Orthodox Church in America

Patriarch Kirill welcomes Metropolitan Jonah in Moscow

Deprecated: trim(): Passing null to parameter #1 ($string) of type string is deprecated in /home/aoiusa/public_html/wp-content/plugins/sexybookmarks/public.php on line 388

Deprecated: trim(): Passing null to parameter #1 ($string) of type string is deprecated in /home/aoiusa/public_html/wp-content/plugins/sexybookmarks/public.php on line 394

Deprecated: trim(): Passing null to parameter #1 ($string) of type string is deprecated in /home/aoiusa/public_html/wp-content/plugins/sexybookmarks/public.php on line 400

Official statement from the Moscow Patriarchate (HT: Byzantine, TX, and Rocor United):

On the 26th of April 2009, Metropolitan Jonah of the Orthodox Church in America served liturgy with Patriarch Kirill at Christ the Savior Cathedral. The Patriarch then addressed Metropolitan Jonah with the following words:

Your Eminence Jonah, Archbishop of Washington and New York, Metropolitan of all America and Canada, beloved in Christ brother and co-celebrant! Wise bishops and priests! Dear brothers and sisters!

Metropolitan Jonah (left) and Patriarch Kirill in Moscow

Christ is Risen!

It brings me great joy to greet the delegation of the Orthodox Church in America headed by His Eminence Vladyka Jonah during these bright Paschal days. In your first official visit as a newly-chosen primate, which you are making to the Moscow Patriarchate, you have emphasized the special interrelation of American Orthodoxy with its Mother Church. This relation, filled with a spirit of love and unity, truly can be characterized by the words of the apostle, “One Lord, one faith, one baptism” (Eph. 4:5). Today we have sealed our unity with communion of the Holy Mysteries of Christ, and every one of us, in answer to the touch of Grace of the risen Lord, can, together with Thomas, from all his heart exclaim, “My Lord and my God! (John 20:28). Continue reading →

Met. Gerasimos blasts Met. Jonah for “persecuting” the Church of Constantinople

14 Comments

Metropolitan Gerasimos of San Francisco (GOA)

In what can only be described as a radical restructuring of an increasingly public discussion, Met. Gerasimos (GOA, San Francisco) blasts Met. Jonah (OCA) for his recent criticism of the address by Fr. Elpidophoros Lambriniadis at Holy Cross Seminary last month. In the address, Fr. Elpidophoros laid out the rationale for submission of all American Orthodox Christians to Constantinople in what can be generously described as exclusively ethnic terms.

Met. Gerasimos addresses none of Met. Jonah’s criticisms or Fr. Elpidophoros’ rationale. Instead, Met. Gerasimos frames the discussion in terms of the “persecution” of the Constantinopolitan Church, which, he contends, “…has shown us that the Ecumenical Patriarchate must now concern itself not only with attacks by those outside the Church, but also from within the Church, as well.”

No mention is made of the historical and canonical claims made by Fr. Elpidophoros. Neither does Met. Gerasimos address the worldwide resistance to Constantinople’s reading of Canon 28 (see articles), the reduction of Hellenism to Greek ethnic identity, or the servitude of Patriarchal and GOA leaders to the national interests of the Greek state.

Any analysis or criticism of Constantinople’s historical and canonical claims are tantamount to persecution of the Church Met. Gerasimos says in so many words. Is he trying to shut down discussion?

Complete text follows: Continue reading →

Deprecated: str_replace(): Passing null to parameter #3 ($subject) of type array|string is deprecated in /home/aoiusa/public_html/wp-content/themes/genesis/lib/functions/image.php on line 116
class="post-1905 post type-post status-publish format-standard hentry category-blog-archive tag-ecumenical-patriarch-bartholomew-i tag-ecumenical-patriarchate tag-elpidophoros-lambriniadis tag-greek-orthodox tag-metropolitan-jonah tag-news tag-orthodox-church tag-orthodox-church-in-america entry">

Metropolitan Jonah apologizes for ‘uncharitable’ remarks directed at Ecumenical Patriarch

29 Comments

From the Orthodox Church in America Web site. Posted April 17:

Metropolitan Jonah issues statement on recent sermon

SYOSSET, NY [OCA Communications] — On Great, Holy and Good Friday, April 17, 2009, His Beatitude, Metropolitan Jonah, Primate of the Orthodox Church in America, issued the following statement in response to recent commentary on his April 5, 2009 sermon, delivered at Saint Seraphim Cathedral, Dallas, TX.

“I greet you in a spirit of repentance and forgiveness as we celebrate the Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ. Certain comments that were made in the course of my sermon have provoked a reaction from my Orthodox brothers that I did not intend or foresee. I regret making those comments. In particular, I realize that some characterizations regarding the Ecumenical Patriarch and the Patriarchate of Constantinople were insensitive. As the Primate of the Orthodox Church in America, I am motivated only by the desire to underscore our fervent hope that future discussion about the so-called Orthodox Diaspora will include the Orthodox Church in America and other Orthodox jurisdictions in North America. It is also my purpose to affirm our Church in the face of those who would question our presence as a local Orthodox Church in North America.

“It is now clear that I made statements that were uncharitable. I do apologize to His All-Holiness as well as to others who were offended. I also hope that through personal contact and acquaintance we might be able to overcome any misunderstandings that might arise or have clouded the relationship between our Churches in the past. My hope is that we might cooperate in an attitude of mutual support in our common mission, to spread the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. In the spirit of this Great and Holy Friday, I sincerely pray that as we contemplate Our Lord, Who ascended the Cross to ‘bring all men to Himself,’ we will see in His patience and long-suffering the way to continue our work together for the witness and mission of Orthodoxy in the world and for Orthodox unity in North America.”

Deprecated: str_replace(): Passing null to parameter #3 ($subject) of type array|string is deprecated in /home/aoiusa/public_html/wp-content/themes/genesis/lib/functions/image.php on line 116
class="post-1789 post type-post status-publish format-standard hentry category-blog-archive tag-easter tag-metropolitan-jonah tag-orthodox-church-in-america tag-pascha tag-uncategorized entry">

Metropolitan Jonah: on the occasion of the great feast of the Lord’s Pascha, 2009

Transcription of Met. Jonah’s Speech on Orthodoxy Unity in America

9 Comments

Sermon delivered at St. Seraphim Orthodox Cathedral in Dallas, Texas on April 5, 2009.

Met. Jonah

It is a great joy to see everybody here this evening from so many different communities, from different traditions. Orthodoxy is a celebration of diversity in unity, and unity in diversity. Our unity is in our one Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and our one Orthodox faith and our one commitment to living the truth, to living as Christians. Not to live according the spirit of the world, not to live according to our passions, not to live according to the desires that flit by through our minds and lead us into all sorts of trouble, but to live the truth, to live Orthodox.

And, our diversity is something we celebrate, not a diversity of lifestyles, but a diversity that reflects the whole spectrum of our community, people of all races, people of all colors, people from a multitude of different ethnic backgrounds. Continue reading →

Fatal error: Uncaught Error: Call to undefined function nuthemes_content_nav() in /home/aoiusa/public_html/wp-content/themes/prose/archive.php:58 Stack trace: #0 /home/aoiusa/public_html/wp-includes/template-loader.php(106): include() #1 /home/aoiusa/public_html/wp-blog-header.php(19): require_once('/home/aoiusa/pu...') #2 /home/aoiusa/public_html/index.php(17): require('/home/aoiusa/pu...') #3 {main} thrown in /home/aoiusa/public_html/wp-content/themes/prose/archive.php on line 58