Synodality is a key principle in the governance and spiritual life of the Orthodox Church. It is an expression of the Church’s understanding of itself as the Body of Christ, with all its members functioning together in unity under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
Small islands are settings for big messages as Francis heads to Cyprus, Greece
For Fr. Nicolas Kazarian, director of inter-Orthodox, ecumenical and interfaith relations for the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, migration is an area in which Francis has “dived into our common witness.”
“I would say that Pope Francis is the hero of the ‘preferential option for the migrant,’ much as Pope John Paul II spoke about the ‘preferential option for the poor,'” Kazarian told NCR. “Protecting migrants has become an opportunity for rapprochement with the Orthodox Church and its involvement in ministering to them.”
L’ancienne basilique Sainte-Sophie, classée au patrimoine mondial par l’Unesco, va redevenir un lieu de culte musulman, a décidé le Conseil d’Etat turc. Une transformation qui permet à Erdogan de reconquérir son électorat, analyse l’historien Nicolas Kazarian.
The Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople today faces a contradictory situation. Being the first Church within the communion of Orthodox Churches for centuries, the ecclesiastical institution has lost most of its territory and members over the course of the 20th century…
“The Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople: Power and Geopolitics” in Sebastian Rimestad & Vasilios N. Makrides (eds), Coping with Change. Orthodox Christian Dynamics between Tradition, Innovation and Realpolitik, Peter Lang, Berlin, 2020, 173-187
In New York, Dr Nicolas Andre Kazarian, Ecumenical Officer, Inter-Orthodox Ecumenical and Interfaith Relations, Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, similarly celebrated Easter holidays online.
“I have a small parish in south Manhattan, we don’t do any livestreams of services, but many of my fellow clergy used Facebook or YouTube to livestream events during Easter,” Kazarian said. “What we have been doing is reproducing the spiritual experience of being in church while staying at home.”
Je ne sais pas pour vous à Genève, mais ici à New York, où nous vivons depuis presque trois ans avec Lianna, Matthias et Émilie, la pandémie a eu un effet inattendu, il n’y a presque plus de trafic. La circulation est fluide. C’est une première ! Mais à quoi bon s’en réjouir lorsqu’il vous est demandé de rester à la maison. Certes, les conditions de confinement varient selon les pays, il n’en demeure pas moins que notre rapport au monde en général a considérablement changé. Mais ce changement nous suivra-t-il une fois la crise passée ? Certainement ! À quoi ressemblera notre vie après le ce confinement qui n’en finit pas ? Qu’adviendra-t-il de nos relations interpersonnelles après la distanciation sociale ? Et qu’en est-il de notre vie spirituelle après ne pas être allés à l’église pendant ce qui nous semble être à une éternité ?
Entretien réalisé par Karl Haddad, Délégué Eurasie des Ambassadeurs de la Jeunesse.
Nicolas Kazarian est directeur du département des relations inter-orthodoxes, œcuméniques et interreligieuses au sein de l’Archevêché orthodoxe grec d’Amérique (New York, Etats-Unis) et chercheur associé à l’IRIS (Paris, France).
In the midst of an unprecedented crisis, it is often hard or even impossible to think about what comes next, after the crisis ends. What will our life after lockdown look like? What will happen to our personal dynamics after social distancing? And what about our spiritual life after not going to Church for what feels like an eternity? All these questions, and many more, are legitimate. Every crisis gives rise to a judgment. In a way, that is the role that crises play in history, sorting out the chaff from the wheat as we start to make sense of a tragedy and discern the opportunity to live up to the radicality of the Gospel.
Nicolas Kazarian, Ph.D. 