Wednesday, November 30, 2016
Tuesday, November 29, 2016
Monday, November 28, 2016
St.Andrew's Day Festival at the Ecumenical Patriarchate,the Fanar in Constantinople/Istanbul - Kurt Cardinal Koch of Switzerland will represent the Vatican at the Divine Liturgy;there will also be a photo exhibition on Patriarch Bartholomew's 25 years as Patriarch and a reception for Greeks - St.Andrew is the patron saint of the Ecumenical Patriarchate and his day is 30 November - Φως Φαναρίου : ΤΟ ΠΡΟΓΡΑΜΜΑ ΤΟΥ ΕΟΡΤΑΣΜΟΥ ΤΗΣ ΘΡΟΝΙΚΗΣ ΓΙΟΡΤΗΣ ΣΤ...
Φως Φαναρίου : ΤΟ ΠΡΟΓΡΑΜΜΑ ΤΟΥ ΕΟΡΤΑΣΜΟΥ ΤΗΣ ΘΡΟΝΙΚΗΣ ΓΙΟΡΤΗΣ ΣΤ...: Η Αγία του Χριστού Μεγάλη Εκκλησία, το Οικουμενικό Πατριαρχείο, γιορτάζει, επί τη μνήμη του Αγίου Αποστόλου Ανδρέου του Πρωτοκλήτου τ...
Saturday, November 26, 2016
Extraordinary Statement From Alexandria Charts Progressive Course For Orthodox Christianity - Deaconesses approved
With one stroke of the pen,as it were,the Patriarchate of Alexandria has opened up new vocational vistas for Orthodox Christian women;confirmed the validity of the Holy and Great Council of the Orthodox Church;affirmed the sovereign power of the local Church over its own affairs;and endorsed the continuation along the ecumenical path established by the Ecumenical Patriarchate in the twentieth century.Consider these excerpts from the official account of this Church's recent Holy Synod meeting presided by His Beatitude Pope and Patriarch Theodoros II of Alexandria and All Africa:
The Holy Synod of the Alexandrian Throne met from 15-17 November at the Holy Patriarchal Centre of Alexandria.
The Alexandrian Patriarchate #8211 18/11/16
1.We express glory and praise to the Triune God,who deemed us worthy to participate in the Holy and Great Synod of the Orthodox Church last June.
2.The Synod in Crete was an extremely important event for the course of the Orthodox Church as it gave testimony of unity,testimony of responsibility and anxiety for the contemporary world.It was,is and will remain as a great miracle of "meeting and coexisting for this" for the Orthodox Churches and we believe that this new experience will gradually be decoded and will yield new fruits in the Orthodox world.Blessed are they who will taste of this fruit!
3.It confirmed that conciliarity is the pre-eminent expression of the ecclesiological consciousness of the Orthodox Church and at the same time is a dynamic response to the ardent preachers of introversion,exclusivity,racial prejudice and fundamentalism.We believe that in the near future,at the Synods which God willing will follow,imperfection and weaknesses of this Synod will be overcome.
4.We wholeheartedly thank the Most Holy President of the Great and Holy Synod,Ecumenical Patriarch Vartholomaios,their Beatitudes the Primates and all who worked tirelessly for the realisation of the Synod amidst many adversities and challenges.
5.We consider as particularly important the conciliar consolidation of the ecclesiastical dispensation amidst various extremist and conservative positions,as opportunity is given to local churches to exercise their pastoral work in real time and in the particular sites and conditions.However,with regret we found that,despite the prophetic voices which were heard in the Synod and those during the pre-Synodal conferences,timidity and reluctance to understand "deviations" from earlier settings of the life of the Church as accuracy and not as dispensation,although this would have been the true affirmation of the mystery of Christ's incarnation today,in other words the living and salvific Revelation of God.The differing approaches to life in the Church are no deviations for us from Orthodox truth,but adaptation to African reality.
6.The Church of Africa will continue to participate actively in all the official inter-Christian and inter-religious dialogues,despite whichever difficulties and problems which arise from time to time.Besides our participation in the World Council of Churches,we are upgrading our activity in the Pan-African Council of Churches.At every moment we should humbly submit our testimony of the Orthodox faith,the fullness of Orthodox revelation which our Church preserves.Walking in the footsteps of Jesus,we must become instruments of reconciliation and to cultivate the peaceful coexistence of people,respecting and defending their national,racial and religious diversity.Together with the other Churches and Religions,we are called to work towards combating every systemic injustice,anything demonic,in whatever form it appears,which nullifies the lives of the critically injured and bleeding in our flock.
7.We feel that as a living and dynamic Church,we are emerging from within a growing and long-suffering world,we have a duty with courage and prophetic vision to formulate within ourselves the conditions for recruitment and the transformation of our world,and to place a proposition for hope,and life throughout it for all people,as well as resurrectional joy.We ask for the fervent prayers of the Body of our Church,clergy and laity,so that with the cooperation of everyone to build on the momentum of the Great Synod and to liberate those powers that will show the Church of Africa to be a prophetic presence,fearing the Lord and always open to the surprising action of the Most Holy Spirit.*
Fasting in African reality:As far as the issue of fasting is concerned,the decisions of the Synod will be announced to all the people in the jurisdiction of the Patriarchate shortly,by Patriarchal Encyclicals.*
Regarding the issue of the institution of Deaconesses,it was decided to revive this and a tripartite committee of Hierarchs was appointed for a detailed consideration of the subject.
The Holy Synod of the Alexandrian Throne met from 15-17 November at the Holy Patriarchal Centre of Alexandria.
The Alexandrian Patriarchate #8211 18/11/16
1.We express glory and praise to the Triune God,who deemed us worthy to participate in the Holy and Great Synod of the Orthodox Church last June.
2.The Synod in Crete was an extremely important event for the course of the Orthodox Church as it gave testimony of unity,testimony of responsibility and anxiety for the contemporary world.It was,is and will remain as a great miracle of "meeting and coexisting for this" for the Orthodox Churches and we believe that this new experience will gradually be decoded and will yield new fruits in the Orthodox world.Blessed are they who will taste of this fruit!
3.It confirmed that conciliarity is the pre-eminent expression of the ecclesiological consciousness of the Orthodox Church and at the same time is a dynamic response to the ardent preachers of introversion,exclusivity,racial prejudice and fundamentalism.We believe that in the near future,at the Synods which God willing will follow,imperfection and weaknesses of this Synod will be overcome.
4.We wholeheartedly thank the Most Holy President of the Great and Holy Synod,Ecumenical Patriarch Vartholomaios,their Beatitudes the Primates and all who worked tirelessly for the realisation of the Synod amidst many adversities and challenges.
5.We consider as particularly important the conciliar consolidation of the ecclesiastical dispensation amidst various extremist and conservative positions,as opportunity is given to local churches to exercise their pastoral work in real time and in the particular sites and conditions.However,with regret we found that,despite the prophetic voices which were heard in the Synod and those during the pre-Synodal conferences,timidity and reluctance to understand "deviations" from earlier settings of the life of the Church as accuracy and not as dispensation,although this would have been the true affirmation of the mystery of Christ's incarnation today,in other words the living and salvific Revelation of God.The differing approaches to life in the Church are no deviations for us from Orthodox truth,but adaptation to African reality.
6.The Church of Africa will continue to participate actively in all the official inter-Christian and inter-religious dialogues,despite whichever difficulties and problems which arise from time to time.Besides our participation in the World Council of Churches,we are upgrading our activity in the Pan-African Council of Churches.At every moment we should humbly submit our testimony of the Orthodox faith,the fullness of Orthodox revelation which our Church preserves.Walking in the footsteps of Jesus,we must become instruments of reconciliation and to cultivate the peaceful coexistence of people,respecting and defending their national,racial and religious diversity.Together with the other Churches and Religions,we are called to work towards combating every systemic injustice,anything demonic,in whatever form it appears,which nullifies the lives of the critically injured and bleeding in our flock.
7.We feel that as a living and dynamic Church,we are emerging from within a growing and long-suffering world,we have a duty with courage and prophetic vision to formulate within ourselves the conditions for recruitment and the transformation of our world,and to place a proposition for hope,and life throughout it for all people,as well as resurrectional joy.We ask for the fervent prayers of the Body of our Church,clergy and laity,so that with the cooperation of everyone to build on the momentum of the Great Synod and to liberate those powers that will show the Church of Africa to be a prophetic presence,fearing the Lord and always open to the surprising action of the Most Holy Spirit.*
Fasting in African reality:As far as the issue of fasting is concerned,the decisions of the Synod will be announced to all the people in the jurisdiction of the Patriarchate shortly,by Patriarchal Encyclicals.*
Regarding the issue of the institution of Deaconesses,it was decided to revive this and a tripartite committee of Hierarchs was appointed for a detailed consideration of the subject.
Friday, November 25, 2016
Wednesday, November 23, 2016
Kaliningrad:Russia's Power Play in the Baltic Sea Region
The small Russian outpost of Kaliningrad on the Baltic Sea coastline between Poland and Lithuania has become,over the past decade,something of a flash point in East/West relations as Russia progressively militarised it.Continuing this trend,on Monday 21 November 2016,the Russian Interfax news agency announced that Russia has deployed its new Bastion mobile anti-ship missile to Kaliningrad,joining the Iskander-M short range nuclear capable ballistic missile and S-400 long range anti-aircraft missile already there.This has raised eyebrows in both NATO headquarters in Brussels and in the corridors of Washington.*
Since 2008,when it invaded and annexed 20% of the Republic of Georgia's territory,Russia has been bolstering its missile,naval infantry and artillery brigades.It has increased troop numbers in Belarus and Armenia.Indeed,in October 2016,Russia assigned two Buyan-class corvettes armed with nuclear-capable Kalibr cruise missiles (NATO code name Sizzler) to its Baltic Fleet,and has also deployed the Bastion system to Syria.Russia as well declined to withdraw its troops from Moldova;annexed Crimea from Ukraine;and fomented conflict in Eastern Ukraine.*
The Russian buildup of radars on the Baltic coastline,as well as the plethora of missile systems in addition to the expanded forces noted above,points to an anti-access/area denial strategy on Moscow's part toward NATO,seeking to hinder NATO's activity in the region and crimp any attempt at reinforcement of the Baltic states during a crisis.*
Small wonder that,in light of Moscow's pressure,Norway is now accepting US Marine Corps rotations on its previously off-limits territory;while NATO partners Finland and Sweden are steadier participants in NATO exercises,raising the topic of their possible membership in the Alliance more than ever before.
Since 2008,when it invaded and annexed 20% of the Republic of Georgia's territory,Russia has been bolstering its missile,naval infantry and artillery brigades.It has increased troop numbers in Belarus and Armenia.Indeed,in October 2016,Russia assigned two Buyan-class corvettes armed with nuclear-capable Kalibr cruise missiles (NATO code name Sizzler) to its Baltic Fleet,and has also deployed the Bastion system to Syria.Russia as well declined to withdraw its troops from Moldova;annexed Crimea from Ukraine;and fomented conflict in Eastern Ukraine.*
The Russian buildup of radars on the Baltic coastline,as well as the plethora of missile systems in addition to the expanded forces noted above,points to an anti-access/area denial strategy on Moscow's part toward NATO,seeking to hinder NATO's activity in the region and crimp any attempt at reinforcement of the Baltic states during a crisis.*
Small wonder that,in light of Moscow's pressure,Norway is now accepting US Marine Corps rotations on its previously off-limits territory;while NATO partners Finland and Sweden are steadier participants in NATO exercises,raising the topic of their possible membership in the Alliance more than ever before.
His Grace Bishop Kirill of Erithrae,new auxiliary bishop of the Metropolis of Smyrna in the Ecumenical Patriarchate,served his first archieratical Divine Liturgy,experiencing the full ritual of his episcopal rank on 19 November 2016. - Ο Επίσκοπος Ερυθρών Κύριλλος στο Πατριαρχικό Ιδρυμα της Ανθούσας, μεταξύ των γόνων της Ιωνίας|Amen.gr
Ο Επίσκοπος Ερυθρών Κύριλλος στο Πατριαρχικό Ιδρυμα της Ανθούσας, μεταξύ των γόνων της Ιωνίας|Amen.gr: Το Σάββατο 19 Νοεμβρίου ο Θεοφ. επίσκοπος Ερυθρών Κύριλλος, βοηθός επίσκοπος του Οικουμενικού Πατριάρχη, τέλεσε τη πρώτη του αρχιερατική λειτουργία στο Πατριαρχικό Ίδρυμα της Ανθούσας της Ᾱττικής, στο οποίο είναι από δε�%B
Tuesday, November 22, 2016
Sunday, November 20, 2016
Saturday, November 19, 2016
Friday, November 18, 2016
Wednesday, November 16, 2016
Pentagon Official:Fighting Will Intensify as Battle of Mosul Progresses Inward
Iraq's elite counterterrorism troops,the Iraqi Special Operations Forces (ISOF),have entered the eastern side of the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant northern stronghold of Mosul,said press operations director Captain Jeff Davis,US Navy,on 15 November to reporters at the Pentagon.ISOF has 18,000 troops in three brigades,and is part of the Iraqi Counterterrorism Service.They're clearing those eastern neighbourhoods of Mosul city,doing this in a deliberate and incremental manner so as to safeguard the civilian population as much as possible.It may be one-third cleared in terms of acreage,but it's not one-third clear in terms of challenge and task ahead,because as they get closer to the center of the city,it's going to get dense and more fierce in the fighting,Captain Davis warned.*
According to a 16 November press conference by US Air Force Colonel John Dorrian,spokesman for Combined Joint Task Force-Operation Inherent Resolve in Baghdad,the Iraqi Security Forces continue to make progress in clearing Daesh (the Arab term for ISIL) from Mosul and have seen the fierce resistance they have planned for and we have been talking about for months.This is neighbourhood to neighbourhood fighting,particularly in the East,and the ISF have moved deliberately and have exercised a lot of restraint to protect civilian life.Daesh has done the opposite,taking human shields and dressing as ISF,then arresting civilians who respond positively to them.*
Iraqi Major General Maan al-Saadi said Wednesday that his counterterrorism forces are making headway in the Aden district of the city,400 kilometers north of Baghdad.He also warned of the presence of Daesh booby-traps and hidden IEDs there,al Sumaria TV reported in Arabic.*
ISIL has banned the use of cell phones and confiscated satellite TV dishes to hinder civilian comprehension of the liberation campaign.It has also been executing suspected civilian collaborators with the ISF and putting their bodies on display.Some 5-6,000 ISIL fighters are facing about 100,000 ISF,Kurdish and Shiite paramilitary fighters.OIR coaltion airpower and artillery strikes have been particularly helpful in clearing the ISIL Islamist extremist militants from the outlying areas of greater Mosul and the roads into the city.
According to a 16 November press conference by US Air Force Colonel John Dorrian,spokesman for Combined Joint Task Force-Operation Inherent Resolve in Baghdad,the Iraqi Security Forces continue to make progress in clearing Daesh (the Arab term for ISIL) from Mosul and have seen the fierce resistance they have planned for and we have been talking about for months.This is neighbourhood to neighbourhood fighting,particularly in the East,and the ISF have moved deliberately and have exercised a lot of restraint to protect civilian life.Daesh has done the opposite,taking human shields and dressing as ISF,then arresting civilians who respond positively to them.*
Iraqi Major General Maan al-Saadi said Wednesday that his counterterrorism forces are making headway in the Aden district of the city,400 kilometers north of Baghdad.He also warned of the presence of Daesh booby-traps and hidden IEDs there,al Sumaria TV reported in Arabic.*
ISIL has banned the use of cell phones and confiscated satellite TV dishes to hinder civilian comprehension of the liberation campaign.It has also been executing suspected civilian collaborators with the ISF and putting their bodies on display.Some 5-6,000 ISIL fighters are facing about 100,000 ISF,Kurdish and Shiite paramilitary fighters.OIR coaltion airpower and artillery strikes have been particularly helpful in clearing the ISIL Islamist extremist militants from the outlying areas of greater Mosul and the roads into the city.
Tuesday, November 15, 2016
Monday, November 14, 2016
Saturday, November 12, 2016
Patriarch Irenej of Serbia Visits Cyprus
On the evening of 9 November 2016,His Holiness Patriarch Irenej of Serbia arrived at Larnaka,Cyprus on a weeklong irenic visit to the Mediterranean nation.He and his entourage were greeted at the airport by His Beatitude Archbishop Chrysostomos II of New Justiniana and All Cyprus,as well as members of the Cypriot Holy Synod.
Accompanying Patriarch Irenej are His Eminence Metropolitan Dr.Porfirije of Zagreb-Llubjana;His Grace Bishop Irenej of Backa;His Grace Bishop Justin of Zica;Archpriest Yejan Jovanovic;Hierodeacon Ermolaj;and Protodeacon Igor Davidovic.*
Numerous hierarchs,clergy and faithful attended a solemn doxology service for the distinguished guests in the Church of St.John the Theologian.Afterwards,the two Primates of autocephalous Orthodox Churches held talks in the Archdiocese of Cyprus' Synodal chambers.Both Primates had participated in the Holy and Great Synod of the Orthodox Church last summer in Crete.
Accompanying Patriarch Irenej are His Eminence Metropolitan Dr.Porfirije of Zagreb-Llubjana;His Grace Bishop Irenej of Backa;His Grace Bishop Justin of Zica;Archpriest Yejan Jovanovic;Hierodeacon Ermolaj;and Protodeacon Igor Davidovic.*
Numerous hierarchs,clergy and faithful attended a solemn doxology service for the distinguished guests in the Church of St.John the Theologian.Afterwards,the two Primates of autocephalous Orthodox Churches held talks in the Archdiocese of Cyprus' Synodal chambers.Both Primates had participated in the Holy and Great Synod of the Orthodox Church last summer in Crete.
Friday, November 11, 2016
Thursday, November 10, 2016
Wednesday, November 9, 2016
Tuesday, November 8, 2016
Monday, November 7, 2016
Saturday, November 5, 2016
Hillary Clinton's Position Paper on Hellenic Issues - Hellenic American Leadership Council
Hillary Clinton's Position Paper on Hellenic Issues - Hellenic American Leadership Council: Hillary Clinton has released her position paper on Hellenic issues. We await Donald Trump’s position paper on these important issues as well, and will post his response when and if it becomes available.
Friday, November 4, 2016
Thursday, November 3, 2016
Wednesday, November 2, 2016
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