Peter Gilstrap Tonsured to the Rank of Reader

On Sunday September 28, during the weekend of the 2009 National Clergy - Laity Conference of the Holy Metropolis of the Genuine Greek Orthodox Church of America Peter Gilstrap was tonsured a reader at the Cathedral of St. Markella in New York City. Peter is the son of Fr. Mark Gilstrap of St. James Parish in Owasso, Oklahoma. He was tonsured by His Eminence Metropolitan Pavlos of America. Also in attendance were four bishops, three visiting from Greece: Metropolitan Chrysostomos of Attica, Bishop Photios of Marathon, Bishop Gregory of Christianoupolis. His Grace Bishop Christodoulos of Theoupolis is from Holy Ascension Monastery in Woodstock, NY.


Orthodox Awareness

A Brief History

In the early 20th century, the idea of promoting the union of Churches (Orthodox and heterodox) began to gain ground among circles in the Eastern Orthodox Church by establishing a "Communion of Churches" modeled on the League of Nations.

The Patriarchal Encyclical of 1920 foresaw a series of steps toward the “union of the Churches,” of which the first was the change of the calendar for the simultaneous celebration of feast days by all the “Churches.” The content of the encyclical was kept secret from the faithful and only after a few years became known. Read more...

Missions

Saint John of Kronstadt - Bunnell, Florida

St. John of Kronstadt Orthodox Church began as a mission parish in the year 2000, in a home chapel in Palm Coast, FL – a small town on Florida’s northeast coast located between St. Augustine and Daytona Beach. After two years, it became necessary to have services in area community centers, rented for Sundays and other Holy Days. Read more...

Youth

2025 Youth Conference

Please join us for the 2025 youth conference in Toronto, Ontario, Canada! To learn more, visit the conference website.

Ask A Priest

Morning and Evening Prayers

Q. Are the prayers in the blue prayer book [A Prayerbook for Orthodox Christians by the Holy Transfiguration Monastery —ed.] compulsory for everyone? I mean their morning prayers and the service of Small Compline. My confessor gave me a special rule but wasn’t clear about whether this replaced the book prayers or was in addition to them. Read more...