Byzantine, Texas

( OCA ) - On Thursday, February 27, 2020, His Beatitude Metropolitan Tikhon participated in the spring meeting of the Executive Committee of the Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of the United States of America. The meeting was hosted by His Eminence Metropolitan Joseph of the Antiochian Archdiocese of North America at the headquarters of the archdiocese in Englewood, New Jersey. The meeting, convened by His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros, Archbishop of New York of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America and Chairman of the Assembly of Canonical Bishops in the United States also included His Eminence Metropolitan Joseph, His Eminence Metropolitan Nicolae of the Romanian Metropolia of the United States, His Grace Bishop Saba of the Georgian Orthodox Church, His Eminence Metropolitan Gregory of Nyssa of the American Carpatho-Russian Diocese of the United States, secretary of the assembly, and His Eminence Archbishop Michael of New York and New Jersey of the Orthodox Church...

( OCA ) - With the blessing of the Holy Synod of Bishops of the Orthodox Church in America, the Chancellor of the Orthodox Church in America, Archpriest Alexander Rentel, made the following statement: In the act of our liturgical gathering, Orthodox Christians, by the Grace of God, enact the sacred mystery of becoming the visible Body of Christ. The Holy Spirit forms and knits us together with other Orthodox Christians throughout the world, working with us and through us to fulfill the saving dispensation. Nothing can affect or change this sacred mystery. Indeed, according to the testimony of the Lord himself, he has established the Church and the very gates of hell shall not prevail against it (cf., Mt 16:17). In recent days, the outbreak of COVID-19, known popularly as the Corona Disease 2019, or simply the Corona Virus, continues to generate interest in the media and cause feelings of fear and anxiety within society and our communities. At this point, the situation as it exists...

( Basilica.ro ) - The Press office of the Romanian Patriarchate published a communiqué on February 27, 2020, in the context of excessive media coverage of the epidemic caused by Coronavirus (Covid – 19) and following requests from some state institutions that the Church should take measures to prevent the spread of the virus and to reduce the population’s fear of this phenomenon. For this reason, the communiqué addressed especially those who are too afraid of illness when they kiss the holy icons or when they take Communion from the same Holy Eucharistic Chalice, as the priest uses a collective spoon. This attention given especially to those “whose faith is weak” (Romans 14: 1) has caused fear elsewhere, more precisely among clerics and believers who consider that an exceptional and temporary measure (economy) in favour of those more frightened and weaker in faith can be transformed into a new liturgical rule of receiving Holy Communion that applies to all believers. In order to...

( OMHKSEA ) - The Orthodox Cathedral of Saint Luke in Hong Kong will remain closed until March 31, 2020.

( Orthodox Korea ) - The unexpected calamity that has emerged in China with the deadly Coronavirus epidemic, it has also struck our homeland in recent days. Apart from the special prayer, which we have already started offering in our everyday Church Services, and by which we ask the Lord for the victims of the Coronavirus, for their loved ones, and for the protection of all people from this great danger, we have also decided to take certain safety measures, in accordance with the instructions of the Ministry of Health of our country. For this reason, we urge all believers to follow the following instructions until the problem ends: 1. During the Divine Liturgy all believers will wear masks. 2. Before entering the Church, they will disinfect their hands with a disinfectant present at the entrance of the Church. 3. They will not shake hands with anyone. 4. They will not kiss the hand of the Clergy. 5. They will not kiss the Icons, but they will bow before them. 6. They w...

( ROC ) - Press release on the results of the fraternal meeting of the Orthodox Primates and delegates (26 February 2020 – Amman, Jordan) On February 26, 2020, a meeting of Primates and representatives of Local Orthodox Churches was held in Amman, Jordan, with the primary view of unity and reconciliation within the Holy Orthodoxy. The participants noted their understanding of the anguish of the Patriarchate of Jerusalem for the imminent danger of schism within our Orthodox Communion. Participating in the meeting were delegations of the Orthodox Church of Jerusalem led by His Beatitude Patriarch Theophilos of Jerusalem, the Russian Orthodox Church led by His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia, the Serbian Orthodox Church led by His Holiness Patriarch Irinej of Serbia, the Romanian Orthodox Church led by His Eminence Metropolitan Nifon of Targoviste, the Polish Orthodox Church led by His Eminence Archbishop Abel of Lublin and Chelm, and the Orthodox Church of the ...

( ROC ) - The establishment by the Patriarchate of Constantinople of a parallel jurisdiction in the canonical territory of the Orthodox Church of the Czech Lands and Slovakia is discussed in particular in an article by Peter Brandtner. Our Orthodox Church of the Czech Lands and Slovakia is one of the youngest in the Orthodox world. However, from the moment it received independence it has been in the canonically equal relationships with other autocephalous sister Churches. These equitable relationships already constitute its integral tradition and a constant of its self-perception. Lately this tradition has been subjected to a deliberate untrue interpretation in the mass media with the hardly concealed view of justifying at any cost the notorious uncanonical steps, concerning which the Holy Synod of our Church expressed its judgment at its extraordinary session on December 17, 2019. In its resolution our Holy Synod expressed its canonical position with regard to an organization call...

Amman, February 27 ( Interfax ) - Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople's refusal to participate in inter-Orthodox dialogue on the procedure for granting autocephality will not impede its continuation, the Russian Orthodox Church said. "If he refuses again, consultations will carry on anyway," head of the Moscow Patriarchate's Department for External Church Relations Metropolitan Hilarion told the press following a meeting of heads and delegations of local Orthodox Churches in Amman. The main result of the meeting was the agreement of the Churches to continue their consultations and interaction, he said. The next meeting in this format is scheduled to take place before the end of the year, and Patriarch Bartholomew is invited to join in. Meanwhile, a letter written by Patriarch Bartholomew was published on the same day as the Amman meeting. He accused participants at the meeting of trampling upon church foundations. "If we want to stay true to oursel...

( Interfax ) - In anticipation of the meeting of heads and representatives of Local Orthodox Churches in the capital city of Jordan, Metropolitan Hilarion, head of the Moscow Patriarchate Department for External Church Relations, told Interfax-Religion website about what and in what format is to be discussed by this forum. – Your Eminence, what do you expect from the meeting in Amman? – We expect a fraternal discussion of Primates and representatives of Local Orthodox Churches on problems of concern for the Orthodox world today. There are many such problems and attempts to present them as if they are being solved or have already been solved can only be misleading. For instance, the Patriarchate of Constantinople has stated that it has already "solved" the problem of the Ukrainian schism. But it is impossible to heal a schism simply through legalizing the actions of schismatics – without their repentance and re-consecration of those who name themselves hierarchs actuall...

( Orthodox Europe ) - Interview with Bishop Irenei About Today’s Meeting of Primates in Amman — Your Grace, today in Amman the heads of several of the Orthodox Churches are meeting. What can you tell us about this gathering? Several primates of the Local Orthodox Churches have accepted the generous invitation of His Beatitude the Patriarch of Jerusalem, to meet in Amman in order to discus, in a fraternal and prayerful manner, some of the issues relating to the disunity that has arisen in parts of the Orthodox world. Their aim, as archpastors, is to seek the Orthodox path of cooperative resolution to difficult circumstances, constructively attempting to overcome worldly divisions through wise application of canonical principles and pastoral love. — These issues of disunity, you are speaking of the situation regarding the Patriarchate of Constantinople? It is well known that the most serious issues of disunity in the present moment are the result of the actions of the Patriarcha...

( EP ) - His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew sent an austere letter to Patriarch Theophilos of Jerusalem, a few days after the meeting with the delegation of the Patriarchate of Jerusalem at headquarters of the Ecumenical Patriarchate at the Phanar (Istanbul), and on the eve of the “fraternal gathering of primates and delegates” taking place in Amman (Jordan) on 26 February 2020 with the participation of the primates of the Churches of Jerusalem, Russia, Serbia and of the Czech Lands and Slovakia, and of the delegates of the Churches of Romania and Poland. “We cannot understand how you overlook or even ignore the magnitude of the negative effects of this initiative,” wrote the Ecumenical Patriarch to the Patriarch of Jerusalem, while stressing that this “familial gathering” initiative only aims at “subverting the established norms and alienating the Orthodox Church from its ecclesiastical foundations.” The Ecumenical Patriarch made clear to the Patriarch of Jerusalem...

(orthodoxia.info via Orthodox Times ) - In the capital of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, Amman, the attention of the puzzled global Orthodox community turns today and for one more day with a great deal of skepticism to the implementation of the Patriarch Jerusalem initiative to resolve the crisis in Orthodox Church. Three months after his visit to Moscow where he announced his initiative to convene a Primates’ meeting, the Patriarch of Jerusalem welcomes today in Amman just three Church leaders who responded to his invitation. Patriarchs Kirill of Moscow, Irinej of Serbia and Metropolitan Rastislav of the Czech and Slovak Orthodox Church are arriving today in Amman, which is still moving at its normal pace. According to reports, since the organizing Church, the Patriarchate of Jerusalem has not made public the details of the meeting, the Primates will have two meetings, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. They will also have a meeting with King Abdallah. The Meeting...

( SOC ) - His Holiness Patriarch Irinej and a delegation of the Serbian Orthodox Church were welcomed on behalf of the host, His Beatitude Patriarch Teophilos III of Jerusalem and All Palestine, by Their Eminences hierarchs Benedict and Christopher, Archimandrite Raphael, Benedict and Athanasius, and Cross-bearing archpriests Irenaeus, Abraham, Alexios, Peter, Gerasimos and Arsenios. The delegation of the Serbian Orthodox Church, next to His Holiness, consists of His Eminence Metropolitan Amfilohije of Montenegro-Coastlands; His Grace Bishop Irinej of Backa and His Grace Bishop David of Krusevac. The Patriarch and his delegation are accompanied by protopresbyter-staurophor Milutin Timotijevic, principal of the Seminary of Sts. Cyrill and Methodius in Nis; protodeacon Damjan Bozic, PhD, editor-in-chief of newspaper Orthodoxy and periodical Theological Views; deacon Aleksandar Prascevic, PhD, Secretary of the Office of the Serbian Patriarch, and hypodeacon Dejan Nakic, personal s...

You can read about the history here . It is as strange a story as you'll find. ( ROCOR-EAD ) - For Release: At the February 5/18, 2020, session of the Synod of Bishops, which was held at the Synodal Headquarters in New York City, an appeal was heard from the Spiritual Court of the Eastern American Diocese regarding the activities of Archimandrite Alexander (Belya) who, while under suspension from serving, wrought disturbance in the church life of several diocesan parishes. Having discussed the appeal and the circumstances of this case comprehensively, as well as the violations of the terms set forth in his suspension that have been a cause of temptation for both clergy and flock, to the point of fleeing beneath the homophorion of a separate jurisdiction without a release from his ruling bishop, it is with sorrow that the Synod of Bishops adopts the following resolution, provided here in brief: To ratify the resolution of the Spiritual Court of the Eastern American Diocese rega...

( ACROD ) - His Eminence, Metropolitan Gregory represented His All-Holiness, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew the weekend of January 24 – 27, 2020, during an archpastoral visit to Havana, Cuba. Metropolitan Gregory joined His Eminence, Metropolitan Athenagoras, The Primate of the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Mexico, Central America, Colombia, Venezuela, and the Caribbean Islands for the celebration of the 15th Anniversary of the Consecration of St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Cathedral and the re-establishment of the Orthodox Church in Cuba.

Here is the current accounting... Nay: 9 / Aye: 6 Ecumenical Patriarchate Patriarchate of Alexandria Patriarchate of Antioch Patriarchate of Jerusalem - Hosting Church of Russia - Committed Church of Serbia - Committed Church of Romania - Committed Church of Bulgaria Church of Georgia Church of Cyprus Church of Greece Church of Poland - Committed Church of Albania Church of Czech Lands and Slovakia - Committed Orthodox Church in America - Russians can always send as part of Russian contingent Orthodox Church of Ukraine

It has been said that beauty shall save the world. Dr. Timothy Patitsas observes that only beauty can make the eye chaste. Beauty tames the heart and extinguishes hatred, envy, and concupiscence. In that regard, the mission of St. Constantine School of Lehigh Valley to train up the child in the way that she should grow so that later she will not depart from it could not be more necessary than it is today. By training the soul of the child in beauty wed to goodness and truth, she can thrive in any occupation, and develop the critical elements of the mind so that she will be a master of her own person, and not in the thrall of fads, propaganda, or demagogues. Please consider supporting us through your prayers and gifts as we move forward in our work. The Saint Constantine School of the Lehigh Valley is a tax-exempt public charity (federal tax ID #84-2177887). All contributions are tax deductible to the extent allowable by law. No goods or services were provided in exchange fo...

( International Christian Concern ) – A group of Indian-American Christians has urged President Donald Trump to visit with India’s Christian community during his upcoming state visit next week. According to these Indian-American Christians, visiting with Christians in India will help President Trump understand the growing persecution faced by Indian Christians and other minorities. Next week, President Trump will pay a state visit to India after accepting an invitation from Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The two-day trip will be President Trump’s first visit to India. In a letter to President Trump, the Federation of Indian American Christian Organizations of North America (FIACONA) urged President Trump to meet with members of India’s Christian community while in the country. “Today, Christians across India are living in fear,” FIACONA wrote. “Pastors, social workers, and ordinary Christians are arrested, tortured, or killed. Christian properties are burnt or destroyed by suppor...

From the incomparable Notes on Arab Orthodoxy, a post entitled " Jad Ganem: The Press Release from Jerusalem ." Several people emailed me after the Jerusalem press release came out to call it so much hogwash. The below does nothing to improve on the calls of porcine palaver that have come my way. So as not to feign a lack of bias here: Qatar is Antioch's and there's simply no getting around it. The Holy Synod of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem has issued a press release following its latest meeting, presided by His Beatitude Patriarch Theophilos III, which treats what it calls "the pending matter with the Patriarchate of Antioch relating to Qatar" on account of Jerusalem's violation of the territory of the Patriarchate of Antioch and ordination of a bishop bearing the title "of Qatar" which is within the territory of the Archdiocese of Iraq, Kuwait and the Gulf of the Patriarchate of Antioch. According to the press release, du...

I'll save people the typing of cries of "more US government pressure." That does not seem to be at play at all here. ( Antioch Patriarchate ) - A Statement by the Antiochian Orthodox Media Center Patriarchate of Antioch and All the East Balamand, February 22, 2020 Following the generous invitation of His Beatitude Patriarch Theophilos III of Jerusalem to His Beatitude Patriarch John X of Antioch, to participate in a consultative meeting of Church leaders in Amman, Jordan, on the twenty-fifth of this month, the Antiochian Church declares that She will not participate in this meeting. The Church of Antioch acknowledges the concern of the Orthodox Churches’ Primates and their initiatives to what could contribute to finding solutions for the grave crisis that the Orthodox Church is witnessing today. However, She has decided not to participate in this meeting, based on the information that has been provided, and for Her care to avoid whatever increases divergence and...

( Roger Pearse ) - Something weird has begun to happen over the last couple of years. Twitter is filling up with claims that “Christmas is really pagan”; the same for Easter (!), St Valentine’s Day – indeed for every single Christian holiday. This is new, and started maybe in 2018, and now has become very commonplace. The object is without a doubt to diminish the Christian significance of American holidays. I get the impression that this may be part of the anti-Trump reaction. It is clearly orchestrated, and obviously a nuisance. This year I came across the claim that St Valentine’s Day is really the Lupercalia (!), and that Pope Gelasius I abolished the Lupercalia and created St Valentine’s Day instead... Complete article here .

( Bulgarian Patriarchate - machine translated) - In connection with letters received from His Beatitude, Patriarch Theophilus III of Jerusalem, in which he invites to the Fraternal Assembly of the Presidents of the Local Orthodox Churches and their delegations in Amman, Jordan, St. The BOC-BP Synod announces that it is refraining from attending the above meeting and will accordingly not send its representatives to Amman, the capital of Jordan. St. Holy Synod expresses his personal brotherly love for His Beatitude the Patriarch of Jerusalem Theophilus III and his deep respect for the Patriarchate of Jerusalem - the millennial guardian of the life-giving Tomb of the Lord.

( Jerusalem Patriarchate ) - In the Holy Synod convened today, Friday 21 of February, by His Beatitude Patriarch Theophilos III various matters relating to the Patriarchate’s ministry were discussed, including the pending matter with the Patriarchate of Antioch relating to Qatar. It was asserted by Patriarch Theophilos that since the two Primates met together mid last year in Cyprus dialogue has been taking place between the two Patriarchates on the matter. In today’s Synod, Patriarch Theophilos positively commended the position of His Beatitude Patriarch John X in welcoming Jerusalem’s initiative for Orthodox Unity being held as the “Amman Fraternal Gathering” even though a resolution between both Patriarchates, regarding Qatar, had not yet been concluded. Patriarch Theophilos briefed the members of the Synod that, with gratitude to the Almighty, in the last weeks, concrete understandings have been reached with Antioch for a resolution to this matter. His Beatitude conclud...

( ROC ) - Heads and representatives of Local Orthodox Churches are to meet next week in Amman on the initiative of Patriarch Theophilos of Jerusalem. In an exclusive interview to RIA Novosti, Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, head of the Moscow Patriarchate department for external church relations, tells who will discuss what and when and what will be the aims of the delegation of the Russian Orthodox Church to be led by Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia. – Your Eminence, when exactly will the pan-Orthodox conference take place in Amman and how is it to be called correctly? – According to the letter from Patriarch Theophilos of Jerusalem, the main event will take place on February 26. The delegations are expected to arrive on February 25 and leave on February 27. It is more correct to refer to it not as a pan-Orthodox conference, but rather a fraternal meeting of Primates and representatives of Local Churches. – What are the aims of this meeting, with what tasks and...

( Morning Call ) - In this era of Common Core, STEM and standardized tests, launching a school with a medieval curriculum sounds quixotic. But the Orthodox churches of the Lehigh Valley intend to do that very thing, bringing the trivium and quadrivium (more on those later) back to the fore of education. “Classical education is on the rise. We’re living in a deprived area in that regard,” said Cyril Gary Jenkins, a member of St. Paul Antiochian Orthodox Church in Emmaus who is president of the fledgling St. Constantine School of the Lehigh Valley . Right now, St. Constantine exists only in name, as the board of directors seeks a building to house it. Jenkins said a community survey shows the tuition-based private school could launch in the fall of 2021 as a K-5 or K-6 facility with about 100 students, mostly from the six Orthodox churches represented on the board. Ideally, it would expand into a K-12 school, with students of any faith — or no faith — welcome to enroll. Tuition ha...

The UOJ entitled this post "Patriarch of Jerusalem reports on the format of Primates’ Synaxis," but Jerusalem has pointedly and repeatedly stated that this is not a synaxis but a congenial meeting of brothers. It will be interesting to read what the letter coming out after this meeting will say. Unless something goes very awry, there will be one. ( UOJ ) - Patriarch Theophilos hopes that the Council of Primates in Amman can become a preparatory ground for further cooperation in maintaining the unity of Orthodoxy. Again, decidedly not a council from everything the Patriarch of Jerusalem has said. Patriarch Theophilos III of Jerusalem addressed the Heads of the Local Orthodox Churches with a letter in which he gave details of the future Synaxis of Primates in Amman. The full text of the letter was published by the Greek edition Ethnos. Patriarch Theophilos recalled that "dialogue and reconciliation between brothers is the only way to move forward." Reporting ...

( Jerusalem Patriarchate ) - A high level delegation formally representing the Patriarchate of Jerusalem was commissioned by H.B. Theophilos III, Patriarch of Jerusalem, to meet with His All Holiness Bartholomew, the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, to further explain the importance of the fraternal gathering scheduled to be held in Amman , Jordan later on this month with the participation of the vast majority of Orthodox Patriarchs and heads of Churches, to discuss global orthodox unity and to enhance inter-orthodox dialogue and reconciliation. The delegation assured H.A.H. the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew during a 2-hour meeting held today at H.A.H. headquarters in the presence of members of the Ecumenical Synod, that the Amman fraternal gathering does not constitute a formal Synaxis but rather a familial gathering of the Orthodox Primates for the purpose of dialogue. The delegation carried a letter from H.B. Theophilos III in which he extended H.A.H. Bartholomew an ...

( Orthodox Times ) - The Ecumenical Patriarch warned the representatives of the Patriarchate of Jerusalem, during their meeting about the issue of the future Synaxis in Amman. Moreover, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew told the representatives that the discussions should have taken place beforehand and not afterwards and warned them that the stance of the Patriarchate of Jerusalem would jeopardise the unity in the Orthodox world for which the Ecumenical Patriarchate would strive. They also discussed amicably all the aspects of the crisis that had arisen. According to orthodoxia.info, during the discussions, the representatives alleged that “the Patriarch of Jerusalem was trapped”. They were trying to persuade the Ecumenical Patriarch and the priests sitting by his side that Jerusalem supported Constantinople and that held the same views. Despite the persistent questions about the agenda of the meeting in Amman and the reasons that led the Patriarchate of Jerusalem to this initia...

Considering the disastrous situation, why not just take whatever the people said on the chin and just move on? It's hard to turn this financial tar baby into a spotless porcelain doll. People are going to raise their arms in disgust and make accusations - that's the natural result of all this attention. I'm not sure it helps to start suing people. BOSTON ( TNH ) – Prominent Greek-American businessman, philanthropist, and community leader, John Catsimatidis, Vice Chairman of the Archdiocesan Council, in an exclusive interview with The National Herald revealed that he is suing certain slanderous bloggers on the internet for spreading false information about him, the Archbishop, and the Archdiocese. He said he is going against “one in Florida and one in New York for ten million dollars each.” He made clear that he is going to go all the way. He has hired the top lawyers and he is going to pay all the legal fees personally. He said that “the lawsuits will be filed within ...

PHOENIX, AZ ( ACROD ) - On Wednesday and Thursday, January 22-23, 2020, the Jurisdictional Orthodox Youth Directors in North America held their annual face-to-face meeting in Phoenix, Arizona. Each year the National Youth Directors meet prior to the Orthodox Youth and Camp Workers Conference (YCC) which is an event they’ve been sponsoring and hosting for 19 years. The Conference gathers together Youth and Camp Workers from all jurisdictions across North America for 2 days of learning, networking and connecting in the ministry of Orthodox youth formation. The YCC was held this year in Phoenix at St. Sava Serbian Orthodox Church and gathered together the National Youth Directors, parish youth workers, camp directors, camp counselors, church school teachers, and others for the two-day Conference. Each year the national Directors take the opportunity to have their face-to-face meeting to discuss and plan their work for the following year which includes advising the Committee for Youth ...

( Basilica.ro ) - The Holy Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church held its first working session this year under the chairmanship of His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel at the Synodal Hall of the Patriarchal Residence in Bucharest on February 13, 2020. During the meeting, an assistant bishop to the Archdiocese of Vad, Feleac and Cluj was elected. The Holy Synod elected by secret vote the V. Rev. Archimandrite Benedict Vesa as assistant bishop to the Archdiocese of Vad, Feleac and Cluj. The new assistant bishop will bear the title of His Grace Bishop Benedict of Bistrița. His ordination to the episcopacy will take place on Sunday, February 23, 2020, at the Metropolitan Cathedral in Cluj-Napoca. During the meeting, the Holy Synod resolved to establish a new master’s degree program entitled ‘Economic management and administration of church units’ (full-time education) at the Patriarch Justinian Faculty of Orthodox Theology in Bucharest. The Holy Synod also discussed organizing the se...

Tbilisi, February 17 ( Interfax ) - Georgian Orthodox Church said it has decided not to take part in a meeting between the primates of local Orthodox Churches in Jordan on February 26, proposed by Patriarch Theophilos III of Jerusalem to discuss problems faced by the Orthodox world. The reason the Georgian Church decided not to attend the meeting is that Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople and representatives of some other Churches will not be taking part in it, the patriarchate said. Archpriest Andria Jagmaidze, the head of the Georgian Patriarchate's public relations service, published the patriarchate's letter to Theophilos III explaining the reasons behind its decision not to attend the meeting in Amman on social media on Monday. The Georgian Patriarchate said that, while it fully agreed with the objectives Theophilos III was pursuing in arranging the meeting, particularly the preservation of unity and resolution of problems existing in the Orthodox world, it bel...

Johnstown, PA ( ACROD ) - With the start of Great Lent 2020, our Diocese will also start a new ministry for families: SPF50. Orthodox Christian families face many challenges. Engaging children with their faith both in church and at home and helping parents keep Christ as Head of their household present ongoing difficulties. Far too often, what is experienced at church on Sundays is not brought back into the home. When that disconnect remains, as youth leave home to begin a new life on their own, they will often leave the Church behind as well. In the search for answers to help families, the best solution may be the simplest one. "Praying together and reading Scripture together are pillars of a Christ-centered Orthodox Christian family. While families may desire to have these activities in their home, they may not be sure how to start. SPF50 intends to help our families bridge that gap,” says the Very Reverend Stephen Loposky, one of the creators of SPF50. SPF stands for ...

( Canberra Times ) - Russian priests should refrain from the practice of blessing nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction that can inflict indiscriminate loss of life, according to new guidelines being discussed by the Russian Orthodox Church. During two decades in power, President Vladimir Putin has aligned himself with the Orthodox Church, which has also developed closer ties with the ministry of defence. Russian priests have long appeared in images sprinkling holy water on submarines, ballistic missiles, Soyuz space rockets and other pieces of hardware as part of rituals to bless them. But some of that is set to stop if the church approves a document drawn up by an Orthodox Church commission. "The blessing of military weapons is not reflected in the tradition of the Orthodox Church and does not correspond to the content of the Rite," the document, on the Moscow patriarchate's website, says. Blessing or sanctifying weapons that can kill an...

Kyiv, February 5 ( Interfax ) - The uncanonical Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU) terminated the powers of "Honored Patriarch" Filaret in the Holy Synod at a meeting of the Holy Synod on February 4, the press service for the OCU said. "Bearing in mind that Honored Patriarch Filaret has lost his canonical rights and duties associated with running the diocese, has not written a letter to His Beatitude Metropolitan Yepifaniy of Kiev and All Ukraine or an address to the Holy Synod [...] it is established that Honored Patriarch Filaret is archbishop emeritus of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine starting June 24, 2019," the press service said. "Bearing in mind that which has been stated above, and also his absence from six consecutive sessions of the Holy Synod, his ungrounded refusal to attend a session of the Holy Synod despite a written invitation, the powers of Honored Patriarch Filaret as a member of the Holy Synod are terminated," the OCU said. The Syno...