Russian / Romanian concelebration in the US

(ROC-USA) - Tuesday, May 31, St. Nicholas Cathedral in New York at the invitation of the Administrator of the Patriarchal Parishes in the USA visited the Bishop Irenaeus - Titular Bishop of Dearborn Heights (Michigan), Vicar of the diocese of the Romanian Orthodox Church in America.

An interview with George Bilak, fashioner of woodcarvings

George Bilak fashions woodcarved and hand written icons as well as other amazing and unique pieces including crosses, Easter eggs, pendants, and engolpia. Some months back I was forwarded a link to his Facebook page where I spent an inordinate amount of time looking at images of his work. A few clicks later I was at his website carvingart.com and mesmerized. Mr. Bilak was kind enough to answer a few questions I had about his singularly inspiring masterpieces.

Father Aleksandar in front of the new iconostasis on the consecration day of St. Sava Church in Cambridge, MA..

How did you get interested in this medium? Was it an extension of your iconography or of a background in woodwork?

Patriarch Pavle

I started woodcarving and icon painting approximately at the same time. The "revival" of iconography in Serbia wasn't to happen until a few years later, it was an obscure art at that moment and I was learning it by myself with close to nothing to go on. It started with my uncle wanting an icon; given the fact that I was the kid in the family who always "doodled something" he asked me if I could paint him one, to which I answered "of course" without having any clue what that meant. So I did what he described and therefore painted my first "icon" in oil colors on canvas (in hind sight it wasn't an icon at all, it was a copy of a baroque painting of St. Nicholas on a sea shore). My father was next, so I asked him to get a wooden board instead of a canvas, which he did; after I chiseled out the painting "field" the "frame" that was left around looked too plain to me so I decided to carve something on it (at the time it didn't occur to me to make a classical icon by gilding that part of the board, simply because I didn't know anything about icons or gilding. I didn't know anything about woodcarving either, but that at least seemed easy). The idea was to make something that looks like an "excerpt" from an iconostasis; it turned out to be good, so I went from there.


Could you give a little background on the history of this art form? It seems to follow the rules one would adhere to with a "written" icon, but with the addition of a great sense of depth.

Iconostasis - photographed while a work in progress

In my opinion the only carving discipline that can be called Orthodox is the miniature relief that we find in medieval Orthodox monasteries. This type of work evolved over time to reach the typical stylization that we now recognize; the goal is not to achieve realistic look of ancient Greek and Roman reliefs, and certainly not to portray exaggerated human emotions of the Roman Catholic sculpture, but to convey the same feeling a painted icon does while relying on light and shadow instead of colors. What it basically is is adding the third dimension to a pencil sketch of an icon. This type of carving reached its peak at the same time as iconography, and can now be seen in treasuries of many old monasteries, mostly in the form of carved wood or ivory objects - crosses, engolpia, miniature icons, etc, sometimes combined with filigree work.

The level of stylization is not always the same, which is often directly influenced by the size - extremely small carvings are usually more stylized, simply because it is not technically possible to do the same level of detailing in too small pieces of wood. Thus we sometimes see disproportionally large heads, hands and/or feet in some miniatures, or very simplified "angular" characters carved with sharp lines dictated by the tools that the carver had available.

In my own work I have developed my own style that stays within the Orthodox tradition but usually doesn't go into mentioned over-stylization.


There are some pieces that seem to be unique to carving. Could you speak a little bit on that art form? The eggs with psalms are particularly intriguing.

"Panagia of Dechani"

I don't remember ever seeing a carved egg before I started carving them. Also, apart from my own, I've seen just one since then - probably because there aren't many people doing Orthodox miniature carving anyway, and carving a convex surface is technically more challenging than carving a flat one, which adds to the already very long time needed for executing this art form. In the world of the all pervasive "faster and cheaper" mentality spending hundreds or even just tens of hours on a tiny piece that is not a copy and not to be mass reproduced is not something people choose to do often.

I almost always incorporate biblical quotes into my carvings, which is what got me thinking about doing a carving that would consist only of words, and that's how the first "Psalm Egg" came to be. I usually carve the words without empty spaces in between - what I call "the old way" - it's harder to read but it also makes sure that those who don't give up without even trying are really focused on what they're reading.

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What every graduation speech should be

As so many of our youth are graduating, here's a speech you might show your sons and daughters so they know what it's all really about.

Mere Comments on "The Forgotten Feast"

From the Touchstone blog Mere Comments:

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May 31 is the Western date for the Feast of the Visitation (Luke 1:39–56). The Maronite Church apparently one of few that specially marks the Visitation, in its case as part of the pre-Christmas cycle. This image is from a website listing the Sundays, including that of the Visitation.

In the 13th Century the Visitation was promoted by the Franciscans, and it spread in observance, with a date of July 2, which was changed to May 31 in 1969.

I see that the Orthodox Church in America has taken up a proposal to celebrate The Meeting of the Most Holy Theotokos and Saint Elizabeth; the composition of the Service are the work of Archimandrite Antonin Kapustin (+ 1894), head of the Russian Orthodox Mission in Jerusalem. The Gorneye Convent in Jerusalem, built on the traditional site of the Meeting of the Theotokos and St Elizabeth, celebrates this Feast on March 30.

Since after the Annunciation (March 25) Mary "went with haste" to visit her cousin Elizabeth, March 30 seems a reasonable date for the feast, but it does run into possible conflicts with Holy Week and Easter. (Make note to self: Add this March 30 date to the FSJ Calendar of the Christian Year....)

I think this biblically-recorded encounter between the Mother of the"greatest among men born of woman" (John) and the Mother of the Incarnate Son of God, both "with child" deserves greater appreciation and observance, perhaps today more than ever. It teaches respect for the sanctity of life, at a very basic level, and is rich in imagery about life and women who are vessels of life. The wanton destruction of human life in utero of our times needs to be addressed not only in political action, but liturgical action as well: the church has in its treasure house of memory and life the perfect resource to speak to the sanctity of human life in the womb through the icon of Mary and Elizabeth together with child. Elizabeth speaks under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, as well. It is the first testimony of John the Forerunner to Christ--through the sound of His Mother's voice. There is so much happening in this scene, and it ends with the Magnificat. Much to ponder and to celebrate.

We also are on the verge of another Feast, not forgotten, but it is fading: The Ascension of Our Lord, this Thursday, June 2.

Changes in Chicago area for Serbian Church

(Holy Resurrection Cathedral) - The Clergy of Holy Resurrection Serbian Orthodox Cathedral in Chicago, Illinois, have the honor to convey to the faithful of our God-protected community that the Holy Assembly of Bishops of the Serbian Orthodox Church at its meeting held at the Serbian Patriarchate in Belgrade between 16th and 27th of May 2011, rendered inter alia the following decision:

"As a result of redistricting on the American continent, the Diocese of New Gracanica-Midwestern America is constituted while the Metropolitanate of Libertyville-Chicago ceased to exist. Furthermore, by decision of the Assembly, the Monastery of St. Sava in Libertyville, near Chicago, has received the status of Stavropigial monastery, or a monastery under the direct control of the Serbian Patriarch."

The Cathedral Clergy announce with joy that pursuant to this decision of the Assembly of Bishops our Church community has become a contiguous part of the Diocese of New Gracanica-Midwestern America, and our new hierarch is His Grace Bishop LONGIN.

"... a new life, it will be a transformation!"

"The healing of our sick nous begins with what we have just been discussing: the sacrifice of our “old man,” the cutting off of the pas- sions, repentance. In speaking of the healing of the nous, the Holy Fathers place much emphasis on the practice of watchfulness. We must at all times watch over our thoughts so as to reject—to cut off—sinful and impassioned thoughts. When a sinful thought comes to us and we cut if off at once, it is not a sin. But when we entertain a sinful thought, when we cherish it and develop it because we are attracted to it, then it becomes sin, then it separates us from God. When we entertain impassioned thoughts, our nous becomes darkened, deprived of the Light of Divine Grace. These thoughts lead to impassioned feelings, and the feelings fuel more thoughts. Soon we are caught in a passion, and the passion becomes habitual. That is why we must cut off the sickness where it starts, in our thoughts."

- by Hieromonk Damascene

The below is the first portion of a reposting of Chekhov's "The Lottery Ticket." I first imagined that I'd be reading of a man who did great, selfless things with his winnings, but instead I was again reminded of the terrible sweetness of greed.

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(Pravmir) - IVAN DMITRITCH, a middle-class man who lived with his family on an income of twelve hundred a year and was very well satisfied with his lot, sat down on the sofa after supper and began reading the newspaper.

“I forgot to look at the newspaper today,” his wife said to him as she cleared the table. “Look and see whether the list of drawings is there.”

“Yes, it is,” said Ivan Dmitritch; “but hasn’t your ticket lapsed?”

“No; I took the interest on Tuesday.”

“What is the number?”

“Series 9,499, number 26.”

“All right . . . we will look . . . 9,499 and 26.”

Ivan Dmitritch had no faith in lottery luck, and would not, as a rule, have consented to look at the lists of winning numbers, but now, as he had nothing else to do and as the newspaper was before his eyes, he passed his finger downwards along the column of numbers. And immediately, as though in mockery of his scepticism, no further than the second line from the top, his eye was caught by the figure 9,499! Unable to believe his eyes, he hurriedly dropped the paper on his knees without looking to see the number of the ticket, and, just as though some one had given him a douche of cold water, he felt an agreeable chill in the pit of the stomach; tingling and terrible and sweet!

“Masha, 9,499 is there!” he said in a hollow voice...

Complete article here.

Thank you.

Follow-up from Dallas cathedral town hall

Dallas, TX (St. Seraphim Cathedral) - Dear Parishioners of St. Seraphim Cathedral,

In response to the request of the Deans of the Diocese of the South and the St. Seraphim parish council, our Locum Tenens, Bishop Nikon spent four days visiting with our parish and then spent another week traveling to the eastern parts of the diocese. His Grace indicated that he would provide us with some direction after his meeting with the Holy Synod in Chicago, during free time from the Episcopal Assembly meetings on May 25 -
27th.

Here are the questions posed by the parish council officers. Below is Bishop Nikon’s response via email on the evening of May 27. 2011.

Will you please send us a brief statement outlining the current state of the governance of both the Cathedral of St. Seraphim and of the Diocese of the South?

Are you still serving as our locum tenens? Is Bishop Mark the administrator of the DOS? What is Fr. John's status? To whom should we look for direction among the clergy/episcopate? The Parish Council stands ready to assist in whatever is needed. What role would you like the parish council to play? Through the transition? Long term?

Response from Bishop Nikon:

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Yes I am still the locum tenens. Bishop Mark is not the administrator of the diocese, although he may continue to visit some parishes as he still is a possible candidate and this procedure has been in practice in several diocese for a number of years, holding different titles as guests. For example, I was listed as Bishop of Baltimore while taking care of the Albanian Archdiocese and the Diocese of New England prior to my election, two individuals were guests of the diocese of Alaska and one still is and both are possible candidates for election in Alaska, Bishop Matthais was a guest visiting parishes in the diocese of the mid-west prior to his election so it is not an unusual practice and in the long run has proved most beneficial.

Bishop Mark for the time being will be listed among the clergy as simply the Bishop of Baltimore but not as rector of the Cathedral. Fr. John is acting rector for the time being since he is there and we are looking for a permanent rector of the cathedral. By we I mean my brother hierarchs and ascertain who is or will be available in the near future. Bishop Mark's name should already have been removed from the cathedral listing.

I will be meeting with the deans this week and from my experience in other diocese, when there is a pastoral or parochial issue that the pastor feels is beyond his competence, he refers the matter to the dean, if the dean feels that it is necessary to move to a higher level, he refers the matter to the chancellor (whom I hope to appoint this week) if the chancellor feels the matter needs to be directed to a hierarchal authority, it is referred to me or whomever is the locum tenens or ruling bishop of a diocese.

I hope this answers the immediate questions. As you state, there are a number of things in motion and we do not want to make hasty decisions when it comes to the good order of the Church and the good order of the cathedral.

With my Blessings,
+Nikon

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In Christ,

The Parish Council of St. Seraphim Cathedral

Slavonic at Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome

(UOC-MP) - The initiator of the festivities is the Embassy of Ukraine to the Holy See. The UOC delegation was led by deputy chairman of the Department for External Church Relations of the UOC Archbishop Alexander of Pereyaslav-Khmelnytskyy.

Salus Populi Romani in the basilica

On the commemoration of Sts Cyril and Methodius was held at the church of Santa Maria Maggiore, where over a thousand years ago for the first time a prayer and reading of the Gospel in Slavonic sounded, and for the first time since the 9th century the divine liturgy in Slavonic according to the Orthodox rite was celebrated. The worship was led by Archbishop Mark of Yehoryev, who concelebrated with Archbishop Alexander of Pereyaslav-Khmelnytkyy and Bishop Nestor of Korsun, clergymen of the Orthodox parishes in Italy and delegates in the UOC in holy order.

In the course of worship the faithful had an opportunity to pray at the Boyan Icon of the Mother of God, which now visits with the blessing of Metropolitan Vladimir the temples of the Ukrainian Orthodox churches in Italy.

On the same day in the Basilica of St. Clement, where lie the relics of the Hieromartyr Clement, brought from the Crimea to Rome by the Holy and Equal-to-the-Apostles Brothers, as well as relics of the holy Apostles Cyril, the solemn prayer was performed. As a gift to the Basilica by the Ukrainian Orthodox Church and on the occasion of the jubilee an icon of the Hieromartyr Clement made by Ukrainian artists was given.

The icon was performed in the style of ancient mosaics that decorates the 1000-years St. Sophia Cathedral. In the evening at the Pontifical Oriental Institute at the initiative of the Embassy of Ukraine, a round table "Saint Clement of Rome in the context of the mission of Saints Cyril and Methodius" was conducted. The round table was attended by Chairman of the Pontifical Council for Christian Unity, Cardinal Kurt Koch, rector of the Pontifical Oriental Institute Fr James McCain, Ukraine's ambassador to the Vatican Tatiana Izhevska, theologians, scientists and diplomats. Participants viewed a documentary of the TV-Channel Glass about the life of the martyrised and invention of the relics of the Hieromartyr Clement.

Archbishop Alexander congratulated those present on behalf of the Primate of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church and read a speech entitled "From the history of worship in Russia of the relics of St Clement of Rome," which noted that "without going into details of the discussion about the place of martyrdom Hieromartyr Clement of Rome and its authenticity of the relics, I'll mention only two points. The first is that a discrepancy in the ancient sources, including the lives of the saints, had a historical dependence and were not uncommon. Second the veneration of St. Clement in Russia that was based on the very Byzantine tradition which united the martyrdom of the devotee exactly with Chersonese. And regardless of the outcome of the above discussion - this veneration has become an integral part of church life of Old Rus and the current period of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.

Every day, thousands of faithful come to worship at our church the Myrrh-bearing head of the relics of St Clement and holy fathers of the Caves of the Holy Dormition Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra. We rely on the prayerful support of the Hieromartyr Clement of our efforts to protect Christian values ​​in the modern world of consumption, globalization and secularism."

Consecration service for St. Nicholas church painting

29 May 2011 (basilica.ro) - The faithful of Fefeli parish of Mizil received the visit of the Primate of the Romanian Orthodox Church. The Patriarch of Romania celebrated the consecration service of the painting of Saint Hierarch Nicholas church, assisted by a group of priests and deacons.

On St. Seraphim (Chichagov) of Leningrad and Gdovsk

When I fly, I often listen to podcasts. Although a bit old by Internet standards (February of this year), I encourage a listen to this homily on the Russian New Martyrs in general and St. Seraphim (Chichagov) in particular. It's a good reminder of what the Russian Church has had to endure in living memory and the appalling bloodlust the Soviet regime had for Christians.

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(AFR) - On the second Sunday in February, the Orthodox Church celebrates the memory of its innumerable martyrs who died in the 70 years of Communist oppression between 1917 and 1990.

More Orthodox Christians were killed for their faithfulness to Christ in the 70 years of Communist rule that in the two and a half centuries of persecution by the pagan Roman Empire. The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church. For that reason, the martyrs especially very recent ones, are held in greatest honour in our Orthodox Church and their memory plays an important role in all our parishes.

I shall speak about just one of the New Martyrs, because of his own importance but also because his life was intertwined with that of four other recent major Orthodox Saints.

Leonid Chichagov born in 1856 and martyred in 1937 was born 25 years after the death of St Seraphim of Sarov who was the most important influence on his life. The orphan son of a builder, St Seraphim of Sarov was raised by an energetic and warmhearted mother who took on and looked after many orphan girls. This motherly care of orphan girls was to be the model for St Seraphim’s dealings with the convent he guided from a distance for much of his life. From his childhood till his death St Seraphim was the beloved of the Mother of God who appear to him 12 times and healed him several times. For many years he lived by himself in a tiny hermitage in the deep forest. For 1000 days and nights he prayed kneeling on a stone. He saw almost no one. If people came he would hide in the tall grass. Almost beaten to death by thieves, he made sure they were pardoned. This most humble and sober saint was unusually aware of the closeness of Paradise. In his old age he was seen transfigured like Christ on Mount Thabor shining with a light brighter than the sun. He has left important teachings saying that the goal of human life is to acquire the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is received in exchange for good deeds done for the love of Christ. Prayer and kind actions are the means by which we make it possible for the Holy Spirit to come and abide in us. St Seraphim is a sure guide in Orthodoxy, and many of his disciples, all of them women, have been glorified as saints by the Orthodox Church. I shall come back later to the role of St Seraphim in the life of Leonid Chichagov.

The second influence on him was St John of Kronstadt, his confessor for 30 years. Together with St Seraphim, St John of Kronstadt is known as one of the two greatest pillars of Orthodox holiness in the last two centuries...

Complete transcript here.

Holy Illumination of our little Irena

I'm delighted to post this picture of my 2-month-old daughter as she was making her entrance into the Church. She is blessed with holy and devoted godparents, a loving gaggle of siblings, and two unworthy and grateful parents. Christ is Risen!

Release from second meeting of the Episcopal Assembly

(Episcopal Assembly) - From May 25-27, the second annual Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of North and Central America gathered for its meeting at the Chicago O'Hare Hilton. There was a total of 45 bishops in attendance. In addition, nearly all of the members were present at the Assembly: the Ecumenical Patriarchate, including the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, and the Albanian Orthodox Diocese; the Antiochian Orthodox Archdiocese; the Patriarchate of Moscow, including the Russian Orthodox Church in the USA and the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia; the Romanian Orthodox Archdiocese of the Americas; the Bulgarian Eastern Orthodox Church; and the Orthodox Church in America. Not represented were the American Carpatho-Russian Diocese, as they currently have no bishop, owing to the recent repose of Metropolitan Nicholas; the Georgian Orthodox Church, whose bishop resides in Georgia; most of the bishops of Canada and Mexico, as the Canadian bishops anticipate their own assembly, as do those of Mexico and Central America who have requested to join the Assembly of South America. The Bishops of the Serbian Orthodox Church were detained by the business of their Synod in Belgrade, which was in session at the same time, and by delays in travel caused by the volcanic ash over Europe, and so were not able to attend...

Three decisions by the Assembly stand out as particularly important. Firstly, the Assembly expressed its desire to define more carefully its relationship to the agencies and endorsed-organizations which it inherited from SCOBA. It was felt that the bishops should do more to enable the success of these ministries in North America, and they agreed that the guidelines previously used by SCOBA were not adequate for the Assembly. These guidelines will be revised by the Secretariat's Coordinator for Agencies and Endorsed-Organizations, together with the liaison bishops for the various agencies, to allow the Assembly a more active participation in and support of the various ministries under its oversight.

Secondly, the Assembly agreed on the great importance of the role of our military chaplains, who give spiritual support to our dedicated men and women who serve in the armed forces and are subject to the many hardships of deployment and combat. They decided upon the need to develop clear guidelines for Orthodox Christian chaplains, and to create a single, unified endorsing agency for all military chaplains with the Department of Defense. In addition, it is a desired goal of the Assembly to facilitate a gathering of all active Orthodox Christian military chaplains.

And thirdly, the Assembly stressed the great importance of the Church's ministry to the youth, and as a result, has endorsed three projected conferences to bring together Orthodox youth workers from all over North America. It is hoped that this will help to encourage them in their ministry, eliminate redundancy and divided resources among the various churches, and create a common vision for youth ministry in the Church in North America.

The Assembly decided that it was prudent for itself to be incorporated as a legal entity, as this would bring the Assembly a number of benefits and would further its ability to act as a body. It therefore authorized the proper agents to move ahead with the work of incorporation. In addition, the Assembly reaffirmed its petition of last year to the mother churches, for the partition of the Assembly, by establishing Canada as a separate region, and joining Mexico and Central America to the region of South America. This represents also the desire of the Canadian, Mexican and Central American bishops. Lastly, the Assembly drafted and approved an official message to be issued in its name to the all Orthodox Christian faithful living within the region.

All of the proceedings over the course of the two days were characterized by a strong fraternal spirit of charity among the brother bishops. This was reflected nowhere more clearly than in the fact that all decisions of the Assembly were made with complete unanimity.

Complete article here.

Russian paratroopers get mobile chapels

MOSCOW, May 27 (RIA Novosti) - The Russian Orthodox Church has given the country's Airborne Troops a mobile chapel to accompany them on military drills and combat missions, a paratrooper spokesman said on Friday.

The church is part of a wider project to restore full-scale military priesthood, which existed in Russia from the 18th century to the start of the Soviet era.

"Russian paratroopers received their first mobile church in May, financed by the Russian Orthodox Church," the spokesman said.

The chapel is built on the frame of a truck trailer and is equipped with a life-support module, an electric generator and multimedia equipment.

It is serviced on the field by a priest and a five-man support team.

The chapel will be tested during forthcoming airborne exercises.

Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia said in 2010 that Orthodox Church military chaplains will soon appear in the Russian army.

According to the Russian Defense Ministry, two thirds of the country's servicemen consider themselves religious. Some 83 percent of them are Orthodox Christians, about 8 percent are Muslims, and 9 percent represent other confessions.

UGCC Catechism to be released in June

I've been posting on catechetical efforts quite a bit over the last few years. The two most notable are the Russian Church's work towards a new, timely catechism. Many people are familiar with the much older catechisms and the new book currently being worked on will be a welcome tome in a new format. The Greek Catholic catechism, which stalled out for quite a while, is now going to the printers.

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(UGCC) - A meeting of the Heads of church commissions of the UGCC started with a Divine Liturgy celebrated in St. George’s Cathedral in Lviv on May 23. Then the meeting continued in a conference hall of Lviv Archeparchy. Rev. Petro Rak, the Head of the Department of church commissions of the UGCC, opened the meeting.

Deputy Head of the Catechetical Commission s. Louisa Tsyupa told about one of the greatest events in the activity of the Patriarchal Catechetical Commission of the UGCC to take place at the end of June this year. She announced that on 24 June a Catechetical conference will take place in Lviv Spiritual Seminary of the Holy Spirit. The conference will begin with a Pontifical Divine Liturgy presided by His Beatitude Sviatoslav. During this event a new Catechism of the UGCC will be presented. The conference will be attended by people responsible for catechization in different countries of the world (Canada, Argentina, Brazil, Germany, France etc). Moreover, a presentation of the newest papal document “On the Word of God” will take place on June 27. The presentation will be guided by Archbishop Nicola Eterovič who will be talking about the preparation of the Papal Synod of Bishops on new evangelization.

Rev. Mykhailo Harvat, the Head of the Catechetical commission of Kyiv-Halych Major Archbishopric, presented the activity of the newly created commission. He talked about the commission’s program and told about the visitation of parish catechetical schools. “The basis of our ministry is the development of parish catechetical schools. This means a systematic catechization of children from the youngest age until they reach the adulthood, - noted Rev. Mykhailo. – The main principle of the visitations is to determine the level of catechetical teaching. We would like to single out the best priests and catechists of the UGCC working in the field of catechization and thus to encourage others to follow their example”.

On May 24 2011 His Beatitude Sviatoslav held a meeting with the workers of Metropolitan commissions of the UGCC in the hall of the Department of church commissions at St. George’s Cathedral.

Greek Archdiocese on ongoing Episcopal Assembly

A photo gallery is available here.

CHICAGO (GOARCH) – The second meeting of the Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of North and Central America convened yesterday –exactly one year and one day after the first one in New York– in Chicago’ s Hilton O’Hare Airport Hotel under the chairmanship of His Eminence Archbishop Demetrios, the Primate of the Greek Orthodox Church in America.

The first-day session opened with prayers with 44 bishops present. Most Canonical Orthodox Bishops from Canada did not attend, as they are seeking to establish a separate assembly. At the beginning of the meeting a letter was read from Patriarch Irinej of Serbia conveying that the Serbian members of the Assembly could not be present at this meeting because of the needs of the Serbian Church.

The agenda and the minutes of the first meeting were approved. Archbishop Demetrios delivered his chairman’s opening address, and invited the vice-chairmen Metropolitan Philip of the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America, and Archbishop Justinian, the Representative of the Moscow Patriarchtate to address the Assembly.

Archbishop Demetrios conveyed the greetings of His All Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew and said that His All Holiness “as the First Throne of Holy Orthodoxy, is much desirous of encouraging and enhancing the unity of the Church, especially through the Pre-Conciliar Conferences that have come to be known as the ‘Chambésy Process’. ”

Archbishop Demetrios underlined the importance of this second meeting of the Assembly: “It is not without significance that we have traveled many miles to be with one another, in a spirit of fraternity, peace, fellowship and above all Christian love. As Chairman of this Assembly I am grateful for your prayerful and irenic presence, and I am hopeful that we will be able to move our nascent body forward with positive steps that will lead to tangible results for all the Orthodox.”

The Secretary of the Assembly, Bishop Basil of the Antiochian Archdiocese presented the Secretariat report. Another report and discussion followed on the agencies and endorsed organization of SCOBA (Standing Conference of Orthodox Bishops in the Americas). These agencies include the following: Eastern Orthodox Committee on Scouting (EOCS) – International Orthodox Christian Charities (IOCC) – Orthodox Christian Education Commission (OCEC) – Orthodox Christian Fellowship (OCF) – Orthodox Christian Mission Center (OCMC) – Orthodox Christian Network (OCN) – Orthodox Christian Prison Ministry (OCPM); and the endorsed organizations are: Orthodox Christian Association of Medicine, Psychology and Religion (OCAMPR) – Orthodox Fellowship of the Transfiguration – Orthodox Peace Fellowship (North America) – Orthodox Theological Society of America – Project Mexico – St. Catherine's Vision, Inc. and Zoe for Life.

Speaking on this subject Archbishop Demetrios said “as the successor body to SCOBA, the Agencies and Endorsed Organizations are in need of direction from the Assembly, as to how and to what degree the relationship between these pan-Orthodox institutions and our Assembly will unfold. ” He also spoke of the great potential that lies ahead for Orthodoxy in America and around the world.

The Assembly continues its work today, May 26, with reports from all thirteen committees: Canonical Affairs, Canonical Regional Planning, Church & Society, Clergy Affairs, Ecumenical Relations, Financial Affairs, Legal Affairs, Liturgy, Military Chaplaincy, Monastic Communities, Pastoral Practice, Theological Education and Youth.

A very American response to a tornado

A LITTLE LEVITY: A sign read “Have water, need beer” in tornado-ravaged Joplin, Mo., Wednesday. The death toll climbed to 125 from Sunday’s tornado there. Meanwhile, at least 14 people were killed in Arkansas, Kansas and Oklahoma in new storms Tuesday night. (Charlie Riedel/Associated Press)

Orthodox studio fashions tiara for Pope of Rome

What an odd world we live in.

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(Orbis Catholicus Secundus) - At today's weekly general audience the Holy Father received a new tiara made for him and presented by Catholic and Orthodox Christians.

The tiara was commissioned by Dieter Philippi, a German Catholic businessman who has a great devotion to the papacy as well as to the call to Christian unity.

The tiara was created in Sofia, Bulgaria by Orthodox Christians of the Liturgix studio.

Today a small delegation of Roman Catholics and Bulgarian Orthodox on pilgrimage in Rome had the honor to present the tiara to the Holy Father in the name of Christian unity.

Congratulations to Dieter and to all German Catholics and Bulgarian Orthodox involved with this wonderful project.

Ut Unum Sint!

"Orthodoxy & Heterodoxy" released

In February I interviewed Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick on his new book "Orthodoxy and Heterodoxy" (available here). A few days ago the Antiochian Archdiocese released their own interview on the book (available here). I am happy to announce that the book is now available for purchase. Here's SOCHA's article on it.

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(SOCHA) - Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick, one of the Associate Directors of the Society for Orthodox Christian History in the Americas, has a newly published work from Conciliar Press, Orthodoxy and Heterodoxy: Exploring Belief Systems Through the Lens of the Ancient Christian Faith.

While the work does not pertain explicitly to the history of Orthodoxy in the Americas, it does contain some general Orthodox history, as well as history of many Christian denominations and world religions. Its focus is on comparing Orthodox Christianity with other Christian religious groups and also non-Christian religions.

Here’s the official blurb from Conciliar Press: Are you an Orthodox Christian who wonders how to explain to your Baptist grandmother, your Buddhist neighbor, or the Jehovah’s Witness at your door how your faith differs from theirs? Or are you a member of another faith who is curious what Orthodoxy is all about? Look no further. In Orthodoxy & Heterodoxy, Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick covers the gamut of ancient heresies, modern Christian denominations, fringe groups, and major world religions, highlighting the main points of each faith. This book is an invaluable reference for anyone who wants to understand the faiths of those they come in contact with—as well as their own.

The work is available both from Conciliar Press and also Amazon.com.

Assyrian Church representatives visit Constantinople

(assyrianchurch.com) - His Grace Mar Awa Royel, Bishop of California and Secretary of the Holy Synod has been received in audience by His All Holiness Bartholomew I, Archbishop of Constantinople and Ecumenical Patriarch.

The meeting, on 2 May, took place while His Grace was in Istanbul, in transit, on the way to the Holy Land for a pilgrimage with some 72 faithful of the Holy Apostolic Catholic Assyrian Church of the East.

His Grace was accompanied in this audience by Very Rev. Cor-bishop Auchana Kanoun, Rev. Fr. Genard Lazar, Sub-deacon Emmanuel Benjamin and Mr Joseph Rasho.

His Grace was received at the patriarchate (in the Fenar district of Istanbul) by the patriarchal deacon at 11:00 am. The deacon then gave a tour of the patriarchal cathedral of St. George the Martyr, which houses the relics of St. Gregory Nazianzus and St. John Chrysostom.

The patriarch received the Assyrian prelate and clergy at 12 noon in his personal office. After a colloquium of about one hour, during which His Grace Mar Awa handed His All Holiness Bartholomew I a very important letter from His Holiness Mar Dinkha IV addressed to the Patriarch of

Constantinople, the Assyrian bishop and clergy were invited to share lunch with the patriarch and other Greek Orthodox prelates and clergy resident at the patriarchate.

During the audience, His Holiness Bartholomew I welcomed the Assyrian clergy to the Ecumenical Patriarchate and extended his sincere greetings to His Holiness Mar Dinkha IV, and spoke briefly about the Ecumenical Patriarchate’s commitment to promoting understanding and dialogue among Christian Churches.

After bidding the patriarch and the members of the patriarchal court farewell with gratitude for his immense hospitality, the Assyrian delegation headed directly to the airport in order to reach the Holy Land.

Atlas of American Orthodoxy Christian Churches published

(antiochian.org) - The premier researcher of American Orthodoxy, Alexei Krindatch, has released a comprehensive volume which includes data on all Orthodox Churches (including Oriental) in the United States. Supplemented with numerous maps, current and historical facts, Atlas of American Orthodox Christian Churches is published by Holy Cross Orthodox Press and was co-sponsored by SCOBA and the Virginia Farah Foundation. In addition to full coverage of all American jurisdictions, the Atlas includes an additional chapter which profiles all American monastic communities.

The press release explains, "The Atlas provides a 'snapshot' of the Orthodox Christian Churches in the United States...Simultaneously, this book is an atlas, a reference book and a thematic monograph. It is an atlas because it contains numerous maps to show the historical development and present territorial patterns of Orthodox Church life in America. It is a reference book because it furnishes comprehensive information and statistical data on all American Orthodox Christian Churches. It is a thematic monograph because the essays in this book tell the story of the Orthodox Christian past and present in the United States."

Browse a sample of the book's text and maps here (PDF).

Read the full announcement of the book's release here (PDF).

One Magazine covers Jerusalem Patriarchate

(CNEWA) - Almost half of the earth’s 6.8 billion people associate Jerusalem with the Divine. For Jews, the glory of the Lord once filled the sanctuary in Solomon’s Temple, which stood at the heart of this center of Jewish life and culture. Christians identify Jerusalem with the ministry of Jesus, revere it as the place of his passion, death and resurrection and celebrate it as the birthplace of the church. Muslims believe Abraham sacrificed Ishmael on the rock where Solomon later built his shrine. They also honor Jerusalem for it figured as a stop on Muhammad’s miraculous night journey, where the prophet met Abraham, Moses and Jesus.

From the earliest days of the church, Christians have called Jerusalem the “Holy City,” or Haghia Polis in Greek, the language both of the New Testament and of the early church. This title spells out the paradox plaguing Jerusalem: the entanglement of the spiritual and political. Not just a shining city on the hill, Jerusalem has come to represent millennia of conflict. Today, the city lies at the heart of the dispute between the Israeli and the Palestinian peoples, which many observers believe to be the root of the clash between the Muslim and Western worlds.

The dominant church of the city, the Orthodox Patriarchal Church of Jerusalem, has not remained above the fray. Like a boat rocked by gale storms, for centuries this smallest of the patriarchal churches has weathered invasion and patronage, violence and peace. Today, it includes about 130,000 people — Arabs primarily — scattered throughout the Holy City, Israel, Palestine, Jordan and the Arabian Peninsula. Yet other churches in the Holy Land are beginning to overshadow it. Many Arab Christians now belong to other denominations (primarily the Latin and Melkite Greek Catholic, Anglican and Lutheran churches) for cultural, pastoral and practical reasons.

Early church

After the feast of Pentecost — which is celebrated as the birthday of the church — the followers of Jesus gathered around the pillars of the community, James, Peter and John. James, who is described as “the Just,” would guide the mother church of the Holy City for some 30 years.

According to the Acts of the Apostles, James presided over the Council of Jerusalem, which ruled that followers of Jesus, Jewish or not, need not follow all the Jewish laws rigorously adhered to since the time of Moses, in particular circumcision. James did suggest, however, that converts follow some aspects of Mosaic Law. “We ought to stop troubling the Gentiles who turn to God, but tell them by letter to avoid pollution from idols, unlawful marriage, the meat of strangled animals, and blood.”

James’ opinion was accepted by the council, which occurred around the year 50. It illustrates the tensions that existed in the early Christian community between those who accepted the dominance of Greek culture (Paul) and those who were more cautious or even wary of it (James). Peter, who counseled James, bridged the two by offering a compromise, which biblical scholars believe helped James form his attitude toward the issue...

Complete article here.

Episcopal Assembly meeting ongoing in Chicago

CHICAGO, IL (OCA) - The second gathering of the Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of North and Central America opened here on Wednesday, May 25, 2011, under the chairmanship of His Eminence, Archbishop Demetrios of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America.

Formal notification of the gathering was sent to all canonical Orthodox Christian hierarchs across North and Central America at the end of February 2011.

Among the items on the agenda, according to the Assembly of Bishops' web site, is the work of the Assembly's 13 committees, its Secretariat, and its 14 agencies and endorsed organizations.

Prior to the gathering, Archbishop Demetrios apprised the member bishops that the fifth and latest meeting of the Inter-Orthodox Preparatory Commission was at the end of February in Chambésy, Switzerland, adding hope that the May gathering will conclude significant work for the Pan-Orthodox Pre-Conciliar process. It was the fourth session of this Commission, held in 2009, that established the various Assemblies of Bishops across the globe. Among the final issues to be addressed by the Commission, in advance of the planned Great and Holy Council, are the questions of the diptychs -- that is,the order of seniority among the autocephalous churches -- and a unified process for granting and recognizing the autocephaly of dependent Churches.

The hierarchs of the Orthodox Church in America are in attendance at the Assembly, which concludes on Friday, May 27.

OCA on recent historic concelebration

NEW YORK, NY (OCA) - His Beatitude, Metropolitan Jonah, Primate of the Orthodox Church in America [OCA], and His Eminence, Metropolitan Hilarion, First Hierarch of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia [ROCOR], concelebrated the Divine Liturgy at Saint Nicholas Cathedral here on Tuesday, May 24, 2011, the Feast of Saints Cyril and Methodius.

The Liturgy was an historic one, in that it marked "the first joint service of the American Bishops and the Russian Orthodox Church after nearly 70 years of the liturgical period of absence of communication," according to the web site of the Patriarchal Parishes in the USA. It represents the fruit of the diligent labors undertaken by the joint OCA-ROCOR Commission.

Also concelebrating were His Eminence, Archbishop Justinian of Naro-Fominsk, Administrator of the Patriarchal Parishes in the USA; His Grace, Bishop Tikhon of Philadelphia and Eastern Pennsylvania [OCA]; and His Grace, Bishop Jerome of Manhattan [ROCOR].

At the conclusion of the Divine Liturgy, Metropolitan Jonah presented relics of Saints Herman of Alaska and Alexis Toth to Metropolitan Hilarion, who in kind presented relics of Saint John Maximovich to Metropolitan Jonah. The Metropolitans also sent a message to His Holiness, Patriarch Kyrill of Moscow, on the occasion of his patronal feastday. The text of the message reads as follows.

"We thank the Lord, Who on this festal day has vouchsafed us to offer unto Him the Bloodless Sacrifice in the Patriarchal Cathedral of St. Nicholas of the Russian Orthodox Church in New York City!

"On this, the feast day of the holy Equals-of-the-Apostles, Sts. Cyril and Methodius, Enlighteners of the Slavs, having communed in the One Holy Spirit of the One Chalice of Christ, with sincere love we greet Your Holiness on the occasion of your Namesday.

"By God’s beneficent Providence you have been fated to serve as the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church, of which the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia is an inseparable part, and which is the Mother -- and Sister -- Church of the Orthodox Church in America.

"We are certain that the long-desired concelebration of the Hierarchs of the American Church and the Russian Church Abroad will be a glad tiding to Your Holiness, and to the innumerable Orthodox clergy and laity."

Among the OCA clergy serving at the historic Divine Liturgy were Archpriests Joseph Lickwar and Samuel Kedala; Igumen Joseph [Hoffman]; Hieromonk Gerasim [Eliel]; Igumen Sergius [Bowyer], Abbot of Saint Tikhon's Monastery; Protodeacon Joseph Matusiak; and Hierodeacon Philip [Majkrzak].

More OCA-ROCOR rapprochement

(STOTS) - This past Wednesday May, 18th the St. Tikhon’s Community was blessed with a visit from His Grace Bishop George of Mayfield, Vicar Bishop of the Diocese of Eastern America and New York. (ROCOR)

Accompanying him was the senior priest of the cathedral in Mayfield, Fr. John Sorochka. Both His Grace and Fr. John are longtime friends of our beloved dean Fr. Alexander Atty.

Regarding the meeting, Fr. Alexander stated “Many years ago the leaders of all our respective jurisdictions asked us to lay aside our differences, real or imagined, so that together in a spirit of brotherly unity we might present the truth of orthodoxy to a lost world.”

The parish in Mayfield, PA played a major role in the early history of both the Monastery and the Seminary. It is because of the efforts of orthodox faithful in parishes such as this one that the St. Tikhon’s Community is still raising up pastors to serve the needs of the American people.

We want to thank everyone who made such monumental sacrifices in those early years and look forward to continuing to work together in the future.

The doors of St. Tikhon’s Seminary are always open to any orthodox faithful and we graciously welcome visitors from all jurisdictions as well as any and all inquirers from non-orthodox covenants who may have questions regarding the teachings of the Orthodox Church.

Historic concelebration of OCA, ROCOR, ROC bishops

(ROC-USA) - On May 24, the feast day of Saints Cyril and Methodius - Day namesday Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, Kirill, at St. Nicholas Patriarchal Cathedral in New York of the Orthodox Church in America, Metropolitan Jonah and the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia Metropolitan Hilarion together celebrated the Divine Liturgy. This is the first joint service of the American Bishops and the Russian Orthodox Church after nearly seventy years of the liturgical period of absence of communication.

Also concelebrating were Administrator of the Patriarchal Parishes in the USA, Archbishop of Naro-Fominsk Justinian, Bishop of Philadelphia and Eastern Pennsylvania Tikhon (OCA) and the Bishop of Manhattan, Jerome (ROCOR) and the cathedral clergy of the Patriarchal Parishes in the United States, the Orthodox Church in America and the Russian Orthodox Church.

Arise, O Lord!

(Youtube) - The Archdiocese School of Byzantine Music of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America presents Arise O Lord, from the Archdiocesan Cathedral of the Holy Trinity. Sunday, May 8, 2011.

An interview on the "Errors and Pitfalls in Icon Painting"

A truly wonderful article from Pravmir on the modern practice of icon writing and the problems that result of a relative silence from hierarchs on the topic. If you're interested in icons at all this is a must read.

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(pravmir.com) - Have you ever wondered why the faces of saints on some icons are so stern and threatening that they are frightening to look at? Why was St Christopher portrayed with a dog’s head which made him look more like the Egyptian god Anubis than a Christian saint? Is it right to portray God the Father as a gray-haired old man? Can we consider Vrubel’s and Vasnetsov’s images of angels and saints to be icons?

St Christopher. Icon of the first half of the 17th century.

Although icons and the Church are virtually as old as one another and icons have been painted for centuries according to strict rules, yet in this field too there are errors, disagreements and arguments. What should our attitude be? Ekaterina Dmitrievna Sheko, Head of the Department of Iconography at St Tikhon’s Orthodox University, explains.

- Ekaterina Dmitrievna, we can find controversial subjects in icons, subjects that are troubling. One of the clearest examples is the image of St Christopher with a dog’s head. (According to his life, he was very handsome and suffered greatly from the attentions of women. So he beseeched God to make him ugly to avoid temptation. God granted this wish – Author). What should we make of this?

- The portrayal of St Christopher with a dog’s head was prohibited by Synodal order in 1722. But popularly he continued to be portrayed in this way even after the prohibition, in order to make him stand out him from all the other saints. However, in Serbia or in Western Europe, for example, St Christopher is portrayed in a different way, carrying a boy across a river on his shoulders. This is a tradition.

- What is the difference between a tradition of painting and a rule?

- Rules for Church services clearly define certain rules and acts, but it is difficult to do this in the field of icon painting, since – generally speaking – a rule here is above all a tradition. Nowhere does it say that you have to paint this way and no other way. But the tradition itself was formed by generations of believers, many of whom ascended to higher levels of the knowledge of God than we do today through their ascetic life and prayer. This is why when the artist and icon-painter studies traditional iconographic techniques, he draws closer to the knowledge of the truth...

Complete article here.

OCA gives update on their website's upcoming facelift

Allow me to put on a hat I seldom use for this blog; the techno-chapeau. Since Orthodoxy's web presence is built along jurisdictional lines (leaving SCOBA/EA to the side as I think most of us would), it is rather easy to rank these sites. If I were to do so I'd put the ACROD website at the top and the current OCA website somewhere toward the middle - propriety precludes my mentioning some of the more wanting diocesan websites I've come across.

Here is my wish-list for the new OCA website, and all future jurisdictional websites:

• Standards compliance. No, please don't fall asleep on me at the first bullet point. Standards matter. I usually design websites to exacting XHTML 1.0 Strict / CSS 2 standards, but for out-of-the-box sites like Blogger, I try to remain at least browser neutral. I haven't used Windows since Clinton was president, and run from IE-centric websites like they herald the coming of a zombie invasion.
• RSS feeds. Some Orthodox jurisdictional (ACROD) and academic (St. Vlad's and St. Tikhon's) websites do a fabulous job of pushing updates to people. Some do so spottily (AOCANA and GOARCH). Others don't do it at all or implement a broken feed system.
• Photos from this century. I mean solid, high-quality photos posted in a timely manner. Reposting old photos and having to constantly crop photos ever smaller to get rid of old text, photos that were the product of a camera without focus capability, and very small photos are all the stuff of bloggers' nightmares. Gimmicky attempts to "protect" images by making them impossible to select do little beyond making inadvertent right clicks bothersome. If I hit three keys I've screen captured your image and no web voodoo will stop me.
• Printer friendliness. There is no reason 4 paragraphs should be 4 pages of printing. Nor should I print a page that is 50% left-aligned navigation bar and 30% partially cut-off content. A "print this page" option is often the easiest solution and native to content management solutions.
• Sharable links. Nothing makes sharing more difficult than when "copy this link" is always the main page's URL or when the link is 3 lines long and invariably gets broken when sent in email.
• Work with bloggers and not against them. If the idea is to get the word out, putting up copyright material or requesting bloggers take down content for reposting "without permission" is going to have the opposite effect. Either don't publish material that shouldn't be reused or put up a fair usage policy (require attribution, no changing of content, etc.) bloggers can live with.
• Have mature multilingual support if you're going to be multilingual. If you want to have English and Russian versions of a site fine, but feeds should be separate, content should be distributed in both languages as close to simultaneously as possible, and the website mark-up should know what language it's using (use UTF or declare the text language properly).
• Emails should go somewhere. There is nothing more annoying than trying to tell the webmaster that there is a broken link and never getting a response. Also, if the news story is about a retreat, new book, or other such event then put someone to contact at the top or bottom of the document. Additionally, don't sit on the retreat information and then post three days beforehand.
• Tell me it's a PDF. Older computers tumble down the stairs and lay motionless for many minutes when confronted with a PDF link. If warned properly, people can at least throw a pillow down at the foot of the stairs (close other applications in advance) or get a cup of coffee while Adobe Acrobat whirs into readiness.
• Put in a real search tool. If I know the name of the priest who put out an article sometime in the last three years, but can't remember exactly when, I am often left to keep hitting the back button trying to find the document. Google does a fine job of indexing most pages, but people shouldn't have to navigate away from the site to get back to it.
• Use a database. Don't make huge pages broken up by anchors separated by the alphabet. If I hit "R" up at the top and it takes me to the middle of a 300 page web page, something is wrong. Don't manually update pages with database-like content and expect to update all the things that link to it. You simply won't find them all.
• JavaScript and other pop-up pages are an artifact of a page design fad that should have long since died. Much like capri pants, we continue to let people get away with having them, but no one wants to see them. They are impossible to share, often distract from the flow of the website, and are a pain to pull content from.
• Make use of video that can be embedded, enlarged, and shared easily. If you don't fewer people will see them or people will fetch copies for themselves and then repost on YouTube. 
• Lastly: Grammar and spell checking are a must. I can think of no time when something from a jurisdictional website could not have waited 15 minutes for some solid editorial oversight. Two/to/too, their/there/they're, cannon/canon, unnecessary gender neutralization, apostrophes gone mad, and constant font changes are all too common.

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SYOSSET, NY (OCA) - The announcement of a completely redesigned web site for the Orthodox Church in America, first made at the 15th All-American Council in late 2008, will reach its fulfillment in the coming weeks as the OCA's web team puts the "finishing touches" on this major project.

Recently, Ginny Nieuwsma and Ryan Platte, who are spearheading the redesign, shared their enthusiasm for the new site and anticipation for its launch in a few weeks.

Read more »

If you are under 40...

The below post from the blog 150 Knots reminded me of Romans 5:1-5. In times of trouble, if we persevere we build character, and in doing so we are given hope and the love of God which will sustain and guide us through tribulations. As an aside: a great talk on this passage is available here as a podcast.

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Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope. Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

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If you are under 40 you have to realize something. The way you’ve learned about the world, whether in school, or through the media, or in the discourse of public culture has largely been shaped by the most selfish and self centered generation of human beings ever to breathe air, the Baby Boomers.

Coddled as the children of parents tired of depression and war your teachers, your politicians, your clergy, the cop down the street and the person who writes for TV drank deeply from the well of self centeredness and in turn stained everything they touched with the same. The hippies are now in charge and this is what they have taught you.

There is nothing right or wrong beyond your feelings. Your feelings are the only evidence you need to decipher reality. Evidence is irrelevant, tradition is meaningless, only the moment and your thoughts at the time matter. There is no truth beyond your perception.

The ultimate goal in life is freedom which is defined not as the freedom to act responsibly but rather the elimination of all restraints real or imagined. To be free means that you can do what you want, when you want, and how you want, with the only caveat being that you try not to hurt others in the process. Discipline is repression. Expression of any and all urges, emotions, thoughts, or actions is a social good.

You are the judge and jury of your own world. There is no “our” there is only “me” and people who are like “me”. What the larger world may think is irrelevant as long as “I” think it’s okay. The mantra, “You can’t judge me…”

Now you may wonder why everything seems to be coming apart at the seams these days. The economy is dismal. The culture is crude and getting worse. There are hundreds of tears in the social fabric. Our leaders are emotional and spiritual children. We are in the process of de-evolving into barbarians. Hardly anyone notices because all they live for is the next mobile device, the next “hook up”, or the next party...

Complete post here.

St. Elizabeth Mission in Georgia moves into new church

I post this largely because I visited this parish late last year while they were still in their temporary building. I'm glad to see this small congregation, filled with very kind and personable people, was able to complete their construction efforts.

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WOODSTOCK, GA (ACROD) - St. Elizabeth, a Mission of the American Carpatho-Russian Orthodox Diocese for the past fourteen years in Woodstock, Georgia, has begun worshiping in its new church. On the Feast of Holy Pascha. 57 faithful joined Fr. Frederick Watson, Priest Administrator at St. Elizabeth, to serve Divine Liturgy in the new location for the first time.

In 2010, the Mission purchased a nine acre property on which was a home (which has become the priest's residence) and a 9000 square foot building that included a 2400 square foot garage/warehouse. The garage/warehouse has been re-designed into the church proper. The remainder of the building will be an educational and social center, with the second floor housing the future priest residence.

Woodstock, Georgia, is located about 40 miles north and west of downtown Atlanta. St. Elizabeth serves a potential Orthodox parish that would extend sixty miles to the west (border of Alabama) and about 90 miles to to the north (borders of Tennessee and North Carolina) in which there are no Orthodox churches of any jurisdiction.

Said one of the faithful who has been a part of St. Elizabeth since its beginning, "We are so excited! God has blessed us so greatly. It is wonderful to be in our own house of worship after wandering around to so many locations for so long." Most recently, the Mission has served Divine Liturgy in the chapel of the Woodstock Funeral Home. Other places of worship have included a Roman Catholic Church's chapel, a bank, a restaurant/bar, and, of course, the priest's home.

The Mission has been served in the past by Fr. John Zboyovski, Priest-Monk Fr. Orestes, Fr. Robert Prepelka, and Fr. Paul Stoll. For more information and more photos of the church building process, see the Mission's website www.stelizabethga.org.

Met. Hilarion to ecumenical gathering: population matters

MOSCOW, May 19, 2011 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk told an ecumenical meeting in Moscow that stopping the demographic crisis in Russia must be a priority for all Christians, as well as the state.

Speaking recently at the assembly of the Christian Inter-confessional Council of the Community of Independent States and Baltic Countries, Metropolitan Hilarion said that to deal successfully with the population problem, the Church and other religious communities, the state, and the mass media and artists should unite their efforts.

Demographers have estimated that Russia’s population has been declining at about 0.5 percent per year, or about 750,000 to 800,000 people per year during the late 1990s and most of the 2000s. The drop is due to the aging of Russia’s population, below-replacement birth rate, and staggeringly high rates of abortion. A UN report warned that Russia will lose about a third of its population by 2050 unless the current trends are halted.

“All the healthy forces in society should rally to prevent the extinction of our population. It is necessary to reverse the alarming population tendency which has come to prevail in the last decades,” said Hilarion, who is President of the Moscow Patriarchate’s department for external church relations.

“We need a policy aimed to support the family and traditional moral values. It should be carried out on the governmental level through the systems of healthcare and primary, secondary and higher education. Both the mass media and religious communities should help realize it.”

The Orthodox leader noted that modern culture openly opposes Christian values, and leads society, and especially young people, to egotism and excessive liberty because it creates a moral vacuum.

“We must learn to translate our positive message in to the language of contemporary culture,” explained Hilarion.

“Positive values should no longer be formulated as abstract categories but be inserted in the fabric of the language of art, cinema, music and painting. This way of announcing positive values can not only rehabilitate them but also make them more easily assimilated, giving them a living and existential dimension.”

Metropolitan Hilarion reminded conference attendees, which included Archbishop Paolo Pezzi, ordinary of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of the Mother of God in Moscow, and Vitali Vlasenko, director for external affairs of the Russian Union of the Evangelical Christians-Baptists, that before the 20th century, most families in Russia and Europe, regardless of the income and social status, were large.

“But large families have become a rarity while now the norm is a family with one or two children. There is an evident change in the very culture of founding a family and raising children,” Hilarion said. He stated with regret that sometimes members of Christian Churches and communities also fail to give an example of creating a large family.

“One can speak much about the obligation of the state, a cultural institution or the mass media but one should begin with oneself. First of all it is important to remind people of moral truths, to create a favorable atmosphere and to create social conditions necessary for extended families.”

“I know of parishes in Moscow,” Hilarion said, “in which concern for large families is a priority in the pastoral work. They are given special attention, and parish leaders even try to find resources and means to improve their living accommodation. Conditions are created for children to feel comfortable during divine services and beyond the liturgy.” Something we should consider as well. Certainly a strong contrary opinion to the burgeoning baby aquarium (i.e. "cry rooms") market.

He urged more attention be given to this aspect of parish life. “Social aid should be one of the priorities in our parish and pastoral work,” he said.

Metropolitan Hilarion also reminded the audience of the work carried out by the Synodal Department for Charity and Social Service to develop programs for aid to large families and for support of motherhood and childhood, but concluded, “For population growth to begin there must be economic and financial incentives but there must also be the preaching of the word of God.”

Walkthrough video of proposed St. Thekla Monastery

Donations can be made here.

Back from vacation

I just finished a delightful long weekend vacation. Now to play blog post catch-up.

St. Thekla Monastery proposed building rendering

Here is a rendering of the front of the proposed St. Thekla Monastery (Convent) to be located at Antiochian Village, Bolivar, PA.

"Orthodoxy & Heterodoxy" released

In February I interviewed Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick on his new book "Orthodoxy and Heterodoxy" (available here). A few days ago the Antiochian Archdiocese released their own interview on the book (available here). I am happy to announce that the book is now available for purchase. Here's SOCHA's article on it.

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(SOCHA) - Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick, one of the Associate Directors of the Society for Orthodox Christian History in the Americas, has a newly published work from Conciliar Press, Orthodoxy and Heterodoxy: Exploring Belief Systems Through the Lens of the Ancient Christian Faith.

While the work does not pertain explicitly to the history of Orthodoxy in the Americas, it does contain some general Orthodox history, as well as history of many Christian denominations and world religions. Its focus is on comparing Orthodox Christianity with other Christian religious groups and also non-Christian religions.

Here’s the official blurb from Conciliar Press: Are you an Orthodox Christian who wonders how to explain to your Baptist grandmother, your Buddhist neighbor, or the Jehovah’s Witness at your door how your faith differs from theirs? Or are you a member of another faith who is curious what Orthodoxy is all about? Look no further. In Orthodoxy & Heterodoxy, Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick covers the gamut of ancient heresies, modern Christian denominations, fringe groups, and major world religions, highlighting the main points of each faith. This book is an invaluable reference for anyone who wants to understand the faiths of those they come in contact with—as well as their own.

The work is available both from Conciliar Press and also Amazon.com.