Byzantine, Texas

New York, January 31, 2011 ( NCCCUSA ) - The member communions of the National Council of Churches are joining Christians in the Coptic Orthodox Church in North America in a three-day period of prayer and fasting to seek God's presence amid the upheavals in Egypt. The proclamation from the Coptic Orthodox Church reads: "In response to the tragic events in our homeland of Egypt, the Coptic Orthodox bishops of North America have declared January 31 - February 2, 2011 as a period of fasting and prayer. "During these days, we are to observe strict abstinence as any Wednesday or Friday. In addition, many churches will offer the celebration of the Divine Liturgy every day during this period to pray for peace and safety in Egypt for all our Egyptian brothers and sisters. "May God remember the land of Egypt and her people." The Rev. Dr. Michael Kinnamon, general secretary of the National Council of Churches, called upon MCC member communions "to honor thi...

From the blog Is Outrage! (reposted with permission): AR: We are fortunate to have with us today Father Vasiliy Vasileivich, Pastor of Saints Boris and Gleb and Vladimir and Olga Russian Orthodox Church in Sydney, Austalia, and spokesman for the Church Overseas of Russian Orthodox Christians or COROC. Father Vasiliy has just published a new book, and has graciously agreed to an interview. VV: Whatever is selling books. AR: First let me say how good it is to see you after more than a year’s separation. VV: Is good to being back. AR: So I see you have a new book coming out next month through Anaxios Press: Seven Habits of Highly Orthodox People. VV: Yes. AR: I read it this time. VV: How did you get copy? AR: Wikileaks. VV: Funny man. AR: It’s my job. So let’s go over the seven habits, shall we? VV: I was wondering when you would start actual interview... Complete article here .

Met. Lovchanskim (left) and Arch. Zacchaeus (right) ( st-catherine.ru ) - On Monday, January 31, 2011, with the blessing of the Orthodox Church in America (OCA), His Beatitude, Metropolitan Jonah of Moscow, his representative, Archimandrite Zacchaeus met with His Eminence, Metropolitan Lovchanskim Gabriel, a member of the Standing Holy Synod of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church to discuss issues of mutual interest to both respective churches. The meeting took place in the working room of St. Danilov hotels in Moscow. The meeting was also attended by His Grace, Bishop Ignatius Provatsky Moscow representative of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church. Among the topics they talked about the status of various parishes in the Bulgarian Orthodox communities in the United States and Canada, as well as the possible visit of the Primate of the Orthodox Church in America in the Bulgarian Orthodox Church in 2011.

( mospat.ru ) - Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, head of the Department for External Church Relations, celebrated on 30 January 2011 the Divine Liturgy at the Church of Our Lady the Sign to All the Afflicted-in-Bolshaya-Ordynka in Moscow. After the liturgy he addressed himself to the congregation with the following archpastoral homily. ... A spiritually blind man normally does not see his shortcomings. It seems to him that everything is all right in his life, that he always acts as appropriate, and if some problems arise in his relations with others, these others themselves are to blame because they underestimated, misunderstood something or did something wrong. He is certain: ‘I did everything in the right way, but all those around me did it wrong’. A spiritually sighted person, to whom the Lord has opened his eyes, sees the hand of God in everything, understanding that life is not a coincidence and that the Lord guides him like a mother fond of her children on the way to the...

Here's an example of why the words "Orthodoxy" and "change" do not go too well together. From the blog gilgarzaonline.com ... Here's what happens when the vernacular is introduced into Greek liturgy in Greece. You'll need a bit of background for this video in which chaos erupts at about 1:20. The entire clip is in Greek, of course. At the Church of St. Anthony in Volos, Greece, Metropolitan Ignatius is celebrating Solemn Vespers for the Feast of St. Andrew (Jan. 16, 2001) which is a big deal in Greece. The church is packed. The issue was whether or not the Bible readings during the service should be chanted in the vernacular Greek original Greek of the Septuagint (written in the 3rd century BC) and original New Testament Koine Greek. The Holy Synod of Greece recently said that the Bible texts should not be tampered with and changed into vernacular texts. The Metropolitan disagreed. He argued that young people needed to have the liturgy in the l...

( STOTS ) - Members of the St. Tikhon’s Community participated in the annual March for Life event in Washington D.C. this past Monday. As it does each year, this event brought hundreds of thousands of people of various faiths, races and social backgrounds to the front lawn of the White House in an attempt to draw national attention to sanctity of life issues. The Orthodox faithful were led by His Beatitude Metropolitan Jonah, His Grace Bishop Tikhon, His Grace Bishop Melchizedek, His Grace Bishop Michael and Bishop-Elect Archimandrite Matthias. Provided below is a link to C-Spans coverage of the speech portion of the event. Of special note is the address given by Fr. John kowalczyk which occurs towards the end of the video (available here ). Photo slideshow available here .

You should not wait until you are cleansed of wandering thoughts before you desire to pray; such distraction is not banished from the mind except by assiduous prayer requiring much labor. If you only begin to pray when you see that your mind has become perfect and exalted above all recollection of the world, then you will never pray. - St. Isaac the Syrian

From the blog On the Square , and intriguing and insightful post on the Assyrian church... As you may be aware, several Christian churches in Kirkuk, Mosul, Basra, and Baghdad, as well as throughout the rest of Iraq, cancelled their festivities this past Christmas. Ever since the massacre of worshippers in Baghdad’s Church of Our Lady of Salvation last November—followed by attacks on Christian neighborhoods in the city—the Christians of Iraq have been living in a state of unrelieved terror, and they simply do not dare celebrate their faith too openly right now. Moreover, there is no reason to imagine that their situation will become any more tolerable in any conceivable near future. There are beleaguered Christian communities throughout much of the Muslim world, of course, but it is quite possible that the last remnants of ancient Persian Christianity in Iraq and perhaps Iran will disappear in our lifetimes. If so, and if Persian Christianity is largely reduced to a fragmentary dia...

( UOC-MP ) - At the invitation of the public religious charitable organization - St Egidius' community (Roma), on the blessing of His Beatitude Metropolitan Volodymyr of Kyiv and All Ukraine on January 24 the Vicar of the Kyiv Metropolis, His Grace Theodosius of Brovary participated in the theological conference in Genoa, held in the framework of the Week of Prayer for the Christian unity. In the course of the conference His Grace Theodosius made a report themed "Liturgical life in the Orthodox Church", which excited live interest of the forum participants. His Grace was asked on the rite of the rites of the Divine Liturgy in the Orthodox Church, on the spiritual preparation of laity and clergymen to the sacrament of Eucharist, on the participation of youth in the liturgy. The audience also took interest in the work with youth in the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. Taking part in the conference's work, His Grace Theodosius made a visit to the elderly people's h...

The Prayer of St. Ephraim O Lord and Master of my life, take from me the spirit of sloth, despair, lust of power, and idle talk. But give rather the spirit of chastity, humility, patience, and love to Thy servant. Yea, O Lord and King, grant me to see my own transgressions, and not to judge my brother, for blessed art Thou, unto ages of ages. Amen. Troparion - Tone 8 By a flood of tears you made the desert fertile, and your longing for God brought forth fruits in abundance. By the radiance of miracles you illumined the whole universe! Our Father Ephraim, pray to Christ God to save our souls! Kontakion - Tone 2 Ever anticipating the hour of Judgment, you lamented bitterly, venerable Ephraim. Through your deeds you were a teacher by example; therefore, universal Father, you rouse the slothful to repentance.

VATICAN CITY, 28 JAN 2011 ( VIS ) - Today in the Vatican, the Holy Father received thirty members of the Joint International Commission for Theological Dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Oriental Orthodox Churches. The commission was founded in 2003 as the result of an initiative by the ecclesial authorities of the family of Eastern Orthodox Churches and the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity. The first phase of dialogue, between 2003 and 2009, "resulted in the common text entitled ' Nature, Constitution and Mission of the Church '", said the Holy Father. "The document outlined aspects of fundamental ecclesiological principles that we share and identified issues requiring deeper reflection in successive phases of the dialogue. We can only be grateful that after almost fifteen hundred years of separation we still find agreement about the sacramental nature of the Church, about apostolic succession in priestly service and about the impel...

( AFR ) - Listen to recordings from the Indiana University Orthodox Music Symposium, sponsored by All Saints Orthodox Church in Bloomington, Indiana, and the Early Music Institute of the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music. The host and emcee is Richard Barrett, choir director at All Saints Orthodox Church. More information and photos available here .

Moscow, January 27 ( Interfax ) - Film crew of the Italian TV company Paneikon shoots a documentary about floating churches in the Volgograd Region. "The new film starts with a story about genocide of atheistic authorities against the Russian Orthodox Church, its clerics and believers," film director Aniello Corialli is quoted as saying by the Rossiyskaya Gazeta. Floating churches are built in Russia for missionary reasons. The Volgograd Diocese reminds that only several dozens of 700 churches that had existed in the region before the revolution managed to survive. Only 43 parishes worked in the regions in 1991 and they were not able to radically improve the situation with Orthodox education. The church-ship offered an extraordinary decision to the problem. The first floating church St. Innokenty was built in 1998, it sailed the river until 2008 when its bottom was worn out. Over three thousands of people were baptized onboard the ship for the time of sailing. Bes...

Thomas Ruthford has written a book called Heaven Help the Single Christian (earlier posted about here ) about, as the cover says, "Your (Practical) Guide to Navigating Church as You Search for a Godly Mate." Below is an interview with Mr. Ruthford about his book, the journey he took in writing it, and the family and friends that helped him along the way. Enjoy! "O Lord, our God, crown them in glory and in honor!" - Paul & Michaele Barrera at St. Spyridon Cathedral in Seattle, WA You've written a book entitled "Heaven Help the Single Christian." Can you speak a bit about what prompted you to write this book? Is there something about living in America that makes the experience of being single and Orthodox a difficult proposition? I wrote the kind of book I would have liked to read back when I was single, wondering, wandering and waiting. It's frustrating being young and alone and full of Christian beliefs about marriage that can't be u...

One of the seminarians from Christ the Saviour Seminary. Seminary faculty and seminarians, clergy, and laypeople were in attendance at the DC March for Life. While the OCA is quite prominent in the pro-life movement today, it should also be remembered that Orthodox Christians For Life was founded by ACROD priest Fr. Edward Pehanich and that Met. Nicholas was, until his recent health problems, a consistent attendee. Christ the Saviour seminarians and ACROD clergy surrounded by fellow Orthodox marchers.

( SVOTS ) - Amid the signage at the March for Life rally this year in Washington, D.C.— “Choose Life: Your Mother Did,” “Everyone Deserves a Birthday,” and “I Regret My Abortion”— waved a banner embossed with the “St. Vladimir’s Seminary” name and logo. Members of our campus community braved the January chill to gather with thousands of pro-lifers on the National Mall to mark the 38th year since the U.S. Supreme Court handed down Roe v. Wade, legalizing abortion

Malkhaz Erkvanidze and choir ( One Magazine ) - On an overcast weekday afternoon, six young men gather in a modest, drafty apartment in the historical district of the Georgian city of Tbilisi to practice the music scheduled for Sunday’s Divine Liturgy. The men, whose professions range from students to bankers, belong to the Agsavali Choir and sing the medieval haunting melodies of the Orthodox Church of Georgia at churches and other venues around the capital of the Caucasus republic — a nation that is neither Asian nor European, eastern nor western. “Chanting serves the Lord,” says Guja Narimanishvili, a local business manager. “I first came to church like any average person, but later I became interested in chanting.” Drawn to the melodies, he says, he and his friends decided they had to learn more. Mr. Narimanishvili began learning the ancient liturgical psalmody of the Georgian Orthodox tradition in 2003. He did not know the first thing about the church’s musical heritage — e...

( Washington Post ) - To be on the Mall around noon Monday was to be confronted with a vast crowd of what appeared to be mostly Catholics assembled for the annual Right to Life March . There were students wearing hats and scarves bearing the name of seemingly every Catholic academy on the Eastern seaboard; crowds of nuns clad in all manner of habits and scores of dark-suited priests and seminarians waving banners and signs. Closer to the stage one could spot several Orthodox Jews and several who appeared to be evangelical Protestants. Then the crowd parted and up on the stage marched a phalanx of black-cassocked Eastern Orthodox clergy led by Metropolitan Jonah, leader of the Orthodox Church in America (OCA). Carrying a bejeweled walking stick and wearing a white crown-shaped miter, the metropolitan and the five bishops lined up beside him provided quite a contrast to the informally dressed crowd. Talking with these Orthodox afterward, I learned that Jonah had put out word that e...

Church of England recommends Lily Allen and Lord of the Rings this Lent ( Christian Today ) - The Bishop of Sheffield, Dr Steven Croft, has compiled a new five-week course called Exploring God's Mercy, which suggests Christians play popular songs or DVD clips at the start of each session to set the scene for that theme's week. The resource is suitable for church groups, couples or individuals and brings together Scriptures, YouTube videos, podcasts for iPods, group discussions and prayer. The book accompanying the course is inspired by a period of prayer and reflection that preceded his consecration as Bishop of Sheffield. “The depth, strength and constancy of God’s love is of course a lifetime’s journey and Exploring God’s Mercy is designed to take groups or individuals further on that journey," he said. The course focuses on five images of salvation: the weekly sessions are entitled Lost and Found: Hungry and Satisfied; In Prison and Set Free; Sick and Made We...

Troparion - Tone 1 The sweet-sounding shepherd's pipe of your theology overpowered the trumpeting of the orators; for having searched the depths of the Spirit eloquence was also bestowed upon you. Pray to Christ God, Father Gregory, that our souls may be saved. Kontakion - Tone 3 By words of theology you unraveled the complex webs of the orators, glorious Gregory, and adorned the Church with the robe of Orthodoxy woven from on high. Wearing it, she cries out with us, her children: "Rejoice, O Father, supreme mind of theology."

H/T: AOI From Tulsa, OK... ( tulsaworld.com ) - Local residents took to the streets of downtown Tulsa on Saturday to demonstrate their pro-life beliefs exactly 38 years after the U.S. Supreme Court's controversial abortion decision. "Every life is sacred," said Kelly Cassidy of Skiatook. "That's why we're here." Orthodox Christian led the March for Life in Tulsa, Oklahoma last Saturday. The march began outside Holy Family Cathedral, 122 W. Eighth St., where a "Mass for Life" was led by Bishop Edward J. Slattery. Slattery told those assembled that a "dark cloud" has enveloped the nation since the Roe v. Wade case was decided in 1973. He said an unborn child's right to life comes before anyone's freedom of choice. Slattery vowed that the march will occur every year until this "terrible evil" has been erased in the United States. The March for Life in Washington, D.C., is scheduled to take place on Mo...

Many years ago a man called into a talk show I was listening to (Diane Rehm I believe it was). The topic was the Palestinian/Israeli conflict. He stated that every time one side did something to another the news media sought to find parity in the situation. The reasoning was that they didn't want to seem biased towards one side so they felt compelled to put the story in an eye for an eye format. This video highlights another false parity - that 300-400k people can march in our nation's capital and any reporting done is invariably a victim of this false parity, or worse, knowingly attempting to deceive. A video of the March over the last few years... The two photos from MSNBC...

Friday, February 18 at 4:00pm - February 19 at 7:00pm http://www.climacusconference.org/ St. Michael Orthodox Church 3701 St. Michael Church Dr. Louisville, KY

BOSTON (TNH via  pokrov.org ) - An incident occurred at the meeting of the corporate officials of the St. Irene Chrysovalantou Patriarchal and Stavropegial Monastery that took place last Friday Jan. 21, 2010 at the monastery's Astoria's offices requiring police intervention. Bishop Vikentios of Apameia, who was invited to attend the meeting as the secretary of the corporation, did not participate in the meeting after all, because the monastery's legal counselor did not allow the Bishop to bring along his attorney, George Razis. Bishop Vikentios was asked to sit down to the meeting alone, without his lawyer, but he refused. The police were immediately called to scene, and they took the reports of both sides, Bishop Vikentios and the other monastery officials. Metropolitan Nikitas of the Dardanelles chaired the meeting, representing the corporate president Metropolitan Theoliptos of Iconium, while former abbot Metropolitan Paisios was represented by the acting abbot Bisho...

An interesting questioned raised in the Orthodox Herald about the possible downside to relying on Byzantine and Roman educators to teach clergy with something other than a "Malankara Orthodox Syriac ethos." ( Orthodox Herald ) - In the current discussions involving Liturgical Translations, the influence of Byzantine Orthodox education given to our youngsters over the last 10 years set off an alarm in my mind. I have a doubt: Is it possible that the introduction / influence of a Byzantine ethos has already caused, or will cause, permanent damage to the minds of those who think liturgically in our church? I have little knowledge in this area, so could someone please clarify? The Malankara Orthodox Syriac ethos (the inner spirit with which we approach our way of life), part of the Oriental Orthodox ethos, is similar in some aspects to the Byzantine Orthodox ethos, but differences exist in many areas, most importantly in Liturgical Theology. For example in the interpretation o...

SYOSSET, NY ( OCA ) - As part of its mission to train late vocation candidates for ordination to the the Holy Diaconate of the Orthodox Church in America, the Diaconal Vocations Program is engaged in a process of curriculum revision and transformation mandated by the Holy Synod of Bishops. With the blessing of His Beatitude, Metropolitan Jonah, and at the direction of the Board of Theological Education of the Holy Synod of Bishops, an on-line course is being offered in Church History beginning January 31, 2011. Archpriest John H. Erickson, the Peter N. Gramowich Professor of Church History, Emeritus, of Saint Vladimir's Seminary, Crestwood, NY, will teach the course, which will span 14 consecutive weeks on-line with weekly recorded audio lectures, short answer response assignments, live collaborative chat, and other assignments hosted in an on-line learning environment. Archdeacon Kirill Sokolov, OCA Director of Diaconal and Late Vocations, will assist Father John. "I cons...

WASHINGTON, DC ( ACROD ) - With the Blessing of His Eminence, Metropolitan Nicholas, Diocesan Clergy and Faithful, as they have for more than a quarter of a century, will take part in the annual March for Life in the Nation's Capitol on Monday January 24, 2011. The Annual March for Life takes place to mark the 38th Anniversary of the January 22, 1973 Supreme Court Decision, known as Roe V. Wade which legalized abortion. Prior to the Noon Rally on the National Mall, Diocesan Faithful will gather at Holy Resurrection Parish of Potomac Maryland for prayer and light refreshments. At the National Mall they will join their brothers and sisters of other Orthdox Dioceses in America and will March behind the Orthodox Christians for Life Banner up Pennsylvania Avenue, to Capitol Hill where, by the Supreme court, they will offer prayers for the victims of abortion. On this day, Orthodox Christians throughout America are asked to prayerfully remember the victims of abortion, an...

I signed up for the Orthodoxy 101 course and thought it was quite good. I can only expect that, this being their second course, the material will continue to expand and the delivery will be even more professional. JOHNSTOWN, PA ( ACROD ) - With The Blessing of His Eminence, Metropolitan Nicholas a seven-week on-line introductory class on the Orthodox Christian Spiritual Life, Orthodoxy 102, will begin on Monday January 31, 2011. The class, led by Fr. Peter Paproski, will be broadcast live each week from St. John the Baptist Orthodox Church in Stratford Connecticut. The class will begin at 7:00 pm and will last approximately 60 minutes. Topics to be discussed will include, The Nature of the Church, Teachings of the Fathers on the Spiritual Life, Sin and Repantance: Combating the Passions and Training in the Virtues, Orthodox Worship, Faith and Works, Spiritual Life and the World. Time will allowed at the end of each session for a question and answer period based on questions ...

( bg-patriarshia.bg ) - Annually on January 21 - the day on which we celebrate the memory of the great defender of Orthodoxy and confessor, who suffered much in defense of the right confession of faith, St. Maximus the Confessor, it becomes the occasion for our home church for a double joy and celebration of true catholicity. Bishops, priesthood, monks and laity, representatives of secular power gather around their primate - His Holiness the Bulgarian Patriarch Maxim and the Bishop, to beg in unity and filial love intercession of his patron St. Maximus the Confessor for the patriarch of the BOC for church performance of our Church, for the Bulgarian people and our country.

WURZBURG, Germany, JAN. 20, 2011 ( Zenit.org ) - The relations between the Catholic and Orthodox Churches after the disintegration of the Soviet Union 20 years ago will be the topic of a March 19 congress in Wurzburg. Cardinal Kurt Koch, president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, and Metropolitan Hilarion Alfeyev, chairman of the Department of External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate, will discuss this topic in a round table as part of the congress organized by Aid to the Church in Need. Also taking part in the debate will be the aid agency's president in Germany, Antonia Willemsen, and the head of the Russian Section of Aid to the Church in Need International, Peter Humeniuk. The moderator will be the writer Stefan Baier of Die Tagespost, a Catholic newspaper of Wurzburg. In preparation for the meeting, Willemsen and Humeniuk traveled to Rome to inform Cardinal Koch on the works of their agency in Russia. The prelate applauded the initia...

A visit to the Laura of the Holy Trinity and St. Sergius ( st-catherine.ru ) - On January 20th, 2011, His Beatitude Metropolitan Jonah of All America and Canada, currently on a visit to the Russian Orthodox Church, arrived in the Laura of the Holy Trinity and St. Sergius. The Primate of the Orthodox Church in America was met at the gates by Archbishop Yevgeniy of Vereya, rector of the Moscow Theological Schools. Metropolitan Jonah venerated the relics of St. Sergius of Radonezh in the Cathedral of the Trinity and other holy sites of the Laura, and saw the exhibits of the Church Archeological Museum at the Moscow Theological Academy. His Beatitude Jonah met with the students at the Church of the Intercession of the Most Holy Mother of God located in the Academy. He told the students about prospects of exchange between the Moscow Theological Schools and St. Vladimir’s Theological Seminary in New York, USA. The delegation was met at the Academy by its vice-rector, hegumen Vassian (...

A hat-tip and suggestion that you read Koinonia's post on this book. Below is a description and promotional video for the book published by Regina Orthodox Press . Heaven Help the Single Christian Your (Practical) Guide to Navigating Church as You Search for a Godly Mate By Thomas Ruthford As a single Christian, you’re probably amazed and frustrated by how hard it is to find someone who shares the joy you experience in worship. You might try missionary dating – converting through flirting. Or you might succumb to the offer of a matchmaker claiming prophetic knowledge, but you know you’ll end up with a zealot, nerd or “instaspouse” that way. Thomas Ruthford, after years of striking out at youth conferences, coffee hours and monasteries, has a book to help single Christians through the dating scene with humor and advice. Heaven Help the Single Christian is relationship advice for the serious churchgoer, but it’s not homework. Ruthford offers us thoughts and laughter on I...

My apologies for the robo-translation, but I thought the photos and the story deserved republication even if the text presented in translation is imperfect. ( iglesiaortodoxa.org.mx ) - Our community has been decorated and with happy mood, has witnessed an event that will undoubtedly go down in history of Mexico and the Orthodox Church in Latin America: the consecration of the new cathedral on Sunday January 16 of this year . The temple, located at Bosque Real in Huixquilucan division in the State of Mexico has been dedicated to the memory of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul, in a liturgy presided by His Eminence Antonio Chedraoui. This time honored us with their presence and Archbishop concelebrated the members of the Holy Synod of Antioch, His Eminence Sergio Abad (Chile), Damaskinos Mansour (Brazil), Paul Saliba (Australia), George Abou Zakhem (Homs, Syria) Paul Yazigy (Aleppo, Syria), Silwan Muci (Argentina) and Juan Yazigy (Western Europe). Add to the episcopate of Antioch ...

( Episcopal Assembly ) - On Jan 12-13, 2011, the members of the Secretariat of the Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of North and Central America met in Alhambra, CA at St. Steven’s Cathedral, hosted by His Grace Bishop Maxim. The meetings were led by His Grace Bishop Basil, and included bishops, priests, deacons, monastics, and laity. In addition to Bishop Basil, the others in attendance were: Bishop Andonios, Bishop Maxim, Fr. Mark Arey, Fr. Nicholas Ceko, Fr. Josiah Trenham, Protodeacon Peter Danilchick, Mr. Eric Namee, and Fr. Benedict Armitage. Mr. Alex Machaskee was able to participate by phone in part of the meeting. The Secretariat recommended to the Chairman, Archbishop Demetrios, some changes in the appointments for the committee members and chairs, which will eliminate the duplication of responsibilities and foster better efficiency. Bishop Andonios, as the Secretariat’s Coordinator for Agencies and Endorsed-Organizations, was charged with creating standards for...

I have been reticent in the past to post photo collages, but they have recently proved very popular. The below are from the Frame blog of the Sacramento Bee. Russian orthodox believers march towards an ice hold during a religious procession to mark the Epiphany at Kolomenskoe park, on the outskirts of Moscow, Russia. (AP / Mikhail Metzel) An Orthodox priest conducts a service at an ice hole in a pond as part of Epiphany celebrations in Kiev, Ukraine, Wednesday, Jan. 19, 2011. (AP / Sergei Chuzavkov) Ukrainian Orthodox Church-Kiev Patriarchate Patriarch Filaret (C) blesses the Dnieper river on January 19, 2011during Epiphany celebrations. (AFP/ Getty Images / Sergei Supinsky) An Orthodox priest pours water over a woman standing in the Kara-Balta Rver during in celebration of the Epiphany holiday near the ethnic Russian village of Sosnovka, some 90 km outside the Kyrgyz capital of Bishkek, on January 19, 2011. (AFP/ Getty Images / Vyacheslav Oseledko) A Russian Ortho...