Pat. Irinej sees opportunity for dialogue in anniversary

H/T: Theology and Society

BELGRADE, Serbia (Washington Post) - The new head of the Serbian Orthodox Church on Thursday urged dialogue to overcome long-standing divisions with Roman Catholics.

Patriarch Irinej said that a 2013 anniversary important to Christians would be a "good opportunity ... to meet and talk."

He added that "with God's help this (dialogue) would continue to overcome what had happened in history and take a new, Christian road."

The year 2013 marks 1700 years since Roman emperor Constantine the Great signed the Edict of Milan to establish religious tolerance for Christians.


Serbia's patriarch has suggested that the ceremony to mark the anniversary could be held in the Serbian city of Nis, emperor Constantine's birthplace, and include Pope Benedict XVI as well as key Orthodox Christian leaders.

That would be the first ever visit by a pope to Serbia, a rare European country not visited by the Roman Catholic Pope.

The Serbian Orthodox Church had opposed the visit in the past because of the schism between the two churches, but also over the Balkan wars of the 1990s, which pitted Serbs against Croats, who are mostly Roman Catholics.

Irinej acknowledged that the war period "was not the right moment (for the papal visit) and we decided to postpone it for more peaceful times." He added, however, that no concrete arrangements for the visit have been made so far.

The 80-year-old Irinej was elected last week to become the 45th Serbian patriarch. He is considered to be a moderate in the influential church which is viewed as hardline conservative.

Irinej has retained firm opposition to the Western-backed opposition in Kosovo, the historic heartland of the Serbian church which split in 2008. He said Thursday that "Kosovo is soaked with Serbian blood" and "belongs to us."

Syro-Malankara Catholic Church creates new eparchies

January 25, 2010 (Malankara Catholic) - His Beatitude Moran Mor Baselios Cleemis Catholicos, the Major Archbishop with the consent of the Holy Episcopal Synod of the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church and having consulted the Apostolic See of Rome, has created two new Eparchies in the Church. They are Pathanamthitta in Kerala and Puthur in the State of Karnataka. Having been elected by the Holy Episcopal Synod, four new Bishops also have been appointed by him for the Church with the approval of His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI. He has announced the transfer of Most Rev. Yoohanon Mar Chrysostom, the present Bishop of Marthandom to the new See of Pathanamthitta and Most Rev. Geevarghese Mar Divannasios from the See of Bathery to the new See of Puthur. Most Rev. Joseph Mar Thomas, the Apostolic Visitator to North America and Europe is appointed Bishop of Bathery. To the See of Marthandom, falling vacant due the transfer of its present Bishop is appointed Very Rev. Fr. Vincent Kulapuravilai, the Professor and Registrar of St. Mary’s Malankara Seminary Trivandrum. Very Rev. Dr. Samuel Kattukallil, the Syncellus of the Major Archieparchy of Trivandrum and Very Rev. Dr. Stephen Thottathil, Dean of the Faculty of Theology of St. Mary’s Malankara Seminary are appointed Auxiliary Bishops of the Major Archieparchy of Trivandrum and the Archieparchy of Tiruvalla respectively. Very Rev. Dr. Antony Valiyavilayil OIC, the Postulator of the Cause of Canonisation of Servant of God Archbishop Mar Ivanios and the Chancellor of the Major Archiepiscopal Curia is appointed the Bishop of the Curia.

The announcement was simultaneously made in Rome at 12 noon local time and in Trivandrum, the headquarters of the Syro-Malankara Church and at other Eparchial centres at 4.30 p.m. IST. In Trivandrum His Beatitude Moran Mor Baselios Cleemis Catholicos made the announcement at St. Mary’s Cathedral in the presence of Bishops and a large number of Priests, Religious and Faithful of the Church. The Bishops of the Church invested the Bishops Designates with Episcopal insignia and congratulated them.

Update on Russian catechism development

A few weeks back I posted on the forthcoming catechism of the Russian Church (see here). Below is an update from the Moscow Patriarchate's website.

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(mospat.ru) - On 27 January 2010, a section of the Christmas Educational Readings met in session at the conference hall of “Danilovskaya” hotel complex. The topic of the meeting was “Catechetic activities of the Russian Orthodox Church at present.”

Taking part in the meeting, chaired by Archbishop Vikenty of Yekaterinburg and Verkhoturje, were Archbishop Hilarion of Volokolamsk, chairman of the Moscow Patriarchate department for external church relations and rector of the Ss Cyril and Methodius General Post-Graduate and Doctoral Programme of the Russian Orthodox Church; Archbishop Konstantin of Kurgan and Shadrinsk; Bishop Longin of Saratov and Volsk; Bishop Aristarkh of Kemerovo and Kuznetsk; clergymen, catechists, teachers, cultural figures, and men of science from various regions of Russia and from abroad.

The DECR chairman spoke of the progress in compiling the modern catechism of the Russian Orthodox Church. A working group chaired by Archbishop Hilarion of Volokolamsk was set up to compile the catechism by the decision of the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church taken on 25 December 2008.

“Up to now, the Russian Church has had no modern catechism of official status, which could have been the fruit of conciliar discussion and be given to people as a handbook on the doctrine, moral theology, and other aspects of the teaching of the Church,” Archbishop Hilarion said.

The Orthodox teaching in a new catechism will not be presented as questions and answers as it seems more rational to set out every topic methodically and consistently in this volume, the DECR chairman explained.

The working group includes twenty-three leading theologians, church historians and canonists of the Russian Orthodox Church. Other specialists and experts in various fields of knowledge will be involved to write topic parts.

The head of the working group said that the subject matter of the catechism was divided into four large parts at the preliminary stage.

The first part will be dedicated to theological and dogmatic themes, and to the fundamental doctrine of the Russian Orthodox Church.


The second part will expound the teaching about the Church; the order of church life; the Church feasts, the daily, weekly and yearly liturgical cycles; the Divine Liturgy and other divine services; and the Sacraments and religious rites of the Orthodox Church.


The third part will deal with personal and family morals, and also with asceticism; for instance, with fasts and prayerful life of Christians.


Finally, the last part named “The Church and the Modern World” at the preliminary stage of work will expound the social teaching of the Church and offer answers to the present topical problems. The third and fourth parts may be combined.

Four working groups were set up to work at these parts: each of which will prepare texts on relevant topics.

Archbishop Hilarion of Volokolamsk, chairman of the Moscow Patriarchate department for external church relations noted that they may prepare two versions of the catechism, an extensive and concise ones, and added: “The main part of our work will include preparation of the extensive catechism. We will keep up with the substantial, thorough, and consistent elaboration of each topic rather than with its volume. However, if we find out that an extensive version is beyond the power of an ordinary Christian, not to mention a catechumen, we will prepare a concise version of the catechism based on the extensive one.”

Archbishop Hilarion believes that the work for compiling the modern catechism of the Russian Orthodox Church may take several years. Thereupon the document will be submitted for consideration to the Synodal Biblical and Theological Commission which will present it to the Holy Synod. Finally, the catechism will be considered by the Bishops’ Council.

St. Vladimir's Seminary - March for Life photos

(SVS) - On January 22, 2010, thirty-seven people from our seminary journeyed to Washington, D.C. to participate in the March for Life—the annual national pilgrimage marking and protesting the U.S. Supreme Court decision Roe v. Wade, which legalized abortion in the United States in 1973. Assistant Dean for Residential Life at St. Vladimir’s, Fr. David Meyzynski, led the seminary contingent this year.

Members of our community joined numerous other Orthodox Christians from across the country under the banner of “Orthodox Christians for Life,” in order to demonstrate against abortion and other threats to the dignity of human life—such as social movements seeking to legalize euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide. Seminarians said they marched in honor of the more than 45 million children aborted in the U.S. since the Supreme Court decision; and in recognition of the emotional pain and physical injury experienced by many women who had undergone abortions, and the psychological damage felt by families of the unborn victims.

In preparation for this year’s march, the contingent from St Vladimir’s faced a long, early morning bus ride to the nation’s capital city, and a weather forecast that predicted a 100% chance of snow and sleet during the pro-life rally and march. None of these looming obstacles diminished the enthusiasm of the St Vladimir’s marchers, who packed warm clothes and rain gear in anticipation of a challenging trek. At it turned out, Washington D.C. was unexpectedly blessed with dry, clear weather as the marchers gathered at the National Mall in front of the U.S. Capitol to begin their journey.

“The weather looked like it was going to be miserable, but God shone His light on us (and His sunshine),” said Dn. Raphael Barberg, a second-year seminarian. “Let's hope the folks in the White House and on Capitol Hill listen up.”

His Beatitude Metropolitan Jonah, primate of the Orthodox Church in America (OCA), not only led the Orthodox faithful participants from around the U.S. in their march, but also, for the second consecutive year, addressed the entire crowd of marchers, estimated at well over 100,000. After greeting the multitude in the traditional Orthodox manner, “Glory to Jesus Christ! Glory Forever!,” His Beatitude said:

"As Christians, as people of faith, we have to stand not only for the right to life, but also for that infinite potential for repentance, for healing, for consolation, for transformation of our lives; and to put forth that message for those who have gone through the hell of abortion, that they can be forgiven, that they can be healed, that they can have hope again. Because it’s only out of desperation, and it’s only in despair, that a woman can take the life of her child.

So let us stand not only as people who are against abortion, but also as people who are for life. Not only as those who oppose the killing of the innocent, but as those who stand for repentance and forgiveness—because it is through that repentance that people’s lives can be changed, and healed, and brought back to normal.

As Orthodox Christians, we absolutely stand for the right to life, given to us by God, from the moment that a child is conceived, to the moment that we take our last breath. Let us give thanks to God that He has shown us this, but let us also bear this message to our fellow Americans, that this right to life given by God is something, also, that we have to uphold as citizens of this great country." [Listen to Metropolitan’s talk at the 1 hour 42 minute mark in the following c-span link here.

Several representatives of the Holy Synod of the OCA were also in attendance: His Eminence Nathaniel, archbishop of Detroit and the Romanian Episcopate; His Grace Benjamin, bishop of San Francisco and the West; His Grace Tikhon, bishop of Philadelphia and Eastern Pennsylvania; His Grace Bishop Melchizedek, bishop of Pittsburgh and Western Pennsylvania; and The Very Rev. Archpriest Michael (Dahulich), bishop-elect of the New York and New Jersey Diocese.

During the return trip to the seminary, the St. Vladimir’s group gratefully enjoyed the packed meals prepared by the parishioners of St. Nicholas Cathedral, the OCA community that faithfully supports the Orthodox Christian marchers annually.

Abp. Amil of Mosul assesses Christianity in Iraq

(ACN) The man who has become the world’s youngest Catholic archbishop has spoken of his “hopes and confidence” as he takes up his role as shepherd to some of Iraq’s most persecuted Christians.

At barely 42, Amil Shamaaoun Nona has been ordained Archbishop of Mosul in northern Iraq, replacing Paulos Faraj Rahho, who was kidnapped outside his cathedral nearly two years ago, dying in captivity 10 days later.

In a statement to Aid to the Church in Need, the Catholic charity for persecuted and other suffering Christians, the new archbishop gave his response to the ongoing spate of killings, abductions and bomb blasts aimed at churches and other Christian centres across the city.

Archbishop Nona, who until his appointment was a priest of nearby Alqosh diocese, wrote: “My new mission is to provide hope and confidence to the Christians in Mosul, making them aware of the presence of a father and a minister beside them in their present plight.”

The archbishop, who was installed in his cathedral at a ceremony on Friday (22nd Jan) about two weeks after his episcopal ordination, gave a realistic assessment of the huge challenges facing the region’s Christians.

He stated that, since the upsurge of anti-Christian violence and intimidation in 2003, the Chaldean-rite Catholic community in Mosul city has dwindled by two-thirds and is now down to as few as 5,000 people.

Archbishop Nona warned that a decline in numbers threatens to force Christianity in Mosul into obscurity.

He wrote: “When all the wealthy people who own businesses, investments and factories leave the city, those who remain will have an effect that is negligible.”

Mosul, on the River Tigris and linked to the Biblical Nineveh, is seen as the historical heartland of Christianity in Iraq and traditionally it has been the city boasting the largest number of faithful in the country.

But, with growing evidence of Al Qaeda and other extremist activity in the region, Christians have fled in response to increasing victimisation, a problem compounded by their being labelled as easy targets in clashes between Kurds and Arabs in the city.

In his message to ACN, Archbishop Nona went on to plead for Christians to be left in peace and kept out of the political struggle for control of the region.

Read more »

Diocese of the Midwest search committee begins work

CHICAGO, IL (OCAMW) – At its meeting on 1 December, 2009, the Diocesan Council of the Diocese of the Midwest, with the blessing of the late Archbishop Job, in anticipation of the Archbishop’s expected retirement in 2011, created an Episcopal Search Committee, to develop criteria and a timetable for the nomination of a new diocesan bishop. The committee, now operating with the blessing of the locum tenens Metropolitan Jonah, includes 4 clergy and 3 lay members of the Diocesan Council : Frs. John Zdinak (chancellor), Steven Hrycyniak, Mark Hodges, and Christopher Wojcik; Sam D’Fantis, Mark Stokoe, and Mike Dorosh, who serves as chairman.

With the untimely passing of our beloved Archbishop in late December, the Search Committee's work was given sudden urgency. Through email and bi-weekly conference calls, the committee has:

a) outlined an open process that would allow a nomination of a candidate (s) in a timely fashion, for election by the Holy Synod;

b) developed a list of requirements based on the OCA Statutes, as well as a list of desired qualities (given the culture, demographics, pastoral realities and vision of the Diocese of the Midwest), all candidates nominated should possess; and

c) will recommend to the Diocesan Council that the election take place at the previously scheduled Diocesan Assembly to be held in Minneapolis in October of this year.

All decisions of the Committee are subject to approval by the Diocesan Council, as well as the blessing of our locum tenens, Metropolitan Jonah.

In order to preserve the integrity and dignity of the process, the privacy of any potential candidates, and the work of the Diocese itself, the Search Committee has agreed to be bound by a confidentiality agreement in all its work. Regular press releases are anticipated, however, so that the Diocese may be kept informed of progress, and to ensure transparency for the process itself.

A busy month

This month I was able to attend the North Texas Orthodox Missions pre-Lenten retreat at Holy Trinity in Dallas. The speaker was Fr. Joseph Huneycutt and the topic was "Kindling Within Us the Spark of Divine Love." He will be giving the same talk at St. Vlad's in March (more on that here). It was a solid talk that was enjoyed by everyone and I recommend going to the SVS iteration.

Fr. Joseph's talk was followed by a talk on the OCMC efforts in Romania by Floyd Frantz, a missionary in Cluj. Of his many projects the one that was most amazing was that he took on the "hopeless case" of a home for people battling with alcohol. In truth, it was a place for alcoholics to go and die, and they did in a steady stream. No priests would visit except to bury them, no one offered them any classes on coping with their disease, and they were given up on by all of society.

He was able to start an Alcoholics Anonymous program, get priests to come and do healing services, and people were actually able to reenter society. This system has become a model for Romania and the catalyst to the creation of a course on dealing with people battling alcoholism given at the seminaries.

The next event was a talk given by Abbot Meletios on “Monasticism in the Contemporary Church” at St. Barbara's in Fort Worth. This was the first in a series of talks given by Fr. Meletios to the Diocese of the South's pastoral conference and the only one open to the public. In a sea of black some few of us non-clergy were blessed to hear him speak.

After the talk a lengthy Q&A session answered by Abbot Meletios, Metropolitan Jonah, and Abbot Gerasim on the topic of monasticism was held. It lasted for over an hour and was a good occasion for clergy, laity, and visitors to ask questions related to the topic. There was a lot of talk about the future of American monasticism, the role of a spiritual father, the hospitality of a monastery, and other similar topics.

The following day, Abbot Meletios gave a talk at St. John the Baptist Greek Orthodox Church entitled "Present in the Presence: Heart and Mind in the Practice of Prayer." It was a smaller group - comprised primarily of parishioners - but was equally well received.

Tomorrow I depart for St. Tikhon's Seminary to see a friend's ordination to the priesthood and make another mini-discernment trip. While I am at St. Tikhon's, my wife will be at the Nativity of our Lord Monastery east of us in Kemp, TX. Quite a busy month. If you have a moment, say a short prayer for my safe travel. I'll need it with my relative snow-ignorance and Texan weakness to the cold. Prayers for my wife as well, please. She'll be by herself with six children for a few days.

Looking for a Western saint?

If you have tried then you know how difficult it is to find an icon for a Western saint. Sifting through websites will net you either poorly clipped images or images you aren't sure are actually of the person you are looking for. I recommend a visit to the Western Saints Icon Project for those so beset upon by a paucity of palatable pictures.

Western Saints Icon Project

The status of Orthodox parishes in Haiti

(antiochian.org) - Both the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia and the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Mexico, have parishes in Haiti, and all have been impacted in varying degrees, by the devastating earthquake of January 12. V.Rev. Victor Potapov, the Executive Director for the Fund for Assistance of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia, reports that the Assistance Fund has collected over $50,000 and disbursed $16,000 of aid to the suffering people of Haiti through trusted clergymen on the ground there. "This is an ongoing fundraising effort," he explains. "We are working towards opening a clinic on the grounds of one of our five parishes in Haiti. Please pray for Fr. Gregoire, Fr. Jean, their long-suffering parishioners and for the members of our delegation, who are doing a magnificent job in Haiti, negotiated with the United Nations, the Red Cross, IOCC and other organizations to get aid to our people."

Deacon Matthew Williams of ROCOR, recently returned from a trip to Haiti, where he summarized in an online report the desperate condition of parishioners there. Among other difficulties he describes, he says "Three parishes (in Port-au-Prince, Leogane, and Jacmel) were directly affected by the earthquake. In Port-au-Prince the church is badly damaged and must be repaired or replaced before it is safe to resume services in the building. In Leogane the church (a rented building) was completely destroyed."

Additionally, Dn. Matthew notes that "the school operated by Fr Jean Chenier-Dumais was completely destroyed along with his home and vehicle...in Leogane...the houses occupied by the parishioners were completely destroyed and the entire parish is living in an outdoor camp."

Donations to the ROCOR Haiti Relief fund can be made here. One hundred percent of the gifts go directly to the suffering Orthodox Christians of Haiti. To learn more about ROCOR's Haiti ministry, visit their Haitian Mission website.

There are two Greek Orthodox parishes in Haiti under the Metropolis of Mexico. The first is the parish of St. John the Baptist in Pétionville, a district in the capital of Port-au-Prince. The second is the newly established parish of St. Mathias. In a January 13 Encyclical, His Eminence Archbishop Demetrios wrote, “I ask first and foremost of the faithful of the Greek Orthodox Church in America to offer their fervent prayers for the people of Haiti. May we help them through our prayers to find heavenly solace in this hour of grief and pain, and may they find strength and hope in Him through faith and through the ministry of love and healing offered from around the world. In addition, may we also offer our prayers for the Greek Orthodox faithful and the two parishes of Haiti who are under the archpastoral leadership of His Eminence Metropolitan Athenagoras of Mexico. We pray for their safety and well-being, and for their witness and service during this difficult time."

And also...

(Mere Comments) - Disaster Relief: Haiti Relief Donations Qualify For Immediate Tax Relief, IRS Says

Cash charitable contributions made between Jan. 11 and March 1 to charities providing earthquake relief in Haiti can be claimed on 2009 tax returns, the Internal Revenue Service said Jan. 25 in a news release (IR-2010-12).

Taxpayers who itemize deductions on their 2009 return qualify for this special tax relief provision, enacted Jan. 22 when President Obama signed a bill (H.R. 4464; Pub. L. No. 111-126) allowing for the accelerated income tax benefits (14 DTR G-1, 1/25/10).
Eligible contributions include those made by text message, check, credit card, or debit card, the news release said.

The new law only applies to cash (as opposed to property) contributions, and the contributions must be made specifically for the relief of victims in areas affected by the Jan. 12 earthquake in Haiti, IRS said.

Taxpayers have the option of deducting these contributions on either their 2009 or 2010 returns, but not both.

Still more photos from the March for Life

(STOTS) - St. Tikhon's faculty and seminarians traveled to Washington D.C. on Friday, January 22 to participate in the annual March for Life and to make a statement for the sanctity of life. His Beatitude, Metropolitan Jonah, along with Archbishop Nathaniel, Bishop Tikhon, Bishop Benjamin, Bishop Melchizedek, Bishop-elect Fr. Michael Dahulich, and Fr. John Kowalczyk led the OCA group under the banner "Orthodox Christians for Life." More photos available from this slideshow.

Texas: the Fourth Rome?

Fr. Joseph Huneycutt (see Orthodixie) seeks to challenge the Philothean quote, "Two Romes have fallen. The third stands. And there will be no fourth. No one shall replace your Christian Tsardom!"

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"As every young Texian* Christian of school age knows, Austin shall surely be the fourth Rome, and if not Austin, then Dallas or perhaps Abilene ... the patriarch of the Texans will then bear the weight of that priority among the Church, that future diocese of Sante Fe. As the capital of the Empire of Holy Texas, it will preside as first in loving care for all true believing and worshipping churches ... Once all is put in order, the Empire can be reestablished and the populace of Texas baptized in the Brazos de Dios. Then the Orthodox Mounted Posses can saddle up and ride out to the Second Rome to restore the Hagia Sophia, Christendom's great temple, carrying the Bonnie Blue Flag next to the Empire's banner of gold with the proud double-headed eagle ..."

-- Taken from the new book, At the Roots of Christian Bioethics - Critical Essays on the Thought of H. Tristram Engelhardt, Jr, p.10 [quote first appearing in The Foundations of Christian Bioethics (2000)]

* - TEXIAN. The term Texian is generally used to apply to a citizen of the Anglo-American section of the province of Coahuila and Texas or of the Republic of Texas. Texian was used in 1835 as part of the title of the Nacogdoches Texian and Emigrant's Guide. As president of the Republic, Mirabeau B. Lamar used the term to foster nationalism. Early colonists and leaders of the Texas Revolution, many of whom were influential during the Civil War and who were respected as elder statesmen well into the 1880s, used Texian in English and Texienne in French. However, in general usage after annexation, Texan replaced Texian. The Texas Almanac still used the term Texian as late as 1868 [Fletcher, 2009; note, p.18]

Rogation of the Ninevites

The Fast of the Ninevites is kept by "Chaldean/Assyrian, Coptic, Ethiopian and the Syriac Orthodox churches." More information and selections from the Rogation service can be found here.

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(Assyrian Post) - Baouta’d Ninevaye or the Rogation of the Ninevites ܒܥܘܬܐ ܕܢܝܢܘܐ which means 'Nineveh's Wish' commemorates the repentance of the people of Nineveh at the preaching of Jonah, the Prophet.

God instruct Jonah to go to Nineveh and condemn Assyrians for their “wickedness”, and to preach faith in His unity and virtuous conduct. But the people jeered at him and paid no heed to his call. Jonah was so disgusted with the attitude of his people that he decided to leave his town and take to the sea.

When his ship was in deep waters, it was rocked by storm and Jonah was thrown overboard and swallowed by a big fish. As he lay in the belly of the fish, Jonah wondered why he was being punished when God had chosen him to be His messenger; where had he gone wrong? He then realized that he should not have acted in anger, because God wished that he be patient and more persuasive.

He prayed for forgiveness and for another opportunity to prove himself. Thus did his Lord choose him and make him of the company of the righteous. [68:50]

After three days in the belly of the fish, God listened to his prayers and miraculously took him out of the belly of the fish and cast him, albeit in a sickly condition, upon a deserted shore. Having recovered in the shadow of a gourd-tree, he went to Ninveh, where he pursued his mission, this time with greater persuasion and forbearance and despite all the jeers of the people, continuing with his work to bring them to the right path.

God told Jonah: Had your Lord so wished, all people everywhere would have been believers. But that is not His way, hence do not force anyone to take to Our path unless they do so willingly. No one can believe except by the will of God; only those who are skeptics do not understand His message. [10:99-100]

The Ninevites repent and declared a public fast. God then relented and did not inflict on them the punishment he had threatened. This shows God's universal love and mercy which extend to all human beings.

For Assyrians the Rogation of Ninevite has a nationalistic and a spiritual significance: In this way Assyrians were always reminded of Nineveh throughout the history until the ruins of Nineveh were discovered in early half of the 19th Century. Assyrians were also reminded of their importance in the history of the Church and spiritual development of Judeo-Christian tradition, for the Ninevites symbolized the longing of all humans for a universal God. The God who is so gracious and compassionate, the God who watches over His people and protects them from their evil ways.

During the three days of Baouta (fasting) people abstain from all food and water in their plea for forgiveness. Traditionally, at the end of the fasting period those that have fasted would partake of three handfuls of parched barley, mixed with a like amount of salt, and then sleep. Assyrians have different recipe's for such salty mixture or "pookhon" as it's called.

Baouta d’Ninevaye or the Rogation of Ninevites is an important Assyrian tradition which must be noted for its historic and spiritual significance.

Even more March for Life photos

(DOEPA) - On January 22, His Grace Bishop Tikhon and many of the faithful from this diocese attended the March for Life in Washington D.C. Prior to the March, His Grace was able to meet with Congressman Chris Smith of New Jersey along with seven other Congressmen to discuss legislative issues related to abortion.

Abp. Hilarion speaks truth in love to PACE

(mospat.ru) - Message of Archbishop Hilarion of Volokolamsk, Chairman of the Moscow Patriarchate Department to the participants in the session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (Session of 2010, first part on 25-29 January 2010)

Dear delegates:

The PACE current session will consider discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity, an issue having a serious ethical aspect. The overwhelming majority of European Christians, Muslims, and Jews have common vision of this problem.

It is obvious that the draft Resolution and draft Recommendation cast doubt on the role of the family as a union between men and women that presupposes care for each other and birth and upbringing of children. Any other forms of sexual relationship that are getting widely practiced in contemporary world cannot claim legal status like the status of social institute. To consider the family in any other way means to call the very existence of society in question.

The Russian Orthodox Church, like many religious communities in Europe, considers homosexualism a sin. This proceeds from our teaching that has not been altered for centuries. In the draft documents submitted to you for approval this position is called the “hate speech” of which religious leaders are accused. The building up of a democratic Europe cannot, we believe, be accompanied by the persecution of believers who strive to live in harmony with their conscience and according to the commandments of God.

The Russian Church does not advocate the persecution of sexual minorities. However, views towards homosexualism that run counter to the convictions of believers should not be imposed on them by mass media and systems of education. Likewise, we do not force anyone to share our position, yet we consider it inadmissible to forbid believers to express their opinion of this matter openly.

We call upon the participants in the PACE session to refrain from taking any decision on discrimination of sexual minorities and to come back to the subject only after it is openly discussed by all interested parties. Thus, in our opinion, the Council of Europe would be able to follow the path of building up Europe without drawing new dividing lines.

/+ Hilarion/

Archbishop of Volokolamsk

Chairman

Department for External Church Relations

Moscow Patriarchate

UOC-KP calls Chambésian method 'unrealizable and futile'

KYIV (RISU) — On January 23, 2010, in the Kyiv residence of the head of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church-Kyivan Patriarchate (UOC-KP), a meeting of its synod was held. The hierarchs of the UOC-KP commented on the decisions passed at the session of the Inter-Orthodox Preparatory Committee in Shambezi (Switzerland) on December 10-16, particularly, regarding the question of autocephaly and autonomy and ways of their proclamation. In particular, the UOC-KP representatives stated that the settlement of such questions “in the absence of representatives of the national churches whose future directly concerns that question, particularly, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church-Kyiv Patriarchate, is not in line with the spirit and tradition of the conciliar consideration of important questions of the life of the whole Orthodox Church.”

In view of the above, the Synod of UOC-KP addressed Patriarch Bartholomew, Patriarch Kirill of Moscow, and heads of the national Orthodox Churches.

The UOC-KP directed attention of the entire Orthodox Church to the fact that during the consideration of the question about the autocephaly of the church, the members of the committee discuss secondary questions but do not consider the main one, that is they “do not formulate the criteria, the existence of which grants certain national churches the right to be autocephalous, on the basis of the canons and historic experience of Ecumenical Orthodoxy.” According to the members of the Synod of UOC-KP, this can be an attempt by the recognized national churches to secure for themselves the exclusive right to freely decide whether to recognize or not recognize a church as autocephalous.” According to the press service of UOC-KP, such a decision not only fails to solve the existing problems but also deepens them.

By its resolutions, the Synod of UOC-KP once again stressed its unchanged position on the question of autocephaly, namely, that autocephaly is proclaimed by the council of the new autocephalous church if it has the appropriate grounds to do so, one of which is state independence of the nation in which the church serves. “The other national churches only recognize or not recognize the autocephaly of the new national church,” read the resolutions of the Synod of UOC-KP.

”The mechanism of proclamation of autocephaly proposed at the session of the committee in Shambezi is unrealizable and futile. The mechanism provides not the way of proclaiming a new autocephalous church but the way to not grant recognition to a church that seeks autocephaly for as long as possible,” summarized the members of the synod.

Installation of the 16th Abbot of St. Tikhon's Monastery

I posted about the installation before, but I enjoyed the pictures so much that I am posting on the newly available pictures.

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(DOEPA) - On Saturday, January 23rd, St. Tikhon's Monastery in South Canaan celebrated a momentous occasion in the history of the monastery, the installation of an Abbot. Igumen Sergius was elected by the brotherhood to be the 16th Abbot of the monastery in October 2009. The event was blessed to have taken place in the presence of the miracle-working Kursk Root Icon of the Mother of God. Friends, family, monastics, clergy, and parishioners from all jurisdictions were present for this joyous and grace-filled event.

'Saints Commemorated in the Litiya Prayers' published

SYOSSET, NY (OCA) - The third in a series of activity books for children and parents is now available for downloading free of charge at dce.oca.org/page/activity-books.

Developed and written by several members of the Orthodox Church in America's Department of Christian Education, the book is titled "Saints Commemorated in the Litiya Prayers."

"Like earlier books in the series, it contains biographical stories and iconographic drawings of 12 saints, maps of their travels or the areas in which they lived, discussion questions, and puzzles and activities relating to each story. Quotations from or about each saint, photographs of those saints who lived in recent times, and a glossary round out the activity book.

Among the 12 saints presented in the new volume are the fourth century Ambrose of Milan and Catherine of Alexandria, the 11th century Anthony of the Caves in Kyiv, the 15th century Jonah of Moscow, and the late 19th/early 20th century Nicholas of Japan.

In the book's informative and engaging introduction, the Litiya is historically defined and described as “a section of Vespers that culminates in the blessing of bread, wheat, wine and oil for the strengthening of the faithful who then continue in worship during a Vigil.” It goes on to read that the selection of saints in this volume was “specifically inspired by a popular composite of names used during Vespers in many American Orthodox communities."

"Saints Commemorated in the Litiya Prayers" is geared to pre-teens and teens, although with parental guidance it also can also be useful for younger children. Like the first two books, it offers a variety of ways for young people, with their different learning styles, to get to know the lives of a very diverse group of saints.

Met. Kallistos (Ware) to give Lenten lectures in VA & MD

(SSJC) - Metropolitan Kallistos of Diokleia (Timothy Ware) will be visiting the US East Coast for a series of free lectures open to the public during the week of February 9-17, 2010. The schedule is listed below:

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Tuesday, February 16 - RESCHEDULED from the 9^th due to weather
“An Insider’s View: Catholic-Orthodox Dialogue Today”
Caldwell Auditorium, The Catholic University of America
400 Michigan Avenue, NE, Washington, DC
4:30 pm – Prayer Service
5:30 pm – Reception
6:30 pm – Lecture

Wednesday, Feb 10
“Athens and Jerusalem: Hellenic Paideia and the Greek Fathers”
Sts. Constantine & Helen Greek Orthodox Church
30 Malvern Avenue, Richmond, VA
6:30 pm – Refreshments
7:00 pm – Lecture

Thursday, Feb 14 - RESCHEDULED from the 11^th due to weather
“Lent: Our Personal Journey”
Epiphany of Our Lord Byzantine Catholic Church
3410 Woodburn Road, Annandale, VA
6:30 pm – Reception
7:30 pm – Lecture

Friday, Feb 12
“Salvation in Christ: the Meaning of the Cross”
St. Katherine’s Greek Orthodox Church
3149 Glen Carlyn Road, Falls Church, VA
6:00 pm – Reception
7:00 pm – Lecture

Saturday, Feb 13
“Our Transfiguration in Christ: The Message of the Philokalia”
St. Mark’s Orthodox
7124 River Road, Bethesda, MD
12:30 pm – Lecture 1
1:30 pm – Lecture 2
2:30 pm – Lecture 3
5:00 pm – Great Vespers

Sunday, Feb 14
Divine Liturgy and Homily
St. Mark’s Orthodox
7124 River Road, Bethesda, MD
9:30 am – Divine Liturgy

Monday, Feb 15
“Lent: Our Personal Journey”
St. Barbara Greek Orthodox Church
2200 Church Road, Toms River, NJ
6:00 pm – Great Compline
7:30 pm – Refreshments and Lecture

Wednesday, Feb 17
“The Trinity: Heart of Our Life”
St. George’s Greek, 7701 Bradley Blvd, Bethesda, MD
6:00 pm – Presanctified Liturgy
7:00 pm – Refreshments
8:00 pm – Lecture

Call 703-691-8862 for more information. Books and CD/DVD recordings will be available at all the lectures.

A good resource for Great Lent

A website full of prayers, homily recordings, fasting resources, Scripture readings, and in-depth weekly articles on the Sunday Of The Publican And The Pharisee and others.

http://lent.goarch.org/

Abp. Hilarion meets with Catholicos Karekin II

(mospat.ru) - On 22 January 2010, Archbishop Hilarion of Volokolamsk, chairman of the Department for external church relations, met with the Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians Karekin II at “Danilovskaya” hotel.

They were joined by hieromonk Philipp (Ryabykh), DECR deputy chairman, and the DECR staff member Giovanni Guaita on the part of the Russian Orthodox Church; Bishop Ezras Nersesian, head of the Novo-Nakhichevan diocese, and priest Vagram Melikian, director of the Information Centre of the Catholicosate of All Armenians.

They discussed a forthcoming visit of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia to Armenia. Archbishop Hilarion told the Catholicos of All Armenians about recent structural changes in the Russian Orthodox Church, while His Holiness Karekin II spoke about changes in the administrative structures of the Catholicosate of All Armenians.

The talk was held in the atmosphere off brotherly love and mutual understanding.

More March for Life photos

WASHINGTON, DC (byzcath.org) - Byzantine Catholic faithful from across the United States joined in the annual 400,000 strong March for Life on Friday, January 22nd to protest the 1973 Supreme Court decision allowing the murder of children in the womb via abortion. We pray that the merciful Lord will touch the hearts of our political leaders with respect for life from conception to natural death.

Accounts coming in from March for Life participants

WASHINGTON, DC (ACROD) - Diocesan Clergy and Faithful from Connecticut, Florida, Maryland, Pennsylvania and Virginia participated in the Annual March for Life today. As has been the custom for many years, the faithful met at Holy Resurrection Orthodox Church in Potomac Maryland where they were treated to a delicious, light luncheon. After participating in the Pre- March Rally on the National Mall, our diocesan delegation marched behind the Orthodox Christians For Life Banner, along with Orthodox Bishops, Clergy and Faithful from throughout the USA, offering prayers and singing hymns, beseeching the intervention of Almighty God in ending the terrible tragedy and sin of abortion.

ACROD and Orthodox from around the country.

Bishop Melchisedek of the Archdiocese of Pittsburgh and Western PA (OCA).

Information on Serbian Patriarch's election

(spc.rs) - In the early morning hours His Eminence Metropolitan Amfilohije of Montenegro and the Littoral , locum tenens of the Patriarchate throne, served the Holy Hierarchal liturgy at the Cathedral church. His Eminence served with the concelebration of Bishops: Lukijan of Osijek Polje and Baranja, Jovan of Shumadia, Irinej of Australia and New Zealand, Vicar Bishop of Teodosije of Lipljan and Antonije of Moravica

After the Holy Liturgy Bishops gathered at the Patriarchate court. The session was preceded by consultations before the election procedure. At the Election assembly Bishop Lavrentije of Shabac presided, the oldest bishop in the ordination of the Serbian Orthodox Church. The Holy Assembly of Bishops has 44 members, and 34 bishops met the requirements to be nominated as the new Patriarch of Serbia. By the secret ballot bishops proposed candidates, out of which three bishops were on the shortlist, who received more than half of the votes of the members of the Election assembly. In the first round the candidate for Patriarch became the Metropolitan Amfilohije of Montenegro and the Littoral, in the second round the Bishop Irinej of Nis, and a third candidate was elected in the fourth round, and that was Bishop Irinej of Bachka.

These three candidates have received more that a half votes during the four rounds of voting. The envelope with the name of the Patriarch from the Holy Gospel was chosen by Very Reverend Archimandrite Gavrilo, superior of the monastery of Lepavina (Metropolitanate of Zagreb-Ljubljana).

Immediately after the election a thanksgiving was served and wished unto many years to Archbishop of Pec, Metropolitan of Belgrade and Karlovac and Patriarch Irinej of Serbia, who addressed his brother Bishops pointed out that his election was the will of God and the will of the Holy Assembly of Bishops and that he will work on the Field of God in an association with all the Bishops of the Serbian Church.

Bells at the Cathedral Church rang at about 14 hours and 15 minutes indicating that the 45th Patriarch of Serbia was elected.

Bishop Irinej of Bachka said, at the press conference, that the new Patriarch was elected in accordance with the procedures which was in force in the Serbian Orthodox Church, in canonical and lawful manner. He also said that the election passed harmoniously in an atmosphere of a brotherly love and a mutual understanding of all the bishops at the Assembly.

The Holy Hierarchal Liturgy, during which there will be the enthronement of His Holiness Patriarch Irinej Serbia will begin tomorrow at the Cathedral Church at 9 o'clock, and later, when all the conditions are met, there will be made formal introducing to the throne of the Serbian patriarchs at the Patriarchate of Pec, the historic seat of the chief of the Serbian Orthodox Church.

Bishop Irinej of Nis elected Serbian Patriarch

(RFE/RL) – The bells at Belgrade's Cathedral Church rang out today to announce that Bishop Irinej of Nis had been elected patriarch of the Serbian Orthodox Church.


The 79-year-old Irinej will be the Serbian Orthodox Church’s 45th patriarch.

The veteran bishop, known to be relatively moderate, was picked at a gathering of dozens of bishops and other clergy at the Patriarchate in Belgrade.

He is expected to be enthroned on January 23 in a ceremony broadcast on television.

He will replace Patriarch Pavle, who died in November following a long illness at the age of 95. Pavle had headed the church for almost 20 years, a period that included the ethnic wars of the 1990s, which accompanied the breakup of Yugoslavia.

In a statement issued by the Belgrade patriarchate, Irinej said he would carry the "burden and all the problems of my awesome and difficult duty together with my fellow bishops."

The new patriarch will have to face long-lasting issues such as relations with the Vatican and churches in Macedonia and Montenegro that are seeking independence.

Observers see Irinej as seeking compromise between conservatives -- who are opposed to openness to other churches and Western influences in Serbian society -- and reformists, who want the church to be more open and modern.

In a recent interview, Irinej said he would not oppose a visit to Serbia by the Roman Catholic pope. The hard-liners of the church have long opposed such a visit.

Bishop Amfilohije Radovic, who is seen as an anti-Western hard-liner, has served as caretaker for much of the past two years, during Pavle's long hospitalization.

Today's election was held behind closed doors amid reports of feuding and jostling among the voters.

Under the complex system, each member of the Holy Assembly of Bishops chooses three preferred names from the list of potential candidates. Any names selected by more than half the assembly members then move to a short list limited to three candidates.

The process can be slow. For the election of Patriarch Pavle in 1990, the vote was taken nine times before a short list was achieved.

Once the list is in hand, the names of the final three candidates are put in three unmarked, sealed envelopes and placed inside a Bible.

A monk selected by the assembly then takes the three envelopes from the Bible, selects one at random, and gives it to the presiding bishop, who announces the name of the new patriarch.

The so-called apostolic vote was introduced in 1967 to prevent Yugoslavia's secular authorities from meddling in church affairs. Church leaders said it was the Holy Spirit that guided the monk in selecting an envelope, thereby eliminating human interference from the final stage of the process.

The Serbian Orthodox Church is the second-oldest Slavic Orthodox Church in the world and the westernmost Eastern church in Europe. It is believed to have between 7 million and 14 million followers, located primarily in the republics of former Yugoslavia.

Coptic Christians Protest at UN and Egyptian Consulate

H/T: The Silent Majority

Runaway convert allowed to live away from parents

H/T: Theology and Society

(Christian Post) - A teenage girl from Ohio who ran away from home after she became Christian can remain free from her Muslim parents, according to the terms of a court settlement.

Though Rifqa Bary’s parents have been fighting to regain custody of her since last August, under the agreement Tuesday, the 17-year-old teen can stay in a foster home under state custody in Columbus until she turns 18. After legally becoming an adult in August, Bary will be free to live where she chooses.

In a statement read in the Franklin County Juvenile Court, Bary’s attorney reported that the girl and her parents – who emigrated from Sri Lanka – love and respect each other and will try to resolve their differences through counseling.

Since last August, Bary has been involved in a legal battle with her parents, claiming that her father had said, "If you have this Jesus in your heart, you are dead to me!" and also added some time later, "I will kill you!"

Bary’s father, Mohamed Bary, however, has vehemently denied ever threatening to kill his daughter for converting to Christianity and accuses the pastors she stayed with in Florida of “brainwashing” his daughter into believing she was in danger of an "honor killing."

Last July, Bary ran away from her home near Columbus by boarding a Greyhound bus and heading to Orlando, where she was taken in by an evangelical pastor couple in Orlando that she met through a Facebook prayer group. Oh, no! Not a prayer group!

Bary stayed with the pastors for two weeks until Florida authorities discovered her parents had filed her as missing.

She has since been living in foster homes – first in Florida and later in Ohio, where judges from both states eventually agreed jurisdiction in the custody case belonged.

The pastors who sheltered her, meanwhile, have denied having knowingly broke the law by hiding the Muslim-turned-Christian girl from Ohio.

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement, which completed investigation into the Lorenzes’ role in Bar’s case, has yet to come to a decision on whether they will be charged with any wrongdoing.

Blog Spotlight: Mystagogy

This is another post in the continuing, if very occasional, series spotlighting blogs in the hope of giving them higher visibility.

The author describes his blog in this way, "This weblog offers insights and analysis on various matters of life and thought from a 21st century Orthodox Christian perspective, among other things." I would add that the blog is informative, topical, and always interesting.

http://www.johnsanidopoulos.com/

A small Eastern Catholic mission in a small California town

(NCR) - Hidden away in the Yokayo Valley of northern California, St. Peter Eastern Catholic Mission offers nothing to attract the worldly eye. There’s a small parking lot, a field of weeds, and a nondescript white-stucco building that could use a fresh coat of paint. The only outward sign to mark the latter as a church is a small golden rooftop Byzantine cross.

And yet, inside this little church, the feeling is always of having stepped into another dimension. Sunlight streams through the east window. Joyful psalmody fills the air. Breathtakingly beautiful liturgy can last three to four hours.

And at the center of it all: a relic of the true cross, a tiny splinter lovingly surrounded on a recent Sunday morning by a wreath of fresh sweet basil and red carnations.

It’s impossible for a million ordinary words to describe the experience, yet one Word explains it all. For everything good, true and beautiful in this little Catholic church comes entirely as a free gift from God.

In response, some worshipers journey to this remote little mission on Sundays from hundreds of miles away. One woman commuted 240 miles weekly from San Francisco for more than a year to worship God at St. Peter’s before moving to Ukiah to attend daily services. A couple drives with their four small children on weekends from Sacramento, a round-trip distance of 350 miles. Other parishioners commute weekly from Santa Rosa, 60 miles away.

“We are becoming geographically a very far-extended congregation,” St. Peter’s pastor, Father David Anderson, told approximately 70 people who gathered June 7 to celebrate Divine Liturgy and to mark the 10th anniversary of the mission’s founding. “A significant development for us is that more than half our parishioners now live outside the Ukiah area,” Father Anderson said.

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Determining a book's provenance

As discovered this weekend...

Question: How do you know a book came from your parish's library?

Answer: You find a beard hair and Greek-to-English alphabet cheat sheet folded into the book's pages.

Assyrian Church of the East's Holy Synod commences

H/T: OBL News

THRISSUR (Assyrian Church News) - India with its rich cultural heritage is a model for the whole world in many respects, said Patriarch of the Church of the East His Holiness Mar Dinkha-IV.

Briefing to mediapersons on the sidelines of the Holy Synod, which began here on Thursday morning, he said that peace, welfare and development of the world were important and everyone should dream and work for it.

His Holiness Mar Dinkha IV also added that it was for the first time that the seven-day Synod of the Church of the East was being held in India. The supreme head of the Church of the East said that the Synod would deliberate on matters before the joint Holy Synod of the ancient Church of the East popularly known as the Old Calendar Group and the Assyrian Church of the East to be held in April in Iraq.

In addition all the spiritual, administrative developments of the Church would also be discussed at the Synod. He said that on January 17, two priests of the Church in India, Fr Joju Anto and Fr Shaju Poulose would be consecrated Episcopas. Later, in the afternoon the Synod unanimously decided to elevate the two priests to the position of Episcopas and a decree to that effect was released.

March for Life plans finalized

WASHINGTON, DC (OCA) - Orthodox Christians from across the country will gather here on Friday, January 22, 2010, for the annual March for Life.

His Beatitude, Metropolitan Jonah, will lead hundreds of Orthodox Christians in proclaiming life as a precious gift from God.

Services and events surrounding the March include the following.

On Thursday, January 21, the eve of the March, the faithful are invited to join Metropolitan Jonah and other members of the Holy Synod of Bishops for Vespers at Saint Nicholas Cathedral, 3500 Massachusetts Ave. NW, at 7:00 p.m. A reception and fellowship will follow in the cathedral hall.

On Friday morning, January 22, Metropolitan Jonah and members of the Holy Synod will concelebrate the Divine Liturgy at the cathedral at 8:00 a.m. Students from Saint Vladimir's Seminary, Crestwood, NY and Saint Tikhon's Seminary, South Canaan, PA, will form a combined choir to render the liturgical responses.

At noon on Friday, marchers are asked to gather under the "Orthodox Christians for Life" banner on the Mall at 7th Street near the Smithsonian Castle. Metropolitan Jonah will be the first of several speakers to address the public at the pre-March program. At the conclusion of the March, he will offer prayers for the victims of abortion.

On Friday evening, Metropolitan Jonah will offer the invocation at the annual Rose Dinner at DC's Hyatt Regency Hotel.

And also...

JOHNSTOWN, PA (ACROD) - Diocesan Clergy and Faithful from throughout the diocese will participate in the Annual March for Life on Friday, January 22, 2010 in Washington D.C. This Year's March marks the 27th Anniversary of the Supreme Court Decision Roe V Wade which legalized Abortion. The March will be preceeded by a rally at Noon on the National Mall on 7th Street. Orthodox Christians from throughout the U.S. will March together behind the Orthodox Christians For Life Banner, offering prayers and singing hymns, beseeching the intervention of Almighty God in ending this legalized infantcide.

Further information on the March and related events may be found here.

St. Maximus the Confessor, Champion of Orthodoxy

I find it edifying to read about a saint the day before he is to be commemorated; this is especially true if I am able to attend a service the next day. I post this wonderful icon and an abbreviated story of the life of St. Maximus with the hope that you might have a moment to ponder this stalwart defender of orthodoxy in the face of persecution, exile, and torture.

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Saint Maximus the Confessor was born in Constantinople around 580 and raised in a pious Christian family. He received an excellent education, studying philosophy, grammar, and rhetoric. He was well-read in the authors of antiquity and he also mastered philosophy and theology. When St Maximus entered into government service, he became first secretary (asekretis) and chief counselor to the emperor Heraclius (611-641), who was impressed by his knowledge and virtuous life.

St Maximus soon realized that the emperor and many others had been corrupted by the Monothelite heresy, which was spreading rapidly through the East. He resigned from his duties at court, and went to the Chrysopolis monastery (at Skutari on the opposite shore of the Bosphorus), where he received monastic tonsure. Because of his humility and wisdom, he soon won the love of the brethren and was chosen igumen of the monastery after a few years. Even in this position, he remained a simple monk.

In 638, the emperor Heraclius and Patriarch Sergius tried to minimize the importance of differences in belief, and they issued an edict, the "Ekthesis" ("Ekthesis tes pisteos" or "Exposition of Faith), which decreed that everyone must accept the teaching of one will in the two natures of the Savior. In defending Orthodoxy against the "Ekthesis," St Maximus spoke to people in various occupations and positions, and these conversations were successful. Not only the clergy and the bishops, but also the people and the secular officials felt some sort of invisible attraction to him, as we read in his Life.

When St Maximus saw what turmoil this heresy caused in Constantinople and in the East, he decided to leave his monstery and seek refuge in the West, where Monothelitism had been completely rejected. On the way, he visited the bishops of Africa, strengthening them in Orthodoxy, and encouraging them not to be deceived by the cunning arguments of the heretics.

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Fighting over an historic Orthodox church in France

(RIA Novosti) - The Nice Superior Court in France has declared Russia to be the rightful owner of St. Nicholas Orthodox Cathedral.

"Russia is the rightful owner of the territory, the cathedral, as well as all its properties," the chair of the Nice Municipal High Court said.

The Patriarchate of Moscow claimed the cathedral should be returned to the Russian state, the successor to the tsarist regime.

However, the Russian Orthodox Association of Nice (ACOR) opposed the claim, arguing the cathedral belongs to the Orthodox Church of Constantinople.

The ACOR said it will make an appeal to a court in the French city of Aix-en-Provence.

The church was originally the property of Tsar Nicholas II, however, it was given to the archbishop of St. Petersburg with a 99-year lease, which expired on December 31, 2007.

In 2007, the Cote d'Azur region, which includes Nice at its center, declared the contents of the church part of the national patrimony which meant no part of it could be removed from France without the permission of the Ministry of Culture.

St. Nicholas Cathedral, the largest Russian Orthodox Cathedral outside Russia, was built in 1912 in Nice and opened by Tsar Nicolas II, who also funded the construction, in the same place where his uncle Prince Nicolai Alexandrovich died in 1865. The cathedral is rich with icons, woodwork, and frescos.

It was established for the large Russian community that lived in the French Riviera and in Nice at the beginning of the 20th century.

The cathedral is a popular tourist attraction with up to 200,000 people visiting it annually.
Last year, a Russian Orthodox Church dedicated to St. Nicholas in the Italian city of Bari was returned to Russian ownership. The church was built in the beginning of the 20th century to welcome Russians coming to the city to visit the 11th-century Basilica of St. Nicholas, where the saint's relics lie.

St. Nicholas, a fourth-century bishop, was famous for his generosity. He later developed into the figure of Santa Claus in some countries. In 1087, his remains were stolen from the ancient Turkish city of Myra by sailors from Bari.

"Orthograph" on parental piety

As a father of six, I support the correlation this chart from Pithless Thoughts proposes.

Relics, icons, and crosses onboard Intl. Space Station

Moscow, Russia, Jan 20, 2010 / 12:11 am (CNA) - The Gospels, four icons, crosses and a relic of the True Cross have been taken aboard the Russian segment of the International Space Station (ISS), a Russian cosmonaut has reported. A photo taken by the station crew shows an icon and a crucifix floating in zero gravity in the ISS.

Writing on his blog at the website of the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos), Cosmonaut Maksim Suraev responded to readers’ questions about religious symbols on the space station.

“We have four holy icons on the Russia segment. We also have the Gospels and a big cross,” he said, according to a blog entry translated by Russia Today in November 2009.

Russia Today reported that the Lord’s Divine Cross was given to A.N. Merminov, the head of Roscosmos, by the late Patriarch of Moscow Aleksy II. The cross was delivered to the station in 2006 by the crew of Soyuz TMA-8.

Suraev added that he has a reliquary cross in his cabin.

“A priest gave it to me at Baikanur before the launch. Father Job told me a piece of the original cross on which Jesus was crucified is contained in mine.”

He added that his cross was blessed in the major monastery of Sergiev Posad.

“It will be with me the whole expedition and will return with me to Earth,” the cosmonaut wrote.

Holy relics and other objects have been on previous spaceflights. U.S. astronaut Ronald Garan brought a relic of St. Therese of Lisieux with him on the space shuttle Discovery in 2008. He plans to bring another relic of the saint with him on a mission to the ISS in 2011.

OCA Holy Synod to meet in special session over Chambésy

Some may be wondering, "What is Chambésy?" To those people I would recommend this and this link.

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WASHINGTON, DC (OCA) - Members of the Holy Synod of Bishops of the Orthodox Church in America will meet at Saint Nicholas Cathedral here on Wednesday, January 20, 2010. The purpose of the special session will be to review the deliberations and decisions of the Fourth Pre-Conciliar Pan-Orthodox Conference in Chambésy-Geneva, Switzerland, June 6-12, 2009 and the forthcoming North American Episcopal Assembly, slated to convene in mid-2010.

His Beatitude, Metropolitan Jonah, will chair the special, day-long session.

The Pan-Orthodox Conference was held in response to the Synaxis of the Primates of the Orthodox Churches convened by His All-Holiness, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, in October 2008. During that meeting, the Primates expressed their "desire for the swift healing of every canonical anomaly that has arisen from historical circumstances and pastoral requirements, such as the so-called Orthodox diaspora, with a view to overcoming every possible influence that is foreign to Orthodox ecclesiology."

In observations shared at the annual Conference on Missions and Evangelism held at Antiochian Village in the fall of 2009, Metropolitan Jonah commented that the processes outlined in the statement issued at the conclusion of the Chambésy meeting were "a way to spur us to unity.... If we keep our eyes fixed on Jesus Christ, it will come together in a way that will honor God and be in accordance with His will." [A detailed report on Metropolitan Jonah's presentations on unity and mission is posted here.]

In order to share the Orthodox Church in America’s positions on a variety of human rights and related issues, the hierarchs will meet with Congressman Christopher “Chris” Smith [R-NJ] and other members of Congress on Thursday, January 21. Among the topics to be discussed are the situation of the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Turkey in light of Patriarch Bartholomew’s widely acclaimed recent interview on "60 Minutes"; the plight of Orthodox Christians in Kosovo; growing concerns for Egypt’s Coptic Christians; pro-life concerns; and related issues, including human trafficking, that affect traditionally Orthodox Christian and other lands.

Congressman Smith, widely known for his pro-life and pro-human rights positions, chairs the House International Relations Africa, Global Human Rights and International Operations Subcommittee and serves as vice-chair of the Committee on International Relations and as co-chair of the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe (also known as the US Helsinki Commission), which works to promote and foster democracy, human rights, and stability in Eastern and Central Europe.

A bishop for Alaska?

A message from the OrthodoxNews group below. I read a few forums who are debating the veracity and/or finality of such a report, so I post this without any corroboration. Take it for what it's worth.

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I received the Jan-Feb 2010 issue of "The Voice of Holy Trinity," the parish bulletin of Holy Trinity Serbian Orthodox Church in Moraga, CA:

Under Western American Diocese Report, submitted by Ron Radakovich, VP, Diocesan Council

"Father Gerasim of our Platina Monastery accepted a new prestigious assignment with the OCA, Orthodox Church in America. He is now the Bishop of Alaska for the OCA. Father Gerasim served liturgy at Holy Trinity on a number of occasions. He will be greatly missed by our Diocese, but his elevation is most deserved."

Christianity vs. the EU

H/T: elgreca

Update on Serbian Orthodox Election Assembly

Bishop Irinej of Bachka writes on the Serbian Orthodox Church's Election Assembly scheduled to take place later this month.

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(spc.rs) - The upcoming Election Assembly of the Serbian Orthodox Church, scheduled for January 22, is one of the central themes of our media scene. The Holy Synod states with satisfaction that one part of media deals with that issue seriously and responsibly, but notices with deep regret that an approach of great deal of media reporters and commentators is sensationalist, biased and partial, so they often use disinformation and obscure gossip, usually from anonymous sources, neither respecting the spiritual authority of the Church nor its late head. Also they do not care for the feelings and the dignity of our people, expressed at the send-off and the funeral of Patriarch.

In particular, there are inconsistent and contradictory reports on the participation of Bishops of the Autonomous Archbishopric of Ohrid in the electoral process, with the almost obligatory note that the Assembly has yet to decide about that. Actually on behalf of true reporting and with a goal to remove doubts or maliciously caused confusion (in which also are not innocent certain church and parachurch circles), the Holy Synod is obliged to present the public present its official position, or to provide authentic, ecclesiological and canonical only possible interpretation of the existing principal assembly decision on this matter (AS no. 2 and 3, record 48, from November 14, 2008.). The Assembly undoubtedly pleaded about that: hierarchs of the Archbishopric of Ohrid, like all others, participate in the election of the Patriarch of Serbia.

The theological foundation of the principal Assembly's stance is, in brief: In the Orthodox Church there is neither bishop nor a group of bishops that does not belong to the Assembly of one of the autocephalous Churches and does not have the same hierarchic rights and obligations, regardless of the existence or the absence of autonomous church areas. For the hierarchs of the Ohrid Archbishopric the denial of rights of participation in the election would mean that either we do not recognize them as our Orthodox brethren in the diocesan service, or we consider them members of some other autocephalous Church, which is pointless, or that we consider them an already recognized separate autocephalous Church, which is more senseless.

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5th Annual Intl. Winter Service Retreat in Pharr, TX

[PHARR] The 5th Annual International Winter Service Retreat, sponsored by St. George Orthodox Church and PRO-ORB (Orthodox Rio Bridges) Outreach Ministries in Pharr, Texas concluded with a Divine Liturgy in Spanish on Saturday morning, January 2nd. This year's week-long event was attended by 45 teens, college students and young adult participants from throughout the USA. The Spiritual Sessions Retreat Master for this retreat was Archpriest Chad Hatfield, Chancellor of St. Vladimir's Seminary in Crestwood, NY.

This year's retreat chaplains included Father Antonio Perdomo, Pastor of St. George's and Director of the annual retreat, joined by Priest Seraphim Holland, from St. Nicholas Russian Orthodox Church in McKinney, Texas, as well as Fr. Chad Hatfield. Three Theological Seminaries were represented during the week, including St. Tikhon's Seminary, St. Vladimir's Seminary and Holy Cross. Participants represented various Orthodox Jurisdictions and Diocese in North America, including the Orthodox Church in America (OCA), the Antiochian Archdiocese, the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese (GOA) and the Russian Church Outside of Russia (ROCOR) who traveled from North Texas, New Mexico, Kansas, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Louisiana and Mexico.

Participants and our guest speaker arrived on Monday afternoon and early evening. Activities began with our traditional borderlands green chile posole dinner, followed by introductions, welcomes and an overview of this region shared by Reader Stephen Shepherd. Archpriest Chad Hatfield then gave his opening, introductory talk during an event open to the Parish and Public. After settling in guests at their lodgings at the Valley Baptist Retreat Center and blessing the retreat center facilities, the first evening's events concluded.

The week started off unusually chilly, unlike the normal season's weather pattern in the Rio Grande Valley. On that cold and drizzly Tuesday, after the morning's spiritual session talk, continuing the theme on Alaskan Saints, participant's spirits remained undaunted as they spent the remainder of the day sorting donated clothing and other items, barely sheltered under a canopy tent, on the church porch and in the church hall.

Because of the cold, wet weather and recent uncertainties across the border in Mexico, Madre Natividad, Abbess of a Roman Catholic Monastery in Reynosa, Mexico and Director of the Casa Amparo Orphanage for Girls which the monastic community administers, came to visit us at St. George's. Madre Natividad spoke to the participants and thanked them for their generosity and efforts serving others. Donations collected for the orphanage were then loaded in her vehicle and she took them back across the border to distribute personally.

On Wednesday morning, the day began early as some vehicles and participants joined Father Antonio as he picked up large amounts of food, diapers and more at the area's Rio Grande Valley Food Bank. While Father and his crew were off picking up food, the remaining participants set up tents, tables and more then brought out and arranged all of the blankets, coats and jackets, shoes, clothing items and toys which had been donated and sorted the day before. About 50 hand-made quilts and comforters were made and donated by the local Zion Mission Quilters from Zion Lutheran Church in nearby Alamo, Texas. Another hundred blankets were donated through fundraising efforts done by last year's Orthodox "Winter Texans" from Canada, Trevor and Rhonda Hammons, as well as through donations made by others both local and national. By what seemed to be a miracle, every family received one blanket and as many clothing items as they desired, in addition to a generous box of food. Handicapped items for the elderly, such as wheelchairs, walkers, canes, handicapped toilets and more were gladly received by the many elderly participants who receive no government assistance with those items. Both mothers of infants and those caring for the elderly were very happy with the children's and adult-sized "diapers" distributed that day. It was a full and rewarding day and by the day's end, over 150 families had been served.

After the Vespers for the Circumcision of Our Lord, participants, plus some local guests, went back to the Valley Baptist Retreat Center for a New Year's Eve Celebration which included a tamale, nachos and more dinner, plus our annual talent show. The night ended with watching local fireworks before heading for bed.

In year's past, we have taken donations and done work projects across the border in Reynosa, Mexico at the Casa Amparo Orphanage for girls. Since, as mentioned below, at the last minute this activities was not to occur this year, instead, after a lovely and meditative spiritual session led by Fr. Chad, a work day at St. George's filled out our day on Thursday. New paving stones replaced the old, broken ones which led to the church sidewalk, trees and shrubbery were trimmed, native species plants, donated by the church's neighbor, Alan Williams of Williams Wildscapes, were planted along with other native species plants at the back of the church property. In addition, ornamental plantings along the back of the old church hall were moved and replanted in a safe place, to make way for the building of a new church hall,

Friday, January 1st was beach day at South Padre Island. All week, weather reports promised a warm and sunny day, but instead, it was a chilly, grey and windy day. Our dauntless participants nonetheless enjoyed the day, including the traditional soccer game on the beach and the obligatory stop at the sand dunes to watch the sunset. After a stop at Ci-Ci's Pizza on the way back to the Church, we had Vespers together before retiring for the night. .

The climax of the week was the Divine Liturgy, in Spanish, which along with a goodbye brunch, ended this year's Winter Service Retreat. Many thanks to all who assisted, all who came and all who supported this year's event. Hope to see many more of you - same time, same place - next year! See more photos at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/8135007@N03/sets/72157623237013898/