Byzantine, Texas

A very good treatment of the topic for the non-Orthodox (history, jurisdictions, concerns) and an excellent refresher for those not familiar with the most recent events occurring in America (Assembly of Bishops decisions). ( First Things ) - Are you Greek?” This is the question I get asked the most when I tell someone that I am an Orthodox Christian. At first, this question rankled, because I am not Greek. (I am, among other things, Lithuanian.) Mind you, I would have no problem being Greek. It’s a wonderful, ancient culture with much to recommend it. But what rankled was the sense that being Orthodox means being Greek. It is a touchy subject for many Orthodox Christians in America, especially those who converted to the faith, because the implication of such a close identification of culture with faith implies that the faith is not really for people who aren’t from that culture. And no doubt it can also be touchy for the many Orthodox Christians in America who are from traditional...

From the blog Lessons from a Monastery ... One of [Elder Epiphanios'] spiritual children held a high-ranking administrative position, and when he confessed he would often confess the same sin involving his subordinates over and again. One time during confession the Elder threatened him, saying that if he fell into the same sin again he would receive a very particular penance. “If you fall into this sin again,” the Elder informed the man, “I will make you sit down and allow me to wash your feet.” Unfortunately the spiritual child did fall into the same sin again and Elder Epiphanios made good on his threat. Naturally, this event proved quite a spiritual trial for the spiritual child. After the washing, the Elder said: “Since I know that this makes you uneasy, I will wash your feet every time you fall into that particular sin.” The man never fell into the sin again, though every time his subordinates pushed him to the brink he would shout: “You owe a great deal to the man ...

( Chicago Tribune ) - A 22-year-old student at a theological college in Lake County has been charged with indecent solicitation of a child, according to the Lake County Sheriff’s Office. Dario Spasic contacted someone who he thought was a 14-year-old boy Friday through a mobile social networking app, and made arrangements for a meeting at 10 p.m. the same day, according to a sheriff’s press release issued today. Spasic had actually been communicating with a detective from the sheriff’s cybercrimes unit posing as an underage boy, authorities said. When Spasic arrived for the meeting, he was arrested, the news release said. The sheriff’s office confirmed that Spasic is a student at St. Sava School of Theology in Libertyville, and the address the department provided for him is the same block as the school’s location. St. Sava provides religious education and trains students for the Serbian Orthodox priesthood, according to the school’s website. A man who answered the phone at the ...

Moscow, September 25 ( Interfax ) - Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia rejected accusations of being a vehicle of the Kremlin's policy. "In some countries, - and the current situation in Ukraine exacerbates this issue, - the person of the patriarch of Moscow and all Russia is linked to the Russian Federation alone and his principles are equated with the policy of the Russian government," Kirill said at a meeting in Moscow with participants in the Faith and World festival of Orthodox media. No statements by the patriarch or the church are cited in leveling such accusations at him, he said. "This is done indiscriminately, especially in Ukraine today by members of, to put it mildly, non-canonical Orthodox entities. They just indiscriminately represent the patriarch as part of the state - he is a vehicle [of state policy], and so he mustn't be let in, and so he is all the bad things, and so forth," Patriarch Kirill said. He said he was responsibl...

Amman ( Zenit.org ) - Here is the statement at the conclusion of the 13th Plenary Session of the Joint International Commission for the Theological Dialogue Between the Roman Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church. The meeting was held Sept. 15-23 in Amman, Jordan. The commission is continuing its discussions on synodality and primacy. * * * COMMUNIQUE The thirteenth meeting of the Joint International Commission for Theological Dialogue between the Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church was held from 15 to 23 September 2014 in Amman, Jordan, a city with a long history related to the roots of Christianity. The meeting was generously and fraternally hosted by His Beatitude Theophilos III, Patriarch of Jerusalem. Twenty three Catholic members were present, a few were unable to attend. All the Orthodox Churches, with the exception of the Patriarchate of Bulgaria, were represented, namely the Ecumenical Patriarchate, the Patriarchate of Alexandria, the Patriarchate of Ant...

BENGALURU ( Orthodox Herald ) - Indian Orthodox youngest bishop has set his vision for Bangalore Diocese with focus on the education sector. Metropolitan HG Dr Abraham Mar Seraphim has envisioned setting up of an ‘Orthodox University’ on the city’s outskirts. In all about 10 to 12 acres, 30 kilometers beyond the Bengaluru International Airport in Devanahalli area, was spotted for the University. Registration deal for the property failed to materialize when real estate agents hiked up the prices at the last moment. Though, this has come has a setback, the Diocese is scouting for new spots around fast developing areas like Malur (in nearby Kolar district), Kengeri, the satellite area of Bangalore, for the project. Disclosing these details in a telephonic interview with this correspondent, Mar Serpahim said he desires the proposed university to be set up on the lines of Christ University in Bangalore. Managed by priests of Carmelites of Mary Immaculate, Christ University on Hosur...

( orthodoxhistory.org ) - This past weekend, I introduced a new blog, Notes on Church History , which is part of the brand-new Ancient Faith Blogs network. If you like our work here at Orthodox History, you’ll probably like the work I’ll be doing at Notes on Church History, and I really hope you’ll check it out. OrthodoxHistory.org isn’t going anywhere, but as you may have noticed, our posts have become a lot less frequent. The main reason for that is that I’m now a lawyer with three kids, whereas when I started this blog I was a student with one. A lot can happen in five years. Which might mean I’m crazy to be starting a second blog — after all, I can barely maintain the blog I have! But there is — I think — a method to my madness. In a nutshell, this is the plan: Orthodox History is the place to go for original research and somewhat longer articles on specific subjects — basically, what you’re used to seeing there. Notes on Church History is more free-form. There will be short...

( Antiochian.org ) - The Institute for Orthodox Christian Studies , Cambridge, UK recently announced that it is launching a fully online MA degree in Pastoral Theology. The degree will be offered jointly with the Cambridge Theological Federation. The Institute, with support from Antiochian Orthodox Christians amongst others, has successfully provided this degree in a face-to-face format at Cambridge, UK for 15 years and is glad that it now can be offered to people living around the world. The program is available to anyone who has completed a bachelor's degree or can demonstrate professional experience equivalent to an undergraduate degree. Fluency in English is necessary. "The program," says Institute's Principal, Professor David Frost, Ph.D., "provides an opportunity to explore the intellectual foundations and spiritual dimensions of the Orthodox Christian faith. Each course module will assist learners explore the eternal significance of the human experienc...

From the blog Monomakhos, a post entitled " Cracks in the coalition? " Well, it looks like the Episcopal Assembly’s high point was the first year it met seems to me. Sixty-five bishops attended if memory servers. Every year since it has gotten fewer and fewer attendees. True, the Central American and Canadian bishops went off and formed their own Assemblies (as was logical). But even then we’re talking nine or ten bishops at most subtracted from the initial sixty-five. Also, the OCA has three vacancies, so that leaves at least fifty who should have been there. According to the Assembly’s website , there were “more than thirty bishops there.” (The next day they revised it upward to “more than thirty-five.”) Well, that’s pretty pathetic if you ask me. It reminds me of the pettifogginess that we are used to getting from the GOA in past; i.e. “Archbishop Demetrios, spiritual leader of over 1.5 million Orthodox Christians,” or “Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, spiritual hea...

I was hoping moving forward we would move camps into a more pan-Orthodox "feel" or at least start up new camps without a jurisdictional bent. Right now camps are overlapping and not coordinated in any way. If you go to a Greek parish you might have no idea there was an OCA camp being put on in a few weeks. How wonderful would it be if places where an Antiochian, OCA, and Greek camp already exist merged those efforts into a single, well-attended experience? ( Antiochian.org ) - During the last week of August, with the blessing of His Eminence Metropolitan Joseph, Camp St. Innocent (CSI) took place, the first ever Antiochian camp in Western Canada. The camp took place at the Gull Lake Centre, an excellent facility located about eighty-five miles south of Edmonton, Alberta. The camp was sponsored by St. Philip Church in Edmonton and Annunciation Church of Calgary, but campers also came from Saskatoon, and Vancouver. There were 23 campers in total, which for a first camp ...

( OCA ) - A Preliminary Response of the Holy Synod of Bishops of the Orthodox Church in America to proposals with regard to canonical restructuring, a topic of discussion at the fifth meeting of the Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of the United States of America in Dallas, TX September 15-19, 2014, was issued and distributed to all bishops on September 17. The text of the Preliminary Response reads as follows. PRELIMINARY RESPONSE OF THE HOLY SYNOD OF BISHOPS OF THE ORTHODOX CHURCH IN AMERICA TO THE PROPOSALS FOR CANONICAL RESTRUCTURING September 17, 2014 “The light of Orthodoxy was not lit to shine only on a small number of men. The Orthodox Church is universal; it remembers the words of its Founder: ‘Go ye unto all the world, and preach the Gospel to every creature’ [Mark 16:15].... We ought to share our spiritual wealth, our truth, light, and joy with others who are deprived of these blessings, but often are seeking them and thirsting for them….” [St. Tikhon, Pa...

Slow posting of late due to moving and parish assignment coordination. Thanks for reading and for your prayers.

( OCA-NYNJ ) - At the invitation of His Eminence, Archbishop Abel (Diocese of Lublin and Chelm), Bishop Michael journeyed to Poland from 11-22 August 2014. Joining him from the diocese were Father Wiaczeslaw Krawczuk, Father John Shimchick and his son, John. Beginning in Warsaw, the group was formally received by the leader of the Polish Orthodox Church, His Beatitude Metropolitan Sawa. Accompanied and guided by Archbishop Abel they visited many churches, monasteries, and pilgrimage sites. Of note was their participation in the yearly celebration at the Holy Mountain of Grabarka on the Feast of the Transfiguration (old calendar, 18-19 August). His Grace and Father Wiaczeslaw also traveled to represent the Orthodox Church in America at the enthronement in Kiev, Ukraine, of the newly elected primate of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, His Beatitude Metropolitan Onufry. The visit also provided unique opportunities for reconnecting with family. While in Presov, Bishop Michael met for ...

( AOB ) - More than 35 members of the Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of the United States of America joined in celebrating the Divine Liturgy Tuesday morning, September 16, at Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church in Dallas, Texas. At the conclusion of the Liturgy, the bishops offered a memorial service for the repose of the soul of Metropolitan Philip of the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese. The bishops are gathered in Dallas for the fifth annual meeting of the Assembly of Bishops. In opening remarks following the Divine Liturgy, Archbishop Demetrios, Chairman of the Assembly, said that the Assembly’s convening would “certainly send a clear message to the world that we, the members of the Canonical Orthodox Bishops are all one in Christ through His life, death and resurrection. We have begun our work with the celebration of the Divine Liturgy, and the partaking of His One Body and Blood, thus constituting His One Holy, Undivided and Sacred Body. “ His Eminence call...

( AOB ) - The Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of the United States of America commenced its fifth annual meeting Monday, September 15, with a Pan-Orthodox Clergy-Laity Gathering in Dallas, Texas. Some two hundred people attended, including more than 30 bishops representing the member jurisdictions of the Assembly. The evening began with a Doxology—a service of thanksgiving—presided over by the Chairman of the Assembly, Archbishop Demetrios of America. His Eminence welcomed those in attendance, remarking that the Doxology was an opportunity to thank God for all His gifts and for bringing the Assembly together once again. His Eminence expressed his wish that the evening would make the faithful more aware of the sacred and great work that the Lord is doing through the Assembly. Following the Doxology, a panel of bishops answered questions submitted by those in attendance. Questions pertained to the work of the Assembly, including youth ministry, inter-church relations, and...

NEW YORK ( GOARCH ) – A Ground Blessing ceremony for the St. Nicholas National Shrine at the World Trade Center is set for Saturday October 18, 2014 at 12:00 p.m. The ceremony will include a combined prayer service of blessing of the site (aghiasmos), a doxology (a service of thanksgiving) and a memorial service for the victims of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. The small Greek Orthodox Church of Saint Nicholas, which was established in 1916, was completely obliterated on Sept. 11, 2001 when the South Tower fell. The new Saint Nicholas National Shrine will be rebuilt only a short distance away at 130 Liberty Street, overlooking the 9/11 Memorial. His Eminence Archbishop Demetrios of America will preside at the historic event with the participation of the hierarchs of the Holy Eparchial Synod of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America. It will be attended by dignitaries and officials of the City of New York, officials of the States of New York and New Jersey, chaplai...

( Zenit ) - The eighth plenary session of the International Joint Commission for Theological Dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church will take place in Amman, Jordan from 15 to 23 September, following the invitation from the Greek-Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem, His Beatitude Theophilos III. The session will be co-chaired by Cardinal Kurt Koch, president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, and the Metropolitan of Pergamon Ioannis (Zizioulas) of the Ecumenical Patriarchate. As on previous occasions, the meeting will be attended by two representatives of each of the fourteen autocephalous Orthodox Churches and many other Catholic representatives. The plenary session will examine a draft document entitled “Synodality and the Primate”, drawn up by the Co-ordinating Committee of the Commission during the two meetings held in Rome in 2011 and in Paris in 2012. The study of the theological and anthropological relationship between the primate and...

( Huffington Post ) - My mother was fond of saying "if you want someone to hear you, you must first listen to them" -- know them, understand the questions they are asking, and be sensitive to their concerns. If you do this, she would say, "you will be able to speak with people and not at them." What happens when you don't follow this simple rule of communication was on display during the "In Defense of Christians" conference that was held in Washington from September 9-11. Addressing an audience of 900 mostly Arab Christians, Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) launched into a passionate defense of Israel arguing that "Christians have no better ally than the Jewish State". The audience booed. Undeterred, Cruz continued, to more booing, "Those who hate Israel hate America" and "those who hate Jews hate Christians." When the audience would not stop, Cruz cut short his remarks charging, "Some here are so consumed with hate... ...

( Reuters ) - A French court acquitted nine women from protest group Femen on Wednesday over a topless protest last year inside Paris's Notre Dame cathedral, a Catholic cathedral visited by millions of tourists and religious devotees every year. The feminist activists mixed with hordes of queuing visitors to enter the 12th century church unspotted in 2013 - one day after Pope Benedict resigned - before bearing torsos painted with slogans such as "Pope No More" and "Get lost, homophobe". "We are extremely happy with the decision," said Michael Ghnassia, a Femen defence lawyer who announced the verdict. The only convictions the court handed down, he said, were suspended fines imposed on three members of the Notre Dame security staff. The Femen women, some of whom were smacked in the face by angry Catholics before security staff bundled them out of the church, had been pursued on the grounds that they degraded a place of worship in a protest duri...

WASHINGTON, Sept. 11, 2014 ( SINA ) — For the first time in history, five Christian Patriarchs representing Christian communities in the Middle East visited the White House to discuss the protection of Christians in theMiddle East with President Obama and National Security Advisor Susan Rice. In Defense of Christians President Toufic Baaklinisaid, “We want to thank President Obama at this critical moment in history for meeting with the representatives of these Christian communities from the Middle East who face suffering and hardship for professing their religious beliefs.” Attending the meeting with the President are: His Eminence, Patriarch Mar Bechara Boutros Cardinal Raï Maronite Patriarch of Antioch and All the East His Beatitude, Gregorius III Laham Melkite Greek Catholic Patriarch of Antioch and All the East, Alexandria and Jerusalem His Beatitude, Mor Ignatius Aphrem II Syriac Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch His Beatitude, Ignatius Youssef III Yonan Syriac Cat...

( yle ) - The Russian Orthodox Church has cancelled an official doctrinal dialogue with the Finnish Lutheran Church over the Lutheran stance on homosexuality. The Orthodox side wanted to pre-approve a communique before the meeting, but talks broke down over the Finns’ refusal to condemn homosexuality. Finnish and Russian attitudes to gay rights are poles apart, and that’s helping to derail doctrinal dialogues between the two countries’ largest religions. Archbishop Kari Mäkinen says that he was forced to cancel planned ecumenical dialogues when he met the Russia Patriarch Kiril in Moscow. The Russian Orthodox Church wanted to agree a statement in advance, as the meeting was scheduled to discuss anthropology—an area where sexuality was bound to come up. ”Our church’s line, which doesn’t directly condemn homosexuality, is such that from their point of view they don’t want to continue official ecumenical discussions,” said Mäkinen. Mäkinen said that the Russian side wanted to agr...

His Holiness Aram I, Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia, outlined a five point plan to defeat growing extremism in the Middle East at his keynote presentation during the "In Defense of Christian" inaugural conference held in Washington DC from September 9th through 11th.

The Glorious Prophet, Forerunner, and Baptist John, Troparion, in Tone II The memory of the righteous is celebrated with hymns of praise,/ but the Lord's witness is sufficient for thee, O forerunner./ Thou wast truly shown to be more honorable than the prophets,/ in that thou wast counted worthy to baptize in the streams Him Whom thou didst proclaim./ Wherefore, having suffered, rejoicing, for the truth,/ even unto those in hades thou didst proclaim God,/ Who had manifested Himself in the flesh,// Who taketh away the sin of the world and granteth us great mercy. Kontakion, in Tone V The glorious beheading of the forerunner/ was part of God's dispensation,/ that he might proclaim to those in hades the coming of the Savior./ Let Herodias, who demanded the iniquitous murder, therefore lament;/ for she loved not the law of God nor the age of life,// but rather this false and transitory one. Herod Antipas, son of the elder Herod, who was the slayer of the children of Be...

( Daily Caller ) - Sen. Ted Cruz was booed offstage at a conference for Middle Eastern Christians Wednesday night after saying that “Christians have no greater ally than Israel.” Cruz, the keynote speaker at the sold-out D.C. dinner gala for the recently-founded non-profit In Defense of Christians , began by saying that “tonight, we are all united in defense of Christians. Tonight, we are all united in defense of Jews. Tonight, we are all united in defense of people of good faith, who are standing together against those who would persecute and murder those who dare disagree with their religious teachings.” Cruz was not reading from a teleprompter, nor did he appear to be reading from notes. “Religious bigotry is a cancer with many manifestations,” he continued. “ISIS, al-Qaida, Hezbollah, Hamas, state sponsors like Syria and Iran, are all engaged in a vicious genocidal campaign to destroy religious minorities in the Middle East. Sometimes we are told not to loop these groups toge...

St. Moses the Black, Troparion, in Tone I — A desert-dweller, an angel in the flesh/ and a wonderworker wast thou shown to be,/ O our God-bearing father Moses./ For, having acquired heavenly gifts through fasting, vigilance and prayer,/ thou dost heal the infirm/ and the souls of those who have recourse to thee with faith./ Glory to Him Who gaveth thee strength!/ Glory to Him Who crowned thee!// Glory to Him Who worketh healings for all through thee! Kontakion, in Tone IV — Having beaten the Moors and spat in the faces of the demons,/ thou didst shine forth noetically like the radiant sun,// directing our lives by the light of thy life and thy teaching.

( Antiochian.org ) - On Friday evening, September 5, 2014, The Orthodox Clergy Association of Southeast Texas held a Town Hall Meeting at St. George Orthodox Church in Houston, Texas (with rector The Rev. James Shadid), titled "The Silent Holocaust—The Persecution of Christians in the Middle East." The press release following the event reported that all of the Orthodox, Coptic and Syriac Christian communities in the area participated—approximately 300 persons, including 16 priests. Jurisdictions represented were the Greek Archdiocese (GOA), the Antiochian Archdiocese, the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia (ROCOR), the Orthodox Church in America (OCA), the Serbian Diocese of Midwestern America, and Coptic and Syriac Dioceses. There were four speakers, including Hieromonk Bashar (al-Shamany) of the Syriac Orthodox Church. Originally from Mosul, the he spoke about the current situation in the Middle East. Father Bashar's family are currently among the tho...

( Boston.com ) - The Roma community in Romania celebrates the Birth of the Virgin Mary in Costesti, Romania. Thousands of Gypsies or Roma gather on a hillside after attending a religious service in a nearby monastery and celebrate the holiday by sharing food and playing traditional music until the next dawn. The feast day of the Assumption of Mary, or simply Assumption Day or St Mary’s Day, is one of the most important feasts in the Orthodox Christian calendar. A woman passes under a table, part of a local tradition at the Bistrita Monastery in Costesti, Romania. (Vadim Ghirda/AP)

H/T: J.J. Kotalik

From a blog I have followed for quite a long time: Londinoupolis . The 2014 Fellowship Conference (11-14 August) was dedicated to Marriage, Monasticism and the Single Life . It was the fourth time, within the modern period, that the Fellowship held its annual conference in High Leigh Conference Centre, where it held its conference on and off since its birth in late 1927. Following is a summary of the conference. The first talk was given by Archpriest Stephen Platt (a wonderful priest I met last I was in the UK) , who is also the Secretary of the Fellowship of St Alban and St Sergius. His talk was on Marriage, monasticism and the single life: equal paths? Fr Stephen began by talking about children in the Church, since he just came back from an Orthodox youth camp. He was renewed, especially when he took into consideration the fact that children during confession are simple and refreshing. They understand their sin and wish to repent, and then live on. Continuing, the speaker...

( mospat.ru ) - On 27 August 2014, Hegumen Arseniy (Sokolov), representative of the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia to the Patriarch of Great Antioch and All the East, met with the Patriarch of the Melkite Greek Catholic Church, His Beatitude Gregory III Laham. The meeting took place at the Patriarchal summer residence in Ain Traz, Lebanon. His Beatitude Patriarch Gregory III Laham told Hegumen Arseniy about the difficult situation of the Melkite Christians in war-torn Syria and Iraq. On behalf of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia, Fr. Arseniy assured Patriarch Gregory III that the Russian Orthodox Church would continue to express her solidarity with Christians in the Middle East, to pray for them and raise her voice in their defence. Hegumen Arseniy mentioned the humanitarian aid that the Russian Orthodox Church together with the Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society rendered to the Syrian people. In particular, he mentioned that the Syrian orphans, childre...

Bishop Gorazd of Prague , given name Matěj Pavlík (May 26, 1879 – September 4, 1942), was the hierarch of the revived Orthodox Church in Moravia, the Church of Czechoslovakia, after World War I. During World War II, having provided refuge for the assassins of SS-Obergruppenfuhrer Reinhard Heydrich, called The Hangman of Prague, in the cathedral of Saints Cyril and Methodius in Prague, Gorazd took full responsibility for protecting the patriots after the Schutzstaffel found them in the crypt of the cathedral. This act guaranteed his execution, thus his martyrdom, during the reprisals that followed. His feast day is celebrated on August 22 (OC) or September 4 (NC).

I happily post this video as St. Irenaeus is a favored saint of mine (so much so that my youngest is named after him). Sr. Vassa points to many important aspects of his life and theology, but I've always found quite telling how the heresies and ideologies he deplored are many of the same ones we battle today from without and within the Church. By sharing in the ways of the Apostles, you became a successor to their throne. Through the practice of virtue, you found the way to divine contemplation, O inspired one of God; by teaching the word of truth without error, you defended the Faith, even to the shedding of your blood. Hieromartyr Irenæus, entreat Christ God to save our souls!

From the blog Luminous Darkness , an article entitled 'Is the Theotokos “more honorable than the cherubim, more glorious beyond compare than the seraphim”?' A friend, exploring the Faith, particularly in relation to the Theotokos, presented some concerns about her role and work as viewed, expressed, and experienced by the Church. Here is a summary of his concerns: There is one Mary in Scripture who was a humble woman that was chosen by God to bear Jesus and she accepted God’s will to be the mother of His Son. Then I see a second Mary in the modern church, and there are Bible verses that I see as contradictory to the statement that Mary is more glorious than the Seraphim and more honorable than the Cherubim (e.g. Ps. 8). Humans are “lower than the angels.” Prophets and Church councils say things, and those are valid if they can agree with the data of Scripture. There are also practical questions like, how can Mary (or the Saints) hear two people during Paraklesis that ...

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 3 ( ARMENPRESS ) His Holiness Bartholomew I, Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, will also attend the annual liturgy in St. Cross Armenian Church in Van’s Akhtamar Island. As reports “Armenpress”, Turkish Haberler.com stated about this. The Head of the Van Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism Muzaffer Aktuğ stated that the Patriarchal Vicar of the Orthodox Syrian Patriarchate Metropolitan Filuskinos Yusuf Cetin has also been included in the list of individuals, who will attend the upcoming liturgy, introduced by the Armenian Patriarchate of Constantinople. Among other things, the Head of the Van Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism Muzaffer Aktuğ underscored that according to his information, a women’s choir will give a short concert right after the liturgy. Previously it was reported that within the framework of visit to Thrace, it is considered that Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople will have a meeting with the local Arm...