Byzantine, Texas

( UOC-USA ) - Earlier this morning Archbishop Daniel received the following note from His Eminence Metropolitan Antony: Hello Vladyko... As I await the time for surgery on my broken ankle, I wanted to send a note of gratitude to you and to all our staff for a job not only well done, but beyond superbly done for the glory of God throughout our Centennial Celebration. From the hundreds of messages, voicemails and emails I have received I know that everyone present absolutely enjoyed their experience. I also want to express my deep gratitude to all who have sent me get well messages and are still praying for my recovery. I can feel the three broken ribs healing and will be off my left foot until the ankle heals after surgery - they say for two months. I beg of all who may read this: DO NOT DRIVE WHEN YOU ARE TIRED - NO MATTER HOW MANY TIMES YOU MAY HAVE DONE IT BEFORE AND BEEN OK. That was my situation. Now, however, I suffer for not making the right decision with my own injuries...

( ROC ) - His Beatitude Theodoros, Patriarch of Alexandria and All Africa, came to Moscow for the 1030th anniversary of the Baptism of Rus’ and spent in Russia more than one day. He spoke about his visit, the view held by one of the oldest and largest Local Orthodox Churches in the world on the situation of the faithful in Ukraine, the political pressure exerted over the problem of autocephaly, the persecution against Christians in Africa and the problem of refugees, in an exclusive interview with the RIA Novosti news agency. – Your Beatitude, what is the primary purpose of your visit, why did you decide to take part in the celebrations devoted to the 1030th anniversary of the Baptism of Rus’? – I have come because I love Russia very much and from my youth wanted to feel what the Russian life is like, which means to belong to the Russian Church. Over thirty years ago I came to serve in Odessa as the Patriarch of Alexandria’s Exarch for Russia, and since that time my love become...

( ACTS ) - With the Grace of God and His mighty hand, the Coptic Orthodox Bishops of North America met from April 23-26 2018 in the Diocese of Mississauga, Vancouver and Western Canada, hosted by His Grace Bishop Mina in their biannual meeting. This meeting held a significant emphasis on the importance of Coptic Orthodox Education. Among the many topics discussed by the blessed bishops, the collective desires to establish one strong theological school for North America was clear. It is their hope and expectation that such a strong school, nationally accredited, could have various locations and satellites throughout North America. The bishops are now looking to ACTS to help in making this dream a reality. This collaboration would allow for the pooling of various resources, and establishment of extensive faculty throughout North America and a common curriculum with various course offerings, with the potential of having several programs in the future. We hope and pray that this common...

Members of the Mekane Hiwot Abune Gebre Menfes Kidus and St. Arsema Ethiopian Orthodox Church celebrate Meskel, the finding of the true cross of the Crucifixion. This was the first time a Meskel celebration has been held in Hampton Roads. ( News24 ) - Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has overseen the reunification of two feuding wings of one of the world's oldest Christian churches, his top aide said on Friday. The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church split in 1991 over the naming of a new patriarch after the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) removed the Derg military junta from power. See here for more on that. Dissidents founded a breakaway church based in the United States under the exiled former patriarch, after leading church officials claimed that ousting him violated rules that say the role is held for life. Talks between the two synods have been going on for years. Abiy, a reformist new premier, is credited with speeding up the peace...

Moscow, July 25 ( Interfax ) - Ukrainian authorities with the help of celebrations dedicated to the Day of Russia's Baptism try to convince Patriarch Bartholomew that millions of believers allegedly stand for autocephaly, deputy head of the UOC Department for External Church Relations Archpriest Nikolay Danilevich believes. On Wednesday at a press-conference in Kiev he criticized state officials for impeding UOC parishioner in their coming to the procession with cross and try to organize the same events of the "Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Constantinople Patriarchate." "Free buses are provided, the entire railway carriages are booked. Many people who have nothing to do with the Church will come. They should not bring mutes to Kiev and set up "Potemkin villages" in order to show Constantinople that allegedly there are millions of believers who support the so-called autocephaly. I know that Patriarch Bartholomew got acquainted with this information,...

( ICN ) - Doves in Crimson Fields: Iraqi Christian Martyrs by Robert Ewan, published by Leominster: Gracewing, 2017 213 pp £11.99 ISBN 9780852449127 In recent years writers like William Dalrymple (From the Holy Mountain) and Diarmid MacCulloch (A History of Christianity) have made us aware of the vibrancy through the ages of Middle Eastern Christianity. Now Robert Ewan adds to our knowledge by showing us the courage and steadfastness of Iraqi Christians through the centuries in the face of terrible persecution. One factor that emerges repeatedly is that Christians are made to suffer because of their association with foreign powers, despite the fact that Christianity in Iraq traces its origins to the first Christian century. This paranoia about Christians began as early as 315, when Emperor Constantine in an ill-judged letter asked the Sassanian Emperor Shapour II to respect Christians. Instead, Shapour launched a decades-long massacre. It was a pattern that was to repeat itself. ...

( ROC ) - On 18 July 2018, the centenary of the martyrdom in Alapayevsk of the Venerable Martyr Grand Duchess Elizabeth, the head of the Anglican Communion, Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, sent a letter to His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia. The message reads, in particular: “A grand-daughter of Queen Victoria and kinswoman of the blessed martyrs Nicholas, Alexandra and their family, St Elizabeth was a model of Christian charity, service and fortitude.” As the Archbishop of Canterbury noted in his letter, there is a statue of the Venerable Martyr Grand Duchess Elizabeth on the west front of Westminster Abbey, among other martyrs of the twentieth century. The head of the Anglican Communion mentioned that during his visit to Moscow in 2017 he had visited Ss Martha and Mary Convent founded by Grand Duchess Elizabeth. “My party was greeted with true hospitality and I was moved by the devotion of the sisters in their ministry with orphans and disabled childre...

I've been a member of four of these listed groups and must admit there is wide diversity in how each is assembled. Some are quite professional with regular meetings, annual pan-Orthodox events, and even bank accounts to fund things like seminarian assistance or missionary efforts. Others are loose confederations that might be better described as ad hoc coffee klatches (kaffeeklatsch). In either case, they serve many important purposes. Or, as my bishop says, "Priests that don't associate with brother clergy just get weird ." I don't know how much my membership in the local clergy brotherhood keeps my weirdness at bay, but I know I value the time I spend with priests in the area immensely. ( AOB ) - The first-ever national state-by-state directory of the active local and regional Orthodox Clergy Brotherhoods and associated Pan-Orthodox laity organizations has been published by the Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of the USA. Thirty-six local or regional Or...

( SVOTS ) - St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary (SVOTS) has appointed Dr. Ionuţ-Alexandru Tudorie to the position of academic dean ( Dr. Ionuţ-Alexandru Tudorie’s CV ). The Seminary’s Board of Trustees selected Tudorie, a native of Romania, on July 18 after the Academic Dean Search Committee had narrowed down the list of possible candidates to two. The announcement concludes an extended and carefully-undertaken search process that began at the start of the 2017-2018 academic year. “There is no doubt that Dr. Tudorie brings with him extraordinary gifts and achievements that will benefit the seminary greatly,” said Archpriest Chad Hatfield, president of SVOTS. “Coming from Europe, he follows in a long-standing SVOTS tradition of importation of ‘rising stars’ from abroad.” What an odd turn of phrase. Dr. Tudorie has most recently served as professor of Byzantine History and Medieval Church History at the University of Bucharest. He brings expertise in Church History, Byza...

The Pan-Orthodox Vision of SVOTS: His Grace Zachariah Mar Nicholovos, Metropolitan of the Northeast American Diocese of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church (MOSC) and board member at St. Vladimir’s Seminary, on the unique diversity and collaborations at SVOTS, and how that could impact the broader Orthodox world.

( UOC-USA ) - A Note from Metropolitan Antony and Archbishop Daniel: “We Invite You to Explore This Website Now and Then Visit Again!” At its founding in 1918 the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the USA immediately began serving the immigrant communities that settled in the continental United States of America. Today, a century later, we continue to serve over sixty thousand Ukrainian Orthodox Christians in two Eparchies – Eastern and Western. Within our Metropolia you will find 100 parishes and missions with liturgical services offered in Ukrainian and English languages. We worship together and also serve our neighbors through active social service, education and charitable outreach. The Metropolia is a small but ancient Christian Community, that can trace its roots back to Holy Apostle Andrew and the very origins of the Sacred Christian tradition. Today, our Church aims to incorporate and preserve the best of that rich seam of tradition in a diverse, vibrant and multicultur...

( ROC-USA ) - During a meeting of the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church, the text of the akathist to Venerable Herman of Alaska was approved for church-wide and private use (Journal № 62). The text was presented by the chairman of the Publishing Department of the Moscow Patriarchate, Metropolitan Klement of Kaluga and Borovsk. The text (currently in Church Slavonic only) can be accessed here (Word document).

( Pravmir ) - The Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church has approved the rite of the burial of unbaptized infants during their meeting on July 14, 2018. It was reported by Priest Alexander Volkov, Press Secretary of His Holiness, Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia. According to Fr. Alexander, this rite will become mandatory for all parishes of the Russian Orthodox Church. “As you know, earlier the Church did not have the opportunity to celebrate a burial service for unbaptized infants. Sometimes infants are stillborn or die shortly after due to various circumstances that cannot be overcome by human power. Naturally, grieving parents come to a church and ask priests to officiate at least some rite for their departed children and seek their own consolation,” the RIA news service quotes the priest. According to him, the theological understanding of the state of the soul of the deceased infant is not completely determined, there are different points of view regarding th...

( Orthodox Canada ) - In secul. Gennady Andreev, born 18.05.1971 Namesday: 29th of November. Consecrated: November 15, 2015 BIOGRAPHY He was born on May 18, 1971 in Tambov. Baptized in infancy. From 1978-1988 he studied at the secondary school No.8 in Tambov. In 1991 he graduated from the Tambov Diocesan School. In 1993 he graduated from the Faculty of Foreign Languages of the Tambov State Pedagogical Institute (specializing in English and French). From 1993 to 2009 he worked as a teacher of English and French in the high school of Bokino, Tambov district, Tambov region. In 1991 he passed an internship at the University of Northumbria (Newcastle, Great Britain). In 1997, he completed a distance learning course at the University of Manchester. From 1991 to 1998 he carried out the obedience of an altar server and subdeacon in the Intercession of the Virgin Cathedral of Tambov. On March 1, 1998, he was ordained deacon by His Eminence Evgeny (Zhdan), Archbishop of Tam...

( OrthoChristian ) - The holy Equal-to-the-Apostles St. Nicholas of Japan brought the holy Orthodox faith to Japan as a missionary in 1861. Now work on the nation’s first Orthodox monastery to be consecrated in his honor is underway, reports the Synodal Department for Monasteries and Monasticism of the Russian Orthodox Church. At its July 16, 2005 session, the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church heard a report on His Eminence Daniel of Tokyo and All Japan’s request for assistance in the revival of monastic life in the Japanese Autonomous Orthodox Church. On the basis of the report, the Holy Synod resolved to send Hieromonk Gerasim (Shevtsov) of the Holy Trinity-St. Sergius Lavra to be at Met. Daniel’s disposal to assist in organizing a monastic community. Land for the long-awaited monastery was finally purchased on June 22 of this year in the south-central city of Ajiro. On July 3, the brothers of the monastery Archimandrite Gerasim and Monk Solomon served the first mol...

The background, construction, and splendor of a gift to the Hermitage of the Holy Cross (the beloved Russian Orthodox monastery in West Virginia) is gloriously recounted over at that effulgent testament to the words “beauty will save the world,” the Orthodox Arts Journal . Please do read how this all came together, but before you go. Feast your eyes on this.

COLORADO SPRINGS, CO ( Babylon Bee ) — In a joyful ceremony, Christian leaders gathered to grant Jordan Peterson the status of honorary Christian. Though the Canadian professor has never identified as a Christian and does not attend any church, a vote was taken and the decision was made unanimously that Peterson had earned his salvation and could be drafted into heaven by popular vote. “Most people are saved by grace,” said one of the pastors who presented the award, “Jordan Peterson isn’t most people.” Though Peterson holds a number of highly controversial views such as that most societal problems are really complicated, men shouldn’t be deadbeats, speech should be free, and that becoming dogmatically ideological stunts intellectual and moral growth, the Christian leaders decided to overlook these grievous sins and still honor him with the award. Peterson was given a medallion as one of the coordinating pastors led a prayer asking that God grant Peterson salvation through the pr...

( AllAfrica ) - The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church ton Wednesday announced plans to dispatch a team of three archbishops to the US for reconciliation process between the exiled and the local Synods. The announcement was made today by Abune Mathias, Patriarch of Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahdo Church. The church exhausted the past 26 years without peace following the fleeing into exile of the 4h Patriarch of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, along with some religion fathers, Abune Mathias said. He noted the church has been making efforts since 2003 Ethiopian Calendar to restore peace between the two Synods. As part of the efforts to resolve the problem between the two Synods, the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahdo Church will dispatch three archbishops to the United States, Abune Mathias said. According to the Patriarch, the team will hold talks and facilitate condition for the return of the exiled Synod. Abune Mathias further said the church highly supports the ongoing effort...

( RFE ) - Greece has moved to expel two Russian diplomats and to block two others from entering over suspicions they attempted to undermine a deal between Athens and Macedonia last month, a Greek official told the Associated Press. Russia has been given until July 13 to get the two diplomats out of Greece, said the official on July 12, who spoke on condition of anonymity. It was not immediately clear if they had already departed. Greek government spokesman Dimitris Tzanakopoulos said on July 11 that Athens wouldn't accept "behavior that violates international law" and disrespects the Greek state. His remarks were in response to the Greek daily newspaper Kathimerini's report about the expulsions for what it said were activities inconsistent with the diplomats' status. Russia's Foreign Ministry said it would respond in kind to the expulsions, Interfax news agency reported. Kathimerini reported that Athens ordered the expulsions and bans after perceive...

( RISU ) - The UGCC claims that statements by Metropolitan Hilarion that the UGCC allegedly lobbied for the unification of Orthodox Ukrainians to convert all of them to the Union, to be a manipulation with facts and feelings. Fr. Igor Shaban, Chairman of the UGCC Commission on Interreligious and Interfaith Relations told this to RISU. “The UGCC is in no way involved in the process of granting the Tomos, neither directly nor indirectly. We are accused of the fact that certain Ukrainian politicians who declare themselves Greek Catholics promote these developments. I would like to emphasize that the Church did not bless them. They act solely at their own discretion or at the discretion of their political party. Therefore, I think that the words that the Metropolitan of the Russian Orthodox Church said in this regard should be interpreted as a primitive manipulation of the facts and feelings of Christians, and we strongly reject all Moscow's accusations that these movements began ...

( ROC ) - On 9 July 2018, at his working residence in Chisty Lane in Moscow, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill met with members of a delegation of the Patriarchate of Constantinople – Metropolitans Emmanuel of France and Bartholomew of Smyrna. Representing the Russian Orthodox Church at the meeting were also Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, chairman of the Moscow Patriarchate’s Department for External Church Relations, and Archpriest Nikolai Balashov, DECR vice-chairman. The participants in the meeting discussed various issues pertaining to the preservation of the inter-Orthodox unity.

Archbishop Athenagoras, The Living Church, Dec. 12, 1943 ( Orthodox History ) - Back in the early 1940s, several of the Orthodox jurisdictions briefly came together to form an organization with the unwieldy name, “The Federated Orthodox Greek Catholic Primary Jurisdictions in America.” That’s ridiculous, so we’ll just call it “the Federation.” Anyway, the Federation was a precursor to SCOBA, which morphed into the present-day Assembly of Bishops. The Federation was active for only a couple years, 1942 to 1944. Its biggest achievement was getting the Orthodox recognized by the Selective Service, which in turn meant that clergy were exempt from the draft and could serve as military chaplains. The Federation was also instrumental in the incorporation of several Orthodox jurisdictions, including the Antiochian Archdiocese, under New York law. (Click here to read a timeline of the Federation.) What I didn’t know until recently was that the Federation apparently planned to create an...

Vatican City ( AsiaNews ) - Strengthening the unity of Christians, relaunching the principle of citizenship as an element common to all Iraqis and supporting the work of rebuilding homes and people, devastated by war and jihadist violence. These are the objectives set by the Chaldean Patriarch Mar Louis Raphael Sako, who today receives the cardinal's beretto from Pope Francis. And the commitment to shortly appoint a priest for the parish of St. Paul in Mosul. A "strong and authoritative" personality assures the new cardinal who "will be chosen by the end of the summer" and who is a sign of "stability". AsiaNews met the Chaldean primate a few hours before the ceremony. Here is what he shared with us: Patriarch Sako, what value does a cardinal have for the Church in Iraq? With this choice Pope Francis wanted to send a strong signal of support to the Eastern Churches. The appointment goes in this direction. It is also a message to Iraqi Christians,...

( Romanian Church ) - His Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew inaugurated Tuesday the new Synodal Hall at the Holy Trinity Monastery of Halki before the official opening of the July working session of the Holy Synod. Prior to the works of the Holy Synod, Patriarch Bartholomew officiated the blessing service of the Synodal Hall organized at Halki Monastery through the care of Metropolitan Elpidophoros of Bursa, the abbot of the monastery. Until now, most synodal meetings of the Hierarchs of the Ecumenical Patriarchate have been held at the Ecumenical Patriarchate’s headquarters at the Phanar. During the session on Tuesday, July 10, the Holy Synod chose for the first time a Metropolitan of Ancyra since 1922 when the metropolitan seat was vacated.

( COGD ) - There was a man who went around the neighborhood cursing the parish priest and spreading libel about him. Finally, he felt sorry and went to the priest asking him to forgive his wrongdoings. He said that he was prepared to do anything to make up for his sin. The priest told him to tear up a pillow and let down fly with the wind. It sounded weird but easy to do. The man returned to the priest. The priest said, “Now, go and collect all the down. Although your repentance and willingness to correct the evil that you've done are sincere, you cannot make up for the damage that you've done with your words, just like you can't collect all the down from a torn pillow.”

If the pieces I have seen on the Clergy-Laity budget talks are even half true, emotions are running high and things are not looking good. Voting a deficit on purpose (even as the men put in positions to fix the problem threaten to quit) seems a dangerous path. ( Greek News Online ) - Plenary at the 44th Clergy Laity Congress approves a budget with $1 ml deficit – Priests has chosen their benefits over Archdiocese’s financial recovery and stability – Michael Psaros announced his resignation. During the various discussions that took place at the 44th Clergy Laity Congress on the financial crisis of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese, one thing that was proven beyond reasonable doubt was that for at least two past Congresses the delegates were passing fictional budgets that had no chance to ever be balanced; contributing thus to accumulating deficits that were covered by illegal transfers from restricted accounts. The difference between those Congress and the 44th Clergy Laity Congr...

( Haaretz ) - Prince William somberly laid a wreath on the grave of his great-grandmother, Princess Alice, before praying with a Russian Orthodox priest at the Church of Mary Magdalene in Jerusalem on Thursday morning, in what was the most personal and emotional stop on his Middle East tour. Greeted by church bells as he entered the compound, the Duke of Cambridge asked several questions about the history of the church and his family’s connection to the site as he was guided by Father Archimandrite Roman – the head of the Russian Orthodox mission in Jerusalem that administers the site. From the church balcony, Father Roman pointed out what would be William’s final three stops in Jerusalem: the Temple Mount (known to Muslims as Haram al-Sharif), the Western Wall and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. The Church of Mary Magdalene (aka Church of Maria Magdalena) also contains several convents, and William was greeted at the church by a convent abbess with a loaf of bread and a ce...

( Christianity Today ) - Pro-life clinics offering pregnant women alternatives to abortion won a major free speech victory today. The Supreme Court ruled 5-4 to block a California law requiring pregnancy centers post referrals to state-funded abortion providers and birth control resources, forcing them to promote services that violate their beliefs. In National Institute of Family and Life Advocates (NIFLA) v. Becerra, the court ruled that the state’s 2015 Reproductive Freedom, Accountability, Comprehensive Care, and Transparency (FACT) Act “targets speakers, not speech, and imposes an unduly burdensome disclosure requirement that will chill their protected speech.” Christian and pro-life groups celebrated the decision, which follows several similar local and state-level reversals across the country in recent years. “We applaud the US Supreme Court for sending a clear statement today that pro-life Americans cannot be discriminated against and targeted by government,” stated Pe...

( Pravmir ) - From the book “On Certain Difficulties in Marriage” by Father Andrew Konanos (translated from Russian by Julia Frolova): One subconsciously believes in the “theology” of underestimation of human relations, marriage, love, embraces. All this conceals something unhealthy… You are not a man of God with such an intolerable approach! Let us call a spade a spade. On the outside you are a man of God. However, I doubt who you really are. A friend of mine has experienced all this blurred reality. Do you know what he told me? “A church is a place where everyone can either come and bloom or come and wither away. Somebody may come to the temple to hide”. If entering a church, you learn God of Truth, the One Who is the source of all beauty, the source of all love, the source of rebirth and bloom, then, of course, you will surely bloom. If you are taught to perceive God as something loveless and gloomy, then you will wither away. A church may either be a place of sanctificat...

( SVOTS ) - Glory to Jesus Christ! Glory forever! From May 21to June 3 of this year, I, alongside eight of my seminary colleagues, had the amazing opportunity to travel to Uganda as part of a teaching missions trip sponsored by the Orthodox Christian Mission Center (OCMC). Thanks to the support of OCMC, St Vladimir’s Seminary, and many others, the nine of us were given the incredible opportunity to serve the communities of the Ugandan Orthodox Church, which would not have been possible on our own. With the blessing of Metropolitan Jonah of Kampala and all Uganda, we were able to travel across the country and serve many communities, especially those in Northern Uganda. Our first few days were spent in Nsinze in the Eastern region of Uganda where we had the honor and privilege to participate in the diocesan clergy conference. Over fifty priests from all over the country were present. We spent time both in prayer and fellowship as we focused on the tough realities of ministry. The...

Very Rev. Archpriest John E. Parker III, D.Min. ( STOTS ) - The Board of Trustees of Saint Tikhon’s Orthodox Theological Seminary in South Canaan, PA, has named the Very Rev. Archpriest John E. Parker III, D.Min., as the new Dean of the school. The announcement was made on Thursday, July 5, by His Eminence, Archbishop Michael (Dahulich), Ph.D., Archbishop of New York and the Diocese of New York and New Jersey, and the Rector of St. Tikhon’s Seminary. Father John is presently the Rector of Holy Ascension Church in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina. He succeeds the Very Rev. Archpriest Steven Voytovich, who has served as the Seminary’s Dean for the past five years. Father Parker earned his Bachelor of Arts degree (major in Spanish Language and Literature and minor in German) at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia, where he met his wife, Jeanette in 1993. After marrying in 1994, he taught Spanish for three years at the Shipley School in Bryn Mawr, PA, before...