Source: Orthodox Church in America WASHINGTON, DC [OCA] The Holy Synod of Bishops of the Orthodox Church in America met in conjunction with the Enthronement of His Beatitude, Metropolitan Tikhon at Saint Nicholas Cathedral here January 26-27, 2013. elected His Grace, Bishop Michael of New York and New York and New Jersey to serve as Secretary of the Holy Synod. established the composition of the Lesser Synod of Bishops, which will include Metropolitan Tikhon; Bishop Michael, Secretary; His Eminence, Archbishop Nathaniel of Detroit and the Romanian Episcopate; and His Eminence, Archbishop Benjamin of San Francisco and the West. heard the…
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Source: Sofia News Agency The Sofia Bishopric has labeled the Friday refusal of the Diocesan Council of prelates and vicars to sign the list of representatives from the Sofia Diocese to elect a new patriarch a “sabotage.” The list was prepared by interim Patriarch and Sofia Metropolitan Kiril. The Bishopric admits that there have been disagreements in the process of preparing the list, but their escalation, they say, was a clear sign that the story aims at sabotaging the election. The statement, issued Saturday, further stresses that such act is unacceptable in the light of clerical discipline and canonical spirit.…
Click on the image to the left to view the Gramota given by the Holy Synod of Bishops of the Orthodox Church in America to Orthodox Christian Laity in recognition of OCL’s 25th Anniversary. The text of the Gramota reads: By the Grace of God, We wish to express our Archpastoral Love and Gratitude by invoking God’s blessings upon the founders, officers and members of Orthodox Christian Laity Organization in recognition of twenty five years of dedicated service to Christ’s Church in North America. Presented October 27, 2012. Signed: +NATHANIEL, Archbishop of Detroit and the Romanian Episcopate; +NIKON, Archbishop of…
Source: Sofia News Agency Nearly 900 residents of the Bulgarian historical town of Batak have signed a petition asking interim Patriarch Kiril to stop services at the Sveta Nedeliya Church where the relics of the Batak martyrs are kept. They want the Church to return to its museum status and State ownership. The initiators further say they found in archives documents showing that as early as 1915 locals wanted the Church with the ossuary to be a museum. In a recent declaration, the Plovdiv Metropolitan Nikolay stated that services at the Saint Nedeliya Church “will go on forever, every day,…
Source: Sofia News Agency The unity of the Holy Synod and of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church is the most important issue for Orthodox Christians in Bulgaria, according to Varna Metropolitan Kiril. Kiril made the statement Sunday in the Bulgarian capital during his very first mass as Sofia Metropolitan and interim Patriarch. “When opinions differ, each must be well-grounded. I hope that all metropolitans will attend the next meeting of the Holy Synod and that those who would be absent would provide excusable reasons for it. They have all made an oath to respond to the invitations of the Synod,” said…
Source: Orthodox Church in America SYOSSET, NY [OCA] On Tuesday, October 23, 2012, the Holy Synod of Bishops of the Orthodox Church in America released a Pastoral Letter marking the 150th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation. Expressing concern for human trafficking and related issues today, the members of the Holy Synod note that, “as the one hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation draws near, Orthodox Christians in the United States understand that our freedom in Christ compels us to come closer to the world that we are to serve, protect, heal and transfigure. The Church cannot ignore God’s…
Source: Sofia News Agency Surrogate motherhood is no different from prostitution, according to Bishop Nikolay, the radical Bulgarian Orthodox Bishop of Plovdiv. Speaking after a service in Plovdiv on Wednesday on the occasion of the arrival of holy relics of Saint Joachim and Saint Anne, the parents of Virgin Mary, Nikolay mentioned surrogacy while commenting on a recent case in which Bulgarian heroin-addicts offered their newborn baby “on sale” in an online forum for EUR 5 000. “Two days after I reminded the position of the Holy Synod [of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church] about surrogate motherhood, and I was duly…
Source: Orthodox Church in America On Tuesday evening, July 10, 2012, members of the Holy Synod of Bishops of the Orthodox Church in America, officers of the Church, and members of the Metropolitan Council met via conference call to discuss the recent resignation of Metropolitan Jonah. His Eminence, Archbishop Nathaniel, Locum Tenens, chaired the conference call, in which most members of the Holy Synod participated. Also participating in the meeting were General Counsel Thaddeus Wojcik and Archpriest Leonid Kishkovsky. In executive session, Metropolitan Council members were briefed on the details of the resignation and evolving plans for the transition during…
Source: The Sofia Echo | Clive Leviev-Sawyer [January 27, 2012] If there is a hell with a department specially set aside for Bulgaria’s communist-era State Security and leaders of the atheist state, they may be chuckling right now, between being prodded with pitchforks and otherwise tormented. In its early history in power, the communist regime used brutal tactics against all its enemies, the church included. Clergy were executed or murdered, jailed with or without trial, sent to “labour education” camps. While the tactics changed over time, to seeking to subvert and manipulate the Bulgarian Orthodox Church, one tactic was consistent…
Source: Orthodox Church in America Orthodox Church in America Synod Concludes Fall Session SYOSSET, NY [OCA] The fall session of the Holy Synod of Bishops of the Orthodox Church in America concluded on Thursday, October 6, 2011. The meeting was chaired by His Beatitude, Metropolitan Jonah, Archbishop of Washington, Metropolitan of All America, and Canada. In attendance were His Eminence, Archbishop Nathaniel of Detroit and the Romanian Episcopate; His Grace, Bishop Tikhon Bishop of Philadelphia and Eastern Pennsylvania, Secretary; His Grace, Bishop Benjamin of San Francisco and the West; His Grace, Bishop Alejo of Mexico City; His Grace, Bishop Melchisedek…