Source: The National Herald By Antonis H. Diamataris The Panagia’s Garden, Mount Athos, is one of the unique places in the world. It is not surprising that Geoffrey Pyatt, the American Ambassador to Greece, visited, and like so many others before him – as certainly many others after him will be – was excited. Also not surprisingly, the ambassador tweeted: “Mt. Athos is a truly spiritual place, and I profoundly thank Abbot Ephraim for introducing me to the rich history of Vatopedi on my first stop here. I was also impressed by the Monastery’s innovative research and ideas on its organic…
Browsing: United States
Source: Orthodox Christian Laity For thirty-one years, Orthodox Christian Laity (OCL) has been the voice crying in the wilderness. The cry has been for renewal of our ancient, apostolic faith within our pluralistic, American, cultural context. The hallmarks of this renewal are characterized by the de-tribalization of the separate Orthodox Christian jurisdictions that evolved here, so that they could work in canonical unity; administer the Church in ways that are accountable and transparent; and respect and include the input of the laity in matters of administration, governance and our journey together as a community of faithful. OCL has not wavered…
Source: Orthodox Christian Laity State of Orthodoxy in the U.S.A. Orthodox Christian Laity (OCL) completed its 30 years of service calling for transparency, accountability, unity and advocating to maintain the voice of the laity as an equal in the administrative life of the Orthodox Church, thereby contributing to Church renewal. As we have seen and experienced in 2017, disrespect and disregard for this principle has contributed to the disorder, financial mismanagement and disunity that has furthered the decline of Orthodoxy in the USA. The census statistics, surveys, research on the status of growth, retention and development confirm this decline. Since…
Source: Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of the USA This report represents a large amount of work under the coordination and authorship of the Assembly of Bishops’ Research Coordinator, Alexei Krindatch. It is in response to the Assembly VII decision to endorse a US nationwide study on the present state of inter-Orthodox parish-to-parish cooperation on the local level. The analysis of replies to a nationwide clergy survey identified 54 cities and geographic areas with a high level of inter-Orthodox communication and cooperation. Of these, the study identified 21 cities and geographic areas in the US where well organized and active…
Source: Orthodox Christian Laity The Orthodox Christian Laity calls upon the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople [EP] to ratify the selection of His Grace Bishop. Sevastianos of Zela as the Metropolitan of Chicago. The process by which the Eparchial Synod of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America [GOA] under Archbishop Demetrios selected him to lead the recently widowed see of Chicago was agreed upon by all parties before the repose of Metropolitan Iakovos, of blessed memory. The Eparchial Synod followed all the procedures approved by the EP including receiving input from the clergy and laity of the Church in America. It…
Source: Archons of the Ecumenical Patriarchate in America New York, NY – The remarks this week by Turkish President Erdogan on the so-called lack of “freedom of religion” in the United States over a single Iftar-dinner at the US State Department have demonstrated once again the absurdity of the Turkish position on human rights and religious liberty. To this very minute, Turkey’s oldest religious institution, the Ecumenical Patriarchate, goes unrecognized, harassed, and its purely Theological School on the island of Halki remains closed for nearly fifty years. Throughout the history of the modern Turkish state, the person of the Ecumenical Patriarch…
Source: Ancient Faith Radio January 16, 2017 Length: 21:06 We interview Alexei Krindatch, the Research Coordinator of the Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of the United States of America, about a new map posted to the Assembly website titled “Orthodox Bishops and Parishes in the United States.” CLICK HERE to listen to the interview.
Source: Orthodox Christian Laity The Assembly of Bishops will meet during the first week of October in Detroit. How will this meeting be different from all other such meetings? Where is the leadership? The work of the Holy and Great Council has been completed, and little action was taken to address the uncanonical situation of the parallel jurisdictions that make up the Orthodox Christian Church in the USA. This situation is unacceptable, because it keeps our message, outreach and mission fragmented and wastes the resources of the lay stewards of the Church. This fragmentation continues to cause a decline in…
Source: Ahram Online Pope Tawadros II, the head of Egypt’s Coptic Orthodox Church, called Tuesday on Egyptian Coptic expats in the US not to demonstrate in front of the White House hours before a planned protest over attacks against Christians in Egypt. “I oppose any demonstrations that might harm Egypt and cause conflict with higher authorities…Please, for Christ’s sake, avoid this behaviour that is not acceptable in any of our churches in the USA,” said the pope in statement published on Coptic World, the official website of the Coptic Orthodox Church. On July 22, Coptic Solidarity, a non-profit organisation, called the…
Source: The National Herald By Yianni Pappas The 2016 presidential election cycle in America has been wild. Pundits on all networks have said that the old rules just don’t apply anymore. Many have stated that “this is not the America we knew.” A lightbulb may have finally lit up. The pulse of the people is beginning to register. It is too late for most of the candidates, but perhaps in observing the political climate we can better understand the lay of the land within the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America (GOA). Our lightbulb is still out and our GOA leaders…
Source: Orthodox Christian Laity The year 2016 is a momentous, historic time for Orthodox Christianity throughout the world. After 1,200 years, Orthodox Christianity is on the verge of a seminal event, a meeting of the Holy and Great Council of the Orthodox Church, to be held in Crete, Greece, during the week of Pentecost this June. This event will provide a pivotal opportunity for hierarchs to officially recognize a unified American Orthodox Church which selects its own hierarchs. It is an idea whose time has come. Moreover, it is properly based on the canonical precedents of the Church. Indeed, it…
Source: Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of the USA Assembly to Convene 6th Annual Meeting in September The Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of the United States of America will hold its sixth annual meeting September 15-17, 2015 at the Hilton Chicago O’Hare Airport Hotel. This year’s meeting will include two sessions devoted to canonical regional planning. In the first of these sessions, the Assembly’s 12 jurisdictional first hierarchs will have an opportunity to offer their comments on a proposal that has been prepared by the Committee for Canonical Regional Planning for submission to the Great and Holy Council in…