INDIANAPOLIS, IN [Lilly Endowment/OCA] Orthodox Christian clergy and the parishes they serve may wish to take advantage of grant awards being offered through the Lilly Endowment’s Clergy Renewal Programs for 2019. Through its religion grant making, the Lilly Endowment seeks to deepen and enrich the lives of American Christians largely through initiatives to enhance and sustain the quality of ministry in American congregations and parishes. The program is administered by the Center for Pastoral Excellence at Indianapolis’ Christian Theological Seminary. The Lilly Endowment provides funds to congregations to support renewal leaves for their pastors. Renewal periods are not vacations but…
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With the Nativity Fast—also known as “Advent”—beginning on November 15, the spirit of the season is presented as a time of personal and collective preparation for the celebration of the pivotal point in salvation history—the Incarnation of Our Lord, God and Savior Jesus Christ. Underscoring the significance of this liturgical season are numerous online educational resources for class and personal use from the Orthodox Church in America’s Department of Christian Education [DCE]. “The Nativity Season: Introduction” offers five engaging lessons that could easily be subtitled “Everything You Always Wanted To Know About the Nativity Fast.” Separate study units are available…
by Aurelian Iftimiu The Greek Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos on Monday approved a grant of €1.240.000 for 22 monastic settlements on the Holy Mount Athos following a request submitted by the Sacred Community, Protothema reports. Regarding the financial support, the first monastery is Simonos Petras with 144.088 Euros. The second grant in value is offered to Agiou Pavlou Monastery. Iviron Monastery will receive EUR 112,877.20, while Dionysiou Monastery will receive a grant of EUR 104,197.20. No. Monastic Settlement Percentage Sum granted (Euro) 1 Great Lavra 4,211 52.216,40 2 Vatopedi Monastery 4,307 53.406,80 3 Iviron Monastery 9,103 112.877,20 4 Helandariou Monastery 7,590…
by Aurelian Iftimiu The Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Italy has announced that His Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew will pay a visit to Venice at the end of next week. Seven days before his arrival to Romania, Patriarch Bartholomew will be present in Venice on Saturday, November 17, 2018, for the feast day of Saint Gennadios the Confessor, Patriarch of Constantinople, when Metropolitan Gennadios of Italy will celebrate his name’s day. His Holiness will participate in the Divine Liturgy that will be celebrated at the Greek Orthodox Cathedral of St George in Venice. Photo: Fos Fanarion via Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew to…
The cross in front of the Greek Parliament in Athens. File photo Senior members of the Greek Orthodox Church expressed their opposition to the historic agreement between Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and Archbishop of Athens and All Greece Ieronymos to remove some 10,000 priests and auxiliary staff from the state payroll. The agreement, reached on Tuesday, foresees the setup of a special fund to handle church assets, and changes in the salaries of clerics, who will no longer be civil servants but will be paid by the church through an annual state subsidy. Archbishop Ieronymos was forced to backtrack on Wednesday, stating…
Source: Orthodox Christian Laity Board Members present in person: George Karcazes, George Pontikes, Andrew Kartalis, Peter Petkas, William Souvall, Peter Zarras, John Regule and advisory board member, His Eminence Archbishop Nathaniel. Guests introduced were: William Caras, Fr Nicholas Greanias, Fr Remus Grama, and at 11:00 am, Fr Chad Hatfield. Board member Argo Georgandis Pyle joined the meeting by phone. Meeting was convened at 9:30 am at the St. Mary Romanian Orthodox Cathedral with a prayer by Archbishop Nathaniel. Special prayers were offered for Roy Snyder and Chris Xeros. Reports were sent to all board members and advisors before the meeting,…
During their Fall Session at the Chancery October 23-26, 2018, the members of the Holy Synod of Bishops gave their blessing to release an updated set of “Social Media Guidelines for Clergy and Lay Leaders” of the Orthodox Church in America. Available in PDF format, the Guidelines had been approved by the Metropolitan Council on September 19. The updated Guidelines are recommended by the Holy Synod for implementation by the Central Church Administration, ministries, dioceses, parishes, clergy, lay leaders, staff and volunteers who work within the institutional, social, and legal environment of the Church. They should be adapted for use…
Source: Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of the USA The Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of the United States of America expresses its deep sympathies as we mourn the loss of innocent lives and pray for the speedy recovery of those wounded in the recent attack on the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Remembering the Message from our Assembly meeting just last month, we reiterate our “denunciation of all violence, whether caused by senseless acts related to weapons and shootings or instigated by abhorrent acts of discrimination and prejudice.” Indeed the heinous and murderous act of terror on…
Source: Orthodox Christian Laity The hospitality and participation of the Orthodox faithful of all jurisdictions in the city of Cleveland on the weekend of October 19-20, 2018, was overwhelming! Over 170 faithful people of all jurisdictions participated in a program showing all of us what we can truly accomplish when we work in unity. You can see and feel the unity and love by calling up each speaker’s presentation and the short overview video that is posted on OCL’s YouTube channel. Cleveland is a model of Pan-Orthodoxy living and working in practical and meaningful ways. These videos are presented as…
Source: The National Herald By TNH Staff A foundation that received a $500,000 donation from the late Greek-American real estate developer and entertainment businessman John Santikos of Texas to do charitable work in the United States and Greece was awarded the Medal of Saint Dionysios the Areopagite by Archbishop Ieronymos. The award was presented to the President and COO of The San Antonio Area Foundation, Rebecca Brune, in memory of Santikos, who died in December 2014, leaving his business assets to the charity, estimated at around $600 million. That included the half million dollar gift to International Orthodox Christian Charities…
Source: Archons of the Ecumenical Patriarchate The Order of Saint Andrew, Archons of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, notes with sorrow and dismay that the Israeli Knesset is once again attempting to pass a law that would allow for the confiscation of Church owned-lands. The implications of this discriminatory bill cannot be overstated. The “Proposed tenant rights law on leased land that was sold,” introduced by Member of the Knesset Rachel Azaria, exclusively effects lands own by Churches, not Jewish- or Muslim-owned lands. It is scheduled to be discussed by the Ministerial Committee for Legislation this Sunday, October 21. This bill is…
Source: The National Herald By Theodore Kalmoukos NEW YORK – Greek Orthodox Theological Scholars Drs. Aristotle Papanikolaou and George Demakopulos, professors at and co-Directors of Fordham University’s Center of Orthodox Christian Studies, recently spoke with the National Herald about their work and the current state of Orthodoxy. The interview follows. TNH: Please tells about the Orthodox Christian Studies Center’s structure, mission, and contribution to theology and theological scholarship. AP/GD: The program in Orthodox Christianity began at Fordham University officially in 2004 with the inaugural Orthodoxy in America Lecture, which was given by His Eminence, Archbishop Demetrios. Since then, through the…