This past weekend, HIs Eminence Metropolitan Demetrius of America visited the parish of Saint Irene of Chrysovalantou in the Detroit area.
Upon his arrival on Saturday July 26/ August 8, he gave a spiritual talk. After the talk, His Eminence presided for the Saturday night vigil service. On Sunday morning he served the Hierarchical Liturgy and gave a sermon. After the liturgy, a meal was served and the faithful had some time to interact with their hierarch.
In the evening of the same day, another vigil service was served in honor of the patron Saint of the community, Saint Irene. On Monday, His Eminence served as a priest and asked Father Steven Allen to give a sermon.
After the festive meal, His Eminence gave his last comments, encouraging the faithful to understand that we must take "leaps of faith" in order to grow in faith, in light of all of the present and upcoming challenges. He gave examples of how the holy martyrs were given strength from the Lord, to shed their blood for His sake.
On the same day, our hierarch visited the small mission parish of All Saints, in Cleveland, Ohio. On the next day, he departed for his residence in Cobleskill, NY.
Iftar, refers to the evening meal when Muslims break their fast during the Islamic month of Ramadan. Iftar is one of the religious observances of Ramadan and is often done as a community, with people gathering to break their fast together. Iftar is done right after sunset.
We report the following unchanged as it was published:
"The leaders of the Armenian, Roman, Jewish and Syrian communities of Turkey sat around the fasting Iftar dinner in the Beyoglu district of Istanbul." Read more...
Saints Peter and Paul Orthodox Church is a beautiful mission parish near downtown Tucson, a city in southern Arizona. It was started in 1997 by Father John Bockman, who was a missionary Priest formerly serving missions in Tennessee and Massachusetts since 1990. Father John served the faithful in Tucson and the surrounding area in his home Chapel until his repose in November of 2000. His wife, Presbytera Valerie, continued to make her home Chapel available for the mission, with clergy from Saint Nectarios Orthodox Church in Seattle and His Eminence, Metropolitan Moses of Toronto (then of Portland), visiting to provide the Divine Services.
Read more...2023 Youth Conference
Please join us for the 2023 youth conference in Chicago, IL! To learn more, visit the home page or visit the conference website.
Q. In considering becoming part of the GOC in America, I am getting warnings from various circles that the attitude of GOC people is that of being “walled off,” “arrogant,” “judgmental,” and “in your face” toward those not in the Genuine Orthodox Church, with accusations such as “World Orthodox” priests are “not even Christians” and the like. Could you give me your personal, realistic assessment of this dynamic and possibly refer me to an official statement on how GOC members should and do relate to and communicate with those in “World Orthodoxy”? Read more...