Social scholars say the churches are growing in the United States through immigration and conversion. Next week, many of Detroit’s Orthodox leaders will host the first in a series of conferences planned nationwide for non-Orthodox clergy who want to explore conversion.

The Rev. John Fenton is betting his life on the growing popularity of Orthodox Christianity. He and his wife have packed up their six children from the rectory of a Detroit church where he was a Lutheran pastor until late October. They’ve moved into a small home in Allen Park, leaving behind Fenton’s clergy salary and, soon, his health insurance.

“My wife and I have spent a lot of time in prayer about this whole move, and it is difficult, but we do believe that God is leading us,” Fenton told the Detroit Free Press.

On Feb. 10 and Feb. 11 in Troy Fenton plans to join a small number of clergy nationwide choosing ordination as Orthodox priests. Fenton has lined up 16 former Lutherans as charter members of a new Orthodox parish he plans to open.

Why the fresh interest? Fenton said many Christians feel battered by theological controversies in their own churches. In contrast, he said, Orthodoxy represents an oasis of Christian tradition with its centuries-old style of worship and timeless celebration of the mysterious power of saints.

“So many people feel that the world is constantly changing all around them, and they want to find something that’s so deeply rooted that it won’t change on them,” Fenton said. “I think that’s the biggest thing that Orthodoxy brings to the American table.”

Since the mid-1990s, about 850,000 Americans have been drawn to more than a dozen different divisions of Orthodoxy that have congregations in the U.S.

Copyright 2007 Associated Press. All rights reserved.

VATICAN CITY, JAN. 29, 2008 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI is assuring the Greek Orthodox Church of his prayers after the death of Archbishop Christodoulos of Athens and All Greece.

The Orthodox archbishop died of cancer Monday at age 69.

The Holy Father sent a telegram to Metropolitan Seraphim of Karystia and Skyros.

He gave assurance of his spiritual closeness to those mourning the death “of this distinguished pastor of the Church of Greece.

“The telegram continued: “The fraternal welcome which His Beatitude gave my predecessor Pope John Paul II on the occasion of his visit to Athens in May 2001, and the return visit of Archbishop Christodoulos to Rome in December 2006, opened a new era of cordial cooperation between us, leading to increased contacts and improved friendship in the search for closer communion in the context of the growing unity of Europe.

“I and Catholics around the world pray that the Orthodox Church of Greece will be sustained by the grace of God in continuing to build on the pastoral achievements of the late archbishop, and that in commending the noble soul of His Beatitude to our heavenly Father’s loving mercy you will be comforted by the Lord’s promise to reward his faithful servants.

“The ecumenical patriarch of Constantinople, Bartholomew I, will preside at the funeral this Thursday at the Cathedral of Athens.

Cardinal Paul Poupard, retired president of the Pontifical Council of Culture, and Bishop Brian Farrell, secretary of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, will represent the Holy See at the funeral.

Rev. Daniel J. Kennedy, 34, of Needham and Winthrop, died of a heart attack Sunday, January 27, 2008 at Saint Francis Hospital in Hartford, Connecticut.

Father Kennedy was a graduate of Catholic Memorial School, Providence College and Saint John’s Seminary and a Lieutenant in the United States Navy Chaplin Corps. He was ordained a priest in the Archdiocese of Boston on May 26, 2007 and was the Parochial Vicar at Saint John the Evangelist Parish in Winthrop. Father Kennedy was an accomplished runner who completed nine marathons, including the Boston, Philadelphia and Marine Corps marathons, and was also an avid golfer. He shared a love for God, a love for his family and friends, and a passion for the Boston Red Sox and the Catholic Memorial Knights.

He was the beloved son of Daniel J. Kennedy and Alice M. (Haggerty) Kennedy of Needham; loving brother of Kathleen M. Kennedy, Patricia A. Kennedy, Anne Marie Kennedy all of Needham, and John F. Kennedy and his wife Elizabeth of Simsbury, Connecticut, loving uncle of Ashley T. Kennedy of Needham, and loving nephew of Judith E. Kennedy of Chicopee, Eleanor Masi and Elizabeth Harlow both of Maine; he is also survived by several cousins. He was the grandson of the late Patrick J. and Eileen M. Kennedy of Springfield and Charles J. and Alice H. Haggerty of West Springfield.

Funeral Information

A Funeral Mass will be celebrated by his Eminence, Sean Cardinal O’Malley, on Friday, February 1st in Saint Joseph Church, 1382 Highland Avenue, Needham at 11:00 am. Interment will take place on Saturday, February 2nd, in Saint Mary’s Cemetery in Westfield at 11:00 am.
Father Kennedy will lie in state in Saint Joseph Church, 1382 Highland Avenue, Needham on Thursday, January 31st from 3:00-8:00 pm.

Donations Information

In lieu of flowers, the Kennedy family requests that donations be made in memory of Father Daniel J. Kennedy to Catholic Memorial School, 235 Baker Street, West Roxbury, MA 02132 or to Saint Joseph School Endowment Fund, 90 Pickering Street, Needham, MA 02492.