Byzantine, Texas

idiorrythmic: A term applied to certain monasteries on Mount Athos which, in contradistinction to the coenobitic houses, used to allow considerable freedom to their monks, including the right to possess personal property. Also... Having its own rhythm or style. Used, especially in the Eastern Christian churches, of monks or hermits who live by themselves instead of in a monastery or community. St. Stergos was an idiorrhythmic monk. This word came up from the below talk on monasticism in the Russian Church from the 19th century forward.

H/T: Central Pennsylvania Orthodox

VATICAN CITY ( CNS ) - A common understanding of the role the bishop of Rome played in the united Christianity of the first millennium is essential for resolving the question of the primacy of the pope in a united church, Pope Benedict XVI said. The pope met June 27 with Orthodox Metropolitan Emmanuel of France, Bishop Athenagoras of Sinope, who serves as the assistant metropolitan of Belgium, and Deacon Ioakim Billis of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople. The three Greek Orthodox represented Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople at the evening prayer service closing the year of St. Paul June 28 and at the pope's Mass for the feast of Sts. Peter and Paul June 29. Meeting the delegation privately before the festivities began, the pope said the year of St. Paul was a year "of prayer, of reflection and of exchanging gestures of communion between Rome and Constantinople." The pope said the joint activities were the best way to honor St. Paul, who urged...

Kyiv ( RISU ) - On 25 June, 2009, at its plenary session the Ukrainian Supreme Council rejected a bill that would maintain the privacy of confession. The bill would have prohibited priests from being questioned about information they heard during confession. The Ukrainian edition of the Kommersant newspaper reported this story on 26 June. This bill would have also allowed advocates, notaries, doctors, and psychologists to be questioned about information they learned while performing their professional duties only if the person who gave the information granted written permission. Only 187 MPs voted for the bill, while at least 226 votes were necessary.

Occasionally I'm struck by a question on popular culture and am curious how others see the situation. As with other running series found here ("heresy of the month," "rare words," etc.) these questions might get popped into the blog. Question of the moment #1: Why is it acceptable to have a lot of children if you're a "blended family," but somehow questionable if you had all the children from only one marriage? Is there an implicit argument that marriages result in children and so, in following that logic, the more marriages the more children people should expect? Is it not odd that people are more scandalized by a couple that has remained married has had a large family than they are that two people have married and divorced numerous times resulting in a sometimes complex inter-relationship of siblings and parents?

New York, 29 June (ENI via Mere Comments )--A new North American group claiming to embrace "traditional Anglican values" will not last long, the Episcopal Church's first openly gay bishop has predicted. V. Gene Robinson, an openly homosexual man living openly with a partner, whose 2003 consecration as bishop of the diocese of New Hampshire created a backlash among traditional believers within the U.S., church, told Ecumenical News International he does not believe the new Anglican grouping has long-term viability. "A church that does not ordain women or openly gay people - I don't see a future for that," Robinson told ENI after delivering a sermon on 28 June at the First Presbyterian Church in New York City during the city's annual gay pride festivities. There's certainly 2 thousand years of history for it, though. Compared to the great exodus from the ECUSA since some of their more colorful recent decisions I'd say the Churches that maintain Tra...

From Fr. John Whiteford's blog : Of course most Orthodox people know, IC XC NIKA means "Jesus Christ Conquers". Sin Bozhie = Son of God. Tsar Slavie = King of Glory. K T = Kopie and Trost, which means "Spear and Reed" M L R B = Mesto Lobnoye Raj Byst', which means "The place of the skull became paradise." G A = Golova Adam, which means "The Head (or Skull) of Adam".

( Telegraph ) - The fresco, which dates back to the 4th Century AD, was discovered during restoration work at the Catacomb of Saint Thekla but was kept secret for ten days. During that time experts carefully removed centuries of grime from the fresco with a laser, before the news was officially announced through the Vatican's official newspaper L'Osservatore Romano. There are more than 40 known Catacombs or underground Christian burial places across Rome and because of their religious significance the Vatican's Pontifical Commission of Sacred Archeology has jurisdiction over them. A photograph of the icon shows the thin face of a bearded man with large eyes, sunken nose and face on a red background surrounded with a yellow circle – the classic image of St Paul. The image was found in the Catacomb of St Thekla, close to the Basilica of St Paul Outside the Walls in Rome, which is said to be built on the site where he was buried. St Thekla was a follower of St Paul who lived i...

From the blog In Your Light, We Shall See Light : This little gem concerns Orthodox converts, especially in America. Converting to Orthodox isn’t quite like converting to Catholicism, I think. There is more cultural and ethnic identity to Orthodoxy than there is to Catholicism, which the convert has to deal with, or assimilate. But, I think this is an interesting article on Orthodox converts, anyhow: ‘More Orthodox’ than the Orthodox by John Dart.. It’s commonly observed that converts to a faith are the most ardent defenders of it. That seems to be the case with American converts to Orthodoxy. The large number of converts attending Orthodox seminaries prompted Alexey D. Krindatch, a sociologist of religion, to wonder whetheran “Americanization” of Eastern Orthodoxy might lie ahead. His conclusion:”Probably not.”Responses from students at three seminaries of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese and the Orthodox Church in America (OCA) – the two largest Orthodox bodies in the U.S. – confirm...

( Pravoslavie.ru via ROCOR Unity ) - Jakarta, Indonesia- Metropolitan Hilarion (Kapral) of Eastern America and New York, First Hierarch of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia (ROCOR) Archbishop of Australia and New Zealand arrived in Indonesia today and served a liturgy in Jakarta were he ordained 2 Indonesians deacons to the Priesthood. During the course of his visit to Indonesia His Eminence will ordain 4 priests and 1 deacon. In the ROCOR mission of Indonesia there are already over 2500 Indonesian Orthodox parishioners. The Dean of the Indonesian Orthodox mission Archimandrite Daniel Byantoro held a press-conference with www.pravoslavie.ru to describe the difficult situation in the rapidly expanding Orthodox mission in Indonesia. Archimandrite Daniel Byantoro said: “If there is a Russian Orthodox Theological Institution in Moscow who can teach our parishioners and newly ordained clergymen to preach Orthodoxy in the Indonesian language we urge you to establish a branch of you...

You asked for it (repeatedly) and here it is...

An amusing take from the Onion Dome on being a bit calendarocentric. The Sacred Cenobitic Stavropegial Hesychastic Apophatic Peripatetic Monastery of the Sacred and Life-Giving Calendar is located on the Greek Island of Periphrenitis, just off the Golden Horn. On April 1 (Orthodox Style) the community celebrates its patronal feast: The Universal Exaltation of the Sacred and Life-Giving Calendar. Two years ago, the monastery became the site of the historic 24th Ecumenical Council, where the heresy of the Pseudo-Neo-Julian (but really papal-filioquist) Calendar was anathematized along with several of the community's neighbors. The celebration is attended by faithful from all around the globe, who travel great distances to pray at the world's only Orthodox monastery. This year the number of worshippers is so great that the brotherhood is contemplating the construction of an addition to the chapel, currently located in a garage. Dr. Vladislav Morass, author of numerous definitive ...

NEW YORK ( SCOBA ) - The seventy-sixth meeting of the North American Orthodox-Catholic Theological Consultation took place at St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary in Crestwood, New York, June 1 to 3. The session, hosted by the Standing Conference of the Canonical Orthodox Bishops in the Americas (SCOBA), was co-chaired by Metropolitan Maximos of the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Pittsburgh and Archbishop Daniel Pilarczyk of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati. At the meeting the Consultation continued its study of the 2007 agreed statement of the international Orthodox-Catholic dialogue, "Ecclesiological and Canonical Consequences of the Sacramental Nature of the Church. Ecclesial Communion, Conciliarity and Authority." The members heard analyses of the text, also known as "The Ravenna Document," from a Catholic perspective, prepared by Leavenworth Sister of Charity Susan Wood and Father John Galvin, and from an Orthodox perspective by Father Nicholas Apostola....

A rather comprehensive talk with lots of interesting trivia. More video available from other talks here .

VATICAN CITY, JUNE 25, 2009 ( Zenit.org ) - Orthodox Patriarch Bartholomew I will send a delegation to Rome to celebrate the solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul with Benedict XVI, and to close the Year of St. Paul. The visit reciprocates the habitual exchange of delegations for the respective patronal feasts in which the patriarch of Constantinople sends a delegation to Rome on June 29, the feast of Sts. Peter and St. Paul, and the Pope sends a delegation to Istanbul, Turkey, on Nov. 30, the feast of St. Andrew. In November 2006, Benedict XVI led the delegation himself, and last June Bartholomew I led the Orthodox delegation to Rome, which coincided with the opening of the Pauline Jubilee Year. The patriarch's delegation will be let by Metropolitan Emmanuel of France, director of the Office of the Orthodox Church Before the European Union. The delegation will participate in vespers June 28, presided over by Benedict XVI at St. Paul Outside the Walls, which will also mark the end of th...

I went to this event as a reporter for a few local Orthodox groups. Since signing up to attend I thought repeatedly about what in the world would His Beatitude have to say to a group of break-away Anglican traditionalists. He had a LOT to say - I would go so far as to call his speech a "barn burner" complete with numerous standing ovations and cries of agreement. I will mention in synopsis some of the things he said. He covered abortion and its consequences on women ("grave with long lasting grief"). He covered homosexuality ("not a result of nature or nurture, but of abandonment and neglect" and "an attempt to replace the parent child bond") as well as same-sex unions. He covered his opposition to female entrance into the presbyterate and episcopate ("not on misogynistic grounds" but as it is a "rejection of personhood, of feminine and masculine nature" and "with a deep desire to see women in a ministry, but not in that...

H/T: ROCOR United MIGDAL HA-EMEQ, Israel, June 22 ( Compass Direct News ) – When the congregation at St. Nicolay church in this northern Israeli town gathered on that quiet Friday morning of May 29, they never expected to be showered with stones. The Russian Orthodox worshipers, including many women, children and the elderly, had filled the small building to overflow with several outside when they were stunned by the rain of stones. Some were injured and received medical care. “The church was crawling with people – the worshipers stood not only inside the church, but also outside, as the building is very small, when suddenly a few young men started throwing stones at the direction of our courtyard,” Oleg Usenkov, press secretary of the church told Compass. “Young children were crying, everyone was very frightened.” The church had also been attacked earlier that week, during a wedding ceremony. Stones and rotten eggs were thrown from the street, hitting guests as they arrived. The same ...

Excellent news on an upcoming classic (personal bias towards the author showing) by Fr. James Early (original post here ): If you have been one of the St. James' Kids community for very long, you know that over a year and a half ago, I starting transforming the 30-part series of blog posts that I wrote about my pilgrimage to Orthodoxy (you can find the first post in the series here) into a full-length book. About six months later, the manuscript was complete, and not long after that, Regina Orthodox Press (the publisher of the works of Fr. Joseph Huneycutt and Clark Carlton, among other excellent writers) agreed to publish it. They told me it would be published around September of 2008. Unfortunately, for a variety of reasons, Regina decided to delay the publication of the book until January 2009. Then, because the weak economy took its toll on Regina's operations, they had to delay the publication yet again. This time, they told me that the book would come out late in th...

The parish website has become an important tool in evangelization and in keeping parishioners abreast of what's going on in the church. The Western Diocese of the Armenian Church put a tutorial online (complete with presentation slides and video) to help people looking to start or improve in website design. ( WDAC ) - On June 20, 2009 the Western Diocese hosted a workshop with the aim of introducing key concepts regarding website management for the benefit of its many parishes. At the request of His Eminence, Abp. Hovnan Derderian, primate of the Western Diocese, this workshop was conducted by the Diocesan Website Manager, Dn. Matthew Ash, with participants representing seven parishes of the Diocese and two organizations. It has long been the goal of the Western Diocese to see each of its parishes with successful and well developed online ministries, and towards this aim, many services were presented during this workshop that will serve to support the parishes as they establish the...

American clergy and laity of the Antiochian archdiocese have been eagerly awaiting the final word from Damascus on the "auxiliary" status of their bishops. Every time I ready to post an update another source gives me a conflicting report. The latest report has been repeated enough that I can paraphrase the resulting document: the earlier declaration is affirmed, the bishops are auxiliary to the metropolitan (though some are quibbling as to whether is means in the service of and not really auxiliary bishops), and none of the bishops can set up another archdiocese. It might also be worth noting that Metropolitan Jonah (OCA) spoke over the weekend about a "merging" of the Antiochian and OCA bodies in the US.

Freedom has its life in the hearts, the actions, the spirit of men and so it must be daily earned and refreshed - else like a flower cut from its life-giving roots, it will wither and die. - Dwight D. Eisenhower

( MOC ) - Hundreds of faithful Orthodox Christians gathered together on Saturday, June 13th, 2009 at the University of Houston, Texas to inaugurate the newly formed Diocese. Holy Qurbana was celebrated by His Grace Alexios Mar Eusebius, Diocesan Metropolitan of the Southwest American Diocese along with His Grace Mathews Mar Barnabas, His Grace Dr. Mathews Mar Severios and over twenty priests, deacons and seminarians of the newly formed Diocese. His Grace Mathews Mar Barnabas, the Diocesan Metropolitan of the Northeast American Diocese presided over the inauguration ceremonies. Along with Their Graces, His Eminence Cardinal Dinero of the Roman Catholic Church, Mrs. Anita Perry, the First Lady of the State of Texas, Mayor Bill White, honorable mayor of the City of Houston, Sanjeev Arora, Consul General of India in Houston, and various other guests from the Orthodox Churches and political dignitaries were present to witness this historic event.

As posted on earlier there was a conference held at St. Vladimir's Seminary on church unity over the weekend. Podcasts are available here . I really enjoyed listening (and watching the videos when possible) to many of them. The video versions are scheduled to be available on the 23 rd . Some of the material is dry, but some of the statements made were quite surprising (e.g. 'the "myth" of autocephaly'). Here's a quote from Metropolitan Jonah (complete text here ): It can be asserted that the Tomos also recognized that the autocephaly was not “final,” but in some way relative. I quote: “The newly established local Orthodox Autocephalous Church in America should abide in brotherly relations with all the Orthodox Churches and their Primates as well as with their bishops, clergy and pious flock who are in America, and who for the time being preserve their de facto existing canonical and jurisdictional dependence on their national Churches and their Primates.” The...

orthodoxhistory.org looks to be a new and promising online project: Anyone who has made a comparative study of the history of Orthodox Christianity in North America has probably quickly surmised that there is something of a historiograpical problem. That is, the writing of the history of Orthodox Christianity in America has been plagued with jurisdictional squabbles, claims to primacy and other agendas, often with little attention to what primary sources actually yield up as the story contained within them. Myths and ideology have often dominated these histories, rather than a close reading of historical documents. With the formation of the S ociety for Orthodox Christian History in the Americas (SOCHA), the membership desires to begin to shift the approach to studying and writing the history of Orthodoxy in the Americas (and elsewhere, of course, should members desire it) to reflect an earnest engagement with primary sources. There is no jurisdictional agenda attached to SOCHA, a...

How far afield have they gone that this is even an issue. While Britain produces a lot of these stories, Canada actually seems to have more of these incidents than anyone else. ( telegraph.co.uk ) - Sandra Davis, the "high priestess" of Crystal Cauldron group in Stockport, Greater Manchester, said she was shocked to be told that the pagan group was not considered to be compatible with the church's "ethos". Mrs Davis, 61, booked Our Lady's Social Club in Shaw Heath, Stockport, for the group's annual "Witches Ball" due to be held in October. She hoped to attract up to 150 people to the social evening offering a buffet dinner and music from an Abba tribute band and selected the hall because it had disabled access. But when she went to pay for the booking she was told by the manager that the Diocese of Shrewsbury, which owns the centre, had refused permission for the group to use it. "It makes you think that there is still a little bit of that...

Jeffrey Holton on Managing Twitter, social networking with social responsibility : It's been almost eight weeks since I gave in and started using Twitter . I had a rapid change of heart from my initial skepticism. For those who've never heard of Twitter, you may just have arrived here from some planet extraterrestrial. For those who have simply refused to give it a shot, I can list a few quick reasons why it might be worth it... Complete article here . I recommend it heartily.

SYOSSET, NY ( OCA Communications ) - A further step in the ongoing investigation into the financial crisis at Saint Tikhon's Monastery, South Canaan, PA, initiated by the OCA's Holy Synod of Bishops earlier this year, has been taken with the formal establishment of a Special Committee. The committee is charged with determining the nature and extent of possible financial mismanagement alleged to have occurred at Saint Tikhon's Monastery during the past several years. As previously stated by His Beatitude, Metropolitan Jonah, "evidence of financial mismanagement and possible wrongdoing" had been discovered, leading to disciplinary actions against certain employees. Metropolitan Jonah also had emphasized that "the Holy Synod wants to continue the investigative process as transparently as possible." With the blessing of Metropolitan Jonah, the Special Committee is being chaired by His Grace, Bishop Nikon of Boston, New England, and the Albanian Archdiocese. ...

The Saint Romanos Chanters Training Program is designed to teach the Byzantine tones in English as sung in the Antiochian Orthodox tradition. The course is designed as a self-directed study in Byzantine music using western notation and uses printed music, theory and audio CD’s. Additionally, there is an upcoming workshop in Austin being discussed in a podcast on AFR ... Bobby Maddex interviews Fr. David Barr , pastor of St. Elias Antiochian Orthodox Church in Austin, Texas, and the author of the St. Romanos Chanting Course. This coming June 24th, Fr. David will be conducting a four-day Beginning Byzantine Chant Workshop at the Antiochian Village Conference and Retreat Center.

( SVS ) St. Vladimir's Seminary is presenting a realtime webcast on the past, present, and future of Orthodoxy in America, June 18-20. This symposium on church unity features presentations by His Beatitude Metropolitan Jonah, His Eminence Archbishop Nathaniel, His Grace Bishop Basil of Amphipolis, Antiochian Archdiocese Chancellor Charles Ajalat, and others. Recent exchanges of views about Orthodoxy in North America, the role of the Patriarchate of Constantinople, events in the Antiochian Archdiocese, debates in the Romanian Episcopate, and pan-Orthodox sessions that deliberated on the “diaspora” (without American participation) emphasize how vital it is to reflect upon events that have shaped the current situation and to regularize Orthodoxy in North America. To address this need, and in a summer which might be described as the most pivotal in American Orthodox history, St. Vladimir's Seminary is hosting a summer conference with the theme “The Council and The Tomos: 20th Cent...

( OCA News ) - In a communique issued yesterday by the Fourth Pre-Conciliar Pan-Orthodox Conference, held in Chambesy, a suburb of Geneva, Switzerland, from June 6-12, the Old World Orthodox Churches announced they had agreed “to create new episcopal assemblies in some regions of the world to order the question of the Diaspora.” The agreement, long sought by Constantinople, stated that the “new episcopal assemblies” would be chaired by “bishops of the Ecumenical Patriarchate in the given region”, and in their absence, “the bishops in accordance with the order of the Diptichs of the Churches.” The communique was issued in French, Greek and Russian - but not in English. Delegates to the conference included four representatives from the Serbian Church; three representatives each from the Ecumenical Patriarchate, the Moscow Patriarchate, and the Church of Greece; two each from Antioch, Cyprus, Bulgaria, Jerusalem, Georgia, and Poland; and one each from Alexandria, Romania, Albania and...

As reported earlier , new Secretary of Congregation for Eastern Churches also raised to the dignity of archbishop. More photos here .

( h+ magazine ) - You may not know it, but gender selection based on pre-implantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) has been available to paying couples since at least 2001. One of the world leaders in providing this service is the Fertility Institutes, with branches in Los Angeles, New York, and Guadalajara in Mexico. According to their website, they’ve had over 3,800 cases of gender selection with a 100% success rate. Besides offering gender selection, they screen embryos for genetic defects such as breast cancer, cystic fibrosis, and over 70 other diseases. The Institutes are directed by Dr. Jeff Steinberg, a pioneer of IVF (in vitro fertilization) in the 1970s, and a successful scientist-businessman today. In early February, the Fertility Institutes created enormous controversy by announcing that they planned to offer PGD services allowing for the selection of eye and hair color for children. Steinberg was quoted by the BBC as saying, “I would not say this is a dangerous road. It’s an un...

Need help finding a camp for the kids or just interested in what's available near you? Take a moment to visit the Orthodox Christian Camp Association . The Orthodox Christian Camp Association is a group of Orthodox Christian camp professionals from all Orthodox Christian jurisdictions. Operating with the blessing of SCOBA (The Standing Conference of Canonical Orthodox Bishops in the Americas), the Orthodox Christian Camp Association is to witness to the truth and love of Jesus Christ through the Orthodox Christian camping experience by: Overseeing the operation of the annual Camp Conference of camp directors and staff to share and provide resources to Orthodox Christian Camping Programs

Eastern monasticism can be complex and as was mentioned in the comments there is a diversity of practice to be found in Slavic, Greek, etc. monasticism. Here is a good, if long description of the monastic stages. From St. Tikhon's Seminary : When one desiring the monastic life enters a monastery, he normally passes through three steps or stages: 1) Probationer (Novice including Riasaphor), 2) Monk of the Lesser Schema (Cross-bearer or Stavrophore), and 3) Monk of the Great Schema (Russian Skhimnik). The Probationer who enters a monastery desires to do so in order to acquit himself worthily in the angelic state, so called because Monks renounce all wordly things, do not marry, do not acquire and hold property, and live as do the Angels in Heaven, glorifying God night and day and striving to do His Will in all things. The first act of anyone who desires to perform any strenuous task is that of preparation. If, for example, one is an athlete, he would train and condition himself physi...