Source: Orthodox Church in America [OCA] His Beatitude Metropolitan Tikhon and the delegation from the Orthodox Church in America visited Constantinople from June 7 to June 10, 2024. During their time in Constantinople and at the Phanar, the delegation met with hierarchs and members of the Patriarchal Court. Their discussions covered various topics, including their recent trips to Ukraine and Romania, as well as matters related to Orthodoxy in North America. The delegation was warmly received by the Patriarchate and invited to luncheons on both June 8 and 9. On June 8, they had lunch with His Eminence Metropolitan Emmanuel of Chalcedon, His Eminence…
Browsing: Constantinople
Source: The National Herald By Theodore Kalmoukos BOSTON – A matter has arisen with the Turkish authorities regarding the renewal of residence and work permits for clerics and other employees at the Ecumenical Patriarchate and parishes in Constantinople and elsewhere. Specifically, the Patriarch’s Archdeacon, Fr. Alexandros Koutsis, originally from Zakynthos, was forced to leave and has already returned to Greece, along with a cleric from Antalya and another from Smyrna. It is noted that residence and work permits in Turkey are renewed biennially. Information obtained by The National Herald indicates that this issue is part of Turkey’s general approach towards…
Source: Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America Patriarch Bartholomew. Photo: Nicholas Papachristou + B A R T H O L O M E W By God’s Mercy, Archbishop of Constantinople-New Rome and Ecumenical Patriarch to All the Plenitude of the Church Grace, Mercy, and Peace from the Saviour Christ Born in Bethlehem Most honorable brother hierarchs, Beloved children in the Lord, With the grace of God, we are once again this year celebrating in chant, hymn, and spiritual song the Nativity according to the flesh of the pre-eternal Son and Word of God, namely the manifestation of the mystery of God…
Source: Notes on Arab Orthodoxy Jad Ganem Patriarch Bartholomew celebrated the Feast of Saint Nicholas at the church-turned-museum bearing his name in the city of Demre, Turkey. During the liturgy, he gave a sermon that included the following: “The East is not just the birthplace of great saints but also the cradle of the Church in its present form. Our theology and ecclesiology originated in these sacred lands, within the canonical jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarchate. It was here that the Ecumenical Synods convened, shaping the ecclesiastical conscience rooted in the ministry of the Lord, transcending national or other distinctions. The wisdom…
Source: The National Herald By Theodore Kalmoukos BOSTON – The Chairman of Leadership 100, Demetrios Logothetis, is traveling to Constantinople to deliver a letter from the organization in of support for Archbishop Elpidophoros of America. Logothetis is expected to meet with His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew on Friday morning, December 1, 2023 at the Phanar to personally deliver the letter and speak in support of the Archbishop. According to information obtained by The National Herald, members of Leadership 100 from three different parts of the United State were informed about this initiative by members of the Executive Committee of Leadership…
Source: Greek Reporter A video from 2022 that came to light recently shows fragments falling on visitors from the dome of Hagia Sophia, the former epicenter of Christian worship at Constantinople, today’s Istanbul. The footage released by the Turkish newspaper, BirGün, raises serious questions over the safety of the former Orthodox Christian cathedral, now a mosque. BirGün notably quoted officials as saying that “pieces are falling from the roof, due to the humidity created by the crowd, but no precautions are being taken”. The president of the Turkish Art History Association, Serif Yasar, argued for restoration of the monument as soon as…
Source: Peter Anderson, Seattle USA On Sunday, September 25, Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus’ issued a decree initiating canonical proceedings in the diocesan court of the Moscow Diocese against Archimandrite Cyril Hovorun. Pending a canonical trial, the decree imposed severe limitations on the priestly service of Archimandrite Cyril. The full text of the decree is posted at (link). A Google translation of the full decree is as follows: Decree No. U-02/152 of 25 September 2023 // to Archimandrite Kirill (Hovorun) The written commitment of fidelity to the Russian Orthodox Church given by you was repeatedly violated, which was expressed,…
Source: Peter Anderson, Seattle USA On September 1, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew celebrated at the Phanar the Feast of Indiction, which marks the beginning of the church year. September 1 is also the Day of Prayer for the Protection of the Environment, instituted by the late Ecumenical Patriarch Demetrios in 1989. The Ecumenical Patriarch’s letter for this year can be read in English at https://ec-patr.org/patriarchal-message-for-the-beginning-of-the-ecclesiastical-year-and-the-solemn-day-of-prayers-for-natural-environment-1st-september-2023/. This year’s letter includes a paragraph devoted to the “horrible ecological devastation” caused by the war in Ukraine. In view of the fact that “the people and ecosystem of Ukraine have undergone and continue to undergo…
Source: The National Herald By Theodore Kalmoukos BOSTON – The Ecumenical Patriarchate sent an official delegation to the Vatican for the celebration of the Feast of the Holy Protomartyrs Peter and Paul, which is also the Throne Feast of Rome. The official delegation consisted of His Eminence Metropolitan Job of Pisidia, Co-Chairman of the Committee for Dialogue between Orthodox and Roman Catholics, His Grace Bishop of Nazianzus Athenagoras, Chief Secretary of the Holy Eparchial Synod of the Archdiocese of America, and the Patriarchal Deacon Kallinikos. The delegation was received at the Vatican with great honors. They participated in the Divine…
Source: The National Herald By Theodore Kalmoukos BOSTON – His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew fired Grand Archimandrite Agathangelos Siskos after the article of The National Herald on April 21 that revealed that, “on April 17 Turkish authorities arrested the Grand Archimandrite of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, Agathangelos Siskos, for the theft of a pocket watch of great value. He was sent to jail, from which he was however released with the intervention of Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew’s police guard. Patriarch Bartholomew has placed him on indefinite suspension. Phanar sources told The National Herald that the Patriarch is very concerned and saddened by…
Source: The National Herald By Theodore Kalmoukos BOSTON – The Ecumenical Patriarchate strongly rejected the proposals and attempts of Archbishop Elpidophoros to change the Charter of the Archdiocese of America. The message was conveyed during a meeting that Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew had with four of the seven members of the Eparchial Synod of the Archdiocese on Wednesday, April 5, in Constantinople at the Phanar. The Metropolitans who participated were Methodios of Boston, Savas of Pittsburgh, Gerasimos of San Francisco, and Nathanael of Chicago. Also present at the meeting were Archbishop Elpidophoros, Metropolitan Emmanuel Geron of Chalcedon, Archbishop Nikitas of Thyateira…
Source: The National Herald CONSTANTINOPLE – The Greeting by His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew for the Opening of the Clergy-Laity Congress follows: Your Eminence, Archbishop Elpidophoros of America, Venerable brother Hierarchs, Blessed organizers, delegates, and guests, Beloved sons and daughters, Dear friends, Beyond sending you my formal message as a word of paternal love; and in addition to commissioning our official representation to your deliberations and celebrations in the person of the most senior Hierarch of the Throne, His Eminence Elder Metropolitan Emmanuel of Chalcedon, the new Metropolitan of Rethymnon and Avlopotamos (in Crete), Prodromos, as well as my Ecclesiarch…