Byzantine, Texas

( ROCOR ) - The Pastoral School of the Diocese of Chicago and Mid-America is now accepting applications for the coming fall semester. In addition, scholarship applications are also being accepted for two separate scholarship tracks: Need-Based Scholarships and Academic Scholarships. The Pastoral School would like to thank the Fund for Assistance to the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia for supporting our scholarship program. We are pleased to announce that His Eminence Metropolitan Jonah has joined the faculty and will be teaching Dogmatic Theology this year in the Pastoral School. This year the Pastoral School is pleased to offer a Catechist Training Program – the first of its kind available in English in the Russian Orthodox Church. This program was created in response to the call by the Council of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church which met in Moscow in February 2013. At this council the bishops called for the training of catechists and the educational institution...

FRANKLIN, Tennessee ( On Religion ) - It was a typical evangelistic crusade in rural Alabama and, as he ended his sermon, the Rev. Gordon Walker called sinners down to the altar to be born again. Most Southern towns have a few notorious folks who frequent the back pews during revival meetings, trying to get right with God. On this night, one such scalawag came forward and fell to his knees. "Preacher! I've broken all the Ten Commandments except one," he cried, "and the only reason I didn't break that one was that the man I shot didn't die!" It didn't matter that this man repeated this ritual several times during his troubled life, said Walker, telling the story decades later at Holy Cross Orthodox Church outside Baltimore. Now wearing the golden robes of an Eastern Orthodox priest, Walker smiled and spread his arms wide. The church, he said, has always known that some people need to go to confession more than others. The goal was to keep wa...

The below is from the blog Orthognosia ... Elder Paisios said: A man came to my cottage once, telling me how depressed he was, because of the disputes he had with his wife. However, I didn’t find any serious problem. He frowned because of something, and his wife frowned about something else, so they couldn’t join together. In this case a little “furnishing” was necessary. As an example, we can take unfurnished planks. One has a knot in one place, the other one has a knot on another place, and if you try to put them together, an empty space will appear between. But, if you equalize and furnish one of the planks on one side, and the same is done with the other plank with the same furnishing tool, they quickly fit with each other, and there is no empty space between. (Elder Paisios considered that the married couple should have one common spiritual father, who will help them in the reconciliation of their disputes.) Some men say: “I am not compatible to my wife, we are totally d...

When the assumption of thine undefiled body was being prepared, the Apostles gazed on thy bed, viewing thee with trembling. Some contemplated thy body and were dazzled, but Peter cried out to thee in tears, saying, I see thee clearly, O Virgin, stretched out, O life of all, and I am astonished. O thou undefiled one, in whom the bliss of future life dwelt, beseech thy Son and God to preserve thy people unimpaired. - Sticheron after the Gospel, Orthros ( Antiochian.org ) - It would be a gross understatement to say that much has been written about the Feast of the Dormition of the Theotokos. Yet very little has been written about the fast that precedes it. Every Orthodox Christian is aware and generally knows the reason behind the fasts for Pascha and Christmas. But while they may know of the Dormition Fast, few follow it, and more than a few question why it is there, neither knowing its purpose. First, given the pervasive misunderstanding of the purpose of fasting itself, a re...

( Maronite Servants of Christ the Light ) - Today in the Maronite Church we celebrate the Feast of the 350 Maronite Martyrs- July 31 After Saint Maron died, many were inspired by his teachings and his ascetic way of life. By the fifth century a monastery was built near where he lived known as Bet Maroun. The monastery became very significant in the region. Also in the fifth century a debate had emerged about the nature of Jesus. The debate centered on whether Jesus was divine, human or both and exactly what that meant. Some, like the Nestorians, argued that Jesus was separately divine and human and that the two natures were independent. Others such as the Jacobites taught that Jesus was only divine and his divinity absorbed his human nature. In 451, The Council of Chalcedon dealt with the debate once and for all, declaring that Christ was both divine and human, but one person. The Maronites upheld the proclamation of the Council of Chalcedon. The monks of Saint Maron led the ...

( The Hill ) - Planned Parenthood confirmed Monday that anti-abortion hackers have attempted to infiltrate the organization, potentially exposing sensitive data on their employees. Dawn Laguens, Planned Parenthood executive vice president, called the incident a “gross invasion of privacy” that could put staff at risk. “Today Planned Parenthood has notified the Department of Justice and separately the FBI that extremists who oppose Planned Parenthood's mission and services have launched an attack on our information systems, and have called on the world's most sophisticated hackers to assist them in breaching our systems and threatening the privacy and safety of our staff members,” Laguens said in a statement. “We are working with top leaders in this field to manage these attacks,” she added. A hacker going by the name of “E” took partial credit for the cyberattack early Monday, claiming the hackers had pilfered internal files, emails and worker information. The digita...

( OCA ) - Bishop Paul reported that he does not intend to issue any “global liturgical directives” at this time, as he feels that he needs another year or so to observe the liturgical life of diocesan parishes. Should issues arise, he should be consulted. With regard to Vesperal and Baptismal Liturgies, he explained that these may be effective in some parishes, but he hopes that a single “version” of each could be developed for the sake of consistency. With regard to the attire of readers and subdeacons, he noted that in light of the sexual misconduct guidelines, we must not be “overly clerical” with minor orders. Readers may wear cassocks only when they are discharging their duties; if they are not reading at a given service, they should not wear them. Readers and subdeacons are not to wear cassocks when they visit other parishes. In the future, altar servers may be blessed to wear oraria in the Byzantine style – that is, not crossed as customary for ordained subdeacons – and h...

Tony Backos owner of Old 41 Restaurant in Bonita asked Fr Hans to Bless his business. So this past Sunday, in the middle of the busiest time, the restaurant and its patrons got blessed! Watch how wonderful it is to welcome Jesus Christ everywhere, even into the kitchen and the freezers.

( Diocese of Mozambique ) In Thessaloniki, the Church of Saint Panteleimon (Greek: Ναός Αγίου Παντελεήμονα) is a late Byzantine church in Thessaloniki, Greece, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The church lies in the eastern part of the old city, near the Tomb of Galerius (the "Rotunda"), at the junction of Iasonidou and Arrianou streets. Its current dedication to Saint Panteleimon was given to the church after the end of Ottoman rule in 1912, and its original dedication is therefore disputed. In Ottoman times, it was converted into a mosque in 1548 and became known as Ishakiye Camii ("Mosque of Ishak [Isaac]"), which in the prevailing scholarly interpretation points to an identification with the late Byzantine Monastery of the Virgin Peribleptos, also known as the Monastery of Kyr Isaac after its founder Jacob, who was the city's metropolitan bishop in 1295–1315 and became a monk with the monastic name of Isaac. A counter-argument however supports the ...

An important icon to have. ( Uncut Mountain Supply ) - The Theotokos the "Helper in Childbirth" is the cherished icon of future mothers who ask our Most-holy Lady to protect them and to bless them with a sucessful delivery and child.

"The Child Who Was Never Born" by Martin Hudáčeka.

BEIRUT ( Massis Post ) — Bishop Krikor Ghabroyan (Emeritus Bishop of the Eparchy of France) was elected the new Patriarch of the Armenian Catholic Church. The new Patriarch has assumed the name Grégoire Pierre XX. The celebration of its installation will be on August 9 in Lebanon. It will carry the title of “Catholicos-Patriarch of Cilicia of the Armenians”. the patriarchal headquarters is located in the convent of Bzommar and his residence in Beirut. Pope Francis has sent a message of congratulations to the new Armenian Catholic Paticarch of Cilicia, his Beatiude Grégoire Pierre XX Ghabroyan. In the message Pope Francis expressed hope that his new ministry will bear many fruits, adding that his elections comes at a time when the Armenian church is confronted with various difficulties and challenges, the Vatican Radio reported. Pope Francis referred to the terrible ordeals that some Armenian Catholics in the Middle East are facing. But he added that “illuminated by the light of...

I don't believe the Diocese of the West nor of Eastern Pennsylvania put out videos. Archdiocese of Washington Diocese of the New York and New Jersey Diocese of the South

Daily recaps covering highlights of the AAC for the Orthodox Church in America. Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday

Don't you want to be able say "I helped a family go to seminary!" I certainly do. As the blog's last posting of a GoFundMe campaign helped a small mission in South Carolina get a new roof (see here ), I thought we could give it another go and help the Greesons get to St. Vladimir's Seminary . I'm sure every donation - large or small - will be appreciated greatly. ( GoFundMe ) - In August we will be headed to St Vladimir's Orthodox Seminary in order for Daniel to study and God willing prepare for the priesthood. This calling has taken various forms over the past decade from academic work, OCF work, and serving in various capacities in our local parishes. After a trying period in graduate school and several years of discernment we were propelled towards seminary. A major part in this discernment process was Daniel's friend Fr Matthew Baker, whose tragic death was a major impetus to act upon our years of prayer. These funds would support us thro...

CONSTANTINOPLE ( OCL ) – Metropolitan Elpidoforos of Bursa, Abbot of the Holy Trinity Patriarchal Monastery on the island of Chalki, is making efforts to succeed Demetrios as the future Archbishop of America, sources in Constantinople, Athens, and New York told TNH. But Archbishop Demetrios told TNH that he has not resigned and has no intention of doing so. “No, absolutely not,” the archbishop said, calling the information “mendacity” and “fable.” But does he intend to resign soon? Again, Demetrios responded: “I want you to know that there is a big ‘no’ to everything that relates to resignation. As long as I am alive and I am in this [healthy] condition, God gives me health and strength and I work. There is no intention for resignation.” The Archbishop added that “these issues are up to God’s will and not man’s.” His All Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew recently approached Metropolitan Methodios of Boston to see if he wanted to become Archbishop of America, but the ...

( Londinopoulis ) - The Centre for Marian Studies and the Orthodox Network are organising a two-day conference on the Mother of God in the Orthodox and Oriental Churches, at the University of Winchester (18th-20th August 2015). The earliest evidence for devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary comes from the Greek and Oriental churches, and the writings of the early authors of Eastern Christianity have influenced the cult of the Mother of God in both East and West. The Western church in recent decades has seen an upsurge of interest in the liturgy and theology of the East, and this conference will draw together scholars from both sets of traditions and from the secular academy to consider the rich Marian inheritance of Byzantine, Near Eastern and non-Chalcedonian Christians, with a focus on the tradition of hymnody. Speakers who have agreed to address the conference include Andrew Louth (Durham University), Niki Tsironis (Institute for Byzantine Research, Athens), Pierre Najem (Notr...

I'm not trying to avoid reporting on the OCA's All-American Council in Atlanta. There's just nothing so far to report. Things that have been put up for votes have passed easily, clergy are walking around, and it seems important to the OCA's Facebook page to post pictures looking out of hotel windows. Yawn. Should something newsworthy happen, I'll post it.

Really they could have gone to 20 Planned Parenthood locations and had the same discussion. If you can sell the byproduct of something you are already making money on, you're going to try and make money on it. In this case it just happens to be a discussion of not tearing small children apart in the "wrong" way so that even in death they are afforded not even a modicum of dignity. Whatever you did for the least of these indeed. ( Life News ) - A second shocking video in as many weeks has been released showing a top Planned Parenthood official discussing and arranging the sale of body parts of aborted babies. The first video shows Planned Parenthood Federation of America’s Senior Director of Medical Services, Dr. Deborah Nucatola, describing how Planned Parenthood sells the body parts of aborted unborn children and admitting she uses partial-birth abortions to supply intact body parts. In this video, Mary Gatter, the Medical director at Planned Parenthood Pasadena ...

( STOTS ) - The Fellowship of Orthodox Christians in America (FOCA), is meeting for the first time in conjunction with the All-American Council. During dinner with the hierarchs Sunday evening, Becky Tesar, FOCA President, presented Archbishop Michael, St. Tikhon's Seminary Rector, with a check for $300,000, representing the fulfillment of a pledge made by them toward our St. Tikhon's Seminary! St. Tikhon's Seminary is most grateful for all the efforts made by FOCA to complete their pledge to this important project!

Lebanon ( Orthodox Herald ) - HH Baselios Marthoma Paulose II, the supreme head of Malankara Orthodox Church reached Lebanon to participate in the consecration of Holy Muron to be conducted by His Holiness Aram I, Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia, on Saturday, July 18, 2015. The ceremony will be held at the St. Mary Monastery and the Genocide memorial monument in Bikfaya. The blessing of Muron is dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. The blessing of the Holy Muron will take place in the evening, followed by the address of His Holiness Aram I. On Sunday, July 19, Holy Liturgy will be celebrated at St. Gregory the Illuminator Mother Cathedral in Antelias presided over by His Holiness Aram I, who will conduct the blessing of water with the newly blessed Holy Muron. An Ecumenical Service will follow at the Genocide Memorial Chapel in Antelias with the participation of various church leaders and representatives. Prelates from Oriental Orthodox Churche...

( In Communion ) - The eight nuns of a Serbian Orthodox monastery, Sokolica, in religiously polarized Kosovo have decided to learn Albanian so they can talk to Albanian Muslims who come to pray at an ancient statue of the Virgin Mary. Muslims from all over Kosovo flock to the Sokolica monastery because they believe its 14th-century sculpture of the Sokolika Virgin can cure deaf-mute children and help childless couples become pregnant. The famous sculpture is adorned with gold necklaces, bracelets and strings of pearls from grateful pilgrims, both Christian and Muslim. “It cures not only their people but also our people,” said a Muslim neighbor. The monastery, surrounded by the Muslim village of Boletin, is located in the mountains that overlook the ethnically divided city of Mitrovica. “When Muslims ask how to pray, we tell them to pray in their own language and in the way they are taught to,” the 67-year-old head of the monastery, Mother Makarija, told Agence France Presse. ...

July 16, 2015 ( mospat.ru ) – The Inter-Council Presence Commission met to discuss the attitude to non-Orthodoxy and other faiths at the conference hall of the Moscow Patriarchate department for external church relations (DECR). The meeting was chaired by Metropolitan Alexander of Astana and Kazakhstan, head of the Metropolitan District in the Republic of Kazakhstan. The meetings was attended by Metropolitan Hilarion, head of the Moscow Patriarchate department for external church relations; Metropolitan Augustine of Belaya Tzerkov and Boguslavsk, Archbishop Feofan of Berlin and Germany, Archbishop Alexander of Baku and Azerbaijan, Bishop Nestor of Chersonese; Bishop Gennady of Kaskelen, chancellor of the Metropolitan District in Kazakhstan; Archpriest Vsevolod Chaplin, head of the synodal department for church-society relations; Archimandrite Philaret (Bulekov), secretary of the commission and DECR vice-chairman; Archimandrite Anthony (Sevryuk), rector of the Parish of St. Catherine ...

Patriarchal Divine Liturgy at St. George Antiochian Orthodox Cathedral of Worcester, MA with His Beatitude Patriarch John X of Antioch on July 19, 2015.. His Beatitude arrived in the United States on July 17, 2015 for the 52nd Biennial Convention of the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America. He and hierarchs from the Patriarchate of Antioch joined the hierarchs, clergy, and faithful of our Archdiocese in Worcester for a weekend of prayer and worship.

Many signs point to the upcoming Great and Holy Council set for next year to be a rubber stamping of carefully cultivated and pre-approved statements that have been in development in different forms for years. Below you see one of such prefabricated statements being rejected in its present form by the Russian Church and sent back for amendment. July 13, 2015 ( mospat.ru ) – the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church met for its regular session at the historic building of the Sacred Governing Synod in St Petersburg. The session was chaired by His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia. The Holy Synod considered the results of the Patriarchal visits to the ROC dioceses in Russia and Belarus, which took place from June 20 to 22, 2015. Having heard Patriarch Kirill’s report on the work carried out by the Supreme Church Council in the first half of the year 2015, the Holy Synod approved the decisions of the Supreme Church Council and resolved ‘that the documents on dio...

July 15, 2015 ( LifeSiteNews ) – A group of two dozen leading Russian and international scientists from various disciplines met last week in Moscow to make the case that science overwhelmingly confirms the humanity of the unborn child from the moment of conception – and to demand that “prenatal infanticide” be banned in the country. Sergei Chesnokov, the president of the Moscow Pro-Life Festival, which organized the symposium, told LifeSiteNews that such a scientific symposium on the humanity of the unborn child from a pro-life perspective “has never been organized before in Russia or in any post-Soviet country.” He said that the symposium was organized in light of a clause in the Russian penal law that says that the moment when life begins should be determined by the best scientific evidence. In a draft resolution that will be submitted to the Russian government together with the reams of evidence presented by the scientists at the symposium, participants state that, in thei...

It will be interesting to see how competitive SVS is on their course costs. When I took distance education classes from St. Tikhon's the cost was very reasonable. The Antiochian St. Stephen's Course is also within the reach of most people. When/if we get hard numbers per credit hour, I'll certainly post them. ( OCA ) - Saint Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary here is offering the public an opportunity for input into future course offerings, including degree programs and continuing education classes with on-line components. Through a brief survey, the seminary hopes to collect data about public preferences regarding course offerings in the liturgical arts, missions, ethics, and general theology. The courses will be geared toward pastors as well as lay people seeking certificates and degrees on the graduate and post-graduate levels. “We at Saint Vladimir’s are considering a number of new programs in order to better serve the Church and to fulfill the goals set f...

( OCA ) - Twenty-three deacons and students in the Diaconal Vocations Program of the Orthodox Church in America gathered on the campus of Saint Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary here for worship, theological reflection, and focused liturgical training. For the ninth year in a row, this gathering has provided an important opportunity for deacons and candidates to connect with faculty and each other as they seek to expand their ministries at the altar... Complete article here .

( LifeNews ) - A shocking new expose’ video has caught Planned Parenthood’s top doctor describing how the abortion business sells the body parts of aborted babies. New undercover footage shows Planned Parenthood Federation of America’s Senior Director of Medical Services, Dr. Deborah Nucatola, describing how Planned Parenthood sells the body parts of aborted unborn children and admitting she uses partial-birth abortions to supply intact body parts. In the video, Nucatola is at a business lunch with actors posing as buyers from a human biologics company. As head of PPFA’s Medical Services department, Nucatola has overseen medical practice at all Planned Parenthood locations since 2009. She also trains new Planned Parenthood abortion doctors and performs abortions herself at Planned Parenthood Los Angeles up to 24 weeks. Nucatola admits that Planned Parenthood charges per-specimen for baby body parts, uses illegal partial-birth abortion procedures in order to get salable parts, a...

In February Dr. Demacopolous put out an article that I commented on here . It was responded to by Fr. John Whiteford here . Kevin Allen has returned to AFR and, as he has in the past, inserted himself into an important discussion and brought to sides together to expound upon their perspectives. I think much of American Orthodoxy is glad to have him back. ( AFR ) - Earlier in the year one of Kevin's guests, Dr George E Demacopolous, wrote on the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese blog that through the increasing expansion of 'Orthodox fundamentalism' in ordinary parishes, "the entire Orthodox Church is at risk of being hijacked by extremists". Father John Whiteford, ROCOR priest and blogger wrote a robust rebuttal to this article. On this episode of Ancient Faith Today Kevin discusses with his guests their views of 'Orthodox fundamentalism': what it is, whether it truly exists and what impact it is having on the Orthodox Church today.

The indispensable Notes on Arab Orthodoxy provides this from Carol Saba on the Rupture of Communion between Antioch and Jerusalem . I've added some breaks in the text for readability. It should be noted that Carol Saba is expressing his personal view here and is not speaking in his capacity of director of communications for the Assembly of Orthodox Bishops of France. "When the wise man points at the moon, the idiot looks at his finger"! The famous Chinese proverb was completely right. This teaching attributed to Confucius is very appropriate in this case. Especially when we read, here and there, commentaries on the affair of canonical jurisdiction over Qatar. In the same sense as the Chinese lesson, as they say in my country France, "the tree must not hide the forest." Everyone is looking at this affair from the perspective of the break in ecclesiastical communion that the Holy Synod of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch and All the East was recently...

( Jerusalem Patriarchate ) - The Patriarchate of Jerusalem expresses its sorrow on the recent decision of the Patriarchate of Antioch to break off communion with it, and would like to sincerely and truthfully inform the sister Orthodox Churches and its flock about the following: Firstly , the Patriarchate of Jerusalem, responding to an invitation by the Christians of Qatar, a geographical territory within its ecclesiastical jurisdiction, appointed Theophilos, now Patriarch of Jerusalem, as officiating priest there in 1997, when there was neither a church in the region nor was the Christian worship performed. Ever since and to this day, Orthodox Christians in Qatar attend the liturgy, initially in Houses of Prayer, and since 2009 in the Church of St George, the Glorious Great Martyr, and St Isaac the Syrian, founded by the Patriarchate on a plot of land offered by His Highness Emir Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani. So, what would normally happen is that the body seeking to set up a church ...

Patriarch Louis Raphael, Primate of the Chaldean Catholic Church wrote a letter seeking to bring the three bodies of the Assyrian Church into one Church. You can read it here . Below is the Assyrian Church of the East's response. It is clear and well thought out. Give it a read below.

Would that this were the norm American Orthodoxy-wide. ( OCA-DOW ) - The Diocese of the West, Orthodox Church in America Guidelines for Readers and Subdeacons All ministries exercised within the Diocese, whether that of a Priest, Deacon, Subdeacon or Reader, are done so with the blessing and under the authority of the Diocesan Hierarch, and are accountable to him. A Reader is tonsured to minister within a particular parish, as indicated in the Office of the Tonsuring of a Reader: Blessed is the Lord. Lo, the servant of God, N. is become a Reader of the most holy Church of N.: in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. (The Service Book, Isabelle Hapgood, 1906). According to the canons of the Orthodox Church, there is no procedure for removing a Subdeacon or Reader from office apart from the determination of his own hierarch. Until now, very few dioceses have kept track of the movement of Subdeacons and Readers leading in some instances to confusion and ...

( Holy Trinity ) - For from the rising of the sun even unto the going down of the same My name shall be great among the Gentiles; and in every place incense shall be offered unto My name, and a pure offering: for My name shall be great among the heathen, saith the Lord of hosts.” (Malachi 1:11) The liturgical services of the Holy Orthodox Church engage body as well as soul. We see and touch the icons, hear the beautiful chanting, and, in partaking of the Holy Eucharist, we "taste and see that the Lord is good" (Psalm 33:8 LXX). Among these impressions, one of the strongest is that of the fragrant smoke of incense. The burning of incense, i.e. of plant resin and other materials in order to produce pleasant fragrances, is a universal practice. Incense was widespread in the ancient world; archaeologists have determined that there was an extensive trade in frankincense as far back as 3000 BC. One of the characters of the Mesopotamian Epic of Gilgamesh (ca. 2100 BC) burns inc...

I wrote on this conference held at Fordham earlier (see here ). As I've mentioned earlier in First Things repostings, I don't do so in their entirety unless I'm commenting on the complete article. ( First Things ) - Does the Council matter to my mother?” This question was posed at the Orthodox Theological Society of America’s (OTSA) conference held last month. It was asked in reference to the anticipated Holy and Great Council of the Orthodox Church planned for Pentecost 2016. It was offered tongue-in-cheek and was directed at the speculation about whether anything of substance will come out of the Council, but it expressed well the hopes and concerns held by the scholars of the Orthodox Church. As you might expect, the title received scholarly guffaws all around. The ninety or so scholars, including myself, attending the OTSA conference represented many Orthodox jurisdictions in America as well as abroad, were comprised mostly of laity—but included several priests and...

Taking your people and going somewhere else isn't evangelism. Do new churches make good neighbors? That is not my experience. I live near two Greek parishes of which one is an offshoot of the other 30 years ago after a similar disagreement; the families still hold grudges and many don't talk to each other. Should this be a short term solution to long term healing and not a permanent separation to something that needs restoration? This blog has been following this situation from the beginning and it's saddening to see things end like this. COTTONWOOD HEIGHTS – Metropolitan Isaiah Chronopoulos said he is leaving the past in the past. “I say this honestly, and as God as my witness, I have nothing against anyone in Holy Trinity and Prophet Elias who may have said anything against me,” he said. “And they said a lot of things against me.” The spiritual leader of the Greek Orthodox Christian Metropolis of Denver celebrated the Hierarchical Divine Liturgy Sunday at the Gr...