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Source:  The Hindu The 200th anniversary of the first translation of the Bible into Malayalam will be celebrated by the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church in Thiruvananthapuram on Tuesday. Church historians say Philipose Ramban, a scholar from Kayamkulam, translated the Bible from Syriac into Malayalam in 1811 to help the faithful get a better understanding of the scripture. Claudius Buchannan, a missionary who toured South India in the early 19th century, persuaded the Ramban to translate the holy book. The Orthodox Church authorities in Travancore gave Buchannan, during his visit to Kerala, a copy of the Bible in Syriac, known in…

Source: Mansfield News Journal By Anthony Conchel COLUMBUS — A Greek Orthodox Church priest who served in Mansfield as late as 2009 has been arrested by the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office on sex charges. Patrick Hughes, also known as the Rev. Nicholas Hughes, was arrested Wednesday night. Police said he was arrested by the Franklin County Internet Crimes Against Children task force on suspicion of attempted rape and attempted unlawful sexual conduct with a minor. Hughes, a native of Alabama, served at Sts. Constantine and Helen Greek Orthodox Church in Mansfield for about 18 years. He had lived at St.…

Source: Christianity Today by Weston Gentry [originally posted 8/27/2012] Metropolitan Jonah, by most accounts the highest-ranking, evangelical-friendly archpriest in North America’s Eastern Orthodox Church, resigned under duress in July. His removal has observers less concerned about his leadership shortcomings, which allegedly led to his removal, than about the widening gap between conservatives and the Orthodox Church. “His efforts were the most explicit attempt by any Orthodox hierarch to join with evangelicals and other conservatives in a common social agenda,” North Park University professor Brad Nassif said of Jonah’s nearly four-year tenure as primate. Jonah, a former Episcopalian, was especially popular…

Source: Orthodox Church in America SYOSSET, NY [OCA] The Department of Youth, Young, Adult, and Campus Ministries of the Orthodox Church in America announces its 2012 YouTube Challenge for high school and college students. “A new program of the department, the YouTube Challenge invites high school and college students to respond to scriptural questions with a short video,” said Andrew Boyd, department chair. “A team of judges, lead by Priest Sergius Halvorsen, Homelitics Professor at Saint Vladimir’s Seminary, will offer feedback. Videos may be submitted either by individuals or by groups, such as an OCF chapter or parish youth group.”…

Source: Orthodox Church in America SYOSSET, NY [OCA] It has come to the attention of the Chancery of the Orthodox Church in America that individuals, including some OCA clergy, have been receiving e-mails and telephone calls from an unknown individual or individuals presenting themselves as members of the Holy Synod of Bishops requesting emergency funds for various causes and asking that funds be directed to specified venues. These appeals are scams and should not be honored. None of the members of the Holy Synod are soliciting funds by e-mail or phone. Those receiving such calls or e-mails, or desiring additional…

Source: Orthodox Church in America ANCHORAGE, AK [OCA Diocese of Alaska] Delegates to the Assembly of the Diocese of Alaska, which met here on September 15, 2012, voted to present the name of Archpriest David Mahaffey in nomination to fill the vacant Episcopal See of Sitka and Alaska of the Orthodox Church in America. Father David’s name will be presented by His Eminence, Archbishop Benjamin, Locum Tenens of the Diocese of Alaska, at a future meeting of the Holy Synod of Bishops for consideration and canonical election. Born in Altoona, PA in 1952, Father David was received into the Orthodox…

Source: Orthodox Church in America SYOSSET, NY [OCA] Prayers for the 17th All-American Council and the Election of the New Metropolitan of All American and Canada were issued by the Chancery of the Orthodox Church in America here during the second week of September 2012. These petitions have also been approved by the Holy Synod of Bishops and are to be included in the Litany of Fervent Supplication at all Divine Services, beginning immediately. PRAYERS FOR THE 17TH ALL-AMERICAN COUNCIL AND THE ELECTION OF THE METROPOLITAN OF ALL AMERICA AND CANADA Furthermore we pray You, O Lord our Almighty and…

Source: The National Herald MAGGIE MICHAEL,Associated Press CAIRO (AP) — Christians gathered Friday in front of a Cairo cathedral holding signs denouncing a film that mocked the Prophet Muhammad amid fears that Muslims will take out their anger on Egypt’s minority community. The country’s 8 million Coptic Christians were already feeling increasingly cornered amid the rise to power of hard-line Islamists in Egypt following the ouster of Hosni Mubarak. Now U.S. authorities have identified a self-described Coptic Christian living in California as the key figure behind the inflammatory film, and the community at home fears it will bear the brunt…

Source: Reuters By Edmund Blair Egypt’s Coptic Orthodox Church will choose a new pope on December 2, after Pope Shenouda who led the church for four decades died in March and left many Christians worrying about their rights under an Islamist-led government. Many Christians, who make up about tenth of Egypt’s 83 million people, are concerned by the rise of Islamists who swept to power in parliamentary and presidential elections. President Mohamed Mursi has insisted he will be a leader for the whole nation, but some Christians fear a creeping imposition of conservative religious codes on society. Egypt’s state news…

Source: Greek Orthodox Archdiocese NEW YORK – His Eminence Archbishop Demetrios of America, was invited by President Barack Obama to deliver the invocation at the official opening of the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C. Archbishop Demetrios, being unable to personally attend, asked Metropolitan Nicholas of Detroit to represent him and deliver the invocation on behalf of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, Tuesday Sept. 4, at the Time Warner Cable Arena in Charlotte.

Source: Orthodox Church in America SYOSSET, NY [OCA] Registration forms and related materials for the 17th All-American Council of the Orthodox Church in America, slated to convene at Holy Trinity Church, Parma, OH on Tuesday, November 13, 2012, are now available in this PDF document, which includes a wealth of information on various aspects of the Council. [See related story at http://oca.org/news/headline-news/17th-all-american-council-to-be-held-o… ]. “Per the Statute of the Orthodox Church in America, parishes will need to elect new delegates,” said Archpriest Eric G. Tosi, OCA Secretary. “Registration forms, as per normal procedures for an All-American Council, must be completed and…

Source: Times of India KOCHI: The Jacobite Syrian Church, which traces its origins to Saint Peter, is ordaining widows and divorcees as nuns. Conventionally, across various church denominations, only unmarried women are admitted to the fold as nuns. Around 250 nuns are part of the church, which follows Orthodox traditions, and the outreach may increase that number. The church runs 10 convents in Kerala and with plans to set up a string of hospitals and educational institutions, authorities feel it could do with more hands. “Widows, divorcees and the disabled can get trained and become nuns,” says Father Varghese Kallappara,…