There are many holy ones, examples of the martyric witness of Orthodoxy throughout the history of America’s Transatlantic slave trade, Reconstruction, and Jim Crow semi-slavery and segregation.  We can consider these the Holy Ones of American Slavery. It is their martyric witness of the faith that bridges the Black American experience of suffering to the Pontic... The post The Definitive History of Fr. Raphael Morgan appeared first on Public Orthodoxy ..read more

Your birth, O Theotokos, brought joy to the whole world,for from you dawned the sun of righteousness, Christ our God.Freeing us from the curse, He gave us His blessings.Abolishing death, He granted us eternal life.(From the Apolytikion of the Nativity of the Theotokos) The story of the birth of Mary the Mother of God witnesses... The post Fullness of Grace in Answer to Our Prayer appeared first on Public Orthodoxy ..read more

Official Coptic-Catholic dialogue may require a temporary pause to rethink how to proceed, but it does not have to end. The post On the Suspension of Coptic Orthodox and Catholic Theological Dialogue appeared first on Public Orthodoxy ..read more

Although the full-scale war in Ukraine has caused great sacrifices for the Ukrainian people, it has also had a sobering effect. The West has started to understand Russian imperial ambitions and the activities of the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) as an apologist and soft power tool for the Russian world in justifying the actions of... The post The Imperial Identity of the Russian Orthodox Church in Estonia and the War in Ukraine appeared first on Public Orthodoxy ..read more

Recent weeks have been quite intense in Ukraine’s religious sphere. Undoubtedly, the most resonant event was the adoption of Bill No. 8371 by the Ukrainian Parliament on August 20. In its latest version, it was titled “On the Protection of the Constitutional Order in the Sphere of Activities of Religious Organizations,” but it is informally... The post Legislative Ban on the UOC: A Path to Reconciliation of the Orthodox Churches in Ukraine appeared first on Public Orthodoxy ..read more

In a recent article entitled, “Fascist Hagiographies: The Recent Canonizations of Fascist Saints in the Romanian Orthodox Church,” which appeared on Public Orthodoxy, Ionut Biliuta affirmed that the most influential Romanian Orthodox theologian of all times and one of the most important Orthodox thinkers of the twentieth century, Dumitru Staniloae, espoused nationalist and anti-ecumenical views.... The post (St.?) Dumitru Staniloae: A Complex Figure appeared first on Public Orthodoxy ..read more

Since the first lockdowns intended to protect the population against Covid-19, violence against women and femicide rates have significantly increased in both Greece and the “Western world.” Despite the statistical evidence on the matter and the way that the #metoo movement resonated with women around the globe, many, if not most, men are still in... The post “Boys Don’t Cry”: St. Gregory Palamas and Toxic Masculinity appeared first on Public Orthodoxy ..read more

Without doubt in the Eastern Orthodox tradition, “our glorious Lady Theotokos,” has a pre-eminent place in the life of the Orthodox Church. The month of August, for example, is dedicated to the Virgin Mother, not to mention other great feasts that are celebrated throughout the entire liturgical year. The post The Feast of the Dormition of the Theotokos appeared first on Public Orthodoxy ..read more

If the Government of Ukraine decides to restrict or even ban the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, currently in communion with the Patriarchate of Moscow, it would gravely compromise Ukraine’s standing among pluralistic democracies. In an essay posted on Public Orthodoxy (May 22, 2024), John Burgess pleaded with Ukraine’s elected officials against taking such action. He presented... The post Protect Ukraine’s Long History of Religious Diversity appeared first on Public Orthodoxy ..read more

The latest decision of the Romanian Orthodox Church’s Holy Synod to canonize sixteen clergymen as confessors of the Orthodox faith during the communist years as part of the 2025 centennial celebrations of the Romanian Patriarchate has sparked uproar in Romanian civil society. Some of those names—Fr. Dumitru Stăniloae, Fr. Liviu Galaction Munteanu, Fr. Arsenie Boca,... The post Fascist Hagiographies appeared first on Public Orthodoxy ..read more