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Source: Pravoslavie.ru Athens, February 11, 2015 Aristidis Baltas, the new Greek minister of culture, education and religious affairs, at the meeting of Parliament has formulated the government’s program on relations between the Church and state, reports AgionOros.ru. According to the minister, “It is necessary to separate the Church from the state, but that is a long and difficult process.” A. Baltas has stressed that, “The first steps to separate the Church from the state may be taken in the near future”. Reference from AgionOros.ru: The myth that the Orthodox Church “does not pay taxes and exists on the state budget”…

Source: Orthodox Church in America SOUTH CANAAN, PA [STOTS Communications]  Registration is now open for the Academic Symposium honoring the life and work of Metropolitan Leonty, slated to be held at Saint Tikhon’s Seminary here May 14, 2015. The day-long program, which coincides with the 50th anniversary of Metropolitan Leonty’s repose, will feature yet-to-be-published selections from Metropolitan Leonty’s 1917-1918 diary, as read and translated by his granddaughter Matushka Tamara Turkevich-Skvir, together with poems and anecdotes written throughout the life of this champion of the Faith. Other presentations will be offered by Harold M. Leich, Russian Area Specialist European Division, The…

Source: FrontPage Mag by Susan Warner Founded in 1948, The World Council of Churches (WCC) is a fellowship of 345 Protestant and Orthodox Christian churches in 110 countries. Their aim is “to support the member churches and ecumenical partners to journey together, promoting justice and peace in our world as an expression of faith in the Triune God.” To advance their “justice and peace” initiatives, they collude with Islamic and Palestinian friends in a covert scheme to sabotage Israel.  Their web of anti-Zionism extends throughout Europe, the Americas and Africa. While this may seem a bold assertion, it is nonetheless worth examining some undeniable evidence. WCC is among the many coalitions of Christians…

Source: Voices from Russia The website of Novospassky Monastery noted that on 5 February, a Greek Orthodox Church delegation, headed by Metropolitan Panteleimon Kalpakidis of Veria and Naousa arrived in Moscow from Greece bringing a reliquary containing the hand of St Demetrios of Salonika the Great Martyr. At the airport, the superior of the Novospassky Stavropegial Monastery and the MP First Deputy Chancellor, Bishop Savva Mikheyev of Voskresensk met the delegation. From the airport, they took the reliquary to the Novospassky Monastery, where the clergy served a molieben at the Church of the Intercession of the Mother of God. St Demetrios is the patron saint of…

Source: Urban Milwaukee Priest at famed Greek church claimed freedom of religion protected him from prosecution. By Michael Zahn Father James Dokos Jr., accused of stealing more than $100,000 from a trust fund, offered an unusual defense: that he was protected by the constitutional guarantee of freedom of religion — an argument made by his trio of lawyers, including high-profile attorney Frank Gimbel. Sorry, said Circuit Judge M. Joseph Donald in a ruling yesterday: “The United States Supreme Court has previously observed that no person may ‘under the cloak of religion . . . commit frauds upon the public.’” So…

Source: Chicago Tribune By Lisa Black Prosecutor: Chicago Greek Orthodox bishop was warned not to intimidate witness in theft case against priest A high-ranking Greek Orthodox bishop in Chicago was warned by a prosecutor against “potential efforts to intimidate witnesses” in a case involving a priest accused of stealing more than $100,000 from a Milwaukee church. The warning came after another priest in Milwaukee told authorities that Bishop Demetrios of Mokissos, the No. 2-ranking official in the Greek Orthodox faith in the Midwest, threatened in emails to remove him from his post if the church did not withdraw a theft…

Source: Ecumenical News by Miko Morelos and Peter Kenny The head of the Russian Orthodox Church has castigated the Greek-Catholic Church in Ukraine for being “divisive,” saying its stance puts at risk the improving of relations between Rome and Moscow. Patriarch Kirill at the same time singled out the Vatican for what he said is a measured tone in the Russia-Ukraine crisis. He pointed out that the Holy See had maintained its position on the resumption of peace talks instead of making “any lopsided assessments.” “Today, fresh conflicts in Ukraine in light of the latest political events in the country…

Source: Dalje.com The civil war in Ukraine, pitting Orthodox Christians against other Orthodox Christians, is a “scandal,” Pope Francis said Wednesday. “Think, this is a war between Christians. You all have the same baptism! You are fighting between Christians. Think about this scandal,” Francis said in his weekly general audience at the Vatican. “We pray first of all for the victims, including very many civilians, and for their families, and we ask the Lord for this horrible fratricidal violence to stop as soon as possible,” the leader of the world’s 1.2 billion Catholics added. [subscribe2]

Source: b92.net / TANJUG SKOPJE — Head of the Orthodox Diocese of Ohrid Archbishop Jovan Vraniskovski has been released on parole. The Court of Appeal in Skopje rejected the appeal by the public prosecutor, who wanted Vraniskovski to continue serving his sentence. The court decision to release Vraniskovski is valid until March 23, 2017, according to the Macedonian news agency MIA. The canonically unrecognized Macedonian Orthodox Church – Archdiocese of Ohrid (MPC) sought Vraniskovski’s release after mediation from Russian Orthodox Church Bishop Ilarion Alfeyev, who asked for a pardon for Vraniskovski during his visit to Skopje on December 21, 2014. Since…

Source: Seeds of Hope – Orthodox Christian Healing & Counseling A recipient’s reconciliation journey with SEEDS of HOPE, Orthodox Healing & Counseling. Looking out the window one day she saw a red cardinal bird pecking at the glass. It harkened her back to youthful days. As a child, she was told that the red bird was rarely seen in the area. If one says a prayer when infrequently spotted, that bird was Christ’s helper and would take those prayers directly to HIM. The bird is red because it represents the blood of Christ. As a child, it sounded plausible to…

Source: The National Herald ST. AUGUSTINE, FL – The St. Photios Greek Orthodox National Shrine will host its 33rd annual St. Photios National Shrine Day Pilgrimage Feb. 6–8. The feast day of St. Photios is celebrated on February 6. During the three-day celebration, the St. Photios Foundation will also hold its annual meeting from 10 AM to 2 PM Feb. 7 at the Casa Monica Hotel. On February  6 there will be a unveiling and blessing of two new exhibits, a special exhibit that will be on display for one year is titled: “Pioneering Priests — Establishing the Greek Orthodox…

Source: Vestnik Kavkaza Recently the Federal Service for Supervision of Communications, Information Technology, and Mass Media warned Russia media against publication of cartoons on religious topics, as, according to the law, any mocking of saints of various religions can be treated as incitement of religious hatred.Harmonization of inter-ethnic and inter-religious relations is thought to be a priority of Russia’s ethnic policy. Moscow believes that the country’s prosperity depends on building relations between representatives of various ethnic groups and religions. Speaking about the role of religion in society’s life, Roman Bogdasarov, the deputy chairman of the agency for relations between the…