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Orthodox News

Archons offer Twitter updates during Religious Freedom Mission to the European Union

1/29/2010, New York, NY - A delegation from the Order of St. Andrew, led by Archon and Ambassador George L. Argyros and National Commander Anthony J. Limberakis, MD, is currently participating in an 'Archon Religious Freedom Mission to the European Union' in pursuit of human and religious rights for the Ecumenical Patriarchate. National Commander Limberakis will be offering updates on important developments and status alerts via the social networking tool "Twitter". All Archons and interested persons who are connected to this network are encouraged to log onto

www.twitter.com/orderofstandrew

and become a follower, or visit

www.archons.org

and click on the "Twitter" tab below the homepage image to read these updates.



The delegation will be traveling to Madrid, Spain--which currently holds the EU presidency, Brussels, Belgium, and Athens, Greece till February 7, 2010. They are being guided by His Eminence Metropolitan Emanuel of France. Together with Archons Argyros and Limberakis, the delegation also includes Archon Christopher Stratakis, Legal Counselor, Spiritual Advisor Fr. Alex Karloutsos, and Mr. Rob Lapsely, former Assistant Secretary of State for California. Coverage on the religious freedom mission will be available in the coming weeks on

www.archons.org

and in the next issue of

The Archon

.



The Order of St. Andrew the Apostle is comprised of Archons of the Ecumenical Patriarchate who have been honored for their outstanding service to The Orthodox Church by having a Patriarchal title, or "offikion," bestowed upon them by His All Holiness, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew. Those upon whom this title of the Mother Church has been conferred are known as "Archons of the Great Church of Christ," and the titles are personally conferred by the Exarch of the Ecumenical Patriarchate in America, His Eminence Archbishop Demetrios.



The Order of St. Andrew's fundamental goal and mission is to promote the religious freedom, wellbeing and advancement of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, which is headquartered in Istanbul, Turkey.

Celebrate Scout Sunday - February 7

The Hierarchs of the Standing Conference of the Canonical Orthodox Bishops in the Americas

To the Most Reverend Clergy, Venerable Monastics and Devout Faithful of the Holy Orthodox Churches in the Americas.

Dearly Beloved in Christ Jesus:

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and from our Lord Jesus Christ.

In 1955, the hierarchs leading the various Orthodox Christian Churches in our land came together to recognize and endorse the work of the Boy Scouts of America.  This encounter prefigured the promising possibilities for witnessing our unity in Jesus Christ in this land and culture when we live and work in unity. Then and now, we believe that the Scout affirmation and Law are significant aids to our parishes and families in raising young men and women who “do their duty to God.”  The methods of the Boy Scouts of America, the Girl Scouts USA, and the Camp Fire Boys and Girls programs are tremendous tools and we continue to fully endorse the work of these valued institutions.

We encourage each of our parishes to actively support the celebration of “Scout Sunday” on Sunday, February 7, 2010. We recognize our Orthodox Scouts every February but this year’s celebration is a particular joy to us as the Boy Scouts of America celebrates 100 years of vital service to the youth of our nation. We are grateful for the efforts of the first SCOBA endorsed agency, the Eastern Orthodox Committee on Scouting [EOCS], that has prepared materials for our parishes to assist in their celebration, available at www.eocs.org.  We also call on the reverend pastors and faithful of our parishes to support and recognize their youth engaged in neighborhood units. Integrating a young person’s Scouting experience in the fullness of Church life and the Church’s youth ministry programs is a powerful witness to our conviction that Christ is all and in all(Colossians 3:11).

We prayerfully look forward to commemorating Scout Sunday with you on
February 7.  We ask you to work with the EOCS (www.eocs.org) or with your Church’s Scouting representative to make this day a success for our youth ministry.

With paternal blessings and love in Christ,

†Archbishop DEMETRIOS
Chairman, Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America

†Metropolitan PHILIP
Vice Chairman, Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese Of North America

†Metropolitan CHRISTOPHER
Secretary, Serbian Orthodox Church in North And South America

†Metropolitan NICHOLAS of Amissos
Treasurer, American Carpatho-Russian Orthodox Diocese in the USA

†Archbishop NICOLAE
Romanian Orthodox Archdiocese In the Americas

†Metropolitan JOSEPH
Bulgarian Eastern Orthodox Church

†Metropolitan JONAH
Orthodox Church in America

†Metropolitan CONSTANTINE
Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the USA

†Archpriest Alexander Abramov
Acting Representative of the Moscow Patriarchate in the USA

†Bishop ILIA of Philomelion
Albanian Orthodox Diocese of America

STANDING CONFERENCE of the CANONICAL ORTHODOX BISHOPS in the AMERICAS
8-10 East 79th Street, New York, NY 10075

ARCHBISHOP ISSUES ENCYCLICAL CALLING FOR PRAYERS AND HELP FOR THE EARTHQUAKE VICTIMS IN HAITI

NEW YORK – With great sadness, the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America and His Eminence Archbishop Demetrios received the tragic news of the devastating destruction and the loss of human lives in Haiti following the earthquake in that country yesterday, January 12, 2010.
 
“Our thoughts and prayers are now with the people of Haiti,” said Archbishop Demetrios who immediately issued an encyclical calling upon the faithful of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America to pray for the safety, health and well being of all the people of Haiti and in particular the Greek Orthodox faithful there.

Read more: ARCHBISHOP ISSUES ENCYCLICAL CALLING FOR PRAYERS AND HELP FOR THE EARTHQUAKE VICTIMS IN HAITI

SCOBA Bishops Endorse Share the Light Sunday and OCN in Encyclical

The SCOBA hierarchs have released an encyclical supporting Share the Light Sunday and the ongoing efforts of the Orthodox Christian Network to build an effective, Orthodox Media witness. The encyclical reads in part:

"It is also our responsibility to reach out to those who have left the embrace of the Church, as well as those who have never heard the saving message of Christ. It is precisely this commitment to mission and outreach that compels us, your spiritual shepherds, to support and endorse the outreach work in our communities of ministries like the Orthodox Christian Network (OCN)."

Click here to read the entire encyclical(PDF).

For more information on Share the Light Sunday and how you can help, please click here.