Byzantine, Texas

I can't help myself. I know Patriarch Bartholomew's visit is over, but this photo was too good not to post.

( boston.com ) - A U.S. Marine firing party fires three volleys during a funeral service for U.S. Marine Cpl. Nicolas Paradarodriguez at Arlington Cemetery on May 27, 2010 in Arlington, Virginia. Cpl. Paradarodriguez of Stafford, Virginia was killed while supporting combat operations in the Helmut Province of Afghanistan. (Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

"Stay in the love of the Holy God in the Trinity under the holy intercession of the Mother of God, being united by the Holy Mysteries and chastity in the Body of Christ! Do not listen to the voices alien to the voice of the Gospel. Be obedient in faith to your Patriarch and your pastors. May peace reign in you and in your relations with all who sincerely love the Lord Jesus. We ardently pray for you in the holy tabernacle of Phanar. We love you sincerely and profoundly! From the bottom of our heart and soul we love you all – clergymen, rulers, and people! You are the bone of our bone and the flesh of our flesh. Pray for us, too, and the heavens will respond to your prayers." - Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I ( mospat.ru ) - On 31 May 2010, His Holiness Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople completed his visit to the Russian Orthodox Church. During his ten-day visit the Primate of the Orthodox Church of Constantinople visited Moscow, St. Petersburg, the Valamo Island,...

I've noted that the amount of background information about the players or events in recent posts has not been explained sufficiently. Some of the stories have lacked narratives sufficient to make them understandable to someone with little background on the events being discussed. To that end I hope to add more introductory synopses to the beginning of posts, to refrain from dropping acronyms or abbreviations without expanding them, and to link to previous or foundational posts that explain what is going on more fully. Hopefully, this will make for a more pleasant reading experience.

( AINA ) - An Egyptian court issued a controversial ruling on Saturday, May 29, which deprived the head of the Egyptian Coptic Orthodox Church of the control over matters of divorce and marriage, giving the civil courts the authority to oversee affairs which the Church considers are in its core religious competencies. The Supreme Administrative Court's ruling compels HH Pope Shenouda III, Pope of the Coptic Orthodox Church, to give a license for marriage for the second time to a divorced Coptic man, rejecting Pope Shenouda's appeal and upholding the ruling by a lower court. The Supreme Administrative Court, headed by Justice Mohammed Husseini, based its ruling on the "right to family formation is a constitutional right, which is above all other considerations." It went on to say that although the court respects religious feelings, it has to govern in accordance with the law. The provision of the Supreme Administrative Court is final and no further appeals are poss...

( NCR ) - On any countdown of terrific Catholic stories over the last twenty years, the renaissance of the Greek Catholic Church in Ukraine would have to be near the top of the list. Numbering some five million faithful, about ten percent of the Ukrainian population, Greek Catholics follow Orthodox liturgical and spiritual traditions but have been in full union with Rome since the 16th century. Under the Soviets, the Greek Catholic Church in Ukraine was the largest illegal religious body in the world, and one of the most persecuted. The legendary Ukrainian Cardinal Josef Slipyi, who spent two decades in the gulags, once said that his church had been buried under "mountains of corpses and rivers of blood." During his 2001 visit to Ukraine, John Paul II beatified 27 Greek Catholic martyrs under the Soviets -- one of whom had been boiled alive, another crucified in prison, and a third bricked into a wall. Given that history, the church's recovery in the short span of tim...

Please pray for the people of Louisiana. I say this not only as a person who has family in the area, but as someone who just visited the coast (Grand Isle) two months back and fell in love with it immediately. I don't think it will be the same in my lifetime. Everyone relies on the ocean for their livelihood there. If the ocean life or wetlands are impacted for any period of time everyone's employment will be at risk - the fishermen will have nothing to bring in, the tourist industry will fall apart, the sportsmen will have no reason to make the long and winding drive down, everyone will suffer. These are not rich people, but they are faithful. Priests bless the fleet of ships that fish the waters, shrines to the Virgin dot the roads, and there is an enduring faith plainly visible on the faces of the people. Words can't express how much my heart goes out to a people who have kept a stiff upper lip through catastrophe after catastrophe. O Lord, how lovely it is to be yo...

KHARKIV ( RISU ) – The Ukrainian Orthodox Church-Moscow Patriarchate (UOC-MP) wants to unite with the UOC-Kyivan Patriarchate, which separated from the Moscow Patriarchate. The head of the UOC-MP Metropolitan Volodymyr, however, declared that now is too early to talk about specific steps for the unification. “There are attempts to meet, to discuss, and to continue the dialogue that began in 1989. There has been preparation for an overall dialogue. But today this is lacking,” said the head of the UOC-MP, as reports Religion in Ukraine. On May 28, 2010, the head of the UOC-MP Metropolitan Volodymyr is visiting Kharkiv to mark the 18th anniversary of the Kharkiv Hierarchal Council.

Fr. Andrew Damick of the Society for Orthodox Christian History in the Americas ( SOCHA ) gives his impressions of the Assembly: One thing that struck me about the event was its lack of staff. Normally, these kind of big church events are swarming with photographers, porters, subdeacons swirling about, etc., but this one was rather decidedly subdued. I was there to help one of the bishops, along with one other cleric, but most of the bishops had absolutely no staff with them at all. There was also very little support staff for the event in general. Most things were taken care of by the hotel staff in their usual capacities (wait staff, food service, maintenance, etc.). I didn’t see anyone else with a camera besides myself and the few taking shots with cellphones here and there. This event did not really present the appearance of much of an “event.” It was all so routine, orderly and low-key that I’m sure I wasn’t the only one who had to remind himself that history was really being m...

Goodbye, SCOBA. Expect to see more discussion on redrawing the lines of the Assembly (Canada, Mexico, South America). More photos available here . ( EACOH ) - We glorify the name of the Triune God for gathering us at this first Episcopal Assembly of this region in New York City on May 26-28, 2010 in response to the decisions of the Fourth Pre-Conciliar Pan-Orthodox Conference held at the Orthodox Center of the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Chambésy, Switzerland, from June 6-12, 2009, at the invitation of His All Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew. Gathered together in the joy of the Feast of Pentecost, we humbly recognize our calling, in our unworthiness, to serve as instruments and disciples of the Paraclete, who “holds together the whole institution of the Church” (Hymn of Vespers of Pentecost). We honor and express gratitude to the Primates and Representatives of the Orthodox Autocephalous Churches who assembled at the Ecumenical Patriarchate from October 10-12, 2008 to a...

Not praying, if one can't invoke the name of Christ, is better than praying with a Christ-shaped hole in your prayers. What exactly can a chaplain pray for if not for His will to be done? I think it might be better for the chaplain to hum 'Kum bay ya' off-key than to try and excise religion from... religion. Let me quote one of my favorite Touchstone articles of all time : To require a Christian priest to say little more at a benediction than “the Sustainer bids you to peacefully love your neighbor” or “May the Holy One be with you always” is effectively the same as asking a surgeon to say to a man dying on the operating table, “Don’t worry, everything is all right.” It is not a truthful word, and the dying man (and we are all dying men) needs the truthful word. The message of Christ is not warm and cuddly. He bears no resemblance in form or function to a Teddy Bear or a Hot Toddy and should not be used towards that end. God is not mocked. He is not a once-a-day vitamin p...

Boston, MA ( National Herald via St. Andrew House ) - The first Episcopal Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Hierarchs in North and Central America was convened on Thursday by His Eminence Archbishop Demetrios of America at the Helmsley Park Lane Hotel in New York City. This Assembly is the result of the decision of the Fourth Pre-Conciliar Pan-Orthodox Conference, which met in Chambesy Switzerland in June of 2009, after the extraordinary Synaxis of all the Heads of the Autocephalous Churches convened by His All Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew. This assembly, one of twelve that will be convened around the world in regions where there is no single Orthodox presence, will consist of the active canonical bishops who reside in the region designated as North and Central America. In every assembly, the chairman will be the senior bishop of the Ecumenical Patriarchate. The assembly is taking place behind closed doors. At the direction of Archbishop Demetrios, who is chairing the pr...

( St. Andrew House ) - Dear to God, Christ is in our midst! By the grace of God we have completed our First Episcopal Assembly, chaired by His Eminence Archbishop Demetrios of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of North America and attended by 57 of the 65 Hierarchs of North and Central America. He is truly a gracious, loving and patient man and certainly a gift to our Church in North America. May God grant him good health and many years! Recommendations were made to separate Mexico and Central America from our Episcopal Assembly as their needs linguistically and culturally are quite different. Hopefully, Mexico and Central America will be absorbed into the Episcopal Assembly of South America. Likewise the Bishops of Canada asked to form their own Episcopal Assembly and both requests will be forwarded to the Ecumenical Patriarch per the procedures outlined in the Chambésy Documents. The agencies of SCOBA were received by the new assembly which considers itself the successor of SCOBA....

NEW YORK – The first Episcopal Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Hierarchs in North and Central America was convened Wednesday May 26, 2010 by His Eminence Archbishop Demetrios of America at the Helmsley Park Lane Hotel in New York City. The 55 Orthodox Hierarchs who participated at the two day meeting were photographed after the conclusion of the meeting late Thursday afternoon.( GOA-Dimitri Panagos Photo )

( mospat.ru ) - The honorary rector of the cathedral, Protopresbyter Matfey Standniuk, presented Patriarch Bartholomew with a foldable icon and a pectoral icon. Having given his blessing to the faithful, His Holiness laid flowers at the grave of His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II and said a prayer for the repose of his soul. He was assisted by ordained members of the Greek delegation.

As there has been some commentary that not a single photo of Metropolitan Jonah has been seen, here is proof he's there and not sequestered in a one-way mirrored room adjacent to the conference.

( armenianchurch.net ) - Sub-deacons Justin Ajamian, Vahagn Azizyan, Benjamin Rith-Najarian, and Deacon Leon Khoja-Eynatyan graduated from St. Nersess Armenian Seminary on Saturday, May 22, in an uplifting outdoor ceremony that drew about 200 people.

From Mere Comments ... Recently, Canadian cardinal Marc Ouellet has tried, in clear yet temperate language, to reopen in Canada discussion of abortion . It is heartening to hear any of the Canadian prelates speaking about this or any other moral issue. That is because Canada (and here I should affirm our love for the people of that country, where my family and I spend every summer) suffers several impediments to discussion that do not apply in the United States. For one thing, if religious people in America think that the television media and the newspapers and the gray old weeklies like Time are against them, that is nothing compared to the homogeneous secularism of the media in Canada. Government in Canada keeps strict watch over what sorts of people are granted broadcast licenses, and what sorts of programs will be aired. The result is that there basically is no such thing as talk radio north of the border; only a few innocuous shows here and there, but that is it. It took ma...

( ROAA ) - ADDRESS OF HIS EMINENCE ARCHBISHOP NICOLAE OF THE ROMANIAN ORTHODOX ARCHDIOCESE At the Episcopal Assembly of North and Central America New York, New York May 27, 2010 Your Eminence Archbishop Demetrios, Your Eminences and Your Graces, Dear Brothers and con-celebrants in the Lord, We have gathered here these days bathed in the Light and Grace of the All-Holy Spirit to discuss the future of our Holy Orthodox Church in North America. Whether this comes to be seen as an historic meeting will depend on us, and what we decide. And while we may have been convened in a new way, that fact is that the project of organizing the Church on this continent is not new. As we continue our deliberations it would be helpful to pause and reflect on all of the efforts over the last century that have enabled us to come to this moment. We stand in a line of very eminent and holy people who grappled with the very same issues we will attempt, over the course of days and years, to reconcil...

( WCC ) - The World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit has welcomed a recent Turkish government decree allowing for a better protection of the rights of non-Muslim religious minorities in Turkey. "It is only fair that this new and positive development is commended by all those concerned about the situation of Christian and other non-Muslim religious minorities in Turkey", said Tveit commenting on the news. According to a 21 May report by Ecumenical News International, the Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan issued a decree in mid-May ordering local officials "to do more to protect the rights of Christian and other non-Muslim religious minorities, such as by returning their confiscated properties and taking action against anti-Christian groups". "We hope local Turkish officials will expedite the application of this decree and thus bring about an improvement in the situation of communities which, as the Prime Minist...

Fr. Andrew S. Damick from the SOCHA website... It was a pretty hot day in Manhattan yesterday. Despite the discomfort, though, the Orthodox Christian hierarchy of North America seemed to be in pretty decent spirits. I’m here in Manhattan at the 2010 Orthodox Episcopal Assembly of North America in an auxiliary role. I don’t get to attend the actual meetings, though I’ve been at some of the meals and have spent time with the hierarchs and others present in the halls of the hotel. Since this is such a genuinely historic occasion, we thought it might be of interest to readers to provide an informal witness to how things have been proceeding, to what it’s like to be here. First, although things are happening in an expensive hotel right on Central Park in Manhattan, it’s not a particularly posh or opulent place. The building consists mostly of hotel rooms, most of which (including those being stayed in by the bishops) are not really of higher level than your average Holiday Inn. To be ...

( mospat.ru ) - On 27 May 2010, the Primate of the Orthodox Church of Constantinople completed his stay in Moscow by visiting the Church of “The Joy to All the Afflicted” Icon of the Mother of God in Bolshaya Ordynka Street.

( ROCOR-EAD ) - Your Eminences, Graces, dear co-brothers! I sincerely greet all of you as the representative of the Russian Orthodox Church, and would like to convey to you the warmest of well-wishes from His Holiness Kyrill, Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia. The opening of the Episcopal Assembly of North and Central America coincided with the beginning of my service as Administrator of the Patriarchal parishes in the United States of America. I am glad that, not long after my arrival in this country, I am bearing witness to this inspirational moment of Pan-Orthodox unity and mutual understanding. I hope that our current gathering will lay the foundation for further development of efforts to consolidate Orthodoxy on the American continent.

Metropolitan Philip (in what I am going to assume is a speech made in order according to the diptychs as everything else, even seating, seems to follow that pattern), gave the speech most people would expect of him - fiery, pointed, and clarion. Read it all; most especially the end. ( AOCANA ) - "Your Eminence, Archbishop Demetrios, Primate of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, and Brother Bishops: My opening remarks this morning are taken from the Vespers of Palm Sunday, “Today the Grace of the Holy Spirit has gathered us together.” How wonderful and pleasing to God for all of us to meet and discuss matters related to the life of our Church on this particular continent. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Chairman of SCOBA for his hard work to make this gathering possible. The literature which we received from Chambesy via the Greek Archdiocese of America, raises some important questions. ONE, Despite the vitality and the dynamic nature of Orthodoxy ...

( OCA-NYNJ ) - A Diocesan Office of Communications was established, effective May 18, 2010, by His Grace, Bishop +Michael. Appointed as Director of Communications is Father Ken James Stavrevsky. In establishing this office, His Grace stated: “In this day and age, it is so vital and essential that our clergy and faithful are made aware of the decisions and work of the Church at the national, diocesan, deanery, and parish levels. This is so not only because of the availability of advanced modern technology, but also because of the fact that this was always the case from the beginning of the Church -- the Good News of the Faith was communicated in the four accounts of the Gospels and in the events detailed in the Acts of the Apostles.” In this, the first official release issued by the Office of Communications, we hope to outline some guidelines and operating principles to facilitate maximum positive outcomes from our efforts. Obviously, communication involves a sender and a receiver. S...

More photos available from here .

( GOARCH ) - ADDRESS OF HIS EMINENCE ARCHBISHOP DEMETRIOS OF AMERICA, CHAIRMAN At the Episcopal Assembly of North and Central America Helmsley Park Lane Hotel New York, New York (May 26, 2010) * * * Your Eminences, Your Excellencies and Your Graces, Beloved Brothers and Concelebrants in the Holy Spirit Of the Holy Orthodox Churches of North and Central America, I greet all of you in the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ and in the joy of the presence of the Holy Spirit, the Comforter, Who on the Holy day of Pentecost descended upon the Apostles and abides with the Church and with us, today and forever. I convey to all of you the greetings of His All Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, who, in these very days, in fact in this very hour, even as we are meeting here in New York, he is making a reciprocal visit to the Patriarchate of Moscow. The images that we have seen of the Patriarch of the First Church of Holy Orthodoxy meeting with and being together with th...

H/T: Ancient Christian Defender

I read both of these booklets and think they should be available in every parish. There is nothing idiosyncratic to any particular jurisdiction, and they lay everything out in rather tidy format. ( AOCANA ) - In conjunction with Conciliar Press, the Antiochian Department of Marriage and Parish Family MInistries has released two much-requested brochures for Orthodox Christians. " Crowned with Glory and Honor ," a free, downloadable brochure, presents readers with a set of helpful guidelines for Orthodox marriage preparation, including such concepts as the meaning of crowning, and the purpose of the Betrothal Service. Readers will even learn about the wedding almonds: "The white coating symbolizes purity; the egg shape represents fertility and new life that begins in marriage. The hardness of the almond represents the endurance of marriage, and the sweetness of the sugar encourages the hope of the sweetness of future life together. Giving of three almonds signifies the un...

Kiev, May 25 ( Interfax ) - Pope Benedict XVI was invited to visit Ukraine in 2012 during the celebration of the 600th anniversary of moving the episcopate capital from Galich to Lvov, Archbishop Mieczyslaw Mokrzycki said at a conference of Roman-Catholic Bishops of Ukraine. "The Holy See has accepted this invitation... and now the specific date is to be defined," Archbishop said. The previous Pope John Paul II visited Ukraine in 2001. It was the first papal visit to Ukraine during the years of its independence. And also... Moscow, May 26 ( Interfax ) - The Moscow Patriarchate has made it understood that the possible visit by Pope Benedict XVI to Ukraine to mark 600th anniversary since the capital city of the Catholic metropolitans was transferred from Galich to Lvov, will not benefit relations between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Vatican. "The celebration of the 600th anniversary since the residence of Galich Catholic metropolitans was moved to Lvov is not...

Moscow, March 12 ( Interfax ) - Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople hopes that the Orthodox Theological Seminary on the island of Halki will resume its work. "From the bottom of my heart, I bless brothers of monastery gathered here, convey love and care of our Constantinople Mother-Church and ask you to pray for reopening the theological school on the island of Halki," Bartholomew I said on Wednesday during his visit to the Trinity Cathedral of Moscow St. Daniel's Monastery. "We are striving to open this school and hope that our hope won't be in vain," he said. Head of the Moscow Patriarchate Department for External Church Relations (DECR) Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk and other representatives of the Russian Church accompanied the Constantinople Patriarch. The Monastery's Rector Archimandrite Alexy (Polikarpov) welcomed him with a bunch of flowers, the DECR website reported. Patriarch Bartholomew confessed that each time he came to a ...

The below is robot translated from Greek. Apologies for any mistranslations or confusing syntax. ( romfea.gr ) - As primate of the Orthodox autocephalous Orthodox Church in America, known as the [OCA], hopes to be able to participate in the Pan-Orthodox Metropolitan Jonah Assembly of Bishops United States, Canada and Central America, which begins on Wednesday in New York under the chairmanship of Archbishop Demetriou said in an interview on "National Herald". It stressed that it wants "to approach the subject with humility." As already pointed out by the 'National Herald' first Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I was instructed to Archbishop Demetrios not invite Bishop Iona as the Ecumenical Patriarchate did not recognize the autocephalous status [OCA], which was unilaterally in 1970 by the Patriarchate of Moscow previously known as the Russian American metropolis. Archbishop Demetrios did not implement the mandate of Patriarch Bartholomew and invited Bi...

εὐλογία has a post on festal flowers - their purpose and construction. I encourage a visit.

There have been lots of news updates on the visit of Patriarch Bartholomew to Russia. I have kept the posting to a reasonable level by not republishing all of the numerous photo-ops. His All Holiness has had quite the whirlwind trip, visiting monasteries and other holy places, attending the Slavonic Literature and Culture festivities, etc. It seems to have been a productive visit and I am heartened to see the strained and at times confrontational relationship has improved noticeably. The pictures attached to this post are actually from Patriarch Bartholomew's visit to the Department of External Church Relations today. ( mospat.ru ) - Delegations of the Orthodox Churches of Constantinople and Russia held talks during the visit of His Holiness Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople, on 25 May 2010, at the patriarchal working residence at Peredelkino near Moscow. Before the talks, His Holiness Patriarch Bartholomew and his delegation visited the residence’s chapel dedicated to the ...

NEW YORK, NY ( OCA ) - His Beatitude, Metropolitan Jonah, and the hierarchs of the Orthodox Church in America are among over 50 hierarchs participating in the Episcopal Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Hierarchs of North America that opened at the Helmsley Park Lane Hotel here on Wednesday, May 26, 2010. The convener of the Assembly is His Eminence, Archbishop Demetrios of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, acting as Exarch of the Ecumenical Patriarch. The Assembly is the result of the decision of the Fourth Pre-Conciliar Pan-Orthodox Conference, which met in Chambésy Switzerland in June 2009 after the extraordinary Synaxis of all the Heads of the Autocephalous Churches convened by His All Holiness, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew. The gathering is one of twelve Episcopal Assemblies that will be convened around the world in regions where there is no single Orthodox presence. In a recent press release issued by the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, Archbishop Demetrios...

From Pithless Thoughts :

NICOSIA, Cyprus ( AP ) – The leader of Cyprus' Greek Orthodox Church is warning senior clerics opposed to Pope Benedict's visit here next month to either join in welcoming the pontiff or to keep quiet behind closed doors. It will be the pope's first visit to the east Mediterranean island. He is coming, at the invitation of Cyprus President Dimitris Christofias, to retrace the steps of the Apostle Paul, who preached here in the 1st century A.D. Influential Limassol Bishop Athanasios has said the Pope would do better not to come because it would provoke Orthodox Christians who view him as a heretic. But Archbishop Chrisostomos II admonished the Bishop, saying he and other like-minded clerics "can stay at home" if they don't like the pope's visit.

( UOC-USA ) - His Beatitude Metropolitan CONSTANTINE of our Holy Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the USA and His Eminence Metropolitan NICHOLAS of the Carpatho-Rusyn Orthodox Church met at Christ the Savior Theological Seminary in Johnstown, Pennsylvania to discuss common interests in the future theological formation of candidates to the Holy Orders of Deacon and Priest in their respective Churches. In attendance were V. Rev. Frank Miloro, V. Rev. Michael Rosco, V. Rev. Nicholas Felencz, V. Rev. Michael Kochis and V. Rev. Bazyl Zawierucha, St. Sophia’s Seminary Provost.

( Northeast American Diocese ) - His Grace Alexios Mar Eusebius was enthroned as the Diocesan Metropolitan of the Southwest American Diocese, in the newly elevated St. Thomas Indian Orthodox Cathedral of Houston, Texas. The Enthronement Service was led by His Beatitude Paulose Mar Milithios, Catholicos Designate, and assisted by Their Graces, Dr. Mathews Mar Severios and Zachariah Mar Nicholovos, along with all the priests, deacons and seminarians. His Grace Mathew Mar Barnabas, Diocesan Metropolitan of the Northeast American Diocese, called His Grace Mar Eusebius to offer his prayers and best wishes on behalf of the Diocese. His Grace Zachariah Mar Nicholovos, Assistant Metropolitan of the Diocese, along with Rev. Fr. Dr. P. C. Thomas, Northeast American Diocesan Office Manager, represented the Diocese at the Enthronement Ceremony. His Grace Mar Nicholovos felicitated the new Diocese and Diocesan Metropolitan, His Grace Alexios Mar Eusebius, and offered the prayerful wishes of t...

I read the interview initially on Facebook of all places, and now AOI has posted it in a far more civilized format. See here for complete interview. As a taste of what you'll be reading: National Herald: I understand the issue of Diaspora will be discussed. Met. Philip: There is no Diaspora here. We decided in 1994 with the late Archbishop Iakovos. We rejected the term Diaspora for North America; Diaspora is in Jerusalem today, we have two thousand Orthodox left in Jerusalem and we have in Constantinople two thousand left. In Iraq thousands of Christians have been slaughtered and many fled to Syria and other countries. ... National Herald: What is the story with OCA? Met. Philip: Since 1970 they have autocephaly and they are not recognized any anyone except Moscow. The OCA situation is unfortunate; they have been trying very hard to get recognition but Constantinople is against recognizing them and Antioch is likewise nobody recognizes them but they do exist de facto...