Browsing: Governance & Unity News

Source: Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America NEW YORK – The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, keeping with her on-going commitment to transparency and accountability, has posted on its website, the results of Phase II of the PricewaterhouseCoopers Advisory Services LLC (“PwC”) investigative report (the “Report”) regarding the rebuilding of Saint Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church and National Shrine (“St. Nicholas”). On October 16, the Special Investigative Committee (SIC), authorized by the Archdiocese to conduct an independent review of the St. Nicholas project, released Phase II of the Report to the Archdiocese along with a summary communication based on the Report. (see below for links)…

Source: Orthodox Synaxis The recent controversy over the Orthodox Church in Ukraine has been the subject of a lot of confusion, especially online. The following questions and answers attempt to clear up confusion in a non-partisan way that does not take sides in the dispute. Updates will be added whenever new information comes to light, so check back periodically. LAST UPDATED DEC. 10, 2018 Who are the players in the current dispute and what is being disputed? The primary parties in the dispute are the Russian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate, MP), led by Patriarch Kyrill, and the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople (EP),…

Source: RT News n the biggest rift in modern Orthodox history, the Russian Orthodox Church has cut all ties with the Constantinople Patriarchate, after it accepted a breakaway division of Ukrainian Orthodox Church as independent. The Holy Synod, the governing body of the Russian Orthodox Church, has ruled that any further clerical relations with Constantinople are impossible, Metropolitan Hilarion, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church’s External Relations Department, told journalists, de facto announcing the breach of relations between the two churches. “A decision about the full break of relations with the Constantinople Patriarchate has been taken at a Synod…

Source: Bloomberg As Ukraine’s church moves toward independence, the Russian president could lose his role of defender of the faith. By Leonid Bershidsky The Eastern Orthodox Church is closer than ever to a schism that would cast Russian President Vladimir Putin in a role similar to that of King Henry VIII when he split the Church of England from Rome in the 16th century. Russia’s ambition to be the center of the Orthodox world threatens to end in isolation. But holding back from splitting the church will mean humiliation by the Ukrainians, who have been ruthlessly terrorized by the Russian leader. On…

Source: Ancient Faith Ministries Panorthodoxy September 24, 2018 Length: 14:22 Bobby Maddex interviews George Matsoukas, the Executive Director of Orthodox Christian Laity(OCL), and Andy Kartalis, a Vice President of the board of OCL, about their upcoming conference on Panorthodoxy. CLICK HERE to listen to the interview. Cost to Attend (covers the cost of continental breakfast and lunch): $15 Please pay in advance by calling St. Mary Romanian Orthodox Cathedral (216) 941-5550 or Andy Kartalis (216) 831-2263 / andrew kartalis@gmail.com. CLICK HERE to view the Conference program. Conference Hotel: Cleveland Airport Marriott $89 per night (Deadline – Sept 28) – Mention: OCL Conference…

Source: Pravda The agreements of 300 years have been cast aside. Constantinople wants to break the spine of Orthodoxy and make Ukraine hostile to Russia forever. However, it is up to common people – Ukrainian Christians – to make their final decision. On October 11, the Synod of the Constantinople Patriarchate made the following decisions (briefly): 1. To confirm the decision that the Ecumenical Patriarchate proceeds to provide autocephaly to the Church of Ukraine. 2. To restore the stauropegion of the Ecumenical Patriarch in Kiev. 3. To accept and consider the appeals from Filaret Denisenko and Macary Maletich for the…

Source: Hurriyet Daily News By ARIANA FERENTINOU “We have known you for years and we appreciate your devotion to the Mother Church. It needs the devotion and faithfulness of the ones who serve it, because it faces, especially these days, many problems and challenges and its privileges as the First Seated Church are being disputed and attacked passionately,” said His Holiness Patriarch Bartholomew in a recent speech welcoming the appointment of a new bishop. It was his first public statement after he returned to Istanbul, from his bittersweet, week-long tour in Greece during which the ongoing crisis between the Autocephalous Church of…

Source: Ecumenical Patriarchate Click on the image above to view the video CONSTANTINOPLE (October 11, 2018)  Presided by His All-Holiness, the Ecumenical Patriarch, the Holy and Sacred Synod convened for its regular session from October 9 to 11, 2018, in order to examine and discuss items on its agenda. The Holy Synod discussed in particular and at length the ecclesiastical matter of Ukraine, in the presence of His Excellency Archbishop Daniel of Pamphilon and His Grace Bishop Hilarion of Edmonton, Patriarchal Exarchs to Ukraine, and following extensive deliberations decreed: 1) To renew the decision already made that the Ecumenical Patriarchate proceed…

Source: The National Herald By Theodore Kalmoukos In covering the visit of Elder Ephraim, Abbot of the Vatopaidi Monastery on Mt. Athos, to the United States, I had the opportunity last week to visit the St. Nicholas National Shrine at Ground Zero in New York, and really it was a very painful and heartbreaking sight, and experience. I had not visited there in quite a while, and seeing what I saw was quite a traumatic shock. The building was locked, as construction halted nine months earlier due to the Archdiocese’s lack of funds, which ultimately caused it to mortgage its…

Source: The National Herald By Theodore Kalmoukos BOSTON– His All Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew appears to be undecided once again about the issue of His Eminence Archbishop Demetrios of America and the possibility of replacing him with a new Archbishop. The National Herald has learned that the Patriarch made a brief mention of the issue at the Holy Synod of the Patriarchate which convenes this week at the Phanar. He reportedly said that he is being pressured concerning the ecclesiastical problem of America and the removal of Archbishop Demetrios, but the issue will be resolved at its proper time. The…

Source: Ekathimerini The next couple of days will be crucial for the future of Hellenism in the United States. A decision will be taken in Istanbul on whether Archbishop Demetrios of America will step down from his post and, if so, who will replace him. Officials in Athens would in the past treat this as a routine decision. But this is no longer the case. The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America is facing an unprecedented crisis that calls for immediate and radical solutions. Financial mismanagement in the construction of the Saint Nicholas National Shrine at the World Trade Center has…

Source: The National Herald By Antonis H. Diamataris If the leaked information is true, the Holy Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate will convene October 9-11 in Constantinople to decide the replacement of Demetrios as Archbishop of America. But similar information regarding the archbishop’s replacement also circulated at the previous two Synods, and despite that the information was confirmed insofar as Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew asked Archbishop Demetrios to resign, the latter not only refused to do so, but imposed his decision to stay. If such were to happen a third time, for any reason at all, then one thing is certain:…