Byzantine, Texas

Marcus Plested (D.Phil., University of Oxford, 1999) is Professor of Greek Patristic and Byzantine Theology at Marquette University. Schooled in London, he studied modern history followed by theology at Merton College, Oxford, completing his doctorate under the supervision of Metropolitan Kallistos Ware. He taught for many years at the Institute for Orthodox Christian Studies and the Faculty of Divinity in Cambridge (UK). He has been a member of the Center of Theological Inquiry and the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, NJ, and has taught, lectured, and published widely in patristic, Byzantine, and modern Orthodox theology. He is the author or editor of four books to date: The Macarian Legacy: The Place of Macarius-Symeon in the Eastern Christian Tradition (Oxford: OUP 2004) Orthodox Readings of Aquinas (Oxford: OUP 2012) The Oxford Handbook to the Reception of Aquinas (Oxford: OUP 2021) (with Matthew Levering) Wisdom in Christian Tradition: The Patristic Roots of Modern Rus...

Metropolitian Jonah has been admitted into a hospital in the capital city of Tbilisi due to coming down with pneumonia. He's stable right now, and is being well taken care of by a doctor who is the daughter of a local Georgian Orthodox priest… pic.twitter.com/5f6xtG2PkF — St. Herman of Alaska Orthodox Church (@herman_alaska) May 24, 2023

The Old Believers were not pleased with this event. You can see more on this here and here . ( sokryt.ru ) - There is now one more Old Ritualist parish in America in the bosom of the Russian Church. The Old Believer community of Nikolaevsk, Alaska, consisting of Fr. Nikola Yakunin, his son Deacon Vasily Yakunin and about 20 Old Believer families have decided to join ROCOR MP preserving their liturgical rite. Services in the new congregation will henceforth be conducted in English. Let us recall that a similar situation occurred at one time in the Pomorian community of Erie, Pennsylvania. The congregation had become largely Americanized, and praying in the now nearly forgotten and little-understood Church Slavonic language was problematic. In the Old Ritualist Congregation of the Nativity of Christ in Erie, Old Orthodox worship is now completely translated into English, including the Znamenny hymns. Father Nichola and his son, Vasily, will be with the Erie congregation on Ascension Day...

TORONTO ( Episcopal Assembly ) – The North American Orthodox-Catholic Theological Consultation met from May 16-18, 2023 at St. Augustine’s Seminary of Toronto. The 101st meeting was hosted by the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops. The twelve members present prayed together daily and enjoyed meals and fellowship, including vespers followed by a special dinner hosted by His Eminence Archbishop Sotirios of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Canada. In addition to those who came together in person, six members joined virtually. In the course of the meeting, the Consultation completed a joint statement on the theology and practice of marriage in both of our Churches, including its nature as a sacrament of Christian faith, its permanent, indissoluble character, and its form in the present canon law of both our Churches. The Consultation resolved its discussions on the topic of “Orthodox-Catholic Marriages” and completed the document for ultimate publication. His Eminence Cardinal Joseph...

A mainstream news article about Orthodoxy that isn't just a vehicle for propaganda against Southerners, challenging Christian morality, or entertaining a casual or dismissive ad hominem. ( WSJ ) - Michelle Jimenez was captaining an oil tanker in the Gulf of Mexico in early 2020 when she heard about a Bible-study group organized by a crew member. Though she had been baptized a Catholic in infancy, she was never raised in that or any other faith. She had experimented with New Age beliefs and Zen Buddhist meditation, but hadn’t found a spiritual home. Her new encounter with Christianity eventually led her to an East-ern Orthodox liturgy. “I just felt this overwhelming presence of God…that everything is always going to be OK no matter what,” recalled Jimenez, 36 years old, of her first experience with Orthodox worship. She was baptized in the church the day before Easter in 2022, becoming part of a small but fast-growing group of Americans from diverse backgrounds who have embraced Ort...

( OCA ) - During the Annual Memorial Day Pilgrimage at Saint Tikhon’s Monastery, on Monday, May 29, 2023, His Beatitude Metropolitan Tikhon, Primate of the Orthodox Church in America (OCA) will welcome His Eminence Metropolitan Nicholas, First Hierarch of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia (ROCOR) for a joint celebration of the Divine Liturgy.  This will mark the first time in the hundred years of ROCOR’s existence that the Primate of the OCA or the Russian Metropolia - as the OCA was popularly called before being granted autocephaly in 1970 - and the First Hierarch of ROCOR will have concelebrated Liturgy at a church of the OCA or Metropolia.  To fully appreciate the significance of the concelebration, some historical reflection is necessary.  Both the OCA and ROCOR have their roots in the Russian Orthodox Church.  The OCA is the direct descendant of the Orthodox Mission in Alaska initiated by the Russian Church in 1794.  By the early 20th century, t...

As reported by Monomakhos , the Greek Archdiocese is testing out some ideas. My opinions on this topic are well known. UPDATE: Resolution died because of improper procedure in being submitted.

 

All cards on the table, I think novel "American Orthodox" musical constructions are silly. There's a rich patrimony to draw from already. If you want to spend time correcting some translations or making the music better fit the words, I'm all for it. As someone who has looked at the Slavonic version of a hymn and then seen how a musician crammed the English-language equivalents into the music in much the same way others might stuff an undersized suitcase, I see the need. But that Appalachian Christ is Risen and all of its ilk can be thrown overboard with not a tear shed by me. Is the answer to simplify it as other jurisdictions have done? Is it to add more variety to an already difficult amount of music? Or is it to work on fundamentals at all the parishes and slowly increase capabilities through regular, quarterly instruction? Honestly, many parishes in this country can't sing what is already on the page.  Obikhod? Ok. Znamenny? Good with me. Prostopinijie? All t...

( Pappas Institute ) - On Saturday, April 22, the Pappas Patristic Institute held an academic round table on the theme of “The Mother of God in Middle Byzantine Exegesis, Hagiography, and Homiletics.” The event took place in the Archbishop Iakovos Museum at the library of Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology. The invited scholars included prominent Byzantine art historians, and conversation focused largely on the relationship between written accounts and visual depictions of the Theotokos in Byzantine theology, literature, and art. The round table explored the following three topics: (1) written descriptions of the Mother of God; (2) the Entry of the Theotokos into the Temple; and (3) the Mother of God and the Passion... Complete article here .

Some things are considered so sacred that they are placed at a remove from the public. Longtime readers will know that I am opposed to all photography of sacraments posted online. Go ahead and take photos before or after, but there's no reason to publish photos of reception of communion or baptisms. I'm not holding a position in the majority, I know, but such is life. ( OAJ ) - The Coronation of King Charles III, this Saturday, will include important contributions from Orthodox artists. Alexander Lingas, Founder and Music Director of Cappella Romana, will lead the Byzantine Chant Ensemble in singing Psalm 71. And Iconographer Aidan Hart has designed the beautiful screen for the sacramental anointing, which he describes in the article below. The sacred chrism itself is another contribution of the Orthodox Church. See photos of its consecration by the Patriarch of Jerusalem together with the Anglican archbishop here . The coronation and anointing should be of great interest to Or...

  VATICAN CITY ( AP ) — The Vatican is formally recognizing 21 Coptic Orthodox workers who were beheaded by Islamic militants in Libya as martyrs with their own feast day, in a significant new ecumenical gesture aimed at forging unity between Catholic and Orthodox churches. Pope Francis announced the inscription of the 21 workers, most of them Egyptians, in the Roman Martyrology, the compendium of saints celebrated liturgically in the Catholic Church, during an audience Thursday with the Coptic Orthodox pope. During the audience, Francis kissed relics of the 21 young men that Tawadros II offered him as a gift. Islamic State militants beheaded the workers on a beach in Sirte, Libya in February 2015. A grisly video of the executions was posted online, shocking Egyptians and prompting the Cairo government to stage punitive strikes against militant targets in Libya. The men's bodies were recovered in 2017 and returned to Egypt, where a church was built in their hometown to honor them. ...