Byzantine, Texas

The wording is so beautiful it necessitated my republishing... Message of His Beatitude The Patriarch of Jerusalem Theophilos III On the Christmas of 2008 Let us now go even unto Bethlehem and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us (Luke 2:15) The Church, the body of Christ, which perpetuates His salvific work on earth, to day cries out again to all the people, to those who are near and to those who are afar, to her members as well as the whole world, the saving truth. It proclaims the fact that the God of our fathers, who in the beginning created man out of love, in His image and likeness, without tolerating the distortion of His image that occurred with the fall, recreated him at the end of times. He recreated and reborn His creature in a way that surpasses human understanding and strength. God achieved this with the incarnation and becoming man of His Only Son through the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary. "When the time arrived, God sent His...

This prayer is rather common in most jurisdictions and would make a good addition for a family's evening prayers. O God, our heavenly Father, Who lovest mankind, and art most merciful and compassionate, have mercy upon our children, Thy servants, ( their names ), for whom I humbly pray Thee, and commend them to Thy gracious protection. Be Thou, O God, their guide and guardian in all their endeavors; lead them in the path of Thy truth, and draw them near to Thee, that they may lead a godly and righteous life in Thy love and fear; doing Thy will in all matters. Give them grace that they may be temperate, industrious, diligent, devout and charitable. Defend them against the assaults of the enemy, and grant them wisdom and strength to resist all temptation and corruption of this life; and direct them in the way of salvation, for the merits of Thy Son, our Savior Jesus Christ, and the intercessions of His Holy Mother, and Thy blessed saints. ...

This pick and choose your bishop is like some sort of replacement for fries at a fast food restaurant mentality. Leaving aside all the other reasons why this is a bad idea, it also undermines the authority of the bishop by giving people the idea that there is choice in everything; that if they disagrees with their pastor or bishop on a certain point that they can start shopping for a view more to their liking. I can attest, having seen this with Episcopalian friends in the US, that the parishioner either becomes a relativist or a vocal defender on a few select topics that no amount of discussion will shake them from. In an attempt to make a "big tent" of the Anglican Communion where a variety of beliefs and practices can live together in harmony, you instead end up with the inequality and individualism spoken about by Paul in 1 Corinthians 11 where people were divided into different rooms of the house churches of the day. I hope that someone reminds them of that lesson. ( CT...

From The Onion Dome : Dear Father Vasiliy, My best friend, who is a Protestant, recently gave me an icon which he purchased at a Roman Catholic bookstore. Can I use this icon in my worship? It is a reproduction of Rublev’s “Hospitality of Abraham.” Signed, Worried in Waukegan Dear Waukegan, I am worried to be hearing that your best friend is this Protestant. But perhaps you were at one time Protestant, and merely converted to One, True, Holy and Catholic Faith ahead of friend. Clearly friend buying of this icon is good sign. Anyway, icon written by Rublev is good icon. Take to church and ask priest to bless icon, and any contamination from Roman Catholic bookstore will be removed. And please to keep praying for this friend. Is pity friend could not be born Russian, of course, but convert Orthodox is better than no Orthodox at all. Usually. —Father Vasiliy Dear Father Vasiliy, I am worried I may have broken the church canon law. Recently, while flying in an Airbus 310 airplane from Lond...

WASHINGTON, DC ( OCA Communications ) - On Sunday, December 28, 2008, His Beatitude, the Most Blessed Jonah, Archbishop of Washington and New York, Metropolitan of All America and Canada, was enthroned at St. Nicholas Cathedral in Washington, DC. In attendance at the Enthronement were members of the OCA Holy Synod of Bishops and guests representing several Orthodox Churches in North America and abroad. "Unfortunately, because of poor travel conditions in some regions, not all of those who were to take part in the Enthronement were able to join us," said OCA communications director, Archpriest Andrew Jarmus. Among the guest hierarchs and clergy that were able to attend the Enthronement were His Grace, Bishop Mercurius, Administrator of the Patriarchal Parishes in the USA, who represented His Eminence, Metropolitan Kirill of Smolensk and Kaliningrad, Patriarchal Locum tenens of the Church of Russia, His Grace, Bishop Ilia of Philomelion, representing His Beatitude, Archbishop A...

From The Onion Dome : Dusty Icons, the official trade magazine of Orthodox church-basement bookstores, notes in its most recent number that sales at its subscribers' stores have been affected this holiday shopping season by the worldwide economic downturn. Your intrepid Onion Dome editor sought out and was granted an interview with the -- "Is Outrage!" said a familiar voice as I was writing the article. "What is outrage?" I asked. "What is this shopping during holy fast?! Was it shopping during holy fast during Nineteenth Century Russia? No it was not! Is outrage!" "Thank you, Father Vasiliy." "Is not problem. Goodbye." -- editor of the publication, Gustav Gustavanov. OD: So the article in your mag says sales are off this Advent? GG: Yes, it does. OD: Can you say more? GG: Yes. Church bookstores are finding that shoppers are going for lower-priced items, such as those icons on the bottom of the icon rack that nobody has bought since...

In light of the holiday season (holiday = holy day so please no barbed comments) I gave the heresies a break. Reinvigorated by Christmas-themed tea and treats, I return to the task. Apokatastasis The Greek name (ἀποκαταστασις) for the doctrine that ultimately all free mortal creatures - angels, men, and devils - will share in the grace of salvation. It is to be found in Clement of Alexandria, in Origen and St. Gregory of Nyssa. It was strongly attacked by St. Augustine of Hippo and formally condemned in the first anathema against Origenism, probably put out by the Council of Constantinople in AD 543. - The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church pg. 83 The basic idea is that hell is purgative - that hell is a celestial timeout corner from which the head-strong Kindergartner, given sufficient time, will emerge and be able to rejoin the class. Clement of Alexandria called it a "wise fire" from which sinners are purified. On Origen, I quote from Eschatology and fi...

Baghdad ( Time ) - The Catholic Church of Mar Yousif is modest and unassuming from the outside. On Christmas morning, a maze of cars obstructed the street in front, presenting a hundred-foot long physical barrier to any would-be car bomber. The faithful have learned to be cautious: their church is nestled in the Mansur district of Baghdad that was formerly home to some of the city's worst insurgent activity. But the war seems almost distant once you get past the church doors. Inside, chandeliers from high ceilings illuminated a Christmas morning with nearly a thousand Iraqi Catholics filling row after row of packed pews -- more than the building has seen in years. This year marks the first time in Iraq that Christmas is an official national holiday. Congregants at Mar Yousif (St. Joseph's) said they felt hopeful about the future, and many spoke earnestly about their optimism for the country, now enjoying the lowest level of violence since 2003. But others noted that even as co...

CAIRO ( Directions to Orthodoxy ) – Egypt's Coptic pope has banned the faithful from confessing their sins to priests over the telephone because intelligence agents might be listening in, a newspaper reported on Friday. Confessions over the telephone are forbidden, because there is a chance the telephones are monitored and the confessions will reach state security," the independent Al-Masri Al-Yom quoted Pope Shenouda III as saying. The leader of the Coptic minority also said confessions over the Internet were invalid because they might be read by web surfers. "A confession over the Internet does not count as a confession, because everybody can look at it and it won't be secret," he said. Priests are strictly bound to respect the privacy of confession, even in the face of threatened punishment, and many countries' legal systems specifically protect the "seal of the confessional." Coptic Patriarch Anba Morcos told AFP that people have begun to phone ...

Voices from Russia has an interview with Metropolitan Jonah on a few topics (next Patriarch of Moscow, the OCA, Orthodoxy in the New World). Andrei Shitov: Vladyki, how did Orthodoxy arrive in America? How many Orthodox are there in the USA? What is the general state of Orthodoxy in America, in your opinion? Metropolitan Jonas: Orthodoxy was originally brought to America by Russian missionaries. With great care, we preserved their spiritual heritage and the influence of Russian traditions is very strong. In total, there are less than one million active Orthodox in the USA. We have about 2,500 parishes and hundreds of monasteries (sic) in the USA. Of these, the OCA has about 650 parishes and 20 monasteries. 30 parishes are directly under the Moscow Patriarchate and the ROCOR has some 100 parishes. There are some 15 different church jurisdictions operating in America. The OCA has about 100,000 active parishioners and it is the second-largest bloc after the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese. ...

As posted a few weeks ago here , a joint Catholic-Orthodox vespers was held Worchester, MA with a service to be help at St. Spyridon Greek Orthodox Church in March. ( CFP ) - Father Gregory Christakos, associate pastor of St. Spyridon Cathedral, was raving about the Greek Orthodox-Roman Catholic vespers that had just concluded at St. Paul Cathedral Sunday. “It was so moving,” he explained. “It’s not just discussing and dialoguing about unity, but actually worshipping together.” “It’s wonderful because it brings us together,” said Alberto Huaman, of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish. “Some of my best friends are Orthodox.” Now he’s looking forward to the vespers at St. Spyridon’s in March, he said. Both services were planned for the Year of St. Paul, which Pope Benedict XVI inaugurated June 28 to mark the 2,000th anniversary of the apostle’s birth. The pope expressed pleasure that Orthodox Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople also arranged for a Pauline year for his faithful...

A quick post of the Ambon Prayer from last night that I found profound and moving. Merry Christmas to all. Christ is born! Glorify Him! Glory to you, O Christ our God, "without father, without mother or ancestry, without beginning of days or end of life." For in your eternal birth a woman had no part, nor a man in your becoming flesh in time. You did not make the divine nature a slave, but while remaining Lord and Master of all, you put on the human nature. You sit at the right hand of the Father, but were hidden by the cave and manger. The Magi honor you with their gifts, the heavenly hosts glorify you in song, the shepherds watch in joy, and the angels praise you with a loud voice. With them, we, your sinful and unworthy servants, have arrived at this brilliant and solemn feast of your birth, and offer you these hymns and spiritual songs: "Glory to God in the highest, and peace to all in your good will." O Lover of us all, receive our lowly praise, and best...

Kemerovo 12/22/2008 ( ACN ) – During these days of Advent there are once again clear signs of a warming between the Orthodox and the Catholic Church in Russia. During a solemn Orthodox Liturgy on 19 December, Catholic Bishop Josef Werth of the diocese of the Transfiguration of the Lord in Novosibirsk formally presented Russian Orthodox Bishop Aristarch of Kemerovo and Nowokuznesk (Siberia) with a relic of Saint Nicholas. This solemn Liturgy, which was also attended by the apostolic Nuncio in the Russian Federation, Archbishop Antonio Mennini, was being held to celebrate the Russian feast of Saint Nicholas in the Orthodox cathedral of Saint Nicholas in Kemerovo which, despite the fact that it was a weekday, was filled to overflowing. In his address at the solemn ceremony, Bishop Aristarch described the gift as "a true sign of love and esteem between the Russian Orthodox and the Catholic Church". And he repeatedly underlined the joy of the faithful over this relic, emphasisin...

( Pokrov ) - A top Greek Orthodox church official is being harshly criticized for claiming that five men who reached a multi-million dollar child sex abuse settlement actually made up allegations. Leaders of a support group for survivors of abuse in the Orthodox Churches are writing to Archbishop Demetrios Trakatellis and the other members of the ruling body of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America (GOA). They want that group to discipline Metropolitan Isaiah Chronopoulos and force him to apologize for accusing the five men of lying. In October, the men settled their lawsuit against Fr. Nicholas Katinas and numerous church entities. But two weeks ago, Chronopoulos publicly accused these victims of making false charges in that action. He made his allegations in a letter sent to all members of his Denver-based diocese, as well as posting them on the diocesan website. “Chronopoulos should explain and apologize for his hurtful claims,” said Melanie Jula Sakoda of Moraga, California. Sh...

So I've continued reading Four Desert Fathers and just finished the section on Evagrius Ponticus, the great Coptic monk and ascetic. What struck me was his continuous battle with lust. Throughout his life, before his life in the desert and while he lived there, he struggled with the "demons of lust." For him there were different types of demons that attempted to turn people from the right path. Wikipedia encapsulates this well: The eight patterns of evil thought are gluttony, lust, greed, sadness, acedia, anger, vainglory, and pride. While he did not create the list from scratch, he certainly refined it. Some years later, Pope Gregory I would revise this list to form the more common Seven Deadly Sins. Additionally, for him much of our failings are caused by gluttony and that the solution to this is a strict and continuous asceticism to prepare the person for the demons when they come to tempt you. The story of Deacon Evagrius begins in Constantinople with him lusting for...

From Moscow: Moscow, December 22, ( Interfax ) - Locum tenens Metropolitan Kirill has supported Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg, who refused to sign into law a bill legalizing euthanasia in his country, referring to the fact that it contradicts traditional Christian values. "Your decision is an example of courage and loyalty to beliefs which inspire the majority of European residents. I believe that the protection of traditional values of peoples on the European continent will help maintain the basement of our common house," Metropolitan Kirill's letter to Grand Duke Henri posted on the official website of the Moscow Patriarchate on Monday reads. The locum tenens pointed out that the Russian Orthodox Church supports maintaining traditional moral values all over Europe. Late Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Russia stated the need to protect traditional moral values in European countries for the sake of the future from the PACE rostrum last year. And this June, the Russi...

( PanARMENIAN ) - Armenian Church doesn’t have any status in Georgia. The other religious minorities experience the same problem, the head of the Georgian Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church said. “We were offered a status of a non-governmental organization but we rejected. We urge the Georgian authorities either to pass a law on religion or conclude an agreement with the religious minorities, recognizing them as artificial persons,” bishop Vazgen Mirzakhanyan said. I don't think they meant "artificial." At the same time, he remarked that the intelligentsia and clergy should not involve the flock in the problem of return of churches. “This problem should be resolved at the highest level and religious fanatics should not instigate national hostility. Georgians should understand that Armenians are not crazy to lay claims to a Georgian Church in Tbilisi,” he said. The Georgian Patriarchate doesn’t comment on the issue. “It’s well known that Georgian and Armenian church...

H/T: Reason & Revelation

I've been tasked with organizing and conducting Reader-led vespers services during the week beginning next year. I have to learn: Learn those things proper to priests and clergy and those which I can do. Also, what replacements should be made where. Learn the samohlasen tones. Samohlasen – literally “same tone;” the name given to the musical family of eight tones (i.e. formulas) used to sing certain texts in Vespers, Matins, and other services. Learn the stichera from the Octoechos for the week I'm doing the service and stichera for the saint of the day based on the specific saint or the common class of saint (martyr, hierarch, venerable, fool for Christ, etc.). Octoechos - meaning the "Eight Modes", is the fundamental structure for classifying and describing modes (echos) in Byzantine music. Sticheron – literally “verse;” a generic term for ecclesiastical hymns sung alternately with psalm verses, particularly at the Lamp-lighting Psalms of Vespers and the Psalms o...