A Catholic view on the upcoming council

Edward Pentin with the National Catholic Register has written an article that is head and shoulders above its contemporaries on the topic of the upcoming Council in Crete. It delves into the broader topics but also the players involved. I recommend it wholeheartedly.

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VATICAN CITY (NCR) — The historic meeting between Pope Francis and Patriarch Kirill of Moscow in Havana Feb. 12 — the first such encounter since the Russian Orthodox Church was founded in the 10th century — would probably not have happened were it not for another historic upcoming meeting: the Pan-Orthodox Council. He's not alone in thinking this. Editorials on this point range from delight at the Holy Spirit working among us to chagrin that the Russian Church is trying to show up Constantinople.

The leaders of all Orthodox Churches will gather June 16-27 for the first time since 787. Over the succeeding 12 centuries, there have been councils of various levels attended by representatives of various Churches, but this will be the first Pan-Orthodox Council attended by all Orthodox leaders. "Diaspora" representation so far looks woefully inadequate and, for those who support the tomos of autocephaly granted to the OCA, incomplete.

The meeting, which has been years in the making and was originally planned for Istanbul, will now take place in Greek-Orthodox Crete, which falls under the jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople. The heads of the autocephalous, or self-governing, Orthodox Churches (there is not universal agreement among the Orthodox about the precise number of such local Churches) decided on most of the final details of the council at a meeting, called a “Synaxis of Primates,” at the end of January in Chambésy, Switzerland. Why Crete? Because of the strained relations between Russia and Turkey making assurances that Russian hierarchs would be allowed to enter the country questionable.

The council is a fruit of much work carried out by local Orthodox Churches for more than 50 years, but expectations are fairly muted. Speaking in Moscow Feb. 2, Patriarch Kirill stressed that the council, which will only last 12 days, will not be like “ancient ecumenical councils,” and it is “not called to make decisions on doctrinal issues because such were made long ago and are not subject to revision.” He also stressed it is not aimed at introducing “any innovation in the liturgical life of the Church and her canonical order.” Some people consider this to be the first in a regular series of synaxese where the Church will come together to discuss timely topics. Others feel this is a one-and-done event. Still others see this as a dipping of the toe into the warm water with more substantive conciliar actions to come if this goes off without a burned big toe.

What it will do, he added, is become “an important factor” in building “inter-church unity and cooperation” and contribute to the “clarification of the responses that the Orthodox Church gives to challenges of today on the basis of her age-old Tradition.”

In an interview with the Register in 2014, Metropolitan Hilarion Alfeyev of Volokolamsk, chairman of the Russian Orthodox Department of External Church Relations, explained that a pan-Orthodox Council would not be an Orthodox equivalent of the Second Vatican Council “because their agendas are utterly different”; and the Russian Orthodox, at least, “do not expect it to introduce any reforms making a substantial impact on the life of Orthodoxy.”

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Met. Hilarion interviewed after Havana summit

(Interfax) - The first in history meeting between the patriarch of Moscow and the pope of Rome, which had been on the agenda for 20 years, was held in Havana on February 12. Head of the Synodal Department for External Church Relations Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk tells Interfax-Religion correspondent Alexey Sosedov about its results, influence on settling the main problem existing between the two Churches, fears about Orthodox and Catholics closing up, and prospects of the pope's visit to Russia and the patriarch's visit to Rome.

- Your Eminence, what do you think about results of the meeting between Patriarch Kirill and Pope Francis?

- Much is said that it is the first meeting in history, that there has never been such a meeting before, but I think that the most important about it is the content of the meeting. It is certainly pleasant to see the pope and the patriarch together, talking to each other in a fraternal atmosphere, smiling to each other. But the most important is the content of the meeting, which was fully reflected in the mutual declaration signed by the patriarch and the pope. I think this declaration for a long time will be a guidance for Christians of the two confessions: Orthodox and Catholic.

The declaration also contains important words about the Gospels as shared grounds for believers of the West and the East, about the way to realize the Gospels commandments in difficult contemporary conditions. This declaration is a guidance for action.

- Will this historic event influence the settlement of the main problem existing in relations between the two Churches: actions of the Greek-Catholics (Uniates) in Ukraine?

- The mass media have recently published a reaction from an archbishop of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church to the joint declaration adopted by the pope and the patriarch. This reaction was very negative, very insulting not only to our side, but also to the pope. Those statements show that the administration of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church has not changed its position. They are not ready to hear not only the voice of our patriarch, but even the voice of their pope.

They have their own politicized agenda, they have their own clients, they are fulfilling these orders, and even the pope is not an authority to them.

- What mutual steps are necessary to bring Uniates to reason? Perhaps, we should expect that the Russian Church and the Catholic Church will set up a commission.

- There is an idea of the creation of some commission that would help resolve the problem of the Unia, but the specific parameters of this commission are now difficult to imagine, especially bearing in mind the way the leaders of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church are thinking.

In the early 1990s, a four-party commission was created to resolve specific, practical issues relating to the existence of Orthodox Christians and Greek-Catholics in Western Ukraine. However, the Greek-Catholics unilaterally left that commission, they did not want to participate in it. I think this is due to the fact that they don't want to walk the path that is now outlined by the pope and the patriarch in their joint declaration.

The way offered by the pope and the patriarch is the way of interaction in the areas where such interaction is possible. It's the path of halting the rivalry and transitioning to brotherly relations. And the Greek-Catholics don't need that at all. Their rhetoric is aggressive, hostile and loose, and it is in very sharp contrast not only with the content of the declaration, but also its style, its ministerial message, the reconciliating spirit coming from it.

- Many journalists are interested if the pope will come to Russia.

- This topic was not discussed at the meeting. Perhaps, everyone is interested, but I don't have a feeling that the pope cares much about it. At least, it was not voiced at the meeting. Neither the pope's visit to Moscow nor the patriarch's visit to Rome is under consideration now.

What the two Сhurches should focus on at the moment is stepping up interaction, expanding mutual understanding, and trying as soon as possible to overcome the negativity that has accumulated in relations between the Orthodox and the Catholics and working toward to bring minds and hearts closer together. And then the time will show us what to do. I think that when there will be conditions for the next meeting, we will decide where and when to hold it.

- Are the Churches going to develop pilgrimage?

- The pope and the patriarch said at the meeting that we should be more open to each other in the field of pilgrimage. For example, a big flow of Orthodox pilgrims comes to relics of St. Nicholas in Italian Bari. Pilgrims from the Catholic Church also come to Orthodox shrines. We can intensify these two flows, as it is very important for people to meet each other, to have access to shrines of the other Church.

- Is it possible to bring relics of Sts Peter and Paul from Rome or St. Jacob from Spain to Russia?

- I consider it quite possible. I think our believers will be spiritually inspired if relics of the saints venerated in our Church, but kept in the Catholic Church, are brought to Russia. The reverse movement is certainly possible, I mean the shrines of the Russian Orthodox Church can be taken to the West so that believers of the Catholic Church can venerate them.

- Can we expect it in the nearest future?

- I think the first exchange of shrines is possible during the year.

- How will the Russian and the Catholic Churches protect traditional moral values now?

- As to the protection of traditional moral values, we absolutely agree with the Catholic Church. We consider a marriage the union between the man and the woman for giving birth and bringing up children. We consider it necessary to protect human life from the moment of conception to natural death. We are against abortions. There were very powerful words in the declaration to protect life, to protect the right of each person for life. I think we will intensify our interaction in these directions.

- We have recently learned that nuncio Ivan Jurkovic was moved from Moscow to Geneva. Is it somehow connected with the meeting of the pope and the patriarch? Do you know who will be the next nuncio?

- We do not know who will be the next nuncio. I learned from the mass media that Archbishop Ivan Jurkovic is appointed to Geneva. Appointment of nuncios is Vatican's internal affair, Vatican as a state. An apostolic nuncio is an ambassador of the Vatican state to other states. So appointments of nuncios is not a question of inter-church relations.

This appointment should be in no way considered as the consequence of our discontent with the nuncio. On the contrary, we had very good relations with Nuncio Ivan Jurkovic as well as with his predecessor. We do not have any claims to him. We are thankful to him for the constructive cooperation. I think his appointment is connected with the rhyme of changing nuncio each four years, the same as ambassadors. Nuncio Ivan Jurkovic was in my TV program a day or two before our trip to Havana, we had a nice conversation. I heard that his new appointment is being prepared, but I did not have a chance to ask him about it.

- Some Orthodox believers are afraid of closing up with Catholics as they see the danger of almost full merger of Orthodox and Catholic Church. What can you say to these people?

- First of all, I would like to recommend them to read the declaration of the pope and the patriarch attentively, it shows what they talked about. There was not any attempt of closing up the teaching, the dogmatic or theological questions were not discussed. Such discussion is not on the agenda today. The declaration starts with the message that loss of the God-commanded unity is a violation of the commandment of Christ voiced in his last high-priestly prayer: "may all be one." Unfortunately, Christians did not manage to keep this unity, Christians of the East and of the West are divided, they do not participate in Eucharist together.

Today, we do not speak about overcoming this division, but we speak about learning to live and work in this world as brothers, not rivals in order to protect the values we share, to preach Gospels together, to open God's truth to people. Today we can do these things together. I like the words Raul Castro said at his meeting with Patriarch Kirill, when the patriarch was telling him about yet coming meeting with the pope. President Raul recalled the proverb that every road, even the longest one, starts with the first step. This step has been done and now I hope that believers of the two traditions will walk along this long road together, not making any compromises with their conscience, not making doctrinal compromises, but protecting the things we share.

ZOE for Life gets pan-Orthodox blessing

(OCA) - Five Orthodox Christian bishops will bless the new ZOE House of ZOE for Life in Parma’s original post office at 5454 State Road during its open house on Friday, March 4, 2016. The open house will begin at 6:30 p.m. with the blessing slated to take place at 7:00 p.m.

Slated to bless the house are His Eminence, Metropolitan Savas of the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Pittsburgh; His Eminence, Archbishop Nathaniel of Detroit and the Romanian Episcopate [OCA], His Grace, Bishop Daniel of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the USA, His Grace, Bishop Gregory of Nyssa of the American Carpatho-Russian Orthodox Diocese of the USA, and His Grace, Bishop Paul of Chicago and the Midwest [OCA].

Headquartered in Cleveland Heights, OH, ZOE for Life is a non-profit Orthodox Christian ministry that helps women during and after crisis pregnancies, offers pure living resources and retreats, and assists Orthodox Christian couples seeking to expand their families through adoption. The agency, which is endorsed by the Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of the USA, offers its services at ZOE House, into which it moved at the end of December.

“The Orthodox people are working together in unity, under the loving guidance of our metropolitans, bishops and clergy,” said Paula Kappos, ZOE for Life President.

ZOE House occupies two-thirds of the post office’s space, Ms. Kappos said. With approximately 3,000 square feet, the new facility provides space for meetings, classes, prayer circles and other healing ministries. It is on the bus line and close to the freeway, occupying a single floor for easy access to pregnant women and children.

“The new facility will also allow ZOE for Life to pursue its plan to create a Women’s Center to provide limited obstetrical ultrasounds, peer counseling, needed supplements and professional referrals to ensure that crisis pregnancies aren’t dangerous one,” Ms. Kappos added. “We are incredibly excited about what God is doing with ZOE for Life and are looking forward to whatever else He might have in store.”

Additional info may be found on the ZOE for Life web site or by calling 440-893-9990.

A Patriarch among the penguins

Patriarch of Moscow in Antarctica

"Father... about your sermon... um..."

Add caption

Anglican Church remembers Coptic martyrs

(ICN) - The 21 Coptic Christians brutally executed in Libya one year ago remembered in a prayer service in the Palace of Westminster, during morning prayers at the Church of England General Synod, and in a Vespers Service at the Coptic Orthodox Cathedral of Saint George in the United Kingdom.

A service of commemoration was held in the Chapel of St Mary Undercroft in the Palace of Westminster on 10 February 2016. The service was attended by members of both Houses of Parliament and co-hosted by His Grace Bishop Angaelos, General Bishop of the Coptic Orthodox Church and The Reverend Rose Hudson-Wilkin, Chaplain to the Speaker of the House of Commons. Prayers were offered, along with a moment of silence, in memory of the 21 Copts at opening prayers of Church of England General Synod.

Speaking in memory of the 21 Copts Bishop Angaelos said: "One profound result and gift of this horrific act is that it brought people together. These men paid the ultimate price, but gave us a cause to advocate for all those persecuted; they also showed us that there was a level of evil that we must all stand in solidarity against, and a level of courage, faithfulness and defiance that we must all aspire to."

Following the Westminster prayer service, The Lord Alton of Liverpool said: "It is especially important that we mark the anniversary of the brutal murder of the 21 Coptic Christians in Libya a year ago, not only to keep them in our memory, but to remember and advocate for all those who continue to face persecution in the Middle East. What is happening to Christians and minorities in the region is nothing short of Genocide and we must not stand by and watch as whole communities are eradicated."

After the service, The Reverend Rose Hudson-Wilkin said: "In marking today we are sending a statement out to the world to say that these individuals are not forgotten. We remember them, we remember what happened to them, and we will forgive because we belong to God. I also hope that it is sending a message that we stand together."

Bishop Nigel Stock, Bishop at Lambeth, who also represented the Archbishop of Canterbury at the service, said: "Proclaiming the Christian Faith is very costly, and we remember a year ago when we heard the news of this terrible crime how shocking it was for the whole Church as it brought home the dangers that people are facing and the consequences of violence that is motivated by hatred of a particular religion.

It was good to see that this service was attended by people from both Houses and others because it sends a sign that this is of concern for the whole world and the whole Church. We have been told the stories of how these young men did not waver in their Faith, kept proclaiming Christ as they fell as martyrs, and that courage, that sheer strength of Faith in Christ, is an inspiration for all of us."

Vespers prayers are being held today in the Cathedral of Saint George at The Coptic Orthodox Church Centre in the United Kingdom in memory of the 21 Copts who lost their lives on 15 February 2015, also remembering their families and others who continue to suffer religious persecution around the world.

Milos Konjevich, treasurer of Diocese of the South, retiring

Why am I posting about the retirement of a diocesan treasurer? Because, by all accounts, he was an innovator and a genius with building up the coffers of the diocese while giving the missions a strong helping hand towards permanent buildings and full parish status. Some of his methods are making their way into other dioceses seeking to revitalize and grow.

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(OCA-DOS) - As was announced at our Pastoral Conference last week, Milos Konjevich, after years of tireless and selfless service to our Diocese, is now retiring from his position as Treasurer of the Diocese of the South. The Diocese of the South will always remain deeply indebted to the lengthy service of Milos Konjevich, his care for the churches and faithful, and his development of many of the financial programs that have contributed to our diocese’s vitality.

At a Diocesan Council Meeting on December 16, 2015, the Diocesan Council resolved to appoint Carissa Avant and Mary Warnky as Accountants for the Diocese of the South. The Diocese is seeking to fill the position of Treasurer as soon as possible. Until that occurs, some of the functions of the Treasurer will be handled by Carissa and Mary, while others will be handled by Archimandrite Gerasim, Diocesan Administrator, and Archpriest Marcus Burch, Diocesan Chancellor, together with the assistance of the deans.

In general, Mary will deal with communications regarding the processing and recording of receipts and payments and other bookkeeping matters. Carissa will handle communications regarding Diocesan financial reports and financial analysis. Parishes may contact Mary and Carissa either through a shared DOS Accounting Office e-mail address at DOSacctg@gmail.com, or by calling the Diocesan Chancery phone number at (214) 522 - 4149 (listen to the options to select the person you are trying to reach).

Communications regarding obtaining financing from the Diocese or external institutions, regarding building project funding, or regarding new church-friendly loans should be directed to Archimandrite Gerasim, Diocesan Administrator, or Archpriest Marcus C Burch, Diocesan Chancellor. Either can also be reached by calling the Diocesan Chancery phone number (and, of course, their usual mobile numbers).

Parishes’ and missions’ remittance of payments to the Diocese will not be affected by this transition. Parishes should continue to remit loan and managed debt payments in accordance with the payment terms they have negotiated with the Diocese. Tithe, loan, and deposit remittances should continue to be sent either to the Diocese’s PO Box or through electronic transfers. However, a new Remittance Form has been created for parishes to submit along with their payments. The new Remittance Form is attached to this letter, and it should accompany all payments made to the Diocese. It can be submitted in paper form or be e-mailed directly to the Accounting Office (DOSacctg@gmail.com).

More Fr. Theodoros Zisis on the upcoming Council

H/T: Lessons from a Monastery

Closing comments

As the commenters to this blog have decided to run with scissors despite my recommendation to slow down and put the sharp things away, I'm going to close comments for the day of Monday. We'll return to normal commenting after this moratorium and see if sanity has been restored.

Met. Tikhon on PBS NewsHour about Havana meeting

Joint Declaration of Pope Francis & Pat. Kirill of Moscow

It's so long and wide-reaching you can see why they were still editing the below document up to the day before the face-to-face meeting.

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(MOSPAT-USA) - "The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God the Father and the fellowship of the holy Spirit be with all of you” (2 Cor 13:13).

1. By God the Father’s will, from which all gifts come, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, and with the help of the Holy Spirit Consolator, we, Pope Francis and Kirill, Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, have met today in Havana. We give thanks to God, glorified in the Trinity, for this meeting, the first in history.

It is with joy that we have met like brothers in the Christian faith who encounter one another "to speak face to face” (2 Jn 12), from heart to heart, to discuss the mutual relations between the Churches, the crucial problems of our faithful, and the outlook for the progress of human civilization.

2. Our fraternal meeting has taken place in Cuba, at the crossroads of North and South, East and West. It is from this island, the symbol of the hopes of the "New World” and the dramatic events of the history of the twentieth century, that we address our words to all the peoples of Latin America and of the other continents.

It is a source of joy that the Christian faith is growing here in a dynamic way. The powerful religious potential of Latin America, its centuries–old Christian tradition, grounded in the personal experience of millions of people, are the pledge of a great future for this region.

3. By meeting far from the longstanding disputes of the "Old World”, we experience with a particular sense of urgency the need for the shared labour of Catholics and Orthodox, who are called, with gentleness and respect, to give an explanation to the world of the hope in us (cf. 1 Pet 3:15).

4. We thank God for the gifts received from the coming into the world of His only Son. We share the same spiritual Tradition of the first millennium of Christianity. The witnesses of this Tradition are the Most Holy Mother of God, the Virgin Mary, and the saints we venerate. Among them are innumerable martyrs who have given witness to their faithfulness to Christ and have become the "seed of Christians”.

5. Notwithstanding this shared Tradition of the first ten centuries, for nearly one thousand years Catholics and Orthodox have been deprived of communion in the Eucharist. We have been divided by wounds caused by old and recent conflicts, by differences inherited from our ancestors, in the understanding and expression of our faith in God, one in three Persons – Father, Son and Holy Spirit. We are pained by the loss of unity, the outcome of human weakness and of sin, which has occurred despite the priestly prayer of Christ the Saviour: "So that they may all be one, as you, Father, are in me and I in you ... so that they may be one, as we are one” (Jn 17:21).

6. Mindful of the permanence of many obstacles, it is our hope that our meeting may contribute to the re–establishment of this unity willed by God, for which Christ prayed. May our meeting inspire Christians throughout the world to pray to the Lord with renewed fervour for the full unity of all His disciples. In a world which yearns not only for our words but also for tangible gestures, may this meeting be a sign of hope for all people of goodwill!

7. In our determination to undertake all that is necessary to overcome the historical divergences we have inherited, we wish to combine our efforts to give witness to the Gospel of Christ and to the shared heritage of the Church of the first millennium, responding together to the challenges of the contemporary world. Orthodox and Catholics must learn to give unanimously witness in those spheres in which this is possible and necessary. Human civilization has entered into a period of epochal change. Our Christian conscience and our pastoral responsibility compel us not to remain passive in the face of challenges requiring a shared response.

8. Our gaze must firstly turn to those regions of the world where Christians are victims of persecution. In many countries of the Middle East and North Africa whole families, villages and cities of our brothers and sisters in Christ are being completely exterminated. Their churches are being barbarously ravaged and looted, their sacred objects profaned, their monuments destroyed. It is with pain that we call to mind the situation in Syria, Iraq and other countries of the Middle East, and the massive exodus of Christians from the land in which our faith was first disseminated and in which they have lived since the time of the Apostles, together with other religious communities.

9. We call upon the international community to act urgently in order to prevent the further expulsion of Christians from the Middle East. In raising our voice in defence of persecuted Christians, we wish to express our compassion for the suffering experienced by the faithful of other religious traditions who have also become victims of civil war, chaos and terrorist violence.

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"Finally, Brother."

Patriarch Kirill is in Havana

(MOSPAT) - On 11 February 2016, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia began his Primatial visit to Latin America.

Cuba is the first country that he is visiting. His Holiness has come to Cuba at the invitation of Mr. Raúl Castro, President of the Council of State and the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Cuba.

It is the first ever visit of a Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia to Latin America. Prior to his elevation to the Patriarchal throne in 2009, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill visited Cuba in 1998, 2004 and 2008 in his capacity as chairman of the Moscow Patriarchate’s Department for External Church Relations, and made his outstanding contribution to the promotion of contacts with this and other countries of Latin America. His Holiness will also visit the Republic of Paraguay and the Federative Republic of Brasil.

At Havana’s José Martí International Airport, the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church was met by Mr. Raúl Castro Ruz, President of Cuba’s Council of State and Council of Ministers.

Among those who met the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia at Havana’s airport were also Mr. Esteban Lazo Hernández, President of the National Assembly of People’s Power of the Republic of Cuba; Mr. Mikhail Kamynin, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Russian Federation to the Republic of Cuba; Mr. Alexander Alexandrov, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Belarus to the Republic of Cuba; and other officials.

Addressing the mass media representatives, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill said:

“It is with warm feelings that I have come for the fourth time to the land of Cuba. I have arrived here on a friendly visit at the invitation of the head of the Republic of Cuba, Mr. Raúl Castro Ruz, President of the Council of State and the Council of Ministers. The people of Cuba and the people of Russia have been linked by the bonds of cooperation and sincere friendship for many years. Addressing the Cuban people, I would like to say that good feelings the Russian people have for Cuba are getting stronger today.

“I would like to convey to you cordial greetings from the citizens of Russia, as well as from all the people of the historical Rus’. I wish prosperity to the people of Cuba and happiness to each Cuban. May God’s mercy be with you.”

A brief meeting at the José Martí International Airport between His Holiness Patriarch Kirill and Mr. Raúl Castro followed.

An important item on the program of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill’s visit to Cuba is his meting with Pope Francis. It will take place at Havana’s José Martí International Airport on February 12. The meeting has been arranged in view of the crossing in their itineraries. Pope Francis will make a stop in Cuba on his way to Mexico. A joint declaration is expected to be signed at the conclusion of the meeting. As the Joint press release of the Holy See and the Moscow Patriarchate reads, “this meeting of the Primates of the Catholic Church and the Russian Orthodox Church, after a long preparation, will be the first in history and will mark an important stage in relations between the two Churches. The Holy See and the Moscow Patriarchate hope that it will also be a sign of hope for all people of good will. They invite all Christians to pray fervently for God to bless this meeting, that it may bear good fruits.”

Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth

Let's please keep things civil in the comment boxes. If you take the rhetoric up a notch, the next poster is going to take it up two more.

On the Orthodox-Catholic Havana meeting

Russians supposedly fearful Pope will get too much respect

What an odd thing to worry about.

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Moscow (Interfax) - The Russian Orthodox Church does not believe that the superiority of the Pope traditionally worshipped by Catholics will have an impact on the protocol and spirit of the oncoming meeting between the Pontiff and Patriarch Kirill.

"In the times when an undivided Church existed, the archbishop of the city of Rome was, indeed, the first in the list of primates of Christian Churches," Hieromonch Stefan (Igumnov), secretary of the Synodal Department for External Church Relations, said when speaking on Rossiya-24 television on Thursday.

This circumstance did have a mark on the protocol of communications between Christian leaders "but this procedure was considerably simplified during the pontificate of the current Pope", he went on.

"Perhaps, it will be understood from the protocol of the mutual greetings that the meeting is quite long-anticipated and that these people have much to discuss at the meeting," Hieromonch Stefan added.

The main point of the meeting, in his view, will be that the two leaders of the Christian world will be able to raise a "common powerful voice" on matters touching all mankind.

It is expected that Patriarch Kirill and Pope Francis will have an opportunity to talk to each other for about three hours. Their meeting will be held at the international airport of Havana, the Cuban capital city, and is due to start at about 14:15 Friday local time.

The oncoming meeting between the head of the Moscow Patriarchate and the Pope will be the first in history. This meeting has been on the agenda of relations between the two Churches for about 20 years.

Proposed anti-blasphemy bill in Georgia gets attention

(Christian Times) - The former Soviet Republic of Georgia is planning a new bill that will legally punish irreverence toward religion. However, concerns have been raised the 'blasphemy bill' could be used against any organization who does not follow the church's principles.

The bill has been approved by committee, and according to The Guardian, is headed for the parliamentary floor. If passed, the bill will impose a fine of 100 lari, equivalent to $120 USD, for insults to religious feeling. The penalty will then be doubled if the offense is committed a second time.

Religious minorities fear the bill may be used to guard the interests of the influential Georgian Orthodox Church. While these minorities agree that all religions should be protected by the law, they are concerned the 'blasphemy bill' will become a tool for discrimination against them.

Baptist Bishop, Rusudan Gotsiridze, said that the law would not protect anyone; at least, not the minorities, and will be a powerful tool against freedom of speech.

Georgian ombudsman Ucha Nanuashvili also criticized the law saying that "the current wording proposes the 'insult to religious feelings' as the sole criterion for limiting freedom of expression, which... subjects one individual to another's will and places the believers in a privileged position."

The draft is most likely to be passed in a parliamentary election year. On February 2, the ruling Georgian Dream Coalition endorsed the document at a human rights committee hearing which was snubbed by the minority.

The blasphemy bill has caused division both within and outside the ruling coalition. Tamar Kordzaia, a member of the Georgian Dream coalition has spoken against the bill, saying that it comes short of international human rights standards and would upset the existing balance of civil liberties.

The Georgian Orthodox Church is associated with a pro-Russian and nationalist agenda, giving them much ruling power. Members of the said church have been associated with demonstrations, sometimes violent, against religious minorities such as Jehovah's Witnesses, Jews, Pentecostals, and Muslims. Back in September 2014, local Orthodox Christians slaughtered a pig and nailed its head to the front door of a Muslim boarding school to protest its opening.

New scholarships for Antiochian students at St. Tikhon's

(OCA) - Saint Tikhon’s Orthodox Theological Seminary here has announced the creation of three new scholarships for students from the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America.

“It is a great joy to announce the creation of these three new full scholarships,” said His Eminence, Archbishop Michael, Seminary Rector. “The scholarships will cover tuition, room, and board, allowing these seminarians to focus on their priestly formation and enter ministry in the Holy Orthodox Church without any debt.”

The scholarships are named in honor of three current Antiochian hierarchs—the Patriarch John X Scholarship, the Metropolitan Joseph Scholarship, and the Bishop Thomas Scholarship.

“Saint Tikhon’s is honored to continue its long history of training young men for ministry in the Antiochian Archdiocese,” said Archpriest Dr. Steven Voytovich, Seminary Dean.

Marshall Makoul Goodge, a second-year seminarian from Saint Paul Antiochian Orthodox Church, Emmaus, PA, believes that Antiochian students will find a welcoming home at Saint Tikhon’s.

“There is no better place, to my mind, for priestly formation than Saint Tikhon’s,” he said. “The combination of the sound doctrinal, pastoral, and liturgical instruction at the seminary with the robust liturgical and prayer life at the monastery, the grounds of which were consecrated by our own Saint Raphael, provides the perfect balance between academics and spiritual life.”

Very, very long Greek Catholic analysis on Cuban meeting

It might be surprising to some that the Greek Catholics have a lot to say about this conference between the Pope of Rome and the Patriarch of Moscow (ranging from fearful anxiety to thoughtful analyses to making fun of a Russian hierarch's English). The difference for them is that, unlike many Catholics, Greek Catholics live (some might say squat) in Orthodoxy's backyard. Any change in the relationship of the Catholic and Orthodox Churches has a significant effect on their daily lives. The below is the beginning of a very long article on the subject entitled "As pope and Russian patriarch meet, Ukraine fears a ‘shaky’ Vatican."

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(Crux) In much of the world, Friday’s historic meeting between Pope Francis and Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia in Havana, Cuba, will be hailed as a breakthrough. Attitudes are more mixed, however, in Ukraine, long the front line of tensions between Catholics and the Russian Orthodox.

There, the 5-million-strong Greek Catholic Church has suffered terribly for its loyalty to Rome, constituting the world’s largest underground religious body during the Soviet era, and it’s also a leader in civil resistance to the current Russian invasion of eastern Ukraine.

In this essay commissioned by Crux, the Rev. Andriy Chirovsky, a Greek Catholic archpriest at Saint Paul University in Ottawa, Canada, who also serves as editor-in-chief of LOGOS, a journal of Eastern Christian studies, discusses the summit.

Among his key arguments...

Complete article here.

Antiochian Church welcomes Pat. Kirill to Latin America

(Antiochian Church) - The Antiochian Orthodox Church receives in Sao Paulo, on behalf of His Beatitude John X the Patriarch of Antioch and all the east, the Patriarch of Moscow and all Russia, Cyril, who will celebrate the Divine Liturgy on Sunday February 21 in the Orthodox Cathedral of St. Paul, the center of the Antiochian Archdiocese in Sao Paulo and all Brazil, whose shepherd is His Eminence Archbishop Damaskinos (Mansur).

This unique event comes during the official tour paid by His Beatitude Cyril of Russia, to Latin America, between February 11- 21, which will be inaugurated by a historic meeting with His Holiness Pope Francis in Cuba on February 12 in the presence of very high official figures from Syrian and Lebanese origins, on political, diplomatic, and religious levels, besides a huge crowd of believers from antiochian and Russian churches in Sao Paulo. The visit of His Beatitude Cyril the Russian patriarch, to the Antiochian Orthodox church in Brazil, is a manifestation of deepening the brotherly relationships that hold the two Patriarchates, especially after the historic meeting with his Holiness Pope Francis, the meeting that has inserted and spread joy in the souls of our children in Brazil, since his Holiness holds deep thoughts and vision concerning the unity of the body of Christ which is promising good for every project or meeting that aims at uniting the churches.

His Eminence added that the visit is a chance, through which we thank his Beatitude the Patriarch of Russia and all the Russian people, for the help and endeavors they have exerted for the return of peace and tranquility to our turbulent east.

His Beatitude the Russian patriarch will bless the believers after the Divine Liturgy, then will meet with some official figures, at the bishop’s house, who shall partake of the lunch prepared by the Church, in honor of His Beatitude, and the Russian delegation in the Syrian club in Sao Paulo, after which, he leaves for the airport, to fly back to Russia.

Time spent doesn't mean value

Elder Cleopas on praying for the dead

From the blog Artoklasia, a post entitled "Why Pray For the Dead?"

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When you die you will face what is known as the partial judgment. This will include a complete examination of your life. With a good account you will be led by angels to a mystical place where we will anticipate the joys of Paradise awaiting the final judgment and your resurrection. If you do not know God at this point and have not lead a life of repentance you will be controlled by the demons who will lead you to a place where you anticipate the torments of Hell or an eternal life separated from God.

Elder Cleopas tells us this about those who are destined for eternal torments,

"If someone at the partial judgment is destined for eternal torments and is a Christian and servant of Christ, he has but one hope. His hope is in the intercession of living Christians who are able to pray to Christ for him to be rescued from the torments of hell or at least to find some relief from them." Paul tells us, "we must appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that every one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he hath done, whether it be good or bad." (2 Cor 5:10) but Elder Cleopa points out that Paul also said to Timothy, "I exhort therefore, first of all, that supplications, prayers, intercessions and giving of thanks be made for all men." (1 Tim 2:1) Also James says, "Confess your sins to one another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much." (James 5:16)

Elder Cleopa says, "Consequently, if our prayers are able to benefit the living for what reason are they powerless to benefit the dead, granted that they also live by their souls? God is everywhere present and hears both the prayers for the living and for the dead.

We can see in the Old Testament witness to prayers for the dead (2 Mac 12:442-45, Bar 3:4-5). We also see in Holy Tradition and in the Divine Liturgy prayers for the dead.

Praying for the dead does not place our hope of salvation in the hands of humans. Those who are separated from God will not be saved, but those who have their hope additionally in the prayers of men of faith may be helped through their prayers much like Paul depended on the prayers of his followers. We must remember that God is all powerful with unlimited goodness. He is surely able to rescind the eternal anguish of man. He asks for our love and our love of each other. When we pray for each other this is an act of love. We know the Theotokos and the angels and all the saints are always praying for us especially when we join with them in our services, such as a memorial for the dead or the Divine Liturgy. Jesus told us, "Therefore I say unto you, what things soever ye desire when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them." (Mk 11:24) Elder Cleopas says, "Consequently, prayer for the reposed is not only a sign and strengthening of the love we share between us, but also proof of our faith. Thus the Savior says, "If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth." (Mk 9:23)

In the parable of the rich man and Lazarus (Luke 16) we are told of a great chasm that exist between heaven and hell. Elder Cleopa tells us, "Yet, this chasm does not have the power to impede the mercy of our great God, Who hears our prayers for the reposed. We do not suppose, as do the Roman Catholics that there exists a purgatorial fire, but we say that only for those who sinned very severely and did not confess their sin is the passage from Hades to Paradise impossible. For those who sinned more lightly this pathway is not definitely closed, given that in the future judgment each one's place, either in heaven or hell, will be decided definitely, inasmuch as after his judgment someone whose orientation was Hades can no longer pass over into Paradise. For those who sinned unto death, our prayers are completely futile...

God looks down from the heavens with attentiveness upon that which springs from love, for love is in its entirely the sum of His commandments."

- Elder Cleopas

The Truth of our Faith, 123-133

The blessing of honey in Bulgaria

Bulgarian Orthodox faithfuls light candles with jars of honey during a holy mass for the ‘sanctification of honey’ at the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin church in the town of Blagoevgrad, Bulgaria, February 10, 2016. Honey and beehives are sanctified by performing a ritual for health and rich harvest. On St. Haralambos’ Day, sick or blind people go to church and pray for healing. According to traditional concepts, St. Haralambos is the lord of all illnesses, especially the plague. Doing any housework is strictly forbidden that day, because of the fear of any coming illness. Women are only allowed to bake round bread and decorate it with a cross in the middle and a large wreath at the edge for health. Honey is consecrated in the local church and then all the bread is coated with that honey. The rest of the honey is kept in the house as a remedy. According to the belief, St. Haralambos blesses the land and it gets warmer and ready to be cultivated. EPA/VASSIL DONEV

Don't hug the cactus

From the blog The Orthodox Clergy Wife by Presbytera Anonyma, a post entitled "Hugging the cactus: When the wrong people apologize."

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I once heard a story about a pastor who had to deal with a small explosion of the parishioner kind.

While meeting with the music ministry group, the pastor asked the music leader to do a particular piece of music in the service. For whatever reason, the music leader had what can only be described as a tantrum—HATED that piece of music! This response shocked and upset the other musicians at the meeting.

The pastor had to tell the music leader afterward that they needed to just apologize to the other musicians and do as he had asked about the music. But no apology was forthcoming, and the pastor received the advice of extreme humilty from a colleague: yes, that person gets upset for no reason– YOU be the big person to apologize even though you weren’t the one to do wrong, and they will settle down and everything will be all right.

The pastor had some doubts about this, but he wanted to be a humble person before God. So he apologized to the music leader.

Did this story end happily? Alas, no. The music leader made a classic passive-aggressive response: had the group perform the piece the pastor asked for, but did not rehearse them at it beforehand and did a terrible, terrible job. It reminds me of a Shel Silverstein children’s poem about doing the dishes in which “…if you drop them on the floor/maybe they won’t let you dry the dishes any more!”

As is often noted, the church is a spiritual hospital in which there are many people who are sick, body and soul. Parishes are full of people who have personality disorders, addictions and just plain stubborn, self-centered attitudes that cause chaos all around them. In fact, it can be even worse than that. As Scott Peck notes in his book People of the Lie , downright evil and psychopathic people are attracted to the church precisely because church people are inclined to want to believe the best of others. Our Christian faith teaches us not to judge others, and to forgive. That is one of the ways predators make their way into the church community.

In the Orthodox church we have a long tradition of monastic teaching about humility; how often we read stories where some spiritual abba says to his proteges something to the effect of Yes, I see that you are hurt by your brother’s behaviour; think instead of your own sins. This radical humility sometimes even takes the form of advice to the monk to be the one to beg forgiveness even when the other brother was in fact the one who wronged the first monk.

In the monastery, these things are under the supervision of the abbot, and the monks he advises are generally co-equal brothers with each other. But in the parish where we have children and other vulnerable people, the shepherds are particularly entrusted with the guardianship of the flock by the chief shepherd. If we remember the metaphor of the spiritual hospital, and Scott Peck’s observation about evil people who seek out the church (and even end up in prominent positions there!), we have to admit that sometimes it seems like the inmates are running the asylum. The faithful shepherds cannot allow this, however much they want to teach humility and a forgiving spirit to all their members and indeed to practice it themselves; there is a power differential between many of the members that cannot be ignored.

When wolves in sheep’s clothing, or even just sick and maddened sheep are in the parish doing harm to others, it is not the time to teach lessons of humility to those who are already ‘humble’ in the original sense, people without power like children.

The pastor in the story remarked ruefully after the incident that he had ‘hugged the cactus’ and would not do so again. This intriguing phrase comes from the recovery movement, and was famously used by Robert Downey in a plea to forgive fellow actor Mel Gibson for some terrible behaviour under the yoke of addiction, familiar to both of those men. It means to face one’s darkest self so as to come into the light—a process as uncomfortable as hugging a cactus. The pastor in the story used the phrase a little differently— though he had done nothing wrong, he acted with the same humillity as an addict seeking the road to recovery. The cactus he hugged just turned out to be a prickly parishioner.

The well meaning but undiscerning advice of the pastor’s colleague had an unfortunate effect that anyone familiar with the recovery movement will recognize: the problem person, like an addict, was vindicated and enabled by the undeserved apology of the humble pastor.

God loves the sick and prickly too. Some are only minor problems in the church, like the tantrumy music leader, while others are the kind the apostle Jude tells us we should pull from the fire ‘hating even the garment spotted by the flesh.’

For both the prickly sorts and for their neighbours who get painfully stuck by them, love means firmness—not enabling them. To everything there is a season, says the Preacher—and while we are protecting the innocent, it is a time to put our personal humility on the back burner.

Don’t worry– God will provide us with plenty of other opportunities to learn that virtue!

Is Pope Francis about to get played by the Russians in Cuba?

(Timeline) - When people who haven’t talked in 1,000 years finally decide to bury the hatchet, that’s a hell of a Kumbaya moment to get excited about. On Friday, the Vatican said Pope Francis would meet with Russian Orthodox Church leader Patriarch Kirill I in Cuba next week. A pope and a Russian Orthodox patriarch have never met.

That’s big news in the Christian world. The Eastern Christian churches and the Roman Catholic church split in 1054 in what’s since been called the Great Schism, or the East-West Schism. The leader of each church excommunicated the other — a punishment that held until 1965.

The AP called next week’s meeting a “historic step to heal the 1,000-year schism that split Christianity” and said it “marks a major development in the Vatican’s long effort to bridge the divisions in Christianity.”

But there’s a wrinkle. The Russian Orthodox Church is just one of 14 self-governing churches that make up the Eastern Orthodox Church, and while it’s the biggest (about two-thirds of the world’s Orthodox Christians) and wealthiest, Kirill isn’t the group’s leader. Symbolically, and according to internal church law, it’s the ecumenical patriarch of Constantinople, Bartholomew I, who is the first among equals in Eastern Christianity.

And Bartholomew meets with Pope Francis pretty regularly — five times in three years.

“The patriarch of Moscow speaks only for the church of Russia,” said George E. Demacopoulos, a theology professor at Fordham University. “When these 14 groups get together, Bartholomew gets the shiny chair.” Which means what? It doesn't mean he got to set the agenda for the upcoming council. It doesn't mean he gets to declare autocephaly unilaterally. It doesn't mean the episcopal assemblies set up across the world are bodies destined to become appendages of Ecumenical Patriarchate authority. It doesn't mean he can interfere in the operations of another Church. Such grandiose authority of the "shiny chair" doesn't even extend into the autocephalous Church of Greece.

The reason lies in the early history of the Christianity, when the church was growing rapidly, and its leaders found the need to meet now and again to maintain its rules and theology. The most significant of these meetings — called the “seven ecumenical councils” — beginning in 325 were held in and around Constantinople.

Roman emperors typically called such meetings, a practice that continued, at a reduced pace, into the Ottoman empire from the 14th to 19th centuries. While the Orthodox churches share one agreed-upon theology, they each govern themselves, and are now essentially a unified group of national churches. Over the last century, the absence of a single pan-national leader who can call the churches together has led to “an enormous amount of dysfunction,” according to Demacopoulos. Some (read: me) would say this conciliar, almost decentralized process also protected the Church from the woeful innovations that have beset the Catholic and Anglican bodies. Watch how the Anglican Communion (not to mention other Protestant bodies) kept voting on hot-button issues over and over until the more liberal of their number were able to force some unholy idea through. Papal prerogative has not been a friend to the dogma of the Catholic Church when it unilaterally inserted doctrines into its Church anathema to Orthodoxy (not to mention many of its people).

It has taken 40 years for Orthodox leaders to organize the first major church council in more than 1,200 years. That meeting, scheduled to take place in Crete in June, is the reason, Demacopoulos said, that Kirill agreed to meet with Francis next week. That is not why either Rome or Moscow said they are meeting. The Russian Church stated quite clearly that the primary purpose was to save Christianity in the Middle East. The upcoming council is not going to be a place for beating shoes against a desk. It's going to be, by all signs, a place where pre-written declarations are going to be read aloud and distributed.

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First in new Copt-Russian commission met this last week

(MOSPAT) - On 5-7 February 2016, the Commission for Dialogue between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Coptic Church held in Cairo its first session.

An agreement to establish the Commission was reached during the meeting between His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia and His Holiness Coptic Patriarch Tawadros II. That meeting took place during the visit that the Primate of the Coptic Church made to Russia in the period from October 28, to November 4, 2014. The first meeting of the joint working group for preparing the dialogue took place in Cairo on February 13, 2015. The Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church and the Synod of the Coptic Church approved the list of the Commission members, the former on May 5, 2015, and the latter in July 2015.

Representing the Moscow Patriarchate at the meeting were: Bishop Gennady of Kaskelen, co-chairman of the Commission; Hieromonk Stefan (Igumnov), DECR secretary for inter-Christian relations; Rev. Viktor Kulaga, representative of the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia at the Patriarch of Alexandria and All Africa; and Mr. Sergey Alfyorov and Mr. Ilya Kashitsyn, DECR staff members. The Coptic Church was represented by Bishop Serapion of Los Angeles, co-chairman of the Commission; Rev. John Paul Abdelsayed, a cleric of the diocese of Los Angeles, Dean of St Athanasius and St Cyril Theological School; Rev. Boulos Halem, Director of Media Center and official spokesperson of the Coptic Patriarchate; Dr Isaac Agban, Secretary-General of the Coptic Institute of Higher Studies; and Mrs. Barbara Soliman, Director of the Office for Church Projects of the Coptic Patriarchate.

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"Catholic Church of the East" / ROCOR situation explodes

The recent story about the entrance of the vagante "Catholic Church of the East" into ROCOR is about to blow up. This process, as many people expected, did not go well. More information will follow soon.

More on rebuilding of Egyptian churches

(Ahram) - After Egypt President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi apologised for not finishing the reconstruction work of Christian properties damaged in the aftermath of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi’s ouster in 2013, the engineering unit of the Armed Forces immediately started cooperating with Coptic authorities to wrap up the pending renovations, religious Coptic figures said.

While visiting Cairo's St. Mark Cathedral on Christmas Eve, El-Sisi apologised to the country's Christians over the delay in the completion of renovations, which he says will be done by the end of 2016.

The churches undergoing renovation were attacked in August 2013 on the day of the dispersals of pro-Morsi sit-ins in Cairo, with the ensuing hours seeing sectarian attacks against Christians in Upper Egypt, where the Coptic population is relatively large.

El-Sisi, who was defence minister at the time, immediately announced that the Armed Forces would pay the costs of renovating and rebuilding all churches damaged in the attacks, which lasted over 12 hours.

In October 2013, the Egyptian Family House called for an initiative to renovate the damaged houses of worship and opened a bank account to receive donations.

The Family House is an authority launched by Egypt's Al-Azhar – the country's highest Muslim Sunni authority – and all Egyptian churches immediately after the deadly 2011 bombing of the Two Saints Church in Alexandria, one of the most infamous attacks on churches in the country's modern history.

The Family House's mission is to unite Muslim and Christian Egyptians to ease sectarian strife.

Safwat El-Bayadi, the former head of Egypt's Evangelical Church and a member of the Family House, told Ahram Online that "unfortunately, we only received EGP 9 million and $8,000 since the initiative started, which is a very small amount of money in relation to the damages."

Restoration work sponsored by the Armed Forces will cost some EGP 200 million ($25.5 million).

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UGCC primate on Rome-Moscow Havana meeting

(UGCC) - The Head of the UGCC noted that for many years the ROC refused to participate in such a meeting and named the UGCC as an obstacle for dialogue. “The meeting cannot be an end in itself, but must rather be an instrument, a necessary means for honest and open dialogue. I am, therefore, pleased, that we are no longer considered an obstacle and aren’t being used to justify one’s unwillingness to engage in such dialogue,” said the Primate of the UGCC.

He emphasized that the meeting between the two primates will take place practically days before 70th the anniversary of the Lviv Pseudo-sobor, during which the UGCC was forcibly liquidated. “The Russian Orthodox Church, unfortunately, to this day has not condemned this act of coercion, perpetrated by the Soviet authorities. We hope that the meeting of the Pope and the Patriarch will create a new context for movement in the direction of historical justice,” said His Beatitude Sviatoslav.

The Head of the UGCC also hopes that the very meeting will change the rhetoric on the part of radical individuals within the ROC, who do not recognize the Catholic Church as a true Church, re-baptize Catholics and proselytize into Orthodoxy, refuse to take part in joint prayer, and on the whole describe the entire process of seeking unity of the Churches as “the heresy of ecumenism.” This isn't radical. This is Orthodox doctrine. What would be radical is abandoning our understanding of the Church in favor of a soft congeniality and desire to "get along." An example of such intolerance towards the UGCC was given last week in Donestsk, where during a meeting held outside the walls of a Greek-Catholic church, we were referred to as “a sect.”

“It is likely that during the meeting of the Pope with the Patriarch they will also speak of the present situation in Ukraine. I hope that His Holiness, Pope Francis, who always raises his voice in defense of the wronged, will be a voice for Ukrainians, who are engaged in a battle for the unity and integrity of their land. May God grant, that Patriarch Kirill ultimately be able to send the necessary signals to the faithful of the ROC and the Russian government, so that the aggression of Russia against Ukraine can cease and that a just peace may be achieved,” concluded His Beatitude Sviatoslav, Head of the UGCC.

Pan-Orthodox Youth & Camp Workers’ Conference in Dallas

(OCA) - Over 80 clergy and lay youth and camp workers gathered at Saint Seraphim Cathedral here January 21-23, 2016 for this year’s Pan-Orthodox Youth and Camp Workers’ Conference.

“This annual conference is sponsored by the Orthodox Christian Camp Association and the leaders of all the different jurisdictions’ youth departments,” said Andrew Boyd, OCA Youth Director. “This year’s gathering was hosted by the Orthodox Church in America—and it was especially joyous to see so many come together to work to do better for our youth.”

The theme of the conference—“Feed My Sheep: Crisis, Trauma, and Everyday Life”—was explored in two keynote addresses by Archpriest Dr. Steven Voytovich, Dean of Saint Tikhon’s Seminary, South Canaan, PA, and numerous workshops. Father Steven focused on mental health and development in youth and young adults, as well as burnout and self-care for pastors and youth workers. Workshops focused on ministering to young veterans, responding to crises at camp, building effective young adult ministries, developing youth ministry programs in smaller parishes, and planting and expanding campus ministry efforts.

“This year saw a record number of both clergy and lay attendees from the OCA,” Mr. Boyd added. “Representatives from the Bulgarian Diocese, the Diocese of the Midwest, the Diocese of New England, the Diocese of New York and New Jersey, the Diocese of the South, and the Romanian Episcopate participated.”

“I came away from the conference energized and ready to continue working with my parish’s lay leaders to deepen our youth ministry,” said Priest Justin Patterson. “I was also excited that the workshop I led on youth ministry in a small parish garnered so much interest and feedback. Coming home, I feel energized by what is happening in so many parishes across Orthodox America.”

His Grace, Bishop Thomas the Diocese of Oakland, Charleston, and the Mid-Atlantic of the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America, who chairs the Youth Committee for the Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of the USA, presided at a meeting of that committee’s consultants, focusing on youth formation and opportunities for more Pan-Orthodox cooperation among the youth.

Next year’s conference will be hosted by the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America from January 26-28, 2017 at a location yet to be determined.

Big News: "Catholic Church of the East" enters ROCOR

One hopes this process will go more smoothly than the ROCOR Western Rite enterprise has gone. I expect once these parishes make it into the Assembly of Bishops website's parish listing that there will be some surprised visitors.

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(ROCOR-EAD) - Over the past several months, the leader of an independent church movement called the "Catholic Church of the East," the former Archbishop Ramzi Mussalam, has begun a remarkable transition: to bring his entire movement, of over 60 parishes, into the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia (ROCOR). The former archbishop was received into the Orthodox Church and ordained a deacon and priest with the encouragement and blessing and by the hand of Metropolitan Hilarion, ROCOR’s First Hierarch. The former archbishop is now Hieromonk Elias. Father Elias grew up in the Scranton area of Pennsylvania as a communicant of the Polish National Catholic Church, in which he was ordained to the priesthood.

The process of Orthodox catechization has now commenced, with the gradual reception of the former clergy and faithful of the "Catholic Church of the East" into Orthodoxy, with their regularization within the canonical embrace of the Orthodox Church. It is expected that this will be a long and complex process but one of that will bear an abundant spiritual harvest. A number of parishes have already been received: St. Irene Church in Pittston, PA; St. Ann Church in Pottsville, PA and St. Mark Church in Milford, CT.

Let us welcome these people with joy and do all that we can to help them integrate into the Orthodox community. Let us give thanks to God that He has led Fr. Elias and his faithful people into Orthodoxy.

More on Russian Primate's trip to Latin America

(MOSPAT) - Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, chairman of the Department for External Church Relations (DECR), held a press conference on February 5, 2016, at the DECR. The meeting with Russian and foreign mass media reporters was devoted to the Primatial visitation of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia to Latin America, which will take place from February 11 to 22, 2016, His Holiness will visit the Republic of Cuba, Republic of Paraguay and Federative Republic of Brazil.

Participating in the press conference were also V. Legoida, head of the Synodal Department for Church-Society Relations, and Rev. Alexander Volkov, director of the Patriarchal Press Service.

The DECR chairman told the gathering about the forthcoming visit of His Holiness to Latin America:

“The first point of the program will be a visit to Cuba, to which His Holiness will arrive, on the invitation of the Chairman of the State Council and Council of Ministers Raul Castro, in the evening of February 11. His Holiness Patriarch Kirill already visited Cuba in his previous capacity as metropolitan and chairman of the Department for External Church Relations and met with the leaders of the country. The building of the church of Our Lady of Kazan in Havana was directly supervised by Metropolitan Kirill and he himself consecrated it.

In 2009, President Raul Castro of Cuba invited His Holiness to visit the country now in his capacity as Patriarch. However, the need to visit sister Local Orthodox Church, as well as a great number of visits to be made to dioceses in the Russian Federation, Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova and other countries in the near abroad prevented his visit overseas. On November 17, 2011, Raul Castro for the second time invited the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church to come to his country on an official visit. This invitation was repeatedly resumed during my meetings with Cuba’s diplomatic representatives. Last September, His Holiness decided to visit Cuba this February, timing his visit to the 45th anniversary of the consecration of the first church to be built in Havana, dedicated to the Ss Constantine and Helena Equal-to-the-Apostles. The Russian-speaking community in Cuba, which numbers 15 thousand, is looking forward to the visit of their Primate.

It is planned that during his visit to the island His Holiness will meet with Fidel Castro and the Chairman of the Republic of Cuba’s State Council Raul Castro and the rehabilitation center for children “Solidarity with Panama”. On Sunday, February 14, His Holiness will celebrate the Divine Liturgy at the Russian Orthodox church of Our Lady of Kazan in Havana.

There will be another important event in Cuba. Because of the intersection of the itineraries of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill and Pope Francis of Rome, who will be on a visit to Mexico in the same days, it has been decided to hold a meeting between the heads of the Roman Catholic Church and the Russian Orthodox Church on the Freedom Island on February 12. The meeting will take place at Havana’s international airport.

The meeting of the Primates of the Russian Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church has been in preparation for a long time. Throughout the years 1996-97, intensive negotiations were held on the arrangement of a meeting between His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II and Pope John Paul II to be held in Austria, but these negotiations were stopped because of the problems on which the agreement failed. In the first place, it concerned the actions of the Greek Catholics in Ukraine and proselytism of Catholic missionaries in the canonical territory of the Moscow Patriarchate. At the same time, the Supreme Authority of the Russian Orthodox Church has never rejected a possibility itself for such a meeting in the future when the necessary conditions for holding it will be in place.

All these years, the principal problem in the relations between the two Churches and the principal obstacle for holding a meeting between the two Primates has lied in Unia. The fact that the Uniates devastated three dioceses of the Moscow Patriarchate in western Ukraine in the 1980s and 1990s, that they moved the headquarters of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church from Lvov to Kiev, that the UGCC’ mission extended to the traditionally Orthodox lands in eastern and southern Ukraine, that they supported the schismatics – all these factors only aggravated the problem. The situation aggravated further as a result of the recent events in Ukraine, in which the UGCC representatives took a direct part, coming out with anti-Russian and russophobic slogans. So, regrettably, the problem of Unia is still there, with Unia, remaining a never-healing blooding wound that prevents the full normalization of relations between the two Churches.

Nevertheless, the situation as it has developed today in the Middle East, in North and Central Africa and in some other regions, in which extremists are perpetrating a real genocide of the Christian population, has required urgent measures and closer cooperation between Christian Churches. In the present tragic situation, it is necessary to put aside internal disagreements and unite efforts for saving Christianity in the regions where it is subjected to the most severe persecution.

The Sacred Bishops’ Council of the Russian Orthodox Church, which completed its work on February 3, in Moscow, called to make the year 2016 a year of special efforts to be taken in this respect, Therefore, despite the remaining obstacles of ecclesial nature, it has been decided that a meeting should be urgently held between His Holiness Patriarch Kirill and Pole Francis of Rome. The problem of the persecution against Christians will become central at this meeting.

Throughout the recent years, numerous proposals have been coming in concerning the venue of such a meeting. However, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill, from the very beginning, did not want it to take place in Europe, since it is with Europe that the grave history of divisions and conflicts between Christians is associated. The coincidence of the date of Patriarch Kirill’s visit to Latin American countries with that of the Pope of Rome’s visit to Mexico has become an opportunity for holding the meeting in the New World, and we hope that it will open a new page in the relations between the two Churches. Along with the main topic – the situation of Christians in the Middle East and other regions in which they are subjected to persecution, the talk will also involve the pressing problems of the bilateral relations and international policy. The meeting will be concluded with the signing of a joint statement.

On February 14 and 15, His Holiness Kirill will visit the Republic of Paraguay at the invitation of President Horacio Manuel Cartes. The visit will become a historical memory tribute to the Russian émigrés who made a considerable contribution to Paraguay’s development in the 1920s-30s, by undertaking research expeditions to the regions difficult of access for studying the mode of life of local Indians and by teaching in local universities.

On February 15, the Day of the Meeting of the Lord, His Holiness the Patriarch will celebrate the Divine Liturgy at the Russian church of the Protecting Veil of Our Lady in Asuncion. Then he will the Russian part of the city cemetery to conduct the Office for the Dead. On the same day, His Holiness will meet with President Horacio Manuel Cartes and our compatriots living in that country.

His Holiness’s visit to Brazil is timed to the 95th anniversary of the day when 1217 Russian refugees arrived in Rio de Janeiro from Gallipoli and the 70th anniversary of the establishment of the Russian Orthodox Church’s diocese of Argentina and South America, in which Brazil occupies an important place.

The program will begin with a visit to the capital city of Brasilia, where His Holiness will meet with the President of the Federative Republic of Brazil Ms Dilma Rousseff. Then His Holiness will visit Rio de Janeiro to celebrate a thanksgiving on Mountain Corcovado at the Statue of Christ the Redeemer. He will also visit the Russian Orthodox church of the Holy Martyr Zinaida and meet with Cardinal Orani João Tempesta, Archbishop of Rio de Janeiro. The visit to Brazil will be concluded on Sunday, February 21, with a visit to São Paulo, where His Holiness will celebrate the Divine Liturgy at the Cathedral of the Russian Orthodox Church.

In the evening of the same day, His Holiness and his party will fly to Moscow.”

Pope of Rome, Patriarch of Moscow to meet in Cuba

While this is not a sign of a possible end to the schism (as NPR suggested today), it is remarkable in that the Ukrainian Greek Catholic issue (described by Moscow as an "open wound") is still not resolved.

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(RT) - The head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill, is to meet his Roman Catholic counterpart, Pope Francis, during a historic visit to Latin America. The groundbreaking meeting is to happen in mid-February in Cuba.

The meeting between heads the two major Christian churches would be an unprecedented move to mend a millennium-long rift between the Western and Eastern branches of the religion, which started with the Great Schism of 1054.

The upcoming meeting confirms Russia’s status in the Christian world, according to Alexandr Avdeev Russia’s ambassador to the Holy See. “In light of the Western sanctions, the meeting between the two celebrants is a confirmation of Russia’s role in Christian civilization,” he told TASS.

Persecution of Christians in the modern world is the main issue for the two leaders to discuss, the Russian Orthodox Church said. Christians are among the minorities suffering at the hands of groups adhering to radical Islamist ideology in places like Iraq, Syria and Somalia.

In addition to Cuba, Patriarch Kirill’s Latin American tour from February 11-22 includes Paraguay, Chile and Brazil. The meeting with Pope Francis will happen on February 12.

“The intersection of the routes allowed this meeting to be organized,” commented Metropolitan Hilarion, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church's Foreign Relations Department.

“The situation in the Middle East, in northern and central Africa and in some other regions where extremists are perpetrating genocide of Christians, requires immediate action and even closer cooperation between Christian churches.

“In the current tragic situation, we need to put aside internal disagreements and join efforts to save Christianity in the regions where it is subjected to most severe persecution,” he said.

Sergey Brun from the Museum of Russian Icons told RT that the meeting could signal a possible warming of relations between Russia and the West.

“It is a sign that the relations are going to get warmer at least between one of the parts of the Orthodox church, namely the Russian Orthodox church, and the church of Rome…I hope it will positively influence the dialogue between Russia and the West.”

The pontiff will make a stop in Cuba on his way to Mexico.

The meeting has been in preparation for two decades and both Moscow and the Vatican agreed that some neutral country would be most suited for it. Austria and Hungary were among those considered, but Cuba was eventually chosen. The Patriarch and the Pope are expected to sign a joint declaration after the talks.

The Holy See called the upcoming meeting a “sign of good faith” and called on all Christians “to pray to God to bless the meeting,” the Vatican said in a statement.

For the Russian Orthodox Church the meeting will be the biggest foreign affairs event since reuniting in 2007 with the Russian Orthodox Church outside Russia after a 90-year split.

The Great Schism formalized the break of communion between the Latin and Greek parts of Christianity after years of accumulating differences over theology, jurisdiction and ritual. The division endured over centuries, with mutual anathemas declared by the Pope and the Patriarch of what was then Constantinople (now Istanbul) in 1054 nullified only in 1965.

Russian diaspora hierarchs meet in Moscow

(MOSPAT-USA) - On Tuesday, February 2, with the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and all Russia, concurrently during the Holy Council of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church, hierarchs who hold their obedience outside the canonical borders of the Moscow Patriarchate met in Moscow.

The meeting was chaired by the chairman of the Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate, Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk. Attending the meeting was the First Hierarch of the Russian Church Abroad, Metropolitan Hilarion of Eastern America and New York; Archbishop Anatoly of Kerch, Archbishop Mark of Berlin, Germany and Great Britain; Archbishop Theophan of Berlin and Germany; Archbishop Simon of Brussels and Belgium; Archbishop Gabriel of Montreal and Canada; Archbishop Michael of Geneva and Western Europe; Archbishop Elisey of Sourozh; the Administrator of the Patriarchal Parishes in Canada, Bishop Job of Kashira; Bishop Agapit of Stuttgart; Bishop Peter of Cleveland, Administrator of the Diocese of Chicago and Mid-America; Bishop John of Caracas and South America; Bishop Theodosius of Seattle, the Administrator of the Diocese of Austria and Hungary, Bishop Tikhon of Podolsk; Bishop Nestor of Korsun; Bishop Leonid of Argentina and South America; Bishop Nicholas of Manhattan; the Administrator of the Patriarchal Parishes in the USA, Bishop John Naro-Fominsk; Bishop George of Canberra and the chairman of the Department of Foreign Institutions of the Moscow Patriarchate Bishop Anthony of Bogorodsk.

In his opening remarks, Metropolitan Hilarion relayed that this is the second meeting of its kind, the first meeting of hierarchs who hold their obedience outside the canonical borders of the Moscow Patriarchate met in London in 2012.

Speaking on the Holy Pan-Orthodox Council, the chairman of the Department for External Church Relations focused on the theme of the diaspora and work of the various episcopal assemblies. Currently there are episcopal assemblies in thirteen regions of the world and a total of 154 hierarchs of different local Churches participate in them.

During the discussion, the hierarchs spoke about the episcopal assemblies in different regions of the world, and exchanged views on ways of strengthening cooperation with the dioceses and institutions of the Russian Church outside its canonical borders.

1,700 year-old church struck by RPG

(Christian Today) - The intensified fighting between Turkish government forces and Kurdish separatists recently damaged one of the ancient churches in the world founded around 1,700 years ago in Turkey.

The Syriac Orthodox church was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade, destroying a portion of the wall surrounding the St. Mary Church in the southeastern Turkish city of Diyarbakir on Jan. 28.

"It was like a war zone... Our house was shaking and we thought it would collapse," said Fr. Yusuf Akbulut, the priest of the church, who hid with his family at his home located on church grounds during the attack.

"We wouldn't have left the church. But when we looked [on the street] and saw that land mines and rockets were exploding non-stop, we knew that we couldn't stay," he told World Watch Monitor.

Akbulut said he initially dialled 155, the police emergency line, for help but was told that his neighbourhood was a no-go area, barricaded off to civil authorities. The operator also gave him instructions on how to escape and was told to wave a white flag once out of the street.

The priest said he and his family were staying in a hotel when he learned that his church is facing accusation of indirect involvement with the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), World Watch Monitor reported.

Turkish newspapers reported on Jan. 30 that a cache of ammunition and explosives was found on the site of the Virgin Mary Church. But Syriac leaders rejected the reports for insinuating that their church could have any link to violent terrorism.

"We know the goals of these reports, which are hateful and completely made up," announced Evgin Turker, president of the Federation of Syriac Foundations. "After the news came out, threats against us started to rain down."

Akbulut said he knew nothing of this cache while he was there, and that it was likely deposited after he fled, according to reports.

Violence has engulfed Diyarbakir's Sur district, the location of the church, since early December. The government issued an evacuation order on Jan. 25 due to pitched street battles between armed militants from the PKK and Turkish forces, according to reports.

Fierce fighting has escalated across southeastern Turkey since the end of a two-year ceasefire in July 2015. Youth members of the PKK declared self-rule over large parts of Sur, digging trenches and building barricades to keep authorities out, reports said.

Turkish Protestant church leaders have condemned the violence that has been raging for the past two months. They have joined the Syriac Orthodox Church in calling for the Turkish government to show justice and mercy to its citizens.

In early January, a 12-person delegation came to Diyarbakir to issue a statement calling on both sides to seek a peaceful solution, reports said."We came to beg all parties to take steps towards peace to escape from this spiral of violence," said Ihsan Ozbek, leader of Turkey's Association of Protestant Churches. The pastors met with the district governor, Huseyin Aksoy, and Diyarbakir mayor, Gultan Kisanak.

A military statement in the official Anadolu Agency said Turkish forces have so far killed 500 PKK fighters in the southeastern town of Cizre and 149 in Sur since December.