Source: The Holy Synod of Bishops of the Serbian Orthodox Church After years of persecution, harassment, arrests and imprisonments, His Beatitude the Archbishop of Ohrid and Metropolitan of Skopje kyr Dr. John, pan-Orthodoxly renowned and recognized canonical Prelate of the ancient Ohrid Archbishopric, was sentenced yesterday, May 11th, to two and a half years in prison under false charges of alleged fraud and embezzlement, the result of a politically motivated and staged pseudotrial of a Stalinist-type, organized upon the blatant request of the schismatic organization calling itself “The Macedonian Orthodox Church”. He was sentenced solely because of His unwavering commitment…
Browsing: Orthodox Church
Source: Society for Orthodox Christian History in the Americas | By Matthew Namee On December 30, we published an article by Daniel Silliman on the search for a narrative for Orthodoxy in America. As Daniel observed, mainstream religious scholars have paid precious little attention to Orthodoxy, and even we Orthodox haven’t done much to flesh out the narratives that shape our history. I’ve done a fair bit of thinking over the years about overarching historical narratives. While I tend to prefer individual stories, I realize that those stories acquire much of their meaning as part of a broader narrative. And,…
Source: The Sophia Echo | By Clive Leviev-Sawyer Officials from the National Revenue Agency will begin interviews and checks of financial records in January to follow up allegations that the Bulgarian Orthodox Church owes huge sums in unpaid social security contributions and to clarify what the church has been doing with its state subsidies. This is among the latest developments as the church is caught up in controversies ranging from questions about its finances to the row about senior clergy being checked by the Dossier Commission for affiliations to communist-era State Security and to Varna Metropolitan Kiril’s new car. The…
Source: Taiwan News The leader of Cyprus’ Orthodox Christian church and Israel’s chief rabbi have signed a joint declaration aimed at forging closer bonds between the two countries’ citizens. Archbishop Chrysostomos II and Rabbi Yonah Metzger signed the declaration in the Cypriot capital Tuesday. Chrysostomos said the initiative is aimed at ending any “hostility or suspicion” that had “poisoned” Cypriot-Israeli relations in the past. Metzger said Cyprus and Israel are partners and share a similar history. He says the declaration can help improve cooperation. The declaration comes amid blossoming ties between the east Mediterranean neighbors. The two countries are in…
Note: This is a historical response to the recent declaration of Pope Benedict XVI who, in reference to his document “Dominus Iesus” written when he was prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, stated that Christian denominations were not true churches but merely ecclesial communities. Pope Benedict referred to the Orthodox churches as having “many elements of sanctification and of truth” but were “wounded” because they did not recognize the primacy of the Pope. By V Rev Dr Miltiades B. Efthimiou If you are a Lutheran, your religion was founded by Martin Luther, an ex-monk of the…
Holy Synod of the Orthodox Church in America [SYOSSET, NY] On October 6, 2011, during their Fall 2011 Session, the members of the Holy Synod of the Orthodox Church in America adopted and approved “Guidelines for Clergy Use of Online Social Networking.” Available in PDF format, the Guidelines recognize “the popularity of social networking and digital communications” and their exponential growth. Acknowledging that “the Church should not shy away from these new forms of media, but should be actively present in them,” the hierarchs of the Holy Synod of the Orthodox Church in America emphasize the importance of maintaining “healthy…