AOI - The American Orthodox Institute - USA
A Research and Educational Organization that engages the cultural issues of the day within the Orthodox Christian Tradition
Source: MSN News | January 17, 2011 ATHENS, Greece - Greece's powerful Orthodox Church urged the government in the crisis-hit country on Monday to relax tough hiring restrictions so it can put more priests on the state payroll. The government last year paid the salaries of 10,800 priests and church staff — who are technically civil servants — out of 757,500 "permanent employees" in the … [Read more...]
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-MbEL-C7ypU[/youtube] The head of the Greek Orthodox Church has warned the country's new socialist government that it faces a major battle over removing religious symbols from schools. The European Court in Strasbourg has ordered Italy to take down crucifixes from its classrooms, and Greece's Justice Minister has acknowledged that it may have to follow … [Read more...]
From Malcolm Brabant reporting for the BBC in Athens: The Greek Orthodox Church is urging Christians across Europe to unite in an appeal against a ban on crucifixes in classrooms in Italy. The European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg ruled last week that the presence of crucifixes violated a child's right to freedom of religion. Greece's Orthodox Church fears the Italian case will set … [Read more...]
A roundup of news in the wake of the Socialists' return to power in Greece: Greek Orthodox Archbishop Demetrios congratulated George Papandreou on his election victory in Greece. The Archbishop wished him success in his “manifold work for the benefit of the homeland and the Greeks abroad.” "Diplomats," dismayed at rising xenophobia and nationalism, cheered Papandreou's … [Read more...]
From Kathimerini: The Church of Greece’s finances are in rude health, according to a report handed to Archbishop Ieronymos this week, which indicated that the church made more than 7 million euros profit in 2008. According to the internal report, which was seen by Kathimerini, almost 20 million euros of revenue flowed into the church’s coffers last year, mostly from the renting out of church … [Read more...]
(Ecumenical News International) -- A group of Orthodox clergy in Greece, led by three senior archbishops, have published a manifesto pledging to resist all ecumenical ties with Roman Catholics and Protestants. "The only way our communion with heretics can be restored is if they renounce their fallacy and repent," the group said in a "Confession of Faith against Ecumenism" that they circulated … [Read more...]
A really interesting passage from "The legacy of the French Revolution: Orthodoxy and nationalism," an essay by Paschalis Kitromilides, which explains, among other things, the historical process by which the Church of Greece was granted autocephaly. While the Enlightenment confronted the church with a secular universalist ideology, which, questions of doctrine aside, could in some … [Read more...]
Athens, 15.04.2009 Archbishop Ieronymos of Athens and All Greece, in his Easter message, expressed a wish to the faithful “to meet the Risen Christ in their fellow human beings.” “The Resurrection of Christ is a reminder of the light’s supremacy over darkness,” the Archbishop mentioned, adding that in this light “the individual is met with the true calling, which is none other than meeting … [Read more...]
