Orthodox Church: US symposium on women deacons proposes a way forward
MEAGAN SALIASHVILI, of Religion News Service, reports on how a consortium of Orthodox Christian scholars, clergy and lay supporters meeting this week outside Boston proposed guidelines for the church to revive the ancient practice of allowing women to be deacons…
Essay: Can ecumenism survive some Orthodox churches’ resistance to ordained women?
ANNA PIELA, a visiting scholar in religious studies and gender at Northwestern University in the US, writes, in an article published by Religion News Service, that the issue of female ordination is threatening to define the future of ecumenism and Orthodoxy at large…
Greek Orthodox church at World Trade Center opens at last
New York, USAP More than two decades after a tiny Greek Orthodox church in lower Manhattan was destroyed by the falling south tower of the World Trade Center, that church’s far grander replacement opened to the public this week in an elevated park overlooking the rebuilt trade centre’s memorial plaza. The new St Nicholas Greek […]
White House to award two faith leaders the Presidential Medal of Freedom
RNS Two faith leaders – a Catholic nun and a Greek Orthodox Christian priest – will receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honour in the United States, according to a White House announcement on Friday. Sister Simone Campbell, former executive director of the lobbying group NETWORK, known for spearheading the “Nuns on […]
Orthodox Patriarch hospitalised in US after stent procedure
New York City, USAP The spiritual leader of Eastern Orthodox Christians was staying overnight in a New York City hospital after having a stent placement Wednesday afternoon at the conclusion of his US visit, according to the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America. Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I, 81, of Constantinople underwent the procedure at Mount Sinai […]
Orthodox Patriarch hospitalised at start of 12-day US visit
Washington DC, USAP The spiritual leader of the world’s 200 million Eastern Orthodox Christians was hospitalised Sunday in Washington on the first full day of a planned 12-day US visit and will stay overnight, the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America said. The archdiocese said Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew was preparing to leave for a service at the Cathedral of Saint Sophia in […]
Orthodox Church’s top Patriarch to visit US, meet with Biden
RNS The spiritual leader of the world’s 200 million Eastern Orthodox Christians brings an agenda spanning religious, political and environmental issues to a 12-day US visit beginning Saturday that includes a meeting with President Joe Biden and various ceremonial and interfaith gatherings. Making the latest of several trips to the country during his 30 years […]
In the US, many faith leaders say no to endorsing vaccine exemptions
AP As significant numbers of Americans seek religious exemptions from COVID-19 vaccine mandates, many faith leaders are saying: Not with our endorsement. Leaders of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America said Thursday that while some people may have medical reasons for not receiving the vaccine, “there is no exemption in the Orthodox Church for Her faithful from any […]