GreekNewsBlog: johnmetaxas.com

ARCHIVES
Vol. 1, #9
April 10-14, 2006

FRIDAY, APRIL 14, 2006

ARCHBISHOP IAKOVOS REMEMBERED

Today we pause to remember our Archbishop Iakovos of North and South America, whose funeral service was one year ago today. Those of us who grew up with him could not imagine our church without him. This past Sunday, on the anniversary of his death, Orthodox churches across the new world held memorial services in his honor. If you have not taken the time to listen to our archive entries, here are some links below. By clicking on these audio links, you can hear in the voices of the people how much we loved Archbishop Iakovos.

listen!

Michael Parlamis, an Archon of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, remembers Iakovos's march in Selma, Ala. (2:30)

Link to other audio testimonials about Archbishop Iakovos.

THURSDAY APRIL 13, 2006

POPE SHEDS TITLE: "PATRIARCH OF THE WEST"

Differing Interpretations about what this means for relations with Orthodox Church

This week's op-ed piece in the Los Angeles Times, titled "The pope's 'patriarch' puzzle" is the latest attempt to make sense of the pope's apparent decision last month to drop the title "patriarch of the West" from his list of many official titles. In the opinion piece, John L. Allen Jr., Vatican correspondent for the National Catholic Reporter, acknowledges that it is a "fairly arcane debate among "ecclesiologists" about whether the term "patriarch" is the proper way to describe the pope's authority over what has usually been called the "Latin Church," meaning Western Christianity...." But Orthodox Christians are watching to see what this means for relations with the Orthodox Church.

Allen writes that some Western theologians have long complained that describing the pope as patriarch of the West ... puts him on the same level as the patriarchs of the eastern churches, "making it more difficult to see how he could claim real authority over the entire Christian church, East and West alike, which is the traditional Catholic dogma about the papal office."

Is the dropping of the title a step towards greater papal claims? Several Catholic sources say it is the opposite, a step towards reconcilation with the Orthodox.

The Catholic World News writes: "Pope Benedict ... reportedly made the decision himself to drop the title, evidently wish(ing) to eliminate any notion that the Holy See represents the Church of "the West," and is therefore separate from the Eastern tradition."

The National Catholic register quotes Cardinal Achille Silvestrini, retired prefect of the Congregation for Eastern Churches, as saying that the dropping of the “Patriarch” title was meant to “stimulate the ecumenical journey.”

But Bishop Hilarion Alfeyev, the Russian Orthodox bishop of Vienna and his church's main representative in Europe, said if the Pope really wanted to promote ecumenical progress, he would drop the titles “Supreme Pontiff of the Universal Church,” “Successor of the Prince of the Apostles” and the “Vicar of Christ.” Alfeyev said those designations are “scandalous from the Orthodox point of view.” Alfeyev added that for the Orthodox, one of the most acceptable of the pope’s titles is “Patriarch of the West.”

Reuters: Russian Orthodox says Pope should shed more titles
Catholic News: Vatican Explains Suppression of Papal Title

Papal Titles:
Even with the removal of "Patriarch of the West," Pope Benedict is still known as:
Bishop of Rome, Vicar of Jesus Christ, Successor of the Prince of the Apostles, Supreme Pontiff of the Universal Church, Primate of Italy, Archbishop and Metropolitan of the Roman province, Sovereign of the Vatican City State and Servant of the Servants of God.

Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew is known as:
Archbishop of Constantinople, New Rome and Ecumenical Patriarch.

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 12, 2006

I am honored to serve on the advisory board of the Center for Byzantine and Modern Greek Studies at Queens College with the distinguished director of the center. Dr. Christos Ioannides. Chris has consented to contribute his thoughts on a range of subjects from time to time to these pages. In today's commentary, Chris reveals that the latest Greek business innovation, the virtual meeting place greekbiz.com, has its roots in a much earlier time. -- John Metaxas

GUEST COMMENTARY: The Global Hellenic Village or Hermes and the Internet
by Dr. Christos P. Ioannides
Director of the Center for Byzantine and Modern Greek Studies, Queens College, C.U.N.Y.
Click to read.

TUESDAY APRIL 11, 2006
SOME DIFFERING REALITIES FOR CHRISTIANS IN TURKEY

Gareth Jones of Reuters has written of the little known and historically persecuted sect of Syriac Christians that still lives in Turkey. Their numbers are down to about 20,000 from about 250,000 when Ataturk founded the republic in 1923. Unlike the Greeks and Armenians in Turkey, the Syriacs, who speak a form of Aramaic, the language of Jesus, are not an officially recognized minority. In the week since it was published, Jones's article has already become one that will live on for years on numerous websites because it shines the light on a group of people who have lived in obscurity for centuries.

Separately, I've come across a gem of an article from the Athens News of September 10, 2004, about the few Christians remaining in Smyrna at that time. Reporter Alex Penmann tells a fascinating story of a small number of Christians living their public lives as Muslims and never meeting with other Christians in public.

MONDAY, APRIL 10, 2006

NOTE TO READERS: I've incorporated some of your suggestions, including new links to the Athens News, Cyprus Mail, Cyprus Weekly and ERT. I've also updated the look of the home page. The new look will eventually be extended to the rest of the site. Please keep your suggestions coming.

More news from Sacramento, Calif. ...

PARTHENON REPLICA WILL NOT GRACE SACRAMENTO SKYLINE

Developer Angelo G. Tsakopoulos, the nephew of Angelo K. Tsakopoulos, the Sacramento region's largest developer, has scrapped his plans to build a replica of the Parthenon on top of a 25-story modern skyscraper he is developing in Sacramento. The plans had created quite a controversy in Sacramento's architectural design circles.

TAKE A LOOK AT WHAT THE PARTHENON WOULD HAVE LOOKED LIKE HIGH ATOP SACRAMENTO.

And more on the Angelides race...

CALIFORNIA PUNDITS HANDICAP THE DEMOCRATIC GOV. PRIMARY
Angelides seen as shifting left to consolidate liberal support
Westly has $23 million in bank, vs. $14.6 million for Angelides

POLITICAL PUNDITS see a shift to the left by California State Treasurer Phil Angelides in his primary race for Governor of California, as he faces off against state controller Steve Westly who has poured more than $20 million of his own money into the campaign.

Angelides, flagging in the polls, unleashes assaults on Westly
By Dan Walters -- Bee Columnist, Sunday, April 9, 2006

AP Interview: Angelides not worried by tight primary race
By Laura Kurtzman - Associated Press Writer, Friday, April 07, 2006

TO COMMENT ON THIS ENTRY, CLICK HERE.

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