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Miami Herald
8 hours ago
- Politics
- Miami Herald
Leaders of historic Miami Orthodox church must hand keys to Texas diocese, judge rules
After a lengthy and tangled dispute over ownership of one of South Florida's oldest Christian Orthodox churches, its long-time leadership has lost a pivotal legal battle — and the keys to the sanctuary, at least for now. Former leaders of the Saints Peter & Paul Russian Orthodox Greek Catholic Church, a 70-year-old congregation that was once a mansion belonging to Miami's first mayor, have been ordered by a judge to vacate the property by Friday and open the doors to the Orthodox Church in America. The ruling from Circuit Court Judge Lisa Walsh comes after a nearly three-year-long dispute that has led to dueling lawsuits, allegations of fraud and the excommunication of longtime parish leaders. In an initial ruling in March, Walsh sided with the OCA, the largest of three Russian Orthodox ecclesiastical bodies in the United States. An appellate court later denied a request to stay her order from parish members fighting to keep the church independent from the Texas-based diocese. Then, late last month, Walsh set a June 6 deadline for the former parish leaders to leave the property and turn over any records, funds or property belonging to the parish. Walsh's ruling, which largely adopted proposed orders written by the OCA's attorneys, found Florida law forbids civil courts from ruling in ecclesiastical decisions of an archbishop within a hierarchical church. The diocese praised the decision and has rejected allegations from congregation leaders of a 'takeover' that potentially could lead to the sale of a historic property in an area undergoing upscale redevelopment. 'It was heartening to learn that the Circuit Court agreed with and ruled in favor of the Diocese of the South, which was not working to 'take over' the community of Sts. Peter and Paul, as has been incorrectly suggested, but rather to restore proper governance and oversight as established in our statutory documents and by canon law,' said Peter Robichau, the secretary of the diocese, in a statement. But lawyers for Sts. Peter and Paul argued that the matter isn't a religious dispute but more a question of real estate law and property ownership and the judge 'improperly deferred to the Diocese's self-characterizations' about the relationship between the parish and the Diocese. 'We believe the Court should have focused upon the church's own internal documents, including those regarding the founding and historical practices of the church, when assessing what kind of relationship existed between the church and the Diocese,' said Marco Farah, the attorney representing Sts. Peter and Paul leaders, in an email to the Miami Herald. 'We believe the Court's ruling is incorrect.' There is an ongoing appeal but, barring a reversal, the OCA is in control of the church corporation and the property. The OCA argued, in the lawsuit, that its longstanding religious ties with Sts. Peter & Paul give its bishops broad authority to seize control of church property — even though public records show the parish nonprofit corporation has owned the building since the 1950s before the OCA existed. Parish leaders argued in the lawsuit that they have always managed the churches' finances independently and have no financial or legal ties to the OCA. 'We were set up before they existed. We never accepted their bylaws, so that's what we're fighting for because that's how we work,' said Susan Homyk, one of the parish members named in the lawsuit. Legal experts told the Herald that such battles between Orthodox denominations highlight a gray area in American law between the constitutional separation of church and state but judges tend to defer to church authorities in many disputes. For Homyk and her husband Randy, the loss is especially personal. Both have long been active members and served on the elected parish governing council, volunteered and donated many personal items to the church. They say they have contributed thousands of dollars from their own pockets to help sustain the small parish and recruit a new priest from Ukraine. That last effort appears to have sparked the conflict with the OCA after years of friendly if — according to the Homyks and Deacon Georgios Zervos at least — arm's-length relations with a diocese based 1,300 miles away in Dallas. Alleging disobedience, among other claimed doctrinal infractions, the OCA excommunicated the Homyks and longtime parish council leader Priscilla Rivera. Zervos, the trio's ally, was suspended as a Russian Orthodox deacon (he says he now has the blessing of the Greek Orthodox denomination). The dispute has divided the congregation, which has been left without a priest and lost much of its already small membership. Representatives for the Diocese of the South, a branch of the Orthodox Church in America, said that the former parish council leaders are no longer a part of the church — a fact that has now been recognized by the courts. 'The Homyks and Ms. Rivera are not Parish leaders, and as the Court recognized, they have not been part of the Parish for approximately two years,' representatives for the OCA wrote in an email to the Miami Herald. As for the future of the parish, the OCA said it hopes 'to make services available to all who wish to worship under the Parish's proper leadership in good faith ....' Former Sts. Peter and Paul leaders have said, publicly and privately, that they feared that the OCA might sell the property, which has significant historic value, citing potential financial hardships within the dioceses. But OCA leaders have also said repeatedly that they wish to restore the church as an active place of worship. 'It is also discouraging that those improperly claiming to be the leaders of Sts. Peter and Paul Orthodox Church have continued to wrongly assert that the events that have taken place happened because the Diocese of the South desired to sell and profit from the sale of the property in Little Havana. As noted before, both in the court record and to the Miami Herald, this is plainly untrue,' Robichau said in a statement. 'The Diocese of the South cannot and will not sell the property for its profit because it belongs to and exists for the faithful members of Sts. Peter and Paul Orthodox Church, a Parish of the OCA and Diocese,' he said. This story was produced with financial support from Trish and Dan Bell and from donors comprising the South Florida Jewish and Muslim Communities, including Khalid and Diana Mirza, in partnership with Journalism Funding Partners. The Miami Herald maintains full editorial control of this work.
Cision Canada
3 days ago
- Business
- Cision Canada
Chief Actuary of Canada launches the review process for 32nd Actuarial Report on the Canada Pension Plan Français
OTTAWA, ON, June 2, 2025 /CNW/ - Today, the Office of the Chief Actuary (OCA) is launching the peer review process for its next (32 nd) Actuarial Report on the Canada Penson Plan (CPP). This important report provides a better understanding of the financial state of the CPP for all Canadians and is expected to be released in December 2025. As part of this process, the OCA is seeking members for the external peer review panel. The external peer review ensures that the actuarial report meets high professional standards and are based on reasonable methods and assumptions. Actuarial reports on the CPP are done every three years and are used by the federal and provincial Ministers of Finance when reviewing and making recommendations on the CPP. The first phase in this process is to seek applicants to create an external peer review panel. The OCA is looking for individuals who are Fellows of the Canadian Institute of Actuaries (FCIAs), as well as possibly one other fully qualified actuary (equivalent to a Fellow of the CIA) who belongs to another actuarial association. To apply, an application form must be submitted by July 18, 2025, at 11:59 p.m. (ET). Additional information on the independent peer review process and the terms of reference is available on the OCA's website. Quote "Our triennial CPP Actuarial Report is foundational to our work and supports our mandate of preparing actuarial valuations of social security programs and Government of Canada pensions and insurance plans. External peer reviews of the CPP actuarial reports serve an important purpose, which is not only to improve the quality and credibility of our reports, but also to assure Canadians that we make all necessary efforts to address future uncertainties. We carefully consider all recommendations provided by such reviews, and we have implemented many of them over the years. We are confident that the upcoming independent review will bring new perspectives on ways to further improve the quality of our work and strengthen the independence of our office." Quick facts The previous report, the 31st Actuarial Report on the Canada Pension Plan, was tabled in the House of Commons on December 14, 2022. Related links Application form Terms of reference Independent peer reviews
Mint
29-05-2025
- Business
- Mint
Water and sewerage infra player EMS post ₹46.92 cr profit in Q4 FY25
PTI Updated 29 May 2025, 04:54 PM IST New Delhi, May 29 (PTI) Water and sewerage infra player EMS Ltd on Thursday reported a marginal dip in profit after tax at ₹ 46.92 crore in three months ended March 2025. The company had a profit after tax (PAT) of ₹ 47.38 crore in the year-ago period. Its total income increased to ₹ 272 crore in the January-March quarter of FY25 from ₹ 246 crore in the same quarter of preceding fiscal, the Ghaziabad-based firm said in a stock exchange filing. For the entire financial year 2024-25, EMS posted a 20.38 per cent increase in PAT to ₹ 184 crore from ₹ 152.66 crore in the preceding fiscal and revenue from operations grew 22 per cent to ₹ 965.83 crore in FY25 from ₹ 793.31 crore in the previous financial year. "We have witnessed growth in our revenues and profits during the quarter and year ended March,31st, 2025. Our growing orderbook size not only reflects our extensive expertise in sewerage solutions and water supply systems but is also a testament of growing faith in our capabilities as a turnkey EPC player. This positions us favourably for substantial growth in the coming quarters," Ramveer Singh, Chairman of EMS, said. Incorporated in 2010, EMS Ltd provides a range of services, including EPC and O&M in sewerage solutions, water supply systems, and wastewater schemes for government authorities and local municipal bodies. The company received a letter of award in February, 2025 for civil (structure and finishing) and MEP Works for multistoreyed group housing project, 'ORCHARDS', for Towers OCA 1 to 3 and OCB 1 to 5 (2B S P/UG 38) at Jaypee Wish Town, Noida, with an order value (excluding GST) of ₹ 273 crore.
Daily Tribune
15-05-2025
- Sport
- Daily Tribune
All Systems Go: Bahrain Confirms Full Readiness for Asian Youth Games 2025
The Countdown Is On At a press conference held yesterday afternoon at The Art Hotel & Resort, top officials from the Bahrain Asian Youth Games Organizing Committee (BAYGOC) and the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) reaffirmed the Kingdom's full readiness to host the 3rd Asian Youth Games (AYG), which will take place from October 22 to 31. The event followed a high-level Technical Delegates meeting on Wednesday, where logistical, technical, and operational plans were thoroughly reviewed and greenlit. 'This is a tournament that usually takes four to five years to prepare,' Faris Al Kooheji told TDT. 'But with the OCA's support and our team's dedication, we've managed to pull it together in record time. Not only are we hosting—we're competing to finish in the Top 5.' Forging Olympic Futures Vinod Tiwari, Deputy Director General of the OCA, emphasized the tournament's long-term significance, calling it 'sustainable games for the youth of Asia.' 'This event will give rise to the future champions of the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympics and Los Angeles 2028 Summer Games,' he said. 'It's a springboard for Asia's next generation.' Record Numbers, Global Reach The AYG will bring together over 2,000 athletes aged 14–17 from 45 countries, competing across 24 sports and 31 disciplines—from athletics and swimming to judo, boxing, and the debut of Esports, a reflection of the changing landscape of youth engagement. Yousif Duaij Muhroofi, Chairman of BAYGOC, praised the coordination between teams and readiness across all sectors. 'Preparations are progressing extremely well, and every department is functioning as one unit,' he said. A Platform That Goes Beyond Sport Ahmed AbdulGhaffar, Deputy Chair of BAYGOC, captured the spirit of the event: 'This competition is a celebration of potential. The youth of Asia deserve a world-class platform, and Bahrain is proud to be that stage.' The Bottom Line
Daily Tribune
14-05-2025
- Sport
- Daily Tribune
Bahrain Powers Ahead in Asian Youth Games 2025 Preparations
TDT | Manama With just five months to go until the curtain rises on the 3rd Asian Youth Games (AYG) 2025, Bahrain took another confident stride forward as a high-level Technical Delegation (TD) meeting was held yesterday to ensure all systems are ready to go. Led by Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) Deputy Director General Vinod Tiwari, the session brought together key stakeholders from the Bahrain Asian Youth Games Organizing Committee (BAYGOC) to fine-tune logistics for the October 22–31 spectacle. 'We're hoping to have a very successful Asian Youth Games in Bahrain,' said Tiwari. 'We hope to mainly educate the kids because there are minors with lots of potential.' A Turn of Destiny Originally awarded to Tashkent, Uzbekistan, the 3rd edition of the AYG found a new home in Bahrain following delays in infrastructure in the original host city. In December 2024, the OCA officially chose Bahrain as the new host, impressed by its successful 2024 ISF Gymnasiade and world class venues like Khalifa Sports City, Bahrain International Circuit, and the Royal Golf Club. Strategic Meeting Sets the Stage Yesterday's TD meeting brought together a powerhouse of officials, including BAYGOC Chairman Yousif Duaij Muhoorfi and Deputy Chair Ahmed Abdulghaffar. The agenda covered critical touchpoints: athlete accommodation, accreditation systems, transportation, and anti-doping measures. The Bahrain Olympic Committee later confirmed that every department is well on track to deliver a seamless event. Tiwari, a familiar figure in the Asian sports circuit, emphasized the importance of synchronization across departments, echoing his leadership during past events such as AIMAG 6 in Bangkok.
