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Collected Writings on Orthodox Christianity Various Aspects of Eastern and Oriental Orthodox Churches ______ Collected Writings on Orthodox Christianity Various Aspects of Eastern and Oriental Orthodox Churches _____________________________________ GEORGE ALEXANDER OCP Publications www.theorthodoxchurch.info Also by George Alexander Orthodox Church of the East in the Twenty first Century: Challenges and Opportunities Living Conditions of the Migrant Workers in the Construction Sector Forest Management: Aspects of Community Participation The Orthodox Dilemma An OCP Publication Copyright © OCP Publications and George Alexander 2016 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior permission of the copyright owners. OCP Publications Alappuzha District Kerala India First Edition November 2014 Second Edition June 2016 OCP Publication is the publication division of Orthodoxy Cognate PAGE Society. The OCP Publications name and logo belongs to OCP Society. Cover Page: Hagios Demetrios Church, Thessaloniki, Greece You can write to us [email protected] [email protected] Visit us at www.ocpbooks.simplesite.com www.theorthodoxchurch.info IBAN- 9781365153198 Disclaimer This book contains collected writings of different authors on the various aspects of Orthodox Christianity. Individual authors are only responsible for their contributions and not for the entire publication. The publisher is not responsible for websites or their content that does not belong to the publisher. Preface & Acknowledgement I am happy to present the second edition of this book, which consists of selected reflections, articles, interviews and letters by various authors on different topics related to Orthodox Christianity. This material was prepared in connection to my work and experiences with Orthodoxy Cognate PAGE, a Pan-Orthodox organization, were I have been one of the founders. Most of them have been published in OCP Media Network as exclusive coverage. I have written the majority of the articles while others have been contributed by independent authors or have been co-written. This book contains a collection of articles on different topics pertaining to Eastern and Oriental Orthodox Churches. The articles on Orthodox feasts have been written by giving equal importance to both Eastern and Oriental Orthodox families of Churches and were prepared as per the request of Ms Elisa Mode, CEO of Travelujiha, who wanted to learn more on Orthodox tradition and faith as well introduce the same to her readers through their website. There are articles on the situation of persecuted Christians in Eretria, another one on the social, religious and political situation of Serbia. There are also writings titled ‘Letters from Syria’ that explains the sad plight of Christians during the uprising. The book also contain details of Fr. Themi Adams and his Mission to fight Ebola, paper presentation on OCP Society and Pan-Orthodox Movement, articles on Leaning Cross Church, Patriarch Ignatius Aphrem II, missionary works of late lamented Metropolitan Alvares Julius, on indigenous Orthodox communities of Brahmavar and Dindigul, personal journey’s to Orthodoxy, briefing on the Ethiopian Orthodox Church as well as personal thoughts and reflections on church life. First edition of the book had thirty chapters and on the second edition there are five additional chapters and altogether we have thirty five chapters. The book deals with a combination of topics pertaining to Eastern and Oriental Orthodox Churches, which provides the work with a pan-orthodox nature; which I consider being most important. I extend my sincere gratitude to Michael for his dedication and support in editing the work. Am indebted and grateful to all those who have contributed to this book, namely Metropolitan Eusthathios Matta Roham, Chrobishop Kyriakose Thottupuram, Metropolitan Abba Seraphim, Dr Kurien Thomas, Joslyn Rane, Metropolitan Mor Selwanos Boutros Alnemeh, Metropolitan Mor Timotheos Matta Alkhouri, Subin Varghese, Ajesh Phillip Maria Sidiropoulou, Dina Blokland, Prakash Varghese Varghese, Vipin Varghese, Danijela Dorado Radojičić, William Doric, Fr Jossi Jacob, Fr Yohannes Bamg Bang, Fr Thomas Ninan, Fr Rick Aleria, Dina, Dima Jabbour, John Tsambazis, Wid Bastian, Sofia Katsareli, Peter Souleles Fr. Zakka Jalma, Fr. Joseph Bali, Emily Pez, Dr Ralf Lee. I also sincerely thank Fr Abraham Thomas, Fr Thomas P John, Fr Dr K M George, Christine Chaillot, Fr Varghese Lal, K C Jacob and Rajendran for their care and support. I thank all my beloved colleagues at OCP Society, all my loving friends, family and well-wishers for their kind support and encouragement. George Alexander June 2016 A Note on Orthodoxy Cognate PAGE Society The Orthodoxy Cognate PAGE Society (OCP) is a Pan-Orthodox society for the promotion of Orthodox Christian unity and faith established in the year 2007. It is registered under the Travancore-Cochin Literary, Scientific and Charitable Societies Registration Act, 1955. The major objective of OCP Society is to promote Pan-Orthodox Conciliarity and engage in different activities that promote Orthodox Christian unity with ecumenical respect. The Society provides equal importance to Eastern and Oriental Orthodox Churches and firmly believes the fact that both the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Oriental Orthodox Churches are the true heirs to the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church of Christ, which was the Church of the apostles and the Holy Fathers. The Society's motto is “Seeking United Orthodox Christian Witness”. The OCP Society has made several achievements since its founding in 2007. It operates OCP Media Network, the world’s largest Pan-Orthodox Christian News Portal with a monthly outreach of more than two million people worldwide along with Orthodox news services, journalism. It also engages in various pan-orthodox research projects, pan- orthodox networking, publications and charity activities. The OCP delegations have been fortunate enough to meet several eminent Orthodox Christian leaders as well as represent the Society at several international Pan-Orthodox Conferences. The Society has also been involved in a number of social welfare activities since 2007. For more info visit – www.theorthodoxchurch.info A Note from the Department of Publications On behalf of OCP publications, I am happy to present second edition of this book, ‘Collected Writing on Orthodox Christianity: Various Aspects of Eastern and Oriental Orthodox Churches. It gives me immense pleasure to congratulate George Alexander for his efforts in producing a publication in pan-orthodox Christianity. I hope that the book will be useful for orthodox and non-orthodox readers. I extend my warm greetings and sincere gratitude to all those who have contributed in the work. This is the second publication from Orthodoxy Cognate PAGE and we are planning to produce more pan-orthodox works. We request all your sincere cooperation in our future endeavors. I thank each and every one of you for your sincere prayers and support. Happy reading! Varghese John Thottapuzha Director Dept. of Publications (OCP Publications) Orthodoxy Cognate PAGE Society Kerala, India Contents Introduction Chapter 1 1 The Detained Patriarch, Persecuted Christians and a Dying Church Chapter 2 7 Orthodox Churches in the Indian Sub-Continent and South East Asia Chapter 3 18 Orthodox Christian Feasts and Celebrations Chapter 4 38 Ten Destinations to Celebrate Orthodox Christmas Chapter 5 43 Armenians in the Holy Land Chapter 6 46 The Monastery Compound which held the Tree of Jesus Cross Chapter 7 48 Orthodox Christian Leadership Chapter 8 54 Orthodox Priests Chapter 9 57 Orthodox Sunday School Chapter 10 63 Efficient Administration and Management of the Church and her Institutions Chapter 11 69 Orthodox Youth Chapter 12 72 A Wake up Call for Serbia Chapter 13 77 Holy Brahmavar Chapter 14 83 An Exclusive Interview with His Eminence Metropolitan Abba Seraphim Chapter 15 88 A British Journey to Ethiopian Orthodoxy Chapter 16 90 A Briefing on the Ethiopian Orthodox Church Chapter 17 93 Letters from Syria Chapter 18 115 Miracle of Holy Theotokos in Saidnaya Chapter 19 116 Combined Oriental Orthodox Mission in the Slums of South Africa Chapter 20 118 An Open Letter to Pope Francis from William Dorich Chapter 21 125 The Leaning Cross Church – The Historic Monument of Orthodox Christian Revolt against Roman Catholic and Western Imperial Domination Chapter 22 128 Fr Dr V C Samuel: The Poetic Legend of Orthodoxy Chapter 23 130 The Lost Orthodox Christians of St Gregorious of Parumala in Dindigul Chapter 24 135 The Life of a Missionary Chapter 25 141 OCP Society and Pan-Orthodox Movement Chapter 26 144 Patriarch Ignatius Ephraim II - The new bright star in the Eastern Horizon Chapter 27 157 Who is a Catholic? Chapter 28 164 Some Orthodox Mission Stories Chapter 29 170 Emily’s Way to Orthodoxy: A French Tale of Finding the True Church Chapter 30 172 A Modern Apostle of True Orthodoxy – Katherine Valone Chapter 31 179 Our Ignorance Will Disintegrate Orthodoxy in Ukraine Chapter 32 185 Honouring Mother Theresa of Calcutta is not enough for Orthodox Christians Chapter 33 188 Pope John Paul II and the Balkan Connection Chapter 34 195 Heretic Sermon of Archbishop Andrey Sheptytsky Chapter 35 200 From Baptist to Byzantium Chapter 36 208 Who Fears Yoga Chapter 37 211 Do you use Palm Oil? Lighter Moments with Patriarch Ignatius Aphrem II of Antioch About the Author 213 Bibliography 214 Introduction
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