Byzantine, Texas

( Vemkar ) - Dr. Jesse Arlen discusseed "The Poetic World of St. Nersess Shnorhali" focusing on the way in which St. Nersess was one of the first writers of the Armenian Christian tradition to write not for monks, other clerics, or members of the high nobility, but at a more popular level, preferring the genres of poetry and song to capture the hearts of the people and to make Scriptural content as beautiful and accessible as possible for the general population.

The Archons of the Ecumenical Patriarchate are really pushing for deaconesses. They post about it online almost daily.  All Archons are male.  Let that sink in.  

 

( ROC ) - Moscow Theological Academy has begun registration for the online studies in English. The nine months-long course will consist of seven fundamental disciplines including the Holy Scripture of the Old and New Testaments, dogmatic theology, patristics, foundations of Orthodox liturgics, history of the Church and history of the Russian Orthodox Church.  According to the MTA website, the course is intended to train future clergy and church staff serving at the Russian Orthodox Church parishes abroad, who have higher secular education and necessary self-education skills and to train foreign-speaking students who wish to acquire more knowledge of Orthodox faith. 

As a result of the pandemic, parishes had attendance problems. There are people who quit coming to church after COVID and have not returned. Anecdotally, I think it is safe to say that some not insignificant number of them will never do so. At the same time, this story highlights two things. 1. It is undeniable that many jurisdictions fumbled their responses to COVID. Somehow the government declared men who worked as pizza sign spinners to be "essential workers" while our churches moved to spoken liturgies, cordoned off seating, or simply kept the doors locked. Even still, it seems we were flooded with young people following the reopenings that hungered for the faith. 2. There is an indisputable power in the Internet to bring people to our doorsteps. Some years ago it was Schmemann and Gillquist and others in books, then it was Hopko and others in podcasts, and now it is YouTube videos and discord servers. The age of books and podcasts is not over, but every week a new young ...

( skete.com ) - Dear reader, You may have heard that the Saint Isaac’s Skete no longer exists. Yes, the skete is gone…but the buildings and all the property still exist, and, with the blessing of Archbishop Peter of Chicago (ROCOR), are now occupied by Saint Paul the Apostle Orthodox Monastery. And I hope so much for your support! But first, I want to make it crystal clear that this is not St Isaac’s Skete 2.0. This is a completely new monastery– with more people, a better system, and with a clear vision forward. We founded this monastic community so that we could stay away from the world, work out our salvation, and concentrate on our vocation — praying for the whole world – unceasingly, as the Holy Apostle Paul teaches us (1Thes. 5:17). And I hope so much that you can support this project. Because our world desperately needs prayers. “But who cares about the prayers of a few monks in rural Wisconsin?” you might rightly ask. If you turn on the news, you’ll be reminded about what’s goi...

( Orthodox History ) - Holy Trinity Publications, out of Jordanville, NY, has just published a book that will surely be of interest to many readers of this website: Glorified in America: Laborers in the New World from Saint Alexis to Elder Ephraim . Originally published in Greek, the book was written by the monks of the Monastery of St John the Forerunner in Mesa Potamos, Cyprus — the same monastery that brought us The Romanov Royal Martyrs: What Silence Could Not Conceal. It was translated by Katherine Psaropoulou-Brits, one of the premier Orthodox translators from Greek. If you’re familiar with the Romanov book, this one will look familiar: both books are blends of hagiography and scholarship, with edifying portraits of the saints supplemented by well-sourced endnotes. Both books also have loads of colorized photos of the saints. But I must confess my bias: I am friends with the monastery, and for Glorified in America, I provided the introductory chapter and shared a lot of source ma...

 

The Orthodox Christianity news resource posted a commentary on the continued efforts of Archbishop Elpidophoros to elevate a man to the episcopate with a colorful biography. Do go read it there, but my comments will just be on the below letter dated August 7th, 2023 (PDF here ). The larger effort here is to make a Slavic Vicariate inside the Greek Archdiocese led by a bishop. Due to the defrocking, court case, and all the rest related to Belya, bishops in the episcopal assembly warned that he would not be accepted and that it would cause disruptions. So the GOA paused for a time. Now, it seems, they are moving forward. This is going to be received like twice warmed-over cafeteria tilapia. I greet you warmly in the peace and love of our Lord, God and Savior, Jesus Christ. It has been over a year since the election to the episcopacy by the Holy and Sacred Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of His Grace Bishop-Elect Alexander Belya as bishop of Nicopolis. I have heard your concerns e...

Someone needs to update that map. ( Antiochian ) - After months of planning and fundraising, a FOCUS (Fellowship of Orthodox Christians United to Serve) Center is officially being established in Houston, Texas. A pregnancy and family resource center, FOCUS Houston will offer CARE: Community Building: baby showers, social events, birthday parties; Assistance: referrals to and from partner nonprofits; Resources: clothes, car seats, formula, diapers, food; and Education: classes for mothers, tutoring for kids. Following a kickoff meeting at the end of May which was attended by over fifty people, FOCUS assembled a local Exploratory Committee of two dozen local faithful to help research programs, identify a location, and begin raising funds for the new Center. With its official designation as a Center, FOCUS Houston will transition its Exploratory Committee to an Advisory Board and begin the search for a Center Director.  FOCUS Houston will address the needs of expectant mothers and...

( VEMA ) - On Thursday, 10 August 2023, His Eminence Metropolitan Daniel of Tokyo and All Japan (Moscow Patriarchate) fell asleep in the lord at the age of 85 years. His Eminence was born as Ikuo Noushiro in Toyohashi, Japan on September 5, 1938. In 1956, he embraced Orthodoxy, taking the name Judas in honour of the Apostle Judas of the brother of God. He graduated from St. Vladimir’s School of Theology in New York in 1968. He was ordained as Deacon on November 23, 1969 and Priest on January 1, 1971. He served as Parish Priest in Nagoya (1971-1973) and Toyohashi (1973-1999). On August 22, 1999, he became a monk at the Lavra of St. Sergius in Sergiev Posad. On November 11, 1999 he received the office and title of Archimandrite. On November 14, 1999, he was ordained Bishop of Kyoto in the Theophany Cathedral of Moscow. The ordination was performed by the Patriarch Alexios II of Russia, with the presence of Metropolitan Juvenalius of Krutitsi and Kolomna, Metropolitan Kirill of Smolensk a...