Met. Jonah - 2/5 - AOI Observer

May 21, 2013

Met. Jonah: Do Not Resent, Do Not React, Keep Inner Stillness

June 9, 2011 6:07 PM

Wisdom from the experience of a true pastor. The piece is a bit long but once you start you will want to complete because it covers matters of the heart that all serious Christians struggle with. When I was in seminary I had the great blessing of becoming the spiritual son of a Greek bishop, Bishop Kallistos of Xelon. He ended his life as the bishop of Denver of the Greek Archdiocese. It was he who taught me the Jesus Prayer. The whole spiritual vision of Bishop Kallistos had three very simple points. Do not resent. Do not react. Keep inner stillness. These three spiritual principles, or disciplines, are really a summation of the Philokalia, the collection of Orthodox Christian spiritual wisdom. And they are disciplines every single one of us can practice, no matter where we are in life – whether we’re in the monastery or in school; whether we’re housewives or retired; whether we’ve got a job or we’ve got little kids to run after. If … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Observer Tagged With: Met. Jonah, Theology

His Beatitude, Metropolitan JONAH: Paschal message 2011 [VIDEO]

April 22, 2011 6:05 PM

HT: Koinonia: An Orthodox priest's thoughts on psychology and the spiritual life … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Observer Tagged With: Met. Jonah, Orthodox Church

Fr. Gregory Jenson: The Orthodox Church and Civil Society

March 18, 2011 4:42 PM

Source: Koinonia Much like the Catholic Church, Mainline Protestant denominations and Evangelical Christians, the Orthodox Church is struggle to decide whether or not Christ has called us to take an active or a passive role in the world. By his example, Metropolitan Jonah has said we should be active–even proactive–while his critics, either out of fear of, or agreement with, the spirit of the age have opted for passivity. This at least is the conclusion that I would draw from the recent Washington Post profile piece about his Beatitude (you can read it here and my post on it here). It seems clear that the Orthodox Church in America is internally divided between those who would rather not step out into the public square with the Gospel and those like his Beatitude are ready, willing and eager to do so. As in every human decision, people do or don’t do for a mix of reasons and just because two people agree on a course of action doesn’t mean they have the same … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Observer Tagged With: civic responsibility, Fr. Gregory Jensen, Met. Jonah, Orthodox Church, Orthodox Church in America, Orthodoxy and culture

WAPO: Metropolitan Jonah goes to Washington

March 18, 2011 7:11 AM

Source: Washington Post | Julia Duin | Sunday, March 20, 11:13 AM They appeared at the edge of the crowd on the Mall, a group of men seemingly out of a distant century. Their heads were crowned with klobuks, the distinctive headgear of Orthodox clergy. Sporting black cassocks and untrimmed gray beards, with golden icons dangling from their necks on long chains, these visitors stood out among the crowd clad in jeans and winter coats. The man in their center carried a bejeweled walking stick. Metropolitan Jonah, 51, leads the Orthodox Church in America, the second-largest Eastern Orthodox body in the United States. He was there to rally the huddled masses waiting in the freezing air to begin the March for Life, the annual demonstration protesting the 1973 Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion nationwide. His aim was to boost Orthodox participation in political issues. But his efforts to change the OCA would spark a ferocious reaction from his own bishops one month later. At … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Observer Tagged With: Mark Stokoe, Met. Jonah, Orthodox Church, Orthodox Church in America, political activism

His Beatitude, Metropolitan JONAH Addresses the Faithful of the Archdiocese of Washington [VIDEO] [CLOSED]

February 27, 2011 9:48 PM

Talk given by Met. Jonah at St. Nicholas Cathedral (OCA) on Sunday, February 27, 2011. TRANSCRIPT Dearly Beloved in Christ, I greet you with the feast of the Last Judgment as we prepare ourselves for the Great and Holy Lenten Fast. It is with sadness today that I address you, not because of the content of what I have to say, but because of the manner in which it needs to be said. As many of you know, in line with the longstanding tradition in the church of an intensified prayer life during Lent, I as a diocesan bishop, requested from my brothers on the Holy Synod to set aside a period of time for myself during the Great Fast to spend in personal reflection and renewal. Due to the complexity of my work and travel schedule since my becoming Metropolitan, this will be the first extended period of rest that I have taken in quite some time. I am extremely grateful to my brothers for granting me this request, and for taking on the burden of added responsibility to … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Observer Tagged With: Met. Jonah, Orthodox Church, Orthodox Church in America (OCA)

OCANews.org: +Jonah Placed on Leave of Absence by Synod [CLOSED]

February 25, 2011 1:17 PM

This report is from OCANews.org and recently posted. Obviously there is a significant degree of tension between Syosset (OCA headquarters) and Met. Jonah. I don't know the ins and outs of the OCA, but it appears that this report, given the extensive detail, was probably prepared for publication before the suspension (the part beginning with "How Did This Happen?" reads as if it was carefully constructed and edited; it would have taken considerably more than a few hours to write). In any case, the story is taking shape. • Fate of Fr. Garklavs, Chancellor, as yet unconfirmed According to a report from Geneva on the Greek website Romofea.org late last evening, citing “exclusive information” from unamed sources, Metropolitan Jonah has been removed as the Primate, and Archbishop Nathaniel has been named Temporary Administrator by the OCA Synod of Bishops. Earlier in the day the retired Bishop of Los Angeles, Tikhon posted a … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Observer Tagged With: Met. Jonah, OCA, OCANews.org, Orthodox Church, Orthodox Church in America (OCA)

Met. Jonah: Message for Sanctity of Life Sunday

January 17, 2011 9:27 AM

January 23, 2011, Sanctity of Life Sunday The Orthodox Church is like St John the Baptist crying out in the wilderness, or Jesus baptizing by the Jordan. We, like them, preach a message of repentance and the remission of sins in the new desert, the decadent culture of the modern West, mired in the chaos of moral collapse. The Orthodox Church’s message is a message of hope, of healing, of the transformation of one’s life, of attaining to the fullness of personhood, of the realization of the divine potential in each human being. Yet, this message requires not only acceptance, but a voluntary cooperation by those who accept this message. The Church demands a serious discipline of all who would be members, all who would follow this straight and narrow difficult path that leads to salvation. It is a way that demands that we be crucified to the world and its desires, dead to the flesh and its demands, so that we can be focused solely on God. The culture of this world … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Observer Tagged With: March for Life, Met. Jonah, Orthodox Church, sanctity of life

Met. Jonah: Remembering the Least of These and Q & A on Orthodox Unity

August 7, 2010 5:00 PM

Source: Ancient Faith Radio Metropolitan Jonah - Remembering The Least of These Met. Jonah: In Batumi - at the end of the Soviet period about 15 years ago, there were only two or three churches that were operative in the province…those that were operating were basically mostly empty and 80% of the population was Muslim. After 15 years and one zealous bishop they baptized 80% of the population into the Orthodox Church…they built 60 churches…they built a dozen monasteries…and how did they do this? First they built hospitals, first they built schools, first they built orphanages and nursing homes…and they showed the Church cares….and it’s palpable. The love of Christ..Christian charity…can turn back the tide of Islam. Listen here: Source: Ancient Faith Radio Q and A Following Met. Jonah’s Talk Met. Jonah: There are certainly two very distinct models.* And I believe one of the reasons it is so important for us to have a full voice in this whole … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Observer Tagged With: Episcopal Assemby, Met. Jonah, Orthodox Church

Met. Jonah Keynote Address – The Episcopal Assembly

July 29, 2010 12:48 PM

From Ancient Faith Radio Metropolitan Jonah addresses the assembly with his perspective on the Episcopal Assembly process currently underway in North America. Listen here: … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Observer Tagged With: Episcopal Assemby, Met. Jonah, Orthodox Church, Orthodox Unity

Christianity is a spiritual path

June 21, 2010 11:12 AM

“Buddhists aren’t the only ones who talk about consciousness. Tibetan monasteries were Christian before they were Buddhist.” Metropolitan Jonah, March 2010. Lenten Retreat with His Beatitude Metropolitan Jonah given at Saint Matthew Orthodox Church in Columbia, MD on March 13, 2010. Listen here: Part 1 Part 2 … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Observer Tagged With: Met. Jonah, Podcast, Theology

All The Churches Are In Communion, Says OCA’s Metropolitan Jonah

May 29, 2010 8:09 AM

This interview was given before the start of the Episcopal Assembly but was only recently made available. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++ HT: Orthodox News The National Herald BOSTON – There’s no religious or political war or even battling bishops, but an assembly of church leaders in New York for the Autocephalous Church in America (OCA) has highlighted a little-talked about division between those who want a greater role for Pan-Orthodoxy and those who want the church under one umbrella. OCA head Metropolitan Jonah, said he welcomed his role at the Assembly of Orthodox Bishops of the United States, Canada and Central America in New York, noting: “What I want to do is to approach this with all humility.” As The National Herald has reported, the initial directive of Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew to Archbishop Demetrios was not to invite Metropolitan Jonah, because the Ecumenical Patriarchate does not recognize the autocephaly of the OCA, which was granted … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Observer Tagged With: Episcopal Assemby, Met. Jonah, Orthodox Church

Metropolitan Jonah requests prayers in anticipation of North America’s first Episcopal Assembly

April 22, 2010 12:45 PM

HT: Orthodox News Orthodox Church in America April 21, 2010 SYOSSET, NY [OCA] -- In anticipation of the first North American Episcopal Assembly, slated to convene in New York City, May 25-27, 2010, His Beatitude, Metropolitan Jonah has asked that special petitions be included in the Litany of Fervent Supplication. Under the chairmanship of His Eminence, Archbishop Demetrios of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, the Assembly will bring together all canonical Orthodox hierarchs across the continent. Comprehensive and informative background information on events and deliberations leading to the convocation of the Assembly may be found on the web site of the Standing Conference of Canonical Orthodox Bishops in the Americas at www.scoba.us/resources/chambesy_documents.html. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Observer Tagged With: Chambesy, Episcopal Assemby, Met. Jonah, Orthodox Church