Politics insertion

I will rarely mention politics (I believe this will be the second time in hundreds of posts), but I am making quick mention of Governor Sarah Palin being picked as Senator John McCain's running mate. My prayers were for either her or Bobby Jindal with a slight lead for Mrs. Palin as there is a lot of unfinished business in Louisiana. This blogger is happy.

Orthodox Church defends Greek constitution

(Directions to Orthodoxy) - The Holy Synod of the Church of Greece yesterday condemned a government initiative that gives schoolchildren the right not to attend religious education classes without their parents having to provide a reason, saying that it is a violation of the Constitution.

Meanwhile, a new circular distributed by the Education and Religion Ministry notes that schoolchildren who choose to skip RE lessons will be obliged to attend Greek language lessons or another class on a subject in which they are slacking.

But the Holy Synod called for the enforcement of a circular issued by the ministry in 2006, which allows schoolchildren to skip RE classes only if their parents provide the school with a written explanation. "Religious education classes are compulsory for Greek Orthodox pupils, in accordance with Article 16 of the Constitution," the Holy Synod said in a statement.

The ministry's initiative also provoked the ire of the dean of the Theology School of Thessaloniki's Aristotle University, Ioannis Kogoulis. In a letter to Minister Evripidis Stylianidis, Kogoulis said the initiative "boosts the efforts of all those who seek to ignore, conceal or distort the sacrifices and contribution of the Orthodox Church to the nation."

Saint Moses the Black

St. Moses the Ethiopian (also commonly called "the Black") is a favorite saint of our family. His life's story is easily understandable to our children and explains the importance of contrition, right action, and forgiveness. I post his Kontakion and Troparion below. Some people consider this just fluff, but the liturgy is the wellspring of learning. You learn quite a lot about the life of the saint and about what the Church finds important.

Troparion of Moses the Ethiopian - Tone 1

You made the wilderness your dwelling, O father Moses, the bearer of God.
You became an angel in the flesh and wonderworker.
Through fasts, vigils and pray'rs you obtained from God special graces to heal the sick and to sanctify the souls of those who come to you with trust.
Glory to the One who gave you strength!
Glory to the One who crowned you!
Glory to the One who through your intercession grants healing to all!

Kontakion of Moses - Tone 4

You upbraided your people and spat on the devil and brought them light brighter than the sun.
You guide our souls by the light of your life and thought.

On Theodore Abū Qurrah

A worthy read from Thicket & Thorp on Theodore Abū Qurrah - a defender of the faith who used the lexicon of the Muslims to articulate Christian truth (his book is available here). The full blog post is here.

Theodore Abū Qurrah was the first Christian writer whose name has come down to us to write in Arabic. As such, he is particularly interesting for his early approach to presenting Christian theology and praxis in an environment that had already become heavily Islamicized by his lifetime (755-830 AD) a hundred years after the Arab conquest and the establishment of the Umayyid state in Syria. One of the changes Abū Qurrah dealt with in his writings was the change in Christian attitude towards icons, or, more specifically, the public veneration of icons in church. In early Islam particularly, depictions of humans was, if not completely proscribed, considered with extreme suspicion if not outright declaration of being forbidden. While this attitude has hardly ever really been universal, and is by no means universal now (while in Fes I purchased a wonderful poster of scenes from the Qu’ran and Islamic legend, plus a local saint, which I will eventually get around to scanning onto my computer and posting one of these days, ان شاء الله), the iconoclastic current of Islam has always been strong, and was particularly hostile to Christian iconography in Abū Qurrah’s day.

More specifically, Christians were being mocked by their Muslim neighbors, and accused of being idolatrous, because of their veneration of icons. Now, granted, being mocked and insulted is a hardly out and out persecution, but in a miliue that had become heavily Islamicized, and with Muslims occupying the highest positions, this sort of mockery had a deep impact. Plus, Christianity had already undergone the massive shock of Islamic conquest, which by itself tended to weaken the hold of Christian dogma on the masses. Mocking icons and calling them idols was only one more element in the weakening and dissolution of Christianity as a popular religion (something Abū Qurrah states in his defense of icons in fact). Not only were icons themselves mocked, but the depiction of Christ crucified was a particular object of scorn, as the Qur’an states very explicitly that Christ was not crucified, and for Sunni Islam the crucifixion is very incongruous with the way God is expected to act (Shia Islam, on the other hand, very much embraces the idea of redemptive suffering and shame, but that is another story).

...

Complete article here.

Serbian Orthodox work on internal disputes

Belgrade (Focus) - The Serbian Orthodox Church met Tuesday in an extraordinary session to heal a rift over a leadership dispute among its bishops in the breakaway province of Kosovo.

The synod, the Church's government, unanimously decided to freeze all disputes among bishops in the southern territory until a meeting of its assembly, it said in a statement carried by Beta news agency.

Tuesday's gathering was called after clashes between hardline Kosovo Bishop Artemije and his moderate deputy, Teodosije, over leadership and other scandals reportedly including corruption and links to political parties.

If the conflict continued, it "might jeopardise the mission of the Serbian Orthodox Church as a whole and in particular in Kosovo," Beta quoted the statement as saying.
"The key decision on this and other issues will be made in the foreseeable future" at a meeting of all bishops, added the statement, issued after a four-hour session of the Church's top body.

Bishops are reported to have split into factions fighting for the most senior role in the Serbian Orthodox Church since Patriarch Pavle, 93, was hospitalised last year. Artemije wants the Church to cut ties with the international presence in Kosovo in response to Western backing for the ethnic Albanian-dominated government's independence declaration on February 17.

Serbia considers Kosovo the cradle of its history, culture and religion. Kosovo is dotted with dozens of Serbian Orthodox monasteries and churches, many of them dating back to medieval times.

Ecumenical Patriarch at Mount Athos today

Charles Wesley's code broken

(Christian Today) - An Anglican priest has finally cracked the code Methodist co-founder Charles Wesley used when writing about sensitive matters in his diary some 250 years ago.

Over 1,000 handwritten pages dating from 1736 to 1756 have been deciphered by the Rev Professor Kenneth Newport, pro vice-chancellor for research and academic development at Liverpool Hope University.

The transcribed pages reveal the extent of Charles’ anger with his brother, fellow Methodist founder John Wesley, over the latter’s plans to marry and disagreements over a split from the Church of England.

"He was very much opposed to separation, he saw the Methodist Societies as within the established church and anything that smacked of separation was something he took a very strong view of," Rev Prof Newport was quoted by The Telegraph as saying.

"At one point in the journal he is talking to the society at Grimsby and goes into block capitals and says 'I told them I would remain with them as long as they remained with the Church of England but should they ever turn their back on the Church they turn their back on me'."

In one section, Charles expressed his disapproval of John’s plans to secretly marry Grace Murray because of her previous engagement to another man.

He wrote: “He (John) is insensible of both his own folly and danger, and of the divine goodness in so miraculously saving him.”

Rev Newport has worked on the diary pages for nine years, studying photocopies of the originals which are stored at the John Rylands Library in Manchester.

His breakthrough in unlocking Wesley’s code of shorthand and abbreviations came when he used the King James Bible to transcribe excerpts from the Gospels.

The transcribed diary pages will be published together with 9,000 never-before-seen poems and hymns.

Milan Cardinal to visit Patriarch Alexy II

(Pontifical Oriental Institute) - The archbishop and auxiliary bishops of Milan, as well as 80 of their priests, have set off for Russia to visit Orthodox Patriarch Alexy II.

Cardinal Dionigi Tettamanzi and Auxiliary Bishops Carlo Redaelli and Giulio Brambilla left for Russia today for a pilgrimage that will last through Saturday.

They will visit cathedrals and monasteries, and participate in both Catholic and Orthodox liturgies. In addition to Alexy II, they will also be received by Archbishop Paolo Pezzi of the Mother of God Archdiocese in Moscow. The Milan priests will participate in the Divine Liturgy of the Dormition of the Virgin Mary, over which the patriarch will preside in the Kremlin's Cathedral of the Dormition.

In a letter to all his diocesan priests, Cardinal Tettamanzi explained that the idea of this pilgrimage was conceived after his 2006 visit to Moscow and the invitation of the patriarch.

Reflecting on the Orthodox liturgy of that occasion, the cardinal said he remembered especially "the spiritual emotions experienced."

"It is almost an experience of ecstasy that arises, for example, with the prolonged listening to Russian liturgical singing," he said. "These moments were like a foretaste of the beatific vision and the communion of saints."

Unity

Cardinal Tettamanzi said he hopes the pilgrimage experience "might contribute to enhance mutual knowledge and the desire for unity."

He also explained to his diocesan priests that "to be pilgrims, means to try to enter into the spirit of the Christian East and to begin to breathe, as John Paul II so dreamed, also with that lung of Christianity."

"With emotion I say that I hope the day will soon come when the patriarch of Moscow will be able to embrace the Successor of Peter," he added.

Cardinal Tettamanzi also expressed his hope that the patriarch will be able to visit Italy to venerate the relics of St. Nicholas, a saint who enjoys a traditional devotion in Russia, and also to attend celebrations for the 1,700th anniversary of the promulgation of the Edict of Milan, approved by Constantine in 313.

"During the visit in 2006 and in a subsequent letter," the cardinal explained, "Patriarch Alexy II expressed his interest and support in promoting a meeting in Milan in the year 2013 between Christian leaders," which would aim to jointly emphasize the importance of religious liberty.

UAOC send aid to Greek Catholic flood victims in Western Ukraine

(RISU) - Zarvanytsia-Kharkiv—On 20-22 August 2008, clergy and laity of the Kharkiv and Poltava Eparchy of the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church (UAOC) organized the third pilgrimage to the indulgenced pilgrimage center of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (UGCC) in western Ukrainian Zarvanytsia, Ternopil Region. On 21 August, according to a previous agreement with the Ivano-Frankivsk Eparchy of the UGCC, the pilgrims passed to the dean of the Rohatyn Deanery of the UGCC, Fr. Dmytro Bihun, aid gathered for victims of the flood in western Ukraine. The gathered aid will be distributed to residents of the Rohatyn district who suffered the greatest damage.

The pilgrims visited the cathedral of the Ternopil Eparchy of the UGCC, where a UGCC priest told the guests about the ecclesiastical and spiritual life of the Greek Catholics of Ternopil. After Zarvanytsia, the pilgrims visited Buchach, where they became acquainted with the history of the ancient Basilian Monastery of the Holy Cross.

The pilgrimage ended with a requiem at the monument to the leader of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists, Stepan Bandera.

Source: press service of the Kharkiv and Poltava Eparchy of the UAOC

Romanian Orthodox Metropolitanate in North America discussed

(ROAA) The Joint Dialogue Commission of the Romanian Orthodox Episcopate of America and the Romanian Orthodox Archdiocese in the Americas met at St. George Cathedral in Southfield, Michigan on Tuesday, August 12, 2008. With the blessing of the Hierarchs, and as directed by their respective Congresses, the Commission met to continue its work on the proposal to establish a Romanian Orthodox Metropolitanate in North America. Three major topics were discussed: (1) the deliberation and decisions of the respective Congresses; (2) reactions to certain public statements made following the Congresses; and (3) the refinement of the Proposal text.

Following the direction of the Congresses, the Commission made further refinements to the text of the Proposal. This, along with the findings of various working committees appointed by our Hierarchs, will form the basis for expanding discussion on the practical aspects of unity.

The Commission members noted that both Congresses took an historic step by approving the proposal as a basis for continued dialogue. The Commission regrets the hasty pronouncements of various officials and the media immediately after our Congresses. These misrepresented our Congresses’ decisions as being final decisions on unity. Indeed, many news sources reported this as such and many either filed retractions or simply deleted the articles. Both sides recognize that a difficult road remains ahead in addressing the concerns, past and present, regarding such a unity. The Commission members insist that the process of discussion and possible union is in the competence of our two eparchies alone. Recent speculation and public commentary by individuals outside of our eparchies have only complicated the delicate nature of this process and threatened its ultimate success. The Commission members urge that patience and discretion be exercised as this process takes its course.

Lastly, the Commission members would like to emphasize that the healing of the decades-long division within the Romanian Orthodox community in North America should be seen as part of the greater task of Orthodox unity. In our first meeting in 1993 the Commission said: “We are cognizant of the fact that the reconciliation and normalization of relations between our respective dioceses is part of the larger process of bringing the various Orthodox jurisdictions together in the great work of an administratively united Orthodox Church on the American continent.” The Commission would ask that our continuing efforts be understood within this larger context.

The Commission will meet again after discussing its work with the respective Hierarchs.

Legislation introduced urging Turkey to respect the Ecumenical Patriarch

(Hellenic News) - U.S. Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ), a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, has introduced legislation to urge the Government of Turkey to respect the rights and freedoms of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of the Orthodox Christian Church, in accordance with criteria necessary to join the European Union. The Ecumenical Patriarch is the leading figure in the Orthodox Church and has suffered from discriminatory treatment from the Turkish government.

"For a government to treat a revered religious institution and leader in such a discriminatory manner is an affront to human and religious rights and shows disrespect to the hundreds of millions of Orthodox Christians," said Senator Menendez. "There must be fairness and freedom when it comes to the Turkish government's treatment of the Ecumenical Patriarchate. As Turkey appeals to the European Union for membership, I would expect its treatment of the Ecumenical Patriarchate to be a prime topic that must be addressed."

Senator Menendez's resolution, which is co-sponsored by Sens. Olympia Snowe (R-ME), Joseph Biden (D-DE) and Benjamin Cardin (D-MA), urges the Government of Turkey to respect the rights and religious freedoms of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of the Orthodox Christian Church. It calls on the Turkish government to immediately:

• recognize the right to the title of Ecumenical Patriarch;
• grant the Ecumenical Patriarch appropriate international recognition and ecclesiastic succession;
• grant the Ecumenical Patriarch the right to train clergy of all nationalities, not just Turkish nationals; and
• respect property rights and human rights of the Ecumenical Patriarchate.
  

The Government of Turkey has sought membership in the European Union and maintains strong bilateral relations with the United States Government. The accession of Turkey to the European Union will depend on its adherence to the Copenhagen criteria that require candidate countries to have stable governmental institutions that guarantee human rights and that respect and protect minorities, including religious minorities such as Orthodox Christians.

Difficulties in Serbian Orthodox Church

H/T: A..sinner

(B92) - Raško-Prizrenski Bishop Artemije told B92 that he recently dismissed Lipljanski Bishop Teodosije due to a lack of discipline, accusing him of creating a dual authority in his eparchy.

"There are many examples of this behavior, especially when it comes to our lawsuit at Strasbourg, against the four European states that I have sued over the destruction of our holy places [in Kosovo], then the issue of a memorandum, which he [Teodosije] supported."

"Dual authority in the Raško-Prizrenska Eparchy had to end. Therefore our deeply thought-through decisions came, and then ensued open mutiny in Dečani," Artemije said.

The bishop explained that he and members of his delegation who came to the Dečani monastery to deliver the dismissal notice were physically assaulted, while the monastery's leadership told him they would not obey his decision. Yesterday, the Holy Synod of the SPC said that Bishop Artemije's decision was "sudden and unexpected", and scheduled a regular meeting for Tuesday to discuss this.

The two bishops clashed over the process of reconstruction of the Serb monasteries and churches destroyed in Kosovo and over the cooperation with international representatives in the province.

Artemije previously criticized Teodosije for allowing Kosovo President Fatmir Sejdiu to visit the High Dečani monastery, and state authorities for not using force to defend the province.

Religion sociologist Mirko Đorđević reminds that while Bishop Artemije last year slammed President Boris Tadić and other Democratic Party state officials, including Dragan Šutanovac and Vuk Jeremić as traitors, Bishop Teodosije said that the Church in Kosovo is not strong enough to determine the status of the province, and that it should remain there and cooperate with authorities without necessarily recognizing them, "whether Kosovo is inside Serbia, an autonomy, or an independent state".

Anglican-Orthodox dialogue imperiled

(Directions to Orthodoxy) - Gays and women bishops could wreck relations between the Church of England and the Moscow Patriarchate, the Russian Orthodox Church reports.

On July 28 Bishop Hilarion of Vienna and Austria, the Russian Orthodox Church’s representative to European institutions met with the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams and his secretary Canon Jonathan Goodall during the Lambeth Conference to discuss the state of Russian Orthodox–Anglican relations.

In a report printed last week, Moscow said that its representative told Dr Williams of its distress over the July decision by General Synod not to provide legal safeguards for traditionalists opposed to the consecration of women bishops. The consecration of women bishops would be an “additional obstacle” to Orthodox-Anglican dialogue, Bishop Hilarion told Dr Williams, adding that such a move would exclude “even the theoretical possibility of the Orthodox churches acknowledging the apostolic succession” of Anglican bishops.

Moscow reported that Bishop Hilarion also shared his Church’s disquiet over the consecration of Gene Robinson as Bishop of New Hampshire. The 2003 consecration of Bishop Robinson had led the “total curtailment” of relations between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Episcopal Church after 150 years of dialogue.

“The representative of the Moscow Patriarchate expressed the hope that a similar event would not be repeated in the Church of England and that the Anglican Communion as a whole would continue to support traditional standards of Christian morality, as expressed in the Gospels and the writings of the Church Fathers,” the Moscow statement noted.

A third area of concern, Bishop Hilarion said, was the participation of the Estonian Apostolic Orthodox Church in Anglican-Orthodox talks. Moscow has objected to the inclusion of the Estonian Church --- which broke away from Moscow with the blessing of the Ecumenical Patriarch following the collapse of the Soviet Union --- in ecumenical dialogues with the Anglican Communion and Roman Catholic Church.

Moscow “would be forced to leave” any meeting where the Estonians were present, Bishop Hilarion said. No surprise there.

While couched in stronger, more direct language, Moscow’s concerns over the future of inter-church relations mirror those of the Vatican. In addresses to the bishops at Lambeth, three Catholic cardinals urged the Anglican Communion to set its house in order and warned that gays and women bishops could wreck ecumenical relations with Rome.

Dr Williams assured the Russians of the Church of England’s desire for continued fraternal relations with Moscow and welcomed its participation in future Orthodox-Anglican talks. Said another way: "Watch idly as we boil our own frogs. Please don't mention turning down the burner or jumping out to kinder waters."

Koinonia covers Sen. Pelosi comments on abortion

Here is the head snippet from Koinonia's post covering Senator Pelosi's ridiculous comments on abortion. Here is the page. My better half, on hearing about this story, made quick mention of the Didache, which says, "... you shall not murder a child by abortion nor kill that which is begotten." Rather explicit and almost two thousand years old.

As I've mentioned here, the number of Orthodox Christians who favor few or no restrictions on abortion is terribly high (just over 60%). Given that number, I found the following from Denver's Roman Catholic Archbishop Charles J Chaput, O.F.M. Cap on abortion worthy repeating here.

You can download the rest of Archbishop Chaput's statement as a PDF, "ON THE SEPARATION OF SENSE AND STATE: A CLARIFICATION FOR THE PEOPLE OF THE CHURCH IN NORTHERN COLORADO" by clicking on the title.

In Christ,

+Fr Gregory

Pelosi: "I would say that as an ardent, practicing Catholic, this is an issue that I have studied for a long time. And what I know is over the centuries, the doctors of the church have not been able to make that def-inition . . . St. Augustine said at three months. We don't know. The point is, is that it shouldn't have an impact on the woman's right to choose."

Chaput's response:

"Since Speaker Pelosi has, in her words, studied the issue "for a long time," she must know very well one of the premier works on the subject, Jesuit John Connery's Abortion: The Development of the Roman Catholic Perspective (Loyola, 1977). Here's how Connery concludes his study:

"The Christian tradition from the earliest days reveals a firm antiabortion attitude . . . The condemnation of abortion did not depend on and was not limited in any way by theories regarding the time of fetal animation. Even during the many centuries when Church penal and penitential practice was based on the theory of delayed animation, the condemnation of abortion was never affected by it. Whatever one would want to hold about the time of animation, or when the fetus became a human being in the strict sense of the term, abortion from the time of conception was considered wrong, and the time of animation was never looked on as a moral dividing line between permissible and impermissible abortion."
...

Complete post here.

Bishop Wolodymyr Walter Paska (UGCC), Memory Eternal!

(UGCC) - With deep sadness we report that on August 16, 2008, after five months of illness, Bishop-emeritus of the Ukrainian Catholic Archeparchy of Philadelphia Most Rev. Walter (Paska) passed away to His Lord. Pictured at right with Patriarch Lubomyr.

Bishop Walter was born on November 29, 1923, in Elizabeth (New Jersey). In 1936 he entered the preparatory seminary of Saint Basil the Great in Stamford (Connecticut), from which he graduated in 1940. Consequently he studied at Saint Charles Seminary (1940-1941) and St. Basil College in Stamford (1941-1944), where he received a bachelor’s degree in philosophy. From 1944 to 1947 he studied theology at the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C.

On May 2, 1947, in the Cathedral Church of the Immaculate Conception in Philadelphia he was ordained to the priesthood. (The ordaining bishop was Costantine (Bohacevskyj), Metropolitan of Philadelphia).

From 1947 to 1951 he taught English language and literature at Saint Basil Seminary in Stamford. At the same time he studied in arts and sciences at Fordham University (New York), where he received a master\'s degree in medieval literature.

In 1948 he was appointed co-pastor of Holy Spirit Parish in Brooklyn (New York); in 1951-1952 he was the pastor of Holy Ghost Parish in Chester (Pennsylvania); in 1952-1955 he was pastor of the Church of Saint Volodymyr in Elizabeth (New Jersey). At the same time (1953-1955) he was a member of the Archeparchial Council of Philadelphia.

From 1955 to 1958 he fulfilled parish obligations and taught English language and literature at Saint Basil Seminary. From 1958 to 1961 he fulfilled the obligations of steward in the newly created eparchy of Stamford and at the same time was the pastor of the Church of Saint Volodymyr in Hempstead (New York). From 1961 to 1971 he was chancellor and general vicar of the newly created eparchy of Saint Nicholas in Chicago.

From 1971 to 1975 he studied canon law at the Catholic University of America in Washington and received a doctorate. At that time he also fulfilled the obligations of vocations director of the metropolitanate.

From 1975 to 1984 he taught canon law at the Catholic University of America. In 1979 he was appointed rector of the Ukrainian Catholic Seminary of Saint Josaphat in Washington. He stayed in this position until 1984. In 1980 he was appointed judicial vicar of the Archeparchial Tribunal. From 1975 to 1977 he fulfilled the obligations of consulter of the Commission of Revision of the Code of Eastern Canon Law.

From 1984 to 1992 he was pastor of the Church of Saint Michael in Cherry Hill (New Jersey).

On March 19, 1992, he was ordained a bishop. He was appointed auxiliary bishop for the Archeparchy of Philadelphia. From that same year he executed the obligations of the general and judicial vicar.

According to the Code of Canon Law for the Eastern Churches, in his 75th year of life Bishop Walter retired from his position.

A viewing will be held at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Philadelphia (address: 830 N. Franklin St., Philadelphia., PA) beginning at 1:30 p.m., followed by a Parastas (requiem service) beginning at 7 p.m.

The funeral of the deceased will take place on Thursday, August 21, at 10.30. Hierarchs and clergy of the Eastern and Latin Catholic Churches will concelebrate together. After the completion of the prayer service, a funeral lunch will be held. After the lunch, burial is set for Our Lady of Sorrows Cemetery in Langhorne.

"At this time of sadness I ask the priests of the Archeparchy as soon as possible, at a time convenient for them, to celebrate a commemorative Divine Liturgy for the repose of the soul of Bishop Walter (Paska)." So His Excellency Archbishop Stefan (Soroka), Metropolitan of Philadelphia, requested his priests.

We Magnify Thee

H/T: The Crescat

I liked this quite a lot. The most noticeable aspect to many of Byzantine chant is the ison." Here is a summary from the Divine Music Project:

The qualitative differences between Western and Byzantine music are many. The primary difference is that Western music is for the most part polyphonic (i.e., harmonized), whereas Byzantine music is monophonic, constructed of melody alone. This melody is accompanied only by a bass drone, or "ison," which enriches the chant by adding solemnity and power to it. Thus, even when many people chant together, the resulting sound seems to be coming "from one mouth," as St. John Chrysostom described the music of the fourth century. This simple combination of melody and ison is a practice that has been in use for centuries. Adding harmony to monophonic melodies is foreign to traditional liturgical music, even if in recent centuries some Orthodox churches have chosen to adopt elements either of Western-style polyphony or of indigenous folk music.

While the ison is considered rather ubiquitous in Eastern Churches today some do not make use of this feature at all - namely prostopinije. I should note that since the 1970s some groups that sing Carpathian Plainchant have inserted this feature either for performance reasons or out of ignorance. Here is a description from the Metropolitan Cantor Institute:

Prostopinije (Slav. prostopinije, "simple chant") is the traditional liturgical chant of the Rusyn peoples of the Carpathian Mountains, and of their descendants who immigrated to other parts of the world. This chant is sung in the monasteries and parishes of the Byzantine (Ruthenian) Catholic Church and the Carpatho-Russian Orthodox Church in the United States, and in the Ruthenian Catholic dioceses of Mukačevo (Ukraine), Prešov and Kosice (Slovakia), Hajdudorog (Hungary), Krisevtsi (Croatia), and Ruski Kerestur (Serbia) in Europe.

New Patriarchal Vicar for Melkites

(HLCCC) Most Reverend Archbishop Joseph Zrei'i took his new post as the Patriarchal Vicar for the Greek Catholic Melkites of the Diocese of Jerusalem during a holy significant divine liturgy that was held on Saturday, August 9th 2008 in the Greek Catholic Cathedral in the Old City of Jerusalem, after he came from Egypt Thursday August 7th, 2008. Fr. Jacob Abu Sa'da, parish priest of Bethlehem was there to welcome his Excellency, along with Fr. Mamdouh Abu Sa'da, parish priest of Ramallah, as well as Fr. Boulos Aramly, parish priest of Beit-Sahour, with Fr. Josef Sa'adeh, parish priest of Rafidia and Archimandrite Fr. Joseph Sughbeini. The procession was led by a group of Syriac Orthodox scouts.

Attendance

Rev. Elias Shakkour, Greek Melkite Catholic Archbishop of Akko, concelebrated the mass along with Rev. Yasser Ayyash, Archbishop of Melkite Catholic Church in Jordan, and Bishop Giacinto Boulos Marcuzzo, Patriarch Vicar of Israel, as well as Archbishop Anba Abarahm, the Patriarch Vicar of Coptic Orthodox, with Rev Mar Sewerios, Archbishop of Syrian Orthodox, and His Excellency Nuncio, as well as a number of parish priests and a group of faithful.Then, a welcoming speech followed, where his Excellency thanked God for his presence in Jerusalem. He also mentioned the former Patriarch Vicar, Bishop George Baker, who was appointed as the New General Patriarch Vicar in Egypt and Sudan. After the final blessing, the group of faithful paid homage to the new Patriarch Vicar of Jerusalem.

Biography of Josef Zrei'i

He was born in Alexandria on June 9th 1941. He studied in Frère's school in Alexandria, and in Greek Melkite Catholic Patriarchate School in Cairo.He studied philosophy and theology in Jerusalem. He was ordained as a priest on May 5th 1967. He speaks English, French, Italian, and Latin fluently. He served in many dioceses, such as the diocese of Our Lady of Peace, and then he worked in several Greek Catholic schools till the year 2001.He also worked as a supervisor to the Nile Catholic Scout group since 1968 and as a preacher in Al-Kanater prison until 1985.In 1997, he became the head of the ecclesiastical tribunal for the Greek Catholic Melkite Church in Egypt. He was elected as a Patriarchal Vicar in Egypt, and was ordained on November 19th 2001.In June 2008, he was appointed from the Holy Synod of the Greek Melkite Catholic Church as the Patriarchal Vicar of Jerusalem.

OCA to meet on financial scandal

SYOSSET, NY [OCA Communications] – The Holy Synod of Bishops and Metropolitan Council of the Orthodox Church in America will gather at the East Norwich Inn, near the OCA Chancery, for meetings September 3 to 5, 2008.

On September 3, the Holy Synod and Metropolitan Council will meet in a joint session. The main agenda item for the day will be the report of the Special Investigating Committee charged with examining past financial mismanagement at the OCA Chancery.

On September 4 both bodies will meet in separate sessions, and on September 5, they will again meet in a joint session to discuss the upcoming 15th All-American Council in November.

The Holy Synod will meet for a second fall session October 14 to 16.

Moscow Patriarchate speaks against anti-Georgian sentiment

Moscow, August 20, (Interfax) - The Russian Orthodox Church urges peoples of Russia and Georgia to remain friends and warns against kindling hatred to each other.

"Russian and Georgian people have always been together. We know that Russians have saved Georgians from enslavement and extermination more than once. We know, how we helped each other in our shared trials whether it was the Great Patriotic War or hardships of the Soviet period when faith and Church were persecuted," deputy chair of the Moscow Patriarchate Department for External Church Relations Archpriest Vsevolod Chaplin said on air of the Soyuz Orthodox TV channel.

"We know how rich are our Orthodox Christian cultures, how many Russian-Georgian families live in Russia and Georgia, how many Georgians live in our country and make their worthy contribution in its economics, culture, science, and other spheres of life. Today it's very important not to waste the potential of our friendship and our mutual help," the priest stressed.

According to him, "only a madman can declare all Georgians are enemies and kindle anti-Georgian moods in the country."

"Politicians come and go, conflicts are always crowned with peace, but nations keep on living and we have to show wisdom, good will, patience and love so that our Orthodox peoples could always feel their connection to one God's affair, to one Church of Christ and always prefer peace to hostility and love to hatred," Fr. Vsevolod believes.

Ecumenical Patriarch traveling to Mount Athos

Two stories on His All Holiness as he travels to Thessaloniki and Mount Athos

(Directions to Orthodoxy) - Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew was warmly welcomed Wednesday noon in Thessaloniki, northern Greece. He is due to visit Mt Athos to attend the festive events commemorating 500 years since the death of Saint Nifon, second founder of Dionisios Monastery.

Upon his arrival at the Macedonia Airport, Bartholomew said he was happy to be in Greece and in the land of Macedonia.

"On behalf of the Mother Church, I am here to convey feelings of affection, love and blessing to the pious people of Greece. I am praying these days for the victims of the Caucasus war and I am praying for peace in our region and in the world," said the Ecumenical Patriarch.

Here is another take on his visit.

(Friends of Esphigmenou Monasstery) August 19th, 2008 - This week, Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople will travel to Mt. Athos, Greece from his native Turkey in his latest attempt to expel the monks of the Holy and Sacred Monastery of Esphigmenou on Mt Athos from their monastery home of 1500 years.

The monks of Esphigmenou have had a long running religious dispute with Patriarch Bartholomew over his departure from the teachings of the Orthodox Church and have respectfully and humbly requested a peaceful dialog with him in an attempt to resolve their differences. Patriarch Bartholomew has refused dialogue and has resorted to ever more harsher, unorthodox tactics in his crusade to evict the monks from their monastery.

The Holy Community of Mont Athos recently voted 13-6 (Esphigmenou was not allowed to attend), not to use force to remove the monks. The Patriarch plans to meet with the abbots of the monasteries of Xeropotamou, Dionysiou, Saint Paul, Simonos Petra, and Pantoktatoros. Angered by their decision not to use force, he personally intends to apply pressure to those monasteries because they did not vote to his liking. His intentions are to demand they change their vote to evict the monks of Esphigmenou. The Patriarch is allegedly threatening the abbots with defrockment if they do not obey his edict to use force.

Patriarch Bartholomew's approach is a blatant violation of canon law and a wholesale abuse of Episcopal authority which only reserves defrockment for grievous violations of canon law, and is not for advancing a personal political agenda. Like other teachings of the Orthodox Church, Patriarch Bartholomew is disregarding this central tenet of church law.

Mt Athos is a semi-autonomous monastic of community in Greece and in comprised of 20 independent monasteries. It is governed by the Holy Community, which is a body made up of one representative from each monastery. Under the Greek constitution, the findings of the Holy Community have the force of civil law on this monastic peninsula of Greece. Patriarch Bartholomew, who is a Turkish citizen, is attempting to interfere in this legitimate and independent lawmaking body in Greece, by bending them to his personal will. He seeks to influence their decision, not on a matter of canon law but to advance his personal political agenda.

The monks of Esphigmenou, who seek only a life of peace and prayer in their monastery, have been subject to a non-stop campaign of official harassment and intimidation by Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople and his accomplices in the Greek Government, because of a religious disagreement they have with him. In this holy war against the monastery, we see the same types of state-sponsored tactics Turkey has used against Orthodox Christians in Turkey, brought to bear on the Greek Orthodox citizens of Esphigmenou monastery. This is one Turkish import Greece can do without.

Dinner to honor Iraqi martyrs planned

I am glad to see this being done; please keep our persecuted brothers in Christ in your prayers. I also make passing mention of my annoyance that a patriarch is being called a cardinal. I understand his elevation as a means of giving greater visibility to the Chaldean Church and to show the Holy See's solidarity with its people, but his position as patriarch (to my mind) should have the greater prominence.

Washington DC, Aug 19, 2008 / 05:00 am (CNA).- Next month, InsideCatholic.com will honor Cardinal Mar Emmanuel III Delly, Archbishop of Baghdad and recognize the struggle of Iraqi Christians at its 13th Annual Partnership Dinner.

According to InsideCatholic.com, each year, “the Partnership Award is presented to a distinguished Catholic leader who has shown courage and dedication to his or her life and work.” Past recipients have included: Archbishop Charles Chaput, Fr. Benedict Groeschel, Admiral Jeremiah Denton, Tom Monaghan, Dr. Robby George, Henry Hyde, Fr. Thomas Williams, LC, and Eduardo Verastegui.

This year’s ceremony, which will take place on September 19 at the Willard InterContinental hotel in Washington, D.C., will honor the memories of Archbishop Paulos Faraj Rahho and Fr. Ragheed Ganni.

Father Ragheed Ganni and his companions were killed on June 3, 2007, after celebrating Mass. Archbishop Paulos Faraj Rahho was kidnapped on February 29 of this year and found dead near Mosul on March 13, 2008.

Annually, the dinner brings together 300 friends and colleagues of InsideCatholic.com (formerly Crisis Magazine), from the fields of politics, the Church, journalism and the arts.

Battle of Borodino

H/T: Art and Faith

Pondering the value of posting images I find attractive to put in breaks between lengthy posts or to fill in on slow news days. Thoughts?

Schismatics attempt to take eparchial building over

For those of you not familiar with these people. They are very Latinized (part of a group that does not like the return to orthopraxis) group that claims episcopal enthronement though those details are murky and widely considered unsubstantiated.

Stryi (RISU) — Four former priest-monks of the Basilian order who have declared themselves bishops, called the “Pidhirtsi fathers,” tried to take the Eparchial Administration of the Stryi Eparchy of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (UGCC) and a UGCC church building in Stryi, in western Ukraine’s Lviv Region, on 15 August 2008. According to the Press Service of the Stryi Eparchy of the UGCC, they were unsuccessful.

According to the Press Service of the Stryi Eparchy of the UGCC, the “Pidhirtsi fathers” are trying to carry out their disruptive plans through local provocateurs. According to the press service, laypeople and civic organizations of the city of Stryi have expressed their preparedness “to counter the provocative intentions of the monks/self-proclaimed [bishops] from Pidhirtsi.”

Fr. Taras Poshyvak, chancellor of the Stryi Eparchy, said that “Sunday 17 August was a day of spiritual mobilization for the faithful of the Stryi area… The community is ready directly to defend the premises of the Stryi Eparchy of the UGCC which the Pidhirtsi rebels want.” The press service noted that youth organizations of the Stryi Eparchy have started patrolling church territories.

At the same time, the “Pidhirtsi fathers” on 19 August plan to start a nine-day prayer vigil from 20:00 to 21:00 every day so that Bishop Taras Senkiv leave the city of Stryi and that one of the “Pidhirtsi fathers” be named in his place.

The press service interprets this vigil in the following way: “it is necessary to understand another attempt to take the premises of the Stryi Eparchy and interfere in the religious life of the city” and claims “physical punishment for Bishop Taras (Senkiv), auxiliary bishop of the Stryi Eparchy of the UGCC, is planned.”

According to Fr. Poshyvak, “the police are helpless, and they confirmed this on 15 August… There is psychological pressure on the workers of the structures of protection from the regional leadership of the police. The Pidhirtsi attackers themselves confirmed this in one of their letters of 16 August.” In the letter in question, it reads: “His Grace Metodii [Methodius] was able to call our acquaintances with his mobile phone, and right after this the head of the police from Lviv ordered that we be released immediately.” “Now we know for whom these monks are working,” said Fr. Poshyvak.

RISU note: Patriarch Lubomyr (Husar), head of the UGCC, on 23 March released an address stating that
“hieromonks of the Order of Saint Basil the Great, Elijah A. Dohnal, Methodius R. Shpirzhyk, Markian V. Hitiuk and the priest Robert Oberhauser have declared that they have been consecrated bishops of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church. As the Major Archbishop of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, I wish to make known the following:

1. The Synod of Bishops of the UGCC never proposed the above-mentioned persons as candidates for the Episcopal office,

2. They have never received the blessing of the Roman Pontiff, as is required by ecclesial law,

3. thus, regardless of their announcement, they can not be regarded as bishops of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church.

“…The clergy and religious are forbidden to welcome or to invite the above mentioned persons to perform any priestly function whatsoever,” wrote Patriarch Lubomyr.

This eventually escalated into assault of the local bishop.

Lviv (RISU) — A criminal case has been opened against the so-called “Pidhirtsi fathers,” former priest-monks of the Basilian order of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (UGCC). They are accused of assaulting a bishop and priest of the UGCC in western Ukrainian Stryi, Lviv Region. galinfo.com.ua posted the news on 18 August 2008.

Denys Kharchuk of the Ministry of Internal Affairs in the Lviv Region reported that, according to previous information, three monks have been released. At the same time, Kharchuk said more detailed information will become available only after an investigation has been completed, for in this case law officers also were assaulted.

According to galinfo.com.ua, during the investigation they will present all the details and also consider the deportation of the monks, two of whom are citizens of the Czech Republic.

RISU note:

RISU previously reported about attempts of the “Pidhirtsi fathers” to enter the premises of the Eparchial Administration of the Stryi Eparchy of the UGCC. During the attempt, UGCC Bishop Taras Senkiv and Fr. Taras Poshyvak were assaulted. The Stryi Eparchy asked the local police to investigate the fact of an attack done by three men.

Three former monks of the Basilian order and one priest declared themselves bishops. Patriarch Lubomyr (Husar), head of the UGCC, in March 2008 declared that the UGCC does not recognize their ordination and forbids clergy and religious “to welcome or to invite the [four] to perform any priestly function whatsoever.

Divine Liturgy in Beijing

(Orthodoxy in China) The Liturgy according to the Orthodox rite was served today with the permission of city authorities in Beijing's [Roman] Catholic church of the Archangel Michael. It was attended by Russian athletes, athletes of Orthodox confession from other countries, representatives of Russia's Olympic team leadership, and Chinese Orthodox residing in Beijing.

The Liturgy was served by Archpriest Nikolai Sokolov and Archpriest Dionisy Pozdnyaev who were sent by the Moscow Patriarchate to Olympiad-2008 to spiritually nurture Orthodox athletes.

At one time the Russian Orthodox Spiritual Mission was located in Beijing and several Orthodox churches operated, but they were dismantled during the construction of the USSR Embassy in the 1950s.

The current Orthodox community unites descendants of the Albazinians, Russian cossacks who were in the Chinese capital in 1685 and who served in the Eighth Banner of the Qing imperial house.

Per Christum on the Creeds

This post from Per Christum is worth a read.

The ancient creeds are defective? Apparently the Rev. John Beverly Butcher thinks so. He writes in Episcopal Life:

Perhaps you have noticed that the creeds speak of the birth of Jesus and then of his death. There is no mention of the life of Jesus, no mention of the teachings of Jesus, no mention of the healing power of Jesus.
The heart of the gospel is missing. The creeds are defective and need to be taken out of service. Instead, let us proclaim clearly the gospel of the Resurrected Jesus, “The seed of true humanity is within you. Follow it!” Gospel of Mary (Magdalene) 4:5

Butcher also omits the Nicene Creed from the worship services he conducts, saying that his congregation doesn’t even miss it. He even admonishes other clergy, saying, “I would encourage others to let go and feel the freedom.”

...

Complete article here.

Patriarch of Alexandria visits Patriarchate of Georgia

12 August 2008 - Tbilisi, Georgia (Serbian Orthodox Church News) - On 1st August 2008, His Beatitude Theodoros II, Pope and Patriarch of Alexandria and All Africa officiated at the Divine Liturgy which was conducted by the Great Ecclesiarch of the Throne, Archim. Isidore Salakos.

Accompanied by His Beatitude Ilia II, Patriarch of the Georgia Church, His Beatitude then visited His Excellency Prime Minister Vladimir Goyrgnidze at the Prime Ministerial Mansion in Tbilisi .

His Excellency welcomed the two Patriarchs with respect and emotion and led them into the Meeting Hall of the Prime Ministerial Council, where he addressed the Alexandrian Primate, saying: “Your Beatitude, we joyfully welcome you to Georgia . I wish to emphasize that your visit is very significant for us, as we are going through difficult times. I know that you visited Georgia 22 years ago. You will have noted the different Georgia from that time.

He country has progressed, it is constantly developing, and is making efforts to take its place in the European Community, as a country of great history which is trying to stand with dignity against its history. We are trying to make use of all the possibilities our country has to offer and we understand the responsibility which we have as leader, because we are in a strategic geopolitical position and there are many problems. We believe that with the assistance of the European nations, we will be able to solve them. We are optimistic. As you will note, an enormous programme is developing around the restoration of our cultural heritage and the Church is our greatest collaborator and we always respect this. We ask for your blessing on all that is being undertaken in Georgia today”.

...

Read complete article here.

The High Cost of War

H/T: Standing Athwart History

Prayers to my Christian brothers in Georgia.

A voice is heard in Ramah,
weeping and great mourning,
Rachel weeping for her children
and refusing to be comforted,
because they are no more.
- Matthew 2:18 -

On Orthodoxy in Southeast Asia

In April the Church of Russia declared their unhappiness with Constantinople expanding their metropolia to include mainland China and all of Southeast Asia (see here). The metropolitanate has responded here. This is the principal section:

It is clear that, on 9th January the Ecumenical Patriarchate proceeded to founding a new Orthodox Metropolitanate, and not to the expansion of the jurisdiction of the Orthodox Metropolitanate of Hong Kong.

The actions and decisions of the Holy Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate are carried out within the framework of universal mission and service to the nations of the First Throne Great Church of Christ, as defined by the 2nd and 4th Ecumenical Councils with their respective wise and unambiguous decisions, which are binding for all Orthodox.

The accusations launched by the Church of Russia against the Ecumenical Patriarchate, that supposedly it is impinging on the rights of the so-called "Autonomous Church of China" and that allegedly it is breaking the unity of the Orthodox Churches, concern us, for sadly we see that in this connection it is the Church of Russia that is overlooking in an inept manner what the Church in its entirety has decided, and is proceeding to unilateral proclamations of "Autonomous Churches" and speaks of "rights over countries", reminding us of secular states of an old feudalistic kind.

I want my... I want my... I want my MTV!

Moscow TV that is.

Moscow, August 11, Interfax - About 25 operators of cable television in Kiev, Sevastopol and Odessa terminated their cooperation with Soyuz.

"Broadcasting of the Soyuz Orthodox TV channel is stopped in Ukraine," press-service of the Ukrainian Union of Orthodox Citizens told Interfax-Religion.

The interviewee of the agency said it became a compulsory measure taken by operators "to execute decisions of the Ukrainian National Security Council on "cleanup" of informational space in the country."

"These repressions will have the converse effect - people will strive to get Soyuz back, to pick up Orthodox broadcast through satellites and Soyuz will have more actual analytical programs especially on situation in Ukraine," the Union of Orthodox Citizens said.

They reminded it was "not the first "Orange" act against Orthodox television: Orthodox channel Kievskaya Rus was barred from broadcasting after "the Orange Revolution."

"Information is the most important factor of our life, thus the attempts to deprive millions of Orthodox Ukrainian citizens of their right on information are the direct persecutions of Orthodoxy," the press service stressed.

"It's clear Orthodox majority in Ukraine doesn't want to listen to anti-canonical anti-church absurd about "local Ukrainian Church" and "Orthodox Pope" in the person of the Constantinople Patriarch, but those who seek separation of the Ukrainian Church from the Russian spare no effort to impose this absurd on Ukraine," representatives of Orthodox community stated.

They believe, "human rights organizations and Russian Foreign Ministry should focus on" the situation with rights of Orthodox citizens in Ukraine and "ban on broadcasting of Orthodox channel Soyuz."

A sad picture

Down with real (a virus of some kind) and Olympics fever. There are quite a few embarrassing Olympics pictures swirling around the Net at the moment. This one was truly saddening. Having been to China there is this jarring juxtaposition of poverty and the newfangled that you get used to seeing rather quickly. Over the weekend, I was also lucky enough to see my sister-in-law and her husband in the stands while I watched a volleyball match - even stopped the screen for a second to take a picture of them and send it to their cellphone while the game went on.

A prayer for Georgia

Russian forces are moving into South Ossetia in what they are calling a reinforcement action with confused stories of civilian-targeted bombings and ethnic cleansing. May this not end up proving true.

"Lord Jesus Christ, Who didst command us to love our enemies, and those who defame and injure us, and to pray for them and forgive them; Who Thyself didst pray for Thine enemies, who crucified thee: grant us, we pray, the spirit of Christian reconciliation and meekness, that we may heartily forgive every injury and be reconciled with our enemies. Grant us to overcome the malevolence and offenses of people with Christian meekness and true love of our neighbor. We further beseech Thee, O Lord, to grant to our enemies true peace and forgiveness of sins; and do not allow them to leave this life without true faith and sincere conversion. And help us repay evil with goodness, and to remain safe from the temptations of the devil and from all the perils which threaten us, in the form of visible and invisible enemies. Amen."

Moscow, August 8, (Interfax) - Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Russia urges parties in the Georgian-Ossetian conflict to show wisdom and sit down at negotiating table.

"I learned about armed clashes in Tskhinvali and its localities and I urge the opposing parties to cease fire and renew the dialogue," Alexy II's statement is quoted by the Moscow Patriarchate's official website.

"Today blood is shed and people are killed in South Ossetia and my heart deeply laments over it. Orthodox Christians are among those who have raised their hands against each other. Orthodox peoples called by the Lord to live in fraternity and love confront each other," the Church primate stresses.

Referring to the appeal of Catholicos-Patriarch Ilia II of Georgia who urged to peace, Patriarch Alexy also turned his "ardent call" to those "who are blind with enmity": "Stop! Don't let more blood shed! Don't let today's conflict boil over! Show wisdom and courage: come to negotiating table to respect traditions, outlook and hopes of Georgian and Ossetian people."

The Patriarch has stated the Russian Orthodox Church is ready to unite its efforts with the Georgian Church to help peace come. "May Our God, Who is "not a God of disorder but of peace," be our Assistant in it," Alexy II statement says.

Metropolitan Phlip responds to Patriarchate of Jerusalem's action

You may remember (or simply scroll down a few stories) that the Patriarchate or Jerusalem recently ceded its presence to the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America. Metropolitan Philip (Self-Ruled Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America) was none to happy with this decision and sent off a letter on the seventh of August to the hierarchs of the Orthodox world. I have made it available here (PDF). It's short enough not to need any quoting from me.

On the Feast of the Transfiguration of our Lord

There is a certain measure of resignation one must acknowledge when he takes five children to an evening liturgy that starts at bed time. Often (read: every time) one or more children is recumbent and driveling as we turn into the parish grounds. In military fashion I dispatch the older children implacably onward into the church to fetch books and stake a claim on seating; if two or more are asleep then to the rear, else up front. Surveying the motorcar, I find the largest slumbering mass and employ a fireman's carry to transport them - guarding against the death-rays of fading sunlight - to an empty space in the nave. Again through the breach I return until all my countrymen are safely protected inside, and then "Up shields!" I arm and lock the vehicle. Regardless of what time we get there, I am always 2 minutes late into the liturgy before I am done.

Yesterday we departed from our standard maneuvers and added fruit basket placement to the process. As we celebrated the Great Feast of the Transfiguration we placed baskets of fruit and honey near the iconostasis. To the priest's amusement, he misspoke and erroneously informed the parish on Sunday that attendance was obligatory. To everyone's amusement, he declined to apologize saying it was good for us to acknowledge the sweetness of the day together. After the liturgy we were anointed, our baskets were blessed, and we were given a good measure of holy water ourselves as he went around the church. Afterward, we shared our fruit with the parish and took the remainder home. We continued to enjoy the fruits of the day all the way home.

Bring out your dead... oh, wait it's August

Shame! Shame! They should be embarrassed at themselves. This has the effect of secularizing death for a community. I will not be surprised to see church attendance and religious observance in general slide downward as the years go by under this measure.

(France24) The mayor of Mangalia, a small town on Romania's Black Sea coast, has decided to ban traditional funeral processions during the holiday season stretching from early May to mid September.

According to Orthodox tradition - shared by 87% of Romanians - the body of the deceased is to be carried around town by his family and relatives before burial. The procession marks several stops at road crossings, as well as a passage through church, before heading for the cemetery.

"The movement of funeral processions across town affects the comfort of tourists while also generating an atmosphere of sadness and unhappiness," explains the mayor of Mangalia, Mihai Tusac. "Furthermore, these processions put peoples' lives at risk, as the heavy summer traffic grapples with the town's congested streets."

Mangalia's town hall wants the local population to quietly carry the deceased to the cemetery, without the traditional twists and turns. Yet, in a country determined to preserve its distinct culture after joining the European Union, not everyone aggress with Tusac and his colleagues.

Still, the financial stakes tied to the development of tourism along the Black Sea may yet produce a change of heart. "In modern society, death is no longer an event shared among the community but an aspect of private life," says local law. "The aim of this measure is to encourage the development of tourism in accordance with EU rulings."

Patriarchate of Jerusalem recedes from Western Hemisphere

(GOA) New York, NY - After a long process that began in 1993 related to the ecclesiastical status of a portion of the Palestinian and Jordanian communities in the USA, the portion connected to the Patriarchate of Jerusalem, there has been a final agreed decision by the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople and the Patriarchate of Jerusalem concerning these communities. The Ecumenical Patriarchate and the Jerusalem Patriarchate have agreed that the canonical and pastoral supervision of these communities and their clergy should belong to the canonically established jurisdiction in the United States which is the Eparchy of the Ecumenical Throne in America, that is, the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America. Henceforth, the Patriarchate of Jerusalem no longer asserts any jurisdiction in the Western Hemisphere.

On Tuesday, April 1, 2008, His All Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew received His Beatitude Patriarch Theophilos III of Jerusalem, together with the senior member of the Holy Synod of the Jerusalem Patriarchate, Metropolitan Vasilios of Caesaria (Palestine) and other clergy. Final details for the implementation of the agreements were completed, with a mutual decision that these communities come under the canonical jurisdiction of the Archdiocese of America. Following the meeting at the Phanar, His Eminence Archbishop Demetrios of America was directed to proceed with the implementation of the agreements by the creation of a Vicariate for the inclusion of the clergy and communities within the Archdiocese of America. The official name of the Vicariate is: “Vicariate for Palestinian/Jordanian Communities in the USA.”

The clergy and communities of the Vicariate will be directly under the Archbishop of America and will report to the Archdiocese through the Vicar. Through the Archdiocese, all of these clergy and communities will be able to participate in the programs and agencies of SCOBA.