Byzantine, Texas

Moscow, August 31 ( Interfax ) - Orthodox Church of St. Innokenty of Irkutsk was consecrated last Sunday in the city of Labdarin (Inner Mongolia autonomous district in north China.) Descendants of Russians who settled in this distant district of China in the 19th century will become parishioners of the Labdarin Church, which was built in 1990. The parish doesn’t have clergy yet. The Russian Ecclesiastical mission had been effective in China since 1713 and was abolished for political reasons in 1954. In 1956, Russian Synod granted autonomy to the Chinese Orthodox Church and appointed Archimandrite Vasily for the Beijing Diocese. Following the latter's death in 1962, the Chinese Orthodox Church fell into decay. In 1997, the Synod of the Russian Church said that under existing circumstances, Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Alexy II would provide for the Orthodox Church congregation in China. China’s last openly officiating Orthodox clergyman, Fr. Gregory Chu, died in 2000. He was a...

H/T: Paradosis Update (2012): The attribution of this quote by St. John Chrysostom has been called into question. St. John Chrysostom on the poor from On Living Simply XLIII. Should we look to kings and princes to put right the inequalities between rich and poor? Should we require soldiers to come and seize the rich person's gold and distribute it among his destitute neighbors? Should we beg the emperor to impose a tax on the rich so great that it reduces them to the level of the poor and then to share the proceeds of that tax among everyone? Equality imposed by force would achieve nothing, and do much harm. Those who combined both cruel hearts and sharp minds would soon find ways of making themselves rich again. Worse still, the rich whose gold was taken away would feel bitter and resentful; while the poor who received the gold form the hands of soldiers would feel no gratitude, because no generosity would have prompted the gift. Far from bringing moral benefit to soci...

( OBL News ) - July 28, 2009 Our beloved Brother in Christ, I am immensely delighted to see that Your Grace’s ministry progresses well by the grace and mercy of our Savior Lord Jesus Christ. I implore the Almighty to strengthen you to impart the best leadership so as to take the Church, the Body of Christ, to new heights overcoming all the challenges of the new century. The basic reason for this letter is some misleading statements seen in the official website of the Syro Malankara Catholic Church, under your Grace’s spiritual leadership (www.malankaracatholicchurch.net/major_archbishop.html), which are not in consonance with the lofty Christian witness and unity of the Church, and which overtly misuse the titles of other ecclesiastical heads. I strongly believe that those statements included in the website are not with Your Grace’s knowledge and permission. If they are published in the website with Your Grace’s permission, let me write some important points for a rethinking and favora...

( AOI ) - On the Orthodox Christian Network, Fr. Mark Arey, the General Secretary of the Standing Conference of the Canonical Orthodox Bishops in the Americas (SCOBA), discusses the Fourth Pre-Conciliar Pan-Orthodox Conference that met in Chambésy, Switzerland, in June, in an interview with Fr. Chris Metropulos. “If we’re serious, really serious about Orthodox unity, well my friends, we have to do the hard work and put it together,” says Fr. Arey. “You can’t just snap your fingers and everybody says each bishop can have his own title and then we’re done.” Fr. Arey talks about SCOBA’s future, in light of the move toward a new episcopal assembly, and how that would affect current governance of American Orthodoxy. “It’s easy to talk about Orthodox unity when you don’t have to actually do it,” Fr. Arey says... Complete article and audio here .

One of my favorite hagiographical vignettes: "Once the Fathers of the Scetis were holding a council to reprimand a monk who had committed a fault. St. Moses was invited, but he refused to attend. The priest went to him, and said, Come, for the people are expecting you. St. Moses arose, took a basket filled with sand that had a hole in the bottom of it, carried it on his shoulder and started walking towards the council. When the monks saw him coming with the bag of sand, with sand pouring out of the hole, they asked him the reason of his behavior. He said to them, The sand you see running from the bag represents my sins which are always following me, and yet, today I am coming to judge the errors of my brother. When they heard this, they left the council and every monk went to his own cell, as none could judge that monk." - The Life of St. Moses the Strong

SALEM, Oregon, AUG. 26, 2009 ( Zenit.org ) - When Father Timothy Mockaitis heard inmate Conan Wayne Hale’s sacramental confession on April 22, 1996, he had no idea it was being recorded. He also didn't know that the event would spur an unprecedented legal case that attempted to demonstrate that a violation of the seal of the confessional was an infringement on the free exercise of religion guaranteed by the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Father Mockaitis details these pivotal events in his new book, “The Seal: A Priest’s Story.” The pastor of Queen of Peace Catholic Church shared with ZENIT how this case involved not only canon law versus civil law, but also a threat to the long term viability of our Constitutional freedoms. ZENIT: You filed a lawsuit to prevent disclosure of the contents of the confession. What were your legal claims? Father Mockaitis: Our legal position was based essentially on First and Fourth Amendment violations, which concern religious freedom and ...

I posted in June on Fr. James Early's book From Baptist to Byzantium . This week the good Father was kind enough to take time out to be interviewed. Enjoy! What prompted you to write the book? First, several people who had heard me tell my conversion story suggested that I write a book about it, since my story is so unusual. I resisted for quite some time, but finally decided to give in! Second, I had always been frustrated by (usually due to lack of time) not being able to completely explain the various reasons why my wife and I chose to convert to Orthodoxy. There were so many factors that figured into our decision that a five or ten minute explanation just didn't do the story justice. Now, when someone asks, "Now just WHY did you convert to Orthodoxy?", I can hand them a copy of my book, and they will get a full explanation (assuming, of course, that they actually read it!). Third, I wanted to provide a brief introduction to Orthodoxy--really a case for ...

( NYNJOCA ) - On Wednesday, August 26, the Diocesan Search Committee made the following interviews with the proposed nominees for the office of Bishop of New York and New Jersey available for review in preparation for the upcoming Extraordinary Diocesan Assembly on August 31st. Interviews available here .

( SOCMNet ) - On Thursday August 20, 2009, His Beatitude Mar Ignatius Joseph III Younan , the Syrian Catholic Patriarch of Antioch, made his first official visit to our Patriarch His Holiness Moran Mor Ignatius Zakka Iwas I at the St. Aphrem Monastery in Ma`rrat Sayyidnaya, Damascus. At a reception meeting held soon after in honor of the visiting Syrian Catholic primate, the holy father expressed his warm greetings to Mar Ignatius Joseph III Younan who assumed the office in early 2009. Mar Ignatius Joseph III in his reply speech thanked the holy father for hospitality and honor given to him and also presented a Gift of Holy Cross to His Holiness. Earlier the visiting Syrian Catholic Patriarch and his entourage was received at the entrance of the Monastery by Their Eminences Mor Philoxinos Mattiyas Nayis (the Patriarchal Assistant), Mor Dionnasios Behanam Jajavi, Mor Gregorios Yohanna Ibrahim (Archbishop of Aleppo & Environs), Mor Theophilos George Saliba (Archbishop of Mount Leban...

SYOSSET, NY ( OCA Communications )- On August 13, 2009, a delegation of Oriental Orthodox bishops and priests visited His Beatitude, Metropolitan Jonah at the OCA Chancery here. The delegation, which was led by His Eminence, Archbishop Khajag Barsamian, Primate of the Eastern Diocese of the Armenian Church of America, included His Eminence Archbishop Mor Cyril Aphrem Karim, Prelate of the Syriac Orthodox Church in the United States. The Very Rev. David Bebawy represented the Coptic Orthodox Church. The delegation visited Saint Sergius Chapel at the Chancery, where they were offered a brief history of the OCA Chancery. After a meaningful discussion on different issues of mutual interest, Metropolitan Jonah hosted a luncheon for the delegation, during which the visiting hierarchs expressed gratitude for their visit. Metropolitan Jonah also was invited to be a guest of Archbishop Khajag Barsamian at the Armenian Diocesan Headquarters in New York in early September.

August 23 rd ( UOC-USA ) - The Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the U.S.A. would like to welcome everyone to the online version of St. Andrew's Church Goods and Bookstore. Here you will be able to find many items of interest ranging from liturgical books, ecclesiastical items, cemetery supplies, church supplies, CD's, icons and much more. Click here .

Severodvinsk, August 24 ( Interfax ) - Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia believes that Russia's defense capacity should be supported with fostering Orthodox values. "You should not be ashamed of going to church and teaching Orthodox faith to your children. Then we shall have something to defend with our missiles," Patriarch said at a meeting with the workers of the Northern Shipyard (Sevmash) in Severodvinsk. Patriarch noted that "Today, Sevmash is playing a critical role in maintaining peace and ensuring Russia's defense capacity." Despite all challenges started in 1990s, the enterprise "has managed to preserve the basis of the Northern Fleet." According to Patriarch, such successful performance, however, "has nothing to do with the ideals imposed upon our people, that is, the pursuit of profit and material gain." "I am sure that free economic relations can efficiently facilitate production development, but in this context, ...

( ARCHONS ) - His All Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew had a luncheon meetng on the island of Buyukada with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and other senior ministers concerning non-Muslim minority and religious freedom rights on Saturday, August 15, 2009. The meeting coincided with government reform aimed to address decades-old tensions with the country's 12 million Kurds. His All Holiness, joined by leaders of the Armenian, Jewish, Assyrian Orthodox, and Catholic communities, delivered a report on the main problems of religious minorities and presented it to Erdogan. The 88-article report includes such issues as reopening the Orthodox Theological School of Halki, violations of property rights, and bringing attention to cultural diversity and to the problems of local administration on the island of Heybeliada (Halki). While only reporters from the Anatolia News Agency and the state-run Turkish Radio and Television Corporation were allowed to attend the meetin...

From The Art of Manliness comes this post on how to apologize. I, for one, don't think many people know how to apologize for two reasons (setting to the side the fact that few people can seem to spell the word correctly). The first is that the idea of contrition has been lost on many people. Instead of taking on the weight of one's actions people often let the burden slide to an excuse. The fault doesn't lie with me, it is how I was raised, I was busy, I was just trying to be funny, etc. What is forgotten is that the motivation, intended result, and extenuating circumstances in no way obviate the need to apologize. It may soften the heart of the one wronged, but it does not sweep the issue aside. The second reason is that those people that we know are farther and farther from our everyday lives. They may live hundreds of miles away or even a few blocks away, but our lives are now so inward-facing (TV, movies, etc.) that we can prioritize whatever other thing we want to mak...

( STOTS ) - CHRIST'S HOLY CHURCH AND HER MISSION TO THE WORLD Tuesday, September 22, 2009 – “Christ the Eternal Tao” Hieromonk Damascene, Christian Witness to Communist China, Monastic at St. Herman’s Monastery, Platina, California Tuesday, September 29, 2009 – “Honoring a Shared Heritage” Rev. Moses Berry, Missionary in the African-American Community, Pastor of Theotokos “Unexpected Joy” Mission, Ash Grove, Missouri Tuesday, October 6, 2009 – “Orthodox Thinking on Other Religions” Very Rev. John Garvey, Author of Seeds of the Word, Attached Priest at Holy Trinity Church, East Meadow, New York Tuesday, October 13, 2007 – “Islam and Christianity” Archimandrite Daniel Byantoro, Convert Priest in a Muslim Country, Dean at Holy Trinity Church, Solo, Central Java, Indonesia

From Second Terrace : (a somewhat odd meditation on today's Gospel reading: Matthew 19.3-12) Sufficient (but not necessary) reasons for divorce: Sexual activity outside of marriage. Adultery. It matters little whether the mechanics of intercourse are achieved. We all know what sex is without long academic discussions on the meaning of "is" or "sex." I happen to think that any sort of sexual arousal outside of marriage is unchastity, and any sort of mutual sexual arousal outside of marriage is adultery. However, I am not so sure whether the fact of arousal and other activity short of intercourse can be used by the aggrieved partner to demand a divorce. (For that matter, I am suspicious of any demand for divorce.) Harm and threat to spouse and child. This includes both physical and sexual abuse. For some time in the 90's, I was a therapist of children and teens who were victims of such abuse. There are few causes for divorce that are so clear and indubitable....

First Kathisma David’s. Without Superscription among the Hebrews, 1. Blessed is the man that hath not walked in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stood in the way of sinners, nor sat in the seat of the pestilent. But his will is rather in the law of the Lord, and in His law will he meditate day and night. And he shall be like the tree which is planted by the streams of the waters, which shall bring forth its fruit in its season; and its leaf shall not fall, and all things whatsoever he may do shall prosper. Not so are the ungodly, not so; but rather they are like the chaff which the wind doth hurl away from the face of the earth. For this reason shall the ungodly not stand up in judgement, nor sinners in the council of the righteous. For the Lord knoweth the way of the righteous, and the way of the ungodly shall perish. Recently I have begun taking my eldest son through the kathismata (see below). I set this practice up primarily so that we could have a set time to sit down together and ...

Quite an improvement. August 19th, 2009 ( ACROD ) - The long-awaited launch of the newly created website of the American Carpatho-Russian Orthodox Diocese of the USA has taken place today. It is by God's providence that its release has coincided with the Feast of The Transfiguration of Our Lord as observed on the Julian Calendar. Its release today, is a visible sign of the miraculous transfiguration that is taking place within the diocese on both the technological and spiritual levels. The newly designed website was made possible through a generous anonymous donor from within the diocese and in partnership with the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese Department of Internet Ministries through the SCOBA Information Technology Commission. The redesign of the website has been a dynamic process. It is the result of much prayer and reflection on the living history of the diocese. The new website is intended to be a mirror of life in the diocese, both past, present and future. The graphic ...

LVIV ( RISU ) - In Lviv, August 19, 2009, took place a series of events dedicated to the celebration of the third revival of the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church (UAOC). The celebration began with a Holy Liturgy in the Sts. Peter and Paul Church, in which 20 years ago priests Volodymyr Yarema and Ivan Pashulya declared their withdrawal from the jurisdiction of the Moscow Patriarchate. A public prayer was held near the Dormition of the Virgin Mary Church on Ruska Street. The celebration was ended in later that day with a special concert in a local theater. Metropolitan of Halych and Ivano-Frankivsk Andrij (Abramchuk) took part in the opening of the celebratory events, where he called to build church life. According to him, everything is still not right in UAOC life; however, it has an idea and it has a large number of faithful and young priests who can develop the church. Deputy Head of the Lviv Oblast State Administration Ihor Derzhko noted the large contribution to the communit...

CIMARRON, NM ( EOCS ) - This summer Orthodox Scouts from in and around Seattle, Washington took an exciting and adventurous trip to Philmont Scout Ranch in New Mexico. As part of their experience, the Scouts participated in the first known Orthodox Liturgy to be celebrated at Philmont. The event was organized by Troop 67, jointly sponsored by the Seattle area’s Eastern Orthodox churches. The trip was also open to eligible Orthodox Scouts in locally sponsored troops. Philmont is in the northeast corner of New Mexico. It includes over 137 thousand rugged acres (214 square miles) of wilderness, with mountains, plains, rivers, trees and wildflowers. The area is inhabited by deer, elk, bears and mountain lions plus many species of birds, and even “mini-bears” (chipmunks). These are joined each summer by some 20,000 Boy Scouts from all over the US and some foreign countries. Because of its popularity, it’s very difficult to gain admission to Philmont, and planning begins over a year in advan...

( OBL News ) - The 20th Triennial Church Assembly (Sabor) of the Serbian Orthodox Church in North and South America Day 1: The 20th Triennial Church Assembly (Sabor) of the Serbian Orthodox Church in North and South America began on Tuesday, August 11, 2009 at St. George Church in Canton, Ohio with the Divine Liturgy. A good number of clergy and delegates began their work with receiving the Holy Eucharist. The Invocation of Holy Spirit was then served by His Grace Bishop Dr. Mitrophan. All the Bishops of the Serbian Orthodox Church in North and South America are present: His Eminence Metropolitan Christopher of Libertyville-Chicago; His Grace Bishop Georgije of Canada; His Grace Bishop Longin of New Gracanica-Midwest America; His Grace Bishop Dr. Mitrophan of Eastern America, and His Grace Bishop Dr. Maxim of Western America. The first Plenary Session began with a greeting by Bishop Dr. Mitrophan as host bishop. His joyful observation that we meet no longer as two different administrat...

( OCA News ) - In a posting late yesterday afternoon on the Archdiocesan website, Metropolitan Philip attempted to justify moving three seminarians from the OCA's St. Vladimir's and St. Tikhon's Seminaries to Holy Cross Greek Orthodox Seminary by citing the "common Syro-Byzantine" liturgical and musical traditions between the Archdiocese and the Boston school. The statement reads: "Statement Issued by Metropolitan's Office Regarding Placement of Antiochian Seminarians From the Office of Metropolitan PHILIP: Unfortunately, there has been much speculation and incorrect information on the Internet and elsewhere regarding our recent decision to send our incoming seminarians to Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology. This decision effected two students. The third new student was already planning to attend Holy Cross. Over the years we have tried to keep a balance between the distribution of our seminarians to various Orthodox seminaries here and abroad, ...

I have returned from a blessed retreat at the monastery. Thanks to all for the well-wishes while I was gone. It is an extraordinary place and there were quite a few visitors during the week from all over the country.