On Friday, May 30/June 12, 2015, the Holy Eparchial Synod in America of the Church of the Genuine Orthodox Christians of Greece convened in a regular session at the Holy Ascension Monastery in Bearsville, NY.
The following hierarchs were present: His Eminence, Metropolitan Demetrius of America, President of the Synod, His Eminence, Metropolitan Moses of Toronto, and Their Graces, Bishops Photios of Marathon (via telephone), Auxentios of Etna and Portland, and Christodoulos of Theoupolis.
The Holy Eparchial Synod discussed and decided upon the following items:
1. A petition to establish a specific day to honor those who serve in the parishes.
2. A report by His Grace, Bishop Photios of Marathon on current events from our Holy Synod in Greece. The Eparchial Synod expressed certain opinions which will be conveyed to the Holy Synod in Greece through His Grace, Bishop Photios at its next meeting.
3. The petitions of certain clergymen for reception by the Church of the Genuine Orthodox Christians.
4. A report concerning the recent trend in the U.S.A. and Canada toward the legal recognition of homosexual marriage. Our Church’s response to this was discussed.
5. A petition to convene a Spiritual Court.
In the early 20th century, the idea of promoting the union of Churches (Orthodox and heterodox) began to gain ground among circles in the Eastern Orthodox Church by establishing a "Communion of Churches" modeled on the League of Nations.
The Patriarchal Encyclical of 1920 foresaw a series of steps toward the “union of the Churches,” of which the first was the change of the calendar for the simultaneous celebration of feast days by all the “Churches.” The content of the encyclical was kept secret from the faithful and only after a few years became known. Read more...
St. John of Kronstadt Orthodox Church began as a mission parish in the year 2000, in a home chapel in Palm Coast, FL – a small town on Florida’s northeast coast located between St. Augustine and Daytona Beach. After two years, it became necessary to have services in area community centers, rented for Sundays and other Holy Days. Read more...
2025 Youth Conference
Please join us for the 2025 youth conference in Toronto, Ontario, Canada! To learn more, visit the conference website.
Q. There seems to be a lot of variation in how people observe fasting, but my confessor told me to fast from oil on Wednesday and Friday. Oil is a pretty vague category, though, and I was wondering if I could get a more explicit description of what kinds of food and drink are excluded on strict fast days. Read more...