Byzantine, Texas

What a wonderful idea. I have proposed to numerous priests over the years the idea of a national day of monasticism. Young men and women would spend a weekend in the convents and monasteries of our country to learn about the angelic life and become more open to the possibility of tonsure for themselves. I don't have the clout to make it happen, but I'll keep trying. ( ROCOR-EAD ) - Five boys and three mothers from St. John the Baptist Cathedral in Washington DC, spent the week of August 20th to 26th at Holy Cross Monastery. Besides attending the daily monastic services, the boys aged 7 to 12 took part in monastery obediences including vegetable gardening, incense making, soap making, and the feeding of the monastery's farm animals. A day was spent hiking in the forests surrounding the monastery. On Wednesday the mothers made an excellent meal using potatoes and tomatoes harvested by the participants. On Wednesday night a campfire was prepared, where the boys were joined ...

I spoke to the people organizing this. It will be made into a podcast. I'll post the podcast when it becomes available. Update: Until the talk is given, Fr. Hopko was interviewed for Come Receive the Light recently. His interview starts about 8 minutes in. I have embedded it below: CICERO, IL ( OCA-MW ) - Orthodox Christian Synergy, the Chicago-area Pan-Orthodox association, will host its 17th annual Symposium at Saint George Antiochian Orthodox Church, Cicero, IL, on Saturday, October 15, 2011. Protopresbyter Thomas Hopko will address the symposium theme, “Orthodoxy and Homosexuality.” According to Michele Hagerman, Synergy President and member of the Diocese of the Midwest’s Holy Resurrection Church, Palatine, IL, “the scope of this symposium is a frank presentation about homosexuality as an issue of Orthodox faith and life facing the faithful. The intention is to focus on how Orthodoxy understands the phenomena of homosexuality, how Orthodox Christians with same-sex a...

A quite long interview that gives a relatively complete treatment to what the Russian Church sees as the proper direction for future pan-Orthodox discussions and for the Church's involvement in the plight of Christians in the troubled Middle East. Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, chairman of the Moscow Patriarchate’s Department for External Church Relations, made a journey to the Middle East in the end of August. He visited three ancient Local Churches and met with their Primates. Upon returning to Moscow, he spoke about his visit to “Interfax-Religion.” Q. – You have completed your journey to the Middles East countries and Turkey and visited three Patriarchates. What was the purpose of this trip? A. – The trip was undertaken with the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia. His Holiness and the Holy Synod blessed me to visit the heads of the Local Orthodox Churches on a regular basis and to hold consultations on the matters of inter-Orthodox ...

Update: This post has upset many people. I apologize for not having made clear that this was less an encomium of Abp. Dmitri as it was a personal reflection on Mr. Dreher's feelings about Catholicism, bishops, and current events. If your were surprised to see things like an idea proffered that Bp. Mark sped Abp. Dmitri's death (among other things), so was I. Mr. Dreher is prone to hyperbole and festooning his prose with some quite strong opinions. I do recommend reading it, though, as the picture he draws of Abp. Dmitri is quite good. As Fr. Stephen Freeman has said in recent days, it is quite easy to apply the epithet "Equal to the Apostles." ( Real Clear Religion ) - We stood at the parsonage door in the rain, worrying that we were at the wrong place -- could this ramshackle house in Oak Lawn really be where the archbishop lives? -- and that we were underdressed for the dinner to which we had been invited. We had seen Archbishop Dmitri in his church, St. S...

( patriarchate.org ) - At the invitation of His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, who is also presiding over deliberations, the Synaxis of Heads of the Ancient Patriarchates and the Autocephalous Church of Cyprus is convening at the Phanar from September 1-2, 2011. The Synaxis will be personally attended by Their Beatitudes, Patriarch Theodoros of Alexandria, Patriarch Theophilos of Jerusalem, and Archbishop Chrysostomos of Cyprus, who are arriving today in Istanbul. Patriarch Igantius of Antioch, who ultimately was unable to participate, although he was the first among all invited Patriarchs to accept the invitation to attend the Synaxis, will be represented by His Grace Bishop Isaac of Apameia. Their Beatitudes the Patriarchs, the Archbishop of Cyprus and his hierarchal entourage, as well as the representative of the Patriarch of Antioch will concelebrate with His All-Holiness and the Hierarchs of the Ecumenical Throne during the Divine Liturgy to be held on Thursday, ...

H/T: OBL News On the heels of an historic announcement of properties returning to religious minorities by the Turkish government, it is worth remembering the continued persecution and destruction ongoing in Cyprus. ( tert.am ) - Since the occupation of North Cyprus (1974), 500 churches on the territory were desecrated plundered and converted to mosques, according to the OSCE report on the Destruction of Cultural Property in the Northern Part of Cyprus and Violations of International Law. The document based on the studies and warnings of historians and Christian clergymen highlights the fact that the Christian Heritage in the Turkish part of Cyprus is on the edge of destruction. The historical values of Christian culture are also reported to have suffered damage. Some 15,000 icons from those churches were either destroyed or sold almost for next to nothing. Seventy-seven churches were converted into mosques and some 28 became military hospital, says the report.

If memory serves, Bp. Nicholas (Samra) was very evangelical and mission-minded - caring less about the ethnic make-up of the diocese than bringing the message of Christ to the world. He was expected to be the next bishop when Met. Cyrille was selected instead. Again, if memory serves the metropolitan had little connection to the United States and limited English. Bp. Nicholas went into retirement shortly thereafter. WEST ROXBURY ( Boston Pilot ) -- A New Jersey native was installed as the first American born eparchial bishop in the United States for the Greek Melkite Catholic Church on Aug. 23. Bishop Nicholas J. Samra, 67, was installed as the Eparch of Newton during an elaborate service, called an Enthronement Liturgy, at the Melkite Cathedral of the Annunciation in West Roxbury. The Melkite Church is an Eastern rite of the Catholic Church. Bishop Samra was first ordained as an auxiliary bishop of Newton in 1989 and went into retirement in 2005, until his appointment as e...

ANKARA, Turkey ( AP ) — Turkey's government is returning hundreds of properties confiscated from the country's Christian and Jewish minorities over the past 75 years in a gesture to religious groups who complain of discrimination that is also likely to thwart possible court rulings against the country. A government decree published Saturday returns assets that once belonged to Greek, Armenian or Jewish trusts and makes provisions for the government to pay compensation for any confiscated property that has since been sold on. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan was scheduled to announce the decision formally later Sunday when he hosts religious leaders and the heads of about 160 minority trusts, at a fast-breaking dinner for the holy Muslim month of Ramadan, officials said. The properties include former hospital, orphanage or school buildings and cemeteries. Their return is a key European Union demand and a series of court cases has also been filed against primarily Musli...

H/T: Cranach The below was written by Anthony Sacramone on his blog Strange Herring in response to Bill Keller of the New York Times' questionnaire for current presidential candidates. Mr. Sacramone's questions go to the heart of the religious-secular divide. 1. Do you think that anyone who believes in the supernatural is delusional? If so, do you believe they should be treated medically? Do you believe they should be allowed to adopt children? 2. Do you think anyone who believes in six-day special creation should ipso facto be barred from holding public office? 3. Do you believe the religious beliefs of historical figures should be eradicated when discussing them in schools? For example, that Louis Pasteur was a devout Catholic who prayed the Rosary daily? 4. Do you believe that the religious faith of those responsible for the birth of modern science—Galileo, Copernicus, Robert Boyle, Isaac Newton, Gregor Mendel, George LeMaitre (father of the theory of the big ban...

Follow-up The service schedule has been posted here . Follow-up 2 ( AFR ) - On Sunday morning, August 28, at 2:00 AM, His Eminence Archbishop Dmitri fell asleep in the Lord at his home in Dallas. John Maddex talks with Fr. Stephen Freeman, Dean of the Appalachian Region of the Diocese of the South about the Archbishop's life as a leader, a visionary, and an evangelist. ( OCA ) - His Eminence, the Most Reverend Dmitri, 87, retired Archbishop of Dallas and the Diocese of the South, fell asleep in the Lord at his home here at 2:00 a.m. Sunday morning, August 28, 2011. His Beatitude, Metropolitan Jonah, and many priests and faithful had kept vigil in Dallas during Archbishop Dmitri’s final days. The Metropolitan was to have traveled to the Czech Republic with a delegation from the Orthodox Church in America, but remained in Dallas to be with the Archbishop. Funeral services will be celebrated at Dallas’ Saint Seraphim Cathedral—the parish Archbishop Dmitri founded as a missi...

You might remember that in May the Jerusalem Patriarchate complained about an uncanonical building effort by the Romanian Church in Jericho (see here ). It looks like a similar complaint is being lodged by the Ukrainians. ( RISU ) - On 26 August, under the headship of Metropolitan Volodymyr, a regular session of the Synod of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church-Moscow Patriarchate was held in the Synodal Hall of the Kyivan Metropolitanate. The Synod decided to appoint Archimandrite Iona (Cherepanov) the Vicar of the Kyivan Metropolitanate and Bishop of Obukhiv. The synod heard a report of the Head of the Department of External Church Relations of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, Archbishop Oleksandr of Pereiaslav-Khmelnytskyi and Vyshnevskyi on the situation regarding the consecration on 16 July of the Church of St. Peter and Paul in the village of Kamyshivka of Izmail District of Odesa Region by clergymen of the Romanian Orthodox Church. UOC representatives stressed that the Romanian Pa...

( mospat.ru ) - On August 25, 2011, His Beatitude Theophilos III, Patriarch of the Holy City of Jerusalem, received Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, head of the Moscow Patriarchate’s department for external church relations, who came to the Holy Land for a working visit with the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia. Metropolitan Hilarion conveyed to His Beatitude words of greetings and support from the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church and thanked him for the attention he gave to pilgrims who come in a great number to the Holy Land from the Moscow Patriarchate. During their talk which lasted for two hours they discussed in detail a wide range of issues concerning both bilateral relations between the Patriarchates of Jerusalem and Moscow and urgent problems of pan-Orthodox significance. Patriarch Theophilos pointed to the everlasting importance which the service carried out by the Patriarchate of Jerusalem has for Orthodox Christians through...

( UOC-MP ) - On August 23, His Beatitude Metropolitan Volodymyr of Kyiv and All Ukraine at his residence in the Kyiv Caves Lavra received the Head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church Svyatoslav (Shevchuk), accompanied by the Secretary of the General Synod of the UGCC Bishop Bohdan (Dziurakh). Metropolitan Volodymyr welcomed the new Head of the UGCC on his election to this ministry and expressed hope that the relations between the Ukrainian Orthodox Church and the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church will be constructive and interconfessional peace and harmony will be preserved. Bishop Sviatoslav thanked for the greetings and said that Metropolitan Volodymyr is the "spiritual father of the greater part of the Ukrainian people." He also congratulated His Beatitude Volodymyr on the 45th anniversary of episcopal consecration and the title of the "Hero of Ukraine". During the meeting the sides discussed possible cooperation of both churches in the area of ​​the...

( OCA-DOW ) - The first part of the official delegation of the Orthodox Church in America to the Orthodox Church of the Czech Lands and Slovakia arrived in Prague this afternoon. Bishop BENJAMIN, Archpriest Eric George Tosi, Secretary of the Orthodox Church in America, and Mr. Barry Migyanko, the Administrative Assistant of the Diocese of the West were greeted by His Eminence Archbishop George (Juraj) of Michalovce and Kosice and three priests. The Church of the Czech Lands and Slovakia (CCLS) was granted autocephaly by the Russian Orthodox Church in 1951 and recognized as autocephalous by the Ecumenical Patriarchate in 1998. The CCLS has at once an ancient Orthodox heritage and a vibrant modern history. It was to Moravia, now part of the Czech Republic that Ss. Cyril and Methodius came in the 9th century beginning that great labor that would result in the translation of the services of the Orthodox Church into what would become the Church Slavonic language. And it is from this r...

( MSNBC ) - Orthodox nuns hold candles and flowers as they take part in a procession to bring the icon of the Virgin Mary to the tomb where it is believed she is buried, through Jerusalem's Old City, Israel, on August 25. Every year before the Feast of the Assumption, the icon is brought from the Church of the Holy Sepulcher to the tomb of the Virgin Mary to honor her Assumption.

Imagine if we were able to duplicate this effort on even a tiny scale? Krasnogorsk, August 25 ( Interfax ) - Optional classes on elementary Orthodoxy will be introduced in children's day care centers of the Moscow region, the Minister of Education Lidiya Antonova said at a Moscow regional teachers' forum. "In 2011-2012, we introduce a new course on Orthodox Culture in young children's care system. New resource and reference materials will be released by September 1," Lidiya Antonova said. The course is now introduced in 430 centers with 27,000 young children enrolled. The optional course called "Benign World of Orthodox Culture for Young Children" will be introduced in 650 daycare centers of the Moscow region. This course is optional and children will take it only with parents' consent," Andrey Finogenov, head of the regional management department of the Ministry of Education, told Interfax.

BOSTON ( GOARCH ) – The Department of Internet Ministries of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese and the Office of Vocation & Ministry of Hellenic College are pleased to announce the launch of the redesigned and updated web site www.OrthodoxJobs.com . Developed to serve Christian and service-oriented industries, especially Orthodox agencies, schools, and ministries, the improved site is now enhanced with resume and job search features. All job posting services for employers and job searching services for job seekers are free. With this major update, employers can create instant online applications and pre-screening questionnaires, manage potential applicants and job posting statistics, and utilize other enhanced tools. Job seekers can post resumes, which are fully searchable by employers, and can be instantly updated online. A new classifieds feature of the site provides networking capabilities with business to business directory-style advertising of products and services. For ...

The blessing of cassocks. St. Tikhon's Seminary September 3, 2005 This weekend I will receive the blessing (along with many of my fellow seminarians) to wear the cassock. The following day seminary classes begin and then some few days later my children will begin school. The prayers of family, friends, and kind readers have guided us safely from the parched lands of Texas to the sylvan highlands we find ourselves in now. I beg your continued prayers as this new phase of our lives begins. A thank you to my family for their material and spiritual support. A thank you to the faculty and students of the seminary for their counsel. A thank you to my children for their willingness to pull up tent stakes and make new friends. A thank you to my wife for her kind words of encouragement, unflappability in times of difficulty, and unflagging patience. For You will light my lamp;      The Lord my God will enlighten my darkness. For by You I can run a...

( RISU ) - The head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, Patriarch Sviatoslav (Shevchuk), and the head of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church-Moscow Patriarchate (UOC-MP), Metropolitan Volodymyr (Sabodan), held an official meeting on August 23, 2011, at the residence of Metropolitan Volodymyr in the Kyiv Cave Monastery, the Information Department of UGCC reported. Patriarch Sviatoslav greeted Metropolitan Volodymyr on the occasion of his 45th anniversary of ministry as a bishop and the confering of the name of the Hero of Ukraine on him in July 2011. In addition, he thanked the head of the UOC-MP for greeting him on his enthronement and for the presence of a representative of the UOC-MP, Bishop Ilarii, at the enthronement ceremony. Metropolitan Volodymyr stressed the importance of good relations between the two churches and the development of constructive cooperation for the good of the Ukrainian nation. The parties discussed issues of practical cooperation between the two denomina...

Photo H/T: Vladimir Grygorenko ( OCA-DOS ) - The Mystery of Holy Unction was celebrated for His Eminence, Archbishop Dmitri, on Tuesday, August 23, at 6:30 pm at St Seraphim’s Orthodox Cathedral in Dallas, TX. Archbishop Dmitri was released from Baylor Medical Center on Wednesday evening, August 17.

I found this to be an interesting photo of two men being tonsured in the Syrian Orthodox Church. The article (in Arabic) is available here .

( OCA ) - The administrative building of the Fellowship of Orthodox Christians in America [FOCA] here was burglarized during the third week of August 2011. According to Dr. John Schultz, national FOCA president, damage was substantial. The break-in occurred on Saturday, August 20, according to Dr. Schultz. Access was gained through a broken window. Damage was found throughout the building, including the rest rooms, offices, and archives. Liturgical items stored on site were not touched, however. Dr. Schultz reported that cleanup and restoration has begun. Founded in 1927 as the Federated Russian Orthodox Clubs, the FOCA has chapters in dozens of parishes across the US. For more information visit www.orthodoxfellowship.org .

( mospat.ru ) - On August 20, 20011, with the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia, Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, head of the Moscow Patriarchate’s department for external church relations, arrived in Istanbul. He was met at the airport by Russian Consul General A. Yerkhov and representatives of the Church of Constantinople. On the same day, the DECR chairman met with His Holiness Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople. On August 21, Metropolitan Hilarion, after venerating the holy relics of St. Gregory the Theologian and St. John Chrysostom at St. George’s at Fanar, left together with His Holiness Bartholomew to his homeland, the Island of Gökçeada (Imbros). The welcoming party at the pier included Metropolitan Cyril of Imbros and Tenedos, Metropolitan Chrysostom of Myra, clergy of the Imbros diocese and Orthodox faithful some of whom had come from Greece. Patriarch Bartholomew and Metropolitan Hilarion visited the Cathedral of the As...

( mospat.ru ) - On August 20, 2011, His Beatitude Ignatios IV, Patriarch of Great Antioch and All the East, received in audience Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, head of the Moscow Patriarchate’s department for external church relations, who came to Syria for a working visit with the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia. In a warm and cordial talk, which took place at the Patriarchate of Antioch, they discussed the bilateral relations between the two Patriarchates and some topical problems concerning the life of Universal Orthodoxy. Metropolitan Hilarion pointed to a deep concern of the Russian Orthodox Church for the situation of Christians in some Middle East countries, which tends to deteriorate because of the political instability in the region. He conveyed to Patriarch of Antioch an Arabic version of the statement made by the Russian Orthodox Church Holy Synod on the growing Christianophobia in the world. Patriarch Ignatios thanked the ...

( OCA-DOA ) - At the St. Herman Pilgrimage this year we welcomed His Beatitude Metropolitan JONAH, His Grace Bishop BENJAMIN, and His Grace Bishop MAXIM of the Western Diocese of the Serbian Orthodox Church in North and South America to Kodiak. Also present were many clergy, monastics, and pilgrims, including some members of the OCMC mission team that ministered in Old Harbor. Pilgrims venerated the relics of St. Herman and visited Spruce Island, where the Saint ministered to all he met, especially the Native people of Kodiak and Spruce Island, who continue to venerate St. Herman as they always have. Bp. Maxim, Met. Jonah, and Bp. Benjamin So many people helped to make this Pilgrimage happen. Among them were the skippers of the boats who transferred people from Kodiak to Spruce Island, the clergy and faithful of Holy Resurrection Cathedral and St. Innocent Academy, "those who serve and those who sing," those who put in extra hours preparing the "new" Cat...

( Reuters ) - Pilgrims move on their knees at the Holy Hill of Grabarka. Some 15,000 Orthodox Christian pilgrims carried crosses, drank holy water and prayed on Friday at a hill in eastern Poland they believe to be sacred in a colourful celebration of their faith and identity in the overwhelmingly Roman Catholic country.

Please send all donations to: St. Andrew Parish Support Fund Consistory UOC of USA P. O. Box 495 South Bound Brook, NJ 08880 ( UOC-USA ) - We ask all who read these words to keep the parish family of St. Andrew, Los Angeles, CA in their prayers during these difficult days. In the early morning hours of 15 August, an intruder broke into the parish Church and desecrated the Holy Altar, Tabernacle, Iconography and the entire altar and sacristy area. The most devastating aspect of this horrendous crime was the scattering of the Reserve Sacrament on the floor among and beneath the various altar crosses, candles and vestments strewn throughout the church. The Holy Altar itself was pulled from its foundation and dragged through the Royal Doors into the nave of the church. It was a senseless act of destruction and obvious anger that left the Church and the neighboring community in much distress. Father Vasyl Shtelen and members of the parish were able, following the comp...

( SVOTS ) - St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press (SVS Press) announces the release of two new books, both by episcopal members of our Board of Trustees: His Beatitude The Most Blessed Jonah (Paffhausen), archbishop of Washington and metropolitan of All America and Canada of the Orthodox Church in America; and His Eminence The Most Rev. Hilarion (Alfeyev) archbishop of Volokolamsk and chairman of the Moscow Patriarchate Department for External Church Relations of the Russian Orthodox Church. Reflections on a Spiritual Journey —a collection of essays and addresses by Metropolitan Jonah— provides a glimpse into His Beatitude’s spiritual formation and thinking. The book, which contains not only a lengthy biography of the author but also a Foreword by The Right Rev. Benjamin, bishop of San Francisco and the West, is divided into two main sections. Part One, “The Spiritual Life,” contains the author’s reflections on forgiveness and reconciliation; becoming and purifying the true self; the c...

( TLM ) - THE LAST DECADES of the disintegrating Byzantine Empire were, culturally and spiritually speaking, far from being its least glorious. Among the great names of that epoch Bishop Symeon of Thessalonika has a place by reason of his liturgical commentaries. Appointed bishop sometime between 1410 and 1420, he died in September 1429, six months before the Turkish army led by Murad II conquered the city. We are concerned here with his mystagogical commentary on the Sacred Temple and particularly with what he had to say about the screen which separated the sanctuary from the nave: The chancel signifies the distinction between the sensible and the intelligible; it is, as it were, a firm barrier between material and spiritual things. Being in sight of the altar, that is of Christ, its columns are those of the Church itself, signifying those who strengthen us by their witness to Christ. Above the chancel the columns are joined by an unbroken decorated architrave signifying the bo...

Homily on the Transfiguration by St. Gregory Palamas The Transfiguration on Tabor: A Vision of a Vision by Bogdan Gabriel Bucur The Mount of Transfiguration and the Bridal Chamber of Christ by Fr. Stephen Freeman

( Interfax ) - Moscow, August 18, Interfax - Head of the Moscow Patriarchate Department for Relations with the Armed Forces Archpriest Dimitry Smirnov promises to help those women who refuse from abortion and chose to give birth to their babies. "I always give one reason: Why do you need to kill? Give the baby to me, no problem. I don't drink, I don't smoke, I don't use bad words, and I have two university degrees," Father Dimitry said in A Matter of Principle TV program. "My parish is one of the largest both in Moscow and globally, and not a single woman among my parishioners is willing to make an abortion. If we manage to stop abortions, we get an immediate growth," he believes. According to Father Dimitry, he visited a Moscow maternity clinic, and each woman there explained her intention to make an abortion with financial challenges. "I was telling them we could give our guarantee to meet those challenges. But my own biggest problem was ...

( AOCANA ) - Please join us at the Antiochian Village from September 23-25, 2011 for the Patronal Feast of St. Thekla Convent. This is the 33rd Annual Pilgrimage at the Village and the 3rd since the founding of the monastery. As Orthodox Christians, our lives are a type of pilgrimage, so why set time aside to attend the St. Thekla Pilgrimage? The key is in "setting aside." We invite you "to set aside all earthly cares" and to join us in refocusing and refreshing ourselves in our Orthodox life. Like St. Thekla, Protomartyr and Equal to the Apostles, together we will pray at the Divine Liturgy and services, obtain guidance and direction from the Gospels for our lives at home, and enjoy fellowship with other pilgrims. Through the intercession of Saint Thekla, may this Pilgrimage be blessed! Speakers and Workshops The speakers for the weekend are His Grace, Bishop Thomas, who is our guest Hierarch and Mother Alexandra, who will offer a talk on prayer. Ther...

( SNAS ) - Over 75 Coptic and Malankara Indian Orthodox college students from the greater New York/New Jersey area met with participants of the St. Nersess Post High-School Conference on Sunday, August 14 for a day of fellowship, Bible Study and prayer. What was originally intended to be a late summer outdoor celebration had to be brought inside the intimate Seminary building as record rains poured down upon the metropolitan New York area. No matter. St. Nersess has always provided a warm and welcoming home to children and friends of the Armenian Church. Fast Friends The Coptic and Malankara Orthodox youth quickly found common ground with their Armenian colleagues. The Copts are the ancient Christians of Egypt, while the Malankara Orthodox are the children of the Apostle Thomas, who brought the Gospel to the state of Kerala on the southwest coast of India. The three ancient churches belong to the Oriental Orthodox family, who, along with the Ethiopian and Syrian Orthodox...

My wife , being the mistress of ingenuity, picked me up after Vespers and deposited the family in a local park where we picked fruit for tomorrow's liturgy. Beyond the grapes pictures below, we gathered blackberries, onion seeds, and crab apples. For a little more on the blessing of grapes I direct you to Fr. Milovan's post here .

Many years to the newly ordained Priest David Mastroberte - a gifted musician and iconographer . ( ACROD ) - On Saturday, August 13th, 2011, Deacon David Mastroberte was ordained to the Holy Priesthood by His Eminence, Archbishop Antony at St. John's Orthodox Church, Nesquehoning, Pennsylvania. "Divine grace, which always heals the ill, and fills that which is lacking, ordains David, the God-fearing deacon, to the priesthood. Let us pray for Him that the grace of the Holy Spirit may come upon him, and let us say: Lord, have mercy."

( Atlas Obscura ) - The One Wood Monastery seems tiny. It seems absolutely miniature, and fairly unimpressive until you realize it was constructed out of the wood from just one Oak tree. in the early 16th century, a monk made an interesting discovery inside a hollowed oak while walking in the Romanian countryside. To his amazement, an icon of the Virgin Mary was carved into the interior. The icon spoke to the monk, telling him to raise a church using only the wood from the icon-emblazoned Oak tree. This legend has obviously stirred controversy and claims of historical inaccuracy. Another version of the story has a shepherd finding the icon and acting accordingly. Even the icon itself has been victim to strict scrutiny as to its age and origin, with some claiming that it was a creation of Constantinople era Christian artists or 4th century Greek craftsman. Others are still more inclined to believe the religious legend of the monk. Despite the holy origins of the church, it is ...

The Prologue "Brothers in both the flesh and the spirit, they were both zealous Christians, and stonemasons by craft. They lived in Illyria. Some pagan prince set them to build a pagan temple. It happened during the course of their work that a fragment of stone splintered off and flew into the eye of the pagan priest's son, who was watching the building work with curiosity. Seeing his son blinded and bleeding, the priest shouted at Florus and Laurus and tried to thrash them. Then the holy brothers told him that, if he would believe in the God in whom they believed, his son would be restored to health. The priest promised. Florus and Laurus prayed to the one, living Lord with tears and made the sign of the Cross over the child's stricken eye. The child was healed instantly and his eye became whole as it had been before. Then the priest, Merentius, and his son were baptised, and they both very soon suffered for Christ in the flames. But Florus and Laurus, when t...

From the website Good Guys Wear Black, a selection from St. Theophan the Recluse I've always enjoyed, " What To Do About A Bad Priest ." I read this passage about a year ago and am happy to have come across it again. I am reminded of two parishes I am acquainted with that run through priests at alarming rates. One church continued to run off clergy (and not pay them shortly after they got there) so that the bishop refused to send another priest until they saved a year's pay for him and sent it to the chancery. The other parish kicked their priest out right before Pascha. He asked to stay, knowing they'd not get a replacement in time, but they would have none of it and to this day they have very infrequent services and there is no priest in sight. Question: “We had a good priest; but he was transferred to another parish. In his place came another, who is a grief to the soul. In his serving the services, he is careless and hurried; when conversations occur, he ...