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The Holy Synod of the Orthodox Church in America issued a statement on same-sex relationships and sexual identity today. A resolution was proposed at the 20th All-American Council, which is currently underway in Baltimore, to affirm the Church’s stance on these issues. However, the OCA statutes dictate that such doctrinal and moral matters fall not within the competency of an All-American Council, but that of the Holy Synod. Thus, the hierarchs, under the presidency of His Beatitude Metropolitan Tikhon, issued a statement. In it, the hierarchs reaffirm the Church’s unchanging teaching that sexual activity is blessed only within the confines...

Christian Orthodox priest Mark Hodges was 'suspended from priestly functions' His three-month suspension went into effect on January 12 after a church member reported seeing him in a video at the 'Save America' rally on January 6 Hodges claimed that he wasn't a part of the violence and never entered Capitol ...According to the website of the Orthodox Church in America’s Diocese of the Midwest, archpriest Mark Hodges was 'suspended from all priestly functions'. The suspension for Hodges, who is affiliated with St Paul the Apostle Orthodox Church in Greene County’s Sugarcreek Twp, Ohio, took effect on January 12.

The bright blue cupolas atop SS. Cyril & Methodius Orthodox Church are an unmistakable landmark in Jeannette — symbols of a parish once home to more than 50 Russian families. In Monessen, families used to fill folding chairs beside packed church pews during Sunday services at St. Michael Antiochian Orthodox Church. Not so today. Not at St. Michael, not at SS. Cyril & Methodius and not at many other Orthodox churches in southwestern Pennsylvania.

Saint Anna, the mother of the Virgin Mary, was the youngest daughter of the priest Nathan from Bethlehem, descended from the tribe of Levi. She married Saint Joachim (September 9), who was a native of Galilee. For a long time Saint Anna was childless, but after twenty years, through the fervent prayer of both spouses, an angel of the Lord announced to them that they would be the parents of a daughter, Who would bring blessings to the whole human race. The Orthodox Church does not accept the teaching that the Mother of God was exempted from the consequences of...

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was trained in the proper handling of classified information by the Bureau of Diplomatic Security according to the Diplomatic Security 2009 Year in Review booklet the bureau posted online. Under the heading “Safe Handling of Information” on page 21 the bureau boasted of its efforts to quickly bring new Obama administration appointees up to speed on security issues. “DS also provides new Department of State employees with training in the proper handling of sensitive and classified information. “DS contributed to the smooth transition of U.S. government officials by providing more than 180 members of...

Good news! A Federal court has ruled that most Americans have standing to challenge the Constitutionality of Obamacare. The District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan recently ruled that Americans who “reorganize their affairs,” and “forego certain spending today, so they will have the funds to pay for health insurance when the individual mandate takes effect in 2014,” have standing. This is most Americans. The Obama administration filed a notice in our lawsuit last week acknowledging the Michigan court’s ruling and its relevance to our case. However, their notice reemphasized their assertion that Congress has authority to enact...

In a new twist on lawsuits against Obamacare, TN attorney Van Irion filed a national class action in Federal court. The suit challenges Obamacare on the basis that Congress is not authorized by the Constitution to regulate health care. Mr. Irion is asking the courts to re-evaluate the Commerce clause precedent, arguing that current precedent in effect destroys the intent of the Constitution and specifically the 10th Amendment. (PRWEB) April 19, 2010 -- Over 10,000 Americans have joined a lawsuit against Obamacare (http://obamacareclassaction.com). In a new twist on lawsuits against Obamacare, TN constitutional attorney and congressional candidate (http://www.van4congress.org/) Van Irion...

Metropolitan Herman greets ROCOR Metropolitan Laurus on anniversary Article posted: 9/6/2007 11:59 PM SYOSSET, NY [OCA Communications] -- His Beatitude, Metropolitan Herman, sent a letter of greeting to His Eminence, Metropolitan Laurus, First Hierarch of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia, on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of his consecration to the episcopacy. The text of the letter, dated September 3, 2007, reads as follows. "On this, the fortieth anniversary of Your Eminence's episcopal consecration, I extend to you, our brother and concelebrant, heartfelt greetings. Please also accept our prayers and congratulations. "Your Eminence's long service in the vineyard...

Orthodox church scandal brewing SYOSSET, N.Y., Feb. 27 (UPI) -- Leaders of the Orthodox Church in America allegedly siphoned off millions in donations to cover personal debts and pay sexual blackmail. Church leaders meet Wednesday in Syosset, N.Y., to consider calls for a full investigation of the charges leveled by former Treasurer Deacon Eric A. Wheeler. The Washington Post reports Wheeler, who is described as a disgruntled former employee, alleges the money came from donations by former Archer Daniels Midland Co. Chairman Dwayne Andreas and others. Metropolitan Herman, the archbishop of New York and Washington, has ordered church officials not...

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...

Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia to join Moscow Patriarchate 12:59 MOSCOW, June 21 (RIA Novosti, Olga Lipich) - The Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia (ROCOR) is set to join the Moscow Patriarchate as a self-governed branch, similar to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. The union was envisaged by a draft act on canonical communication, which was published Tuesday on the official Web sites of the foreign ties department of the Moscow Patriarchate and ROCOR, along with other documents adopted by the cross commissions for the bilateral dialogue. "These documents cover the key issues that ROCOR considered to be major...

"We don't know if that's going to affect (relations) with the Russian Orthodox church. The future will show," Interfax new agency quoted Patriarch Alexy II as saying. Metropolitan Kirill, a senior official in the Russian Orthodox church, attended the meeting with Benedict on Alexy's behalf. Alexy ruled out the possibility of inviting Benedict to Russia in the near future, calling on the new pope to address the proselytizing of Orthodox followers by Catholic missionaries that he alleges went on during John Paul's reign. These accusations led Alexy to block John Paul from visiting Russia in 2004, ending the late pontiff's...

In a post yesterday in the Yahoo Groups called "orthodox-tradition", an Orthodox Christian hierarch, Bishop Tikhon, claimed that America is "terrorizing" people in Fallujah, and once again said that "terrorism is the approved technique of our armed forces." The verbatim posts made by the Bishop are included below with the date/time stamp and the corresponding Yahoo Group message number. Bishop Tikhon, post on Wed Nov 10, 2004 @ 8:33 pm Message No: 62204 (Yahoo Groups) ========================================================================== From: Bishop Tikhon Date: Wed Nov 10, 2004 8:33 pm Subject: Re: [paradosis] America holds the all-time record for terrorism. That's right. Terrorism is...