Byzantine, Texas

Note: The podcast episode embedded below the image is from a general talk about the Faithtree program and not from the SVS event itself. ( SVOTS ) - How do you handle conflict in your family, and in your parish family? That’s the question Michelle Moujaes, founder of FaithTree, addressed at the mid-November gathering of St. Juliana’s Society—our campus women’s fellowship. Djakonitsa Adrienne Soper, wife of first-year Seminarian Dn. Larry Soper, remarked on Ms. Moujaes’s presentation about conflict resolution, saying, "I was moved by her ability to relay her experience and her wisdom as we ladies enter the world of being married—God-Willing—to future clergymen. “Michelle's candid, yet, respectful way of lending advice, mixed with reality and humor, was refreshing to me,” continued Djakonitsa Adrienne. “Sometimes, it is easy to get caught up in the fear of the future and of the unknown, and speakers like Michelle offer great opportunities to draw hope and strength as w...

A really intriguing book review from the blog Again and Again . The people at InterVarsity Press surprised me with a small package in last week’s mail: a copy of Liturgy of the Ordinary, by Tish Harrison Warren. An attractive looking book that didn’t appear to be too complicated to read. What on earth compelled them to send this to me, I thought? Do I really want to read this? I have so many books by Orthodox writers to read, do I have time to spend reading this? I came home late that evening – after a church board meeting of all things – and decided to leaf through it. The Foreword by Andy Crouch was good but not too convincing. I decided to read the first chapter. It was late, but I continued on to the second and then read the first half of chapter three, decided to go to sleep….But then decided to just finish that chapter as well... Complete post here .

( Assyrian Church ) - The Holy Synod of the Holy Apostolic Catholic Assyrian Church of the East, headed by His Holiness Mar Gewargis Sliwa III convened in the city of Erbil, Iraq commencing on Monday the 7th November till Saturday 12th November 2016. The Synod opened the meeting with the offering of the Holy Oblation in St Youkhana Mamdnana Cathedral (St John the Baptist) in Ankawa, Erbil. The Holy Synod elected two priests to be consecrated bishops in the year of 2017, namely; Reverend Father Dr Tyari Jonsen for the Diocese of Erbil and Patriarchal Vicar and Reverend Father Ninos Elya for the Diocese of Melbourne (Australia) and temporarily New Zealand. Biographies 1- Reverend Father Dr Tyari Jonsen Reverend Tyari was born in Erbil, Iraq in the year of 1978. He was ordained a deacon by Metropolitan His Beatitude Mar Gewaris (currently His Holiness) in Baghdad on the 23rd November 2002. He was ordained a priest once again by the Metropolitan at the time in Kirkuk’s St Ge...

His Holiness Pope Francis received His Holiness Mar Gewargis III, Catholicos-Patriarch and a delegation of prelates and clergy of the Assyrian Church of the East on Thursday November 17th at the Vatican. Delegations from both churches are convened to discuss preparations for a common declaration on sacramental life in the Catholic Church and the Assyrian Church of the East.

( YouTube ) - The Consecration of His Grace IRENEI (Steenberg) Bishop of Sacramento took place at Holy Virgin Cathedral of the Icon of the Mother of God "Joy of All Who Sorrow" on Sunday November 6, 2016. Participating in the consecration were His Eminence KYRILL Archbishop of San Francisco and Western America, His Eminence PETER Archbishop of Chicago and Mid-America, His Grace THEODOSY Bishop of Seattle, His Grace NICHOLAI Bishop of Manhattan and His Grace JOHN Bishop of Naro-Fominsk.

Complete Youtube series available here (AFR recordings available here ). ( AFR ) - With the theme “On Pain and Suffering” the Orthodox Christian Association of Medicine, Psychology, and Religion conference was held November 3-5, 2016 on the campus of Holy Cross/Hellenic College in Brookline, MA. OCAMPR exists to facilitate Orthodox Christian fellowship, dialogue and education of professionals in religion, psychology and medicine.

( Reuters ) - The bells have rung out after two years of silence in the Mar Korkeis church in the town of Bashiqa, some 15 km (10 miles) north of Mosul, Islamic State's last major city stronghold in Iraq. Kurdish Peshmerga fighters retook the town on Nov. 7, ending two years of rule by the hardline Sunni group which persecuted Christians and other minorities in the Nineveh plains, one of the world's oldest centres of Christianity. Women trilled to celebrate the moment when a new crucifix was erected on the church, replacing one that was broken by the Islamic State militants. The town is largely empty as the Peshmerga have not finished clearing explosives and mines left behind by the insurgents in their fight against U.S.-backed Iraqi and Kurdish forces who launched an offensive on Mosul on Oct. 17. "We want people to be patient and not to return here until we completely clear the area, as we want to ensure their safety," said Peshmerga Brigadier General Ma...

( Patriarchate of Alexandria ) - On 16th November 2016, the Holy Synod of the ancient Patriarchate of Alexandria and All Africa continued its deliberations presided over by His Beatitude Theodoros II, Pope and Patriarch of Alexandria and All Africa at the Patriarchal See. Speakers at today’s meeting were His Eminence Alexandros Metropolitan of Nigeria, who discussed the issue of Fasting in African reality , as well as His Eminence Gregory Metropolitan of Cameroon who spoke on the institution of Deaconesses in the Missionary field. Both speakers presented their positions and proposals with Theological debate and a lengthy discussion was held on both. As far as the issue of Fasting is concerned the decisions of the Synod will be announced to the clergy and the people in the spiritual jurisdiction of the Patriarchate shortly, by Patriarchal Encyclicals. Regarding the issue of the institution of Deaconesses, it was decided to revive this and a tripartite committee of Hierarchs wa...

The original post is here . I've posted images of the PDF below. These are quite outrageous claims that will need to be investigated immediately for the welfare of the seminary alone, if not for the serious legal implications (e.g. providing alcohol to youth and sexual immorality). At the same time, a threat of a website going live to expose things next month is quite a thing to swing around. Dangerous times for all involved.

My anecdotally-informed opinion is that there is a rather fluid approach to relationships today without a bright line between being in and out of something meaningful. People hang out together, sleep together a bit, and then - because it's "comfortable" and "easy" - things just continue on in a label-less state. More than this article even points to, people are not making bad choices as much as they aren't making definitive choices at all. Sex, cohabitation, and the like are easy to get into but quite a bit harder to escape from. This is especially true when pregnancy occurs (as it tends to when biology does what it does) or when partner A cosigns for that Pontiac Grand Prix for partner B but partner A wants to "move on." Doing things without clear goals leads to aimless behavior as you might expect. The problem is that you are mimicking the most important choices of your life as if you were playing an online role playing game. There is no real...

( Patriarchate of Alexandria ) - The Holy Synod of the Alexandrian Throne is convening presently at the Holy Patriarchal Centre of Alexandria. The convening of the Hierarchs has been set to begin today 15th November and will last until 17th November. The Divine Liturgy was held this morning in the Synodal Chapel of Ss Theodoroi. Immediately thereafter the first session took place Presided under the guidance of His Beatitude Theodoros II, Pope and Patriarch of Alexandria and All Africa. Following a brief prayer by His Beatitude, the Holy Synod began its deliberations. The Primate of the Alexandrian Church welcomed the member Hierarchs of the Holy Synod and particularly those who were taking part in the Sacred Body for the first time. Mention was made of those Hierarchs who were absent with apologies. His Eminence Elder Metropolitan Gabriel of Leontopolis replied to the members of the Sacred and Holy Synod. Immediately then His Beatitude the Patriarch in an inspired talk presen...

( ROCOR-Chicago ) - With the blessing of Archbishop Peter of Chicago & Mid-America, President of the Pastoral School, and Bishop John of Caracas and South America, the Pastoral school is pleased to announce that beginning in February 2017 the Spanish Language Sector of the Pastoral School will begin instruction in the only comprehensive Spanish Language Orthodox Christian seminary in the world. More information can be found here: http://seminarioortodoxo.org/ Those who would like to donate to support this effort may visit this link . We ask your prayerful and material support for the success of this new missionary educational endeavor, designed to provide greatly needed Orthodox clergymen for the Spanish speaking world. Archpriest Gregory Joyce, Dean Archpriest Peter Jackson, Associate Dean for Spanish Instruction

( Chicago Tribune ) - On Tuesday morning, the president of a tiny Lutheran seminary on Chicago's South Side is expected to hand a 337-page book to a Greek Orthodox archbishop. In that simple gesture, the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago, a one-building institution with 225 students, hopes to spark a movement that will lead institutions all over the world to return antiquities to their rightful owners. That's because the book is a complete New Testament, handwritten in Greek in the 9th century and looted 99 years ago from a monastery in northern Greece. Only 60 of the manuscripts exist. This one is worth at least six figures, far and away the most valuable piece owned by the Lutheran school. And the seminary is giving it back to the Greek Orthodox Church for free. "I get that question a lot," LSTC President James Nieman said in his office a few days before the exchange, when asked if his school was receiving compensation. "No," Nieman said. ...

I really enjoy the blog Icons and their Interpretations and their post on the Multiplier of Wheat icon. I've posted on it before (see here ). The inquirer came across a Marian icon showing Mary on a cloud, arms outstretched, above a field of grain. The icon type that describes is a rather recent Russian type called Спорительница хлебов — Sporitel’nitsa Khlebov. The first word means a female who causes something to advance or thrive; the second part refers to bread and to grain crops. So we can loosely translate it as “She Who Makes the Grain Thrive.” The name is found variously in English as “She Who Ripens the Grain,” “Provider of Bread” “Provider of the Bread of Life,” “Multiplier of Bread,” and so on. But the essence of the name indicates that Mary makes the grain thrive, which means people will have an abundant harvest and much bread... Complete post here .

Whether you are delighted, distraught, or simply resigned to the results of this year's elections, those in power need our prayers. These men have been invested with the power to do great good in this world, but also the destructive power to end the lives of many with the push of a button. God grant them strength and discernment.

( ACNS ) The official dialogue between the Anglican Communion and the Oriental Orthodox Churches have reached further agreement on the theological understanding of the Holy Spirit. The Anglican Oriental Orthodox International Commission met last week in Lebanon, Beirut, to consider their consideration of the Holy Spirit, which began last year in Wales. Last year, the AOOIC communiqué recommended the omission of the Filioque clause – the words “and the son” which western churches added to “…which proceeds from the Father” in the Nicene Creed without international consensus. The Anglican co-chair of the Commission, Bishop Gregory Cameron from St Asaph in Wales, said at the time that it had “long been a source of contention between Western and Eastern Christians.” In their communiqué issued at the end of last week’s talks, the members of the AOOIC said that “having completed its work on the Procession of the Holy Spirit at its 2015 meeting, the Commission continued its reflection on ...

( Monastery of the Transfiguration ) - The monastery hosted the 3rd annual Synaxis of monastic superiors under Metropolitan Tikhon. The gathering was held October 25th-27th. Twelve monasteries were represented at this Synaxis with Metropolitan Tikhon and Archbishop Nathaniel was also in attendance. Fr. Michael Senyo served the Vigil for St. Demetrius and His Eminence, Archbishop Nathaniel served the Divine Liturgy.

( Basilica.ro ) - The Holy Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church held its first autumn session Friday, 28 October 2016, in the Synodal Hall of the Patriarchal Residence in Bucharest, under the chairmanship of His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel. The Holy Synod made the following important decisions for the church life of Orthodox Romanians living in the Americas: The Romanian Orthodox Diocese of Canada was established; The Romanian Orthodox Metropolis of the Americas was established. The Metropolis will be comprised of: the Romanian Orthodox Archdiocese of the United States of America, and the Romanian Orthodox Diocese of Canada; The Holy Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church proceeded to the election of the diocesan bishop of the newly established Diocese of Canada. Thus, His Grace Ioan Casian was elected Romanian Orthodox Bishop of Canada; The Holy Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church approved to raise His Eminence Archbishop Nicolae Condrea to the rank of Romanian Orthodox Metropo...