Peter Gilstrap Tonsured to the Rank of Reader

On Sunday September 28, during the weekend of the 2009 National Clergy - Laity Conference of the Holy Metropolis of the Genuine Greek Orthodox Church of America Peter Gilstrap was tonsured a reader at the Cathedral of St. Markella in New York City. Peter is the son of Fr. Mark Gilstrap of St. James Parish in Owasso, Oklahoma. He was tonsured by His Eminence Metropolitan Pavlos of America. Also in attendance were four bishops, three visiting from Greece: Metropolitan Chrysostomos of Attica, Bishop Photios of Marathon, Bishop Gregory of Christianoupolis. His Grace Bishop Christodoulos of Theoupolis is from Holy Ascension Monastery in Woodstock, NY.


Orthodox Awareness

Ecumenical Dialogues Intensified

At the beginning of September (n.s.) Bartholomew called together a “Synaxis of the Patriarchates and the Autocephalous Church of Cyprus" at the Phanar in order to coordinate their efforts for the First Ecumenistic Council which they plan to convene shortly. At it, they will most certainly have to deal with a conflict with the Patriarchate of Moscow concerning primacy, but also they will proclaim the heresy of Ecumenism with an alleged synodal decision of Ecumenical (or rather Ecumenistic) force. Read more...

Missions

Saint Matthew the Evangelist, Jonesboro, Arkansas

Jonesboro is a town located near the Eastern border of Arkansas, with a population of approximately 60,000. From a human standpoint, it’s not the most likely candidate for a traditional Orthodox mission, but for an Orthodox Christian who orders his priorities around Christ and His Church, it makes perfect sense. 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

Fasting

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...