News

It is with profound joy and great hope that I stand before you today to present a vision—one that transcends stone and mortar, reaching into the very soul of our Orthodox faith.

Yesterday, February 20, 2025, the 34th Annual Leadership 100 Conference continued in Orlando, Florida. At the day\'s opening breakfast, attendees were shown the Orthodox Observer\'s exclusive tour of Halki\'s Monastery of the Holy Trinity, produced thanks to the generous support of an L100 grant.

Yesterday, Wednesday, February 19, 2025, His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros of America attended the Executive and Board of Trustees meetings at the 34th Annual Leadership 100 Conference which is currently taking place in Orlando, Florida.

Holy Cross Orthodox Press and Holy Cross Bookstore are sponsoring a book launch for the six-volume English translation, Answers to Liturgical Questions by Iōannēs Phountoulēs, at the Maliotis Cultural Center on the campus of Hellenic College/Holy Cross on February 21 at 2:30 pm.

Hellenic College and Boston College’s Woods College of Advancing Studies announce a partnership that provides Hellenic College students with access to new academic opportunities while allowing them to remain rooted in the vibrant Orthodox Christian community on the Hellenic College campus.

This week, find insights about the upcoming Gospel reading, where we learn about the Second Coming of Christ. How is Christ going to judge us? What do we expect in the Last Judgment? How does Jesus identify with each of us?

Demetrios “Jim” Logothetis, Chairman of the Archbishop Iakovos Leadership 100 Fund, has had a notable career spanning four decades at Ernst & Young, with leadership roles in Chicago, New York, London, and Frankfurt. He spoke to the Orthodox Observer and Dr. Stratos Safioleas just before the 34th Annual Leadership 100 Conference in Orlando, Florida. 

During her coverage of FDF 2025, the Orthodox Observer\'s Corinna Robinson spoke with Danny Staveris - Oakland, California\'s longtime dancer and director referred to as a \"titan\" of FDF history. Danny shared about praising God with dance, the research and care needed to design each year\'s suite, and performing through grief.

Nikos Avgoustinakis, Dimitris Adam, and Nikos Doxastakis are three Greek musicians who perform together in Crete. With their bandmate Manos Lantzanakis, they traveled to the U.S. for the first time to play live music at FDF this weekend alongside dancers from San Francisco’s Annunciation Cathedral. During her coverage of FDF, the Orthodox Observer’s Corinna Robinson spoke to Nikos, Dimitris, and Nikos about their time at FDF and their impressions of Greek American culture. 

At the Metropolis of San Francisco’s Greek Orthodox Folk Dance and Choral Festival (FDF) each year, attendees participated in a Diakonia Project service activity jointly organized by FDF and the Metropolis’s Philoptochos. Ahead of the annual competition, dance groups are also encouraged to complete their own service project. Keep reading to find stories of how some of this year’s competitors gave back, originally shared in FDF’s 2025 Oli Mazi publication.