Byzantine, Texas

( EP ) - On Friday morning, August 31, 2018, following his communicated desire, His Beatitude Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia, accompanied by His Eminence Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, the Reverend Protopriest Nikolai Balashov and the Reverend Presbyter Anatoly Churyakov, interpreter, arrived at the Phanar in order to deliberate with His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew on matters of inter-Orthodox concern. Patriarch Kirill was greeted at the airport by His Eminence Metropolitan Gennadios of Sassima and the Very Reverend Grand Archimandrite Vissarion, Archivist of the Patriarchate. His Beatitude proceeded to the Ecumenical Patriarchate, where he was greeted by Their Eminences Metropolitans Emmanuel of France and Bartholomew of Smyrna, as well as the members of the Patriarchal Court, led by the Very Reverend Grand Chancellor Andreas. After paying his respects at the Venerable Patriarchal Church, he was received by His All-Holiness in the Chamber of...

( ACTS ) - ACTS is introducing three new courses with the new semester: the Early Christian Studies Certificate, the Orthodox Scripture Certificate and the new Master of Theology (Th.M.) program! Both 1-year Certificate programs are available to anyone who would like to further their Orthodox knowledge in a formal setting, exploring topics in early Christian and church history, dogmatics, Orthodox scripture with the opportunity to even study abroad. Click here to learn more about both new Certificate programs! Our new Master of Theology (Th.M.) program encourages students that have already earned their Master of Theological Studies (M.T.S) to add further depth to their theological knowledge and the opportunity for further research in writing a thesis. Click here to learn more about the new Th.M. program!

There are a number of emails being sent to me, news stories being posted by all manner of biased and neutral sources, and mass speculation in abundance about what His All-Holiness, Patriarch Bartholomew is going to do about Ukrainian autocephaly. It ranges from just saying platitudes about the Ukrainian people followed by complete inaction to announcing a tomos tomorrow which will cause an immediate schism in the Church. While all these predictions make for interesting reading, they also have real-world, political impact. So I'm not going to post every tin foil, unsubstantiated story for your sanity and mine. Instead, I'll pray this with some regularity: At all times and in every hour, you are worshiped and glorified in heaven and on earth, Christ our God. Long in patience, great in mercy and compassion, you love the righteous and show mercy to sinners. You call all to salvation through the prom­ise of good things to come. Lord, receive our prayers at the present time. Di...

JOHNSTOWN, PA ( ACROD ) - With great joy, the Diocesan Chancery has learned that the Holy and Sacred Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople at its monthly meeting on August 29, 2018 voted to elevate His Grace, Bishop Gregory to the rank of Metropolitan. His Grace, Bishop Gregory, in announcing the decision of the Holy and Sacred Synod to the Clergy and Faithful of the Diocese in a special Archpastoral Letter, expressed his gratitude in writing "... His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew and the Holy and Sacred Synod have honored all of us. I am truly greatly humbled." Further information regarding the official acceptance and bestowal ceremonies and directives for liturgical commemorations will be released by the Chancery in the near future. May God Grant to His Servant our God Loving Bishop Gregory good health, peace and salvation, and continued fruitful service in the Vineyard of our Lord for Many Blessed Years! Eis Polla Eti Despota! A...

( ESNUCC ) - August 24, 2018 Glory Be to Jesus Christ! My Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, Last year having started my episcopal ministry in the United States I encountered a new culture and religious situation, in particular relating to the Catholic Church in the United States. There are many new challenges and problems. Recently I learned about the scandalous and unacceptable situation about which I, as well as all of you, are equally very upset and outraged. I have in mind the information of recent weeks about the sexual scandals committed by the clergy.Even one instance of sexual abuse is inadmissible, and we have learned from reliable sources of allegations in isolated cases more than once. It seems that thereis a deep and systemic problem with sexuality among those who promised to live a chaste life. Likewise, it is a great evil to conceal scandalous situations, which wound thousands of innocent souls. The same as you, I am experiencing moments when I’m completely shoc...

This was sent to me by a concerned communicant in the Byzantine Catholic Church. I expect it mirrors the thoughts and feelings of many Greek Catholics in the United States. I can tell you first-hand that the Byzantine Catholics are not untouched by this problem. An Open Letter to Metropolitan William, Archbishop of the Byzantine Catholic Archeparchy of Pittsburgh and head of the Council of Hierarchs Metropolitan William, I am deeply disturbed by the current state of the sexual abuse scandal in the Catholic Church. Why has my priest not spoken about this? Why have you, our shepherd, not spoken about this? As a young mother living here in Pittsburgh, the epicenter of this international scandal, where one third of the offenders listed in the grand jury report lived, I am disgusted, hurt, and betrayed. Priests and bishops have committed horrible atrocities against children and adults, and what makes it worse, they have banded together to conceal this abuse and protect abusers, all...

As we start the Liturgical New Year, maybe it's a good time to bring The Great Feasts: The Life of Our Lord materials to good use in your homes? ( Antiochian.org ) - The Twelve Great Feasts and Pascha, taken together, are an overview of the life of our Lord. While it is important for our children to know about His miracles and teachings, it is just as important for them to know the main events of His life story. Our salvation resides in His life. Furthermore, just as we are baptized into Him, our own story—our life—must rest on His. Jesus’ life comprises the “foundational story” for Christians. A foundational story answers the ultimate questions of life, death and why we are here, and guides our thoughts, values, and actions. The Christian story provides answers to all these questions and gives us the virtues of faith, hope, and love that, even if not recognized as such, influence our attitudes and actions and curb the anxiety that comes from unexpected events and uncertain tim...

( orthochristian.com ) - As reported yesterday, the Holy Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate has resolved to canonize the great 20th-century spiritual father Elder Amphilochios (Makris) of Patmos. Hymns in honor of the newly-glorified elder had already been composed in 1986 by Hieromonk Antipas of the Athonite Cell of St. Anna under Iveron Monastery. These are the hymns that have been chanted on Patmos in his honor. A translation from the Greek has been provided by the Mystagogy Resource Center: Apolytikion (Troparion) Tone 5. The Co-beginningless Word Let us all praise Amphilochios, the new star of the Church of Christ, truly the ornament of the island of Patmos, the beauty of monastics and lover of piety, the lamp of prudence; he intercedes to the Lord that He may have mercy on our souls. Kontakion Tone 3. The Virgin Today In the last days father, you have shown to be a boast of the Church, shining with the virtues; wherefore we cry out to you with reverence, d...

( Basilica ) - An innovative missionary tool was presented at the recent 3rd International Orthodox Youth Forum “Past. Present. Future” in Moscow. Fr. Andrei Strelkov is the creator of Russia’s only bus-church, which he has used to travel throughout Russia to remote villages that have no churches. Fr. Andrei has visited, celebrated the Liturgy, and preached in more than 30 such remote villages over the past seven years, reports the orthochristian.com. The missionary priest traveled 680 miles from the small Tatar city of Zainsk to attend the Moscow forum. The bus-church was presented in the “Missionary Work” section of the youth forum, and was personally inspected by His Holiness Patriarch Kirill. Everything needed to serve the Divine Liturgy is ready to go inside the bus-church. Fr. Andrei only has to open the hatch in the roof and place the dome on the top. A similar idea was rolled out over Memorial Day weekend last year in Colorado Springs, when Holy Theophany Church ...

A few emailers have asked why I'm not covering the Catholic scandal. Truthfully, it's because I'm so sickened that my ability to write invective-free is rather limited. But let me say this: The Latins have had many years now to sort themselves out and yet they've continued to not only let the monsters take up residence under children's beds, but have paid them to do so. Every day the media uncovers another person in a place of power - either through incompetence or nefarious intent - to be sacrificing children on the altar of the status quo. There are calls for forgiveness and prayer. If I may be blunt, the time for that has passed. This evil needs to be burned out completely. If it means drastically reduced clerical ranks, a sede vacante papal period, and a strong purgative at the seminaries that's a far preferable solution to pretending the people currently in power can resolve this themselves and that any number of mea culpas is going to move the excision pro...

Moscow, August 28 ( Interfax ) - The Russian Orthodox Church is going to restore a church built in the capital of South Korea over half a century ago, Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia said. "An Orthodox church was built in 1900 in the South, in Seoul and we’ve taken certain efforts to restore it. Unfortunately, we haven’t managed to do it for some reasons, which are not quite comprehensible, but perhaps have certain political shade," he said at his meeting with a delegation of the DPRK Orthodox committee in Moscow. The patriarch specified that the Russian Church had "an intention" to restore the church in Seoul so that "Orthodox believers could make their mutual contribution to peaceful unification of their motherland."

LONDON ( NY Post ) — The Russian hackers indicted by the US special prosecutor last month have spent years trying to steal the private correspondence of some of the world’s most senior Orthodox Christian figures, The Associated Press has found, illustrating the high stakes as Kiev and Moscow wrestle over the religious future of Ukraine. The targets included top aides to Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I, who often is described as the first among equals of the world’s Eastern Orthodox Christian leaders. The Istanbul-based patriarch is currently mulling whether to accept a Ukrainian bid to tear that country’s church from its association with Russia, a potential split fueled by the armed conflict between Ukrainian military forces and Russia-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine. The AP’s evidence comes from a hit list of 4,700 email addresses supplied last year by Secureworks, a subsidiary of Dell Technologies. The AP has been mining the data for months, uncovering how a group o...

Equally unexpected: The Spanish Inquisition / an Iron Maiden - monastic crossover.

( CGD ) - Quite often, it seems to us that our questions and doubts have no answer; that they destroy the image of the world that the religion paints; and that… they are absolutely unique. We stop looking for the truth when in fact, the reason for our unwillingness to continue looking for truth is our laziness. Every person has a decent knowledge of some facts of lesser importance from the standpoint of a person’s posthumous existence and the eternal life, e.g., professional knowledge, politics, economy, technologies, and sports facts. Unfortunately, our level of proficiency in the practical religious experiences accumulated by the human race and our understanding of the meaning of our lives is extremely low. As a rule, people possess an astonishingly naïve and superficial understanding of all those issues. We lack the basic information about the methods that our ancestors used to tackle the essential questions, what they were seeking, what they based their philosophies on, what their...

( EP ) - The Chief Secretariat of the Holy and Sacred Synod has announced that following the previous Synaxis of the Hierarchy of the Ecumenical Throne, which took place three years ago with great success (2015), the next Synaxis of all Hierarchy of the Venerable Throne “from all the ends of the oikoumene” will convene at the Sacred Center of the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Istanbul from September 1-3, 2018. The purpose of this Synaxis is to inform the Metropolitans and Archbishops of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of current ecclesial affairs and provide them with an opportunity to exchange ideas, but especially to strengthen the sacred bonds among them and with the Mother Church. Prior to the meetings of the Synaxis, to be held at the Church of the Holy Trinity in Stavrodromion, Istanbul, the invited members of the Hierarchy will jointly inaugurate the new ecclesiastical year on September 1st with a service at the Venerable Patriarchal Church, where, through the intercessions of Pan...

( Catholic Herald ) - A former monk has been arrested by Egypt’s public prosecutor following the murder of Coptic bishop Anba Epiphanius. Bishop Epiphanius, 64, who was Prior of the monastery of St Macarius in Wadi Natrun, was discovered dead on July 29 with significant injuries to both his head and hands; the result of multiple blows with an iron pole. According to the monks of St Macarius, Bishop Epiphanios was last seen alive leaving his cell at dawn to attend the Matins Praise that precedes Sunday Mass. Following Bishop Epihanius’s death, the Coptic Church released a statement in which they described the bishop as a monk and a scholar, adding that Pope Tawadros “mourned in Anba Epiphanius a true monk whose life was steeped in meekness and humbleness; also a scholar who possessed a wealth of knowledge that fruited research and publications in various branches of ecclesiastical studies. The Pope prayed for peace for his soul, and comfort for the St Macarius monk assembly as well...

CHICAGO, IL ( OCA-DMW ) — His Grace, Bishop Paul invites the faithful of the Diocese of the Midwest to join him for the second in his series of interactive live stream webinars on Family Life at 7:00 p.m. Central Time on Tuesday, August 21, 2018. Bishop Paul will explore the timely theme, “Who Is Teaching Our Children,” and he will field questions and answers from participants throughout the interactive webinar. “The live, online meeting will offer an opportunity for parents, grandparents, godparents and teachers to pose their questions to Bishop Paul,” said Priest Jacob Van Sickle, a member of the Orthodox Family Life web team. “The Question and Answer Session is part of the broader initiative described on the diocese’s new Orthodox Family Life website , which made its debut in April 2018.” Register now to participate in the webinar and to receive weekly website updates . The Orthodox Family Life site offers a detailed, ongoing account of Bishop Paul’s vision with regard to...

Mother Christophora and the Sisterhood of the Monastery of the Transfiguration, Ellwood City, PA, welcomed hundreds of hierarchs, clergy and faithful from across the United States and Canada to their annual pilgrimage on August 4-6, 2018 - which marked the 50th Anniversary of the monastery’s founding by the late Mother Alexandra. The traditional Blessing of Fruit was celebrated after the Liturgy.

( AOB ) - A new map, Orthodox Bishops and Parishes in the United States, is now available on the Assembly's website. The updated map shows: a) locations, names and jurisdictions of all active Orthodox bishops in the United States and b) the total number of Orthodox parishes in each county. The map is in PDF format and can be downloaded here (PDF).

Kevin Allen and I chatted a bit over the years. We'd discuss current events or formulate questions for upcoming interviews or converse about the state of Orthodoxy in general. He both cared deeply about the Church and was often mystified by the way her leaders acted when Tradition often pointed at a very different way of doing things. He was a very kind and insightful man and I think he did a lot for the Faith in America. We don't need another Kevin Allen. We need another 100 or 1,000 Kevin Allens to fulfill the ministerial role he took up for our Church. That would be a good start, I think, towards putting Orthodoxy on the right track in the New World. So I join my prayers with the reposed servant of God Kevin that his love for God and His Church flourish in God's Kingdom as it did on earth. 'I also pray to God ceaselessly to turn my heart into a “love vessel” because as Orthodox Christians we do not believe that the afterlife is merely a place where we are sent or...

( RISU ) - The office of the Secretary General of the Holy Synod of the Constantinople Patriarchate reported that the meeting of the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew with Patriarch Kirill of Moscow would be held at the request of the latter. On August 31, Moscow Patriarch Kirill will meet in Istanbul with Constantinople Patriarch Bartholomew, the office of the Secretary General of the Holy Synod of the Constantinople Patriarchate reported on Facebook, according to Gordon edition. The meeting will be held at the request of the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church. During the visit, Patriarch Kirill will discuss with Patriarch Bartholomew and “the competent bodies of the Mother Church the issues of mutual interest.” Greek religious media outlet Vima Orthodoxias reports that the Patriarchs will discuss the issue of providing autocephaly to the Ukrainian Church. In April 2018, the Ukrainian parliament turned to the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew with a request to bestow the To...

( Antiochian.org ) - To: Department Heads Re: Information Policy and Data Governance Beloved in the Lord, Blessings and greetings in the Name of Our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ. I pray this email finds you well. The Department of Internet Ministry is embarking on creating an Information Policy for the Archdiocese that will define how we manage and communicate information and data that the Archdiocese collects and archives. The Information Policy will not only protect the Archdiocese but also provide transparency to the people we collect the information from, on how their information is being used and stored within the Archdiocese. Members of the Department of Internet Ministry will be reaching out to you to understand the type and nature of information your departments collect and store. Please be responsive to their request. Wishing you and your families all of God’s blessings, I remain, Your Father in Christ, +JOSEPH Archbishop of New York and Metropolitan of all ...

One wishes we in America had such rules and episcopal oversight of our monasteries. CAIRO ( Egypt Today ) - 4 August 2018: Egyptian bishops deactivated their social media accounts after Pope Tawadros II had issued a set of rules regulating monasticism on Thursday. Although the decision only addresses monks, the bishops’ initiative aims at setting an example of obedience to younger generations at convents. The Pope himself deactivated his accounts. The rules consist of: Halting all applications for monasticism in Orthodox convents in Egypt for a year starting August 2018. Monasticism and priesthood will be withdrawn from any individuals who had established convents without acquiring consent from the patriarchy. Founding new convents will not be authorized but reviving old ones under the supervision of operating convents is allowed. The number of monks in each convents would be determined according to its capabilities and circumstances in order to improve the quality of monastic...

( Wataninet ) - Further to news circulated this morning of the death of Anba Epiphanius, Abbot of the Monastery of St Macarius in Wadi al-Natroun in Egypt’s Western Desert, it has been revealed that Anba Epiphanius met an unnatural death; he was murdered. Monks of St Macarius’s say he had left his cell at dawn to attend Matins Praise that precedes Sunday Mass, but was obviously intercepted by someone who came from behind him and hit him on the head with a sharp, heavy object. The Abbot was later found by the monks lying in a pool of blood, dead. They directly called Pope Tawadros who hastened to delegate a number of bishops to check on the matter, as well as on the monks and monastery. The homeland security authorities and the prosecution were directly notified; they headed to the monastery, together with a criminal investigation team and forensic medicine investigators. The monastery is now closed until investigations are completed. It is not yet clear whether the culprit ca...

If this pope has highlighted anything that the Orthodox (read: me) find unsettling about the pontifical configuration of the Catholic Church, it is that he "speaks ex cathedra, that is, when, in the exercise of his office as shepherd and teacher of all Christians, in virtue of his supreme apostolic authority, he defines a doctrine concerning faith or morals to be held by the whole Church, he possesses, by the divine assistance promised to him in blessed Peter, that infallibility which the divine Redeemer willed his Church to enjoy in defining doctrine concerning faith or morals." The result of which is that a single man can change foundational Church teaching at will as he just did... VATICAN CITY ( AP ) — Pope Francis has decreed that the death penalty is "inadmissible" under all circumstances and the Catholic Church should campaign to abolish it, a change in church teaching that could influence Catholic politicians and judges in the U.S. and across the globe. ...

( RISU ) - Upon receipt of the Tomos of autocephaly, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church-USA will remain a jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarchate and will not join the One Local Orthodox Church. Metropolitan Anthony (Scherba) of the UOC-USA said this in an interview with the Voice of America. “The UOC-USA is most likely to remain a jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarchate,” the hierarch believes. At the same time, he does not rule out that, in the long run, the Orthodox believers of America will join the newly established Ukrainian Church. “I do not say this will never happen. I have abandoned the word “never” long ago, when Ukraine gained its independence,” he adds. Metropolitan Anthony has also defined the condition under which this association might occur. “This may happen when the newly-established Church in Ukraine reaches a certain level of maturity and operates beyond the limits of political processes and personal ambitions and interests. But in any case, we will conti...

( CNA ) - On April 26, the Phoenix eparchy filed a suit claiming that an employee benefits company had wrongly started a self-insured health plan with funds from the eparchy, which believed it was paying premiums to secure insurance products for its employees, Danielle Smith reported at Law360 (see here ). “The Byzantine Catholic Eparchy of Phoenix said in its complaint that Aetna-owned Meritain Health Inc. and Ohio-based Employee Benefits Services Inc., or EBS, flouted their fiduciary duty under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act by using assets meant to pay insurance premiums for the eparchy's roughly 21 employees to pay for expenses and fees, among other things, instead,” Smith wrote. It said EBS had also, prior to 2012, been selling health insurance also to the other Ruthenian eparchies in the US: Passaic, Pittsburgh, and Parma. The Phoenix eparchy in 2012 joined the Eastern Catholic Benefit Plan, which the eparchy called in its complaint “the unregistered, fict...

WASHINGTON ( Diocese of Phoenix ) — Pope Francis has appointed the Most Reverend Thomas J. Olmsted as the Apostolic Administrator Sede Plena of the Holy Protection of Mary Byzantine Catholic Eparchy of Phoenix. Bishop Olmsted will also retain his current Office as Bishop of the Diocese of Phoenix. The announcement was publicized in Washington on August 1, 2018 by Archbishop Christophe Pierre, apostolic nuncio to the United States. Bishop Olmsted has served as the fourth Bishop of the Diocese of Phoenix since December 20, 2003. Prior to his arrival in Phoenix, Bishop Olmsted served as Bishop of Wichita, Kansas from 2001-2003, after being ordained Coadjutor Bishop on April 20, 1999. Before serving in Wichita, he served as the Rector and President of the Pontifical College Josephinum, a Catholic Seminary in Columbus, Ohio. Since 1974, Bishop Olmsted has been a member of the Jesus Caritas fraternity of priests. He was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Lincoln, Neb., July 2, 1973....