(OCA) - The formal opening of the 16th All-American Council of the Orthodox Church in America is taking place on Monday evening, October 31, 2011 at the Hyatt Regency Hotel here.
In preparation for over two years, the All-American Council is composed of the Church’s hierarchs, clergy and lay delegates from parishes, seminaries, and monastic communities, and observers. It is the highest legislative body of the Orthodox Church in America.
In partnership with Ancient Faith Radio [AFR], plenary sessions will be podcast here according to the following schedule. The site can be accessed on the OCA web site.
According to AFR’s John Maddex, podcasts will be available approximately one hour after each session ends.
- Monday evening, October 31 — Plenary Session I
- Tuesday, November 1 — Plenary Sessions II and III regarding Parish Development
- Wednesday, November 2 — Plenary Sessions IV and V regarding Parish Development
- Thursday, November 3 — Plenary Sessions VI and VII
Monday, October 31, 2011
Couldn't make it to the All-American Council? Try AFR.
Wonderful! SVS Press titles available on Kindle
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(SVOTS) - Successful non-profit institutions depend upon a profit-making sector in their budgets: consider the Girl Scouts of the USA’s mouth-watering cookies, or The Salvation Army’s bell-ringing Santas, or Goodwill Industries International, Inc.’s local thrift stores. For St. Vladimir’s Seminary, that sector is St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press, often known simply as “SVS Press.” Revenues from SVS Press, the seminary’s publishing arm, and SVS Bookstore, the seminary’s distribution arm, together provided net profits that comprised 12% of the seminary’s operating budget in fiscal year 2011.
Without contributions from SVS Press and SVS Bookstore, the Seminary would simply not be able to maintain a day-to-day positive cash flow. Therefore, during the past year, in order to maintain a competitive edge in the publishing industry and book market, SVS Press has moved into the Digital Age by publishing E-Books (electronic books). During this past year, generous donors funded these important digital initiatives:
St. Vladimir’s Seminary thanks these donors for helping its press remain viable and profitable within the rapidly changing publishing industry!
- An anonymous donor gave $12,000, which allowed SVS Press to place 23 titles on Amazon Kindle; now, readers may shop for and browse, and download and read, books like those in the press’s Popular Patristics Series, or Protopresbyter Alexander Schmemann’s For the Life of the World.
- A $7,500 donation by Mark and Hresula Hudoff funded a Short Run Digital Printing project that brought 14 SVS Press titles back into print, with 11 additional titles slated for reprinting in FY12.
- Another anonymous donor gave $5,000 to re-format the press’s best-selling title Father Arseny 1893–1973: Priest, Prisoner, and Spiritual Father into a compact disk audio book.
See a complete list of SVS Press digital titles and reprints on page 23 of our newly published FY11 Annual Report here.
View all of our SVS Press titles and Bookstore stock here; order titles online, or call 914-961-2203 or 1-800-204-BOOK (2665).
UAOC / UOC-KP talk unification
(RISU) - On 27 October, in a session hall within the Golden Dome Monastery of St. Michael, the first joint session of the committees set up by the Synod of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church-Kyivan Patriarchate (UOC-KP) and the Hierarchical Council of the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church (UAOC) to conduct the dialogue on unification was held.
On behalf of the Kyivan Patriarchate, the session was attended by the head of the committee, Metropolitan Dymytrii of Lviv and Sokal, Bishop Epifanii of Pereiaslav-Khmelnytskyi and Boryspil, Bishop Yevstratii of Bohuslav. UAOC was represented by the head of the committee, Metropolitan Andrii of Halych, Metropolitan Makarii of Lviv, Bishop Volodymyr of Zhytomyr and Polissia, Bishop Ioan of Lviv and Sambir, Bishop Volodymyr of Vyshhorod and Podillia.
According to a report of the press-service of the Kyivan Patriarchate, at the first session, the participants exchanged ideas on a wide range of questions on the history and present state of the Ukrainian Orthodoxy and discussed various proposals as to possible ways of unification of UOC-KP with UAOC. A list of proposals was prepared to be included in the final document of the session.
In the afternoon, the second session was held where the hierarchs of the two Churches considered and passed the text of the final document. The 10 paragraphs of the document present both the agreed general vision of the unification process and concrete proposals as to overcoming the existing Church divide.
Upon approval of the document by the primates of the Churches, it is to be submitted to consideration of the two Churches, particularly, discussion at the eparchial sessions. The next joint session of the committees is to be held according to the results of the consideration and discussion.
The final document was signed by all the participants of the session.
Saturday, October 29, 2011
Friday, October 28, 2011
ROCOR Mid-America Diocese publishes communiqué
(ROCOR-Chicago) - We the clergy of the Diocese of Chicago & Mid-America, gathered together for our annual Fall Pastoral Retreat, with His Grace Bishop Peter, to discuss matters of mutual concern and to celebrate the 1100th anniversary of the feast of the Protection of the Most Holy Theotokos, which is the patronal feast of our Diocesan Cathedral.
We welcomed His Eminence Metropolitan Hilarion, First Hierarch of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia, His Grace Bishop George of Mayfield, as well as His Grace Bishop Matthias of Chicago (OCA), who joined us for the liturgical celebration of the feast.
During our meeting we read Bishop Matthias’ pastoral letter to his flock on the issue of homosexuality and gay marriage. We wish to thank His Grace for his firm and compassionate stand on the issue, and we decided to establish a working group to formulate a clear and detailed explication of the teaching of the Church on these and other related issues in preparation for our Diocesan Assembly next year.
We also welcomed Rev. Tramaine Combs, who discussed issues of mutual concern from the perspective of the African American community. Rev. Combs pointed out that since Roe v. Wade more than 15 million African American babies have been aborted. He also discussed the problem of the disintegration of the family in the African American community. The Black Genocide is a tragic reality.
We wish to thank Fr. Ilia Marzev for his work on the Diocesan Youth Committee, and for his report on recent and upcoming youth activities in the diocese. We want to encourage our youth to participate in the upcoming St. Herman’s Youth Conference in Houston, TX, as well as the Great Lenten retreat for young adults which will be held at the ORPR camp in Vladimirovo (Rock City, IL). We also welcomed Reader Nikolai Lochmatow, the new Diocesan Youth Coordinator.
Mr. Nikita Buick of the Russian American Cultural Society addressed us on the topic of social outreach at the parish level and beyond, both in the US and in Russia. We wish to thank Mr. Buick for his labors as well as for his specific suggestions for how each parish can become a more effective witness for Christ.
Fr. Martin Swanson, Dean of the Pastoral School of the diocese, reported to the gathered clergy that this year the Pastoral School had its largest incoming class ever: 18 new students are studying Orthodox Theology via the Distance Learning pedagogical method at the Pastoral School this year. Graduates and students of this program that I have talked to speak very highly of the Pastoral School.
We heard a report on the activities of the St. John Kochurov Society, and we wish to encourage the faithful of our diocese to become members to help provide the necessary funds for the support of charitable efforts and the financial needs of our diocese.
Finally, we thank our bishops for their firm and unwavering witness to the Truth of Orthodoxy and the traditions of our Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia.
Thursday, October 27, 2011
Rite of Revestment of the Relics of St John of Shanghai
(ROCOR) - On Tuesday, October 25, 2011, in accordance with a decision by the Diocesan Council of Western America, clergymen of the diocese performed the rite of revestment of the uncorrupt relics of St John of Shanghai and San Francisco. This special rite was headed by His Eminence Archbishop Kyrill of San Francisco and Western America along with His Grace Vicar Bishop Theodosius of Seattle in San Francisco’s Cathedral of the Mother of God “Joy of All Who Sorrow.”
Having made confession in advance and asking forgiveness of each other, the archpastors and priests performed a moleben to St John at 9 pm, after which they proceeded to perform the rite of changing the vestments. Every priest of the Western American Diocese was able to participate in this rite. The attending protodeacons then intoned the corresponding prayers after the revestment of the holy man’s relics.
Details of this event will be forthcoming, along with a report on the Pastoral Conference of the Western American Diocese on its official website.
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Head of Syro-Malabar Catholic Church visits the US
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(CNEWA) - On Tuesday, CNEWA welcomed a man who made history earlier this year: Major Archbishop George Alencherry of Ernakulam-Angamaly, head of the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church, which is based in the southern Indian state of Kerala.
A native of Kerala, Archbishop George holds a unique place in the Catholic Church. He’s the first head of the Syro-Malabar Church to be elected by its synod of bishops — the result of a move by the Holy See in 2004 that granted full administrative powers to the church, including the power to elect bishops. Upon his election to lead the 3.8 million-strong church on 24 May, Pope Benedict XVI confirmed his election and extended communion the following day. Major Archbishop is a neologism for patriarch, often used in places where the term would be controversial. As for the nod of the head by Rome, this practice is also seen in other sui iuris Catholic churches and in the Orthodox world (e.g. the short list for Pittsburgh sent to Constantinople a few days ago by the Greek Archdiocese).
The engaging 66-year-old is visiting some of his 75,000-member flock in the United States — his next stop is Chicago — and stopped by to meet with CNEWA’s president, Monsignor John Kozar.
During his visit, Archbishop George spoke eloquently of his desire to “collaborate as one church” with different faiths and worried about continued discrimination toward newly baptized Christians in his homeland. But he also took pride in the great number of lay people who, despite many challenges, are involved in catechesis and pastoral work. In India, he noted, it’s a thriving vocation all its own, and one that’s continuing to grow.
The Russians are coming!
I found this story rather amusing. Sort of a Red Dawn but with crosiers instead of Kalashnikovs.
Moscow, October 26 (Interfax) - The Jerusalem Church is cautious about the Moscow Patriarchate, the Russian Ecclesiastical Mission official says.
"Unfortunately, the Jerusalem Patriarchate is watchful about the Russian Church as our Church is very big and active," head of the Mission in Jerusalem Archimandrite Isidor (Minayev) said in his interview with Bogoslov.ru website.
According to him, when for example "a microscopic part of our Church - say, five our regional bishops, 30-50 priests, ten deacons and a full church of pilgrims come to a service to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre then Greek clerics from the Holy Sepulchre Fraternity don't understand what is going on: is that the whole Russian Church coming here?"
"We explain to them: it's only a small part of the Church, only people from a small province. And their whole Patriarchate has the same number of people. Thus, evaluating scales of great Russian territory and great number of our clerics, looking at the developing system of our church education, system of financing and charities, they are certainly scared," Father Isidor said.
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
20th Anniversary of Enthronment of EP Bartholomew
(Youtube) - On Sunday morning, October 23, 2011, His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew presided over the concelebration of the Divine Liturgy together with Patriarch Irinej of Serbia at the Patriarchal Church of St. George. In attendance were Archbishop Anastasios of Albania, the Hon. Nikolaos Mathioudakis, Consul General of Greece in Istanbul, Hierarchs of the Throne, and many diplomats.
The ossuary at St. Catherine's Monastery
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(Atlas Obscura) - Without a Bedouin guide, the Sinai is a vast, unnavigable expanse of desert. Rocky hills rise and fall underneath the blinding sun. And yet for thousands of years, this desolate peninsula was traversed and played host to many of the most important religious events in history. Many of these seminal events are neatly encapsulated within the walls of St. Catherine's Monastery.
Situated below Mount Sinai, St. Catherine's Monastery was originally built by the Byzantine Emperor Justinian in the early 6th century. It is considered the oldest monastery in the world, although this claim is disputed. Much of the landscape around St. Catherine's is similarly disputed, along with the claim that the peak above the monastery is actually the biblical Mount Sinai.
Within the gates of the monastery, the unknown only grows. When Justinian declared a monastery be built on the land, a chapel dedicated to the burning bush was already in place. Once again, disputed claims placed the burning bush that appeared to Moses near the present-day monastery. To this day, a bush inside the compound is considered by some to be the original from biblical texts.
Besides the chapel, the monastic compound also holds an ancient charnel for monks. Although monks are typically thought of as the most pious men who have dedicated their lives to God, the monks of St. Catherine often broke that mold, and were sent to the Sinai as punishment. As they died off, the pious next to the profane in the midst of the desert's sparse resources, the monks discovered the ground was unsuitable for proper burials.
Their only answer was to create a house of skulls, piling the bones of the religious men in a charnel below the monastery. Differing from many ossuaries and charnels, St. Catherine's was based more on functionality than decoration, and the massive pile of remains speaks to that gruesome end. St. Catherine's Monastery is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Upcoming Oriental Orthodox youth conference in NJ
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(SCOOCH) - College-aged youth from the Armenian, Coptic, Ethiopian, Syrian and Malankara Syrian Orthodox Churches will gather on November 26 for an all-day conference of fellowship and discussion. The conference will take place at St. Mary’s Coptic Orthodox Church, 433 Riva Avenue, East Brunswick, NJ.
The day will focus on the words of St. Paul to the Ephesians: “There is one body and one spirit, just as your were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all and in all.” [Ephesians 4:4-6].
The Oriental Orthodox Churches are a family of five ancient, eastern churches that are fully united in their Christian faith and doctrine. “While autonomous churches with their own rich histories and Christian cultures, the Oriental Orthodox Churches are in full sacramental communion,” said V. Rev. Fr. Daniel Findikyan, Dean of St. Nersess Armenian Seminary (New York) and Secretary of the Standing Conference of Oriental Orthodox Churches. “We are truly brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ,” he added.
The daylong conference is open to high-school, college and graduate-aged students who are members of one of the Oriental Orthodox Churches. The cost is $10. Those interested are asked to register on-line at www.copticbiblestudy.org. For more information go to facebook.com/orthodoxsn.
A trip to the Monastery of the Transfiguration
A slight delay in posting this week as seminarians travelled to the Monastery of the Transfiguration in Ellwood City, PA. It was a wonderful visit and the mothers and sisters there are a true treasure.
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| Mother Paula explains the grounds and guest accommodations. |
Fly to Moscow, get a blessing.
Moscow, October 24, (Interfax) - Pastoral service was opened at Venice Marco Polo Airport.
It was launched thanks to cooperation between the local Parish of Holy Myrrh-Bearers headed by its rector Father Alexy Yastrebov and airport authorities together with its Catholic chaplain.
Now the whole year through every Friday and Saturday passengers flying to Moscow can receive a blessing of an Orthodox priest, attend a prayer service, ask their questions and confess, the Moscow Patriarchate reports at its website.
The task of the established chaplain service is to give pastoral care not only to Orthodox passengers, but also to crew members of Russian and other airlines and staff of terrestrial services.
Sunday, October 23, 2011
The OCA has a new chancellor
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(OCA) - On Friday, September 21, 2011, Archpriest Eric G. Tosi, Secretary of the Orthodox Church in America, announced that Archpriest John A. Jillions has accepted the position of Chancellor.
Selected from a slate of several applicants, Father John was confirmed by the Holy Synod of Bishops upon the recommendation of the Metropolitan Council at their fall sessions.
A life-long member of the Orthodox Church in America, Father John was born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada in 1955. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from McGill University. In 1980, he received the Master of Divinity degree from Saint Vladimir’s Seminary, Crestwood, NY, from which he also received the Doctor of Ministry degree in 2005. His doctoral thesis, “The Language of Enemies,” traces the ways Orthodox Christians perceive and treat their “enemies” and uses some of the insights of contemporary conflict studies. In 2002, he was awarded the Ph.D. in New Testament from Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. His doctoral dissertation offered a comparative study of the ways divine guidance was understood in the first century Pauline, Greco-Roman, and Jewish worlds.
After his ordination to the diaconate and the priesthood in 1981 and 1984 respectively by His Eminence, the late Archbishop Peter [L’Huillier], he served Holy Virgin Protection Cathedral, New York, NY; Annunciation Church, Brisbane, Australia; Holy Trinity Church, Rahway, NJ; Saint George Church, Thessaloniki, Greece; and Saint Ephraim the Syrian Church, Cambridge, UK, before returning to Canada in 2003. He was a founding director of the Institute for Orthodox Christian Studies in Cambridge and served as its first Principal from 1999 until 2002. Previously, he served as administrator of Saints Cosmas and Damian Adult Home, Staten Island, NY, and as a bank officer with Bankers Trust. In the early 1990s, he served briefly as a Chaplain (Captain) in the US Air Force Reserve.
Since 2003, Father John served as an Associate Professor with the Sheptytsky Institute of Eastern Christian Studies at Saint Paul University, Ottawa, where he taught in the areas of 20th century Orthodox Christian thought, New Testament, ecumenism, and practical theology. Concurrently, he served as Dean of Ottawa’s Annunciation Cathedral until 2009, at which time he was attached to the cathedral while serving “on loan” to the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Toronto, servicing a small community in Brockville, Ontario. He also has been a contributor to the “Ask the Religion Experts” column of The Ottawa Citizen and most recently has served as one of the vice-presidents of the Canadian Council of Churches.
He and his wife, Denise Melligon, have three grown sons — Andrew (married to Alice), Alex (married to Meaghan), and Anthony.
Father John’s introductory letter to the Search Committee, which outlines his priorities, may be read HERE.
Joy of All Who Sorrow
To Thee, the champion leader, do we Thy servants dedicate a hymn of victory and thanksgiving, as ones who have been delivered from eternal death by the Grace of Christ our God Who was born of Thee and by Thy maternal mediation before Him. As Thou dost have invincible might, free us from all misfortunes and sorrowful circumstances who cry aloud:
Rejoice, O Virgin Theotokos, full of Grace, Joy of all who sorrow!
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Friday, October 21, 2011
Cincture of the Theotokos visiting Russia
(mospat.ru) - The Sash of our Most Holy Lady was brought to Russia from the Monastery of Vatopedi on Mount Athos on October 20, 2011. The shrine has been brought by the St. Andrew the First-Called Foundation with the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia.
It is for the first time that the shrine, which is kept in the Monastery of Vatopedi, has left Greece. As Archimandrite Ephrem, the abbot of the monastery, told earlier to journalists, the reliquary with the Sash is normally brought to a particular Greek city once a year at a request of the faithful. According to Father Ephrem as cited by ‘Interfax-Religion’, requests to bring the Sash had come from other countries including the USA and Romania, but the monastery denied them. It made an exception for Russia, in which the Precious Sash will stay from October 20 to November 23, 2011.
The Russian Government’s website reports that the shrine was met at the Pulkovo airport in St. Petersburg by Prime Minister V. Putin, Deputy Prime Minister D. Kozak, St. Petersburg Mayor G. Poltavchenko and other officials. They venerated the shrine. The clergy of the St. Petersburg diocese celebrated a thanksgiving at the airport.
Mr. Yakunin, chairman of the St. Andrew Foundation and president of the Russian Railways company, presented Mr. Putin with an icon painted in the Monastery of Vatopedi on Mount Athos on the occasion of the bringing of the Precious Sash to Russia.
The shrine was taken from the airport to the church of Our Lady of Kazan at the Novodevichy Convent in St. Petersburg. Metropolitan Vladimir of St. Petersburg and Ladoga said a thanksgiving at it together with the city’s clergy.
The shrine will stay in the church till October 24 with access for the faithful from 06.00 to 22.00. During its stay in the church, prayer services will be held continually, the official website of the Moscow Patriarchate has reported.
OCA issues guidelines on clergy online behavior
While many of these are quite laudable guidelines, some of them are going to raise eyebrows.
(OCA) - On October 6, 2011, during their Fall 2011 Session, the members of the Holy Synod of Bishops of the Orthodox Church in America adopted and approved “Guidelines for Clergy Use of Online Social Networking.”
Available in PDF format, the Guidelines recognize “the popularity of social networking and digital communications” and their exponential growth. Acknowledging that “the Church should not shy away from these new forms of media, but should be actively present in them,” the hierarchs emphasize the importance of maintaining “healthy boundaries to digital, online, and social media communications and relationships.”
In addition to general guidelines and considerations, the document offers specific guidelines for clergy with regard to use of social networking with youth, the posting of pictures and videos, and related issues.
Thursday, October 20, 2011
New Gracanica Monastery celebrates slava
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| (New Gracanica) - On Friday, October 14th, the Slava of the New Gracanica Monastery was celebrated in a most festive way. Bishop Longin officiated the Divine Liturgy and along him served sixteen priests and seven deacons. The church was almost filled to capacity. After the Liturgy, the procession followed around the church with the Gospel readings. Later in the day, everyone gathered for the reception at the monastery hall, which was also almost completely full. |
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Bishop Joseph of Los Angeles visits with Maronite Patriarch
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| (AOC-LA) - On October 16th His Grace, Bishop Joseph met with Maronite Patriarch, His Beatitude, Bechara Rai. |
Mexican Cathedral of Ss. Peter & Paul opens it doors
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| (AOC-MX) To mark the beginning of the liturgical and pastoral work in the Cathedral of St. Peter and St. Paul and in the context of the recent celebrations of consecration of the new auxiliary bishop, His Excellency Monsignor Ignacio (Samaan), His Eminence Metropolitan Anthony, Archbishop of our Archdiocese presided over the Divine Liturgy on Sunday 16 October at the new Cathedral. He was accompanied by His Grace, Bishop Alejo Pacheco of the Orthodox Church in America, and His Excellency Ignacio, along with priests and deacons of Mexico City. It was also attended by several important public figures and of course with the participation of a large number of parishioners. |
Assembly of Bishop now a legal entity
When the discussion of the "Chambésy process" first began, there were two quite high hurdles to clear: legal identity and sorting out the financials. The committees are silently plugging along it seems and I expect to see more small announcements by individual committees as the months pass. I'm still working on getting backing for my weekend dedicated to monasticism (see here) and hope it will get some traction within the committee reviewing it.
Wichita, KS (AOB) - The Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of North and Central America has created a legal entity with the filing of its Articles of Incorporation in Washington, D.C. This action follows the second annual meeting of the Assembly of Bishops held May 25-27 in Chicago, Illinois. For details of that meeting, see this article.
The Assembly has been hailed as a major development for the canonical administrative unity of all Orthodox Christian jurisdictions, which together represent over three million church members.
The Assembly of Bishops is a council of all active, canonical Orthodox bishops whose purpose is to preserve and contribute to the unity of the Orthodox Church by helping to further Her spiritual, theological, ecclesiological, canonical, educational, missionary and philanthropic aims. To accomplish this, the Assembly has as its goals: the promotion and accomplishment of Church unity; the strengthening of the common pastoral ministry to all the Orthodox Christian faithful; and a common witness by the Church to all those outside Her. In addition, the Assembly has as an express goal the plan for the organization of the Church in North and Central America in accordance with the ecclesiological and the canonical tradition of the Orthodox Church.
The Assembly hopes to deepen the ties of brotherhood among the bishops, give them a common and united voice, and create a greater unity of action among all the Orthodox faithful, thereby strengthening the Church’s witness to Her faith in Jesus Christ.
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
Australian Episcopal Assembly meets
(spc.rs) - The members of the 2nd Episcopal Assembly of all canonical Orthodox Bishops of Oceania welcomed once again the opportunity to meet in Sydney from October 16-17, 2011, under the chairmanship ex officio of His Eminence Archbishop Stylianos of Australia.
The Assembly commenced with prayer at the central offices of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia, Redfern.
Present were: His Eminence Archbishop Stylianos (Ecumenical Patriarchate – Australia), His Eminence Metropolitan Paul (Antiochian Patriarchate),His Grace Bishop Irinej (Serbian Church), His Grace Bishop Mihail (Romanian Church), His Eminence Metropolitan Amphilochios (Ecumenical Patriarchate – New Zealand), His Grace Bishop Ezekiel (Assistant Bishop), His Grace Bishop Seraphim (Assistant Bishop), His Grace Bishop Nikandros (Assistant Bishop), His Grace Bishop Iakovos (Assistant Bishop), the Very Rev.Father Michael Protopopov (representing His Eminence Metropolitan Hilarion of the Russian Orthodox Church, who read a letter of greeting from His Eminence MetropolitanHilarion ) and Rev. Father Michael Smolynec (representing His Eminence Archbishop Ioan of Parnassou of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in the Diaspora).
The Bishops continued the work of the first Assembly, held in Sydney in October last year,and heard the Reports of the respective Committees.
It was unanimously agreed:
1. To arrange an annual Synaxis meeting of Clergy of all canonical jurisdictions for the purpose of forming brotherly relations and to have collaboration in carrying out the decisions of the Assembly on a local level;
2. To launch an official website of the Assembly that will inform our faithful of its work and provide a source of information, that would include a catalogue of canonical Clergyand thereby knowledge of schismatic groups;
3. To seek legal opinion with regard to the suggested promulgation of a Statute for the Episcopal Assembly of Oceania;
4. To organise a common celebration to mark the 1,700th anniversary of the Edict of Milan in 2013;
Monday, October 17, 2011
Oriental Orthodox - Catholic Consultation meets
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| (Syrian Orthodox Church) - The United States Oriental Orthodox Roman Catholic Consultation held its 2011 meeting at the Divine Compassion Spirituality Center in White Plains, New York, on October 6 and 7. The meeting, co-chaired by His Eminence Mor Cyril Aphrem Karim of the Syrian Orthodox Church of Antioch and Catholic Bishop Howard J. Hubbard of Albany, New York, focused primarily on pastoral issues facing both churches. |
The Orthodox Church and Homosexuality
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| Fr. Thomas Hopko speaks before a packed house. |
(AFR) - Orthodox Christian Synergy is a pan-Orthodox organization consisting of clergy and lay representatives of Chicago-area Orthodox Christian parishes who seek to project awareness of Orthodox Christianity to the public at large. Synergy works together with its parent organization, the Orthodox Christian Clergy Association of Greater Chicago, and with the blessings of the Chicago-area Orthodox Hierarchs.
The topic of Synergy’s 2011 Symposium was “Orthodox Christianity and Homosexuality,” and featured was Fr. Thomas Hopko, Dean Emeritus of St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Seminary and the author of Christian Faith and Same-Sex Attraction: Eastern Orthodox Reflections. The gathering took place at St. George Antiochian Orthodox Church in Cicero, Illinois, on Saturday, October 15, 2011.
Part One
Theological Vision: Orthodox Christian Faith and Human Sexuality
Part Two
Spiritual Practice: Orthodox Christian Faith and Homosexual Attraction and Behavior
Sunday, October 16, 2011
ROCOR: The Orthodox approach to mission
Remarks Given at the XII All-Diaspora Youth Conference in Paris, 5th July 2011
Complete article here.(ROCOR) - Your Eminence, Your Grace, Reverend Fathers, Beloved Brothers and Sisters:
In the Name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit: Amen.
It is a joy for me to be giving what amounts to the first ‘formal’ lecture of this blessed conference, in which our whole aim is to explore mission and missionary work, especially in practical terms which you as the youth of our Church—spread out as she is to every corner of the world—might take up and live out when you return home.
Given the timing of this talk here at the beginning of your reflections, I thought it best to take advantage of its position and to ask a few fundamental questions. I do this not only because it is good, as a general practice, to ask what we do and why we do it, before we engage in any activity that we hope will bear fruit; but also because the theme of missionary work, broadly speaking, is one that is very often marred by a drive for action that ‘skips over’ this very need to ask fundamental questions.
Driven by the desire to do something, anything, missionary work is too often based purely on a vision of action. And yet, as Orthodox Christians all our actions are to be grounded in truth—the Truth that is Christ Himself; and without a knowledge of this truth, our actions are shallow, and the fruit they bear is scant and small.
So if we are to seek ‘practical’ guidance on Orthodox mission, and if we are to seek it in a genuinely Orthodox manner, we must start by recognising that it is not authentic to the ‘practicality’ of Orthodoxy simply to ‘go out and do something’. An Orthodox approach begins with a heart turning to God, seeking understanding.
And so we must ask ourselves the most basic question of all, as it relates to our conference here: just what, precisely, is ‘mission’ in the mind of the Orthodox Church?
Before we attempt to focus ourselves too precisely on how to exercise it, how to accomplish it, we must took at the very concept itself. What is our ‘mission’ as Orthodox Christians? And what does it mean to be a ‘missionary’ in our contemporary world?
Often, when we hear these terms we instinctively, automatically, begin to think in the framework provided for us by outside influences. There are many religions that engage in what they call ‘missionary work’, and they are often quite visible in this; and so our understanding of what it means to be missionary, and what mission itself might mean, is regularly influenced by what we see and hear in these others. And in their examples, ‘mission’ often means ‘telling other people what we believe’, and ‘trying to get them to believe as we do’. In effect, the idea of ‘mission’ is combined with another, that of proselytism, which is the technical term for the work of drawing other people into one’s own religion or belief system...
Free class on Gospel of St. Matthew set for November
People really enjoy these online courses offered by the Carpatho-Russian Diocese. I encourage you to give this a try.
JOHNSTOWN, PA (ACROD) - The Diocesan Apostolate For Christian Education is pleased to announce that a weekly on-line Scripture Study Class on the Gospel of St. Matthew will begin on Saturday November 5, 2011. The class, led by Very Rev. Protopresbyter Kenneth Bachofsky, D. Min, Professor of Sacred Scripture at Christ the Saviour Seminary, will be broadcast live every Saturday from St. Nicholas Orthodox Church in Warren, Ohio. The class will begin at 4:45 pm and will last approximately 60 minutes. The class will conclude for the year on May 19, 2012.
The Gospel of St. Matthew will be read and discussed within the context of the patristic mindset of the Church. Emphasis will be placed on both the Gospel's historical context and application to contemporary life.
There is no charge for participating, however, those who wish to participate must register on-line to enter the class room and access the broadcast link. Audio and Video recordings of each session will be archived for later study.
To register click here.
Friday, October 14, 2011
For the new year: some questions for parents
The following article is from St. John Chrysostom Orthodox Church in York, PA, which was commended to all the parents, teachers and youth workers in our diocese by His Grace, Bishop THOMAS. It is a penetrating and direct set of questions regarding parenting and the spiritual life.
The Beginning of the New Church Year: Some Questions for Parents
Christian Parents need to be concerned about their children’s spiritual and moral lives, and their relationship to the Church. Below are ten reflection questions. Take time to read each question and answer it honestly. Since September is not only the beginning of Sunday Church School, but also the ‘New Year” of the Church, perhaps some of these could be “New Year’s Resolutions” for your family if you discover a need for some growth.
1) Are you as conscientious about bringing your son or daughter to Church and Sunday Church School as you are in taking them to public school activities or sporting events? Or, as I have seen, do you drop your children off for Sunday School and pick them up afterward, having never gone to Liturgy? On the flip-side I can say the school teachers were not happy this morning to discover some rather tired children filing into their classrooms as last night we drove all the way to Holy Apostles Mission in Mechanicsburg, PA to the the myrrh-streaming Hawaiian Iveron icon last night. I'm willing to take a little guff from teachers on homework and sleepiness if the cause is something Church-related. You have to expect the annoyance of the teachers as their now thoroughly secularized weekday mentality will not conform to your religious beliefs. Smile and know that you're doing the right thing.
2) Are you as concerned about your child’s spiritual nourishment as you are with his/her physical nourishment? Do you care as much about whether they did their morning/evening prayers as you do if they had a "balanced" meal?
3) Do you let your child get away with contrived excuses for not attending the services of the Church? Do you look for such excuses yourself? See this list.
4) Do you show your child by your own example that other activities, such as sporting events or recreation, do not take precedence church attendance? You might like this excerpt.
5) Do you encourage your child to be generous by being generous yourself? Does your giving to the Church reflect generosity or selfishness? See the Cheerful Giver.
6) If you have a teenage child, do you challenge them to keep their purity because it is God’s will to do so? When you talk to your teenager about sexual matters, do you teach what the Word of God says about fornication, or are you afraid to call sexual promiscuity sinful? Don't let the world teach your child about when and how to date. Look up the numbers on how early and how often children are engaging in some rather shocking sexual behavior. After looking up the statistics, fight the urge to deadbolt their bedroom doors and put bars on the windows.
7) Are you concerned enough about your child’s morals to monitor the TV shows, movies and video games they watch? Watch an evening of the "ABC Family" channel then try and figure out what sort of family they're writing for.
8) Do you expect your child to be polite and respectful toward older people, or do you encourage them to treat adults as their equal? Do you encourage your child to address adults as Mr., Mrs. etc. or do you tell them it is OK to address an adult by their Christian name? Does it matter to you when your child either refuses to speak to an adult, or answers with a curt “yup” or “nope”? In our house I pretend I don't understand what those informal words mean. "Yeah"gets a blank stare.
9) Do you defend your child in front of other people when he has clearly done or said something wrong? Are you afraid to admit to other adults that your child is capable of wrong doing? Are you afraid to correct your child and set appropriate consequences when it is warranted? Discipline is not being mean. What's mean is not equipping your children to be responsible for their actions.
10) Do you allow your child to use bad language? Has he learned these words at home? Soap, people. It works almost immediately.
There are parents today who do not believe being a Christian obliges them and their children to be different. If we want to bring our children up in the Orthodox Christian Faith, we need to understand that we and they will indeed be different, and that it’s a good and Godly difference! Are we so afraid that our observance of Christian standards of behavior will make us, or our children, odd and strange, that we fail to do our duty as Christian parents? As the author of The Book of Proverbs observed long ago: “Even a child makes himself known by his acts, whether what he does is pure and right” (Proverbs 20:11).
Therefore as Christian parents we must: “Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it” (Proverbs 22:6).
SVOTS liturgical music workshop for youth in December
Obikhod only? I'm not sure, but the instruction looks to be more diverse than that.
(OCA) - High School and college students are invited to participate in a liturgical music workshop and retreat at Saint Vladimir’s Seminary here December 18-21, 2011.
Instructors for the three days of music, worship and fellowship will include Prof. David Drillock and Nicholas Reeves.
In addition to liturgical services, presentations, and discussions, the program will include Christmas caroling and ice skating at New York City’s Rockefeller Center.
For additional information, please contact Protodeacon Joseph Matusiak at jmatusiak@svots.edu or 914-318-7505. Updates will be posted on the seminary web site www.svots.edu.
Greek Archdiocesan announcement on St. Nicholas
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| Archbishop Demetrios of America, NY Governor Cuomo, and Christopher Ward, Executive Director of the Port Authority of NY and NJ sign the agreement to kick-start the rebuilding of St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church. |
NEW YORK (GOARCH) – The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America announces today an agreement with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey regarding the rebuilding of St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church, which was destroyed in the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo invited Archbishop Demetrios and the Hierarchs of the Holy Eparchial Synod of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, together with leadership of the St. Nicholas Parish and the Archdiocesan Council to his New York City office for the official signing of the agreement by Archdiocesan Council Vice-Chairman Michael Jaharis and Port Authority Executive Director Chris Ward. Archbishop Demetrios and Governor Cuomo signed as the formal witnesses to the agreement.
Archbishop Demetrios expressed particular praise for Governor Cuomo and said, “We are grateful to our esteemed Governor and precious friend Andrew Cuomo for bringing to reality the dream we have nourished for ten long years. St. Nicholas Church, rising again with the help of God at Ground Zero - where it stood spiritually important for 85 years, is an affirmation of the significance of religious freedom and experience for all New Yorkers and all Americans. The covenant stands firm. We will again light many candles in the new St. Nicholas Church and remember those who were lost to us, and those heroes who so nobly sacrificed their lives. Our pledge is to be a witness for all New Yorkers, that freedom of conscience and the fundamental human right of free religious expression will always shine forth in the resurrected St. Nicholas Church.” The Archbishop also expressed deep appreciation to Michael Jaharis and Dennis Mehiel and the other members of the joint committee who had labored so diligently to accomplish this historic agreement.
Governor Andrew M. Cuomo said, “We lost St. Nicholas Church in the destruction of September 11 and for too long its future has been uncertain. Rebuilding St. Nicholas Church, with a nondenominational bereavement center, is not just good news for the Greek Orthodox community, but for all New Yorkers. With this agreement, we are continuing New York’s collective healing, restoration, and resurgence. Now we are finally returning this treasured place of reflection to where it belongs.”
According to the Port Authority Press Release, “The agreement … permits the rebuilding of the Church with a nondenominational bereavement center at the east end of Liberty Park, at 130 Liberty Street. The agreement follows a four-month independent engineering study commissioned by the Port Authority and the Archdiocese, which found that the Church could be built on the site with minor modifications to the original plan and with no impact on the World Trade Center construction schedule.”
The church destroyed on 9/11 will be rebuilt!
(Crain's New York) - The Port Authority of New York & New Jersey said Friday that a Greek Orthodox Church destroyed on Sept. 11, 2001 can rebuild directly across Liberty Street from the World Trade Center, ending a two-year impasse after Gov. Andrew Cuomo intervened.
The Port Authority had originally rejected a deal to allow the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America to rebuild its St. Nicholas Church on the site of the former Deutsche Bank building, saying the church had dragged its feet, asked for too much and threatened to delay World Trade Center construction.
The Port Authority said the church was offered, but never accepted, a deal worth $20 million, plus $40 million in subsurface infrastructure improvements, to move it to 130 Liberty St. The church, however, contended that the Port Authority had abruptly walked away from negotiations, first undertaken with the blessing of former Gov. George Pataki, just as they were wrapping up.
The Port Authority said the church could rebuild at its original 155 Cedar St. address. Instead the church sued, portraying itself in court and in the media as a David bullied by Goliath.
“If it had been a Roman Catholic Church or a Baptist church destroyed on 9/11, we wouldn't be feeling the bullying we're getting from the Port Authority,” Father Mark Arey, a spokesman for the St. Nicholas Parish of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese, told Crain's last year.
The Port Authority said it could not allow the church to rebuild at 130 Liberty St., even if it wanted to: Steel had been ordered for the $600 million Vehicle Security Center below the site, and it could not hold the weight of a new, bigger church without delaying World Trade Center construction and jeopardizing $150 million already committed to contractors working on the vehicle center.
A review of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic catechism
The blog Orthocath has a review of the UGCC's new catechism. A lot has been discussed online about what it has to say about infallibility and ecclesiology. There was a lot of hope that this catechism would finally show the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church to be an "Orthodox Church in communion with Rome" (aka the "bridge between East and West"), but many of the selections I have seen show this document to represent a decided fidelity to Rome's preeminence where many had hoped for an affirmation of the primacy of synodality.
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| Ukrainian Greek Catholic Patriarch Shevchuk |
There was some speculation that the new Catechism might present some nuanced understandings of some of the issues that divide the Catholic and Orthodox Churches, especially with regards to the role of the papacy. However, some rough, unofficial translations of key paragraphs in the new UGCC Catechism indicate that this is not a breakthrough document that might suggest a way to resolve the doctrinal differences...
Complete article blog post here.
Short-list submitted for Greek Metropolis of Pittsburgh
Update: "The Holy Synod of the the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America named Bishop of Troas Savvas the new Metropolitan Bishop of Pittsburgh. Bishop Savvas received 7 votes, while Archimandrite Sevastianos Skordallos received 4, and Archimandrite Constantine Moralis 2.
The Holy Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate will approve the election of the new Pittsburgh Metropolitan Bishop within the following days so that he will be able to perform his duties. Overall 8 Metropolitan Bishops took part in the voting of the Holy Synod." - (Greek Reporter)
For some background on this selection: "Archbishop Demetrios is expected to support the candidacy of his spiritual son Bishop Savas of Troas, his former Chancellor who now is the Director of the Department Church and Society of the Archdiocese. Although his previous attempts to have Bishop Savas elected to a Metropolis were rebuffed by the members of the Eparchial Synod, the Archbishop may feel renewed optimism, as both Metropolitans Methodios of Boston and Evangelos of New Jersey, who in the past opposed Bishop Sava’s promotion to a Metropolitan, may now feel beholden to His Eminence since they both are facing problems in their metropolises and need the support of the Archbishop." - (OCL)
BOSTON (TNH) - The Holy Eparchial Synod has selected its short list of three candidates from among whom the new Metropolitan of Pittsburgh will be chosen by the Holy and Sacred Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate early next month.
The selection was made during the fall meeting of the Holy Eparchial Synod of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, which took place at the Archdiocese's headquarter in New York from Oct. 11-13. Bishop Savas of Troas received 7 votes, Archimandrite Sebastian Skordallos, Chief Secretary of the Holy Eparchial Synod received 4 votes, and Archimandrite Konstantinos Moralis received 2 votes.
The Holy Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate is expected to elect Bishop Savas to shepherd the Metropolis of Pittsburgh, in keeping with the tradition of always electing the candidate receiving the most votes by the Holy Eparchial Synod.
Thursday, October 13, 2011
Duke University makes effort to reopen Halki Seminary
(ARCHONS) - An anonymous United Methodist donor is offering $75,000 seed money toward the creation of an Orthodox Institute at Duke Divinity School. The offer comes in response to a proposal by the Duke Orthodox Christian Student Association (DOCSA) that a Duke-Halki institutional partnership may accelerate the reopening of the Halki School of Theology (see www.dukehalki.com).
The announcement was made at a recent Duke-UNC hosted Halki symposium that featured a screening of the Hellenic History Foundation’s “Silent School” documentary. Following the documentary screening, the symposium concluded with remarks by Duke Divinity Professor, J. Warren Smith, PhD, Duke University’s Turkish Muslim Chaplain, Abdullah Antepli, DMin, and Orthodox Christian Fellowship’s John Stonestreet, MDiv, PhD(c).
A video of the symposium and donation announcement will be available online for a limited time at http://video.dukehalki.com.
For additional information, please contact:
Duke Orthodox Christian Student Association
dukehalki@gmail.com
Nick Valilis 915.241.5099
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
The Copts mourn their dead
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| (MSNBC) - Egyptian Copts carry the coffins of victims of deadly clashes, during a funeral at Abassaiya on the road to Cathedral in Cairo on Oct. 11, a day after 24 people, mostly Christians, died in clashes with Egyptian security forces. |
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Hermitage of the Holy Cross celebrates 25 years
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(ROCOR-EAD) - On Sunday, October 2, the First Hierarch of the Russian Church Abroad, His Eminence Hilarion, Metropolitan of Eastern America & New York, celebrated the Divine Liturgy in Holy Cross Monastery on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the monastery’s founding. His Eminence was co-served by the abbot of the monastery, His Grace George, Bishop of Mayfield, monastery clerics, and a multitude of clergy from across America. Eight Orthodox jurisdictions in all were represented at the feast.
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UGCC - Moscow Patriarchate representatives might meet
(UGCC) - “I am very glad that meetings are held between the Apostolic See and the Moscow Patriarchate,” said the head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, Patriarch Sviatoslav, during a press conference at UNIAN as he commented on the meeting between Pope Benedict XVI and Metropolitan Hilarion (Alfeyev). The head of the UGCC stressed that such meetings are very useful: “We will do everything we can not to hinder such meetings, but to promote them by all means,” stated Patriarch Sviatoslav.
Talking about the importance of dialogue, the head of UGCC mentioned his official meeting with the head of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, Metropolitan Volodymyr (Sabodan), held on August 23, 2011, in the Kyiv Cave Monastery. “The meeting was very beneficial for all of us,” said the hierarch.
It is important that Metropolitan Ilarion also expressed readiness to meet with Archbishop of Kyiv and Halych. This was mentioned in his interview about a possible meeting between the Roman Pope and the Patriarch of Moscow published on October 5 in the newspaper Izvestiia. “I hope to meet with Patriarch Sviatoslav in the near future,” said Metropolitan Hilarion. The hierarch also expressed hope that with the appointment of the new head of UGCC, positive changes in the relations between the two churches will be made.
The Onion Dome rises again!
(The Onion Dome 2.0) - This is just like the old Onion Dome, only new! If you have links on your blog to IsOutrage!, and want to point to the Orthodox content, re-point them here. We will be attaching the URL theoniondome.com to this blog as soon as we figure out how.
At the moment there is officially only your intrepid blogger running this thing, but we’re hoping to add more people to the mix soon. If you think you want to write for us, put a comment on this post with your email address — break it up so crawlers can’t recognize it as an email address and send you spam. You’d hate that.
Monday, October 10, 2011
Update on the St. Irene Chrysovalantou Monastery scandal
For some background you can read a previous post (see here) or search for "Chrysovalantou Monastery" in the search field on the sidebar.
BOSTON, MA (TNH via pokrov.org) – Metropolitan Paisios of Tyana and Bishop Vikentios of Apameia – the former abbot and deputy abbot, respectively, of the St. Irene Chrysovalantou Monastery in Astoria – will be sent into retirement to monasteries in Kalymnos and Patmos by the Ecumenical Patriarchate. The decision was reached during recent Patriarchate’s Holy Synod meetings, over which His All Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew presided.
TNH has learned that the penance of liturgical suspension, which was placed on both hierarchs in December 2010, will remain in effect. Essentially, they will not be allowed to perform liturgies or to celebrate any other services or sacraments.
The issue first came to light last October, when Paisios submitted a letter of resignation as the Monastery’s abbot, citing health reasons. TNH revealed shortly thereafter that a man who lived in the Monastery for 13 years had contacted federal and local authorities about clandestine activities, alleging rampant orgies involving young male and female parishioners, including some who had joined the Paisios Order from the time they were underage. The same person also notified the Patriarchate about the allegations, both verbally and in writing.
Young nun Christonymphi Fitzpatrick took off the monastic vows and cassock and returned to the ranks of the laity, and turned over $280,000 in cash and some golden lire to Astoria Police.
The following month the Patriarchate sent a three-person Exarchy, headed by Metropolitan Nikitas of Dardanelia, to investigate. The Exarchy conducted a long inquiry, at which both the man and the nun who initiated the allegations were among the dozens of persons who volunteered to offer live testimony while being taped. The Exarchy then presented all of the evidence to Bartholomew.
Prior to the Synod meeting, the Committee of the Patriarchal Institutions met and reviewed the case, which implicated both Paisios and Vikentios. Metropolitan Athanasios of Chalcedon chaired the Committee, and its members are Metropolitan Iakovos of the Pringiponisos, Metropolitan Demetrios of Sevasteia, and Metropolitan Meliton of Philadelphia. The Committee recommended to the Synod that both hierarchs should face mandatory retirement for life; the Synod implemented the Committee’s recommendation.
Vikentios, who continues to reside at St. Nektarios Church in Brooklyn did not respond to TNH’s request for comment. Paisios has resided in Athens since last October.
Exciting events scheduled for the OCA All-American Council
A Dinner Trip to Historic Holy Trinity Temple, Wilkeson
More information here.Take a tour back in time, to the old coal mining village of Wilkeson Washington, in the verdant foothills that stretch below the lofty peaks of Mount Rainier, where Holy Trinity Church was founded by immigrant coal miners and lumberjacks in the summer of 1896. Holy Trinity Temple, constructed in 1900, is the oldest in the Diocese of the West, and one of the oldest temples in the lower 48 States. It was consecrated on September 22, 1902 by St. Tikhon, who at the time still maintained his headquarters in San Francisco. Holy Trinity is on both the State and National Registers of Historic Places and is maintained in pristine condition. This little gem of a building mixes Slavic Orthodox architecture with the local Victorian era style found throughout the historic village.
The scenic drive from Bellevue to Wilkeson takes about an hour, and if it is a clear day and the “mountain is out” you will be thrilled at its glacial beauty rising 14,400 feet over the Western Washington landscape. We will serve a Prayer Service (Moleben) to St. Tikhon, a portion of his sacred relics are embedded in a special icon there. Your host, Mr. Scott Miller, a long time member of the parish, will present a talk about the unique history of the temple and the area. On the way back to the hotel, we’ll stop for dinner at Anthony’s Home Port restaurant on the shores of beautiful Puget Sound for a Pacific Northwest salmon dinner (chicken optional), a local treat to top off your day in beautiful Western Washington. $50.00 per person includes transportation, meal & gratuities.
A Dinner Trip to Seattle’s Historic Cathedrals
More information here.Founded in multi-ethnic diversity in 1895 by both Russian and Greek immigrants, along with faithful from throughout Eastern Europe, St. Spiridon Cathedral has maintained a rich, friendly spirit that incorporates and welcomes all people, both native born and newly arrived. The Cathedral’s dark blue landmark cupolas overlook Lake Union and the Seattle Center with its famous Space Needle.
After a brief welcome to the Cathedral, your host, Rector Emeritus, Fr. Vadim Pogrebniak who served as Cathedral Dean for 27 years, will present a talk about this historic cathedral’s vibrant life throughout the past 116 years. From St. Spiridon Cathedral, we’ll travel up Seattle’s Capitol Hill to St. Nicholas Cathedral, founded in 1932 by Russians fleeing Communism. After stopping in the Cathedral, we’ll move upstairs to the chapel, once the room of St. John Maximovitch, who offered his holy soul to God here in 1966. A Moleben (Prayer service) will be served in St. John’s chapel. Afterward, you are invited to the church hall where the Cathedral Sisterhood will serve a traditional Russian meal, while singers under the direction of Yelena Kovalsky from St. Spiridon Cathedral will offer a program of Slavic music. $50.00 per person includes transportation, meal & gratuities.
Russian Church elects first Korean bishop
(Orthodox China) - Archimandrite Feofan (Kim) will be the first Korean bishop of the ROC.
On October 6, 2011 the Synod elected him to the See of Tyva.
Hegumen Feofan (in the world - Kim, Alexey Illarionovich) was born January 19, 1976 in Yuzhno[South]-Sakhalinsk. In 1993 he graduated from Vostochny[Eastern] Lyceum in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk. In 1997 he graduated from the South Sakhalin branch of the Moscow Commercial University. In 2000 he graduated from the Smolensk Seminary and in 2010 - the Moscow Theological Academy of the ROC/MP.
From 1995, he served in the choir in the church of St. Innocent of Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, then - at the Resurrection Cathedral in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk.
On August 14, 1997 Bishop Ionafan of Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk and the Kuril he was tonsured a monk, named in honor of St. Feofan [Theophanes] the Confessor, Bishop of Nicea. On August 17, 1997 Bishop Ionafan ordained him a hierodeacon and on 19 August 1997 - a priest. From 1997 to 1998 he was a cleric of Resurrection Cathedral, Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, while acting as choir director of the Cathedral Choir and editor of the diocesan newspaper.
From 1998 to 1999 he served in the Smolensk Cathedral, while studying in the Smolensk Seminary.
From 2000 - he was a cleric of the Abakan and Kyzyl Diocese.
In September 2000, with the blessing of Metropolitan Kirill (Gundyayev) of Smolensk and Kaliningrad, DECR Chairman, he was sent to South Korea to serve as pastor among Russian-speaking citizens residing in the Republic of Korea.
On May 16, 2001 at the request of Metropolitan Kirill he was awarded a pectoral cross.
On June 6, 2006 on the occasion of DECR's 60th anniversary Metropolitan Kirill of Smolensk and Kaliningrad he was elevated to the rank of hegumen.
On May 6, 2006 Feofan was awarded the title of "Honorary Citizen of Seoul."
In April 2011 he was awarded the right a palitza.
On October 7, 2011 he was elected bishop of the newly established Diocese of Tyva Kyzylsk ROC.
Western Rite conference held in New York
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| (Oremus) - From Tuesday, Oct. 4, to Friday, Oct. 7, 2011, the Canonical Western Rites Conference was held in Wappinger Falls, New York, with a number of monastics, clergy, and clergy families in attendance from both the ROCOR Western Rite Vicariate (RWRV) and the Antiochian Western Rite Vicariate (AWRV). |
More conference information available here.
Peaceful Coptic protests met with deadly violence
CAIRO, EGYPT (Catholic Online) - Hundreds of Egyptian Christians marched in protest over a recent attack on a church. Their march began as a peaceful demonstration following the destruction of the Christian church upon orders of a regional governor on October 1.
As the protesters were marching, witnesses say a group of plainclothes counter-protesters assaulted them. Witnesses say pellets were fired at the Christians. It's believed that some of the people may have snatched weapons from soldiers, and turned them on the military. Rocks and bottles were thrown indiscriminately at the protesters.
The resulting violence led to the deaths of 24 people, according to an Egyptian health Ministry official. The military deployed more than 1,000 troops and several armored vehicles along the Nile river where the fighting began. Because protests continued late into the night, the military imposed a curfew until 7 AM local time, in the city of Cairo.
Several military vehicles were set ablaze, as troops fired into the air to disperse the Christians.
Protesters were demanding that the governor of the Aswan province be removed and for their church to be rebuilt. All accounts agree that the demonstration started peacefully with a march and a sit in at the state television building in Cairo. However when the protesters were attacked the situation quickly turned violent.
Sunday, October 9, 2011
The manufacture of religious items in Russia
Many thanks to a kind reader for pointing this video out to me.
A visitation of the Hawaiian myrrh-streaming Iveron icon
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It took hours for the faithful to queue through while being anointed and receiving commemorative cards for the visitation. I was unprepared for the raw emotion of the moment. Many, many people wiped away tears. Some sang with the choir. Many took photos to share with their friends and family. Some visitors took long moments before the icon. Others went up in small familial groups - small children lifted high enough for a kiss, the elderly helped from their wheelchairs or given extra support with their walkers. Some women wore makeshift head-coverings from their jackets or carried barefoot infants and toddler. A few people looked like they walked right off the street having been drawn in by the novelty of all the ringing bells, singing, and full parking spots. Still others shook visibly with emotion.
What was most unexpected was the number of people who went up more than once. It's hard to dismiss the urge to "hurry it up" when the line behind you has overflowed into the narthex. The second time around afforded people the opportunity take more time with the icon and their full, satisfied smiles were heartwarming.
There are still many stops on the visitation trip. I encourage all who are in its path to visit if they can. The schedule is available here.
Friday, October 7, 2011
The Antiochian Archdiocese and Syria
The Antiochian Archdiocese sent some American clergy to get their impressions on the Syria situation. From people who emailed in to me a few of the clergy were given almost no advanced notice of this trip, with at least one priest canceling services at the last minute before catching a flight to the Middle East.
After reading the below and the linked letter from Fr. Patrick Reardon it is up to you to determine if the Syrian government is a cruel, totalitarian autocracy or if Syria is a stable nation ruled by composed, kind-hearted president and this whole thing is an exploitative attempt by the West to destabilize a friend to Syrian Christians.
(antiochian.org) - His Eminence Metropolitan Philip writes:
Brother Hierarchs, Beloved Clergy, Esteemed Members of the Archdiocese Board of Trustees and Faithful Laity of our God-Protected Archdiocese:
Greetings to you and your families in the name of our Lord, God and Savior Jesus Christ!
As you are all aware, there has been a lot of turmoil throughout many of the countries of the Middle East since the beginning of the year. Many of these uprisings coined “the Arab-spring” have resulted in changes of governments in places like Egypt, Tunisia and Libya and unrest in other Gulf and North African nations. Since the spring, this phenomenon has supposedly spread to Syria, the country of the seat of our Patriarch of Antioch and all the East. The reports we receive on an almost daily basis from our Patriarch and various Metropolitans of the See of Antioch, together with our many contacts in Syria do not agree with the reports we see and hear in Western media such as CNN, Fox News, and others. Likewise, many of the gulf sponsored Arabic news channels like Al-Jazeera and Al-Arabiya seem to portray a dire situation in Syria when the reality based on our many contacts there appears to be something quite the contrary.
Because of this contradiction, and because our office has been inundated with letters, emails and phone calls about the situation in Syria, we felt it necessary to send a delegation made up of a group of some of our convert priests, other religious leaders from non-Orthodox communities, and an international lawyer to see first-hand the situation and report back to me and to all of you, the faithful of our God-protected Archdiocese. This is important because of our deep connection and roots as Antiochian Orthodox Christians (either by ancestral roots or by religious roots or both) to the land of Syria. The consequences of the uprisings in Syria for the Christian community, and all minority communities in Syria, are likely to be drastic should the government collapse as the country will slip into chaos and sectarianism. Syria, despite the need for some reforms, has been, and should remain a secular state in which all people can practice their religion freely and openly.
The group spent three days in mid-September making official visits including a 90 minute meeting with President Assad, another meeting and dinner with the Grand Mufti of the Syrian Republic, a third meeting with opposition leaders and finally a meeting with representatives from our Patriarchate. You will see for yourselves in the following article what their impressions were, what they witnessed, and how they found the state of the country.
Praying for the peace from above that only God can bring, I remain,
Your Father in Christ,
+Metropolitan PHILIP
Archbishop of New York and Metropolitan of all North America
Click here to read Fr. Patrick Reardon's Delegation to Syria
Updated information on Antiochian episcopal consecrations
(antiochian.org) - His Beatitude Ignatius IV, Patriarch of Antioch and All the East has confirmed the date and location for the consecration of our three newly-elected Auxiliary Bishops, namely:
The consecrations will take place on Sunday December 11, 2011 at the Patriarchal Monastery of Our Lady of Balamand in Lebanon.
- Bishop-Elect John (Abdalah) – Auxiliary Bishop for Worcester and New England
- Bishop-Elect Anthony (Michaels) – Auxiliary Bishop for Toledo and the Midwest
- Bishop-Elect Nicholas (Ozone) – Auxiliary Bishop for Brooklyn and assisting the Metropolitan in Englewood, NJ
The delegation will meet in Paris, France on Thursday December 8, and will travel together to Lebanon. They will return some time after Tuesday December 13.
We ask all of the faithful to pray for the three Bishops-Elect and the entire delegation as they prepare to participate in this most historic event.
"Temple Theology" to be topic of 2012 Schmemann lecture
(SVOTS) - Margaret Barker, an independent scholar who has developed an approach to Biblical Studies now known as Temple Theology, will be the presenter at the 29th Father Alexander Schmemann Memorial Lecture on Sunday, January 29, 2012, at 4 p.m. The lecture, titled "Our Great High Priest: The Church as the New Temple," is free and open to the public and will be held in the John G. Family Rangos Building on our campus.
From widely scattered surviving fragments, it is possible to reconstruct the world view of the first Christians, and to restore to their original setting such key concepts as the Messiah, divine Sonship, covenant, atonement, resurrection, incarnation, the Second Coming and the Kingdom of God.
Dr. Barker read theology at the University of Cambridge, England, and then went on to pursue her research independently. She has received wide recognition for her fascinating scholarship, based on the premise that early Christian theology matured so quickly because it was a return to a far older faith. Dr. Barker believes that those who preserved the ancient tradition rejected the second temple and longed for the restoration of the original true temple and the faith of Abraham, and of Melchizedek, the first priest-king. In her writings, she refutes the scholarly assumption that crucial Christian concepts such as the Trinity, the earth as a reflection of heaven, and the cosmic structure of the atonement, are informed by Greek culture. Rather, she argues, they are drawn from the eclipsed faith of the first temple. In this vein, Dr. Barker has so far written 15 books, which form a sequence, with later volumes building on her earlier conclusions.
Dr. Barker was elected President of the Society for Old Testament Study in 1998, and edited the Society’s second Monograph Series, published by Ashgate. Since 1997, she has been part of the symposium Religion, Science, and the Environment, convened by His All Holiness Bartholomew I, the Ecumenical Patriarch. This work has led her to develop the practical implications of temple theology as the basis for a Christian environment theology.
In July 2008 she was awarded a D.D. by the Archbishop of Canterbury "in recognition of her work on the Jerusalem Temple and the origins of Christian Liturgy, which has made a significantly new contribution to our understanding of the New Testament and opened up important fields for research."
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