Source: Orthodox Christian Laity The Assembly of Bishops has been meeting for six years. June 2015 is a critical month and time period in their efforts to develop a plan to make the administrative life of the Orthodox Church in the United States canonical. Orthodox ecclesiology dictates that the Church be organized in geographic areas with one bishop in one city. Overlapping jurisdictions weaken the Commandment of Christ to make disciples of All Nations. Bishops are not foreign agents. Governments of other countries have no place in directing the actions of Bishops in the USA. We need a single Synod…
Browsing: Constantinople
Source: Ancient Faith Radio June 05, 2015 Length: 27:30 On June 16, 2015 the Executive Committee of the Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of the United States will travel to Istanbul in order to meet with His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, who will receive them at the Phanar. Special Assistant to the Assembly Chairman, Fr. Nathanael Symeonides joins us to tell us what that is all about. Direct link Play in Popup Download Send Feedback [subscribe2]
Source: La Civiltà Cattolica / Ecumenical Patriarchate La Civiltà Cattolica publishes exclusive and extensive interview with His All-Holiness In an exclusive interview with La Civiltà Cattolica, His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew answers questions on the Orthodox Church’s administrative structure and its relationship with the Roman Catholic Church, his own personal interactions with Pope Francis, the encounters between previous Popes and Patriarchs, as well as other important issues faced by both Churches, including the unity of Christendom and interfaith dialogue, primacy and conciliarity, immigration and climate change, social injustice and fundamentalism, all of which are to be discussed in the forthcoming Holy and…
Source: The National Herald by Theodore G. Karakostas PARIS, FRANCE – I recently had the opportunity to visit the beautiful and splendid City of Paris. What an outstanding city, with great Museums such as the Louvre and D’orsay, the Great Cathedral of Notre Dame, the Eiffel Tower, and the great palaces of Versailles. Paris is not only the location of great sites but is also the seat for the international headquarters of UNESCO (United Nations Educational Scientific Cultural Organization). Since I was in Paris and having spoken and corresponded with the New York office of UNESCO in the recent past, I…
Source: First Things THE GREAT COUNCIL OF THE ORTHODOX CHURCH IN 2016 by Rev. Dr. John Chryssavgis A Holy and Great Council of the Orthodox Church has been scheduled for 2016. In March of 2014, the leaders of all the autocephalous (independent) Orthodox Churches met in Istanbul, the sacred see of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, which historically (since at least the fifth century) coordinates such assemblies, facilitating unity while serving as a center of appeal among these churches. Arguably the foremost decision unanimously agreed upon at that assembly of church heads was the convocation of a Great Council in 2016, tentatively planned…
Source: Religion & Ethics Newsweekly Halki Seminary Once the world’s leading Eastern Orthodox seminary, Halki was closed by the Turkish government 43 years ago. The US and religious freedom activists want it reopened. But Turkish officials have long said that won’t happen until Greece improves conditions for Turkish minorities living there. Transcript of Video KIM LAWTON (@KimLawtonRandE), correspondent: The Theological School of Halki was once the world’s leading Eastern Orthodox seminary. But it was closed by the Turkish government in 1971. More than 43 years later, the US government and many faith-based activists around the world are still waging a campaign to…
Source: Orthodox Church in America HALKI, TURKEY [OCA/SVOTS Communications] At invitation of His All Holiness, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, a delegation representing Saint Vladimir’s Seminary visited the historic Holy Theological School of Halki here December 16-19, 2014. In his capacity as President of Saint Vladimir’s Seminary, His Beatitude, Metropolitan Tikhon headed the delegation, which included Archpriest Dr. John Behr, Dean; Archpriest Dr. John Jillions, Seminary Trustee, member of the Doctor of Ministry faculty, and OCA Chancellor; and Archpriest Dr. Alexander Rentel, Assistant Professor of Canon Law, Byzantine Studies and Practical Theology. Established in 1844, the Theological School of Halki educated generations…
Source: Ecumenical Patriarchate Your Holiness Pope Francis, beloved brother in Christ, bishop of Senior Rome, We offer glory and praise to our God in Trinity for deeming us worthy of the ineffable joy and special honor of the personal presence here of Your Holiness on the occasion of this year’s celebration of the sacred memory of the First-called Apostle Andrew, who founded our Church through his preaching. We are profoundly grateful to Your Holiness for the precious gift of Your blessed presence among us, together with Your honorable entourage. We embrace you wholeheartedly and honorably, addressing you fervently with a…
Source: The Hurriyet Daily News by Cansu Çamlıbel ISTANBUL The Turkish government can ‘only benefit from recognizing the ecumenical status of the Patriarchate’ a senior official from the Fener Orthodox Patriarchate says in an exclusive interview Stopping resistance to the title “Ecumenical Patriarchate” and reopening the Halki Seminary can only elevate the reputation of Turkey as a democratic nation, according to a senior official from the Fener Orthodox Patriarchate. “The ‘ecumenical’ status is a spiritual and religious jurisdiction. It is not legal or secular,” John Chryssavgis, who holds the title of Archdeacon of the Ecumenical Throne, told Hürriyet. “The Ecumenical Patriarch has…
Source: The Gazette (Montreal) ISTANBUL March 5, 2014 (AP) By AYSE WIETING Associated Press ISTANBUL – Although shut down for more than four decades, one of the Orthodox Church’s most pre-eminent seminaries is kept in pristine condition in the hope that it may reopen one day to educate future patriarchs and clergy. The Theological School of Halki, perched atop a hill on Heybeli Island off Istanbul’s coast, closed its doors in 1971 under a Turkish law that required private higher education to be controlled by the state. Since then, classrooms with desks dating back to the 19th century are ready…
Source: Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America CONSTANTINOPLE – His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew declared open this morning the Seminar on Religious Freedom Today celebrating the 1700th anniversary of the Emperor Constantine’s Edict of Milan. The Seminar, organized by the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople in cooperation with the Council of European Bishops’ Conferences (CCEE), is being held in Istanbul (17-18 May) with the participation of international speakers and delegations representing the Orthodox Churches and the Catholic Church in the European continent. The seminar will explore the historical, legal and political aspects of religious freedom in Europe and throughout the world. In…