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Last Updated: 19 February 2013

CWNews.com - Egypt’s Coptic Orthodox leader, Pope Shenouda III, is being charged with detaining a woman after she converted from Christianity to Islam.

The woman, the wife of a Coptic cleric, left her husband in July after she became a Muslim, according to Islamic leaders, but she was discovered and brought back to her husband. The complaint against Pope Shenouda alleges that he is now holding Camillia Shehata against her will. Coptic spokesmen have countered by questioning whether the woman's conversion to Islam was forced.

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• Egyptian Pope Accused of Incarcerating Muslim Convert (TML)

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Last Updated: 19 February 2013

Protocol 90/10

September 1, 2010
Beginning of the Ecclesiastical New Year
Day for the Protection of our Natural Environment

To the Most Reverend Hierarchs, the Reverend Priests and Deacons, the Monks and Nuns, the Presidents and Members of the Parish Councils of the Greek Orthodox Communities, the Distinguished Archons of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, the Day, Afternoon, and Church Schools, the Philoptochos Sisterhoods, the Youth, the Hellenic Organizations, and the entire Greek Orthodox Family in America

Beloved Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

We begin this Ecclesiastical New Year as we should begin every year and each day of our lives, with hope in the promises of our Lord Jesus Christ for our salvation and a blessed life with Him for all eternity.  The Apostle Paul in his Epistle to the Romans links this hope in the glory which shall be revealed in us (Romans 8:18) to another attribute that should be characteristic of our Christian lives, “hope with perseverance.”  He states, “But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance” (8:25).

The hope of believers is not an empty hope.  It is not inactive or hesitant.  It is not based on the naïve idea that things will become better automatically.  Our hope originates in our transformation through the power and presence of Christ, and it marks all attitudes and actions of our lives.  It is in this hope that we join together with brothers and sisters in Christ in a community of love, worship, and fellowship.  In hope, we gather all people into God’s home affirming His love and power to redeem their lives.  In hope, we live in a fallen world responding to the needs around us in love, striving for and doing what is just and holy, and offering peace and true life.  And we do this with perseverance.

On this day of Indiction, of September 1, which marks the beginning of the Ecclesiastical New Year, “hope with perseverance” has a significant meaning.  The question is how do we persevere through the challenges of this world in the hope of participating in the glorious liberty we will have as the children of God?  We receive the power of perseverance as we gather in prayer and praise to the Holy Trinity, as we are guided through the Holy Sacraments, as we are edified through all aspects of worship through the Holy Scriptures, hymns, prayers, sermons, icons, and the sacred space of the Church.  Through all of these, our perseverance is nurtured, and our hope grows into a strong witness of the Gospel to a world which seems hopeless, lost, and confused. 

This first day of September has also been designated by our holy and beloved Ecumenical Patriarchate as the Day for the Protection of our Natural Environment.  We can also affirm the significance of “hope with perseverance” when we consider the challenges we face in the proper care and respect for the natural world.  Over the past four months we have been saddened by the environmental tragedy in the Gulf of Mexico.  The impact of this catastrophe on the ocean, wildlife, shorelines, and the well-being of the involved communities will linger for years and possibly decades.  As Orthodox Christians, we also see the spiritual effects of this and many other environmental challenges around the world.  As the Apostle Paul states, we know that the entire created order is under the bondage of corruption, eagerly awaiting redemption together with us (Romans 8:21-22).  While we await such a final redemption of all, we cannot be idle or insensitive to the suffering environment.  In our respect for life, in our love for all things created by God, and in our responsibility to be good stewards of all that He has given us, we must adopt attitudes and habits that show this.  We must respond to environmental challenges with the love that God has shown us. This is a “perseverance in hope” or a “hope with perseverance” that honors truth in the face of insurmountable adversity, values life above convenience and profit, and reveals the hope we have in the glory which shall be revealed in us.

Beloved Brothers and Sisters in Christ, on this day of Indiction I offer you my prayers and wishes for a blessed Ecclesiastical New Year filled with hope and joy as we gather for feasts and commemorations in the name of Christ, and as we persevere in the hope of the life that is ours through Him.

With paternal love in Christ,

†DEMETRIOS
Archbishop of America

GREEK ORTHODOX ARCHDIOCESE OF AMERICA
8-10 East 79th St. New York, NY 10075-0106
Tel: (212) 570-3530 Fax: (212) 774-0237
Web: http://www.goarch.org  - Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

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Last Updated: 19 February 2013

CWNews.com - Speaking at the annual Rimini meeting of the Communion and Liberation Movement, the head of the Belarusian Orthodox Church said that “the time is ripe for a meeting” between Pope Benedict and Patriarch Kirill, head of the Russian Orthodox Church. “It might even be possible in 2011; in principle I see no obstacles,” said Metropolitan Filaret of Minsk and Slutsk.

“We have been in dialogue with the Catholic Church for some time, at times with moments of exhilaration, at others with a fall in tensions,” he said. “Now we are in a moment of stability, but between us, we, the parties, are open to dialogue. I hope this atmosphere will continue.”

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• Catholic, Russian Orthodox Churches Embrace (Zenit)

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Last Updated: 19 February 2013

25 August - 6 September 2010

Wednesday 25 August
11:00 Arrival of His Beatitude Patriarch Gregorios III and his party at Ezeiza International Airport Buenos Aires and official reception at the airport
18:00   Ceremony and reception at The Cedars of Lebanon Foundation

Thursday 26 August
9:00 Visit to Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio, SJ Archbishop of Buenos Aires and President of the Episcopal Conference of Argentina
10:30 Visit to the Head of Government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires
12:30  Meeting in the Apostolic Nunciature with the Nuncio Archbishop Adriano Bernardini followed by lunch
19:30 Reception in the Syrian Embassy in honour of His Beatitude

Friday 27 August
12:30 Meeting with Ambassador Guillermo Oliveri Secretary of State for Religious Affairs, followed by a lunch in the palace of the Secretary of State
Official visit to the President of the Republic of Argentina Cristina Fernández de Kirchner
19:00 Pontifical Divine Liturgy concelebrated in the Melkite Greek Catholic Church of Our Lady of Perpetual Succour
Inauguration of the first part of the Church
Followed by cocktail reception in the parish hall

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Last Updated: 19 February 2013

NEW YORK - As is well known, on September 11, 2001 our city and nation suffered a terrorist attack of unparalleled proportions.  In addition to the tragic and horrific loss of almost 3,000 innocent victims, a number of whom were members of our own community, the world witnessed the unimaginable collapse of the Twin Towers .  When the second Tower fell, it landed on and erased all traces of the Greek Orthodox Christian Church of St. Nicholas, the only house of worship destroyed that day.  Opened in 1916 by a group of Greek immigrants, the church not only served the spiritual needs of its parishioners but was also a sacred space in which people of all ethnic and religious backgrounds working in the surrounding area would often stop, light a candle and spend a few moments in prayer and reflection.

Following the events of 9/11, the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America and the St. Nicholas parish fully cooperated and worked closely with the relevant authorities. Former Governor George Pataki pledged without reservation his support for rebuilding in the belief that it was a necessary part of the healing of New York City and of our nation. Early on, as plans were being formulated for the reconstruction of the area, the Church agreed to relocate and rebuild its house of worship at a new locale to facilitate the envisioned design for the overall site.  In 2004, the authorities proposed that the new edifice be built at 130 Liberty Street , a parcel on the same block as the original site, and an agreement was reached between the Archdiocese and the Port Authority.  Four successive LMDC/Port Authority administrations honored this mutual agreement which entailed extensive on-going work and planning on the part of all parties.  All site plans for the area which the LMDC/Port Authority released to the public show St. Nicholas at this new locale.  Regrettably, the latest Port Authority administration in 2009 unexpectedly and arbitrarily reneged on this agreement and as a result, the Archdiocese and St. Nicholas parish are suddenly offered no viable option. LMDC/Port Authority has refused to meet with us. In the meantime the LMDC/Port Authority has excavated the original site without our consent, rendering it unusable, in flagrant violation of our legal rights.

The Archdiocese and parish leadership remain firmly committed to the rebuilding of the church honoring the long standing agreement with LMDC/Port Authority.  Confident that we have acted in good faith and trusting in Almighty God, we expect that justice will prevail and that we will be successful in this sacred endeavor.

GREEK ORTHODOX ARCHDIOCESE OF AMERICA
8-10 East 79th St. New York, NY 10075-0106
Tel: (212) 570-3530 - Fax: (212) 774-0237
Web: http://www.goarch.org  - Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 19, 2010

Contact: PRESS OFFICE
Stavros Papagermanos
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Last Updated: 19 February 2013

(2010)

Friendly loving greetings, first from the Holy Land of Palestine, cradle of Jesus' birth, and then from all the holy lands, those Arab countries that were the cradle of Christianity's birth! We bring you greetings from your original homelands, each of your motherlands that are not just your geographical, earthly ancestral lands, but, as you are Christian, your spiritual homelands too. Psalm 87 tells us that all people are children of Jerusalem. Indeed, every person is born in her through the spirit and through faith. With the Venerable Pope John Paul II, we repeat that the Holy Land is the homeland of every Christian, since it is the homeland of Jesus and Mary.

The cordial greeting that I bring you comes from the heart of one who was impatient to see you, the heart of your Patriarch. That is why I am telling you what I have always said, I love you. I am also bringing you greetings from your brothers and sisters in the Christian East.

We should always keep a feeling for our Arab homeland and our belonging to the East, although you should also be completely integrated into your new homelands, as you are. Many of you have been born here and perhaps have never known or visited the homeland of your parents and their forebears.