Byzantine, Texas

It might be helpful to have a little background on the attempted Turkish land grab of this ancient monastery. See here , here , and here . ( Syrian Orthodox ) - Ankara 30th, March 2011: His Holiness Moran Mor Ignatius Zakka I Iwas, The Patriarch of Antioch and all the East held a meeting with Mr. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the Prime Minister of the Republic of Turkey. His Holiness was accompanied by Mor Gregorius Yohanna Ibrahim Metropolitan of Aleppo, Mor Timotheos Samuel Aktas Archbishop of Tur-Abdin , Mor Philoxenos Yusuf Cetin Archbishop of Istanbul and Mor Philoxenus Mattias Nayis Patriarchal Assistant. The presidents of the diocesan councils of Tur-Abdin and Istanbul, as well as the legal team of Mor Gabriel Monastery were also included in the Patriarchal delegation. The meeting which lasted over one hour took place at the Prime Minister’s official Residence in Ankara. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss the Mor Gabriel Monastery Land Dispute. Also present at the meeting were...

Alhambra, CA ( SOC-NASA ) - The first book by His Grace Bishop Maxim of Western America entitled "History, Truth, Holiness" has been described by Fr. John Breck as an "exceptionally important collection of essays" contributing to both the theology of being and also contemporary theological questions, is now available! Christos Yannaras describes Bishop Maxim as "a theologian who illumines" and Fr. John McGuckin identifies his work as "deeply biblical and patristic, academically learned yet spiritually rich." The first half of the book collects papers emphasizing theological ontology and epistemology, reminding us how both the mystery of the Holy Trinity and that of the Incarnation demand that we rethink every philosophical supposition; it includes chapters on holiness as otherness, truth and history, and the biochemistry of freedom. The second half of the book features lectures dedicated to the theological questions posed by modern theology, ...

Vatican City ( AsiaNews ) – The Archbishop of Cyprus, Chrysostomos, head of a small Church but one that has been a historic bridge between Europe and the Middle East, has concluded his visit to the Vaticam. On 28 March, the archbishop had several meetings culminating in an audience with Pope Benedict XVI. The visit, in the words of Chrysostomos, was aimed to raise awareness of the situation among members of the Holy See, so as to coordinate efforts to face the dangers threatening the future and survival of Christians in the Middle East and Cyprus in a region affected by protests and upheaval that have an uncertain outcome. Regarding the situation of Christians in Cyprus, according to Chyrsostomos, the greatest dangers lie in Ankara’s continued occupation of the northern part of the island, which began in 1974. The first consequence was the division of the island and the total separation of the two ethnic groups, Greek and Turkish, Christian and Muslim respectively. The second cons...

Kiev, March 30, ( Interfax ) - Patriarch Theophilos III of Jerusalem said Orthodox believers should settle the problem of schism in Ukraine without attracting arbiters from outside. "You yourself should find common language," the Patriarch said in his interview with Ukrainian edition of the Kommersant daily. Commenting on the earlier attempts to attract Patriarch Bartholomew for settling their problems, Theophilos III stressed that "Patriarch Bartholomew is not the Pope of Rome who solves everything for all Catholics in the world." "He has a coordinating role and is incarnation, a symbol of unity for Orthodox churches. The Ecumenical Patriarch has a privilege to convene meetings and councils. Such problems should be settled at such meetings and not to think that the Ecumenical Patriarch will settle everything for Ukrainian Orthodox believers," the Patriarch of Jerusalem said. Theophilos III arrived in Kiev where he participated in the conference ...

Kontakion - Tone 1 You offered us your teachings as fruits of everlasting freshness, To sweeten the hearts of those who receive them with attention. O blessed and wise John, they are the rungs of a ladder, Leading the souls of those who honor you from earth to Eternal glory in Heaven! From the Ladder "Ascend, brothers, ascend eagerly, and be resolved in your hearts to ascend and hear him who says: Come and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, and to the house of our God, who makes our feet like hind‚s feet, and sets us upon high places, that we might be victors with His song." - St. John Climacus, The Ladder of Divine Ascent , 30.36. Saint of the Day Thoughts by Fr. Thomas Hopko on the Feast Day ( AFR ) - It is at this point in our Lenten journey that the Church contemplates the instruction of St. John Climacus and his Ladder of Divine Ascent. Fr. Tom takes us step by step through this treasure and makes it practical for us non-monastics!

Quite a document we have here. You can also read their response to the Washington Post story here . ( OCA-DOW ) - Unanimous Resolution of the Diocesan Council of the Diocese of the West Adopted March 29, 2011 Whereas, the Diocesan Council of the Diocese of the West affirms the conciliar nature and polity of the Orthodox Church as expressed in the Holy Canons and the Statute of the Orthodox Church in America; and Whereas, the Diocesan Council of the Diocese of the West understands the Primate of the Orthodox Church in America to be bound by the Holy Canons to act in concert with his synod of bishops, rather than being a sovereign authority who acts independently and without reference to his peers, the diocesan bishops; and Whereas, the Diocesan Council of the Diocese of the West recognizes a significant disruption in this critical relationship and urges the Holy Synod to exercise its pastoral care for the entire Church by calling its Primate to accountability and compliance with...

( AOC-LA ) - Diocese of Los Angeles And the West has scheduled the Thirteenth Annual Clergy Seminar for June 27-29, 2011. His Eminence, Metropolitan Ephrem (Metropolitan of Tripoli, El Koura and Dependencies) will be the speaker. The seminar theme is: “BE MINDFUL, O LORD, OF THE PRIESTHOOD, THE DIACONATE, AND EVERY PRIESTLY RANK.” I also encourage people to listen to archived audio from previous seminars (available here ).

Some background. There is continued discussion of creating a separate episcopal assembly for Canada. Not being Canadian, I have natural TexoAmerican hegemonic tendencies which make me question the need for such a bifurcation of North America. Thankfully, no one is asking me so I'm confident my betters will make sure things will fall out as they should. Toronto, ON ( archdiocese.ca ) – A Special Session of the Conference of the Canonical Orthodox Bishops hosted by the Chairman of the Conference, His Eminence Metropolitan Archbishop Sotirios of Toronto, Exarch of the Ecumenical Patriarch in Canada met on March 17, 2011 between 10:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. The Conference took place at the headquarters of the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Toronto. The session was attended by the following Members of Conference: His Eminence Metropolitan Archbishop Sotirios, Chairman (Greek Orthodox Metropolis), His Eminence Metropolitan Yurij (Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada), His Eminence Archbish...

H/T: OBL News ( FG ) - Pope Benedict XVI has assured the primate of the Church of Cyprus Archbishop Chrysostomos II that he will help in any way possible to reverse a Turkish Cypriot demand for an admission fee to enter a Greek Orthodox monastery, in northern Turkish occupied Cyprus. The illegal Turkish Cypriot regime, which no country except Turkey recognises, imposes an admission fee on pilgrims who visit the Apostle Andreas’ Monastery in Turkish occupied Karpass peninsula. Archbishop Chrysostomos met the Pope on Monday in the Vatican and they also discussed the restoration of religious monuments and sites in the occupied areas of Cyprus. “I have asked the Pope to work along with the powerful nations of Europe - Germany, Italy, France and Poland - who are also Catholic, in order to exert pressure on Turkey to terminate the pillage of our religious monuments in the occupied areas”, Archbishop noted, adding that “I was very impressed because the Pope was aware of the situation ...

( spc.rs ) - His Holiness Irinej, Serbian Patriarch served today in St. Marko's church in Belgrade memorial service of innocently suffered and defenders of the Homeland during 1999 NATO bombing . Remembering all the suffered and fallen heroes in the defence of the Homeland, Patriarch Irinej said in his sermon: - We pray the Lord that his suffering and innocent bloodshed never happen again in the world. Besides the pious people of the Serbian capital, the memorial service was attended by Alexander Konuzin, Ambassador of the Russian Federation in Belgrade.

( mospat.ru ) - March 25 at a Catholic cathedral Landakotkirkya in Reykjavik, the famous Russian violinist and conductor Vladimir Spivakov gave a charity concert. The concert was jointly organized by the Diocese of the Roman Catholic Church in Iceland, the Russian Embassy in Reykjavik and St. Nicholas Parish of the Moscow Patriarchate. Vladimir Spivakov (violin), Anastasia Belukova (soprano), Jeremiah Zukerman (violin), Dmitry Prokofiev (piano), Zoe abolition (harpsichord) performed works by JS Bach. Between the numbers of programs in Icelandic, French, Russian and Polish was read in part excerpt from the Gospel of Luke, which tells of the Annunciation. The Gospel was read by the rector of St. Nicholas parish of the Moscow Patriarchate in Iceland priest Timothy Zolotusky, head of the Diocese of the Roman Catholic Church in Iceland, Reykjavik, Bishop Pierre Boucher,  and the Primate of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Iceland Iceland Bishop Charles Sigurbernsson. At a concert ...

( The Sounding ) - Video blog update for Tuesday March 22nd (March 9 Old Style) covering the Hierarchical Liturgy for the Patriarch Theophilos' namesday at the Church of the Resurrection of the Holy Sepulchre, followed by the rest of the day's highlights.

H/T: Whispers in the Loggia

A great post from Energetic Procession ... In a recent discussion, I was told that the baptism of infants in a case of the likelihood of imminent death by a layman was not a matter of necessity for the infant to be baptised but a reassurance for the conscience of the parents. The reason put forward was that it was ridiculous to think that God would punish a child because it wasn’t baptised in time before its death, so emergency baptism is not a necessity but can only be a relief of the conscience. This apparently is a pervading view in some theological circles. The above reasoning is somewhat troubling. There are a couple of issues that are problematic. One is that this view does not reflect a view found in prominent Fathers; it seems rather to be an opinion that reflects the thinking of Protestants and perhaps Roman Catholics. Another is the theology that underlines the reasoning and the implications of what baptism is and does. There is not place here to survey a range of Fat...

( RISU ) - On 23 March 2011, the 40 bishops of the Ukrainian Catholic Synod elected Sviatoslav Shevchuk as the new Major Archbishop of Kiev-Halych and head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, the largest Eastern Rite Catholic sui juris church, in succession to Cardinal Lubomyr Husar, who retired in February. His election was confirmed by Pope Benedict on 25 March.

( GOARCH ) - On the Third Sunday of Great and Holy Lent, the Orthodox Church commemorates the Precious and Life-Giving Cross of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Services include a special veneration of the Cross, which prepares the faithful for the commemoration of the Crucifixion during Holy Week. The commemoration and ceremonies of the Third Sunday of Lent are closely parallel to the feasts of the Veneration of the Cross (September 14) and the Procession of the Cross (August 1). Not only does the Sunday of the Holy Cross prepare us for commemoration of the Crucifixion, but it also reminds us that the whole of Lent is a period when we are crucified with Christ. As we have “crucified the flesh with its passions and desires” (Galatians 5:24), and will have mortified ourselves during these forty days of the Fast, the precious and life-giving Cross is now placed before us to refresh our souls and encourage us who may be filled with a sense of bitterness, resentment, and depression...

( UOC-MP ) - The Patriarch of the Holy City of Jerusalem, His Beatitude Theophilus III is visiting Ukraine to participate in the International Conference "World religions and civil society - against hatred and extremism."

VATICAN CITY, 25 MAR 2011 ( VIS ) - This morning in the Vatican the Holy Father received prelates of the Syro-Malankar Church, who have just completed their five-yearly "ad limina" visit. "The apostolic traditions which you maintain enjoy their full spiritual fruitfulness when they are lived in union with the Church universal", said the Pope in his English-language remarks. "In this sense, you rightly follow in the footsteps of the Servant of God Mar Ivanios, who led your predecessors and their faithful into full communion with the Catholic Church. Like your forefathers, you too are called, within the one household of God, to continue in firm fidelity to that which has been passed down to you". "The deposit of faith handed down from the Apostles and faithfully transmitted to our times is a precious gift from the Lord", said the Holy Father, noting that "due to its ancient roots and distinguished history, Christianity in India has long ma...

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the tax collectors do so? Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect. - Matthew 5:43-48 ( ScienceDaily ) — Saying a prayer may help many people feel less angry and behave less aggressively after someone has left them fuming, new research suggests. A series of studies showed that people who were provoked by insulting comments from a stranger showed less anger and aggression soon afterwards ...

I was asked recently to post on this new book. In addition to my short blurb below, other blogs have guest posts from the author. I recommend reading the posts (as they become available) on these sites: Post #1 – March 23 rd : Mystagogy Post #2 – March 25 th : Second Terrace Post #3 – March 28 th : The Voice of Stefan Post #4 – March 31 st : Biblicalia Ancient Christian Wisdom and Aaron Becks Cognitive Therapy details a colorful journey deep into two seemingly disparate worlds united by a common insight into the way our thinking influences our emotions, behaviors, and ultimately our lives. In this innovative study about mental and spiritual health, readers are not only provided with a thorough introduction to the elegant theory and practical techniques of cognitive therapy, they are also initiated into the perennial teachings of ascetics and monks in the Greek-speaking East and Latin-speaking West whose powerful writings not only anticipated many contemporary findings, but also...

Hymnography Exaltation (Slavonic) Katavasies (Greek) From the Arena ... When we come into Church, we venerate the holy icons. In doing so, we are giving honor to Christ, the Mother of God and the Saints. Icons can also be educational and we can learn so much about our faith and the Feasts of the Church by studying them. A good example of the educational nature of icons is found in the icon of one of the Annunciation of the Theotokos. This feast is celebrated on March 25th according to the New Calendar and April 7th, according to the Old. The story of this feast can be found in the Gospel of St. Luke 1:26-39. The angel Gabriel appears to the Mother of God to tell her she has found favor with the Lord. She would conceive a son by the Holy Spirit, who would be called Christ. He would be the Messiah, the Savior of the world. Even though she is at first afraid, it is in this event where Mary shows her incredible obedi...

And a young one at that (40). I'll also point to this post (a unique blog I wish were update more often) for more commentary on the selection. ( RISU ) - Bishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk, till now the apostolic administrator of the Diocese of the Protection of the Blessed Mary in Buenos Aires, has become the new head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church. The Election Synod of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, which was attended by 40 bishops from Ukraine and abroad (Western Europe, USA, Canada, Brazil, Argentina and Australia), elected him on March 23. He is one of the youngest bishops in the Catholic Church, a well-known Ukrainian moral theologian. The Holy See approved the choice of the Synod of Bishops. The enthronement of the new head of the UGCC will be held March 27 at 10:00 a.m. in the Patriarchal Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ in Kyiv. Biography: born on May 5, 1970, in Stryi, Lviv region. Education: 1991-1992 - Center for Philosophy and theologica...

"Why Do We Bless God?" from Bishoy's Blog ... St. Cyril of Alexandria, in his comment on “Hallowed be Thy Name,” affirmed that it is absolutely absurd to think that when we pray, “Hallowed be Thy Name,” we pray that additional holiness may accrue unto the all-holy God. He wondered, “If God be full and in every respect perfect in and by Himself, and the Giver of holiness to the creation out of His own holiness; what addition can He receive?” St. Cyril then explained the meaning of the prayer “Hallowed be Thy Name,” saying, “The prayer is, therefore, ‘May Thy Name be kept holy in us, in our minds and wills’; for this is the significance of the word ‘Hallowed be Thy Name’. For just as one who suffers from disease in his eyes and sees with difficulty and prays, saying ‘O Lord of all, grant that the light of the sun’s radiance may illuminate me also.’ He does not make his supplication on the behalf of the sun but on the contrary, upon his own.” So also if a man says ‘Our ...

( AFR ) - Metropolitan Nicholas (Smisko), spiritual leader of the American Carpatho-Russian Orthodox Diocese of the U.S.A., reposed in the Lord on March 13, 2011. Here Bobby Maddex interviews Fr. Frank Miloro, Chancellor of Christ the Saviour Cathedral, about His Eminence's life and legacy.

As was said shortly after Fr. Daniel's martyrdom by Sister Prosdoki from the Annunciation Monastery in Ormylia, " It's high time you prayed not for Fr. Daniil, but to Fr. Daniil. " Podcast 1: The New Martyr Father Daniel and the Royal Path in the Mission of the Church ( AFR ) - Father Peter spoke to a gathering of clergy and lay people in Athens recently and pointed to the witness of the new martyr of Moscow, the missionary priest Father Daniel Sysoev, as a model for mission work today. Father Daniel walked the "Royal Path" of the Church, avoiding two extremes, that of indifference to the person from the right and indifference to the Truth from the left. Podcast 2: The Missionary Program of the New Martyr Fr. Daniel Sysoev ( AFR ) - Fr. Peter Alban Heers examines the New Martyr Fr. Daniel Sysoev's spiritual and missionary program. Fr. Daniel is a great contemporary example of what a missionary can do and be, and his missionary school is an eff...

( RISU ) - On the fourth day of the Electoral Synod of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church bishops made ​​a choice, unoffical source informed RISU. However, there is no official confirmation of elections from the Vatican yet, and name of new head of UGCC is not disclosed. Now bishops are waiting for a response from the Apostolic See. As already reported, it is necessary to receive two thirds of the votes in order to be elected. The Particular Law of UGCC reduces this requirement to absolute majority after twelve futile votes. When the requirement is reduced to the absolute majority, the number of candidates should be reduced to two ones with the largest number of votes. The elected person will have two days to accept or reject the choice. Rejection will lead to complete loss of these rights; however, the person can be reelected. The elected bishop will send his own letter to the pope for the approval of the election. After receiving the confirmation, he makes the confession of fa...

( mospat.ru ) - Metropolitan Hilarion interviewed on ongoing Inter-Orthodox Preparatory Commission efforts... Your Eminence! You have recently led a delegation of the Russian Orthodox Church at the meeting of the Inter-Orthodox Preparatory Commission held in Chambesy near Geneva. Which questions did you discuss? The Inter-Orthodox Preparatory Commission is a working body which prepares the Holy and Great Council of the Orthodox Church. It elaborates items included in the Council’s agenda. The catalogue of the items was compiled in 1976 and includes ten topics demanding the elaboration of common position of the Orthodox Church. According to the regulation, proposals made by the Inter-Orthodox Preparatory Commission are to be approved by the Pan-Orthodox Pre-Council Conference. The major part of the mentioned catalogue has been elaborated in the last decades, while in 2009 the Pan-Orthodox Pre-Council Conference approved the decisions on the ordering of cooperation among the Church...

( UGCC ) - On March 20, 2011 at St. George’s Cathedral in Lviv a Hierarchal Divine Liturgy was celebrated in preparation for the Electoral Synod of Bishops of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, which will elect a new Father and Head of the UGCC. The day of prayer and spiritual reflection began with a Divine Liturgy, the purpose of which was to try to get to know God’s will concerning a new UGCC Spiritual Leader. Participating in the Divine Liturgy, headed by UGCC Administrator Most Rev. Igor (Voznyak), were all the bishops of the UGCC from Ukraine and abroad. They will collectively take part in the Electoral Synod. Rev.Dr. Borys Gudziak, the rector of the Ukrainian Catholic University, delivered a sermon to the assembly. "Today, when the Synod has to elect a new leader, Patriarch and Head of our Church, there is only one criterion for us - to be with God, our great God. Having put aside all possible limitations, having opened our minds and hearts, let us embrace in our pray...

Moscow ( ENInews ) - Diptychs, an arcane liturgical term that describes the order in which Orthodox churches commemorate each other at their services, is one of the tangled issues blocking plans for what could be the first great church council in 1,200 years. Some Orthodox leaders say the churches need to get together to discuss common issues and speak with one voice on such important topics as bioethics, sexuality and the environment, but differences over arcane church issues such as diptychs and autocephaly (the independent status of Orthodox churches) run deep. There are about 250 million Orthodox Christians in the world, belonging to 14 or 15 independent Orthodox churches, depending on which church is counting. The Patriarchate of Constantinople, for example, does not recognize the autocephaly (independence) granted by Moscow to the Orthodox Church in America (OCA) in 1970, and does not commemorate the OCA in its diptychs. Diptychs are not a question of dogma, but they are at...

( Episcopal Assembly ) - On March 13, the first Sunday of Great Lent, bishops, priests, deacons, and laity all over the nation gathered to celebrate the Triumph of Holy Orthodoxy. For photos of various celebrations around the country, please see follow this link .

I'm bringing back the occasional posting of rare or interesting words. I've also decided to start labeling some topics for easier browsing (e.g. interviews , rare words , books ). You can imagine how difficult it will be to categorize posts after the fact, so please bear with me as slowly comb through posts. heortology : (noun) [From the Greek ἑορτή "festival" and λόγος "knowledge, discourse"] Etymologically implies a relation to feasts or festivals in general, an exposition of their meaning. The word, however, is used to denote specifically the science of sacred festivals, embracing the principles of their origin, significance, and historical development, with reference to epochs or incidents in the Christian year.

This post is about a simple thought. As blogs are not very conducive to long, footnoted treatises I hope to match the simple thought to simple references. Iconography and the digital age are strange bedfellows. The experience one had with icons before the advent of the Internet is quite different from the constant embedding of iconographic images on websites we see today. Similarly, the sense of "ownership" a believer who purchases icons or an iconographer who writes them might have for their icons has changed as the icon itself is divorced from its place and time by being published and republished and republished until the original "owner" of the icon and the digital image of the icon are connected so tenuously as to be attached by an invisible thread (as in a watermark) or by no thread at all. But is this idea of ownership, either as understood by some before the digital revolution or afterward, a reasonable one. Iconographers rightfully scour the Internet f...

Some people asked who from the OCA was at the ordination as the Ecumenical Patriarchate didn't make mention of them while the Moscow Patriarchate did. Here is the answer. Metropolitan Elpidophoros ( SVOTS ) - On March 20, 2011, our dean, Fr. John Behr, and our assistant professor of Canon Law, Fr. Alexander Rentel, attended the ordination of Archmandrite Elpidophoros (Lambriniadis), to his episcopal position as Metropolitan of Proussa (now known as “Bursa”), in Istanbul, Turkey. His Eminence’s consecration to the episcopacy was held at the Patriarchal Cathedral of St. George. In June 2010, Metropolitan Elpidophoros— former Secretary of the Holy Synod of the Great Church of Constantinople—honored our seminary by presenting a paper (“Greek Orthodox, the Ecumenical Patriarchate, and the Church in the U.S.A.,” published in St. Vladimir’s Seminary Quarterly 54.3–4) during the international “Hellenism and Orthodoxy” symposium held on our campus. Fr. Alexander Rentel, Met. Elpi...

Many moons ago I posted on Plato's Cave and Orthodox Ecclesiology . Here we revisit the cave (from xkcd ).

( The Way ) - On March 20, 2011 at St. George’s Cathedral in Lviv a Hierarchal Divine Liturgy was celebrated in preparation for the Electoral Synod of Bishops of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, which will elect a new Father and Head of the UGCC. The day of prayer and spiritual reflection began with a Divine Liturgy, the purpose of which was to try to get to know God’s will concerning a new UGCC Spiritual Leader. Participating in the Divine Liturgy, headed by UGCC Administrator Most Rev. Igor (Voznyak), were all the bishops of the UGCC from Ukraine and abroad. They will collectively take part in the Electoral Synod. Rev.Dr. Borys Gudziak, the rector of the Ukrainian Catholic University, delivered a sermon to the assembly. (Read full article on UGCC website here .)

( mospat.ru ) - On 21 March 2011, the Inter-Council Presence’s Commission on Attitude to Non-Orthodoxy and Other Religions met at the Moscow Patriarchate’s Department for External Church Relations. The session was chaired by Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk. The participants discussed the results of the work done by the Commission during its first year and a draft document on the Accession of non-Orthodox Christians to the Orthodox Church. The Commission decided to form a working group and invite experts to study various aspects of the practice of accession to the Orthodox Church through the Sacrament of Chrismation and its history. The Commission set up a working group for study and classification of sects. Other working groups will consider the question of the accession rite for the Pentecostals, Baptists, Adventists, Anglicans, the Reformed, Lutherans, and Old Catholics. A similar discussion is going on in the American Episcopal Assembly not only with the intake of converts...

( AINA ) - The head of the Egyptian Orthodox Church, Pope Shenouda III, suggested an addition to Article 2 of the Constitution, which stipulates Islamic law as the main source of Egypt's legislation. Shenouda asked the deputy prime minister, Yehia al-Gamal, to add a clause to the article for other non-Muslim denominations. His request came during a Sunday meeting with al-Gamal at the papal residence at Abbassiya Cathedral. The meeting was attended by members from the holy synod, as well as public Coptic figures. Al-Gamal promised to study the request, saying that he visited the cathedral to check on Shenouda's health. Shenouda was just back from a 18-day trip to the US where he regularly goes for medical treatment. The majority of Egyptians are Sunni Muslims, but in addition to Coptic Christians, there are other minorities such as Jews, Baha'is and Shia Muslims. A referendum on a package of constitutional changes on Saturday showed that more than 77.2 percent of E...

A major promise of the Episcopal Assembly was a comprehensive directory of parishes, priests, deacons, and hierarchs. With the addition of the parishes of the Patriarchate of Georgia the parish listing is now complete. I'm sure this - and a number of other related topics - will be discussed in the upcoming May meeting. ( Episcopal Assembly ) - With the addition of the parish communities of the Patriarchate of Georgia resident in the United States, the Directory of Parishes used by the Assembly of Bishops now includes all of the parishes of the twelve jurisdictions which participate in the Assembly. These twelve jurisdictions are as follows: Albanian Archdiocese Antiochian Orthodox Archdiocese Bulgarian Orthodox Church Carpatho-Russian Church Georgian Patriarchate Greek Orthodox Archdiocese Moscow Patriarchate Orthodox Church in America Romanian Orthodox Archdiocese Russian Orthodox Church outside of Russia Serbian Orthodox Church Ukrainian Orthodox Church With this s...