Byzantine, Texas

Paris ( Sydney Morning Herald ) - An Orthodox priest was shot and injured on Saturday at a church in the French city of Lyon by an assailant who then fled, a police source said. The priest was fired on twice (shot in the stomach and in intensive care right now) at around 4pm (2pm GMT) as he was closing the church, and was being treated on site for life-threatening injuries, the source said. The incident came two days after a man shouting "Allahu Akbar!" (God is Greatest) beheaded a woman and killed two other people in a church in Nice, and two weeks after a schoolteacher in a Paris suburb was beheaded by an 18-year-old Chechen, apparently incensed by the teacher showing a cartoon of the Prophet Mohammad in class. Ministers had warned that other Islamist militant attacks could take place. President Emmanuel Macron has deployed thousands of soldiers to protect sites such as places of worship and schools.

( ROC ) - As the mass media have reported, Archbishop Chrysostomos II of Cyprus has mentioned Epifaniy Dumenko for the first time as ‘primate’ of the Ukrainian church, thus de facto recognising the schismatic structure ‘Orthodox Church of Ukriane’ that he heads. Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, Chairman of the Moscow Patriarchate’s department for external church relations, speaks about a possible reaction of the Russian Orthodox Church to the recognition of the ‘OCU’ by the Church of Cyprus in his talk to RIA Novosti news agency.  –  Your Eminence, how will the Russian Church react to the recognition of the Ukrainian schismatics by the Archbishop of Cyprus?  –   We deeply regret to hear about this deplorable event. The decision will be made by the Holy Synod. However, I believe the Archbishop of Cyprus will be crossed out from the diptychs of the Russian Orthodox Church, that is to say. the liturgical mention of his name will be suspended until all the circumsta...

( ROC ) - On October 24, 2020, Metropolitan Athanasius of Limassol, Metropolitan Nikephoros of Kykkos and Bishop Nicholas of Amathounta made a joint statement on the recognition of the so-called Orthodox Church of Ukraine by Archbishop Chrysostomos II of Cyprus, calling him as Primate of the Orthodox Church of Cyprus to cancel immediately the anti-canonical decision to include the name of the ‘PCU’ head Epifaniy Dumenko in the diptych of the Primates of the Local Orthodox Churches. Below is the full text of the statement. With great concern and profound sorrow we have learnt that today, Sunday, October 24, during the Divine Liturgy at the Monastery of Our Lady of Golden Pomegranate at which the episcopal consecration of the Very Rev. Bishop Pankratios of Arsinoe was celebrated, His Beatitude Archbishop Chrysostomos of Cyprus mentioned Epifaniy as ‘Primate of the Ukrainian Church’. This action of the Archbishop is a gross violation of the conciliar, collegial and democratic order of our...

( Orthodox Times ) - The Tomos of Autocephaly of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, apart from being a very important church document, is also a fine example of the Byzantine tradition in the writing of official documents. Materials and know-how that had been lost for centuries revived on Mount Athos and were used for its writing. Hieromonnk Lukas from Xenophontos Monastery on Mount Athos, who prepared the Tomos of Autocephaly of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, is a hagiographer and one of the main guardians of the hagiographical tradition of Mount Athos. He spoke to Orthodoxtimes.com as soon as he returned from New York where he coordinates the hagiography work carried out in St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church at Ground Zero. Interview with Kostas Onisenko – What are the technical specificities of the Volume of Autocephaly of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine? Parchment is the writing material used for the Tomos as has been the case for the imperial sigillia. It is made from specially prep...

( ROC ) - On October 22, 2020, a meeting took place between Metropolitan Anthony of Chersonesus and Western Europe, Patriarchal Exarch for Western Europe, and Metropolitan Ioann of Dubna, head of the Archdiocese of Western European Parishes of Russian Tradition. In the course of a long fraternal talk, the archpastors dealt with numerous issues concerning cooperation between the two canonical structures of the Moscow Patriarchate in France and other countries in Western Europe. The hierarchs also discussed preparations for the celebrations of the first anniversary of the unification of the Archdiocese with the Russian Orthodox Church. It is supposed that if the actual epidemiological situation in Paris allows, on November 8 Metropolitan Ioann and Metropolitan Anthony will celebrate the Divine Liturgy and thanksgiving at the Cathedral of St Alexander Nevsky on rue Daru, the website of the Diocese of Chersonesus reports. 

Baghdad ( AsiaNews ) - The Chaldean Church, at the instigation of the Chaldean patriarch and the bishops, has recently renewed its liturgy. The decision was made to meet the demands of modernity, in response to the renewed needs of the faithful and to be understood by a Muslim world that watches and assists with growing interest in the celebrations. In this message entrusted to AsiaNews, Card Louis Raphael Sako explains the motivations for the renewal: The renewal of philosophy and science is a necessary, vital and legitimate natural state due to the change of people, time, mentality, culture and circumstances. In the religious field, it should represent a priority because much has changed - especially in recent times - following the influence of social media that have transformed the world into a small digital village. This is why the renewal of religious discourse has become an urgent and essential requirement. In this sense, the Church cannot be a prisoner of ancient traditions and ...

 

( OAJ ) - Elena Murariu’s exhibition “Martyrs”, as well as the album published on this occasion, bring to our attention the story of Romanian martyrs who prayed for their country and for the whole world. Some recognized, but most unknown, these martyrs are the gift of their people, an offering to God. Their bones cover the land of their country here on earth as their prayers resound in heaven. Their lives and sacrifice were as the rose’s petals falling one by one,  covering the earth and painting it red. Without these martyrs living and acting as they did, there would have been no church, for they are the seed of the church. Elena Murariu’s work and her associations between martyrs of different times reveal the continuity of these martyrs in the Romanian land. The album is a must see, as it unveils the new faces of these martyrs. If text usually lays the foundation for the image, this time the image is the one inviting us to read and discover the lives of these persons. Some of the...

I saw a recent article about someone becoming such and had no idea what it was. The Internet provides. Example vestments ( Malankara-NEAD ) - The original role of an Apodyaqno was that of door keeper, to remove those who were not baptized Orthodox members in good standing from the nave of the church into the narthex area just before the beginning of the recitation of the Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed. Now, his roles include overseeing and guiding those in the lesser ranks (up to Qoruyo), holding the candle during the various parts of the liturgy, and generally making sure that everything in the sanctuary runs smoothly during liturgy. Due to the dearth of sub-deacons (not including those in seminary), this role is now usually fulfilled by the senior altar assistants, together with the help of the chief altar assistant (ideally a permanent full deacon).

Sardes : A titular see of Lydia, in Asia Minor probably the ancient Hyde of Homer (Iliad, II, 844; XX, 385), at the foot of Mount Tmolus; see also Strabo (XIII, iv, 5); Pliny (Hist. nat., v, 29), Stephen of Byzantium, s.v. The name Sardes, which replaced that of Hyde, seems to have been derived from the Shardani, a people mentioned in the cuneiform inscriptions as inhabiting this region. At an early period Sardes was the capital of the Lydians, an early dynasty of whom reigned from 766 to 687 B.C.; a second, that of Mermnades founded by Gyges in 687 B.C., reigned until 546 B.C. Its last king, the celebrated Croesus, was dethroned by Cyrus. Thenceforth it was the residence of the Persian satraps, who administered the conquered kingdom. The capture of the city by the Ionians and the Athenians in 498 B.C. was the cause of wars between the Persians and Greeks. In 334 it surrendered without a struggle to Alexander the Great, after whose death it belonged to Antigonus until 301, when it fell...

New York ( GOARCH ) - On Monday, October 12, 2020, His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros of America convened the Holy Eparchial Synod via videoconference for an extraordinary session to consider the current issues concerning the life of the Church. Significant decisions were made, such as: The expression of gratitude to His All Holiness the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew and the Holy and Sacred Synod of the venerable center of Orthodoxy for the opportunity provided to the Archdiocese of America to draft a new Charter. This distinguished prospect is made even more profound in light of the celebration in the year 2022 of the first centennial since the inception of the Archdiocese. The compilation of the new Charter, with the collaboration of the Hierarchy, the clergy and the laity of the Church, will inaugurate the new centennial of Archdiocesan ministry, and for this reason two Committees will be commissioned with this great and sacred task: 1) An extensive committee in America, compos...

Outreach Conference Hosted by: Antiochian Dept. of Missions & Evangelism When: 12-4 PM Saturday, October 17, 2020 Where: Facebook 12:00 "Service Projects" Sonya Kassis 12:30 "Festivals" Dn. Yakoub Daoura 01:00 "Sharing Political Views" Fr. John Hogg 01:30 "Local Hunger" Fr. Joseph Huneycutt 02:00 "Prison Ministry Today" Mark Santana 02:30  "How To Say Hello" Fr. John Finley 03:00 "Homeless Families" Fr. Barnabas Powell Sign up here to receive updates about the conference.

From the 2020 Orthodox Parenting Online Conference hosted by the St. Athanasius Academy. The entire series is available here . Below is the first in the seven episode series. "Is God Real?" Fr. Patrick Cardine "Sexuality" Fr. Raphael Barberg "When Parents Disagree" Presv. Kerry Pappas "The Influence of Friends" Fr. Michael Nasser "Sibling Rivalry" Kh. Gigi Shadid "Discipline vs. Anger" Fr. John Finley  "Difficult Conversations" Dr. Philip Mamalakis

New York, NY ( GOARCH ) – The Holy Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, wanting to strengthen the role of the largest Eparchy of the Mother Church with a new vision and a new Charter suitable for the evolving and changing modern pastoral needs of American society, decided to place the current Charter (2003) of the Holy Archdiocese of America into abeyance. Temporarily, until the issuance of the new Charter, the administrative structures of the Archdiocese, i.e., the Holy Eparchial Synod, the Executive Committee, the Archdiocesan Council, the Clergy-Laity Assembly, as well as the respective structures of the Metropolises will continue to function as they are. The number two question I have received on yesterday's announcement is "Can you just set aside a charter like that?" Given that the elevation of Abp. Elpidophoros did just that by bypassing a number of steps and affirmative votes, I think the answer is not so much that they can, but that they are. The number one ques...

I think most people would prefer the existing committees produce fruit instead of adding more committees, but youth is always an easy and popular topic for people. Parents are happy to let the church do more teaching and occupying their children's time and the church is happy to look "engaged." And yet basic competence of the faith doesn't seem to be moving forward even as surveys show all manner of heterodox ideas are finding purchase in their minds. As Chesterton said, "I've searched all the parks in all the cities and found no statues of committees." ( EA ) - After a second day of productive deliberations, the Assembly of Bishops agreed on a Common Vision that commits themselves to work together toward Orthodox Christian Unity and Outreach, Common Orthodox Witness, Ministries and Initiatives, and Organizational Excellence. The collaborative process, initiated by the Executive Committee, acknowledges the spiritual needs of the collective Orthodox faith...

( GOARCH ) - Today, Thursday, October 8, 2020, on the third day of its work in this current month, the Holy and Sacred Synod extensively examined, among other items, issues of the Holy Archdiocese of America, and considered reports of His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros of America. The following decisions were taken: a)     It placed into abeyance the force of the Charter of the Holy Archdiocese of America , with the objective of constituting a joint Committee of representatives of the Ecumenical Patriarchate and the Archdiocese for the composition of a new Charter. b)     It placed His Eminence Metropolitan Methodios of Boston under a penance of suspension until the Feast of Christmas, on account that he had fallen into canonical transgressions. c)     It transferred His Eminence Metropolitan Evangelos of New Jersey to the Holy Metropolis of Sardes and appointed as Patriarchal Vicar in the vacant Eparchy of New Jersey, Archbishop Elpidophoros of America....

 

( SOC-Antioch ) - On Tuesday, September 29th, 2020 and Wednesday, September 30th, 2020, His Eminence Mor Dionysius John Kawak (the Cochair of this consultation) Very Rev. Fr. Chamoun, Very Rev. Fr. Saliba Kasis, and Deacon George Kiraz attended the Virtual United States Oriental Orthodox-Roman Catholic Consultation.  His Eminence opened with a prayer and greeted and welcomed all who joined. During the meeting they spoke about practical applications of a full understanding of the Historical Priestly Qualities of the Apostolic Churches. From our Syriac Church Fr. Saliba gave a short presentation about the topic. They also mentioned about the recent events in the lives of our churches with a focus on the current situation of our church in India. They then concluded with a closing prayer.

( OCA-DAK )  - Archbishop DAVID Announces he has Cancer. His Eminence will be leaving for Indiana to be with family while receiving care at Indiana State University for renal cancel.