Byzantine, Texas

( Mospat.ru ) - During his stay in Cyprus, Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, head of the Moscow Patriarchate department for external church relations (DECR), had a talk with a journalist of the Romfea church news agency. Answering the journalist’s questions, Metropolitan Hilarion spoke on the Council that took place in Crete last year, the construction of a Russian church in Cyprus, the situation of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, the situation in the Middle East and other issues. – Your Eminence, what is the situation of Orthodoxy on the whole after the Pan-Orthodox Council that took place in Crete in which the Russian Orthodox Church did not participate? – First of all regrettably it was not a Pan-Orthodox Council. We very much wished that a Pan-Orthodox Council could have taken place. Our Church had done all possible it could to prepare it. We hoped till the last moment that the Council in Crete would be held precisely as pan-Orthodox, and on the part of our Church, all t...

Chicago, IL ( OCA-DMW ) — In mid-March 2017, His Grace, Bishop Paul received a letter from His Eminence, Archbishop Makarios of Kenya, formally thanking him and the Diocese of the Midwest for the donation of additional motorcycles for his clergy. As widely reported, it was in November 2015 that Bishop Paul had initiated a diocesan-wide drive to raise funds to purchase ten motorcycles for Orthodox Christian clergy ministering in Kenya, in partnership with the Orthodox Christian Mission Center [OCMC]. While the initial goal of the drive aimed at raising $10,000.00, the project resonated so well with diocesan parishes and faithful that over $31,000.00 was donated, making it possible to purchase some three dozen motorcycles. The clergy from two Kenyan dioceses were the recipients of motorcycles that had been delivered in 2016, while the most recent motorcycles will be used by clergy in the country’s third diocese. “This evening I am delighted to address to you this e-mail and to i...

( Al-Monitor ) - When Armenian Patriarch Mesrob II Mutafyan, the spiritual leader of Turkey’s Armenians, fell ill in 2008, few would have thought that the debate on how to elect a new patriarch would drag on for years. Yet, ever since then, heated debates and divisions have haunted the Armenian community. The debate had initially focused on whether the circumstances allowed for the election of a new patriarch at all. According to customs, a new patriarch is elected only when the incumbent one dies or steps down. Mesrob II was seriously ill and unable to perform his duties, but he was still alive. In time, the debate evolved into whether the community should elect a new patriarch or a co-patriarch. Competing to have their respective solutions adopted, proponents of the two options applied separately to the Interior Ministry for permission to hold elections. The ministry, however, made a decision that further complicated the matter, concluding that the community could elect neither...

This article , entitled "The Reader in the Orthodox Church," is one of my favorite articles from my subscription to Orthodox Life. Do give it a read if you are a reader, want to be a reader, or are a priest who wants to give some solid instruction. ( Orthodox Life ) - There is an unfortunate dearth of guidance available to the lower ranks of clergy in the Orthodox Church — namely, readers and subdeacons. Toward the aim of remedying this problem, we offer here the work of a seminary graduate and ordained reader summarizing the historical basis and canonical responsibilities of the office of Reader. This article first appeared in Russian in Православный Путь for 2005 and was subsequently featured in Orthodox Life Vol. 62.1. By Reader Vitaly Efimenkov As a Reader of the Orthodox Church, I have always been interested in how to fulfill my service to the Holy Church better and more correctly. From the moment I was appointed to this degree of the priesthood I have not often ...

Moscow, March 27 ( Interfax ) - The Russian Church of St. Andrew and All Saints glorified in Russia was opened on Sunday in the town of Episkopi on Cyprus. "Liturgies will be celebrated here in the Slavonic language, and sermons will be preached in Russian and Greek. Any Orthodox person can become a parishioner of the church. The Church of St. Andrew and All Russian saints will house the Russian-speaking community of Cyprus and Episkopi," head of the Synodal Department for External Church Relations Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk said after the Liturgy in the church. He points out that it is the first Russian church in the island, though it belongs to jurisdiction of the Cyprus Orthodox Church. According to the hierarch, "many Russian people with their families have recently moved to this blessed island for permanent residence, its land is blessed by visits of Holy Apostles Paul and Varnava, Evangelist Mark, where St. Lazar was the bishop and where there are m...

( ROC-USA ) - On Thursday, March 23, a meeting was held between the First Hierarch of the Russian Church Abroad, His Eminence Metropolitan Hilarion of Eastern America and New York and the Administrator of the Patriarchal Parishes in the USA, His Grace Bishop John of Naro-Fominsk in the residence of the First Hierarch in New York City. Also attending the meeting was the Vicar of the Eastern American Diocese, His Grace Bishop Nicholas of Manhattan; Chancellor of the Synod of Bishops, Archpriest Serafim Gan; Archpriest Alexandre Anchoutine, rector of Holy Protection Church in Glen Cove, NY and secretary of the Administrator of the Patriarchal Parishes, Abbot Nicodemus (Balyasnikov). Participants in the meeting discussed plans for commemorating the tenth anniversary of the signing of the Act of Canonical Communion. Plans are being developed for a joint pastoral conference to be held between clerics of the Eastern American Diocese and the Patriarchal Parishes in the USA for October 20...

NEW DOCUMENTARY “MODERN CHRISTIAN MARTYRS” METROPOLIS OF CHICAGO AND GREATER CHICAGO BROADCAST MINISTERIES PRODUCE DOCUMENTARY CONCERNING ONGOING GENOCIDE OF THE CHRISTIAN MINORITY POPULATION OF SYRIA CHICAGO, IL ( GOA-Chicago ) - We have all heard about refugees in the news. We have all seen the situation in Syria in the news. But have you taken the time to be a witness to the plight of Christians in the Middle East? Have you listened to the story of a refugee? The Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Chicago is proud to have partnered with the Greater Chicago Broadcast Ministries to produce this documentary that will be aired each Sunday in March at noon on the ABC Live Well Network, which is available in the following broadcast areas: Chicago, New York, Philadelphia, Fresno, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Houston and Raleigh. Kidnapped, tortured, their priest murdered, a Syrian family is forced to flee, finding asylum here in the United States. In this edition of Sanctuary, we me...

March 13, 2017 ( Orthodox Rights ) – On 11 March representatives of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kiev Patriarchate (UOC-KP), accompanied by a group of volunteers in camouflage, occupied the Assumption Cathedral of the Holy Dormition Kiev-Pechersk Lavra, where they performed a service despite the protests of the clergy of the UOC, writes Patriots of Ukraine. Representative of the UOC-KP, priest Dmitry, accompanied by 200 volunteers who participated in the service, came to the Cathedral on the pretext of visiting the National Kiev-Pechersk Historical and Cultural Reserve. Two priests of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church attempted to prevent a 15-minute worship of the schismatics, however, as reported, “the activists asked not to interfere with the service.” The radical group justified their provocation by the fact that the Assumption Cathedral is part of the reserve, which “belongs to the people of Ukraine.”

When the video of this talk is online, I'll post it. ( Orthodox Ethos ) - The "Council" of Crete and the New Emerging Ecclesiology: An Orthodox Examination By Protopresbyter Peter Heers, Professor of Old and New Testament, Holy Trinity Orthodox Seminary, Jordanville, NY Christ is in Our Midst! I consider it an honor to stand before you today, to speak to the Shepherds and Pastors of Christ's rational flock, and in particular to the successors of the great work begun in the Russian Diaspora by such holy ones as St. John the Wonderworker and Metropolitans Anthony, Anastasi, Philaret, and Vitaly, Archbishop Averky and Metropolitan Laurus and many others, who are revered fathers not only of the Russian Church Abroad, but indeed of the Church Catholic. The witness given by the Fathers of the Russian Church Outside of Russia with regard to the Holy Tradition, the monastic and ascetic ideal and in particular the ecclesiology of the Church, continues to inspire ...

( OCA ) - The Spring Session of the Holy Synod of Bishops of the Orthodox Church in America will be held at the Chancery here from Tuesday, March 28 through Friday, March 31, 2017. According to Archpriest Eric G. Tosi, OCA Secretary, the meeting will open with the address of His Beatitude, Metropolitan Tikhon. Reports from the OCA’s Officers — Archpriest John Jillions, Chancellor; Melanie Ringa, Treasurer; and Father Eric — will be presented, as will updates by Protopresbyter Leonid Kishkovsky, Director of External Affairs; the OCA General Counsel; and representatives of the Church’s boards, departments, commissions and other offices. Especially highlighted will be the work of the OCA Department of Christian Education and the Department of Christian Service and Humanitarian Aid, while an update on the OCA’s communications efforts and web site also will be presented. In addition, the Board of Theological Education will present the list of ordination candidates through the Diacona...

Things begin in earnest at about the 29:45 mark.

( Pemptousia ) - Today, 21 March 2017, the three-member Court of Appeals in Athens declared all the defendants innocent in the case of the Monastery of Vatopaidi land exchange. This verdict comes at the end of eight difficult years for Abbot Ephraim and the other defendants, including two years of judicial sessions and sixty days in court. In December, the Public Prosecutor had made a recommendation of acquittal for all the defendants in the case, stating that there was no evidence of any wrongdoing on their part. The courtroom was filled to capacity with hierarchs, clergy, monastics and lay people, who expressed their approval and relief by a generous round of applause.

Moscow, March 20 ( Interfax ) - Rector of a new Moscow church dedicated to St. Iona, Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, priest Alexander Narushev told how he tried to speak the same language with prostitutes. "Not far from the site where the church was constructed, there was a place where prostitutes gathered. My attempts to hold negotiations with them failed. I asked them not to commit sin, I tried to explain that a church is being constructed here, so that they do not offend God. But they even threatened me in response. Once they asked: "Aren't you afraid not to get back home?" I answered: "I am afraid, I have four children, but I can't keep silence," he said in his interview to the Moscow City Diocese. According to him, he decided to change tactics and came to these women to congratulate them on Christmas and Easter, brought them Easter cakes and blessed eggs, and "their conscience started saying that something went wrong." "O...

( CC ) - The Chaldean Catholic Patriarchate has announced that it cannot supply priests for all of the Chaldean communities living outside Iraq, and has urged those communities to find their own candidates for the priesthood. Because of the enormous exodus of Christians from Iraq to Australia, the US, Canada, and other countries, the patriarchate explained, there are not “sufficient Chaldean priests to be sent in all the cities were new Chaldean communities are created.” The patriarchate notes that other Eastern Christian churches based in the Middle East are experiencing the same problem. Chaldean bishops leading communities in the “diaspora” have been asked, therefore, to look for their own internal solutions to the shortage of priests. The patriarchate specifically suggested the ordination of married men, which is allowed in the tradition of the Eastern Catholic churches.

( Orthodox Ethos ) - Archimandrite Chrysostom, the Abbot of the Holy Monastery of the Life-Giving Spring in Paros, Greece, has submitted to the Holy Synod of the Church of Greece an historic formal accusation of heresy against Patriarch Bartholomew. Abbot Chrysostom has petitioned the Holy Synod to recognize, repudiate and condemn the Patriarch's "eterodidaskalia" (heterodox teachings) as contrary to the right teaching of the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church of Christ. "In submitting this letter to you," he wrote to the Holy Synod, "we place before the honorable Body of the Hierarchy of the Church of Greece the scandal caused to myself, our brotherhood, clergy, monks and countless laity, by the successive waves of heterodox teachings which have been expressed at various times by His Holiness, the Ecumenical Patriarch, Bartholomew, the pinnacle of which being [expressed at] the Holy and Great Council held in Kolympari of Crete." The formal p...

( mospat.ru ) - The Spring Session of the Orthodox Bishops’ Assembly in Germany took place from March 5 to 7, 2017, in Munich. The ruling and vicar bishops of the dioceses in the country celebrated the Divine Liturgy at the ROCOR’s Cathedral of the New Martyrs and Confessors of the Church of Russia, held working meetings and met with faculty and students of the Orthodox Theology Training Center of the Ludwig Maximillian-University in Munich. The main working session took place on March 6 at the Serbian St. Jovan Vladimir church compound in Munich. After the agenda was announced, reports were made by representatives of the Bishops’ Assembly commissions. The head of the translation commission, Archbishop Mark of Berlin-Germany and Great Britain (ROCOR), presented the first official German version of the Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, which had been approved by all the Orthodox bishops in Germany. The hierarchs considered problems involved in teaching Orthodox faith in gen...

( mospat.ru ) - Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, head of the Moscow Patriarchate department for external church relations (DECR), with the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia, was on a visit to Holy Mount Athos from March 11 to 13, 2017. During the same days, Bishop Antoniy of Bogorodsk, head of the Moscow Patriarchate office for institutions abroad, began his working visit to Mount Athos. Upon his arrival to the Holy Mountain, Metropolitan Hilarion, together with Bishop Antoniy, visited the New Phivaida hermitage, which belongs to the Russian Monastery of St. Panteleimon, to see the progress of the large-scale restoration work carried out in the skete. Then the pilgrims went to Karyes, where they were received by the Protoepistatis of the Mount Athos Holy Epistasia, Father Barnabas of the Vatopedi monastery. Having venerated the Icon of Our Lady ‘It is Meet and Right’ at the church of the Dormition, the guests went to the Iviron monastery,...

( mospat.ru ) - On March 11-17, 2017, a delegation of the Coptic Church visited Moscow to get acquainted with social service of the Moscow Patriarchate. The visit takes place as a part of activities of the Commission for Dialogue between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Coptic Church. The delegation includes Bishop Julius, general bishop for public, ecumenical and social services, and Ms Barbara Soliman, director of the papal office for projects and relations. On March 13, the guests had a talk with Bishop Panteleimon of Orekhovo-Zuevo, chairman of the Synodal Department for church charity and social ministry of the Russian Orthodox Church. Also attending the meeting, which was held at the Ss Martha and Mary community, were hieromonk Thomas Ava Mina, representative of the Coptic Church in Russia; hegumeness Yelisaveta (Pozdnyakova), mother superior of the community; and Mr. Sergey Alferov, a staff member of the Moscow Patriarchate’s Department for External Church Relations (DECR...

( Pemptousia ) - The Church boasts of the Precious Cross and experiences its message at every point of its worship. At every service, throughout the whole of the Church’s life, the presence of the Tree of Life is palpable. The Precious Cross is highlighted as a source of power and life at the mid-point of Great Lent, reminding us that the path leading to our resurrection with the Risen Christ involves being crucified, according to Saint Justin Popović. If we don’t endure the Cross, we won’t reach the Resurrection. The Precious Cross is a weapon against the devil: ‘Lord, you have given us a weapon against the devil’, says the hymnographer . It’s the sign of the grace of God. From being a dishonourable symbol of death, in the Old Testament (‘cursed are they who are hanged on the tree’, Deuteronomy 21, 23) in the New it becomes the symbol of victory, the life-bearing force, the invincible trophy, the firm support of our lives (Gal. 3, 13). During the course of the forty-day fast...

( OCA ) - The Telos Project, a five-year initiative at Hellenic College/Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology [HCHC] exploring the religious lives of young adults ages 23-29, is seeking 14 parishes belonging to the Assembly of Canonical Bishops of the United States of America to pilot new forms of young adult ministry. “The Telos Project is a tremendous opportunity to engage and embrace Orthodox Christian youth, and inspire them to a life integrated in Jesus Christ,” said the Rev. Christopher T. Metropulos, President of HCHC. “It is further an exercise toward greater cooperation and understanding throughout all levels and jurisdictions of the Orthodox Church in America.” Hosted by the Office of Vocation and Ministry, the Telos Project was inspired by the popular CrossRoad Summer Theology Institute , whose alumni identified the need for more faith-based support systems in young adulthood. It seeks to help parishes guide young adults through the questions of identity, v...

( Pravoslavie.ru ) - As previously reported, two priests, Fr. Theodore Zisis and Fr. Nicholas Manolis, from the Thessaloniki Diocese have been called to ecclesiastical court for ceasing commemoration of their ruling bishop, in protest of his acceptance of June 2016’s Pan-Orthodox Council. The priests’ decision came after years of struggling with the spirit of ecumenism and months of turmoil in the Greek Church and beyond since the Crete Council. Bishop Longin (Zhara) of Banchensk of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church has taken a similar stand, as have a host of clergy of the Moldovan Church and of the Romanian Orthodox Church, and of Mt. Athos. The Holy Provincial Synod of the Church of Crete met on March 16 to discuss, among other things, the same phenomenon occurring in their canonical territory, with at least four priests having ceased commemoration of their bishops at the Divine Liturgy and other services of the Church. The Synod held their meeting after a letter was drafted and ...

Moscow, March 10 ( Interfax ) - The Russian Orthodox Church will from now on mark March 30 as Saint Patrick's Day in commemoration of St. Patrick (ca. 385-461 AD), a saint of the ancient and undivided Church, who is now widely known as the patron saint of Ireland. "Among the important issues considered at the Holy Synod's meeting today was the inclusion of the names of ancient saints who acted in Central and Western Europe before 1054 in the menology. In all, the names of more than fifteen saints who acted in western countries have been included in the menology, among them Saint Patricius, the enlightener of Ireland, better known among our country's believers as Saint Patrick," Vladimir Legoyda, the chairman of the Synodal Department for Church, Society and Media Relations, said Interfax-Religion. The list of saints was compiled based on information on their veneration by Orthodox believers in Western European dioceses of the Russian Orthodox Church and also...

Some of this may not be relevant as this isn't your musical tradition, but he there is a lot of good information for anyone who might be asked to read at church (not to mention that Fr. Dn. Jeff Mierzejewski is a gifted musician and educator). The below is from the Carpatho-Rusyn tradition. Part One Part Two P.S. This is from the Greek Catholic Eparchy of Parma. So if you share this in Orthodox circles, I'm sure someone will mention this fact.

Moscow, March 16 ( Interfax ) - Bishop Savva of Voskresensk consecrated an icon of St. Luke (Voino-Yasenetsky), Archbishop of Crimea that will be delivered to the International Space Station. The hierarch said at the ceremony that the icon will go to the orbit and "fly around our Earth blessing our whole Universe where we are existing," press service of the Moscow City Diocese reports. The transportation of the holy image to the Space Station will become possible thanks to the Roskosmos executive director on manned space programs astronaut Sergey Krikalyov who flew around the Earth over a thousand times with miraculous icon of the Valaam Icon of the Mother of God onboard Soyuz TMA-6 in 2005. The icon was painted by students of the icon workshop of the Moscow State Regional University. After returning from space it will be kept in St. Nicholas Church in the Novospassky Monastery in Moscow.

( Pravoslavie.ru ) - On the Sunday of Orthodoxy, Greek priest Archpriest Theodore Zisis announced that he was ceasing commemoration of his ruling bishop, Metropolitan Anthimos of Thessaloniki, believing that his support of last year’s Pan-Orthodox Council on Crete, which acknowledged the term “church” for other Christian confessions, constitutes a fall into the heresy of ecumenism, which denies that the Orthodox Church is the one, true Church. The next day the metropolitan suspended Fr. Theodore from his priestly duties, reports AgionOros.ru. Fr. Theodore explained his decision by appealing to Canon 15 of the First-Second Council held in Constantinople in 861, presided over by St. Photios the Great. This canon states that if a bishop clearly preaches a heresy previously condemned by either a council or the holy fathers, then priests are allowed to cease commemorating him in the Liturgy, and are to face no canonical penalties. The crux of the issue at hand is whether the Crete Coun...

( OCA ) - The Orthodox Church in America’s Guidelines on Background Checks has been updated and is now available on the OCA web site here (PDF). “The updated document reflects a new, more centralized process aimed at achieving greater compliance with the Policies, Standards, and Procedures for Sexual Misconduct,” said Cindy Heise, LMSW, Coordinator for the Office of Review of Sexual Misconduct Allegations. As indicated in the updated Guidelines, background checks are required of all ordained clergy (bishops, priests and deacons), those in minor orders (subdeacons and readers), youth workers (Church school teachers, camp counselors, youth advisors/mentors, etc.), paid Church employees, seminary applicants, diaconal program applicants, and candidates for ordination.

There are corroborating stories of this in Greek that can be found at the NFTU site. It is not surprising that things have escalated as Constantinople has made it clear that the Crete event is not to be spoken badly of and Fr. Theodoros has made it clear that ecumenism in general and Crete in particular are invitations to ruin. I've posted many of his videos before (visible here ) if you have interest in many of the salient points he has made in the past. ( NFTU ) - This past First Sunday in Lent, the Sunday of Orthodoxy, was marked by the prominent New Calendar priest, Protopresbyter Theodore Zisis, becoming a non-commemorator. The announcement was met with marked applause and cheers from the congregation with the announcement. The former Bishop of Fr. Theodore Zisis,Archbishop Antimos of Thessalonika, gave instruction that Fr. Theodore Zisis was no longer to express any criticisms of the Pseudo-Synod of Crete, nor express any anti-modernist and anti-ecumenist thought or face cons...

( Fox News ) - An atheist video blogger has gone on trial in Russia for playing “Pokemon GO” in a church. The trial of Ruslan Sokolovsky started Monday in the Urals city of Yekaterinburg. The well-known blogger is accused of inciting religious hatred for playing the popular video game in a Russian Orthodox church in Yekaterinburg. Investigators have charged the 22-year-old with inciting religious hatred, the same offense that sent two women from the Pussy Riot punk collective to prison for two years in 2012, and insulting the feelings of religious believers. Sokolovsky, who has pleaded not guilty, faces a possible sentence of 7 ½ years in prison if convicted. The blogger has been in pre-trial detention since October when a court reversed his house arrest. Amnesty International has condemned Sokolovsky’s detention and describes the blogger as a prisoner of conscience. Sokolovsky published a video on YouTube on Aug. 11 last year in which he plays “Pokemon GO” in the church. ...

Let me make my position clear: I am ardently against a "ginned up" female diaconate that breaks from the tradition of deaconesses before they ceased to exist. Female empowerment via major orders would be a travesty; bringing in more problems than supporters think it would solve. ( RNS ) - Kyriaki Karidoyanes FitzGerald was an 18-year-old theology student when a priest at Hellenic College Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School in Brookline, Mass., thrust a book into her hands. To her surprise, it was on ancient female deacons. “The priest told me, ‘You’re going to translate these (books),’” FitzGerald recalled of the volumes by a prominent Orthodox theologian who studied the history of ordained women. FitzGerald, now a professor at Holy Cross, has carved a niche studying the role of women deacons in particular and has worked tirelessly for the right of women to be ordained. That prospect may now be a giant step closer to reality, since the Patriarch of Alexandria, who pr...

Moscow, March 9 ( Interfax ) - Seminarian of the Kiev Theological School, kettlebell sport champion Nikolay Tkachuk won a victory at the international Arnold Classic 2017 tournament in Columbus, Ohio, the USA. "I want to thank UOC primate His Beatitude Metropolitan Onufry for giving his blessing to participate in the competition and providing moral and financial support from the UOC primate's foundation," Tkachuk wrote at his page in a social net. Earlier, Arnold Schwarzenegger who holds the mentioned tournament, invited him to participate in it. Tkachuk has become a kettlebell sport champion more than once. He set a world record in kettlebell swing.

JOHNSTOWN, PA ( ACROD ) - The Diocesan Chancery is saddened to announce that Helen Spanovich, long-time former choir director of Christ the Saviour Cathedral and Instructor of Music at Christ The Saviour Seminary reposed in the Lord on Monday, March 6, 2017. Helen’s musical career began when as an eleven year old she was a member of the Spanovich family orchestra. After she studied under private tutors, her choir directing career began with an all-girls choir in the 1940’s. Over a span of 75 years, in addition to the Cathedral Choir and Seminary Chorus, she taught a-capella choirs in the Greater Johnstown area representing four jurisdictions: St. Mary’s Antiochian Orthodox Church Choir (Westmont); St. Michael Antiochian Orthodox Church Choir (Greensburg); St. George Serbian Orthodox Church Choir (Cambria City); St. Petka Serbian Orthodox Church Choir (Woodvale); St. John Orthodox Male Choir (Conemaugh). At one time she taught seven different choirs each week, sometimes direct...

( RT ) - The head of the Russian Orthodox Church has criticized the collection and obsession with “likes" on social media networks as a “real disease”, and warned that for some, it has become the only goal in life. “These days, on social networks, there is a real disease, when mostly young people are ready to do anything, even something dreadful, life-threatening only to get someone to say that this or that photo depicting something is liked,” Patriarch Kirill explained his concern. “Those people don’t see any other goal in life apart from collecting ‘likes’, and if they don’t get any, it is considered as a personal tragedy,” the Patriarch went on to say. The Patriarch said that such reaction represents manifestations of vanity, a sin, which “inspires in a person incredible sensitivity to the way others see them.” Thus, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church added, “the person’s only aim in life becomes getting appraisal from others.” Patriarch Kirill believes that co...

( Catholic Culture ) - At a meeting in Lebanon last week, the Synod of the Melkite Catholic Church reached an accord ending a heated dispute that had led Patriarch Gregory III Laham to say that some bishops were in “open rebellion.” Last June, a meeting of the Melkite Synod was postponed after a group of bishops boycotted the meeting, causing the absence of a quorum. The dissident prelates—led by Archbishop Cyrille Bustos of Beirut—had called for the resignation or removal of the Patriarch, saying that he had weakened the Church through mismanagement. Patriarch Gregory responded by saying that the boycott was “an act of open ecclesiastical rebellion against patriachal authority.” The Vatican’s Congregation for Eastern Churches intervened to mediate the dispute, and the apostolic nuncios in Syria and Lebanon both attended last week’s Synod meeting to encourage open dialogue. In a closing statement the Synod thanked the Holy See for its involvement. The Synod issued a candid ackno...

One of the most difficult things for most moms during lent is packing a lunch that our kids will actually eat. You know, nothing too soggy, too cold, too brown, too green, too…anything. Which amazes me because when we were kids we got peanut butter and jelly on almost every fasting day and you know what? We ate it! Crazy, right? In general, my kids are pretty good eaters but when it comes to fasting lunches, it can get a bit difficult to find things that everyone enjoys. The good news is they’re willing to try different things in order to find things they like. Mostly because they know if they don’t they’re going to end up eating the same boring stuff. The only time my kids complain about fasting is when there’s nothing they like available, which means I need to constantly be finding new stuff and making enough of the things I already know they like... Complete article here .

( spc.rs ) - As part of the preparations of the Diocese of New Gracanica and Midwestern America for the upcoming celebration of Saint Mardarije of Libertyville this July 14 – 16, 2017, the Diocese is pleased to announce that a new, official website ( www.stsavamonastery.org ) for Saint Sava Monastery in Libertyville has been launched today. The monastery which was founded and built by Saint Mardarije and houses his holy relics will be the main venue of the upcoming celebration. “We are very pleased that Saint Sava Monastery, as an endowment of Saint Mardarije to our faithful on this continent, as a place where Saint Nikolai of Zhica prayed and celebrated the Divine services, as a place of pilgrimage and prayer for many Orthodox Christians, and as a place which is in the hearts of many of our parishioners and youth, now has a permanent presence on the Internet where more people will be able to learn about its history, our rich Orthodox Tradition, and the upcoming celebration of Sa...

Since my posting about the upcoming Holodomor film went over so well, I thought I'd post the trailer for a movie written against the backdrop of the Armenian Genocide.

Take a look - it's pretty snazzy.

One of the things parents constantly ask is how to keep their children involved during lent. It’s a tricky business, this Orthodox child rearing. As parents we struggle with finding balance between regular every day activities (both theirs and ours) and making sure our children keep in mind the seriousness of what we’re preparing for. Involving them should be a process everyone enjoys, a special time to pass on spiritual lessons in a way a child will both learn from and have fun with. Blog post here .

A new blogged from a blogger I've been following for a while called Hellenophile . If this sort of thing interests you (as it does me), give it a viewing. What do I plan to do here? The blog's name, Hellenophile (lover of Greek), suggests most of the likely topics. I’ll write about topics both classical and early Christian, and focus primarily on texts written in Greek. At the moment, Gregory of Nazianzus, Origen of Alexandria, and a smattering of classical Greek poets are likely to furnish most of my pretexts for posts. What to look for? I plan to open with a series of posts on various noteworthy passages in the new homilies of Origen of Alexandria on the Psalms. The first one should drop on Sunday, March 5... Complete post here .