Source: The Washington Post By Michael Gerson Columnist On Nov. 1, 1755, Lisbon was visited by a violent earthquake that left some 50,000 to 60,000 people dead out of a city of 200,000. The scale, randomness and cruelty of the event led some Enlightenment thinkers to employ it as evidence against the existence of a loving God. “Come,” wrote Voltaire, “ye philosophers, who cry, ‘All’s well!’ / And contemplate this ruin of a world. / Behold these shreds and cinders of your race.” This theological argument has seldom gotten much popular traction, then or now. Human beings have a tremendous and healthy…
Browsing: COVID
Source: The National Herald By Theodore Kalmoukos BOSTON – The former Archbishop of America Demetrios, the Metropolitan of Boston, Methodios, the Reverend Protopresbyter Father Andreas Vithoulkas and other members of the Archdiocese’s clergy have been infected with COVID-19. Sources tell The National Herald that Archbishop Demetrios has mild symptoms and is recuperating in his New York home. TNH reached Metropolitan Methodios of Boston and he confirmed that he contracted the coronavirus, saying, “Yes, it is true that I have been infected with COVID-19, possibly from the events organized by the Archons in New York. I have mild symptoms and i…
Source: Sight Magazine by JOHN SEMAKULA A top Orthodox Church cleric in Kinshasha, Democratic Republic of Congo, Metropolitan Nickiphoros, has died of COVID-19. Kampala, Uganda — The cleric’s death, which occurred on 27th July, was announced on a number of Orthodox Church media outlets including the Facebook page of the Uganda Orthodox Church on 29th July. “Metropolitan Nickiphoros of Kinshasa, Congo [,] Reposed in the Lord! He has been a strong pillar in the Patriarchate of Alexandria and all Africa. May his memory be Eternal always,” read the death announcement on Uganda’s Orthodox Church Facebook page. In Nairobi, Bishop Neofit…
Source: Archons of the Ecumenical Patriarchate On Saturday October 30, 2021, His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew will present the Athenagoras Human Rights Award to three scientists: Dr. Albert Bourla, DVM, Ph.D., Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Pfizer; Dr. Ugur Sahin, M.D., Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of BioNTech; and Dr. George D. Yancopoulos, MD, Ph.D., Founding Scientist, President and Chief Scientific Officer of Regeneron. They are being honored for their organizations’ efforts in developing Covid-19 vaccines with extraordinary efficiency and rapidity. His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros hailed the choice: “I am personally grateful, and grateful on behalf of the entire Church and…
Source: Orthodox Theological Society of America The Orthodox Theological Society of America has produced a document on the Covid vaccines (in a FAQ style) to answer some basic questions about the vaccines with a short discussion of some of the ethical questions surrounding them. This is mostly just an informational (i.e. scientific) document that attempts to answer some of the more frequently asked questions about the vaccine to provide sound scientific information from an Orthodox perspective (as all of the authors are Orthodox and members of the society.) CLICK HERE to view the document
Source: The New York Times Church leaders have backed government restrictions, but defiance by hard-liners and a commitment to the sacrament of communion, taken with a shared spoon, may undercut good intentions. By Niki Kitsantonis ATHENS — The coronavirus has dealt a double blow to the powerful Greek Orthodox Church, with the disease spreading through its ranks while the clergy fends off criticism that it has been stoking the pandemic. The church’s leader, Archbishop Ieronymos, declared from the outset of the pandemic in the spring that he was committed to supporting the conservative government’s public health campaign to halt the spread…
Source: Public Orthodoxy by Gayle Woloschak Originally published on September 18, 2020 COVID has changed the lifestyles of almost every American (and even most citizens of the globe) since March 15 when quarantine orders, stay-at-home orders, mask orders, work limitations, social distancing, and many other such measures began. In many locations, these orders are in effect “until a vaccine for COVID is available.” The presumption is that a vaccine will render a person immune to serious infection from the virus. Naturally, the world awaits the production of a safe and effective vaccine, not just any vaccine. What do we mean by this? A safe…