Source: The Conversation A new Orthodox Church was recently established in Ukraine. Shortly after, Bartholomew I, the Patriarch of Constantinople and the spiritual head of global Orthodox Christianity, granted independence to the new Orthodox Church of Ukraine and transferred its jurisdiction from the church of Moscow to the church of Constantinople, located in Istanbul. This competition between the churches of Constantinople and Moscow for dominance in the Orthodox Christian world is not new – it goes back more than 500 years. But the birth of the new Orthodox Church in Ukraine opens a new chapter in this history. So what is Ukraine’s new church, and…
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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: Orthodoxy and Heterodoxy by Metropolitan Nicholas (Hatzinikolaou) of Mesogaia and Lavriotiki CLICK HERE for the text of the Encyclical. [subscribe2]
Source: Reuters BY PHILIP PULLELLA VATICAN CITY (Reuters) – Pope Francis will receive Russian President Vladimir Putin on November 25, an encounter that could help mend strained relations between the Vatican and the Russian Orthodox Church. Russian-Vatican relations have been fraught since the 1991 breakup of the Soviet Union, with Moscow accusing the Roman Catholic Church of trying to poach believers from the Russian Orthodox Church, a charge the Vatican denies. But Putin is the first Kremlin leader since the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution to publicly profess religious faith – to the Orthodox church – and has several times advocated ending the long…
Source: International Business Times By Palash R. Ghosh As the Roman Catholic Church in the Vatican prepares to elect a new Pope under much media scrutiny and fanfare, one of the oldest Christian churches has already chosen its own new leader with much less global attention. The Ethiopian Orthodox Church has elected Abune Matthias as its new patriarch, replacing Abune Paulos, who died of an undisclosed illness last August after leading the church since 1992. (‘Abune’ means ‘Our Father’ in the Ethiopian language.) Daniel Sefermikael, a church official, said Matthias received a majority of votes — 500 out of 806 –…
Source: The Coptic Orthodox Church Centre UK The 118th Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of All Africa on the holy Apostolic See of Saint Mark was announced on 4 November 2012. Bishop Tawadrous was chosen in an altar ballot, concluding the Papal Selection Process for the Coptic Orthodox Church. Bishop Tawadrous succeeds the late Pope Shenouda III, who departed on 17 March 2012. In a process that has taken nine months, the new Pope was selected in an altar ballot during a Liturgical service at The Grand Cathedral of St Mark in Cairo on 4 November 2012. The date of…