Byzantine, Texas

( ROC ) - From February 18 to 22, 2019, the Second Session of the Commission for Bilateral Dialogue between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Syriac Orthodox Church took place in the Syriac Orthodox Patriarchal Residence in Atchaneh, Lebanon. The Moscow Patriarchate membership in the Commission includes Bishop Flavian of Cherepovets and Belozersk (Co-chairman); Hegumen Arseny (Sokolov), representative of the Patriarch of Moscow and all Russia to the Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch and all the East; Hieromonk Stefan (Igumnov), secretary for inter-Christian affairs, Department for External Church Relations of Moscow Patriarchate (DECR); Mr. Sergey Alferov and Mr. Evgeny Bakhtin, DECR Staff members. The Syriac Orthodox Church was represented by Archbishop Mor Chrysostomos Mikhael Chamoun, Patriarchal vicar and director of the Patriarchal Benevolent Institutions in Atchaneh (acting co-chairman of the Commission); Archimandrite Raban Jack Yakoub, director of the patriarchal yo...

A synod can of course dissolve and construct whatever diocesan structure it likes. On the other hand simply dissolving an archdiocese and not replacing it with a new structure, but leaving it in limbo is not such a normal thing to do. So we're in weird territory here. Which flag will they raise in the end? And why did the EP do this in the first place? Did they think this group would leave them for Moscow and so "dumped" them before they could get "dumped?" This entire thing boggles the mind. Feb 23, 2019 ( orthodoxie ) - Today, in Paris, was held an extraordinary general assembly of the Archdiocese of Russian Orthodox Churches in Western Europe, or more precisely of the diocesan governing union of Russian Orthodox associations in Western Europe. The assembly voted against the dissolution of the Archdiocese (206 voters, 15 for the dissolution, 191 against). No decision has been made regarding the jurisdictional choice. A new assembly be may held in June to ...

( ROCOR ) - Archbishop Mark of Berlin and Germany, First Vice President of the Synod of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia and ruling bishop of the German Diocese, appealed to his brother hierarchs of the German Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops in which he objects to the one-sided coverage of events in Ukraine. Vladyka Mark points to the intolerable pressure being exerted upon the traditional Ukrainian Orthodox Church under its canonical leader, His Beatitude Metropolitan Onouphry of Kiev and All Ukraine. The letter also mentions the political pressure being place on other Local Orthodox Churches. At the same time, the hierarch of the oldest Orthodox diocese in Germany urges open dialog between the members of the Assembly of Bishops in Germany, which has suffered serious harm, as has all of Orthodox Christianity throughout the world, from the unilateral actions of the Constantinople Patriarchate. Vladyka Mark stresses that the Church must not be drawn i...

( Basilica ) - As regards the ecclesiastical situation in Ukraine, the Holy Synod stressed the following aspects: For almost thirty years, the issue of the Ukrainian schism was not solved, nor was any appeal made for a pan-Orthodox mediation, as was the case in the past with the schism in Bulgaria. Noticing this deadlock in resolving the situation, the Ecumenical Patriarchate granted the Tomos of autocephaly to the hierarchs, clergy, and believers who were in schism with the Russian Orthodox Church and the entire Orthodoxy , but this Tomos was accepted only by the Ukrainian Orthodox people who were not in communion with the Moscow Patriarchate. Therefore, the problem of Ukrainian ecclesiastical unity is not fully resolved at present, also because in Ukraine there is a large Russian population having a direct relation to the Moscow Patriarchate. Regarding this tense ecclesiastical situation in Ukraine, the Holy Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church reiterates its stance expressed...

( Jerusalem Patriarchate ) - The website of the Patriarchate of Jerusalem announces to its readers that H.H.B. our Father and Patriarch of Jerusalem Theophilos will be in Qatar from Thursday 8th/21st to Sunday 11th/24th February 2019. His Beatitude will officiate the consecration of the Holy Church of St. Isaac the Syriac on Friday 9th/22nd February 2019. Details on the event will be posted in due course. From Secretariat-General

( Orthodox Synaxis ) - This translation is very preliminary. The Greek original can be found here . There is also a factual error in the statement, as the Patriarchate of Antioch did not agree to the 2016 agreement convoking the Council of Crete. Announcement The Holy Synod of the Church of Cyprus met today, Monday, February 18, 2019 in an extraordinary session under the presidency of His Beatitude the Archbishop of Cyprus, Chrysostomos and extensively discussed the issue relating to the autocephaly of the Church of Ukraine and which, as it has developed, addresses the issue of unity within the Orthodox Church. Reflecting on the responsibilities of the Church of Cyprus, as one of the ancient Autocephalous Churches which have autocephaly from an Ecumenical Council, across the entire Orthodox Church, beyond any phylitistic affinity and mingling in jurisdictions and rights, and not desiring any anticipated benefit, the Synod decided to express its views about the principles that sh...

In the tradition of the Armenian Church, Evening Services (Nakhatonak) are conducted on the night preceding the Feast Day. At the conclusion of the service, the priest lights a candle from the Holy Altar, and distributes the flame to all present. With great care, the faithful take the lit candles home to their families. On this day, newly-married and loving couples jump over the fire and receive congratulations and blessing from relatives and friends. The ceremony is followed by traditional songs and dances around the fire. The jumping is not a religious event, but a folk tradition.

Every year the Byzantine Catholic Seminary of Saints Cyril and Methodius hosts a lecture . As often as not they have an Orthodox speaker as a Catholic one. Orthodox seminarians come to the lectures as well. The seminary has started posting some of their older talks. Enjoy!

H/T: OTElders

WASHINGTON ( CNS ) — Pope Francis has appointed Bishop Borys Gudziak, of the Paris-based Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of St. Volodymyr the Great, to be the seventh metropolitan-archbishop of the Ukrainian Catholic Archeparchy of Philadelphia. Bishop Andriy Rabiy, an auxiliary bishop of the archeparchy, has been apostolic administrator since April 16, 2018. The pope named him to the post following the resignation of Archbishop Stefan Soroka, now 67, for medical reasons. Archbishop Gudziak, 58, is a native of Syracuse, New York, and was ordained a bishop in France Aug. 26, 2012. His appointment was announced Feb. 18 in Washington by Archbishop Christophe Pierre, apostolic nuncio to the United States. The pope also named an apostolic administrator for the Paris-based eparchy: Bishop Hlib Lonchyna of the Eparchy of the Holy Family of London, which is for Ukrainian Catholics in Great Britain. The bishop, who turns 65 Feb. 23, is a native of Steubenville, Ohio. Archbishop Gudziak’s...

Talk delivered by Fr. Romanos Karanos, Professor of Byzantine Chant at Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology, at the Εὐφράνθην! I Was Glad! Liturgical Symposium at St. George Greek Orthodox Church in Southgate, Michigan on February 1st, 2019.

How about stick to one church dividing issue at a time? Maybe let's not stack Crete on top of Ukraine on top of this ill-advised progressive deaconess vanity project? ( ARCHONS ) - With the blessings of His Eminence Metropolitan Evangelos of New Jersey, an Archon Symposium is scheduled at the St. Sophia, Sts. Faith, Hope & Agape Greek Orthodox Church, Jeffersonville (Norristown), PA, on Saturday, March 30, 2019, focusing on the historical, canonical and ecclesiastical status of the female diaconate, including a fresh look at the role of deacons in the Orthodox Church and an examination of whether the Church will lose young women if women continue not to be ordained. The symposium will be introduced by the Historian of the Order of Saint Andrew, Archon George E. Demacopoulos, Ph. D., Professor of Theology, Co-Director, Orthodox Christian Studies Center Fordham University, Bronx, New York. Lectures will be presented by the Rev. Dr. John Chryssavgis, the renowned author and t...

People may well wonder what this portends for other non-Greek bodies under the Ecumenical Patriarchate (UOC-USA, UOC-Canada, ACROD, etc.). I do not have an answer to that. ( Orthodoxie ) - Today, many Orthodox are wondering what’s going to happen to the Archdiocese of Russian Orthodox Churches in Western Europe. Could you first explain why the Ecumenical Patriarchate revoked the 1999 Patriarchal and Synodal Tomos which had created a patriarchal exarchate in Western Europe? As stated in the Holy Synod communiqué on November 27, 2018, the decision to revoke the 1999 patriarchal and synodal tomos was a necessary and essential step in order to meet the challenges we are facing today in the organization of the Orthodox diaspora to meet the pastoral needs of our time. With new walls being built today in Orthodoxy and real risks of division, the Patriarch and the Holy Synod wished to make the organization of our communities in the diaspora more in keeping with Orthodox ecclesiology. S...

MOSCOW ( RFE ) - On a recent snowy Sunday, the 17th-century Dormition Church was drawing evening Mass to a close. The ethereal chants that had for two hours entranced a standing congregation still echoed off the intricately painted walls as Father Aleksy Gomonov retreated to the sacristy to remove his vestments. But his sizeable, surprisingly young flock remained. As tables were brought in and arranged in neat rows among the ancient icons and golden candelabra, the crowd began to mingle. Off came the thick winter coats, and out came the smartphones. Numbers were traded, eye contact held or averted, and a subdued atmosphere of piety gave way to flirtation and giggles. It was the latest gathering of the Peter and Fevronia Club, a sort of speed-dating night for Moscow's Orthodox Christians. Each Sunday, after the week's final service, Gomonov brings together the single men and women of his parish, and anyone else keen to join. As they chat over cucumber sandwiches and blac...

( ROMFEA ) - Metropolitan Pavlos of Odessa of the Autocephalous Church of Ukraine was very impressed after his returning from Mount Athos, where he paid a visit, accompanied by 7 priests of the Metropolitan of Odessa. The Ukrainian delegation visited 16 Monasteries while in two of them they co-officiated with the Brotherhood. “Nobody shut the door upon us! All the rumors were inaccurate and propaganda,” said f. Valerios, priest of the Holy Metropolis. Regarding the visit to Saint Panteleimon Monastery, they stated that they were let to get in the Monastery, stressing that they did not have the opportunity to worship the relics of Saint Panteleimon because they had been removed in the morning.” Both the Metropolitan and the clergy were excited about their pilgrimage, while they underlined that after so many years of isolation, they would make other trips to other local Churches.

( Wheel ) - Unless one is particularly interested in the politics of North American Christianity, it is easy not to know about the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA). Founded in 2009, the ACNA is a schismatic group within the global Anglican Communion created by former members of the Episcopal Church USA and the Anglican Church of Canada (the official provinces of the Anglican Communion in North America). The vast majority of ACNAs members, particularly among the clergy, broke with the Anglican Communion because of the main bodies decisions to ordain women (though this subject is treated in a variety of ways by ACNA dioceses) and extend full sacramental inclusion to LGBT people. Not quite accurate. Many priestesses went to ACNA as well. It was a point of contention immediately and mentioned by Met. Jonah as soon as he spoke with those people at their first meeting. I was there and it was not received warmly. There were other issues as well, like the removal of the final protecti...

( ROC ) - The Jesus portal has published a commentary of Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, head of the Moscow Patriarchate department for external church relations, on the attitudes prevalent on Holy Mount Athos ard to Constantinople’s creation of ‘a new church’ in Ukraine. There is a contradictory information coming from Mouth Athos. On one hand, we have seen how two Athonite abbots came to Kiev for the ‘enthronement’ of a new head of the schism legalized by Constantinople, with Father Xenophon attending the event while the abbot of the Vatopedi monastery fell ill but managed to take a picture with the leaders of the schismatics. On the other hand, we can hear how the delegation of the Ukrainian schismatic structure was not let in the St. Panteleimon monastery while, after the visit of this delegation, seven monks have left the Vatopedi. Evidently, the legalization of the Ukrainian schism by Patriarch Bartholomew has caused new divisions: one of them is being formed before ou...

( ROMFEA ) - “ We remain on the side of the Ecumenical Patriarchate and we will not tolerate its humiliation,” the members of the Holy Community of Mount Athos said on Monday on the occasion of the recent developments in Ukraine and the granting of Autocephaly to the local Church. At the meeting held behind closed doors and without any publicity, much was said about the issue that has sparked controversy among the leaders of the Orthodox Churches. The Athonites emphasized that this particular issue should make them feel proud. “It has been clear in this case too,” they noted, “that Hellenism and the Ecumenical Patriarchate have the Primacy in Orthodoxy,” while they agreed that everyone should stand by the Ecumenical Patriarchate. They even agreed that it is preferable for the Holy Community to be silenced at this time so as not to create misinterpretations. They suggested waiting for the conditions to mature more. “Besides,” they said, “we are not a Church, and we are not call...

In a country where we let Scientologists and Mormons run around, we're going to "repress" the OCA? How silly. Moscow, February 12 ( Interfax ) - The United States authorities may resort to discriminatory measures toward the Orthodox Church in America (OCA) for its support of Russia's stance on the infringement of the rights of believers of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, Sergey Gavrilov, the head of the Russian State Duma Committee on the Development of Civil Society, said on Tuesday. "Speaking at the Patriarch's [Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia] jubilee ceremony several days ago, the Primate of the Orthodox Church in America declared support for Russia in the wake of the schism in Ukraine and the suppression of the rights of Ukrainian Orthodox Christians. And, as far as we know, after the delegation's return, the American authorities are preparing serious discriminatory measures in relation to American Orthodox Christians," Gavrilov sa...

My impression of him from our limited interactions is of a very kind and learned man. Axios! Video starts out a bit choppy, but evens out a bit later. ( ROCOR ) - The Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church confirms the election of Archimandrite Luke (Murianka) as Bishop of Syracuse On December 28, 2018, the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church made the following decision regarding the election of Archimandrite Luke (Murianka) as Bishop of Syracuse of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia: JOURNAL No. 116 HEARD: The report of His Eminence Metropolitan Hilarion of Eastern America and New York, President of the Synod of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia, interceding for the confirmation of the election of Archimandrite Luke (Murianka), Abbot of Holy Trinity Monastery in Jordanville, NY, and Rector of Holy Trinity Seminary, as Bishop of Syracuse, Vicar of the Eastern American Diocese. Background: In accordance with the Act of Canonica...

( Basilica ) - The ecclesiastical issue of Ukraine was on the agenda of the Holy Synod of the Church of Cyprus, Romfea News reports. At today’s meeting of the Holy Synod, under the supervision of the Archbishop Chrysostomos of Cyprus, there was an exchange of views on the ecclesiastical issue of Ukraine. It was decided to continue the debate in an extraordinary session on 18 February. In addition, the Holy Synod was informed of its participation in the Inter-Orthodox, Inter-Christian and Inter-Religious dialogue by its appointed protopriests. Then, there was a discussion on the decisions taken during that dialogue.

( Orthodoxie ) - On February 7, 2019, Metropolitan Emmanuel of France sent a letter to the priests of the Archdiocese of Russian Orthodox Churches in Western Europe, in anticipation of the upcoming meeting of the General Assembly of their Diocesan Union, scheduled for 23 February. Dear Fathers, Paris, February 7, 2019 You all know about the decision made by the Holy Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate concerning the withdrawal of the Tomos and the invitation for you to join the Metropolises of the countries where you are established. I know the important statutory role of your Extraordinary General Assembly, and I pray that God will send the Holy Spirit to fill your work with His grace and His love, so that you may find the best way to continue witnessing to Christ here, in Western Europe. I am sending you this letter today to assure you I do not try by any means to dispossess anyone of anything. Rather, I am ready, within the limits of the metropolis for which I am responsi...

( Basilica ) - ‘We label those around us according to what exists in our soul, depending on the frustrations living inside us, but God looks at the heart,’ Bishop Ignatie of Husi said on Sunday. ‘We are very cruel, we judge very harshly. Christ always rejoices over the return of a sinner and stands by him when he decides to return,’ His Grace noted in his homily delivered Feb. 3. His Grace Bishop Ignatie celebrated the Divine Liturgy at St Thomas Church in Husi, where he told the believers about God’s unceasing help offered to those who follow the path of change and stop speaking ill of our neighbour. ‘When God observes our change, the decision made in our inner forum, in the face of our own consciousness, He always comes and enters the habitation of our heart and brings joy.’ ‘Always, no matter how many things we hear about someone, may our first thought be: Lord, change this man! Vouchsafe me not to judge him, to put a label on him,’ said the Bishop of Husi. Bishop Ign...

( Pravmir ) - With the blessing of Our Lord Jesus Christ, Fr. Paul Sushil, priest of the Russian Orthodox Church in Pakistan (Moscow Patriarchate), would like to share that they have completed the First translation of Divine Liturgy according to St. John Chrysostom into native Language URDU . This book has been translated from Church Slavonic and English texts. It is the first most accurate translation which took about 2 years to complete. The texts that were available before were translated by Google translator. After complete research Fr. Paul and people who helped him came to the decision that the previous books lacked theology and thus, had no essence. Therefore, it was decided to make a new, more accurate translation. Before beginning his translation, Fr. Paul graduated from the Tomsk Theological Seminary in 2017. Currently, there are two parishes of the Moscow Patriarchate in Pakistan: in Islamabad and Lahore. Fr. Paul is the only priest there. The translated book was p...

We aren't robots composed of software routines that will eventually get the fullness of humanity "right." From the very beginning, we were distinct, interrelated beings - "He created them male and female, and blessed them and called them Mankind in the day they were created." Female empowerment according to Super Bowl commercials is women doing things men do. Raise your hand if you think the female body was meant to experience full contact football or frontline combat. Women are amazing, powerful, and majestic creatures in the full flowering of their femininity. Equality of the sexes is found not in homogeneity but complementarity.

Metropolitan Rostislav gave very diplomatic and measured answers as he invariably does. The more responses I hear from primates around the world, the move I think we'll see fewer "sides" chosen and more calls for the conciliar process to do what the conciliar process is designed to do: resolve disputes. "Put a pin in it for now" meets "Let us sit down and discuss the matter further." ( ROC ) - On 31 January 2019, after the meeting with His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia, the Primate of the Orthodox Church of the Czech Lands and Slovakia answered several questions from journalists. – Your Beatitude, I would like to ask you the most burning question – about the ecclesiastical situation in Ukraine. I know that this issue was included in the agenda of a session of your Church’s Holy Synod. What decision will be taken – to support or not the newly established “Orthodox church of Ukraine”? – The Holy Synod of the Orthodox Church o...