Source: The National Herald Australian actor Mel Gibson went to the renowned monastic community of Mount Athos to spend a few days there in northern Greece and was staging at the Serbian Hilandar Monastery and taking part in daily liturgical services, said religious websites. The 69-year-old reportedly told the monks that he has “never felt such a strong connection with God anywhere as here.” He is known for directing the 2004 film The Passion of Christ and his devotion to Christianity. In a recent interview on The Joe Rogan Experience podcast, Gibson candidly discussed the challenges Christianity faces within the…
Browsing: Greece
Source: The National Herald ATHENS – On May 29 a ceremony of particular solemnity took place in the Great Hall of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA) to confer the title of Honorary Doctor of the Department of Theology of the School of Theology of NKUA to His Eminence Metropolitan Elder Dimitrios of the Princes’ Islands and Exarch of Propontis. The ceremony began with an address by the rector of NKUA, Professor Gerasimos Siasos, who praised the honoree’s multifaceted contribution to Orthodox Theology, the Church, and Hellenism in Constantinople. An overview of His Eminence’s work and personality was…
Source: Peter Anderson, Seattle USA The Liturgy and Funeral Service for Archbishop Anastasios of Tirana, Durrës and all Albania, primate of the Autocephalous Orthodox Church of Albania, was held on January 30 in the Cathedral of the Resurrection in Tirana. The entire Liturgy and Funeral Service can be watched at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rs02Sn76bxE . Six primates of the Local Orthodox Churches were present: Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew (Ecumenical Patriarchate); Patriarch Theodoros (Patriarchate of Alexandria); Patriarch Theophilos (Patriarchate of Jerusalem); Patriarch Daniil (Patriarchate of Bulgaria); Archbishop George (Church of Cyprus); and Archbishop Ieronymos (Church of Greece). The Moscow Patriarchate was represented by Metropolitan Anthony of…
Source: The National Herald By Theodore Kalmoukos BOSTON – During the visit of Dimitris Koutsoumpas, the General Secretary of the Communist Party of Greece, on Friday, April 26, at the Archdiocese in New York Archbishop Elpidophoros of America proposed the separation of Church and State in Greece. Specifically, Elpidophoros said the following: “I believe that the secret of the success of our Archdiocese – I consider the Archdiocese of America to be one of the ecclesiastically successful Eparchies of the Ecumenical Throne – is due to the participation of the lay people essentially in decision-making and in all organs of…
Source: Public Orthodoxy Rev. Dr. John Chryssavgis Director of the Huffington Ecumenical Institute at HCHC One of the temptations invariably plaguing priests and preachers as they proffer declarations and proclamations is the tendency to offer solutions to non-existent dilemmas, providing answers to questions nobody is asking or addressing the wrong audience. Which is why it is hardly surprising that various Orthodox hierarchs and circles feel the need to express disproportionate fervor and excessive alarm on the current debate around the same-sex marriage bill that just passed in the Greek parliament. With the legalization of same-sex marriage, Greece becomes the first…
Source: Ekathimerini.com Dora Antoniou The recent unanimous rejection by the influential Greek Church’s governing Holy Synod of government plans to legalize same-sex marriage is perceived as a success for Archbishop Ieronymos in navigating the perennial antagonism between the more modernizing and conservative, at times obscurantist, factions within the Hierarchy. Opposition to the bill among senior clerics was a given, even before Tuesday’s meeting. Pressure on Ieronymos was restricted to the timing and manner of protests. However, his control over the majority of bishops and the increasing presence in recent years of younger clerics with a more educated and moderate profile…
Source: Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America Archbishop Elpidophoros of America arrives at the Holy Monastery of Xenophontos at Mount Athos Published 1/18/24 His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros of America arrives at the Holy Monastery of Xenophontos at Mount Athos where he will spend four days and officiate a vigil and the Hierarchical Divine Liturgy for the Feast Day of the Epiphany as well as the blessing of the waters on January 19. Philotheou Monastery Mount Athos In our Greek Orthodox community in America, Philotheou Monastery holds a unique place in our hearts. It is the birthplace of Orthodox Monasticism in the United States,…
Source: Ekathimerini.com The Greek Orthodox Church would agree to baptize children of same-sex couples, if they so desire, Archbishop Ieronymos, the leader of the influential Orthodox Church of Greece, said on Thursday. Τhe Holy Synod of the Church of Greece announced on January 23 that it fully opposed a government draft proposal for the legalization of same-sex marriage which was posted for public consultation on Wednesday. Ieronymos spoke after a meeting with Archbishop Elpidophoros of America in Athens during which they discussed the bill and the performance of Church sacraments related to marriage and baptism. “[…] We are not against children. We…
Source: Ekathimerini.com Greece’s Orthodox bishops have voted unanimously to reject planned government legislation for marriage equality that would also allow for the adoption of children by same-sex couples. A meeting of the Holy Synod further decided to address an open letter to all 300 members of parliament outlining the church’s objections to the proposed legislation. The letter will also be read out in churches across the country on February 4. In a statement, the Synod said that while it is the state’s responsibility to legislate, “this parameter neither deprives the church of freedom of speech, nor relieves the church of…
Source: Orthodox Christian Laity The founding mother of Orthodox Christian Laity, Mary (Dallianis) Koulogeorge, fell asleep in the Lord on December 21, 2023. Her funeral prayers will be offered on January 2, 2024, at her home parish of Saints Peter and Paul Orthodox Church, Glenview, Illinois, where she and her late husband were benefactors and members. She was predeceased by her husband Jim of blessed memory in 2015. In 1987, Mary and Jim opened their Northbrook home and hosted the organizational meeting for what would become Orthodox Christian Laity. They gathered lifetime friends and neighbors who were devout Orthodox Christians…
Source: The National Herald By Theodore Kalmoukos BOSTON – His Eminence Metropolitan Chrysostomos of Messinia, one of the most prominent and learned hierarchs of the Church of Greece and Orthodoxy in general, professor at the University of Athens, presented an interview to The National Herald. He spoke about the meaning of the Incarnation of God, violence, same-sex marriage, elderism and more. The National Herald: Your Eminence, these are Holy Days, marking the incarnate presence of God among us. What does this mean today for the modern man? Metropolitan Chrysostomos: First of all, the very fact of the Incarnation of the…
Source: The Greek Reporter By Philip Chrysopoulos A Greek Orthodox priest in the Sepolia area of Athens who baptized Giannis Antetokounmpo together with his brother Alexandros on October 28, 2012, spoke recently about his relationship with the NBA star and his family. Antetokounmpo developed a special relationship many years ago with Father Evangelos Ghanas, a beloved priest at Agios Meletios Church. Even the date of the NBA star’s baptism was deliberate, as he chose to be baptized Greek Orthodox on “OXI Day,” Greece’s second most important national holiday. Antetokounmpo’s patriotism and respect for the Greek flag have often been remarked upon; for example, when…