Source: Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of the USA The Assembly of Bishops committee for liturgy met in Rives Junction, Michigan, graciously hosted by Archbishop Nathaniel and sisters of the Holy Dormition Orthodox Monastery, from June 9-10, 2025. After attending Vespers on June 9th, the committee members gathered in fellowship and discussed ongoing topics of interest as well as potential future projects. On June 10th – fulfilling the commitment made by the entire Assembly of Bishops in the statement entitled On the Sacredness of Human Life and its Untimely Termination to “continue to provide new rituals and ways to address these circumstances,…
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Parent of Governance Category
Source: Archons of the Ecumenical Patriarchate The news from Egypt in late May was frankly shocking. The Times of London reported on May 29, 2025 that “Egypt could be set to close the world’s oldest continuously functioning Christian monastery after almost 15 centuries, igniting international concern and fury from the Greek Orthodox community.” Saint Catherine’s Monastery in Mount Sinai was established in the sixth century by the order of the Roman Emperor Justinian, and has functioned continuously as a Greek Orthodox Christian monastery since then. The idea that it could be suddenly closed on the order of the Egyptian government was a…
Source: Catholic Review By Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service ROME (CNS) — The Council of Nicaea 1,700 years ago recognized that Christian unity had to be based on a common faith and should be demonstrated by a common celebration of Easter, the most sacred feast of the Christian year, said speakers at a Rome conference. Yet as Christians mark the anniversary of the council, held in 325, they celebrate their common profession of the basics of faith in the Creed adopted at Nicaea while also continuing to experience division, said Paul L. Gavrilyuk, president of the International Orthodox Theological Association. The…
Source: Orthodox History Editor’s note: Last year, Scott Kenworthy (whose landmark biography of St Tikhon comes out in November and is available now for preorder) sent me a remarkable email. He had discovered a letter written by Patriarch Tikhon to Patriarch Gregory IV of Antioch in 1922, dealing with the jurisdiction of Syrians/Antiochians in North America. The letter was in Russian, so I sent it to Sam Noble, who translated it into English. Click here to download the original Russian letter. The full translation is below, but before we get to that, I asked Scott to write a short introduction, giving context…
Source: Peter Anderson, Seattle USA At the very short negotiation session in Istanbul between Russia and Ukraine on the afternoon of June 2, Russia presented a three-page memorandum on its proposed terms for settlement. TASS reported: The memorandum Russia handed over to the Ukrainian side today in Istanbul consists of two parts, Russia’s chief negotiator Vladimir Medinsky said. “We handed over to the Ukrainian side our memorandum, which consists of two parts. The first one is about how to reach a truly lasting peace. The second part highlights the steps to be taken toward a real ceasefire,” he said, adding that…
Source: Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of the USA Throughout the United States there is an increase in legislation related to assisted suicide. In 2022, the Assembly of Bishops’ Statement on the Sacredness of Human Life and its Untimely Termination addresses this issue: “In recent years, the possibilities for ill persons to choose to end their own lives have increased with access to medications that hasten death and legislation that allows for physicians to assist in the death of their patients. The Church grieves the pain and suffering many people experience in this life, but it cannot and does…
Source: Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of the USA During the October 2024 Assembly of Bishops meeting in Atlanta, Dr. Gayle Woloschak and Eric Namee received the first ever official recognition from the Assembly of Bishops for their dedication to Orthodox Christian Unity in the USA as lay leaders. Following their bestowals, the Executive Committee decided during their April 25, 2025 meeting to institutionalize an annual award: The Medal of Saint Theodora. The Medal of St. Theodora is an annual award recognizing strong lay leaders of various backgrounds and fields who have contributed to the work and development of the…
Orthodox Christian Laity 38th Annual Conference Saints Constantine & Elena Orthodox Christian Church 3237 W 16th St, Indianapolis, Indiana October 11, 2025 Featured Presentations & Speakers “Behold How (Mostly) Good It Is: A Surprise Experiment in Jurisdictional Unity” – Khouria Frederica Mathewes-Green and Rev. Fr. Stephen Mathewes “Inter-Parish Associations: A Futuristic Vision” – Spyridoula Fotinis, Director of Inter-Parish Associations for the Assembly of Bishops “There is Always Room for Surprise: New Findings about US Orthodox Churches from the EPIC Study” – Alexei Krindatch Mark your calendar and plan to attend!
Source: The National Herald ATHENS – On May 29 a ceremony of particular solemnity took place in the Great Hall of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA) to confer the title of Honorary Doctor of the Department of Theology of the School of Theology of NKUA to His Eminence Metropolitan Elder Dimitrios of the Princes’ Islands and Exarch of Propontis. The ceremony began with an address by the rector of NKUA, Professor Gerasimos Siasos, who praised the honoree’s multifaceted contribution to Orthodox Theology, the Church, and Hellenism in Constantinople. An overview of His Eminence’s work and personality was…
Source: Orthodox Christianity Originally published on November 20, 2013 By Leigh Ann Laube (Times News) Not too long ago, Holy Resurrection Antiochian Orthodox Church in Johnson City had a priest, but no church building to call its own. In Bluff City, Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church had a church building, but no priest. So the Greek bishop and the Antiochian bishop put their heads together and came up with a plan to merge the two parishes under a new name — Christ the Savior Greek Orthodox Church — using Holy Trinity’s building and Holy Resurrection’s pastor, Father Stephen Mathewes. “When…
Source: Orthodox Church in America SPRINGFIELD, VA [OCA] The services celebrating the canonization of Matushka Olga Michael of Kwethluk, AK, will take place June 19 -22, 2025, in Kwethluk and Anchorage, AK. In November 2023, Matushka Olga was numbered among the saints by act of the Holy Synod of Bishops of the Orthodox Church in America, making her the first North American woman and the first Yup’ik person to be glorified as a saint in the Orthodox Church. His Beatitude Metropolitan Tikhon will preside over the canonization services, concelebrating with other hierarchs and clergy of the Orthodox Church in America as well as delegations from other…