October 11
Sunday of the 7th Ecumenical Council
On the Sunday that falls on or immediately after the eleventh of this month, we chant the Service to the 350 holy Fathers of the Seventh Ecumenical Council, which gathered in Nicaea in 787 under the holy Patriarch Tarasius and during the reign of the Empress Irene and her son, Constantine Porphyrogenitus, to refute the Iconoclast heresy, which had received imperial support beginning with the Edict issued in 726 by Emperor Leo the Isaurian. Many of the holy Fathers who condemned Iconoclasm at this holy Council later died as Confessors and Martyrs for the holy Icons during the second assult of Iconoclasm in the ninth century, especially during the reigns of Leo the Armenian and Theophilus.
His Eminence Metropolitan Methodios announced the appointment of Cassandra Garibaldi as the new Director of the Metropolitan’s Office and Religious Education effective October 1.
I greet all of you, Holy Brothers, with these encouraging words of the Apostle, for we have so very much to be joyful for. I am particularly happy to be with all of you – my brothers in the ministry to the Lord and His Holy Church.
The Department of Inter-Orthodox, Ecumenical and Interfaith Relations of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America has produced three new episodes of its miniseries “A Conversation on Racial Reconciliation,” with Archdeacon John Chryssavgis. The new interviews aim to contribute to the ongoing conversation, in the Church and across the nation, on racism and offer a resource center.
This year the state of California has sadly reached a devastating milestone of 4 million acres burned, with at least two months remaining in the fire season. The previous record was nearly 1.7 million acres during the fires in 2018. Over the past several weeks, the Metropolis has learned of 19 families who have faced significant loss as a result of the fires in California, Oregon and Washington.
Today, Thursday, October 8, 2020, on the third day of its work in this current month, the Holy and Sacred Synod extensively examined, among other items, issues of the Holy Archdiocese of America, and considered reports of His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros of America.