Source: Crown Them with Glory A video covering the March For Marriage in Washington, DC, on April 25, 2015, featuring Fr. Johannes Jacobse who addressed the marchers, eloquently speaking the truth in love. [subscribe2]
Browsing: Orthodox Church
Source: Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America On his Ancient Faith Radio podcast, “Becoming a Healing Presence,” host Dr. Albert Rossi recently interviewed Fr. Joseph Purpura, the Archdiocese’s chairman of the Department of Youth and Parish Ministries. The podcast, titled “Reaching Our Young Adults,” discusses how to best communicate with and serve the Church’s teens and young people. “In the Antiochian Archdiocese, we are serious about raising up a generation of disciples and leaders. Our goal in everything we do, is to move our young people closer and closer to Christ. It’s always a joy to work with young people; the…
Source: The Wall Street Journal Religious groups that oppose gay unions re-emphasize teachings, fine-tune their message By TAMARA AUDI Arguments over same-sex marriage played out in the U.S. Supreme Courton Tuesday, but many religious groups opposed to gay marriage aren’t waiting for a ruling. A court ruling expected two months from now could sanction same-sex marriage nationwide. In anticipation, some congregations and religious advocacy groups are re-emphasizing their teachings on marriage, fine-tuning their approach to gays and lesbians and bracing for legal battles and public criticism. “The outcome of this decision will shape the landscape of the church’s ministry in the…
Source: Outlook Several thousand people including religious leaders marched in Washington against same-sex marriage as the US Supreme Court prepares to hear arguments on the deeply divisive issue in the coming days. Crowds rallied from the US Capitol to the Supreme Court yesterday, carrying placards reading, “A Child Needs a Father and a Mother” and “March for Truth.” The gathering comes with the top court Tuesday set to consider whether same-sex couples have a constitutional right to wed in the US, with a final decision expected in June. Currently, individual states are responsible for determining marriage laws, with 37 out…
Source: The Blaze It’s been two years since two top Christian clergymen were kidnapped by gunmen in Syria, prompting the brother of one of the victims – himself a senior cleric – to raise alarm that “the world is silent.” “We hope that the bishops are alive, but unfortunately the world is silent and nobody has provided physical evidence,” Orthodox Patriarch John X of Antioch said last week on the anniversary of their disappearance, the Catholic Herald reported. The two religious leaders, Syriac Orthodox Archbishop Yohanna Ibrahim and Greek Orthodox Archbishop Boulos Yazigi, were kidnapped by gunmen in April 2013…
Source: La Civiltà Cattolica / Ecumenical Patriarchate La Civiltà Cattolica publishes exclusive and extensive interview with His All-Holiness In an exclusive interview with La Civiltà Cattolica, His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew answers questions on the Orthodox Church’s administrative structure and its relationship with the Roman Catholic Church, his own personal interactions with Pope Francis, the encounters between previous Popes and Patriarchs, as well as other important issues faced by both Churches, including the unity of Christendom and interfaith dialogue, primacy and conciliarity, immigration and climate change, social injustice and fundamentalism, all of which are to be discussed in the forthcoming Holy and…
Source: Frederica.com by Frederica Mathewes-Green With some kind of genius for stupidity, I said on my Facebook page recently that I am not particularly opposed to gay marriage. No, it was worse than that; what I said was, “I was asked why I don’t oppose gay marriage, and I’ll try to make this brief. It’s because I don’t agree that gay marriage harms society, or harms marriage.” I’m no big-time writer, but it caused an outsized stir. My readers are mostly Christian and conservative, and the comments overflowed. Clearly, I struck a nerve. But it was a nerve I never…
Source: First Things by Mykhailo Cherenkov Long before Russia’s annexation of Crimea and unproclaimed war in the Donbass, Ukraine had become a religious battleground. Despite the warning of Yurii Chernomorets, Cyril Hovorun, and other observers, none of the leading Ukrainian and Western politicians foresaw the threat posed by an increasingly aggressive form of Orthodox Christianity being promoted by Moscow. As events in Ukraine have now shown, Orthodox fundamentalism is no less aggressive than Islamic fundamentalism, and the “Russian Spring” is no less bloody than its Arab counterpart. Click here to read the complete article. [subscribe2]
Source: The Sounding / Orthodox Christian Network By Andrew Estocin in The Sounding Will our children choose to live as Orthodox Christians? This is the most pressing question facing the Church today. Over the years, the conventional path followed to form young people in the Orthodox Faith has included a Sunday school program. Today, it is a given that every parish needs a Sunday school in order to be considered successful. However, as more and more parishes face serious questions about their future, one must ask whether or not Sunday school has served our children well. The answer to this…
Source: International Orthodox Christian Charities Baltimore, MD (IOCC) — Last week’s attacks on Yarmouk, a Palestinian refugee camp just outside of Damascus, Syria, has left nearly 20,000 of its residents trapped with little access to food, water, electricity or outside aid. The UN has described the conditions there as “beyond inhumane” and is calling for full protection of civilians and humanitarian access. International Orthodox Christian Charities (IOCC) with its church partner in Syria, the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch and All the East, is assessing the urgent needs of displaced families that managed to escape, and is prepared to provide…
Source: The Pilot By Cindy Wooden VATICAN CITY (CNS) — While Catholic and Armenian Orthodox theologians continue discussions aimed at full unity, Pope Francis and Catholicos Karekin II of Etchmiadzin, patriarch of the Armenian Apostolic Church, commemorated the already-achieved unity of Armenian Catholic and Orthodox martyrs in heaven. Pope Francis concelebrated Mass April 12 with Armenian Catholic Patriarch Nerses Bedros XIX Tarmouni in the presence of Catholicos Karekin and thousands of Armenian Catholic and Orthodox faithful. Media attention focused on the diplomatic tensions created between the Vatican and Turkey when Pope Francis used the term “genocide” to describe the deaths…
Source: Georgian Journal Holy Fire has descended on the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem. The miracle repeats yet again. Descent of the celestial flame is an undeniable sign of veracity of tenets of Orthodox Christian faith and their grace. The Holy Fire, expected by the parish that gathered around the sepulcher since morning, was brought out by Patriarch Theophilos III of Jerusalem. Thousands of believers have distributed the fire among themselves. The Orthodox Patriarch entered the Church of the Resurrection at approximately 15:14, Georgian time, and the church was subsequently closed. Before he entered, the Patriarch was searched by clergy of…