did you know May is mental health awareness month? The Assembly of Bishops’ Mental Health Task Force presents a 6-episode miniseries on Mental Health and Orthodox Christianity. Check out the flyer below for more details!
Source: Public Orthodoxy A SURVEY OF LITURGICAL SOURCES by Rev. Dr. Nicholas Denysenko The global COVID-19 crisis has ignited a number of difficult discussions among Christians. The method used to distribute Holy Communion is fiercely debated. In the Churches that remain open, many Protestants and Catholics are withholding the cup, so faithful are receiving in one kind only, the body of Christ. In Orthodox communities, clergy and laity are discussing the possibility of trying new methods for distributing Holy Communion that prevents the spread of disease through a common spoon. This issue has generated emotional statements claiming that it is impossible…