Department of Communications
June 19, 2019
The Enthronement Service includes special hymns and prayers to the Holy Spirit, as well as a brief chant of Doxology. The service opens with a solemn procession and the entrance of the elected Archbishop, who is escorted by senior bishops to the throne where they exclaim, “Axios! He is Worthy!” Read More
Center for Family Care
March 23, 2019
In God’s eyes, the effort is equal to the achievement. Our bishop said that last week, and it’s been on my mind ever since. Our Lord rewards our efforts regardless of whether they are effective. Whether or not we achieve our worthy goals, God sees and rewards the effort. Read More
Department of Religious Education (DRE)
May 1, 2017
In this video, viewers will see a deacon, priest, and bishop vest for a Divine Liturgy. Each vestment will be seen, its significance and history briefly discussed, and the prayers the clergy recite when placing the garment on will be shown. Read More
Orthodox Observer
January 1, 2017
Have you been around people who proclaim a faith in Christ, yet totally reject the idea of Church? It seems to be a growing belief among folks in our country. It really has its beginnings with a doctrine that came out of the Reformation: “The Invisible Body of Believers.” Read More
Department of Youth and Young Adult Ministries (Y2AM)
December 19, 2016
In the final episode of The Trench, Christian explores how what we love orients our way of being in the world and how what we love is shaped by what we do. Join Christian as he says goodbye to the series by asking, "What do we truly love?" Read More
Orthodox Observer
September 1, 2016
Christ’s message to the world spread quickly in the first century through the work and sacrifice of the Apostles. It was a message of hope to a world suffering from inequality and abuse, hard labor and sickness and the ultimate death to darkness and nothingness. Read More
Orthodox Observer
April 1, 2016
Over the past several years it appears that a number of persons who have been recognized as Orthodox Christians have taken their lives, as well as some who leave in their wills that they wish to be cremated. On the basis of these two realities, it is obvious that many of our people have no understanding of the sanctity of the human body and have not been educated on the seriousness of these matters relative to the fact that they consider themselves members of the Church. Read More
Department of Youth and Young Adult Ministries (Y2AM)
January 11, 2016
Join Christian this week as he discusses the responsibility that every Christian has in serving those who are poor and in need. Christian suggests that like any other of our relationships, serving those in need demands our reflection on its priority. Read More
GOTelecom
December 2, 2015
V. Rev. Dr. Nathanael Symeonides talks about the Department of Inter-Orthodox, Ecumenical, and Interfaith Relations of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America. The Ministry Updates series of videos highlights the work of the Metropolises and the Archdiocesan Ministries. Read More
Department of Youth and Young Adult Ministries (Y2AM)
April 2, 2015
Many people think that heaven and hell are the places God sends us to either reward or punish us. But Orthodox Christians don't believe in this "two story" model of the universe. We believe that God is "present in all places and filling all things," and that what we interpret as salvation or damnation is actually our response to, and experience of, God's unconditional love. Read More
Department of Youth and Young Adult Ministries (Y2AM)
March 26, 2015
Jesus Christ is our savior, but what does He save us from? To answer that, we need to take a closer look at Creation and the Fall. God made us neither mortal nor immortal, but with freedom: we could choose to either move closer to God, the source of life, or away from Him, and find death. When Adam and Eve sinned they separated themselves from God and each other, creating the wounded, sick humanity that they passed down to us. Read More
Department of Youth and Young Adult Ministries (Y2AM)
March 12, 2015
Who is Jesus Christ? He's the God-man, the eternal Son of God who, in the fullness of time, took on flesh and became fully human--while remaining fully God. This is so important because of what it means for our salvation. If we understand who Christ really is, we can understand who we really are. Read More
Department of Youth and Young Adult Ministries (Y2AM)
February 19, 2015
How can God be both 3 and 1? Christians are monotheists, we believe in one God, but many people don't understand how the Holy Trinity fits in with that. The Holy Trinity is One God, three divine Persons who express one divine Nature. Read More
Department of Youth and Young Adult Ministries (Y2AM)
February 12, 2015
How can we even begin to talk about belief in God? We need to start by making something clear: we're not talking about belief in something; we're talking about belief in someone. That changes the way we see the question. It means God isn't something we think about. It means He's someone we're invited to encounter. Read More
Audio
December 11, 2014
Pastoral Reflections from Father Andrew Demotses, a priest of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America. Read More
Archbishop Demetrios
July 7, 2014
Homily given by Archbishop Demetrios of America during the Hierarchical Divine Liturgy for the 42nd Biennial Clergy-Laity Congress of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America. The service was held in the historic Greek Orthodox Cathedral of Saint George of Philadelphia with hundreds of faithful in attendance. Read More
Orthodox Observer
January 25, 2014
As we open to the first page of the 2014 calendar, it is appropriate to reflect on the calendar itself. Calendars have changed throughout history, differing with each culture and epoch. In ancient Greece, calendars, the time of new year, and the name of the months varied with each city-state. Later, the conquests of Alexander brought another idea of time, with the year beginning around the autumnal equinox. Read More
Theology
August 17, 2013
The first two chapters of the Book of Genesis present the making of humanity as an act in three steps or phases. The text is silent with respect to the time elapsed between these steps or if there was such a time between them. With any fragment or link of creation there was only one act or word of God. For instance, the Creator says in the first day, "Let it be light. And there was light" (Gen 1:3). Or in the second day, the same Creator utters the powerful word, "Let be a vault. And God made the vault" (Gen 1:6-7). Just one word or one-step act for each link of creation. Contrary to this pattern, in the case of humanity, God uses a different way, a creative act in three phases or steps. Read More
Church History
March 19, 2013
Amid the crush of news reports in the past month that followed Pope Benedict's unprecedented resignation from the papacy, one of the most intriguing was the decision by His All-Holiness, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, to attend Pope Francis' installation as Bishop of Rome. The occasion is being presented in the media as something that has not happened since the ecclesiastical schism that separated Christian East and Christian West in the eleventh century. But that characterization is almost certainly wrong--this is quite likely the first time in history that a Bishop of Constantinople will attend the installation of a Bishop of Rome. And this is a profoundly bold step in ecumenical relations between the Orthodox and the Roman Catholics, one that could have lasting significance. Read More
Exploring Orthodoxy / New to the Faith
February 11, 2013
Humanity, in Orthodox tradition, depends for its existence upon God’s gracious love. The fullness of being human can only be experienced in a communion of love with God and the “others” who mediate God's gracious presence in the world. The flourishing of human life as communion presupposes freedom. Freedom is a gift of God to humanity that defines and shapes human beings as being in God's image. Read More