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    Catechetical Homily at the Opening of Holy and Great Lent (2024) His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew

    Ecumenical Patriarchate

    March 18, 2024

    Most honorable brother Hierarchs and blessed children in the Lord,

    The grace of our God of love has once again vouchsafed for us to enter the soul-benefiting period of the Lenten Triodion and arrive at Holy and Great Lent, namely to the arena of ascetic struggle replete with gifts from above and the joy of the Cross and Resurrection. During this blessed period, the spiritual treasure and dynamism of the ecclesiastical life as well as the soteriological reference of all its expressions are revealed with clarity.

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    Patriarchal Encyclical for Christmas (2023)

    Ecumenical Patriarchate

    December 19, 2023

    With the grace of God, we are once again this year celebrating in chant, hymn, and spiritual song the Nativity according to the flesh of the pre-eternal Son and Word of God, namely the manifestation of the mystery of God and humankind. According to St. Nicholas Cabasilas, what occurs in the Divine Liturgy is “the mystagogy of the Lord’s incarnation,” while its introductory acclamation “Blessed is the Kingdom of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit” is evidence “that it is through the Lord’s incarnation that people first learned that God is three persons.”[1] The same saintly Father proclaims that our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ was the first and only to demonstrate the authentic and perfect human being, concerning His ethos, life, and everything else.”[2]

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    Assembly of Bishops' Inter-Parish Association Program Receives Major Grant From the Lilly Endowment Inc.

    (2019 - ) Archbishop Elpidophoros

    November 30, 2023

    The Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of the United States of America has received a $1,250,000 grant from Lilly Endowment Inc. to help establish and develop Inter-Parish Associations.

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    Homelessness Guidebook for Orthodox Parishes

    (2019 - ) Archbishop Elpidophoros

    October 24, 2023

    The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America is pleased to announce the publication by the Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of the USA of the Homelessness Guidebook for Orthodox Parishes.  

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    Assembly of Bishops Newsletter - Q3 2023

    (2019 - ) Archbishop Elpidophoros

    October 9, 2023

    Q3 of 2023 has been busy months at the Assembly of Bishops. The Executive Committee met in early July and agreed to hold the next Assembly of Bishops meeting in Atlanta, GA from September 28 - October 1, 2024. Atlanteans, Save the Date!...

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    Patriarchal Message on the Falling Asleep in the Lord of George Psaros

    Ecumenical Patriarchate

    June 16, 2023

    Dear children in Christ Jesus, the falling asleep in the Lord of your father, husband, and grandfather, George, is a time when the precious bonds of family and friendship take on even more profound meaning. The passing of your familial patriarch is a time of sadness and loss, but also a time of reflection and gratitude. In this time of remembrance, you will share many stories and moments from times gone by will suddenly come before your minds. As your spiritual father and friend, we counsel you to open wide the gates of memory and allow the story of George’s extraordinary life to come upon you, accepting the tears of your grief as cleansing your hearts

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    Archbishop Elpidophoros Lauds OCMC’s Global Missions Work, Fr. Martin Ritsi Elevated to Office of Protopresbyter of the Ecumenical Throne

    (2019 - ) Archbishop Elpidophoros

    May 17, 2023

    St. Augustine, FL (May 16, 2023) – The Orthodox Christian Mission Center (OCMC) benefit dinner on May 13 raised awareness for global Orthodox mission work and featured the presence and remarks of His Eminence Elpidophoros, Archbishop of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America and Chairman of the Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of the United States of America, of which OCMC is an affiliated organization.

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    Patriarchal Encyclical for Holy Pascha 2023

    Ecumenical Patriarchate

    April 12, 2023

    Having arrived with God’s grace at the all-saving Resurrection of the Lord, through which the power of death was abolished and the gates of paradise were opened to the entire human race, we address to all of you our paschal greetings and heartfelt wishes, as we proclaim the cry “Christ is Risen” that gives joy to the world.

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    Communiqué on the Visit by the Archbishop of America and members of the Holy Eparchial Synod to the Phanar

    (2019 - ) Archbishop Elpidophoros

    April 6, 2023

    On Wednesday morning, April 5, 2023, His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros of America and the members of the Holy Eparchial Synod, Their Eminences Metropolitans Methodios of Boston, Savas of Pittsburgh, Gerasimos of San Francisco, and Nathanael of Chicago, arrived at the Phanar in response to the related invitation by His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, with whom they held an extensive work meeting on the matter of revising the Charter of the Sacred Archdiocese of America.

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    Catechetical Homily of His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew At the Opening of Holy and Great

    News Release

    February 24, 2023

    Most honorable brother Hierarchs and blessed children in the Lord, By the goodwill and grace of the all-merciful and all-benevolent God, already living in the blessed and reverent period of the Triodion, tomorrow we enter Holy and Great Lent, the arena of fasting and “venerable abstinence” that eliminate the passions, during which the depth and wealth of our Orthodox Tradition and the vigilant care of the Church for the spiritual progress of its children are revealed. Read More

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    OCMC Welcomes New Missionary Director

    News Release

    February 8, 2023

    Fr. Rob (Haralambos) Spaliatsos has joined the Orthodox Christian Mission Center (OCMC) as its Missionary Director. In this capacity, Fr. Rob is responsible for all aspects of the missionary program, under the guidance of Executive Director Fr. Martin Ritsi. This includes recruiting, training, and supporting OCMC missionaries as they prepare to enter the mission field and while working in their respective areas. Read More

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    Communique of the 12th Convening of the Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of the USA

    Assembly of Bishops

    February 2, 2023

    The Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of the United States of America convened in Los Angeles, California from January 28-31st for its 12th Meeting. Thirty Hierarchs participated in the meeting chaired by Archbishop Elpidophoros. Read More

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    From OCPM’s Newest Board Member, Larry Fitterer: Friendships that Might Never Have Formed but For His Grace

    Assembly of Bishops

    January 31, 2023

    On the first Sunday of the Last Judgment after Larry became an Orthodox Christian, he heard his deacon read the Gospel from Matthew 25. For reasons he did not understand at the time, Christ's words deeply struck him that day: “I was in prison, and you came to Me.” It wasn’t long after that his close friend, Lazarus, was shockingly arrested, convicted of very serious crimes, and sent to prison for decades. Read More

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    Attention young adults! Applications for Orthodox Volunteer Corps are due February 6, 2023

    Assembly of Bishops

    January 25, 2023

    Orthodox Volunteer Corps (OVC) is a new ministry of our Church for Orthodox young adults, 21 to 29 years old and one of the newest Agencies of the Assembly of Bishops. It develops and equips young adults to lead lives of faithful service for the Church and the world. Read More

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    PATRIARCHAL ENCYCLICAL FOR CHRISTMAS - 2022

    News Release

    December 25, 2022

    Most honorable brother hierarchs, Beloved children in the Lord, Today our Holy Church celebrates the Nativity in the flesh of the pre-eternal Son and Word of God, this “foreign and strange mystery” that “was concealed from ages and from generations” (Col. 1:26). Read More

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    The 11th Academic Consultation Between Judaism And Orthodox Christianity

    News Release

    December 9, 2022

    The 11th Academic Consultation between Judaism and Orthodox Christianity took place December 4-6, 2022, in Vienna, Austria. The theme was “Jewish-Orthodox Christian Dialogue: Navigating Our Relations to the World and to Each Other.” The Consultation was co-sponsored by the Ecumenical Patriarchate and the International Jewish Committee for Interreligious Consultations (IJCIC). Read More

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    Storybook Connections: OCPM Announces New Ministry for GivingTuesday Nov. 29

    Assembly of Bishops

    November 17, 2022

    This year, OCPM is hosting a special campaign for its new ministry program, Storybook Connections, which helps families torn apart by the U.S. prison system stay connected through the power of literature, letting children hear a story in the voice of his or her own parent behind bars. Read More

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    Ecumenical Patriarch Meets With His Majesty King Charles III of the United Kingdom

    News Release

    October 26, 2022

    At noon yesterday, October 25, 2022, His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew met with His Majesty King Charles III at Buckingham Palace. Read More

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    Patriarchal Acclamation for the Athenagoras Human Rights Award, by His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew

    News Release

    October 9, 2022

    It is worthy and right that the Order of St. Andrew is bestowing the Athenagoras Human Rights Award of 2022 to His Beatitude Theodore, Pope and Patriarch of Alexandria and All Africa, in honor of his great contribution to the Church and humankind, as well as his labors in support of the right to religious freedom in Africa, the great continent to which, as His Beatitude our brother says, “belongs the future.” Read More

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    High-ranking Delegation of the Museum of the Bible Visits the Ecumenical Patriarch

    Orthodox Observer

    September 28, 2022

    On Tuesday, 27 September 2022, His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew received the esteemed Mr. Steve Green, Founder and Chairman of the Board of the Museum of the Bible, based in Washington, D.C., together with his associates, Dr. Jeffrey Kloha, Chief Curatorial Officer, Dr. Brian Hyland, Associate Curator of Medieval Manuscripts, and Professor Dr. Elizabeth Prodromou, Member of the Museum’s Advisory Board. Read More

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