Byzantine, Texas

( ROCOR Studies ) - The Church Abroad has historically had strong reservations about ecumenism. For example, one may point to the “Sorrowful Epistles” of Metropolitan Philaret (Voznesensky). His First Epistle was written in response to the events of the 1969 assembly of the World Council of Churches in Uppsala, Sweden. Metropolitan Philaret cites a number of disturbing developments that, in his opinion, amount to a blurring of the boundaries of the Church. For example, he mentions that one Orthodox delegate called upon the “Church Universal” to bear witness before the world, apparently referring to the whole assembly. In Metropolitan Philaret’s eyes, this was an implicit admission of the “branch theory” of ecclesiology– in other words, an implication that Orthodoxy constitutes “the Church” only when it is considered together with the many heterodox denominations. He concludes that Orthodox participation in the ecumenical movement has crossed the line into heresy. [1] Although Metropoli...

( Orthochristian ) - According to a recent decision of its Holy Synod, the clergy of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church are to refrain from concelebrating with the Russian Orthodox Church’s Exarch of Africa, at least for the time being. At its regular session on Friday, February 24, the Synod examined a letter from Patriarch Theodoros of Alexandria “informing it of the non-canonical actions of Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and all Russia in the canonical (geographical) territories of the Patriarchate of Alexandria, the imposition of ecclesiastical punishment on Metropolitan Leonid Gorbachev (Moscow Patriarchate) and his return to the rank of monk, as well as the suspension of commemoration of the Patriarch of Moscow and all Russia for an indefinite period,” the Bulgarian Church reports. Recall that on November 22, the Holy Synod of the Patriarchate of Alexandria resolved to defrock Met. Leonid after nearly a year of the Russian Church’s African Exarchate operating on its territory. The Alexand...

( YouTube ) On Forgiveness Sunday and exactly one week since Metropolitan Nikolozi of the Georgian Orthodox Church canonized Fr. Seraphim Rose in his diocese of Akhalkalaki, Georgia, Fr. Seraphim's spiritual son, Bishop Gerasim, served in the Archangel Michael Church! If you look closely, you will see the approximately 8x11 inch icon of Fr. Seraphim Rose on the wall, just behind the priest who censes the entrance of the hierarchs. This icon was written by a monk at St. Herman of Alaska Brotherhood Monastery in Platina, CA, where Fr. Seraphim Rose reposed. Bishop Gerasim's homily begins at approximately 5:30 and Metropolitan Nikolozi comments about canonizing Fr. Seraphim Rose at approximately 11:40.

Bobby Maddex interviewed His Grace Bishop Alexei of Sitka and Alaska on the history of the Alaskan Orthodox Church. Recording is available here . You can order the book here . ( OCA ) - On February 21, 2023 Ancient Faith Ministries published a new work by His Grace Bishop Alexei of Sitka and Alaska entitled Spiritual Transformation and Giving. In the booklet, His Grace answers the question “What is the spiritual significance of almsgiving in the life of a believer?” His Grace draws on a wealth of patristic and modern sources to explore why God commands us to give, what motivates people to give or hold back, what spirit should characterize our giving, and the spiritually transformative results giving can have for us.  

( Antiochian.org ) - His Eminence, the Most Reverend Saba Esper, is the Archbishop of New York and Metropolitan of the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America. His Beatitude Patriarch John X of Antioch and All the East and the Holy Synod of Antioch elected His Eminence to lead the Archdiocese during its extraordinary session on Feb. 23, 2023 in Balamand, Lebanon. His Eminence now leads and oversees the Archdiocese's parishes, missions, departments, institutions and organizations in the United States and Canada from the headquarters in Englewood, New Jersey. The auxiliary bishops aid him in his administration across the continent. Metropolitan Saba was born in Latakia, Syria in 1959. He holds a bachelor's degree in civil engineering from the University of Tishreen in Latakia, and a bachelor's degree in theology from the St. John of Damascus Institute of Theology in Balamand. His Eminence is fluent in Arabic and English. Prior to his election as Metropolita...

( orthochristian.com ) - On Saturday, February 4, with the blessing of His Holiness the Catholicos-Patriarch of Georgia Ilia II, His Grace Bishop Saba of the North American Diocese of the Georgian Orthodox Church ordained Hierodeacon Madai (Maamdi) to the priesthood. The ordination took place in the Monastery of Saint Nina in the state of Maryland, USA. This is one of the brightest days in the life of contemporary Kurdish Christians, because in their young community there has appeared a priest who has the blessing to conduct Divine Services in Kurdish. In an interview given to the Kurdish television channel Rudaw, Bp. Saba characterized the event thus: Today is a special day which shows that in the Orthodox Church no one nationality dominates, because in Holy Scripture it says that there is no difference between Jews, Greeks, Romans, and representatives of other peoples—all of us are one in God. This is an important, historic day, because Kurds now have the first priest, hieromonk, who...

According to the below logic, Constantinople and ONLY Constantinople can see that someone has been deposed, un-depose him, and place him under the Ecumenical Patriarchate. Orthodoxy is not large in Lithuania, but it is certainly under the Russian Church. This isn't some liminal space of overlapping jurisdictions or some far-flung location in Southeast Asia. This is clearly and historically bound territory. Does this mean these men will now be operating inside of the country for Constantinople even as the rest of the clergy dutifully stay under their canonical hierarchy?  I worry about the tit-for-tat that is about to ensue. I worry that we are truly building a parallel Orthodoxy here and that EP claims of authority are going to further fracture the situation. ( Orthodox Times ) - Some months ago, the Very Reverend Archpriests from Lithuania, Vladimiras Seliavko and Vitalijus Mockus, and the Reverend Presbyters Vitalis Dauparas, Gintaras Sungaila and Georgy Ananiev, who were imposed...

( GOARCH ) - Bread has been the emblem of God’s providence for us, throughout humanity’s history. Both physical (bread as food) and spiritual - the επιούσιον (epiousion) or “supersubstantial” bread of the Lord’s prayer, the bread of Holy Communion. In the Orthodox Christian church, the pinnacle of our worship is union with Christ, both spiritually but also physically, by consuming the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. Since the Last Supper, before every Divine Liturgy, one or more of the faithful prepare and bring bread to church to be used as the Body of Christ in the Eucharist. The Orthodox church is liturgical. For those of us who bake prosphoro, the liturgy begins as we prepare to bake! Prosphoro is an offering to God, made from His material gifts to us, and prepared lovingly and prayerfully. A special website - www.prosphoro.com - is available to share with the faithful this ‘proper’ method of preparation of the holy gift according to the Greek Orthodox tradition. 

( antiochian.org ) - The second bi-annual Symposium of the Orthodox Academic Society (OAS), which is an extension of the Antiochian House of Studies (AHOS), was held on Saturday, January 28, 2023 via Zoom with over 80 presenters and participants in attendance. The Symposium featured six AHOS graduate students presenting papers that addressed an array of subjects including patristic theology, liturgy, marriage and canon law, psychological trauma and ministry to homeless mothers in a unity of faith that made them parts of one whole. In attendance were faculty, staff and students from AHOS and from the University of Balamand's St. John of Damascus Institute of Theology in Lebanon. Attendees included Orthodox faithful from all over the world and from various dioceses including from the United States, Canada, Lebanon, Egypt and Australia. The Symposium was moderated by OAS Coordinator and AHOS Ph.D. student, Dn. Simeon Spencer, who welcomed the attendees and introduced Fr. Michel Najim,...

There are two camps on these sorts of topics. Some that believe everything the two groups believe can be compatible if we just understand each other fully. Basically, if you just listened to me, you'd find that my belief is not unacceptable at all. The other believes that there are real impediments and some things are simply unacceptable heresies or innovations. Whenever there is a commission of this sort, those that would find the other side suspect self-select themselves into doing something other than bilateral commissions. Said another way, no one that thinks curling isn't really a sport is going to watch curling. As a check on such energetic "reunion now!" these theologians have to sell these ideas to the laity. I could meet with a car dealer all day, but when I came home I'd be hard pressed to be given leave to purchase a Porsche. This is their nineteenth meeting. Expect 19 more. Wadi al-Natrun, Egypt, January 31, 2023 ( Coptic-LA ) –  His Grace Bishop Kyril...

 

Constantinople believe it alone can issue a tomos of autocephaly. As a result, anyone in the sway of the Ecumenical Throne has to tread carefully on any declaration that might intimate otherwise. ( basilica.ro ) - On February 9, 2023, the Holy Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church approved the recognition of the autocephaly granted to the Orthodox Church in the Republic of North Macedonia by the Patriarchate of Serbia through its synodal tomos issued on June 5, 2022. During the synodal session, the decision of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of May 9, 2022, to restore canonical and Eucharistic communion with the Orthodox Church of the Republic of North Macedonia, led by Archbishop Stefan, was taken into account. Furthermore, the Ecumenical Patriarchate entrusted the Church of Serbia with the regulation of administrative aspects concerning the organisation of the new Church in North Macedonia. Another topic considered by the Romanian hierarchs was the issue of autocephaly and the means by ...

 ( romfea.gr ) - The influential theologian reposed today. I dare say there's not a seminary that doesn't have his books as mandatory reading. I myself consider much of what he wrote to be invaluable and quote him often. Metropolitan John was born in Katafygio, Velventos. His education began with study at the Universities of Thessaloniki and Athens in 1950, and then a year at the Ecumenical Institute of Bossey in 1955. Between 1960 and 1964 Zizioulas did doctoral research under the Eastern Orthodox theologian[4] Georges Florovsky (1893-1979; Chair of Eastern Church History at Harvard and a member of the Russian Orthodox Church) and was a Fellow at Dumbarton Oaks Center for Byzantine Studies.[5] He received his doctorate in 1965 from the University of Athens. Zizioulas took up a post at the University of Athens in 1964 as Assistant Professor of Church History, and then six years later, worked as Professor of Patristics at the New College, Edinburgh from 1970 until 1973. He moved...

Build a competing body. Attack the original body. Kill it and scrape out the insides to feed the new body. The most uncomfortable parts of a nature documentary done in ecclesial form. ( OCU ) [Machine Translated] - Statement of the Holy Synod Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Orthodox Church of Ukraine) February 2, 2023 Regarding the need to legally limit the intervention of the aggressor country in the religious life of Ukraine The aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine and the occupation of part of the territory of our state have been going on for almost nine years. The ideological basis for this aggression is the theory of the "Russian peace", which denies the unique identity of the Ukrainian nation, denies the right of the Ukrainian people to their own statehood and the Local Orthodox Church. Inspired by the ideology of the "Russian peace", the troops of the aggressor country commit mass terror and acts of genocide in the occupied territories and against ...

( EA ) - The Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of the United States of America convened in Los Angeles, California from January 28-31st for its 12th Meeting. Thirty Hierarchs participated in the meeting chaired by Archbishop Elpidophoros. On January 28th the Executive Committee met to confirm the meeting agenda and to conduct their regular business, including approving new board members for Orthodox Volunteer Corps and Orthodox Youth Ministries. Later that evening, all the Hierarchs gathered at Saint Sophia Greek Orthodox Cathedral in Los Angeles for Great Vespers, presided over by Archbishop Elpidophoros, Chairman of the Assembly. A reception and networking charity event hosted by the parish followed. The participants assembled 200 food and hygiene kits to be distributed by FOCUS North America to those in need.