Orthodox Christian Laity

Browsing: United States

U.S. USES BULLDOZER DIPLOMACY TO PRESSURE HIERARCHS TO RECOGNIZE SCHISMATICS, OBSERVES SERBIAN HIERARCH

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By on Governance & Unity Essays, Governance & Unity News, Uncategorized

Source: Orthodox Christianity Bačka, Serbia, January 5, 2021 The U.S. uses crude “bulldozer diplomacy” to convince Orthodox hierarchs to transgress their conscience and throw their weight behind the Patriarchate of Constantinople and its anti-canonical actions in Ukraine, says His Grace Bishop Irinej of Bačka of the Serbian Orthodox Church. This is obvious, he said in a recent interview with the Serbian outlet Pechat, given that many hierarchs have suddenly changed their opinion only after meeting with U.S. diplomats. The devil is ever-vigilant, His Grace said, working on Orthodox hierarchs to accept violations of the Orthodox faith and canons. Just a week…

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ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN LAITY NAMES NEW EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

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By on OCL News, Orthodox Christian Laity, Orthodox News, Orthodox News Top Stories

Source: Orthodox Christian Laity FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Orthodox Christian Laity Phone: 561-585-0245 Email: [email protected] [West Palm Beach, FL, August 18, 2020] Thirty-one years ago, the Orthodox Christian Laity (OCL) was founded by a far-seeing group of Orthodox Christian lay leaders, seeking to restore the historic role of the laity in Orthodox church governance, and focusing on transparency, accountability, and American Orthodox unity. Through these opening decades, OCL has led important discussions about the future of the Church in America, and through its public forums, advocacy, publishing, and altruistic leadership, has helped promote the cause of a vibrant American Orthodox…

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Photo by ΜΟΤΙΟΝΤΕΑΜ/ Ververidis Vassilis, FILE.

Apostolic Visit of Ecumenical Patriarch to the U.S. Postponed Due to Coronavirus

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By on Governance & Unity News, Governance Top Stories

Source: Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America New York, NY – His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros of America announced today the postponement of the Apostolic Visit of Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew to the United States due to the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic. The visit will be rescheduled after consulting with the Centers for Disease Control and the World Health Organization in order to ensure the health and safety of the Faithful who yearn to receive the blessing of His All-Holiness as he visits the Archdiocese. Commenting on this development, Archbishop Elpidophoros said: “The health of our Ecumenical Patriarch and our communities is our utmost…

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“From the OCL Archives: Concerning Liturgical Language in the Greek Orthodox Church in America”

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By on Governance & Unity Essays, Governance & Unity News

by Evan Alevizatos Chriss Editor: Another thoughtful viewpoint about the need to use English as the liturgical language of the Church in the USA (originally submitted to The National Herald (TNH) in April 2014). The use of English is a unifying necessity to overcome the 14 jurisdictional and ethnic divisions in the Church.     Evan Chriss lived in Baltimore, MD, and was a member of the Greek Orthodox Cathedral of the Annunciation where he was baptized, and from where, after 93 years, he was buried on May 1, 2015s. Evan was a prominent attorney in the city of Baltimore from 1948…

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Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov meeting with President Donald Trump

Lavrov Blames U.S. for Split of the Orthodox World

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By on Governance & Unity Essays, Governance & Unity News

Source: Interfax Moscow, November 6, Interfax – The United States had a hand in the granting of autocephaly to the new church of Ukraine and is seeking to split the Orthodox world even more, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said. “I didn’t hear that the Church of Greece officially recognized the schismatic Orthodox Church of Ukraine. I’ve heard that there is a letter by Archbishop Ieronymos II of Athens and All Greece addressed to the leader of the schismatics, but I didn’t see an official statement by the Church of Greece,” Lavrov said at a press conference following negotiations with…

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Archbishop Stefan of Ohrid with Mike Pompeo / Photo: romfea.gr

SECRETARY OF STATE POMPEO MEETS WITH “ARCHBISHOP” OF SCHISMATIC “MACEDONIAN CHURCH” (+ VIDEO)

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By on Orthodox News, Orthodox News Top Stories

Source: Orthodox Christianity Ohrid, North Macedonia – The United States is committed to protecting the schismatic “Macedonian Orthodox Church” (MOC), as evidenced by the visit of U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, “Archbishop” Stefan of the MOC believes. During a visit to North Macedonia on Friday, October 4, Pompeo, accompanied by his wife and the U.S. Ambassador to the country, visited “Abp.” Stefan of Ohrid and Macedonia, the primate of the schismatic MOC. The meeting took place in the 13th-century Church of the Most Holy Theotokos Perybleptos in Ohrid, reports Romfea. The church was recently restored with $650,000 from the United States…

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Photo: kdrv.com

ORTHODOX HIERARCHS OFFER CONDOLENCES FOLLOWING 3 DEADLY SHOOTINGS

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By on Orthodox News, Orthodox News Top Stories

Source: Orthodox Christianity A number of Orthodox hierarchs from America and beyond have offered their condolences in the wake of the three deadly shootings that left more than 30 dead and dozens more injured in the span of a week: His All-Holiness Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople: Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew expresses his disgust and outrage at the murderous attack in El Paso, Texas, USA, in which twenty of our fellow citizens were killed and twenty-six others were injured, as well as the bloodshed in Dayton, Ohio, in which several of our fellow citizens were reportedly killed and injured. His All-Holiness strongly…

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George D Karcazes

WHAT HAVE WE IN AMERICA LEARNED ABOUT THE PATRIARCHATES? WHAT CAN WE OFFER TO THEM THAT WILL SERVE OUR HOLY CHURCH?

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By on Governance & Unity Essays, Governance & Unity News

Source: Orthodox Christian Laity Musing from OCL Board Member, George Karcazes As we consider the upcoming visit of Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew to the United States, we who live our faith as Americans in this multi-cultural, multi-ethnic, religiously diverse country are called to ponder the future of Orthodoxy in America. What have we learned about the state of Orthodoxy in the World and in our own home from recent events? We have learned that at the highest Patriarchal levels, Orthodoxy in the world is hopelessly divided. After decades of planning for a Holy and Great Council, unanimously agreeing on a date…

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George Matsoukas

UNCANONICAL DISORDER: FRAGMENTATION, MISINFORMATION, RESIGNATION OF GOA ARCHBISHOP – FURTHER CASE FOR AUTOCEPHALY NOW

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By on Governance & Unity Essays, Governance Top Stories

Source: Orthodox Christian Laity Historically, the administration of the Orthodox Christian Church is shepherded by a bishop in a geographic area.  Geography, bishops and cities are interrelated.  This reality remains until today, and this is a major cause of the impasse among Patriarchs and Assemblies of Bishops in the USA and other parts of the world. Historically, the Orthodox Christian Church taught the faith and conducted its missionary work in the language of the people where they lived and in their own cultural setting. It helped create written languages where the people had none, and it taught in that language…

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US in support of Bartholomew’s stance on Ukrainian Church

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By on Governance & Unity News, Governance Top Stories, Orthodox News, Orthodox News Top Stories

Source: Hurriyet Daily News WASHINGTON The United States said in a statement on Sept. 25 that it supports Fener Greek OrthodoxPatriarch Dimitri Bartholomew’s stance on granting independence to the Ukrainian Church. U.S. State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert said in a statement that the U.S. supports the freedom of groups “to govern their religion according to their beliefs and practice their faiths freely without government interference.” “The United States respects the ability of Ukraine’s Orthodox religious leaders and followers to pursue autocephaly according to their beliefs. We respect the Ecumenical Patriarch [Dimitri Bartholomew] as a voice of religious tolerance and interfaith dialogue,” she added. Nauert reiterated her country’s “unwavering…

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George Matsoukas

Musings of the OCL Executive Director: A New Ecclesiastical Year – So What?

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By on Governance & Unity Essays, Governance & Unity News

Source: Orthodox Christian Laity It is time for the Orthodox Christian laity to speak up and to act. We come to the end of the ecclesiastical year and the beginning of a new one.  This is a time for serious reflection concerning canonical leadership and responsibilities related to church governance. What do we expect from the Assembly of Bishops? We begin the new ecclesiastical year with the meeting of the Assembly of Bishops which will take place in Cleveland on October 1-4, 2018.   As of late August, there is no information on the Assembly’s web site about the meeting.  The…

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Mideast Christians See Russia—not the US—as Defender of Their Faith

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By on Orthodox News, Orthodox News Top Stories

Source: Christianity Today Perplexed by America on Syria, Russian evangelicals and Middle East Christians debate if Moscow really cares. JAYSON CASPER War was swirling in Syria. Rebels were pressing. And Maan Bitar was the only hope for American help. “Because I am evangelical, everyone thinks I have channels of communication,” said the pastor of the Presbyterian Church in Mhardeh. “Syrians believe the United States has the power to stop the conflict—if it wants to.” In the early years of the civil war, Bitar’s Orthodox neighbors were desperate to convince the US and its allies to end support of rebel forces.…

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