Source: Peter Anderson, Seattle USA The meeting of the Synaxis of Hierarchs of the Ecumenical Throne was held at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Istanbul, September 1-3. This meeting, which is held every three years, included more than one hundred bishops of the Ecumenical Patriarchate from throughout the world. At the beginning of the Synaxis, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew gave an address. https://ec-patr.org/%e1%bc%90%ce%bd%ce%b1%cf%81%ce%ba%cf%84%ce%ae%cf%81%ce%b9%ce%bf%cf%82-%e1%bd%81%ce%bc%ce%b9%ce%bb%ce%af%ce%b1-%cf%84%e1%bf%86%cf%82-%ce%b1-%ce%b8-%cf%80%ce%b1%ce%bd%ce%b1%ce%b3%ce%b9%cf%8c-3/ The following are some of his observations: A major problem in this connection is the anthropological and moral confusion about the essentials of life, even among Christians. It is self-evident that we are concerned with the division of Christianity…
Browsing: Orthodox Church
by S. P. Stamatis. M.A. Many years ago, an Orthodox bishop of Great Britain was asked this question during a gathering. His reply was simple, but profound: “It’s the Church that Celebrates the Divine Liturgy” –Bishop Timothy “Kallistos” Ware On the surface, this statement by Bishop Ware suggests that it’s the primary mission of the Church. But before we allow the 1960s song “Is That All There Is?” to fall from our lips, let’s take a closer look at the Holy Rite from a lay perspective. Indeed, the bishop’s focus showcased the Liturgy as the “Main Event” that defines…
Source: Public Orthodoxy Dr. Sergii Bortnyk Director of the ‘Academic Initiative’ Charitable Foundation (Kyiv, Ukraine) Recent weeks have been quite intense in Ukraine’s religious sphere. Undoubtedly, the most resonant event was the adoption of Bill No. 8371 by the Ukrainian Parliament on August 20. In its latest version, it was titled “On the Protection of the Constitutional Order in the Sphere of Activities of Religious Organizations,” but it is informally known as the “law banning the UOC (Ukrainian Orthodox Church).” The bill’s adoption was demanded by a significant number of opposition deputies, particularly from the “European Solidarity” party, led by former President…
Source: The National Herald By Theodore Karakostas The glorious churches of Aghia Sophia and the Holy Savior at the monastery of Chora in Constantinople have been converted into mosques by the current Turkish government. While the future of these edifices of Greek Orthodoxy may seem bleak, they cannot be abandoned to their fate. Constantinople will always be the greatest of all Greek cities and the spiritual heart of Orthodoxy. As I told an official of UNESCO in Paris in 2015, Aghia Sophia is the product of the Gospel and Orthodox theology. I have been in touch with UNESCO officials since…
Source: Public Orthodoxy Evgenios Voulgaris and Platon Levshin— a Model for Future Greek-Russian Exchange and Rapprochement? Dr. Vasilios N. Makrides Professor of Religious Studies at the University of Erfurt (Germany) It is well known that the current Orthodox Christian positions, either official or unofficial, towards modern human rights differ considerably. Suffice it to point here to the different evaluations of human rights by the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople under Patriarch Bartholomew[i] and by the Russian Orthodox Church in post-communist times, especially under Patriarch Kirill.[ii] This also becomes evident if one compares the related official documents of these two Churches: on the one…
Source: Orthodox Church in America Suprasl, Poland [SUPRASL] Fr Nilos offering a morning reflection, “Life as Gratitude”. For the third year in a row students and clergy of the Orthodox Church in America participated in the annual World Gathering of Orthodox Youth – Suprasl 2024 – organized by Suprasl: A World Fellowship of Orthodox Youth at the Monastery of the Annunciation and the Suprasl Academy in northeastern Poland from June 30 – July 8. Participating from the OCA were Father Nilos Nellis of Saint John in the Wilderness Orthodox Sanctuary, Birchdale, British Columbia; Caleb Hooper from Saint Nicholas Church, Mogadore, OH; and…
Source: Orthodox History Originally published on May 29, 2024 by MATTHEW NAMEE As you may have seen, Ancient Faith recently published my book, Lost Histories: The Good, the Bad & the Strange in Early American Orthodoxy. If you like this website, you’re the target audience for the book. And while reading it should give you a good handle on the early history of Orthodoxy in America, I wrote it not just to educate but — hopefully — to amaze and surprise you (even if you’re a longtime reader of this website). With that in mind, here are fifteen random, amazing facts from…
Source: Orthodox History by MATTHEW NAMEE Today, relations between the patriarchates of Moscow and Romania are tense: both lay claim to jurisdiction in the Republic of Moldova, which makes up about two-thirds of the historic region known as Bessarabia. The other third of Bessarabia is now in Ukraine, Budjak (Izmail and Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi). In the Republic of Moldova, the Russian and Romanian patriarchates have had rival jurisdictions ever since the fall of the USSR, although things didn’t get really tense until very recently, when Russian-affiliated clergy began joining the Romanian jurisdiction (without canonical releases) as part of the fallout from the war…
Source: Public Orthodoxy VK McCarty Anglican Theologian and Lecturer at General Theological Seminary One of the aspects I’ve enjoyed in my faith pilgrimage in Orthodoxy has been the right-spirited acknowledgement of Mary Magdalene as the Apostle to the Apostles—Apostolorum Apostola—and the admirable regard the Orthodox Church holds for her. Witnessing to the Resurrection is a shining attribute, not only of Mary Magdalene, but of the Resurrection story as a whole. The Gospel stories we hear week after week during Pascha herald the joy and life-transformation we share with Mary Magdalene and all the other witnesses to the Resurrection of Jesus…
Source: The Moscow Times Originally published on April 24, 2024 The Russian Orthodox Church has suspended a priest who led a memorial service for the late opposition figure Alexei Navalny last month, according to a ruling on the Moscow diocese website. Priest Dmitry Safronov performed a memorial service at Navalny’s gravesite in Moscow on March 26, 40 days after the Kremlin critic died in an Arctic prison. According to Orthodox tradition, memorial services for the dead are traditionally held on the 40th day after their death. An order signed by Russian Orthodox Church leader Patriarch Kirill bans Safronov from giving blessings, wearing the frock and…
Source: Peter Anderson, Seattle USA What a surprise!!! Something few expected. Today, June 30, Metropolitan Daniil of Vidin was elected the new patriarch of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church (BOC). It was an extremely close election. According to the charter of the BOC, Daniil was elected by the Patriarchal Electoral Church Council. Aside from the Bulgarian bishops, this council consists of three clergy, two laypersons, one monk, and one nun from each of the dioceses of the BOC, except for Sofia. The Sofia diocese has six clerics, four laypersons, one monk, and one nun. In addition there is one representative from…
Source: Orthodox Studies Institute Originally published March 2024 by Dr. Mary Ford in collaboration with Dr. David C. Ford “While we recognize that some Orthodox Christians believe that a female diaconate with a liturgical role similar to a male deacon’s is needed in our Church today, we strongly disagree that there is such a need, or that it would be advisable, for the reasons outlined below. There are already a multitude of opportunities for lay ministry, and sometimes Orthodox laity, both women and men, need to hear the message: ‘You don’t need to be ordained to serve Christ and His…