Source: Christianity Daily BY KATHLEEN ORENZA If Pope Francis’ most recent request is accepted, it is possible that the disagreement that has lasted for centuries between Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic churches on how to determine the date of Easter may finally be resolved. Pope Francis, at a meeting on November 19 with Mar Awa III, the head of the Assyrian Church of the East, called for an end to misunderstandings regarding the manner in which Catholics and Eastern churches establish the date of Easter each spring. Pope Francis Calling To End Disagreements Between Catholic, Orthodox “Let us have the courage…
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Source: The Moscow Times By AFP Russian President Vladimir Putin wished Pope Francis a happy 85th birthday on Friday, telling the Catholic leader they could jointly protect Christians. The comments come after the pope earlier this month said he was ready to travel to Moscow to visit Patriarch Kirill, the head of Russia’s Orthodox Church. “It is difficult to overestimate your personal contribution to the development of relations between the Russian Orthodox and Roman Catholic Churches and to the strengthening of Russian-Vatican ties,” Putin told Pope Francis, according to a telegram released by the Kremlin. “I am sure that through joint…
Source: National Catholic Reporter by Thomas Reese, Religion News Service Computers are unforgiving, but Christianity is supposed to be forgiving. Computers insist that humans, especially programmers, be exact. A single wrong letter in a line of code can crash a program. But even ordinary users can experience this. Nothing puts us into panic like a computer telling us: “Invalid Username or Password.” The religion of Jesus is supposed to be forgiving. He attacked the Scribes and the Pharisees for their emphasis on the minutiae of the law. Yet, even under Pope Francis, who is all about compassion and forgiveness, the literalists appear…
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…
by Roy L. Snyder In 1204, Norman, Venetian, and other European forces heeded the call of Pope Innocent III for a Fourth Crusade to take back the Holy Land from the Muslim conquerors. In a bizarre chain of events brought on primarily by a lack of funds, a deal with an ousted prince of Constantinople, and a fair smattering of greed, most of the Crusaders never made it to the Holy Land, but instead captured the city of Constantinople and large portions of territory of the Roman Empire – including the islands of the Mediterranean. An earlier agreement amongst the…
Source: Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of the USA WASHINGTON—The North American Orthodox-Catholic Theological Consultation (NAOCTC) has released its response to the most recent document produced by the Joint International Commission for Theological Dialogue between the Roman Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church. Entitled, “Synodality and Primacy During the First Millennium: Towards a Common Understanding in Service to the Unity of the Church,” this work of the international dialogue was released in September 2016. It is often referred to as, “The Chieti Document,” because it was finalized during a meeting in Chieti, Italy. The NAOCTC, which is co-chaired by Cardinal…
Source: OrthodoxOutpost.com More good, more often. Orthodox Christian writers are often called upon to author articles that focus on positive aspects of life in the Church. Mission trips, fasting recipes, and ethnic customs are all topics that make for a friendly encounter with Orthodox Christianity. But what if the calling to do more good, more often was much more difficult? What if doing more good, more often meant being unpopular? What if doing more good, more often meant being cast out by those around us? The movie Spotlight recently won the Oscar for Best Picture. It tells the story of…
Source: Dalje.com Split archbishop and Serb Orthodox Church head call for unity of Christians The Archbishop of Split and chairman of the Croatian Bishops Conference (HBK) council for dialogue with the Serb Orthodox Church, Marin Barisic, on Thursday met at Split’s Cathedral of St. Domnius with the head of the Serb Orthodox Church, Patriarch Irinej, and both dignitaries supported the unity of Christians and overcoming the differences between Roman Catholics and Orthodox believers, saying they have Jesus Christ in common. “I would not want anyone to misunderstand me, but it would be good if Catholics became more Orthodox and if…
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…
Source: Ecumenical News by Miko Morelos and Peter Kenny The head of the Russian Orthodox Church has castigated the Greek-Catholic Church in Ukraine for being “divisive,” saying its stance puts at risk the improving of relations between Rome and Moscow. Patriarch Kirill at the same time singled out the Vatican for what he said is a measured tone in the Russia-Ukraine crisis. He pointed out that the Holy See had maintained its position on the resumption of peace talks instead of making “any lopsided assessments.” “Today, fresh conflicts in Ukraine in light of the latest political events in the country…
Source: Aleteia A grass roots ecumenism involving Christians of East and West is what will take Christians into the future together. by FR DWIGHT LONGENECKER When referring to the Eastern Orthodox churches Pope St John Paul II used to say the church needed to “breathe with two lungs.” Given Pope Francis’s physical condition of having only one lung, perhaps it is best to discover a new analogy. Looking at the cross we can say that Christ needs two arms to reach out to embrace the whole world. In his trip to Turkey last week Pope Francis celebrated the liturgy with Bartholomew,…
The Pope preaches a sermon on Unity through the Holy Spirit. Source: Journal of Turkish Weekly Pope Francis, the spiritual leader of the globe’s estimated one billion Catholics, has celebrated a special Mass in Istanbul on the second day of his official visit to Turkey. Security was tight at the Catholic Cathedral of the Holy Spirit in the city’s Beyoglu district, ahead of the visit by the 77-year-old Argentinian pontiff, who was greeted by a small crowd of well-wishers before releasing a dove in the courtyard of the church. Around 200 people were waiting for pope’s arrival outside the 1846…