by Steven P. Stamatis Repeated calls from Orthodox Christian Laity (OCL) for Orthodox Unity often results in gatherings to discuss Unity and the need for a Great and Holy Church Council. The participating hierarchy who usually attend include the Serbian Orthodox, Romanian Orthodox, Antiochian Orthodox, Russian Orthodox and other dignitaries from the Orthodox landscape. Conspicuously absent almost every time are the Greeks. The Greek Orthodox hierarchy continues to abstain from these “unauthorized,” laity-driven pan-Orthodox discussions and remains silent in the sidelines. Claims of “Royal Priesthood” status notwithstanding, these Metropolitans do not recognize the laity’s authority to convene such discussions. Furthermore, they,…
Browsing: America
Source: Ancient Faith Radio By Kevin Allen Direct link Play in Popup Download Transcript Mr. Kevin Allen: As you see, I was asked to speak about “Challenges and Opportunities of the Ancient Faith Today,” and we are witnessing major changes in the religious landscape, both in the world—we can see that certainly in the Middle East—but [also] in Western Europe and especially in America, which is where I’ll tend to be focusing, and these changes give rise to many challenges and opportunities for the Orthodox churches, and this is what I’ll be discussing and we’ll be discussing today, hopefully with humility, clarity, and…
Source: Orthodox Christian Laity by Roy L. Snyder There are almost 200 million Christian Diaspora in America. However, none of them are Orthodox Christians. The Christian Diaspora in America are the denominational (Roman Catholic, Liturgical, and Evangelical) and non-denominational Christians who need to return to their Mother – the One Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church. They need to come home. Most do not know where their home is – but they are looking. Most do not even know that their home still exists – they’ve been told that it was lost in the mists of time. Because they want to…
We reprint the OCL Resolution calling for Autocephaly of the American Orthodox Church passed in 1998, fifteen years ago, and pray that the meeting of Assembly of Canonical Bishops on September 17-19 in Chicago will make progress in developing the blueprint for a unified, self-governing, canonical Church in our geographic areas. The “fullness of time” for the unification and autocephaly of the Church in the United States and in all other geographic areas has arrived. – Editor Orthodox Christian Laity A Resolution for Autocephaly Adopted October 10, 1998 BE IT RESOLVED THAT: The Orthodox Christian Laity (OCL), assembled…
Source: Orthodox Observer Originally published in the June 2013 issue on page 26 under the heading “Church History.” by William H. Samonides, Ph.D As the Church in America grew, the need for hierarchs to oversee the ever-increasing number of parishes became more acute. Hierarchs of the Church had visited the United States since 1892, but most returned to Greece after only a brief stay. Before the arrival of Archbishop Athenagoras in 1931, only one hierarch, Bishop Alexander, remained for more than a decade. When the Archdiocese of North and South America was created in 1922, he became its first Archbishop…
Pentecost 2013 As we take leave of the Paschal Liturgical Cycle of Lent through Pentecost, I want to take this opportunity to reflect upon a book I re-read during this period: Christ in Our Midst by Father Theodore Stylianopoulos. The book was written in 1980, and I was familiar with it when I was putting together the Chapter on “Spiritual Renewal” in the OCL publication “Project for Orthodox Renewal”. You can read this work online on our website. The discussion and insights presented in Christ In Our Midst, which was written by Father Ted as he worked on the Commission…
Source: Society for Orthodox Christian History in the Americas | By Matthew Namee On December 30, we published an article by Daniel Silliman on the search for a narrative for Orthodoxy in America. As Daniel observed, mainstream religious scholars have paid precious little attention to Orthodoxy, and even we Orthodox haven’t done much to flesh out the narratives that shape our history. I’ve done a fair bit of thinking over the years about overarching historical narratives. While I tend to prefer individual stories, I realize that those stories acquire much of their meaning as part of a broader narrative. And,…
Source: Orthodox Christian Laity The Recognition Programs Coordinator of iUniverse has informed George E. Matsoukas that his book, A Church in Captivity: The Greek Orthodox Church of America, is now part of the Reader’s Choice Recognition Program. Upon its publication in July 2008, iUniverse honored the publication with its selection as an Editor’s Choice book. The book is also included in the Spring Arbor database catalog of Christian Bookstore vendors. Reviews of “A Church in Captivity: The Greek Orthodox Church of America” “These personal essays … are recommended reading for any … Christian interested in the perspective of an objective protagonist of recent Orthodox Church history in America. The author is…