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Source: Egypt Independent by Taha Sakr Egypt’s main Coptic Church decided on Thursday to suspend holding any conferences and organizing the church-sponsored trips to monasteries, Coptic Orthodox Church Head Bolus Hailm said. Halim told Egypt Independent that the decision came following consultations with the Interior Ministry, which recommended the suspension of the aforementioned activities until the end of the month of July. “Due to security concerns raised among churches’ officials against any gatherings of Copts in Egypt, the churches affiliated to the Coptic Orthodox Church consulted the main church to coordinate with the Interior Ministry to undertake any action,” he explained. He further asserted…

Source: National Geographic The manuscript was unearthed by the monastery’s monks who were conducting restorations in the centuries-old library. By Sarah Gibbens PUBLISHED JULY 11, 2017 There’s perhaps no doctor in history more famous than Hippocrates. Many medical students today still swear the ancient doctor’s oath to adhere to ethical medical principles. While the details of his life are murky (it’s even debated whether he wrote the oath or some of the other manuscripts that bear his name), Hippocrates is widely regarded as the “father of Western medicine.” Archaeologists now believe they may have found one of the ancient doctor’s medical recipes…

Source: Canadian Orthodox Monastery of All Saints of North America I recall being told by one elderly monastic, an Athonite, that “we monks are the spoiled children of Christ. It is the married people who have the greatest struggle. Much greater than our struggle. Here, we are housed and fed, and the abbot is the only one who has to worry and stress. For the married man, he must work hard to provide the housing and food, and the concern for his children, and work through the stress that arises between husband and wife, and all at the same time,…

Source: Oinos Educational Consulting by Frank Marangos, Ed.D. “Does not wisdom cry out, and understanding lift up her voice?  She takes her stand on the top of the high hill, beside the way, where the paths meet.  She cries out by the gates, at the entry of the city, and at the entrance of the doors.” Proverbs 8:1-3 On July 4th, millions of Americans commemorated the Platinum Anniversary (70-year) of the nation’s cause célèbre of UFO sightings. According to select eyewitnesses, on the evening of July 4th, 1947, dismembered alien bodies and fragments of a lightweight metallic spacecraft were discovered on…

Source: MYSTAGOGY Let us now turn our gaze from the East to the far West, i.e., to America. About 150 years ago, Orthodox people of every nationality began to come to this New World, first daring individuals, then small groups, until in our days they have reached, by immigration and by birth, a number equal at least to the number of Episcopalians in the United States. The first settlers were very simple people, hard workers, farmers. They were just the kind of people who were authentic bearers of that threefold Christian ideal, i.e., of spiritual vision, of moral discipline and…

Source: Fr Novak’s Blog Dear friends in Christ, Each year the Oxford Dictionary chooses a “Word of the Year.” Last year the Word of the Year was “Post-truth.” Ever hear of that word? I hadn’t. Yet, it was the Word of the Year. According to the folks at the Oxford Dictionary, its use increased by 2000% over the previous year. Here is the Oxford Dictionary’s definition of Post-truth: “Relating to or denoting circumstances in which objective facts are less influential in shaping public opinion than appeals to emotion and personal belief.” I may not have heard of the word, “post-truth”…

Source: Public Orthodoxy by Mark Arey Originally posted on June 1, 2017. The recent visit of the President and First Lady to the Vatican raised again the question of head coverings for women in the Christian context. Many Christians perpetuate a theology of women’s submission to men that is symbolized by head coverings, based on a Scriptural text (First Corinthians 11:3-16). In 11:5, Paul stresses the Jewish custom that married women should cover their head. Every wife who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered, dishonors her own head. Indeed, it is the same thing as having a shaved head! As pointed…

Mark your calendar and plan to attend: ~ OCL’s 30th ANNUAL CONFERENCE ~ Celebrating 30 years of service to the Orthodox Christian Community On Saturday October 28, 2017, beginning at 8:30 am, our speakers include: Rev. Dr. Frank Marangos Fr. Hans Jacobse Dr. Frances Kostarelos His Grace Bishop Paul  Advocating the restoration and strengthening of the historic role of the laity in the conciliar governance of the Orthodox Christian Church in the United States; supporting the spiritual renewal and regeneration of the Orthodox Christian Church in the United States in its Apostolic Mission; advocating and promoting transparency and…

Source: The Baltimore Sun By Jonathan M. Pitts, Contact Reporter The Baltimore Sun Growing up a Southern Baptist in eastern Tennessee, Brent Gilbert says, he never realized there were other ways to worship. He figured everyone knew the best church music was contemporary. He was sure there was a 45-minute pastor’s sermon at the heart of every Sunday service. And didn’t all Christians agree that religious art, symbols and rituals were relics of a less desirable past? Then he encountered the ancient faith that would change his life. In the formal liturgy, rituals and language of the Greek Orthodox Church, he…

Source: Orthodox Christian Studies Center of Fordham University The Journal of Orthodox Christian Studies   The Journal of Orthodox Christian Studies is a double-blind, peer-reviewed scholarly journal publishing leading scholarship on all aspects of the thought, history, society, politics, theology and culture of Orthodox Christianity broadly conceived. Submissions are subject to rigorous peer review. Multidisciplinary and methodologically innovative approaches to both historical and contemporary topics exploring some aspect of Orthodox Christianity are welcome. The journal is published semiannually in both print and electronic versions. The Journal of Orthodox Christian Studies is published by Johns Hopkins University Press in cooperation with…

Source: BosNewsLife By BosNewsLife Africa Service ASMARA, ERITREA (BosNewsLife)– More than 120 Christians have been detained in Eritrea in a government-backed crackdown on unregistered denominations across the troubled African nation, Christian activists told BosNewsLife Thursday, June 15. At least 122 Christians were detained last month, confirmed advocacy group Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW), which closely follows the situation. “These arrests signify a renewed intensity in the [government] crackdown that has been ongoing since 2002, and are a clear indication that the severe repression of freedom of religion or belief continues unabated in Eritrea,” said CSW’s Chief Executive Mervyn Thomas. In 2002…

Source: The Christian Post By Jay Gotera , Christian Post Contributor And it’s the real Santa Claus—St. Nicholas himself, a relic of the actual saint who inspired the beloved figure of Santa Claus. The relic of the fourth-century saint arrived in Moscow for veneration by the Russian Orthodox Church on May 22 from Italy—the first time in 930 years that the relic was moved out of Italy, Breitbart reported. It will be on display at Christ the Savior Cathedral in Moscow up to July 13, according to RT.com. The relic is a five-inch bone fragment from the saint’s rib placed in…