Orthodox World Links

11/08/2023

10/08/2023

Metropolitan Daniel of Tokyo and all Japan - Primate of the autonomous Japanese Orthodox Church Enters Eternal Rest

https://ocpsociety.org/metropolitan-daniel-of-tokyo-and-all-japan-enters-eternal-rest/

12/07/2023

Put these dates (18-19 August, 2023) into your diaries! We look forward to welcoming you to our College for this great event.

REGISTER HERE: https://www.trybooking.com/CJELQ

Two eminent scholars have been organised as our keynote speakers for our Theology Symposium this year: His Grace Bishop Themistocles of Nicopolis (Head of the Orthodox Mission Centre, Sierra Leone) and the Very Revd Dr Chad Hatfield (President, St Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary).

12/07/2023

Congratulations to all pious and Orthodox Christians with the feast of the Preeminent Apostles Peter and Paul! Congratulations to all who joined us for the vigil service at BOTB tonight! May God bless all true strugglers and have mercy on those who seek Him!

06/07/2023

30/06/2023

29/06/2023

When I was in High School and College Summer always meant travelling to Russia or Poland for summer camp and making great friends from around the world, many of whom I am still friends with today. I am excited that these opportunities are again available to a new generation through Suprasl: A World Fellowship of Orthodox Youth

27/06/2023

26/06/2023

REV. DR. JOHN CHRYSSAVGIS TO HEAD HUFFINGTON ECUMENICAL INSTITUTE AT HCHC

Rev. Dr. John Chryssavgis, Archdeacon of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, has been appointed the first Executive Director of the Huffington Ecumenical Institute at Hellenic College Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology, effective September 1. He will also rejoin the Holy Cross faculty, of which he was a member from 1995-2002, as Professor of Theology.

Upon accepting the appointment, Fr. Chryssavgis said, "I am grateful for the opportunity as the first director of the Huffington Institute to bring back an ecumenical--by which I mean global--perspective to our School and students through my ministry and experience in the wider Church over the years."

His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros of America, Chairman of HCHC's Board of Trustees, commented, "We rejoice at the appointment of Rev. Dr. John Chryssavgis as the inaugural Executive Director of the Huffington Ecumenical Institute. Fr. John's eminent intellectual capacities and outstanding academic background are perfectly suited for this influential position. May his stewardship illuminate the path of Christian unity and mutual understanding."

Fr. Chryssavgis studied theology at the University of Athens and patristics at the University of Oxford before returning to his native Australia, where he co-founded St. Andrew’s Theological College--the first accredited Orthodox institution in the country--and also taught at the University of Sydney. He has been a priest of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America since 1995, has served as senior theological advisor to the GOA's Department of Inter-Orthodox and Ecumenical Affairs, and continues to serve as theological advisor to the Ecumenical Patriarch on environmental issues. He holds an honorary doctorate from St. Vladimir’s Theological Seminary and is the inaugural Honorary Professor of the Sydney College of Divinity. His numerous publications have been translated into many languages and focus on the early Church and the desert tradition, as well as on the theology of the environment and the role of the Church in the world. His latest books include Creation as Sacrament: Reflections on Ecology and Spirituality (Bloomsbury, 2019), The Letters of Barsanuphius and John: Desert Wisdom for Everyday Life (Bloomsbury, 2022), and Theology, Ecology, and Ecumenism: Reflections of an Innocent Sojourner (Washington Theological Consortium, 2023).

The establishment of the Institute was made possible by the generosity of the Honorable Michael Huffington, a noted philanthropist and faithful Greek Orthodox Christian, who donated $2.5 million toward the establishment of the Institute, and by a matching gift of $2.5 million by the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America. The mission of the Institute will be to foster dialogue between the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic and Episcopal Churches through programs, events, and other channels. The Institute will be in communication with its counterpart, the Huffington Ecumenical Institute at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, California.

HCHC President George M. Cantonis said, "The extraordinary gifts from Michael Huffington and the Archdiocese have made it possible for us to establish this new Institute. The equally extraordinary gifts that Fr. Chryssavgis brings to it as a distinguished scholar and leading voice in Orthodox dialogue with other faiths will bring us closer to our vision of being the intellectual, educational, and spiritual formation center of the Church in America."

26/06/2023

26/06/2023

26/06/2023

Welcome to our New Parishioners - Manoj & Sneha Virippil

We want to extend a warm welcome to Manoj & Sneha Virippil who have recently moved to NW Arkansas. They previously attended St. Thomas Orthodox Church in Sioux City, Iowa. Welcome and many years!

25/06/2023

𝐄𝐍𝐆𝐋𝐈𝐒𝐇 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐆𝐑𝐄𝐄𝐊

𝐌𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐇𝐢𝐬 𝐄𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐀𝐫𝐜𝐡𝐛𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐩 𝐌𝐚𝐤𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐀𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐚 𝐨𝐧 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐃𝐚𝐲 𝐀𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭 𝐃𝐫𝐮𝐠 𝐀𝐛𝐮𝐬𝐞

Today, June 26th, is dedicated by the United Nations to informing and raising awareness about drugs, a major scourge of modern society.

Data published by the international organisation, regarding the spread and consequences of the trend, overwhelms our hearts with feelings of profound pain. Every day, more than 1350 of our fellow human beings pass away from drug abuse.
A shocking statistic that we cannot shy from and worth looking at again: 1350 people every day, which equates to 492 750 of our fellow human beings, annually, are prematurely and violently deprived of the priceless gift of life that our all-good God has given us. Concurrently, millions of families bear a heavy “cross”, enduring sorrows and trials at the side of their loved ones, trapped in the impasse and destructive path of drugs.

We all ought to constantly reflect upon this nightmarish reality and not brush it off. Not so that we bemoan or despair but in order to renew our commitment to contribute, each and every one of us, in alleviating the effects of this trend and preventing its further spread.

We know there are no simple and easy solutions. But our faith requires us to strive and always look to the miracle, promoting Christian love, the unconditional and boundless love that the Holy Gospel teaches us.
In a secularized society, where people are often entrenched in their egos, excluding their neighbour and indifferent to their problems, we Orthodox Christians have a duty to set a good example and bear practical testimony of our faith.
For this reason, it makes no sense to tolerate the social exclusion and marginalisation of our vulnerable fellow human beings who are looking for a way out of the nightmare of addiction. I fervently urge you to stand by their side by all means possible, extend your hand to anyone who asks you for help, open your arms to anyone who, having escaped from the nightmare, is looking for a way to edge their way back into real life.

At the same time, because nothing is more important than prevention, our task to steer young people away from being trapped in the illusory reality that drugs promise, must be daily and
unceasing.
To show our children, not only with words by mainly with our deeds, that it is not worth giving in to the “sirens” of an illusory reality, abandoning the reality of the true life that God has granted us. To achieve this, the most appropriate way is to turn their steps towards Christ and the Church.
Because the life in Christ, more than anything else, gives meaning to the reality that we experience, so that it is impossible to be seduced by the “sirens” of any other empty reality.

With these thoughts, I ask our devout Christians to join in this holy struggle against the modern scourge of drugs, in which our Holy Archdiocese of Australia will not cease to lead through its pastoral but also through its social work.

Μήνυμα του Αρχιεπισκόπου Αυστραλίας κ.κ. Μακαρίου για την Παγκόσμια Ημέρα κατά των Ναρκωτικών

Η σημερινή ημέρα, 26η Ιουνίου, είναι αφιερωμένη από τον Οργανισμό Ηνωμένων Εθνών στην ενημέρωση και ευαισθητοποίησή μας σχετικώς με μια μεγάλη μάστιγα του σύγχρονου κόσμου, τα ναρκωτικά.

Τα στοιχεία που δημοσιεύει ο διεθνής Οργανισμός, σχετικά με την εξάπλωση και τις συνέπειες του φαινομένου, κυριεύουν τις καρδιές μας με αισθήματα βαθύτατης οδύνης. Κάθε ημέρα, περισσότεροι από 1.350 συνάνθρωποί μας φεύγουν από την παρούσα ζωή για λόγους που συνδέονται με τη χρήση ναρκωτικών ουσιών. Είναι συγκλονιστικό αλλά αξίζει να κοιτάξουμε την πραγματικότητα κατάματα, ξανά και ξανά: 1350 άνθρωποι ημερησίως, που σημαίνει σχεδόν μισό εκατομμύριο συνάνθρωποί μας, ετησίως, αποστερούνται πρόωρα και βίαια την ανεκτίμητη δωρεά της ζωής που μας έχει χαρίσει ο πανάγαθος Θεός.
Και ταυτοχρόνως, εκατομμύρια οικογένειες σηκώνουν έναν βαρύ «σταυρό», υπομένοντας θλίψεις και δοκιμασίες στο πλευρό των μελών τους που έχουν παγιδευτεί στον αδιέξοδο και καταστροφικό δρόμο των ναρκωτικών.

Οφείλουμε όλοι αυτή την εφιαλτική πραγματικότητα να την αναλογιζόμαστε διαρκώς, να μην την προσπερνούμε. Όχι για να μεμψιμοιρούμε, ούτε για να απελπιζόμαστε, αλλά για να ανανεώνουμε τη δέσμευσή μας να συμβάλλουμε, καθεμιά και καθένας από το μετερίζι του, στην άμβλυνση των επιπτώσεων του φαινομένου και στην αποτροπή της περαιτέρω επέκτασής του.

Γνωρίζουμε εξαρχής ότι δεν υπάρχουν απλοϊκές και εύκολες λύσεις. Όμως η πίστη μας, μάς υπαγορεύει να αγωνιζόμαστε και να αποβλέπουμε πάντοτε στο θαύμα, προτάσσοντας τη χριστιανική αγάπη, την άνευ όρων και ορίων αγάπη που μας διδάσκει το Ιερό Ευαγγέλιο.
Σε μια εκκοσμικευμένη κοινωνία, όπου οι άνθρωποι συχνά περιχαρακώνονται στο «εγώ» τους, αποκλείουν τον πλησίον και αδιαφορούν για τα προβλήματά του, εμείς οι Ορθόδοξοι Χριστιανοί έχουμε χρέος να δίνουμε το καλό παράδειγμα και έμπρακτη μαρτυρία της πίστεώς μας.
Για τον λόγο αυτό, δε νοείται να ανεχόμαστε τον κοινωνικό αποκλεισμό και την περιθωριοποίηση ευάλωτων συνανθρώπων μας που αναζητούν διέξοδο από τον εφιάλτη των εξαρτήσεων. Σας παρακαλώ θερμά, σταθείτε στο πλάι τους με κάθε μέσο, απλώστε το χέρι σας σε όποιον σας ζητήσει βοήθεια, ανοίξτε την αγκαλιά σας σε όποιον, έχοντας δραπετεύσει από τον εφιάλτη, αναζητά χαραμάδα επιστροφής στην αληθινή ζωή.

Ταυτοχρόνως, επειδή τίποτε δεν είναι σπουδαιότερο από την πρόληψη, ο αγώνας μας να αποτρέψουμε τους νέους από την παγίδευσή τους στην απατηλή πραγματικότητα την οποία υπόσχονται οι ναρκωτικές ουσίες, πρέπει να είναι καθημερινός και αδιάλειπτος. Να δείξουμε στα παιδιά μας, όχι μόνο με λόγια, αλλά κυρίως με τις πράξεις μας, ότι δεν αξίζει να ενδώσουν στις «σειρήνες» μιας απατηλής πραγματικότητας, εγκαταλείποντας την πραγματικότητα της αληθινής ζωής που μας έχει χαρίσει ο Θεός. Και για να το επιτύχουμε αυτό, ο καταλληλότερος τρόπος είναι να στρέψουμε τα βήματά τους προς τον Χριστό και την Εκκλησία.
Διότι η εν Χριστώ ζωή νοηματοδοτεί όσο τίποτε άλλο την πραγματικότητα που βιώνουμε, έτσι ώστε να είναι αδύνατο να παρασυρθούμε από τις «σειρήνες» οποιασδήποτε άλλης, κενής περιεχομένου πραγματικότητας.

Με αυτές τις σκέψεις, παρακαλώ τους ευσεβείς χριστιανούς μας να συστρατευτούν σε αυτόν τον ιερό αγώνα κατά της σύγχρονης μάστιγας των ναρκωτικών, στον οποίο η Ιερά Αρχιεπισκοπή Αυστραλίας δε θα πάψει να πρωτοστατεί μέσα από το ποιμαντικό, αλλά και από το κοινωνικό της έργο.

25/06/2023

Welcome Gabriel!

We welcome into our parish family Gabriel Solomon Hast, who received the Holy Mysteries of Christian Initiation on Sunday, June 25th. As a parish family we ask Almighty God to bless Gabriel, his parents, and his entire family for many happy and blessed years!

19/06/2023

We welcome the Catechumen Nicander to our mission. May God deem him worthy of holy baptism. Congratulations Nicander with the Feast of All Saints of North America!

17/06/2023

Beautiful day at the Monastery of the Holy Protection-Agia Skepi. A blessed Saturday of discovery, prayer, nature and fellowship!

17/06/2023

Our Patriarch with Serbia's 🎾 and 🏀 World Champions.

16/06/2023

Patriarch Daniel sent a congratulatory message to the Basilica News Agency on Friday, June 16, 2023, on the 15-year anniversary of journalistic activity. With this message, the Patriarch urged everyone to know and perform good. Please find below the full text of Patriarch Daniel’s message on Basil...

16/06/2023

16/06/2023

Bishop Maxim visits Holy Trinity Serbian Orthodox Church in Butte, Montana. His Grace gives the keynote address at the MontaNIKA Conference, June 8-11, 2023. Fr. Russell Radoichich is elevated to Protopresbyter on Sunday of All Saints. Read the article and enjoy the photos at https://ow.ly/SQlu50OPYe7

15/06/2023

A message from Marina...

This is my first summer as the Director of Ionian Village, a role that brings both blessings and challenges. Today has strengthened my faith, not just in my Orthodox Faith, but also in Ionian Village and the purpose of our presence here.

Today, the IV2023 Staff went to Zakynthos to venerate the relic of Saint Dionysios, an important figure for Ionian Village and our protector. Throughout my time here, I've heard stories of his presence at the camp over its 50-year history. Saint Dionysios is intertwined with our daily experiences, and his presence is especially strong here at camp.

After returning from Zakynthos this evening, we gathered in the Chapel. Led by our Spiritual Advisor, Father Elias Pappas, we held a Paraklesis service to pray for the safety and well-being of the campers who will join us soon. As we left the chapel, we noticed an intriguing trail—a wet path leading from the doors. It looked like someone had dragged a wet towel along the path which turned into visible wet footsteps. The path wound through the Chapel courtyard, past the amphitheater and cabins, and stopped directly in front of the Proskiniktarion of Saint Dionysios. This wasn't just any wetness; it carried a sweet fragrance, reminiscent of flowers but more profound.

Some may see this as mere coincidence or attribute it to natural factors like humidity. However, my years at IV have taught me that when it comes to such occurrences involving Saint Dionysios and Ionian Village, there is no such thing as coincidence. I urge you to pray for us, that we may honor the profound legacy of this incredible program, prove ourselves worthy of our significant role, and that our campers may embrace Jesus Christ, all His Saints, and the message of Love that permeates Ionian Village.

15/06/2023

Chrysostom Academy is seeking applications for a Grammar School Teacher's Aide for the 2023-2024 school year. The Website of OrthodoxJobs.com

14/06/2023

13/06/2023

12/06/2023

Many Years to His Eminence, Archbishop Nathaniel on his Birthday today! La mulți ani, Înaltpreasfinția Voastră!

11/06/2023

Happy Nameday, Metropolitan Nathanael!

11/06/2023

The 16-chapter “Essential Orthodox Christian Beliefs: A Manual for Adult Instruction,” is now available for free download. A cooperative effort of the Departments of the Orthodox Church in…