The “Father of Fathers, the Thirteenth Apostle and the Judge of the World (as his pheme states), Pope and Patriarch of Alexandria, Theodore sent a message to the Muslims of Egypt upon the feast of Ramadan. It is as follows:
“The most sacred month of the Islamic calendar, the chief month of personal worship and great awareness of the Divine for every faithful Muslim ends today with the festive, joyous season of Eid al-Fitr.
But this year’s celebration is of particular importance because it takes place at a time when the blessed land of Egypt is on the verge of history.
At a time in history when all the citizens of the land of the Nile, regardless of religion, in the struggle for a better tomorrow taught the world that the peaceful pursuit of its rights with modesty and dignity is the safest route to freedom.
I wish therefore to express my most heartfelt wishes to our dear Muslim fellow citizens, but also to the beloved Muslims of the entire Arab world with the hope that the two pillars of Ramadan: love and charity, dominate the works and actions of men.
In particular I send a festal greeting to the Supreme Military Council of Egypt, the guardian of the unity of the Egyptian people and guarantor of the transition to Egypt's future, with the hope that he guides the country to the safe harbor of progress and prosperity. (romfea.gr 30.8.2011)
The Ecumenist Patriarchs have inaugurated a new “fashion”. It is not enough that they send festal greetings to the leaders of the heresies of the West (following faithfully what was foreseen in the Patriarchal Encyclical of 1920) but they also send well wishes to the followers of the blood-thirsty Mohamed! In this way they cultivate in the common consciousness the pan-religious idea that “we all believe in the same god.” Is it possible for the Christian God of love to be identified with the blood-thirsty demon which the Muslims worship? Are these the words of an Orthodox Patriarch? Is it possible for “faithful Muslims” to “deeply realize the Divine”? Does He not realize that “all the gods of the nations are demons”? (Psalm 5:5)
Translated from the Greek
In the early 20th century, the idea of promoting the union of Churches (Orthodox and heterodox) began to gain ground among circles in the Eastern Orthodox Church by establishing a "Communion of Churches" modeled on the League of Nations.
The Patriarchal Encyclical of 1920 foresaw a series of steps toward the “union of the Churches,” of which the first was the change of the calendar for the simultaneous celebration of feast days by all the “Churches.” The content of the encyclical was kept secret from the faithful and only after a few years became known. Read more...
St. John of Kronstadt Orthodox Church began as a mission parish in the year 2000, in a home chapel in Palm Coast, FL – a small town on Florida’s northeast coast located between St. Augustine and Daytona Beach. After two years, it became necessary to have services in area community centers, rented for Sundays and other Holy Days. Read more...
2023 Youth Conference
Please join us for the 2023 youth conference in Chicago, IL! To learn more, visit the home page or visit the conference website.
Q. There seems to be a lot of variation in how people observe fasting, but my confessor told me to fast from oil on Wednesday and Friday. Oil is a pretty vague category, though, and I was wondering if I could get a more explicit description of what kinds of food and drink are excluded on strict fast days. Read more...