Byzantine, Texas

(TNH via  OCL ) - BOSTON – The Ecumenical Patriarchate strongly rejected the proposals and attempts of Archbishop Elpidophoros to change the Charter of the Archdiocese of America. The message was conveyed during a meeting that Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew had with four of the seven members of the Eparchial Synod of the Archdiocese on Wednesday, April 5, in Constantinople at the Phanar. The Metropolitans who participated were Methodios of Boston, Savas of Pittsburgh, Gerasimos of San Francisco, and Nathanael of Chicago. Also present at the meeting were Archbishop Elpidophoros, Metropolitan Emmanuel Geron of Chalcedon, Archbishop Nikitas of Thyateira and Great Britain, and Archimandrite Aetios, director of the private Patriarchal Office. As The National Herald has written in its recent editions, Archbishop Elpidophoros was trying to impose the idea that he be commemorated in the Sacred Services, claiming that this is how the unity of the Archdiocese is best ensured. He also aime...

( Orthodox Times ) - Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew presided over the ceremony of the signing of the Patriarchal and Synodal Acts, which included the canonization of three new Saints, which took place on Wednesday, April 26, 2023, at the Patriarchal Church. Archimandrite Gregory, Chief Secretary of the Holy and Sacred Synod, read the Patriarchal and Synodal Acts of canonization of the Ecumenical Patriarch Jeremiah I and Monk Gerasimos Mikragananitis, the Hymnographer of the Holy Great Church of Christ. Subsequently, the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew and Elder Hierarchs Apostolos of Derkoi, Stefanos of Kallioupolis and Madytos, Elpidophoros of America, Bartholomew of Smyrna, Kyrillos of Ierapytna and Sitia, Vissarion of Spain and Portugal, Andreas of Saranda Ekklisies and Ioakeim of Bursa, who, during the previous Synodal period, as members of the Holy Synod, participated in the decision to inscribe the two new Saints in the registry of the Saints of the Orthodox Church, signed the...

( OCA ) - On Tuesday, April 25, 2023, the Holy Synod of Bishops of the Orthodox Church in America, meeting under the presidency of His Beatitude Metropolitan Tikhon, canonically elected the Very Reverend Archimandrite Nikodhim the Bishop of Boston and the Albanian Archdiocese. May God grant Archimandrite Nikodhim many years.  

We are pleased to announce the inaugural meeting of a new community of Orthodox Christian academics, clergy, monastics, and interested laity. We are calling it “Paideia,” after the Ancient Greek word meaning “education” or “learning,” but also more broadly signifying “culture” as a whole. In choosing this term, we recall the derivation of “culture” from the Latin “cultus,” meaning worship, while agreeing with Fr Pavel Florensky that culture in this broadest sense—which shapes our experience of space, time, meaning, and reality itself—derives from (and must be grounded in) worship or the practice of religion, as was the case in the Ancient Greek Paideia, in the Christian Culture of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, and indeed in traditional cultures everywhere. Yet today the weaknesses of modernized and secularized forms of Christianity have become glaring and inescapable, not only through decreasing numbers of observant believers, but in the reign of commercialized mass culture and t...

I'm watching what is happening to UOC parishes and clergy right now and wondering if he mentioned the violence and persecution done by the Ukrainian state against Orthodox there? I don't see it mentioned here. ( Orthodox Times ) - Archbishop Elpidophoros of America was the honored guest at the National Intelligence University’s Presidential Lecture Series where he addressed the faculty and student body on the topic of “Russia’s Weaponization of Religion in the Ukraine Conflict.” This historic visit marks the first-ever address by the spiritual leader of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America to the US intelligence community. The National Intelligence University (NIU) is the US intelligence community’s elite flagship academic institution, and its faculty and students are comprised of members of all 18 agencies of the intelligence community (including the CIA, NSA, NGA, FBI, etc.) as well as all branches of the US armed forces. NIU President Dr. J. Scott Cameron extended an i...

( SCOOCH ) - On Tuesday, April 18, 2023 the culmination of many years of work and dialogue bore fruit through the grace and mercy of God when two of the separated factions within the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahdo Church were reconciled and restored to full communion with one another at the Coptic Orthodox Archdiocese of North America via the mediation of the Standing Conference of Oriental Orthodox Churches (SCOOCh). For many months, the President of SCOOCh – His Grace Bishop David, Bishop of the Coptic Orthodox Diocese of New York & New England – and His Eminence Archbishop Vicken Aykazian – Diocesan Legate and Ecumenical Director of the Diocese of the Armenian Church (Eastern) – have been meeting and working with representatives of the two Eritrean groups both separately and, more recently, together. Multiple schisms occurred within the Eritrean Church more than fifteen years ago when its lawful patriarch – His Holiness Abune Antonios I – was illegally removed from his throne contra...

( orthochristian.com ) - The first Sunday after Pascha is dedicated to the memory of the Apostle Thomas and his particular reaction to the Gospel of the resurrection of Christ. It is a continuation of the Gospel lesson which was read at the Vespers of Pascha Sunday: John 20:19-31. The Gospel lesson for this Sunday is simply continuing a celebration of the resurrection of Jesus Christ by dealing with the very real reactions of Christ’s own disciples to the Good News. On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being shut where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I send you.” And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, t...

( Episcopal Assembly ) - The Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of the United States of America is made up of all the active, canonical Orthodox Bishops in the United States of America, from every universally-recognized canonical Orthodox jurisdiction, including the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia (“ROCOR”), despite the decision of its Bishops to suspend their participation in the Assembly. On November 18, 2022, the Orthodox Bishops of the Assembly received a communication from the ROCOR Eastern American Diocese regarding Archpriest Peter Heers. This communication stated “that the Very Reverend Archpriest Peter Heers is not a clergyman of the Eastern American Diocese or of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia, nor is there any pending consideration of his reception.” The Assembly can further confirm that Archpriest Peter Heers is not a clergyman of, or on loan to, any other canonical Orthodox jurisdiction in the United States. To the extent that this individual ...

One of the things I most enjoy about Bright Week is the practice of Paschal Hours. While it simplifies things tremendously, many families don't make use of the Paschal Hours or even know they exist. If you need the text, check your jurisdiction's resources or look here (PDF).

 

 

  ( OAJ ) - The Institute of Sacred Arts (ISA) at St Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary (SVOTS) will host a panel discussion with artists and scholars Aidan Hart, Jonathan Pageau, and Andrew Gould, on Monday, April 24, 2023, at 7:30 p.m. The event will be moderated by ISA founding director and SVOTS Professor of Systematic Theology Dr Peter Bouteneff and Associate Professor of Art History Dr Rossitza Schroeder. Understanding that Orthodox liturgical art mostly reflects the cultures of Eastern Europe, Greece, and the Middle East, the panelists will address the following questions: How do liturgical artists in the West honor their cultural heritage while adapting it to Orthodox worship in their own contexts? And how does this experience of building bridges between artistic and religious traditions offer perspective on the state of art and culture in the modern world? Aidan Hart, Jonathan Pageau, and Andrew Gould are all artists of the highest caliber, creating icons and carving...