Byzantine, Texas

( mospat.ru ) - For the first time in the 930 years of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker’s relics being kept in Bari, they will leave for a time this Italian city to stay in the Russian Orthodox Church from May 21 to July 28, 2017. An agreement on this unprecedented action was reached during the historic meeting between Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia and Pope Francis of Rome on February 12, 2016. This was reported to journalists by Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, head of the Moscow Patriarchate department for external church relations (DECR), during a briefing held at the DECR grand hall on April 28, 2017. ‘One of the themes discussed at the meeting held on February 12, 2016, at the airport of Havana, concerned an opportunity for bringing the relics of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker to the Russian Orthodox Church for veneration’, Metropolitan Hilarion said, ‘And an agreement was reached on that occasion. During the last year, consultations have been held with the Archd...

( HTOS ) - On March 11, 2017 Assistant Professor of Canon Law and Russian Church History, Deacon Andrei Psarev concelebrate at the All-Night Vigil with Archpriest Nikolai Balashov, rector of the Church of the the Renewal of the Church of the Resurrection of Christ in Jerusalem (in the Briusov Pereulok) in Moscow, in the church’s main side chapel, and at the Divine Liturgy on the following day. This was followed by a talk in the parish house on Pivotal Points in History of the Russian Church Outside Russia accompanied by infographics. Fr. Nikolai, formerly secretary of the Commission on the Restoration of Unity in the Russian Church, added to the talk with living recollections of the process of restoring relations, of which he was a direct participant. This was already the third appearance by Deacon Andrei before the hospitable parish family of the Voskresenie Slovushchego Church na Uspenskom vrazhke over the past year. On March 14 Fr. Andrei took part in a meeting of the newly f...

In obedience to the work of the Holy Spirit, who sanctifies the Church, keeps her throughout the ages, and leads her to full unity – that unity for which Jesus Christ prayed: Today we, Pope Francis and Pope Tawadros II, in order to please the heart of the Lord Jesus, as well as that of our sons and daughters in the faith, mutually declare that we, with one mind and heart, will seek sincerely not to repeat the baptism that has been administered in either of our Churches for any person who wishes to join the other. This we confess in obedience to the Holy Scriptures and the faith of the three Ecumenical Councils assembled in Nicaea, Constantinople and Ephesus. We ask God our Father to guide us, in the times and by the means that the Holy Spirit will choose, to full unity in the mystical Body of Christ. - Common declaration of His Holiness Francis and His Holiness Tawadros II Cairo ( National Catholic Reporter ) - Pope Francis' trip to Egypt was marked Friday, April 28, by a ...

It's about now that chanceries all over the country are sending out letters to seminarians to tell them they're going to be ordained. Shortly thereafter there's a flurry of scheduling the event with family, vestments discussions, and all the rest, but most pressing is often the knowledge of the awesome responsibility entrusted to you. Normally, that comes in the form of wayward thoughts and dreams of flubbing something during the Liturgy by dropping some object or falling or being completely lost. It's a vortex of worry that can swallow you whole if you let it. Let me tell you something I overheard a priest telling a couple about to be married as he walked them through the service. "This is not performance. This is prayer. You don't need to be worried about messing up if you remember that this is prayer before God." These were words that resonated with me as a young priest more than I think they did for the couple who were more preoccupied with making it...

( UOC-USA ) - Later in the day, Metropolitan Antony shared with the Seminarians of the Church that this is already a seventeenth tree planted on the grounds of the Spiritual Metropolia Center of the UOC of the USA that is dedicated to the tragedy of Chornobyl. The first was planted on St. Thomas Sunday at the 15th anniversary of the tragedy in front of the Ukrainian Cultural Center by the students and teachers of St. Andrew Ukrainian Studies School, which holds its classes in the Cultural Center classroom wing. The second tree was planted on the circle before St. Andrew Memorial Church at the 20th anniversary of Chornobyl by the youth of our church from around the country. The third and fourth trees were donated by Metropolitan Antony (then Archbishop) on the 25th anniversary of the disaster on the Memorial Church grounds adjacent to the statue of Metropolitan Vasyl Lypkivskyj – two maple trees, one to commemorate the survivors and the other to commemorate the victims of the nu...

Glenside, PA ( Babylon Bee ) – According to sources, local Calvinist Patrick Umstead and his wife Emma have argued over his beard since he began growing it out roughly 2 years ago. “It’s gotten really big. It hides half his face,” Emma complained to reporters. “I understand the whole ’emulating Spurgeon’ thing, but I want him to shave it off for my sister’s wedding this summer, and he refuses.” Sources close to the couple confirm that Patrick’s response has not changed. “God sovereignly ordained this facial hair, honey,” he told his wife in between tokes of his pipe on the couple’s front porch. “How could it grow on my face had he not predestined it before the foundation of the world? I did not choose my beard; the beard chose me.”

( The Telegraph ) - Asparagus is so venerated in Worcester that it has been blessed in a special ceremony in the city's cathedral. But the thanksgiving service celebrating the local crop has been criticised by other Anglicans who have called it "absurd". The bizarre Sunday evensong service was defended by the cathedral's Precentor, who said the vegetable was "a sign of the abundant provision and generosity of God". Christian groups told the Daily Telegraph that the ceremony, which also involved a man in costume as an asparagus spear, was inappropriate. Andrea Minichiello Williams, chief executive of pressure group Christian Concern, said: "This is an absurd pantomime-type scene that makes a mockery of Christian worship." Influential Church of England blog Archbishop Cranmer, which is run by conservative theologian Adrian Hilton, said the service was "an infantile pantomime" and said it brought the Church of England into disr...

"There is absolutely no logic, once you have declared yourself to be marginalized... There is no logical way for you to exclude anyone else who regards themselves as marginalized." And that, as I have said many times here, is the problem with our legal framework which wants to declare an ever expanding list of "rights" with no way to hem in such thinking with reason. How else do we get two men together and force a country to call it a marriage? Or how do we have innumerable gender designations that even include non-human variants? This is the sort of mass dissipation that marks the failing points of empires.

( Antiochian.org ) - On Bright Thursday, April 20, 2017, the Antochian Archdiocese was joined by co-hosts—the Syriac Orthodox Archdiocese and the St. John of Damascus Fellowship of New Jersey—in sponsoring a timely prayer service at St. George Antochian Orthodox Church in Little Falls, for the abducted Archbishops of Aleppo, Metropolitan Paul and Mar Gregorios Yohanna Ibrahim. Metropolitan Paul and Metropolitan Yohanna vanished without a trace on April 22, 2013, after they drove together in hopes of negotiating the release of hostages in captivity. Metropolitan Yohanna’s deacon escaped, but his driver was killed. (Read the Paschal Message of His Beatitude John X, in which he issues a call for the liberation of Metropolitans Paul and Yohanna.) Metropolitan Joseph was joined by His Eminence Mor Dionysius John Kawak of the Syriac Archdiocese of the Eastern United States. In the service, Sayidna Joseph implored our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ, for the freedom of the two belove...

( EP ) - The Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew delivered a public address at the Ecumenical Centre in Geneva on 24 April 2017 as part of his official visit to Switzerland on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of his enthronement as Ecumenical Patriarch and the 50th anniversary of the Orthodox Centre of the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Chambésy. In his wide-ranging exhortation to the audience, the patriarch discussed the reasons for and accomplishments of the recent Holy and Great Council, convoked in Crete in June 2016, the role of science and technology in contemporary society, the theological imperative of tackling climate change, the plight and prospects of children today, the importance of countering human trafficking and modern slavery, and the need for all Christians to engage those issues in practical ways. Uniting all these issues, “We must all work together for the promotion of a culture of solidarity, respect for others, and dialogue. Together with the sensitization of c...

( Christian Post ) - The grand imam of the Egyptian Muslim institution al-Azhar is holding a World Conference on Peace in Cairo, in which Pope Francis, Orthodox Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew and Coptic Pope Tawadros II will also take part "to eliminate the causes of conflict, violence and hate." The objective of the conference, to be held Thursday and Friday, is to address "a message to the whole world" to "call for peace between religious leaders, between societies and between all the countries of the world," the office of grand imam of al-Azhar, Sheikh Ahmed Mohamed al-Tayeb, says, according to La Croix. Pope Francis is scheduled to give a speech Friday after the grand imam, immediately following his arrival in the Egyptian capital and a "courtesy visit" to President al-Sissi. Francis is also scheduled to meet Pope Tawadros after the conference. The Egyptian Islamic seminary has observed that "human society is currently experien...

( Pravoslavie.ru ) - An international coalition opposing the decisions of last June’s “Pan-Orthodox” Council on the island of Crete are planning to hold a “Pan-Orthodox” Council in Ukraine in June-July to anathematize ecumenism and those who support it, reports the site Religion in Ukraine . The decision for the Ukraine synaxis came as a result of the recent “Thessaloniki Inter-Orthodox Synaxis” held on April 4. Although the gathering was forbidden by the hierarchy of the Greek Church, it brought together about a thousand clerical, monastic, and lay opponents of ecumenism and globalism from the Greek, Romanian, and Russian Orthodox Churches. Greetings and blessings were read out to the gathering from Bishop Longin (Zhar), vicar bishop of the Chernivtsi Diocese of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church and founder of Holy Ascension Monastery in Bachensk, which cares for around 500 children, some of whom are disabled and afflicted with HIV. The synaxis called upon Greek clergy to cease com...

Cedar Grove, NJ ( SCOOCH ) – H.G. Bishop Karas – Patriarchal Exarch of the Coptic Orthodox Archdiocese of North America – hosted the biannual meeting of the Standing Conference of Oriental Orthodox Churches at his New Jersey headquarters this past Friday, gathering the representatives of the Coptic, Syriac, Malankara-Syriac, Armenian, and Eritrean Orthodox Churches. The assembled fathers discussed a number of important regional issues, including the resumption of their dialogue and annual joint prayer service with their counterparts in the Eastern Orthodox Church, the upcoming visits of H.H. Pope Tawadros II and H.H. Karekin II to North America, the expansion of joint Oriental Orthodox activities at the local parish level, the dire situation in the Middle East, and the ongoing persecution of the Eritrean Orthodox Church and its lawful Patriarch by that country’s government and its supporters and how this relates to the condition of the Eritrean Church in this country. In addition...

( Tribune Democrat ) - Serbia is among the European nations most afflicted by breast cancer. For years, Their Royal Highnesses Crown Prince Alexander and Crown Princess Katherine – from the Karadordevic family – have worked tirelessly to help improve treatment and raise awareness of the disease in their home country. So, when the couple visited Johnstown on Thursday, they not only met with St. Nicholas Serbian Orthodox Church parishioners and enjoyed a celebration at the Pasquerilla Conference Center, but they also raised funds for two groups – the princess’s Lifeline Humanitarian Organization (lifelinechicago.org) and the local Joyce Murtha Breast Care Center at the Chan Soon-Shiong Medical Center – that help in the fight against breast cancer. “It’s actually quite a major issue in our country because we have a high incidence of breast cancer, and my wife’s foundation has been working very hard,” Crown Prince Alexander said during an interview at St. Nicholas. “Of course, co...

If the Assembly of Bishops is good at one thing, it's making reports. I'm not sure we do much with them or if they in any way improve our lot as Orthodox in the New World, but never bet against the Assembly putting out regular PDFs of some sort or another. This study is worth reading if you are a priest (I almost said "a priest interested in the topic," but I take church growth as a given point of emphasis for all of us) or if you are someone who is interested in the state of evangelization right now. Having been a layperson in or attached to more than a few parishes, I think sentences like the below hit the nail on the head. The study found that few clergy in both ʺexemplaryʺ and ʺnormalʺ parishes place a strong emphasis on an active ʺsearch for and bringing inʺ new members. Instead, a majority of clergy define evangelism in the Orthodox Church as ʺpassiveʺ (i.e. ʺCome and seeʺ) evangelism. There's even a handy checklist of "Exemplary" vs "No...

Some months ago I posted another trailer for this film and I was able to see The Promise this evening. It was quite good. If you are interested in history or are a parent who wants to inform your children, this is a solid choice; my only caveat being a single romantic scene early in the film. You learn about what it was like to be of Armenian descent before the Turks turned to war, nationalism, and genocide in short order. The religious aspect of life as a non-Muslim in the last days of the Ottoman Empire are not painted with a heavy brushstroke, but you do see their respect for clergy, marriage ceremony, etc. throughout the movie. As with much of the Armenian way of things, they have many unique practices you might not be familiar with which add to the immersive nature of The Promise. It's suitable for church groups, homeschoolers of older children, and adults alike. Please do go see it and never forget the Armenian Genocide (or the Pontic Genocide for that matter) in which mi...

WASHINGTON ( CNS ) - Pope Francis has named Ukrainian-born Bishop Venedykt "Valery" Aleksiychuk as bishop of the Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of St. Nicholas in Chicago. Bishop Aleksiychuk, 49, has been auxiliary bishop of the Archeparchy of Lviv, Ukraine, since 2010. The appointment was announced April 20 in Washington by Archbishop Christophe Pierre, apostolic nuncio to the United States. He succeeds Bishop Richard S. Seminack, who died Aug. 16, 2016, after a long battle with a heart ailment. Bishop Aleksiychuk will be the fifth head of the eparchy. The Eparchy of St. Nicholas of Chicago has 46 parishes and missions in 16 states. About 70 priests and deacons serve the eparchy, which has a Catholic population of about 11,000. Valery Aleksiychuk was born Jan. 16, 1968, in Borshchivka, Ukraine. He pursued seminary studies and was ordained a priest March 29, 1992. He is a Ukrainian Studite monk. He was named auxiliary bishop of Lviv Aug. 3, 2010, and ordained a bish...

Longtime readers will know that I've been a devotee of the Energetic Procession blog for some time. It was a blow to see it go into hiatus some years ago, but today there is a timely resurrection in content. Please do head over there, bookmark or RSS/ATOM subscribe to it, and enjoy forthcoming posts.

What we have in the non-profit space right now is an unfair playing field. Two organizations can be feeding the homeless, or caring for children, or any other manner of charitable acts and the one that is secular can receive funding and the religious organization is forbidden from being helped. Certainly some groups will get around this by promising to not "be religious" when offering services, but that doesn't detract from their central argument: Government shouldn't get involved in religion even when religious people are doing things for the betterment of their communities. So it's interesting to see the Supreme Court take on what is effectively a silencing of religious organizations by siding with secular agencies when it's time to fund programs. ( Washington Post ) - Supreme Court justices on Wednesday seemed sympathetic to a Missouri church that claimed its exclusion from a state playground improvement program was a violation of constitutional rights. ...

( Pravmir ) - One of Christianity's holiest sites came under attack, during a fire exchange between Egyptian police and ISIS gunmen at Mount Sinai. The incident took place at the Greek Orthodox Monastery of St. Catherine, a site of pilgrimage for christianity ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack, which started when gunmen opened fire on an Egyptian police checkpoint near the monastery killing one policeman and wounding four others. According to the officials, the gunmen were shooting from an elevated hilltop overlooking the police checkpoint just outside the monastery, which is located in a remote desert and mountainous area in the southern part of the Sinai Peninsula, where, according to scripture, God spoke to the prophet Moses from a burning bush. Only monks and clergy were inside the monastery at the time, since the site, a UNESCO World Heritage Site which was once a popular destination for pilgrims, has been closed to the public since 2015, for security reasons. T...

( The Tablet ) - Patriarch of Constantinople and Pope Tawadros II, head of the Coptic Orthodox Church, set to meet Francis next week Orthodox Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople was scheduled to attend a peace conference in Cairo with Pope Francis and Sheik Ahmad el-Tayeb, grand imam of al-Azhar University. While Patriarch Bartholomew's office did not release a detailed schedule of events he would be attending during the pope's April 28-29 visit to Cairo, the Vatican confirmed reports April 19 that Patriarch Bartholomew was invited to take part in the conference and was planning to attend. Pope Francis also was scheduled to meet Pope Tawadros II, head of the Coptic Orthodox Church, soon after the conference April 28, making it a day the heirs of the Apostles Peter, Mark and Andrew all would be present in the ancient land of Egypt. While Pope Francis is the successor of St. Peter, the Orthodox ecumenical patriarchate traces its lineage to St. Andrew and t...

( OCA-DOW ) - In recognition of the dedication of the clergy and faithful of the Orthodox community of Santa Rosa, California and their attention to and care for the beauty of the Liturgy and church arts, effective this day, the temple of St. Seraphim of Sarov is elevated to the status of cathedral. +Benjamin Archbishop of San Francisco and the West

( NPR ) - Egypt-born Bishop Angaelos, head of the Coptic Orthodox Church in the U.K., talks to David Greene about Sunday's attacks on Coptic Christian services in Egypt, and the security of the Coptic minority. DAVID GREENE, HOST: And this is the holiest week on the Christian calendar. And yet, some Christians will not be celebrating. Egypt's Coptic Christians were the victims of horrific attacks this week. Suicide bombings at churches in two cities on Palm Sunday killed nearly 50 people and caused Egypt's president to declare a state of emergency. Those churches will not hold celebrations after tomorrow night's Easter services. Coptic Christians have been around since the dawn of Christianity. Almost all of them live in Egypt. They are a minority in a Muslim dominated country. They have often been persecuted. And now they seem to be a special target of Islamic State militants. The general bishop of the Coptic Orthodox Church in the United Kingdom, Bishop Angael...

Wenzhou, Zhejiang—April 10, 2017 ( China Aid ) - Authorities in China’s coastal Zhejiang province carried out violent attacks against churches refusing to install surveillance cameras in late March. Local government departments began carrying out a missive from the Zhejiang provincial government to install cameras within churches that would assist authorities in monitoring religious activities. This command triggered an outpouring of threats against individual churches, stating that if they refused to set up the surveillance system voluntarily, officials would do so forcibly. In response, several churches in Wenzhou, a city in Zhejiang, have confronted government personnel, and members of Chenming Church demanded to know the legal bases for these measures. ChinaAid does not know the reasoning they were given. On March 23, several churches sent a joint petition to the local government to protest the order. Despite church members’ insistence that these actions have no legal preced...

( BBC ) - Tesco has apologised for any offence from a beer advertisement that claimed "Good Friday just got better". The ad ran in some newspapers to promote "great offers on beer and cider" in the run-up to Easter. The supermarket said it would not run the ad again after it attracted criticism from some religious figures. Vicar and broadcaster, the Reverend Richard Coles, said the advert was "extraordinarily and unnecessarily ignorant". Good Friday is when Christians commemorate the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. Some choose to mark the day by fasting, which can include abstaining from eating meat or drinking alcohol. There is some dispute about why it is called "good", with some suggesting the day is "good" in that it is holy, and others that the phrase is a corruption of "God's Friday". Why is Good Friday called Good Friday? A Tesco spokesperson told the BBC: "We know that Easter is an important tim...

( NPR ) - Easter is associated with currant-studded hot-cross buns and chocolatey eggs – foods that symbolize rebirth and renewal. But what about Judas cake? Or Judas beer? Or Judas bread? Judas Iscariot, the archvillain of Christianity who betrayed Jesus with a kiss, has an intriguing range of food and drink named after him – some traditionally consumed in the days leading up to Easter. Some of Judas' namesake foodstuffs, like the Judas fig, were so christened thanks to dark medieval depictions, while others, like the fiery Judas ketchup and the ultrastrong Judas ale, have more playful contemporary roots. What binds them, though, is their association with blood and death and treachery. "Judas is mentioned 22 times across the four Gospels, but the only parts where he plays a key role are the Last Supper and at the Garden of Gethsemane, where he betrays Christ," says Peter Stanford, author of Judas: The Most Hated Name in History. "Judas' name has become ea...

Most of the talks given or articles written presuppose that a "rejuvenation" of the female diaconate should happen. I don't think that such a direction has enough backing to warrant it nor do I think there is discernible agreement to what such a thing would even look like. Additionally, many people see this as baby steps towards a female priesthood. Whether such worries are warranted I can't say, but conferences with names like “Renewing the Male and Female Diaconate in the Orthodox Church” seem less like dipping a toe into foreign waters and more like buying beachfront property site unseen. ( SVOTS ) - This Pan-Orthodox Conference—dedicated to examining diaconal ministry in the Orthodox Church—will include among its presenters one trustee, two professors, and two alumni from St Vladimir’s Seminary. In four sessions, participants will hear a variety of presentations on: (1) the present state of the diaconate; (2) ways men and women are engaged in diaconal ministry ...

His leaving the Orthodox Church followed by his proselytizing led to great unrest, rioting, and his eventual bloody murder by an axe that split his head. Far from being, as the article heading states, "St. Josaphat’s quest for unity between Catholic, Orthodox Churches continues," his efforts to push the Union of Brest to tear Orthodox from their Church and into union with Rome did great harm both in its leading to apostasy and Latinizations. Vancouver, BC ( Catholic Register ) – Four hundred years after he was killed with an axe while trying to unify the Catholic and Orthodox Churches, St. Josaphat’s goal of church unity remains as important as ever, say priests of the religious order that resulted from his reforms. Today St. Josaphat is known as a martyr for unity and his goal of reconciliation between the two churches is still badly needed, Fr. Joseph Pidskalny, OSBM, told a celebration last month at St. Mary’s Ukrainian Catholic Church. The event marked 400 years s...

The Church brings people home to Orthodoxy throughout the year. At times these people are "famous." There is a rather unwholesome spectacle often made of these moments that (if you'll forgive a personal opinion) needs to be tamped down a bit. For one, God delights in every soul brought to Him regardless of what they do for a living or what their Nielsen rating is. TV stars, radio personalities, movie actors, garbage truck drivers, Sleep Master mattress salesmen, et al. are all cause for celebration but they are also honestly just on the start of a long process of ascetic struggle. What they need is prayers, not plaudits. Honestly, as someone who has been an avid listener to Ancient Faith Radio podcasts, Orthodox Youtube series, and other such media I can attest to how we seem to give near adulation to our clergy only to see them flame out spectacularly in a way that is destructive to the people who have elevated these personalities to unrealistic heights. We aren...

( OCA ) - On Great and Holy Monday—April 10, 2017—His Beatitude, Metropolitan Tikhon presided at the opening Rite of Preparation of Holy Chrism at Saint Tikhon’s Monastery. His Eminence, Archbishop Michael of New York and New Jersey, also was in attendance, as was His Beatitude, retired Metropolitan Herman. Opening prayers and the blessing of the ingredients used in confecting the Chrism took place before the celebration of the Hours and the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts. The Chrism will be cooked and stirred continuously through the first three days of Holy Week, during which time the Holy Gospels will be read continuously by priests, except during the celebration of the divine services. The Chrism will be consecrated in conjunction with the celebration of the Vesperal Liturgy on the morning of Great and Holy Thursday. The Consecration of Chrism is a rite reserved for the Primates of autocephalous Orthodox Churches. The last time Holy Chrism was consecrated in the ...

( Armenian Church ) - This Sunday—Palm Sunday—marks the beginning of Holy Week, and to symbolically enter this most important season of the Christian year, the Armenian Church performs the “Turun-Patzek” service at the end of the liturgy: the “Opening of the Doors.” The great hymn of “Turun-Patzek” is “Zoghormootyan ko uztoorun.” Here are the beautiful, inspiring words of that hymn: “Open to us, O Lord, the door of your mercy, and make us worthy of your dwellings of light, together with your saints. Receive us also, O Savior, into your mansions prepared for your saints, and inscribe our names in the Book of Life. O great judge, when you sit in the judgment seat, spare your creatures through the prayers of the holy saints.” These are the words we sing as a church, before literally crossing the threshold into Holy Week. We stand at the doorway having experienced Great Lent, during which we have prepared ourselves—body, mind, and soul—to experience the events of this week alongside ...

Charges of "fundamentalism" in the Orthodox context for me have often ended up being simply reverent praxis. Labeling Elder Ephraim a "fanatic" is also hardly worthy prose especially when there is nothing in this article to back up those claims. Having been to Ephraimite monasteries in the past I have never been treated unkindly or asked to do anything fanatical. If a full liturgical schedule and wonderful food are marks of hidden nefarious underpinnings I find myself unwilling to abbreviate the horologion or hide the kitchen salt. ( OCL ) - The Orthodox Christian Organization (OCL) during a recent meeting adopted resolutions relating to monasteries that operate in many parts of the United States. The Christian Newswire reported on the issue as well. The National Herald has reported many times about the issue of the monasteries and more specifically about their ecclesiastic belonging, theological teachings, and financial issues. There are 18 total monasteries...

( OCMC ) - Palm Sunday was a new and very moving experience for me among the Mayan faithful. Of course, the church was packed as usual, but they raise the celebration to a new level with their love of processions and the enormous sizes of the palm crosses, which they wave joyously to the accompaniment of their music. Hundreds processed with us through the whole village singing the festal hymn as we followed the large icon of Christ's triumphal entry into Jerusalem. It was reminiscent of the joy of the first Palm Sunday, especially that expressed by the children of which there are so many in Aguacate. And even when the Liturgy and procession was over, everyone returned to the church to continue expressing their joy in song. Their sense of anticipation for the remainder of Holy Week was very palpable, even though the Orthodox rituals were unknown to them until recently. This is truly a fertile field for the church, and yet another indication that Orthodoxy can establish firm roots ...

( Acton Institute ) - This weekend marked Palm Sunday, the beginning of Holy Week, when Christians commemorate Christ’s entrance into Jerusalem en route to His voluntary death, burial, and resurrection. On that day, Christians of all backgrounds bless and wave palm branches in imitation of the crowds who cried “Hosanna” as He rode a donkey into the city. But not all Christians use palm branches. Palms cannot grow in the harsh climate of northern Slavic nations such as Russia, Ukraine, and Poland. Instead, Catholics and Orthodox Christians in those areas long ago substituted pussy willows. The churches saw deep symbolism in the willows, one of the first plants to blossom in the springtime. A rich, crimson – almost blood red – shell grows on the branches until a white bud bursts through it, symbolizing the triumph of life over death. In some nations, like Poland, Christians cover the branches with local wildflowers to make them more fragrant. The notion is not altogether unbiblic...

Tanta, Egypt ( Sydney Morning Herald ) - Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi says a three-month state of emergency will be imposed after two deadly bombings hit Coptic churches, killing at least 44 people. "A series of steps will be taken, most importantly, the announcement of a state of emergency for three months after legal and constitution steps are taken," Sisi said in a speech aired on state television on Sunday following the bombings, claimed by Islamic State. The army chief-turned-president hasn't detailed the legal measures needed to declare the state of emergency but according to the Egyptian constitution, the parliament majority must vote in favour of the state of emergency. At least 44 people were killed in bomb attacks on two Egyptian Coptic churches on Palm Sunday that included the seat of the Coptic Pope, the latest assault on a religious minority increasingly targeted by Islamist militants. Islamic State claimed responsibility for the two c...

( Pravoslavie.ru ) - The situation has intensified on Mt. Athos after more than fifty cells ceased commemoration during the Divine services of His All-Holiness Patriarch Bartholomew, the ruling bishop of the Holy Mountain, reports AgionOros. The more than one hundred monastics inhabiting these cells have taken this step in response to the documents of last year’s council on Crete, and the general path of the heresy of Ecumenism, which has concerned them for many years, thus “walling themselves off” but without committing the grave sin of schism, as has Esphigmenou Monastery. This distinction between walling off and schism is explained, in a text from the Orthodox Outlet for Dogmatic Enquiries, also available at Mystagogy from 2013, regarding Esphigmenou Monastery: Other predominant Monasteries have also interrupted the commemoration of the Patriarch at times and are cautious about the future, however, none of them has ever interrupted ecclesiastical communion nor has any ever ac...

( AINA ) - A newly ordinated priest has described returning with the Blessed Sacrament to his home village in northern Iraq after it was finally liberated from Daesh (ISIS) extremists. Father Martin Banni, who as a seminarian in August 2014 fled Karamlesh holding the Blessed Sacrament, reported to Aid to the Church in Need how he had just gone back to the village in the Nineveh Plains, carrying the Sacred Host. Father Banni, who is in his mid-20s, described his joy at the home-coming to the village's St Addai's Church. In a message to the Catholic charity's John Pontifex, who met the young man in October 2014 after he had been displaced to Kurdish northern Iraq, Father Banni stated: "When we last spoke, I told you about how I was the last to leave Karamlesh in the Nineveh Plains with the Blessed Sacrament in my hands. "Daesh were about to occupy our village -- we were forced to leave. "Now I wish to tell you about my return to Karamlesh -- I was th...