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…
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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…
Source: Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople Latest News Schedule of Press Conferences November 29-30 Schedule of Press Conferences for November 28-30 for the visit of Pope Francis to the Phanar Read More About Schedule of Press Conferences November 29-30» 11/28/14 Satellite Coordinates for 29 and 30 November for the Visit of Pope Francis to the Phanar Satellite Coordinates for the services at the Patriarchal Cathedral on 29 and 30 November. Read More About Satellite Coordinates for 29 and 30 November for the Visit of Pope Francis to the Phanar» 11/27/14 Accreditation Badges Available for Collection Media accredited by the Press Office of…
Source: The Catholic World Report The Russian Orthodox Metropolitan Hilarion Alfeyev not only misrepresents Catholic practice and history, he also misrepresents Orthodox practice and history. by Dr. Adam A. J. DeVille Metropolitan Hilarion Alfeyev, the “foreign affairs minister” of the Russian Orthodox Church, is, as George Weigel observed recently in First Things, a talented man, “charming and witty.” However, the gifted Hilarion, Weigel rightly noted, “does not always speak the truth.” Hilarion is rather like the Energizer Bunny: he goes on and on and on repeating tirelessly whatever pernicious propaganda the Russians want to spread. He has three channels to choose…
Source: Orthodox Church in America YONKERS, NY [SVOTS Communications] On November 8, 2014, at a special academic convocation, the Board of Trustees and faculty of Saint Vladimir’s Seminary here awarded His Eminence, Metropolitan Hilarion [Alfeyev] of Volokolamsk, Chair of the Moscow Patriarchate’s Department for External Church Relations, an honorary Doctor of Divinity degree. Metropolitan Hilarion was on campus to present a public lecture, “Primacy and Conciliarity from an Orthodox Perspective” — a topic of critical importance to the Joint Commission for Theological Dialogue between the Orthodox and the Roman Catholic Churches, of which he is a key participant. [The complete…
Source: Reuters (Reuters) – When Pope Francis meets the spiritual head of the world’s Orthodox Christians next week, the speeches and symbolism will focus on how these ancient western and eastern wings of Christianity want to come closer together. After almost a millennium apart, however, the key to the elusive unity they seek does not lie in Jerusalem, where the Catholic pope and Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew will embrace on May 25. If anywhere, that key lies in Moscow. The Russian Orthodox Church (ROC), by far the largest church in the Orthodox world and increasingly influential at home and abroad, has…
Where do some of our Orthodox Christian bishops live? What are their living expenses? How many have homes abroad? Who owns their homes? Source: The Washington Post ATLANTA (Associated Press) — Archbishop Wilton Gregory seems to have gotten the pope’s message about modest living. Days after Pope Francis permanently removed a German bishop for his lavish spending on a new residence, the Atlanta archbishop apologized for building a $2.2 million mansion as his residence. He bowed to criticism from local parishioners and said he’d consider selling the new home in Buckhead, Atlanta’s toniest neighborhood. In letters, emails and a meeting,…
Source: The Sofia Globe Members of Bulgaria’s parliamentary committee on religious affairs are proposing for the first time to include the Roman Catholic church in the country in the list of religious bodies to receive state subsidies. This emerged after a meeting between the chairperson of the committee, Plamen Slavov, and the head of the bishops’ conference of the Roman Catholic church in Bulgaria, Hristo Proykov. “So far, we have been self-supporting, and if we get this grant, it would be a good helping hand for us,” local media quoted Proykov as saying. Slavov said that the committee supported the…
Source: B92 / Tanjug NIŠ — Serbian Patriarch Irinej has said that there was “much more that unites us with the Roman Catholic Church,” compared to that which stands in between. “We’ve always been close and lately it is even intensified, and we want to move away those the moments that keep us apart,” the Serbian Orthodox Church head told reporters at the opening of the exhibition “Naisus – Medians”, organized by the Institute for Protection of Cultural Monuments of Niš. According to him, it is not necessary to have unity – but that a level “which befits Christians and…
Source: Reuters MOSCOW (Reuters) – The head of the Russian Orthodox Church told newly elected Pope Francis on Thursday they must act together to defend Christians persecuted in some parts of the world and promote traditional values against secularism. The Russian Orthodox Church shares the Roman Catholic Church’s conservative stances on many moral issues but disputes still strain relations nearly a millennium after the Great Schism split Christianity into eastern and western branches. “Orthodox believers and Catholics need to join forces today to safeguard Christians in need of support and sympathy, subject to pressure and persecution in different parts of…