Source: Orthodox History Editor’s note: Last year, Scott Kenworthy (whose landmark biography of St Tikhon comes out in November and is available now for preorder) sent me a remarkable email. He had discovered a letter written by Patriarch Tikhon to Patriarch Gregory IV of Antioch in 1922, dealing with the jurisdiction of Syrians/Antiochians in North America. The letter was in Russian, so I sent it to Sam Noble, who translated it into English. Click here to download the original Russian letter. The full translation is below, but before we get to that, I asked Scott to write a short introduction, giving context…
Browsing: Orthodox Church
Source: Peter Anderson, Seattle USA At the very short negotiation session in Istanbul between Russia and Ukraine on the afternoon of June 2, Russia presented a three-page memorandum on its proposed terms for settlement. TASS reported: The memorandum Russia handed over to the Ukrainian side today in Istanbul consists of two parts, Russia’s chief negotiator Vladimir Medinsky said. “We handed over to the Ukrainian side our memorandum, which consists of two parts. The first one is about how to reach a truly lasting peace. The second part highlights the steps to be taken toward a real ceasefire,” he said, adding that…
Source: Public Orthodoxy by Varvara Gulina Doctoral Student at the University of California San Diego Churches are some of the most common places where abuse occurs. Patriarchal structures, lack of resources, community norms that ascribe higher status to men and lower status to women, pregnancy, and traditional gender norms and inequality, all increase the risk of a woman becoming a victim of spiritual, interpersonal, and sexual violence. Impacts of violence against women include: Miscarriages and other adverse pregnancy outcomes such as stillbirths, low birth weight babies, early deliveries, complications, etc. Children becoming vicariously traumatized through violent experiences of parents (a…
Source: Religion News Service Christian leaders stress that the council and its anniversary still have relevance in the modern day, despite theological divides. By David I. Klein İZNIK, Turkey (RNS) — For Christian leaders across the world and across denominations, the anniversary of the first Council of Nicaea is providing an opportunity for introspection and, potentially, the beginning of further dialogue. Seventeen hundred years ago — from May through July 325 — more than 200 bishops of early Christian churches gathered in the town of Nicaea, then in the Roman province of Bithynia (now İznik, Turkey), to determine a unified…
Source: Archons of the Ecumenical Patriarchate New details have emerged regarding the private meeting between His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew and His Holiness Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican on Monday, May 19, 2025, the day after the inauguration of the new Pope. According to the Zenit News Agency, which reports on the activities of the Pope and the Church of Rome, “This was not merely a handshake between dignitaries. It was a renewed embrace between two ancient churches still walking the long and often fractured road toward unity.” Zenit added that “for Bartholomew, the longest-serving Ecumenical Patriarch in centuries and a tireless…
Source: Peter Anderson, Seattle USA On May 14, Pope Leo XIV welcomed in the Vatican’s audience hall the participants in the “Jubilee of the Oriental Churches,” which is being celebrated May 12-14 as part of the Catholic Church’s “Jubilee Holy Year 2025.” https://www.iubilaeum2025.va/en.html The full text of the address by Pope Leo is found at https://www.vatican.va/content/leo-xiv/en/speeches/2025/may/documents/20250514-giubileo-chiese-orientali.html. Although the people in the hall were predominately members of the Oriental Churches in union with Rome, certain of the Pope’s remarks used the broad term “Christian East,” a term which obviously includes the Orthodox Church of the Byzantine tradition and the Oriental Orthodox Churches. Pope…
Source: Public Orthodoxy [Preface of the Signatories]: The diaconate is one of the higher orders of ordained ministry in the Orthodox Church. Unlike the episcopacy or presbyterate, it is not a sacerdotal ministry, but one focused primarily on service. It seeks to meet the faithful where they are in this world and draw them into the Body of Christ more fully. In short, it connects the liturgy of our lives to the liturgy of the Church. The diaconate has always been part of the life of the Church and, in the Orthodox tradition, both men and women have been ordained to this ministry to…
Source: Yankee Athonite Michael Warren Davis Pope Francis is dead. May God remember him forever in His kingdom! What will be his legacy? Catholics will be wrestling with this question for many years to come. Their conversations will be held in public; nevertheless, they are private. They’ll be held on their own terms—terms like infallible and indefectable. I no longer accept those terms, which is why I became Orthodox. Yet that means I have no right to discuss what Pope Francis “means” for the Catholic Church. Those conversations must be kept in the family. I would, however, like to say a few words…
Source: Peter Anderson, Seattle USA On April 9, the Riigikogu (the Estonian Parliament) passed on the third and final reading the “Amendments to the Churches and Congregations Act” (Bill 570 SE) by a vote of 60 to 13. https://www.riigikogu.ee/en/press-releases/plenary-assembly/the-riigikogu-adopted-amendments-to-the-churches-and-congregations-act/ The version of the Bill that was passed on April 9 is the same as the version that was submitted to the plenary session of the Riigikogu by its Legal Affair Committee for the third reading. I discussed this version in my newsletter of 30 March 2025. I have attached again this version (including a Google English translation of the entire Bill)…
Source: Peter Anderson, Seattle USA On Saturday, March 29, in the Cathedral of the Resurrection in Tirana, Archbishop John (Pelushi) of Tirana, Durrës, and All Albania was enthroned following his election on March 16 as the new primate of the Autocephalous Orthodox Church of Albania. A video of the entire enthronement ceremony can be watched at https://www.facebook.com/RadioNgjallja/videos/1858940237978503/. It was encouraging to see that all of the Local Orthodox Churches were represented at the enthronement. A description of the enthronement ceremony and the names of the representatives can be read at https://orthodoxalbania.org/2020/2025/03/29/fronezimi-i-kryepiskopit-te-ri-te-shqiperise-fortlumturise-se-tij-z-joan-ne-tirane-29-03-2025/ (official church site); https://orthodoxtimes.com/enthronement-of-the-new-archbishop-of-albania-ioannis-video/ (English article) The Ecumenical Patriarchate was represented by Elder Metropolitan Emmanuel of…
On Looking into “Xenophobia in the Cloak of Progress – How English Liturgies Hurt the American Orthodox Church” by Katherine Kelaidis A Response by P. Stamatis, M.A. The above article appeared on the Public Orthodoxy site on March 12, 2025. At first glance, the intriguing title pulled me in to read, only to become confused by the attached sub-title: “How English Liturgies Hurt the American Orthodox Church.” If the author ascribes to the Orthodox Church in America the moniker “American,” how can using the English language hurt the Orthodox Church? That’s like saying: “How Greek Liturgies Hurt the Greek Orthodox…
Source: Institute for Orthodox Christian Studies Cambridge We are delighted to present this forthcoming series of Lenten lectures entitled ‘St Catherine’s Circle’. St Catherine’s Circle honours the memory and example of our patron saint by celebrating the contributions of contemporary Orthodox women in scholarship, teaching and intellectual enquiry. This series of talks from women scholars will offer something for everyone: whether you want to deepen your understanding of Orthodox Christian faith and practice, discover little-known stories from the Church’s history and contemporary life, or explore the insights that the Orthodox tradition can bring to current debates and concerns. Lectures will take…