Bishop

Who should we believe? The prime minister, who made a commitment to pass legislation allowing same-sex marriage, or the high-ranking clerics who never miss an opportunity to vent their homophobic vitriol?

Pope Francis has decided to give women the right to vote at an upcoming meeting of bishops, an historic reform that reflects his hopes to give women greater decision-making responsibilities and laypeople more say in the life of the Catholic Church.

Archbishop Ieronymos made it clear Friday that no aspects of a tentative deal between him and Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras would be approved without the backing of the Holy Synod, while Education and Religious Affairs Minister Costas Gavroglou insisted that the salaries of clerics were safe.

Bishops on Tuesday continued to express opposition to the tentative agreement between Archbishop Ieronymos and Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras on relations between Church and state and the way priests will be paid, ahead of a crucial meeting of the Holy Synod of the Church of Greece on Friday.

The clergy and laity of the Archdiocese of America are anxiously awaiting the decisions of the Holy Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, which meets October 9-11, amid widespread speculation among community leaders that a change is imminent after reports that Patriarch Vartholomaios has twice recently urged Archbishop Demetrios of America to step down.

The Greek Orthodox Church of America has always been considered the nucleus of community life and a significant part of the Greek-American identity.

Archbishop Ieronymos said on Monday that the content of new schoolbooks on religion must have the Church's approval.

The patriarch called on all believers to be one with the long-suffering Serb people who are faithfully safeguarding and defending every step of the holy land in Kosovo and Metohija, and said that Kosovo and Metohija is our Jerusalem, our Holy Land, "which has been, may we never forget, given to us by God as an eternal pledge."

His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I, spiritual leader to the worlds 300 million Orthodox Christians, made his first official visit to Iceland from October 12-15, 2017 as the official guest and keynote speaker of the 2017 Arctic Circle Assembly.

Last month, social media giant Facebook cracked down on the Christian clergy by demanding the removal of the title “Father” from user profile names. Facebook administrators showed a lack of understanding that priests are actually called Father when others refer to them in real life.