Byzantine, Texas

( SOC ) - Communique of the Holy Synod of Bishops of the Serbian Orthodox Church As regards the latest developments in Montenegro relating to the announced adoption of the draft Law on Freedom of Religion or Belief and Legal Status of Religious Communities, the Holy Synod of Bishops of the Serbian Orthodox Church hereby expresses its support to the archbishops, clergy, monasticism and faithful people of the dioceses: Montenegro and the Littoral, Budimlje-Niksic, Mileseva and Zahumlje-Herzegovina, to continue defending their religious rights in Montenegro, encouraged by the power of the Holy Spirit and the prayerful representation of the saints of our own kin. As already stated in the official statement of the Holy Assembly of Bishops, we now reiterate that we are against the draft Law by which representatives of the authorities in Montenegro want to forcibly take away churches and monasteries and the belonging properties from the Metropolitanate and Dioceses of the Serbian Orthodox...

It is one thing to break communion with an autocephalous body. It is another thing to found or break off existing parishes in the territory of the Church for yourself in response. This both further destabilizes the Church and extends the schism. Breaks in the body of the Church create more breaks, so expect to see further shattering at these events continue. It is a small step to move from this current stavropegial setup to overlapping bishops in Africa itself. ( orthochristian.com ) - The Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church met in Moscow today under the chairmanship of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia. The hierarchs considered and responded to the decision of Patriarch Theodoros of Alexandria to recognize the Ukrainian schismatics, expressing their deep sorrow at his decision that makes it impossible to maintain Eucharistic communion with him. The Synod also came to decisions regarding the Alexandria representation church in Moscow and the Russian re...

H/T: Lessons from a Monastery

Moscow, December 26 ( Interfax ) - The Russian Orthodox Church has decided to cease all forms of communion with Patriarch Theodore II of Alexandria and All Africa, who recently recognized the non-canonical "Orthodox Church of Ukraine". The Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church officially resolved at its meeting in Moscow on Thursday that "the liturgical commemoration of the name of Patriarch Theodore of Alexandria in diptychs, as well as prayer and Eucharistic communion, with him is impossible."

( RISU ) - The meeting of the Holy Synod of the Orthodox Church of the Czech Lands and Slovakia was held on December 17 in Prague. The Synod adopted four resolutions, of which two relate to the internal life of this local Church and two to relations with other local churches. Ukrainian theologian Ilya Bey wrote in on Portal-Credo.Ru. According to him, the Synod of Czech Lands did not succumb under the influence of Northern "Church capital" and did not satisfy their requests in full, even despite of a personal visit of the "foreign Minister" of the Russian Orthodox Church to Metropolitan Rastislav of the Czech Lands and Slovakia, Archbishop of Prešov and Slovakia. The Synod, in particular, approved the proposal of Patriarch Theophilus III of Jerusalem to hold a meeting of primates of local Churches in February 2020 in Jordan. Also, the Synod recalls the co-service of Bishop Isaiah of Šumperk with representatives of the OCU on November 20-21 in Kyiv. In conn...

( Orthochristian ) - The Holy Synod of the Church of the Czech Lands and Slovakia gathered in Prague on Tuesday, December 17 under the chairmanship of His Beatitude Metropolitan Rostislav. The hierarchs discussed a number of topical issues concerning the Patriarchate of Constantinople’s recent actions in Ukraine and in the Czech Republic. In particular, the hierarchs adopted a resolution supporting the convocation of the primates of the Local Churches in Jordan in February 2020, as proposed by His Beatitude Patriarch Theophilos of Jerusalem. The Synod thus welcomes the beginning of an official dialogue to resolve the Church crisis in Ukraine, reports the official Church site. Pat. Theophilos’ invitation came during his acceptance speech after receiving the Patriarch Alexei II Award for working towards Church unity from the International Public Foundation for the Unity of Orthodox Peoples in Moscow last month. Addressing his fellow primates, His Beatitude said: We would like to...

( MEMO ) - The Head of the Sebastia Diocese of the Greek Orthodox Church in Jerusalem Archbishop Atallah Hanna was reportedly hospitalised yesterday after being poisoned by chemical substances, according to Quds TV. Reports said the Archbishop was rushed to hospital after an Israeli gas canister was fired into his church in Jerusalem. He is expected to make a full recovery. The outspoken Palestinian Christian leader has been a staunch critic of Israel’s treatment of Palestinians and its acts of aggression in neighbouring Lebanon and Syria. Hanna was a notable attendee at last month’s First international Conference on Israeli Apartheid held at Istanbul. “The occupation in Jerusalem is treating us as if we are guests and foreigners in our own city. This is the embodiment of apartheid policies and practices against our people in Jerusalem specifically and in Palestine more generally,” he told MEMO in an exclusive interview. #Israel Tried to Assassinate Him In a fresh #Israeli ...

( UOC-USA ) - Ukrainians gathered for the formal celebration of the First Anniversary of the Unification Council of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine that took place a year ago - December 15, 2018.Upon the invitation of His Beatitude Metropolitan Epifaniy of Kyiv and All Ukraine, the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople comissioned the hierarchs of the Throne - His Eminence Metropolitan Emmanuel of France, His Eminence Metropolitan Amphilochius, His Eminence Archbishop Daniel (Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the USA), His Grace Bishop Ilarion (UOC of Canada) and His Grace Bishop Maximos of the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of France - to formally represent the Patriarchate at the festivities.

This article is going to get some responses. Let me ask you to be civil for the very reason that, if you aren't, you're going to prove to the people with differing views that they are right to think contemptuously of your opinions. ( Orthodox World ) -  “Therefore whatever they tell you to observe, that observe and do, but do not do according to their works; for they say, and do not do” (Matthew 23:3). The reaction of the Moscow Patriarchate to the recent decisions by the Ancient Patriarchate of Alexandria, as well as the Church of Greece, to formally recognize the Orthodox Church in Ukraine (OCU) and its primate, Metropolitan Epiphanios of Kyiv and all Ukraine, reminds me of the Bible passage above. Last November, in my article “Caring for the Church of Ukraine: Constantinople’s Calmness Carries the Day” published in Providence Magazine, I wrote that local Orthodox churches should seriously examine Moscow’s reaction to the granting of the Tomos of Autocephaly to the OCU...

( Serbian-NCSA ) - THE EPISCOPAL COUNCIL OF THE SERBIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH IN NORTH, CENTRAL AND SOUTH AMERICA December 6/November 23, 2019 Chicago TO ALL THE GOD-GIVEN FULLNESS OF THE CHURCH OF THE SERBIAN ORTHODOX PEOPLE IN NORTH, CENTRAL AND SOUTH AMERICA By the grace and gift of the Holy and Life-giving Spirit, preserving the decency and priestly order (1 Cor. 14:40) of the Church of Christ, and per the decision of the Holy Synod of Bishops of the Serbian Orthodox Church (No. 995 and 1009/Min. 638 dated September 25, 2019), and in the spirit of the behest of the Episcopal Council (E.C. No. 11, dated December 5, 2019), the Bishops, members of the Episcopal Council for North, Central and South America, have the honor of informing you that they have adopted the decision of t he Holy Synod of Bishops which states: “Repeal all decisions of the Church Assembly-Sabor of the Serbian Orthodox Church in North and South….concerning the organization of the Serbian Orthodox Dioceses on ...

( Ahval ) - Bishop Sahak Maşalyan has been elected as the 85th Istanbul Armenian Patriarch by receiving 102 votes of the 119 member committee on Wednesday, Hürriyet newspaper reported. The other candidate, Acting Patriarch Aram Ateşyan, received 16 votes, while one vote was invalid, the newspaper said. The Patriarch, which is the highest position in the Armenian community from both a religious and social perspective, is also recognised by the state and internationally as the leader of Armenians in the country. The election of the new patriarch has raised a great deal of controversy over a regulation which prevented most candidates from running. The Turkish Interior Ministry’s regulation, which included a stipulation that candidates must come from within the Patriarchate, effectively ruled out 10 out of the 13 possible candidates.

( Orthodox Times ) - The Archbishop of America said characteristically: “I bow to the holy figure of Elder Ephraim with reverence and gratitude, for he founded the Orthodox monasticism in America and cultivated the barrenness spiritual desert of our country.” It is recalled that the funeral service of the late Elder will be officiated by the Archbishop of America on St. Anthony’s Greek Orthodox Monastery in Arizona on Wednesday, December 11. And also... ( Greek Reporter ) - Elder Ephraim, also known as Ioannis Moraitis, the spiritual head of the Greek Orthodox St. Anthony’s Monastery in Arizona passed away on Sunday. He was 91. Ephraim, born in Volos, Greece, established 19 monasteries in North America, 17 in the US and 2 in Canada, both for men and women, which are subject to the Greek Orthodox Archdioceses of America and Canada. He lived in the monastery, established in 1995, situated in the middle of the harsh Arizona desert not too far away from Phoenix and the town of Fl...

( OCA-DOW ) - Recently Fr. Damiam Kuolt was interviewed by the Bend Bulletin. Here is the article: ( Agia Sophia Opens in Bend ) From its 1984 opening, The Open Book in Bend had been a mainstay for book lovers needing a fix of Kurt Vonnegut, Barbara Kingsolver, John D. MacDonald or any of thousands of other authors. When fans of the 2,400-square-foot used bookstore learned via Facebook last year that the longstanding shop was up for sale, one commented that the thought of it closing filled him with anxiety: “For crying out loud, somebody save this place and keep it looking the same, for my sanity,” he wrote. Father Damian Kuolt of St. Jacob Orthodox Christian Church in Bend has saved it, but it no longer looks the same: In its place stands Agia Sophia Coffeehouse and Bookstore. The shop remained open through the last several months of considerable remodeling and will have its soft opening Dec. 6 if everything goes according to plan. The front half of the store will now house a...

Behold! The promises of the prophets are fulfilled! The holy mountain is planted in the womb. The divine ladder is set up, the great throne of the King is ready. The place for the Lord's passage is prepared. The dry bush, which the fire could not consume, is blossoming. The treasury of grace is an abundant flow of blessing which heals the barrenness of Anna, whom we glorify with faith. The traditions and teaching of the Christian Church often appear to change and evolve over time. Yet from within it can be seen that it is not that the teaching itself changes, but that each generation brings new ways to express their Faith, which itself is eternal and unchanging. A perfect example of this is the Icon of the Theotokos – “Unburning Bush”. Indeed, the Icon in its current form weaves together numerous ancient teachings of the Church – on the Mother of God, the Incarnation, Old Testament Prophecies and Angelology – into a single, stunning composition. Peeling the layer...

With so much talk of the diptychs and the history associated with the removal and addition of names from it, I thought I'd pick up Taft's "A History of the Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, Volume IV, The Diptychs" to reacquaint myself with the history and theological importance of diptychs and intercessions. As is common when one reads Taft, there is a line that entertains or informs in the manner unique to his wit. "Indeed, as we shall see, diptychs show far more variety than their different placement alone would indicate. So words are words and things are things, and we must not allow categories and nomenclature of our own devising to become a procrustean bed." His point is well taken both in reference to the dangers of applying terminology without regard to the actual organizational mindset that it was built upon and to the relative convenience such neoteric methods afford. Clergy and cantors find themselves daily having to force things of wildly differ...

The eminently quotable St. Justin Popović. I am reminded of a parish I served once that regularly purchased their prosphora from an out-of-state bakery in bulk. One might question if a single prayer were involved in the process. Who prepares the bread and how often is always a point of discussion. Sometimes one family takes it on, sometimes families in rotation, and sometimes the clergy couple do it themselves. Each of these has its drawbacks and its advantages (quality control, strengthening spiritually, sometimes financially helpful). The history of presenting bread for the sacrifice in the Liturgy (or festal occasions or for the reposed) is long and winding and I hope everyone takes the time to read up on it as it reinforces both our prayers and and the unifying acts of the Church everyone can participate in. Give baking a try, too. It brings families together!

It should be remembered that Constantinople got Turkish citizenship for several bishops for just this reason. 12/06/2019 Turkey ( International Christian Concern ) – The roadmap established by the Armenian Christian community seeking to elect the successor of their recently deceased patriarch was supposed to have achieved an outcome by mid-December. However, Turkey’s interference with the church’s electoral process has led to several negative reactions. The Armenian Church is based in Istanbul, but has congregants spread throughout the world. Turkey’s latest interference in the electoral process involves the decision that the government will not allow international candidates to seek nomination for the electoral process. Turkey’s government has a long history of trying to control the patriarchy for political reasons. The Surp Yerrortutyun Armenian church Foundation in Istanbul has now filed a complaint against the government (Interior Ministry and governor’s office) on the basis...

Moscow, December 6 ( Interfax ) - Patriarch Kirill has asked Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin to provide financial assistance with restoring the Orthodox Church in America's representation church located on the grounds of the Church of Saint Catherine-in-the-fields in Moscow. "The discussion of this topic has entered a very positive stage, and it seems to me that soon all consultations will be over," the patriarch said at meeting on Friday with Metropolitan Tikhon of All America and Canada, who has arrived to attend the festivities to mark the metochion's 25th anniversary. The autocephaly of the Orthodox Church in America turns 50 next year, the patriarch said, adding that he hoped the inter-church relations based on unity and mutual respect "can become a factor of improvement in the relations between our people." Patriarch Kirill thanked Metropolitan Tikhon for supporting in his prayers "the long-suffering Ukrainian Orthodox Church" and stresse...

( NLM ) - Today is the feast of one of the great Patriarchs of Eastern monasticism, Saint Sabbas (or ‘Saba’), who is usually given the epithet “the Sanctified” in the Byzantine Rite. Born in the year 439, he died at the age of 93 in 532 A.D. Having entered upon the monastic life as a child, he eventually founded the famous lavra named after him in the Kidron Valley, about 8 miles from Jerusalem, and an equal distance from Qumran, where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found. This lavra is the second oldest continually functioning monastery in the world, after that of St Catherine on Mount Sinai, and counts several famous Saints among its alumni, including St John Damascene, whose Byzantine feast day was yesterday. St Sabbas is named in the preparatory rites of the Liturgy of St John Chrysostom, and the Typikon which was used in the lavra, the book which regulates the order of services in the Byzantine Rite, became the basis for the modern Typikon still used to this day. A small church d...

Akathist to St. Nicholas The maidens, prepared for a dishonourable marriage because of their poverty, saw thy great compassion to the poor, O most-blessed Father Nicholas, when by night thou secretly gavest their aged father three bundles of gold, hereby saving him and his daughters from falling into sin. Wherefore, thou hearest from all thus: Rejoice, treasury of greatest mercy! Rejoice, depository of provision for people! Rejoice, food and consolation of those that flee unto thee! Rejoice, inexhaustible bread of the hungry! Rejoice, God-given wealth of those living in poverty on earth! Rejoice, speedy uplifting of paupers! Rejoice, quick hearing of the needy! Rejoice, acceptable care of the sorrowful! Rejoice, blameless provider for the three maidens! Rejoice, fervent guardian of purity! Rejoice, hope of the hopeless! Rejoice, delight of all the world! Rejoice, O Nicholas, Great Wonderworker!

This is quite a strong commentary with some very spirited rhetoric. ( GOA-Boston ) - It would not be an exaggeration to say that in the long-running issue of Ukrainian Autocephaly, the Church of Russia has fallen into a pit which has long been dug to bury the Ecumenical Patriarchate. Let me explain. It is well known that, good or bad, a new process of granting autocephaly to a local Orthodox Church had already begun in 1976 and was approved in 2009, by unanimous Orthodox decision, after many hardships and labors. But, not to be forgotten, with the cordial and sacrificial gesture of the Church of Constantinople, which, in order to safeguard the Pan-Orthodox unity, gave up its centuries old canonical privilege according to which she had acted at times to emancipate the Orthodox peoples living north and west of Constantinople, granting them the status of autocephaly. There is no doubt that, if during the tumultuous preparatory phase of the Holy and Great Council around the end of t...

It will surprise no one who follows this blog that I am a rather dedicated Newrome Press reader. This is especially true of their Hieromonk Gregorios series. His booklets are often the very thing my parishioners are looking for when they have a question about a myriad of topics. So I'm happy to note the publication of "Healing of the Healers: Clergyman as Penitent" and hope you navigate over there for a bit to see what is on offer. ( Newrome Press ) - In the Church, Christ’s clinic, his co-celebrant practices the science of healing, for he is the one who “will refashion the creature, who will restore the image and create citizens for the world above, and greatest of all, be God and make others God.” Saint Maximos the Confessor compares the Priesthood to a ray of light from the sun which transmits its brightness to healthy eyes: “Just as a beam of light gently attracts healthy vision, which by nature rejoices in the light, and transmits its own brightness, so also tr...

( RISU ) - The Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church has established a day of remembrance for children who died during pregnancy or shortly after birth. It will be celebrated annually on October 15. This decision was made by the Synod of Bishops of the Kyiv-Galician Major Archbishopric of the UGCC, which was held on November 29-30 in Lviv. "The Synod also discussed the need to improve spiritual and psychological support for young families with perinatal loss of a child, appropriate decision was taken and blessed in the Kyiv-Galician Major Archbishopric of the UGCC the day of 15 October as the Day of memory of children who died during pregnancy or shortly after birth," the Secretariat of the Kyiv-Galician Major Archbishopric of the UGCC reports.

From the article " The Self-Help Movement That Is Upending American Christianity ," a discussion of the perfidious Enneagram craze. The first section of this case study was enough to give me an extended pause. Someone the woman in the below snippet to pat herself on the back and she was so taken with the idea that she dropped the Church at the curb. How does someone's third eye get opened at the revelation that they can be self-congratulatory? How is such a string of ideas not something that would cause someone to cringe in embarrassment saying this publicly? I'm bemused. Sarajane Case remembers the precise moment she severed her lifelong relationship with Christianity. Her uneasiness had been building over time, sparked by the realization that her queer friends were not at home in the church she loved. But the end came suddenly and quietly: In 2010, at the end of a yoga class, the instructor told Case and the other attendees to thank themselves for showing up. “...

( ROC ) - On 28th November 2019, with the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia, Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, chairman of the Moscow Patriarchate’s Department for External Church Relations, attended the 2nd International Conference on Christian Persecution held in Budapest and delivered an address. The conference was organized under the patronage of the Government of Hungary. Among the participants in the forum were Mr. Zsolt Semjén, Deputy Prime Minister of Hungary; Mr. Tristan Azbej, State Secretary for the Aid of Persecuted Christians of the Hungarian Prime Minister’s Office; Cardinal Péter Erdő, Archbishop of Esztergom-Budapest; Rev. István Szabó, Presiding Bishop of the General Synod of the Hungarian Reformed Church; Patriarch Ignatius Aphrem II of the Syriac Orthodox Church; Mr. Péter Szijjártó, Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade; Patriarch Abune Mathias I of the Ethiopian Church; as well as leaders and representatives of t...

As we approach the feast day of St. Nicholas of Myra, it's a joy to see the hymnody that celebrates the Wonderworker's life.

( ACOE ) - A plenary session of the Joint Commission for Theological Dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Assyrian Church of the East took place from 21–22 November 2019 at the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity in Rome. This fourth session continues the third phase of the dialogue which is considering the mystery of the Church as understood in bothtraditions. The Commission is co–chaired by His Beatitude Mar Meelis Zaia, Metropolitan of Australia, New Zealand and Lebanon, and the Most Reverend Johan Bonny, Bishop of Antwerp. ​On Thursday, 21 November 2019, the Most Reverend Brian Farrell, Secretary of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, welcomed the members of the Joint Commission to the annual meeting. ​The Joint Commission continued its work on the third phase of the dialogue on issues of ecclesiology which had been approved in 2017. This phase is reflecting on the nature and mission of the Church, the work of the Holy Spirit in the Ch...

Athens, November 28 ( Interfax ) - The name of the head of Ukraine's new church, the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, (OCU) Metropolitan Yepifaniy Dumenko was for the first time mentioned by a hierarch of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church during a liturgy service. Bulgaria's Metropolitan Nikolay of Plovdiv led the morning service at a church in Greece's Langadas, the Greek website Romalewfronimati reported. During the liturgy service, a deacon read a local diptych (a list containing heads of Orthodox Churches to be mentioned in certain order), including the OCU head, the website said. Three hierarchs of the Greek Orthodox Church - two metropolitan and one bishop - concelebrated the liturgy with the Bulgarian metropolitan. The Langadas Diocese is on the Moscow Patriarchate's list of Greek Orthodox dioceses in Greece undesirable to visit by pilgrims as their ruling metropolitans have come to liturgical communion or communion of prayer with OCU representatives. So far, the...