(AOB) - The Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of North and Central America, which is comprised of the 65 canonical Orthodox bishops in the United States, Canada and Mexico, join their voices with the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and all those who adamantly protest the recent decision by the United States Department of Health and Human Services (see here), and call upon all the Orthodox Christian faithful to contact their elected representatives today to voice their concern in the face of this threat to the sanctity of the Church’s conscience.
In this ruling by HHS, religious hospitals, educational institutions, and other organizations will be required to pay for the full cost of contraceptives (including some abortion-inducing drugs) and sterilizations for their employees, regardless of the religious convictions of the employers.
The First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution guarantees the free exercise of religion. This freedom is transgressed when a religious institution is required to pay for “contraceptive services” including abortion-inducing drugs and sterilization services that directly violate their religious convictions. Providing such services should not be regarded as mandated medical care. We, the Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops, call upon HHS Secretary Sebelius and the Obama Administration to rescind this unjust ruling and to respect the religious freedom guaranteed all Americans by the First Amendment.
Thursday, February 2, 2012
Assembly of Bishops issues short objection to HHS decision
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
The Assembly of Bishops - A dead body warmed over?
(AOI) - At an October 1970 meeting of the Standing Conference of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of the Americas (SCOBA), which was called to discuss the burning question of an independent American Church, the presiding conference chair Archbishop Iakovos got fed up and quit. Official letters raising the subject of independence had been sent to the “mother Churches” in Constantinople, Bucharest, Belgrade, Athens and other Orthodox “centers” pointing for the need to do something about the chaotic “situation of Orthodoxy in America.” Only three replies came back. To the Greek Orthodox Iakovos, this was proof that no one took SCOBA seriously and, for that matter, the American Orthodox.Complete article here.
The archbishop resigned from SCOBA in disgust, saying that he had no desire to be the head of a “dead body.” According to a contemporary account, the official minutes of the meeting were forged to cover up what would turn out to be a temporary resignation.
It would take another 40 years for SCOBA to be officially dismantled and replaced with the Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of North and Central America, also known as the Assembly of Bishops. Its founding articles constitute the body for “the promotion and accomplishment of Church unity in North and Central America.” It is also charged with providing a “common witness by the Church to all those outside her.” But given its sterling record of non-accomplishment on that “common witness” so far, is there good reason to expect that the Assembly won’t become the sort of “dead body” that Abp. Iakovos feared SCOBA had become?
Nothing could reveal this more clearly than the Assembly’s non-reaction to the Jan. 20 mandate by Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius that orders most employers and insurers to provide contraceptives, sterilization, and abortifacient drugs (the “morning after pill”) free of charge. In sharp contrast to the somnolent Assembly, the response from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) was swift and unequivocal...
Old Believers forum hosted in Rubtsovo, Russia
(ROCOR) - A round-table for Old-Rite parish rectors was hosted at Moscow’s 20th International Nativity Readings event, held at the Patriarchal Center for Old Russian Liturgical Tradition at Pokrov Church in Rubtsovo in January, 2012.
Fifteen clergymen participated in this forum. The Secretary of the Committee on Old Rite Parishes and Cooperation with the Old Rite, Fr Ioann Miroliubov, led the round-table. The focus of the group was the draft by-laws for Old-Rite parishes within the Moscow Patriarchate. This draft, however, was incomplete and was therefore was not adopted. The only point that may be included in this new draft relates to the right of Old-Rite communities to elect their own candidates for priesthood (in addition to matters pertaining to the use of old editions of service books used under the first five Patriarchs). The main achievement of this round-table was the decision to organize an Old-Rite conference on the 100th anniversary of the first such event.
Remaining unresolved was the question of establishing an episcopal cathedra responsible for ministering to the Old-Rite parishes within the Moscow Patriarchate.
"Benelux" Assembly meets
(ROCOR) - On January 28, 2012, the third meeting of the Orthodox Bishops’ Conference of Benelux (Belgium, Netherlands and Luxembourt) convened in Brussels.
Participating in the event were: His Eminence Metropolitan Panteleimon (Constantinople Patriarchate), Chairman; His Eminence Archbishop Simon of Brussels and Belgium (Moscow Patriarchate), Vice Chairman; His Eminence Archbishop Gabriel of Koman, Exarch of Russian Orthodox Churches of the Constantinople Patriarchate in Western Europe; His Grace Bishop Luka of France and Western Europe (Serbian Patriarchate); His Eminence Metropolitan Joseph of Western and Southern Europe (Romanian Patriarchate), Treasurer; His Eminence Archbishop Michael of Geneva and Western Europe (Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia); His Grace Bishop Maximos of Evmenia (Belgian Diocese of the Constantinople Patriarchate), and His Grace Bishop Athenagoras (Belgian Diocese of the Constantinople Patriarchate), Secretary.
Matters pertaining to the developing process of the official recognition of Orthodox Christianity in Netherlands were discussed at the meeting.
With the aim of uniting pastoral efforts of various jurisdictions and a more visible confession of the faith before the world, the participants of the forum decided to create several committees within the framework of the Bishops’ Conference. Each of these (Pastoral Stewardship, Youth, Liturgical Publishing, Informational, and Inter-Christian and Interfaith Dialog), will each be headed by a bishop with the participation of competent clergymen and laypersons.
The participants supported the proposal by Archbishop Simon to publish the lives of saints of the undivided Church who lived in the territory of what is now referred to as Benelux.
The fraternal and constructive meeting concluded with common prayer and dinner.
The Orthodox Bishops’ Conference of the countries of Benelux was created in accordance with a decision made at the IV All-Orthodox Pre-Council Conference in Chambesy, Switzerland, in June 2009. The first meeting of the conference was held in June 2010, and the second was held in April 2011. A total of twelve Orthodox bishops serve in Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg.
Catholic - Oriental Orthodox Joint Commission meets
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Addis Ababa, January 17 to 21, 2012 (British Orthodox) - The ninth meeting of the International Joint Commission for Theological Dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Oriental Orthodox Churches took place in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, from January 17 to 21, 2012. The meeting was hosted by His Holiness Abuna Paulos I, Patriarch of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church. It was chaired jointly by His Eminence Cardinal Kurt Koch, President of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, and by His Eminence Metropolitan Bishoy of Damiette, General Secretary of the Holy Synod of the Coptic Orthodox Church.
Joining delegates from the Catholic Church were representatives of the following Oriental Orthodox Churches: the Antiochian Syrian Orthodox Church, the Armenian Apostolic Church (Catholicosate of All Armenians), the Armenian Apostolic Church (Holy See of Cilicia), the Coptic Orthodox Church, the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, and the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church. No representative of the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahdo Church was able to attend. A horribly oppressed Church.
The two delegations met separately on the morning of January 17. In the afternoon, the Catholic members attended a prayer service with the local Catholic hierarchy, clergy, religious and faithful, at the Cathedral of the Nativity of Our Lady. They were greeted with an address by Abune Berhaneyesus D. Souraphiel, CM, Metropolitan Archbishop of Addis Ababa and President of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Ethiopia. Cardinal Koch was also invited to speak to the assembly. That same evening, all the members of the commission accepted a gracious invitation from His Excellency Archbishop George Panikulam, Apostolic Nuncio in Ethiopia, to attend a friendship dinner at the Apostolic Nunciature in honor of His Holiness Patriarch Paulos, who also attended the meal.
The Joint Commission held plenary sessions on January 18, 19, and 21. Each day began with Morning Prayer. At the beginning of the meeting Metropolitan Bishoy congratulated one of the Catholic members, Rev. Fr. Paul Rouhana, on his recent election as General Secretary of the Middle East Council of Churches.
The meeting was formally opened on the morning of January 18 by His Holiness Patriarch Paulos. In his address to the members, the Patriarch said, “It is with great pleasure and gratitude we welcome you, the Co-chairs, co-secretaries and members of the Joint International Commission for Theological Dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Oriental Orthodox Churches. And let our spiritual greetings reach to our most venerable brothers, the Heads of our churches, through you.
The history of the church tells us that division between the ancient Oriental Orthodox Churches and the Catholic Church can be traced back to the years after the Council of Chalcedon in 451 AD, whose Christological teaching was not accepted by the Oriental Orthodox Churches. Henceforth, no dialogue or even trial was made to bring these churches into their original unified status before 451 AD and no attempt and activity resulted in settling an irreversible solution to the division. Obviously the 20th century has brought about new horizons in which relations began to be developed through the Pro Oriente Foundation in Vienna. This process of relations led to the establishment of an official dialogue between the Catholic and Oriental Orthodox Churches in 2003, under the title “International Joint Commission for Theological Dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Oriental Orthodox Churches.”
None of us is beyond God's love
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... The tax collector Zacchaeus was not a great man. He was short and his profession was disdained. However, when the Lord saw his faith and that he was not shy to climb a tree, though those around him laughed at him because they were taller and could see the passing-by prophet, the Lord did not shun him and addressed to him His saving word and came to his house. This is how the Lord visits people who, with pure and open heart, come to meet Him. For the Lord, there are no rich or poor, short or tall, well-off or unsuccessful people. For Him all are equal. And even when in our country there were estates, nobility and base estate, both worshipped together in church because for the Church and God all are equal.Complete article here.
God sometimes opens His grace in a special way to those who, by earthly measures, are so despicable that people do not even notice them and pass them by. But the Lord never passes by a person. He always looks at his heart because for the Savior each human being is precious.
Let us think today about bringing God’s presence we feel in church to our home, to our working place, to our family and our colleagues. Let us think of making our life a continuation of the Liturgy and our home a continuation of church. And then the Lord will always and everywhere be with us and will help us in our family and professional life, in our relations with our superiors and subordinates and with our relatives with whom it is so difficult to find a common language.
The Lord will come Himself and put everything in its place if only our heart is open to Him. Let us ask the Lord to give us the open heart, to be always with us and help us wherever we are, in our homeland or in a journey, in church or at home, in office or at rest. Amen.
Antiochian Village hosts Assembly Youth committee
I can attest to the woeful lack of coordination between jurisdictions on youth activities. Parish events, SOYO/GOYA/ACRY/etc. activities, summer camps, winter retreats, can occur just miles away from your parish under the aegis of a different jurisdiction and you will have no idea it is going on. It's a waste of resources; needless repetition, missed opportunities for getting the saving message of Christ to often poorly catechized children, overlapping summer camp dates. A strong central resource that informs priests, parents, and youth is essential.
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(Antiochian.org) - The Committee for Youth of the Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of North and Central America held its semi-annual meeting on January 24th and 25th, 2012. The meeting convened at the Antiochian Village Heritage and Learning Center, Bolivar, PA, in conjunction with the Committee for Youth’s Consultants Meeting and was followed by the annual Camp and Youth Worker Conference (January 25-28, 2012).
The Committee for Youth consists of Bishop Thomas (Chairman of the Committee for Youth), Metropolitan Alexios, Bishop Irineu, Father Joseph Purpura (facilitator), Deacon Mark O’Dell, (secretary), and Constantin Ursache (liaison to the secretariat). Twenty-two other diocesan and national youth leaders work as consultants to the Committee for Youth. The Consultants to the Committee for Youth built upon their work started at the Antiochian Village in the Spring of 2011 and expanded on at the Diakonia Center in Salem, South Carolina October 19-24, 2011. The Consultants, along with numerous youth workers from across North America, made a number of recommendations to the Bishops of the Committee and the Committee acted upon those recommendations during their Committee Meeting.
The Committee is charged with the formidable task of identifying and cataloguing all national and diocesan youth programs and services to better meet the needs of our youth. By developing models for cooperative youth activities and programs, the Committee hopes to maximize participation by our youth in the full life of the Church. One of the primary goals is to establish a comparative matrix so our youth workers can better facilitate cooperative efforts and better reach out to all the youth in our Orthodox Christian communities.
The Committee sees these efforts of creating one Orthodox Christian presence in the lives of our youth as a pathway to transforming our youth to lead their lives in service and witness to Christ. An overview of the work accomplished at the Antiochian Village meeting will be included in a soon-to-be-issued media release which will report to the Church-at-large on the work of the Assembly during the past year.
Assembly of Bishops Regional Planning group meets
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(AOB) - The Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops' Committee on Canonical Regional Planning met in-person on Friday, January 27, 2012, at the headquarters of the Romanian Orthodox Archdiocese in Chicago, Illinois, hosted by Archbishop Nicolae, Chairman of the Committee. Committee members present in addition to His Eminence were Archbishop Justinian, Russian Orthodox Church in the USA; Metropolitan Jonah, Orthodox Church in America; and Bishop Demetrios representing Metropolitan Iakovos, Greek Orthodox Archdiocese. Consultants to the Committee who participated in the all-day meeting were: Fr Nicholas Apostola, Fr Joseph Abud, Jerry Dimitriou, Demetrios Moschos, Steve Radokovich, Alexei Krindatch, and Protodeacon Peter Danilchick. Also present by invitation were Fr Mark Arey and Hieromonk Savvaty, interpreter to Archbishop Justinian.
The Committee reviewed and recommended changes to the existing Terms of Reference for Canonical Regional Planning, reviewed the extensive statistical and demographic work performed by Alexei Krindatch, and discussed other ecclesiastical and planning issues. Three separate subcommittees were established, each headed by a hierarch and containing two or three consultants, respectively, to: (1) develop a draft global vision and principles for a united church administration, (2) list the present canonical and liturgical issues impacting the common life of the church, and (3) document the various ecclesiastical and governance structures of the member churches in the USA. These efforts will be undertaken in cooperation with other Assembly Committees, such as Canonical Affairs, Clergy Affairs, Liturgy, etc., with initial results to be reviewed by the entire Committee for Canonical Regional Planning in early April.
Monday, January 30, 2012
Notes from the Alaskan OCMC mission trip
Complete article here.(OCN - The Sounding) - Breaking through the clouds to see the snow-capped mountains of Juneau, Alaska started this Orthodox Christian Mission Center (OCMC) mission trip. There was a team of 9 Orthodox Christian volunteers to help the communities of Juneau and Hoonah, Alaska (both churches are St. Nicholas), along with repairing the Hoonah church building. We ranged in age from 19 to 84, and traveled from Florida, Alabama, Indiana and Illinois.
One team member was on her 11th OCMC mission trip in 12 years. Another member was on her third OCMC trip in three years. For the rest of us, it was our first OCMC trip.
We began our four-day orientation at St. Nicholas in Juneau and then would travel to Hoonah. The orientation was for individual and team preparation, along with culture training about Orthodoxy in Alaska and the indigenous people. The parish priest for both St. Nicholas churches is Fr. Simeon.
As part of the orientation and the team building, we had to prepare a three-minute presentation about ourselves and our orthodoxy. I was unexpectedly nervous and emotional thinking about what I would say. The other team members expressed similar concerns. The Holy Spirit was moving us all to continue to inwardly evaluate ourselves and our mission.
As we presented our stories, there were tears and laughs. Despite the common thread of Orthodoxy, the lifetime of patterns weaved by each of us look so different. Some were filled with straight lines, others in circles and others were zig zags. Nevertheless, here we all sat together with one common goal.
We were blessed to meet Richard and Nora Dauenhauer. They have jointly written eight books, four of which are about the Tlinget, one of the five major groupings of Alaska’s indigenous people, also called Alaska Natives...
Diocese of the Midwest opening first maternity center
CHICAGO, IL (OCA-DMW) - Plans are moving forward toward the establishment of an Orthodox-sponsored maternity home -- the first in the Midwest -- in the Chicago area.
"Orthodox Christians for Life-Chicago, a pan-Orthodox organization established in 2001, has long dreamed of putting its faith into action by establishing an Orthodox-sponsored outreach to women in crisis pregnancies in the Midwest," according to Helen O'Sullivan, an OCLife-Chicago spokesperson. "Establishing this outreach has increasingly become the focus of the organization and, as a result, a committee was formed to explore the possibilities and to see this project come to life.
"At present, there are only a handful of such homes across the country, and while in the Chicago metropolitan area there are a variety of crisis pregnancy centers, there is only one maternity home, under the auspices of an order of Roman Catholic nuns," Helen said. "Members of Chicago's pro-life community have indicated that there is a dire need for a second maternity home -- one where a cross-section of women would be comfortable to seek support. OCLife-Chicago’s goal is to establish that second maternity home to provide women in crisis pregnancies with housing and other practical, emotional, and spiritual support, with a focus on Christ-centered healing."
OCLife-Chicago has been "doing its homework" in researching their efforts.
"One of our members visited Chicago's only maternity home, as well as the only Orthodox Christian maternity home in the US -- California's Martha and Mary House," Helen added. "The latter will serve as a model for our efforts." [Visit the Martha and Mary House web site at www.marthaandmaryhouse.org for additional information.]
His Grace, Bishop Matthias of Chicago and the Midwest, has offered his enthusiastic support for the effort, while OCLife-Chicago has been working closely with His Grace, Bishop Demetrios of the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Chicago.
"OCLIfe-Chicago will undertake the process of establishing the home, writing its bylaws and regulations, acquiring 501c3 non-profit status, and overseeing day-to-day operations and ongoing fundraising," Helen concluded. "We anticipate a positive response from parishes across the Chicagoland area -- and beyond -- to our initial fundraising effort, which will begin on March 11, 2012."
For additional information and ongoing updates, visit OCLife-Chicago's web site at www.oclife-chicago.org.
Sunday, January 29, 2012
Saturday, January 28, 2012
Kazakh official painted in cathedral fresco
H/T: A Reader's Guide
Moscow, January 27 (Interfax) - An Orthodox bishop has argued that no Church laws were broken by depicting a Kazakhstan senator in one of the frescoes in a new cathedral, while the lawmaker himself has described the painting as a "sacrilege" and has said he asked for it to be erased.
Sergey Kulagin, a former governor of Kazakhstan's Kustanay Region who was recently appointed senator, has his face painted in a fresco showing a crowd welcoming Jesus Christ into Jerusalem in the new cathedral of Rudny, a city in the Kustanay Region, as a commission from two companies whose business underlies the city's economy.
He is shown as one of the people in the crowd.
"The fresco involves no departure from canon law. Furthermore, a painter paints an icon with Episcopal blessing and making use of his skills, experience and surrounding examples," Anatoly, bishop of Kustanay and Rudny, said in a statement sent to Interfax-Religion.
There have been depictions of Jesus and apostles as "Chinese, Japanese, Russians and others, but the compliance of such an icon with canon law has never been questioned," he said.
"The Savior lived among the righteous and sinful, the healthy and sick, the rich and poor, the possessed and wise, and all that has been reflected in frescoes - an icon of Christ the Savior then becomes part of a fresco. Today we can see icons showing Red Army soldiers shooting innocent people, and even demons trying to tempt the Savior, but it is martyrs and not torturers whom we venerate," the bishop said.
Moreover, "any depiction in light and color, in space and time, in a simple or complicated composition needs the consecration and blessing of a bishop," he said.
Kulagin himself claimed that he had not been consulted about the painting.
Friday, January 27, 2012
Assembly of Bishops Secretariat meets
(AOB) - The Secretariat of the Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of North and Central America held its annual "face-to-face" meeting, January 24th and 25th, 2012. The hosts for this year's "face-to-face" meeting were Father Josiah Trenham and the congregation of St Andrew Church in Riverside, CA. An overview of the work accomplished at the Riverside meeting will be included in a soon-to-be issued media release which will report to the Church-at-large on the work of the Assembly during the past year.
The Secretariat, which also meets monthly via teleconference, consists of Bishop Basil (Secretary of the Assembly of Bishops), Archbishop Antony, Bishop Andonios, Bishop Maxim, Father Mark Arey, Father Nicholas Ceko, Father Josiah Trenham, Hierodeacon Benedict (Armitage), Protodeacon Peter Danilchick, and Messrs. Alexei Krindatch, Alex Machaskee, Eric Namee and Constantin Ursache.
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