Fathers of the 1st Council
The heresiarch Arius was a Libyan by race and a protopresbyter of the Church of Alexandria. In 315, he began to blaspheme against the Son and Word of God, saying that He is not true God, consubstantial with the Father, but is rather a work and creation, alien to the essence and glory of the Father, and that there was a time when He was not. This frightful blasphemy shook the faithful of Alexandria. Alexander, his Archbishop, after trying in vain to correct him through admonitions, cut him off from communion and finally in a local council deposed him in the year 321. Yet neither did the blasphemer wish to be corrected, nor did he cease sowing the deadly tares of his heretical teachings; but writing to the bishops of other cities, Arius and his followers requested that his doctrine be examined, and if it were unsound, that the correct teaching be declared to him. By this means, his heresy became universally known and won many supporters, so that the whole Church was soon in an uproar.
Therefore, moved by divine zeal, the first Christian Sovereign, Saint Constantine the Great, the equal to the Apostles, summoned the renowned First Ecumenical Council in Nicaea, a city of Bithynia. It was there that the shepherds and teachers of the Church of Christ gathered from all regions in the year 325. All of them, with one mouth and one voice, declared that the Son and Word of God is one in essence with the Father, true God of true God, and they composed the holy Symbol of Faith up to the seventh article (since the remainder, beginning with "And in the Holy Spirit," was completed by the Second Ecumenical Council). Thus they anathematized the impious Arius of evil belief and those of like mind with him, and cut them off as rotten members from the whole body of the faithful.
Therefore, recognizing the divine Fathers as heralds of the Faith after the divine Apostles, the Church of Christ has appointed this present Sunday for their annual commemoration, in thanksgiving and unto the glory of God, unto their praise and honour, and unto the strengthening of the true Faith.
The “How-to” Green Your Parish series is an initiative of the Department of Inter-Orthodox, Ecumenical and Interfaith Relations. New episodes will be released weekly featuring ideas and ways to introduce creation care and sustainability in your parish and home. Ranging from practical to theological, each three-minute video offers a unique perspective on environmental stewardship through the knowledge and expertise of Orthodox Christians across the United States.
Within the past months, much work has been undertaken by our Department and its partners to create spaces for and lend our own voices to instruction and dialogue. Notably, the “How-to” Green Your Parish video series, now available on YouTube, has so far been a great success in providing a diversity of thoughts from a plethora of authorities on creation care within the Orthodox Church.
Fr Alex Goussetis speaks with Dr Vasilia Vamvakis on the challenges and opportunities of balancing the demands of family and career.
The St. Photios Greek Orthodox National Shrine, located in Saint Augustine, Florida is delighted to present its second annual webinar, a presentation by Dr. John Fotopoulos entitled “Let Us Exercise In the Field of Scripture: The Correspondence between Augustine and Jerome for Orthodox Biblical Scholarship,” on Tuesday, June 15, the Feast of Saint Augustine of Hippo, from 7:00 to 8:00 PM EST.
Leadership Moment on "Living and Leading According to What We Believe" from Episode 1 of the Parish Leadership Series featuring Fr. Theodore Dorrance, Director of Parish Health and Church Growth, Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Denver. About the Parish Leadership Series at HCHC A series of 1-hour presentations on various aspects of parish leadership.
We often talk about faith and career in terms of balance. As if you can "have it all." In this talk, Steve offers a different way to confront this important life question. Because, as he learned from an Athonite monk and Wall Street attorney, faith and career isn't about balance. It's about putting first things first.
On Saturday October 30, 2021, His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew will present the Athenagoras Human Rights Award to three scientists: Dr. Albert Bourla, DVM, Ph.D., Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Pfizer; Dr. Ugur Sahin, M.D., Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of BioNTech; and Dr. George D. Yancopoulos, MD, Ph.D., Founding Scientist, President and Chief Scientific Officer of Regeneron. They are being honored for their organizations’ efforts in developing Covid-19 vaccines with extraordinary efficiency and rapidity.