Source: Orthodox Christian Prison Ministry New York, NY—On July 26th, hundreds of Orthodox churches across jurisdictions are joining together to share about the importance of prison ministry, but what prison ministry looks like today may surprise you. Orthodox Christian Prison Ministry (OCPM) has evolved with the U.S. prison system over nearly three decades to offer nuanced ministry programs that are still impacting the lives of not only men and women behind bars, but their friends and family on the outside. Storybook Connections™ is reuniting incarcerated parents with their children through the power of stories, sending picture books home with recordings…
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Source: Orthodox Observer By Mark Arey, former General Secretary of SCOBA Since its formation in 2010, the Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of the USA (AoB) has fostered inter-Orthodox cooperation in the United States of America. The precursor to this forum of the episcopal assembly was the Standing Conference of Canonical Orthodox Bishops in the Americas (SCOBA), collectively approved by the 4th Pre-Conciliar Pan-Orthodox Conference in 2009, and the fraternal relationships encouraged between SCOBA’s participating hierarchs. Founded and presided over by the late Archbishop Iakovos, SCOBA was never a complete representation of canonical Orthodox presence in America, but included only the leaders…
Source: katanixi.gr The Phanar declares itself ready for contacts with Churches on the “pan-Orthodox problem” By Eleftherios Kosmidis Patriarch Bartholomew called [1] on all Churches “to work together, not only theoretically in the Eucharist, but in all aspects of church life.” The Phanar declares itself ready for contacts with Churches on the “pan-Orthodox problem” | Attrition (katanixi.gr) On December 27, 2023, the feast of St. Stephen, presided over the Divine Liturgy, celebrated at the celebrated Church in Balata, of the Orthodox Bulgarian-speaking Community of the City, Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople stated that the Phanar is ready for contacts with the…
Source: Orthodox Youth and Young Adult Ministries (OYM) Orthodox Youth and Young Adult Ministries Announces Major Program Milestones Orthodox Youth and Young Adult Ministries (OYM) held its semiannual board meeting on Friday, May 8, 2026, at St. Elijah Antiochian Orthodox Christian Church in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The day began with a Divine Liturgy celebrated in the St. George Chapel at St. Elijah’s before transitioning to a full day with Board Members and Staff. Key Announcements OYM unveiled the Godparent Project, a professionally produced 37-minute video resource developed in partnership with Andrew and Stephan Robinson, creators of Patristix. Designed to explain…
Source: The National Herald ANALYSIS By Theodoros Kalmoukos No, we did not forget the 21st anniversary of the repose of the blessed Archbishop Iakovos of North and South America, which this year coincided with Good Friday, April 10. We simply postponed this commemorative reflection until after Pascha so that it might also coincide with the Resurrection hymn, “Christ is Risen,” which Iakovos loved so deeply. It is impossible to forget Iakovos. With each passing day, his absence is felt more deeply in our Church and our Community here, as well as in Greece and Cyprus. He loved the Omogeneia and…
Source: St. Phoebe Center for the Deaconess Click Here or on the image below to access the PDF (with hyperlinks). Editor’s Note (Archival Content) This article is part of the Orthodox Christian Laity archives and reflects the context, concerns, and discussions present at the time of its original publication. It is made available here for historical reference and ongoing study. Readers should note that perspectives, circumstances, and ecclesial developments may have evolved since its initial release.
Source: AXIA Women Our Woman of the Week is Natalie Kapeluck, who is Director of Youth and Young Adult Ministries of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the USA. She was nominated for her extraordinary national role in serving youth and young adults and disabled parishioners in her church and serves alongside her counterparts across jurisdictions through the Assembly’s Orthodox Youth Directors of North America, which meets regularly to share resources and support one another. You see her below with dancers from her company, Slava Dance, during a recent performance, and backstage before a show with the Kyiv Ukrainian Dance Ensemble.…
Source: Frederica’s World Eighteen years later, what’s changed? Frederica Mathewes-Green Originally published November 25, 2025 Inside the OrthoSphere, everyone’s talking about Ruth Graham’s New York Times article about the influx of converts—particularly men—into American Orthodoxy. Funnily enough, I wrote an article about this very thing eighteen years ago. It was a surprising phenomenon, back then, that the majority of converts were young men. These guys were just showing up at the doors of Orthodox churches, usually after a lot of independent study. (There’s a saying: “Why did he become Orthodox?” “He read too much.”) Back then the predominance of male inquirers really stood…
Source: SUPRASL CLICK HERE or on the image below to view/download the PDF Editor’s Note (Archival Content) This article is part of the Orthodox Christian Laity archives and reflects the context, concerns, and discussions present at the time of its original publication. It is made available here for historical reference and ongoing study. Readers should note that perspectives, circumstances, and ecclesial developments may have evolved since its initial release.
Source: Orthodox Observer St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church and National Shrine at the World Trade Center is expanding its commitment to serving those in need through two ongoing charitable initiatives: the monthly “Feed the Hungry” outreach and the “Share the Warmth” winter coat drive. The Feed the Hungry ministry brings together volunteers on select Sundays to prepare and distribute warm meals to homeless and food-insecure New Yorkers. Upcoming Feed the Hungry dates for 2026 include March 8, April 19, May 10, and June 14. Simultaneously, the parish is conducting its “Share the Warmth” coat drive through February 8, collecting scarves,…
Source: The National Herald A drowsy wind blows across the blue-gray waters of the Bosphorus. On it a lone seagull flies, lilting along the air current. Behind it looms Constantinople: colossal, gleaming, age-old, alive. I recently spent a week in the Queen of Cities with the Pilgrimage of Discovery, an immersion program sponsored by the Archons of the Ecumenical Patriarchate. The Pilgrimage aims to bring young Orthodox Christians face-to-face with the situation of the Patriarchate and the remaining Greek-speaking Orthodox (or Romaioi) community in modern-day Istanbul. The Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople— the spiritual capital of the Eastern Orthodox Church—…
Source: Orthodox Observer Today, Jan. 13, the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople issued a response to an aggressive polemic released a day earlier by Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR). The Ecumenical Patriarchate characterized the accusations directed at Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew as baseless and unworthy of engagement. In its responding communiqué, the Ecumenical Patriarchate recalled that since its 2018 decision to proclaim the autocephaly of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, it has deliberately chosen not to reply to the steady stream of similar attacks emanating from political and ecclesiastical circles within the Russian Federation. That principled restraint, it stressed, continues to guide…