Source: The National Herald To the Editor: The following letter is in response to Mr. Kalmoukos’ February 15 analysis attacking Patriarch Theophilos of Jerusalem. As a proud Greek-American writer who has written three books and various articles to media outlets on Greece, Cyprus, and the Ecumenical Patriarchate I am truly appalled by the sentiments expressed and the language used. Patriarch Theophilos of Jerusalem, alongside various Bishops, Priests, monastics, and well educated and informed theologians from Greece and Cyprus have criticized Patriarch Bartholomew’s actions in Ukraine because they respect the canon laws, ecclesiology, and conciliar tradition of the Orthodox Church. During the eighth century, Byzantine…
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by Evan Alevizatos Chriss Editor: Another thoughtful viewpoint about the need to use English as the liturgical language of the Church in the USA (originally submitted to The National Herald (TNH) in April 2014). The use of English is a unifying necessity to overcome the 14 jurisdictional and ethnic divisions in the Church. Evan Chriss lived in Baltimore, MD, and was a member of the Greek Orthodox Cathedral of the Annunciation where he was baptized, and from where, after 93 years, he was buried on May 1, 2015s. Evan was a prominent attorney in the city of Baltimore from 1948…
Source: Boston Globe By Travis Andersen Globe Staff Hellenic College Holy Cross in Brookline has been placed on probation following concerns about the school’s financial resources and planning, according to the school and an accreditor. In a joint statement Thursday, the Greek Orthodox school and the New England Commission of Higher Education said the commission voted in November to place the college on probation for two years. According to the statement, the “Commission found that Hellenic College, Inc. does not now meet the Commission’s standards on Institutional Resources and Planning and Evaluation. The Commission also issued a Notation to the College that it is in…
Source: Union of Orthodox Journalists Konstantin Shemliuk The decisions of the Council of the Greek Church can be interpreted either way. Only commemoration of Epiphany will tell if tectonic shifts are to begin in Orthodoxy. The decision of the Council of Bishops of the Greek Church on Ukrainian autocephaly stirred up commotion throughout Orthodox world. A lot of bishops, priests and lay people, as well as the media perceived it as recognition of the OCU by the Hellenic Church. From various sources it became known that only 7 (according to other information, 12) out of 69 hierarchs disagreed to the decision of the Council…
Source: Orthodox Christianity Piraeus, Greece – The results and consequences of the meeting of the hierarchs of the Greek Church on Saturday remain unclear. As OrthoChristian reported yesterday, the press team created by the Bishops’ Council announced that the Greek Church recognized the so-called “Ukrainian Orthodox Church” (OCU), thought this interpretation of the councils’ proceedings was later called into question. Both Metropolitan Seraphim of Piraeus and Metropolitan Seraphim of Kythira revealed that, in fact, the hierarchs did not vote on the matter of recognizing the OCU, and thus it cannot be said that recognition happened. Met. Seraphim of Piraeus issued another statement today,…
I had originally intended that this column would further explore the importance of women in the early church but will offer it in the coming weeks. What blew me off course was a recent column by a regular writer of the National Herald, Mr. Theodore Kalmoukos. His column called attention and inveighed against the bishops and metropolitans for their failure to speak up and address serious matters which could lead to the eventual demise of the Greek Orthodox Church in America. Kalmoukos called them “a scattered village with nine small archdioceses and nine little archbishops” who almost brought the church…
Source: Commonweal By John Chryssavgis At the latest G7 summit in Biarritz, U.S. President Donald Trump reassured the world that “our economy is creating jobs and helping the poor.” A similar confidence was expressed in a recent op-ed published by the Wall Street Journal. It was titled “Making Money is a Patriotic Act” (August 13, 2019). Signed by Bernie Marcus, a cofounder of Home Depot, and the New York City supermarket magnate John Catsimatidis, the op-ed opened with a striking, quasi-religious claim: “The two of us are quite rich. We have earned more money than we could have imagined and more…
Source: Orthodox Christianity ATHENS — The Holy Synod of the Greek Orthodox Church has once again delayed its decision about whether or not to recognize the so-called “Orthodox Church of Ukraine” (OCU). Having heard the proposals of the Synodal committees on dogmatic and canonical issues and on inter-Orthodoxy and inter-Christian relations at its 3-day session this week, the Synod “recognize[d] the Ecumenical Patriarch’s canonical right to issue the status of Autocephaly,” reports Romfea. It is unclear if the Synod is speaking of Constantinople’s rights in general or specifically in the Ukrainian situation, though, predictably, Constantinople-aligned Greek and Ukrainian sources were quick to proclaim that the…
The electrifying appearance of AB Elpidophoros upon the American scene, the waves of hallelujah, axios, the expensive dinners (no poor Orthodox allowed), as the non-stop gracious addresses have now subsided somewhat. Please remember that Christ came to us as a “suffering servant,” not groomed in pomp and perfection. Now begins the hard work of bringing the Greek Orthodox Church up to not where it was 25 years ago, but up to several levels above. If you had perused my article on the new AB, with the title of Axios Or?, You may understand where my position is. I am praying…
Source: The National Herald By TNH Staff LONDON – The enthronement of His Eminence Archbishop Nikitas of Thyateira and Great Britain took place at the Cathedral of the Holy Wisdom (Saint Sophia), Bayswater, London, on July 27. The ceremony was attended by Metropolitan Emmanuel of France as a representative for His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, with hierarchs from all over the world present. At the end of the enthronement ceremony, the Deputy Minister for Greeks Living Abroad, Antonis H. Diamataris, said, “It is a great honor to represent the Prime Minister of Greece, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, at the enthronement of the…
Source: Oinos Educational Consulting By Frank Marangos, D. Min., Ed. D., FCEP “Nothing ever happens in the world that does not happen first inside human hearts.” ~ Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen Sherlock Holmes and his assistant Dr. Watson once went on a camping trip. After enjoying a day of relaxation, they pitched their tent under the stars and fell asleep. Sometime in the middle of the night Holmes woke his friend. “Watson,” he asked, “look up and tell me what you deduce?” “I see millions of stars,” Watson answered. Hoping to please his boss with his own suppositions, Watson continued. “And…
Source: The National Herald Our Greek Orthodox bishops who stumbled through incident after incident in their handling of sex abuse occurrences should come together, and along with the newly installed AB Elpidophoros, strengthen the sex protocol already previously established. Would they dare not to invite strong-voiced faithful, women and men, to such a meeting? Would not the meeting and the resulting document be immeasurably improved? This thought is highly unlikely to be considered, as it would be affront to the “God”-given power of the Bishops. Orthodox Christian women are orphans. They have no allies. Oh sure, there is the successful…