Byzantine, Texas

( Orthodox Times ) - The head of the Russian Orthodox Church said that Russian soldiers dying in the war against Ukraine would be forgiven, a few days after the partial mobilization ordered by President Vladimir Putin. Patriarch Kirill is an ally of Putin and has supported the Russian invasion of Ukraine. He has criticized those who oppose the war in the past and called on the Russians to rally around the Kremlin. “Many die in the fields of fratricidal war,” said 75-year-old Kirill in his first Sunday speech after the draft order. “The Church prays that this battle will end as soon as possible, so that as few brothers as possible will kill each other in this fratricidal war.” “But at the same time, the Church realizes that if someone, driven by a sense of duty and the need to fulfill his oath… goes to do what he is called to do and if someone dies in the performance of that duty, then he has undoubtedly committed something that amounts to a sacrifice. He will have sacrificed himself fo...

( Antiochian ) - To our beloved in the Lord, the Hierarchs, Priests, Deacons, Members of the Board of Trustees, and Faithful of our Holy Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America, I greet you in Christ, lifting up my prayers for your protection. In accordance with the pertinent Antiochian Laws and Regulations, whereas His Eminence, Metropolitan JOSEPH Zehlaoui submitted his Retirement Letter from his position as Metropolitan of the Archdiocese of New York and All North America; and whereas the resignation request, along with the circumstances related to it, makes the resignation effective immediately; and whereas it is necessary to ensure the proper care and administration of the Archdiocese, especially in these current circumstances. Therefore, we inform you that the pastoral, administrative, and financial affairs of the Archdiocese shall be managed by a "Temporary Operating Committee for the Oversight of the Archdiocesan Office." This Committee works accord...

H/T: Orthochristian Two points on the below: One, baptism is not inoculation.  It is not Thetis dipping Achilles in the River Styx. It is not blood thrown against the lintel of your front door. It is in fact asking more of someone in their life and not less. It is obliging not only the person baptized, but also the godparents, and the parents to live a life according to the dogma and discipline and ethos of the Church. A baby cannot autodidactically teach himself what that means. So it is especially important that both the sponsors and the parents intend to make it their primary mission in life to fulfill this promise to Christ and His Church.  Two, if you were to be presented this and spoke no Greek, would you have any idea what it is? Does it look especially appetizing? I would say that the proof would be in the tasting and not in the packaging. Then I could say whether it was worth purchasing or not. And yet the below purports to say that the loss of the Greek languag...

Interestingly, the AOCNA will continue to commemorate Met. Joseph on Sunday. ( Antiochian.org ) - To our Beloved in the Lord, The Hierarchs, Priests, Deacons, Members of the Board of Trustees, and Spiritual Children of our Holy Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America, I greet you in Christ, lifting up my prayers for your protection. Further to my previous letters to you at this critical period in the life of the Archdiocese, I would like through the present letter to inform you of the following: First, we have received from His Eminence, the Most Reverend JOSEPH Zehlaoui, Metropolitan of New York and Archbishop of all North America, his Retirement Letter from his position as Metropolitan of the Archdiocese. Second, we will duly forward the letter of His Eminence to the Holy Synod to take the necessary actions accordingly. Third, the immediate effect of the resignation of His Eminence the Metropolitan of the Archdiocese and the circumstances related to it necessitate ...

You may have said to yourself, "Well, Abp. Elpidophoros is not being thought of kindly by the Church of Greece or by his own archdiocesan hierarchs. Certainly they aren't going to elevate him to a position of even higher authority where he can do more damage." That version of you would be surprised by the below. ( Orthodox Times ) - The Ecumenical Patriarchate announced the new members who will form the Holy Synod for the semester 01.09.2022 – 28.02.2023, chaired by His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew. The Synodal Hierarchs for the new semester are: Elder Apostolos of Derkoi, Nikitas of Thyateira and Great Britain, Nikandros of Irenoupolis, Polykarpos of Italy, Stephanos of Kallioupolis and Madytos, Elpidophoros of America, Gerasimos of Petra and Chersonissos, Bartholomew of Smyrna, Kirill of Ierapytnos and Sitia, Vissarion of Spain and Portugal, Andreas of Saranta Ekklisies and Joachim of Prusa.

Moscow, September 12 ( Interfax ) - The Latvian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate has given a reserved response to the Latvian parliament's decision to "grant' autocephaly to it. "The government has established the status of our Church as autocephalous. The government has established that the Latvian Orthodox Church is de jure independent from any church center outside Latvia, while preserving spiritual, prayer and liturgical communion with all canonical Orthodox Churches of the world. The changed status does not alter the Orthodox faith, dogmas, the liturgical life of the Church, the calendar style, the sacred liturgical language, rites, traditions, and inner church life," the church press service said. The Synod of the Latvian Orthodox Church "lovingly calls on the clergy and laity to maintain a peaceful disposition of the spirit" and the unity of the Church, strictly observing the laws of Latvia," it said. Last Thursday, the Latvian Sae...

( ROCOR ) - On Tuesday, 13 September, 2022, the election of the new Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia by its Council of Bishops took place. In accordance with the Act of Canonical Communion, signed on 17 May, 2007, the Council will send the Act of the election, drafted by the counting committee to His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia with a request to bless the electee to assume the duties of the First Hierarch entrusted to him by his brethren archpastors, and for confirmation of the election by the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church. The rite of enthronement of His Eminence Metropolitan Nicholas of Eastern America and New York, newly-elected First Hierarch of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia, will take place on Sunday, 18 September. The schedule of divine services associated with the enthronement is as follows: Saturday, 17 September - all-night vigil at the Synodal Cathedral of Our Lady “of the Sign” at 6 pm. At the end of ...

Riga, September 8 ( Interfax ) - The Latvian Saeima at a plenary session on Thursday passed in the final reading amendments to the law on the Latvian Orthodox Church (LOC) submitted by President Egils Levits, which envision changing the LOC status so that it would operate fully autonomously and independently, the BNS news agency reported. The LOC used to act under the Moscow Patriarchate. According to Levits, the amendments will reinstate the LOC's historical status and rule out any authority of the Moscow Patriarchate over the Latvian Church. The law stipulates that the LOC with all its dioceses, parishes and institutions is completely independent and not dependent on the authority of any Church outside Latvia. The law establishes a fully autocephalous status for the Church and stipulates that it will be headed by a primate of the Church who is not dependent on any Church authority outside of Latvia.

( HTS ) - Holy Trinity Orthodox Seminary's AXIOS Program seeks to answer two questions: "Where will I go when I graduate?" and "Who will replace batushka when he retires?" While the role of HTOS has always been to train and prepare priests for the parishes of the Russian Orthodx Church Outside of Russia, the process of getting graduates into parishes has always been more informal. The AXIOS Program seeks to formalize and solidify the 'seminary-to-service' pipeline and make the essential connections between seminarians and parishes during the seminarians' course of study. The AXIOS Program is a means by which seminarians and parishes will mutually benefit from nurturing a relationship during the seminarian’s time at HTOS. In effect, the AXIOS Program seeks to have a parish waiting for a seminarian at the end of his training, while at the same time giving parishes the relief of having a young man ready to come and serve the parish in liturgical and pas...

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( OCA ) - The OCA Music Department will once again offer two of its popular introductory online courses for the benefit of church singers and conductors “Basic Conducting Techniques” (12 weeks) and “Basic Sight-Singing and Ear Training” (10 weeks) The Conducting Techniques course will begin on Monday, September 19, concluding on December 17; the Sight-Singing class will begin on Monday, September 26, and conclude on December 10. Registration links and costs are as follows: Sight Singing and Ear Training $300 Basic Conducting Techniques $425 In past semesters both classes filled up very quickly, with a number of prospective students placed on a waiting list. In previous years, students in both classes found that a significant investment of time—at least 3-4 hours per week—was needed in order to keep up with the course work. Prospective students should consider carefully if they can commit the required amount of time. Each class consists of pre-recorded lessons that students can watch as...

This level of transparency here is laudable and rather unprecedented. Most jurisdictions would send out a short, calming notice if anything and then the rest would be quietly handled in the background.  ( Antiochian ) - His Beatitude Patriarch John X of Antioch and All the East met today, September 6, 2022, with His Eminence Metropolitan Joseph at Balamand, Lebanon. In sum, the announcement from the Patriarchate's official Facebook page reports that the leaders discussed the accusations against His Eminence and the turmoil that has followed in the Antiochian Archdiocese of North America. It also reports that His Beatitude listened to His Eminence, inquiring about his side of the accusations. The leaders agreed to meet again in the future to examine and clarify facts so that appropriate actions may be taken.