Source: United Press International (UPI) Pope Francis on married priests: “The door is always open.” By Matt Bradwell BETHESDA, Md., June 6 (UPI) –A group of Catholic and Orthodox theologians is calling on Pope Francis to end the Catholic church’s prohibition of married men within the priesthood for members of the faith who practice in Eastern Catholic churches. Eastern Catholic and Orthodox churches recognize the divine authority of the papacy, but often have different ceremonial practices and cultural traditions. In most of the world, Eastern priests are allowed to wed, but in North America they are not. In a statement released Friday, The…
Browsing: Orthodox Church
Source: National Catholic Reporter by Josephine McKenna Religion News Service VATICAN CITY — A Vatican spokesman said it’s premature to suggest a gathering between Catholic and Orthodox faiths to mark the 1700th anniversary of the first church council held in Nicea in 325 A.D. Despite cordial meetings between Pope Francis and Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople during the pontiff’s visit to Jerusalem in May, the Vatican has rejected media reports that a 2025 event had been confirmed. “Several news agencies, publications and individuals have reported on this gathering as a fait accompli,” said the Rev. Thomas Rosica, a Vatican spokesman, in a statement. “No formal announcement…
Source: The Times of Israel Church representatives say Father Gabriel Naddaf has been dismissed from his Nazareth post The Greek Orthodox church in the Holy Land has dismissed an Israeli Arab priest who publicly supported Israeli army service for Christian Arabs, a church spokesman said Thursday. Spokesman Essa Musleh told AFP that ecclesiastical authorities decided Tuesday to fire Father Gabriel Naddaf from his post in Jesus’s traditional childhood town of Nazareth, but were only now making their decision public. “We warned him before to keep to his priestly duties and not to interfere in matters of the army,” Musleh said.…
Source: Greek Reporter by Theodora Matsaidoni Elder Paisios the Athonite (1924-1994), one of the greatest and most revered Elders of the Orthodox Church of our time, is well-known for his spiritual teachings. His Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew announced that the Holy Mountain Elder will be formally canonized as a saint. Elder Amphilochios (Makris) of Patmos, Elder Sophrony (Sakharov) of Essex, Elder Ephraim of Katounakia and Elder Iakovos Tsalikis are anticipated to follow as well. “The Orthodox Church serves a higher Truth, which has nothing to do with myths and speculations,” said His All Holiness, Bartholomew I, Archbishop of Constantinople, New Rome, and Ecumenical Patriarch, denying all…
Source: The Christian Science Monitor By the Monitor’s Editorial Board As violence escalates in Ukraine, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church appears to distance himself from President Putin, calling for healing and reconciliation. Churches that align with the state often learn the hard way that Caesar has his own kingdom. The struggle over Ukraine’s future took a worrisome turn Friday when more than 40 people died in political unrest between demonstrators in the port city of Odessa. The tragedy is seen by some as the start of further large-scale violence. But there is an alternative path that can reconcile the…
Source: The Bristol Bay Times & The Dutch Harbor Fisherman by Jim Paulin A man went on a rampage last weekend in Unalaska, allegedly vandalizing a church and biting a police officer after stealing a truck. Frustrated at being stuck at the Unalaska airport for days trying to fly out standby, a man stole a pickup truck parked in the unloading zone, drove across town and broke into and vandalized the historic Russian Orthodox Church, according to local police. Ishmael Guerrero, 33, of Fresno, California, was arrested Sunday at the Holy Ascension Russian Orthodox Church, and arraigned in court the next day…
Source: Catholic Culture & Pravmir “Whenever an Orthodox church succumbs to nationalist rhetoric and lends support to racial tendencies, it loses sight of the authentic theological principles and gives in to a fallen mindset, totally alien to the core of Orthodoxy” In an address delivered in the Netherlands, Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople, who holds a primacy of honor within Eastern Orthodoxy, criticized nationalist tendencies within some Orthodox churches. “The concept of the nation cannot become a determining factor of Church life or an axis of Church organization,” the Ecumenical Patriarch said in an address delivered at the Old Catholic…
Source: Religious Information Service of Ukraine (RISU) Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I in an interview with the Italian agency SIR said that today there are many issues that both churches must address together, Religion in Ukraine reports, with a reference to Pomisna. “Today, perhaps more than 50 years ago, there is an urgent need for reconciliation. This means the meeting with our brother Francis Pope in Jerusalem is very important,” said Patriarch Bartholomew about the upcoming pope’s visit to the Holy Land. Among the issues that the Orthodox and Catholic Churches are facing, he described the suffering and injustice experienced by people…
Source: Orthodox Women This Holy week I attended Holy Protection Russian Orthodox church for the rite of the washing of the feet. In the church were many, many children..from 0-12 attending the service. A twelve year old solemnly and perfectly read the prayers after communion A three year old danced and spun in the beam of sunlight coming through the dome windows as she tried to embrace it A younger child stared in awe at the icons and demanded to be brought to each one on the walls to reverence. The church was without talkativeness, cell phones or plastic wrappers…
Source: Pravoslavie.ru Jerusalem, April 19, 2014 – The Holy Fire has descended on Holy Saturday in the Church of the Lord’s Sepulcher in Jerusalem. His Holiness Patriarch Theophilos III of Jerusalem has passed on the Holy flame to the tens of thousands of pilgrims gathered in the church. Among them were representatives of the St. Andrew the First-Called foundation, who will bring the Holy Fire from Jerusalem to Moscow by airplane, reports RIA Novosti. The time it takes for the Holy Fire to descend from the moment the Patriarch enters the Holy Sepulcher can vary from year to year. In…
Source: Orthodox Christian Laity By Roy Synder Recently, after the Patriarch of Antioch ordered that the American Clergy cease their involvement with the Assembly of Bishops, I took an action to voice my disagreement with this decree. It was a small thing – no big oratory, grandstand or “snit.” Someone asked me what I thought I would accomplish and I replied: “I suppose it’s tantamount to a flea biting and elephant’s butt, I did not think that I should be silent.” Reflecting, I realized that there would be no notice from any level of hierarchy. I am not well known,…