Armenian Supreme Spiritual Council on talks with Turkey

(Holy Etchmiadzin) - On September 30, the Supreme Spiritual Council convened a meeting in the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, under the presidency of His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians. Following discussion on the process aimed at normalizing Armenian-Turkish relations and the associated ongoing discussions, the Supreme Spiritual Council made the following statement:

The Supreme Spiritual Council welcomes the process to establish diplomatic ties free of preconditions between Armenia and Turkey and the process to normalize Armenian-Turkish relations, for the sake of regional security, preservation of peace and the development of regional cooperation.

The Supreme Spiritual Council positively assesses the pan-Armenian discussions currently taking place surrounding this process.

The Supreme Spiritual Council considers as natural and understandable the concerns of Armenians living in Armenia, Artsakh and the Diaspora, within the context of the bitter historical experience of our people with Turkey, Turkey’s official policy of denying the Armenian Genocide, Turkey’s intolerant position expressed toward the Republic of Armenia, as well as the formulations contained in the yet to be signed protocols regarding Armenian-Turkish relations that have caused various interpretations, and the unacceptable statements coming from the Turkish side associated with this process. In this regard, the Supreme Spiritual Council reconfirms that the Armenian Genocide is an indisputable fact, as is the right to independence for the Republic of Nagorno Karabagh and the self-determination of the Armenians of Artsakh. Our people and authorities shall never abdicate the pursuit and defense of our just national rights.

The Supreme Spiritual Council exhorts all sons and daughters of our nation to show utmost vigilance and reason to avoid nation-damaging polarization, and united together, to face the challenges before our people.

The Supreme Spiritual Council appeals for the assistance of our Lord Jesus Christ and the guidance of the Holy Spirit for the authorities of the Republic of Armenia, so that they lead the process of normalizing Armenian-Turkish relations to a successful conclusion, for the sake of our people’s cherished and vital interests.

Georgian Church sends delegates to Moscow

(Mospat) - An official delegation of the Georgian Orthodox Church came to Moscow on 29 September 2009 at the invitation of the Russian Orthodox Church and with the blessing of His Holiness and Beatitude Catholicos-Patriarch Iliya II of All Georgia. The delegation included Metropolitan Gerasim of Zugdidi and Tsaishi, head of the Georgian Patriarchate’s foreign department, Archimandrite David Chincharauli, head of the Patriarchal staff, and Archpriest George Kharazashvili, head of the Georgian Patriarchate’s protocol department.

On September 30, they met with Archbishop Hilarion of Volokolamsk, chairman of the department for external church relations. DECR vice-chairman Archpriest Nikolay Balashov, DECR acting secretary for inter-Orthodox relations Rev. Igor Yakimchuk, and Deacon Dionisy Kazansev of the DECR secretariat for inter-Orthodox relations joined the meeting. The talk was held in a warm and friendly atmosphere. The questions under discussion included both bilateral relations between the two patriarchates and general Orthodox concerns. The participants exchanged souvenirs.

After the meeting the guests from what was Iberia in antiquity visited the Church of the Holy Resurrection at Sokolniki to bow before the venerated Icon of Our Lady of Iveron and lighted before it a traditional large Georgian candle, a gift from Catholicos-Patriarch Iliya II. The visit of the official delegation of the Georgian Orthodox Church is expected to last till October 3.

Conference on Ecumenical Patriarchate's religious freedom

(Archons) - His Eminence Archbishop Demetrios of America, National Commander Dr. Anthony Limberakis, members of the National Council together with Archons, scholars and legal experts gathered together at New York's Fordham University for a symposium that examined the core issues threatening the Mother Church of Constantinople from the perspective of international law. The Sept. 16 conference "Religious Freedom in Turkey: The Case of the Ecumenical Patriarchate," featured discussion about efforts to end the persecution of the Ecumenical Patriarchate.

Mr. George Demacopoulos, Fordham University associate professor of theology and co-founding director of the Orthodox Christian Studies Program, spoke in depth of the seizure of property by the Turkish governments; the closure of Patriarchal seminaries while its prelates are taunted by extremists who demonstrate outside the Ecumenical Patriarchate; and His All Holiness, who is denied of his title as "Ecumenical" Patriarch.

"... The [Ecumenical] title was embedded in Roman law as early as the sixth century because Christians throughout the world understood that the Patriarch of Constantinople played an international and transnational role in the leadership of the Christian community," explains Demacopoulos.

Mr. Emanuel Demos, general counsel for the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, briefly discussed some of the persecution of the Ecumenical Patriarchate throughout the years, such as the pogrom of 1955, riots driven primarily by Islamic fanaticism that targeted the Greek population of Istanbul with the intent of driving non-Muslims from Turkey, and the closing of the Orthodox Theological School of Halki in 1971 by Turkish authorities.

In July 2008, the European Court of Human Rights ruled in favor of the Ecumenical Patriarchate that the 1964 evacuation, closing and subsequent taking of a historical orphanage, once owned by the Ecumenical Patriarchate, was unlawful.

"Even the name of the case was significant--'Ecumenical Patriarchate vs. Turkey,'" Demos said. "In the opening paragraph of the case, they indicate the Patriarchate is ecumenical and 'unites the Orthodox community,' shooting down the things the Turkish government has denied."

Demos said Turkey's 2005 application to the European Union (EU) could be a positive development for the Orthodox Christian community, as the country would have to adhere to the EU's religious protections.

Panelist Ruti G. Teitel, the Ernst C. Steifel Professor of Comparative Law at New York Law School, said the move also could bring risks.

"What I've seen in looking at issues of religious minorities more broadly in the European Court is that the court tends to be more conservative in its rulings and upholds whatever the state regulation requires," Teitel said. "The European Courts have justified civil liberties in a number of cases in countries such as France and Switzerland, where Islamic women were banned from wearing head scarves in public as a way to maintain order and avoid giving preference to any religion."

"There are a number of countries in Europe that ... have this idea that public domains need to remain antiseptic and free of religious symbols," she added. "My concern is that Europe, because of the specter of Islam, will end up coming out with a case law that is ... more along the lines of those countries."

His All Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew will visit Fordham in late October during his Apostolic visit to the United States. His Eminence Archbishop Demetrios attended the conference and thanked organizers for "shedding light on a complex issue."

The Archbishop recalled attempts by Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush to convince Turkish officials to reopen the Halki seminary. This past April, President Barack Obama also urged the prime minister of Turkey to reopen the seminary. "It was a nice meeting. It went so beautifully," he said, "but then there was a unanimous decision against it, which, to me, indicates the unpredictability on the part of the Turkish government."

The conference was sponsored by the Law School's Institute on Religion, Law and Lawyer's Work and Fordham's Orthodox Christian Studies Program.

"The questions we are exploring tonight are of particular interest and concern, not only for the Orthodox community, but for anyone who would like to see the protection and growth of religious freedom, anywhere in the world," said Amy Uelman, director of the institute.

Hope for a "new Pentecost" in the Middle East

Kirkuk, Iraq, Sep 29th (CNA) - In advance of next year’s special synod for the Middle East, the Chaldean Catholic Archbishop of Kirkuk Louis Sako has said the event could be “a new Pentecost.” He also said the Eastern Churches must use the event to rediscover their identity and mission and to evangelize both Christians and Muslims.

The synod, which is themed “The Catholic Church in the Middle East: communion and testimony,” will take place from October 10 to 24, 2010.

In a Sunday commentary on Energy Publisher, Archbishop Sako expressed his gratitude towards Pope Benedict for convening the synod, adding that the Eastern Churches must “contribute fully” and play a leading role.

The Churches must put their commitment and testimony into action, he added, reporting that the majority of the churches have not yet followed the guidelines of the Second Vatican Council.

The Eastern Churches should be open to “the Spirit of Renewal” and should “leave the past behind, from a very rigid history, hard to practice today, in these times, and prepare for the future.”

Liturgical reform was among the main problems confronting the Eastern Churches, Archbishop Sako commented.

“The Eastern Churches are churches and not ethnic groups; their mission is open to everyone and not only to those who practice their faith,” he explained. “As Saint John Chrysostom says, liturgy is for man.” Strong words that defy geography. 

The Churches must make a “serious liturgical reform” appropriate to the context in which the faithful live. Otherwise, they risk losing many to “various religious sects.”

He encouraged more importance to be given to Sacred Scripture, reporting that in some churches the Eucharist and the Bible are still separated onto two tables.

Structural reforms are also necessary, he added, saying that some dioceses and territories’ structures go back to medieval times and there are some small dioceses with “only a priest or two.”

The Middle East Christians living in the Diaspora are also a concern and must not “close themselves within their communities, Archbishop Sako’s essay continued. Deeming migration of the faithful out of Iraq, the Holy Land and Lebanon to be “human bleeding,” he said it is not only the fault of others but the fault of Christians themselves.

“The Eastern Church must have a clear vision with concrete plans to stem this exodus,” he exhorted, suggesting that a “new evangelization” of Eastern Christians may be necessary.


The archbishop stressed unity with sister Churches and noted the urgency of presenting a “common testimony.”


“Today practically very few things are being done with other Christians. Every church works only for its faithful,” he lamented.

He closed his essay by saying that Christians must expand their “missionary dimension” in Muslim lands. A Middle East without Christians would not be the same, and dialogue with the Jews helps makes distinctions between Judaism and Zionism, he explained.

He also decried how religion has become an expression of “political identity,” especially after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States.

“To bear witness to the steadfast love of God for mankind and His omnipotence is the task that in a renewed manner we choose to undertake,” Archbishop Sako affirmed. “We want to believe in hope, despite disillusionments and many difficulties.”

The Romeiko Ensemble - bringing back ancient customs

The Romeiko Ensemble (great video available here) was founded in 1993 in Philadelphia (USA) and performs the Classical Music of Constantinople (Istanbul), namely the rich musical heritage of both the Byzantine and Ottoman empires.

In Byzantine times (330-1453), the Palace Court as well as the Great Church of Hagia Sophia sponsored master composers, such as Ioannes Kladas, Ioannes Koukouzelis, Xenos Koronis, Manuel Chrysafis along with others, who set to music verses from the Septuagint Psalter, Byzantine liturgical lyrics (hymns) or texts of syllables which have no meaning (kratema). Chant was performed in the Great Church a capella by male choirs under the direction of the domestikos. By contrast, in the Palace Court secular music was accompanied by instruments. Byzantine music was transmitted orally via a master/apprentice relationship as well as through a neumatic notational system (parasemantiki) that describes the melodic movement through microtonal intervals (Byzantine echos) developed in 12th century. The cantors (psaltes) wore wide-brimmed hats (skiadion) or tall "bullet" hats (skaranikon) and dressed in special cloaks (kamision and phelonion) girded with a belt (sfiktourion). This cantors' costume tradition was lost after the Fall of Constantinople in 1453 leaving the cantor dressed only with a black robe (rason) of the Eastern Church. However, for the first time since the Fall, Yorgos Bilalis has joined forces with costume designer Fatima Lavor-Peters to recreate these Byzantine vestments as they are described in several treatises or depicted on Byzantine frescoes and manuscript miniatures.

In the Ottoman era (1453-1919), Greek-speaking Christian (Romei) composers enriched the chant melodic formulas that had been developed during Byzantine times and composed a new repertory for use in the Orthodox Church liturgical cycle. The parasemantiki system went through different evolutionary phases in response to this increasing demand for a more analytical and simplified system. In 1814, a three-member committee headed by Bishop Chrysanthos, the Lampadarios Gregorios (left cantor) of the Patriarchal church at that time, and the Patriarchal Archvist Chourmouzios was appointed by the Ecumenical Patriarchate to create the New Analytical Method (a.k.a. Chrysanthine notation among western musicologists). Whereas the previous parasemantiki had depicted formulaic musical phrases of greater or lesser length, the new method sought to depict the melodies analytically, that is note for note with exact time values. Chourmouzios undertook the majority of this monumental effort; he transcribed a vast repertory of Byzantine and post-Byzantine composers for twenty two years consecutively (†1840) as well as wrote his own compositions. Chourmouzios' archive was bought by the Patriarch of Jerusalem and kept in the Holy Sepulchre Exarchate's Metochion Panagiou Tafou (MPT) Library in Constantinople until 1950, when it was moved to the National Library of Athens where it remains to the present day.

Romeiko Ensemble, under the musical direction of Yorgos Bilalis and the vocal tutelage of master vocal technician John Nicholas Peters, has undertaken the task of presenting side-by-side authentic interpretations of the parallel Byzantine and Ottoman musical heritages (Christian and Sufi). Having carefully selected musicians skilled in historical performance practice and improvisation, Romeiko Ensemble has recorded unpublished medieval compositions based on thorough research of the musical manuscripts. The ensemble began its public performance career in 1994 and has traveled extensively throughout the US and Europe performing at festivals, gala concerts, church and tekke ceremonies and services as well as other cultural events. Romeiko Ensemble was catapulted to fame at the 13th International Festival of Orthodox Music in Hajnowka, Poland (1994), where the ensemble received "special distinction" among the 37 international choirs taking part. The ensemble was selected as the most authentic choral group from the US to perform at the Millennium Visit to Detroit of the Patriarch of Constantinople (2000). Its discography includes: The Sounds of the Parthenon (1996), Thy Cross We Adore (2000), The Sin of the Fig Tree (2001), From Adam unto Joseph (2002), Shall We Sing for You...? (2003), Divine Liturgy in Mode I (2006).

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Bishop Grigorije extols virtue of good wine

(Reuters) - The Serbian Orthodox Church’s Bishop Grigorije of the diocese of Zahumlje and Herzegovina is not only a prominent figure in the Church who’s seen as a possible candidate for Patriarch. He is also a major vinter whose operations have earned praise and good money for quality wines.

His Tvrdos Monastery, located in Trebinja in southern Bosnia, produces 500,000 bottles of wine per year and exports it to Serbia, Montenegro and even further afield to Germany, the United States, Switzerland and other countries. “It is a very good business, but it is very difficult,” he said during the Feast of the Dormition of the Mother of God late last month. “It is good, but it is very difficult because we have wine from Italy, France, Spain.”

The Trvdos Monastery also has a minority partnership with a Serbian-American investor who owns 440 hectares of Trebinje land, of which 200 are now vineyards, an unusual tie up between the Church and profit-seeking investor (click here to see that story).

The monastery’s wine, which they sell for six euros a bottle but can retail for 30 euros in a restaurant, was available in ample amount during a late morning feast of fish and vegetarian dishes. Believers from Trebinje, Bosnia’s southernmost town of about 30,000 people, crowded onto benches around long tables to enjoy the meal.

Although other Serbian Orthodox monasteries and churches grow wine (and monks and priests privately say food and wine is one of the few indulgences afforded them), Bishop Grigorije said the Tvrdos operation is the largest. “Wine, it is very good for people, it is so good,” said the bishop, who as a boy picked grapes in this largely Serbian region of southern Bosnia. “If you drink wine, and you don’t drink too much, you will be so happy and so healthy.”

“If you drink bad wine, you are going to feel bad. All the southern people, Italians, French, Spanish are so much happier than the Germans, the Czechs, as they are drinking so much wine!”

The Trvdos Monastery wine production came to a halt in the 1990s Bosnian war and restarted a decade ago. Every year they are boosting production by 15,000 bottles and they recently took out about a two million euro loan to buy a series of shiny new Italian Defranceschi 30,000 litre wine storage tanks, Grigorije said. After some time in those tanks the wine goes into hundred-year old barrels to acquire the wine’s hardy, full-bodied flavour.

In grape-growing and wine-making, you have to have a little faith, Grigorije said, because so much depends on uncontrollable factors such as the weather: “The most difficult thing is if we won’t have grapes – it is in the hands of God.”

Armenian Church needs funds to restore Holy Land sites

(Armenian WD) - The magnificent St. James Cathedral in the Armenian Quarter of the Holy City of Jerusalem as well as the Armenian section of the Church of Nativity in Bethlehem need urgent renovations and structural improvements. These priceless icons of Christianity are under care of the Brotherhood of St. James of the Patriarchate of Jerusalem.

So far, thanks to the efforts of Ms. Anoush Berberian, $8,040.00 have been raised in the greater Los Angeles area for the renovation projects of the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem.

It is extremely important to all of us to realize the magnitude and monumental importance of these amazing Christian Churches which by the Grace of God have remained under the custody of the Armenian Church for the last several centuries.

The Office of the Western Diocese has setup a fund to receive and transfer donations immediately to the Patriarchate of Jerusalem from our faithful community throughout the Diocese. Please make your checks payable to "Western Diocese - Armenian Church" and write "Jerusalem or Bethlehem" in the memo section of the check. Please send your Checks to:

Western Diocese - Armenian Church
3325 N. Glenoaks Blvd.
Burbank, CA 91504

Patriarch Bartholomew to open WCC meeting in Crete

H/T: AOI

(WCC) - Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I will open the meeting of the World Council of Churches (WCC) Commission on Faith and Order, which will take place in Kolympari, Crete, Greece, from 7 to 14 October 2009.

At this plenary meeting, the 120 members of the commission, which is seen as Christianity's most representative theological forum, will address the question of Christian unity from new perspectives.

Participants at the Crete gathering will not only address issues that have traditionally divided Christian denominations, but also matters that have become divisive in more recent times even within churches, such as questions of moral discernment.

This new approach will be rooted in a reflection on how churches relate to their sources of theological authority, and developed through case studies illustrating how churches use these references to make moral decisions.

WCC president from Europe Dr Mary Tanner will encourage participants to engage in what she affirms could be the beginning of a new phase in Faith and Order's history.

New monastery in North Texas finds a home

Quite a blessing to the Dallas / Fort Worth area. The funding for this effort was a pan-Orthodox endeavor with significant local Greek and Antiochian Orthodox financial backing.

September 25th, Dallas, TX (DOSOCA) - The Nativity of our Lord Monastery closed on a 12 acre site located one hour east of Dallas in Kemp, TX today. The new woman's monastery was blessed last year to be established by Archbishop Dmitri. His Beatitude, Metropolitan Jonah traveled to Dallas last summer to be the main speaker at a benefit banquet for the monastery.

Notes from the Greek Orthodox archdiocesan synod

(GOARCH) - The Holy Eparchial Synod of the Holy Archdiocese of America convened for its regular Fall Session in the Synodal Chamber of the Holy Archdiocese in New York on September 22-23, 2009.

All the Members of the Holy Synod were present and participated in the meeting under the presidency of His Eminence Archbishop Demetrios.

The Holy Eparchial Synod discussed many issues among them the following:

1. Liturgical Issues: The Holy Eparchial Synod continued the work on the text for the Service of Reception into the Orthodox Church through Chrismation of Christians from other Denominations. The Synod also discussed the participation of children in the Divine Liturgy, which is of vital importance and recommended to have special Divine Liturgies for children, whenever it is possible.

2. Canonical Issues: The Synod continued its work on the texts: a) Regulations for the Holy Eparchial Synod, b) Regulations for Spiritual Courts, and c) Reasons for Ecclesiastical divorce. The Synod also discussed the important issue of interfaith marriages and the need for pastoral care and guidance for these families.

3. Educational Issues: The Synod congratulated the Department of Greek Education of the Holy Archdiocese for the publication of textbooks for the first level in learning the Greek language. It also thanked the "Faith Endowment" (FAITH: An Endowment for Orthodoxy and Hellenism) for fully financing this project. Further, the Synod discussed the Special Program for the Deaconate, which was approved in its entirety. In this program 33 individuals have participated.

Additionally the Synod worked on and approved the revised booklet "Welcome to the Parish Council," which will be distributed to all the Parish Councils of the Holy Archdiocese.

Other issues discussed by the Synod included:

a) The visit of the Ecumenical Patriarch: The Holy Eparchial Synod was fully informed about the upcoming visit of His All Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew in the U.S.A., and discussed the participation of its Members in the various program events of the Patriarchal visit.

b) The decisions of the Pre-Synodal, Pan-orthodox Conference: Finally there was extensive discussion on the Fourth Pre-Synodal Pan-orthodox Conference in Chambesy, Switzerland last June, which dealt with the subject of the pan-orthodox unity in the Orthodox Diaspora.

After the conclusion of the Sessions of the Holy Eparchial Synod, the Members had the opportunity to participate in the subsequent session of the Executive Committee of the Archdiocesan Council.

From the Office of the Holy Eparchial Synod

A touching portrait of Ukraine... in sand

H/T: This Side of Glory

Very very moving.

Moscow Patriarchate news release on Rome visit

(DECR) - Archbishop Hilarion of Volokolamsk, chairman of the Moscow Patriarchate’s department for external church relations, during his official visit to Rome, met on 18 September 2009 with Pope Benedict XVI of Rome at his summer residence at Castel Gandolfo.

During their an hour-long talk, they discussed a wide range of issues concerning bilateral relations between the Russian Orthodox and the Roman Catholic Churches.

Archbishop Hilarion stressed the importance of the Orthodox and Catholic common witness to traditional Christian values in face of the secular world. He pointed to the identity of the Orthodox and Catholic Churches’ views on such themes as family, motherhood, population crisis, euthanasia and many other ethical issues. The DECR chairman pointed to essential differences existing on these issues between the Orthodox and Catholics, on one hand, and various Protestant communities, on the other. In this situation the Orthodox-Catholic cooperation in elaborating a common stand on these issues acquired a special importance, he said.

Archbishop Hilarion also pointed to the need to enhance the positive potential of the bilateral relations including cooperation in the field of culture.

The DECR chairman and the head of the Roman Catholic Church discussed problems and prospects of the theological dialogue between the two Churches. Archbishop Hilarion underlined that there were two different ecclesiological models, one of which (the Catholic one) presupposed the existence of a single administrative center for the whole Universal Church, while the other does not presuppose the existence of such a center. In the family of Local Orthodox Churches, it is the Patriarch of Constantinople who has the primacy of honour but his jurisdiction does not extend beyond the Patriarchate of Constantinople.

In his talk with the Pope of Rome, Archbishop Hilarion spoke about the situation in western Ukraine where the Greek Catholics used force in the period between 1980-1990 to actually destroy three Orthodox dioceses of Lvov, Ternopol and Ivano-Frankovsk. The DECR chairman pointed to the need to make practical steps for a cardinal improvement of the situation in western Ukraine.

In conclusion of the talk, which was held in an atmosphere of constructive mutual understanding, the sides considered prospects for cooperation between the two Churches in the field of culture, especially in conducting the Days of Russian Spiritual Culture to be held in summer 2010 in Rome.

After their talk in private, Archbishop Hilarion introduced to the Pope his fellow-travelers: Archpriest Igor Vyzhanov, DECR secretary for inter-Christian relations, Hegumen Philip (Vasiltsev), a cleric of the Church of Protomartyr Catherine in Rome, and G. Guaita and I. Kopeikin, DECR staff members.

The DECR chairman presented the head of the Roman Catholic Church with a pectoral cross produced by the Russian Orthodox church workshops, as a token of the visit.

SCOBA schedules first Chambésian episcopal assembly

New York, NY (SCOBA) - A Special Session of the Standing Conference of the Canonical Orthodox Bishops in the Americas (SCOBA) met on September 25, 2009 from 10:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m., hosted by the Chairman of SCOBA, Archbishop Demetrios of America, at the headquarters of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America in Manhattan. The session was attended by the following Members of SCOBA: Archbishop Demetrios, Chairman (Greek Orthodox Archdiocese), Metropolitan Philip, Vice-Chairman (Antiochian Orthodox Archdiocese), Metropolitan Christopher, Secretary (Serbian Orthodox Church), Archbishop Nicolae (Romanian Orthodox Archdiocese), Metropolitan Joseph (Bulgarian Orthodox Church), Metropolitan Jonah (Orthodox Church in America) Archbishop Antony (proxy, Ukrainian Orthodox Church) and Archpriest Alexander Abramov (Representation of the Moscow Patriarchate in the USA).

Also present were the General Secretary and members of the SCOBA Study and Planning Commission representing the SCOBA member Churches.

The entire discussion was focused on the documents related to the "Organization of Episcopal Assemblies" in the regions of the world that are outside the borders of the Autocephalous Churches. These Episcopal Assemblies have been authorized by the Fourth Pre-Conciliar Pan-Orthodox Conference which met at the Orthodox Center of Ecumenical Patriarchate in Chambésy, Switzerland from 6 - 13, June 2009. It was decided unanimously by the Hierarchs that the first such Episcopal Assembly shall be convened during Post-Pentecost Week of 2010, which will fall in the last week of May. The likely days of the Assembly will be May 26-27, 2010. There was also discussion as to the location of the Assembly, with a specific venue to be decided after investigation of locales and resources.

The Hierarchs also outlined an initial staging process, combining Hierarchs of SCOBA with sub-committees, which will formulate the outline of the form and agenda of the Assembly.

A welcome return

I've returned from a week-long vacation above the Mason-Dixon line. It was refreshing and an unadulteratedly joyous time. Apologies for the sporadic posting. I expect I have a lot of catch-up posting to do.

OCA Synod update - September 23rd

SYOSSET, NY (OCA Communications) - The Holy Synod of Bishops of the Orthodox Church in America and the OCA's Metropolitan Council completed the first day of their fall sessions Tuesday, September 22, 2009.

The day opened with the celebration of the Divine Liturgy, at which His Beatitude, Metropolitan Jonah. presided. In his sermon, Metropolitan Jonah cautioned all gathered against surrendering to the passions, the most destructive of which are spiritual in nature -- resentment, gossip, fear, and retribution. He stressed that the faithful, meeting together in love, render service to Christ and for the good of all involved.

Following the Divine Liturgy, members of the Holy Synod and Metropolitan Council met in joint session to begin a discussion on conciliarity. Many issues were addressed in an open dialogue. It was stressed that the ecclesiastical structure of the Orthodox Church in America was motivated by an intentional effort to recover an ancient paradigm of the concilar process that was lost in the Church for centuries. Participants in the discussion acknowledged that this process had broken down in recent years. However, they affirmed the fundamental principle of conciliairty and the mission of the OCA to evangelize the North American continent, are the bedrock of the Church's life.

The Holy Synod and Metropolitan Council then met in separate sessions. During the Holy Synod's sessions, hierarchs met with the two episcopal candidates nominated by the Diocese of New York and New Jersey for consideration in the election of a diocesan bishop. After meeting with each candidate separately, the Holy Synod elected the Very Rev. Michael Dahulich, Dean of Saint Tikhon's Seminary, to the office of Bishop of New York and the Diocese of New York and New Jersey. The Synod announced that Bishop-elect Michael's consecration will take place after the new year.

In their session, members of the Metropolitan Council engaged in a lengthy discussion on the strategic planning process. It was noted that after these meetings, the next step in the process would be to allow the Church-at-large an opportunity to offer input into the strategic plan through meetings organized by their diocesan administrations and facilitated by members of the committee.

In addressing the strategic plan, Metropolitan Council members entered into a long and passionate discussion about the mission and vision of the OCA. It was observed that in recent times the mission of the Church has become identified almost exclusively with the idea of a unified Church in North America. Members of the Council stated that, while Church unity is desirable and must be a goal in the life of the OCA, Church structures are far less important than the proclamation of the Gospel.

Evangelization must be the Church's first priority, and this is work that is not dependent on, or has to wait for, a unfied Orthodox body in North America. It was also stressed that Evangelization must focus on the culture, or more accurately the cultures, within North America, in particular on those segments of society which are yet unchurched.

The strategic plan will again be discussed by the Holy Synod and Metropolitan Council later in these sessions. The results of the these discussions will be forwarded to the Strategic Planning Committee and incorporated into the wider information gathered for the development of the Plan.

Tuesday's session closed in the evening with a retreat presented by Metropolitan Jonah on the theme "Spiritual Sobriety." He said spiritual sobriety was synonymous with spiritual maturity, adding that one of the most important issues for human beings to deal with in their spiritual growth is resentment. "Resentment is one of the most important ills of the soul. It is the root of so many of our passions," Metropolitan Jonah said. "When we resent somebody we are beating ourselves up with their sin."

Metropolitan Jonah stated that resentment is healed by forgiveness. "Forgiveness is not justifying the abuser. Forgiveness means acknowledging the sin and sorting out what was the other person's sin and what was one's sinful reaction. If we watch ourselves, taking responsibility for our own sins, we cannot judge anyone."

The 2009 Fall Sessions of the Holy Synod of Bishops and Metropolitan Council will continue through Friday, September 25, 2009.

More on status of break-away Abkhazian group

(Georgian Times) - On Thursday Patriarch Kyril of the Russian Orthodox Church, in deference to the good relations he enjoys with the Georgian Orthodox Church under Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia Ilia II, declined to accept the request of Abkhazian clergy to recognize a new Abkhazian Orthodox Church under self-styled Patriarch Father Vissarion Aplia.

Earlier in the week, Father Vissarion had formally declared the Sukhum-Abkhazian Diocese of the Georgian Orthodox Church extinct and requested recognition of his new “Abkhazian see” from the Moscow-based Patriarch Kyril, citing the existence of an ancient church that was eliminated when Russia subjugated the Transcaucasus in 1814. On Monday, Archbishop of Volokolamsk Hilarion Alfeyev, the Russian Orthodox Church’s Foreign Relations Department leader, declared in response to the request that a “change of political borders does not necessarily mean that the Church’s canonical borders should also change. That is the basis of our external policy with respect to other Churches.”

Patriarch Ilia II, who served as Bishop and Metropolitan of the Sukhum-Abkhazian Diocese for a decade before succeeding Patriarch David V in Tbilisi at the end of 1977, has maintained cordial ties with Patriarch Kyril. Although he actively sought a halt of the Russian attacks on Georgia proper in the South Ossetian War and supported the “Stop Russia” demonstration a month after the war, and also provided aid to Gori and surrounding villages in the weeks following the Russian advance into central Georgia, he nonetheless also traveled to Russia in December to bid farewell to the deceased Patriarch of All Russia Alexy II. During that trip to Moscow, he met Russian President Dmitry Medvedev in the first high-level official contact between the two countries since the war, a meeting he hoped would bring peace.

The resulting level of unity between the Georgian and Russian Churches was verbally expressed as recently as on Sept. 8, when Patriarch Kyril declared that “there are no conflicts, even the most cruel, and no human hostility that could ever destroy Church unity, including the unity between the Russian and Georgian Churches. Let’s pray to the Mother of God, heavenly protector of both Russia and Georgia, that relations between the two Orthodox Churches will never be clouded again.”

The Russian Church has demonstrated the sincerity of these sentiments by declining to take what would have been the confrontational step of recognising the Abkhaz Church. A spokesman for Patriarch Ilia II said of Father Vissarion’s declaration, “We do not take this statement seriously. It was made by a group of impostors. Not one of the 15 Orthodox Churches, including the Russian Orthodox Church, recognises the independence of the Abkhaz Church.”

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The Wonderworking Kursk Root icon carried in procession

H/T: ROCOR Unity

KURSK, September 23 (RIA Novosti) - The head of the Russian Orthodox Church on Wednesday led a procession through the city of Kursk, 300 miles south of Moscow, to celebrate the arrival of a miracle-working icon from the United States.

Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia carried the icon, called the Kursk Root Icon of Our Lady of the Sign, through the streets, where it was welcomed by over 30,000 people - almost 10% of the city's population.

The icon was brought to Russia on September 12 and was kept in central Moscow's Christ the Savior Cathedral before its departure for Kursk. In early October it will be returned to the United States.

Church spokesman Vladimir Legoida said over 150,000 believers came to pray before the icon while it was in Moscow.

"It is one of the most venerated miracle-working icons in the Russian Orthodox Church. It was discovered in the 13th century, and our ancestors always turned to it in hard times," he said.

"The stay of such a shrine in Russia is a very important event in the church life. And the bringing of the icon to Kursk, where it was found, is certainly a symbolic event with historical significance," the spokesman said.

The Kursk Root icon of the Mother of God dates back to the 13th century. A hunter from the city of Rylsk near Kursk came across a small icon lying face down on a root of a tree in the year 1295. He picked it up, and a spring of pure water gushed from the place it lay upon.

Numerous miracles were later attributed to the icon. Legend has it that once late in the 14th century, when Tartars came to raid the Kursk Region and cut the icon in two, the two halves grew together, leaving a small trace of the break.

In 1920 the Kursk Root icon left Russia as many faithful fled the country following the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution that saw the start of a large-scale persecution of Christians. The icon traveled from place to place, including Serbia and Germany, and was finally taken to the United States.

UOC-KP to begin talks with UOC-MP in October

KYIV (RISU) — On September 21, 2009, at a press conference, the head of the Information and Publishing Department of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church-Kyiv Patriarchate (UOC-KP) Bishop Yevstratii (Zoria) said that in the first half of October a meeting will be held of the work teams of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church-Moscow Patriarchate and the UOC-KP for the renewal of the dialogue on the possibility of unification.

According to the bishop, the negotiations between the representatives of the two work teams will begin as a “distance dialogue of the heads as it is usually done in all diplomatic relations.”

On the reverse perspective of icons

From The Children of God:

Really! What's up with the incorrect perspective in these icons?! Did the artist not know how to properly draw in linear perspective? That's what those of us with Western eyes think the first time we look at an Orthodox icon - at least those of us with art degrees. Or maybe you've looked at an icon and thought that it looked a little "off" but couldn't put your finger on why. That's reverse perspective.

Western art uses linear perspective to create realistic spaces on a two dimensional surface. Linear perspective is a "form of perspective in drawing and painting in which parallel lines are represented as converging so as to give the illusion of depth and distance."[1] The point at which these parallel lines intersect is called the vanishing point. The vanishing point is anchored on the horizon line. It is a very mathematical and geometrical way to depict space, distance and relative size. Giotto, in the 13th century, was the first to create this linear perspective and use it in his religious frescoes. It is widely thought that linear perspective evolved from reverse perspective, making linear perspective the more refined and technologically precise methods of depicting space in art and making reverse perspective the older and therefore more primitive way to "try" to depict space. See the diagram below for an illustrated definition of linear perspective...

Complete post here.

More on meeting of Permanent Synod of UGCC in London

From Ruskij Sion:

As reported: "From 25-30 September 2009, London's Ukrainian Cathedral of the Holy Family in Exile will host a meeting of the Permanent Synod of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, led by Cardinal Lubomyr Husar, Major-Archbishop of Kyiv, and assisted by leading hierarchs from the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church from Ukraine and across the world, including Bishop David Motiuk, Eparch of Edmonton, Canada, and Bishop Paul Chomnycky, Eparch of Stamford, Connecticut. Also present will be Bishop Hlib Lonchyna, who on Sunday 27th September will be officially installed as Apostolic Administrator of the Ukrainian Exarchate for Great Britain."

The Permanent Synod forms the standing Patriarchal Council for Cardinal Husar. This meeting is especially important as it is preparing for the Synod of the whole hierarchy of the Ukrainian Catholic Church, which is due to take place in Kyiv in the autumn and looks set to be the largest gathering of the Ukrainian hierarchy since the 16th century" (slightly edited, see original).

Hopefully, this meeting of the Permanent Synod will be an important step towards the resolution of the over three-and-a-half-year sede vacante of the Apostolic Exarchate for the Ukrainian faithful of the byzantine rite in Great Britain. For Bp. Paul Chomnycky, OSBM, this meeting will be a kind of "homecoming," since he was the last to serve as exarch in this Apostolic Exarchate. He was transferred to the Eparchy of Stamford on 3 January 2006.

Bp. Chomnycky's reign was a relatively happy one, considering the at-times-stormy history of the UGCC in the UK. In the short four years that he served in England, there was a perceptible "calming of the waters." Maybe Bp. Chomnycky's presence at the Permanent Synod in London will help ensure that the flock he once tended could soon enjoy the guidance of a more "permanent" shepherd.

Met. Volodymyr meets with Pat. Theophilus III of Jerusalem

KYIV-JERUSALEM (RISU) — On September 17, 2009, the primate of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church-Moscow Patriarchate departed for Jerusalem on a pilgrimage, which will continue till September 21.

In the course of the visit a meeting with Patriarch Theophilus III of the Holy City of Jerusalem and All Palestine is planned.

The program of the visit of Metropolitan Volodymyr schedules the liturgical service at the Holy Sepulcher, which the primate conducted on the night of September 18-19. Furthermore, on September 20 Metropolitan Volodymyr will celebrate the Divine Liturgy at St. Magdalene Monastery and on September 21, the feast of the Nativity of the Mother of God, on the Mount of Tabor.

Several groups of pilgrims from Ukraine also will stay in Jerusalem together with the metropolitan on these days.

On September 18 the primate of the UOC-MP visited the Russian St. Alexander Metochion in Jerusalem. It is here where the Judgment Gate is situated, through which the Savior was led to Golgotha. Metropolitan Volodymyr and the pilgrims from Ukraine bowed to the threshold of the Judgment Gates and the large stone from Golgotha, kept in the metochion. In this church the primate of the UOC-MP celebrated the Divine Liturgy.

On the night of September 18-19 Metropolitan Volodymyr of Kyiv and All Ukraine celebrated the Divine Liturgy in the Church of Resurrection of Christ in the Edicule of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem. Praying and receiving the Holy Communion at the Divine Liturgy were several hundred pilgrims from Ukraine.

Metropolitan Volodymyr bowed to the holy sites gathered under the arches of the Church of Resurrection of Christ including the Holy Sepulcher and the place of Resurrection of Our Lord Jesus Christ, the Holy Golgotha – the place of crucifixion of the Savior, and the Stone of Anointing – the place where the body of Christ was laid after the deposition from the Cross.

And also...

(UOC) - By tradition, in the course of the pilgrimage to the Holy Land His Beatitude Metropolitan Volodymyr and the pilgrims from Ukraine were received by His Most Godly Beatitude the Patriarch of the Holy City of Jerusalem and all Palestine Theophilus III at his personal residence. Accompanying the Primate of the UOC were the Ukrainian Ambassador to Israel Ighor Timofeyev and head of the Russian Ecclesiastical Mission in Jerusalem archimandrite Isidor.

During the meeting His Beatitude Patriarch Theophilus greeted the pilgrims from Ukraine and thanked them for their regular visits to the Holy Land. His beatitude Metropolitan Volodymyr and His Beatitude Patriarch Theophilus exchanged greetings and keepsake gifts.

Reference:

The Orthodox Church of Jerusalem is the most ancient Orthodox Church of the world, the mother of all Churches. The Patriarchate of Jerusalem occupies 4th place in the diptych of Autocephalous Local Churches. Its jurisdiction today embraces the territory of Israel, Jordan and Palestine. The Patriarchate has an autonomous part - the Church of Sinai with St. Catherine's Monastery on Sinai in Egypt.


The full title of the Church's Primate is His Most Godly Beatitude the Patriarch of the Holy City of Jerusalem and all Palestine, Syria, Arabia, beyond the Jordan River, Cana of Galilee, and Holy Zion, Theophilus III.

Fr. Michael Dahulich elected Bishop of NY - NJ

SYOSSET, NY (OCA Communications) - On Tuesday, September 22, 2009, the Holy Synod of Bishops of the Orthodox Church in America, meeting at its regular Fall Session at the OCA Chancery, elected Archpriest Michael Dahulich Bishop of New York and the Diocese of New York and New Jersey.

OCA Holy Synod of Bishops elects Archpriest Michael Dahulich Bishop of New York and the Diocese of New York and New JerseyArchpriest Michael Dahulich was born in Johnson City, NY, on August 29, 1950. From the age of 10 until he graduated from college and went to seminary, he served as an altar boy under the tutelage of his pastor, Fr. Stephen Dutko, who was the inspiration for his vocation.

He graduated from Binghamton Central High School in 1967. Two years later he graduated from Broome Community College, Binghamton, NY, and began studies at Christ the Saviour Seminary in Johnstown, PA. He completed his theological studies there in December 1972.

While in seminary, Michael met Deborah Sandak. They were married in January 1973. On Feburay 3, 1973, Michael was ordained to the Diaconate, and on February 4 to the Priesthood, in the American Carpatho-Russian Orthodox Diocese of the USA. Later that month Fr. Michael and Matushka Deborah assumed their first parish assignment at Saints Peter and Paul Church in Homer City, PA, a small mission community that had not previously had a full time priest. Two days after beginning this assignment, Matushka Deborah was killed in a car accident.

Following the death of his wife, Fr. Michael was encouraged to pursue further studies. He attended St. Vincent College in Latrobe, PA, graduating with a degree in Philosophy, and Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, graduating with a Master of Arts in Theology and later a Ph.D. in Theology.

Fr. Michael continued to serve Saints Peter and Paul Church for 13 years, seeing it grow from 60 to more than 130 members, and from mission to parish status.

OCA Holy Synod of Bishops elects Archpriest Michael Dahulich Bishop of New York and the Diocese of New York and New JerseyFor 16 years he served as pastor of Holy Ghost Church in Phoenixville, PA, during which time the parish grew from 256 to nearly 450 members, including more than 100 children.

In addition to his pastoral duties, Fr. Michael served as Prefect of Student Life at Christ the Saviour Seminary, where he also taught Ethics, Scripture and Homiletics. During his Ph.D. studies at Duquesne, he was also adjunct lecturer, teaching Scripture and Eastern Orthodoxy in the Theology Department.

Fr. Michael also served in the American Carpatho-Russian Orthodox Diocese of the USA as Religious Education Director for the Johnstown Deanery and the Associate Editor of "The Church Messenger," the official diocesan periodical. Additionally he was personal secretary to His Grace, Bishop John, Vice-Chancellor of the Diocese and Secretary to His Grace, Bishop [now Metropolitan] Nicholas of Amissos.

Additionally, Fr. Michael was Dean of the Carpatho-Russian Diocese's Mid-Atlantic Deanery, Vice-Chairman of the Harvest 2000 Committee on Missions, Evangelization and Diocesan Growth, and served on the Study and Planning Commission and the Ecumenical Commission of SCOBA. He was also editor of the diocesan prayerbook, "Come To Me."

In 1993, Fr. Michael was invited to teach at St. Tikhon's Seminary in South Canaan, PA, where he has served on the faculty to this day. In 2001, he was released from the Carpatho-Russian Diocese and received into the Orthodox Church in America, serving full-time at St. Tikhon's Seminary. He was first Administrative Dean and later Dean, as well as working as Director of Recruitment, Development and Fundraising at the school.

Fr. Michael was part of the team that earned national accreditation for St. Tikhon's Seminary from the Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada and helped work on a revised curriculum for the Seminary's Master of Divinity program. He has served as editor of "The Tikhonaire," "The Spirit of St. Tikhon's," "By the Waters," and "St. Tikhon's Theological Journal." Fr. Michael also teaches New Testament, Old Testament, Homiletics, Pastoral Theology, and Ethics.

In other work, Fr. Michael served as a member of the Board of Theological Education of the Orthodox Church in America, OCA representative to the National Advisory Board of the American Bible Society, a member, and former National Secretary, of the Orthodox Theological Society of America, and a member of the Advisory Board of the Orthodox Christian Association of Medicine, Psychology and Religion [OCAMPR].

The Holy Synod of Bishops has announced that the consecration of Bishop-elect Michael will take place shortly after the New Year. Further details will be announced as they become available.

Update on the Chrysostom Bible series

(Antiochian) - This summer, the Orthodox Center for the Advancement of Biblical Studies has launched The Chrysostom Bible, a new biblical commentary series for preaching and teaching. "The Chrysostom Bible," writes series editor, Fr. Paul Tarazi, "is not so much in honor of John Chrysostom as it is to continue and promote his legacy as an interpreter of the biblical texts for preaching and teaching God's congregation."

In the first volume of the series, Genesis: A Commentary, Fr. Tarazi explains that Genesis sets the tone, defines the vocabulary, and introduces the plot of the biblical story. "In a sense," he writes, "[Genesis is] the institutional or constitutional scriptural book...first and foremost a literary story that has a beginning and an end beyond which one may not venture backward nor creatively push forward."

Additional volumes in the series will be released later this year, including commentaries on Philippians and Romans. Genesis: A Commentary is available now in paperback and eBook through OCABS Press. For news and information on the availability of other titles, please visit www.ocabs.org.

Archbishop Hilarion in Rome updates

Moscow, September 21, (Interfax) - During a talk with Pope Benedict XVI, Head of the Moscow Patriarchate Department for External Church Relations Archbishop Hilarion of Volokolamsk pointed out the status of Orthodox believers in Western Ukraine where three Orthodox dioceses had been almost eliminated as a result of coercive actions of Greek Catholics in late 1980s and early 1990s (Greek Catholic Patriarch Lubomyr pictured right).

The communication service of the Moscow Patriarchate Department for External Church Relations reports that Archbishop Hilarion "stated the need to take practical steps to improve the situation in Western Ukraine," within the territories of Lvov, Ternopol and Invano-Frankovsk Dioceses.

During an hour meeting held Friday in the Pope's residence in Castel Gandolfo, the parties discussed a wide range of issues of bilateral relations between the Russian Orthodox and the Roman Catholic Churches.

Archbishop Hilarion highlighted the importance of mutual testimony by Orthodox and Catholic believers of traditional Christian values before the secular world. He noted the identiсal views of the Orthodox and the Catholic Churches on such matters as family, maternity, demographic crisis, euthanasia and many other ethical problems.

Archbishop stated that there were certain significant differences on these matters between the Orthodox and the Catholics, on the one hand, as well as with different Protestant communities which had pursued the liberalization of the Christian teaching.

In this context, the cooperation between the Orthodox and the Catholic Churches to develop a mutual position on the above matters gains specific meaning, Archbishop Hilarion believes.

Archbishop Hilarion and Pope Benedict XVI discussed the challenges and prospects of the theological dialogue between the Orthodox and the Catholic Churches.


In closing of the meeting, which was reportedly conducted with meaningful understanding, the parties discussed the prospects of cooperation between the two Churches on cultural matters, in particular, holding the Days of Russian Religious Culture in Rome in spring of 2010.


Archbishop Hilarion presented the Pope with a pectoral cross made in the workshops of the Russian Orthodox Church.

And also...

Moscow, September 21, (Interfax) – Head of the Moscow Patriarchate Department for External Church Relations Archbishop Hilarion of Volokolamsk, who is visiting Rome, has celebrated the Divine Liturgy in Catacombs of St. Callixtus.

Speaking to believers after the service, the Archbishop urged to overcome a thousand-year-old dispute between Christians of East and West and reminded about heroism of first Christians who prayed in catacombs and preserved unity in spite of persecutions from outside.

“Denied by the world, far from human eyes, deep under ground in caves, first Roman Christians performed the feat of prayer. Their life brought fruit of holiness and martyr heroism. The Holy Church was built on their blood shed for Christ,” the DECR press service has cited Archbishop Hilarion as saying.

Then Church came out of the catacombs, but Christian unity was lost, the Archbishop further said. Today, when the Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church don’t have Eucharist communication and many Protestants gave up fundamental Christian principles, “we should clearly understand, that division is sin, tearing apart body of Church and weakening the power of Christian witness in secular world,” Archbishop Hilarion stressed.

He reminded that human sin was the cause of all divisions, while Christian unity could be restored only in the way of sanctity.

“Each of us, conscientiously fulfilling a task the Church has given him or her, is called to personally contribute in treasury of Christian sanctity and work to achieve God-commanded Christian unity,” the Archbishop said in his sermon.

Meeting on Christianity in the Middle East held

Greek Catholics still important to talks with Russian Church

Moscow, September 18, (Interfax) – Orthodox and Greek-Catholics problems in Ukraine remain the most difficult question in the dialogue between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Roman-Catholic Church, head of the Moscow Patriarchate Department for External Church Relations Archbishop Hilarion of Volokolamsk believes.

“Accepting deep historical and political roots of the problem,” the Archbishop urged the Catholic part to “spare no efforts to withdraw this question from agenda of the bilateral relations,” the Moscow Patriarchate official website has reported on Friday.

The parties also agreed that it was necessary to renew constructive negotiations with participation of all concerned.

Besides, Archbishop Hilarion, who is visiting Rome, met with the Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone.

Speaking to Cardinal Bertone, the Moscow Patriarchate official noted that while the Russian Church unlike Vatican is not a subject of international law, it actively works abroad and represent interests of its parish residing in different countries that constitute its traditional canonical territory.

Archbishop Hilarion expressed hope that when carrying out its mission in the mentioned countries, Vatican would conduct regular consultations with the Moscow Patriarchate local structures. The hierarch also offered to follow the existing model of the Russian Church behavior in traditionally Catholic countries as it keeps friendly and productive contacts with local Catholic dioceses.

Cardinal Bertone stressed that Vatican leaders “have always recognized great prestige and influence of the Moscow Patriarchate on the international scene,” the website further reports.

Archbishop Hilarion gave the cardinal a cross as a present, while Cardinal Bertone gifted the Russian Church official an icon of Transfiguration.

Cardinal Kasper on Orthodox-Catholic relations

VATICAN CITY (CNS) - Pope Benedict XVI met with a key official of the Russian Orthodox Church amid signs of a significant improvement in relations.

The Vatican provided no details of the pope's encounter Sept. 18 with Russian Orthodox Archbishop Hilarion, president of the Moscow Patriarchate's Department for External Church Relations. The private meeting took place at the pope's summer residence in Castel Gandolfo.

Archbishop Hilarion was in Rome for five days of meetings and talks with Vatican officials and Catholic groups, at the invitation of Cardinal Walter Kasper, the Vatican's chief ecumenist.

Speaking to Vatican Radio Sept. 17, Cardinal Kasper said the church's relations with the Russian Orthodox had improved appreciably under Pope Benedict, and that the Moscow patriarchate was expected to participate in a major dialogue session with the Vatican in mid-October.

"Pope Benedict is highly regarded by the Russian Orthodox Church for his moral positions and also because he doesn't take into account political correctness. They esteem him highly, and this helps our relations," Cardinal Kasper said.

Cardinal Kasper, who is president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, held lengthy talks with Archbishop Hilarion during his visit. The cardinal said the reduction in tensions from a few years ago was evident in the "very calm conversation" they had about a number of issues, including theological and practical problems.

Perhaps most importantly, the Russian Orthodox will be returning to the plenary meeting of the international Catholic-Orthodox theological commission in Cyprus in October, which will take up the topic of the historic role of the bishop of Rome. The Russian Orthodox delegation walked out of the commission's last plenary session in 2007 in an inter-Orthodox dispute that has since been resolved, Cardinal Kasper said.

Cardinal Kasper said he had suggested that the Orthodox churches form some kind of bishops' conference at the European level that would constitute a "direct partner of cooperation" in such dialogue encounters. This will be a topic of discussion in coming months, he said.

The cardinal said he discussed with Archbishop Hilarion other areas of collaboration, including "problems of the cultural and social field, and also the question of Christian values in Europe: the family, homosexuality, social justice and so on."

Cardinal Kasper said Catholics and Orthodox have "more or less the same positions" on these issues and can "give common witness, so our voice will be stronger than when we speak alone."

Cardinal Kasper said chances had improved for a meeting between Pope Benedict and Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill, who was elected last January. But the cardinal said such a meeting was not on the immediate agenda, and would probably not take place in Moscow or Rome.

Another Vatican source said a papal visit to Moscow was probably still "years away."

Before his election, Patriarch Kirill served almost 20 years as chairman of the Russian Orthodox Church's department for ecumenical relations. In that position, he had met Pope Benedict three times.

Cardinal Kasper said tensions over the status and evangelizing activities of the Roman Catholic Church in the Moscow patriarchate had been largely overcome. A joint commission has been established to deal with problems and it works very well, the cardinal said, and Italian-born Archbishop Paolo Pezzi of Moscow is "very highly regarded" by the Orthodox.

Bishop Hilarion's speech in Rome

(NCR) - Archbishop Paolo Pezzi of Moscow may have gotten a little ahead of himself in his comments on Catholic-Orthodox unity, given in a recent interview which we reported on here. However, his hopeful tone, and his conviction that progress is being made towards unity, are well founded.


The Vatican is taking a more measured line than the Catholic archbishop of Moscow, and is stressing that, as well as resolving outstanding theological problems, plenty of trust still needs to be built up between the two Churches before unity can be considered. However, it concedes that clear progress is being made.


If proof were needed of this improvement, one need look no further than a speech given by Archbishop Hilarion of Volokolamsk, effectively the Russian Orthodox Church’s foreign minister, at this evening’s prayers at the Sant’Egidio community in Rome.


Archbishop Hilarion, 43, is on a five-day visit to Rome, and will be received by Pope Benedict XVI tomorrow in private audience. Like Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill of Moscow, he is new to his position, and also in common with the patriarch, he has many built up many friends in Rome thanks to his previous position (Archbishop Hilarion was formerly the Russian Orthodox Church’s representative to Europe and took over from Kirill the role of “foreign minister” following Kirill’s election this year as Patriarch).


Below is the speech Archbishop Hilarion gave this evening in flawless Italian. Note I didn’t have the official text, so this is a rough translation. I’ve highlighted the parts in bold which I thought were particularly poignant.

Dear brothers and sisters of the community of Sant’Egidio,

It is with great joy that I have come this evening to be among you.

I am happy to be close to you once again and especially to see you once again, my friends Professor Andrea Riccardi and Bishop Vincenzo Paglia. I greet with joy the bishops who are present and I greet with love all of you who have come tonight to this church. Through you I would like to greet the whole community of Sant’Egidio throughout the world.

I would like to transmit to you the blessings and greetings of His Holiness, Patriarch Kirill of Moscow. In his name, and also from myself and all of us who are present with you, I would like to tell you of the esteem and love that we have for your community. We esteem your love towards the poor, we treasure your work towards them and also those in need; the actions that you do in this city and in other cities to give food to the homeless, and the care which all the community of Sant’Egidio has for those who are on the margins of society.

With this commitment of yours, with this Christian ministry towards the poor, you practice the Gospel. In life, man suffers, and it’s here you find the face of the Lord. Through serving all the poor, you serve Him who said that what you do to each of my little brothers, you do to me.

We have great admiration for your contribution to dialogue, especially that between Christians those of different religions. And we are especially pleased and happy with the relationship of understanding and mutual esteem that has been established between your community and our Russian Orthodox Church.

We live in a de-Christianized world, in a time that some define—mistakenly—as post-Christian. Contemporary society, with its practical materialism and moral relativism, is a challenge to us all. The future of humanity depends on our response, as Christians, to this challenge, and maybe even whether life continues on our planet. It is a common challenge and also our answer must be common. Only together can we put forward all the spiritual and moral value of the Christian faith; only together can we offer our Christian vision for the family, only together can we affirm our concept of social justice, of a more equal distribution of goods.

These moral values are traditional because they have been affirmed by Christians for 20 centuries and have formed our cultural and European civilization. They are, at the same time, very new and modern, because the Gospel of Jesus is eternally new and modern. With this common challenge, the contemporary world challenges us, and we Christians must be together. It’s time to pass from confrontation to solidarity, mutual respect, and esteem. I would say without hesitating that we must pass to mutual love, living out Jesus’s commandment to love one another. As Jesus said, all will know you are disciples of mine if you have love for the other. This is what our preaching demands and it can be effective, it can be convincing, also in our contemporary world, if we are able to live this mutual love among us as Christians.

With these sentiments, I thank you once again for having invited us and I repeat to you my joy of being here tonight. And in order to express concretely our fraternal love for all the community of Sant’Egidio, I would like to give you this Russian icon of Our Lady.

I pray to the Mother of God to bless you all, and to protect and support you always in your commitment to love the Lord, serving every neighbor, and especially the poor and the disadvantaged.

Pope Benedict XVI receives Archbishop Hilarion

(Vatican Youtube) On September 18th, Pope Benedict XVI received in audience Archbishop Hilarion, president of the Department for External Church Affairs of the Patriarchate of Moscow.The Orthodox Archbishop is currently visiting the Vatican at the invitation of Cardinal Kasper, president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity.This Pontifical Council underlined that the visit will confirm the ties of friendship between the Catholic Church and the Russian Orthodox Church, with a view to closer collaboration and to favor the presence of the Church in the lives of the peoples of Europe and the world.

Western American Diocese - Diocesan Days 2009

On September 4th, 5th, and 6th the Western American Diocese of the Serbian Orthodox Church held its annual "Diocesan Days" in Jackson, CA. Audio and pictures from the event are available here. The audio is in Serbian and in English.

Patriarch Pavle's 95th birthday celebrated

(OBL News) - A polyarchieratic-concelebrating liturgy (quite a word, meaning concelebrated by many hierarchs) has been served today, in the Military Medical Academy in Belgrade, where Patriarch Pavle is hospitalized, on the occasion of the day of beheading of St John the Baptist. The liturgy was served by Metropolitan of Montenegro and the Littoral Amfilohije, with West European Bishop Konstantin and Hvostan Bishop Atanasije. Amfilohijhe said the life of the patriarch is filled with feats and virtues, but also with sufferings and challenges. He was orphaned in his early childhood, he lived through wars and also served in the crucified Kosovo as a bishop, where he bore the cross of his nation. Patriarch Pavle is the 44th patriarch of the Serbian Orthodox Church and has been serving at this office for 19 years. Today he is 95 and has been for two years attended to by a team of doctors at the Military Medical Academy, who are sending regular reports on his health condition to the Holy Synod.

Pope of Rome & Patriarchs to meet on Islam

Beirut (AsiaNews) – The growth of fundamentalism in the Middle East and the concerns it is generating among Christians, the importance of Islamic-Christian dialogue, the status of Eastern Catholic Patriarchs in the Universal Church and the Ecclesiastic jurisdiction in Kuwait and the Gulf States are the four main issues the seven Eastern Catholic Patriarchs will discuss tomorrow with Benedict XVI at their request.

Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Boutros Sfeir, Armenian Catholicos Bédros XIX and Syriac Catholic Patriarch Ignace Joseph III Younan arrived in Rome yesterday; Melkite Patriarch Gregory III, Chaldean Patriarch Emmanuel Delly, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem Fouad Twal and Coptic Patriarch Antonios Naguib will join them today.

The Patriarchs’ observations are contained in a note to be delivered to the Pope. In their meeting, they plan to talk in great detail with the Holy Father first of all about issues relating to the place of their Churches in the Universal Church as well as other ecclesiological matters, including the ecclesiastical jurisdiction of Kuwait and the other Gulf emirates, countries which in recent years have welcomed tens of thousands of Arab Christian blue and white collar workers attracted by their booming economies. The Eastern Churches want Rome to reflect on the fact that from an historical perspective the region should belong to the Antiochian Rite.

The Patriarchs are also concerned about the fate of Christians of the Middle East, who are challenged, especially in Egypt and Iraq, by the growth of fundamentalism. They will stress the importance of a strong and concerted international action to redress the injustice visited upon Palestine, and will recommend a just resolution that would include the right of Palestinians to their own state. They also insist on the importance of the Islamic-Christian dialogue.

During their stay in Rome, the Patriarchs will also participate on 21 and 22 September to a preparatory session for a special assembly of the Synod of Bishops for the Middle East, which should be held in the Vatican next year.

And also...

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Vatican sources are saying that Pope Benedict XVI will convene a Synod of Bishops for the Middle East to be held in October of 2010, to address the trials and tribulations of the Christian population in the region.

Patriarchs and other representatives from Eastern churches were arriving in Rome Friday, and the pope was to meet with them Saturday morning to discuss the initiative, the sources said. An announcement was expected in coming days.

Pope Benedict has spoken frequently about the pressures faced by Christian and Catholic minorities in the Middle East, particularly in the Holy Land and in Iraq. The synod would provide an opportunity for a much-needed strategizing session at the level of the universal church, one source said.

Late in the day, the Vatican press office released the names of the patriarchs and other representatives meeting tomorrow with the pope. They include the Chaldean patriarch, Cardinal Emmanuel-Karim Delly of Baghdad; Latin Patriarch Fouad Twal of Jerusalem; the Lebanon-based Maronite patriarch, Cardinal Nasrallah Pierre P. Sfeir; and representatives of the Ukrainian, Syro-Malabar, Coptic, Melkite, Syrian, Armenian, Romanian and Syro-Malankar rites.

OCANews: updates from around the US

(OCANews) - News From Orthodox America

Washington, DC

At their Diocesan Council meeting held last Friday, September 11th, the OCA’s Diocese of Washington elected Fr. Raymond Velencia as the clergy delegate to the Metropolitan Council. The pastor of St. Matthew’s parish in Columbia, MD, Fr. Velencia attracted national attention two years ago when he sent a letter to the Synod, Metropolitan Council and OCANews.org (read that story here) concerning a former parishoner, Ms. Kristine Koumentakos. While the OCA has been dismissed from the subsequent lawsuit brought by Ms. Koumentakos, litigation involving Fr. Velencia continues.

Ms. Rosalle Luster, a member of the Diocesan Council, was elected as the lay delegate.

Crestwood, NY

On Tuesday, September 15th, the “International Foundation for the Unity of Orthodox Christian Nations” (IFUOCN), a foundation sponsored by the Russian Patriarchate, announced in Moscow that St. Vladimir’s Seminary had been recognized with an award “For Outstanding Activity in Strengthening Unity of Orthodox Nations and for Confirming and Advancing Christian Values in the Life of the Society”. An awards ceremony will be held in Moscow in January, 2010.

That same day, the top three officers of the Crestwood school met with Metropolitan Philip of the Antiochian Archdiocese to discuss “matters of common concern” in a “constructive exchange.” The Seminary’s subsequent press release praised the Metropolitan’s “eloquence”, agreeing that “priests... must learn a respectful mode of discourse” and agreeing that “ those involved in their instruction must model such discourse” as well. SVS then also announced that it will create a new internet forum that will indeed “model respectful online discourse that Metropolitan PHILIP expects his seminarians to learn.” You can read the entire press release here.

Finally, an emergency meeting of the SVS Board of Trustees last Friday, September 11th, did not result in the dismissal of up to two additional faculty members, as had been feared. The Seminary, which like all non-profits that rely on investment income, has seen its portfolio shrink during the recession, while its expenses remain constant. In an effort to deal with these setbacks, several staff members have been let go at the Seminary this past year, some departing faculty members have not been replaced this coming year, and everyone has taken a pay cut.

Platina, CA

Abbot Gerasim (Gordon Eliel), the former head of St Herman’s Monastery in Platina, was officially received into the OCA on Sept 1. He has enrolled at St. Vladimir’s Seminary to undergo a year-long course of studies, prior to what many say will be his nomination as the next bishop of Alaska. The former Abbot, a former classmate of Metropolitan Jonah, has spent years in Alaska building up two sketes near Kodiak, during the Monastery’s sojourn in the Serbian Diocese of the West.

Dallas, TX

Members of the Episcopal Search Committee, composed of the deans and the Chancellor of the Diocese of the South, began their latest round of work with a conference call on September 4th. According to a press release on the diocesan website “Committee members discussed what experience and qualities an “ideal” candidate would possess. The Committee is looking to involve a representative number of DOS laity as its work progresses. The exact method for such exchanges is still being considered in light of the vast geographic expanse of the diocese.” It is unclear why a “representative” number of DOS laity could not just join the Committee’s next conference call - leading some critics to suggest that “vast geographic expanse” is not the problem. The Committee announced it will meet again in October after the fall session of the Holy Synod that is expected to offer further “direction” to “focus” the process. The problem, as Met. Jonah explained when he spoke in Texas a few months back, is that the previous bishop had been in place for over 30 years, that the diocese was an evangelical one with new missions springing up all the time, and that the new bishop would have "rather large shoes to fill."

Bosnia-Herzegovina

The retired former Bishop of Alaska, Nikolai (Soraich) has once again left the United States, this time for a Serbian monastery in Herzegovina. The controversial Bishop, who announced his diagnosis of serious prostrate cancer in an email to associates two months ago, completed therapy in the United States before leaving for Europe. His lawsuit against the OCA, fall-out from the Sidebottom Case and Soraich’s subsequent forced retirement, (read that story here and here) is still of record though. Of the other three major figures from the +Nikolai saga, Paul Sidebottom now works for a non-profit and lives in Kansas, Archimandrite Isidore (Brittain) serves at a small parish in Oregon, while Deacon Panteleimon (Erickson) serves with Bishop Nikolai, despite both being still officially “suspended” by the OCA.

Syosset, NY

The Metropolitan Council of the OCA and the Synod of Bishops will meet Tuesday - Friday of next week in Syosset in separate and joint sessions. Among the major topics on the agenda of one or the other, and ocassionally both, are the Strategic Planning Process, legal affairs, the selection of a new Treasurer, the election of the new Bishop of New York and the adoption of a new budget.

Some Orthodox leaders want to establish Abkhazian Church

(Georgia Daily) - Orthodox church leaders in Abkhazia yesterday declared itself no longer part of the Georgian Orthodox Church and announced their intention to re-establish an independent Abkhazian Church, an action that both the Georgian Church and the Moscow Patriarchate of the Russian Orthodox Church rejected out of hand.

That the Georgian Church should do so is entirely understandable, but the Moscow Patriarchate’s reasons are more complicated, reflecting both Kirill’s efforts to serve as a peacemaker between Russia and Georgia and Orthodox concerns that recognizing an independent Abkhazian church could set a dangerous precedent for Moscow in Ukraine.

If the Patriarchate were to do so, he and other Russian churchmen insist, that would undercut the Church’s teaching that canonical and political borders need not correspond and open the way for Ukrainians interested in creating a separate national church to demand that the Moscow Patriarchate cede its control over bishoprics and congregations there.

Because any such outcome would cost the Moscow Patriarchate not only nearly a third of its bishoprics and almost half of its congregations but undercut its ability to project influence across the post-Soviet space and beyond, the Moscow church opposes any step that might make such developments more likely.

But in this as in the ongoing fights over whether General Vlasov was a patriot or traitor and over whether Stalin and his system should be praised or criticized, the Moscow Patriarchate finds itself at odds with the Russian government and thus at risk of losing much of its hard-won influence on the powers that be (www.newsru.com/religy/16sep2009/nimbus.html).

And even as all that is taking place, Patriarch Kirill finds himself a victim of overenthusiastic supporters, whose painting of him in a church he recently visited as a saint with a halo found its way onto the Internet, even being briefly featured on the official site of the Moscow Patriarchate itself.

Yesterday, a meeting of all the clergy of the Sukhumi-Abkhaz eparchate took place in the Sukhumi Cathedral. It decided, Father Vissarion, the acting head of the eparchate, said that “to the extent the eparchate was subordinated to the Georgian Catholicate since 1943 and Abkhazia forcibly attached to the Georgian church, today we can declare out independence.”

He said that the restored Abkhaz national church will have two eparchates, one at Pitsunda where the cathedral will be and the other at Sukhumi and will seek both aid and recognition from the Moscow Patriarchate even though its earlier appeals for the latter have been rejected (www.kavkaz-uzel.ru/articles/159413).

Georgian Patriarch Ilia II promptly rejected the declaration as “unserious” and said “we must not take it seriously” because “no one has the right to declare independence without the involvement of the head of the church (www.mk.ru/social/publications/351658.html), a position repeated by other Georgians (http://www.newsru.com/religy/16sep2009/abkhazia.html).

Today, officials of the Moscow Patriarchate followed suit. Father Igor Yakimchuk, the secretary of the Patriarchate’s External Affairs Department, dismissed the Abkhaz action by reiterating long-standing Church policy that “we respect the canonical borders of the Georgian Orthodox Church (http://www.newsru.com/religy/16sep2009/abkhazia.html).

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John the Dwarf and the angels

This story is told in the latest Road to Emmaus (a very good issue if I may say so). I enjoyed the mix of comedy and instruction.

“It was said of Abba John the Dwarf, that one day he said to his elder brother, ‘I should like to be free of all care, like the angels, who do not work, but ceaselessly offer worship to God.’ So he took off his cloak and went away into the desert. After a week he came back to his brother. When he knocked on the door, he heard his brother say, before he opened it ‘Who are you?’ He said, ‘I am John, your brother.’ But he replied, ‘John has become an angel, and henceforth he is no longer among men.’ Then the other begged him saying, ‘It is I.’ However, his brother did not let him in, but left him there in distress until morning. Then, opening the door, he said to him, ‘You are a man and you must once again work in order to eat.’ Then John made a prostration before him, saying, ‘Forgive me.’”

- The Sayings of the Desert Fathers, pg. 86