| On 19 October 2014, when the Orthodox Church honours the memory of the Holy Apostle Thomas who, according to the church tradition, was the first to preach the Gospel in the Celestial Empire, the 5th anniversary of the restoration and consecration of the Church of the Dormition was celebrated in the capital of China, in the territory of the Russian Embassy. The place where the church stands today used to belong to the Russian Ecclesiastical Mission in China which contributed to the development of Russia-China relations for over 250 years. On October 17, Bishop Sergiy of Solnechnogorsk, vicar of the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, head of the Administrative Secretariat of the Moscow Patriarchate, arrived in Beijing to take part in the celebrations upon the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia. Accompanying the archpastor was Mr. Dmitry Petrovsky, a staff member of the Moscow Patriarchate’s Department for External Church Relations. Mr. Yevgeny Tomikhin, Minister Counselor of the Russian Embassy in China, met Bishop Sergiy at the Beijing airport. On October 18, Bishop Sergiy, Mr. Yevgeny Tomikhin and the clergymen who had arrived in Beijing to take part in the celebrations attended the opening of an exhibition on the Contemporary History of the Church of the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos in Beijing. On October 19, Bishop Sergiy of Solnechnogorsk officiated at the Divine Liturgy in the Church of the Dormition. Concelebrating with the archpastor were priest Sergiy Voronin, rector of the Church of the Dormition; archpriest Andrei Stepanov, rector of the Church of the Lord’s Entry into Jerusalem in Irkutsk; archpriest Alexei Kiselevich, rector of the Orthodox community in Shanghai; archpriest Dionisy Pozdnyaev, rector of the Parish of Ss Peter and Paul in Hong Kong; and Hierodeacon Yuvenaly (Lapshin), a cleric of the Moscow Church of the Life-Giving Trinity in Ostankino. During the service, Bishop Sergiy of Solnechnogorsk presented the Patriarchal awards to those who had helped to restore the Church of the Dormition and contributed to the development of parish life in Beijing. |
| Accept The site uses cookies to help show you the most up-to-date information. By continuing to use the site, you consent to the use of your Metadata and cookies. Cookie policy Communities of the Russian Orthodox Church in different countries of the world pray for victims of terrorist attack at Crocus City Hall DECR Communication Service, 24.03.2024. Prayers for those killed in terrorist attack at the Crocus City Hall in Krasnogorsk near Moscow and for the health of the injured are offered up at the Representations of the Russian Orthodox Church to the Local Orthodox Churches and in the parishes of the Moscow Patriarchate located in foreign countries on different continents. On Saturday, March 23, archimandrite Philip (Vasiltsev), representative of the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus " to the Patriarchal Throne of Antioch, celebrated the Divine Liturgy and the memorial service in the church of St. Ignatius the God-Bearer – the Representation of the Russian Orthodox Church in Damascus, Syria. On March 24, parishioners of the Metochion of the Russian Orthodox Church in Lebanon prayed during Matins and the Liturgy at the church of the Annunciation to the Blessed Virgin Mary in Jal el Dib. Archimandrite Philip celebrated the office sung on the Sunday of the Triumph of Orthodoxy and the memorial service for all the victims of the terrorist attack. Attending the services was Mr. Rodrigue El-Khoury, a representative of the Lebanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs. On March 23, archimandrite Vassian (Zmeyev), head of the Russian Ecclesiastical Mission in Jerusalem, Israel, celebrated the litany for the innocent victims of the terrorist attack at the Crocus City Hall on March 22. Concelebrating with him at the mission church of St. Elijah in Haifa were archpriest Miroslav Vitiv, a sacristan, and hieromonk Tikhon (Proyaev) and deacon Makary Petukhov, clergymen of the Mission. On March 23, parishioners gathered at the church of the Holy Trinity – the Metochion of the Russian Orthodox Church in Belgrade, Serbia, to pray for those who had lost their lives at the hands of the terrorists at a concert hall in the Moscow region. The requiem service was celebrated by archpriest Vitaly Tarasjev, rector of the church and representative of the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus " to the Patriarch of Serbia. Archpriest Vitaly called all the worshippers to pray for the killed and injured innocent people. |
| Accept The site uses cookies to help show you the most up-to-date information. By continuing to use the site, you consent to the use of your Metadata and cookies. Cookie policy The healing of the schism between the Moscow Patriarchate and the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia as a false analogy in the issue of the Ukrainian schismatics By the bishop of Belgorod Sylvester, auxiliary of the Kiev metropolitanate, rector of the Kiev Theological Seminary and Academy In 2018 the Patriarchate of Constantinople accepted within its jurisdiction Philaret (Denisenko) and Macarius (Maletich) and their followers. In this manner there were received into the Church of Constantinople individuals who had received their ordination while in schism. And at the same time no ordinations were repeated, while all the holy ranks accorded them while they were in schism were recognized by the Patriarchate of Constantinople. By 2019 there was already unfolding within the Orthodox world a discussion on the extent to which this decision by the Patriarchate of Constantinople was in accordance with canonical tradition. Within the discussion special attention was paid to the historical precedents of healing ecclesiastical divisions. In particular, Patriarch Bartholomew in his correspondence with His Beatitude Anastasios, Archbishop of Tirana and All Albania, pointed towards a number of such precedents. Thus, in his letter of 20 th February 2019 Patriarch Bartholomew mentioned the restoration of canonical communion between the Moscow Patriarchate and the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia (ROCOR) in 2007. Patriarch Bartholomew noted that here there were no repeated ordinations of the bishops and priests who had been ordained in the period of the rupture in church relations. Patriarch Bartholomew wrote that the Russian Church “forgave all the members of the ROCOR who had hitherto been in schism. How were they received into communion, through rebaptism or through reordination?” Such references to the overcoming of the division between the Moscow Patriarchate and the ROCOR are typical of the Ukrainian schismatics as well. The Appeal of the Holy Synod and the Episcopate of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kiev Patriarchate to the bishops, clergy and laity of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of 14 th December 2007 mentions the restoration of canonical communion with the ROCOR. In this document the restoration of unity between the Moscow Patriarchate and the ROCOR was viewed as a possible model for the overcoming of the ecclesiastical schism in Ukraine. On 16 th July 2008 in reply to this appeal the Holy Synod of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate indicated the wrongness of drawing an analogy between the ROCOR and the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kiev Patriarchate (UOC KP). Nonetheless, as we see, in 2019 too Patriarch Bartholomew, in justifying his decisions regarding Philaret (Denisenko), made reference to the example of the ROCOR. |
| Photo: eadiocese.org Over the course of nine days – November 21-30 – the Kursk Root Icon of the Mother of God, one of the most ancient holy icons of the Russian Orthodox Church (1295 A.D.) visited St. John the Baptist Cathedral in Washington, DC. Parishioners diligently prepared for the arrival of the wonderworking image. News of the icon’s impending arrival quickly spread, in order to alert as many of the faithful as possible of their opportunity to pray before this sacred 13th century icon. Several years ago, the Primate of the Russian Church Abroad, His Eminence, Metropolitan Hilarion, appointed the holiday of Thanksgiving and the week following to be the period in which the Kursk Root Icon would pay its annual visit to Washington. His Grace Nicholas, Bishop of Manhattan, since 2010 the guardian of the wonderworking icon, arrived on Wednesday evening, November 21, on the feast of the Holy Archangel Michael and the other Bodiless Powers of Heaven. The moment of the icon’s arrival coincided with the conclusion of the baptism of the infant Michael, who was blessed with the icon, much to his parents’ untold joy. The following day, on the American civil holiday of Thanksgiving, the people of God began to gather at 11 o’clock for the triumphal greeting and first moleben and akathist before the Kursk Root Icon. After the service, worshippers gathered in the parish hall for the traditional festal luncheon. Friday, November 23, was dedicated to visitation by the Kursk Root Icon of sick and elderly parishioners who were not able to personally attend the church services and venerate the holy image. That same evening, Bishop Nicholas took the Kursk Icon to the parish of the Holy Apostles in Beltsville, MD, where a moleben and akathist were served to the Most Holy Theotokos. The following day, November 24, the feast of the myrrh-streaming Montreal-Iveron Icon of the Mother of God, the Kursk Icon was brought to St. John the Baptist Cathedral for Divine Liturgy, and placed in the center of the church, next to an exact copy of the Montreal Icon, which had been painted on Mount Athos to mark the first anniversary of the murder of its faithful guardian, Jose Muñoz-Cortes. It was endearing to see both images placed together, these primary holy of the icons of the Russian Church Abroad. That same day, cathedral rector Archpriest Victor Potapov was celebrating his namesday (Holy Martyr Victor of Damascus). Praying at Liturgy were His Eminence, Metropolitan Jonah former primate of the Orthodox Church in America; retired) and His Grace Nicholas, Bishop of Manhattan. Upon conclusion of Liturgy, Fr. Victor delivered a sermon dedicated to the significant of these two highly venerated icons for Russia and the Russian Diaspora. |
| The decisions of the hierarchy of the Church of Greece on the “Holy and Great Council” and the final outcome Met. Hierotheos Vlachos At its meetings on 24 and 25 May 2016, the Hierarchy of the Church of Greece, as was its right and responsibility, studied the texts adopted by the Pre-Conciliar Pan-Orthodox Conferences and Summits of the Primates, further to the decision and proposal of the Standing Holy Synod. Having taken into account Article 11 of the Organization and Working Procedure of the “Holy and Great Council” it decided to submit proposals, amendments, corrections and additions, which were submitted within the prescribed time to the competent Pan-Orthodox Secretariat of the “Holy and Great Council”. As stated in Article 11 of the Organization and Working Procedure of the Holy and Great Council “At the conclusion of deliberations, the approval of any change is expressed, according to pan-Orthodox procedures, by the consensus of the delegations of each autocephalous Orthodox Church. This means that an amendment that is not approved unanimously shall not be passed.” The important thing is that most of these proposals were adopted unanimously by the Hierarchy of the Church of Greece, while some were approved with a minority of one or two Bishops voting against out of a total of 76 present, and one proposal was approved by an open vote. These facts imply that this decision by the Hierarchy of the Church of Greece was solidly supported and expresses the consciousness of the Orthodox Church in Greece, which has a high theological, pastoral and monastic ecclesiastical level. 1. The key points of the decisions of the Hierarchy There are four key points in the decisions taken by the Hierarchy, namely, the issue of the person , the granting of autonomy to an ecclesiastical province, the Orthodox Church and the rest of the Christian world, and the unity of the Church as a given fact. a) According to the Fathers of the Church, the term person was attributed to the Triune God, while throughout patristic literature the biblical term human being (anthropos) is used for humans in the theological meaning of human beings created in the image and likeness of God. When sometimes the Fathers use the term hypostasis for human beings, they use it based on the Bible and not on philosophy. |
| Relations of the Orthodox Church with the rest of the Christian world: Draft document of the Pan-Orthodox Council Source: DECR Draft document of the Pan-Orthodox Council, adopted by the 5th Pan-Orthodox Pre-Council Conference in Chambésy on October, 10-17, 2015. Photo: http://www.patriarchia.ru/ Published in compliance with the decision of the Synaxis of Primates of the Local Orthodox Churches, Chambésy, January, 21-28, 2016. 1. Orthodox Church, being the One, Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church, in her profound ecclesiastical consciousness firmly believes that she occupies a central place in matters relating to the promotion of Christian unity within the contemporary world. 2. The Orthodox Church grounds her unity on the fact that she was founded by Our Lord Jesus Christ, as well as on the communion in the Holy Trinity and in the Sacraments. This unity is manifested through the apostolic succession and the patristic tradition and to this day is lived within her. It is the mission and duty of the Orthodox Church to transmit and proclaim the truth, in all its fullness, contained in the Holy Scripture and the Holy Tradition, the truth which gives to the Church her catholic character. 3. The responsibility of the Orthodox Church and her ecumenical mission with regard to the unity were expressed by the Ecumenical Councils. These, in particular, stressed the indissoluble link existing between true faith and the sacramental communion. 4. The Orthodox Church, which unceasingly prays “ for the union of all ,” has always promoted dialogue with those separated from her, both far and near, playing a leading role in seeking ways and means to restore the unity of believers in Christ, participating in the ecumenical movement since its inception, and contributing to its formation and further development. In addition, the Orthodox Church, due to the ecumenical spirit and love for mankind by which she is distinguished and in accordance with the divine dispensation to “ have all men to be saved and to come unto the knowledge of the truth” (1 Tim 2:4), has always fought for the restoration of Christian unity. Therefore, the Orthodox participation in the movement for the restoration of Christian unity does not run counter to the nature and history of the Orthodox Church. It is the consistent expression of the apostolic faith and Tradition in a new historical context. |
| Accept The site uses cookies to help show you the most up-to-date information. By continuing to use the site, you consent to the use of your Metadata and cookies. Cookie policy Metropolitan Hilarion: Holiness is a constant striving to imitate the Lord Jesus Christ On June 27th, the 1 st week after Pentecost, Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, Chairman of the Moscow Patriarchate’s Department for external church relations (DECR) and rector of the Ss Cyril and Methodius Institute of Post-Graduate Studies (CMI), celebrated the Divine Liturgy at the Church of the Beheading of St. John the Baptist in-the-Woods. The church is a part of the Patriarchal Chernigov Metochion, which houses the CMI. Among the archpastor’s concelebrants were the head of the doctoral department of the CMI, Archpriest Alexy Marchenko, the vice-rector for educational work of the CMI, Hieromonk Pavel (Cherkasov), clergymen of the Metochion. During the Litany of Fervent Supplication, petitions were offered up for deliverance of the coronavirus infection. After the Litany, Metropolitan Hilarion lifted up a prayer recited at the time of the spread of baneful pestilence. In his sermon at the end of the divine service, Metropolitan Hilarion said the following: “In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit! On the first Sunday after the Pentecost, the Church commemorates all the saints. On the feast of the Pentecost, we remembered how the Holy Spirit descended on the apostles, and they spoke in tongues, and everyone from different nations began to recognize their dialect; how the illiterate Galilean fishermen became bold preachers of the Resurrection of Christ. And today, on the 1st Week after Pentecost, we remember how the Holy Spirit continued to work in the Church throughout the two thousand year period of its history. The Holy Spirit descended on the disciples of the Savior and inspired them to preach Crucified and Risen Christ. During the following centuries, up to the present time, the Holy Spirit has been acting and will continue to act in the Church. Thanks to His action and the assistance of people, the Church has never become impoverished and will not become impoverished in saints. |
| The Holy Synod noted the deterioration of the situation in world Orthodoxy and called a Pan-Orthodox Council discussion the only way out of the current crisis. Photo: UOC On December 6, 2019, the last session of the Holy Synod of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church took place in the residence of the Primate of the UOC in the territory of the Holy Dormition Kiev-Pechersk Lavra. Having discussed the latest developments in the sphere of inter-Orthodox relations, the Synod made an official statement, the text of which was published on the UOC DECR website. In the Statement, the Synod of the UOC noted that the crisis resulting from the anti-canonical actions of the Patriarchate of Constantinople in Ukraine is not a problem of bilateral relations between the Patriarchates of Constantinople and Moscow and concerns all Local Orthodox Churches, as it “destroys the very foundations of the life and mission of the Church of Christ”. In this regard, the Holy Synod welcomed the initiative of His Beatitude Patriarch Theophilos III of the Holy City of Jerusalem and All Palestine to convene a Pan-Orthodox Council in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan since it considers the Pan-Orthodox Council discussion to be the only way out of the current crisis. The UOJ publishes the full text of the Statement of the Holy Synod of the UOC. STATEMENT OF THE HOLY SYNOD OF THE UKRAINIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH December 6, 2019 The Holy Synod of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, after careful deliberation of the recent developments in the sphere of inter-Orthodox relations, makes the following statement: 1. We are compelled to declare that due to the anti-canonical actions of the Patriarchate of Constantinople in Ukraine, and also in connection with the actions perpetrated by the Primates of the Greek and Alexandrian Orthodox Churches, namely by their entering into Eucharistic communion with the schismatic “Orthodox Church of Ukraine”, the situation in Orthodox Christianity has grown worse not only at the administrative but also at the spiritual level – that is, on the level of ecclesial communion in the Holy Sacraments. |
| Accept The site uses cookies to help show you the most up-to-date information. By continuing to use the site, you consent to the use of your Metadata and cookies. Cookie policy Russian Church Synod expresses strong disagreement with decision to establish “Romanian Orthodox Church in Ukraine” DECR Communication Service, 12/03/2024 On 12 th March 2024, members of the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church had under consideration (Minutes No. 29) the resolutions of the Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church of 29 th February 2024, which had established the “Romanian Orthodox Church in Ukraine” and declared invalid any canonical punishments imposed on the clerics of the Orthodox Church of Moldova who had been received without letters of release into the “Metropolis of Bessarabia” of the Romanian Patriarchate, patriarchia.ru reports . On 29 th February 2024, the Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church resolved “to bless, encourage and support the initiatives of Romanian Orthodox communities in Ukraine to re-establish communion with the Mother Church – the Romanian Patriarchate – through their legal organisation in a religious structure called the Romanian Orthodox Church in Ukraine; and “to reaffirm that all Romanian Orthodox clerics… from the Republic of Moldova who return to the Metropolis of Bessarabia are canonical clerics.., and any disciplinary sanction directed against them on the grounds of their membership of the Romanian Orthodox Church is considered null and void, according to synod decision no—8090 of December 19, 1992.” Similar deeds of the Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church had repeatedly received rightful canonical appraisal from the Bishops’ Councils and the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church, for instance: in the resolution of the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church of 22 nd December 1992 (Minutes No. 105), adopted in response to the establishment of the “Metropolis of Bessarabia,” with subsequent approval of the viewpoint of the Primate and the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church on that matter by the Bishops’ Council of the Russian Orthodox Church in 1994; |
| Chapter 4. THE CHURCH I. Identity of the Church Now we must turn our attention to the Church. There is no undisputed definition of the Church, and many of the definitions on offer could equally be applied to other institutions. Since the Church is an organised community, many of it characteristics are not very different from those of other organisations that have come and gone in the course of history. What is it that makes the Church distinct from any other institution? In its Roman Catholic and Protestant forms, the Church was understood as an association (societas) with its own organisation. Although it has been dominant for centuries, this view of the Church is beginning to disappear, just as the idea that ‘society’ means a nation with a unified culture is also receding. This is not simply because the form taken by the Church varies from one country to another but also because national cultures are being dissolved by new social and economic forces. For the Protestant Churches, the relationship of Church and society, which determines the public aspect of the Church, generally appears in terms that relate to the issue of secularisation. The relationship of the Church to society is not well defined, but it is not very different from the relationship that any other cultural organisation has with society as a whole. Protestant Churches have been profoundly affected by changing views of society, so we can identify communitarian and liberal forms of Church, each denomination with its own definition of the relationship of Church and society. Where the emphasis is on doctrine, as in the Lutheran and Calvinist Churches, it was formulated to create their own particular denominational identity. Protestant Churches in particular are exposed to prevailing secular trends, so their ethics are described in terms of rights and freedoms not very distinct from those held by the population as a whole. The pressures determining Western ecclesiology have left their mark on Orthodoxy too. When Western denominations appeared in the seventeenth century, the Orthodox were asked which of them they recognised, so they described the teaching of the Orthodox Churches by reference to these denominations. In trying to distinguish themselves from these Western Churches, the Orthodox borrowed arguments from the Roman Catholics in order to reply to the Protestants and vice versa. However, to find a truly Orthodox account of the identity of the Church we have to examine its early history. The Church springs from the relationship of man and the world with God, experienced by the Christian community throughout the centuries. |
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