The Kiev Patriarchate and the Ukrainian Greek Catholics

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,” that the overwhelming majority of the Orthodox parishes in western Ukrainian regions do not belong to the Moscow Patriarchate.

In addition, commenting on the statements of Metropolitan Hilarion not only at the session of the mentioned committee but also his other meetings and discussions during his stay in Ukraine, the Kyivan Patriarchate expressed surprise as to why representatives of the Ukrainian churches are not engaged to the discussion of their very churches. The case in question concerned exactly Greek Catholics.

“During his stay in Kyiv and Lviv, Metropolitan Hilarion held meetings with representatives of the Roman Catholic Church such as Metroplitain M. Mokrzycki and the Apostolic Nuncio I. Jurkovic. According to the latest official reports, the head of the Department of External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate talked with the latter about the activity of the Greek Catholic Church in Ukraine. In general, the practice of conducting negotiations about Ukrainian Churches between the religious centers outside Ukraine is odd, unacceptable, and without prospects,” stressed the Kyivan Patriarchate.

A Table in the Presence of My Enemies

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 shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for Thou art with me; Thy rod and Thy staff, they have comforted me.

Thou hast prepared a table for me in the presence of them that afflict me. Thou hast anointed my head with oil, and Thy cup which filleth me, how excellent it is!

And Thy mercy shall pursue me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord unto length of days.

The Holy Fire in Jerusalem

(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 one, held meetings with the Israeli Police to petition for the free access of pilgrims to the Patriarchate Road, to the Christian Road and to the Convent church of the Brotherhood namely that of Saints Constantine and Helen, and for the removal of Police iron-railing barriers.

The Police replied explaining that if these facilitations were implemented, the lives of pilgrims would be at risk and would deem the descent of His Beatitude to the Church of Resurrection on Holy Saturday for the ceremony of the Holy Fire, as impossible.

Read more »

Mystagogy: the central message of Holy Wednesday

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 healing. Not just temporary healing, but from man’s biggest problems: egotism, sin and death. The great paradigm of Orthodoxy is not that of righteous/sinful, but of healthy/sick. All of us need healing. This is our primary Christian aim, and is evidenced by the fact that even Jesus implies it is of greater importance than giving our riches to the poor and needy. The social gospel had taken such a hold of the disciples of Jesus that they forgot what is even more essential. The sinful woman shows her great love by her humble offering, and not only received healing by the Physician of our souls, but has become an example for all time for what the Lord truly seeks from His disciples.

It is for this reason that the Church, guided by the Holy Spirit, has as a tradition the celebration on Holy Wednesday of Holy Unction in the churches. This service is filled with references to this central message of the day - that Christ came to heal our fallen sinful condition through the sacrifice He made on the cross and the destruction of death through His death. It is within this total context that we should attend the Service of Holy Unction, which is a great mystery of the Church that allows us to be healed by the very hand of Christ when the priest anoints us with the holy oil.

Hymn of Praise for Holy Wednesday

As the sinful woman was offering myrrh, the disciple was making terms with the lawless. She found joy pouring out what was precious; he hastened to sell out the priceless One; she acknowledged the Master, he cut himself off from the Master; she was set free, he fell slave to the enemy. What unspeakable callousness! How great the repentance! Grant me this, O Savior who suffered for us, and save us.

For a more thorough treatment of the Holy Unction service and other prayers of healing in the Orthodox Church, read Sin, Sickness, and Salvation by Archpriest Chad Hatfield.

The "little services" of the Church

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 besought You, weeping:
“Loose my debt, as I have loosed my hair!
Love the woman who, though justly hated, loves You!
Then with the publicans will I proclaim You,//
O Benefactor, Who love mankind.”

Praise Him with trumpet sound; praise Him with lute and harp! (Ps 150:3)

The harlot mingled precious myrrh with her tears.
She poured it on Your most pure feet and kissed them.
At once You justified her.
O Lord, Who suffered for our sakes,//
forgive us also, and save us!

Praise Him with timbrel and dance; praise Him with strings and pipe! (Ps 150:4)

As the sinful woman was bringing her offering of myrrh,
the disciple was scheming with lawless men.
She rejoiced in pouring out her precious gift.
He hastened to sell the priceless One.
She recognized the Master, but Judas parted from Him.
She was set free, but Judas was enslaved to the Enemy.
How terrible his slothfulness!
How great her repentance!
O Savior, Who suffered for our sakes,//
grant repentance to us also, and save us!

Praise Him with sounding cymbals; praise Him with loud clashing cymbals! Let everything that breathes praise the Lord! Praise the Lord! (Ps 150:5)

Oh, the wretchedness of Judas!
He saw the harlot kiss the footsteps of Christ,
but deceitfully he contemplated the kiss of betrayal.
She loosed her hair while he bound himself with wrath.
He offered the stench of wickedness instead of myrrh,
for envy cannot distinguish value.
Oh, the wretchedness of Judas!//
Deliver our souls from it, O God!

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit;

The sinful woman ran to buy the precious myrrh
with which to anoint her Savior.
She cried to the merchant: “Give me myrrh,//
that I may anoint Him Who has cleansed all my sins!”

now and ever, and unto ages of ages. Amen.

The woman who was engulfed in sin
found in You a haven of salvation.
She poured out myrrh with her tears and cried to You:
“Behold the One Who brings repentance to sinners!
Rescue me from the tempest of sin, O Master,//
through Your great mercy!”


The Aposticha

Today Christ comes to the house of the Pharisee.
A sinful woman crawls to His feet and cries:
“Look at me who am engulfed in sin,
in despair because of my evil deeds!
But, in Your goodness, do not despise me!
Grant me forgiveness of my evil deeds, O Lord,//
and save me!”

v: Satisfy us in the morning with Your steadfast love that we may rejoice and be glad all our days! Make us glad as many days as You have afflicted us, and as many years as we have seen evil! Let Your work be manifest to Your servants, and Your glorious power to their children! (Ps 89/90:14)

The harlot spread out her hair to You, O Master;
Judas spread out his hands to lawless men:
she in order to receive forgiveness;
he in order to receive some silver.
We cry to You, Who were sold for us and yet set us free://
“O Lord, glory to You!”

v: Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us and establish the work of our hands; yea, establish the work of our hands! (Ps 89/90:17)

The corrupt and filthy woman
drew near to You, O Savior.
She poured out her tears on Your feet
and thus announced Your Passion.
How can I gaze on You, O Master?
Yet You came to save the harlot.
Raise me from the depths, for I am dead in sin,
as You raised Lazarus from the tomb after four days.
Accept me in my misery, O Lord,//
and save me!

v: I will thank You, O Lord, with all my heart; I will tell of all Your wondrous works. (Ps 9:1)

Despairing for her life, and in despair because of her deeds,
the woman came bearing myrrh to You and cried:
“O Son of the Virgin,
though I am a harlot, do not cast me aside!
O Joy of the Angels,
do not despise my tears!
As You did not reject me as a sinner,//
accept me now as a penitent, in Your great mercy!”

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit,
now and ever, and unto ages of ages. Amen.

Great and Holy Wednesday

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 the Presanctified Liturgy on Tuesday afternoon. Later that evening, the Orthros (Matins) follows the special Holy Week format known as the Bridegroom Prayer. Towards the end of Orthros, the Hymn of Kassiani is sung. The hymn, (written in the 9th century by Kassiani the Nun) tells of the woman who washed Christ's feet in the house of Simon the Pharisee.

The Byzantine musical composition expresses the poetry so strongly that it often leaves many people in a state of prayerful tears. The Hymn can last upwards of 25 minutes and is liturgically and musically a highpoint of the entire year.

On this day members of the church receive Holy Unction after receiving Holy Communion at the Presanctified Liturgy on Wednesday evening.

It is on account of the agreement made by Judas to betray Jesus on this day that Orthodox Christians fast on Wednesdays (as well as Fridays) throughout the year.

The Hymn of Kassiani

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 herself, left behind the scroll and pen. Theophilos, having entered the garden, found her half-completed poem, and added the phrase, those feet at whose sound Eve hid herself for fear when she heard Thee walking in Paradise in the Afternoon. After he departed, Kassiani came out from hiding. When she took up her composition, she beheld the phrase written in his handwriting. She retained it and went on to complete the poem.

Hymn of Kassiani text

Sensing Thy divinity, O Lord, a woman of many sins

takes it upon herself to become a myrrh-bearer,

And in deep mourning brings before Thee fragrant oil

in anticipation of Thy burial; crying:

"Woe to me! For night is unto me, oestrus of lechery,

a dark and moonless eros of sin.

Receive the wellsprings of my tears,

O Thou who gatherest the waters of the oceans into clouds.

Bend to me, to the sorrows of my heart,

O Thou who bendedst down the heavens in Thy ineffable self-emptying.

I will kiss Thine immaculate feet

and dry them with the locks of my hair;

Those very feet whose sound Eve heard at dusk in Paradise

and hid herself in fear.

Who shall reckon the multitude of my sins,

or the abysses of Thy judgment, O Saviour of my soul?

Do not ignore Thy handmaiden,

O Thou whose mercy is endless."

Egypt and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

H/T: The Free Copts

Preparing the Great Myrrh

(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 were sprinkled with holy water. His Eminence Laurenţiu lit the fire that would boil the decoction, while the priests washed the vessels with holy water.


“We glorify God for this beginning of the preparation for the Great Myrrh, as a sacramental work of the Church, a special work invested with the highest canonical authority because only an autocephalous Church can consecrate the Great Myrrh”, said His Eminence Laurenţiu.

His Eminence explained the usage of the Holy Great Myrrh, saying that this preparation “is a very important work from a spiritual point of view for us, because the Great Myrrh prepared here and consecrated on the Holy Thursday, will be distributed to all the churches of the Romanian Patriarchate and used first of all in the Sacrament of the Holy Myrrh of the Holy Unction, because it is the matter consecrated not only by a single hierarch, but by all the bishops of Holy Synod. The Holy Great Myrrh will be used for consecrating the churches, for preparing the table of the Holy Altar just like the tomb of Jesus Christ, our Lord, for consecrating the antimises that will replace the Holy Table. These are the objects absolutely necessary for celebrating the Divine Liturgies, expressing, at the same time, the relation of the priest with his hierarch, because the Holy Antimis is signed by the local hierarch. The Holy Great Myrrh will be kept at the Patriarchate for the needs of all the religious units of all our churches over the year.

Tomorrow morning, after the celebration of the Hours service, the preparation of the plants decoction will begin, which will be mixed on Wednesday with olive oil, and on the Holy Thursday, will be consecrated by the Holy Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church, within the Divine Liturgy of Saint Basil the Great.

The olive oil for preparing the Great Myrrh was offered by the Romanian Orthodox Diocese of Italy and by the Metropolitan See of Corinth (Greece) as a present, and the wine by the Archdiocese of Tomis. The fifteen spices and most of the thirty essential oils were acquired from Egypt, Jordan, Syria, France, Bulgaria, Spain and Jerusalem, as Trinitas Radio Station informs us.

Palm Sunday in Romania

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.

Administering monastic vows

(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.

Great and Holy Tuesday

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 Parable of the Talents (Matthew 25:14-30) is also developed in the hymns of this day.

Parable of the Ten Virgins

"Then the kingdom of heaven will be like this. Ten bridesmaids took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom.

Five of them were foolish, and five were wise.

When the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them; but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps.

As the bridegroom was delayed, all of them became drowsy and slept.

But at midnight there was a shout, 'Look! Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.'

Then all those bridesmaids got up and trimmed their lamps.

The foolish said to the wise, 'Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.'

But the wise replied, 'No! there will not be enough for you and for us; you had better go to the dealers and buy some for yourselves.'

And while they went to buy it, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went with him into the wedding banquet; and the door was shut.

Later the other bridesmaids came also, saying, 'Lord, lord, open to us.'

But he replied, 'Truly I tell you, I do not know you.'

Keep awake therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.

Parable of the Talents

"For it is as if a man, going on a journey, summoned his slaves and entrusted his property to them; to one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability.

Then he went away.

The one who had received the five talents went off at once and traded with them, and made five more talents.

In the same way, the one who had the two talents made two more talents.

But the one who had received the one talent went off and dug a hole in the ground and hid his master's money.

After a long time the master of those slaves came and settled accounts with them.

Then the one who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five more talents, saying, 'Master, you handed over to me five talents; see, I have made five more talents.'

His master said to him, 'Well done, good and trustworthy slave; you have been trustworthy in a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.'

And the one with the two talents also came forward, saying, 'Master, you handed over to me two talents; see, I have made two more talents.'

His master said to him, 'Well done, good and trustworthy slave; you have been trustworthy in a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter in to the joy of your master.'

Then the one who had received the one talent also came forward, saying, 'Master, I knew that you were a harsh man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you did not scatter seed; so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what is yours.'

But his master replied, 'You wicked and lazy slave! You knew, did you, that I reap where I did not sow, and gather where I did not scatter?

Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and on my return I would have received what was my own with interest.

So take the talent from him, and give it to the one with the ten talents.

For to all those who have, more will be given, and they will have an abundance; but from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away.

As for this worthless slave, throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'

Closing Eucharistic Liturgy - LA Religious Education Congress

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.

Great and Holy Monday

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 remembrance of sins. The main emphasis of the Bridegroom Service is metanoia and each service has its own particular theme on repentance and watchfulness. One of its primary features is its troparion:

Behold, the Bridegroom comes in the middle of the night, and blessed is the servant He shall find vigilant; but unworthy is he whom he shall find neglectful. Beware therefore, O my soul, lest you be weighed down by sleep, lest you be given over to death and be closed out from the kingdom; but rise up crying out: "Holy! Holy! Holy are You our God; through the intercessions of the Theotokos, have mercy on us."

Holy Monday evening

On Holy Monday, the Blessed Joseph, the son of Jacob the Patriarch, is commemorated because he is seen as a prototype of Christ.

Joseph was betrayed by his brothers, thrown into a pit and sold into slavery by them. In the same way, the Lord was rejected, betrayed by his own, and sold into the slavery of death and like Joseph forgave and spared his brothers during the famine when they came to him, so too, Jesus Christ offers himself as a sacrifice and forgives all those who come to him in faith.

The Gospel reading for the day is of the Barren Fig Tree, which Christ cursed and withered because it bore no fruit. The fig tree is representative of those who have heard God's word, but who fail to bear the fruits of faith. Originally the withering of the fig tree was a testimony against those Jews who rejected God's word and his Messiah. It is also a warning to all people, in all times, of the importance of not only hearing the God's word, but putting it into action.

Monday evening also includes this kontakion:

Being mindful of the hour of the end, O my soul, and fearing because of the cutting down of the fig tree, labor diligently with the talent that was given thee, O hapless one, and be watchful and cry: Let us not remain outside the bridal chamber of Christ.

Ten tips for Holy Week and Pascha

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-stead kiss the hands or feet.

7. If you haven’t yet made your Confession during Great Lent, try to make it during the beginning of Holy Week. Speak with your priest to arrange a time.

8. Try to make amends with those we may be upset with or those who are upset with us, so that on Pascha we can joyfully sing, “Let us call brothers, even those that hate us, and forgive all by the Resurrection!”

9. Try to stay after the “Midnight Service” on Pascha morning for the blessing of baskets and festive meal. Let us share in the joy of the Lord’s Resurrection with fellowship and love.

10. During Bright Week, sing or read the Paschal Hours instead of your “normal” morning and evening prayers. Let the joy of praising the Lord’s Resurrection accompany you throughout Bright Week, the Paschal season, and your whole life.

Moscow and Rome meet in Constantinople

(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.

Palm Sunday in Russia

The 'Orthodox Constructions of the West' Conference

(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 midst of the Lord's Supper, they disputed with one another as to who was the greatest (Luke 22:24). I suppose the dispute may have arisen because of dissatisfaction with the seating assignments. The apostolic churches do seem to engage in the debate that hasn't let up in centuries.

At the Supper, it was supposed to be all about Him, but not in the world's way of reckoning, and not about the disciples in their way of reckoning. It was about Hi--being broken for them; Jesus showed them how to act by washing their feet.

When the great patriarchs of the churches wash each other's feet, perhaps the Lord will be near at hand. In the meantime, we talk, and pray.

In preparation for the publication of Orthodox Readings of Augustine (St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 2008), the co-founding directors of the Orthodox Christian Studies Program were struck by ways in which Orthodox authors, especially in the twentieth century, had created artificial categories of “East” and “West” and then used that distinction as a basis for self-definition. The history of Orthodox Christianity is typically narrated by Orthodox and non-Orthodox alike as developing in the ‘East’, which is geographically ambiguous, but usually refers to the region in Europe east of present-day Croatia, Hungary and Poland. In contemporary Orthodoxy, ‘West’ refers not simply to a geographical location, but to a form of civilization that was shaped and influenced by Latin Christendom, which includes both Roman Catholicism and Protestantism. The “West,” thus, represents a cluster of theological, cultural and political ideas against which Orthodox self-identify. In other words, Orthodox self-identification often engages in a distorted apophaticism: Orthodoxy is what the “West” is not.

Given that much of the Orthodox world has until recently suffered oppression from the Ottomans and the Communists, one can read the creation of the “East-West” binary as a post-colonial search for an authentic Orthodox identity in the wake of such domination. After centuries of repression, it is not surprising that the Orthodox recovery of identity would take the form of opposition to that which is seemingly the religious, cultural and political “Other.” The question that the conference will attempt to answer is whether such a construction has as much to do with Orthodox identify formation vis-à-vis the West as it does with genuine differences. By creating this opposition to the “West,” do Orthodox communities not only misunderstand what Western Christians believe but, even more egregiously, have they come to believe certain things about their own tradition and teachings that are historically untrue? The importance of addressing these questions is not simply limited to the theological realm. There is evidence of anti-democracy and anti-human rights rhetoric coming from traditional Orthodox countries that have recently been liberated from communism, and this rhetoric often associates liberal forms of democracy and the notion of human rights in general as “Western” and, therefore, not Orthodox. In other words, the self-identification vis-à-vis the “West” is affecting the cultural and political debates in the traditional Orthodox countries in Eastern Europe. Insofar as this conference addresses the broader theme of identity formation, its impact is potentially far-reaching, as it hopes to influence the production of theological, cultural and political ideas within contemporary Orthodoxy.

The purpose of this conference is to explore how these artificial binaries were first created and, by exposing them, make possible a more authentic recovery of the rich Orthodox tradition that is unfettered by self-definition vis-à-vis the proximate other. It is also expected that the deconstruction of false caricatures of West will impact the discussion on culture and politics throughout the Orthodox world, as well as assist in moving the ecumenical conversation forward.

A Church history timeline

(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).

Oral sex and cancer

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."

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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, the second most common cancer in women worldwide.

Many rich nations have launched HPV immunisation programs for girls to try to protect them from the common sexually transmitted virus before they become sexually active.

The scientists, led by Hisham Mehanna of the Institute of Head and Neck Studies at University Hospital Coventry, said while including boys in immunisation plans has been seen as too expensive, it may be time to look again.

"We need to look at the evidence again to re-evaluate the cost-effectiveness of male children in light of this new and rapidly rising incidence," he said in an interview.

Analyst Savvas Neophytou at Panmure Gordon in London said such studies would dispel worries about sales prospects for HPV vaccines, and repeated his 'buy' recommendation for Glaxo stock.

"The emergence of new data such as this may increase motivation amongst national vaccination authorities worldwide to re-double efforts to vaccinate children before they become sexually active," he said in an equity research note.

Glaxo shares were slightly lower, in line with a weaker European pharmaceutical sector and down 0.4 percent by 0905 GMT.

More than 500,000 cases of cervical cancer are diagnosed annually in women and it kills around 200,000 a year. Head and neck cancer is the sixth most common cancer among men and women, with about 640,000 new cases each year worldwide.

A recent study found the risk of developing oropharyngeal carcinoma was linked to a history of six or more lifetime sexual partners, four or more lifetime oral sex partners, and, for men, an earlier age at first sexual intercourse.

"Sexual transmission of HPV -- primarily through orogenital intercourse -- might be the reason for the increase in incidence of HPV related oropharyngeal carcinoma," wrote Mehanna.

The scientists pointed to recent studies which showed a 70 percent increase in the detection of HPV in biopsies taken to diagnose oropharyngeal carcinoma in Stockholm since the 1970s.

HPV-related cancer was also reported in 60-80 percent of recent biopsy samples in studies in the United States, compared with 40 percent in the previous decade, they wrote.

Mehanna said the findings had other important health implications. Patients with HPV-related head and neck cancers were typically younger and employed, he said, and because their tumors appeared to be less deadly than those caused by factors like smoking and drinking, patients may also live longer with the physical and psychological effects of treatment.

"This means they would need prolonged support from health, social, and other services, and may require help in returning to work," he said.

The Annunciation and abortion

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 inside the wombs of Elizabeth and Mary.

The angel said to her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called Son of God.

And now, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son; and this is the sixth month for her who was said to be barren.

For nothing will be impossible with God."

Then Mary said, "Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word." Then the angel departed from her.

The Visitation

In those days Mary set out and went with haste to a Judean town in the hill country, where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth.

When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the child leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and exclaimed with a loud cry, "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb.

And why has this happened to me, that the mother of my Lord comes to me?

For as soon as I heard the sound of your greeting, the child in my womb leaped for joy.

And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her by the Lord."

And Mary said, "My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant.

Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed; for the Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name.

His mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation.

He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts.

He has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly; he has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty.

He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, according to the promise he made to our ancestors, to Abraham and to his descendants forever."

If a baby can jump for joy at this meeting, who is to doubt his in utero "personhood"? Unless you ascribe to some of the more absurd strains of Biblical exegesis ("The feeding of the 5 thousand was a story about hospitality and sharing! People shared their hidden food with one another!"), you must accept that the underlying truth is that a person leaped (some translations say "danced") in the womb.

It is also difficult to make a mental leap past the words of St. Elizabeth. Her "Lord" was not eventual He was present. At the Annunciation we see in a simple story what no amount of debate or position paper writing can say with as much force: From the moment we are conceived we know the Lord is with us. The Hand of Creation in whose image we were formed is known innately to all from our first moment of existence. God, who entrusted us to name all the animals of creation and to show proper dominion for creation, trusts us to care for man - the creature for whom all of creation was made. To quote St. John Chrysostom from his Homilies on Genesis (Homily 8 pg. 107): "Don't be surprised dearly beloved. I mean, the human being is the creature more important than all the other visible things, and for this creature all the others have been produced - sky, earth, sea, sun, moon, stars, the reptiles, the cattle, all the brute beasts." Christ was human from the moment of His conception. To doubt the Incarnation made a person from the beginning is to doubt the term Theotokos in particular (for he was fully God and fully man at all times) and, more broadly and damningly, the Faith itself.

Met. Hilarion on returning from schism without humiliation

(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 themselves. Many of them would like to return to the fold of the Church. This process is already underway. Yesterday I visited the diocese of Vinnitsa, where I learnt from Archbishop Simeon that seven parishes of the so-called ‘Kievan Patriarchate’ have returned to the Church’s fold. Such processes are also taking place in other regions in Ukraine.

The Church like a child-loving mother always awaits with love the return of those who have fallen away from her. Their coming back home should be made as easy as possible. This is exactly the aim of our commission.

To achieve this aim we are to fulfill the tasks the Inter-council Presence presidium has set us, doing it on the basis of an historical and canonical analysis of the schisms which already existed and were healed. This analysis should be made by experts who are also to elaborate possible models of overcoming them.

We should realize that in the schism there are those who chose this path consciously when they left the canonical Church. But there are also a great number of those who have already grown in schism and have been formed in it as Christians. Some of them do not realize the fatality of their dwell outside the Church, and we should help them return to communion with universal Orthodoxy.

The procedure of returning from a schism should not be humiliating. We should proceed from the fact that it is categorically inadmissible to recognize sacraments administered in schism. However, there is an opinion that in a return to the fold of the Church the sacraments administered outside it are filled with grace-giving power. This does not apply however to episcopal consecrations since they are bound up with the apostolic succession which is absent from a schism. We have to discuss what is to be done when thousands or even millions of people will be returning to the Church. Should we administer baptism or anointing to them? Or can we accept them through repentance?

We will also have to discuss possible forms of integration for large communities returning from schism.

Our work to heal schisms should be carried out in the spirit of Christian love. We must be motivated by compassion. I wish success to our commission.

Fish fish fish fish...

From Pithless Thoughts:

Rejoice, O Full of Grace!

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!

Serbian Church sends delegation to Europe about Kosovo

(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.

Official Berlin and Paris have received the presentation of the delegation of the Serbian Orthodox Church with a great interest, stressing that the protection of the Orthodox sacraments in Kosovo and Metohia is a priority for both their countries and international peacekeeping forces. The Synod delegation was passed on the position that in the process of reducing the number of KFOR soldiers will not be hasty moves, and that decisions on changing ways of securing the most important shrines of the Serbian Orthodox Church would not be made automatically, but only then, when, in their opinion, more favorable conditions would be made for it. It was agreed to continue consultations on this issue.

The delegation also met with the officials of the UNESCO in Paris. After a detailed presentation of the delegation about the vulnerability of the Serbian people and its holy shrines in Kosovo and Metohia, senior representatives of the UNESCO confirmed that they would pay particular attention to the most endangered cultural monuments, and that they would engage more efficiently in the process of protection and restoration of the Serbian Orthodox holy shrines in Kosovo and Metohia.

The delegation of the Serbian Orthodox Church organized its visit to Berlin and Paris, in cooperation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Serbia and the Serbian ambassadors in Berlin and Paris (professors Viskovic and Batakovic) gave it their selfless help in organizing meetings with the German and French officials.

Patriarch Kirill gives speech at Echmiadzin cathedral

(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 Ararat, on which the forefather Noah's Arc had stopped. And today I can feel with awe that literary every stone in this land is a silent witness to great and glorious accomplishments, feats and works which have had a direct influence on the course of history of the entire humanity.

Christianity, which took root in Armenia thanks to the efforts of Sts Bartholomew and Thaddaeus, opened up a new page in the history of the Armenian people. Supported by a highly developed culture, scholarship and stable statehood, it was declared as the faith of all Armenians by King Tiridates III as far back the year of the Lord 301. The Christian faith was asserted among the people by the missionary efforts of Christ's great saint Gregory the Enlightener. The Armenian soil was washed at that time by the blood of martyrs, which, according to Tertullian, is the seed of Christianity'. The feat of martyrdom performed by the holy virgins Rhipsimia and Gaiania, called Hripsime and Gaiane in Armenia, contributed to the miraculous Christian conversion of King Tiridates, a former persecutor of the Church. In this way these saint testified by their feat to the divine truth of the Gospel's words: Unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds (Jn. 12:24).

Throughout its 1770 year-long history, the Armenian Apostolic Church has acquired the right to name itself truly the soul of the Armenian people. The faith, traditions and customs of the Armenian people have rallied around the Church the entire millions-strong diaspora dispersed throughout the world. A considerable part of this diaspora lives in Russia, Ukraine and Belarus - the countries nourished spiritually by the Russian Orthodox Church.

Your Holiness, the first quarter of the 19th century saw the beginning of Armenia's joining the Russian Empire. At that time, it made it possible for the Armenian people to be defended against external enemies and to have an opportunity for a free national development. Since then there have been good and friendly relations between us, which are maintained to this day.

In spite of the fact that our Churches, for historical reasons, do not share the Eucharistic communion, we clearly realize our closeness. We see a reason for this in the commitment of both the Russian Orthodox and the Armenian Apostolic Churches to the early church Tradition. It is on its basis that the traditional values characteristic equally of the Eastern Slavic and Armenian cultures have been formed. It is the faithfulness to Christian tradition and its ethical ideals that links us and guarantees our co-work and friendship.

Together we have participated in the work of international Christian organizations and various religious forums and conducted a fruitful bilateral dialogue. We are gratified by the fact that Armenian students study in the Russian Orthodox Church's theological academies, which enables them to familiarize themselves with the faith, history, culture and tradition of peoples inhabiting the space of historical Rus'.

Today, in this Cathedral of the Holy First-Throne Echmiadzin founded by St. Gregory, where his holy right hand is kept, I again feel the need to develop and deepen our relations, so that we could bear an effective common witness before the world suffering at it is from divisions, enmity and injustice. St. Paul, instructing his disciple Timothy, says, Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses (1 Tim. 6:12). Our duty also lies in a common witness to the Tradition of the early Church before the Christian communities which have embarked on the path of liberalizing the moral teaching through a review of basic norms of Christian life.

We have no right to reduce the history of our friendship to past achievements, and our goal is to hand down to our posterity the experience and fruits of this cooperation thus laying a foundation for future relations based on the principles of Christian love, brotherhood and mutual understanding. I trust in this way we not only create the right model of international and inter-church relations but also serve the cause of unity commanded by our Lord Jesus Christ.

In conclusion, I would like once again to thank Your Holiness and all the people of the Armenian Apostolic Church for the invitation to come to the Armenian land, for the opportunity to venerate its old shrines and to see the life of your Church and your great and glorious people.

May the Lord bless our stay in the Armenian land through the intercession of St. Gregory the Enlightener.

People of the World Inscribe the Bible comes to Russia

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, Tamil, Taiwanese and Finnish have been displayed in Jerusalem.

Russia opening embassy in the Vatican

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."

The tent seminary of Haiti

(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.

Hundreds of thousands of people can only look back on the ruins of their former existence, the archbishop told ACN.

Archbishop Kébreau described how the Church, too, has lost a great many of her own pastoral workers, including laity, religious sisters, priests and bishops. Among the dead are also 30 of the 260 seminarians at the former seminary.

"Those who have survived have lost everything," said the archbishop, adding that he himself had counseled many people during the past few weeks and endeavored to ease the trauma of their experiences.

Things are now slowly returning to normal, he said, but at the same time everyone knows there is still much work to be done.

"We are still at the very beginning," said Archbishop Kébreau.

Immediately following the earthquake on January 19, 2010, ACN gave immediate emergency aid of $70,000 for the Catholic Church in Haiti. Later, a further $100,000 was given to help the 230 surviving seminarians with their most basic needs, including food, clothing, and medicine.

ACNs representative for the countries of this region, Xavier Legorreta, explained, "We are helping because the dioceses are unable to support their seminarians, and also because many of them do not belong to any religious congregation so that they cannot expect any help from this direction either." The money has been sent via the Vatican's nunciature and is being distributed to the dioceses.

St. Vladimir’s and St. Herman build missiology program

(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.”

Fr. Chad concurred, saying, “Our enriching trip was just one more incremental piece in building the connection between St. Herman’s and St. Vladimir’s, and in developing a program around our common emphasis on missiology. The Faculty Council of St. Vladimir’s had given our dean, Fr. John Behr, and our academic dean, Dr. John Barnet, a mandate to create such a program, and to offer an MA in Missiology. To that end, there will be a course offered on the campus of St. Herman Seminary in the near future, which is in my mind, the perfect venue for mission-minded students: the campus provides opportunities for field work, and the site has historic significance as first place on American territory that Orthodox Christian missionaries landed.”

The two student deacons who accompanied Fr. Chad to Kodiak this year enthusiastically testified to the significance of the Alaskan venue for missionary endeavors. Additionally, they witnessed both the wonder and the joy of teaching at the northern seminary.

“This was the trip of a lifetime,” said Dn. Lucas. “Kodiak was a sensory experience: the mountains, the orcas—the wind. Perhaps even more memorable was the faith of the people of Kodiak and the students at St Herman. It was profound blessing to serve in front of St Herman's relics at Holy Resurrection Cathedral, and rivaled only by the fellowship and hospitality of those who are doing holy work in the birthplace of American Orthodoxy.”...

Complete article here.

New Resource Handbook articles for the family

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.

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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 loss of a child during pregnancy or thereafter in "Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month."

In "Family As Garden," Dr. Albert Rossi offers a variety of theological and practical insights on the nature of the family.

The growing interest in medical bioethics is addressed in a timely article by Protodeacon Basil Andruchow.

The Resource Handbook has been published continually by the Orthodox Church in America's Department of Christian Service and Humanitarian Aid since 1982. Mrs. Arlene Kallaur serves as Handbook coordinator. Featuring hundreds of articles on a wide variety of ministries, the Handbook is invaluable for lay and pastoral ministries on the parish level and beyond.

An Interview with Bishop Jerome of Manhattan

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.

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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 have a problem of dissociation, and it is beneficial when we gather, when we communicate, pray together, and communion from one Holy Chalice. It is especially good when the wounds of division are healed, the wounds that were in the Church. For instance, it was pleasant that we visited St. Tikhon’s Monastery and that the abbot, Fr. Sergius, prayed with us today. Two other monasteries were represented, as well: Holy Cross Monastery and Holy Trinity Monastery. It is gratifying to feel ourselves as one family, one Church. And, of course, we were so kindly and lovingly greeted here. This means a great deal to me and I am sure that this conference was a success.

- Vladyka, tell us your impressions of the talk by Fr. Artemy Vladimirov.

Fr. Artemy is a very interesting speaker, touching on a great deal of subjects. Each of his sentences, much as the Proverbs of Solomon, can be thoroughly examined and expanded to a page apiece.

- What are your impressions of the presentation by Fr. Andrei Psarev on Archbishop Vitaly (Maximenko)? Did you know Vladyka Vitaly?

The death of Vladyka Vitaly took place right on the eve of my entrance into the fold of the Mother Church. I was still a young man. But I knew many people who were close to him: Archbishop Nikon (Rklitsky), Vladyka Seraphim of Chicago, Vladyka Alypy (Gamanovich). They all remembered him and spoke often of him. It is important to remember, therefore: "Remember them which have the rule over you." We must remember, not forget, our roots and our hierarchs.

- We know that for many years you were Vladyka Nikon’s secretary. Did Vladyka Vitaly (Maximenko) affect Vladyka Nikon’s worldview and his pastoral service in general?

I think so, certainly. His main influence was Metropolitan Anthony (Khrapovitsky), but Vladyka Nikon certainly regarded Vladyka Vitaly very highly. I remember one conversation we had long ago. One morning I told Vladyka Nikon that Vladyka Vitaly had appeared to me in a dream. This was interesting because I had never seen Vladyka Vitaly, but nonetheless he appeared to me. Vladyka Nikon decided right away that Vladyka Vitaly had probably returned to bring about order in our Church. The order that existed under Metropolitan Anastassy and Vladyka Vitaly means a great deal. Right now we can only strive to restore such exemplary order as they once oversaw.

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The "Equipping the Saints" Parish Ministries Conference

CLEVELAND, OH (OCA) - "Equipping the Saints" will be the theme of a parish ministries conference to be hosted by three Orthodox Church in America departments on the campus of Baldwin-Wallace College, just minutes from the Cleveland airport, June 27-30, 2010.

"The theme is based on Ephesians 4:11-13, in which Saint Paul challenges every member of the Church to use their unique gifts to minister for the 'building up the Body of Christ,'" said Matushka Alexandra Safchuk, co-chair of the Department of Christian Education [DCE]. "The conference is being organized to provide a much-requested continuing education experience for lay leaders and clergy in an atmosphere of learning, common worship and prayer, and good fellowship."

Joining the DCE in hosting the event are the OCA's Departments of Liturgical Music and Translation and Youth, Young Adults and Campus Ministry, and the Diocese of the Midwest's Parish Health Ministry, a flagship effort in the field of evangelization, growth, and parish ministry.

His Beatitude, Metropolitan Jonah will be the featured speaker. Among the other presenters will be Prof. David Drillock, Mr. Joseph Kormos, Matushka Valerie Zahirsky, and the Very Rev. John Matusiak.

"The multi-track format will offer a variety of workshops in several areas," Matushka Alexandra said. "Workshops will be offered for new singers, more advanced directors, and church musicians alike, with focus on the tones, conducting and composition. For lay leaders and clergy, Church school teachers, parish council members and the general faithful, there will be workshops in skills-building, discussing and teaching about moral issues, responding to those of other faith traditions, developing parish leadership, and discerning spiritual gifts. Young adults will enjoy participating on sessions focusing on the Orthodox Christian response to pop culture and the new media and offer guidelines for youth and campus leadership."

Workshops will be repeated throughout the conference to enable participants to attend several tracts, while discussions and sessions during which attendees will be able to share their ideas will punctuate the schedule.

"We're confident that many of our faithful will take advantage of this opportunity to share ideas, explore common issues, build new relationships, and equip themselves for the ongoing work of ministry in their parishes and beyond," Matushka Alexandra added.

Additional information and registration forms will be sent to all parishes well in advance of the conference and will be available in PDF format on the OCA web site at www.oca.org.

Little Basil, God grant you many blessed years!

A happy first birthday to little Basil with a picture from his Illumination below. Mnohaja L'ita!

Executive summary of St. Tikhon's Report released

You can read it here. It's quite a damning document. Take these two examples:

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As we began our investigation, we were surprised to find the manner in which Metropolitan Herman managed the business affairs during his many years in control at St. Tikhon's. We found that he took out a cascading system of over 40 loans in an 18 year period, finally leaving the Monastery with over $1.5 million of debt. The purposes of loans included specific bookstore printing projects, major construction projects, paying credit card debt, paying off previous loans, and providing working capital. Metropolitan Herman did all of this unilaterally. From what we could review, and except as otherwise noted in our report, the loans were for legitimate monastery purposes (2). However, because of Metropolitan Herman's complete control, there was no assessment of whether it was prudent for the monastery to assume the ever-increasing debt...

...Fr. Tassos suspected conflict of interest in Archdeacon Klimitchev's sales of Omega Design products to St. Tikhon?s Bookstore. Regarding lack of accountability, he believed Archdeacon Klimitchev transferred Omega merchandise back to his personal business. Unfortunately, inventory control was so badly managed at both the Philadelphia store and at St. Tikhon?s Bookstore, both under Archdeacon Klimitchev?s management, that we could not make conclusions regarding the disposition of inventory. However, witnesses confirmed that Archdeacon Klimitchev had engaged in these practices.

Fr. Tassos suggested credit card abuse and cited three examples – a Las Vegas trip by Archdeacon Klimitchev, purchase of jewelry from a supplier, AV Diamonds, and various personal expenses including Harlem Globetrotter tickets.