Ecumenical - AOI Observer

A Russian in Rome [VIDEO]

October 4, 2011 9:40 PM

Source: Inside Vatican The end of state atheism in Russia in 1991 and the return to Christian faith in that country, at least in a modest way, in the years since — opinions on the extent of Russia's religious renewal are sharply divided — seemed something impossible in the 1960s, 1970, 1980s... Pope John Paul II fervently desired that change so that Europe might regain its spiritual health and "breathe with two lungs" — Eastern as well as Western, Greek as well as Latin, Orthodox as well as Catholic... despite all the centuries of division and mistrust since the "Great Schism" of 1054. In the long process of this new "breathing" a special moment occurred on September 29 at Castel Gandolfo outside of Rome. On the morning of September 29, Benedict XVI welcomed the Orthodox Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, head of the Patriarchate of Moscow’s Department for External Church Relations — the equivalent of the "Foreign Minister" of the Russian … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Observer Tagged With: Ecumenical, Met. Hilarion, Orthodox Church, Pope Benedict

Human Events. The Unseen Riots of London: American media tries very hard not to notice a world capitol in flames

August 10, 2011 6:07 PM

This is what the collapse of the welfare state looks like. Source: Human Events For the past four days, the city of London has been in flames. The UK Telegraph reports over 20,000 calls to the police on a single night: Officials said all police cells in London were now full and that any new suspects who were arrested were being taken to surrounding areas. Acting Commissioner Tim Godwin also called on all special constables to report for duty as the Met requested employers “to support” their emergency initiative. “Last night was the worst the MPS (Metropolitan Police Service) has seen in current memory for unacceptable levels of widespread looting, fires and disorder,” a spokesman for the Met police said. “The MPS responded with the largest policing operation of the three nights to date (approximately 2,500 officers in addition to 3,500 officers already on boroughs).” The Met spokesman went on to report that the riots have … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Observer Tagged With: Culture, Ecumenical, Human Events

Met. Hilarion: An Alliance of Faith (Orthodox – Catholic Cooperation)

March 24, 2011 2:10 PM

Pope Benedict meets Abp. Hilarion in Rome

Highlight: Our challenges "...are first and foremost the challenges of a godless world, which is equally hostile today to Orthodox believers and Catholics, the challenge of the aggressive Islamic movement, the challenge of moral corruption, family decay, the abandonment by many people in traditionally Christian countries of the traditional family structure, liberalism in theology and morals, which is eroding the Christian community from within. We can respond to these, and a number of other challenges, together." "The idea of a strategic alliance with the Catholics– is an old idea of mine. It came to me when the Catholics were electing the new Pope. Although I would like to point out that what I am suggesting is, in essence, the direct opposite of Uniatism, which is a way toward a rapprochement based on doctrinal compromises. In our point of view, the policy of Uniatism had suffered complete failure. Not only did it not bring the Orthodox Christians and Catholics closer together, … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Observer Tagged With: Culture, Ecumenical, Met. Hilarion Alfeyev, Roman Catholic Church, Russian Orthodox Church

A Greek Orthodox Response to Rabbi David Rosen

January 17, 2011 9:20 AM

This article rebuts Jewish charges of anti-Semitism in the the Greek Orthodox Church after Greek Bishop blamed Jews for Greece's financial collapse in public comments last month. I wish it went to an editor first (the story of Archbishop Damaskinos should have led the piece) but overall all it's a serviceable editorial. Source: Greek America Magazine Exclusive to Greek America Magazine, His Grace Bishop Demetrios of Mokissos, an auxiliary bishop of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America and Chancellor of the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Chicago with extensive experience in interfaith and ecumenical relations offered the following response to Rabbi David Rosen, who claimed that “…anti-Semitism is alive and well within the Greek Orthodox Church.” Rosen's remarks were in response to a Greek bishop's televised interview during which he made several anti-Semitic references and accusations. By Bishop Demetrios of Mokissos One cannot combat bigotry and hate by … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Observer Tagged With: anti-Semitism, Bishop Demetrios of Mokissos, Ecumenical, Greek America magazine, Metropolitan Seraphim of Piraeus, Orthodox Church, Rabbi David Rosen

Bartholomew I: We will continue to dialogue with the Pope and Islam

December 21, 2010 10:23 AM

HT: Byzantine TX. Source: Asia News Istanbul (AsiaNews) - On the eve of the holiday season, Bartholomew I delivered a major address before an highly qualified audience from the Orthodox world, defending the Ecumenical Patriarchate’s choice for inter-faith dialogue. "We will insist on dialogue, despite the criticism that we suffer," he said. "There is, unfortunately, a certain religious fundamentalism, a tragic phenomenon, which can be found among Orthodox and Catholics, among Muslims and Jews. These are people who think they alone have the right to exist on earth, almost as if they alone have the right to rule on this our planet according to the Old Testament. And they say there is no room for anyone else, and are therefore opposed to any dialogue. " … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Observer Tagged With: Ecumenical, Orthodox Church

Met. Hilarion: Patriarch’s meeting with Pope getting nearer

November 29, 2010 10:18 AM

Source: Orthodox Church Media Network November 26, 2010 Moscow, November 26, Interfax – The meeting between the Moscow Patriarch and the Pope is getting nearer each day, the Russian Orthodox Church said. “Each day brings us closer to this meeting between the Pope and Patriarch,” head of the Moscow Patriarchate Department for External Church Relations Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, told journalists in Moscow. “Right now we are not prepared to make known the date, nor are we engaged in any concrete preparations for the meeting, but we are certainly getting closer to it. It is a calendar and astronomical fact,” he said. The work carried out by the Russian Church with the Catholic Church is aimed “improving the general climate and achieving a higher level of mutual understanding,” he added. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Observer Tagged With: Ecumenical, Orthodox Church

Eastern tradition of canon law links Catholic, Orthodox churches, Pope notes

October 12, 2010 10:34 AM

I'm not sure if the Pope is speaking of the Byzantine Rite Catholics or the Orthodox Churches here, but the admission of a distinctive tradition is good. Source: Catholic Culture The Eastern Catholic churches should protect and maintain their own distinctive traditions, Pope Benedict XVI said on October 9 during an audience with participants in a conference on the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches. “In maintaining Catholic communion the Eastern Catholic Churches had no intention of renouncing faithfulness to their own tradition," the Pope remarked. He said that the canon laws of the Eastern churches should contribute to the effort of “preserving their legal heritage and nourishing their traditions, which are a treasure for the whole Church.” Pope Benedict also observed that the canon law of the Eastern Catholic churches traces its origin back to the sacri canones of early Christianity. Because the Orthodox churches draw their own canon law from the same … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Observer Tagged With: Ecumenical, Orthodox Church

Moscow Patriarchate freezes ecumenical journey: Pope never commanded in the East

September 29, 2010 9:30 AM

More on the clarification from Moscow. Source: Asia News A statement from Metropolitan Hilarion, chairman of the Department for External Relations of the Patriarchate, challenges the very foundations of the recent meeting of the Mixed Commission between Catholics and Orthodox on the role of the bishop of Rome in the Church of the first millennium, denying that the pope has ever had jurisdiction over the Eastern Churches. Moscow (AsiaNews) – The Moscow Patriarchate has poured cold water on progress in the ecumenical journey that emerged from the recent meeting in Vienna of the Joint Commission between Catholics and Orthodox (see photo). In a statement published on the Patriarchate website Metropolitan Hilarion, chairman of the Department for External Relations says that " no breakthrough has been made," on the theme of the meeting, that of the role of the bishop of Rome in the first millennium, and moreover challenges the very foundation of the meeting, denying that the … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Observer Tagged With: Asia News, Ecumenical, Ecumenical relations, Orthodox Church

Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk: Allegations about a ‘breakthrough’ in Orthodox-Catholic dialogue are untrue

September 28, 2010 2:04 PM

See my notes in the post immediately preceding this one. Source: As has been stressed by the chairman of the Moscow Patriarchate’s department for external church relations, Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, the working document of the Joint International Commission for Orthodox-Catholic Dialogue, publicized so widely by some media, does not reflect the attitude of the Orthodox side to the problem of primacy of the bishop of Rome and can be viewed only as a purely auxiliary paper for further work. Contrary to allegations in the press, the Orthodox-Catholic Commission meeting in Vienna has made no ‘breakthrough’ whatsoever. The entire meeting was devoted to a discussion on the role of the bishop of Rome in the first millennium. The Commission’s coordinating committee had drafted a document on this issue, which was discussed last year in Cyprus. A rough draft of this document ‘leaked’ into the mass media and was published. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Observer Tagged With: Ecumenical, Met. Hilarion, Orthodoox - Catholic Relations, Orthodox Church, Russian Orthodox Church

Met. Hilarion’s speech at the Nicean Club Dinner (full version)

September 14, 2010 9:43 AM

Address by Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk Chairman of the Moscow Patriarchate’s Department for External Church Relations to the Annual Nicean Club Dinner (Lambeth Palace, 9 September 2010) Speech removed until a corrected version arrives. I was informed that the speech by Met. Hilarion that I posted contains some (mostly minor) errors. Since I want to be as accurate as possible, I have removed the first translation and will post the corrected version as soon as I receive it. You can read the first version by following the link above. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Observer Tagged With: Anglican Church, Culture, Ecumenical, Met. Hilarion of Volokolamsk, Orthodox Church

Dr. Peter Bouteneff: Speaking the truth in love

August 30, 2010 6:14 PM

The faculty of St. Vladimir's website will be posting occasional essays on topics of current events. In this essay, Dr. Peter Bouteneff, Associate Professor of Systematic Theology, discusses ecumenical dialogue, particularly how different contexts and settings shape how discussion occurs. Dr. Bouteneff is a reader of the AOI blog and an occasional contributor. Source: St. Vladimir Seminary Recently, the Orthodox internet was abuzz with the words of Fr. Siarhei Hardun, an Orthodox priest from Belarus who had been invited as an "ecumenical delegate" to the general assembly of the Presbyterian Church, USA. Fr. Siarhei's words, which can be seen in their entirety here, were indeed memorable: he said that some of what he witnessed at this meeting seemed like an attempt to "invent a new religion — a sort of modern paganism." He added that "When people say that they are led and guided by the Holy Spirit to do it, I wonder if it is the same Holy Spirit that inspired the … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Observer Tagged With: Dr. Peter C. Bouteneff, Ecumenical, Fr. Hardun, Orthodox Church

Progressive Christianity’s habit of ‘Embracing the Tormenters’

May 26, 2010 10:52 AM

The Institute on Religion & Democracy’s Faith McDonnell: Conducting “truth commissions” to denounce American armed forces and organizing divestment campaigns to cripple Israel are vital issues to some American church officials. Raising the banner of Intifada and expressing solidarity with Palestinians are also very important to this collection of liberal leaders. They “spiritualize” the Democratic immigration and health care reform agendas with pompous prayer, but their social justice-focused prophetic vision has strange blind spots. Leftist church leaders hardly ever see, let alone condemn, the imprisonment, enslavement, torture, and murder of Christians in the Islamic world, North Korea, and China. Church officials and partner organizations such as the National Council of Churches (NCC) and the World Council of Churches (WCC) issue strident policy statements on such topics as “eco-justice,” broadband access for “economically … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Observer Tagged With: Ecumenical, NCC, Religious Left, WCC