Byzantine, Texas

It has not so much been a slow news week as I just returned from traveling and had little posting time. Here is a statement in response to this thread that I think stands on its own merit. The points will be familiar to anyone who has entered into a discussion of this topic. Reading through the thread, I am increasingly concerned by what I read here. There seems to be a desire on the part of some to make all council ecumenical. It appears to me that (and again, only for some) any suggestion that a council is not ecumenical calls into question either (a) the integrity of the teaching or, and this is much worse, (b) the integrity of the speaker who points out that the council is not ecumenical. Reading through the comments, and again so it appears to me, there seems to be a desire on the part of some to claim for their own positions an ecumenical authority and to object when that authority is denied to them. A council need not be ecumenical for its teaching to be true. And the true teac...

( Orthodoxy Today ) - The decision of the California Supreme Court on May 15, 2008, unilaterally redefines the sacred institution of marriage in a manner unprecedented in human history — and alien to our Christian tradition. We, the Orthodox Christian bishops of California, were saddened by this decision which constitutes a direct attack upon the longstanding role and freedom of religion in American life. A majority of the justices declared not only that same-sex couplings must be allowed to exist at those couples’ discretion as “marriages,” but that the state of California is forbidden to refer to these couplings as anything but “marriages.” Orthodox Christianity holds in high regard the God-ordained institution of marriage and the family. The Orthodox Church must and shall remain true to its faith and tradition, and affirm that marriage is the union of one man and one woman, given by God to one another for mutual support, encouragement, love and the ability to bear children. As membe...

VATICAN CITY, 25 OCT 2008 (VIS) - Yesterday afternoon, patriarchs and archbishops from Eastern Catholic churches who are participating in the current meeting of the Synod of Bishops, delivered an appeal to the Holy Father "in favour of our brothers and sisters of the East", in which they ask for "the confirmation of all attempts being made to favour peace, freedom and truth in love". In the text of the appeal, which appeared on the pages of the "Osservatore Romano" newspaper, the prelates write: "Our hearts are moved by the suffering of so many of our sons and daughters of the East. Children and youth, people in extreme difficulty because of their age, health or essential spiritual and material needs; families perennially tempted to despair over the present and the future. We feel it our duty to voice their justifiable hopes that everyone may soon be guaranteed a dignified life, in fruitful social coexistence. "Peace is the work of justice!...

Blessing of the Holy Muron by the Armenian Church from earlier this year. More here .

I was invited to attend a talk given by Bishop-elect Jonah (OCA - Diocese of Fort Worth) on the Jesus Prayer held at St. Maximus in Denton, TX on Friday. It was well attended, uplifting, and educational. I should also add that is was refreshingly lacking in flowery prose where simple anecdotes or explanations could be inserted. A reminder to all that he will be consecrated into the episcopacy on November 1st in Dallas, TX.

Christ in the Mountains wrote on voting, the afterlife, and the comparative importance of matters affecting the living. Do go read it here . In a conversation I had recently, I was struck by how religious fervor is so often given over to nearly everything but religion. In this particular discussion, my interlocutor was greatly concerned about people who had no health insurance, because of a frequent interaction with such people, some of whom are genuinely suffering seriously with life-threatening illnesses. My position in the discussion was that health care, while important, is of relatively lower importance compared to questions of eternal significance. What I didn't know was that that statement would reveal that I "live in la-la land." Something real has to be done, I was told, and I got the strong impression that that meant it had to be some kind political action... ...And, since we are on the subject of "la-la land," and also because I have always appreciat...

VATICAN CITY, OCT. 24, 2008 ( Zenit.org ) - The intervention from Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople at the synod of bishops marked an ecumenical milestone, says a representative of the Orthodox Church of Greece. Archimandrite Ignatios Sotiriadis is a fraternal delegate at the world Synod of Bishops on the Word of God, which ends Sunday. The Church of Greece representative spoke with ZENIT about the intervention from Bartholomew I, given as a homily Oct. 18 in a celebration of vespers together with Benedict XVI. Q: You have been participating in the entire synod. What have you heard from the synod fathers about Bartholomew I's homily? Archimandrite Ignatios: First of all, I feel proud to see His Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I in the Sistine Chapel, where popes are elected, also famous worldwide for its artistic value, because I consider the invitation from Pope Benedict to the "primus inter pares" (first among equals) of the Orthodox Churc...

CAIRO ( The National ) - “Where is your cross?” asked the Coptic Christian guards outside the Abbassiya Cathedral in Cairo on Wednesday, where thousands of Copts had gathered to see their beloved Pope Shenouda III, the head of the Coptic church, speak after returning from a four-month stay in the United States where he was receiving medical treatment. Several incidents of sectarian violence between Muslims and Christians occurred during the pope’s absence, giving extra significance to his return. “The church and our lives are not the same when the pope is not around,” said Mourad Weisa, 35, an accountant. “He’s everything to us.” The throngs clapped and roared, and began chanting “We love you pope” as he arrived at the crowded cathedral and made his way to the altar. The gathering hushed into silence as he prepared to speak. “I apologise for not being able to hold our weekly meeting for the past 19 weeks,” said Pope Shenouda, 85, smiling and tearful, visible on a huge screen erected in...

H/T: Memoirs of the Neophyte Orthodox Church opens in Havana, Cuba. ( POI ) Kirill, metropolitan bishop of Smolensk and Kaliningrad, president of the Department for ecclesiastic foreign relations of the Patriarchate of Moscow, went to Cuba to unveil an Orthodox Cathedral in Havana on October 19th. The day after, October 20th, he met card. Jaime Luis Ortega y Alamino, archbishop of Havana and, according to the local agencies, he was also received by the former president Fidel Castro, despite his bad health. To Kirill and the Russian Orthodox Church, yesterday Fidel Castro devoted one of his reflections on the official newspaper "Granma", in which he claims that Kirill "thinks the Catholic Church might solve its problems with such countries as China or Vietnam". The metropolitan bishop Kirill, as reported by the online magazine "New Word" of the archdiocese of Havana, sent to cardinal Ortega "a special greeting from the Patriarch Alexius II, giving him ...

From Wordmall , a blog on the English language, comes this little gem. Drew from Traverse City, Michigan, asked an interesting question: What is the opposite of an epiphany? First, let’s deal with epiphany. In the ancient world, according to myths, epics, and religious works, an epiphany occurred when a god or goddess chose to reveal itself to a mere mortal. Above all, in the ancient world, it was meant to be evidence that the human hero or leader was worthy of knowledge, power, or credibility. It was a compelling endorsement of his or her mission, message, or destiny. Epiphany came from two Greek terms: epi-, to, and phanein, to show. Thus, it was a manifestation, a deliberate and directed revelation, and an inspiring or instigative appearance. In the Christian religion, The Epiphany is a specific festival: the manifestation of Christ to the Gentiles in the person of the Magi. In the Western Church, the feast is celebrated on January 6. The account may be found in Matthew 2: 1 - 12 . ...

MOSCOW, OCT. 22, 2008 ( Zenit.org ) - Russian Orthodox Patriarch Alexy II responded to a letter from Benedict XVI, expressing satisfaction with growing collaboration between the two Churches. Alexy II's note responded to the Pope's message of Oct. 1, sent to Russia with Cardinal Crescenzio Sepe, archbishop of Naples, who visited Moscow at the patriarch's invitation. The Russian religious leader expressed his "joy at the growing perspective of the development of good relations and a positive cooperation between our two Churches." "The solid base of this," he added, "is in our common roots and our converging positions regarding many of the questions that today afflict the world." Alexy II said he is convinced that "the greatest revelation of the Gospel, 'God is love,' should become a vital guideline for all those who consider themselves followers of Christ." "Only through testimony to this mystery can we overcome the disco...

H/T: The Crescat A lengthy article in the Homiletic & Pastoral Review by Fr. Michael Orsi proved good reading. Do go read the complete article . ...But here we return to the concept of anonymity. Hiding out in cyberspace provides a certain emotional distance and avoids direct confrontation. This gives calumnious bloggers some distinct advantages over their victims. They can declare someone guilty without evidence, forcing them to defend themselves by having to disprove a negative. And they can be as outlandish and judgmental as they like while remaining shielded from the reactions and reproaches they would encounter in signed commentary or face-to-face debate. This contradicts the two foundational principles of American justice: (1) assumption of innocence until proof of guilt and (2) the right of the accused to face the accuser. But it tends to liberate bloggers from moral constraint by anesthetizing conscience. There is a certain self-defeating aspect of calumnious blogging. The...

Nice to have a surprise bishop crash your event. I'm reminded of that scene from Gladiator: Emperor: I don't think there's ever been a gladiator to match you. As for this young man, he insists you are Hector reborn. Or was it Hercules? Why doesn't the hero reveal himself and tell us all your real name? You do have a name? Gladiator : My name is Gladiator. Emperor : How dare you show your back to me? Slave! You will remove your helmet and tell me your name. Gladiator : My name is Maximus Decimus Meridius... commander of the armies of the north... general of the Felix Legions... loyal servant to the true emperor, Marcus Aurelius... father to a murdered son... husband to a murdered wife... and I will have my vengeance, in this life or the next. [next scene] Emperor : Why is he still alive? Lucilla : I don't know. Emperor : He shouldn't be alive. It vexes me. I'm terribly vexed. Scranton, PA, Oct 22, 2008 / 01:00 pm ( CNA ) - An elec...

Kyiv ( RISU ) — The renewal of the unity of Ukrainian Orthodoxy is more important for UOC-MP than canonical status. So said the press secretary of the head of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Moscow Patriarchate, head of the Synodal Department, Mission of Spiritual Education, chief editor of the portal Orthodoxy in Ukraine, archpriest Heorhii Kovalenko at a web conference conducted with him by portal RISU. During the conference, he, in particular, expressed his ideas as to the prospect of unity of Ukrainian Orthodoxy and the role of Constantinople and Moscow in the process. He also talked about the relations of UOC with other Orthodox churches in Ukraine. Fr. Heorhii stressed that UOC hopes for support from the heads of local Orthodox churches for “the efforts of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church towards the renewal of unity of the Ukrainian Orthodoxy.” “This means that UOC will not only continue negotiations with the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church and representatives of the Ukra...

A little background provided by Wikipedia: "The Syriac Orthodox Church is an autocephalous Oriental Orthodox church based in the Middle East with members spread throughout the world. It parted ways with Eastern Orthodoxy and Roman Catholicism over the Council of Chalcedon, which the Syriac Orthodox Church rejects. It is a major inheritor of Syriac Christianity and has Syriac, a dialect of Aramaic, as its official language. The church is led by the Syriac Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch." "Ignatius Zakka I Iwas is the 122th and reigning Patriarch of Antioch and All the East, and as such, Supreme Head of the Universal Syriac Orthodox Church. Also known by his traditional episcopal name, Severios, he was enthroned as patriarch on 14 September 1980 in St. George's Patriarchal Cathedral in Damascus. He succeeded Ignatius Ya`qub III. As is traditional for the head of the church, Severios has adopted the name Ignatius. Severios is known for his involvement in ecumenical dialo...

Although each Christian generation has its own unique challenges there were those followers of Christ – in various times and places – who suffered extraordinarily for the Faith. They gave their lives completely through sacrificial service or in death, " for the sake of Christ and the Gospel." Saints in Times of Trouble bears witness to twelve such disciples. The popular Saints of North America Activity Book, put forth by the OCA's Department of Christian Education, has now been complemented by what promises to be an equally useful resource: a workbook focusing on Saints in Times of Trouble. What makes this brief collection distinct from some others is the diversity of examples presented. Descriptions include, for example, St. John Chrysostom and the deaconess St. Olympias and St. Poplia from the 4th century; St. Aidan (Scotland) and St. Cuthbert (Britain) from the 7th century; St. Alexander Nevsky (the Russian Prince) 13th century, and the Iconographer St. Andrei ...

Far... far... West Side.

I watched the address over the weekend. It was quite good and thankfully in English. As the text of the talk has just come out I may post it later today. VATICAN CITY, 18 OCT 2008 (VIS) - In the Sistine Chapel at 5 p.m. today, the Holy Father presided at the celebration of first Vespers of the 29th Sunday of Ordinary Time, marking the participation of Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople in the work of the current Twelfth Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops. The ceremony, which was attended by more than 400 cardinals, bishops, priests, religious and lay people, began with a few brief words of introduction by Benedict XVI. In his English-language talk, Bartholomew I highlighted how this "is the first time in history that an Ecumenical Patriarch is offered the opportunity to address a Synod of Bishops of the Roman Catholic Church, and thus be 'part of the life' of this sister Church at such a high level. We regard this as a manifestation of the ...

Play for the music if nothing else.

( AINA ) - The recent threat to the saint Gabriel monastery , an Assyrian monastery in Turkey, have led a number of Dutch Members of parliament to put forward parliamentary questions to the Dutch minister of foreign affairs, Maxime Verhagen. Christian democrats Pieter Omtzigt en Maarten Haverkamp, together with Christian Union MP Joel Voordewind ask him whether he shares the view that cultural heritage like the Saint Gabriel monastery should be protected, as this is the oldest Syrian orthodox monastery and in fact one of the oldest surviving monasteries in the world. They also urge him to contact the Turkish authorities. The minister has three weeks to answer the questions and take action. "We would like this monastery and its lands to be used by the church and worshipers, who have done so for 1600 years," According to Pieter Omtzigt, a member of the parliamentary assembly of the Council of Europe. "Freedom of religion and worship means that churches of all denominations...

“ If the hermeneutic of the faith disappears, in its place the positivistic or secularist hermeneutic is affirmed, according to which the divine does not appear in history .” - Pope Benedict XVI said today at the synod

( Sofia Echo ) - The Bulgarian Orthodox Church has revised its statute to ban selling or mortgaging church property, and will trim back the powers of its head, the Patriarch, in favour of more power for the Holy Synod. These were among decisions made at the church’s sixth National Church Council, which resumed for a week of discussions from October 6 to 12 2008 after being unable to deal with all its agenda items at the initial meeting in May. This time around, church leaders again did not manage to get through the list – the national council will resume again from December 9 to 12. Dveri, the website dedicated to Bulgarian Orthodox Church matters, said that all the decisions made at the National Church Council’s second session would be published in a special issue of the church’s official newspaper. Other issues on which the council has made pronouncements, to be disclosed in the church newspaper, include Bulgaria’s controversial new Family Code, the law on cultural values and the Edu...

Constantinople ( AsiaNews ) - To call within 2009, at the proposal of the ecumenical patriarch, a series of pan-Orthodox meetings to prepare for the Orthodox grand synod, awaited for centuries, and to prepare to face in a collegial manner the challenges of a world that is increasingly globalized in economic terms, but not in human terms. These are the objectives that Orthodoxy is proposing for itself at the conclusion of the pan-Orthodox meeting in Constantinople, which closed with a concelebration, convened by the ecumenical patriarch get to celebrate the 2,000th anniversary of the birth of the apostle Paul. The objectives are indicated in an important document signed by all of the leaders and representatives of the Orthodox Churches , according to the canons of the Church itself, on the basis of collegiality. The approved text - drafted in part by metropolitan archbishops Ioannis Ziziulas of Pergamon, Anastasios of Albania, and Kyril of Smolensk and Kaliningrad, and inspired by the ...

The children of our friends are given Christian names. Some opt for very traditional über-Catholic or Orthodox names while others make relatively vanilla choices. None of them has (yet?) chosen to do their child the disservice of naming him something secular or bizarre. It is always a shock (or has been so when I have seen it) to families when they realize they can't have their child Parker, Becket, Katlyn, or some other shoe-brand sounding appellation baptized using that name. Sometimes they fall back on the middle-name or if converts they will often (in our church at least) pick something like Athanasius, Dionysius, or Maximos. When did this all start? Is it a result of the Moonbeams, Stars, and Sunnys of the flower power people? Is it a result of the fashionable surname repurposing I see so much of? I don't know. I'd love to read a study or magazine article on it. As we await our newest addition, we circle possible girl names (the boy name has been chosen) as we find the...

H/T: Unam Sanctam Take The Commonly Confused Words Test at H ello Q uizzy Your result for The Commonly Confused Words Test... English Genius You scored 100% Beginner, 100% Intermediate, 100% Advanced, and 100% Expert! You did so extremely well, even I can't find a word to describe your excellence! You have the uncommon intelligence necessary to understand things that most people don't. You have an extensive vocabulary, and you're not afraid to use it properly! Way to go! Thank you so much for taking my test. I hope you enjoyed it!

VATICAN CITY, OCT. 12, 2008 ( Zenit.org ) - A representative of the Orthodox Church who addressed the world Synod of Bishops spoke of the Bishop of Rome as a sign of unity among Christians. Archimandrite Ignatios Sotiriadis, fraternal delegate from the Orthodox Church of Greece, spoke Saturday to the synod, which is focusing on the Word of God in the life and mission of the Church. His address brought more applause than any other intervention in the first week of the synod. "Your Holiness," he said, "our society is tired and sick. It seeks but does not find! It drinks but its thirst is not quenched. Our society demands of us Christians -- Catholics, Orthodox, Protestants, Anglicans -- a common witness, a unified voice. Here lies our responsibility as pastors of the Churches in the 21st Century." "Here," the Orthodox pastor continued, "is the primary mission of the First Bishop of Christianity, of him who presides in charity, and, above all, of a Pope ...

I apologize in advance for the occasion of profanity. Those with sensitive ears should not press play.

The Estonian Orthodox Church problem has reared its ugly head again. ( SOC ) - The Russian Orthodox Church suspended its membership of the Conference of European Churches (CEC) on Saturday, the Moscow Patriarchate Department for External Church Relations told Interfax-Religion. " The reason for this decision was the unwillingness to consider a membership application by the Estonian Orthodox Church, a self-governing Church within the Moscow Patriarchate, which is illegitimate, groundless and going against the constitution and the CEC rules," it said. In this situation, the Russian Orthodox Church, "displaying solidarity with our Orthodox brothers and sisters in Estonia, has made the decision to suspend its CEC membership until a positive decision is made on admitting the Estonian Church to this organization," it said. "We have to point out with deep regret that the CEC is losing its role as a reconciling and consolidating force in that it has increasingly more...

( Directions to Orthodoxy ) - Delegates to the Holy Synod of the Church of Bulgaria have begun debate on a reform of the code of canon law that proposes an increase in the legal powers of the synod at the expense of bishops and clergy. Meeting at the St John of Rila Monastery south of Sofia from Oct 6-8, the Sixth Church Convention of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church passed an ordinance forbidding the sale, mortgage or exchange of church properties --- an action that vests trusteeship of property in the synod rather than with local bishops, abbots or congregations. The push towards centralization of property ownership comes in the 16th year of a schism --- a legacy of the Communist era in Bulgaria, and appears aimed at centralizing the control of property by the Synod and the leader of the church, Maxim, Patriarch of Bulgaria and Metropolitan of Sofia, at the expense of dissident clergy and bishops. Following Parliamentary elections in 1991, a non-Communist government was formed by the U...