The Holy Myrrhbearers Women's Choir, a documentary

(ROCOR-EAD) - The Myrrhbearers - A Documentary about the Eastern American Diocesan Holy Myrrhbearers Women's Choir. Produced by the Eastern American Diocesan Media Office in honor of the 15th anniversary of the choir's founding.

Russian Church decries surrogacy at Council of Europe

Hegumen Philip (Riabykh)

(Pravoslavie) - April 26, 2012 in Strasbourg, in the spring session of the PA Assembly of the Council of Europe conference "Surrogacy: violation of human rights."

The main point of discussion was the report, "Surrogate Motherhood: a human rights violation", prepared by the European Centre for Law and Justice. The document refers to the violation of women's rights arising from their commercial exploitation, but also due to the difficulty in determining parental rights, because in the process of conception, pregnancy and child-rearing may be involved in up to 6 people (two donor gametes, a surrogate mother, her husband, "legal" parents of the child).

In addition, the document stresses the problem of subsequent self-identification of a child born to a surrogate mother, and his mental health. The report also provides specific human rights violations related to surrogacy.

In discussing the report of the Representative of the Russian Orthodox Church at the Council of Europe in Strasbourg, Abbot Philip (Ryabykh) said that despite the existence of laws that permit "surrogate" motherhood in Russia and Ukraine, the Russian Church does not accept this method of reproduction, as discussed in the Fundamentals its social concepts in the section "Problems of bioethics."

Alternatively, Abbot Philip offered infertile couples turn to women wishing to have an abortion: having adopted children of such women, people not only can have long awaited a child, but also to save his life and will save his mother from the sin of infanticide.

European People's Party faction in the PACE invited the deputies of the inter-parliamentary organizations signed the declaration in which surrogacy is recognized human rights violation and humiliation of human dignity. The signing of this document is open to the summer session of PACE. Declaration has been signed by about a hundred people, the site representative of the Russian Church in Strasbourg .

The relevance of the conference is related to the preparation of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe recommendations on the rights and legal status of children and parental responsibility, which includes provisions to recognize the legitimacy of surrogate motherhood. In addition, currently before the European Court of Human Rights are two claims of French citizens to recognize their parental rights to children born to surrogate mothers in the United States.

The conference was organized by the European Centre for Law and Justice, in collaboration with several European NGOs, and with the support of the European People's Party faction in the PACE.

In the discussion of surrogate motherhood attended Abbot Philip (Ryabykh), a representative of the Russian Orthodox Church at the Council of Europe in Strasbourg, as well as the permanent observer of the Holy See to the Council of Europe, Monsignor Aldo Giordano, and a number of diplomats, MPs and public figures from various European countries.

The main speakers were the head of the European People's Party faction in the PACE Luca Volonte (Italy), a lawyer Jeanne Payot (France) and leader of the center of "Caring for Europe," David Fildsend (Belgium).

The conference provides information on the legal status of surrogacy in various European countries. In the vast majority of the Council of Europe, it is prohibited. Surrogacy is permitted in Armenia, Great Britain, Greece, Georgia, Russia and Ukraine. However, only in the UK surrogate mother after the birth is entitled to keep the child on the basis of the natural connection that arose during pregnancy and childbirth, in all other countries that allow surrogacy, the surrogate mother must give up their parental rights before the baby is born.

Live in Eastern OH or Western PA? Try Family Camp!

MERCER, PA (ACROD) - Camp Nazareth is pleased to offer a new event this year in conjunction with Family Day. The event is called Family Camp and is exactly what it sounds like. Families "camping"together in the Camp cabins and participating in a weekend of services, games, discussions, activities, and challenges that are all designed to help families deepen their relationship with God and with one another.

The theme for the weekend is "Living Like the Holy Family" with presentations and discussions led by Very Rev. Jonathan Tobias for the parents, and Rev. Matthew and Pani Eleni Stagon for the children.

Family Camp is scheduled for Friday, June 8 – Sunday, June 10, 2012.

A variety of activities and events has been planned to allow families the opportunity to learn together, have fun together, pray together and simply be together in the peaceful environment of the Camp.

Families will be staying together, and have to themselves, a Camp cabin; plenty of space to rest and relax and simply be together during and after the weekend's festivities. Please see the section entitled "Packing for Camp" in the Camper/Parent Information Guide on the Camp Website to help you plan what to pack.

Don't miss out on this opportunity for you and your family. Come and help make this an ongoing and rewarding event for our diocesan families.

Space is limited, so it is strongly advised that registration forms be returned ASAP. They are due by Monday, June 4, 2012.

See here for forms and schedule information.

Synod of Greek Archdiocese of America meets

(GOARCH)- NEW YORK – The Holy Eparchial Synod of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America concluded its regularly scheduled spring meetings and issued the following communiqué:

The Holy Eparchial Synod of the Holy Archdiocese of America convened its regular spring meeting on April 25 and 26, 2012 at the Synodal chamber of the Holy Archdiocese in New York, with His Eminence Archbishop Demetrios of America presiding and the participation of all its members.

The day before the official convening of the Synod, April 24, the members of the Synod completed the English translation from the original Greek text of the Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom which will be submitted to the Ecumenical Patriarchate for approval.

The Holy Synod discussed a number of subjects among them the following:

1. Special aspects of pastoral care and administration of the Holy Archdiocese of America related to clergy and laity.
2. Subjects related to the education and training of candidates to the priesthood.
3. The upcoming Clergy-Laity Congress of the Holy Archdiocese of America in Phoenix, Arizona.
4. The continuing effort for assistance to needy individuals and families in Greece, beyond the assistance in the amount of $500,000 offered already to the Archdiocese of Athens, which will be used for specific relief programs.
5. Contribution to programs of pastoral care for patients in hospitals.
6. Issues of inter-Orthodox relations and activities.

Blessing of the unborn child

Last week dear friends of our family lost their baby in delivery. We have added them to the special place in our prayer list for parents who have lost children. Sadly, this list is not a short one.

In a recent article I was reminded that the Catholic Church approved prayers in March to be said for the Blessing of a Child in the Womb (see here). The prayers we have received for our unborn children by the priests we have been blessed to have been spiritual children to are quite fond memories I will keep with me always. I have no idea how widespread the practice is, but every parish we have been parishioners of has made a special effort to pray over the pregnant women of the community at the solea. Below, I post both the new approved Catholic version and an Orthodox version I found at the Saint Gregory Palamas Outreach website (see here).

I would be remiss if I didn't add... If you are a parent that has suffered the loss of your child in the womb, I would like to point you to the Lost Innocents website. It provides support, information, and a prayers for you and for those that wish to pray for you. Please make use of it and tell others about it so that they can be made aware of this important resource.

Orthodox Prayers for Pregnant Mother and Unborn Child

O Sovereign Lord Jesus Christ our God, the Source of life and immortality, I thank Thee, for in my marriage Thou has blest me to be a recipient of Thy blessing and gift; for Thou, O Master, didst say: Be fruitful and multiply and replenish the earth.

I thank Thee and pray: Bless this fruit of my body that was given to me by Thee; favor it and animate it by Thy Holy Spirit, and let it grow a healthy and pure body, with well-formed limbs.

Sanctify its body, mind, heart, and vitals, and grant this infant that is to be born an intelligent soul; establish him in the fear of Thee.

A faithful angel, a guardian of soul and body, do thou vouchsafe him. Protect, keep, strengthen, and shelter the child in my womb until the hour of his birth. But conceal him not in his mother's womb; Thou gavest him life and health.

O Lord Jesus Christ, into Thine almighty and paternal hands do I entrust my child. Place him upon the right hand of Thy grace, and through Thy Holy Spirit sanctify him and renew him unto life everlasting, that he may be a comminucant of Thy Heavenly Kingdom. Amen.

* * *

O All-Merciful Christ our God, look down and protect me, Thy handmaiden, from fear and from evil spirits that seek to destroy the work of Thy hands. And when my hour and time is come, deliver me by Thy grace.

Look with compassionate eye and deliver me, Thy handmaiden, from pain. Lighten mine infirmity in the time of my travail and grant me fortitude and strength for birthgiving, and hasten it by Thine almighty help.

For this is Thy glorious work, the power of Thine omnipotence, the work of Thy grace and tender-heartedness. Amen.

* * *

My most gracious Queen, my hope, O Mother of God, the joy of those in sorrow, help me, for I am helpless.

Intercede thou and pray thy Son, Christ our God, that He lighten for me this season while I am with child, and that He ease the burden of heaviness of me, this unworthy handmaiden, and bestow His blessings upon the child to which I am giving birth.

For I know no other help save thee, no other hope save thee, O Mother of God that will guard and protect me and my child. For by thine intercession and help we send up glory and thanksgiving for all things unto the One God in Trinity, the Creator of all, now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

Catholic Rite for the Blessing of a Child in the Womb

Bulgarian, Russian primates meet

(mospat.ru) - On 27 April 2012, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia met and talked with His Holiness Patriarch Maxim of Bulgaria and with members of the Holy Synod of the Bulgarian Church.

The Doctor Voino-Yasenecky Saint Luka train

(MSNBC) - The Doctor Voino-Yasenecky Saint Luka train serves as a free, mobile consultative and diagnostic medical center that carries medics and medical equipment yearly from the main regional city of Krasnoyarsk, Russia to distant settlements of the Krasnoyarsk and Khakassia regions in Siberia where hospitals and clinics are scarce. The train, named after outstanding Russian surgeon Valentin Voino-Yasenecky, an orthodox bishop and a Gulag prisoner, also has a carriage that operates as a mobile Orthodox church.

(MSNBC) - An Orthodox priest talks to a woman in front of the church carriage of the Doctor Voino-Yasenecky Saint Luka train, a free mobile consultative and diagnostic medical center, on April 27 at a railway station in Zaozyorny, 81 miles east of Russia's Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk.

(MSNBC) - An Orthodox priest baptizes a family at the church aboard the Doctor Voino-Yasenecky Saint Luka train, a free and mobile medical center, at a railway station of the town of Zaozyorny, Russia on April 27. The train also has a carriage that operates as a mobile Orthodox church.

(MSNBC) - An Orthodox priest rings the bells on the church carriage of the Doctor Voino-Yasenecky Saint Luka train on April 27 during a stop in the Siberian town of Zaozyorny.

Bp. Mark and the Diocese of the South: an unhappy situation

The blog Monomakhos has recently highlighted the contentious situation in the OCA's Diocese of the South with the once presumptive new hierarch Bishop Mark (formerly of the Antiochian Archdiocese). I saw first-hand how bad it got before Bp. Mark moved to Florida after the cathedral expressed their rather strong desire that he find somewhere else to take up residence.

So now Monomakhos has released a letter from the Dean of the Dallas Deanery. You can read the letter in its entirety here. An excerpt:

How does forgiveness compel us to make this man an official candidate? By all means, we urge the battered wife to forgive her battering husband, but does that forgiveness require her to move in again with him before she has seen clear evidence of his repentance? Yet this is precisely what is being asked of us in the Dallas Deanery: we are to forgive and accept a man who for ten months offered no apology to the priest in Dallas nor to the faithful of the cathedral for the scandal he caused; we are to forgive and accept a man whom you all heard say recently in Charleston that he found it difficult to ask forgiveness because he sees himself as the victim, not as one who as offended. Before you rush to believe his account of being set up and victimized, please do due diligence and speak with those who suffered because of his actions. It is not enough to tell the people in Dallas just to ‘get over it’ when you do not really know what this ‘it’ is. How is the apology this man wrote to the cathedral (after being prompted) at the start of the Great Fast, which did not apologize for any specific sins or errors, constitute an apology, repentance, or the basis for forgiveness? Such an apology that apologizes for nothing specific is worse than no apology —and it went over in Dallas, I can tell you, like another slap in the face. Yes, we must and do offer forgiveness to this man and pray for him, whether he is able to name his sins and ask forgiveness or not, but that does not require us to put him on our ballot. Indeed, his refusal or inability to admit to any specific mistakes provides a strong reason for excluding him from it...

Assembly of Bishops issues Pastoral Practice update

Of the numerous hopes I held out for the "Chambésy process," the work of this committee was quite high on my list. There is such variety from jurisdiction to jurisdiction that in the same city the experience of Chrismation, Marriage, and Divorce among other practices can be completely different. So if you want to become Orthodox and the priest you talked to wants you to wait "too long" you can simply go down the street and get received earlier. If one priest won't process your declarations of nullity so you can get married for a third time, just drive to the other side of town and put up with having the service in an uglier building. In short, right now you can shop for the experience you want to have. It makes the rules that govern life of the Church look arbitrary and capricious. It makes the Church look less than One and is a lamentable reality of the current jurisdictionalism.

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(AOB) - Committee for Pastoral Practice 2011 Annual Report

Committee Members and Consultants

Members: Archbishop Joseph (Chairman), Bishop Theodosy, Bishop Mark

Consultants: Fr. Ian G. Pac-Urar, Fr. Timothy Baclig, Fr. Ion Gherman, Dr. Stephen Muse

Secretariat Liaison: Constantin Ursache

Objective of the Committee

The Committee for Pastoral Practice is responsible for i) identifying the differences and inconsistencies among the various jurisdictions in their exercise of sacramental and pastoral praxis and ii) for establishing a protocol to address these inconsistencies and propose models for resolution consistent with canonical practice.

Meetings

The Committee for Pastoral Practice held three meetings in 2011:

The Committee first met by conference call on July 15. The Terms of Reference given by the Assembly of Bishops were reviewed, and the Committee formally structured. The Committee noted that several of the identified fields imply future collaboration with other Committees of the Assembly of Bishops.

The Committee met again in Los Angeles on September 24 as guests of Archbishop Joseph and St. Nicholas Cathedral. Methods and procedures for data collection were determined and a tentative timeline was established. Additional consultants were identified for each of the areas of pastoral practice, to be called upon as data collection and analysis progresses.

On October 26, 2011, Frs. Ian Pac-Urar and Timothy Baclig led a webinar for seventeen new, practice area consultants. The Terms of Reference were discussed, initial goals were established, and data gathering and analysis procedures were explained. The webinar was recorded and archived online for reference by Committee members and consultants. Additionally, official policy documents are archived online as they are received from each jurisdiction.

Tasks

The tasks of the Committee for Pastoral Practice are given in the Terms of Reference (see http://www.assemblyofbishops.org/committees/pastoral). These tasks have been organized by the Committee into three phases.

Phase I (completed 2011):

1. Identify the sacramental and pastoral practices (e.g., marriage and divorce, reception of converts, etc.) in current usage among all the jurisdictions represented in the Assembly
   
   1. Identify the fields of pastoral practice to be surveyed (Completed 2011)

Ten fields of Pastoral Practice have been identified: Baptism/Chrismation/Conversion; Marriage; Confession/Communion; Holy Unction/Anointing; Funerals; Hospital Chaplaincy/Visitation of the Sick; Divorce among Clergy and Laity; Pastoral Aspects of Clergy Misconduct; Pastoral Aspects of Clergy Release and Transfer; Reception of Roman Catholic Clergy.

1. Request the official procedures for each of these practices from each jurisdiction (Completed 2011)

Analysis of the documents received to date reveals that many jurisdictions have no centrally articulated, official, written policies for certain fields of pastoral practice. As the Committee continues its work, surveys and interviews will be used to fill the gaps in the data set.

Phase II (in progress 2012):

1. Establish a matrix of practices that allows for a clear comparison and a protocol to address inconsistencies (In progress, 2012)

As data are collected from each jurisdiction and in each field of practice, a matrix for that field is being developed. The result will be a set of tables clearly identifying the elements of each practice and identifying the commonalities and variations across jurisdictions for each practice.

1. Catalogue the differences and inconsistencies that exist and determine whether such differences are local (parish or diocese only) or the policy of the jurisdiction (In progress, 2012)
   
   1. Survey each jurisdiction/presence in the Assembly as to the variations that may or may not exist in regard to official policy
   2. Collect anecdotal information on the variations

In the interest of obtaining a generalized view of the pastoral practices across jurisdictions, the Committee has focused first on jurisdictional policies. The result will be a catalog of commonalities and variations between jurisdictions, as reflected in official policies, surveys and interview data. Deeper investigation into variation and degrees of compliance within a jurisdiction is a delicate matter requiring sophistication, sensitivity and trust. Read: No outing a jurisdiction for having parishes that aren't following the rules. As jurisdictions and their relevant personalities become familiar with the research process it may become more practical to collect the appropriate data.

Phase III (projected 2013):

1. Propose models for resolution that are consistent with canonical practice. (Anticipated, 2013)
   
   1. Determine and evaluate theological and ecclesiological ramifications for the variances
   2. Strategize on possible models for resolution

Models for resolution will vary with the particular conditions and requirements of each field of pastoral practice. The Committee anticipates a series of conferences beginning in 2013, bringing together canonists, pastoral theologians, and administrators from each jurisdiction. The data collected and analyzed in Phases I and II will inform the conferences and provide starting points for their work. Theological and ecclesiological ramifications will be thoroughly examined in a reflective and rigorous setting. Resolution will be achieved by the consensus of relevant persons from the jurisdictions, rather than by decision of the Committee.

Conclusion

The task of identifying and cataloging the pastoral practices of the sixty-odd dioceses in the eleven jurisdictions of the Assembly of Bishops is gargantuan. We are grateful to the members of the Committee, Bishops Theodosy and Mark, and to the consultants for their efforts. We are especially thankful for the goodwill and co-operation shown by the many jurisdictional hierarchs and administrators in providing the relevant data to the Committee as we work and pray for the future unity of all Orthodox Christians in America, in faith and in practice.

In Christ Our Lord,

Archbishop Joseph, Chairman

The Committee for Pastoral Practice

Bishop who threw Stalin out of seminary glorified

(mospat.ru) - On St. Thomas Sunday, April 22, His Beatitude Metropolitan Vladimir of Kiev and All Ukraine officiated at the Divine Liturgy celebrated in the Church of Ss Anthony and Theodosius at the Dormition Laura of the Caves in Kiev.

Concelebrating with His Beatitude were Metropolitan Pavel of Vyshgorod and Chernobyl, abbot of the Laura; Archbishop Antoniy of Borispol, head of the Department for External Church Relations of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church and Rector of the Kievan Theological Schools; Archbishop Alexander of Pereyaslav-Khmelnitsky and Vishnevoye, secretary of the Primate of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church; Bishops Nikodim of Zhitomir and Novograd-Volynskiy, Ilariy of Makarov, Panteleimon of Vasilkov, and ordained monks of the Laura.

At the Little Entrance, His Beatitude Metropolitan Vladimir elevated Bishop Nikodim of Zhitomir and Novograd-Volynskiy to the rank of archbishop.

The office of canonization of Schema-Archbishop Anthony (Abashidze; +1942) as a locally venerated saint was performed during the divine service. Archbishop Alexander read out the decision of the Holy Synod of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of 14 June 2011 (minutes 21) to enter the name of Schema-Archbishop Anthony into church calendar. Archbishop Antoniy of Borispol told all those present about the life of the saint. His icon was brought to the middle of the church, and His Beatitude, archpastors, clergymen and laymen venerated the relics of the newly canonized saint, website of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church reports.

***

Schema-Archbishop Anthony (secular name David Iliych Abashidze) was born in Georgia in 1847. He graduated with distinction from the Law Department of the Novorossiysk Imperial University in Odessa in 1891 and that same year entered the theological academy. He was tonsured with the name of Dimitry at the age of twenty-four. In 1897 he was appointed inspector of the Kutaisi theological seminary, and in 1898 – inspector of the Tbilisi theological seminary. It was he who expelled Joseph Dzhugashvili, better known as Stalin, from the seminary. Bishop Dimitry was appointed Bishop of Tauris and Simferopol in 1912. When he was in Moscow for the Local Council of 1917-18, he would walk along the streets with his first-aid kit and give help to those wounded in the battle for Moscow. Bishop Dimitry was arrested and exiled from the Crimea in 1923 and settled in the Kitayevsky Hermitage which belonged to the Laura of the Caves in Kiev and was located some nine kilometers from it. He made a vow of silence and took the Great Schema with the name of Anthony. He was revered as a great ascetic, a man of prayer and clairvoyant elder. Orthodox Christians from Russia, Ukraine, Belarussia and Georgia came to him for advice. He died in 1942 and was buried behind the sanctuary wall of the Church of the Elevation of the Cross at the entrance to the Near Caves.

Russian Church: Capitalism now. What for the future?

Moscow (AsiaNews) - As with the Soviet Union, Russia may soon provide the world an alternative to capitalism, now clearly in crisis, according to the leaders of the Russian Orthodox Church, Archpriest Vsevolod Chaplin, head of Department for relations between the Church and society in the patriarchate of Moscow. "During the Soviet Union many good things have been done - he said in a meeting with university students - the heroic feat of Russia in the Second World War, the outstanding results in science and technology and a social model based on the idea of social justice, and that has had a major success worldwide, should be included among our unquestionable results. "

According to the religious, the state of the time collapsed because based on an atheist ideology, "but the idea of a society where money, profit, and private economic interests do not dominate was very important," he added.

Chaplin explained that the end of the USSR has not buried the search for an alternative to capitalism in a form of society, that does not see profit as the locomotive of progress. Recalling that economists, politicians and intellectuals agree on the crisis of capitalism, the cleric has not ruled out that Russia, "with its strong instinct toward justice, is designed to offer the world its recipe for a social order in which money and selfish personal gain are not be the primary goal."

The nostalgia for Soviet times seen as a period in which society had developed a strong sense of solidarity and high human and moral values in the midst of enormous economic and political difficulties are very common in a certain segment of the population in Russia, which sees as a decay in today's race for wellbeing and mass consumerism.

Armenians mark Genocide Remembrance Day

(ACCC) - Armenians in Jerusalem and around the world marked Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day on Tuesday with ceremonies commemorating Armenians in Turkey who were killed between 1915 and 1923.

A remembrance service was held in the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem in the capital’s Old City on Monday night, and a requiem service and holy mass were conducted in the St. James Cathedral of the Armenian Church on Sunday morning, also in the Old City.

Armenians say that approximately 1.5 million Armenian people living in the eastern Ottoman Empire died during a series of massacres, killings and death marches into the Syrian Desert, perpetrated by the Young Turk regime of the Ottoman Empire.

Modern Turkish governments have however vehemently denied that the killings constituted a genocide and claim that the numbers of Armenians killed were much lower.

On Monday evening, ahead of the commemoration services, Archbishop Aris Shirvanian of the Armenian Patriarchate addressed members of the Yedidya Synagogue in Jerusalem to speak about the events surrounding the genocide and its repercussions on the Armenian people.

“All Armenians stand together and claim justice and reparations,” he told The Jerusalem Post. The Armenian people and the descendants of those killed have pursued recognition of the genocide since 1965, he said.

“Until then, the generation of the survivors who had suffered as children and seen with their own eyes the killings and kidnappings, starvation and tortures were in a period of mourning, but the new generation has sought justice for what was done to the Armenian people during this great crime, the first genocide of the twentieth century.”

Israel has not recognized the killings as genocide, largely due to concerns about possible damage such a move could cause regarding its diplomatic relations with Turkey.

Read more »

Proposed KS law would require hosting same-sex weddings

Topeka, KS, Apr 25, 2012 (CNA) - A proposed ordinance in Hutchinson, Kansas could force individuals and institutions – including Catholic churches – to host and participate in events that violate Church teachings on sexuality.

“As far as individuals go, there doesn't seem to be any likelihood that there will be a protection or an exemption for them,” said Kansas Catholic Conference Executive Director Michael Schuttloffel, addressing a proposal to outlaw discrimination based on sexual orientation in the city of Hutchinson.

“As far as religious institutions, that will depend entirely on what sort of exemption – if any – is put in place (by the city council) … If there is none, then you could conceivably have a Catholic church that is forced to host a ceremony that violates Catholic beliefs.”

Schuttloffel spoke to CNA on April 24, as members of Hutchinson's Human Relations Commission prepared for a meeting the following day to finalize their “Proposed Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Protections.”

The proposal will be submitted to the Hutchinson City Council, which will make a decision on May 15 about adding the categories to the list of “protected classes” – along with categories like race, sex, and disability – in the city code.

Human Relations Commission spokesperson Meryl Dye told Fox News that parts of the proposed rule would apply to churches, which she said “would not be able to discriminate against gay and lesbian or transgender individuals.”

Dye confirmed that the “type of protection” proposed for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender individuals “parallels to what you find in race discrimination. If a church provides lodging or rents a facility they could not discriminate based on race. It’s along that kind of thinking.”

In his remarks to CNA, Schuttloffel noted that the proposal is still “early in the process” of rule-making, and its outcome is not yet clear.

Read more »

Join the Young Adult Monastery Pilgrimage!

All the important information can be found on the Young Adult Monastery Pilgrimage Facebook page.

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(FB) - Let's get together for a fun, enriching, and spiritually beneficial road trip/pilgrimage from Northeast PA to Upstate NY! We're trying to get a sense of numbers, and of how many people may be interested.

As a pilgrimage, there will be important and heartfelt conversations with spiritual mentors, quiet moments of prayer, and peaceful contemplation at 4 beautiful American monasteries. As a service trip, there will be a lot of hard work to help out at the monasteries we will visit. And like any good summer road trip, there will be fun times on the road, frisbee and soccer wherever there is grass, and bonfires and music during the cool summer nights.

Itinerary:

Saturday, May 26
Arrival at St. Tikhon’s Monastery
Tour of Monastery
Clean-up Projects

Sunday, May 27
Liturgy at St. John the Baptist in Mayfield
Combined Youth Hike from Mayfield to St. Tikhon's! (~3 hours)

Monday, May 28
Combined Youth/Seminary Choirs sing Divine Liturgy
Clean up afternoon/evening
Vespers

Tuesday, May 29
Head out on road!
Arrival at Holy Protection Monastery, settle in
Tour of Monastery/Help Monastery with Clean-up
Lunch
Continue Projects in afternoon
Free Time
Vespers/Dinner

Wednesday, May 30
Early Services/Breakfast
Continue working on projects
Lunch/Discussion with Abbess
Projects in afternoon
Vespers
Head out on Road to St. Nektarios Monastery

Thursday, May 31
Early Services
Breakfast/Tour of Monastery
Start clean-up projects
Lunch/Discussion with Abbot
Continue projects in afternoon
Soccer game
Vespers
Bonfire

Friday, June 1
Early Services
Wrap up projects in morning
Head out on road toward Jordanville
Lunch/Discussion in Jordanville
Tour of Monastery
Begin clean-up projects in afternoon
Soccer/Bonfire at Otsego Lake

Saturday, June 2
Early services
Breakfast
Clean-up projects
Lunch/Discussion with Fr. Cyprian
Free Time
Confession/Preparation for Communion
All-Night Vigil

Sunday, June 3
Divine Liturgy
Pentecost Vespers
Feast-day Trapeza
Final Group Discussion and Picture
Farewells until Next Year!

Day of prayer in Moscow draws tens of thousands

(Reuters) - The head of the Russian Orthodox Church warned tens of thousands of believers on Sunday they were "under attack by persecutors" on a nationwide day of prayer intended to heal divisions over a protest at the altar by a women's punk band.

At least 40,000 (police reports said 65,000) people came to hear Patriarch Kirill lead them in prayer at Christ the Saviour Cathedral in Moscow, where Pussy Riot performed a "punk prayer" on February 21 deriding the Church's close relationship with President-elect Vladimir Putin.

The incident, and the arrest of three band members who face up to seven years in jail for their performance, has ignited a debate about the Church's role in politics and left Kirill open to criticism from inside and outside the Church.

"We are under attack by persecutors," said the Patriarch, his bass voice booming out through speakers from an outdoor stage where he stood under the cathedral's steep white walls and golden domes, flanked by red- and gold-robed priests.

"The danger is in the very fact that blasphemy, derision of the sacred is put forth as a lawful expression of human freedom which must be protected in a modern society."

Kirill depicts Christ the Saviour as a symbol of the resurgence of the Orthodox Church since the end of atheist Soviet rule in 1991. It was rebuilt in the 1990s after being razed in the Soviet era and converted into a swimming pool.

But Kirill, who has steered the Church towards a more active role in politics, has faced criticism over his overt support for Putin, a former KGB spy whose 12-year rule has been described by the patriarch as a "miracle of God".

The Orthodox Church has described Pussy Riot's protest as the first in a series of anti-clerical acts of vandalism.

"This series of acts of vandalism ... it's because the Church now backs the state very strongly and this wave is mostly against the current authorities," said Anastasia Pavlukhova, 20, a theology student, who made the 1,350 km (840 mile) journey to the event from the southern city of Pyatigorsk by bus with her parish.

Read more »

Kronstadt Naval Cathedral consecrated

It's simply amazing looking. More photos here. News article explaining the consecration here. Both in Russian.

Sunday of St. Thomas the Apostle

Thomas touched Your life-giving side with an eager hand, O Christ God,
When You did come to Your apostles through closed doors.
He cried out with all: You are my Lord and my God!

- Kontakion, Tone 8

Greek financial woes taking toll on Church

ATHENS (National Post) – Close links between the Greek state and the Orthodox Church are turning from a blessing for the clergy into a curse as the debt-laden government struggles to fund the ancient institution, just as impoverished Greeks need its charitable work most.

Starved of money as the state makes huge spending cuts, the deeply conservative church which grew from one of the earliest centres of Christianity is seeking new sources of funds.

But despite a new spirit of enterprise, such as at one monastery which wants to build a solar energy farm, numbers of priests are dwindling, those that remain are suffering pay cuts, and the church is fighting to keep soup kitchens open as unemployment soars and poverty deepens.

“The tills are empty and the system is collapsing,” said Ignatios Stavropoulos, a modernizing priest who has his own page on LinkedIn, a social website for professionals.

Under a 60-year-old treaty, the state agreed to pay priests’ salaries in exchange for large amount of church property, including land. But this means more than 10,000 priests are now on the government payroll, putting a 190 million euro (US$250-million) annual burden on the country’s overstretched budget.

Under the terms of an international bailout that saved Greece from bankruptcy, the government is cutting pay which for a typical parish priest is about 1,000 euros a month. Athens will also fund only one new priest to replace every 10 who retire or die, causing shortages in remote parishes during a deep recession when the flock most needs help.

In the cities, the church has stripped operations to the bone to save money for the soup kitchens and charities it runs for the growing army of the homeless and the unemployed.

Unlike in some European nations to the north where the influence of religion is dwindling, the church plays a leading role in the life of the Greece.

Long-bearded priests, dressed in flowing black robes, are a common sight on the country’s streets and the Orthodox faith is recognized by the constitution as the official religion. When a new government was sworn in last year, the Archbishop of Athens blessed the prime minister and cabinet in a colourful ceremony...

Complete article here.

Stop the presses: NASCAR drivers and fans are religious

Schismatic group to found monastery in Pittsburgh area

(Trib LIVE) - A commercial building in West Mifflin could soon become a monastery.

This month, the West Mifflin zoning board approved Niagara Falls, N.Y.-based Holy Cross Orthodox Monastery's application to put a monastery in a building at 5055 Buttermilk Hollow Road, which is in a residentially zoned area.

Holy Cross plans to buy the property from First National Bank of Pennsylvania. It would contain living quarters for three to five monks, a small chapel and a gift shop, according to the application it filed with the borough.

"We intend to do spiritual counseling, also reach out to the people who don't have anybody," said the Rev. Nicholas Iuhos, who declined to disclose specifics about Holy Cross' plans. He said nothing has been finalized.

Holy Cross does not need any more borough documentation or approvals, other than a certificate of occupancy when it is ready to move in, said Walter "Butch" Anthony, West Mifflin's community development director.

The building's current tenants -- a real estate firm, a law office and a provider of in-home services for senior citizens -- will relocate, said Mary Bell, owner-broker of Kaybrook Real Estate, which will move one building over in May.

Hermitage-based First National foreclosed on the property in 2010.

Howard Hanna Real Estate Services' website lists the property's sale price as $185,000. The real estate agent representing First National declined to comment. First National would only confirm that the property is still listed and that it was obtained through a foreclosure.

The 59-year-old building contains 6,089 square feet, and the land and structure -- on two parcels -- are assessed at $240,400, according to the Allegheny County Assessor's Office.

Life-Giving Spring of the Theotokos

(OrthodoxWiki) - The Life-Giving Spring or Life-Giving Font of the Mother of God (Greek: Ζωοδόχος Πηγή; Russian: Живоносный Источник) is a feast day in the Orthodox Church that is associated with a historic church just west of Constantinople in Valoukli, as well as an icon of the Theotokos.

The feast day of the Life-Giving Spring is commemorated on Bright Friday of each year (the Friday following Pascha), being the only feast day which may be celebrated during Bright Week.

As a life-giving fount,
thou didst conceive the Dew that is transcendent in essence,
O Virgin Maid,
and thou hast welled forth for our sakes the nectar of joy eternal,
which doth pour forth from thy fount with the water that springeth up
unto everlasting life in unending and mighty streams;
wherein, taking delight, we all cry out:
Rejoice, O thou Spring of life for all men.

Thousands of priests to converge on Moscow for prayer

(RIA Novosti) - Thousands of priests are expected to arrive in Moscow on Sunday for a nationwide prayer in defense of the faith and desecrated sacred objects, Russian Orthodox Church spokesman Vladimir Legoida said.

Legoida, who heads the Moscow Patriarchate's Synodal Information Department, said the Church has been discussing ways to better organize the mass arrival with the Russian capital’s authorities, according to the Ekho Moskvy radio.

After a liturgy in downtown Moscow’s Christ the Savior Cathedral, bishops and priests led by Patriarch Kirill, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, will pray in front of sacred objects outside of the cathedral, including ones that were recently desecrated by vandals: a cross from a church in the southern Stavropol Territory and an icon from the northwest Vologda Region, which were damaged by a knife and an ax accordingly.

The prayer will start at 1400 Moscow Time (1000 GMT). Everyone will be able to attend the event that will also be shown on wide screens mounted in front of the church.

Separate prayers will be held in front of other Russian cathedrals.

Vandalism and church desecration cases have become more frequent in Russia after a female punk group performed what it called “a punk prayer” in February next to the Christ the Savior Cathedral’s main altar, which is off-limits to all but priests. Five group members, clad in balaclavas, chanted a song entitled “Holy Sh*t” against Prime Minister Vladimir Putin that also contained words insulting to Patriarch Kirill.

Priests and believers will also pray that those who desecrated sacred objects in a series of recent blasphemous actions across Russia change their ways, and for good reputation of the Church.

The Church has been involved in a number of high-profile scandals recently. Top Church officials have been criticized by bloggers and opposition media for their “lavish” lifestyles.

Beekeeping at St Thekla Monastery

This looks so fun. Maybe the family will drive by this weekend to take a look at the new apiary. Below, Mother Alexandra taking ownership of some new bees (note the post office in the background) and then later removing the queen cage.

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Christ is Risen!

Fr. Michael Fulton celebrating the Liturgy in Boston, MA. (Photo credit: Cody Chasen Burkett)

From Pithless Thoughts: The Paschal Greeting Geek-o-Meter

H/T: Pithless Thoughts

Hu'ta' QISt! Hu'bejta'! taHbej peplu'ta'!

Orthodox unity - past, present, and possible future

Compared to other media attempts to cover Orthodox in America, this is an effulgent beacon of cogency and comprehensiveness. Do take the time to read this article if only to have an idea of what the standard for reporting on Orthodoxy should be. This might spoil you the next time you read a fumbling, vanilla article on the Faith, but I think GotReligion would approve.

Update (04/29/2012): I was right.

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(Post Gazette) - As Orthodox Christians celebrate Easter today, they have resurrected a movement toward unity in America, where they are divided into a hodgepodge of overlapping ethnic jurisdictions. On orders from patriarchs in Constantinople, Russia, Serbia and elsewhere, all Orthodox bishops in this country are working on a plan for one American Church.

The patriarchs say they want to approve such a plan at a yet-unscheduled Great and Holy Council of global Orthodoxy. The last such council was in A.D. 787. In 2010, 66 American bishops formed the Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of North and Central America, to devise the plan.

"This has great potential," said Bishop Melchisedek of the Diocese of Pittsburgh and Western Pennsylvania in the Orthodox Church in America, which is self-governing but has Russian roots. He cited existing differences on matters such as divorce or re-baptism of converts.

"The canon law of the church allows for only one bishop of a city, but here in Pittsburgh we have four. It's a situation that can create unnecessary conflict. Now we have the potential for the church to speak with one voice."

Skeptics say unity can be achieved immediately if the bishops really want it and that details could be worked out later.

The bishops assembly "is a façade," said Cal Oren, a layman from Baltimore.

"They want us to believe that they are working together and are really unified. If they are really unified, where is the real unity? Why do we have nine bishops of New York? We don't need more joint commissions on youth work. That just creates an excuse for never really unifying."

Orthodoxy is the Eastern wing of a Christian church that split into the Catholic and Orthodox churches in 1054. Its spiritual leader, the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople in modern-day Turkey, is first among equals. He has no authority to tell any other patriarch what to do.

This system of governance that they trace to New Testament times broke down in the New World. Immigrants started churches and then sought priests from the Old Country, giving rise to multiple, overlapping jurisdictions. The Russian Orthodox Church sent a bishop to serve all ethnic groups, but that ended after the communist Revolution of 1917.

In 1970 the Moscow Patriarchate set free its daughter diocese in the United States to become the Orthodox Church in America. But that wasn't recognized by the other patriarchs, who still govern dioceses here. There are now 13 Orthodox jurisdictions in North America, with 800,000 members. The Pittsburgh region is a stronghold, with perhaps 25,000 adherents.

In 1994, when all of the Orthodox bishops in the Americas gathered near Ligonier and called for unity, the ecumenical patriarch accused them of rebellion.

"When we started this work 20 years ago it was anathema to talk about the possibility of administrative unity. Now we're not only talking about it, but hopefully the hierarchs will be looking at what is necessary to accomplish it," said Charles Ajalat, a retired lawyer from Southern California, chairman of the pan-Orthodox social service agency FOCUS.

Read more »

Metropolitan Jonah's Paschal greetings

Pascha at Christ the Saviour Cathedral in Moscow

In keeping with annual tradition... with lemon!

St. Epiphanius of Cyprus on Christ's descent into Hades

H/T: Logismoi. This is a favorite homily of mine on Christ's actions during Holy Saturday; I used it in Homiletics class for a homily of as yet ungraded success. Take a few minutes to read it. I plan to read it to the family tonight.

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Something strange is happening—there is a great silence on earth today, a great silence and stillness. The whole earth keeps silence because the King is asleep. The earth trembled and is still because God has fallen asleep in the flesh and he has raised up all who have slept ever since the world began. God has died in the flesh and Hell trembles with fear. He has gone to search for our first parent, as for a lost sheep. Greatly desiring to visit those who live in darkness and in the shadow of death, he has gone to free from sorrow the captives Adam and Eve, He who is both God and the Son of Eve. The Lord approached them bearing the Cross, the weapon that had won him the victory. At the sight of him Adam, the first man he had created, struck his breast in terror and cried out to everyone, ‘My Lord be with you all.’ Christ answered him: ‘And with your spirit.’ He took him by the hand and raised him up, saying: ‘Awake, O sleeper, and rise from the dead, and Christ will give you light.

‘I am your God, who for your sake have become your son. Out of love for you and your descendants I now by my own authority command all who are held in bondage to come forth, all who are in darkness to be enlightened, all who are sleeping to arise. I order you, O sleeper, to awake. I did not create you to be held a prisoner in Hell. Rise from the dead, for I am the life of the dead. Rise up, work of my hands, you who were created in my image. Rise, let us leave this place, for you are in Me and I in you; together we form one person and cannot be separated.

‘For your sake I, your God, became your son; I, the Lord, took the form of a slave; I, Whose home is above the heavens, descended to the earth and beneath the earth. For your sake, for the sake of man, I became like a man without help, free among the dead. For the sake of you, who left a garden, I was betrayed to the Jews in a garden, and I was crucified in a garden.

‘See on My Face the spittle I received in order to restore to you the life I once breathed into you. See there the marks of the blows I received in order to refashion your warped nature in my image. On My back see the marks of the scourging I endured to remove the burden of sin that weighs upon your back. See My hands, nailed firmly to a tree, for you who once wickedly stretched out your hand to a tree.

‘I slept on the Cross and a sword pierced My side for you who slept in Paradise and brought forth Eve from your side. My side has healed the pain in yours. My sleep will rouse you from your sleep in Hell. The sword that pierced Me has sheathed the sword that was turned against you.

‘Rise, let us leave this place. The enemy led you out of the earthly Paradise. I will not restore you to that Paradise, but will enthrone you in heaven. I forbade you the tree that was only a symbol of life, but see, I who am life itself am now one with you. I appointed cherubim to guard you as slaves are guarded, but now I make them worship you as God. The throne formed by cherubim awaits you, its bearers swift and eager. The Bridal Chamber is adorned, the banquet is ready, the eternal dwelling places are prepared, the treasure houses of all good things lie open. The Kingdom of Heaven has been prepared for you from all eternity.’

Abp. Justinian led reading of the 12 Passion Gospels

(ROC-USA) - On the evening of April 12th Administrator of the Patriarchal Parishes in the United States, Archbishop Justinian celebrated Great Friday Matins with the reading of the 12 Holy Passion Gospels our Lord Jesus Christ at St. Nicholas Cathedral in New York, assisted by cathedral clergy.

Confronting the new iconoclasm of the mass-produced

(Hexaemeron) - Perhaps it was inevitable. The technology has been in place for decades. It was only a matter of time before the sacred art of the icon became an inexpensive do-it-yourself room makeover. For those of us who support sacred arts through training iconographers and encouraging high quality work crafted from noble materials for our churches and homes, the creation and dissemination of icon wallpaper is a cause for mourning.

We recently received an advert email for “Priests and Wardens” that touted the benefits of a process for manufacturing “images that go on your church walls like wallpaper. MUCH cheaper than real frescoes!”

We were even warned “there is an ‘imposter’ out there using cheaper materials, so be careful!”

Imagine, an “imposter” of the “MUCH cheaper than real.” Really?

There is a story told about Henry Ford that comes to mind. You remember the businessman from Detroit who made it affordable for just about everyone to own an automobile. After the inventor of assembly-line production amassed so much wealth he didn’t know what to do with it, his financial advisors suggested he invest in fine art. But the acquisitive Ford was taken aback by the sticker price on the art pieces brought before him. So, he ordered photographs to be taken of the art and the paper copies placed in fancy frames to hang throughout his mansion[s]. The idea caught on and the art reproduction business was launched. Once again Ford had succeeded in finding a way to make something of value accessible to the masses. Now, everyone can own a Rembrandt that is “MUCH cheaper than real” because it isn’t.

Ford’s ingenuity worked well for auto assembly and we are thankful for it, but aping his thrift in artificial art production (whether high-end imposter or low) is a tragedy for iconography. Ironically, no one has ever argued that the artificial imitation of fine art works is real. That argument seems to be reserved for the sacred rather than the secular...

Complete article here.

Washing of the feet in Jerusalem

Rite of Holy Unction at Holy Cross Monastery

Sanctification of the Holy Myrrh in Constantinople

The icons of Holy Week

During Holy Week the Church remembers the final days of the Savior’s earthly life—His deeds and talks with His disciples, the institution of the Mystery of the Eucharist, Judas’s betrayal, the Lord’s captivity, His sufferings and humiliation, crucifixion, death, and burial. Pravoslavie has a collage of icons from Holy Week with descriptions attached (see here).

The Praises from Bridegroom Matins (Wednesday)

I quite enjoyed singing these today. I thought you might enjoy reading them as well. I wish someone would do a children's book based on the hymnody of Matins and Vespers. There is so much to learn from them and it is so approachable that they would almost certainly get something out of it. The use of parallels, quite important and pervasive in the Psalter is also integral to St. Romanos the Melodist's hymns, helps paint pictures with striking contrasts that young and old can understand. In addition, the imagery comes from different angles so that if one musical picture drawn doesn't make sense, another hopefully will. Someone, please take this on as a labor of love. Enjoy.

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The Praises

v. Praise Him for His mighty deeds; praise Him according to His exceeding
greatness! (Ps 150:2)

A harlot recognized You as God, O Son of the Virgin.
With tears equal to her past deeds, she besought You, weeping:
“Loose my debt, as I have loosed my hair!
Love the woman who, though justly hated, loves You!
Then with the publicans will I proclaim You,//
O Benefactor, Who love mankind.”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

I See Your Bridal Chamber

"I See Your Bridal Chamber," an exapostilarion sung during Holy Week Matins.

I see your bridal chamber completely engulfed with light, O my Savior,

and I do not have a wedding garment to enter and enjoy your brightness;

fill the garment of my soul with light and save me, O Lord.

Sanctification of Holy Myron at the Phanar

Hymn of Kassiani

Previously posted about here.

Troparion of Kassiani

Sensing Thy divinity, O Lord,
a woman of many sins,
takes it upon herself
to become a myrrh-bearer
and in deep mourning
brings before Thee fragrant oil
in anticipation of Thy burial; crying:
"Woe to me! What night falls on me,
what dark and moonless madness
of wild-desire, this lust for sin.
Take my spring of tears
Thou Who drawest water from the clouds,
bend to me, to the sighing of my heart,
Thou who bendedst down the heavens
in Thy secret Incarnation,
I will wash Thine immaculate feet with kisses
and wipe them dry with the locks of my hair;
those very feet whose sound Eve heard
at the dusk in Paradise and hid herself in terror.
Who shall count the multitude of my sins
or the depth of Thy judgment,
O Saviour of my soul?
Do not ignore thy handmaiden,
O Thou whose mercy is endless".

OCA begins process in consecrating Holy Chrism

(OCA) - His Beatitude, Metropolitan Jonah celebrated the preparatory rites for the Consecration of Holy Chrism on the morning of Great and Holy Monday, April 9, 2012, at Saint Tikhon of Zadonsk Monastery. The Rite will conclude with the actual consecration of the sacred oil during the Vesperal Liturgy of Saint Basil the Great on Great and Holy Thursday, April 12.

The blessing of the ingredients took place before the celebration of the Hours and the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts.

The consecration of Holy Chrism is reserved to autocephalous churches. Parishes receive Holy Chrism for local use from the Primate of their respective autocephalous Church. As such, the distribution of Holy Chrism to parish communities offers a visible sign of unity within the Church.

“By God’s all-accomplishing grace and strength, and with the consensus of my brother Hierarchs, I intend to consecrate Holy Chrism at the Divine Liturgy of Saint Basil the Great on Great and Holy Thursday at the Holy Monastery of Saint Tikhon of Zadonsk,” Metropolitan Jonah wrote in an Archpastoral Letter issued Great and Holy Monday. “This will be the first occasion that I have celebrated this fearful Mystery since I was installed as Primate of the Orthodox Church in America. Yet the office of Primate, and the Episcopate as a whole, exist not for their own sake, but as the visible revelation and instrument of the unity of the entire People of God. The honor of consecrating this Chrism, through which in coming years multitudes of people will be marked with the seal of the Holy Spirit and united to the Body of Christ, is one of which I know myself to be profoundly unworthy...

Complete article here.

Slovak beauty secrets

(MSNBC) - Slovak youths dressed in traditional costumes throw a girl into a creek as part of Easter celebrations in the village of Trencianska Tepla, 145 km (90 miles) north of Bratislava April 9. Girls are doused with water and whipped in a custom believed to ensure a woman's fertility and beauty.

Christianophobia alive and well in Montreal

MONTREAL (ctv.ca) - Eastern Orthodox worshipers celebrate their holiest days of the year next week but parishioners at one Russian Orthodox Church in Outremont won't be allowed to hold their procession planned for next Saturday night.

That's because the borough of Outremont has banned parades and processions, including those for Eastern Orthodox Easter.

The ban resulted after strained relations between some Outremont residents and the ultra-orthodox Jewish community of Hasidic Jews.

Reverend Michael Metni is disappointed that authorities have outlawed the annual procession, which his St. Nicholas Russian Orthodox Church on St. Joseph Boulevard has held for 50 years.

Metni is encouraging his parishioners to work to reverse the ban by appealing to a higher power.

"We tell them pray and the Good Lord will resolve it. Man plants and God unplants, we always say," said Reverend Metini.

Parishioners believe that the Outremont borough should not involve their church in a conflict between some residents and the Hasidic Jewish community.

"We're not part of their group and they're not part of ours. I don't know what their problems are there and they have to resolve themselves," said Peter Paganuzzi, parishioner of the St. Nicholas Russian Orthodox

Outremont Borough Mayor Marie Cinq-Mars said that she sympathizes with the church's position, however she and a majority of councillors voted Monday to ban processions and parades until June 1.

The measure comes in the wake of a shouting match on Durocher St. between Independent borough councillor Celine Forget and some Hasidic Jews celebrating Purim in March. The conflict required police intervention.

The mayor says the ban on processions and parades is an attempt to stop the tensions from growing.

But one neighbour argued that it is wrong to punish St. Nicholas for an unrelated conflict.

"I think it's too bad because I've been living there for a few years. They've been doing that procession every spring and there was never any trouble," said nearby resident Isabelle Brunet.

Brunet noted that student protesters flouted the rule without any penalty. "Why were student protesters recently allowed to march on the streets? Nobody did anything to stop that and that really ticks me off."

Parishioners plan to keep the traditional 50-year-old Easter procession alive by conducting the procession on church grounds.

Palm Sunday in Jerusalem

Orthodox hierarchs meet to discuss Syrian situation

(antiochian.org) - This report was posted on the website of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Alexandria and All Africa, on March 27.

The bloodshed in Syria and the need for protection of the Christians in the country as well as in Lebanon, was the theme which concerned today’s Synaxis of the Primates of the Orthodox Church in the Middle East, which took place today, 27th March 2012 in Cyprus. “It is the second time that I am meeting with His Beatitude Patriarch Theophilos of Jerusalem His Beatitude Ignatios Patriarch of Antioch and His Beatitude Chrysostomos Archbishop of New Justinia and All Cyprus”, said His Beatitude Theodoros II, Pope and Patriarch of Alexandria and All Africa, who chaired the meeting at which His Excellency the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs in charge of issues regarding Hellenes abroad, Mr Dimitris Dollis also spoke.

On behalf of the Primates His Beatitude expressed the wish and the strong will that they all support the Church of Antioch, His Beatitude Ignatios and all the flock of this suffering country which continues to count its dead. “We are with His Beatitude Patriarch Ignatios, with love and respect”, he stressed as Chairman of the Synaxis.

On his behalf, emotionally, the venerable Patriarch Ignatios of Antioch spoke of the serious problems which the Christians of Lebanon and Syria are facing, stressing the necessity of support from the international community.

In his turn Mr Dollis stressed that Greece is the only European country which has officially undertaken efforts to support the ancient Patriarchate of Antioch as well as the Christian communities in the area, saying that today’s gathering of Primates contributes to the promotion of the problem both to the European and international forums.

“The issue of the protection of the Patriarchate of Antioch is not only an issue of faith but one of the existence of Greek Orthodox history of Christianity in the area”, added Mr Dollis.

In conclusion, His Beatitude Chrysostomos, Archbishop of Cyprus suggested that there should be a representation of Orthodox Churches of the Middle East which should be sent to Brussels and the United States, to let the international political world know about the significant problem of the protection of the Patriarchate of Antioch and of Christians in Syria. He was then interviewed by the Media.