Byzantine, Texas

The pains of Hell (this time it's Hell in pain), for all now in the warm embrace of Pascha: Today hell cries out groaning: I should not have accepted the Man born of Mary. He shattered the gates of brass. As God, He raised the souls that I held captive… Today, hell cries out groaning: My dominion has been shattered. I received a dead man as one of the dead, but against Him I could not prevail. From eternity I had ruled the dead, but behold, He raises all. Because of Him, I perish. Today, hell cries out groaning: My power has been trampled upon. The Shepherd has been crucified and Adam has been raised. I have been deprived of those whom I ruled. Those whom I have swallowed in my strength I have given up. He who was crucified has emptied the tomb. The power of death has been vanquished.

The strict Greek, after consulting my hefty tomes translates the word to mean "look at narrowly, examine well" or "look back at, reckon up," but in the Patristic sense it has been defined "in the Fatherly sense of examination, of checking up on ourselves, in order to feel remorse for our sins and become better but also recognize the beneficence of God." I quite like this word as it fits in well with "conversion" and "repentance" as expressed by St. John Climacus (Latin transliteration of "Klimakos" or "of the ladder"): ... repentance is the turning from that which is not our nature, to that which is our nature, and a turning from the devil to God through spiritual struggle and pain. So conversion is our initial turning towards God, repentance is the constant righting of our course, and anaskopisis is a tool to be used in that effort.

Interested in online instruction on making a prayer rope? Go here for details. From " Comboschini (The Prayer Rope) Meditations of a Monk of the Holy Mountain Athos ": Let us pause for a moment just to look at a little prayer rope, like this one made of black wool on Mountain Athos. It is a blessing from a holy place. Like so much that we have in the Church, it is a blessing prepared and given to us by a brother or father in Christ, a living witness to living tradition. It is black, the color of mourning and sorrow, and this reminds us to be sober and serious in our lives. We are taught that repentant prayer, especially the Jesus Prayer, can bring us what the Holy Fathers call joy-creating sorrow—in Greek "Harmolipi" (also translated as "bittersweet") . We are sorry for our sins and our weakness and failings before God, our fellow men and ourselves; but in Christ, Who pours out His mercy and forgiveness on all who call upon His Name, this sorrow becomes a...

( Western Diocese of the Armenian Church ) April 24, a rally was held at the Armenian Martyrs Monument organized by the Armenian Genocide United Commemoration Committee. The Primate as well as Abp. Vatche Hovsepian and Los Angeles area clergy attended. His Excellency Armen Liloyan was present. The Diocese and community organizations offered flowers at the center of the monument. Dn. Mihran Toumanjian was the Master of Ceremonies. After his opening remarks he invited Los Angeles City Council member Wendy Gruel, who offered her solemn comments on the occasion. The Honorable Mayor of Los Angeles Antonio Villaraigosa who gave his message, stressing that the community must continue their efforts until the Federal Government reaffirms the Armenian Genocide.

BOSTON ( National Herald ) – The Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople Bartholomew I has reportedly asked the Greek Government for permission to set up a theological school in Greece to replace the Theological School of Halki, which remains closed by the Turkish Government despite international calls for its reopening. The Patriarch asked Greek Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis to proceed with this project when the two met during the latter’s official visit to Turkey last January. The area surrounding the Monastery of St. Anastasia in Vasilika, Halkidiki – just outside of Thessaloniki – is believed to be the proposed site of the new theological school, which is to be funded and operated by Greece. The necessary facilities are already on site since a seminary used to exist there. According to Greek Government officials, the request for the establishment of a new Patriarchal theological school to take the place of Halki was communicated to a high-ranking member of the Karamanlis adminis...

Bishop Hilarion is quite the news item this year. Something he says or does almost weekly is getting tracked by the religious news media. Still no word on his possible new role within the ROCOR. Sofia, Bulgaria, Apr 24, 2008 / 02:02 am ( CNA ) - B ishop Hilarion, the Russian Orthodox Bishop of Vienna and Austria, has said in an interview that the Orthodox and Catholic Churches are allies who could form a strategic alliance to defend Christian values, Interfax reports. He also criticized many Protestants for having a “light version” of Christianity. A popular topic of his is the morals-of-the-times he decries in the Protestant world. He believes their abandonment of fundamental Christian moral teaching is cause for shame. Speaking to the Bulgarian magazine Christianity and Culture, Bishop Hilarion said, “We must realize that Orthodox and Catholic believers are no longer rivals. We are allies. The rivalry must be gone once and for all. If we understand that, proselytism will stop.” Hea...

While on the whole I was very pleased with the EWTN interview with President Bush , the discussion about Iraqi Christians seemed like he was ducking the issue. EWTN: Would you commit our troops to protecting those communities where they're endangered? THE PRESIDENT: I commit our troops to helping the Iraqis provide safety for all innocent Iraqis. In other words, I -- you got to understand that what you're witnessing is not just an assault on innocent Christians; you are witnessing assault on innocent people of all faiths by a group of cold-blooded killers who want to drive the United States out of the Middle East because they hate free societies. The German government looks to be stepping up in a measurable way. I applaud them for this move and for their stance on the Olympic games. 04/21/08 ( Weekly Standard ) - German conservative interior minister Wolfgang Schaeuble has come out with a bold initiative to provide asylum for thousands of Iraqi Christians forced to leave thei...

This answers my earlier question on whether Orthodox bishops can hold a political office; at least for the UOC-MP. Kyiv - ( RISU ) — On 18 April 2008 the Holy Synod of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church- Moscow Patriarchate held at the Kyivan Cave Monastery prohibited its bishops and clergy from running in local elections for “pastoral” reasons. At the same time, the synod stated that it still strives to “establish systematic cooperation with influential political parties and to maintain protection of Church interests by local authorities.” These resolutions were responses to Head of the Kyivan Cave Monastery Archbishop Pavel Lebid’s appearance on the Party of Regions’ list of Kyiv City Council election candidates. The hierarch himself recently stated that he would adhere to the UOC synod’s position.

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So, in essence Russia got there (mainland China) first, but lost positive control over the area as a result of the Chinese Communist Revolution. Now Constantinople wants its metropolia in Hong Kong to include mainland China (see my article on that here ). Moscow has now put out a document (snippet below) calling this move by the First Among Equals to be "unfair and canonically illegitimate, causing damage to the peace and stability of the Holy Churches of God." Does this fall into the childhood category of "I just wanted to play with his toy! He wasn't even using it!"? It will be interesting to see how this plays out. On January 9, 2008 the Holy Synod of the Patriarchate of Constantinople redefined the boundaries of the Metropolis of Hong Kong (established in 1996), having included the People's Republic of China and a number of Southeast Asian nations in it. In that way they declared instituting a new eparchial structure on the territory of the Chinese Auton...

April 20, 2008 - Jerusalem ( AP ) - Dozens of Greek and Armenian priests and worshippers exchanged blows at one of Christianity's holiest shrines on Orthodox Palm Sunday, and used palm fronds to pummel police who tried to break up the brawl. There was another fight (see Fisticuffs in the Basilica for full story) between these two groups while preparing church grounds for the Nativity in December 2007. The fight came amid growing rivalry over religious rights at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, built over the site in Jerusalem where tradition says Jesus was buried and resurrected. It erupted when Armenian clergy kicked out a Greek priest from their midst, pushed him to the ground and kicked him, according to witnesses. When police intervened, some worshippers hit them with the palm fronds they were holding for the religious holiday. The Eastern Orthodox churches, including the Armenians and Greek Orthodox, follow a different calendar from Western Christians and celebrate Easter ne...

H/T: Orthometer "The object is to reveal your everyday terminology for everyday household items and what-not. You may answer with the choices given, or use your own." 1. That shiny metal stuff that you use to wrap food with: A. Aluminum foil / B. Tin foil / C. Reynolds Wrap A. Aluminum foil (pronounced ah-lume-in-uhm not al-you-mini-uhm ) 2. That clear plastic stuff that is also used to wrap food with: A. Plastic wrap / B. Saran wrap / C. Glad wrap A. Plastic Wrap. 3. Those things you use for facial and nasal care: A. Tissues / B. Kleenex / C. Snot rags Spoken use: B. Kleenex Actual object: D. Toilet paper 4. The stringy pasta that you eat with meatballs: A. Spaghetti / B. P'sghetti / C. Noodles A. Spaghetti. 5. Those wooden sticks you see in a chips bag: A. Pretzel / B. Prentzel / C. Sticks A. Pretzel. What the heck is a Prentzel? 6. That mammoth trunked animal in the zoo: A. Elephant / B. Elly-Phahnt / C. Wooly mammoth D. Snuffalumpagus. 7. The room in the house you ha...

If you've followed this story at all you know about the problems in that diocese, the refusal by this bishop to step down, then the change of decision by the OCA to let him stay. And now the decision to step down on his own... quite remarkable. The OCA needs our prayers; the financial scandal , loss of trust by the laity, and their reputation being damaged in the larger Orthodox world are all cause for concern. ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) -- Leaders of the Orthodox Church of America say Bishop Nikolai Soraich, head of the troubled Alaska diocese, is taking a voluntary leave of absence, effective immediately. The Holy Synod of Bishops made the announcement Wednesday after meeting in Oyster Bay Cove, N.Y., to discuss allegations that Nikolai is abusing his office through intimidation. The matter will be reviewed at the leadership's May meeting. Nikolai has denied the accusations, but has acknowledged that he needs to become a better leader. He previously was ordered to leave the stat...

Newsweek covers a new book to explain Mommy's plastic surgery to her child in a children's book.

Few people declare they are going to murder a lot of people and then go about doing so without anyone of a mind to stop them. This story will shock you. It almost made me throw up. April 17, 2008 - ( Yale Daily News ) - Art major Aliza Shvarts ’08 wants to make a statement. Beginning next Tuesday, Shvarts will be displaying her senior art project, a documentation of a nine-month process during which she artificially inseminated herself “as often as possible” while periodically taking abortifacient drugs to induce miscarriages. Her exhibition will feature video recordings of these forced miscarriages as well as preserved collections of the blood from the process. The goal in creating the art exhibition, Shvarts said, was to spark conversation and debate on the relationship between art and the human body. But her project has already provoked more than just debate, inciting, for instance, outcry at a forum for fellow senior art majors held last week. And when told about Shvarts’ project, ...

When even the EWTN commentators are bagging on how bad it is you know something is wrong. They had so many people making petitions in different languages that I was waiting for a Zulu interpretive dance/prayer recitation combo. The music is awful - especially when compared to how well done the vespers service of last night was celebrated. To quote Fr. Neuhaus , "...an overweening display of multi-culturalism."

Word has come down the grapevine that Wyoming Catholic College will begin celebrating the Divine Liturgy for its students. Faculties to do so came from the Ukrainian Eparchy of St. Nicholas. Never been to Wyoming. Maybe this is reason enough to take the family up there to experience nature and the rarified air of a Ukrainian Divine Liturgy in the middle of Wyoming.

Here's the follow-up to my earlier post Coptic Pope Shenouda III body searched at airport . You search our pope; we frisk your dignitaries. Such is the messy tenor between Egypt and Britain in this spooked era of terrorism and high security. It began, perhaps not surprisingly, with a holy man. Earlier this month, Egypt's Coptic Pope Shenouda III was forced to go through security checks, including stepping through a metal detector, at London's Heathrow Airport. The Egyptian Foreign Ministry was outraged and has retaliated by proclaiming that British officials entering Egypt will be subject to the same measures. The British government attempted to make nice by stating that no offense was meant to the pope, but “in light of the terrorist threats,” even a frail 84-year-old man with a staff has to be considered a potential threat. Such is a world where nuns take off their shoes to have them scanned by airport X-ray machines and clerics give up their toothpaste and hair gel if t...

The numbers here are small but it points to a larger battle for the most powerful voice in Orthodoxy. Moscow - April 16, ( Interfax ) – The Holy Synod of the Russian Church roundly condemned the decision taken by the Constantinople Patriarch to include the People’s Republic of China in his Hong Kong Metropolia. The Synod session held on Tuesday in Moscow said the Constantinople decision of January 9 “encroach upon the rights of the Chinese Autonomous Orthodox Church.” “This decision was taken unilaterally, unknown to the Orthodox believers in China,” the participants stressed. They also stated that “decision of the Constantinople See is unjust and canonically unjustified as damaging peace and well-being of the holy Churches of God.” Hierarchs pointed out to the centuries-old spiritual links between the Russian Church and China “where it has worked to build dozens of Orthodox churches, to translate holy and liturgical books in Chinese, to bring up in Orthodox piety witnesses to our Lord...

VATICAN CITY, APRIL 16, 2008 ( Zenit.org ).- Here is a translation of a personal address by Benedict XVI to the Russian people, which was broadcast today by the Russian state television channel Vesti . The greeting was in Italian and Russian. * * * Dear citizens of the Russian Federation, I am grateful for the invitation offered me to extend to you my cordial greetings and I gladly take this opportunity to express the esteem, affection and high regard in which the successor of Peter and the Catholic Church have always held your people and the Russian Orthodox Church. Russia is truly great, in a variety of different ways -- in her sheer geographical scale, in her long history, in her magnificent spirituality, in her multiplicity of artistic expression. During the past century the horizon of your noble land, like that of other regions on the European continent, was obscured by shadows of suffering and violence, shadows that were however opposed and overcome by the splendid light of so ...

Top 10 Unsportsmanlike plays:

"For peace in the whole world, for the stability of the holy Churches of God, and for the union of all, let us pray to the Lord." Lord, have mercy! Beirut, Apr. 15, 2008 ( CWNews.com ) - Maronite Catholic Patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir has warned that the nation of Lebanon is close to collapse, the AsiaNews service reports. As Lebanon marked the 30th anniversary of the outbreak of a devastating civil war, Cardinal Sfeir described his country as a land "fragmented, being without a president, run by an amputated government, and with a parliament that doesn't meet." The Maronite patriarch, the most influential Christian leader in Lebanon, has been a persistent critic of Syrian influence over the country's government. He has frequently called for help from the international community, while urging the people of Lebanon to take action to protect their national identity.

Lots of Bishop Hilarion fans read this blog. Here's a little honey for your daily news digestion. He is a man of strong and vocal opinons as well as an accomplished musician. Moscow, April 14, ( Interfax ) - Archbishop Hilarion of Sydney, Australia and New Zealand may become the next First Hierarch of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia (ROCOR). "As far as I know our archpriests, think that he should take this position," Archbishop Mark of Berlin and Germany told a delegation of the Andrew the First Called Foundation. He said that was a natural process and added that Archbishop Hilarion grew up in the same monastery with the late ROCOR leader, Metropolitan Laurus. "Yet anything may happen at the council," he said. Archbishop Hilarion is the first deputy head of the ROCOR Synod of Bishops. The new First Hierarch of the ROCOR may be elected after Easter, which is on April 27.

Moscow, Apr 15, 2008 / 06:55 am ( CNA ).- For the first time ever, a state television channel in Russia will broadcast a documentary film about Pope Benedict XVI. At the climax of the film, the Pope will speak on television to the Russian people and express his regard for them, Aid to the Church in Need ( ACN ) informs Catholic News Agency. The Pope’s greeting is addressed to Patriarch Alexei II, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church; to Orthodox Christians; to Catholic bishops and lay Catholics in Russia; and to all those living on Russian soil. Pope Benedict’s address, which is partly in Russian, emphasizes the necessity of dialogue among Christians. The documentary will be broadcast on April 16, Pope Benedict’s 81st birthday. The documentary film, which was sponsored and promoted by the international Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need, will be broadcast by the state news channel Vesti. The documentary depicts important stages in the life of Joseph Ratzinger, now Pope ...

I read a number of Orthodox news outlets, but am always looking for more. If you have any favorite English language sites to recommend, please do so. Many thanks in advance.

Forgive me as I wax semi-political. From Time Magazine: The entire weekend campaign news cycle was dominated by the fallout from a grainy and sometimes inaudible tape leaked to the website the Huffington Post, on which Obama can be heard lamenting to a closed San Francisco fundraiser the plight of rural Americans. "You go into some of these small towns in Pennsylvania, and like a lot of small towns in the Midwest, the jobs have been gone now for 25 years and nothing's replaced them," Obama said. "And they fell through the Clinton Administration, and the Bush Administration, and each successive administration has said that somehow these communities are gonna regenerate and they have not. And it's not surprising then they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations." Among my friends the belief is that comments like this ...

Alive and Young puts these cartoons out quite often. This lends credence to my "Religion is not a hobby." mantra. Enjoy.

I just reread the transcripts of the interview with President Bush on The World Over. Below are some of the quotes I found most memorable. The entire video can be watched here and the transcripts are available here . He touched on Africa, the Olympics, freedom, God, and the importance of the Pope of Rome. Arroyo: Mr. President, this is the first head of state, Pope Benedict the XVI, you will ever greet on a tarmac. I was stunned to learn this. Why are you going and greeting him at an airstrip? Usually the heads of states come here. THE PRESIDENT: Because he is a really important figure in a lot of ways. One, he speaks for millions. Two, he doesn't come as a politician; he comes as a man of faith. And, three, that I so subscribe to his notion that there are -- there's right and wrong in life, that moral relativism has a danger of undermining the capacity to have more hopeful and free societies, that I want to honor his convictions, as well. ... Arroyo: Even your cri...

H/T: English Russia , an enjoyable and funny pictorial blog filled with current-day, Soviet, and pre-Soviet images. These are photos from the church in Armenia, ex part of Soviet Union, now a separate country. They have those unique churches that were carved in the mountain with the part of the original solid rock as the pillars and walls. These churches are more than 1500 years old and according to the history of this particular church the “Holy Lance” or “Spear of Christ” , the lance that pierced Jesus while he was on the cross to stop his sufferings was stored during 500 years in this place. The name of place is still “The Church of the Holy Lance”.

Ha ha ha... so she threatens diocese, bishops, parishes, et al. with legal action and removal from the Anglican Communion only to lose a court case and claim First Amendment protection? This gets more silly by the day. 11 April 2008 ( ENI ) This presiding bishop of the US Episcopal (Anglican) Church has said that a Virginia court ruling in favour of 11 breakaway churches that want to keep church property is a violation of the First Amendment of the US constitution, which guarantees the separation of Church and State.

H/T: Rorate Caeli Nicosia, Apr 8 - ( Embassy of the Republic of Cyprus ) - The Church of Cyprus has decided to take legal action against Turkey at the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) for the destruction of Cyprus’ religious heritage in the Turkish occupied areas of the island. Archbishop of the Church of Cyprus Chrysostomos II has said that the decision “is final” and added that the legal advisors of the Cypriot Church are ready to proceed with the case. “We have already assigned the case to our lawyers and we are in the process of registering all properties of the Church of Cyprus all over the island with the Land Registry”, he said. Since the 1974 Turkish invasion of Cyprus about 550 churches have been desecrated and 15,000-20,000 icons are missing, believed to be stolen or sold on the black market. Some Orthodox Churches situated in the Turkish occupied areas of Cyprus have been converted to mosques, military camps, barns, mortuaries or silos.

I was tagged by Unam Sanctam (a highly recommended blog). The rules are: The rules of the game get posted at the beginning. Check! Each player answers the questions about themselves. Check! At the end of the post, the player then tags 5 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know they’ve been tagged and asking them to read your blog. Check! What was I doing 10 years ago: Working at local small ISP (Internet Service Provider) as a technical support manager. Lofty title for someone making the same pay as a day laborer. Five things on my To Do List today: Shave - an infrequent and over-rated activity. Feed kids cinnamon toast. My culinary skills are rather limited. Conference call on network monitoring system. This project will never end. Cut away at huge piles of mulch and compost laying in my front yard. Bought a lot of both. Still looking for places to put it all. Work with son on scouting arrow points . Things I would do if I we...

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I'm quite sure they lost his luggage as well. :) Glad to see that his health has returned since his visit to the US. London, UK - ( Directions to Orthodoxy ) - The Egyptian foreign ministry said the treatment of 84-year-old Pope Shenouda III, Patriarch of the Coptic Orthodox Church, was "unacceptable". It added that Pope Shenouda was ordered to undergo a body search, but staff backed down when the cleric objected. The cleric is the spiritual leader of Egypt's 7.5m Coptic Christians In a statement, the foreign ministry said that it told Dominic Asquith, the British ambassador in Cairo, that the Egyptian people were extremely offended by the incident, which happened on 30 March. Mr Asquith said he would ask for a meeting with the pope to apologise, the statement continued. This was the first time Pope Shenouda had been subject to such a search, Egyptian media reported. Pope Shenouda had been in the UK to open a new cathedral in Stevenage, Hertfordshire.

The entire article is wonderful, but I was most drawn to ponder this section. ... What this "other" Mary challenges is not simply social and culture structures of power, but the human hearts out of which those structures grow. She is a woman of great obedience who has learned to love much because she was forgiven much. It is easy to look at her life, and the life of the woman in the Gospel read on the Fifth Sunday of the Great Fast and think, "Well, I'm not that bad." And, in one sense, I'm not. But in another sense, and here is the great surprise of this "other" Mary, how much of the sin in her life was made possible by those who weren't all that bad? And without reference to this other Mary, how was it that Jesus was crucified except through the passive collusion of those of us who weren't all that bad? Looking back at the Mary's who proceed Mary of Egypt, which of these women didn't suffer at the hands of those who weren't ...

How common can this be? I'm familiar with the Catholic rule against even permanent deacons being political leaders, but am unfamiliar with the regulations in other jurisdictions. Kyiv - ( RISU ) - Recently, Kyivan Monastery of the Caves superior archbishop Pavlo (Lebid) appeared on the Communist Party’s list of Kyiv City Council election candidates , prompting public support from the Ukrainian Progressive Socialist Party (UPSP). “Today, it is necessary to preserve the connection with the mother church and Russian Orthodoxy” commented UPSP leader Natalia Vitrenko to the Intermedia Consulting agency. Vitrenko does not view the Orthodox Church in Ukraine in terms of different patriarchates: “ We have the Ukrainian Orthodox Church and its spiritual center is in Moscow.” She pointed out that the spiritual center of the Catholic Church is the Vatican: “No one calls the Polish Catholic Church, ‘the Catholic Church – Vatican Patriarchate.’”

The Eirenikon tackles that question here . He rightfully takes some people to task for myopia and a tendency towards the reactionary. What almost always passes for ‘Orthodox theology’ among English-speaking Orthodox these days is actually just a branch of the larger Orthodox picture. Indeed, it tends sometimes to be rather sectarian. The Orthodox Church is an ancient castle, as it were, of which only two or three rooms have been much in use since about 1920. These two or three rooms were furnished by the Russian émigrés in Paris between the two World Wars. This furniture is heavily neo-Palamite and anti-Scholastic. It relies heavily on the Cappadocians, Maximus, and Gregory Palamas (who are good folks, or course). Anything that does not fit comfortably into that model is dismissed as “Western” and even non-Orthodox. ... the rest here .

H/T: Directions to Orthodoxy LVIV, Ukraine — Chicago Tribune - The rustic beauty of Ukraine's famed wooden churches is surpassed only by their capacity for survival. Dotting the countryside from the Carpathian Mountains to Crimea, they have withstood centuries of unforgiving winters. During World War II, Nazi shelling raked the Ukrainian heartland. Under Soviet rule, they became grain silos and warehouses for everything from mattresses to pesticides. Now, in an era when democracy and religion thrive in Ukraine, wooden churches as old as six centuries face ruin at the hands of the unlikeliest of enemies—the priests and parishioners who became their guardians and, unaware of their historical significance, began "improving" them. Nothing new to the Western Church. Entire websites dedicated to showing churches (LOTS in Germany) with before and after photos of "renovations." In Sytykhiv, a hamlet in western Ukraine's dense woodland, preservationist Andriy Salyuk...

St. Louis - (St. Basil College Seminary Information Department) - On April 2-3, 2008 Eastern Catholic Bishops in the United States of America met at the Pastoral Center of Our Lady of Lebanon Eparchy in Saint Louis, MO, for their annual conference. Over 17 bishops gathered to discuss important issues facing the Eastern Catholic Churches in North America. Among others a topic of common seminary system to all ecclesiastical jurisdictions was discussed. An opinion I have heartily voiced here and with the hierarchy when I could. Factionalism intended or as a result of the natural division of the churches weakens what could otherwise pool talent and resources in furtherance of vocations. Most Rev. Nicholas Samra of the Melkite Church presented an overview of the formation and education system among the Eastern Catholic Churches in North America. “We have four seminaries in the USA. But in reality only two: St. Basil College Seminary and Ss. Cyril and Methodius Seminary are able to confirm ...