Byzantine, Texas

Written by Rev. Dr. Eugen J. Pentiuc on the Greek Archdiocese website here is a solid discussion of the term "Son of Man." I quite enjoyed reading it. ( GOARCH ) - The Aramaic phrase Bar 'ěnoš "son of man" is a Semitic expression denoting a single member of humanity, a certain human being, hence "someone." This Aramaic phrase used by Daniel 7:13-14 to describe a quasi-divine figure riding with the clouds of the sky has become an important element of the eschatological-apocalyptic decorum in both Jewish and Christian texts; an eclectic decorum made of various elements such as, the Davidic king, the chosen servant of Deutero-Isaiah, and the "son of man" of Daniel. In the New Testament the enigmatic figure mentioned by Daniel is almost always identified with Jesus. As one can glean from the philological analysis below, the Aramaic phrase bar 'ěnoš may connote more than a mere human being. It may define a human being in its defining ...

( Zegabi ) - The patriarch of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tawahedo Chruch, Abune Mathias, was placed under house arrest temporarily, but has since been released, according to a report by the Ethiopian Review today. The move is reported to have been carried out by National Security Adviser to the Prime Minister, Tsegaye Behane, allegedly over the patriarch’s criticism of the ruling Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Force (EPRDP). The Ethiopian Orthodox Church is currently facing a leadership crises and many church leaders have publicly rebelled against the authority of the church, which only split from the Coptic Orthodox Church in 1959. Abune Mathias was reportedly interrogated for 72 hours before his release. Although the actual reasons for his temporary arrest is unknown, there are speculations that it relates to comments made by the patriarch recently where he revealed that most of the church’s current problems are being created by the state. The Tigrayan People’s ...

If you want to understand how the Orthodox Church differs from the Catholic Church on administration both at the local and "universal" levels, the below article is a pretty good gloss of the topic. ( mospat.ru ) - The problem of primacy in the Universal Church has been repeatedly raised during the work of the Joint International Commission on Theological Dialogue Between the Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church. On March 27, 2007, the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church instructed the Synodal Theological Commission to study this problem and draft an official position of the Moscow Patriarchate on the problem (Minutes, No. 26). Meanwhile, the Joint Commission at its meeting on October 13, 2007, in Ravenna, working in the absence of a delegation of the Russian Church and without consideration for her opinion, adopted a document on the Ecclesiological and Canonical Consequences of the Sacramental Nature of the Church. Having studied the Ravenna document, the Ru...

( BBC News ) - Grandfather Frost, the Russian version of Father Christmas, will be linking up with astronauts on board the International Space Station, it is reported. "Grandfather Frost of All the Russians" is going to visit the mission control centre in Korolev outside Moscow on Sunday, 29 December, to pass on New Year and Orthodox Christmas greetings, RIA-Novosti state news agency reports. On 7 January, when Orthodox believers mark Christmas, the astronauts on board the space station are also expected to hear from Patriarch Kirill, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church.

( The Telegraph ) - For the sake of the children, this post doesn't contain the video of this shameful incident (someone has to think of the children). But if you really want to see a bare chested female protestor desecrating a church you can follow this link and log into YouTube as an adult to do so. It's not a shocking image, just a rather silly one. The young lady is a member of the FEMEN feminist art/action group and she interrupted a service in Cologne Cathedral on Christmas Day as it was being televised live – running around shouting with the words "I AM GOD" written across her chest. The egotism of that statement is revealing and on some philosophical level she probably believes that she is the Messiah. She's not the Messiah, though. She's a very naughty girl . What was her point? FEMEN practices "sextremism serving to protect women's rights" and some of its causes are very good, particularly when it comes to fighting sex tourism. Its...

Most Nativity encyclicals are "snoozefests" - often repetitive and derivative of encyclicals of yesteryear. The below is not one of those. ( Patriarchate.org ) - Prot. No. 1109 + BARTHOLOMEW By God’s Mercy Archbishop of Constantinople-New Rome and Ecumenical Patriarch To the Plenitude of the Church: Grace, mercy, and peace from the Savior Christ, born in Bethlehem Beloved brothers and sisters, children in the Lord, “ For to us a child is born, to us a son is given. ” - (Isaiah 9.5) Many centuries ago, the Prophet foresaw and announced with enthusiasm and joy the birth of the child Jesus from the ever-Virgin Mary. Naturally, even then, there was no period of census by Augustus Caesar, no place to stay for the safety of the Holy Virgin who was carrying a child by the Holy Spirit. So the holy Joseph as her betrothed and protector was obliged to lead her to a cave, a manger with animals, “in order to give birth to a child.” Heaven and earth received them, of...

This is a follow-up to a story earlier posted here . The word chosen was a quite indelicate one. Tomsk, December 24 ( Interfax ) - T he Eparchial Court of the Tomsk diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church has relieved Maxim Stepanenko of the duties of missionary department director following his remarks posted on the Internet criticizing single mothers, the Tomsk diocese said on its website. "On orders issued by Archbishop Rostislav of Tomsk and Asinovo, Stepanenko was relieved of the duties of department head and was demoted to the position of a low-level employee of this department," it said. The council members "unanimously recognized the unacceptability of rude and tactless remarks, as well as insults of human dignity in the mission's affairs, as well as stressed the advisability of a priest being appointed to head this department," it said. Priest Alexy Samsonov, who serves at St. Sergius of Radonezh Church in Tomsk, has already been appointed as he...

The voice of the Lord is upon the waters: the God of glory has thundered: the Lord is upon many waters. - Psalm 28:3

I really just can't quit winding my way through this website . While it's ostensibly for people interested in being a cantor in the Ukrainian Church, it is actually quite useful for anyone interested in Orthodox music and the rubrics surrounding it. Take a look. Spread the word.

( Catholic Sentinel ) - Austria's Vienna Archdiocese has defended its gifts of Catholic churches to Orthodox communities, as part of a current reorganization. "Our own church is receding in Vienna, whereas other Christian confessions are on the rise because of immigration," Michael Pruller, the archdiocese spokesman, told Catholic News Service Dec. 19. "Many large churches were built in the 19th century for parishes numbering tens of thousands. As in other countries, we're now having to get rid of churches, which can't be maintained by their small congregations." He said the archdiocese had tried to find an "alternative Catholic use" for unwanted churches, to prevent them being turned into "supermarkets and cafes," but would otherwise hand them over to other Christian denominations. No money is given as compensation, he said. In 2015, the archdiocese will formally hand over St. Anthony of Padua Church to the Romanian Orthodox...

( ROCOR-Chicago ) - On Sunday, December 15th at the Cathedral, Bishop Peter served the Rite of Consecration of New Antimins. As this is a rare service perfomed only by a bishop and exclusively within the altar, we provide this photoreport and narrative to explain the meaning of this rite. An antimins is a rectangular cloth on which are depicted representations of Christ's descent from the Cross as well as the four evangelists. It is kept folded on the altar table and contains the relics of saints sewn into it. The word derives from the Greek antimension which means "instead of the table". It is not permissible to serve a Divine Liturgy without an antimins and it must be consecrated and signed by the reigning Bishop in advance. During emergencies, the Liturgy may be served with an antimins when an altar table is not available. When a Bishop visits a church or monastery under his jurisdiction, he typically enters the altar to inspect the antimins to ensure that ...

From the blog Joel J Miller , a post entitled " Read this before you burn that picture of Jesus ." According to her recent post in Her*meneutics, Hill has asked teachers to excuse her kids from coloring nativity scenes and says she covers books depicting Christ in brown paper. To be clear, Hill has nothing against Jesus. She seems quite devout. Rather, her beef with his image comes from a conviction that Christ should never be depicted. Arguing for her view, Hill says her “objection to visually representing the second person of the Trinity is not a new position. Until the late 4th century, the Christian church universally condemned images of Christ.” Oh, bother. This statement is false — on many levels. For starters, Roman catacombs featured icons of Christ, Mary, and many other biblical figures more than century before her “late 4th century” date. And while there is an absence of such iconographic depictions before 200 AD, they exist shortly thereafter — their abs...

( NY Times ) - The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York was granted a federal injunction on Monday that blocks an Obama administration requirement to provide contraceptive care to employees at its nonprofit affiliates. The ruling found that the regulation violated the religious freedom of the four nonprofit groups — two high schools and two health care systems — that are affiliated with the archdiocese but employ people of any faith. Under the Affordable Care Act, the nonprofit groups were required to provide the contraceptive coverage, authorize a third party to voluntarily pay for and provide the coverage, or pay steep fines. The ruling, by Brian M. Cogan of Federal District Court in Brooklyn, found that forcing the groups to authorize a third party to provide contraceptive care still violated their religious beliefs even if they were not financially support contraception. Churches are already exempt from the mandate to provide contraceptive care. As part of the Affordable C...

( GGWB ) - PRESS RELEASE: Fr. Anthony Perkins, Vocations Director of the UOC-USA, is the new webmaster of “Good Guys Wear Black”, the premier website on Orthodox Christian Vocations Fr. John Peck, the creator of the " Good Guys Wear Black " (GGWB) website, recently turned the management of the site over to Fr. Anthony Perkins. Fr. Anthony is excited by this opportunity to help men discern their path; “I was so honored and energized when Fr. John asked me to take over management of the site. I have interviewed him a couple of times on my podcast and he knows of my great love for vocations and my recent assignment as Director of Vocations for the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the USA. This is a perfect fit. Orthodoxy needs a website that anyone considering a vocation can go to for information and advice. This has long been that website. I send people here all the time. I can’t tell you how many men have told me how useful it has been for them as they find their way...

( spc.rs ) - About 800 kilometers north from Adelaide, in the state of South Australia, there is a unique monument, not only of Serbian but also of world culture and architecture. It is the church of Prophet Elijah, completely situated underground. The Serbs who migrated to Coober Pedy, had a need for a spiritual, religious life. Our miners who were digging semi-precious stones, opal, dug one of the most beautiful pearls not only of the Serbian Orthodox, but also of the overall Christian culture. Since it is a desert area where temperatures reach above 40 degrees Celsius, our people found an unique and ingenious solution. They built a church underground, at the depth of 9 meters, 30 meters long. They have now a church, a church hall, a parish house and a church school – everything underground. His Grace Bishop Irinej of Australia-New Zealand, in his statement to RTS, pointed out particularity of this church: “The Serbian Orthodox Church possesses the most unique Serbian church...

( OCA-DOW ) - “O Christmas tree, O Christmas tree, how lovely are your branches!” I first learned this familiar song as a child, but entirely in German. I learned it from my neighbors, who were German immigrants, and have loved all things connected with the German celebration of Christmas ever since. Have you all put up your Christmas trees? Mine is in its bucket of water, waiting to go up. I hope that you have put yours up, or are planning to do so in the very near future. I love Christmas trees, and I'm always thrilled to hear or to see that people put one up during this advent season. Some folks don't put up a Christmas tree. Some mistakenly think that this custom is derived from paganism, and is inappropriate for Christians. Others believe that it was something invented by Martin Luther, the German Protestant Reformer in the 16th century, and therefore not an Orthodox tradition. Still others imagine that a Christmas tree only makes sense if you have children and i...

( Chicago Tribune ) - William Riley Knight serenaded his new bride Nikki with a country tune, singing "Wherever you’re going, whenever you turn, remember this moment, remember these words." "They made their own wedding vows and he sang to her and it was just beautiful. We just thought it was very sweet," a relative recalled, in a voice heavy with tears. "They were very much in love." The wedding reception wound down close to midnight Saturday and the couple headed for a hotel, Nikki still wearing her white lace dress. Just outside Crown Point, Ind. they saw a car skid off the road in front of them and slide into the ditch. It's cold, he told his wife, we should help. Knight parked in a driveway and walked down the road while Nikki waited in the car, according to police and friends. As he helped the driver, Linda Darlington, a teacher, up the snowy embankment, they were both hit by three passing cars and were killed. "He was a good Samari...

This description from the blog Salvation's Beginning : Paramoni – a noun which means steadfastness and endurance. In the Law Code of Justinian a derived noun, paramonarios, means a watchman. These nouns come from the verb parameno, which means to stand fast, to remain. The word paramoni is not on the tip of the tongue of every Orthodox. If someone hears the word, he or she certainly files it away under “liturgical trivia”. Paramoni designates the day of preparation before a big feast; usually it is translated by the equally obscure forefeast. And yet, in this simple word, we see the entire theology of our Feasts! The image (similar to the Latin equivalent vigil) is one of watching and waiting. We are on guard throughout the day, staying steadfast, watching out for the intrusion of the enemy. For the great Feasts of Pascha, Christmas and Theophany the Paramoni is a day of strict fast. In the early Church(where fasting was taken much more seriously than in our day because t...

( 60 Minutes ) - The turmoil in Egypt has led to one of the worse persecutions of the country's Coptic Christians in the nearly 2,000-year history of the sect. Bob Simon reports from Egypt.

CAIRO ( LA Times ) - Snow coated domes and minarets Friday as a record Middle East storm compounded the suffering of Syrian refugees, sent the Israeli army scrambling to dig out stranded motorists and gave Egyptians a rare glimpse of snow in their capital. Nearly three feet of snow closed roads in and out of Jerusalem, which is set in high hills, and thousands in and around the city were left without power. Israeli soldiers and police rescued hundreds trapped in their cars by snow and ice. In the West Bank, the branches of olive trees groaned under the weight of snow. In Cairo, where local news reports said the last recorded snowfall was more than 100 years ago, children in outlying districts capered in white-covered streets, and adults marveled at the sight, tweeting pictures of snow-dusted parks and squares. In other parts of the city, rain and hail rocketed down. On social media, some joked that the snowfall was the mystical work of Gen. Abdel Fattah Sisi, the military st...

The YouTube videos of the conference are here . ( aleteia ) - From Cairo and Damascus to Tehran and Beijing, religious freedom is under siege. Ironically, it is Christianity—a faith that contributed decisively to the rise of religious liberty—that now finds itself increasingly persecuted around the world. In view of this global crisis, the Religious Freedom Project at Georgetown University will host a two-day (December 13th and 14th) conference in Rome highlighting Christianity’s contributions to the understanding and practice of freedom for all people. The conference will present findings from a two-year study by dozens of scholars concerning Christianity’s contributions to freedom. This event is co-sponsored by Baylor University’s Institute for Studies of Religion and is made possible by a generous grant from the Historical Society's Religion and Innovation in Human Affairs Program. You will be able to watch the conference LIVE right here , so be sure to check back this Frid...

To make sure this blog is still on the right track - that it is topical and holds interest for readers - I do an annual review of the traffic this blog receives. Over a year has passed since the last review and this is the 5,000 th post, so I thought it a good time to do the annual statistical round-up. If you're interested, here's the data. Of traditional readers (people who visit the blog through normal web browsing) last year there were around 35,000 visitors for the month. The last full month (November) shows 55,000. Total visits since the beginning of the blog is around 1.6 million. Google Friend Connect has reached 272 - up from 220 readers last year. The number one referrer (after removing search engines from the mix) is my good friend at Ad Orientem . Although not much publicized, this blog has a Twitter feed with 913 followers, last year's total was 518. Put together, the data would seem to report that this blog is faring rather well. I am, of course, alway...

( Syrian-EUS ) - On Saturday December 7, 2013, His Eminence, Mor Cyril Aphrem Karim participated in the installation of His Grace, Bishop David as the first Bishop for the newly- formed Coptic Diocese of New York and New England. He was accompanied by the Very Rev. Father Gabriel Adde and Shamosho Esia Bahdi. During the ceremony, His Eminence congratulated His Grace on behalf of The Syriac Orthodox Archdiocese, as well as on behalf of the Standing Conference of the Oriental Orthodox Bishops in the United States. It was an uplifting spiritual gathering for Clergy and Parishioners to enjoy in this holy occasion, the love, concord and harmony among the churches, which the Lord Jesus Christ commanded His followers to have. We wish His Grace, Bishop David, success in his new mission, asking God Almighty to give him His holy guidance, wisdom and good health.

( ABC News ) - Macedonia's Orthodox Church has backtracked from an initial ban on its clergy using Facebook, but says it will instead impose social networking restrictions. The decision to prohibit use of the site in October sparked tensions between older Church dignitaries who don't use the Internet and the younger clergy. Church officials at the time had said the ban was intended to prevent "new phenomena of confessions and intimate conversations with young people." On Thursday, Bishop Clement, secretary of the Holy Synod, which governs Macedonia's Church, said officials would "clarify" how members of the clergy would be allowed to use Facebook. He did not offer further details. About two-thirds of Macedonia's 2 million people are Orthodox Christians.

It should be noted that Bishop Lukas has repeatedly stated that these words were not his. ( CWN ) - A Greek Orthodox bishop’s exhortation to Syrian Christians to take up arms is “insane” and “reckless,” a Syrian Catholic prelate told the Fides news agency. Bishop Lukas El Khoury, an auxiliary bishop of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch, had said that “every young Christian in a position to do so should take up arms to protect Syria, churches, and convents,” Fides reported. “We cannot remain with arms folded.” “As men of the Church, we cannot incite Christians to take up arms and to take part in the conflict,” Archbishop Jacques Behnan Hindo, the Syrian Catholic archbishop of Hassaké-Nisibi, said in response. “We cannot say these things, it is insane. It goes against the Gospel and the Christian doctrine … Reckless statements put Christians in danger of becoming targets of violence.” In “the situation in which we find ourselves, every individual, even Christian, is free t...

Seminarians from St. Sophia Seminary pray for Ukraine. ( UOC-USA ) - The use of force, confrontation and violence will fail to resolve political issues! Beloved brothers and sisters in Christ! The events of the last several weeks and especially the last several days in the life of independent Ukraine have caused the Council of Bishops of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the USA to call upon the brothers and sisters in Ukraine to remain true to their aspirations to continue the development of true democratic society that has been under a severe threat. As you know from various media outlets, thousands of Ukrainian citizens have taken liberty to stand up for their beliefs by participating in protests-maydans throughout Ukraine and especially in the capital of Kyiv. As we have stated in the past: throughout Ukraine’s history, millions of people have given their lives for freedom, dignity and human rights, in order to reclaim the right to peaceful demonstration as well as polit...

( Standard Speaker ) - A shuttered church could get new life in Sheppton. A Russian Orthodox Rite congregation in Mayfield bought an historic Russian Orthodox church in Sheppton that closed down years ago. They plan to make it usable sometime in the future for possibly a Russian Orthodox parish. The church is located on West Market Street in Sheppton and, according to East Union Township resident John Biros, services haven't been conducted there in more than 20 years. Biros said he and his wife, Ann, purchased the church with the intention of perhaps building a home on the property, but once inside something told him not to demolish the old church because it was so beautiful. "It was not heated but it somehow withstood the elements after it went out of service and it was preserved," Biros said. "It was just amazing how beautiful it was inside." Schuylkill County records indicate that Biros purchased the church in 1999 for $5,000 and sold it for $30...

Apologies for the machine translation. ( Portal-Credo ) - DOCUMENT: official hierarchy of the Orthodox Church of the Czech Lands and Slovakia split into two jurisdictions. Statement of Archbishop Simeon Brno-Olomouc Orthodox clergy and believers throughout the church community. Warn the clergy and faithful of the Orthodox Church of the Czech Lands and Slovakia about the fact that after today (09.12.2013) the Holy Synod, I was the only representative of our canonical Orthodox Church. The remaining members of the Holy Synod meeting today, unfortunately, acted in contradiction to the holy canons, which led to a confrontation with the current High Representative for our church and thus to exercise a split in the bosom of the Orthodox Church. I am in a strong disorder of their actions and I dare say that this situation is not caused by me. Such a result would not and do not bear responsibility for it. Only wanted to solve problemmu vacant Prague archbishopric department in the sense th...

( Notes from Arab Orthodoxy ) - Apologies for this being the translation of a translation. The below is based on the French here , translated from a report on Amen.gr here . The text of Patriarch Theophilos' letter to Patriarch John can be read, in Greek, here . The Patriarchate of Jerusalem remains firm in its initial position regarding its ecclesial jurisdiction over Qatar but, according to some reports, it is proposing to the Patriarchate of Antioch-- which questions the Church of Jerusalem's rights over the diocese in question-- to form a special commission made up of scholars of canon law in order to study and document ecclesial jurisdiction in the region. The same sources mention that the Patriarchate of Antioch has already received a letter from the patriarch of Jerusalem, Theophilos, in which he responds to the arguments elaborated by the patriarch of Antioch, John, in his previous letter. Figures from the Church of Antioch in contact with the website Amen.gr call t...

( Moscow Times ) - According to a member of the Tomsk diocese, the use of an expletive banned in the media is necessary to denounce women who have babies without being married. A missionary from the Russian Orthodox Church has proposed "rehabilitating" a common Russian expletive and using it to refer to single mothers and unmarried women who live with their partner. Maxim Stepanenko, a missionary from the Tomsk diocese, justified his use of the word by saying that it is cognate with an archaic word for "deception" or "adultery" that appears in a Church Slavonic translation of the New Testament. The modern-day expletive can be translated as "harlot," though it is commonly used as an all-purpose irate interjection by many Russian speakers. Stepanenko said that the expletive was necessary to denounce the women who have babies without being married and suggested bring it back into common usage. "Alas, the old Russian word [expletiv...

Documentary about daily life of a Men's Monastery in Abkhazia.

( Antiochian.org ) - December 7, 2013 The President and Mrs. Obama; The White House; 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW; Washington D.C. 20500 Dear Mr. President and Mrs. Obama, Greetings and best wishes to you and to your two precious daughters in the spirit of this Holy Christmas season. I was honored to receive your invitation to attend a White House holiday reception on Friday, December 6th, 2013. I remember fondly my attendance at the White House reception two years ago. The photograph which we took together on that auspicious occasion continues to adorn my office. Unfortunately Mr. President, I did not attend your holiday reception this year because while I do have the joy of Christmas, I do not have the peace of Christmas. This is the peace which the angels proclaimed on that Holy Night "Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace, goodwill toward men" (Luke 2:14). Although I am Lebanese by birth and a proud American citizen for the past fifty-seven years, I rec...

( Νυχθημερόν ) - Sunday morning, Dec. 8, 2013, the Greek Community of Pretoria, at the Greek Orthodox Cathedral of the Annunciation, attended a Memorial Service for the great leader of South Africa and Nobel Peace Prize winner Nelson Mandela, who has already received the proper place in the pantheon of world history as a leading fighter for equality and fairness among people and, yet, as a staunch defender of the weak and disadvantaged Africans.

( The Daily Saint ) - Patrick McConlogue, 23, is a brilliant programmer who would pass by Leo Grand, a homeless man, every day on his way to work. Something about the man struck him, and one day on a whim, McConlogue offered Grand $100 no questions asked, or an old laptop, three books on coding and one hour of coding lessons every day for two months. Grand took Door Number Two. That was a few months ago, and since then, people have been following the journey of the unexpected pair on their Facebook page called Journeyman. Just this week, Grand appeared on the Today Show and CNN to discuss his new app called Trees for Cars, which matches people looking for rides with drivers in the area. The opportunity has been a lifeline for Grand, a computer lover who said he’s been sleeping in shelters for two years since the rent at his former apartment shot up and he was evicted. And Grand has proven to be an apt student under McConlogue’s teachings. “The speed at which I’m going th...