Source: Crux PLUS: Predictions for an unpredictable pope, Catholic/Orthodox ties, and American Catholicism at its best by John L. Allen Jr., Associate editor Pope Francis marked the second anniversary of his election on Friday with yet another blockbuster media interview, this one with the Mexican network Televisa. One headline from the conversation with veteran Vatican reporter Valentina Alazraki focused on his expectations for a short papacy. As he has on other occasions, Francis hinted that he doesn’t expect to be around very long. “I have the feeling that my pontificate will be brief … four or five years. I don’t know, even…
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Source: Seeds of Hope – Orthodox Christian Healing and Counseling Malicious misconduct by an ecclesiastical leader manifests in many ways – emotionally, sexually, or financially. An abusive bishop, metropolitan, or clergy exploits their authority in ways that manipulate and control a Believer. A spiritual leader abuses in multiple ways to cover their own rooted hurt failings. Lacking reconciliation themselves, their own weaknesses and unrepentant actions are exposed by unleashing and inflicting untold harm onto an innocent person. The abused absorbs this destructive mistreatment, neither aware, nor understanding why a leader would inflict this harm onto them. Spiritual abuse is based…
Source: Hartford Institute for Religion Research February 2002 The quick answer: Far less than usually reported. The longer answer: According to a recent study of Orthodoxy in the United States, the real membership (number of adult adherents and their children) in all Eastern Christian Churches in the USA can be estimated atabout 1,200,000 persons. This figure is considerably less than the commonly accepted estimations, which range as high as over four million. The greatest disproportions between “claimed” and actual memberships were found in the two largest Orthodox jurisdictions: Greek Orthodox Archdiocese (typically claimed 1,954,500* members versus 440,000 actual adherents) Orthodox Church in…
Source: First Things THE GREAT COUNCIL OF THE ORTHODOX CHURCH IN 2016 by Rev. Dr. John Chryssavgis A Holy and Great Council of the Orthodox Church has been scheduled for 2016. In March of 2014, the leaders of all the autocephalous (independent) Orthodox Churches met in Istanbul, the sacred see of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, which historically (since at least the fifth century) coordinates such assemblies, facilitating unity while serving as a center of appeal among these churches. Arguably the foremost decision unanimously agreed upon at that assembly of church heads was the convocation of a Great Council in 2016, tentatively planned…
Source: Orthodox Christian Laity Sunday of Orthodoxy, March 1, 2015 “… move beyond words to actions… putting our theology into practice… moving beyond what is mine and yours, to what is ours.” This important message was conveyed by His All Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew to the Assembly of Orthodox Bishops at their fifth official meeting which was held in Dallas, Texas on September 15-19, 2014. Unfortunately, the various proposals that were presented by the bishops defer the establishment of an autocephalous Orthodox Christian Church in the United States of America for at least another ten years. The Orthodox Christian Laity…
Source: Pravoslavie.ru Athens, February 11, 2015 Aristidis Baltas, the new Greek minister of culture, education and religious affairs, at the meeting of Parliament has formulated the government’s program on relations between the Church and state, reports AgionOros.ru. According to the minister, “It is necessary to separate the Church from the state, but that is a long and difficult process.” A. Baltas has stressed that, “The first steps to separate the Church from the state may be taken in the near future”. Reference from AgionOros.ru: The myth that the Orthodox Church “does not pay taxes and exists on the state budget”…
Source: Orthodox Christian Laity Orthodox Christian Laity (OCL) is hosting an Open Forum for interested clergy and laity in the Jacksonville/St Augustine, Florida area on the progress of the Assembly of Bishops as they finalize a blueprint for Orthodox Unity in the USA. A plan will be discussed by the Assembly in March, 2015 in a special meeting. The work toward unity is the responsibility of all – including clergy and laity. At least we can be informed. Please see the event flier below: [subscribe2]
Source: First Things by David Gelernter Not for many generations has the Church amassed as much prestige as it has under John Paul II and his successors. They underline (or have so far) the formidable quality of church leadership. Since John Paul II’s elevation in 1978, no nation on earth has been led better. That prestige ought to be used in an important cause, and one where it will matter. There is a desperate cause right under the pope’s nose. What is he doing in the Philippines and South America at a moment when, throughout Europe, Christianity is dying?… Read…
Source: Dalje.com The civil war in Ukraine, pitting Orthodox Christians against other Orthodox Christians, is a “scandal,” Pope Francis said Wednesday. “Think, this is a war between Christians. You all have the same baptism! You are fighting between Christians. Think about this scandal,” Francis said in his weekly general audience at the Vatican. “We pray first of all for the victims, including very many civilians, and for their families, and we ask the Lord for this horrible fratricidal violence to stop as soon as possible,” the leader of the world’s 1.2 billion Catholics added. [subscribe2]
Source: St. Phoebe Center for the History of the Deaconess The Tradition of the Female Deacon in the Eastern Churches PowerPoint Presentation by Valerie Karras, ThD, PhD and Caren Stayer, PhD All Conference documents and audio/visual resources are available by CLICKING HERE. [subscribe2]
Source: Blogs.goarch.org One of the cornerstones of Orthodox Christianity is its reverence for the great Fathers of the Church who were not only exemplars of holiness but were also the greatest intellectuals of their age. The writings of men like St. Basil the Great, St. Gregory the Theologian, and St. Maximos the Confessor have been and will always remain essential guides to Orthodox Christian living and Orthodox Christian faith. Thus it is alarming that so many Orthodox clerics and monks in recent years have made public statements that reflect a “fundamentalist” approach to the Church Fathers. And unless leaders of…
Source: First Things by Timothy George It has been nearly ten years since Jaroslav Pelikan died and a full twenty-five since he completedThe Christian Tradition, his five-volume, 2,100-page history of “what the church of Jesus Christ believes, teaches, and confesses on the basis of the Word of God.” Who was Jaroslav Pelikan, and why does his work remain so important for serious Christian scholarship today? …. Read the full article here [subscribe2]