Byzantine, Texas

( ROCOR-EAD ) - On Saturday the 28th and Sunday the 29th of June, the Cathedral of the Icon of the Mother of God "Joy of All Who Sorrow" in San Francisco, CA played host to the national celebrations dedicated to the 20th anniversary of the glorification of the Holy Hierarch John of Shanghai & San Francisco. On Saturday at the All-Night Vigil, Archimandrite Nicholas (Olhovsky), guardian of the Protectress of the Russian Diaspora, the wonderworking Kursk Root Icon of the Mother of God, underwent Nomination as Bishop of Manhattan, vicar of the Eastern American Diocese. On Sunday, June 29, at the triumphal Divine Liturgy and in the presence of Hierarchs of the Russian Church Abroad, Moscow Patriarchate, and Ukrainian Orthodox Church (MP), a multitude of clergy, and faithful from every corner of the U.S. and around the world, Archimandrite Nicholas was elevated to the episcopate. Not a single hierarch from any other jurisdiction? Later during the Divine Liturgy, the ...

The Orthodox Young Professional Conference is a 4 day, 3 night conference inviting young professional Orthodox Christians from across the country and all jurisdictions to join together in fellowship and fun. Your conference committee has been working since late summer 2013 to plan an amazing opportunity for spiritual growth, future friendship, lasting memories and more. Scheduled for August 14-17, 2014 in San Diego, CA and hosted by the Fellowship of St. John the Divine of the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America.

The below is an example of how not to write an article from OCN's The Sounding . An opinion piece cloaked as the Orthodox opinion, the pericope periscope of Scripture to only look at the lines you want to look at while ignoring context, condescending speech "Most parents mean well, It’s shocking to see how many educated Christians, something from the dark ages," and overreaching assumptions on the motivations of others in the discipline methods they use on their own children. Normally I don't post the entire article as their general preference is for me to just use the first section as enticement, but my comments extend throughout the article. ( OCN ) - Spanking does not work in raising children. In my opinion, it should be eliminated as a strategy for controlling misbehavior in children. Why? Because I believe spanking destroys trust and is a quick fix that doesn’t solve the problem, teaches kids to be sneaky, shames the child, and is an insult to the intelligen...

There is grace in being a godparent and grace in having godly godparents. I pray for my godparents and godchildren every day and I know that my godparents do the same for me. That's a very comforting thing to know, but I know from experience that being a godparent for many is a once in a lifetime event. They are a godparent for the duration of the service and then never again. I'm not sure what the answer to that is. Is it to place a larger role on the pastor to approve the choice of godparents? Is it classes for prospective godparents? Is it books that need to be written for prospective godparents (book and workbook)? Is it an annual day for remembering godparents? I don't know. Your thoughts are appreciated. ( OCN ) - What does a godparent do? Does god-parenting require a lot of money to be buying godchildren special things and presents all the time? Or is the spiritual aspect more important? My brother and sister had rock-star godparents. They sent gifts every holida...

( AFR ) - Fr. Thomas Hopko dedicated three episodes of his Speaking the Truth in Love podcast to the discussions about dialogs between the Orthodox and Roman Catholics. As you know, he can go off-script a bit and walk down tangents for a bit before coming back to his topic, but he's a joy to listen to and this is a timely topic. Talk 1: In light of all of the discussion about the Ecumenical Patriarch meeting with the Pope, Fr. Tom offers some of his experiences with the World Council of Churches. Talk 2: As promised in his last episode, Fr. Thomas share with us the paper he wrote in 2005 outlining what the Roman Catholic Church would need to do to unite with the Orthodox. He broke it up into two parts and this is part one. Talk 3: This is part 2 of Fr. Tom's paper on what Orthodoxy would expect from Rome before communion would be restored.

( Armenian-WD ) - On June 21, His Beatitude Archbishop Nourhan Manougian, Armenian Patriarch of Jerusalem, visited the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, to renew his oath in front of the Holy Altar of Descent, following his recent election. Accompanying Patriarch Nourhan were Rev. Fr. Theodoros Zakarian, Rector of the Jarangavoratz Theological Seminary, and Rev. Fr. Tiran Hakobyan. Under the singing of “Hrashapar”, the Armenian Patriarch of Jerusalem and was lead by a festive procession to the Mother Cathedral. His Grace Bishop Hovnan Hakobyan, Grant Sacristan of the Mother See, greeted His Beatitude on behalf of the Members of the Brotherhood of the Mother See. His Beatitude Archbishop Manougian addressed the clergymen, expressing his spiritual joy for being present in the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin. “Indeed, our rare visits do not mean that the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin is not in our minds and hearts, on the contrary, for every Armenian, the Mother See is the Spiritual...

( ACN ) - Catholic bishops from Iraq are meeting this week to come up with a "rescue plan" amid growing fears that the ISIS Islamist attacks have put Christianity at increased risk of being extinguished from the country. The meeting of the Chaldean hierarchy, which started today in Erbil, in Kurdish northern Iraq, comes after the military success of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) prompted yet another wave of displacement within a country that has already seen a dramatic decline in the Christian population over the past decade. In an interview with Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need on the eve of the meeting, Chaldean Auxiliary Bishop Saad Sirop of Baghdad said that up to 75 percent of Christians had left the capital over the past few years. He said that ISIS attacks elsewhere in the country -- and the threat to Baghdad itself -- meant yet more Christians were leaving. The bishop added that in the capital, Mass attendance last weekend was "...

( OMHKSEA ) - Sunday of the Chinese Martyrs - Second Sunday after Pentecost/Second Sunday of Matthew. Synaxarion On this day, second Sunday of Matthew, we celebrate the Synaxis (gathering) of the Chinese Orthodox Christians who were martyred in Peking during the Boxer Rebellion in the year 1900. Short History In the year of our Lord 1900, when the Empress Dowager reigned over the vast country of China and supported the Boxer Rebellion against all foreigners, two-hundred twenty Orthodox Christians in Peking died as martyrs, although a few others lost courage and renounced the truth of the Gospel. Leader of the martyrs was the Priest Metrophanes Tsi-Chung. Many others followed his example and became martyrs with him, by various means, among whom were his wife Tatiana and sons Isaiah and John, Isaiah’s fiancée Maria, also Paul Wang, the teacher Ia Wang, the eight year old boy John, Clement Kui Lin, Matthew Chai Tsuang, his brother Witt, Anna Chui, and many others, whose name...

( Winnipeg Free Press ) - A former high-ranking Orthodox archbishop should serve a year in jail for violating his position of trust and sexually molesting an altar boy in Winnipeg in the 1980s. That's the view of Manitoba prosecutors as Seraphim (Kenneth) Storheim, 68, appeared for sentencing in the Court of Queen's Bench this morning. "The hallmarks of this case are the abuse of trust, the abuse of a child and the historical nature," Crown attorney Breta Passler told Justice Christopher Mainella. The Crown is seeking the term of real jail in hopes of sending a firm message to the general public that any child-sexual abuse cases will be seriously punished. That's even when the allegations date back decades and the perpetrator is of otherwise good conduct. Passler opposed Storheim being allowed a conditional sentence. This would allow him to skirt jail and remain in the community under house arrest. Storheim has no criminal record, and over the past 42...

( ICN ) - Churches and mosques have reopened ancient wells in Aleppo - Syria's largest city, in order to provide water for people in the summer heat. The city of Aleppo has been without water for two days this week. Rebel militias who control the pumping stations surrounding the city in northern Syria have been repeatedly cutting off water supplies from the community - in spite of appeals and mediation from the Red Cross and Red Crescent. In the extremely warm weather the water shortage is yet another collective punishment for a community already suffering from the shortages and dangers of the civil war. The Armenian Catholic Archbishop of Aleppo, Boutros Marayati, told Fides: "In our churches and mosques, in order to meet the emergency we have reactivated ancient wells that provide access to groundwater faults. Families come to fetch water to wash and clean their clothes". But, he said although people were drinking the water, it was unsuitable for drinking. This ...

More information on the often stated, but factually incorrect assertion  here .

I'm really enjoying the video series by Fr. Aris Metrakos on building a strong parish (available here ). Hopefully you will too.

I'm planning on being at this as I attended the tune-up webinar " Profiles in Orthodox Parish Revitalization " yesterday and quite enjoyed it. Join me! ( OCA-WPA ) - For clergy and lay leaders from Orthodox churches of fewer than 50 adults, the Small Parish Forum is a regional conference created to share helpful, hopeful ideas and tools for stabilizing and strengthening parish life. Co-sponsored by the OCA’s Archdiocese of Western Pennsylvania and the Diocese of the Midwest and with the blessings of Archbishop MELCHISEDEK and Bishop ALEXANDER, the 2014 Forum will be held at Christ the Savior Orthodox Church in Byesville OH. The Forum will begin at 3:00 PM Thursday July 10 and conclude at noon Saturday July 12. Help, Hope, Stability and Identity The OCA's Midwest and Western PA Dioceses have many small parishes. Some have always been small. Some were once large and for various reasons are now much smaller. They need support -- help and hope. They need to ac...

( Orthodox Missionary Fraternity ) - Saint Athanasius the Athonite Theological School, a faculty of the Orthodox University of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, started operating at the Mont Ngafula region in Kinshasa in September 2007. Attendance at school is five years. The School offers three directions: The Bible-Patristic Theology-Ecclesiastical History Liturgics Organization and Administration of Church Life The number of students during the first academic year of the School (2007-2008) amounted to 70, and has remained broadly stable until today. On average, there are 15 students per class. Attendance is compulsory. The presentations delivered for each lesson last two hours each, which is strictly observed. The teaching staff comes from DRC, Greece, France and Australia. Teaching is held either in person or by teleconference. The school is situated up on a green hill, about 25km outside the capital. When approaching it, the first thing one can see from afar is ...

( Pravoslavie ) - This year is the 120th anniversary since the birth, and the 35th anniversary since repose of St. Justin (Popovic), a beloved Serbian theologian and preacher who led his ascetic life in godless communist times. On the feast of Holy Annunciation—the date of St. Justin's repose in 1979—a Divine Liturgy was celebrated at the Serbian Celije Convent by Bishop Milutin of Valjevo with Bishop Athanasius (Jevtic) concelebrating. At this Convent St. Justin lived and preached the faith of Christ by his theological works and was its confessor for 31 years. After the Liturgy a moleben was served at the grave of St. Justin. It has been reported that with the blessing of Patriarch Irinej of Serbia, Bishop Milutin announced the forthcoming uncovering of Relics of St. Justin, which will take place on June 14, 2014. Then St. Justin's Relics will be translated to the Church of the Convent, reports Pravoslavie. St. Justin was canonized by decision of the Council of Hie...

( AOB ) - As part of the ongoing work of the Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of the United States of America, a meeting of the Assembly’s committee chairmen was held on Tuesday, June 10, 2014 in New York. Eleven of the Assembly’s fourteen committees were represented. Bishop Maxim, the Coordinator for Committees, convened the meeting. In his opening remarks, His Eminence Archbishop Demetrios of America, Chairman of the Assembly, commended the hierarchs for their commitment and also acknowledged the critical contribution made to the Assembly by countless ordained and lay consultants. His Eminence also reminded the hierarchs that the work of the Assembly, in particular through its committees, has an even greater significance than in the past in light of the Holy and Great Council, which is scheduled for 2016. Among the endeavors discussed at the meeting, Archbishop Nicolae (Committee for Canonical Regional Planning) confirmed that the task to study and prepare potential can...

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( OAJ ) - It is my particular pleasure to introduce the Orthodox Illustration Project – an initiative under the aegis of the Orthodox Arts Journal. In brief, the purpose of the project is to make available online a collection of graphic illustrations of the highest quality. The collection will focus on iconographic drawings and related graphic ornaments stylistically suited to the illumination of printed Orthodox publications. The project will address the needs of Orthodox book designers, graphic artists, and many others, who desire excellent imagery for their publications. Currently, there is very little available in the way of ‘clip art’ that is well suited to Orthodox publications. The Orthodox Illustration Project will meet this need, but it is to be more than just a static database of clip-art. It is an open-ended call for artistic contributions to build up a library of imagery, and in the process, to develop a new and fresh, yet wholly traditional, style of graphic art for ...

( RFE ) - A court in Moldova has fined an Orthodox bishop for publicly insulting members of the country's gay community and ordered him to publicly apologize. The court ruled on June 9 that Bishop Markel of Balti and Falesti has to pay 10,000 leus ($710) to the GenderDoc-M organization as compensation for moral damages and an additional 12,000 leus ($850) to cover trial expenses. GenderDoc-M represents the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community in Moldova. In September 2012, Markel publicly called for barring LGBT community members from working in schools, catering services, and medical institutions, citing as the reason that "92 percent of them are AIDS-HIV patients." The statement sparked protests among gay-rights defenders in Moldova. Although homosexual relations were decriminalized in Moldova in the 1990s, antigay sentiments remain high in the country.

Moscow, June 10 ( Interfax ) - Orthodox activists will hold the procession with cross in Kiev on June 22. "Participants in the procession with cross will stand against war in Donbass and Ukraine's integration in alien and hostile to our people western civilization "European Union - Euro Sodom". Ukraine is one of the integral parts that make Orthodox civilization and the Russian world," organizers told Interfax-Religion. The procession with cross will go from the Kiev Laura of the Caves. "We invite you to participate personally and invite other activists to take part in the procession with cross dedicated to the 73rd anniversary of the beginning of the most terrific and destructive war held by the West against the Russian World. This year the date of its beginning, as in 1941, matches with the Day of All Russian Saints," organizers said. Participants will conduct a Requiem Liturgy at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and sing acathistus to St.Geo...

Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, "I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life. - John 8:12

The below was originally from Arab Orthodoxy , but was later revised by the "The Faithful Children of the Orthodox Church of Jerusalem." Arabic-Speaking Clergy of the Patriarchate of Jerusalem Announce Seven Demands Your All-Holiness, Your Beatitudes, Reverend Fathers, Your Graces, Fathers and Brothers, The content of this letter was written with much concern and anxiety over the future of the Orthodox faithful of the Church of Jerusalem and of the Orthodox Church in general, which today is facing enormous problems and challenges. However, these problems are being covered over by the slogan that a group of fanatical Arab Orthodox wants to Arabize the Patriarchate of Jersualem. Instead of being met with thanks, those who are taking the initiative to reveal and explain what is happening in the Church of Jerusalem are being bizarrely threatened by the leadership of the Patriarchate with deposition, expulsion and persecution. Nevertheless, it is necessary to tell ...

The fear some have about a reunited East-West Church is that the Latin Church told Eastern Catholics that they couldn't have married priests in the New World and a reunited Church breaks the protection of synodality found in the Orthodox Church that would stop this from happening to us. The Greek Catholics had no recourse when they fought to keep married priests and left in two large waves (the first to the Russians/Metropolia/OCA and the second to the Ecumenical Patriarchate/Carpatho-Russian Diocese). The married clergy ban was a capricious decision, but nothing in the way the Roman Curia operates right now would stop something like this from happening again. ( AOB ) - The North American Orthodox-Catholic Theological Consultation voted in early June to encourage the “lifting of the restrictions regarding the ordination of married men to the priesthood in the Eastern Catholic Churches of North America.” “This action would affirm the ancient and legitimate Eastern Christian tra...

( Armenian-WD ) - On Saturday, June 2, the Canadian Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church elected the Very Rev. Fr. Abgar Hovakimyan as its Primate. His Eminence Archbishop Hovnan Derderian, Primate of the Western Diocese of the Armenian Church of North America wrote a congratulatory letter to the newly elected Primate wishing him renewed strength and vigor in his Primacy as the spiritual leader of the Armenian-Canadian community. Fr. Abgar Hovakimyan was educated in Armenia and Austria and was ordained to the Sacred Order of the Priesthood in 1996 at the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin. He has served as Pastor of the Holy Savior Church in Batoumi; as diocesan vicar of the Diocese of Georgia and of the Diocese of Syunik and has served in the Diocese of Canada. From 2011 to 2014, Father Abgar served as Locum Tenens of the Diocese of the Armenian Church of Bulgaria.

( antiochian.org ) - On June 5, 2014, hierarchs, clergy, and laity delegates convened in Chicago, IL at the Hyatt Regency Hotel to participate in the historic Archdiocese Special Convention, with the purpose of selecting three candidates whose names will be submitted to the Holy Synod of the Patriarchate of Antioch for the office of Metropolitan of the Antiochian Archdiocese of North America and Canada. Vicar General for the Antiochian Archdiocese The Very Rev. Thomas Zain was interviewed by Ancient Faith Radio immediately following the vote, announcing that the Special Convention has nominated the following (in alphabetical order): The Right Rev. Bishop Basil, Diocese of Wichita and Mid-America; The Right Rev. Bishop John, Diocese of Worcester and New England; and The Most Rev. Archbishop Joseph, Diocese of Los Angeles and the West and Locum Tenens for the Diocese of Eagle River and the Northwest. In the interview, Fr. Thomas also thanked Metropolitan Silouan of Buenos Aires ...

The votes are in. Will Damascus pick Bishop Basil , Bishop John , or Archbishop Joseph ?

Moscow, June 4 ( Interfax ) - The Moscow Patriarchate starts realizing a complex program of spiritual care for handicapped people. It is supposed to set up an infrastructure for disabled people: to provide comfortable access to those who move in wheelchairs, make shape relief icons, tactile schemes, walks for blind people on the floor, and translation for deaf and blind, press service of the Synodal Department for Church Charities and Social Service reports. The Coordination Center for Work with Deaf People and Hearing Impaired will be set up at the Synodal Department. It is also planned to call volunteers, who will extend disabled people regular social help in every day life and to organize kindergartens for handicapped children at churches. Today, over 300 Orthodox associations, voluntary organizations, charity groups and parishes help disabled people in Russia.

( antiochian.org ) - Archpriest Thomas Zain, Vicar-General of the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America, has announced that His Beatitude John X, Patriarch of Antioch and all the East, has called for a conference on June 26-28, 2014 entitled: "Antiochian Unity: Its Dimensions and Exigencies." Hierarchs and delegates representing the various Antiochian Archdioceses throughout the world have been invited by the Patriarch to participate in this conference to be held at the Balamand in North Lebanon. Each archdiocese is allotted five delegates; however the North American archdiocese is allotted ten because of its size. The delegations of each archdiocese will participate in one of five major areas of concentration: 1. Relationships between parishes and the archdioceses and between the archdioceses and the Patriarchate. 2. Developing endowments and financial solidarity 3. Social work 4. Presence in society 5. Communications and media Complete article ...

As one of my seminary professors was fond of saying, "There is no theosis without kenosis." If all your energy is directed back at yourself you add nothing to the universe. You end up eating your own tail and are left with nothing. This is not a topic only of the Latin Church, but is also something being discussed actively at the joint Orthodox-Catholic cooperative layer (e.g. Met. Hilarion of the Russian Church has been an important proponent of revitalizing the family in cooperation with the Catholic Church). Orthodox birth rate numbers are awful almost everywhere (with some notable exceptions ). If you add our equally atrocious post-primary school graduation attrition rates, you have a recipe for disaster. It's a topic at the pan-Orthodox level that will be discussed at the upcoming Great Council and deservedly so. ( The Guardian ) - Pope Francis has warned married couples who choose not to have children that they are heading for an old age blighted by "the b...

( mospat.ru ) - Greetings by Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk to the Participants of the 4th European Orthodox-Catholic Forum (Minsk, 2 – 6 June 2014) Your Eminences and Graces, Esteemed Fathers and Brothers, Dear organizers and participants of the conference! On behalf of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus and myself personally I would like to cordially greet all of the participants of the 4th European Orthodox-Catholic Forum, this year dedicated to the very relevant topic of religion and cultural pluralism: the challenges to the Christian Churches in Europe. I would like to note with satisfaction that our meetings have become quite regular. The format of interaction decided upon in 2008 has proved to be of use since it allows us to react swiftly to events happening in the world. Previous sessions were devoted to such problems as the family, the Church and state, the economic crisis and poverty. In the modern-day world there is not only an intensiv...

( Christian Today ) - Since so many of us crave certainty and straightforward answers, it's sometimes difficult to live with the many unresolvable paradoxes of the Christian faith. So what can we do about it? Rather than running away from them, or trying to explain them away, author, speaker and theologian Krish Kandiah thinks the tension between opposing doctrines is where faith comes alive and that often, it is in the most difficult parts of the Bible that God is most clearly revealed. Krish is also not afraid to ask those questions that some of us may have thought we are not allowed to ask now we are grown up. "Often we are taught – or at least we pick up by osmosis – that Christian maturity means giving confident, slick answers without a hint of uncertainty," he says. "But that is simply wrong. False assurance is no assurance at all, and taking time to tackle the difficult passages of the Bible head on may in fact be exactly what we need to help strengthen ...

Damascus ( Oriental Orthodox ) - His Holiness Ignatius Ephrem II, Patriarch of Antioch and all the East said his main aim is to sustain and improve the Catholicity (Universality) of the Syriac Orthodox Church of Antioch. His Holiness said that at the enthronement service of the Syriac Orthodox Patriarch, The 'Order of Mor Cleemis'  (St. Clement) was divided into 26 parts and it was read in 13 languages. The Syriac Orthodox Episcopal Holy Synod under the under the auspices of the Patriarch of Antioch and all the East has concluded on 30 May 2014 at the Patriarchate. Steps will be taken to improve the already existing strong relationship of the Patriarchate of Antioch and All The East with church in Malankara which is the integral part of the Syriac Orthodox Church of Antioch. The Universal Syriac Orthodox Holy Synod will be convened every 4 years. A six (6) member Committee under the president ship of the Patriarch of Antioch and all the East was constituted to look int...