Byzantine, Texas

Considering what this pontiff is doing to his church, I'd ask to travel in a separate Uber. Bucharest ( AsiaNews ) - "Journeying together", Orthodox and Catholics, in a time in which "the majority have been inexorably excluded" from the well-being brought by technological development which, along with progress, promotes "a 'culture of hatred' and individualism" and while perhaps no longer ideological as in the times of the atheist persecution, it is nevertheless more persuasive and no less materialistic ”. Pope Francis is in Romania, where he arrived this morning, for a visit with a strong ecumenical value in one of the countries where, as in Ukraine, the Greek-Catholic Church saw the hardest persecutions by the communist regime, until it was dissolved by law, while its goods and his faithful were "ceded" to the Orthodox Church. Sunday's beatification in Blaj Transylvania, of seven bishops who were martyred in those y...

Did you know that by not creating deaconesses young women will flee the church? Did you know that not letting girls be altar servers is unfair? Did you know this is a social "justice" issue? Did you know somehow putting women in a liturgical role will stop sexual assault? Did you know only by mimicking the male clergy can women find "equality?" This is everything that is wrong with the deaconess effort. A misguided reappropriation of all the social equity efforts of the last three decades to push for equality through innovation. There is nothing magical about doing litanies. If you want to minister to young women... minister to young women. As a priest, nothing in my role makes it more possible to go to someone and ask about their life and give guidance without earning the trust of that person. I am often at a disadvantage really. If you think you have a special charism for helping young women, then do it. The laying on of hands is not going to empower you or give...

( Global Coptic Day ) - The inaugural Global Coptic Day will be on June 1, 2019, which also commemorates the Holy Family’s flight to Egypt. It is a day to celebrate the Coptic Orthodox Church’s rich heritage, including its indelible history of martyrdom and persecution, theological education and monasticism.

Polyarchieratic - concelebrated by many hierarchs [πολυ (much/many) + ἀρχός (chief) + ἱερᾱτικός (priestly)] ( Romfea ) - There was a Polyarchieratic Vespers service on Tuesday, May 28, in the Church of Saint Luke of Crimea of the Monastery of Panagia Dovras in Veria for the celebration of the transfer of the holy relics of Saint Luke to the Monastery of Panagia Dovras. Before the Vespers service, the hierarchs received the Sacred Skull of Saint Parthenius, Bishop of Lampsacus and Patron Saint of cancer patients. Metropolitan Dimitrios of Princes Islands presided over the Polyarchieratic Vespers service, concelebrated by Metropolitan Seraphim of Piraeus, Metropolitan Theologos of Serres and Nigrita, Metropolitan Chysostomos of Chalkida, Istiea and Northern Sporades, Metropolitan Pavlos of Servia and Kozani, Metropolitan Nikolaos of Mesogaia and Lavreotiki, Metropolitan Ioannis of Langadas, Liti and Rentini, Metropolitan Georgios of Kitros, Katerini and Platamon, Metropoli...

"A woman who exercises her constitutionally protected right to terminate a pregnancy is not a ‘mother,’” Ginsburg wrote .

( Romfea ) - New Bishop of Olbia from the Orthodox Autocephalous Church of Ukraine, Epiphanius, visited the Ecumenical Patriarchate on Tuesday, May 28. The Bishop was warmly welcomed by Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew. The Greek-born new hierarch, after having served many years in the Ecumenical Patriarchate and the Church of Greece, paid his respect to the Ecumenical Patriarch and asked for his blessing for his recent election and ordination by the Holy Synod of the Church of Ukraine. The Bishop of Olbia send a message of respect, gratitude and love, on behalf of Metropolitan Epiphanius of Kiev and all Ukraine and the Hierarchs, to the Mother Church of Constantinople. Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew wished the Bishop Epiphanius to be a good shepherd for the benefit of the people of Ukraine and especially the Greek Orthodox. It must be noted that the Bishop of Olbia is the first archieratical election and ordination since Mother Church of Constantinople granted the Tomos ...

( Patriarchate of Jerusalem ) - On Monday afternoon, May 14/27, 2019, at the Franciscan Monastery, there was a meeting of H.H.B. the Patriarch of Jerusalem Theophilos, Geronda Secretary-General Most Reverend Archbishop Aristarchos of Constantina, and Dragouman Archimandrite Mattheos, with the Franciscans, the Custos Fr. Francesco Patton, Fr. Dobromiro, Fr.David, and with the Armenian Patriarch in Jerusalem Archbishop Nourhan Manougian, the Hegoumen of the Armenians at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre Fr. Samuel and Fr. Gurion, for the signing of the agreement for the completion of the maintenance and restoration project of the Sacred Edicule and the Rotunda, after the maintenance and restoration works of the Sacred Edicule that were completed two years ago under the technical supervision of the Technical University of Athens. His Beatitude our Father and Patriarch of Jerusalem Theophilos made the following interview regarding the signing of this agreement:

A selection from St. John Chrysostom's 20th Homily on the Book of Acts (covering Acts 9:10-12). I've broken the text up a bit for ease of reading. You can read the original here . Nothing is more frigid than a Christian, who cares not for the salvation of others. Thou canst not here plead poverty: for she that cast down the two mites, shall be thine accuser. (Luke xxi. 1.) And Peter said, “Silver and gold have I none.” (Acts iii. 6.) And Paul was so poor, that he was often hungered, and wanted necessary food. Thou canst not plead lowness of birth: for they too were ignoble men, and of ignoble parents. Thou canst not allege want of education: for they too were “unlearned men.” (Acts iv. 13.) Even if thou be a slave therefore and a runaway slave, thou canst perform thy part: for such was Onesimus: yet see to what Paul calls him, and to how great honor he advances him: “that he may communicate with me,” he says, “in my bonds.” (Philem. v. 13.) Thou canst not plead infir...

( The Dean's List ) - With Archbishop Peter's blessing, this year summer courses will again be offered in the Pastoral School of the Diocese of Chicago & Mid-America. Applications for admission for the summer semester are due June 15, 2019. The following courses will be offered this year – dates for the courses are June 17 – August 3, 2018 (Liturgics is slightly longer in duration): Liturgics Church Slavonic Parish Management and Operations Thesis Writing Workshop Homiletics New Testament Greek New Testament Latin All Pastoral School summer courses are available to the general public without the need for a formal application to our complete Diploma program. To register please visit the following link: REGISTER FOR SUMMER SCHOOL To learn more about the summer courses and all the offerings of the Pastoral School please visit this link: ALL PASTORAL SCHOOL COURSES A flyer to share can be found here - please do share it: 2019 SUMMER SCHOOL FLYER  (PDF) ...

Has Greece recognized the OCU? No. If she is sending men to be hierarchs there, what is happening is not jiving with what is being officially un-professed. ( Romfea ) - Archimandrite Epiphanius Demetriou was elected by the Holy Synod of the Autocephalous Church of Ukraine. This development comes to fully confirm the report of romfea.gr, which cited in a publication the intention of the Head of the Autocephalous Church of Ukraine to elect a Greek Bishop.

( spc.rs ) - The Communique of the Holy Assembly of Bishops of the Serbian Orthodox Church from their regular meeting held at Zica Monastery and in Belgrade, May 9-18, 2019 This year’s regular meeting of the Holy Assembly of Bishops of the Serbian Orthodox Church began on May 9, 2019 in Monastery Zica, the first headquarters of the autocephalous Serbian Church, while the 800th anniversary of autocephaly, full Church independence, that great gift from God and great achievement of Saint Sava, we celebrate this year. After the Holy conciliar Hierarchical Liturgy and the Invocation of the Holy Spirit at the monastery church of Zica Monastery, the first sessions, under the presidency of His Holiness Serbian Patriarch Irinej, were held at the monastery, May 9-10, 2019, while beginning May 11th the Assembly continued its work at the Patriarchate in Belgrade. Participating in the Assembly were all diocesan hierarchs of the Serbian Orthodox Church with the exception of Bishop Luka of Western...

( Remembering Sion via Pravmir ) - Immanuel Kant once wrote: “Ingratitude is the essence of vileness.” And while I think that this is doubtless true in the modern sense of the word “vileness,” for the purpose of this article I would like to consider the archaic meaning: it comes from the Latin vilis, which means “worthless.” Kant is saying that there is nothing more worthless to human beings than ingratitude. “Not so!” argues a recent article in The Atlantic, entitled: “ Mothers Shouldn’t Be Grateful for Their Husbands’ Help. ” The bulk of the article consists of an amalgamation of anecdotes and statistics marshaled in order to prove that women are not only being taken advantage of by their husbands in “the distribution of child-care labor in their home,” but that they have even been somehow duped into being grateful for it. The gratitude of women toward their husbands is declared to be “an impediment to the elusive goal of equity in the home.” Ingratitude, says the author, is not ...

This article, entitled “ The depiction of the three persons of the Holy Trinity ” is quite interesting reading. It's being posted in multiple parts, but I'll reformat a bit for the blog. I did not adjust some of the colorful translation word choice. Enjoy! ( Pemptousia ) - The subject of the iconic approach of the Holy Trinity has especially preoccupied me here. And specifically the question whether, religiously wise, the depiction of the Holy Spirit in the classic icon of the Holy Trinity (in the past 350 years), as a pigeon, is correct or at least not harmful, that is the symbolic depiction of the non-built actions of HIM (as in the icon of Baptism) and not, of course, the existential depiction of the Embodied Son. (Besides from the non-built actions of HIM The Father as THE OLD OF DAYS is portrayed in the vision of DANIEL. Also the question arises, whether it is more correct the labeling of the Byzantine Icon of the three angels as “the hospitality of Abraham’’ rather ...

This belief that the life of a child should be cut out of society before he takes his first breath (or after if you happen to live in New York) if he might not be born into perfect circumstances is dangerous and frankly disgusting. Our politics have become so warped that actors can call for a sex strike to combat... anti-abortion legislation? Excepting non-consensual congress, it should be remembered that sex causes babies and that those people who have sex should acknowledge that this is how they are made. That you may try and obstruct the system with chemicals or prophylactics does not mean something went wrong, but that despite all your labyrinthine impediments, life won out. God has given us dominion over His creation, and yet we agonize over plastic straws in the ocean while just under a million children a year lose their lives and call it the humane choice. My life has seen numerous tectonically-large shifts on foundational beliefs: Is a man a man or is a man a woman i...

What was not mentioned below were some words about Orthodox unity in the New World. Specifically, this unity would be unity delivered by the EP - could only be delivered by the EP. Does this mean a lightning-fast action as we saw in Ukraine or is this more of the Canon 28 diasporal position that has been reiterated for years now. For the sake of all concerned I hope any actions taken will be measured and conciliar. ( GOARCH ) - Archbishop Elpidophoros Holds Teleconference Call with the Hierarchs and Clergy To the Reverend Clergy, The Esteemed Parish Councils, The Philoptochos Sisterhoods, The Youth Organizations, And the Faithful of the Holy Archdiocese of America: Today, May 16, 2019, His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros of America held a teleconference call with the Hierarchs and clergy – active and retired, of the Holy Archdiocese of America. The call was organized by Metropolitan Methodios of Boston in his capacity as Archiepiscopal Vicar, with the cooperation of the Arc...

I kid, but there does seem to be a new psalter published by some Orthodox publishing house every year. I'm going to buy it of course, but I think I have an entire bookshelf of psalters at this point. ( Holy Cross Bookstore ) - New from Holy Cross Orthodox Press! The Psalter According to the Seventy is a new translation by the Rev. Fr. Peter Chamberas. This edition is interlinear with Greek on the left and English on the right. It is broken into the traditional Kathismata. The gilded pages and beautiful layout creates an aesthetic of prayer.

( Vatican ) - Apostolic Journey to Bulgaria: Visit to the Patriarch and to the Holy Synod Your Holiness, Venerable Metropolitans and Bishops, Dear Brothers, Christos vozkrese! In the joy of the Risen Saviour, I offer you Easter greetings on this Sunday known in the Christian East as “Saint Thomas Sunday”. Let us consider the Apostle, who puts his hand in the Lord’s side, touches his wounds and proclaims, “My Lord and my God!” (Jn 20:28). The wounds opened in the course of history between us Christians remain painful bruises on the Body of Christ which is the Church. Even today, their effects are tangible; we can touch them with our hands. Yet, perhaps together we can touch those wounds, confess that Jesus is risen, and proclaim him our Lord and our God. Perhaps together we can recognize our failings and immerse ourselves in his wounds of love. And in this way, we can discover the joy of forgiveness and enjoy a foretaste of the day when, with God’s help, we can celebrate the ...

Hagiopolite - of Jerusalem (ἅγιος πόλις - Holy City). People see the word often in relation to a saint (e.g. Cosmas the Hagiopolite ) and continue past without giving the descriptor much thought, but once you understand the meaning, you'll see it all the time. It also comes into play when we look at liturgical history. For example, Hagiopolitan is often used when discussing the origins of this or that practice (often in contrast to Constantinopolitan or other ancient sees). There are quite a few of these titles milling about. From something like the relatively common Studite to the mysterious Tishbite.

Watch the solemn ceremony in which His Holiness Karekin II, Catholicos of All Armenians, consecrated the Primate of the Eastern Diocese Bishop Daniel Findikyan. The consecration took place on May 12, 2019, at the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin.

I've been to this a few times. Really enjoyed it. You don't have to be in the OCA. Other jurisdictions do come - in fact even some non-Orthodox come. Send your enthusiastic parishioners. Send your unenthusiastic parishioners who need a little revitalization. Heck, send yourself. Scholarships are available. ( OCA ) - Online registration is now open for the Parish Development Forum, slated to be held at Saint John the Baptist Church in the Pittsburgh suburb of Canonsburg, PA from 3:00 p.m. on July 11 through noon on Saturday July 13, 2019. 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 “Strengthening Our Commitment to the Community: Growing and Sharing Our Faith; Welcoming Others”. “The Forum will focus on encouraging parishes to move beyond the status quo and adopt a mindset of thriving – not merely surviving,” said Joseph Kormos, Forum Co-Chair and...

Given the speed of other recent events unfolding in the Orthodox world this year, September seems like leisurely-paced dawdling instead of responsible pacing. Machine translated English: ( AROC-WE ) - Communiqué of the Office of the Diocesan Administration of May 13, 2019 concerning the Pastoral Assembly of May 11th of the Archdiocese of the Russian Orthodox Churches in Western Europe. May 11, 2019 was held in the premises of the Institute of Theology St. Sergius and with the help of the parish St Serge, the pastoral assembly that his Eminence Archbishop Jean de Charioupolis had convened in his pastoral letter of April 22, 2019. This initiative follows the disarray caused by the decision of 27 November 2018 of the Holy Synod of the Patriarchate of Constantinople to repeal the Exarchate and the spontaneous debate that has developed in the future of our Archdiocese. After the celebration of the divine liturgy presided by Monseigneur Jean, the assembly of priests, deacons and m...

( Death to the World ) - We recently received the following story about a living martyr named Monk Gabriel, who lives in Georgia, a country near the black sea which not long ago had been under the yoke of Communism. Last year one member of our Brotherhood went to Georgia and met this man, and confirmed the truth of this account. “Thirty five years ago in the year that Stalin died (Stalin died in March and it all happened during a May demonstration), Fr. Gabriel was a very young Hieromonk… “Do you know the central square in Tbilisi? During the Demonstration, the government speakers and the speaker’s rostrum stood there. Behind them, on the building of the Executive Committee of the Communist Party, there always hung portraits of the party leaders in full figure, two floors in height. At the peak of the demonstration, when the square was packed with people and while a member of the government was delivering a speech, suddenly a portrait of Stalin burst into flames. Fr. Gabriel ha...

Let's see... Do you want to learn about St. Gregory the Theologian? Do you want to help revitalize the Church in Albania? Do you want to visit one of the prettiest churches in Texas? And since it's in July... with some of the best A/C? How about listen to a gifted choir? I'm sure the food is going to be quite good, too. This is the place to go. Head over to North Texas Orthodox Missions to register.

The dark day has come. I know everyone has been hoping to avoid it. You are going to have to learn how to spell Elpidophoros. All kidding aside, Met. Elpidophoros has been the presumed candidate for years now; groomed by positions given and proximity to His All-Holiness, he was destined to take up an important role in the Ecumenical Patriarchate at any moment. So here we are with a very rushed, unanimous decision made without the necessary consultations from the American Church. On the one side, you can be saddened that this was rammed through a normally methodical and plodding process. On the other side, you can see that this was all arranged well ahead of time and is part of a larger plan. Googling "Elpidophoros" is going to get you a few results (for those interested he even has a Twitter account). Almost all of them have to do with this hierarch. Many of them have to do with his speaking points vis-à-vis his "first without equals" writings.  It was all t...

This post is a little complicated. It's three parts that I did a bit of formatting to make more clear. The first part is the narrative for what the Greek's advisory council is asking for, the second section is their official resolution, and the third section is the actual letter they sent the Ecumenical Patriarch. For as much as my opinion counts, Constantinople has had this replacement plan for Abp. Demetrios in the works for years. I don't see the Holy Synod slowing down for what the Archdiocesan Council has to say. At this speed is a locum tenens even necessary separate from the man chosen in a few hours? ATLANTA ( GOARCH ) – The Archdiocesan Council of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, which is meeting for its regular Spring meeting in Atlanta, May 9-10, 2019, received yesterday a request from the Ecumenical Patriarchate asking for the Council’s opinion according to article 13 of the Charter to be submitted today by 2:00 p.m. EDT. After consideration, th...

( OCN ) - But understand this, that in the last days, there will come times of stress. For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, inhuman, implacable, slanderers, profligates, fierce, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding the form of religion but denying the power of it. 2 Timothy 3: 2-5 One day, an irate woman came into my office. “Father, I’m so mad at you,” she fumed. “What did I do that has gotten you so upset?” I replied. She said, “You did yiayia’s memorial on the 41st day after her death, and now her soul will never rest.” (In the Orthodox Church, it is a Tradition to have a memorial on the 40th day after a person passes away. The forty day interval was chosen in connection with the Ascension, which took place 40 days after the Resurrection.) After thinking for a few seconds, I looked her in the eye and said, “I ...

All signs point to a decision May 11th.

( Romfea ) - A new Archbishop of Australia was elected by the Holy Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate some time ago. The Holy Synod unanimously voted for Bishop Makarios of Christoupolis to be the new Archbishop of Australia. Makarios was born in Heraklion, Crete, in 1973. He studied at the Higher Ecclesiastical School of Athens and the Theological School of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens. He had a Master of Sacred Theology at the University of Boston, a Master of Arts in History of Science at Harvard and a Master of Bioethics at Monash University. His doctoral dissertation was received and passed with an “Excellent” score from the Medical School of the University of Crete. The work was published under the title, Cloning: Social, Ethical and Theological Components. Since 2003 he has been teaching at the Higher Ecclesiastical Academy of Heraklion. He has occasionally taught courses at various universities, including Hellenic College, the Medical Schools o...

Machine Translation: ( Romfea ) - An unexpected meeting was held today, Thursday 9 May, on the sidelines of the events of the end of the Second World War in the Ukrainian capital. Metropolitan Epiphanius and Metropolitan Onufrios had Christian embrace, exchanging greetings, causing the surprise of the attendees. Although there was some embarrassment, there is no doubt that both Metropolitan Onoufrius and Metropolitan Epiphanius kept the formulas. Original Greek: Μια απρόσμενη συνάντηση πραγματοποιήθηκε σήμερα, Πέμπτη 9 Μαϊου στο περιθώριο των εκδηλώσεων για τη λήξη του Β’ Παγκοσμίου Πολέμου στην Ουκρανική πρωτεύουσα. Ο Μητροπολίτης Επιφάνιος και ο Μητροπολίτης Ονούφριος είχαν χριστιανικό ασπασμό, ενώ αντάλλαξαν χαιρετισμούς προκαλώντας την έκπληξη των παρευρισκομένων. Αν και υπήρξε κάποια αμηχανία δεν υπάρχει αμφιβολία ότι τόσο ο Μητροπολίτης Ονούφριος, όσο και ο Μητροπολίτης Επιφάνιος, τήρησαν τους τύπους.

( HTS ) - On April 28, 2019, the first day of Holy Pascha, His Eminence, Archbishop Alypy, reposed in the Lord. Thus ended the heavy cross born by Vladyka for many years, after a tragic accident, after which he became an invalid. Vladyka Alypy was the last of the group of monastics, who came to the Holy Trinity Monastery after World War II, from a devastated Europe. His autobiography can be found on the website of the Chicago diocese of ROCOR. In the monastery he was best known as an iconographer, helper of the famous Archimandrite Cyprian, and also as a teacher of Church Slavonic, for which he composed a text book, which is used to this day in the Holy Trinity Seminary in its English translation and also in Russia. In 1974 Vladyka was consecrated Bishop of Cleveland, vicar for the Chicago and Midwestern-American diocese. Upon the retirement of Archbishop Seraphim, he succeeded him as ruling bishop. Vladyka expressed his desire that upon his death he be buried in his former...

From ekklisiaonline ... Machine Translated English: ONLINE CHURCH: The decision on the Archdiocese of America is expected on Saturday. Read the names of the candidates: The metropolitan bishop of Boston, Methodios , the 52-year-old Metropolitan of Prousis Elpidophoros, Abbot of the Halki Monastery , 64-year-old Metropolitan Nikitas of the Dardanelles , 61-year-old Metropolitan of France Emmanuel, and 46-year-old Bishop Makarios of Christopoulos. Greek Original: ΕΚΚΛΗΣΙΑ ONLINE: Το Σάββατο αναμένεται η απόφαση για την Αρχιεπισκοπή Αμερικής. Διαβάστε τα ονόματα των υποψηφίων: Στην πεντάδα των μητροπολιτών που έχουν ξεχωρίσει στην κούρσα της διαδοχής, περιλαμβάνεται ο 73χρονος μητροπολίτης Βοστώνης Μεθόδιος, ο 52χρονος μητροπολίτης Προύσης Ελπιδοφόρος, ηγούμενος της Μονής Χάλκης, ο 64χρονος μητροπολίτης Δαρδανελλίων Νικήτας, ο 61χρονος μητροπολίτης Γαλλίας Εμμανουήλ αλλά και ο μόλις 46 ετών επίσκοπος Χριστουπόλεως Μακάριος.

This has been in the works for quite a while. Speculation about the "why" of this EP-requested resignation has been rampant; ranging from wanting a fresh start following the financial chaos in the Greek Archdiocese (missing millions, ground zero church missed payments, HCHC faltering), to replacing him with someone younger and more stridently acquiescent to patriarchal fiat, to conspiracy theories not worth repeating. All that to say, it wasn't if Abp. Demetrios was going to be asked to resign, but when he was going to do it. You may ask who is going replace him. Abp. Demetrios is his own man with a wealth of knowledge and strong pastoral experience from his decades in the episcopate. It's hard to imagine the next hierarch having this robust foundational education and experience or that he will be as much of an independent voice for the American Church. None of the names I have heard are going to make opponents of Constantinopolitan hegemony happy. If Ukraine was the ...

Can you imagine what would happen if the EP unilaterally declared an autocephalous Church for the US? I shudder to think. But really, if you want to see how one Church declaring an autocephalous Church for North America would go, look to the OCA. How has that autocephaly fared? Not even the fellow Russian jurisdictions of the MP or ROCOR feel compelled to rest under Syosset's omophor. OCL continues to make a fool of itself with their posts. Musings of the Executive Director: The Time for an Autocephalous USA Orthodox Christian Church is NOW! ( OCL ) - The Synaxis of Patriarchs in 2008 decided that the Orthodox Church in the USA is uncanonical. How many more years can this situation fester? The Synaxis developed an Assembly of Bishops of all the canonical bishops in the USA to address the issue. They have been meeting for ten years and have reached an impasse. It is now up to the Patriarchs to act either in a synodical conciliar meeting with the 14 Self Ruling Patriarchs/Hiera...