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Photo: Pope Francis and Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I embrace.
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Los Angeles, CA/October 9, 2009 - Religious tensions have amplified the current national political crisis in Romania. With the collapse of the country's governing coalition last week and the presidential election less than two months away, the Orthodox Church is pushing for members of the Romanian Parliament to pass a law that would grant the Orthodox Church permanent ownership of churches and other properties that were seized from the Greek-Catholic Church by the communist regime in 1948.
The Romanian Orthodox Church released a political statement on September 29 proposing that the Greek-Catholic properties should be split between the two Churches "based on the current number of believers that each Church has within the local community."
In response, the Romanian Greek-Catholic Church says that the Orthodox Patriarchy's statement "incites religious hatred and supports the process of cultural and religious cleansing that the Greek-Catholic minority is facing in Romania."
"The current number of believers, to which the Orthodox Patriarchy is referring in the statement, is the result of 40 years of communist persecution against the Romanian Greek-Catholic Church, followed by 20 years in which the Greek-Catholic community is faced with a process of cultural and religious cleansing in Romania," the Greek-Catholic Church explains.
In 1948, the communist regime in Romania abolished the Greek-Catholic Church and confiscated all of its properties, handing most of them over to the Orthodox Church. The communist regime also forced 1.5 million Greek-Catholics to join the Orthodox Church, and Greek-Catholics who refused were arrested and persecuted.
Since the 1989 fall of communism in Romania, the Greek-Catholic Church has tried to regain its properties, but the Orthodox Church refuses to return them to the rightful owners. In many cases, the Orthodox Patriarchy would rather destroy the Greek-Catholic churches, than returning them to the Greek-Catholics. Also, over the last 20 years, the Orthodox Church has harassed and intimidated Greek-Catholics with defamatory speeches, death threats, and physical abuse in an attempt to eradicate this religious minority from Romania.
Even though the Greek-Catholic Church wants its properties back, since 1989 it has been open to a practical solution which would allow the Orthodox communities use of its restituted churches if the Orthodox have no place to worship. However, the Orthodox Patriarchy rejects this peaceful proposal.
As a result, many Greek-Catholic communities must conduct their religious services either outdoors in the streets or in garages, private homes and other improper places. Worse yet, many Greek-Catholics are afraid to claim their religious affiliation openly.
"We ask the Romanian politicians not to make the violation of the right of property and the violation of religious freedom a platform during the presidential election," the Greek-Catholic Church pleads in its release.
The Orthodox Church has very close connections with Romanian politicians and in many cases Orthodox priests give sermons "advising" their congregations which way to vote.
Father Chris Terhes, president of the U.S.-based Romanian Greek-Catholic Association, said, "Already hundreds of thousands of Greek-Catholics in Romania are deprived of their human right to worship freely and fearlessly."
"If Romanian politicians pass the bill to let the Romanian Orthodox Church keep Greek-Catholic properties, it will threaten the entire concept of democracy in Romania. If a majority, any majority, in exchange for votes, can lobby for laws that violate the rights or take properties from a minority, then the rights and liberties of every person are in jeopardy," concludes Fr. Terhes.
The translation in english of the official statement made by the Romanian Greek-Catholic Church can be accessed here: Romanian Greek-Catholic Church responds to the intention of the Orthodox Church to lobby for legalization of the cultural and religious cleansing in Romania.
The Greek-Catholics are a religious minority in Romania, and the Romanian Greek-Catholic Church is one of the Eastern Rite Churches in communion with the Pope. The Greek-Catholic Church was the only Church abolished by the communist regime in Romania.
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Father Chris Terhes
President, Romanian Greek-Catholic Association
www.rogca.org
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MOSCOW - Interfax reported on October 7, 2009, that the head of the Moscow Patriarchate Department for External Church Relations Archbishop Hilarion of Volokolamsk has denied reports that Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia might visit the Vatican in the near future.
"No preparations are being made for the patriarch's trip to the Vatican and his meeting with the Pope at any particular place or at any particular time," Archbishop Hilarion said while taking questions from journalists in Moscow.
The possibility of the Pope's visit to Russia in the near future is not being discussed either, he said.
"The matter may imply a meeting on neutral ground, as they say now," he said.
Archbishop Hilarion insisted that the main purpose of a dialogue between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church is not so much a meeting between their heads as such as "a radical improvement in our relations and the overcoming of existing problems."
He mentioned among such problems proselytism, a too aggressive missionary policy on the part of the Roman Catholic Church in the traditional Orthodox territory in the 1990s, and the expansion of the Greek Catholics in Ukraine.
• http://www.interfax-religion.com
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KYIV - On October 5, 2009, the delegation of the Constantinople Patriarchate was received by the head of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church-Moscow Patriarchate (UOC-MP), Metropolitan Volodymyr, in his residence in the Kyiv Monastery of the Caves. The delegation included Metropolitan Emmanuel of France, Secretary General of the Holy Synod of the Patriarchate of Constantinople Archimandrite Elpidoforos Lambriniadis, and priest Vasilius Papafanasius. The representatives of the Ecumenical Patriarchate "highlighted that the figure of the Metropolitan unites all Orthodox believers of Ukraine, regardless of their jurisdiction," the UOC-MP website reports.
Constantinople representatives also thanked the head of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church-Moscow Patriarchate "for his efforts to unite Orthodox believers of Ukraine" and said that the purpose of their visit to Ukraine was to assist the country in overcoming schisms.
"They emphasized, however, that the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople would not act unilaterally, but only in close cooperation first of all with the Ukrainian Orthodox Church," the report says.
Metropolitan Volodymyr, in his turn, awarded his guests and a Ukrainian deputy Petro Yushchenko, who was also present at the meeting, with anniversary orders "The 450th Anniversary of Bringing the Pochayiv Icon of Holy Mother to Volyn."
• http://orthodox.org.ua/uk/node/5743
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NEW YORK - Archbishop Demetrios of America, in consultation with the Holy Eparchial Synod, has appointed His Grace, Bishop Andonios of Phasiane to be the Chancellor of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, effective October 1, 2009.
On the occasion of this appointment, His Eminence Archbishop Demetrios of America offered the following remarks: "We are very glad to have His Grace Bishop Andonios of Phasiane as the new Chancellor of the Archdiocese. In all the positions that he has held within the Archdiocese, as a lay theologian, a deacon, a presbyter and a Bishop, His Grace has served with remarkable zeal and diligence. We are confident that with the help of God and the blessings of our Holy Eparchial Synod Bishop Andonios will execute his new and responsible duties as Chancellor with exemplary dedication, care and effectiveness."
Bishop Andonios was elected on December 11, 2001 by the Holy and Sacred Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople as an Auxiliary Bishop of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America. He was given the title of Bishop of Phasiane, an ancient Diocese in Pontos, the birthplace of his grandparents. His episcopal ordination took place at the Archdiocesan Cathedral of the Holy Trinity in New York on Saturday, February 23, 2002.
Born and raised in Jersey City, New Jersey, the middle child of Steven and Despina Poulos (Paropoulos), he grew up in the local St. Demetrios parish. In 1976, he entered Holy Cross School of Theology in Brookline, Mass., graduating in 1979 receiving a M. Div with Distinction and as President of the graduating class. After serving at various Archdiocesan institutions for five years in a lay capacity, he was ordained a Deacon on August 18, 1985 at the Archdiocesan Cathedral of the Holy Trinity by the late Archbishop Iakovos. He served for almost 4½ years as Deacon to the Archbishop until December 3, 1989, when he was ordained to the Holy Priesthood.
Following his ordination, he continued to serve in both the Office of the Archbishop and the Office of the Chancellery and was Assistant Chancellor and Personnel Director of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of North and South America. On February 24, 1991, he was elevated to the rank of Archimandrite. After a sabbatical in Greece from 1991-1992, he returned to the Archdiocese and was subsequently assigned to the parish of Zoodohos Peghe in the Bronx until 1995. At that time, he returned to the Archdiocese to assist with the retirement of Archbishop Iakovos and also assumed the position of Coordinator for the 1996 Clergy-Laity Congress, which was held in New York. In July of that year, he was appointed Director of St. Michael's Home in Yonkers, NY, where he continues to serve as Director, and in June 2000, Archbishop Demetrios appointed him to the new position of Director of the Archdiocesan Department of Philanthropy. In addition, he serves as the advisor to the National Board of the Ladies Philoptochos Society and to the Direct Archdiocesan District Philoptochos Board. Since 2007 he has been responsible for the Benevolence Fund of the Archdiocese for Retired Clergy and Widowed Presvyteres and in the Spring of 2008, organized and heads the Committee which oversees the Direct Archdiocesan District's Camp St. Paul.
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GREEK ORTHODOX ARCHDIOCESE OF AMERICA
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he theme of this year's meeting is "Relations of the church and state." In a preamble to the plenary meeting, the president of CCEE cardinal Peter Erdio presented the purpose of the meeting: "Executing the pastoral task for God's people, the bishops realize a necessity to be familiar with the decisions and work on the relations with the church of every European state. We also will consider the questions which remain unresolved, in particular, the confiscation of church property during communism... Presently there exist many various models which regulate these relations. However, that which was good for Poland, would be destructive for Turkey. There cannot be only one model."
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London - 03-10-09 - In an interview for the Ukrainian service of BBC in London, which was aired on radio “Era” on September 28, 2009, His Beatitude Lubomyr welcomed the steps for the start or renewing of a dialogue of three Orthodox Churches in Ukraine. Previously the Synod of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate made a decision to renew or begin a dialogue with the two other branches of Orthodoxy - the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church and the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kyivan Patriarchate - in order to find a way for understanding and possible unification.
“This rapprochement between the Orthodox believers is an important step,” said His Beatitude Lubomyr. “Every rapprochement between people is a product of the Holy Spirit. This phenomenon is not only a human policy—it has in itself a Divine trade. We are able to take a step to each other only under the act of the Holy Spirit,” explained the head of the UGCC.
His Beatitude Lubomyr said that because of the lack of information it is hard to foresee the development of this dialogue, but it is, in his opinion, of minor importance. “The fact that such a dialogue will take place and that it will result in at least a rapprochement and understanding is for us pleasant news,” he stressed.
Information Department of the UGCC