The award-winning Department of Internet Ministries is pleased to announce the launch of the new Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America web site at: http://www.goarch.org. The site offers a vast selection of inspirational, educational, multimedia, and interactive content on the Orthodox Christian faith and life. The site has been completely redesigned and rebuilt with over 80% of the content being either new or updated.
"This new site," said Theo Nicolakis, Director of the Archdiocese's Internet Ministries Department, "is intended to be the premiere resource for Orthodox Christians who wish to learn more about their faith, fundamental for non-Orthodox who desire to learn more about Orthodox Christianity, and an indispensable resource for those involved in ministry at any level. Most importantly, however, it serves as an essential ministry to our faithful and a vital evangelistic medium for spreading the Good News of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. We are proud that this site both reflects and continues the department's mission and tradition of using technology, the Internet, and multimedia to proclaim the Gospel to the whole world."
Highlights of the new Archdiocese web site include:
1. New home page: The new home page offers the Saints and Feasts celebrated, the day's Scripture readings, the latest Archdiocese news and events, a weekly full length video feature on the Orthodox faith and life, a spotlight on the various ministries of the Archdiocese, and an integrated Bible search.
2. Redesigned User Interface and Search Engine: The new user interface and search engine empower visitors to find relevant material quickly and easily.
3. Online Chapel: This new section expresses the rich liturgical tradition of the Orthodox Church. It provides inspirational spiritual content for Orthodox Christians including live broadcasts of liturgical services, an online calculator for determining the date of Easter and moveable Feasts, the lives of the Saints, the texts of the daily Scripture readings, prayers from the liturgical tradition of the Orthodox Church appropriate to the time of day, and a weekly reflection.
4. Orthodox Calendar: The new online calendar lists the Saints commemorated for each day of the year with a link to the life of the Saint, a searchable Easter calendar that displays the date Easter is celebrated as well as the moveable Feasts of the Orthodox Church.
5. Parish Directory: The new online parish directory allows individuals to find Greek Orthodox parishes in the United States. This new parish directory features searching for parishes by zip code, an online map of a parish's location, and driving directions.
6. Learn to Chant: Visitors to the site can now listen to and learn the hymns of the Divine Liturgy and the Sunday Orthros services online.
7. Multimedia: Over 60 full-length educational videos on the Orthodox Christian faith, live Internet broadcasts of church services, virtual reality tours of churches, distance learning classes, and online radio programs highlight this expanded section.
8. Our Faith: Individuals wishing to learn more about the Orthodox faith will find dozens of articles covering a variety of topics such as biblical studies, apologetics, spirituality, theology, and worship.
9. Ministry Resources: Clergy, youth workers, teachers, and lay assistants will find a plethora of practical tools for parish ministry including sermons, clip art, youth ministry sessions, and stewardship campaigns.
10. Ministry Outreach of the Archdiocese: Assistance for spouses, couples, and families of interfaith marriages; the philanthropic work of the Archdiocese; foster care for children; assistance for the poor, destitute, and elderly; religious education; youth and young adult ministry; global relief efforts of the Orthodox Church; and the missionary work of the Orthodox Church highlight this new section of the site.
11. Updated information on the Archdiocese, her departments, ministries, institutions, and organizations.
The Archdiocese web site is one of the most active Orthodox Christian web sites on the Internet, with nearly 80,000 page views each day. The new Archdiocese site is the first of three forthcoming releases, which are being made possible with a grant from the Archbishop Iakovos Leadership 100 Endowment Fund.