Source: Orthodox Christianity Athens, Greece, September 6, 2021 The Ugandan Orthodox Church was shaken yesterday to learn that its archpastor, His Eminence Metropolitan Jonah (Lwanga) of Kampala and Uganda, has reposed in the Lord, having suffered a heart attack following a long battle with cancer. His Eminence reposed in Athens, where he had gone for medical attention and mission work, reports the press service of the Ugandan Church. The Church’s Twitter page writes: “Our spiritual father has gone to meet the Lord!!! The Lion of the Patriarchate of Alexandria!!” Social media is filled with messages of condolences and of love for Met. Jonah.…
Browsing: Metropolitan Jonah
Source: Orthodox Church in America SYOSSET, NY [OCA] The annual retreat of the Holy Synod of Bishops of the Orthodox Church in America concluded on June 11, 2015. [See related story.] In addition to participating in the daily cycle of services at Holy Dormition Monastery, Rives Junction, MI, retreat site, and reflecting on a number of spiritual themes, including that of the forthcoming 18th All-American Council, the hierarchs engaged in sessions of a practical nature. Highlights of these sessions include the following. In his opening report, His Beatitude, Metropolitan Tikhon, reflected on the positive role of the OCA in the…
Source: Orthodox in the District Dear friends in Christ, It is with a glad heart full of rejoicing that I share with you that earlier today Metropolitan Jonah received a signed letter of official release from Metropolitan Tikhon and the Synod of the Orthodox Church in America (OCA) releasing him to the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia (ROCOR). His Eminence Metropolitan Hilarion (Kapral), First Hierarch of ROCOR, has been notified that the OCA Synod has, at long last, made good on their promise to release Metropolitan Jonah. Vladyka Jonah is thus received into ROCOR’s jurisdiction as a retired Metropolitan.…
Source: Orthodox Church in America SILVER SPRING, MD [OCA] – Funeral services for Mr. James Paffhausen, 88, father of His Beatitude, Metropolitan Jonah, will be held at Philip D. Rinaldi Funeral Service, 9241 Columbia Blvd., Silver Spring, MD at 10:00 a.m. on Friday, December 6, 2013. Mr. Paffhausen fell asleep in the Lord on Wednesday, December 4. He had recently undergone surgery.
Source: Orthodox Church in America SYOSSET, NY [OCA] – A brief statement with regard to the retirement of His Eminence, Metropolitan Jonah was issued by the Office of Archpriest John Jillions, Chancellor of the Orthodox Church in America, on Monday, May 27, 2013. The text of the statement reads as follows. “At the invitation of His Beatitude, Metropolitan Tikhon, His Eminence, Metropolitan Jonah met with a number of members of the Holy Synod of Bishops of the Orthodox Church in America at Saint Tikhon’s Monastery, South Canaan, PA and reached an understanding with the Holy Synod concerning his retirement. Following…
Source: Orthodox Church in America WASHINGTON, DC [OCA] The Funeral of Laurie Paffhausen, the younger sister and only sibling of His Eminence, Metropolitan Jonah, will be celebrated at Saint Nicholas Cathedral here on Tuesday, November 20, 2012 at 7:00 p.m. The Divine Liturgy, followed by the Litia and interment at Rock Creek Cemetery, will be celebrated on Wednesday, November 21—the Great Feast of the Entrance of the Mother of God in the Temple—at 10:00 a.m. Miss Paffhausen fell asleep in the Lord in hospital after a lengthy illness on Sunday morning, November 18. On behalf of the members of the…
Source: Orthodox Church in America SYOSSET, NY [OCA] Motivated solely by a prayerful desire to achieve an appropriate resolution of matters of care and mutual concern both to the Orthodox Church in America and to His Eminence, Metropolitan Jonah, the Church and His Eminence continue at this moment in ongoing discussions that are intended to achieve a mutual agreement and understanding that will be a Christian resolution acceptable to both. Metropolitan Jonah and his legal representative, together with the appointed representatives of the Church, have mutually agreed to maintain these discussions in confidence until a point in time when they…
Source: Christianity Today by Weston Gentry [originally posted 8/27/2012] Metropolitan Jonah, by most accounts the highest-ranking, evangelical-friendly archpriest in North America’s Eastern Orthodox Church, resigned under duress in July. His removal has observers less concerned about his leadership shortcomings, which allegedly led to his removal, than about the widening gap between conservatives and the Orthodox Church. “His efforts were the most explicit attempt by any Orthodox hierarch to join with evangelicals and other conservatives in a common social agenda,” North Park University professor Brad Nassif said of Jonah’s nearly four-year tenure as primate. Jonah, a former Episcopalian, was especially popular…
Source: Orthodox Church in America To the Clergy and Faithful of the Orthodox Church in America: We have hesitated to release further details surrounding the resignation of Metropolitan Jonah as Primate of our Church, this in a desire to preserve his dignity and to prevent further harm to an innocent party. We did this knowing there would be appeals for additional information regarding our decision. We also harbored some hope that Metropolitan Jonah would show a willingness to accept responsibility for his actions and failures to act. However, things said and written by Metropolitan Jonah since his resignation have demonstrated…
Source: Orthodox Church in America SYOSSET, NY [OCA] In a letter addressed to the members of the Holy Synod of Bishops dated Friday, July 6, 2012, His Beatitude, Metropolitan Jonah tendered his resignation as Primate of the Orthodox Church in America.His Beatitude composed and signed the letter at his residence in Washington, DC, in the presence of Archpriest John Jillions, OCA Chancellor. On Saturday, July 7, the letter was presented to the Holy Synod in the course of a conference call in which all of the hierarchs participated, except His Eminence, Archbishop Alejo of Mexico City. The text of His…
Source: Orthodox Church in America SYOSSET, NY [OCA] On Friday and Saturday, June 15-16, 2012, His Beatitude, Metropolitan Jonah will travel to Oxford, England to participate as a member of the society in the Annual General Meeting of the Friends of Mount Athos. Under the presidency of His Eminence, Metropolitan Kallistos [Ware] of Diokleia, the Friends of Mount Athos is a charitable and education society dedicated to supporting the well-being of monasteries of Mount Athos and aiding those undertaking pilgrimages to the Holy Mountain. Metropolitan Jonah will deliver a talk titled “Monasticism in an American Context.” Other presentations during the…
Source: Orthodox Church in America YONKERS, NY [SVOTS Communications] Twenty-two graduates from Saint Vladimir’s Seminary have “gone forth” (Matthew 28:19) to serve the Church as priests, deacons, and lay ministers—including choral conductors, scholars, and hospital chaplains. At Commencement Exercises held on Saturday, May 19, 2012, the seminary awarded diplomas in three programs: two Masters of Theology, 16 Masters of Divinity, and four Masters of Arts degrees were conferred. Graduates represented a broad range of ecclesial jurisdictions and included both Eastern and Oriental Orthodox Christians; 13 of the graduates were from the Orthodox Church in America (OCA). Additionally, 12 of the…