The Holy and Sacred Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate has filled two vacancies at the Archbishop (Primate) level:
His Grace the Right Reverend Makarios,Bishop of Christoupolis,a scholar in the field of bioethics with several advanced degrees,has been elected Archbishop of Australia.He is a native of Heraklion,Crete.He has a Master's degree in Bioethics from Monash University,Australia;a Master's in the History of Science from Harvard University and an STM (Master of Sacred Theology) from Boston University.
His Eminence the Most Reverend Elpidoforos,Metropolitan of Proussa (Bursa,Turkey) and Igoumenos (Abbot) of Holy Trinity Monastery,Halki,has been elected Archbishop of America.Born in Constantionople (Istanbul),he is fluent in English and represents the Ecumenical Patriarchate in the World Council of Churches and the European Council of Churches.Metropolitan Elpidoforos is about 52.
Showing posts with label Metropolitan Elpidophoros. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Metropolitan Elpidophoros. Show all posts
Saturday, May 11, 2019
Wednesday, January 23, 2019
Greek Orthodox in Turkey:Asia Minor Revival Continues
On 19 January 2019,His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople celebrated the Patriarchal Divine Liturgy,Blessing of the Waters and Diving for the Cross on Old Calendar Epiphany at Triglia (Tirilye,Turkey) in Proussos (Bursa Province),Asia Minor.It was the first ever Patriarchal service in Triglia and the first Diving for the Cross held there since 1922.The liturgy was held in the restored Church of St.Basil,part of the community centre in Triglia.
Concelebrating the historic day were His Eminence Metropolitan Elpidoforos of Bursa and His Grace Bishop Adrianos of Alikarnassos,Crete.*
In addition to the hierarchs,several diplomats from Greece,Ukraine and Bulgaria attended the services,as well as archons,clerics and monks from the Great Church of Christ in Constantinople;representatives of the Municipality of Rufina (Attica,Greece);presidents and members of the Triglia heritage associations;plus Orthodox Christians from Istanbul and elsewhere in Bursa.
The Prefecture of Bursa granted a permit for the observances.Mayor Hayri Turkyilmaz of Mudanya and other local officials attended the Diving for the Cross.A local marching band processed to the Triglia town square for the Blessing of the Waters/Diving for the Cross at the Sea of Marmara.Young people from the greater Triglia area and Ukraine dove for the cross.*
Metropolitan Elpidoforos pointed out that:
In this action and in this spirit of the Patriarch,we owe,among other things,the climate of confidence that has been established so that it is possible to revive,step by step,the sacred Metropolises that had been deserted after the population exchanges of 1923.*
The Orthodox Church of Crete is part of the Ecumenical Patriarchate.
Concelebrating the historic day were His Eminence Metropolitan Elpidoforos of Bursa and His Grace Bishop Adrianos of Alikarnassos,Crete.*
In addition to the hierarchs,several diplomats from Greece,Ukraine and Bulgaria attended the services,as well as archons,clerics and monks from the Great Church of Christ in Constantinople;representatives of the Municipality of Rufina (Attica,Greece);presidents and members of the Triglia heritage associations;plus Orthodox Christians from Istanbul and elsewhere in Bursa.
The Prefecture of Bursa granted a permit for the observances.Mayor Hayri Turkyilmaz of Mudanya and other local officials attended the Diving for the Cross.A local marching band processed to the Triglia town square for the Blessing of the Waters/Diving for the Cross at the Sea of Marmara.Young people from the greater Triglia area and Ukraine dove for the cross.*
Metropolitan Elpidoforos pointed out that:
In this action and in this spirit of the Patriarch,we owe,among other things,the climate of confidence that has been established so that it is possible to revive,step by step,the sacred Metropolises that had been deserted after the population exchanges of 1923.*
The Orthodox Church of Crete is part of the Ecumenical Patriarchate.
Thursday, July 5, 2018
Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew Speaks Again on the Ukrainian Issue
According to a news release by the Ecumencial Patriarchate,on 1 July 2018,following the 40-day memorial for His Eminence Metropolitan Evangelos of Perge,His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople,addressed the faithful on the topic of Ukraine:
Even today,if he (Metropolitan Evanagelos) were amongst us,he would have consented to the current and timely matter of settling the Ukrainian ecclesiastical problem for,as the Mother Church,it is reasonable to desire the restoration of unity for the divided ecclesiastical body in Ukraine,a faithful population of tens of millions,baptised and enlightened directly through the providence and missionary activity of our Ecumenical Throne.Besides,as in the past,the Church of Constantinople - while exercising its canonical rights and pastoral care - worked to successfully resolve difficult and complicated ecclesiastical problems,always guided by what is beneficial to the people of God and the preservation of Pan-Orthodox unity.
We should simply remember the Ecumenical Patriarchate's recent participation and support in the problems that afflicted the Churches of Jerusalem,Cyprus,Albania,and so on.In this spirit,the Great Church of Christ of Constantinople,speaking the truth in love,strives even today for the definitive resolution of the ecclesiastical issues in Ukraine.*
Let us not forget that Constantinople never ceded the territory of Ukraine to anyone by means of some ecclesiastical Act,but only granted to the Patriarch of Moscow the right of ordination or transfer of the Metropolitan of Kiev on the condition that the Metropolitan of Kiev should be elected by a Clergy-Laity Congress and commemorate the Ecumenical Patriarch.Listen to what is mentioned in this regard by the Tomos of autocephaly,which was granted by the Mother Church to the Church of Poland:"For it is written that the original separation from our Throne of the Metropolitan of Kiev and of the two Orthodox Churches of Lithuania and Poland which depend on it,and their annexation to the Holy Church of Moscow,in no way occurred according to the binding canonical regulations,nor was the agreement respected concerning the full ecclesial independence of the Metropolitan of Kiev,who bears the title of Exarch of the Ecumenical Throne."
In an interview with the Russian online publication Pravmir.ru,His Eminence Metropolitan Elpidophoros (Lambriniadis) of Bursa,Turkey (Ecumenical Patriarchate),recalled that:
the granting of autocephaly to the Local Churches for almost 1350 years has been subject to the exclusive jurisdiction and competence of the Ecumenical Patriarch and the Holy Synod of the Church of Constantinople.
The criterion and purpose for the Mother Church in this case is not autocephaly in itself,since it is not an end in itself.However,it is given preference from the ecclesiastical point of view as the best and most canonical solution at the moment,because only this can serve the unity of the Orthodox people of Ukraine,which,as you know,is completely disunited.*
Analysis:From everthing that's been said,it indeed seems that we are headed to the granting of autocephaly to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church,and perhaps also to the Macedonian Orthodox Church,in the near future.
Even today,if he (Metropolitan Evanagelos) were amongst us,he would have consented to the current and timely matter of settling the Ukrainian ecclesiastical problem for,as the Mother Church,it is reasonable to desire the restoration of unity for the divided ecclesiastical body in Ukraine,a faithful population of tens of millions,baptised and enlightened directly through the providence and missionary activity of our Ecumenical Throne.Besides,as in the past,the Church of Constantinople - while exercising its canonical rights and pastoral care - worked to successfully resolve difficult and complicated ecclesiastical problems,always guided by what is beneficial to the people of God and the preservation of Pan-Orthodox unity.
We should simply remember the Ecumenical Patriarchate's recent participation and support in the problems that afflicted the Churches of Jerusalem,Cyprus,Albania,and so on.In this spirit,the Great Church of Christ of Constantinople,speaking the truth in love,strives even today for the definitive resolution of the ecclesiastical issues in Ukraine.*
Let us not forget that Constantinople never ceded the territory of Ukraine to anyone by means of some ecclesiastical Act,but only granted to the Patriarch of Moscow the right of ordination or transfer of the Metropolitan of Kiev on the condition that the Metropolitan of Kiev should be elected by a Clergy-Laity Congress and commemorate the Ecumenical Patriarch.Listen to what is mentioned in this regard by the Tomos of autocephaly,which was granted by the Mother Church to the Church of Poland:"For it is written that the original separation from our Throne of the Metropolitan of Kiev and of the two Orthodox Churches of Lithuania and Poland which depend on it,and their annexation to the Holy Church of Moscow,in no way occurred according to the binding canonical regulations,nor was the agreement respected concerning the full ecclesial independence of the Metropolitan of Kiev,who bears the title of Exarch of the Ecumenical Throne."
In an interview with the Russian online publication Pravmir.ru,His Eminence Metropolitan Elpidophoros (Lambriniadis) of Bursa,Turkey (Ecumenical Patriarchate),recalled that:
the granting of autocephaly to the Local Churches for almost 1350 years has been subject to the exclusive jurisdiction and competence of the Ecumenical Patriarch and the Holy Synod of the Church of Constantinople.
The criterion and purpose for the Mother Church in this case is not autocephaly in itself,since it is not an end in itself.However,it is given preference from the ecclesiastical point of view as the best and most canonical solution at the moment,because only this can serve the unity of the Orthodox people of Ukraine,which,as you know,is completely disunited.*
Analysis:From everthing that's been said,it indeed seems that we are headed to the granting of autocephaly to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church,and perhaps also to the Macedonian Orthodox Church,in the near future.
Wednesday, April 18, 2018
Patriarch Bartholomew Hosts Many Balkan Visitors,Making Candid Remarks on Recent Controversies
Between 10-11 April 2018,His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople received a series of visitors from the Balkans.On 10 April arrived the President of Bosnia and Herzegovina,His Excellency Mladen Ivanic.Mr.Ivanic and Patriarch Bartholomew reviewed the issues of the day for about thirty minutes.
This session was followed about an hour later by a private meeting between His All-Holiness and the President of FYROM,the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia,Gjeorge Ivanov,along with his wife and son,as well as some of his colleagues and the FYROM Ambassador to Turkey.As before,many important issues were gone over;while,at the same time,there was an exchange of Paschal greetings and gifts.
At both meetings with the Balkan leaders,Patriarch Bartholomew was joined by His Eminence Metropolitan Gennadios of Sassima,a well-known theologian;His Eminence Metropolitan Elpidoforos of Bursa,Turkey;and the Very Rev.Archimandrite Joachim (Billis),Chief Secretary of the Holy and Sacred Synod.*
On 11 April,His All-Holiness addressed a number of professors and students from the St.Clement of Ohrid Theological Seminary in Skopje,FYROM,who were on a visit to Constantinople and Thessaloniki,Greece.Deploring the Church of Bulgaria's recent effort to grant autocephaly to the Macedonian Orthodox Church,which no other autocephalous Orthodox Church recognises,Patriarch Bartholomew admitted:
I am thinking about this because I want to be perfectly honest with you.This action of the sister Church of Bulgaria was wrong.It does not help.It complicates things.The Mother Church of all the Balkan peoples is Constantinople.That is what the true history says.What is being discussed is a fictitious mother.And Bulgaria cannot introduce you to canonicity,or normal relations with the other Churches.There must be direct,honest and sincere inter-Orthodox relations.
Every time a Synaxis of Orthodox Primates is convened either here or in Chambesy,the Ecumenical Patriarchate's attempt is to put all subjects on the table and to discuss them with honesty and sincerity.*
The Patriarch made an open invitation to the FYROM theological educators and students:
Know that we love you,and come whenever you want in this beautiful and historic City,where are the Courtyards of the Mother Church,from which you,and all the Balkan peoples,received baptism and the light of Christianity.Therefore,every time you come here to us in Istanbul,you do not have to feel that you are strangers,that you are guests;but that you are at home.
We have high hopes for you and for your ministry in the Church in the future.These are true despite the fact that there are currently problems between your country and Greece,and between your Church and all other Orthodox Churches.Precisely,we count on the new generation of theologians and clergy,which can help strengthen relations of neighbouring peoples and between the Orthodox Churches.Today,our generation,the older generation,will do everything we can to improve the situation,especially our Ecumenical Patriarchate,which has the coordinating role in the transcendental things-and after our generation,you will take over and you will continue,cultivate and augment these good relations between our peoples and our Churches.*
Following his moving address,His All-Holiness distributed with his blessing to the FYROM pilgrims books on the history of the Ecumenical Patriarchate and the official texts of the Holy and Great Council of the Orthodox Church in Crete in 2016;Easter eggs and holy keepsakes.They were also invited to dine with the Patriarch in the Patriarchal refectory.
This session was followed about an hour later by a private meeting between His All-Holiness and the President of FYROM,the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia,Gjeorge Ivanov,along with his wife and son,as well as some of his colleagues and the FYROM Ambassador to Turkey.As before,many important issues were gone over;while,at the same time,there was an exchange of Paschal greetings and gifts.
At both meetings with the Balkan leaders,Patriarch Bartholomew was joined by His Eminence Metropolitan Gennadios of Sassima,a well-known theologian;His Eminence Metropolitan Elpidoforos of Bursa,Turkey;and the Very Rev.Archimandrite Joachim (Billis),Chief Secretary of the Holy and Sacred Synod.*
On 11 April,His All-Holiness addressed a number of professors and students from the St.Clement of Ohrid Theological Seminary in Skopje,FYROM,who were on a visit to Constantinople and Thessaloniki,Greece.Deploring the Church of Bulgaria's recent effort to grant autocephaly to the Macedonian Orthodox Church,which no other autocephalous Orthodox Church recognises,Patriarch Bartholomew admitted:
I am thinking about this because I want to be perfectly honest with you.This action of the sister Church of Bulgaria was wrong.It does not help.It complicates things.The Mother Church of all the Balkan peoples is Constantinople.That is what the true history says.What is being discussed is a fictitious mother.And Bulgaria cannot introduce you to canonicity,or normal relations with the other Churches.There must be direct,honest and sincere inter-Orthodox relations.
Every time a Synaxis of Orthodox Primates is convened either here or in Chambesy,the Ecumenical Patriarchate's attempt is to put all subjects on the table and to discuss them with honesty and sincerity.*
The Patriarch made an open invitation to the FYROM theological educators and students:
Know that we love you,and come whenever you want in this beautiful and historic City,where are the Courtyards of the Mother Church,from which you,and all the Balkan peoples,received baptism and the light of Christianity.Therefore,every time you come here to us in Istanbul,you do not have to feel that you are strangers,that you are guests;but that you are at home.
We have high hopes for you and for your ministry in the Church in the future.These are true despite the fact that there are currently problems between your country and Greece,and between your Church and all other Orthodox Churches.Precisely,we count on the new generation of theologians and clergy,which can help strengthen relations of neighbouring peoples and between the Orthodox Churches.Today,our generation,the older generation,will do everything we can to improve the situation,especially our Ecumenical Patriarchate,which has the coordinating role in the transcendental things-and after our generation,you will take over and you will continue,cultivate and augment these good relations between our peoples and our Churches.*
Following his moving address,His All-Holiness distributed with his blessing to the FYROM pilgrims books on the history of the Ecumenical Patriarchate and the official texts of the Holy and Great Council of the Orthodox Church in Crete in 2016;Easter eggs and holy keepsakes.They were also invited to dine with the Patriarch in the Patriarchal refectory.
Tuesday, April 19, 2016
Patriarch Bartholomew to Open Restored Church in Turkey
His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew will preside at a Divine Liturgy for the opening of the Church of St.George in the village of Ozluce,Turkey on 7 May 2016 at 10:30 am.The church was restored by the Nilufer Municipality.*
Also attending the service will be Mr.Petros Aggelidis,Mayor of Serres,Greece,whose grandparents are from Ozluce,accompanied by several Greeks from Serres.Ozluce is located near Bursa,Turkey.*
His Eminence Elpidophoros Lambriniadis of the Ecumenical Patriarchate,Metropolitan of Bursa and overseer of the premises of the still closed Halki Theological School,announced the event.
Also attending the service will be Mr.Petros Aggelidis,Mayor of Serres,Greece,whose grandparents are from Ozluce,accompanied by several Greeks from Serres.Ozluce is located near Bursa,Turkey.*
His Eminence Elpidophoros Lambriniadis of the Ecumenical Patriarchate,Metropolitan of Bursa and overseer of the premises of the still closed Halki Theological School,announced the event.
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