Source: Daily Sabah NEVŞEHİR – Presiding at a Sunday mass at a church in central Turkey, Fener Greek Orthodox Patriarch Bartholomew I said major changes in Turkey in terms of minority rights have paved the way for “previously unimaginable” religious services in the ancient churches of the Orthodox Christian community. The annual mass attended by an Orthodox Christian community was held in Timio Stavru, a Byzantine-era church in a village in the central Turkish province of Nevşehir’s Ürgüp district, where a considerable Greek population lived in the 19th century. Lawmakers from Greece, the Turkish ambassador to Athens, Greek businesspeople and artists…
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Source: The Jewish Chronicle Online By Charlotte Oliver King’s College London’s newly launched Israel Society held its first event last week, when Father Gabriel Nadaf visited campus. The Greek Orthodox priest, who encourages Arab Christians to participate in military and national service, is a leading and sometime controversial voice in Israeli politics. He spoke to 40 students on the night, which was held in partnership with The Face of Israel and StandWithUs UK – with an audience of all faiths, from Buddhists to Alawites. With a growing membership of 150 people, the society’s treasurer Josh Boyle urged more members to sign…
Source: Winnipeg Free Press A former high-ranking Orthodox archbishop should serve a year in jail for violating his position of trust and sexually molesting an altar boy in Winnipeg in the 1980s, prosecutors say. That’s was the Crown’s position as Seraphim (Kenneth) Storheim, 68, appeared for sentencing in the Court of Queen’s Bench Wednesday. “The hallmarks of this case are the abuse of trust, the abuse of a child and the historical nature,” Crown attorney Breta Passler told Justice Christopher Mainella. The Crown is seeking the term of real jail in hopes of sending a firm message to the general…
Source: The Christian Science Monitor By Jane Arraf, Correspondent Tens of thousands of Iraqi Christians have fled Mosul and its region after ISIS seized the city, uprooting communities tied to some of the earliest Christian societies. DAIR MAR MATTI, IRAQ — Just a few miles from Mosul, the map of Iraq is being redrawn in a cataclysmic restructuring of an area that was home to some of the earliest Christians. The takeover of the city and wide swaths of other territory by the Al Qaeda offshoot Islamic State of Iraq and Syria has pushed half a million people out of Mosul, including…
Source: The Daily Mail Online By PAUL DONNELLEY Patriarch Daniel, the leader of Romania’s Orthodox church, was opening the church’s Trinitas Radio and Television studios in Bucharest Spokesman said that Daniel, 62, has used the ‘sanctification rod’ before Patriarch said he has a sense of humour and was not offended It is not the usual way to go about performing a blessing and using a paint roller dipped in holy oil to sanctify a TV studio has left a Romanian priest the object of ridicule. His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel, the leader of Romania’s Orthodox church, used the unorthodox method to bless the…
Source: Aljazeera America by Jane Arraf Fleeing Christians find shelter in St. Matthew’s Monastery in northern Iraq, a place of refuge since the fourth century Perched on the side of a mountain surrounded by caves, St. Matthew’s Monastery has been a place of refuge since the fourth century. Some of the earliest Christians sought safety here. With the fall of the city of Mosul, just 20 miles away, the monastery’s thick stone walls have again become a sanctuary. Along the courtyards in rooms normally used by religious pilgrims and monks, dozens of Christian families fleeing Mosul have settled in – laying…
Source: Interfax Moscow, June 16, Interfax – The Shanghai Foreign Languages University and the Patriarchal Council for Culture signed an agreement to set up a center for studying Orthodox culture at the university in Shanghai. The document was signed by the University rector professor Cao Demin and executive secretary of the Patriarchal Council for Culture Archimandrite Tikhon (Shevkunov), the Moscow Patriarchate website reports. The Center will help to get acquainted with traditional Russian culture, organize scientific work, publish books, especially the Chinese-Russian Bible vocabulary and Orthodox terms vocabulary, launch exchange programs for students and aspirants, carry out seminars and conferences,…
Source: Winnipeg Free Press Tawadros II plans September appearance in Winnipeg By: Brenda Suderman The pope is coming to Winnipeg this fall. But before you get too excited, it’s not Pope Francis of the Roman Catholic Church. It’s that other pope. On Sept. 19, His Holiness Pope Tawadros II of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria visits Winnipeg for a few hours as part of his month-long cross-country tour of Canada. “He cares about everyone and this congregation and we are important to him,” says Rev. Marcos Farag, priest of St. Mark Coptic Orthodox Church in Winnipeg. “He wants to…
Source: Orthodox Church in America YONKERS, NY [SVOTS Communications] Saint Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary here has chosen as its theme for Orthodox Education Day 2014, “Do Books Still Matter? A Celebration of Orthodox Christian Publications.” This year’s traditional open house will be held on Saturday, October 4, and will pay tribute to the importance of Orthodox Christian authors, illustrators, and publishing houses throughout the world. The Dean of the seminary, Archpriest Dr. John Behr, author of academic, popular, and spiritual works, will be the keynote speaker. The seminary’s own publishing house, Saint Vladimir’s Seminary Press [SVS Press], will receive special…
Source: The National Herald BY THEODORE KALMOUKOS NEW YORK – Father John Vlahos, currently the pastor of the Church of the Holy Resurrection in Brookville, NY, has been assigned as the new Dean of the Archdiocesan Cathedral of the Holy Trinity in Manhattan. He will be formally installed by Archbishop Demetrios of America on Sunday, June 22 and will begin his new duties immediately thereafter. In May of 2008, His Eminence Archbishop Demetrios of America assigned Father John Vlahos to the Church of the Holy Resurrection, where he serves as the second proistamenos in the history of the parish. The…
Source: MercatorNet In the midst of the chaos and carnage, a church elects a new patriarch. By Patrick Sookhdeo On Ascension Day, in the midst of presidential elections in Syria, I sat amongst a great host of bishops and dignitaries in the monastery church of the Syriac Orthodox Church in Maarat Saydnaya, about 30km from Damascus. It was my privilege to attend the enthronement of their new patriarch, Moran Mor Ignatius Aphrem II as Patriarch of Antioch and Supreme Head of the Universal Syriac Orthodox Church. This traditional title refers to the city where the Lord’s followers were first called…
Source: United Press International (UPI) Pope Francis on married priests: “The door is always open.” By Matt Bradwell BETHESDA, Md., June 6 (UPI) –A group of Catholic and Orthodox theologians is calling on Pope Francis to end the Catholic church’s prohibition of married men within the priesthood for members of the faith who practice in Eastern Catholic churches. Eastern Catholic and Orthodox churches recognize the divine authority of the papacy, but often have different ceremonial practices and cultural traditions. In most of the world, Eastern priests are allowed to wed, but in North America they are not. In a statement released Friday, The…