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Orthodox News Top Stories

Source: The National Herald BANGOR, ME – Adam Metropoulos, a 53-year-old former Greek Orthodox Priest, who in March was convicted on four felony counts of sexual abuse of a minor, and in April was sentenced to 12 years in prison, is now being sued by the victim, the Bangor Daily News reported. The name of the plaintiff, now 24, is not being released publicly because he was the victim of sexual abuse, the News reported. The lawsuit also names as co-defendants Metropoulos’ supervisors and the Greek-American community in Bangor, although it does not specifically name St. George Greek Orthodox Church,…

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Source: Orthodox Church in America LOUISVILLE, KY [SVOTS Communications]  Seasoned and recently ordained Orthodox Christian priests may want to take advantage of grant awards being offered by the Louisville Institute. The awards offer pastoral leaders the opportunity and resources to investigate issues related to Christian life, faith, and ministry.  Through its Pastoral Study Project program [PSP], the Institute enables pastoral leaders to bracket daily work routines in order to pursue a pressing and significant question for the life of faith. The Louisville Institute is a Lilly Endowment-funded program based at Louisville Seminary supporting those who lead and study North American…

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Source: Sputnik Moscow and the Holy See are working together on the issue of moral values and persecuted Christians. This cooperation is beneficial for both parties, from a diplomatic and political viewpoint, the French newspaper Le Figaro wrote. According to Le Figaro, since the end of the Cold War, the Vatican has always been willing to hold a dialogue with Moscow. “Russia has become one of the centers of a new polycentric world order, an empire in the process of establishment, which one should offer one’s hand,” political expert Canstance Colonna-Cesari said cited by the newspaper. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the relations between Moscow and the Vatican were characterized…

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Source: Daily Mail Grandmother of air hostess Yara Hani Tawfik collapsed at service in Cairo Hundreds attended the memorial service with friends calling her ‘perfect’ All 66 people onboard EgyptAir MS804 flight died over Mediterranean Sea By Arthur Martin In Cairo For The Mailonline The elderly grandmother of air hostess Yara Hani Tawfik who died on the doomed EgyptAir MS804 flight collapsed at her memorial service today. Concerned friends and relatives rushed to Anna Yara’s aid as she sat wailing on a pew in a church in Cairo. One held the grandmother face as she was overcome with grief in…

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Source: First Things by Charlotte Allen When Pope Francis announced his willingness to appoint a commission to study whether women can serve as deacons in the Catholic Church, my first thought was: Here we go! And sure enough, FutureChurch, the liberal Catholic organization that has subtly pushed for the ordination of women to the hitherto all-male Catholic priesthood, not only praised Francis for his statement but announced its intention to set up a CatholicWomenDeacons.org website, sponsor a retreat for women feeling the “call” to become deacons, and, clearly most important of all, lobby the U.S. bishops to start pestering Rome…

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Source: Orthodox Church in America SOUTH CANAAN, PA [STOTS Communications]  With great joy, the Board of Trustees of Saint Tikhon’s Orthodox Theological Seminaryhere announced during the second week of May that the speaker for the school’s 74th annual Commencement will be His Eminence, Archbishop Demetrios of the Greek Orthodox Church of America. Commencement exercises will be held at the outdoor chapel on the grounds of Saint Tikhon’s Monastery on Saturday, May 28, 2016 at 1:00 p.m.  See related story. During the festivities, Archbishop Demetrios will be awarded a Doctor of Divinity, Honoris Causa, in recognition of his yeoman service to…

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Source: Pravoslavie.ru Originally posted on January 22, 2014 by Metropolitan Nikolaos of Mesogaia and Lavreotiki It is impossible to describe how exquisite and noble are the podvizhniki![1] These people—although they bear the traces of harsh struggles, although their bodies are so withered and emaciated—have a fragrance and grace imprinted on their wondrous souls. 1976. The month of August—July 22 Old Style. The Altar Feast (Panegyr) of St. Mary Magdalene in Simonopetra. How they love this saint in her monastery! Her left hand is kept here—her wrist, palm, and fingers—with the skin and tendons. Its temperature holds steadily at 98.6 °F/37° C—proof…

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Source: Chicago Tribune By Tribune news services  Contact Reporter VATICAN CITY – Pope Francis said Thursday he is willing to create a commission to study whether women can be deacons in the Catholic Church, signaling an openness to letting women serve in ordained ministry currently reserved to men. Francis agreed to the proposal during a closed-door meeting with some 900 superiors of women’s religious orders. Deacons are ordained ministers but are not priests, though they can perform many of the same functions as priests: preside at weddings, baptisms and funerals, and preach. They cannot, however, celebrate Mass. Currently, married men — who…

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Source: New York Post By Isabel Vincent and Chris Perez The historic Manhattan cathedral that was gutted in a massive fire was one of four Christian Orthodox churches to go up in flames on Orthodox Easter Sunday — sparking fears of a coordinated attack on the religion. While FDNY officials said the blaze at the Serbian Orthodox Cathedral of St. Sava on West 25th Street does not appear suspicious, members of the Orthodox community have doubts. They are worried that the blaze — along with church fires in Australia and Russia — were set in retaliation for the religion’s role…

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Source: The China Post By Tom Hancock, AFP HARBIN, China–His red and gold vestments bathed in candlelight, the first mainland Chinese Orthodox priest ordained for six decades led an Easter service on Sunday — one of the most surprising fruits of warming ties between Moscow and Beijing. Alexander Yu Shi said prayers in the Church Slavonic language and in Mandarin beside the Church of Holy Protection in the northeastern city of Harbin, surrounded by local worshippers. “It is a happy day. We are welcoming the resurrection,” he said. “And for the Eastern Orthodox Church in Harbin, it’s also a resurrection.”…

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Source: The White House – Office of the Press Secretary Michelle and I extend our best wishes to members of the Orthodox Christian community here in America and around the world as they observe Holy Friday and the Feast of the Resurrection. For Orthodox Christians, this is a time to remember the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, to rejoice in the victory of the Resurrection and to be transformed by the renewing of our minds in accordance with God’s will. We lift up in prayer the members of the Orthodox community who have been persecuted for their faith and subjected to unspeakable…

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Source: Friends of Sabeel North America Our warmest wishes and hopes for renewal go out to our Eastern Orthodox Christian friends who celebrate Easter on Sunday, May 1. The Eastern churches constitute the largest Christian community in Palestine, so on this day we hope and pray that God will renew your spirits with the liberating power of the “resurrected one.” May this week of focusing on Jesus and the meaning of his life and witness revive you for the long journey toward justice, even amid the unholy brutalities enacted by Israel in the land of our liberator’s birth. Franciscan theologian…

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