Source: Protecting the Orthodox Church Last week, the figurehead Archbishop of the GOA hosted a meeting with the Executive Committee of the Assembly of Canonical Bishops in America. A photo-op meeting at best that supposedly offered a reaffirmation to their commitment of determining “the best path to achieve the ultimate goal of unity.” However, no canonical bishop is willing to be transparent and go on record for saying what unity looks like in America. To be blunt, there are only two possibilities: 1) The Mother Church of Constantinople gives America Autocephaly. As we have learned from the Ukraine drama, it is very…
Browsing: Unity
Source: Orthodox Christian Laity Dear OCL Supporters and Friends, OCL is grateful to YOU, our supporters and friends. Your generous annual donations have enabled us to promote our mission. It is because of your belief in our OCL Mission: Orthodox Unity, transparency, accountability, and laity co- ministry, I want to personally invite you to become a member of OCL’s UNITY ADVOCATE Legacy Society. UNITY ADVOCATE LEGACY SOCIETY is composed of generous and forward-thinking donors who will support our long-term success through a planned gift. It is easy to do. And you don’t have to be a millionaire to do it. …
PDF version available here This paper was presented originally at a symposium honoring Fr Meyendorff on the 20th year of his death, held at St Sergius Institute in Paris on February 8-11, 2012. It was published in St Vladimir’s Theological Quarterly 56 (2012): 335-52, and is being reprinted here with permission. Fr Meyendorff was in the 1950s one of the teachers of His Beatitude, Patriarch Ignatius, at the Institut de Théologie Saint-Serge in Paris, and it is evident that they shared the same ecclesial vision. My personal acquaintance with Patriarch Ignatius began when I was a small child, when he…
Source: Orthodox Church in America The Orthodox Christian Association of Medicine, Psychology, and Religion [OCAMPR] recently issued a call for workshop and paper proposals for its Annual Conference, “Isolation, Violence, Hope and Communion,” slated to be held at Saints Peter and Paul Greek Orthodox Church, Glenview, IL November 7-9, 2019. Proposals for presentations should reflect professional, academic discussion on critical issues regarding the helping professions and pastoral care, specifically as it relates to our Orthodox Christian faith. OCAMPR wishes to encourage an Orthodox approach to the topics that are addressed, informed by psychology and medicine. While presentations reflecting the Conference theme are encouraged, other subjects…
Source: The National Herald By Dennis Menos The fact that Orthodoxy finds itself today in the midst of disastrous schism between the Ecumenical Patriarchate and the Church of Russia is hardly a secret. It is all the result of the recent issuance of a Tomos of Autocephaly to the Church of the Ukraine by the Ecumenical Patriarch, a move that the Patriarchate of Russia strongly opposed. Because of the issuance of the Tomos, the Patriarchate of Moscow has directed that all religious co-celebrations between its hierarchs and those of the Ecumenical Patriarchate cease, and that the two Patriarchates no longer…
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…
Source: Orthodox Christian Laity The Laity must find its voice to renew Orthodox Christianity in USA. The appointed donor elites, the clerical handlers, the old world governments, synods and patriarchates, the Assembly of Bishops, who refuse to assume responsibility to establish canonical order, and the apathetic laity, all bear responsibility for the malaise, bankruptcy and mortgaging of the Institutions established by our grandparents. The status quo is unacceptable. Renewal involves open and free discussion by those who have been blocked out of governance, including hierarchs, clergy and laity across jurisdictions. Millions of dollars will be expended in the next few…
Source: Crux Carol Glatz, Catholic News Service ROME – Seeking Christian unity is more urgent than ever because of the ongoing persecution of Christians, Pope Francis told an Orthodox leader. Meeting with Metropolitan Rastislav, primate of the Orthodox Church in the Czech and Slovak Republics, the pope said the “suffering of many brothers and sisters persecuted because of the Gospel urgently calls us to act in seeking greater unity.” The primate met with the pope at the Vatican May 11 as part of a May 9-12 pilgrimage to Rome; during his visit he also met with Cardinal Kurt Koch, president…
Source: OrthoChristian.com Moscow – A cultural-historical tour designed to bring Russians and citizens of the Balkan regions together began in Serbia yesterday. The “Night Wolves” Russian Orthodox biker club is participating in the “Russian Balkans” tour, which includes visits to a number of Orthodox churches and monasteries, reports RIA-Novosti. The tour is open to all and will travel more than 1,200 miles throughout Serbia and Republika Srpska-Bosnia and Herzegovina until March 28. The bikers and the other participants will pass through dozens of settlements and visit Orthodox churches and monasteries, as well as objects of military glory associated with the history of…
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: 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: Public Orthodoxy by Mark Arey As the last General Secretary of SCOBA (the Standing Conference of Canonical Orthodox Bishops in the Americas) and the first Secretary (albeit for less than an hour) of the Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of North and Central America, I have always marveled at the ‘Golden Age’ syndrome around “Ligonier” of many Orthodox Christians when it comes to Orthodox unity in the Western Hemisphere. There are still many who believe that the Ligonier gathering in 1994 of most of the Orthodox Bishops in America (represented by SCOBA primates) was an inflection point for Orthodoxy in…