North American Episcopal Assembly to Meet in Chicago

The Episcopal Assembly of North America has announced that it will hold its third annual meeting this coming September in Chicago, Illinois. In addition to discussing the state of Orthodoxy in North America the assembled hierarchs will also commemorate the victims of the 9/11 attacks in New York City following the festal Divine Liturgy commemorating the Beheading of St. John the Baptist. More here.

OCA Prepares for 17th All-American Council

Preparations are fully underway for the seventeenth All-American Council of the American Orthodox Church (OCA), which will be convened to nominate a candidate for election as first hierarch of the OCA. A special session of the Holy Synod of the OCA will be held later this month in metro Detroit to set the location and dates of the upcoming council. More here.

SCOOCH Concelebration Scheduled for November

The Standing Conference of Oriental Orthodox Churches (SCOOCH) in the United States has scheduled a concelebration of the Divine Liturgy by SCOOCH member hierarchs for 19 November at the Coptic Orthodox Church of Sts. Michael and Menas on Staten Island. More here.

New Antiochian Orthodox Auxiliaries for North America to be Consecrated at Balamand

It has been decided with the blessing of Patriarch Ignatios IV (Hazim) of Antioch that the consecrations of Bishops-elect John (Abdalah) of Worcester, Anthony (Michaels) of Toledo, and Nicholas (Ozone) of Brooklyn will take place in early December at Lebanon's Monastery of the Dormition in Balamand. More details on the upcoming consecrations can be found here.

Ann Arbor Area Church to Build New Temple

Pictures of plans for the construction of a magnificent new temple for the only Russian Orthodox parish in Michigan's Ann Arbor area, St. Vladimir's Church in Dexter, have been publicly posted here.

North American Bishops-Elect to be Consecrated in Middle East

The Antiochian Orthodox Archdiocese of North America has announced that its Bishops-elect John, Anthony, and Nicholas will be consecrated by Patriarch Ignatios IV (Hazim) of Antioch this coming December in either Syria or Lebanon. (The exact time and place has yet to be determined.) More here.

All-Ukrainian Council Preparations Continue

The autonomous Ukrainian Orthodox Church is preparing for its first All-Ukrainian Council since the 1992 council that saw the election of Metropolitan Volodymyr (Sabodan) as Metropolitan of Kiev and the confirmation of the Church of Ukraine's union with the Moscow Patriarchate.

The upcoming council, to be held this July, will be comprised of all the ruling and auxiliary hierarchs of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, diocesan delegates (representing each eparchy's clergy, laity, and monastics), the rectors of Ukraine's theological academies and seminaries, and the chairmen of the various synodal institutions. The Council is expected to review the development of church life in Ukraine over the past 19 years. More (in Ukrainian) here.

Alaskan Diocesan Assembly in August to Nominate Episcopal Candidate

It has been announced that this August a special diocesan assembly will meet in Anchorage, Alaska, to nominate a candidate for election by the Holy Synod of the American Orthodox Church as Bishop of Sitka and Alaska. More here.

2011 Western Orthodox Conference Announced

It has been announced that the Western Rites conference being sponsored by the Fraternity of St. Gregory the Great for the Western Orthodox clergy and faithful of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia will be held this October at a retreat center in upstate New York. The conference will also be open to the Western Orthodox clergy and faithful of the Antiochian Orthodox Archdiocese of North America. More here.

Assyrian Patriarch to Visit Australia

Catholicos-Patriarch Mar Dinkha IV (Khananya) of Seleucia-Ctesiphon will be visiting the Church of the East's Archdiocese of Sydney and Australia this coming September. More on his upcoming visit can be found here.

Plans Released for Monastery at Antiochian Village

Plans for the construction of a permanent complex for St. Thekla's Convent at the Antiochian Village in Bolivar, Pennsylvania, have been posted here. Hat tip to Byzantine Texas for posting this first!

Sitka Icon to be Present at All-American Council

The plans for the upcoming All-American Council have been finalized and it has been announced that the wonderworking Sitka Icon of the Mother of God will be present in Bellevue throughout the Council. More here.

Belgrade Cathedral to Celebrate Patronal Feast

Belgrade's Cathedral of St. Sava is preparing to celebrate its patronal feast, the commemoration of the burning of the relics of St. Sava by the Ottoman Turks. Tomorrow's festal services will be led by Patriarch Irinej (Gavrilovich) of Pech. More (in Serbian) here.

Sunday Liturgy Canceled in Kharkiv, Ukraine

This weekend's Sunday Liturgy has been canceled in the Orthodox churches in Kharkiv, Ukraine, so that the city's clergy and faithful can gather in the city's central plaza, Freedom Square, for the Sunday Liturgy to be concelebrated by Patriarch Kirill (Gundyayev) of Moscow and Metropolitan Volodymyr (Sabodan) of Kiev. More here.

Malankara Orthodox Metropolitans to Consecrate New York Church

Metropolitan Zachariah Mar Nicholovos of New York and retired Metropolitan Mathews Mar Barnabas of New York will together consecrate St. Gregorios of Parumala's Church in Fishkill, New York, this coming weekend prior to Metropolitan Mar Barnabas' return to Kerala at the end of this month.

Anniversary of Founding of Romanian Orthodox Episcopate of Italy

The Romanian Orthodox Episcopate of Italy is preparing to celebrate the 3rd anniversary of its founding on the upcoming new style commemoration of St. John the Theologian. More (in Romanian) here.

"Urban Parish Summit" in Columbus, OH

The Midwestern American Diocese of the American Orthodox Church is sponsoring a conference this July in Columbus, Ohio, on the needs and challenges facing parishes in an urban setting. More here.

Copts Announce March to Protect Abbasiya Cathedral

Several Coptic Orthodox movements announced earlier today that they will be organizing a million-man march at Cairo's Cathedral of St. Mark in Abbasiya this coming Friday in response to this past Friday's sit-in at the papal cathedral by Muslim fundamentalists. The march is intended to protect the cathedral from possible attack by Muslim fundamentalists leaving Friday prayers. More here.

Church to be Consecrated in Northern Idaho

This coming Sunday of the Holy Myrrhbearers Bishop Joseph (al-Zehlaoui) of Los Angeles of the Antiochian Orthodox Church will consecrate the newly completed Church of the Holy Myrrhbearers in Bonners Ferry, Idaho. More on the upcoming consecration and the parish's history can be found here.

Malankara Orthodox Metropolitan to Consecrate Seattle Area Church in May

Metropolitan Alexios Mar Eusebius of Stafford and the Southwest American Diocese of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church will be celebrating the consecration of the newly completed temple of St. Thomas the Apostle's Church in Renton (metro Seattle), Washington, this coming 6/7 May. More here.