Browsing: Orthodox News Top Stories

Source: International Orthodox Christian Charities Baltimore, MD (IOCC) — More than 50 Orthodox Christian high school students representing over 30 different dioceses under the Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops in the United States of America gathered this summer in Minneapolis and Chicago for two Serv-X-Treme! conferences. Participants strengthened their understanding of Christ-centered service and Orthodox Christian philanthropy through theoretical and hands-on service activities at the week-long gatherings. “Being given the opportunity to practice my faith in so many different environments was truly a blessing,” said participant Dimitri Godur of Miami, Florida. “Our projects and discussions truly gave me a different…

Source: Greek News Network The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America has suspended a prominent New York City priest who once even held the position of Chancellor of the Archdiocese in the late 1990s. Fr. George Passias, pastor at St. Spyridon in New York City was officially suspended from his pastoral duties after an extra-marital affair came to light with a woman from his parish. That affair, which has allegedly been going on for years, resulted in the pregnancy of the woman. Both the priest, and the woman involved in the affair are married and each have children of their own. The relationship between…

Source: Raymond Ibrahim – Islam Translated This article was written for RaymondIbrahim.com by Ralph Sidway, an Orthodox Christian researcher and writer, and author of Facing Islam: What the Ancient Church has to say about the Religion of Muhammad. He operates the Facing Islam blog. The Bulgarian Orthodox Church has announced it will help migrants who have arrived in Bulgaria, but has urged authorities not to let any more migrants in, clarifying sharp differences between Eastern European Christian nations and Western secular/post-Christian responses to the mass Muslim refugee crisis. It is very interesting that most Orthodox and Eastern Christian bishops have shown great restraint in…

Source: The National Herald BY THEODORE KALMOUKOS One of the people who lived very close to the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001 was the leader of our Greek Orthodox Church in America, Archbishop Demetrios. In the ensuing days, weeks, months… and beyond, the archbishop became a source of comfort to those who lost their loved ones in that horrific tragedy. Demetrios remembers the details quite vividly, and he shares those memories with The National Herald. “We were in Boston the day before, September 10, for the Constantine G. Karamanlis Chair in Hellenic and European Studies at The Fletcher…

Source: Voice of America Many religions use music to help communicate their message. What you are listening to now is a choral workperformed in the Russian Orthodox Church. This kind of singing is different from the music of other religious traditions. And it is this kind of singing that a U.S.-based choir hopes to keep alive. The choir is part of the Patriarch Tikhon Russian-American Music Institute. The group recently went to Russia for training in what is known as theSlavonic tradition of music. All 35 members of this choir are Russian and citizens of the United States. The group sang during religious services in…

Source: The Washington Post By Matt Schudel The Rev. Dr. John T. Tavlarides, who spent more than 50 years as the senior priest and later dean of St. Sophia Greek Orthodox Cathedral in Washington, building it into one of the country’s most prominent Orthodox Christian congregations, died Sept. 21 at a hospital in Berlin, Md., near his vacation home in Ocean City, Md. He was 84. He had a heart ailment, said a son, Mark Tavlarides. Rev. Tavlarides arrived at St. Sophia in 1956 as the first American-born priest to serve at Washington’s oldest Greek Orthodox congregation. During his 55…

Source: Middle East Eye (MEE) Far right groups across Europe are calling for Muslims not to be allowed in amid a huge refugee crisis Bulgaria’s Orthodox Church has called on its government not to let any more Muslim refugees into the country to prevent an “invasion”. The Balkan EU member has largely been bypassed by the hundreds of thousands of refugees fleeing conflict and poverty, many of whom set off from Greece through neighbouring Macedonia and Serbia towards northern Europe. But Bulgaria has still seen Syrians, Afghans and Iraqis cross its southeastern border from Turkey. “We help refugees who have…

Source: The Week Romanov royal couple and their five children were brutally murdered by Bolsheviks in 1918 The remains of Tsar Nicholas II and his wife Alexandra have been exhumed as part of a Russian investigation into the Romanov royal family’s murder. The couple and their children –  Olga, Tatiana, Maria, Anastasia and Alexei – were murdered by Bolsheviks in 1918. Nicholas II, Alexandra, Olga, Tatiana and Anastasia are buried at Peter and Paul Cathedral in St Petersburg after their bodies were discovered in a mass grave in the Urals in 1991. Remains, believed to be Alexei and Maria, were found in…

Source: Orthodox Church in America NEW YORK, NY [OCA]  His Beatitude, Metropolitan Tikhon is one of several Orthodox Christian and other US religious leaders who has been invited to attend an interfaith gathering at “Ground Zero” here on Friday, September 25, 2015, the fourth day of Pope Francis’ six-day American tour. Accompanying Metropolitan Tikhon will be Archpriest John A. Jillions, Chancellor of the Orthodox Church in America. The gathering will take place at the National September 11 Memorial and Museum.  Outside the museum, Pope Francis will meet with relatives of those who perished in the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the…

Source: The National Herald BOSTON – Hellenic College and Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology (HCHC) started the new academic year with a new President Rev. Christopher Metropoulos and a larger number of students. This year, the entire HCHC student body of Hellenic College and Holy Cross is 187, up 20 from last year. The freshmen class at Hellenic College is 36 new students and 34 for Holy Cross. Fr. Metropoulos told TNH that “next semester we are going to have 200 students and by next fall we anticipate to have between 230 and 250 students.” He appeals to…

Source: InSerbia News BELGRADE – The Holy Synod of Bishops of the Serbian Orthodox Church (SPC) has sent a letter on Tuesday to Director-General of UNESCO Irina Bokova, warning that the acceptance of Kosovo’s membership bid would endanger the Christian cultural heritage and the Serbs’ religious and human rights. In the letter signed by Patriarch Irinej, the Synod points out that the OSCE has documented systematic post-war destruction of at least 392 Serbian Orthodox cemeteries in Kosovo and Metohija (KiM), which are still in deplorable condition. The most important Serbian Orthodox sites are still protected by the police, and Decani…

Source: WTHR13 By Emily Longnecker, WTHR reporter FISHERS, Ind. – The anguish continues with Syrian refugees in Hungary as they search for safety in the European Union. Today, Hungary shut its border with Serbia and vowed to fence its border with Romania, as well. Many of the refugees are trying to get to Austria or Germany, but countless men, women and children have already died along the way. Members of a central Indiana church say if those refugees can get to Indianapolis, they’d welcome them with open arms. Saint George Orthodox Christian Church in Fishers is ready to help the Syrian…