| Orthodox movement looking to grow locally Source: LancasterOnline When Kim Krawizcki joined Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church four years ago, the first question people asked her was, “Why are you joining the Greek church?” Krawizcki, whose ethnic background is Ukrainian, was raised Roman Catholic and later tried different denominations. Then, being “unhappy spiritually,” she looked deeper into Orthodoxy and was immediately drawn to the church’s ancient faith traditions and worship style. Krawizcki is part of a surprising percentage of the local parish, founded in 1921 by Greek immigrants, that is not Greek: at least 20 percent, according to the Rev. Alexander Goussetis. He is pastor of the Hershey Avenue congregation, which has 600 member families, or about 1,200 people. Yet in Lancaster, many people equate Orthodoxy with being Greek, Krawizcki pointed out. Therefore, she added, it’s important for people to know that “the reason we gather on a Sunday morning is not because we’re Greek, but because we’re Orthodox.” Krawizcki and others hope Orthodoxy becomes better known here through Annunciation’s latest outreach ministry: the Lancaster County Orthodox Mission in the Lititz-Ephrata area. Only Orthodox here “We felt it was time to branch out, because we’re the only Orthodox parish in this county,” Goussetis said. “This is an opportunity to expand our ministries, to offer an opportunity for other Lancastrians to be exposed to or become familiar with the Orthodox Christian faith.” Since last December, a small group has been meeting at 7 p.m. two Thursdays per month at Lititz Mennonite Church for worship, study and fellowship. Plans call for the group to have its own worship space eventually. The group of 15 to 20 people includes Annunciation members and supporters from Orthodox parishes in the Reading and Harrisburg areas, along with a handful of “seekers and inquirers,” as Goussetis put it. An event to introduce the mission parish to the public will be held Saturday, Nov. 14, at the Keystone Villa in Ephrata (see sidebar). |
| Russian bikers deliver icons to churches of the Moscow Patriarchate in Africa Source: Interfax-+religion Natalya Mihailova 27 April 2016 Moscow, April 27, Interfax - Bikers-pilgrims from the Nochnye Volki club visited Russian Orthodox churches in Africa. Photo: http://nightwolves.ru/ “The expedition lasted for half a year. Its participants covered 42,000 km,” the Krestovsky Most Orthodox paper writes. “We started our trip from the blessing of the Rector of the Holy Trinity-St. Sergius Lavra. After a prayer service, he instructed us to deliver icons of St. Sergius to African parishes of the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad and the Orthodox Church of Alexandria,” biker Yury Volkov said. Motor bikers reached the most distant parish of the Russian Church in Uganda. The Annunciation Church is located in the island of Bukasa in Lake Victoria. “Priest Christopher Walusimbi – the first black African priest in the ROCOR. He said that life is extremely hard there: extreme poverty, lack of medical help and absence of electricity. To get to the post, the bank or the hospital, Father Christopher has to travel many hours by ship,” Volkov said. Crosses and icons from Russian believers were given to the priest. Rector of St. Sergius Church in Johannesburg priest Daniil Lugovoy received icons of St. Sergius and St. Mary of Magdala. The bikers also visited churches in Morocco, Cote d’Ivoire, Ethiopia and Mozambique and transferred crosses, icons and other gifts from Russia. Tweet Donate Share Code for blog Russian bikers deliver icons to churches of the Moscow Patriarchate in Africa Natalya Mihailova " The expedition lasted for half a year. Its participants covered 42,000 km, " the Krestovsky Most Orthodox paper writes. " We started our trip from the blessing of the Rector of the Holy Trinity-St. Sergius Lavra. After a prayer service, he instructed us to deliver icons of St ... Since you are here… …we do have a small request. More and more people visit Orthodoxy and the World website. However, resources for editorial are scarce. In comparison to some mass media, we do not make paid subscription. It is our deepest belief that preaching Christ for money is wrong. |
| Russian Church Bells with Military Symbols to be Sanctified admin 08 April 2013 April 4, 2013 © Photo Airborne troops press service A dozen church bells decorated with symbols of the Airborne Troops will be sanctified on Sunday in an Orthodox church in Moscow’s northeast, a Russian Defense Ministry spokesman said Thursday. Col. Alexander Kucherenko said it was the first time that bells had been decorated not only with images of saints but also with Airborne Troops emblems and army symbols during the casting. “Work to cast twelve bells was funded by donations from the Airborne Troops, veterans of combat and counterterrorism operations and their family members,” Kucherenko said. “The bells will be consecrated in the Annunciation Church… that serves the Airborne Troops Staff in Sokolniki.” After the consecration, the bells will be installed in the church’s belfry. The Annunciation Church, which is currently being restored, is designated as the Airborne Troops’ main church. Source: RIAN Tweet Donate Share Code for blog Russian Church Bells with Military Symbols to be Sanctified admin April 4, 2013 [caption id="" align="" width="" ] © Photo Airborne troops press service[/caption] A dozen church bells decorated with symbols of the Airborne Troops will be sanctified on Sunday in an Orthodox church in Moscow’s ... Since you are here… …we do have a small request. More and more people visit Orthodoxy and the World website. However, resources for editorial are scarce. In comparison to some mass media, we do not make paid subscription. It is our deepest belief that preaching Christ for money is wrong. Having said that, Pravmir provides daily articles from an autonomous news service, weekly wall newspaper for churches, lectorium, photos, videos, hosting and servers. Editors and translators work together towards one goal: to make our four websites possible - Pravmir.ru, Neinvalid.ru, Matrony.ru and Pravmir.com. Therefore our request for help is understandable. For example, 5 euros a month is it a lot or little? A cup of coffee? It is not that much for a family budget, but it is a significant amount for Pravmir. |
| Christmas is just a few days away, and Nazareth — the childhood home of Jesus — is busily readying itself for the party of the year. Festivities started Wednesday evening with the start of the city’s annual Christmas market and the lighting of a 25-foot-high artificial tree in the heart of downtown Nazareth, accompanied by outdoor performances throughout the historic town’s narrow streets and alleyways. “It’s a huge event,” said Nazareth’s director of cultural affairs, Khaled Buttu, in the center of the main square with the famed Greek Orthodox Annunciation Church behind him. Cafes and restaurants at this time of the year are full, as customers sit around drinking espressos and glass cups full of thick Turkish coffee. Kids just out of school and parents with toddlers in tow stroll through the busy square, peering at the market kiosks selling candied apples, fresh popcorn and crisp potato pancakes as well as ethnic jewelry, clothing and Christmas decorations. Kiosks selling everything from candied apples to Palestinian jewelry line the streets of Nazareth (photo credit: Jessica Steinberg/Times of Israel) Someone dressed in a Sponge Bob costume danced outside one of the stores, bouncing to the beat of “Jingle Bells.” “It’s become kind of international,” said Buttu. “Everyone comes here.” Last year, there were 80,000 people in Nazareth to celebrate, said Buttu. That’s a huge number of visitors for a city of 125,000 (its population is nearly doubled when you add the residents of Upper Nazareth, the mostly Jewish town next door). Shlomi Cohen, a burly senior police officer who was checking in with Buttu, verified the 80,000 head count. “It’s for sure the biggest event in the area,” said Cohen. “It’s far bigger than the Carmiel dance festival,” an annual, three-day folkdance festival each July that draws tens of thousands of visitors. “But that’s nothing like this.” All of Nazareth comes out for the market; so do Israeli Jews. Buttu surmised that around 60 percent of last year’s visitors were Jews coming to experience some Christmas spirit. |
| Russian Church opens three new churches a day Source: Interfax-religion Natalya Mihailova 15 May 2017 Moscow, May 15, Interfax - The Russian Church has 36,000 churches, their number continuously grows, head of the Synodal Department for External Church Relations Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk says. The Church of the Annunciation in Voronezh. Built in the period between 1998 and 2009 years. Photo: https://sdelanounas.ru “When we celebrated the 1000 anniversary of Russia’s Baptism in 1988, the Russian Church has 6,000 churches. Today we have 36,000 churches. We opened a thousand churches a year with almost the same speed, or three churches a day,” he said on air Church and the World program on Rossiya-24 TV. He stressed it was done “not on the instruction, but as existing churches cannot house all coming believers”. “As the number of believers continuously grows, then the number of churches should also grow,” the metropolitan said. The Russian Orthodox Church provides pastoral care to Orthodox residents in a number of states – Russia, Ukraine, Byelorussia, Moldavia, the Central Asia, the Baltic States, China and Japan. The Moscow Patriarchate’s communities exist in many other countries where Russian-speaking diaspora lives. Tweet Donate Share Code for blog Russian Church opens three new churches a day Natalya Mihailova " When we celebrated the 1000 anniversary of Russia's Baptism in 1988, the Russian Church has 6,000 churches. Today we have 36,000 churches. We opened a thousand churches a year with almost the same speed, or three churches a day, " he said on air Church and the World program on ... Since you are here… …we do have a small request. More and more people visit Orthodoxy and the World website. However, resources for editorial are scarce. In comparison to some mass media, we do not make paid subscription. It is our deepest belief that preaching Christ for money is wrong. Having said that, Pravmir provides daily articles from an autonomous news service, weekly wall newspaper for churches, lectorium, photos, videos, hosting and servers. Editors and translators work together towards one goal: to make our four websites possible - Pravmir.ru, Neinvalid.ru, Matrony.ru and Pravmir.com. Therefore our request for help is understandable. |
| Tweet Нравится Orthodox church in Kyoto offers a glimpse of rare Russian icons Source: The Asahi Shimbun Company Kyoto, October 28, 2016 Photo: http://www.asahi.com/ An Orthodox cathedral famed for its century-old Russian icons will open its doors to the public for the first time as part of a series of special openings of usually exclusive heritage sites. The exhibition offers a rare opportunity for non-followers of the church to catch a glimpse of a priceless Russian iconostasis--a dividing wall made up of icon paintings--seldom seen even in its homeland. “In Russia, similar churches were destroyed during the Soviet persecution of Christianity,” said head priest Shin Oikawa. “This wall is a culturally important piece of heritage, too.” The Holy Annunciation Cathedral here in the ancient capital of Japan is a wooden building built in the Russian Byzantine style. Its exterior is painted white and its copper roofing is covered with patina. The church is located in the city’s Nakagyo Ward, surrounded by many historic temples, shrines and royal palaces. It was designed by Japanese architect Shigemitsu Matsumuro, a master of European-style architecture. Both the building and its interior decoration were completed in 1903, and the iconostasis was imported from Russia for the cathedral. The attention-grabbing iconostasis that divides the nave and sanctuary behind the wall is made of 30 panels of icon paintings placed in decorative wooden frames and designed to look like a facade of a church with pinnacles. Not many examples of such walls remain in Russia. Other sacred instruments such as spoons, knives, plates and crucifixes for ritual use were brought to the cathedral from Russia. Icons donated by Russian prisoners of war during the Russo-Japan War are also displayed on the walls. However, time has been unkind to the priceless artwork, waiting for proper conservation and repair work. The century-old paint is flaking off in places, and some artworks have severe markings on them as if they have been badly scratched. |
| Archimandrite Cleopas Strongylis Elected Metropolitan of Sweden Source: Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America Natalya Mihailova 06 May 2014 NEW YORK – The Holy and Sacred Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople elected unanimously today the Very Reverend Archimandrite Cleopas Strongylis Metropolitan of Sweden and All Scandinavia. His Grace Metropolitan elect Cleopas Strongylis has been serving as the Dean of the Annunciation Cathedral in Boston, Massachusetts. His Eminence Archhbishop Demetrios of America upon the announcement of the election stated: “We congratulate His Grace, Metropolitan-elect of Sweden and All Scandinavia, Cleopas Strongylis on his election and wish him strength and grace from above as he will shepherd parishes in Sweden, Denmark, Iceland and Norway. May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be always with the newly elected Metropolitan in his new diakonia.” Metropolitan-elect Cleopas was born in Nea Smyrni, Athens, in 1966. He completed his primary education in Athens and was then admitted on scholarship to the Rizareios Ecclesiastical High School from where he graduated in 1984. He furthered his studies at the Theological School of the University of Athens, graduating in 1988, and then attended a two-year graduate studies program in Canon Law at the same University. His Grace continued graduate studies at Durham Theological School, in England, where he was awarded a Master of Arts degree in 1992. In 1994 he graduated summa cum laude from Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology, in Brookline, Mass., with a Master’s degree in Sacred Theology. He continued with doctoral studies in the Old and the New Testament at Boston University Theological School and Harvard Divinity School. In 1996 he was awarded a Doctorate of Theology from the Theological School of the Aristotelian University of Thessaloniki. He was ordained a Deacon in 1989 and a Presbyter in August 1992, by Metropolitan Cleopas of Thessaliotis, Greece, who also bestowed upon him the offikion of Archimandrite. While at Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology, he worked as personal theological secretary of Metropolitan Methodios of Boston, who at the time was serving as President of Hellenic College / Holy Cross. Immediately afterwards, he was appointed Director of the Department of Registry and Adjunct Professor of Patristics, teaching at the Seminary’s graduate school for three years. |
| Freddie Gray: Baltimore’s Orthodox Churches Release Statement Source: Greek Reporter Natalya Mihailova 14 May 2015 The Baltimore Council of Orthodox Churches sent a statement to the city of Baltimore condemning violence, but “encouraging the faithful, and all Baltimore citizens, to engage their constitutional rights and to follow their conscience in regard to participation in lawful and peaceful assemblies addressing perceived injustice, inequity, or concerns and grievances with the status quo.” Photo: http://usa.greekreporter.com/ The Annunciation Cathedral faithful gathered for a special prayer service for the city, after the divine Liturgy on May 3, 2015. The following statement was composed and sent to Baltimore City Hall on May 2, 2015, after Baltimore-area clergy and laity met to discuss the city’s recent turmoil in the aftermath of the death of Freddie Gray. STATEMENT TO THE CITY OF BALTIMORE “Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and a divided household falls.” (Luke 11:17) Countless Orthodox Christians have called Baltimore their earthly home for more than a century. Many of our ancestors and contemporaries fled to this country to escape poverty, persecution, oppression, imprisonment, torture, and murder, and to find a new life in a land that held the promise of peace, prosperity, and the rule of law. As devoted citizens of this city, we have of course been moved by the tragic death of Freddie Gray and the events that it has sparked. It is with one voice that we Orthodox Christians add our prayers for healing, reconciliation, and peace in Baltimore. In the name of Jesus Christ, Furthermore, we commit ourselves to our duty of prayer and repentance, that we may ever be faithful stewards of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, to fulfill His admonition to “love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength” and to “love your neighbor as yourself.” We therefore humbly, but resolutely, call upon all our fellow citizens to join us in honest, dispassionate self-appraisal and reflection, to aspire to the greater good of self-emptying love and forgiveness, to encounter one another in dialogue with mutual respect so that we might, as a city, progress in a concerted movement toward the goal of lasting harmonious coexistence and genuine neighborly and brotherly love. |
| Bishop John Kallos, 84: First U.S.-Born Greek Orthodox Bishop Michelle E. Shaw 07 December 2012 Bishop John Kallos dedicated his life to the Greek Orthodox Church. During his nearly 60 years of service to the church, including more than 40 as a bishop, Kallos assisted in the church’s growth in Atlanta and beyond. “Bishop John was instrumental in bringing the diocese’s headquarters to Atlanta,” said the Very Rev. George Tsahakis, chancellor of the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Atlanta. “He once told me, ‘Father George, every time I wanted to visit a parish in Florida, I had to go from Charlotte to Atlanta, and then Atlanta to Florida.’ ” So he recommended to the archdiocese in New York that the headquarters be moved to Atlanta because he seemed to spend a lot of time coming through Atlanta.” John Christodoulos Kallos, of Tucker, died Saturday after a brief decline in health. He was 84. Services have been scheduled Friday at the Greek Orthodox Cathedral of the Annunciation as follows, 8 a.m. Orthros, 9 a.m. Hierarchical Divine Liturgy, followed by an 11 a.m. funeral. Burial will follow at Greenwood Cemetery. A.S. Turner & Sons Funeral Home and Crematory is in charge of arrangements. Kallos was well respected among the Greek Orthodox and other denominations, Tsahakis said. His love to, and commitment for, the church endeared the bishop to many. In a prepared statement, Archbishop Demetrios of America, the head of the church in America, said that Kallos had always been “a person with deep religious feelings and a desire to communicate his knowledge to the people for their edification and spiritual enrichment.” “We certainly will miss him as a witness of the eternal Orthodox faith,” he said. A native of Chicago, Kallos’ parents were from Alatsata in Asia Minor. An only child, he was reared in the Greater Boston area, where he studied religion and theology extensively. He earned his undergraduate degree from Boston College and studied at Holy Cross Greek Orthodox Theological School in Massachusetts; the Divinity School, University of Athens in Greece; the Ecumenical Institute in Geneva, Switzerland; Huntingdon College in Alabama; Harvard Divinity School in Boston; and Episcopal Theological School in Cambridge, Mass. |
| Bishop Jovan of Slavonia visits Moscow Source: DECR Natalya Mihailova 19 March 2015 Bishop Jovan of Slavonia, the Serbian Orthodox Church visited Moscow on 12-17 March 2015 with the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia. On March 13, Bishop Jovan visited the St. Tikhon Orthodox Humanitarian University,’ took part in the meeting of the ‘PSTGU-Serbia’ Club of Russian Serbian Friendship and delivered a report on ‘Jasenovac and the Serbian Orthodox Church.’ On March 15, Bishop Jovan concelebrated the Divine Liturgy with Bishop Panteleimon of Orekhovo-Zuevo at the Church of the Annunciation of the Holy Virgin. The church is located at the Headquarters of the Russian Airborne Troops in Sokolniki, Moscow. Tweet Donate Share Code for blog Bishop Jovan of Slavonia visits Moscow Natalya Mihailova On March 13, Bishop Jovan visited the St. Tikhon Orthodox Humanitarian University,’ took part in the meeting of the ‘PSTGU-Serbia’ Club of Russian Serbian Friendship and delivered a report on ‘Jasenovac and the Serbian Orthodox Church.’ On March 15, Bishop Jovan concelebrated the Divine Liturgy ... Since you are here… …we do have a small request. More and more people visit Orthodoxy and the World website. However, resources for editorial are scarce. In comparison to some mass media, we do not make paid subscription. It is our deepest belief that preaching Christ for money is wrong. Having said that, Pravmir provides daily articles from an autonomous news service, weekly wall newspaper for churches, lectorium, photos, videos, hosting and servers. Editors and translators work together towards one goal: to make our four websites possible - Pravmir.ru, Neinvalid.ru, Matrony.ru and Pravmir.com. Therefore our request for help is understandable. For example, 5 euros a month is it a lot or little? A cup of coffee? It is not that much for a family budget, but it is a significant amount for Pravmir. If everyone reading Pravmir could donate 5 euros a month, they would contribute greatly to our ability to spread the word of Christ, Orthodoxy, life " s purpose, family and society. |
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