The Message of Patriarch Theodore of Alexandra Upon the Feast of Ramadan

The “Father of Fathers, the Thirteenth Apostle and the Judge of the World (as his pheme states), Pope and Patriarch of Alexandria, Theodore sent a message to the Muslims of Egypt upon the feast of Ramadan. It is as follows:

“The most sacred month of the Islamic calendar, the chief month of personal worship and great awareness of the Divine for every faithful Muslim ends today with the festive, joyous season of Eid al-Fitr.

But this year’s celebration is of particular importance because it takes place at a time when the blessed land of Egypt is on the verge of history.

At a time in history when all the citizens of the land of the Nile, regardless of religion, in the struggle for a better tomorrow taught the world that the peaceful pursuit of its rights with modesty and dignity is the safest route to freedom.

I wish therefore to express my most heartfelt wishes to our dear Muslim fellow citizens, but also to the beloved Muslims of the entire Arab world with the hope that the two pillars of Ramadan: love and charity, dominate the works and actions of men.

In particular I send a festal greeting to the Supreme Military Council of Egypt, the guardian of the unity of the Egyptian people and guarantor of the transition to Egypt's future, with the hope that he guides the country to the safe harbor of progress and prosperity. (romfea.gr 30.8.2011)

The Ecumenist Patriarchs have inaugurated a new “fashion”. It is not enough that they send festal greetings to the leaders of the heresies of the West (following faithfully what was foreseen in the Patriarchal Encyclical of 1920) but they also send well wishes to the followers of the blood-thirsty Mohamed! In this way they cultivate in the common consciousness the pan-religious idea that “we all believe in the same god.” Is it possible for the Christian God of love to be identified with the blood-thirsty demon which the Muslims worship? Are these the words of an Orthodox Patriarch? Is it possible for “faithful Muslims” to “deeply realize the Divine”? Does He not realize that “all the gods of the nations are demons”? (Psalm 5:5)

Translated from the Greek

Orthodox Awareness

Hero-Worshipping: the Sickness of our Holy Struggle

“Trust ye not in princes, in the sons of men, in whom there is no salvation.”
(Psalm 145:3)

We mustn’t have absolute trust in human beings for our salvation, no matter what dignity they have. Human beings are changeable. Today they are saints, tomorrow—deniers. Today—sinners, tomorrow—righteous. We must have absolute trust in God, and in Him we must base our hopes of salvation. “Blessed is he of whom the God of Jacob is his help, whose hope is in the Lord his God” (Psalm 145:5). Read more...

Missions

Saints Peter and Paul Orthodox Mission, Tucson, Arizona

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...
Youth

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.

Ask A Priest

Morning and Evening Prayers

Q. Are the prayers in the blue prayer book [A Prayerbook for Orthodox Christians by the Holy Transfiguration Monastery —ed.] compulsory for everyone? I mean their morning prayers and the service of Small Compline. My confessor gave me a special rule but wasn’t clear about whether this replaced the book prayers or was in addition to them. Read more...