7 October 2003
NEWS
Christodoulos defends national identities of European peoples
Archbishop Christodoulos inaugurated the Representation Office of the Church of Greece in Brussels on Saturday. Speaking during the ceremony, the Archbishop expressed his joy since this Office is a symbol of the European horizons of the Church of Greece.
Speaking at the dinner, Archbishop Christodoulos defended the national identities as a cornerstone of the European Union. As he said, to support national identities is a major duty of the Church; "it isn't a political intervention of the Church but a part of the spiritual Diakonia to the people as well as to the European soul", he added.
In his homily at the Greek Orthodox Cathedral in Brussels on Sunday, the Archbishop said that the strengthening of the national identities was a major task of all the Europeans; otherwise the European Union would be a melting pot, a doom over the European psyche.
Vartholomeos Proposes Meeting to Christodoulos
Ecumenical Patriarch Vartholomeos sent a letter to Archbishop of Athens and All Greece proposing a meeting in Istanbul on Oct. 10 or Oct 24, to discuss the issue of the election of bishops and metropolitans in regions of Greece, based on a 1928 decree of the Holy See.
The Patriarch proposed that the "meet and discuss in our home here (Istanbul)," explaining in the letter that "we believe that the place and the time are the most proper in light of the work with the upcoming Holy Synod of the Greek Orthodox Church meeting," and the prior engagements in Brussels.
Pope Recalls Visit to Greek Orthodox Primate Christodoulos
On September 19, at Castelgandolfo the Pope received a group of priests of the Greek Orthodox Church and recalled his visit with His Beatitude Christodoulos, Archbishop of Athens and all Greece, and the Greek Orthodox Church during the Jubilee Year.
"We must continue to build on solid foundations the fraternal and
evangelical ties that we experienced on that occasion. Your visit to
Rome is a valid initiative in that sense in order to get to know and appreciate each other better and to advance relations that facilitate communion."
John Paul II assured them that he asked the Lord "constantly to
prepare us to open our hearts to His prayer that 'all may be one', and to make us capable of genuine obedience to His will in order to look together for ways for closer collaboration and an ever-deeper communion."
He concluded by saying: "I hope that your visit to the holy sites of
Rome, with gatherings, conversations, occasions of dialogue, may be a positive and useful experience for your priestly life. May the Holy Spirit always accompany your ministry and strengthen the testimony that each one of you gives to the Gospel of our common Lord."
[Source: VIS]
« Solidarity » distributes 450 tons of aid in Iraq
''Solidarity'', the Greek Orthodox Church's non-governmental humanitarian organization, reported that it has sent some 450 tons of food, medicine and clothing to the Iraqi people, along with containers with bottled water.
Despite the withdrawal of all other NGO's from the region, ''Solidarity'' remained there and continued its work, according to a press release issued on Sunday.
About 80 tons of food collected was funnelled into charities in Greece, as pork, pasta and beans are not palatable in the region.
A tribute to the scholar rev. Dimitrios Konstantelos
At the "The Richard Stockton College of New Jersey"
The friends of Hellenic Studies at the Richard Stockton College of New Jersey organize a tribute to rev. Dimitrios Konstantelos, a beloved scholar, professor and community leader for many years. The event has been scheduled for 12 October.
More information in http://www2.stockton.edu/stockton.html
To reform the Constitution of the Serbian Orthodox Church
International congress on the question
An international academic congress on the subject of the Contemporary Ecclesial Law is to be organizing by the Serbian Orthodox Church in Belgrade from 13 until 15 October on the reform of her Constitution.
The Serbian Orthodox Church, facing the rapid fundamental changes that have already taken place nowadays, has begun the discussions on the reform of her Constitution.
The existing Constitution, which is dated from 1931, presents many difficulties in its application, because of the spectacular changes that the particular geographical space has suffered so much after the World War II, and from the fall of the soviet block. Also there have been problems of "canonicity" in various points of the Constitution.
The Serbian Orthodox Church has found itself in a "crossroad" trying to apply her own ecclesial-canonical experience according to the knowledge and practice of the other orthodox local churches.
The subjects that will be discussed are:
- the question of concordance of contemporary ecclesial law and legislature in relation to the canonical tradition of the Church;
- the question of the relations between the synod / council of bishops and any individual bishop (where this body, i.e. synod / council, must not be viewed as a body overimposed to the given bishop);
- the question of determining the problematic sides of autocephalicity;
- the question of ascertaining the foundations for the canonical functioning of the Church in contemporary circumstances in one concrete state;
- the question of the relation of Church and state in the European Union (e.g. the new state of affairs in the local Orthodox Churches);
- the question of the Diaspora (e.g. the problems relating to the legal prerogatives of the mother Church within the framework of the existing legislature of another state which considers the ecclesial communities to be a mere "congregation");
- the question of canonical and linguistic reformulations which are to serve our contemporary brethren as more adequate forms for representing the basic concept of the Church.
