Byzantine, Texas

( mospat.ru ) - On 27 February 2013, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia met with His Beatitude Mar Béchara Boutros Cardinal Al-Raï, Maronite Patriarch of Antioch and All the East, at the Patriarchal residence in St Daniel Monastery. Accompanying the Maronite Patriarch were Archbishop Boulos Sayah, Patriarch’s vicar general; Mr. Walid Ghayad, press officer; Mr. Amal Abi Zeid, executive director of the Maronite Foundation in the World; and Mr. Salim Georges Sfeir, Lebanese businessman.

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia ( Washington Post ) — Ethiopia’s orthodox church has elected a new leader of the influential body in the predominantly Christian nation. Abune Matias, 71, was Thursday named the 6th Patriarch of the church officially known as the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church. Abune Matias, currently serving as Archbishop of the church in Jerusalem, accepted the appointment. The election comes amid disputes surrounding the leadership of the powerful church, which boasts of some 40 million adherents, and a long history of conflict with the central government. The Ethiopian church was under the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria. In 1959 it broke away to be independent and started appointing its leaders.

In seminary you realize very quickly that everyone is seemingly replete with advice. Professors, bishops, clergy, visiting cognoscenti, et al. will drop in and share their opinions and experiences with you. Only over time will most of us realize that not all advice is of equal merit. Sometimes the advice you get is like a handful of seeds - you plant them in the ground, nourish them with your attention, and they blossoms in your heart. Sometimes the advice you get is a grenade - you pull the pin, wait a moment, and it blows up in your face. Discernment. Among all the tools one can sharpen while in seminary, don't forget discernment.

Hellenic College Holy Cross is hosting a symposium entitled "Orthodox Liturgy: Lessons from the Past, Contemporary Trends, and Opportunities" in March. Archimandrite Robert F. Taft will be giving the keynote and there are quite a number of intriguing talks lined up. Consider making the trip. Further details available here . Friday, March 15, 2013 9:30 am - 10:30 am: Registration & Coffee 10:30 am - 12:00 pm: Keynote Address: The Rt. Rev. Dr. Robert F. Taft, S.J., Professor Emeritus, Pontifical Oriental Institute, Rome, Italy: "Liturgical Renewal in Orthodoxy: Reflections, Cautions, Suggestions." 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm Lunch (Cafeteria) 1:15 pm – 2:00 pm: Rev. Dr. Alkiviadis Calivas, Professor Emeritus of Liturgics, Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology, Brookline, MA: “Liturgical Renewal in Orthodox Theology and Liturgical Praxis in Relation to the Sacrament of the Divine Eucharist.” 2:00 pm – 2:45 pm: Rev. Dr. Philip Zymaris, Holy Cross Greek ...

Earlier this month St. Vladimir's added a Serbian House of Studies (see here ). This is a continuation of that effort. ( SVOTS ) - At the invitation of His Eminence Nicolae, archbishop of the Romanian Orthodox Archdiocese in the Americas, The Very Rev. Dr. John Behr, dean of St. Vladimir's Seminary (SVOTS) traveled to Bucharest to sign a cooperative agreement between SVOTS and the Faculty of Orthodox Theology, University of Bucharest. Dean Behr's visit, blessed by His Beatitude Daniel, archbishop of Bucharest, metropolitan of Muntenia and Dobrudgea, locum tenens of the throne of Caesarea of Cappadocia, patriarch of Romania, began on the Sunday of the Publican and the Pharisee when he celebrated the Divine Liturgy in the Patriarchal Cathedral of Ss. Constantine and Helen. On Sunday afternoon, His Beatitude hosted Archbishop Nicolae and Fr. John for an extended meeting at the Patriarchal Residence. Patriarch Daniel presented Dean Behr with a pectoral cross and in ret...

( ACROD ) - With the blessing and in the presence of His Grace, Bishop Gregory of Nyssa, Camp Nazareth was the site of a gathering of the Orthodox Inter-Seminary Movement from Fri Feb 22- Sun Feb 24, 2013. In attendance were seminarians from Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology; St Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary; St. Tikhon's Orthodox Theological Seminary; Holy Trinity Seminary (Jordanville); St. Sophia's Ukrainian Orthodox Seminary; Christ the Saviour Seminary and other theological institutions in the USA. Orthodox Inter-Seminary Movement (OISM) seeks to foster prayer, fellowship, and cooperation among seminarians of the Orthodox Church from across the North American continent. During OISM retreats, seminarians gather together and participate in a simple program which incorporates prayer, reflection, and discussion among the future leaders of the Church.

( Global Post ) - Bulgaria's Orthodox Church on Sunday elected metropolitan Neophyte of the northern city of Ruse as its new leader after Patriarch Maxim died last November aged 98 after leading the church for over 40 years. The bells of the golden-domed Alexander Nevski cathedral in downtown Sofia announced the election of a new patriarch by the 138 delegates at the church council Sunday afternoon. Shortly after that, council speaker metropolitan Yosif announced that "Ruse metropolitan Neophyte was elected by the clergy and the people as Holy Bulgarian Patriarch and Sofia metropolitan." Neophyte won support from 90 delegates in a second-round ballot against Lovech metropolitan Gavriil, who was backed by 47 delegates. A church procession accompanied the newly elected patriarch to the cathedral, where he was enthroned in a sumptuous ceremony. Neophyte was clad in the green-and-gold patriarchal attire and put upon his head the white veil, symbol of his offi...

( Armenian-WD ) - From February 19-21, His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians, presided over a regular meeting of the Supreme Spiritual Council at the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin. At the opening of the meeting, His Holiness extended his blessings and appreciation to the Council members for their service. Archbishop Aris Shirvanian, Vicar General of the Armenian Patriarchate ofJerusalem; and Archbishop Aram Ateshian, Vicar General of the Armenian Patriarchate of Constantinople, served as the co-Chairmen of the meeting. On the agenda were issues related to adoption of the Constitution; life and the spiritual, educational and outreach mission of the Dioceses; activities for the commemoration of the 100th Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide; and current problems. Patriarchal Vicar, Archbishop Aris Shirvanian; presented a report on the recent activities of the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem, providing details on the election of the Patriar...

“A young husband should say to his bride: ‘I have taken you in my arms, and I love you, and I prefer you to my life itself. For the present life is nothing, and my most ardent dream is to spend it with you in such a way that we may be assured of not being separated in the life reserved for us.’” — St. John Chrysostom Did the Golden-Mouthed actually say the above? Find out here .

H/T: Londinopoulos

From the very popular blog, Glory to God for All Things , a treatise on knowing God. Eastern Orthodoxy commonly describes its theology as “apophatic.” The word means, “Unspeakable.” It is perhaps the most important point within Orthodox thought: when speaking of God, we are always saying things that cannot be said. It does not mean that nothing should be said (though this is often a good idea). It means that no matter what we say, the subject that lies at the heart of our speech is not the same thing as our speech. We do not worship words – we worship the Word. The various forms of rationalism that have come to dominate modern Christian thought have almost destroyed true theology. Fundamentalist rationalism speaks with an assurance that borders on blasphemy, while liberal angst loses itself within its own rational conundrums. God is not an idea. He cannot be manipulated, studied, poked and prodded nor is the text of Scripture a rational cookbook for the knowledge of God. Go...

I can't imagine how profound the reaction would be if the UGCC had actually made some announcement about who is "really" Orthodox. It simply not in the purview of a Catholic hierarch to tell the Orthodox about themselves. ( RISU ) - Patriarch Sviatoslav Shevchuk, head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (UGCC), expressed his astonishment that the UGCC's statement recognizing the Sacrament of Baptism administered in the Kyivan Patriarchate provoked criticism from the clergy of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church-Moscow Patriarchate (UOC-MP). The hierarch said so in an interview to Independent Newspaper. “Frankly speaking, I am surprised at this statement because serious Orthodox theologians can hardly be unaware of the fact that according to the doctrine of the Catholic Church, we recognize the baptism of everyone who administers it in the name of the Holy Trinity with the use of water,” stated Patriarch Sviatoslav as he commented on the report of Metropolitan Volodym...

( mospat.ru ) - On 17 February 2013, His Beatitude Patriarch Theodore of Alexandria, currently on a missionary trip in Africa, celebrated the Divine Liturgy in the Greek church in Dar es Salaam, the largest city of Tanzania, on his Name Day, together with hierarchs and clerics of the Patriarchate of Alexandria. Attending the service were Orthodox Tanzanians, diplomats, citizens of Russia, Ukraine, Greece, Serbia and Romania, as well as the crew of ‘Marshal Shaposhnikov’, a large destroyer of the Russian Navy currently on a visit to Tanzania. That same day in the evening His Beatitude visited the vessel. Seven salvos were fired in his honour. Accompanying Patriarch Theodore were Metropolitan Dimitrios of Irenupolis (Patriarchate of Alexandria), and H.E. Alexander Rannikh, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Russian Federation to the United Republic of Tanzania. The captain greeted His Beatitude on behalf of the crew. The Primate of the Church of Alexandria tal...

MOSCOW, February 19 ( RIA Novosti ) – Russia needs legislation to separate pilgrimage from tourism, the head of the pilgrimage center of the Moscow patriarchy said on Tuesday. “Pilgrimage and tourism are incomparable. They cannot be mixed, but are not separated by law. Only religious organizations should be involved in pilgrimage activities,” Hieromonk Nikodim (Kolesnikov) said, adding that the Russian Orthodox Church is working to draft amendments to the law on tourism. “By law, religious organizations have no right to organize tours [for pilgrims], so the legislation has to be amended,” his said. According to him, tax benefits are needed to develop pilgrimage tourism, and only believers and theology teachers or students can work as tour guides. “Some people go to pray and others go sightseeing. They do not feel comfortable together,” Hieromonk Nikodim said.

Almost all the photos of the event available online are too outlandish to republish here. Imagine women wearing almost nothing cavorting and yelling inside and outside the cathedral. It's undeniably repulsive. ( Voice of Russia ) - Here is another example of the European double standards: in France the very same politicians who recently admired the Pussy Riot act in the Christ the Savior Cathedral now criticize the Femen activists for their act in the Notre Dame Cathedral. New details of the disgraceful act performed in the Notre Dame Cathedral by the topless activists of the Femen movement are coming to light. To remind our readers, by partaking in public nudity inside France’s main cathedral, they marked the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI, who the Femen activists consider to be a homophobe and anti-feminist. It was not just that seven French women and a Ukrainian managed to get inside the cathedral unhindered, undress down to their pantyhose and start clanging the bells...

( Oxford Times ) - OXFORD’S Keble College played host to a very special ceremony when it welcomed Bishop Jerome of Manhattan, of the Russian Orthodox Church. When His Grace celebrated a Western Orthodox Episcopal Liturgy on Friday, it was the first time the service had been held in the UK since 1066. Before then the church in the UK was Orthodox, but the Norman Conquest saw the Roman church take over. Father Stephen Platt, parish priest at the Russian Orthodox church St Nicholas the Wonderworker in Marston, Oxford, said: “Orthodox services generally have an Eastern origin, while Catholic and Anglican churches have services which originate in Ancient Rome.” Philip Pughe-Morgan, who came from Weston-super-Mare for the service, said: “Many people are put off by what they see as a form of worship which doesn’t relate to their traditional culture. “The Russian Church has now introduced a mission to offer worship in the form and culture of these islands which developed here in ...

( NBC News ) - Ice sculptures constructed for the celebration of Orthodox Epiphany stand on the Lena river, outside Yakutsk in the Republic of Sakha, northeast Russia, on Jan. 17. The coldest temperatures in the northern hemisphere have been recorded in Sakha, in the Oymyakon valley, where, according to the United Kingdom Met Office, a temperature of -90 degrees Fahrenheit was registered in 1933 - the coldest on record in the northern hemisphere since the beginning of the 20th century. Yet despite the harsh climate, people live in the valley, and the area is equipped with schools, a post office, a bank and even an airport runway.

Sofia ( Focus ) - The Holy Synod published on its official website a communication on the election of three candidates for the patriarchal throne. The communication of the Holy Synod said: Today, February 16, 2013, the Synod Office after long hours of voting followed the meeting of the previous day, the Holy Synod of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church - Bulgarian Patriarchate nominates three candidates for the patriarchal throne. These are (in order of seniority): ~ His Eminence Metropolitan bishop Neophyte of Ruse ~ His Eminence Metropolitan bishop Galaktion of Stara Zagora ~ His Eminence Metropolitan bishop Gabriel of Lovech

( OCA ) - One of the goals of the Strategic Plan adopted by delegates to the 16th All-American Council in 2011 focuses on developing diocesan level, full day “Holy Conversations” on contemporary moral issues, including marriage and human sexuality and beginning and end-of-life issues. “The purpose of these Holy Conversations is to better communicate Orthodox Christian teachings on these issues and to discuss how they can be applied faithfully, charitably and effectively,” said Priest John Vitko, who chairs the Strategic Plan Committee. “An implementation team, led by Priest Caleb Abetti, rector of Saint Jacob of Alaska Mission, Northfield Falls, VT, has been working on identifying an appropriate format for conducting such conversations.” With the blessing of His Eminence, Archbishop Nikon, the Diocese of New England will pilot the first of these Holy Conversations at White River Junction, VT, on Friday evening and Saturday, March 1-2, 2013. The gathering will focus on the Orthod...

H/T: CMR

( HTS ) - A lecture from Protodeacon Serge Arlievsky delivered at Holy Trinity Orthodox Seminary on February 7 (Gregorian) January 25 (Julian), 2013. The full title is "Shattering Orthodox Unity: Motivations behind the Calendar Reform in the Orthodox Church.

( Custodia Terrae Sanctae ) - Tuesday, January 29, the Custody of the Holy Land, represented by its Vicar, Fra Artemio Vítores, paid a visit to the Armenian Patriarchate to congratulate His Beatitude, Nourhan Manougian ler, elected January 24, 2013, as the 97th Apostolic Armenian Patriarch of Jerusalem , succeeding Torkom Manougian II, who died on October 12, 2012, at the age of 93. In speaking to Fra Artemio, the Patriarch renewed his desire that the two fraternities maintain the good relations that have united them for centuries. In fact, throughout history and in spite of theological debates, the two communities have been able to establish fraternal bonds of understanding, making an interchange of services when the political situation of the country was precarious. The Franciscans are particularly grateful to the Armenians, who accepted them after their expulsion from the Cenacle in 1551, protecting the friars for eight years. The Armenians, in fact, offered property to th...

Prayer of St. Simeon Now let Your servant, depart in peace, O Master, according to Your word. For my eyes have seen your salvation which you have prepared before the face of all people. A light of revelation for the Gentiles, and the Glory of Your people Israel.

I've been following (and posting) the work of this commission in creating a new catechism for the Russian Church. It looks like pressure is now being applied to get this thing to print without further delay. ( mospat.ru ) - Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk chaired a meeting of the Synodal Biblical and Theological Commission’s working group for drafting the ROC’s up-to-date Catechesis. The meeting took place on February 12, 2013, at the Department for External Church Relation. The meeting focused on the need to implement the recent Bishops’ Council’s decision concerning the deadline for drafting the Catechesis. The Biblical and Theological Commission was instructed to have the drafting completed by the next Bishops’ Council. Metropolitan Hilarion informed the meeting about the progress made in the work on the Catechesis. A report on the readiness of some sections of the Catechesis was made by S. Kravets, director of the Orthodox Encyclopaedia Center. T he meeting cons...

This link might also prove informative. ( OCA-DOS ) - St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary, Yonkers, NY, and the Faculty of Orthodox Theology at the University of Belgrade have made a formal agreement to work together with the aim of establishing a Serbian House of Studies on the campus of St. Vladimir’s Seminary. The House of Studies has several goals, including the promotion of sustained dialogue and educational exchanges between Orthodox Christians in America and Serbia. The Serbian House of Studies is one of many endeavors outlined in the Seminary’s newly crafted “SVS Strategic Plan 2020,” and the first to be implemented. The Strategic Plan—which sets forth the Board’s vision for St. Vladimir’s Seminary for the next decade—actually calls for several such foreign houses of study, together comprising “The International Center of Orthodox Christian Studies,” eventually to be located in the historic stone “Germack Building” on campus. The agreement between St Vladimir’...

The three most great luminaries of the Three-Sun Divinity have illumined all of the world with the rays of doctrines divine and true; they are the sweetly-flowing rivers of wisdom, who with godly knowledge have watered all creation in clear and mighty streams: The great and sacred Basil, and the Theologian, wise Gregory, together with the renowned John, the famed Chrysostom of golden speech. Let us all who love their divinely-wise words come together, honoring them with hymns; for ceaselessly they offer entreaty for us to the Trinity. - Apolytikion: First Tone

Due to the difference in conciliar structure between the Orthodox and Catholics, it's hard to say that a new pope won't mean a radically new relationship with the Orthodox Church. A new pope means a new church in a much more significant way than a new patriarch means a new church. The current Pope's reverse course from the innovations spurred by varied "interpretations" of Vatican II could be tossed out quite easily. It will be interesting to see if the new pontiff will be a continuation of this correction or a return to the rupture of pronounced novelty and false inclusiveness. Moscow, February 11 ( Interfax ) - The Moscow Patriarchate hopes relations between the Orthodox and Roman Catholic Churches will be developing as previously when a new pope is elected. "There are no reasons to expect any radical changes in the Vatican's policy and attitude to the Orthodox Churches. Continuity has always been maintained in the Roman Catholic Church. Pope Benedict...

A trailer for a larger video to be released...

DAMASCUS ( AFP ) — The new Greek Orthodox Patriarch Yuhanna X Yazigi appealed for dialogue in Syria at his enthronement in Damascus on Sunday as machine gunfire rang out in the distance, a sharp reminder of the raging war. "We believe that Syria, the government and the people, will find the gate of salvation through dialogue and a peaceful political solution to avert violence and re-establish the stability and peace Syria has always known," said Yazigi, who took the name of John X. But outside the Holy Cross church in the heart of Damascus, weapons did the talking as clashes raged between the army and rebels in the nearby district of Jobar. "God is not pleased when he sees the society we share with our non-Christian brothers shattered over politics. Among us and among them there are people who subscribe to fundamentalist tendencies that have nothing to do with religion," he said. Snipers were deployed on the rooftops around the church when dignitaries from ...

( pravoslavie.ru ) - Pope Benedict XVI said Monday he lacks the strength to fulfill his duties and on Feb. 28 will become the first pontiff in 600 years to resign. The announcement sets the stage for a conclave in March to elect a new leader for world's 1 billion Catholics. The 85-year-old pope announced the bombshell in Latin during a meeting of Vatican cardinals, surprising even his closest collaborators, even though Benedict had made clear in the past he would step down if he became too old or infirm to do the job. Benedict called his choice ``a decision of great importance for the life of the church.'' Indeed, the move allows the Vatican to hold a conclave before Easter to elect a new pope, since the traditional mourning time that would follow the death of a pope doesn't have to be observed. It will also allow Benedict to hold great sway over the choice of his successor. He has already hand-picked the bulk of the College of Cardinals _ the princes of the ch...

( SOC-WAD ) - It is a great pleasure to see this work published, making available some of the most important writings of Fr Vladan Perisic over the last couple of decades available, together in one volume, to an English speaking audience. Fr Vladan’s work is well known in Serbia, and in broader academic and ecumenical circles. But it can now receive the much wider readership that it deserves, and, as a collected volume, its scope, coherence, and significance is sure to receive the recognition it deserves. The eighteen essays collected here treat diverse topics, from academic theology (and its place in the Church) to questions of life and death, from historically oriented studies, on Sts Ignatius and Gregory Palamas, to contemporary issues, such as human rights and ecology. Each of them is characterized by meticulous scholarship and great insight, clarity of thought and expression. While treating diverse topics, there is nevertheless an underlying unifying approach, one that is...

( antiochian.org ) - The Patriarchate of Antioch and All the East has brought online a special website dedicated to the enthronement of His Beatitude Patriarch John X, which will take place this Sunday, February 10. The site is available in English, Spanish and Arabic. Site available here .

NBC40.net ATLANTIC CITY ( NBC 40 ) - Atlantic City promoted several firefighters to the rank of Battalion Chief and Fire Captain thanks to some quick thinking and technology. At Friday morning's promotion ceremony, it was realized no one had brought a bible to City Council chambers, where the brief ceremony was held. After some quick thinking, the Bible app was pulled up on an iPad, which was then used to swear in the eight officers to their new positions. Promoted to the rank of Battalion Chief were Joseph Haney, Allen Huggins, William Brooks, Angelo DeMaio, and Thomas Culleny, Junior. Promoted to the rank of Fire Captain were Jeffrey Bird, James Gillespie, and Joseph Daily.

MIAMI ( Reuters ) - A Florida judge has approved the adoption of a 22-month-old baby girl that will list three people as parents on her birth certificate -- a married lesbian couple and a gay man. The decision ends a two-year paternity fight between the couple and a friend of the women who donated his sperm to father the child but later sought a larger role in the girl's life. The ruling means the child's birth certificate will include a biological father and both women as parents in an unusual arrangement approved recently by a Miami-Dade Circuit Court judge. The women, Maria Italiano, 43, and Cher Filippazzo, 38, had made several unsuccessful attempts to become parents using fertility clinics. They then turned to Italiano's hair dresser, Massimiliano Gerina, and asked if he would provide his sperm for artificial insemination. "When push came to shove, they figured he would understand the situation," said Kenneth Kaplan, an attorney for the women. ...

The Ukrainian language issue has been a big one in the canonical/non-canonical church bodies debate. This is no small proclamation. ( RISU ) - The administrator of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church-Moscow Patriarchate, Metropolitan Antoniy of Boryspil, stated that the Ukrainian language can be used in the services in UOC-MP churches, reported ТSN. “In the territory of Ukraine, there are parishes where the services are conducted in Hungarian, Romanian, Church Slavonic and Ukrainian. The question of the choice of language of the service is not an issue for the church conscience,” noted the hierarch. “This is a question of a cultural and not religious character. For it is very important that the priest should be able to hear a confession in Ukrainian, for example,” explained the metropolitan. "If two thirds of the parishioners prefer services in Ukrainian or another language, there will be no problem,” he added. The metropolitan said that the UOC-MP celebrates services in Ukra...

In a move sure to aggravate the Ecumenical Patriarchate, the Russian Church has declared Japan and China their own. One wonders what the Metropolitanate of Hong Kong will have to say. This is not a new debate between the two Churches, but this declaration is a new chapter in that disagreement. Moscow, February 6 ( Interfax ) - China and Japan are part of the canonical territory of the Moscow Patriarchate, the new edition of the charter of the Moscow Patriarchate says. The document was adopted by the Bishop Council in Moscow on February 2-5 and was published on the website of the Russian Church. Among the countries included in the canonical territory of the Moscow Patriarchate are Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova, Azerbaijan, the Baltic states, Central Asia (all these countries, except for China and Japan, were included in the previous edition of the charter). The Russian Church began its activities in China in the 17th century, when Russian priest Maxim Leontyev arrived in B...

( OCA ) - It is with heavy hearts that the Saint Tikhon’s community learned of the Very Reverend Dr. Alexander Atty’s decision to step down as Dean and Chief Operating Officer of the Seminary due to issues of illness. In a statement released to the community on Tuesday evening, Father Alexander said: “I feel at this time that my physical struggles make it impossible for me to devote the time and energy necessary to the Seminary and, most importantly, to the student body.” Father Alexander went on to describe the great blessings he had received in serving the students of the Seminary and asked for the community’s prayers for both him and his family. The Saint Tikhon’s community wishes Father Alexander all of God’s choicest blessings as he undergoes medical treatment, and asks for the prayer’s of the entire Church. Words by the President of the Seminary, His Beatitude, Metropolitan Tikhon and the Rector of the Seminary, His Grace, Bishop Michael, are posted on the Seminary we...

Moscow, February 7 ( Interfax ) - Apostolic Nuncio to Moscow Archbishop Ivan Yurkovich believes that problems in relations between Orthodox and Greek Catholics in western Ukraine have been leveled out today. "Those difficulties of the early 1990s today have been eradicated in many ways and there are many contacts, especially of personal and informal character, between the two Churches," he said in his interview published by NG-Religii paper. The nuncio noted that many people who knew the situation better than he did shared this opinion. According to Yurkovich, who was the Vatican's representative to Ukraine in 2004-2011, "it is important not to draw attention to the past in nuncio's mission in countries with such a difficult history." "I have always avoided historical arguments and suggested focusing on plans for the future," he said. "I have always been impressed how many Catholics in Ukraine and Byelorussia live in mixed marriages....

Moscow ( AsiaNews ) - Relations between the Russian Orthodox and Catholic Church in recent years are experiencing a "positive trend," due to the "clear recognition of the need to join forces in defence of traditional Christian values ​​and counter some threats of modernity, such as the 'aggressive secularism which threatens the moral basis of social and private life, the crisis of family values ​​and the persecution and discrimination of Christians in the world". This overview of inter-Christian dialogue, and in particular with the Catholic Church, was given by the Patriarch of Moscow, Kirill, as he opened the Council of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church on February 2nd. In his speech, published on the Patriarchate website, Kirill recalled some of the events in ecumenical dialogue with Catholics. Among these, the work of the the Joint International Commission for Theological Dialogue between the Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church, that aims ...

AL-MUHARRAQ MONASTERY, Egypt ( Washington Post ) - Egypt’s Coptic patriarch delivered a cautious but unusually sharp criticism of the nation’s Islamist leadership in an interview with The Associated Press on Tuesday , dismissing the new constitution as discriminatory and rounds of national dialogues sponsored by the president as meaningless. Pope Tawadros II’s dive into politics came as he tried to energize the spiritual solidarity of a demoralized community with a visit to a historic monastery that no Coptic pontiff has been to in decades because of security tensions in southern Egypt. He joined the black-robed monks in a two-hour pre-dawn prayer at the ancient Virgin Mary chapel in the al-Muharraq monastery, said to be on a site where the Virgin Mary took refuge with Jesus and her husband Joseph from Roman persecution. Tawadros has taken an unusually vocal political activist stance since being enthroned in November as the spiritual leader of the Copts, the main community of...

( antiochian.org ) - The Board of Directors of the Orthodox Christian Network (OCN) met in Ft. Lauderdale, FL at the network’s headquarters in St. Demetrios Greek Orthodox Church on January 26, 2013. His Grace Bishop Peter   (ROCOR) , the official episcopal liaison of the Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of North and South America, attended the meeting and opened the proceedings with prayer. Executive Director Fr. Christopher Metropulos noted that OCN and affiliated radio stations are now heard by over 2.6 million listeners in over 200 countries. He also cited the working relationships established between OCN and all of the Orthodox Christian jurisdictions of the Assembly of Bishops, which enables news and edifying podcasts, videos, and blogs to be shared with the faithful through multiple OCN delivery platforms. After the meeting, the Board of Directors announced the following initiatives: Starting in February, listeners will be able to hear broadcasts of "Come Re...

Written "To a certain engineer who complained about his boring job," St. Nikolai wrote the following. Each job contains some vein of gold that can be found after some effort is put into mining for it (to borrow from St. John Chrysostom's imagery). Hopefully the below is helpful for other and not just for me. You complain that you are tired of your job. All other activities seem more interesting to you, and you, and you are troubled and anguished about not being able to find something better. I thought about this for a long time before picking up my pen to answer you. I tried to put my self in your place, and to play your part. I imagined myself at your worksite, in the locomotive car, in the midst of the roar of the machine and the pounding of the wheels. Sweaty, covered in soot, I cheerfully looked ahead. Behind me was arrayed an entire little people: old people, parents and children, nobility, diplomats, officials, peasants, workers, and day laborers. They had al...