Browsing: Orthodox News Top Stories

Source: Orthodox Church in America LOUISVILLE, KY [OCA]  Saint Michael Antiochian Orthodox Church here will once again sponsor the annual Climacus Conference Friday and Saturday, February 13-14, 2015.  This year’s theme will explore beauty and aesthetics. “In its fifth year, the conference is a pan-Orthodox intellectual and spiritual event featuring scholars and voices across the fields of theology, philosophy, patristics, classical education, literature, and culture and politics,” said David Wright, the conference’s founder and director.  “It is unique in that it provides an opportunity for people to be enriched by thinking well across disciplines through scholarly engagement with the classic…

Source: Orthodox Church in America SYOSSET, NY [OCA] Thursday, January 22, 2015 marks the 42nd Anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion in the United States.  Orthodox Christians from across the country will travel to the US Capital for the annual March for Life or participate in similar regional events. His Beatitude, Metropolitan Tikhon, and His Grace, Bishop Michael of New York, will be among the Orthodox Christian hierarchs, clergy, seminarians and faithful participating in the annual March for Life in the US Capital on January 22.  The rally on the DC Mall will begin at noon.  Orthodox…

Source: World Bulletin Visit to strengthen ties between the churches of the two countries. Ethiopia and Egypt are in the middle of diplomatic rapprochement following tension over the building of a multi-billion dollar hydroelectric project Addis Ababa is building on the Nile. Patriarch of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church Abune Mathias is set to leave for Cairo on Saturday on a visit to Egypt. “The visit will further strengthen existing relation between the churches of the two countries and enhance people-to-people ties,” Ethiopian ambassador to Egypt Mohamoud Dirir told The Anadolu Agency by phone. “The two churches have an ancient history and…

Source: The Jerusalem Post By ARIEL BEN SOLOMON Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi became the first president to attend mass at a church in Cairo, on the Coptic Christmas Eve. The short visit on Tuesday night came after masked men shot and killed two Egyptian policemen earlier in the day as they stood guard at a Coptic Christian church in Minya, 220 km. south of Cairo. “It was necessary for me to come here to wish you a Merry Christmas, and I hope I haven’t disturbed your prayers. Throughout the years, Egypt taught the world civilization and humanity, and the…

Source: Seeds of Hope Spiritual/Clergy abuse occurs when a person in authority fosters a sense of guilt in people in order to manipulate or control them. If a person in ecclesiastical authority has a false sense of himself, his poor self-esteem gets expressed through a distorted understanding of his role and position. Jesus warned us about this. We read in Matthew 20:25-26 these words: But Jesus called them to Himself and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those who are great exercise authority over them. Yet it shall not be so among…

Source: Pemptousia  Abbess Thekla from Kolwezi, Congo, speaks on Orthodoxy in Sub-Saharan Africa Editor’s Note (Archival Content) 
This article is part of the Orthodox Christian Laity archives and reflects the context, concerns, and discussions present at the time of its original publication. It is made available here for historical reference and ongoing study. Readers should note that perspectives, circumstances, and ecclesial developments may have evolved since its initial release.

Source: The Daily Beast He defied the atheism of communism and the empty religious practices of Putinism. With Father Gleb Yakunin’s death on Christmas, Russia has lost a liberal voice of conscience. On Christmas Day, the world lost an extraordinary man of faith who once went to prison for his Christian beliefs under an atheist state and later challenged both his church and the repressive entanglement of church and state under a regime that claims to celebrate religious values. When the Russian dissident and priest Father Gleb Yakunin died, outside the small circle of the liberal opposition and its sympathizers,…

Source: Orthodox Christian Network By Andrew Estocin in The Sounding Orthodox Christians around the world were recently watching as Pope Francis visited The Ecumenical Patriarchate for the Feast of St. Andrew on November 30, 2014.  The same Pope of Rome who washed the feet of an Orthodox Christian in 2013 stood out again for his humility by asking Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew for his blessing.   The resulting photo is a loving reminder of the true meaning of leadership and the historical relationship between the Christian East and West.   While many serious issues continue to separate both Churches, Orthodox Christians can learn…

Source: Orthodox Church in America SYOSSET, NY [OCA]  The Orthodox Church in America, in partnership with the Florida-based Orthodox Christian Mission Center, will be hosting a mission teaching team to San Esteban and Pisaflores in the OCA Diocese of Mexico June 20-27, 2015. “Both Pisaflores and San Esteban are villages of native Aztec Orthodox Christians nine hours northwest of Mexico City,” said Archpriest Ted Pisarchuk.  “In both villages, the homes are of simple concrete block construction with corrugated metal roofs and do not have running water or indoor bathroom facilities.  Horses and burros are main forms of transportation. The people…

Source: Orthodox Christian Network By Seraphim Danckaert in The Sounding David Adams is an Australian explorer and documentarian who travels the world. In a series called “Journeys to the Ends of the Earth” he spends one episode in Ethiopia, investigating its ancient Christian culture and liturgical practices. In the segment embedded above, he has made his way to Lalibela, one of Ethiopia’s most distinctive holy sites, during the celebration of Christmas. Editor’s Note (Archival Content) 
This article is part of the Orthodox Christian Laity archives and reflects the context, concerns, and discussions present at the time of its…

Source: Orthodox Church in America HALKI, TURKEY [OCA/SVOTS Communications]  At invitation of His All Holiness, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, a delegation representing Saint Vladimir’s Seminary visited the historic Holy Theological School of Halki here December 16-19, 2014. In his capacity as President of Saint Vladimir’s Seminary, His Beatitude, Metropolitan Tikhon headed the delegation, which included Archpriest Dr. John Behr, Dean; Archpriest Dr. John Jillions, Seminary Trustee, member of the Doctor of Ministry faculty, and OCA Chancellor; and Archpriest Dr. Alexander Rentel, Assistant Professor of Canon Law, Byzantine Studies and Practical Theology. Established in 1844, the Theological School of Halki educated generations…

Source: Basilica News Agency Today, 17 December 2014, 12.00 hours, the bells were rung in all the cathedrals, churches and monasteries as sign of gratitude and solemn prayers were said for the first revolutionary heroes who sacrificed themselves 25 years ago at Timisoara for the freedom, faith and dignity of the Romanian people oppressed by the communist regime. When we pray for our freedom we think of those who sacrificed themselves for the freedom and dignity of the Romanian people Today, at the end of the Te Deum celebrated in the Patriarchal Cathedral of Bucharest on the occasion of the…