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Bulgarian Diocese of Toledo, The Orthodox Church in America

Holy Cross Orthodox Monastery "... We Orthodox are accustomed to speak of ourselves as a conciliar Church, as the Church of the seven Holy Councils, But we have to confess, with humility and realism, that while we affirm synodality in theory, all too often ...

Posted: 22 hours ago
Bulgarian Diocese of Toledo, The Orthodox Church in America

Stephen Resources for Saint Sava I, First Archbishop of Serbia:
~ Shared by Father Abbot Stephen
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Posted: 22 hours ago
Bulgarian Diocese of Toledo, The Orthodox Church in America

OCN Sunday: Share the Light Sunday During the Orthodox Christian Network’s 23rd Anniversary, the Assembly asks every Orthodox parish in America to participate in a Share the Light Sunday. Please spread the word about this ministry, and remember OCN in your parish’s charitable giving. The Website ...

Posted: 22 hours ago
Bulgarian Diocese of Toledo, The Orthodox Church in America

Posted: Yesterday
Bulgarian Diocese of Toledo, The Orthodox Church in America

IOTA’s inaugural conference: Largest international gathering of Orthodox scholars in modern history In a conciliar spirit and with the blessing of the Church leadership, members of the International Orthodox Theological Association IOTA] assembled for their inaugural conference in Iaşi,…
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Posted: Yesterday
Bulgarian Diocese of Toledo, The Orthodox Church in America

Holy Cross Orthodox Monastery "When we have love, humility, kindness, and prayer in our heart, they will certainly find external expression, just as a fire gives off heat and myrrh exudes fragrance."
-- Saint Tikhon of Zadonsk (18th century)
Bulgarian Diocese of Toledo, The ...

Posted: Yesterday
Bulgarian Diocese of Toledo, The Orthodox Church in America

Catalogue of Saint Elisabeth Convent What Do I Do If a Priest Doesn’t Give Me His Blessing?
Read more: https://blog.obitel-minsk.com/2019/01/what-do-i-do-if-priest-doesnt-give-me.html
#orthodox #orthodoxy #orthodoxchurch #blessing #priest #faith #prayer #trust #God #CatalogOfGoodDeeds
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Bulgarian Diocese of Toledo, The Orthodox Church in America

Posted: 2 weeks ago
Bulgarian Diocese of Toledo, The Orthodox Church in America

Posted: 2 weeks ago
Bulgarian Diocese of Toledo, The Orthodox Church in America

Posted: 2 weeks ago

Bulgarian Diocese of Toledo, The Orthodox Church in America

Holy Cross Orthodox Monastery "... We Orthodox are accustomed to speak of ourselves as a conciliar Church, as the Church of the seven Holy Councils, But we have to confess, with humility and realism, that while we affirm synodality in theory, all too often we have neglected it in practice....
"The lack of agreement over the primacy of the Ecumenical Throne can be seen, among other things. in the conflicting views concerning the granting of autocephaly. (Perhaps we should not of ‘granting’ but of ‘recognizing’ autocephaly.) Constantinople sees this as the prerogative of the Ecumenical Patriarchate; Moscow considers it the responsibility of the Mother Church. This divergence is evident in the disagreement that arose in 1970 concerning the OCA. Moscow, on the grounds that it was the Mother Church of the Russian Metropolia in the USA, granted autocephaly to its daughter, but Constantinople refused to recognize this action. Fortunately on this occasion sacramental communion between the two Patriarchates was not broken. But the extraordinary fact remains that, nearly half a century later, no solution has been found to this disagreement.
"More serious is the conflict that has arisen in 2018 over Ukraine. The Patriarchate of Constantinople granted a tomos of autocephaly to the schismatic groups in Ukraine, to the so-called ‘Kievan Patriarchate’ under Philaret Densisenki and to the so-called ‘Autocephalous Church’ under Metropolitan Makary. Rejecting this decision, Moscow retains under its jurisdiction the portion of Ukrainian Orthodoxy that is headed by Metropolitan Onufry, which contains in fact considerately more parishes than the other two groups together. As a result Moscow has taken the decision to break communion with Constantinople, although the latter has not so far retaliated, but seeks to maintain full communion with Russia. Several of the other Orthodox Churches have urged that this breach between Moscow and Constantinople should be resolved at a pan-Orthodox level, either by reconvening the Crete Synod or by summoning a special synaxis of all the primates of the worldwide Orthodox Church.
"With all due respect to the two Patriarchates, many of us are disturbed by the actions of both parties in this complex and unhappy dispute. While the Ecumenical Patriarchate sees itself as the Mother Church of Ukraine, it has to be acknowledged that for more than 330 years Ukraine has formed an integral part of the Russian Church. This is a fact of history, and, as Aristotle remarks, ‘Even God cannot change the past’ [Aristotle, Nicomachaen Ethics, book 6 (1139b10-11), quoting the poet Agathon]. At the same time, while reservations can be expressed concerning the policy of Constantinople, there is reason also to be disquieted by the decision of Moscow to break communion with the Ecumenical Patriarchate....
"It has been said by the Fathers that to start a schism is worse than to commit murder. Schisms are easy to instigate but hard to heal. For seventy-five years, from 1870 until 1945, there was a schism between the Ecumenical Patriarchate and the Church of Bulgaria; and the cause was precisely the question of autocephaly. Let us pray that the present schism between the second and the third Rome will not last for three-quarters of a century.
"The inability of the worldwide Orthodox Church to reach agreement over the OCA and, more recently, over Ukraine has led some—particularly Roman Catholics—to suggest that what Orthodoxy needs is a greatly strengthened primacy at the universal level. Personally I am unenthusiastic about such an argument. If we are to develop further our understanding of primacy, this should not be simply for negative reasons, as a solution to particular problems, but it should be inspired by a positive vision of the reality of the Church. Let us not be reactive but proactive.
"Before leaving the topic of primacy, let us emphasize one basic point, that applies not only to the exercise of primatial authority but to every level of ecclesial ministry. When the apostles disputed about who should have the first place, Jesus rebuke them: 'You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. It should not be so among you' (Matt. 20:25-26). Christ is entirely unambiguous: 'Not so among you!' The exercise of authority within the Church is to be utterly different from that which prevails in civil organizations. As a Kingdom not of this world—Eucharistic, Pentecostal, eschatological—the Church is unique. She is never to be assimilated to models of power and government prevailing in the fallen world around us. The bishop is not a feudal overlord or an elected parliamentary representative. The chief bishop or primate is neither a dictator nor a constitutional monarch nor the chairman of a board of directors.
"Having stated what ecclesial authority is not, Jesus then goes on to specify what it is. It should not be so among you. 'But whoever would be great among you must be your servant (diakonos)… even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many' (Matt. 20:26-28). Such is the true meaning of primacy. The first shall be the last. Power, says Christ, means service; exousia signifies diakonia. The perspective has to be reversed, the pyramid stood upon its head. All genuine primacy is kenotic; the primate is the servant of all. Among the titles applied to the Pope, the one that appeals most immediately to the Orthodox is servus servorum Dei, ‘the servant of the servants of God’. The same title can be applied to every primate in the Church. And if the primate’s vocation is to serve others, then his ministry involves sacrifice and even martyrdom, outward or inward: he may be called to ‘give his life’, as was done by Christ. Above all the primate carries out his ministry in a spirit of love. As Fr. John Behr and Archdeacon John Chryssavgis have rightly said, ‘Primacy presides in kenotic love'...."
Bulgarian Diocese of Toledo, The Orthodox Church in America shared Holy Cross Orthodox Monastery's post. 0 Comments 3 Likes

Bulgarian Diocese of Toledo, The Orthodox Church in America

Stephen Resources for Saint Sava I, First Archbishop of Serbia:
~ Shared by Father Abbot Stephen
Bulgarian Diocese of Toledo, The Orthodox Church in America shared Stephen Neil Scott's post. 0 Comments 2 Likes

Bulgarian Diocese of Toledo, The Orthodox Church in America

OCN Sunday: Share the Light Sunday During the Orthodox Christian Network’s 23rd Anniversary, the Assembly asks every Orthodox parish in America to participate in a Share the Light Sunday. Please spread the word about this ministry, and remember OCN in your parish’s charitable giving. The Website of the Assembly of Canonical Ortho...
Bulgarian Diocese of Toledo, The Orthodox Church in America shared a link. 0 Comments 2 Likes

Bulgarian Diocese of Toledo, The Orthodox Church in America

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Bulgarian Diocese of Toledo, The Orthodox Church in America

IOTA’s inaugural conference: Largest international gathering of Orthodox scholars in modern history In a conciliar spirit and with the blessing of the Church leadership, members of the International Orthodox Theological Association IOTA] assembled for their inaugural conference in Iaşi,…
Bulgarian Diocese of Toledo, The Orthodox Church in America shared a link. 0 Comments 1 Likes

Bulgarian Diocese of Toledo, The Orthodox Church in America

Holy Cross Orthodox Monastery "When we have love, humility, kindness, and prayer in our heart, they will certainly find external expression, just as a fire gives off heat and myrrh exudes fragrance."
-- Saint Tikhon of Zadonsk (18th century)
Bulgarian Diocese of Toledo, The Orthodox Church in America shared Holy Cross Orthodox Monastery's photo. 0 Comments 8 Likes

Bulgarian Diocese of Toledo, The Orthodox Church in America

Catalogue of Saint Elisabeth Convent What Do I Do If a Priest Doesn’t Give Me His Blessing?
Read more: https://blog.obitel-minsk.com/2019/01/what-do-i-do-if-priest-doesnt-give-me.html
#orthodox #orthodoxy #orthodoxchurch #blessing #priest #faith #prayer #trust #God #CatalogOfGoodDeeds
Bulgarian Diocese of Toledo, The Orthodox Church in America shared Catalogue of Saint Elisabeth Convent's post. 0 Comments 1 Likes