Byzantine, Texas

( Europacia / translation by Voices from Russia ) On 22 July 2008, Bishop Hilarion Alfeyev of Vienna and Austria, the MP Representative to the European International Institutions, spoke to the Lambeth Conference, a gathering of the bishops of the Anglican Communion, during the session devoted to the theme “Our Common Mission in Europe”. Vladyki Hilarion presented a talk on the current life of the Orthodox Church in Russia, its mission to society and its revival since the end of the communist persecutions. “The Russian Orthodox Church, unlike many other European churches, is not losing faithful nor does it have a lack of vocations to the clergy. On the contrary, the number of aspirants to the clergy far exceeds the number of seminary slots available”, Bishop Hilarion noted. He also spoke on the rebirth of monastic life in the countries of the former Soviet Union, as well as the rebuilding of many churches and the opening of dozens of seminaries. However, Bishop Hilarion laid particular...

"Today we present an interview Frederica conducted with Fr. Stephen Wojcichowsky, director of the Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky Institute in Ottawa. They recently held a conference that they called "The Sheptytsky Institute Study Days", and Fr. Tom Hopko and Frederica were among the speakers." While there are some amusing moments where Eastern Catholics seem to confound her, it was a solid interview. Get the Google Audio Widget widget and many other great free widgets at Widgetbox !

ASUNCION ( Reuters ) - Pope Benedict granted Paraguay's president-elect a historic waiver to allow the former bishop to take office next month without violating church rules, a Vatican representative said on Wednesday. The Pope gave Fernando Lugo a special dispensation, downgrading him to layman's status, said Orlando Antonini, the Vatican's ambassador to Asuncion. Lugo was elected president in April, ending more than 60 years of one-party rule in the poor South American country notorious for corruption and contraband. "It's the first time this is granted. It was accepted because the people have chosen him and ... because his clerical status is incompatible with serving as president," Antonini told a news conference. "The Pope has granted him the loss of his clerical status ... he's a layman now," Antonini said after meeting with Lugo. For more than 10 years Lugo served as Roman Catholic bishop in the impoverished region of San Pedro, but the bea...

For fun I read "Theōsis, Judaism, and Old Testament Anthropology" by Gregory Glazov. It's a short, if dense read that I found enjoyable. I've taken the liberty of summarizing the more salient points. The first difficulty in taking on this subject is that Jewish scholarship has no interest in discussing the matter with the Christian world. The Christian, in searching for Old Testament prefigurements or examples of the concept of theosis will find no ready aid from a culture that has "put a hedge around the Torah," and considers any help they might give to such a cause furtherance of idolatry. Why? Because the relationship between the people of the Old Testament and those of the New Covenant do not have the same understanding of a relationship with the divine. Dr. Glazov then goes on to discuss the importance of historical understanding to make sense of His death and resurrection. His condescension makes no sense unless we understand the New Testament. The New...

I'm a bit of a language geek (nerd?). Stories like this perk up my day. I added a Youtube video for more background. MAALOULA, Syria ( CNS ) -- Aramaic, the language of Jesus that flourished in villages thousands of years ago, is being kept alive in the Syrian desert, about an hour's drive from Damascus. Today, Aramaic is spoken in Maaloula, an ancient mountainous town with two historic monasteries, Catholic and Orthodox, both built into the cliffs. Georgette Halabi, a tour guide at St. Serge Melkite Catholic convent in Maaloula, grew up speaking Aramaic. "I don't write it," she said. "But I want to learn." Local residents' Arabic education has never offered formal instruction in written Aramaic, but they have managed to pass down the spoken language from one generation to the next -- a point of pride for Maaloulans, who are quick to note that they speak "the mother of Semitic languages." Aramaic also is spoken in two other towns in the are...

( UOC-MP News ) - Concelebrating to the Ecumenical Patriarch were Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Russia, Archbishop Hieronymos of Athens and All Greece, Archbishop Anastasios of Tirana and All Albania, Metropolitan Volodymyr of Kyiv and All Ukraine, representatives of the Local Orthodox Churches. At the Liturgy that combined the Greek and Ukrainian traditions were praying and taking the Holy Communion the hierarchs of the Ukrainian and of the Russian Orthodox Churches, clergy of the Kyiv Diocese, Kyivans and guests of the capital. Among the high guests were president of Ukraine Victor Yushchenko (who soon left for the Ivano-Frankivsk region to support the victims of natural disaster), Secretary of the National Defence Council of Ukraine R.Bogatyriova, Minister of Defense Yuriy Ekhanurov, Head of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine A.Yatsenyuk. The Liturgy was accompanied by the singing of two choirs: the choir of the Kyiv Theological Academy and Seminary (choirmaster hieromonk Roman (P...

Patriarch Alexy II arrives and is greeted on the tarmac. He later visited the Caves of St. Anthony (the Near Caves) and then visited the relics of holy men from the monastery.

Here are some images from the festivities in the Ukraine. Ecumenical Patriarch lands in Ukraine and is warmly greeted. Sharing of gifts between the delegation from the Ecumenical Patriarchate and Metropolitan Volodymy (UOC-MP). The Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew later served Vespers in the Cathedral of St. Sophia of the Kyiv.

As you may have noticed, the back and forth between various ecclesial bodies in Ukraine spurred by the Baptism of Kievan Rus celebration has gotten out of hand. I am reading some 20-30 articles on the jockeying for position, insults, and proclamations made from all sides daily . Unless someone says something so egregious it cannot be ignored or something substantive (and hopefully positive) occurs, I'm not going to post on it. I am truly saddened to see all this bickering not only by the Churches themselves, but also by media outlets and some bloggers who have resorted to vituperative name calling and sabre rattling.

Kiev, July 22, ( Interfax ) - The plans to establish one local Church in Ukraine are directed against the Moscow Patriarchate and the new organization may be subordinated to Vatican, the State Duma MP and CIS Countries Institute head Konstantin Zatulin believes. "It may occur that creation of one local Church is a substation on the way to subordination of this Orthodox Church to more powerful and rich in resources Roman Catholic Church," he said Tuesday at the Kiev international conference dedicated to the 1020th anniversary of Russia's Baptism. According to the political analyst, plans to establish one local Church in Ukraine are to give the country's authorities a chance to influence church politics. He also noted that such intentions demonstrated "their wish to complete Leonid Kravchuk's (the first Ukrainian President - IF) undertaking - to tear Ukrainian parishes apart from the Russian Orthodox Church after Ukraine gained independence." However, Zat...

Targum (from Chaldee/Aramaic meaning 'interpretation'): an Aramaic translation, interpretation, or paraphrase of the Old Testament, made after the Babylonian captivity, at first preserved by oral transmission, and committed to writing from about 100 A.D. onwards when Hebrew was declining as a spoken language. After the return from exile Aramaic gradually won the ascendancy as the colloquial language over the slowly decaying Hebrew until, from probably the last century before the Christian era, Hebrew was hardly more than the language of the schools and of worship. As the majority of the population ceased to be conversant with the sacred language it became necessary to provide translations for the better understanding of the passages of the Bible read in Hebrew at the liturgical services. Thus to meet this need it became customary to add to the portions of the Scriptures read on the Sabbath an explanatory oral translation — a Targum. At first this was probably done only for ...

H/T: The Onion Dome Dear Matushka Svetlana, While I was at a Bunko party at my aunt's home last weekend, she invited me to go to church with her. She told me I'd just need to be sure to bring a scarf to wear, since a woman must wear a scarf over her head in an Orthodox church. Her friend at the next table objected. She said if you wear a scarf, someone will think you're a terrorist. Better to wear a mantilla. My aunt said mantillas are what Roman Catholics wear, not Russians. Her friend said that was because babushkas never figured out how to make lace. Arab and Greek women wear mantillas. A woman at the next table said that head coverings were fine in the Old Country, but she saw no reason to wear them here. And another woman said she wore them because her godmother told her to, and she thought that was a good enough reason. Her godmother wanted her headcovering to extend all the way to her elbows, so when she was chrismated, she found a nice damask table...

[queue boxing music and noisy ringside enthusiasts] Constantinople, tonight's main even announcer: "In this corner wearing blue and gold trunks, the welterweight, striving for autocephaly and a united Ukrainian Church... theeeee.... Kiii... eevvv.... Paaaatriarch.... aaaatte! And in the other corner wearing white blue and red trunks, the super heavyweight and reigning Slavic Champion of the World for 560 years... your Mosss... cccoooww.... Paatriach.... aatttteeee!" So, Kiev wants Constantinople to mediate the current butting of heads between the two groups. On the other side is Moscow who thinks Constantinople has no business in any of it. They have gone so far as to be be outraged that the Ecumenical Patriarch has visited countries in their jurisdiction without an "invitation" in "clear contradiction with canon law." Moscow, further has posited (in rather unequivocal media announcements) that Constantinople is power hungry and seeking to exclude Mosc...

Lots of Ukraine news of late. Here are two articles on ecclesial bodies trying to find a way to come together. For reference, the three bodies involved are the Moscow Patriarchate: the largest and most widely accepted, the Kiev Patriarchate: the second largest body, and the "Autocephalous" group which is rather small. 17 July 2008 ( Translation from Portal-credo.ru ) - Members of the Holy Synod of the Ukrainian Orthodox church of the Moscow patriarchate (UPTsMP), meeting on 16 July in their regular session under the leadership of Metropolitan Vladimir Sabodan in the Kiev caves lavra, displayed a unanimous attempt to overcome the church divisions in Ukraine on the way to creation of a single Ukrainian local church. As the official web site of UPTsMP reported, they responded favorably to an appeal from the leadership of UPTsKP [Ukrainian Orthodox church of Kievan patriarchate] and UAPTs [Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox church], which up to now have been officially viewed by t...

This article is about dual unity. The idea proposed by Patriarch Lubomyr Husar (Greek Catholic) is a single, national Ukrainian church that is both in communion with Catholicism and with Orthodoxy. This is not a new, out of left field idea and has been proposed before in other places and at different times. The tone of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate) is in keeping with previous inter-Church dialogues. Still, I am surprised they responded at all. Kyiv ( RISU ) — On 16 July 2008, the Synod of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church-Moscow Patriarchate (UOC-MP), headed by Metropolitan Volodymyr (Sabodan), listened to the address of the Head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (UGCC), Patriarch Lubomyr (Husar), of 26 April 2008. T he synod admitted that, like the UGCC, it is disturbed by church divisions in Ukraine, but cannot accept the model proposed to unite the Ukrainian churches that are direct or indirect heirs of Volodymyr’s Baptism. The address also touched the issue o...

This is the worst kind of Political Correctness. Fear of offending who? Are Protestants "anti-baptism"? Is there a large Muslim populace I'm not aware of? They shouldn't be too fearful as they can always re-emphasize the holiday into something completely different like we did for Christmas. Just let Coca Cola design a mascot for you and find a reason to give free stuff away and everyone will be happy. ( UOC News ) - In 2008 the Ukrainian Orthodox Church and the Ukrainian nation will celebrate the 1020th anniversary of the Baptism of Rus by the Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Prince Vladimir. Adopting Christianity by Kyivan Rus was the event of greatest significance not for the Church only, but for the Ukrainian state as well. The Baptism led to creation of the ancient Russian written language and literature, advancement of education in our land, development of visual art and architecture. Christianity advanced consolidation of the ancient Russian society, development of th...

( Telegraph ) The Catholic Church will expand its provision of "Anglican Use" parishes in the United States in order to allow whole communities of traditionalist Anglicans into the Roman fold, a senior Catholic archbishop has announced. The Most Rev John J Myers, Archbishop of Newark and Ecclesiastical Delegate for the Pastoral Provision, told a conference of ex-Anglicans on Friday that "we are working on expanding the mandate of the Pastoral Provision [of Catholic parishes using Anglican-inspired services] to include those clergy and faithful of 'continuing Anglican communities'. "We are striving to increase awareness of our apostolate to Anglican Christians who desire to be reconciled with the Holy See. We have experienced the wonder of several Episcopal bishops entering into full communion with the Catholic Church and we continue to receive requests from priests and laity about the Pastoral Provision." This is big news, and makes nonsense of the clai...

Kyiv ( RISU ) — On 14 July, Metropolitan Volodymyr of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church received in his residence in the Kyivan Monastery of the Caves the Prefect of the Congregation for Oriental Churches of the Roman Catholic Church, Cardinal Leonardo Sandri, who is visiting Ukraine on an invitation of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church. According to the site of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church – Moscow Patriarchate (UOC-MP), Metropolitan Volodymyr explained to Cardinal Sandri about the condition of the Orthodox Church in Ukraine and about the preparation for the celebration of the 1020th anniversary of the baptism of Kyivan Rus. In answer to Metropolitain Volodymyr’s questions, Cardinal Sandri thanked him for the opportunity to venerate the head of St. Pope Clement in one of the Monastery’s Churches. The guest shared his impressions of the visit to the caves and veneration of the local saints. The hierarchs discussed the issues of the Orthodox-Catholic dialogue, possible joint actions in t...

One point of difficulty for people wanting to set up an icon corner for their home is using a censer. Here's a quick helpful video.

Some back story: The Ukrainian Orthodox Church - Kiev Patriarchate (UOC-KP) is not universally acknowledge as a canonical Orthodox jurisdiction as is the Moscow aligned body (UOC-MP). As such, Ukrainian President Yushchenko, the Ecumenical Patriarch, and other religious and government leaders get in hot water whenever they associate with the UOC-KP. Here are three stories related to this back and forth: Kyiv ( RISU ) — Ukraine’s President, Victor Yushchenko, awarded the head of the Rivne Eparchy of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church - Kyivan Patriarchate Metropolitain Yevsevii (Politylo) of Rivne and Ostrih with the order of Prince Yaroslav the Wise of the 5th degree for his years of prolific religious activity and on the occasion of his 80th birthday. The respective President’s Decree 632/2008 was published on 10 July by the press service of the head of the state. On recognition: Kyiv ( RISU ) — The Local Council of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church – Kyivan Patriarchate (UOC-KP), held in Kyi...

July 13, 2008 ( Toledo Blade ) - Standing before hundreds of Russian Orthodox clergy from Russia and the United States at an ornate Moscow cathedral, Alexii II, the patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church, famously offered up his thanks: First to then-Russian President Vladimir Putin and secondly to God. That was last year, at a service marking the reunification of the Russia-based Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) and the U.S.-based Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia (ROCOR). ROC is by far the world's largest orthodox church, with estimated membership of 70 million to 80 million. Keen on the idea of having billions of dollars worth of real estate returned to the church by the state, the ROC's Moscow Patriarchate - the seat of the patriarch - has begun acting as an ideological arm of the Kremlin to consolidate the Kremlin's hold of Russia and aid its quest to advance nationalism as the state's new ideology. The split between the ROC and the ROCOR occurred soon after th...

If you don't already read Khanya , I suggest you go take a look. The most recent post referenced this nifty list. Feel free to mark up your own. For the sake of simplicity I'm going to give myself credit for partial reads. To do this test: 1. Bold the books you have read 2. Italicize the books you intend to read 3. [Bracket] the books you have viewed via movie, TV, or theater 1. [Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen] 2. [The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien] 3. [Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte] 4. [Harry Potter series - JK Rowling] 5. To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee 6. [The Bible] 7. Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte 8. 1984 - George Orwell 9. His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman 10. [Great Expectations - Charles Dickens] 11. [Little Women - Louisa May Alcott] 12. Tess of the D’Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy 13. Catch 22 - Joseph Heller 14. [Complete Works of Shakespeare] 15. Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier 16. [The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien] 17. Birdsong - Sebastian Faulks 18. Catcher in the...

I've already given entirely too much posting space to Mr. Robinson, but I feel compelled to make this small point. When confronted with Scripture and Tradition in general he falls back on John 14 in every single interview I have seen him do. "I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you." To paraphrase Mr. Robinson he says that Jesus understood that the people of the time could not handle or countenance a "faithful, long-term homosexual commitment" like the one that he is in. So God has not "changed" but the Holy Spirit is acting to teach the Church about the fullness of God's will which includes gay marriage. So, to put this in perspective with the other pronouncements of Jesus: I am the...

A quick plug for a movie I just rented called Ostrov (at most video places it's labeled as "Island" or "The Island"). The first 15 minutes, may be a tad confusing, but after that the movie is a purely joyful and moving experience. If you've read the life of St. Seraphim of Sarov, you will find some parallels in the life of this monk and the great saint, and if you haven't this movie is a great vignette on Orthodox monasticism. A review from the Washington Post is here .

Bucharest, Jul 11, 2008 / 06:03 am ( CNA ) - The Holy Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church has decided to “forgive” two Orthodox bishops for their participation in religious rites with Eastern Catholics. However, it warned that no Orthodox cleric may celebrate sacraments or blessings with ministers of other religions on pain of excommunication. Nicolae Corneanu, the Orthodox Metropolitan Bishop of Banat, had provoked controversy after receiving Holy Communion during a Greek Catholic Mass in Timisoara on May 25. The synod’s forgiveness has reportedly settled the controversy, according to the SIR News Agency. “The Holy Eucharist is not a means and a stage towards the unity of the Christian Church, but the deepest manifestation of the unity of the Church, its highlight,” stated Patriarch Daniel of the Romanian Orthodox Church in a speech to the synod. Patriarch Daniel reportedly intended to reassert the fundamental principle of Orthodox ecclesiology and ecumenism. He said that such gestu...

Kudos to the Russian Church. Normally I wouldn't post this, but often when the Russian Orthodox Church is mentioned it is in the context of continued nationalism and servility to the State. I have reformatted some sentences as the translation had some glaring grammatical and syntactical errors. Moscow, July 9 ( Interfax ) - The Moscow Patriarchate says that the present authorities should denounce the communist regime, both in word and practice. "The denouncement of communism began in the 1990s, but we failed to see it through," Fr. Georgy Ryabykh, the acting secretary of the Moscow Patriarchate Department for External Church Relations, told Interfax-Religion Wednesday. According to the priest, we need to continue denouncing communism today: "We have to honour memory of repression victims and their fortitude, open memorials, return cities and streets their original names, take Soviet symbols away from public buildings, remove monuments to bloody leaders from the centr...