Free Republic

AMMAN, Jordan (RNS) — Yasmine Faraa, a Jordanian of Palestinian heritage, was angered when an Israeli missile hit a building belonging to St. Porphyrios Greek Orthodox Church in Gaza, killing 18 and injuring 20. Faraa, a Muslim, came up with the idea to hold a vigil outside the Orthodox Christian Church, in the Jordanian capital’s Sweifieh neighborhood, to show solidarity. The numbers that turned out for the vigil on Sunday (Oct. 22) surprised even the Jordanian police, who had initially decided that they didn’t need to block the roads leading to the church. The crowd was largely composed of middle-...

The violation of religious freedom is simultaneously a violation of democratic norms and procedures. The protection of all all communities regardless of religion or ethnicity is mandatory if a country is to be considered democratic. After the 9/11 attacks, the United States made sure that American Muslims would be protected following the mass slaughter of Americans. Democracies protect individuals and communities that have nothing to do with the actions of a small number of radicals and extremists. Governments that target entire communities are fascist or authoritarian at the very least. For example, Nazi Germany targeted the Jewish community for persecution...

JERUSALEM — The Greek Orthodox Church on Wednesday accused Israeli police of infringing on the freedom of worshippers with “heavy-handed” restrictions on how many pilgrims can attend the “Holy Fire” ceremony amid soaring tensions. Israeli police said the limits are needed for safety during Saturday’s celebration at the ancient Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the 12th-century holy site where Jesus is believed to have been crucified, buried and resurrected. Saturday’s “Holy Fire” celebration comes during an unusual spate of violence in the Old City, touched off by an Israeli police raid on Jerusalem’s most sensitive holy site, the compound that’s...

Beloved brother Hierarchs, Reverend Clergy, God -fearing Monastics, and all my Brothers and Sisters in Jesus Christ our True God: Blessed art Thou, O Christ our God, Who hast revealed the fishermen as most wise, having sent upon them the Holy Spirit, and through them Thou hast fished the universe, O Lover of mankind, glory to Thee. Having celebrated the Holy Ascension of our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ to his throne in heaven, we turn our attention to the coming of the promised Holy Spirit – the Comforter, the Spirit of Truth. It was through the inspiration and...

As we bask in the glory of the resurrection and greet one another with a joy appropriate for this, the feast of feasts, we must always remember that our salvation is accomplished and completed when Christ rises from the tomb – but it is begun when He is lifted up on the cross. If it concludes in glory and triumph, our salvation originates in shame and pain. We should linger over this fact for a while, and not pass over it too quickly, because it reminds us that Christ has shared and endured all the worst of human suffering and...

A Statement on the Sanctity of Life Orthodox Pro-Life Statement The Orthodox Church has consistently and unequivocally recognized the full humanity of every person beginning at the moment of conception. This position is informed by Scripture and Holy Tradition and is validated by modern science, which confirms that a new, distinct human organism comes into existence at conception. The Orthodox Church is, and always has been, unabashedly pro-life, regarding abortion as the killing of another human being. In recent weeks, this position has been called into question, and, consequently, we, Orthodox Presiding Hierarchs representing several canonical jurisdictions in the United...

In an unusual move, more than 150 Russian Orthodox clerics have called for an immediate stop to the ongoing war in Ukraine in an open letter issued on March 1. At least 176 Orthodox clerics said that they "respect the freedom of any person given to him or her by God," adding that the people of Ukraine "must make their own choices by themselves, not at the point of assault rifles and without pressure from either West or East." The letter says the clerics “bewail” the suffering that has been “undeservingly imposed on our brothers and sisters in Ukraine.” It...

His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros of America Introduction & Prayer March for Life Rally National Mall, Washington, D.C. Friday, January 21, 2022 Dear Sisters and Brothers, Today, we come together in solidarity with our Brother Bishops of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and of the Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of the United States of America. We affirm the gift and sanctity of life – all life, born and unborn. As Christians we confess that every human being is made in the image and likeness of God. Every life is worthy of our prayer and our protection, whether in...

His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros of America Opening Address Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of the USA October 4, 2021 The Bethesdan Hotel Bethesda, Maryland My Beloved Brothers and Concelebrants in the Holy Spirit, I greet each and every one of you in the beauty and glory of our Holy Orthodox Christian Faith. I feel so very blessed that we are able to gather in person this year, even though we yet face many challenges from this unrelenting pandemic. This is, therefore, a continuation of our Tenth Anniversary celebration, which had to be in a virtual setting last year. We are...

A 27-year-old man from northern Israel was charged on Monday with murdering his mother and hiding her body last month, after she converted from Islam to Orthodox Christianity. According to the charge sheet, Rasha Muklasha, 46, left her husband and severed ties with her five children — including the suspect, Muad Hib — in 2006. She then moved from the town of Zarzir to Nof HaGalil and converted to Christianity. Recently, she resumed contact with her children following the death of her ex-husband. Prosecutors allege that her conversion, which greatly angered Hib, was the motive for the murder. According to...

IntroductionThe fourth Wednesday after the Feast of Holy Pascha is commemorated as Mid-Pentecost. This feast marks the halfway point between Pascha and the Feast of Pentecost. As explained below this feast is closely linked to the Sunday of the Paralytic.BackgroundAfter the Saviour had miraculously healed the paralytic, the Jews, especially the Pharisees and Scribes, were moved with envy and persecuted Him, and sought to slay Him, using the excuse that He did not keep the Sabbath, since He worked miracles on that day. Jesus then departed to Galilee. About the middle of the Feast of Tabernacles, He went up again...

My beloved sisters and brothers in Christ, Today, we commence our annual pilgrimage to Holy Pascha – a sacred journey of Forty Days and Forty Nights, from which we emerge into the Holiest Week of the year, and the Passover from death to life. As we chant today, on Pure and Clean Monday – Kathara Deftera: Τὴν πάνσεπτον ἐγκράτειαν, ἐναρξώμεθα φαιδρῶς, ἀκτῖνας ἀπολάμποντες, τῶν ἁγίων ἐντολῶν, Χριστοῦ τοῦ Θεοῦ ἡμῶν, ἀγάπης τὴν λαμπρότητα, προσευχῆς τὴν ἀστραπήν, ἁγνείας καθαρότητα, εὐανδρείας τὴν ἰσχύν, ὅπωςλαμπροφόροι προφθάσωμεν, εἰς τὴν ἁγίαν καὶ τριήμερον Ἀνάστασιν, τὴνκαταλάμπουσαν ἀφθαρσίαν τῷ κόσμῳ. Let us begin the most holy season...

The next Sunday [after Zaccheus Sunday] is called the "Sunday of the Publican and the Pharisee." On the eve of this day, on Saturday at Vespers, the liturgical book of the Lenten season-- the Triodion-- makes its first appearance and texts from it are added to the usual hymns and prayers of the weekly resurrection service. The develop the next major aspect of repentance: humility. The Gospel lesson (Lk. 18:10-4) pictures a man who is always pleased with himself and who thinks that he complies with all the requirements of religion. He is self-assured and proud of himself. In reality,...

All the Angels, according to the Apostle Paul, are ministering spirits, - sent forth to minister to them who shall be heirs of salvation - (Heb. 1:14). God set them as overseers of every nation and people, and guides to that which is profitable (Deut. 32:8); and while one Angel is appointed to oversee each nation as a whole, one is also appointed to protect each Christian individually. He commands them to guard them that hope on Him, that nothing should harm them, neither should any evil draw nigh to their dwelling (Ps. 90:10-12). In the Heavens they always behold...

A nation that is faithful to God and its fatherland will be miraculously blessed by God, His Eminence Metropolitan Daniel of Chiatura and Sachkhere of the Georgian Orthodox Church said during his Sunday sermon at the Holy Trinity Cathedral. A miracle was seen in Georgia, where there was no eruption of the coronavirus epidemic despite the fact that the churches were never closed, as in many other countries, Met. Daniel emphasized, reports 1tv.ge. “The Georgian ethos is one of the first,” Met. Daniel said. “Someone may ask how it survived. It survived for two reasons: it was dedicated to the...

Serbia: Muslim migrants rob Belgrade churchgoers in the middle of church service JUN 7, 2020 4:00 PM BY ROBERT SPENCER “According to the latest update of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), there are currently 8,052 migrants in Serbia, the majority of them in 19 refugee centers across the country. Their stated countries of origin are Afghanistan, Syria, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Iraq, Iran, Morocco and Palestine.” Hmmm, what do all those countries (and “Palestine”) have in common? Could it be an ideology that holds Christianity in contempt and considers Christians “the most vile of created beings” (cf. Qur’an 98:6)?...

Children victims of the Armenian Genocide EDITOR'S NOTE: April 24, 2020 is Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day, marked annually to commemorate the genocide of 1.5 million Armenians a century ago, a mega-crime the nation of Turkey has never acknowledged. "For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places." – Ephesians 6:12Decades ago when I was very young, my grandmother, Mary Kupelian, told me a haunting story I've wondered about ever since. As I sat in the kitchen of her cozy little...

Hello welcome aboard as we consider the "Dictatorship of Covid 19" and some protests like the one in the key battleground political state of Michigan last Wednesday and the one planned in another key battleground political state of Pennsylvania set for Monday. They aim at the Democrats who govern the states President Trump won in 2016 and needs to win this year. But where are the protests against the Republican governors and their house arrest, shut down the economy orders in the battleground states of Florida and Ohio? Ohio's Republican Governor Mike DeWine an early imposer of house arrest and...

Moscow, March 11, Interfax - Threat of being deprived of Liturgy and Communion is more dangerous than coronavirus, Archimandrite Philipp (Ryabykh), representative of the Moscow Patriarchate to the European International institutions, believes. "On the one hand, it is frightening to be infected with the dreadful virus that may be lethal, this fear is great and it makes many people think about their life and health. However, on the other hand, under these circumstances it is even more frightening to be deprived of the Holy Communion and the Holy Eucharist, which is the great gift of the Lord. We also have...

Metropolitan Klimis of Peristeri sent a clear message in every direction at the Church of the Annunciation of the Theotokos in Peristeri and called on the faithful to “receive Holy Communion without fear.” The Metropolitan of Peristeri, who presided over the Service of the Rejoicings to the Theotokos (Chairetismoi ) on the first Friday of Great Lent, stressed that the Holy Communion was the body and blood of Christ and, therefore, it could not contract any disease.