Upcoming clergy couples retreat at Antiochian Village

(antiochian.org) - Ancient Faith Radio's newly released podcast in their series "Ancient Faith Presents" features Bobby Maddex interviewing Fr. Charles Joanides and Pres. Kerry Pappas about the upcoming Orthodox Clergy Couples Retreat. Hosted by Antiochian Village, the retreat will take place May 22-24 in Ligonier, Pennsylvania.

In the interview, Fr. Charles and Pres. Kerry provide a brief overview of the retreat, titled "Protecting and Growing Our Marriages," with a description of the sessions and how clergy couples can benefit from the workshops. Couples may still register here (PDF).

Pascha in New York

(YouTube) - His Eminence Archbishop Demetrios of America celebrates the Anastasis service at St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church in Flushing, NY.

Update on consecration of Arch. Matthias

CHICAGO, IL (OCA-DOMW) - For over a year, the faithful of the Orthodox Church in America’s Chicago-based Midwest Diocese have been without a bishop.

But a significant change for the diocese’s thousands of faithful will occur on Saturday, April 30, as Archimandrite Matthias [Moriak] is consecrated Bishop of Chicago and the Midwest at Christ the Savior Church, 927 North LaSalle, Chicago, at 8:30 a.m. Great Vespers and the Profession of Faith will be celebrated on Friday evening, April 29, at 6:00 p.m.

He succeeds His Eminence, the late Archbishop Job [Osacky], who had overseen the diocese from the early 1990s until his unexpected repose in December 2009.

Selected from a slate of three candidates at an assembly of clergy and laity in Minneapolis in the fall of 2010, Archimandrite Matthias subsequently was elected to the episcopacy by the Church’s Holy Synod of Bishops, many of whom, including His Beatitude, Metropolitan Jonah, will concelebrate at the consecration.

On Sunday, May 1, the newly consecrated Bishop Matthias will be installed into office during services at the diocese’s Holy Trinity Cathedral, 1121 North Leavitt, at 9:30 a.m.

Born in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1949, Archimandrite Matthias served parishes in New York and Pennsylvania after his ordination to the priesthood in 1972. He also served as prefect of and associate professor at Christ the Savior Seminary, Johnstown, Pennsylvania. A married priest with two children, he was widowed in 1997 when his wife Jeannette succumbed to leukemia.

His election followed a lengthy search process overseen by a special diocesan committee, the members of which considered nearly 30 potential nominees. In August 2010, the committee and the diocesan council had settled on three candidates. On a second round of balloting, delegates nominated Archimandrite Matthias.

His consecration -- the first to be held by the OCA in Chicago since the late 1970s -- will be attended by clergy and faithful from across the geographically vast diocese, which spans over a dozen states from Ohio to North Dakota to Missouri.

In January, Archimandrite Matthias took up residence at diocesan headquarters and began duties as the Midwest’s temporary administrator. Immediately, he began an ambitious round of visits to the diocese’s 80-some parishes and missions, familiarizing himself with his new flock. He also has participated in meetings with his fellow bishops. He sees his new ministry as one rooted in service -- just as Jesus Christ came "to serve, not to be served," so too the role of bishop in the Orthodox Christian tradition is one of service to God and His People as archpastor and shepherd.

Saturday’s celebration will conclude with a consecration dinner at Scoozi's Restaurant, while a luncheon at the Ukrainian Cultural Center will follow Sunday’s installation Liturgy. Tickets for both events are still available by calling the Diocesan Chancery at 312-202-0420.

More on unity efforts in Ukraine

(RISU) - Today the head of the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church (UAOC), Metropolitan Mefodii (Kudriakov), addressed the Standing Conference of the Orthodox Bishops Outside Ukraine with a statement and request to “include the Ukrainian question in the agenda of the Special Synod of Eastern Patriarchates.” On April 23, 2011, the patriarchate of the UAOC sent a similar address to the Standing Conference of Heads of the Ancient Patriarchates, reports religion.in.ua.

According to the address, one of the painful issues of modern Orthodoxy “is the problem of church division in Ukraine.” “There are about five and a half thousand Orthodox communities in Ukraine that are not part of the Moscow Patriarchate but that have not broken their organic unity with the Ecumenical Orthodoxy and sincerely aspire to come out of the canonical crises through establishing communion with the Ecumenical Patriarchate and the national Orthodox Churches.”

The UAOC welcomed the coming Synod of Heads of the Ancient Patriarchates and expressed hope that the future similar pan-Orthodox gatherings “will pay attention to the Ukrainian Church issue and will outline the canonical model and specific mechanisms of renewing the Eucharist communion.”

In his address to the Standing Conference of the Ukrainian Orthodox Bishops Outside Ukraine, Metropolitan Mefodii asked them “as Ukrainian Orthodox Bishops canonically recognized by the Ecumenical Orthodoxy to ensure that the above-mentioned synod consider the Ukrainian church the question, which is important for millions of Orthodox faithful.”

The address says that in the struggle for the status of the Ukrainian Church, the UAOC made also its “own mistakes” but is ready “to review its positions and correct canonical mistakes.”

In particular, the statement reminds about the decision of the bishops of the UAOC from August 26, 2009, about the readiness “to join the Ecumenical Patriarchate with autonomy” and about the resumption of the mention in prayer of the name of the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew during the services.

According to the head of UAOC, no church jurisdiction in Ukraine, including the UOC-Moscow Patriarchate, is “able to heal the painful wound of the church division today independently, without the assistance of the ecumenical Orthodoxy.”

The address says that unification of the Orthodox of Ukraine “cannot be based on either schismatic ideology preached by some hierarchs of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church-Kyivan Patriarchate or the ideology of the ‘Russian World,’ proposed by Russian Church leaders.”

According to the UAOC, the healing of the tragic divide is possible only with the participation of the canonical institution of the Council of the Heads of the Ancient Patriarchates.

Great Lent over, Met. Jonah discussions reemerge

Attempting to post all that is said on the matter would be an exhausting, fruitless undertaking.

The three most prominent blogs on the topic can be found here should you choose to keep abreast of the discussion (posted alphabetically):

• Monomakhos
• OCA Truth
• Orthodox Christians for Accountability

Patriarch Kirill speaks on Chernobyl, plans visit to Japan

Kiev, April 27 (Interfax) - Human sins were the reason why the disaster happened at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, said Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia.

"The sin that has infiltrated human nature and pushes people to commit mistakes for the sake of achieving sinful goals. A horrible error was the cause of the Chernobyl disaster," the Patriarch told the believers assembled for the liturgy at the Kiev Monastery of the Caves on Wednesday.

"God could have stopped the hand of the operator who made the horrible error while operating the reactor. God let it happen. And many people, by their death, might have contributed to the atonement for sins," he said.

The Chernobyl disaster occurred not without "the finger of God, because the cleanup in the aftermath of the disaster became a great act of moral courage for thousands of people," he said.

A disaster such as Chernobyl shows that "when a man acquires an enormous strength through his mind, infiltration into science and technology creation, he must simultaneously increase his great moral responsibility for people around him, for the peace of God and nature," the Patriarch said. I am reminded of two quotes. One from Confucius - The Master said: “Study without thought is vain: thought without study is dangerous.” The other from 1 Corinthians 1:25 - "Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men." Our technological towers of Babel seem to outstrip our moral compasses. From bioethics, to energy production, to modern warfare, we seem to be willing to fashion things 'because we can' without thought to the moral merits of the endeavors. 

And also...

Moscow, April 28 (Interfax) - Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia is planning to visit Japan in 2012, in particular, to check progress in the Orthodox churches' reconstruction process.

"I am planning to visit Japan next year, in particular, the Sendai diocese destroyed by the disaster, to express solidarity with Japanese brothers and sisters, to pray with them and think of what could be done to facilitate swift recovery from the disaster," the Patriarch said at an Easter reception organized by the Russian Foreign Ministry on Thursday.

The next year will see the 100th anniversary since the day of St. Nicholas of Japan, "the Russian priest who brought the Orthodox religion to Japan and then led the Japanese Church," he recalled.

The Japanese people managed to "withstand the disaster at the Fukushima plant with courage and in an organized fashion," he said.

The Japanese quakes affected the Autonomous Japanese Orthodox Church (a self-governed Church of the Moscow Patriarchate), particularly the diocese of Sendai, he said. None of the clergy was killed, but some members of the congregation were, also several churches have been damaged.

The Russian Church has raised a substantial amount of money to rebuild Orthodox Churches, and hopefully, "the reconstruction work will begin in the near future," the Patriarch added.

"The saint who walks" being discussed for glorification

H/T: Mystagogy

(Balkan Insight) - Although many Serbs want to see their former Patriarch canonized as soon possible, the Serbian Orthodox Church says the complex process of declaring people saints must be followed carefully.

As the Catholic Church in Rome prepares to beatify the late Pope, John Paul II, on May 1, Serbia's powerful Orthodox Church is readying to turn its own late head, Patriarch Pavle, into a saint.

But nothing is being rushed. "The Church must be very careful when it comes to canonization, so the whole process of choosing and proposing the candidate takes time," a Church source told Balkan Insight.

The first step is to see whether a cult exists around the candidate, the source added.

If there is,the relevant bishops inform the Church's Council with a request to consider the proposal for the person to be declared a saint, the source explained.

Preconditions for being turned into a saint include: a justified reputation for having lived a life of sanctity; a legacy of memories of a trustworthy, godly life; that he was a witness to the faith.

"The entire life of the person who is proposed for sainthood should be checked, as he will be set as an example for believers to look up to," the Church source continued.

Patriarch Pavle died on November 15, 2009. His death united Serbia for a moment, as most Serbs revered him. Pavle spent 19 years at the helm of the Serbian Orthodox Church. The Church, the state and the Serbian people faced huge challenges at the time but Pavle emerged from the era with a high reputation.

He was known for his personal humility and modesty. Many also remember him for a statement he made in Bosnia and Herzegovina during the 1992-5 war: “Budimo ljudi iako smo Srbi”. [“It's more important to be a man than a Serb."]

If the proposal to canonise the Patriarch goes ahead, an icon of the saint must be made. The saint is then proclaimed at a solemn liturgy at which the icon is blessed as well.

After the canonization, the Church informs its brother Orthodox churches of the news in a letter, asking them to add the saint to their own Church calendars.

Antiochian Archdiocese launches new apologetics section

(antiochian.org) - The Department of Internet Ministry has rebuilt our Discover Orthodox Christianity section, one of the most highly trafficked sections of Antiochian.org.

Education and evangelistic outreach is of the utmost importance to the bishops, clergy and laity of the Antiochian Archdiocese. In support of their efforts, Discover Orthodox Christianity now provides a topical library of links and reflections presenting the faith to site visitors in an engaging and accessible format. We hope this will be a useful tool for teaching of the faith, for both newcomers and for people who are rediscovering Orthodoxy.

Visitors to Discover Orthodox Christianity will be able to read within nine subsections covering topics such as Our Sacraments, Who is God? and What is the Church? Authors include Fr. Thomas Hopko, Metropolitan Anthony Bloom, Fr. Patrick Reardon, Fr. Touma Bitar, Frederica Mathewes-Green, and many others. Links in each section point to supplementary books, podcasts, and other websites for the inquirer.

Though they are too many to name, we'd like to extend thanks to all the various sources who have allowed us to repurpose their material. This apologetical content is in no way exhaustive, as more web teaching resources are emerging daily in Orthodox cyberspace. If you have any suggestions for us, or links or articles that have been helpful to you in your faith journey, email your ideas to editor@antiochian.org.

We encourage those maintaining Orthodox websites of their own to link to this section. Graphics are available on our webmaster resources page.

UAOC: Moscow offered us autocephaly

As we know, a lot of this back-and-forth reporting is conjecture and posturing. It's hard to know the real situation, and will be, until the three groups (UOC-MP, UOC-KP, and UAOC) return to unity.

---

(RISU) - Patriarch Kirill of Moscow proposed to the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church (UAOC) to join the Russian Orthodox Church. So said the head of UAOC, Metropolitan Mefodii (Kudriakov) during a program of the 5th Channel.

“He said you have conducted negotiations with the Ecumenical Patriarchate for more then 10 years without a result, but I offer you the status enjoyed by the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad: you retain autocephaly and the existing system, all your Churches and funds will remain at your disposal but the only thing is that you will have to attend the councils of Metropolitan Volodymyr (Sabodan) (UOC-MP),” said Metropolitan Mefodii.

The Russian Orthodox Church Abroad joined ROC in 2007 on condition of retaining its autonomous status. Recently, a scandal broke out in the USA with regard to attempts of the Moscow Patriarchate to subordinate the Orthodox Church in USA. However, an influential priest of the Orthodox Church in USA argued against any prospect of such attempts.

Apparently, the main strategy of Patriarch Kirill is to draw and admit in ROC of any “problematic” Orthodox communities in order to strengthen the international influence of the Moscow Patriarchate, reports “Religion in Ukraine.”

Orthodox Christian Laity president writes to American bishops

Quite long, but well worth reading.

---

(ocl.org) - Letter from William Souvall, OCL President, to the Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Christian Bishops - Orthodox Christian Laity

April 25, 2011
Bright Week
Feast day Great Martyr George


His Grace Rt. Rev. Bishop Basil
Bishop of the Diocese of Wichita and Mid-America
Secretary of the Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Christian Bishops

Christ Is Risen!

The officers and members of Orthodox Christian Laity hope this letter finds you, your family and the faithful of your Diocese in good stead and spirit. We also pray that the Holy Spirit inspires you and your brother Bishops with wisdom and courage as you prepare for the next meeting of the Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops. It is because of your direct responsibility in coordinating the Assembly’s activities that we are writing to you at this time.

We write, not as critics or monitors of your work and the work of the Assembly, but rather as supporters and advocates, for nearly twenty-five years, of Orthodox Unity in America. In this vein, OCL has sponsored many public meetings and forums attended by thousands throughout our country. OCL has also developed and distributed books and other written materials devoted to the cause of unity. It has collaborated with hierarchs, clergy and the laity from every Orthodox jurisdiction who have expressed a commitment to a truly united church. In this effort OCL has been in both spirit and action unequivocally inclusive and Pan-Orthodox.

We are encouraged that under your leadership, the Assembly has established its own website and committees with Episcopal chairs and members. We applaud these tangible actions which give form to the Assembly. Unfortunately, these steps are not yet fully reflected throughout our churches, neither at the highest ecclesiastical levels nor at the parish level. It is good to establish websites and committees, but unless their reality is projected by hierarchs and by clergy from the pulpit, ignorance of, and indifference to the unity effort will prevail. This lack of a growing unity consciousness is disappointing. It is a responsibility which rests not just with the hierarchy but with all of us, clergy and laity alike.

We are told that the unity effort is in its early stages and that the Assembly must proceed carefully in an organized manner to deal with a variety of complex ecclesiastical issues. The need for thorough committee work is understood, but it should not delay palpable unity-related activities which can be undertaken immediately: such as increased and highly visible Pan-Orthodox worship services throughout America.

With few exceptions, the Orthodox presently worship together only on the Sunday of Orthodoxy when attendance is often disappointingly low. In some regions, even this minimal activity has either been neglected or discouraged. Is it not fair to ask why Pan-Orthodox activities and initiatives at almost every level rank so low in priority? This example is cited to demonstrate that such activities need not wait for the formal committee work which the Assembly is laboring to commence.

In this respect, we offer an observation and suggestion. We know that pastoral and administrative duties of the hierarchy, their staffs and parish clergy are more pressing on their time and resources. Unless the Church’s leadership vocally, visibly, and urgently insists that unity matters, this present woeful situation will persist. We suggest that the Assembly address this matter by creating a permanent office and staff, not only to coordinate the committee work but also to energize and sensitize diocesan and local communities to undertake unity-related activities. The more we live unity, the sooner it will be realized.

If the Assembly seeks substantive and substantial participation of the laity in its committees and other work, it will be all the more likely that its mission will be achieved, particularly in light of the possibility that a Great and Holy Council could convene as early as 2013. With only fifty eight bishops and an estimated 1,000 priests in the various jurisdictions and active faithful of perhaps 1,000,000, it is clear that substantial involvement of the laity must be enlisted. We have every confidence that hundreds of devout men and women of diverse talents--many in retirement--would respond positively to calls for participation in the mission of Orthodox unity.

We also appreciate your efforts and that of others to discuss the Assembly’s work and more broadly the question of unity. Interviews on OCN’s Come Receive the Light and Ancient Faith Radio have been most helpful, but these efforts must again be reflected at the parish level. It is essential that unity initiatives and discussions at regional, metropolitan and local areas be sanctioned and promoted by the Assembly. We believe one way to encourage such activity is for the various jurisdictions to designate unity liaisons of both clergy and laity at diocesan and local levels.

We urge the Assembly to widely disseminate information about developments here and abroad that might affect the pace and nature of Church unity in America. Frequent updates on the deliberations of the Assembly or the Chambesy meetings, even if contentious, will help the faithful understand the complexity of the issues and how much time it may take to for them to be resolved.

Your Grace, OCL’s commitment to a united and canonical Orthodox Church in America is based on our Lord’s command that we “be one”. We take that to mean in spirit, body and worship. Following the historic and inspiring decisions taken concerning unity by the Synaxis at the Ecumenical Patriarchate in 2008, OCL promptly endorsed and engaged in activities supporting the actions taken by the leaders of World Orthodoxy. When OCL learned that an Assembly of Bishops was to be formed and convened, our members, on short notice, happily expressed their support in tangible ways, including significant financial assistance. OCL genuinely anticipated that a path toward Orthodox unity in America had finally arrived. OCL seeks no special status, but only to energize and expand the involvement of the People of God in the work of the Assembly.

We realize, Your Grace, that you and your fellow bishops carry a great and historic responsibility for ending the division of our Church in America. It is for this reason that we hope our observations and suggestions may prove helpful to the Assembly as it moves forward. In the end, the divine mandate for one united Church is a command to all the faithful. It is in response to this imperative that Orthodox Christian Laity has and will continue to pursue the unity of our faithful in America in all appropriate ways. We look forward to your response.

We pray that our Risen Lord may guide you and your brother bishops wisely and prudently in this most holy task.

Most Respectfully,

William Souvall, President
Orthodox Christian Laity

cc:

His Eminence Most Rev. Archbishop Demetrios of America, Chairman
His Eminence Most Rev. Archbishop Antony Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the USA, Treasurer
His Grace Rt. Rev. Bishop Maxim, Coordinator for Committees
His Grace Rt. Rev. Bishop Andonios, Coordinator for Agencies and Endorsed Organizations

Yiayia knows best!

H/T: Under the Dome

These are great. Enjoy!

The Great Blessing of Water in Bristol Bay

(OCA-DOW) - A video of His Grace, Bishop Benjamin, serving the Great Blessing of Waters in Alaska and explaining the plight of the native people facing devlopment jeopardizing the waters, is now online:

Pascha in Australia

60 Minutes 'Overtime' on Mt. Athos story

I found the web special 'Overtime' piece to be as intriguing as the main story itself. Link available here. Apologies I can't embed it; Blogger and CBS aren't playing well together.

No communion for child with cerebral palsy

My opinion:

• Communing infants is the ancient practice.
• Most of the ritual churches in the Catholic Church do as well.
• The idea of understanding is a slippery slope that I'm not sure finds much of a foothold in the Fathers. We could apply this sort of logic to Baptism, which would of course make many Protestants happy.
• This should never have been handled like this. It should have gone to the bishop first. There should have been a long, prayerful meeting on the topic.
• There should have been a better explanation of the rite of anointing of the sick.
• The USCCB's own guidelines (PDF) tell them what to do: "It is important to note, however, that the criterion for reception of holy communion is the same for persons with developmental and mental disabilities as for all persons, namely, that the person be able to distinguish the Body of Christ from ordinary food, even if this recognition is evidenced through manner, gesture,
  or reverential silence rather than verbally. Pastors are encouraged to consult with parents,
  those who take the place of parents, diocesan personnel involved with disability issues,
  psychologists, religious educators, and other experts in making their judgment. If it is
  determined that a parishioner who is disabled is not ready to receive the sacrament, great
  care is to be taken in explaining the reasons for this decision. Cases of doubt should be
  resolved in favor of the right of the baptized person to receive the sacrament. The
  existence of a disability is not considered in and of itself as disqualifying a person from
  receiving the Eucharist."

---

From the blog Creative Minority Report:

A child has been denied first Communion due to a rather severe cognitive disability which, according to the pastor, made him unable to understand the Eucharist.

I don't know the right answer here but it seems to me that the Church should do everything we can to offer the sacraments but the bishops have said:

It is important to note, however, that the criterion for reception of holy communion is the same for persons with developmental and mental disabilities as for all persons, namely, that the person be able to distinguish the Body of Christ from ordinary food, even if this recognition is evidenced through manner, gesture, or reverential silence rather than verbally.

It seems to me to be up to the priest to make the call.

I do get a bit weary of the exit line from the reporter saying that this incident makes the mother question not only her pastor but her faith. And Anointing of the Sick isn't just for those dying, despite what the woman says. And her calling it "discrimination" is a bit awkward in that the Church must be discriminating as to who receives Communion.

In the end, this is a terrible situation but I think you have to trust the pastor.

In Ghana: Christ is Risen!

Pascha at Optina Monastery

Pascha at the Cathedral of St. Nicholas, Washington, DC

Remembering the dead on Pascha

More great photos available from the Sacramento Bee's Frame.

---

Romanian Christian Orthodox believers visit the ossuary of Pasarea monastery shortly after the Easter religious service as local nuns light candles for those who have died in Pasarea village (20km east from Bucharest) April 24, 2011. AFP/ Getty Images / Daniel Mihailescu

St. Barbara Monastery breaks ground on new chapel

(OCA-DOW) - On Lazarus Saturday, April 16th, 2011, His Grace, Bishop Benjamin, presided at the ground-breaking for a chapel dedicated to St. Barbara and St. Eugene at St. Barbara Monastery in Santa Paula, CA. For over five years, the monastic community has used the large living room of their house as a chapel. But this arrangement, while workable, is far from adequate and has always been understood to be temporary.

The simple yet elegant design for the 1,450 square foot chapel consists basically of an octagon with an added apse on the east side and an added narthex and porch on the west, crowned with a clerestory and a single cupola. Although definitely different, it is reminiscent of our church in San Anselmo.

In their March newsletter, the nuns recounted a little of the history leading up to the decision to build this chapel. Here is what they wrote:

“The story begins back on the very last day of World War II. Just hours before peace was declared, the young Eugene Lurie, an infantryman and a member of Holy Trinity Cathedral in San Francisco, was killed in battle. His grief-stricken family decided to donate to the Church a wonderful piece of property they owned at Point Reyes not far north of San Francisco as a memorial to their departed son. Hence the name of the property: St. Eugene’s Hermitage. The first person to live there was Archimandrite Dimitry Egoroff of blessed memory. He continued to live there for some 18 years, most of that time by himself. After Father Dimitry, because of health reasons, moved away, the Church assigned various people to live there at different times in the hope of developing the property. The latest of these attempts was the founding of the Monastery of St. John of Shanghai and San Francisco on the property. The monastic brotherhood lived there for ten years, only to find itself repeatedly stymied by Marin County officialdom from any construction or other development. Meanwhile, the brotherhood was growing with no space for new monks. So, in 2005, it was decided to move the monastery to a new location outside Manton, California, where it presently remains. Under the circumstances, His Grace, Bishop Benjamin, felt there was no alternative but to sell the Point Reyes property. Proceeds from the sale were divided, a portion going to the Monastery of St. John to build a chapel there, and another portion allocated to St. Barbara Monastery in Santa Paula, for the building of a chapel here as well. Both of these chapels have the name of St. Eugene in memory of the young soldier who gave his life for his country.”

Slideshow available here.

I post this because it's gorgeous.

More wonderful selections of Paschal pieces from the Holy Pochaev Lavra available from Pravmir here.

Pascha at St. Seraphim Cathedral, Dallas, TX

H/T: Vladimir Grygorenko

"Christ is Risen" Flash Mob in Beirut

Reposting of a Paschal classic

Holy Fire at the Church of the Resurrection

The importance of time: of calendars and coordination

(The Economist) - Religions have a rum relationship with calendars. They invite people to enter a reality that transcends all the limitations of time, space and finitude; yet faiths are often disputatiously obsessed with pinning down the precise moment at which certain cosmically important events occurred or should be celebrated. Christian quarrels over the date of Easter are a perfect example.

Both the Western and Orthodox Christian churches use a complex system, based on the spring equinox and the lunar cycle, to compute the date when the resurrection of Jesus Christ (and the rites that follow and precede it) should be marked. But the methods of calculation are different. This year, as last year, Western and Eastern Christians happen to agree; but the Easter dates can be as much as five weeks apart.

That can pose problems in places where Orthodox and Western Christians rub shoulders. One lot may be holding lively Paschal celebrations while the others are observing a Lenten fast. And even a common Easter date can pose difficulties, for example at the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem where six Christian communities jostle for space: Catholics who wish to visit Christ’s tomb on Easter Saturday must turn up extra-early (at 5.30am) because of security measures for the exuberant Orthodox Holy Fire ceremony a few hours later.

Only in a handful of places do Easter celebrants alter their own arrangements to take account of their neighbours. Finland’s Orthodox Christians mark Easter on the Western date. And on the Greek island of Syros, a Papist stronghold, Catholics and Orthodox alike march to Orthodox time. The spectacular public commemorations, involving flower-strewn funeral biers on Good Friday and fireworks on Saturday night, bring the islanders together, rather than highlighting division.

Could the wider Christian world ever converge on a single date? It seems unlikely. An Orthodox calendar reform of 1923, which aligned Christmas and other fixed festivals with the Western dates, led to a deep division within the Christian east; the Russians, Serbs and some conservative Greeks refused to go along. Many Orthodox are wary of any changes that could cause more splits within their ranks.

If the movement for a common, or permanently fixed, Easter date ever gains ground, a Cambridge University professor, Colin Humphreys, has made a proposal. Using a mixture of literary and astronomical sources, he thinks the actual date of crucifixion was April 3rd in the year 33AD. That places the last supper (which he thinks happened on Wednesday, not Thursday as traditionally believed) on April 1st, and the resurrection on April 5th. So, he is asking, why not celebrate Christianity’s defining event on, or as near as possible, the day it happened?

Great Thursday in New Jersey

The life of a village priest

More photos from the set on this Russian village priest are available here.

Many Good Friday services cancelled in Syria

DAMASCUS, Syria, April 22 (UPI) - Syrian troops fired on protesters in at least three cities Friday, witnesses said.

At least three people were wounded in Douma, near Damascus, and gunfire was reported in Homs and Hama, the BBC said.

The opposition called for a "Great Friday" of protests after weekly Muslim prayers.

Christian churches across the country canceled outdoor Good Friday services.

"All of the Syrian churches have decided this together because of the bad situation and because of the martyrs who have died in recent days, out of respect for them," Bishop Philoxenos Mattias, assistant to the Syriac Orthodox Church patriarchate in Damascus told The Daily Telegraph of London.

Services for the Christian minorities, estimated at about 2 million people, will still take place inside the churches, but all street processions and public music performances were canceled, he told the newspaper.

"We decided to postpone them till next year," he said.

Normally, streets in the Christian quarters of Damascus and other cities would have parades by uniformed marching bands and choirboys, and even re-enactments of the crucifixion of Jesus.

"Things are not good here -- how can we celebrate?" a nun speaking from a monastery who asked not to be identified told the newspaper "People are very sad. We cannot celebrate because of all the martyrs who have lost their lives and because of all the destruction that has taken place. We are only going to pray."

The protests come a day after President Bashar Assad overturned Syria's half-century-old emergency law, in a bid to defuse the popular protests rattling the country for more than a month.

Even as he signed decrees repealing harsh emergency rule in place since 1963 and granting citizens the right to protest peacefully with government approval, Syrian police officers, soldiers and military vehicles amassed in Damascus and Homs, Syria's third-largest city, residents told The New York Times.

Homs, an industrial center with 1.5 million people, is where a government crackdown this week dispersed one of the largest gatherings since demonstrations began last month.

Army units also took up positions in and around the city of Daraa in southwestern Syria near the Jordanian border, where the protests first erupted, The Jerusalem Post reported.

Organizers looked to Friday's demonstrations as possibly being the moment when the pro-democracy movement might build the critical mass reached in Egypt and Tunisia, the Times said.

They also saw them as a litmus test to see if Assad's government would live by the decrees he signed.

The unrest poses the gravest threat to Assad's rule since he succeeded his father, Hafez Assad, 11 years ago.

Washing of the feet in the Armenian Church

(YouTube) - On April 21, the services of Holy Thursday were started in the early morning in the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin.

At midday, the service of Washing of the Feet was offered in the Mother Cathedral. The Members of the Brotherhood escorted His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians, from the Pontifical Residence to the Cathedral. Following the readings of prayers and the Gospel, His Holiness blessed the oil and water with the Holy Cross.

Following the example of Jesus Christ, the Pontiff of All Armenians washed and anointed with blessed oil, the feet of twelve persons symbolizing the Apostles. Among the twelve were two bishops, two archimandrites, two monks, two seminarians, two soldiers and two youngsters.

Reading of 12 Gospels at the Optina Pustyn Monastery

Paschal greetings from around the world

In no particular order (certainly not "by the diptychs") and added as they become available:


Orthodox Church in America




The Ecumenical Patriarchate

• 2011 Patriarchal Proclamation for Pascha

Moscow Patriarchate

• Paschal Message of His Holiness KIRILL, Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, to the Archpastors, Pastors, Monastics and All the Faithful Children of the Russian Orthodox Church

Romanian Patriarchate

• Irenical letter of the Patriarch of Romania at the feast of the Resurrection of the Lord

Orthodox Christian Mission Center

• Christ is Risen! - A Pascha Greeting from the Orthodox Christian Mission Center (OCMC)

Romanian Orthodox Archdiocese in the Americas

• PASTORAL LETTER ON THE FEAST OF OUR LORD’S RESURRECTION 2011

Assembly of Canonical Bishops of North and Central America

• Great and Holy Pascha 2011

Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America

• ENCYCLICAL OF ARCHBISHOP DEMETRIOS FOR GREAT AND HOLY PASCHA 2011

Ukrainian Orthodox Church

• Paschal message of His Beatitude Metropolitan Volodymyr of Kyiv and All Ukraine to the Archpastors, pastors, monastics and all faithful children of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church

Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the United States of America

• THE PASCHAL EPISTLE OF THE PERMANENT CONFERENCE OF UKRAINIAN ORTHODOX BISHOPS BEYOND THE BORDERS OF UKRAINE FOR 2011

Armenian Church

• Message of His Holiness KAREKIN II Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians On the Feast of the Glorious Resurrection of Jesus Christ (PDF)

Western American Diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia

• Paschal Epistle of His Grace Theodosy, Bishop of Seattle

Eastern American Diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia

• Paschal Epistle of Metropolitan HILARION of Eastern America and New York, First Hierarch of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia

Western Diocese of the Orthodox Church in America

• Bishop's Paschal Message

Syriac Orthodox Church of Antioch Archdiocese of the Eastern United States

• HIS EMINENCE MOR CYRIL APHREM KARIM'S EASTER MESSAGE 2011

Eastern Pennsylvania Diocese of the Orthodox Church in America

• Paschal Message from His Grace, Bishop Tikhon (PDF)

Diocese of New York / New Jersey of the Orthodox Church in America

• Archpastoral Letter of His Grace, Bishop Michael, For the Feast of the Glorious Resurrection 2011 (PDF)

Syrian Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch & All the East

• Apostolic Easter Message (PDF)

Western Diocese of the Armenian Orthodox Church

Palm Sunday in Jerusalem

More details on upcoming "60 Minutes" Mt. Athos special

NEW YORK (GOARCH) - The Holy Mountain Athos, the over a thousand year sanctuary of Orthodox Christian monasticism, and which is directly under the spiritual jurisdiction of His All Holiness, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, will be featured on the CBS News program “60 Minutes”, scheduled to air on Pascha Sunday. The segment, “The Monks of Mount Athos”, will recount 60 Minutes Correspondent Bob Simon’s journey to a remote peninsula in North Greece that millions of Orthodox Christians consider the most sacred place on earth, Mouth Athos.

On the recommendation and with the blessing of Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, who opened the doors for the “60 Minutes” team, and after two trips to the mountain and two years of dialogue with the Anthonite community, last Fall Simon and the “60 Minutes” team were given unprecedented access to document monastic life on the Holy Mountain. The result is a portrait of a place rarely seen where prayer has been offered by holy men everyday, with no interruption, for more than a thousand years.

The “Monks of Mount Athos” will be broadcast Sunday, April 24, 2011 on the CBS Television Network at 7:00 PM EST. Harry Radliffe and Michael Karzis are the producers of the segment.

“60 Minutes” is the pre-eminent investigative television news show in the United States and has run on CBS since 1968. It has been among the top-rated TV programs for much of its life and has garnered numerous awards over the years. The show will also be broadcast over the Internet on the “60 Minutes” website: www.60minutes.com

More information about the Ecumenical Patriarchate, as well as texts of his addresses of His All Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew may be found at: www.patriarchate.org.

Tips for surviving evening services with little ones

For my 3,000^th post I was hoping to put up some pictures from recent services I've attended. Instead, I find myself being the on-call this week with a very good chance of being forced to miss Pascha itself. My mental choices were to write off the week or double-down on prayer and after-dinner discussions with the children. I chose the latter as my work situation is no excuse for depriving them of a better understanding of Holy Week.

Here's a post entitled "Tips for Surviving Evening Services with Little Ones..." from the blog Charming the Birds from the Trees with some added commentary.

---

1. Feed your little ones well and with good, healthy food before church. If a child's tummy is full and they aren't thirsty, their behavior will be a lot better. I know some parents take the ascetic instruction to pray while hungry with some seriousness. I have yet to experience a tranquil service with hungry children. More often I have to keep leaning down to listen to little ketotic voices asking me when the service will be over or where we're going afterward.

2. Limit (or eliminate) television and sweets for several hours before church. I have found that my children tend to act much more calmly if they aren't hopped up on sugar and have been playing rather than vegging out before church. Similarly, "No! It's the Fast!" projects this discipline of the Church in a negative light so that instead of forming your child to grow in the Church he will find ways to grow away from the church.

3. Be positive about going to church. It is hard to go to church at night with little ones after a long day, but children pick up on their parent's attitude. If you are feeling resentful about going to church, then everyone in your family will too!

4. Keep your children close to you. Our church has 21 children and 35 adults. The parents in our church have found that if we insist that our children stay with us and don't play or talk with their friends during services, their behavior is a lot better. We also try to allow them to play together a bit after church so that they do have some time to cultivate friendships. This is very parish dependent. At our current parish our girls sit with the matushka's girls and it works quite well, but in our last parish this would have been disastrous. 

5. Bring your children to church in their pajamas or bring a bag of pajamas and toothbrushes with you to change them in the bathroom or car. Having them all ready for bed once they get home makes things a lot simpler. Think twice about things like pillows and blankets. What is helpful for one child is a lasso and grenade for another.

6. If you have a bedtime routine that is important to you and your little ones, try to still do it. When we have church at night, we have bathtime before dinner and stories after we eat... then we head out to church. Generally for us bedtime starts at 7. Evening services at our parish usually start or end at 7. As a result, it is not abnormal for me to carry in or out 4 or 5 children from the car. See what works for you.

7. Don't be afraid to leave church for a little while for a break (though you should check with your priest about the best times to do so). Sometimes a little walk around the building helps to relax children... try to remain in a prayerful mindset though (i.e. no running, screaming, jumping, etc.). It will distract the people praying in the church and it will make it difficult to calm your child down when it is time to return to the sanctuary. Some children see that if they act up they get "rewarded" with mommy or daddy time. Being patient is important, but so is being stern. If they make a lot of noise and then get a book and cookies when they do, the Pavlovian connection between being ill-behaved and fun-time is being reinforced.

8. Point things out to a wiggly child. There are often many things happening in church that will capture a child's attention: the priest censing, icons on the wall, singing Lord Have Mercy, lighting a candle, etc.

9. Consider a very small toy, book, or coloring page to keep your little one occupied for a few minutes. Icon coloring pages are widely available on the Internet, the Orthodox publishing world has been doing a great job of getting new Orthodox children's books printed, and Anna has been sharing a lot of information on Felt Saints and Holy Week Learning Boxes. You can also purchase learning boxes for church through Orthodox Christian Craft Supply. Please just remember that you want these items to be as quiet as possible. The minute a child throws one of these items, the item has to go away. Be prepared for the noisy response before you do so.

What are your suggestions for surviving evening services with little ones?

"Lost Innocents" blog under construction

Some background information on this important effort below (from the blog Praying with my Feet)...

---

Lost Innocents

You may have noticed another blog listed in my profile. "Lost Innocents" is under construction right now and it will be a little while (possibly Pentecost) before it's done. It is intended to be a safe place for Orthodox Christians to go for practical information about miscarriage and burial, encouragement and solace. In the event that you are curious you can go ahead and have a peak. I will go ahead and forestall any thoughts about how arrogant it is that I would start such a site with 'so little experience' by saying that I've already had those thoughts myself and I stand accused. However, I had to piece information together from myriad sources and I had resources that not everyone has. I want to put it together in one place and offer an Orthodox perspective. If anyone wants to offer any suggestions or criticisms, please feel free to email me.

My annual "Summer camp is coming up!" reminder

A reminder that it's about that time to sign your children up for Orthodox summer camp (the above video is from the Antiochian Village Summer Camp, which has just opened up registration here). If you need information on camps near you, I recommend the Orthodox Camps website available here.

---

About The Orthodox Christian Camp Association

The Orthodox Christian Camp Association is a group of Orthodox Christian camp professionals from all Orthodox Christian jurisdictions.

Operating with the blessing of SCOBA (The Standing Conference of Canonical Orthodox Bishops in the Americas), the Orthodox Christian Camp Association is to witness to the truth and love of Jesus Christ through the Orthodox Christian camping experience by

Overseeing the operation of the annual Camp Conference of camp directors and staff
to share and provide resources to Orthodox Christian Camping Programs

Prayer for Orthodox Camping Programs

O Lord Jesus Christ our God, who condescended to enter under the roof of Zacchaeus the Publican, thus becoming salvation to him and his whole household: As the same Lord, by means of our unworthy prayers, look with mercy and beneficence upon our Orthodox encampments. As our Lord and Master, enlighten our directors, counselors, and staff to the doing of Your holy Will, so that they might always worthily direct those entrusted to their care, to grow in wisdom and grace before Your majesty. May Your presence be felt in the midst of our encampments, thus, in Your mercy, preserving them from the snares of the evil one and abund antly providingopportunity that all participants profit by Your blessing. For You are our God, and to You do we ascribe glory: to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.

Camp Directory

Did you know that there are over 50 Orthodox Christian Camping programs throughout the United States and Canada? To find out more about these camps follow the links below:

• Camps in the American Carpatho-Russian Orthodox Diocese of the USA
• Camps in the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese
• Camps in the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America
• Camps in the Orthodox Church of America
• Camps in the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in the USA

"Lazarus Saturday Spiritual Outing" held in Chicago area

(UOC-USA) - On Lazarus Saturday, April 16th 2011, with the blessing of the Ruling Hierarch of the Western Eparchy of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the USA His Grace Bishop Daniel, the faithful of Holy Trinity Ukrainian Orthodox Church, Bensenville IL, along with Orthodox Homeschooling families from the area attended a Spiritual Outing to the Protection of the Most Holy Mother of God Serbian Orthodox Monastery (New Gracanica) in Third Lake, IL.

The day started with Divine Liturgy served by His Grace Bishop Longin of the Serbian Orthodox Church, Archimandrite Thomas Kazich – Abbot of the Monastery, Rev. Stavrofor Milorad Loncar, and Very Rev. Bohdan Kalynyuk of Holy Trinity Ukrainian Orthodox Church. Choir members from Holy Trinity joined the Monastery choir and prayerfully sang the responses in Ukrainian, Church Slavonic, Serbian, Greek and English.

All of the children also received bells to wear which is symbolic of a Serbian Tradition – while ringing bells, the children in Serbia would go into the woods on Lazarus Saturday to cut Willow branches, and bring them back to the Church to have Blessed.

Because of inclement weather, the Blessing of the Willows was done inside the Church, but that did not dampen the spirit of the faithful. All the children wore their bells and gathered around as Vladyka Longin Blessed the Willows. After Liturgy, Archimandrite Thomas Kazich and Father Bohdan distributed the Willows to everyone.

After Liturgy, everyone was invited to the Serbian Children's Camp Hall for a delicious Lenten lunch which was prepared by the National Kolo Se Stara (Serbian Sisterhood).After lunch, all the children, even as young as two years old, enjoyed making traditional Ukrainian Pysanky. The Pysanka workshop was taught by Olena Pawluk-Fitza, with assistant teachers Mira Hausser, Taras Rudenko, and Olena's oldest children -- Alexander and Andrianna Fitza.

There was an overall positive response from both Holy Trinity Ukrainian Orthodox Church and New Gracanica Serbian Orthodox Monastery that we all came together for this wonderful day, and we are looking forward to making this an annual Tradition.

We would like to extend a warm thank you to His Grace Vladyka Longin for inviting and accepting our guests with open arms, Mira Andjelkovic and the National Serbian Kolo Se Stara for making and serving the delightful lunch, and to Archimandrite Thomas Kazich, Mira Hausser, Taisa Ampulski, and George Demchenko for helping me organize this wonderful day. We are already looking forward to next year!

Lazarus Saturday and Palm Sunday celebrated in Kuwait

(spc.rs) - With Mercy of God, by the invitation of Metropolitan Constantine of the Patriarchate of Antioch and with the blessing of Serbian Patriarch Irinej and Bishop Milutin of Valjevo, father Radomir Aleksic, priest of the Diocese of Valjevo, was in Kuwait on Lazarus Saturday and Palm Sunday. This visit pleased all the Serbs who live and work in Kuwait as well as many Russians and Ukrainians.

Fr. Radomir concelebrated during the Holy Liturgies on Lazarus Saturday and Palm Sunday as well as during the procession, along with priests of the Metropolitanate of Kuwait, Baghdad and all the Gulf - father Philemon and father Joseph.

On this liturgical gathering many Orthodox people from all parts of the world, Kuwait, Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, Jordan, Serbia, Russia, Ukraine... The Liturgy was served bilingually, in Serbian and Arabic with reading of the Gospel and the Apostles in both languages.

The visit of father Radomir left a great trace in hearts of our people who live and work in this distant Islamic country. Otherwise, the Orthodox Church of the Patriarchate of Antioch in Kuwait that exists from 1975 which until today has been led, with God's help, Metropolitan Constantine, the member of the Holy Synod of the Patriarchate of Antioch.

Tip 'o the hat

This is a repost from 2009 to reiterate how much I value those who doff their caps in reposting material read here. It is much appreciated.

---

I recently received an email asking what the "odd H/T thing" was on some of my posts. For those not familiar with the term, "Hat Tipping" is Internet cant for referencing back to the original poster. I use it liberally. Now would seem to be a good time to thank those who do the same for me. There are many of you. This is an equally good time to ask those that don't to do so. I ask not for my own self aggrandizement, but as someone who finds new blogs to read quite often through spidering from hat tips.

Love can wait to give, but lust can't wait to get.

H/T: Aggie Catholics

Authenticating the relics of Ss. Chrysanthus and Daria

Rome, Italy, Apr 19, 2011 / 03:10 pm (CNA) - Two skeletons attributed to two married martyrs from the third century could be authentic, say researchers taking part in a new National Geographic Society documentary.

“All of the evidence we have gathered points toward the relics having belonged to Chrysanthus and Daria,” said investigation leader Ezio Fulcheri of the University of Genoa. “This has been a very rare opportunity to be able to study bones and other relics that relate directly back to a legend that has been passed on for almost 2,000 years. The completeness of the skeletons is also rare for martyrs of this era, implying that these relics were protected and venerated in their entirety at a very early point in history.”

The remains of the saints, martyred around 283 A.D. for spreading Christianity, are said to have been interred in the crypt of the cathedral in the northern Italian city of Reggio Emilia since the 10th century.

A 2008 renovation at the cathedral caused the dismantling of the altar which had been undisturbed since 1651. The remains, nearly 150 bones, underwent tests dating them to between 80 and 340 A.D.

Fulcheri led a team of scientists who considered the authenticity of the relics. Their investigations are the subject of the National Geographic Channel documentary “EXPLORER: Mystery of the Murdered Saints,” which airs on April 19 at 10 p.m. Eastern time.

Max Salomon, senior producer and series writer for EXPLORER, spoke about the documentary with CNA on April 18.

He thought the investigation was one of the first times that the Catholic Church has done a full investigation into a pair of saints dating from their period.

“This is the first time that we can really test the authenticity of what is believed to be the body of a saint. For us, it was really a privilege to have a seat at that table and see its risks,” he said.

Read more »

On Holy Tuesday and the Hymn of St. Kassiane

(antiochian.org) - At Bridegroom Orthros on Great and Holy Tuesday, the Church sings the following hymn by St. Kassiane:

O Lord, the woman who had fallen into many sins, perceiving Thy divinity, fulfilled the part of a myrrh-bearer; and with lamentations she brought sweet-smelling oil of myrrh to Thee before Thy burial. 'Woe is me,' she said, 'for night surrounds me, dark and moonless, and stings my lustful passion with the love of sin. Accept the fountain of my tears, O Thou who drawest down from the clouds the waters of the sea. Incline to the groanings of my heart, O Thou who in Thine ineffable self-emptying hast bowed down the heavens. I shall kiss Thy most pure feet and wipe them with the hairs of my heads, those feet whose sound Eve heard at dusk in Paradise and hid herself for fear. Who can search out the multitude of my sins and the abyss of Thy judgments, O Saviour of my soul? Despise me not, Thine handmaiden, for Thou hast mercy without measure.

St. Kassiane the Hymnographer was born between 805 and 810 in Constantinople into a wealthy family and grew to be exceptionally beautiful and intelligent. Three Byzantine chroniclers claim that she was a participant in the "bride show" (the means by which Byzantine princes/emperors sometimes chose a bride, giving a golden apple to his choice) organized for the young bachelor-emperor Theophilos. Smitten by Kassiane's beauty, the young emperor approached her and said: "Through a woman came forth the baser things," referring to the sin and suffering coming as a result of Eve's transgression. Kassiane promptly responded by saying: "And through a woman came forth the better things," referring to the hope of salvation resulting from the Incarnation through the Most Holy Theotokos. His pride wounded by Kassiane's rebuttal, Theophilos haughtily passed her by and chose another to be his wife.

We next hear of Kassiane in 843 when it is recorded that she founded a convent in Constantinople, becoming its first abbess and devoting her life to asceticism and the composing of liturgical poetry. The best known of her compositions is the Doxastikon on the Aposticha of the Bridegroom Orthros for Great and Holy Wednesday (which service is, in parish churches, chanted by anticipation on the previous evening).

Tradition says that in his later years the Emperor Theophilos, still in love with Kassiane, wished to see her one last time before he died, so he rode to the monastery where she resided. Kassiane was alone in her cell, writing her now famous hymn, when she realized that the commotion she heard was because the imperial retinue had arrived. Being now devoted to God in her monastic life, Kassiane fled from her cell and hid, leaving the unfinished hymn on her writing desk. Theophilos was directed to her cell and entered it alone. Not finding Kassiane, he turned to leave when he noticed papers on the desk and read what was written upon them. When he was done reading, he sat and added one line to the hymn; then he left - never to see Kassiane again. The line attributed to the Emperor is "those feet whose sound Eve heard at dusk in Paradise and hid herself for fear."

When the emperor and his party departed from the monastery, St Kassiane returned to her cell, discovered what Theophilos had written, and finished the hymn now popularly known as "The Hymn of the Sinful Woman."

Holy Tuesday in Russia

Article here (in Russian) and great photos available here.

---

Surprise! People don't like crucifixes in urine.

(FaithWorld) - A controversial photograph of a crucifix submerged in the urine of New York artist Andres Serrano has been vandalized during an exhibit in Avignon and the museum’s employees have received death threats.

“Piss Christ” — a photograph that sparked an uproar when first exhibited in the United States in 1989 — was damaged Sunday “with the help of a hammer and an object like a screwdriver or pickaxe,” said the Collection Lambert, a contemporary art museum in France’s southwestern city known for its theater festival.

Moreover, the three vandals physically threatened three museum guards before fleeing, the museum said in a statement. A second photograph, “The Church,” which depicts the torso of a nun with her hands in her lap, was similarly vandalized. The museum, which shut its doors immediately after the incident, said it would reopen on Tuesday and display the damaged works “so the public can appreciate for themselves the violence of the acts.”

“Several people have called saying, ‘If you open, you’re dead,’” one museum worker told Reuters. “We’re nervous and we have asked for protection from the police.”

On Saturday, the museum was forced to close after a demonstration against the artist’s work drew some 800 protesters . The bishop of Avignon had earlier demanded that the museum remove the controversial photograph.

Most recently, several of Serrano’s works were vandalized in 2007 during an exhibit at a Swedish art gallery. In 1997, an Australian art gallery in Melbourne closed the exhibition after the photograph “Piss Christ” was attacked by a youth wielding a hammer.

What do you think about this? Are there parallels to the issue of blasphemy in Islam? What should civilian authorities do in such cases?

40-day Panikhída for Met. Nicholas to be streamed online

JOHNSTOWN, PA (ACROD) - The fortieth day memorial service for + Metropolitan Nicholas will be broadcast live from Christ the Saviour Cathedral on Thursday, April 21, 2011. It will take place at the conclusion of the 8:00 am Holy Thursday Vesperal Liturgy of St. Basil the Great (which will be broadcast in its entirety). The memorial Service will be archived for later viewing as well.

Other divine services schedule to be broadcast live from Christ the Saviour Cathedral will include the Matins of Holy Friday -the Reading of the Passion Gospels - (Thursday April 21 at 7:00 pm), Vespers and Entombment of Our Lord - Friday April 22 at 7:00 pm, Resurrection Matins -Saturday April 23rd at 8:00 pm and Paschal Divine Liturgy - Sunday April 24, 2011 at 9:00 am.