Byzantine, Texas

( Interfax ) - Open letter of Metropolitan Sergiy of Singapore and Southeast Asia, Patriarchal Exarch of Southeast Asia, to Metropolitan Ambrosios of Korea (Patriarchate of Constantinople) Your Eminence Metropolitan Ambrosios, I have long hesitated to respond to your interview published on The Orthodox World website on April 12: https://theorthodoxworld.com/exclusive-how-the-moscow-patriarchate-tramples-on-church-canons-and-undermines-orthodox-unity-in-korea/. However, the impression from my recent trip to Ukraine, to attend with a blessing of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia the celebrations on the occasion of the Name Day of His Beatitude Metropolitan Onufry of Kiev and All Ukraine, led me to the decision to respond to your public statements. Since your interview remarks are published on a website which gives no information about those who run and edit it, I can see no other way to respond to these publications than to appeal personally to you. However, c...

You can almost feel the discomfort the Church of Greece has in handling this situation. It is almost exactly unlike the feeling a judge has when forced to fine a child for setting up an un-permitted lemonade stand in front of his house. Where little Timmy had no idea he was doing anything that would run afoul of municipal food safety laws, the Ecumenical Patriarch knew exactly how he was taking a tough situation and turning lemons into... more and possibly even less palatable lemons. Ff the tomos was not received well by at least some of the patriarchates, things were bound to go much as they have. And yet Greece acknowledges its close fraternal bonds with Constantinople and also holds to a greater and more wide-ranging role of the Ecumenical Patriarchate than its Slavic brothers would. Can the Greek Church consider this slower consultative path for her bag of lemons and end up offending fewer people (the  Γλυκό λεμόνι του κουταλιού  outcome) or is it destined to eventually ta...

People who have read this blog for a while know that I am a big proponent of the Saint Constantine School in Houston, TX. My children went there and it really prepared them for college. So I am overjoyed to see the Constantinian model spreading to PA. You might even see me there. The Saint Constantine School of the Lehigh Valley invites you to its inaugural event ! Come learn about a K-12 classical school in the Orthodox Christian tradition slated to open in the Lehigh Valley in Fall 2020. Featured speakers will be the Right Rev. Bishop Thomas (Joseph), Ed.D., and Dr. John Mark Reynolds, Headmaster of Saint Constantine School - Houston. This event is held with the support, initiative and blessing of the Lehigh Valley Orthodox Clergy Brotherhood

One of the things one learns quickly in the parish setting is that people have lots of opinions and they will find ways of making them known one way or another. Some few will come out and state them, some will form committees to investigate things with preconceived outcomes in mind, some will send anonymous letters to priests or their bishops, and some will turn council meetings into soapbox sessions for these pet positions. A good priest learns how to respond to such things with love, patience, and a firm divider between acceptable and unacceptable behavior. I, for one, won't even read an anonymous letter. It will go unanswered and most probably into the trash. That's not a secret position, but a very public one. The poison-pen is all rights and no responsibilities, all questioning and no willingness to be questioned, all opinion and no mercy. At the same time I've listened to quite long coffee hour conversation on how a parishioner is sure he has found proof-positive th...

( Basilica ) - The Orthodox Church of the Czech Lands and Slovakia celebrates on Tuesday its 21st anniversary since the bestowing of autocephaly by the Ecumenical Patriarch in 1998. The history of this Church dates back to the 9th century legacy of Sts Cyril and Methodius, the enlighteners of the Slavs. Its modern history started after World War I when Czechoslovakia was mainly inhabited by Catholics. At that time, many Russians and Ruthenians came to Czechoslovakia. Among them, priest Matej Pavlik, the future Orthodox bishop and martyr Gorazd, stood out. He had a major influence in the country’s future and was declared a saint in 1987. Back then the Orthodox numbered almost 40 000. In 1921, the Serbian patriarch of Belgrade consecrated Bishop Gorazd of Prague as the first independent bishop of the Czechs. During World War II, the church was disbanded and Bishop Gorazd and other Orthodox clergy members were executed in the summer of 1942 by the Nazis for alleged connection...

Channel available here .

In 2010 it was the now disgraced and laicized Cardinal Theodore Edgar McCarrick. In 2016 it was Governor Andrew Cuomo who unabashedly said the pro-life movement "has no place in New York" and lit the World Trade Center up in pink lights to celebrate the passing of an egregious abortion bill (see here ). This year it's the uncontentious choice (sarcasm) of Metropolitan Epiphanios of Kyiv and All Ukraine. ( ARCHONS ) - Archbishop Elpidophoros of America, Exarch of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, together with Archon National Commander Dr. Anthony J. Limberakis, will present the Athenagoras Human Rights Award to His Beatitude Metropolitan Epiphanios of Kyiv and All Ukraine at the New York Hilton Midtown on October 19, 2019. Metropolitan Epiphanios has been a strong advocate for religious freedom and a key defender of the ecclesiastical and canonical prerogatives of the Ecumenical Patriarchate. His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros hailed the choice: “His Beatitude Metrop...

From the blog " copticliterature.wordpress.com ," an opinion piece on why "the Copts must seek ecumenical union with the Russian Orthodox Church before any other Church." There are religious, social and political reasons for why we should seek unity with other churches for as long as that ecumenical movement does not compromise the theology or teachings of the Coptic Orthodox Church. Religiously, the push for union is driven by the Bible: Jesus in his prayer to the Father, prayed for the unity of all Christians: “I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.”[1] And Saint Paul exhorts us to be united: “Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.”[2] In fact there are man...

( Basilica ) - A group of tech-savvy Romanians are currently testing Sotiras, a new social platform that could be an Orthodox alternative to Facebook. Their initiative has the blessing of the Romanian monks from the Annunciation Kellia of the Romanian Lakkoskete on Mount Athos. The new social networking website ‘aims at promoting beauty, normality, and Christian values’, reads a statement of the founders published by Marturie Athonita. In order to avoid any inappropriate opinions associated with the endeavour, it is stated that “this platform is not intended to take on extremist Orthodox forms”. On the contrary, “it aims to be an online place where people with similar values can communicate freely”. Because the project is in the testing phase, access is currently being restricted. People can still request access by completing an application form . The name Sotiras means ‘Saviour’ in Greek.

This visit has given rise to the idea that the OCA is going to come up under the GOA. Really, any time the Greeks come visit the OCA the same rumor comes back up. It's much like when you put two fish of unequal size in the same fish tank and worry that one fish will surely eat the other one. These two churches function so differently that I can't imagine such a thing happening without horrible dyspepsia. The OCA wouldn't get anything out of it, and the Greek Archdiocese has enough to deal with (from the very public financial troubles still rocking it to constant complaints about how Chicago is being run to the instability at Holy Cross) to countenance any sort of jurisdictional piscatorial meal. ( OCA ) - On Wednesday, August 14, 2019, His Beatitude, Metropolitan Tikhon met with His Eminence, Archbishop Elpidiphoros of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America. Having been in Cappadocia with His All Holiness, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew during the time of the ent...

( HTS ) - Nicolas Schidlovsky, PhD, began his tenure as the new Dean of Holy Trinity Orthodox Seminary on August 15, succeeding Archpriest Alexander F.C. Webster, PhD, who has retired as Dean and Professor of Moral Theology. After a formal search by a special Seminary Search Committee, including an energetic interview process last spring, the HTOS Board of Trustees unanimously recommended Professor Schidlovsky to ROCOR’s Holy Synod of Bishops. The Synod officially appointed him as Dean at a plenary session in San Francisco on June 27. Dean Schidlovsky comes to Jordanville with an impressive record. His proven talent and far-reaching academic achievements—too numerous to list here—range from college and university-level teaching to a wide sphere of international scholarship and publication of his prominent, path-breaking research. In addition, Dean Schidlovsky was the founder and director of the ROCM (Russian Orthodox Church Musicians Fund) in 1982, and he has served as a board ...

( ONA ) - The upcoming fall agenda before members of the Autocephalous Church of Greece’s Holy Synod will be extensive, as members must appoint at least two new Metropolitans, in the Metropolis of Fthiotida and the Metropolis of Kalavryta, respectively. Just as pressing is discussion on the Church of Greece’s position vis-a-vis the contentious issue of the Tomos of Autocephaly for the Orthodox Church of the Ukraine. The first meeting will convene on Tuesday, August 27, where members will formally accept the resignation of the Metropolitan of Kalavryta and Aigialeia, His Eminence Ambrosios. The Metropolitan announced his resignation over the weekend from the pulpit, with the official letter expected to be submitted at the Holy Synod in Athens on Monday.

( Word from Guatemala ) - Led by their charismatic leader in Guatemala- the late Father Andres Giron (2014), the Mayan people found a champion to vigorously address their spiritual and material needs. The social movement began with his advocacy for land reform and their repatriation to lands forcibly taken from them. No longer having a spiritual home because of many dislocations brought about by a brutal civil war and the absence of pastoral care, these same people also asked Father Andres to assume responsibility for their spiritual lives. Village after village sought him out for sacraments — baptisms, weddings, confessions, the Holy Eucharist, health care and healing. Having been expelled from his mother church for his political activities, he was additionally threatened with death and nearly assassinated four times, even while accompanied by body guards. Fr. Andres, nonetheless, bravely traveled to remote places where the faithful yearned to hear the Gospel preached from a man w...

( Holy Trinity Bookstore ) - The Divine Liturgy of Saint James is the eucharistic rite of the ancient Church of Jerusalem and the most ancient extant liturgy of the Eastern Church. In recent decades, the frequency of its use has increased throughout the Orthodox Church. This service book offers for the first time a parallel Church Slavonic-English text, suitable for use by clergy and servers. It also contains the Divine Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts of the Holy Apostle James, which is rarely served today but has been preserved in part in a few Greek manuscripts and in full in several Georgian sources. An introduction by Dr Vitaly Permiakov, a specialist in the Jerusalem liturgy, presents the provenance and integrity of both ancient Liturgical services. Not yet published. Order now and they will ship to arrive on or before the official publication date of 1st Jan 2020

( orthochristian.com ) - The Holy Synod of the Patriarchate of Constantinople unexpectedly decided to remove the exarchate status of the Archdiocese of Russian Churches in Western Europe, telling the parishes that they had to become part of the Patriarchate’s Greek metropolises. You can read more about that here . However, the clergy and faithful of the Archdiocese then overwhelmingly voted to remain together as an ecclesiastical body. They are actively considering several options for their future, the most likely being to join the Moscow Patriarchate, which has the backing of the Archdiocese’s hierarch, Archbishop John of Chariopoulis, though there are certainly those members who actively oppose returning to the Russian Church. On August 9, the parishes of the former Exarchate received two documents, one with a proposal from the Patriarchate of Constantinople, and the other with a proposal from the Moscow Patriarchate. The clergy and parishioners have until September 7 to conside...

( OCA ) - The Department of Liturgical Music of the Orthodox Church in America again will be offering an on-line course, “ Choral Conducting for Beginners  (PDF),” beginning September 16, 2019. “The class sessions are devoted to demonstrating basic conducting technique, beginning with elementary conducting patterns and concluding with an emphasis on conducting liturgical chant. The course will be limited to twelve participants.” said Prof. David Drillock, department chair, who will teach the course. The course will consist of 12 sessions, covered over a period of 13 weeks. The first half of the course concentrates on the relationship between text and music, accented and non-accented syllables, and in the first six sessions the practical exercises are focused on learning the basic beat patterns, conducting within the conducting plane, various forms of cutoffs, use of the left hand, basic dynamics, and analysis of the music used in the exercises and assignments. Prof. Drillo...

( president.gov.ua ) - President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy had a meeting with Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I at the Fener in Istanbul. The Ecumenical Patriarch reiterated support for Ukraine’s territorial integrity and sovereignty. Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked the Ecumenical Patriarch for supporting Ukraine. “Our common value is human life. This is the main thing for me, especially now, when I became President of Ukraine. The authorities shouldn’t interfere in church affairs. I will defend the independence of the church,” the Head of State emphasized. The agenda of the President’s visit to Turkey also includes St. George's Cathedral located on the territory of the Ecumenical Patriarchate.

Ecclesiastically, Christians in Albania, as part of the province of Illyricum, were under the jurisdiction of the Bishop of Rome (1st-8th century). From 732-733 AD the ecclesiatical jurisdiction of Illyricum was transferred to the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople. It declared its autocephaly in 1922 through its Congress of 1922, and gained recognition from the Patriarch of Constantinople in 1937. The church suffered during the Second World War, and in the communist period that followed, especially after 1967 when Albania was declared an atheist state, and no public or private expression of religion was allowed. The church has, however, seen a revival since religious freedom was restored in 1991, with more than 250 churches rebuilt or restored, and more than 100 clergy being ordained. It has 909 parishes spread all around Albania, and around 500,000 to 700,000 faithful. ( Orthodox Albania ) - Each year we celebrate two significant events which mark the official canonic...

( ROC ) - In Hong Kong, China Orthodox Press Publishing Company issued the Sunday Octoechos in the Chinese language. The publication of a major liturgical book was aimed at making liturgical texts available for the Chinese-speaking faithful. It can be used both for public worship and private prayer. The edition includes eight volumes of the Octoechos, 36 pages in each volume, with parallel English and Chinese texts, liturgical commentaries and a short appendix of Chinese vocal chanting. This edition based on the Chinese text translated by the Beijing Ecclesiastical Mission in the 19th century was substantially edited to comply with the present-day standards of the Chinese liturgical language, Patriarchia.ru reports, citing the website of the Church of Ss. Peter and Paul in Hong Kong. Electronic version of the Sunday Octoechos in traditional hieroglyphs will be available for free download on China Orthodox Press’s website. The version with simplified hieroglyphs and paper ve...

Sarov, August 1 ( Interfax ) - The chief danger of developing digital technologies is restriction of human freedom, Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia believes. Such an opinion he expressed at his meeting with scientists from the Russian Federal Nuclear Center - Russian Scientific-Research Institute of Experimental Physics in Sarov. "The danger of developing new technologies is only in it: these technologies result in certain restrictions or even lack of freedom for people. <...>The more we depend on digital media, the more we endanger our freedom," the primate of the Russian Church said. The patriarch stressed that the loss of freedom of personality can be unnoticed by people who entirely depend technological achievements. "Not only means of communication, but the entire digital civilization that is becoming our asset can maximally restrict human freedom without creating any discomfort. A person can even fail to notice that his freedom is restricte...