Source: ACADEMIA Bohdan Hladio 2021, Master of Theological Studies Thesis Publication date: 2021 Publication name: Master of Theological Studies Thesis Autocephaly is on the one hand normative in regard to Eastern Orthodox Church polity, yet due to the lack of clarity within the canonical legislation of the Orthodox Church as well as specific historical exigencies the construal or understanding of autocephaly has varied widely in different historic eras. On April 10th, 1970, the Patriarchate of Moscow issued a Tomos of autocephaly (“independence and self-governing status”) to the Russian Orthodox Greek-Catholic Church in America (now called the Orthodox Church in America or…
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Source: Peter Anderson, Seattle USA On February 13, the Romanian Patriarchate’s news agency, Basilica.ro, issued a clarification relating to the decision of its Holy Synod on February 9 “to approve the recognition of the autocephaly granted to the Church in the Republic of North Macedonia under the name of ‘Archdiocese of Ohrid and North Macedonia, with headquarters in Skopje’ by the Patriarchate of Serbia by its Synodal Tomos issued on June 5, 2022.” The original decision by the Romanian Patriarchate is reported at https://basilica.ro/en/romanian-orthodox-churchs-holy-synod-meets-for-first-time-this-year-decisions/. Its clarification is found at https://basilica.ro/en/clarification-regarding-the-decision-of-the-holy-synod-of-the-romanian-patriarchate-to-recognise-the-autocephaly-of-the-church-in-north-macedonia/. The original statement by the news agency was very significant in that it…
Source: Ss Cyril & Methodius Orthodox Church Originally posted on October 23, 2019 ~ FR GREGORY Excerpts from the intervention of His Eminence Metropolitan Ignatius of Demetrias, Chairman of the Synodal Committee for Inter-Orthodox and Inter-Christian Relations During the Extraordinary Session of the Holy Synod of the Church of Greece (12th October 2019) Your Beatitude Archbishop of Athens and all Greece, Brothers in Christ, The Synodal Committee for Inter-Orthodox and Inter-Christian Relations, which I am honored to chair, explicitly followed the mandate of the Standing Holy Synod of the Church of Greece. In this light, I would like to summarize…
Source: Public Orthodoxy by Rev. Dr. Nicholas Denysenko Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine has caught the attention of the public for multiple reasons. The humanitarian catastrophe, the sheer horror of ceaseless shelling, the shooting of protesters in the streets, the attacks on nuclear plants, the threats to assassinate President Zelensky and other leaders, and the war on democracy. One of the underreported consequences of Russia’s attack is the betrayal, isolation, and devastation of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church-Moscow Patriarchate (UOC-MP). UOC-MP clergy, faithful, and property are also under attack. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine surprised many, including Metropolitan Onufry, the primate of the…
[Text of a presentation delivered by His Eminence, Archbishop Nathaniel at the Orthodox Christian Laity Conference, October 20, 2001] “The Celebration of the First Anniversary of the Autocephaly of the Orthodox Church of the United States of America & The Establishment of the Patriarchate” It has been one year since the recognition of the autocephaly of The Orthodox Church of The United States of America. The Church now has a unified voice in the person of His Holiness, The Patriarch, and a common forum of action, The Holy Synod of The Orthodox Church of The United States of America and…
Source: Orthodox Church in America March 18, 2021 marks the 40th anniversary of the repose in 1981 of His Beatitude Metropolitan Ireney (Bekish), the first Primate of the Autocephalous Orthodox Church in America (OCA). When Metropolitan Ireney signed the agreement with the Church of Russia on autocephaly for the Russian Orthodox Greek Catholic Church of America (popularly known as the Metropolia) and the Tomos of Autocephaly was granted by the Patriarch of Moscow in the spring of 1970, he had already served as Primate of the Metropolia for nearly five years. He would continue his Primatial service within the Autocephalous Orthodox…
Source: Helleniscope By Nadia Bazuk The Greek NGO Pan-Hellenic Orthodox Union is to appeal to the country’s Council of State claiming that the decision of the Church of Greece to recognize the Ukrainian autocephaly was taken in violation of Greek law, the Orthodoxos Typos reports. On October 12, 2019, the Council of Bishops of the Church of Greece held an extraordinary meeting on recognizing the autocephaly granted to the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU) by the Ecumenical Patriarchate. At the meeting, it was decided to give Archbishop Ieronymos of Athens and All Greece a mandate to proceed with the recognition of the…
Source: Orthodox Church in America SYOSSET, NY [OCA] A message from Archpriest Alexander Rentel, Chancellor of the Orthodox Church in America: On Wednesday, November 13, 2019, the Holy Synod of Bishops of the Orthodox Church in America concelebrated the Divine Liturgy for the feast of Saint John Chrysostom. At the conclusion of the Divine Liturgy His Eminence Archbishop Michael of New York and New Jersey, Secretary of the Holy Synod, read a proclamation of the Holy Synod announcing the anniversary celebrations for the Canonization of Saint Herman of Alaska, and the reception of the Tomos of Autocephaly. In its proclamation, the Holy Synod…
Source: Union of Orthodox Journalists Yekaterina Filatova “We elevated Patriarch Bartholomew to the third heaven ourselves giving him primacy, so all responsibility lies with us, Primates,” admitted one of the Greek hierarchs. The newspaper “Orthodox Press” published fragments of a conversation with the “Greek Primate” without revealing his identity, who stated that Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople threatens church leaders with the removal of autocephaly. Excerpts from the conversation with the hierarchs are cited by oukraniko.blogspot.com. As follows from the publication, “the first hierarch admits that the Primates are responsible, because they made a mistake by going to the Cretan Council and raising him (Patriarch…
Source: Orthodox Christianity [Tirana, Albania, November 25, 2019] Time does not heal schisms, but only sets them in stone, His Beatitude Archbishop Anastasios of Albania believes. Therefore, in the spirit of the coming great feast of the Nativity of Christ, all the Local Orthodox Churches must agree to come together to find a pan-Orthodox resolution to the ongoing Ukrainian crisis, he states. However, at present, “a worrying silence prevails in most of the Orthodox Churches,” the Archbishop laments. His Beatitude’s statement, “In anticipation of Christmas 2019 Appeal-Supplication for the overcoming of the ecclesiastical polarization,” is published in full in English and Greek on the…
Source: Orthodox Church in America On Wednesday, November 13, the Holy Synod of Bishops of the Orthodox Church in America celebrated the Divine Liturgy for the feast of Saint John Chrysostom, and commemorated the seventh anniversary of the election of His Beatitude, Metropolitan Tikhon. At the conclusion of the Divine Liturgy His Eminence, Archbishop Michael of New York and New Jersey, Secretary of the Holy Synod, read the following proclamation of the Holy Synod announcing the anniversary celebrations for the Canonization of Saint Herman of Alaska, and the reception of the Tomos of Autocephaly. Proclamation of the Holy Synod of Bishops of the Orthodox…
Source: Union of Orthodox Journalists Olga Tsviliy Unfortunately, the Patriarch of Alexandria was unable to withstand external pressure from the Phanar, the authorities of Greece and the United States. Archpriest Nikolai Danilevich, Deputy Head of the Department for External Church Relations of the UOC, commented exclusively for the UOJ on the recognition of the OCU by the Patriarchate of Alexandria. “Patriarch Theodore of Alexandria today mentioned Epiphany at the service, which means he recognized the OCU. And a year ago in Odessa he said: “Hold on to His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry.” He supported our Church, supported so much that Eustratiy…