Browsing: Orthodox News Top Stories

Source: Pravmir.com His Eminence Philip (Saliba), Archbishop of New York and Metropolitan of All North America, head of the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America, sent a message to the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church, which reads, in particular: “We monitor with gratitude your tireless efforts in support of the Christians, and all the God-fearing people of Syria.” His Eminence Metropolitan Philip expresses his conviction that the forces responsible for stirring up the conflict in the country “have ulterior motives in mind, not the least of which is to expunge the area of Christians who have been living…

Source: Orthodox Church in America [SYOSSET, NY] Today marks the 12th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorists attacks on New York City; Shanksville, Pennsylvania; and Arlington, Virginia. As Archpriest John Jillions, Chancellor of the Orthodox Church in America, writes in his “Chancellor’s Diary” entry for today, “September 11 [is] a day to remember both the desperate fallenness of this world and the indestructible marks of its creation by our good and loving God… the unspeakable violence of a few terrorists alongside the courage and divine humanity of thousands and thousands.” According to Donna Karabin, who chairs the OCA’s Department of Christian Service and…

Source: The Guardian Patrick Kingsley and Marwa Awad in Cairo Closure of St Catherine’s monastery due to security concerns has devastated tourist trade of nearby town named after it One of the world’s oldest monasteries has been forced to close its doors because of the deteriorating security situation in Egypt, devastating the economy of the remote surrounding area, it has emerged. St Catherine’s monastery was built by order of the Emperor Justinian I, who reigned from 527 to 565, on the site beneath Mount Sinai where, according to scripture, God spoke to the prophet Moses from a burning bush. But in July,…

Source: Orthodox Church in America The Orthodox Christian Translation Society [OCTS], a non-profit organization committed to facilitating the entire process of creating high-quality Orthodox translations　from project conception to publication and distribution, is accepting proposals for future translation projects. In late 2012, OCTS published its first translation, Place Your Hope in the Lord: The Poetic Spiritual Life of Father Lazar. “If an Orthodox text exists that a translator believes can and should be made available in another language, then　OCTS exists to assist them in bringing that translation to fruition,” notes OCTS Board of Directors member David Twombly. OCTS accepts proposals from skilled…

Source: Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America His Eminence Metropolitan Philip writes: Beloved Hierarchs, Clergy and Faithful of our God-Protected Archdiocese: Greetings to you and your families as we begin a new ecclesiastical year. I pray you had a pleasant summer. I write to you today as our president and United States Congress contemplate military action against Syria. As those of us with deep roots in that land already know, more bombs and destabilization of the country will only lead to further bloodshed and devastation. In my opinion, based on a lifetime of knowledge in that area of the…

Source: Fox News Newly-surfaced video from Egypt shows a Muslim mob storming a Coptic church, setting cars on fire and then toppling a cross atop the steeple, in a shocking attack that Christians say has been played out dozens of times since the ouster of Mohammad Morsi. The video, obtained by MidEast Christian News, was shot Aug. 14 from a nearby building overlooking the diocese in the southern Egyptian city of Sohag. In the six-minute video, a crowd, incensed by the eviction of pro-Morsi supporters from camps in Cairo, masses outside the church. Several members of the group scale a…

Source: Examiner.com Members of the Syrian rebel movement have admitted that they were behind the Aug. 21 chemical weapons attack near Damascus, Minnesota’s Mint Press News reported on Thursday. According to the report, the chemicals were provided by Saudi Prince Bandar bin Sultan, who “has been at the very heart of the push for war by the U.S. against Assad.” The group Doctors Without Borders went to the town of Ghouta, where more than 350 people were killed as a result of the chemical attack. After interviewing “numerous…doctors, Ghouta residents, rebel fighters and their families,” the group obtained testimony that the attack was…

Source: Orthodox Church in America GATINEAU, QUEBEC [OCA] – Protopresbyter Thomas Hopko, Dean Emeritus of Saint Vladimir’s Seminary, Yonkers, NY, was presented with the rarely awarded Saint Innocent Award, Gold Class, by His Beatitude, Metropolitan Tikhon on behalf of the Holy Synod of Bishops and the Orthodox Church in America. The award, which was presented on August 24, 2013—the 50th anniversary of Father Thomas’ ordination to the priesthood by His Eminence, the late Archbishop [later Metropolitan] Ireney—was given in recognition of Father Thomas’ outstanding service as a priest, teacher, seminary dean and writer who has had a deep influence for good…

Source: CantonRep.com By Charita Goshay CantonRep.com staff writer CANTON, OH — Talk to him for a bit, and it becomes apparent that the Very Rev. Stacey Richter is passionate about his faith. It wasn’t always the case. Once upon a time, the priest of Holy Assumption Orthodox Church at 2027 18th St. NE, was an atheist. A native of Winnipeg, Manitoba, in Canada, Richter and his twin brother were raised by a lapsed Catholic mother and an atheist stepfather. Their father, who lived nearby, also was an avowed atheist. “My dad was a militant atheist,” Richter said. “He really did…

Source: Ekathimerini Plans for a new highway threaten Profitis Ilias By Dimitris Rigopoulos Plans for a new highway are threatening one of the last surviving Greek Orthodox churches in the region of Izmir (Smyrna) in Turkey. Profitis Ilias (named after the Prophet Elias/Elijah, a revered figure for both Christians and Muslims) is a three-aisled basilica commissioned in 1846 by the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople Anthimus VI. Its dimensions are 10 by 19 meters and it has a quadrilateral rooftop. It lies on a prominent spot on the road to the suburb of Budjah, 2 kilometers southeast of the city center,…

Source: The National Herald Sara Polsky – Curbed.com NEW YORK – A Greek-American newspaper (The National Herald) earlier this year reported that Santiago Calatrava was the frontrunner to design the rebuilt Church of St. Nicholas downtown. The Post hears from multiple sources that the rumors are indeed true: out of a dozen finalists, Calatrava has been chosen for the project—though he hasn’t yet signed a contract, so it’s certainly possible that he’ll be out of the Archdiocese’s price range. The rebuilding of the church has been a matter of controversy for years. The original church was destroyed on 9/11 and…

Source: The Wall Street Journal By SAMUEL TADROS No one knows exactly when the Virgin Mary Church was built, but the fourth and fifth centuries are both possible options. In both cases, it was the time of the Byzantines. Egypt’s Coptic Church—to which this church in modern-day Delga belonged—had refused to bow to imperial power and Rome’s leadership over the nature of Christ. Constantinople was adamant it would force its will on the Copts. Two lines of popes claimed the Seat of Alexandria. One with imperial blessing sat in the open; the other, with his people’s support, often hid, moving from…