Byzantine, Texas

KYIV ( RISU ) — Commenting on the results of the recent session of the Committee of Inter-Conciliar Presence of the Russian Orthodox Church on the issue of counteracting and overcoming schisms held in Kyiv on March 25, 2010, the representatives of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church-Kyivan Patriarchate (UOC-KP) touched also upon the situation regarding the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (UGCC). The UOC-KP stressed that strengthening the position of Orthodoxy in western Ukraine is possible exactly thanks to the movement for the autocephaly of the Ukrainian Church. “…there are grounds to assume that the establishment in Ukraine of the one national Orthodox church will bring closer to Orthodoxy a considerable part of the Ukrainian Greek Catholics, the process for them which is mainly hindered by their reluctance to belong to the Moscow Church,” says the statement of the press center of the UOC-KP. The document also stresses that the Moscow Patriarchate should not “indulge in self-deception...

U.S. Marines from the 2nd MEB, 2nd Battalion, 3rd Marines watch as a helicopter takes of from the landing zone at forward operating base Golestan in Afghanistan's Farah province Thursday, June 11. AP / David Guttenfelder ( AFR ) - Fr. David Alexander, an Antiochian priest and chaplain with the United States Marine Corps, gives us a window into life with his Marines as they battle in Afghanistan and his struggle to be a shepherd in their midst. On a new In the Valley of the Shadow of Death, Fr. David Alexander describes what it's like to build and prepare an Orthodox altar for his Marines in Afghanistan, most of whom are not Orthodox Christians. A Psalm of David, 22. The Lord is my shepherd, and I shall not want. In a place of green pasture, there hath He made me to dwell; beside the water of rest hath He nurtured me. He hath converted my soul, He hath led me on the paths of righteousness for His name's sake. For though I should walk in the midst of the sh...

( JP Newsgate ) - The day of Holy Saturday with the ceremony of the Holy Fire is in the cycle of feasts of the Patriarchate of Jerusalem as one of the holiest, most emotionally moving and consequently, most participated in by numerous pilgrims. On this day from the early hours of dawn the pilgrims from every direction, eagerly arrive in crowds in front of the gates of the Church of Resurrection, which are closed until 10:30 am (summer time) according to the Status Quo. In avoiding dangerous congestion or trampling accidents from the crowd, the Israeli Police take strict measures for crowd control which not only makes movement of the people difficult but indeed also for the Patriarchate’s clergymen, even for those responsible for the ceremonial order of the Holy Fire. The Patriarchate of Jerusalem considering the care of its guests and pilgrims, and taking into serious consideration the complaints made by them and the tourist agents, repeatedly over the past years, including this...

From Mystagogy : In the Gospel and hymns of the Church for Holy Wednesday, we hear about the sinful woman who broke an alabaster box of costly ointment, wept at Jesus’ feet, and dried them with her hair. She broke the box – i.e. saved nothing for herself – and poured it out as her offering. It cost 300 denari, which was 300 days’ wages! This latter fact enrages the disciple who sits in a place of honor next to Jesus and manages the money - the notorious Judas. The hymns of Holy Week tell us even more about the contrast between these two, being quite explicit as to where the woman came from just then, and the background of Judas. Make no mistake: Judas was an Apostle and had the gift of healing. Yet still he was more interested in worldly things, could not look up from temporary concerns, and had no horizon of vision. He would later even partake of Holy Communion in an unworthy manner and become demon possessed. The sinful woman understood what Judas did not: Christianity is about h...

One thing any pious person will tell you, is that the most beautiful and didactic liturgical material is to be found in the weekday services of the Church. In the less bustling services where fewer people gather together in prayer the hymnography and readings have much to teach and do it with ineffable beauty. People are visibly moved by the experience. Last night, I was greatly moved by the Praises and Aposticha (Greek: Άπόστιχα'/ Slavonic: 'stikhíry na stikhóvne' are a set of hymns [stichera] accompanied by psalm verses [stichos] that are chanted towards the end of Vespers and Matins). If you will permit a long posting, the below tells a story and does so with a deft interplay of the actions of Judas and Mary of Bethany. I hope you can take a few minutes to read it. The Praises v. Praise Him for His mighty deeds; praise Him according to His exceeding greatness! (Ps 150:2) A harlot recognized You as God, O Son of the Virgin. With tears equal to her past deeds, she b...

Holy and Great Wednesday (from Wikipedia) Within the past two centuries, Byzantine practice has developed to include the mystery of Holy Unction, which is celebrated on Holy Wednesday, commemorating Christ's anointing with myrrh. The service ends with the priest anointing the faithful with holy oil. Some jurisdictions outside the Byzantine world also include this practice, such as in some parts of the OCA. The services appointed by the Typikon for the evening of Holy Wednesday recall that on this day Judas betrayed Christ, which led to the tradition from Apostolic times of fasting on Wednesday throughout the year. It also focuses on the Mystical Supper, which is celebrated in the liturgy of the following day. In the Orthodox Church, the theme of Holy and Great Wednesday is the commemoration of the sinful woman who anointed Jesus before his Crucifixion and Burial; a second theme is the agreement to betray Jesus made by Judas Iscariot. The day begins with the celebration of...

Part 1 of 2 Part 2 of 2 From Orthodoxwiki : The Hymn of Kassiani, also known as the Hymn of the Fallen Woman, is a Penitential Hymn that is based on the Gospel reading for Holy Wednesday morning (Matthew 26:6-16), which speaks of a sinful woman who anoints Jesus' feet with costly ointment (distinguished from a similar incident with a different woman, St. Mary Magdalene). This hymn is chanted only once a year and considered a musical high-point of the Holy Week, at the Matins and Presanctified Liturgy of Holy Wednesday, in the Plagal Fourth Tone. History One story, related by Saint Theodora in The Great Synaxaristes of the Orthodox Church holds that Abbess Kassiani spent the afternoon in the garden composing this hymn. As she finished writing that verse which says, I shall kiss Thine immaculate feet, and wipe them again with the tresses of my head. she was informed that Emperor Theophilos had arrived at the convent. She did not wish to see him, and in her haste to conceal her...

H/T: The Free Copts

( Basilica ) - This morning, 29 March 2010, the preparations for the consecration of the Great Myrrh began at the chapel dedicated to the Saint Prophet John the Baptist, at Antim Monastery of Bucharest. His Eminence Laurenţiu, Metropolitan of Transylvania, celebrated the consecration service of the Holy Water, as delegate of His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel, together with His Grace Mihail of Australia and New Zealand, His Grace Ciprian Câmpineanul, Assistant Bishop to the Patriarch, His Grace Varsanufie Prahoveanul, Assistant Bishop to the Archdiocese of Bucharest and His Grace Ioachim Băcăoanul, Assistant Bishop to the Archdiocese of Roman and Bacău, assisted by a group of priests and deacons, including reverend archimandrite Timotei Aioanei, cultural exarch to the Archdiocese of Bucharest and great ecclesiarch of the Patriarchal Cathedral – informs “Lumina” newspaper. After the consecration of the holy water, the ingredients and vessels prepared for consecrating the Great Myrrh wer...

H/T: Orthodixie ( OBL ) - An elderly woman leans on a cross during a Palm Sunday memorial for the departed in Frumusani, southern Romania, early Sunday, March 28, 2010. Orthodox believers in the village gather at midnight, light fires at the graves and share food in memory of their dead relatives.

( mospat.ru ) - Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, chairman of the Moscow Patriarchate’s department for external church relations, officiated at the Holy Monday Matins at the church of Our Lady the Joy to All the Afflicted in Moscow, on February 28, 2010. After the service, Metropolitan Hilarion administered the monastic vows to Igor Kopeikin, assistant to the DECR chairman, under the name of Ioann in memory of St. John the Theologian. His Eminence gave the newly-tonsured monk Ioann an icon of Our Lady the Joy to All the Afflicted.

Behold the Bridegroom comes at midnight, And blessed is the servant whom He shall find watching, And again unworthy is the servant whom He shall find heedless. Beware, therefore, O my soul, do not be weighed down with sleep, Lest you be given up to death and lest you be shut out of the Kingdom. But rouse yourself crying: Holy, Holy, Holy, are You, O our God! Through the Theotokos have mercy on us! Holy and Great Tuesday (from Wikipedia) In the Eastern Orthodox Church and those Eastern Catholic Churches which follow the Byzantine Rite, this day is referred to as Great and Holy Tuesday, or Great Tuesday. On this day the Church commemorates the Parable of the Ten Virgins (Matthew 25:1-13), which forms one of the themes of the first three days of Holy Week, with its teaching about vigilance, and Christ as the Bridegroom. The bridal chamber is used as a symbol not only of the Tomb of Christ, but also of the blessed state of the saved on the Day of Judgement. The theme of the Par...

Normally I wouldn't post this sort of thing, but the appearance of Eastern Catholic bishops (as noted by Rorate Caeli and many others) makes this applicable for posting. These are hierarchs with a genuine interest in returning to an authentic expression of their shared Eastern identity. There is no place in any church of any ritual for dancing around the holy table, there is no place for swaying back and forth and clapping along in church, there is no defense for this atrocity. Mimicry of Protestant "Worship" CD advertisements is not a respectable vehicle for worship of the Lord. If anything, this music made me hungry for Mexican food.

Bridegroom Matins Bridegroom Matins is a service specific to the first four evenings of Holy Week (though it is often omitted on Holy Wednesday in favor of the service of Holy Unction) and commemorates the last days in the earthly life of the Lord. Incorporated into these services is the theme of the first three days of Holy Week; which is the last teachings of Christ to his disciples. As such, these services incorporate readings and hymns inspiring this theme. The mood of the services is to experience sorrow and to feel Christ's voluntary submission to His passions and highlight the purpose behind the evil that is about to take place against the Lord. The atmosphere is one of mourning (for sins) and is symbolic of the shame the Christian should feel for the Fall of Adam and Eve, the depths of hell, the lost Paradise and the absence of God. The vestments of the Priest and the altar clothes are black or deep purple to symbolise and enhance the atmosphere of mourning and remembran...

From Charming the Birds from the Trees ... 1. Make participation at the Services a priority. 2. In our homes we should strive to “keep out the world” and enter into the peace, solemnity, and theology of the events of the last days of our Lord. 3. Be sure to read the last chapters of the Holy Gospels that speak of the Passion, Death, Burial, and Resurrection of Christ. 4. If you are visiting another parish and wish to receive Communion, make sure that the priest knows who you are and that you are prepared. This should be done in advance by phone, email, or any other way. 5. Last year’s palms and pussy willows should be placed outside in an area to decay where they will not be disturbed. They are holy and should not be simply thrown out with the garbage. 6. Before venerating Holy Objects, such as the Cross, the Chalice, Icons, or the Winding-Sheet, make sure to wipe off your lipstick or chapstick. Reminder: we do not kiss the face of our Lord, His Mother, or the Saints; in-...

( RT ) - Russian spiritual music was ringing out in Istanbul last night as part of a major international project aimed at uniting the main centers of Christian culture. The project is the brainchild of the Russian Orthodox and Roman Catholic Churches. The performance of the Moscow Synod Choir was the second stop of its “Three Romes” tour. It kicked of in Moscow on Thursday and will end with a concert in the Vatican in May, bringing together the leaders of the Orthodox and Catholic churches. The choir is performing The St Mathew Passion, a piece based on an evangelical text, which aims to celebrate common Christian heritage.

( Mere Comments ) - Fordham University is hosting conference on Orthodox Constructions of the West at the end of June. I hear a lot these days about the vast differences between the East and the West. Sometimes I hear things motivated by pride and feelings of superiority, indifference or hostility, and not often by charity and humility. Charity and humility do not require blurring real differences, but they do require the patience to understand the other and not giving into the temptation to make one wins no matter what. It's not a matter of winning at all, for those who serve the Lord best are those who do not think about winning the contest of reputations and status, but only how they might help stir up others "to love and good works." I suppose one could make the case that the most apostolic of any church is the one that follows the pattern of the apostles most closely, the example, I mean, of how even on the night of the Lord's betrayal and passion, in the mi...

( Antiochian ) - The Very Rev. Archpriest Fr. Constantine Nasr of St. Elijah Church in Oklahoma City has created a banner for parishes, Sunday Schools, and inquirers to the faith titled "Timeline of the Christian Church." Subtitled "Find Your Roots," the chart sketches out the Church's timeline from the Nativity of Christ up to the present day. Available in two different styles, "East/West" and "Original Orthodox," the timeline enables viewers to see how each denomination began and the age of each current Christian tradition. All proceeds from the sale of the timeline will be donated to underprivileged school children in Taybeh, Palestine. To order, download the flyer below. Click here to download flyer (PDF) .

There is a common belief held by the youth of today that oral sex is no more meaningful than heavy petting or french kissing. Talk to children from elementary school upward and you will be shocked or chagrined at what they think is "No big deal." LONDON ( Reuters ) – The number of head and neck cancers linked to a virus spread by oral sex is rising rapidly and suggests boys as well as girls should be offered protection through vaccination, doctors said Friday. Despite an overall slight decline in head and neck cancers in recent years, cases of a particular form called oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) have increased sharply, particularly in the developed world. This growth seems to be linked to cancers caused by the human papillomavirus (HPV), scientists said in a report in the British Medical Journal. Two vaccines -- Cervarix, made by GlaxoSmithKline, and Gardasil, made by Merck & Co -- can prevent HPV, which causes virtually all cases of cervical cancer...

From Pithless Thoughts I was pondering, stuck as I was listening to the radio in a car on a small island in Louisiana while the wife was getting groceries, an ongoing interview of Michael Moore by Diane Rehm on NPR. Asked about the scandals in the Irish church he responded that the church spent too much time discussing abortion and same sex marriage ("Something Jesus said nothing about!") and not enough time dealing with poverty. Dumbfounded by the ignorance of such a comment I turned the radio down to a murmur. Catholic Charities takes care of 8.5 million impoverished Americans a year, Cor Unum takes care of millions more around the world, and together the Roman Church is the world's largest charity dealing with poverty. I will not debate the Church's stance through Tradition or Biblical references (I leave this book to speak to the matter), but as the Annunciation has just passed, I think we can discern with a modicum of effort that there are little people ins...

( mospat.ru ) - Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, head of the Moscow Patriarchate’s department for external church relations, took part in a meeting of the Inter-Council Presence’s commission for opposing and overcoming church schisms, on 25 March 2010. The commission is led by His Beatitude Metropolitan Vladimir of Kiev and All Ukraine. Metropolitan Hilarion is his vice-chairman. Addressing the meeting, the DECR chairman said in particular: A schism in the Church is always a tragedy. It is not accidental that our meeting takes place in Ukraine where this problem is especially relevant. A favourable situation seems to be developing in Ukraine at present for overcoming the schism as political reasons which conditioned its spreading are becoming a thing of the past. They are no longer relevant. Ever more popular become the ideas of integration, rather than disintegration. The absence of any prospects for the schism has become increasingly realized by the schismatics themsel...

From Pithless Thoughts :

Today is the beginning of our salvation, The revelation of the eternal mystery! The Son of God becomes the Son of the Virgin As Gabriel announces the coming of Grace. Together with him let us cry to the Theotokos: Rejoice, O Full of Grace, The Lord is with You!

( SOC Kosovo ) - A four-member delegation of Serbian Orthodox Church, headed by His Grace Vicar Bishop Teodosije of Lipljan, were by the decision of the Holy Synod of Bishops, on an official visit to Berlin and Paris in the period from March 15 - 19 2010. The serious concern of the Serbian Orthodox Church was conveyed to the high officials of these countries on the occasion of the announcement of a quicker process of reducing the number of KFOR soldiers in Kosovo and Metohia. During the talks the position of the Serbian Orthodox Church was particularly stressed that was not acceptable that the security of the Serbian Orthodox shrines, which currently the KFOR provides, entrust to the Kosovo police. The delegation informed international officials with all possible negative consequences of the eventual transfer of the security to the KPS, while insisting that it was a very hasty decision with possible disastrous consequences for the Serbian Church and the Serbian people in this area. O...

( Interfax ) - Your Holiness, Honorable Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos Karekin II of All Armenians, Your Eminances and Graces, Dear Fathers, Brothers and Sisters, Dear Representatives of the Armenian state and public! With great joy and warm feelings I have set foot today on the blessed and much-suffered Armenian soil sanctified by the toil of St. Gregory the Enlightener of Great Armenia and stained with the blood of martyrs for the faith of Christ cultivated by many generations of the fraternal Armenian people. As primate of the Russian Orthodox Church, I would like to testify on behalf of all its faithful our deep respect for the spiritual tradition and culture of your people. Your historical roots throw back thousands of years and your culture has given the world immortal works of literature and art, architectural monuments and a distinctive religious written language. Whoever comes to Armenia receives an indelible impression, looking at its main symbol, holy Mount Ara...

St. Petersburg, March 24 ( Interfax ) - Russian set of the international project People of the World Inscribe the Bible opens in St. Petersburg on Wednesday, organizers of the event have reported. At the opening ceremony in the House of Jewish Culture, citizens of St. Petersburg will have an opportunity to copy in their native language one line from more than 23 thousand Bible verses. Then the book with handwritten Bible verses will be sent to a book salon of the city where everyone can write a fragment from Bible at a special stand. Then thousands of handwritten pages will be bind and taken to the Bible House in Israel where this unique testimony to the union of nations will be preserved for centuries. It is planned to create a hundred of handwritten Bibles in hundred various languages. Representatives of 54 countries including USA, Great Britain, Argentine, India and others have participated in the project. Several countries completed their participation as books in Chinese, ...

Moscow, March 22 ( Interfax ) - The Russian Federation embassy in the Vatican will be given the status of an embassy in line with instructions signed by Prime Minister Vladimir Putin last Saturday. The decision was made after the establishment of diplomatic relations between Russia and the Vatican. On December 4, 2009, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev signed a decree on the establishment of diplomatic relations and issued instructions "to duly document the understandings reached."

( ACN ) - The Catholic seminary in Port-au-Prince, which was almost completely destroyed by the recent earthquake, will open again immediately after Easter, according to a leading bishop in Haiti. Archbishop Louis N. Kébreau of Cap-Haitien, who is also chairman of the Haitian Bishops' Conference, passed on this information to international Catholic pastoral charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), during a visit on March 23 to the charity's international headquarters in Königstein near Frankfurt, Germany. Initially, the seminarians from the various different dioceses of Haiti will be housed in tents, along with the academic staff. "The new beginning is a sign of hope for our devastated and traumatized land," declared Archbishop Kébreau to the assembled staff of ACN. A great many Haitians are looking to their pastors for help and consolation, he added, and many continue to live in a state of shock after losing husband or wife, children or other family members. ...

( SVOTS ) - Step-by-step, St. Vladimir’s Seminary (SVS) and St. Herman Seminary (SHS) in Kodiak, AK are restoring historic ties and rekindling relationships in order to develop a joint program in the field of missiology. Their latest cooperative effort occurred in March 2010, when Archpriest Chad Hatfield, chancellor of St Vladimir’s, and two seminarians—Dn. Lucas Rice and Dn. Ignatius Warren—traveled up to St Herman to present weeklong, intensive courses in missiology, homiletics, and pastoral counseling. Both Fr. Chad, former dean at St. Herman, and Archpriest John Dunlop, its current dean and an SVS alumnus (MDiv ‘94), have been instrumental in nourishing the relationship between the two seminaries, both of which are under the auspices of the Orthodox Church in America (OCA). Fr. John issued the winter invitation to St. Vladimir’s, stating, “This visit re-establishes a historical connection and builds bonds of friendship and our commitment to common work in educating pastors....

Recently two families close to us lost their children at term. They were both completely unexpected tragedies. Additionally many parishes have parishioners with special needs and rarely is sufficient effort to make them accepted members of the congregation. I wish efforts like this had a more pan-Orthodox production and distribution. SYOSSET, NY ( OCA ) - Five new articles have been posted on the "Resource Handbook for Lay Ministries" page of the OCA web site. The Standing Conference of Canonical Orthodox Bishops in the America's 2009 statement, " Embracing People with Disabilities in the Church ," is a welcome addition to the growing awareness and corpus of literature on this important pastoral issue. In " Children with Special Needs and the Orthodox Christian Family ," Priest Steven P. Tsichlis presents a variety of insights into this often overlooked issue. Dennise Kraus offers guidelines for ministering to those grieving as a result of the l...

From the ROCOR Eastern American Diocese , "The mystical, mysterious Body of Jesus Christ is the Holy Church Herself, which unites all Orthodox Christians of the present world, the past, and even the future." An Interview with Bishop Jerome of Manhattan. There are some interesting bits here on ecumenism, relations with the OCA, using translations from non-canonical bodies, and the importance of a united Body not only with Moscow, but with the Church entire. On Wednesday, March 3, the final day of the Pastoral Conference, Diocesan Media Office correspondent Reader Peter Lukianov interviewed His Grace, Eastern American Diocesan Vicar Bishop Jerome of Manhattan, on questions involving life in the Diocese, the Pastoral Conference for clergymen and their spouses, and inter-church relations with the Orthodox Church in America. - Vladyka, what are your impressions of the Pastoral Retreat and Conference that just drew to a close? I said at the beginning of the conference that we ...