Brother hierarchs and beloved children in the Lord,

From the Phanar, from the heart of the Queen of Cities, from the City of the Great Church and of Haghia Sophia, we are communicating with each and every one of you—women, men, and children—because of the unprecedented conditions and tribulation that we are facing as a human race as a result of the global threat posed by the pandemic of the new coronavirus, called COVID-19.

The voice of the Church, of the Mother Church, cannot be silent in such times. Our words, then, take the form we have learned through the ages: through the liturgy and through instruction, with encouragement and consolation. Read More

In response to widespread disagreements on how Orthodox synods, individual hierarchs, and clergy have reacted, and should react, to the coronavirus crisis—especially as pertains to attendance at liturgical services and partaking in Holy Communion—Orthodoxy in Dialogue offers this space to share your thoughts and concerns.

Send your comments of no more than 200 words to editors@orthodoxyindialogue.com. Include your full name and city/state/province/country of residence. If you are a hierarch or clergyman, also include the jurisdiction to which you belong. Read More

Eric J. Iliff

October 11, 1981 ~ March 13, 2007

✠

With the saints give rest, O Christ, to the soul of Thy servant

where sickness and sorrow are no more, neither sighing,

but life everlasting.

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Vasillios Pistolis, a U.S. Marine, clubs a man with a wooden flagpole during the deadly white supremacist rally in Charlottesville on Aug. 12, 2017. (Samuel Corum/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)

Earlier today, Politico published State Pushes to List White Supremacist Group as Terrorist Org, with the subheading The top candidate for the designation is Atomwaffen, a neo-Nazi group with branches abroad. The report begins:

The State Department is pushing to designate at least one violent white supremacist group as a foreign terrorist organization, an unprecedented move that national security experts say would be a big step toward fighting a growing threat on U.S. soil.

State Department officials want to have the designation finalized by next week, according to four people familiar with the effort. But the White House, where top officials have long preferred to focus on terrorism by Islamist extremists, has yet to give the green light. Read More