Byzantine, Texas

Moscow, May 31 ( Interfax ) - The Vatican strongly supports the unity of the Russian Orthodox Church, Pope Francis said during a meeting with a delegation of the Moscow Patriarchate led by Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk. "In your presence, and especially in front of you, my dear brother, I would like to emphasize again that the Catholic Church will never use an approach provoking divisions. We will never let that happen. I don't want that. There is only one Patriarchate in Russia, yours. And we will not have another," the pope was quoted as saying on Thursday by the Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate. The pope also said he sees the Unia as an unacceptable method of achieving church unity in relations between Orthodox and Catholic Christians and believes that brotherly dialogue is the only possible way to achieve greater unity, the Patriarchate said. "Catholic Churches should not interfere in the internal affairs of the Ru...

Moscow, May 30 ( Interfax ) - The Synod of the Estonian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate held an extraordinary session at the Cathedral of St. Alexander Nevsky in Tallin with the view of electing the Primate of the Estonian Church. As the result of the secret vote, Archbishop Yevgeny of Vereya, vicar of Patriarch Kirill, chairman of the Education Committee of the Russian Orthodox Church, rector of the Moscow theological schools, was elected Primate of the Estonian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate, website of the EOC MP reports. Archbishop Yevgeny (Valery Germanovich Reshetnikov) was born in Kazakhstan in 1957 and spent some of his childhood and youth years in the city of Kirov. He did his military service in 1977-1979. Upon demobilization he worked at the diocesan administration of Vyatka, at the same time serving as subdeacon of Bishop Khrisanf (Chepil) of Vyatka and Slobodskoy. He graduated from the Moscow Theological Seminary in 1983 and from the Moscow ...

( OCA ) - Since 2010, Orthodox and Evangelical scholars and leaders from around the world have been meeting annually to promote better understanding. Known as the Lausanne-Orthodox Initiative [LOI], the group’s conference this year will be hosted by ​Hellenic College-Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology and its Missions Institute of Orthodox Christianity on the school’s campus in Brookline, MA June 5-7, 2018. Representing the Orthodox Church in America at the gathering will be Archpriest John Jillions, OCA Chancellor; Archpriest Eric G. Tosi, OCA Secretary; Archpriest David and Matushka Rozanne Rucker, Orthodox Christian Mission Center Alaskan missionaries; Archpriest Edward Rommen, Adjunct Professor at Duke University Divinity School; and Priest Christopher Moore, former OCMC missionary in Mongolia who will be serving as a missionary in South Korea. Also attending will be Dr. Grant White, Sessional Assistant Professor of Liturgical Theology at Saint Vladimir’s Seminary...

( orthognosia ) - You have heard that the Holy Spirit descended upon the disciples in tongues of fire. But why did the Holy Spirit, co-eternal with the Father and the Son, appear as fire? Why as tongues of fire? Why does He sometimes appear as a dove and at other times as a flame? Why did He descend as a dove upon the Only-begotten Son, but as a flame upon the disciples? The Holy Spirit appears as fire because, in the words of the holy Apostle Paul, God is an ethereal, indescribable, and invisible fire: “For our God is a consuming fire” (Heb. 12:29). God is also called fire because He destroys the rust of sins. But the Lord sends fire down to earth when with the breath of the Holy Spirit He enflames the hearts of mortal men. And the earth lights up when a heart of flesh, that is cold in its iniquitous pleasures, abandons the desires of the modern world and becomes enflamed with love for God. Thus the Spirit very properly appeared as fire, because from every heart in which He chooses...

New York ( SCOOCH ) – Late last month, H.E. Archbishop Khajag Barsamian announced that he would be retiring as Primate of the Eastern Diocese of the Armenian Church in the United States, and by implication, as President of the Standing Conference of Oriental Orthodox Churches. On Friday, May 4, 2018, it was announced that SCOOCH secretary Fr. Daniel Findikyan was voted in as Primate Elect by the 116th Diocesan Assembly, and pending the anticipated blessing and confirmation of H.H. Karekin II, Catholicos of All Armenians, would assume the role of Primate of the Diocese. Fr. Daniel’s election was confirmed by H.H. Karekin II, Catholicos of All Armenians, via letter of blessing. Both H.E. Archbishop Khajag and Fr. Daniel have played important roles on the Standing Conference over the years, with the former serving as President of the body and the latter as longtime secretary. The Standing Conference of Oriental Orthodox Churches offers its prayers and best wishes for a peaceful retirem...

( Romanian Church ) - The Holy Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church held Thursday, 24 May 2018, its working session at the Synodal Hall of the Patriarchal Residence, under the chairmanship of His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel. Given the insistent request of the clergy and lay believers of the Metropolis of Bessarabia, the Holy Synod elected by secret vote His Grace Antonie of Orhei, Assistant Bishop to the Archdiocese of Chișinău, as Bishop of Bălți. The Holy Synod proceeded to the election by secret vote of the V. Rev. Archimandrite Veniamin Goreanu, patriarchal adviser, as Bishop of Southern Bessarabia. During the session, the Holy Synod elected the V. Rev. Archimandrite Timotei Bel as Assistant Bishop to the Diocese of Maramureș and Sătmar. The new assistant bishop will bear the title of His Grace Bishop Timotei of Sătmar. The Holy Synod approved the proposal of the Metropolitan Synod of Moldavia and Bukovina to add to the liturgical calendar of the Romanian Orthodox Church...

I loved OISM as a seminarian. Even with the very variable attendance and spotty participation by host seminaries (I once went to OISM at St. Vlad's and only two of their people attended any of the events. At other gatherings we were busting at the seams, went on field trips, and had stimulating speakers (Bp. Irenei of Sacramento comes to mind immediately). I'm heartened to see that OISM continues since the time when Bp. Michael of New York resurrected it during his tenure at St. Tikhon's. ( STOTS ) - On the weekend of May 11-13, 2018, Saint Tikhon’s Orthodox Theological Seminary hosted this year’s Orthodox Inter-Seminary Movement [OISM] gathering on the school’s campus. OISM is a Pan-Orthodox organization focused on building bridges between the different seminaries. The theme of this year’s gathering was Orthodox Christian missions. Presentations were offered by three STOTS faculty members—Archpriest Steven Voytovich, Dean and Chair of the Department of Pastoral ...

( ROC ) - The Synod of the Patriarchate of Constantinople has stated its intention to discuss with all the Local Orthodox Churches the appeal made to it by Ukrainian President Petr Poroshenko to create an autocephalous Church in Ukraine. Is there today a commonly accepted procedure for granting church independence – autocephaly and what does canon law say about this mechanism? – a detailed explanation given to RIA Novosti by the vice-chairman of the Moscow Patriarchate department for external church relations, Archpriest Nikolay Balashov. – Father Nikolay, why does the question of granting independence to a particular Church have no clear answer given once and for all, why there are no appropriate fundamental prescriptions? – Indeed, the conditions and procedure for granting autocephaly are not explicitly prescribed in the acts of Ecumenical Councils (their decisions are fundamental and paramount for all the Churches – ed.). For this reason, when preparations began for a pan...

( ROC ) - On 15 May 2018, Patriarch and Catholicos Abune Mathias I of Ethiopia arrived in Russia with an official visit at the invitation of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia. It is the first visit of His Holiness Abune Mathias to the Russian Orthodox Church after his election to the Patriarchal throne in March 2013. Earlier, in July 1996, Patriarch Abune Paulos also visited Russia. The delegation accompanying Patriarch Abune Mathias includes Abune Enthons, Archbishop of West Harerge Diocese; Abune Philipos, Bishop of South Omo Diocese; Abune Aregawi, Bishop of South Gonder Diocese; Melake Genet Abba Kidane Mariam, personal assistant to His Holiness Abune Mathias I; Melake Selam Abba Kiross Weldeab, head of the Media Service; and Musie Hailu, head of the Service of the Patriarchal Protocol. At the Vnukovo Airport His Holiness Patriarch and Catholicos Abune Mathias was met by Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, chairman of the Moscow Patriarchate’s Department...

Update 07/20/2018: SUSPENDED HARRILCHAK, V. Rev Paul is suspended from all priestly functions, effective May 31, 2018 to June 7, 2018. (Archdiocese of Washington) For context, Evstratiy (Zorya) pictured with Filaret (head of "Kyivan Patriarchate") In a surprising series of photos (posted on the parish website no less), Archbishop Evstratiy (Zorya) of the schismatic UOC-KP group visited an OCA parish in Virginia and communed in a Liturgy there. Considering the ties of the OCA to the Church of Russia and of the problems the UOC-MP is experiencing with others in Ukraine (UOC-KP, UAOC, UGCC), this is a decidedly odd - if not inflammatory - event. If anyone has any context for what happened at Holy Trinity Orthodox Church , please do put something in the comment box.

( spc.rs ) - The regular meeting of the Assembly of Bishops of the Serbian Orthodox Church began on April 29, 2018 at the Patriarchate of Pec monastery with the joint serving of the holy hierarchical Divine Liturgy and the invocation of the Holy Spirit and continued at the Serbian Patriarchate in Belgrade, under the presidency of His Holiness Serbian Patriarch Irinej. Participating in the Assembly were all diocesan hierarchs of the Serbian Orthodox Church. At the beginning of the meeting the Patriarch addressed all the hierarchs in attendance with introductory remarks in which he pointed to the essential issue in the life and mission of the Serbian Orthodox Church in the contemporary world, filled with both great spiritual challenges and temptations but also great possibilities for work on the spiritual renewal of the people. The most crucial decision was the decision of establishing new feast days in the calendar of the Serbian Orthodox Church, which in turn, means in the calenda...

( ROC ) - On May 12, 2018, in keeping with a decision of the commission on theology and theological education of the Russian Orthodox Church’s Inter-Council Presence, a theological conference was held on Theological Understanding of the Phenomenon of Extremism and Terrorism, at the St. Petersburg Theological Academy. The aim of the conference was to involve ecclesial and secular experts in defining the notions of extremism, radicalism and terrorism from theological perspective and to consider possible ways of overcoming social deformations arising from the spread of world terrorism and growth of extremist moods. The gathering in the academy assembly hall included members of the Inter-Council Presence commission on theology and theological education, experts, members of the St. Petersburg public chamber, municipal officials and students of the academy post-graduate courses. The conference was opened by the rector of St. Petersburg Theological Academy and members of the Inter-Coun...

A few years back I posted this and again here . I think it's time for a reposting with a little augmentation. This is a blog. It is not a news outfit. No one pays me to post anything nor is there a foundation that sends me money by the word. If we look at this with a chronological and historical eye, it was my wife who thought with all my combing of Orthodox resources on the Internet that I should put what I find in one place online. It followed me from Texas, to seminary, to the priesthood and parish life. Seven thousand, two hundred and fifty posts later we are here. If I enjoy a photo of a monk throwing a snowball, it will probably get posted. If I think someone made an interesting point, it might get posted. If there is a spat between two parties and you are expecting that I'm going to strive for the news media's Israel-Palestinian parity policy you're going to be let down. There is bias, but there is also often an attempt to post from the other side as well. A...

When the official letter makes it to the metropolitan website, I'll make the necessary updates below. GREEK ORTHODOX METROPOLIS OF DENVER May 1, 2018 Teleturgical Encyclical 29 The Pious Priests The Faithful Parish Members Holy Metropolis of Denver Beloved in the Lord, It has come to my attention that there are an increasing number of parishioners in some of our parishes who come forth to receive Holy Communion, but insist that the priest not give to them of the Body of Christ but only of His Blood. Those parishioners explain to their priests that their doctors -- obviously not Orthodox Christians — tell them not to eat any kind of bread because it will harm them. If there are Orthodox Christians in our parishes who believe that, after the Holy Spirit consecrates the Bread and the Wine during the Divine Liturgy, the gifts are still bread and wine, they should never again receive the divine Body and Blood again, until they believe that the holy sacrament of our Lord ...

After I posted here recently on the opening of the GreatMartyr Euphemia Orthodox Theological Academy , several people had questions about this new Orthodox resource. I, too, had questions and so was delighted that Fr. John Peck (dean of the Academy and rector at All Saints of North America Orthodox Church, Sun City, AZ) was gracious enough to answer a few of them. GreatMartyr Euphemia Orthodox Theological Academy is an institution of higher learning under the jurisdiction of the Vicariate for Palestinian/ Jordanian Orthodox Christian Communities in the US. The Academy offers a two-year program of study (offered in English and Arabic) leading to the Diploma of Orthodox Theological Studies (Dipl. O.T.S.), and a one-year program leading to a Certificate in Preaching, and advanced courses for clergy and laity which qualify as Continuing Education Courses, both offered in English. The mission of GreatMartyr Euphemia Orthodox Theological Academy is to serve the Orthodox Church by prepari...

People will come to me and want a baptism, then when I mention putting it in the bulletin and inviting the parish, it's not uncommon for people to look at me askance. To them baptism is a "family" event where they meet outside the normal worship time, have the service, and then go out to eat. I don't do boutique baptisms. The family the baptized is joining is the Church - hundreds of millions of people alive and millions more reposed in the Lord. They are going to pray for you every day and the opportunity to celebrate the new addition to the family should not be confounded. ( Eric Hyde's Blog via Pravmir ) - Many people today are made to pass by a dry-erase board at work, hanging prominently where everyone is bound to see it many times a day, tracking their job performance month-to-month and keeping all employees in a constant game of mutual comparison. Unfortunately, this method of employee motivation works, works very well. And it cost the business nothin...

I had no idea they did first holy communion. ( Syriac Orthodox Church ) - On Sunday, May 6, 2018, St. Matthew’s Church in Boston held its Ceremonial Holy Communion. His Eminence Mor Dionysius John Kawak, in the presence of the Church Pastor, Rev. Fr. Anton Sabha, celebrated the Holy Divine Liturgy. During this blessed ceremony, eleven children were prepared to receive the Holy Communion; during which they recited several prayers in English, and a group of our Sunday School deacons served the Holy Liturgy. Congratulations to all of the children and the Archdiocese extends their gratitude to the teachers for their excellent job. May God bless them all.

Take this with a grain of salt. The imminent reopening has been heralded for years with little actual change. ( Greek Reporter ) - The Halki Theological School will open again soon, according to the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew. Bartholomew commented on the school re-opening at a meeting with the delegation of the American Hellenic Educational Progressive Association in Istanbul, Turkey. Bartholomew said that during his meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, he was reassured that the Halki Thological School will reopen soon. The Ecumenical Patriarch met with the Turkish president on April 25 at the Presidential Palace in Ankara, along with the foreign minister and discussed the issue. The three men also discussed issues of the Patriarchate and the Greek community.

Rome ( Crux ) - Pope Francis and the primate of the Orthodox Church of the Czech Lands and Slovakia, His Beatitude Metropolitan Rastislav, will meet for the first time later this week, the Vatican announced Wednesday. The meeting will take place May 11, the first visit between the pope and the Orthodox archbishop, who was elected primate, or the head, of the Czech and Slovak Orthodox Church in January 2014. Details of the visit have not been made available. During his May 9-12 trip to Rome, Rastislav will meet with the president of the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of Christian Unity, Cardinal Kurt Koch, and will celebrate Divine Liturgy at the tomb of St. Cyril in the minor Basilica of St. Clement in Rome. The Orthodox Church of the Czech Lands and Slovakia is an Eastern Orthodox Church whose territory covers the countries of Slovakia and the Czech Republic. It is one of 14 self-governing Orthodox Churches originating in the Byzantine tradition, which was brought to the ...

( Washington Post ) - The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints said Tuesday it will sever all ties with the Boy Scouts of America, ending a century-old tradition deeply ingrained in the religious life of Mormon boys. The Mormon Church, as it is more commonly known, said in its announcement that it has “increasingly felt the need to create and implement a uniform youth leadership and development program that serves its members globally.” The two organizations “jointly determined” that as of Dec. 31, 2019, the church will no longer be a chartered partner of the Scouts, it said in a joint statement with the Boy Scouts. The change will affect hundreds of thousands of Mormon boys in 30,500 congregations worldwide. For 105 years, the relationship between the Boy Scouts and the Mormon Church has been important to both groups. Any boy who is part of a Mormon congregation automatically becomes part of the Boy Scouts. The Mormon Church has been the largest participant of the Boy Sc...

( OCA ) - Online registration for the Fifth Annual Small Parish Forum, slated to be held at Saint George Cathedral in the Toledo suburb of Rossford, OH July 12-14, 2018, is now open. Co-sponsored by the Orthodox Church in America’s Archdiocese of Western Pennsylvania, the Diocese of the Midwest and the Bulgarian Diocese, this year’s theme will be “Equipping Small Parish Leaders for Discipleship and Change.” The program will focus on specific situations common to “small” parishes throughout the OCA and other Orthodox jurisdictions. Workshops and presentations will explore ways to assist parishes with memberships of 75 or fewer souls to achieve stability, build a positive self-image, and accept their calling to live a life in Christ without necessarily becoming “big.” Keynote speaker at this year’s Forum will be Archpriest Thomas Soroka, Rector of Saint Nicholas Church, McKees Rocks, PA. His topic—“Discipleship: An Orthodox Christian Perspective for Leaders”—will set the tone fo...

Metropolitan Cornelius ( ERR ) - The Synod of the Estonian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate on Saturday chose Head Bishop Eugen and Bishop Lazar, rector of the Moscow Theological Academy and bishop of Narva and the Lake Peipsi shoreland, as candidates for the new head of the church following the demise of Metropolitan Cornelius in April. The new church leader will be elected by the council of the church in Tallinn on May 29, the secretary of the Synod told ERR. The candidates must also be reviewed and endorsed by the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill. The council is made up of all members of the clergy plus one lay representative from every congregation. No additional candidates can be nominated at the council. The Synod of the Estonian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate, which held its meeting at Kuremae Convent on Saturday, is made up of two bishops, six priests and two lay members. According to the statutes of the church, the affa...

Moscow, May 4 ( Interfax ) - Head of the Synodal Department for External Church Relations Metropolitan Hilarion believes that if Ukrainian schismatics obtain desired autocephaly schism in global Orthodoxy will be compared to the Great Schism of 1054. "It is terrific even to imagine what can happen if scenario of granting autocephaly to Ukrainian schismatics will be realized in practice. (...) Schism in global Orthodoxy that will be inevitable consequence of this wrong step, can be compared only to the split between East and West in 1054. If it happens, Orthodox unity will be buried," the metropolitan said answering the questions of Greek Romfea church news agency. The hierarch prays and hopes that "unilateral position of Local Orthodox Churches that was more than once expressed in the past will save Ecumenical Orthodoxy from the schism", and "this unilateral position will sooner or later bring schismatics back to the Church." The metropolitan noted ...

PITTSBURGH ( GOARCH ) – On May 4, 2018, Elaine Allen, Chairman of the Standing Audit Committee of the Archdiocesan Council, of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, announced the substantial completion of Phase 1 of the St. Nicholas Special Investigative Committee’ s (SIC) investigation into the management and finances of the St. Nicholas Church and National Shrine project. The SIC has received PricewaterhouseCoopers’ (PwC) Phase 1 draft report and is expected to announce its findings to the Executive Committee of the Archdiocesan Council imminently. Among key findings from Phase 1, the amount owed by the Archdiocese to St. Nicholas has been confirmed to be less than $3.7 million , with the exact dollar figure to be finalized in the coming weeks. Moreover, the review found that all other monies raised to fund the St. Nicholas project are accounted for, and that the expenditure of these funds was consistent with donor restrictions. As a result of the aggressive financial restr...

( Jerusalem Patriarchate ) - On Mid-Pentecost Wednesday, April 19/May 2, 2018, radical fanatics from the Yesiva Synagogue by David’s Tomb violated the railing and wire mesh of the chapel-catacomb at the outdoor area of the Holy Monastery of the Holy Trinity and the Priest School of Zion of the Patriarchate , and entered illegally, refusing to leave. The transgressors were removed from the premises by the Israeli Police of Jerusalem with great difficulty, due to their strong resistance. The Patriarchate protests strongly against this new violation of this sacred place and is determined to exercise all rightful legal action against the transgressors.

( Coptic-LA ) - We, the bishops of the Coptic Orthodox Church of North America, in our semi-annual meeting in Mississauga, April 23-26, 2018, with His Grace Bishop Suriel of Melbourne and His Grace Bishop Angaelos of London, have observed and studied the phenomenon of the spread of many incorrect doctrines regarding the understanding of the Holy Bible and its interpretation, the concepts of salvation and redemption, the Holy Trinity, the importance of adhering to the doctrines of the Church, and Christian unity and love. We affirm our commitment, as we did on the day of our ordinations, “to remain steadfast to the Orthodox Faith until the last breath and to keep the canons of the Holy Church established by our fathers the Apostles, by the three Ecumenical Councils held in Nicæa, Constantinople, and Ephesus, and the canons adopted by the Church in the local synods. We also pledge to spread the preaching of the Gospel as much as we can. We also pledge to preserve the traditions, ritual...

Moscow, May 3 ( Interfax ) - Head of the Moscow Patriarchate's Department for External Church Relations Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk does not agree with those who believe that Orthodox and Catholic Churches will eventually overcome their division. "Despite the fact that our faith bases on the similar foundations and almost the same Creed, the Catholics have different teaching about the Holy Spirit. Secondly, for almost a thousand-year history of separate existence we have accumulated many contradictions and disagreements," he said on air The Church and the World TV program on Rossiya-24 TV, commenting recent statement of Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople about inevitable unification of two Christian branches. He also said that the Russian Orthodox Church considers heretics and persecutors of Orthodoxy some people recognized as saints by the Catholic Church. "Catholics speak about possible canonization of Cardinal Stepinac. He was a Croatian cardi...

A page of John Bois’s annotations. ( The Guardian ) - A scholar has discovered that the King James Bible includes work by a previously unsuspected French translator, whose contribution to the quintessentially English work has lain undetected for 400 years. The landmark work, first published in 1611, was drafted by more than 40 translators. But according to Nicholas Hardy from Birmingham University, few documents survive from the drafting and revision stages of the translation and little is known about how the translators worked together. Hardy was consulting a printed copy of the ancient Greek version of the Old Testament, which is held in Oxford’s Bodleian Library, when he noticed that the thousands of handwritten annotations in its margins were in the hand of John Bois, one of the King James Bible’s translators. The annotations’ author had previously been unknown. He then followed a “paper trail” to the British Library in London, where he found correspondence between Bois ...

( RISU ) - Fragment linked to pope martyred almost 2,000 years ago found after rubbish collection run in central London, the Guardian informs. A small leather case containing a fragment of bone claimed to be a relic of St Clement, a pope who was martyred almost 2,000 years ago, has been found in rubbish collected from central London. The waste disposal firm is now appealing for suggestions from the public for a more suitable final resting place for a saint than a bin. The box, originally sealed with red wax and tied with crimson cords, contained a scrap of bone under a glass dome, with a faded strip of paper labelling it “Oss. S Clementis” – bone of St Clement. St Clement is a somewhat obscure figure, and details of his life are hazy and contradictory. However, he is said to have been martyred around the year 100 – just short of his own centenary – by the Roman emperor Trajan, by being tied to an anchor and thrown into the sea off the Crimea: his fate made him a patron sain...

( Pemptousia ) - The whole of the thought of the Athonite Elder (Aimilianos Simonopetritis) can be summed up in the teaching that ‘we reach God via our neighbour’. This is the central theme of his work. But what is it that gives our communication with other people authenticity and validity? We should say at the outset that, among other things which we already know, our relationship with our neighbour should be imbued with a spirit of ‘delicacy’, extreme sensitivity, so that we won’t wound them in the slightest. This ‘delicacy’ isn’t merely another moral imperative, like so many others. If we’re to learn how to behave with tact, we must first separate ourselves from the earthly, the things of the flesh, which should certainly not be identified with the ‘essentials’. ‘Worldly’ is everything mean-spirited, small-minded and unworthy. Referring to life in the monastery (though all of what he says has its analogy in the lives of secular, lay people), the Elder says: ‘If someone asks the t...

( ROCOR ) - We, the members of the Synod of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia, who carry out our ministry in North America, Europe and Australia, behold with pained soul that in the sacred territory of Kievan Rus’, our beloved land of Ukraine, treacherous political aspirations arise once again — as has happened before in history — under the guise of religious activities but with the evident purpose of inciting enmity and discord amongst the Orthodox people, with the intention of inciting a schism in the Church. Attempts are now being made to create, in this long-suffering land, a separate "autocephalous church" in place of the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church, recognized by all and headed by His Beatitude Metropolitan Onouphry of Kiev and All Ukraine. This Church has possessed autonomy since 1990 — that is to say, self-governance and independence in its administration. Before us at present is nothing other than a crafty effort to seize upon religiou...