AUSTRALIAN & OCEANIC ORTHODOX NEWS

By Deacon Charles Joiner Facing East is an ancient tradition, grounded in sure knowledge about the Second Coming, first told us by the Lord, and then repeated by an angel after the disciples had just seen the Lord ascend into heaven: “For as the lightning comes from the east and shines as far as the west, so will be the …

Ecclesial music within the Eastern Orthodox Church (and in the Oriental and Assyrian Orthodox Churches) can trace its origins and inspiration within the musical traditions of ancient Greece and the Middle East. From these sources and their complex mathematical musical scales, along with the liturgical life of the Jewish synagogues in which the first Christians came from, developed a particular …

Bill Shorten flips on gay marriage plebiscite The Australian – 29 June 2016 Dennis Shanahan (Political Editor, Canberra) Bill Shorten told religious leaders and Christian voters in the final days of the 2013 election campaign that he was “completely relaxed about having some form of plebiscite” on same-sex marriage. In video footage ­obtained by The Australian, the ­Opposition Leader outlined …

SACRED METROPOLIS OF NAFPAKTOS AND SAINT VLASIOS Nafpaktos, February 17, 2016 To: The Holy and Sacred Synod of the Church of Greece Ioannou Gennadiou 14 115 21 Athens Your Beatitude, President of the Synod, The Synaxis of the Primates of the Orthodox Churches (March 6-9, 2014) decided to set up a Special Inter-Orthodox Commission, consisting of one bishop and one …

Violence is not limited only to wars, battles, military operations, killing, expulsions… it is also when the law of love is not put into practice with regard to those who need our assistance. By Fr Georges Massouh “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the sons of God” (Matthew 5:9). We can say without any hesitation that this …

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Love between a couple is more than just consent and autonomy By Jason Morgan June 10, 2015 (ThePublicDiscourse) — For the past several decades, campus authorities from deans and chancellors all the way down to lowly RAs have been reiterating the talking points of “safe sex” to college-age teenagers. For the vast majority of incoming freshmen, these messages of consent …

Dear Friends of Saint George Taybeh, It was very exciting this evening for the first time to have a wonderful Christmas scouts parade on the main street in Taybeh. This has been a beautiful Bethlehem tradition that this year also spread to Ramallah and Nazareth just like we celebrate receiving the Miracle of the Holy Fire from the Holy-Life-Giving-Tomb-of-Christ in Jerusalem. Thus from the land …

29 July 2016 MIKE SWEET Speaking from Nicosia this week, ex-state Labor minister Theo Theophanous told Neos Kosmos that Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s crackdown could soon be reaching Cyprus’ shores. Mr Theophanous, who visited the occupied north of the island as a guest, said the consequences of Erdogan’s response to the failed 15 July coup – for Cyprus and …

MPS PUT PRESSURE ON DAVID CAMERON TO RECOGNISE CHRISTIAN ‘GENOCIDE’ IN THE MIDDLE EAST By Sean Smith Senior British politicians have put pressure on David Cameron with a letter urging that the UK joins other nation states in recognising the persecution of Christians in the Middle East as “genocide”. Last week the Lithuanian parliament become the first EU state to recognise …