Bridging the Ecclesial, the Academic, and the Political
A recent international conference that focused on the life of the late Fr. Aimilianos (Vafeides), formerly abbot of the Athonite Monastery of Simonopetra, was attended by well-known personalities in Greek ecclesiastical and theological circles. The event, which took place in a five-star hotel in Athens and lasted for three days, was lavishly sponsored and generously…
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The perennial issue of liturgical language has once again taken center stage following the recent comments of Archbishop Makarios of Australia on the primacy of Greek in the Church’s liturgical worship. As a faithful member of the Holy Archdiocese of Australia and convert of 22 years, I welcome His Eminence’s comments for having generated robust…
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Current Orthodox pastoral attitudes and canonical practice regarding marriage are, on more than one point, paradoxical. The most troubling paradox is the difficulty of reconciling the Church’s idealized doctrine of the unique, indissoluble marriage bond with the canonical tolerance of three marriages for divorced Orthodox faithful.[1] Is a single, permanent, heterosexual marriage an ideal or…
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Nine years ago, Patriarch of all Georgia Ilia II made a surprising announcement: the appointment of metropolitan Shio Mujiri as his locum tenens (coadjutor). At the time, metropolitan Shio was a relatively unknown figure within Georgian ecclesiastical circles. Unlike more publicly visible hierarchs, he had built a reputation as a quiet hierarch, with sermons focused…
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In recent months, a familiar concern has resurfaced in public discussion of the Orthodox Church in America, noted recently at Public Orthodoxy by George Demacopoulos. A widely read article in The New York Times from this past November has suggested that the Church—particularly in its recent growth—has become a refuge for forms of “hyper-masculinity.” These…
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Ever since emerging from the lockdowns, Orthodox parishes—almost exclusively English-speaking ones—have experienced a historic increase in inquirers and converts. It is probably safe to say that there hasn’t been such an intense and sustained period of growth in the history of Orthodoxy in America. What is remarkable is not only the sheer number of newcomers…
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