Source: Archons of the Ecumenical Patriarchate His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros of America, Exarch of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, together with the Order of Saint Andrew’s National Commander Dr. Anthony J. Limberakis, presented the Athenagoras Human Rights Award to His Beatitude Metropolitan Epiphaniy of Kyiv and All Ukraine during the annual Athenagoras Human Rights Award Banquet held at the New York Hilton Hotel on October 19, 2019, with over 600 Archons and guests in attendance. In a message commemorating the occasion, His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew stated: “This honor is, as we note, rightful and deserving for the leader of a fledgling Autocephalous Church,…
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Source: Public Orthodoxy by His Eminence Metropolitan Ignatius of Demetrias (Volos, Greece) The following are excerpts from the intervention of His Eminence Metropolitan Ignatius of Demetrias, Chairman of the Synodal Committee for Inter-Orthodox and Inter-Christian Relations, during the Extraordinary Session of the Holy Synod of the Church of Greece (12th October 2019). The Synodal Committee for Inter-Orthodox and Inter-Christian Relations, which I am honored to chair, explicitly followed the mandate of the Standing Holy Synod of the Church of Greece. In this light, I would like to summarize the prevailing perspectives during the Committee’s discussions, drawing your attention to the following five points: The…
Source: Orthodox Christianity CLICK HERE FOR VIDEO Thessaloniki — Archbishop Ieronymos of Athens and All Greece and Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople concelebrated the Divine Liturgy in Thessaloniki today together with a number of hierarchs from their respective Local Churches. The Liturgy was celebrated in the 5th-century Byzantine Church of the Acheiropoietos, reports Romfea. Most significantly, “Metropolitan” Epiphany Dumenko, the primate of the schismatic “Orthodox Church of Ukraine,” created by Pat. Bartholomew and ex-President Petro Poroshenko of Ukraine, was commemorated in the service as a primate of a Local Church. This marks the first time Epiphany was commemorated and entered into…
Source: Orthodox Christianity On Saturday, October 12, 2019, the Orthodox world was shocked by perhaps the most predictable catastrophe—news that the Greek Orthodox Church has recognized the schismatic OCU. That was until conflicting reports came out, and now it’s possible there is an internal conflict within the Greek Church over this matter. As a general disclaimer, when discussing the situation surrounding the Greek Church’s recognition (or lack thereof), of the OCU, we are currently entering the realm of informed speculation. Unless one was present during the council meetings in Athens, we don’t truly know what happened, especially not until more news comes…
Source: Orthodox Christianity Mt. Athos — Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople will travel to Mt. Athos tomorrow and stay until Tuesday the 22nd, visiting a number of monasteries and sketes. Yesterday, just two days before the Patriarch is to arrive, U.S. Consul General in Thessaloniki Gregory Pfleger also arrived on the Holy Mountain, according to Romfea, which reports that his plans are to visit Karyes, the administrative center of Mt. Athos, where he will meet with members of the Holy Epistasia, which is the chief executive monastic body. It is also reported that he will spend the night in two different monasteries. Pleger…
Source: The Russian Orthodox Church On 17th October 2019, during a session of the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church, a statement was adopted concerning the situation that arose in the Greek Orthodox Church after it convened on 12th October 2019 the extraordinary Council of Hierarchs on the Ukrainian church issue (Minutes No. 125). Members of the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church have acquainted themselves with the published in the mass media documents of the extraordinary Council of Hierarchs of the Greek Orthodox Church held on 12th October 2019, in particular, with the communiqué of the Council and the report…
Source: Orthodox Christianity Piraeus, Greece – The results and consequences of the meeting of the hierarchs of the Greek Church on Saturday remain unclear. As OrthoChristian reported yesterday, the press team created by the Bishops’ Council announced that the Greek Church recognized the so-called “Ukrainian Orthodox Church” (OCU), thought this interpretation of the councils’ proceedings was later called into question. Both Metropolitan Seraphim of Piraeus and Metropolitan Seraphim of Kythira revealed that, in fact, the hierarchs did not vote on the matter of recognizing the OCU, and thus it cannot be said that recognition happened. Met. Seraphim of Piraeus issued another statement today,…
Source: Orthodox Christianity ATHENS – While media reports have stated that the Bishops’ Council of the Greek Church resolved to recognize the schismatic “Orthodox Church of Ukraine” on Saturday, drawing on Metropolitan Hierotheos Vlachos’ statements to the press, two prominent hierarchs of the Greek Church say this is not true. Both Metropolitans Seraphim of Piraeus and Seraphim of Kythira, both of whom have addressed the Ukrainian issue several times before, have issued statements in the wake of Saturday’s session, stating that the issue of recognizing the OCU was not put to a vote and that the hierarchs simply reaffirmed the Holy Synod’s earlier decision.…
Source: Union of Orthodox Journalists Yekaterina Filatova Abp. Ieronymos in his report referred to the two committees created by the Holy Synod to investigate the Ukrainian issue, which both recommended recognizing the OCU. The Bishops’ Council of the Greek Orthodox Church, gathered in an extraordinary session today, has resolved to recognize the schismatic “Orthodox Church of Ukraine” (OCU), which was previously recognized only by the Patriarchate of Constantinople, which created the new structure last December, reports “Romfea”. It is noted that during the meeting, Archbishop Ieronymos of Athens and All Greece made a report “The Autocephaly of the Church of Ukraine”, in which…
Source: Orthodox Christianity Kiev – Patriarch Bartholomew’s relations with the primates of the Local Orthodox Churches around the world have turned tense thanks to the Ukrainian issue, says His Grace Bishop Victor of Baryshev, the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church’s representative to European international organizations. In particular, things have turned sour between the Phanar and His Beatitude Archbishop Anastasios of Albania and His Beatitude Archbishop Chrysostomos of Cyprus. The former has even received insulting letters from hierarchs in the Patriarchate of Constantinople because of his position on the Ukrainian crisis, Bp. Victor said on the program “Right to Faith” on the First…
Source: Union of Orthodox Journalists Elena Konstantinova Epiphany Dumenko told US Chargé d’Affaires in Ukraine William Taylor how the process of formation and recognition of the OCU is going on. On October 3, 2019, the head of the OCU Epiphany Dumenko met with US Chargé d’Affaires a.i. in Ukraine William Taylor, reports the official website of the newly formed religious structure reports. In particular, according to the press service of the OCU, Dumenko “told Mr. Taylor about the latest events in the religious life in Ukraine”. In addition, Dumenko informed the American Ambassador on how the “process of the formation of the OCU and…
Source: Orthodox Synaxis Greek original here. If the decisions regarding Autocephaly of the Inter-Orthodox Meetings that began in the 1960s with the Pan-Orthodox Conferences are not respected, indeed at the initiative of our Ecumenical Patriarchate and the participation of all the Local Orthodox Churches until January 2016, positions that are the result of over fifty years on the part of all the Local Orthodox Churches, things will develop very badly for the preservation of the visible unity of the Local Orthodox Churches. We must not allow political factors to affect the strengthening of the visible unity of the Local Orthodox Churches.…