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Athens. The head of the Greek Orthodox Church said Sunday that any move for a separation of Church and State should be subject to a popular referendum, AFP informed. "In the event of such a separation, who should decide: we or the people?" Archbishop Ieronymos said in a regional television interview. "The people will be informed and will make their view known in a referendum, it's simple: and then we shall all be obliged to follow their decision." Earlier in the week the archbishop had made it clear that any initiative for a separation would never come from the Church....

"Rejoice, unfading rose. Rejoice, the only one who budded forth the unfading apple. Rejoice, birth-giver of the aromatic balm of the King of all. Rejoice, 0 Bride unwedded, the world's salvation." The Akathist Hymn is a profound, devotional poem, which sings the praises of the Holy Mother and Ever-Virgin Mary. It is one of the most beloved services in the Orthodox Church. It was composed in the imperial city of Constantinople, "the city of the Virgin," by St. Romanos the Melodist, who reposed in the year 556. The Akathist Hymn has proven so popular in the liturgical life of...

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Senior clergy elected Metropolitan Bishop Ieronymos of Thebes as the new leader of Greece's powerful Orthodox Church on Thursday to succeed the late Archbishop Christodoulos, the church announced.Church bells rang out and the lights outside Athens Cathedral, where 74 bishops had gathered for the vote, came on to announce the election of a successor to the popular Christodoulos, who died of cancer last month.Ieronymos, 70, won 45 votes after two rounds in an election that began Thursday morning. Four bishops of the 78-member Holy Synod, the church's governing body, were absent, the church said in announcing...

The head of Greece's powerful Orthodox Church, Archbishop Christodoulos, died of cancer on Monday at the age of 69.A staunch defender of the role of the church in Greece, he died at his home in Athens, only months after plans for a liver transplant in the United States were cancelled."He was an enlightened church leader whose work brought the church closer to society, closer to modern problems and to young people," Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis said in a statement.Condolences poured in and crowds of black-clad mourners gathered at his Athens home, where he died, as well as the Metropolitan Cathedral...

ATHENS, Greece (Jan. 28) -- The leader of Greece's powerful Orthodox Church, Archbishop Christodoulos, who eased centuries of tension with the Vatican but was viewed as reactionary by his liberal critics, died Monday. He was 69. Christodoulos, who headed the church for a decade, was first hospitalized in Athens in June before being diagnosed with cancer of the liver and large intestine. He spent 10 weeks in a hospital in Miami but an October liver transplant operation was canceled when doctors discovered the cancer had spread. He refused hospital treatment in the final weeks of his life. He died at...

A burglar who broke into a Greek Orthodox bishop's car made off with quite a haul, but fencing one of the stolen items could prove difficult. Among the items stolen from Bishop Metropolitan Isaiah's car was a jeweled crown of gold and silver, which Isaiah estimated to be worth between $6,000 and $10,000. Isaiah, who is based in Denver and is bishop for the Northwest region of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, said he was dining with others at a restaurant when the break-in occurred. He said the car was parked in a well-lit spot. "We came out at...

Holy relics of saints Joachim and Anna will be given to St. Anna Greek Orthodox Church in a ceremony Saturday in Sacramento, CA. Relics in the possession of the Roman Catholic Church for more than 1,100 years will be officially handed over to a Roseville Greek Orthodox Church this weekend.

Seven monks were injured yesterday as rival groups armed with crowbars, sledgehammers and fire extinguishers fought for control of a rebel monastery on Mount Athos, the self-governing peninsula in northern Greece where women are forbidden from entering. Police said the battle at Esphigmenou monastery erupted when a group of monks loyal to Patriarch Bartholomew I tried to establish a new library on the premises. They were confronted by the resident rejectionist monks, who refuse to recognise Bartholomew’s authority as the spiritual head of 250 million Orthodox believers around the world. The rebels vehemently oppose efforts to improve ties between the...

Today, the Vatican press office has announced that a group of priests and seminarians from the Theological College of “Apostoliki Diakonia� of the Orthodox Church of Greece are due to visit the Vatican starting tomorrow.Why is this visit important? Because the major obstacle to achieve unity with the Orthodox is the incredible anti-Catholic animosity transmitted from generation to generation among Orthodox priests.It is true that Greek Orthodoxs do not hold the kind of animosity seen among Russian Orthodox, but it is still a significant issue.The group includes 31 mostly young priests and seminarians from the faculty of theology and other...

The National Council of Churches has a long history of supporting Communist causes -- and condemning the United States and Israel. NATIONAL COUNCIL OF CHURCHES 475 Riverside DriveSuite 880New York, NY 10115 Phone :212-870-2227 URL :http://www.ncccusa.org/     Largest coalition of leftwing religious denominations in the United States Has long record of financial support for Communist regimesRemains faithful ally of Communist Cuba  Reserves criticism on moral issues for Israel and the United States Makes common cause with environmentalist radicals Masks leftist politics in faith-based declarations  Earlier this month, the National Council of Churches condemned Israel – a nation plagued in...

TARPON SPRINGS - Dress warm, get there early and be prepared for a massive crowd. That's the advice offered by organizers of the 100th annual Epiphany Day celebration, which promises to draw the biggest crowd ever. His All Holiness Bartholomew, the ecumenical patriarch of all Eastern Orthodox churches, will officiate at prayer services that begin at 7:30 a.m. today inside St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Cathedral. The patriarch will throw the cross into Spring Bayou at what for many is the highlight of Epiphany Day activities when more than 50 teenage boys dive into the 70-degree springwater to retrieve the holy...

JERUSALEM - The man enthroned last week as Greek Orthodox patriarch of Jerusalem signed a secret document obliging him to nullify the recent sale to Jewish groups of land comprising much of a key entrance to Jerusalem's Old City, and has allegedly made statements against Jews living in certain parts of Jerusalem, WorldNetDaily has learned. The newly installed Greek Orthodox leader, Theofilos III, was crowned in a ceremony Tuesday at Jerusalem's Church of the Holy Sepulchre in spite of objections by Israel, which is currently debating whether to recognize him as the official Jerusalem patriarch – the religious leader of...

Apolytikion: Plagal of the First Tone Let us praise the most auspicious bride of Christ, the divine Katherine, protectress of Sinai, our aid and our help. For, she brilliantly silenced the eloquence of the impious by the sword of the spirit, and now, crowned as a martyr, she asks great mercy for all. Kontakion: Second Tone O friends of martyrs, now divinely raise up a renewed chorus, praising the all-wise Katherine. For, she proclaimed Christ in the arena, trampled on the serpent, and spat upon the knowledge of the orators. Synaxarion: Saint Catherine, who was from Alexandria, was the daughter...

July, 2005 was a turning point for the Orthodox Christian Church in North America. It was the time when two independent self governing Orthodox Christian Church bodies in North America, the Autocephalous Orthodox Church in America (OCA) and the Self-Ruled Antiochian Orthodox Christain Archdiocese of North America, met with the clergy and lay leaders of the parishes throughout the Americas. In a conciliar manner, hierarchy, clergy and laity reasoned together to make decisions for the good order of their respective bodies, so they could move forward to face the challenges of the 21st century. The OCA meeting took place in...

Analysis: Replacing disgraced patriarch of Jerusalem a tough choice Roland Flamini United Press International July 28, 2005 WASHINGTON -- By the time the synod of the Greek Orthodox Church in Jerusalem convenes on August 15 to elect a new patriarch of the Holy City, they hope to have evicted the current one from the residence where he has dug himself in, protected by Israeli police. Patriarch Irineos I was voted out of office by his peers in the Episcopal Synod in May when it emerged that he had, without proper consultation, leased church property in East Jerusalem to Jewish developers....

Palestinian Leader Issues Decree to Oust Greek Orthodox PatriarchBy Kristen Stevens Associated Press Writer Published: Jul 13, 2005 JERUSALEM (AP) - Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas issued a decree Wednesday to dismiss the embattled Greek Orthodox patriarch, who has been embroiled in a battle over Jerusalem land deals with Israelis that have angered Palestinians. The Palestinian decree further weakens the position of the patriarch, Irineos I, who has been resisting efforts by church officials to oust him. The patriarch's appointment must be backed by three entities - Israel, Jordan and the Palestinian Authority. Jordan ordered his dismissal several weeks ago, but...

MOUNT SINAI, Egypt (Reuters) - The world's oldest monastery plans to use hi-tech cameras to shed new light on ancient Christian texts preserved for centuries within its fortress walls in the Sinai Desert. Saint Catherine's Monastery hopes the technology will allow a fuller understanding of some of the world's earliest Christian texts, including pages from the Codex Sinaiticus -- the oldest surviving bible in the world. The technique, known as hyperspectral imaging, will use a camera to photograph the parchments at different wavelengths of light, highlighting faded texts obscured by time and later overwritings. It should allow scholars to understand...

The Monastery of St. Catherine in Egypt's Sinai is a wonderful place to visit, interesting in every respect, but it is not famous throughout the world simply for its facilities nestled up against the foot of Mount Sinai. The monastery has one of the largest collections of ancient illuminated manuscripts in the world, as well as one of the most important collections of icons. Here, we will examine the icons, which number over 2,000, large and small, some unique masterpieces while others are simple works of art. They are spread throughout the complex, with some in the Katholikon, the...

Jordan has received a document demanding the dismissal of Greek Orthodox Patriarch Irineos I over his alleged role in a controversial Jerusalem property deal, a church official and lawmaker both said Sunday. The document, signed by 13 of the 17-member Synod of the Greek Orthodox Church in Jerusalem, was sent to Jordan's Interior Minister. Jordan, Jerusalem's Christian and Muslim holy site custodian, has said it would accept the dismissal if two-thirds of the synod's members backed the decision. It was unclear when it would make its decision. Irineos has been quoted as saying he is determined to fight the dismissal....

Apolytikion: Second Tone Lowering Your pure body from the Cross, Joseph wrapped it in clean muslin with fragrant spices and laid it in a new tomb. Kontakion: Second Tone He Who enclosed the deeps is now seen dead; and the immortal One is laid in a tomb enclosed in a shroud with myrrh. Women, too, come to anoint Him, weeping bitterly and lamenting: "This Sabbath is blessed above all others, for Christ, having fallen asleep, will rise on the third day." Synaxarion: On Saturday, the high priests and Pharisees gathered together before Pilate and asked him to have Jesus' tomb...

Angry Arab protestors mobbed the Greek Orthodox patriarch during a religious procession in Jerusalem's Old City on Sunday, enraged over a scandal involving the alleged sale of politically sensitive land to Jewish investors. As hundreds of Christian pilgrims waving palm branches flocked to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher to celebrate Orthodox Palm Sunday, scores of Arab Christians joined the crowds, booing and shouting "Shame on you" as Patriarch Irineos I left the basilica following a three-hour service. Shouting angrily in Arabic and Greek, they waved posters bearing slogans denouncing Irineos, one of which read: "Judas, betrayest thou the Son...

On Great Friday the Church remembers the ineffable mystery of Christ's death. Death -tormenting, indiscriminate, universal - casts its cruel shadow over all creation. It is the silent companion of life. It is present in everything, ready to stifle and impose limits upon all things. The fear of death causes anguish and despair. It shackles us to the appearances of life and makes rebellion and sin erupt in us (Heb 2.14-15). The Scriptures assure us that "God did not make death, and He does not delight in the death of the living, for He created all things that they might...

Archbishop Iakovos, who led the Greek Orthodox Church in the Americas for 37 years, reaching out to other religious groups as a champion of ecumenism, has died. He was 93. Iakovos died Sunday at Stamford Hospital from a pulmonary ailment, according to the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America. The Turkish-born Iakovos _ pronounced YAWK-oh-vose _ headed the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of North and South America, with an estimated 2 million followers, from 1959 until 1996. He was apparently forced out over his support for the idea of uniting the various Eastern Orthodox branches in a single American church. He met...

Antakya (AsiaNews) – The 75 Catholics of Antakya, the glorious Antioch-on-the-Orontes where the followers of Jesus were called Christians for the first time, did not celebrate Easter on March 27 as did their fellow Catholics around the world. Instead, they shall share in the celebrations with the larger Greek Orthodox community on May 1.  Since 1988 Christians in this southern city of modern Turkey have in fact been celebrating Easter together according to the ancient Julian calendar. This was the brainchild of Father Domenico Bertogli, an Italian capuchin and parish priest in Antioch for 17 years who successfully lobbied...

JERUSALEM (AP) - The Greek Orthodox Church is investigating the reported sale of sensitive Jerusalem property to Jewish organizations, a church official said Sunday, as Palestinian Christians staged a protest. The reported sale has sparked an uproar among Palestinian followers of the church, who accuse the Greek leadership of betraying the Palestinian cause. Dozens of faithful held a demonstration Sunday, calling Patriarch Eireneos a "collaborator" and demanding his resignation. Palestinian church leaders have also demanded that he step down. The controversy erupted after the Israeli daily Maariv reported Friday that the church had sold properties in the predominantly Arab sector...

BETHLEHEM, West Bank, Dec. 20 - In the town where Christians believe Christ was born, the Christians are leaving. Four years of violence, an economic free fall and the Israeli separation barrier have all contributed to the hardships facing Palestinian Christians in Bethlehem, one of the largest concentrations of Christians in the region. An estimated 3,000 Christians in the Bethlehem area have moved abroad since the Palestinian uprising began in 2000, according to Bernard Sabella, an associate professor of sociology at Bethlehem University who has tracked the issue. While some others put the number a bit lower, there is a...

The items on the table in the church lobby told only parts of Orthodox Marine Lance Cpl. Dimitrios Gavriel's life. Two Purple Hearts commendations — one for an injury he received in Iraq on Nov. 12, the other for the wounds that would prove fatal just a week later in Fallujah, a hot spot of insurgency in the war. He will be buried tomorrow at Arlington National Cemetery. But yesterday, an estimated 1,000 people, including former teammates, current wrestlers and fraternity brothers from Brown University, filled Holy Apostles Sts. Peter and Paul Greek Orthodox Church. They crowded into its choir...

Saturday October 9, 2004 Church steps back to the future The Greek Orthodox Church seems to have taken tentative steps toward entertaining the possibility of inducting women into its order for the first time since the fifth century, after the Holy Synod said that the subject was broached during its meeting yesterday. The Church governing body said Bishop Chrysostomos of Halkida had initiated a discussion on the subject of the role of women in the Church and the revival of female deacons, who were part of the Church during the fourth and fifth centuries. Twelve bishops and Archbishop Christodoulos, the...

Cyprus Church Bombed Ahead of Religious Ceremony VOA News 27 Aug 2004, 13:41 UTC An early Friday morning bomb blast outside a Greek Orthodox church in a Turkish-held area of Cyprus has caused some damage but no injuries. The explosion at the Saint Mamas church in Morphou - 30 kilometers west of Nicosia - damaged the roof, windows and the main church entrance. Officials say anti-Greek slogans were also scribbled on the walls. The church is the planned site of a controversial religious service next week. Greek Cypriots say they still plan to hold the liturgy at the church Wednesday...

Churches look Olympic best as priests skip summer holidaysThough the bells are ringing less frequently, priests are going to great lengths to welcome and instruct visitorsThe sun sets behind a Greek Orthodox church in Athens By Derek Gatopoulos The Associated Press Updated: 5:41 p.m. ET Aug. 19, 2004 Central Athens features several historic churches, some nearly 1,000 years old, which are often overlooked by tourists keen to visit the 2,500-year-old Parthenon and other ancient monuments. Twenty-odd churches in Athens' historic Plaka district and other downtown areas will remain open and provide visitors recordings of hymns and printed literature in Greek...

Mar 11, 2004 Cyprus takes legal action to recover stolen treasures By Staff Reporter CYPRUS has filed a civil suit in a German court to retrieve antiquities stolen after the Turkish invasion and retrieved by the Bavarian authorities, which have withheld them since, the Legal Service said yesterday. Following the occupation of northern Cyprus by Turkish troops, looters stripped the region’s churches, removing an estimated 15, 000 to 20,000 icons, several dozen major frescoes and mosaics dating from the sixth to the fifteenth century as well as thousands of chalices, wooden carvings, crucifixes and Bibles. Effort to retrieve the stolen...

HAVANA (AP) - Communist Cuba, once officially atheist, is rolling out the red carpet for the spiritual leader of the world's 300 million Orthodox Christians - and even built the Byzantine cathedral he was consecrating on Sunday. Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I, head of the Greek Orthodox church and leader of the world's 14 Orthodox patriarchs, was to consecrate the St. Nicholas cathedral in Old Havana during an hours-long ceremony in liturgical Greek beginning Sunday morning. It was unclear why President Fidel Castro agreed to finance the church's construction, but Cuban authorities have been trying to demonstrate that the communist government...

Two civil suits against the appointment of the anti-Semitic Irineos as Greek Orthodox Church Patriarch were filed in court today. The Cabinet approved the appointment on Sunday, but it is subject to appeal within seven days Amidst the news of the murderous terrorist attack and the homecoming of the Israeli captives dead and alive, two civil suits against the appointment of the anti-Semitic Greek Orthodox Church leader Irineos as Church Patriarch were filed in court today. The Cabinet voted, 11-6, to approve the appointment this past Sunday, after having received a recommendation by a ministerial committee - by a 3-2...

This Icon is a work of the iconographer Mr. Kostas Vrousgos from Thessaloniki and was painted in Adelaide, South Australia, with the blessing of Bishop Joseph of Arianzos. It was published in thousands of copies. His Grace wrote the following text about abortion and the Icon, printed on the reverse side of the Icon."The All-Holy God is the fountain of life. Life belongs to him. His love provides life to all living organisms and especially to man, whom He created in His own image and likeness. We live and exist because of the overflowing love of God. As in this...

Jan. 25, 2004 Greek Orthodox patriarch approved By ABIGAIL RADOSZKOWICZ After a delay of more than two years, the cabinet on Sunday approved Irineos I as Greek Orthodox patriarch of Jerusalem. Under medieval Byzantine law Israel, as the local temporal ruler, has the right to withhold recognition of the patriarch's election by the higher clergy of the local Greek Orthodox community. Charges that Irineos I was close to the Palestinian Authority had led the government to hold off approval. The delay led to strains in the otherwise warm relations between the Jewish and Greek Orthodox communities in the United States....

<p>SAN FRANCISCO, Dec. 26 (UPI) -- The Greek Orthodox Church Friday asked for prayers for the victims of a deadly mudslide that struck a church youth camp in southern California.</p> <p>Metropolitan Anthony, the head of the church in the western United States, said in a news release that the victims of the slide and their families would be remembered during Sunday services.</p>

American reactions to the recent bombing of a foreign workers' compound in Riyadh reveal multiple misreadings of the Arab world and — more dangerously — of both al Qaeda and the Saudis. The media seem to equate Arab with Muslim and, along with some in the administration, think that al Qaeda's war is against Americans and Westerners per se, rather than against all "infidels," a group al Qaeda defines idiosyncratically and expansively as anyone who is not a strictly observant Muslim. Both mistakes are compounded by reliance on the Saudis' distorted account of the attack. The November 8 bombing took...

When we hear about the Middle East, we frequently hear about the holy places that are important to religious believers. Some date back to the beginning of recorded history. There are holy places that are mentioned in both the Old and New Testaments. This is true about Israel and what may become Palestine and now we hear the same thing about Iraq. There are many shrines that Muslims regard as extremely holy. Iraqi tradition holds that Iraq was the Garden of Eden, the paradise created by God for man. Disobedience resulted in Adam and Eve's expulsion from the Garden. Well,...

Athens, Sep. 11 (LifesiteNews.com/CWN) - For a thousand years, the Greek Orthodox monks of Mount Athos have been praying in quiet and seclusion, unmolested by the outside world. But their peace may be coming to an end in the name of tolerance and non-discrimination. A plenary session of the European Parliament has passed a proposal/report demanding that the Greek government rescind the special protection the monks have enjoyed for a millennium. Mount Athos (or "Hagion Oros," i.e. Holy Mountain) has constituted the heart of the Orthodox ascetic life for more than one thousand years. As such, it could be said...

Only church destroyed on 9-11 is determined to rebuild Saturday, September 6, 2003 By TERRY MATTINGLY, Scripps Howard News Service The first thing police found at St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church was a piece of a wing and landing gear from American Flight 11. Then the World Trade Center's north tower fell on the humble, white-washed walls of the tiny sanctuary across the street. It took time for work crews to find much of anything after that. Eventually they found a paper icon of St. Dionysios of Zakynthos, but never found its frame or silver cover. They found an embroidered...

<p>Frank Schaeffer, son of the late renowned Christian theologian Francis Schaeffer, will be in Modesto next weekend to discuss the Orthodox church and faith. Schaeffer holds a photo of his son, John, a Marine.</p> <p>Author Frank Schaeffer will speak at Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church in Modesto next Saturday on the historic Orthodox tradition and his conversion to the Orthodox faith.</p>

News Charles makes mystery visit to Orthodox church priest Jul 31 2003 Exclusive by Eryl Crump, Gareth Hughes, Gareth Bicknell and Steve Bagnall, Daily Post PRINCE Charles made a private visit to a Greek Orthodox priest in North Wales yesterday. After a busy day with four stop-offs in North Wales, he spent about an hour chatting to Father Deiniol at the Church of Holy Protector in Blaenau Ffestiniog. Neither would comment on what was said during their meeting. A spokesman for Prince Charles said the visit was private and declined to comment further. Father Deiniol, whose church has existed in...

Charging that partial-birth abortion "has no place in a decent and compassionate society," Cardinal William H. Keeler expressed deep disappointment and regret that U.S. Senator Barbara A. Mikulski (D-Md.), a Catholic living in the Archdiocese of Baltimore, voted against a ban on the late-term abortion procedure. "I am deeply troubled by your continuing insistence that such a heinous procedure should be available in the United States of America," said Cardinal Keeler in a March 21 letter to Sen. Mikulski. The U.S. Senate passed the partial-birth abortion ban on a 64-33 vote March 13. Maryland Senator Paul S. Sarbanes (D., MD),...