Tag: Christianity

Belgrade, November 16, 2023

Photo: spc.rs     

His Holiness Patriarch Pavle of the Serbian Orthodox Church of thrice-blessed memory, who reposed in the Lord in 2009, was prayerfully commemorated at the site of his burial yesterday on the anniversary of his repose.

The Divine Liturgy was celebrated by His Grace Bishop Ilarion of Novo Brdo at Rakovica Monastery in Belgrade, followed by a memorial service at the grave where the Patriarch’s holy relics lie in repose, reports the Serbian Orthodox Church.

Photo: spc.rs     

Bp. Ilarion offered a reflection on the beloved Pat. Pavle:

There are God-pleasers who have acquired freedom before the Lord. He who has acquired freedom before the Lord can help others and be a source of comfort to others. Such saints, known and unknown, abound. We are witnesses to a miraculous event happening before our eyes and in our time in our Church—one such individual who throughout his life and after his blessed repose was revered as a saint.

I once visited the Holy Mountain, and a novice asked me, “Would you happen to have a picture of Patriarch Pavle?” He is spoken of and known as a Patriarch of holy life, perhaps the most respected Patriarch in the entire Orthodox world, who preserved the monastic orientation and monastic asceticism, especially after his repose and the miraculous event associated with his burial, which was a blessed event, a sign. When one remembers that event when our entire nation somehow fell silent, both those close to the Church and those who were not, everyone stood in respect during those days.

Then I think of those icons that are usually painted above the tombs of our holy patriarchs and archbishops—The Dormition of Patriarch Joanikije, St. Sava II, and other saints of ours, because that repose and that event mark and signify the end of someone’s earthly endeavor and significance.

It’s not said in vain: Emulate your elders, your fathers, and observe their end, for that end is the thread that adorns their entire life’s work. That’s why you can tell what kind of person they were from their farewell. Based on our Patriarch’s farewell to eternity, we can only say: He was truly a saint!

His repose is a new beginning, as one poet says: What is at the end is the beginning. The real end of life is just the beginning of that joy and freedom in Christ and the preparation for that fullness which will come when the General Resurrection occurs.

May the prayers of our holy Patriarch also be with this monastery, with this city, with this diocese, with Kosovo and Metohija, where he served for so many years, with our people, our covenant community, and may we, God-willing, see him in the grace and joy of eternal life, and together with him glorify the One Whom he glorified with his life on earth, the only true God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

***

His Holiness Patriarch Pavle (Stojčević ) of Serbia (September 11, 1914-November 15, 2009) lived a long life full of Christian asceticism. His simplicity, meekness, and humility, combined with his strict asceticism inspired the love that millions of believers had for him during his lifetime. Many already considered him a living saint, and after his repose, faith in the holiness of Patriarch Pavle is growing ever more and strengthening in the hearts of the faithful. Today marks the 10th anniversary of his falling asleep in the Lord.

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Where can all of us believers come together beyond the divisions created by history, dogma, denomination, and religion? Where is there a place all people of sincere heart can find common ground and worship together?

That place is found in the ecumenical and interreligious pursuit of spirituality, and our theology schools and seminaries need to create this place within their academic vision and structures.

What is spirituality as an academic discipline within our theology schools and seminaries? It has actually been around a long time, though under different names. In Roman Catholic circles, formerly it was handled piecemeal as moral theology, liturgy, ascetical theology, and as mystical and devotional literature. In Protestant and Evangelical circles (where, until recently, mystical and devotional literature were distrusted) there were courses on discipleship, worship, and Christian ethics.

So what is spirituality as an area of study? At the risk of a vast over-simplification, let me propose an analogy as a way of understanding how spirituality relates to theology and dogma. Spirituality is related to theology and dogma akin to how an actual game of sports is related to the rule book of that sport.

For example, for the game of baseball there is a rulebook, one initially codified and then periodically amended through the many years the game has been played. To play the game today one has to stay within those rules. There is no game outside those rules. However, while these rules critically dictate the lines within which the game has to be played, they are not the game itself. They merely dictate how it is to be played and ensure that it is played in a fair manner.

In essence, that is the critical role of theology and dogma. They are the rule book for how we need to discern faith and religious practice as we live out our discipleship, if we are legitimately to call ourselves Christian. But, while they make the rules, spirituality is the actual game; it’s how in actual practice we live out our faith and discipleship.

Thus, spirituality takes in morality and ethics, worship, ascetical theology, mystical theology, devotional theology, and everything else we do in living out our discipleship. Theology makes the rules, while spirituality tries to instill the motivation, the fire, the hope, and the practical guidance for the game itself, lived discipleship.

I offer this little apologia for spirituality as an academic discipline in view of affirming that spirituality is that place where believers can come together in a common heart beyond the long-standing divisions created by history, dogma, ecclesiology, and different notions of faith. Spirituality is a place where we can meet in a communion of faith that takes us (at least in that place and moment) beyond our different histories, our different denominations, our different religions, and our different notions of faith.

I know this is true because I have seen and am seeing it firsthand. Oblate School of Theology, where I teach, has an Institute of Contemporary Spirituality in which I see Roman Catholics, Protestants, and Evangelicals of every persuasion studying together, searching together, and praying together in a way that denominational differences simply don’t enter into. Everyone, irrespective of denomination, is searching for the same things: What does it mean to be a disciple of Jesus today? How does one genuinely pray? How do we sustain faith in a secular world that so easily swallows us whole? How can we pass our faith on to our own children? How can we be both prophet and healer in our bitterly divided world? What is a faith-based response to injustice? How does someone age and die well? What insights and grace can we draw from the deep wells of Christian mysticism and hagiography to help guide our lives?  

Everyone has the same questions, and everyone is searching at the same places. Denominationalism recedes when spirituality takes over.

Moreover, this doesn’t just pertain to being together beyond the differences of denominations among Christians; the same holds true vis-à-vis our separation from other world religions. The questions we are grappling with as Christians are the same questions that Hindu, Buddhist, Islamic, Taoist, and other believers are grappling with, and they are looking to us for help even as we are looking to them for help.

In spirituality, Christians learn from Sufi Islamic mystics, even as Islamic believers delve into Mariology and Christian mysticism. Buddhist, Hindu, and Taoist believers pick up the “Spiritual Exercise of St. Ignatius,” even as Christians learn from various Buddhist and Hindu methods of meditation.

Jesus assured us that in God’s house there are many rooms. Spirituality is one of those rooms. Spirituality is the room where all who are caught up in a common need, common search, and common hope, can bracket for a time their denominational and religious differences and search together.

Don’t get me wrong, this doesn’t take away with our differences; but it gives us a place where we can be in a community of life and faith with one another, beyond those differences.

Chernigov, Chernigov Province, Ukraine, November 16, 2023

Holy Transfiguration Cathedral in Chernigov. Photo: pravlife.org     

After examining 18 objects of the state-owned Ancient Chernigov National Architectural and Historical Preserve, including several churches and monasteries, the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine has decided to close the Orthodox churches but leave the schismatic churches open.

The faithful are thus cut off from the relics of several saints that are housed in the Chernigov churches. The Ministry claims that all the UOC churches are in poor condition, while the schismatic churches are said to be in good condition.

The inspected objects include the complex of buildings of the Elets Monastery (12th-17th C.), the Holy Trinity Monastery (17th-18th C.), and the Holy Transfiguration Cathedral (11th C.), all of which were being used by the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church, and the St. Paraskevi Church (12th C.) and St. Catherine Church (18th C.), which are used by the graceless “Orthodox Church of Ukraine,” reports the UOC’s Information-Education Department, with reference to the site of the Ministry of Culture.

The Church was ordered already back Ukraine requires Church to vacate state-owned monasteries and cathedral in ChernigovThe Elets Monastery is one of the oldest from Kievan Rus’. St. Anthony of the Kiev Caves even lived there for a time in 1069.

“>in March to vacate the monasteries and cathedral.

The Elets Monastery is one of the oldest from Kievan Rus’. St. Anthony of the Kiev Caves even lived there for a time in 1069.

According to the Ministry, the holy sites used by the UOC are “in unsatisfactory condition” and require renovations and conservation work. The commission also recommended that the houses of worship be “museumized.”

On the other hand, the commission assessed the condition of the sites used by the state-created OCU as “satisfactory.”

However, the canonical UOC notes that there are “obvious flaws in the preservation” of the churches used by the OCU, but the state didn’t seal them, as it did to the Orthodox churches Ukrainian authorities block monastery and cathedrals in Chernigov, prevent LiturgyUnknown persons in camouflage uniforms surrounded the Holy Trinity Cathedral, Holy Dormition-Elets Convent, and Holy Transfiguration Cathedral in Chernigov this morning, preventing the faithful from entering to pray and worship.

“>last month, thus closing off the relics of Sts. Theodosy, Philaret, and Lawrence of Chernigov.

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ROME — Once upon a time, being pope meant never having to say you’re sorry. St. John Paul II shattered that precedent, apologizing more than 100 times over the course of his papacy for past sins of the Church, including a massive “Day of Pardon” ceremony in St. Peter’s Square during the Great Jubilee Year of 2000.

More recently, being pope has meant never having to explain yourself, at least to your most determined critics.

Famously, Pope Francis received a set of five “dubia,” or theological doubts, from four conservative cardinals, including American Cardinal Raymond Burke, in 2016, regarding his controversial document “Amoris Laetitia” (“The Joy of Love”), which appeared to open a cautious door to reception of Communion by divorced and civilly remarried Catholics.

For almost seven years the pontiff never directly responded to those “dubia,” preferring to allow others to do so in his name. Occasionally, he would appear to endorse one or another reply, but always in a way that never directly left his fingerprints on the content. In an interview the same year, the pope said he doesn’t “lose any sleep” over the reactions of his critics, seemingly ratifying the principle of the nonanswer.

Yet of late, it almost seems the Vatican under Francis can’t see “dubia” anymore; it doesn’t want to answer right away.

To begin with, another group of conservative cardinals, also including Burke, submitted a new set of “dubia” to Francis in July, ahead of his Oct. 4-29 Synod of Bishops on Synodality, and announced that they actually received a response the very next day — which, let’s face it, sets a new standard of rapid response for an institution whose usual modus operandi is, “Talk to me on Wednesday, and I’ll get back to you in 300 years.”

However, the cardinals declared that since the pope’s responses didn’t follow the traditional yes-or-no format in such matters, they reformulated the “dubia” and resubmitted them in late August. They concerned several matters, including the perennially contentious issues of the blessing of same-sex unions and the ordination of women clergy.

On Oct. 2, just before the curtain went up on the synod, the Vatican’s Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith published the pope’s replies, which appeared to boil down to a cautious yes on the blessings issue, as long as it doesn’t court confusion with the sacrament of marriage, and a basic no to women clergy, while allowing that it can be the object of further study.

Not only did doing so break with the practice from 2016, but it also stunned some observers that Francis essentially took those issues off the table during the synod, whose members had been preparing to discuss them for 2 1/2 years.

The very next day, the dicastery released another response to a set of “dubia” submitted by Cardinal Dominik Duka of the Czech Republic, regarding Communion for the divorced and remarried. In this case, the responses came not from the pope but from Argentine Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernández, the new head of the Vatican’s doctrinal office.

In case there was any doubt about the face value reading of the pope’s original ruling, Fernandez was clear: “The apostolic exhortation ‘Amoris Laetitia’ of Francis opens the possibility of access to the sacraments of reconciliation and the Eucharist when, in a given case, there are limitations that accentuate responsibility and guilt.”

More recently, the dicastery also published this week a set of responses to six “dubia” submitted by a bishop in Brazil regarding the eligibility of transsexuals for various acts in the Church, including baptism, serving as godparents, having their own children baptized, and acting as witnesses to a church wedding.

In every case, the replies given both by Francis and Fernández amount to another cautious yes, though always with the proviso that allowing transsexuals to play these roles must not create “public scandal” or “disorientation among the faithful.”

Exactly what might constitute either of those conditions was not spelled out in the response, leaving a great deal, in the eyes of most observers, up to the discretion of local pastors and bishops.

The basic question all this raises is: After a long span in which “dubia” basically ended up in the Vatican’s dead letter office, why now are they responding with such alacrity?

Three answers suggest themselves.

First, with Fernández in the Holy Office, Francis likely feels a higher degree of certainty that the answers it may give to nettlesome questions will reflect his own outlook. First under German Cardinal Gerhard Müller, and then under Spanish Cardinal (and fellow Jesuit) Luis Ladaria, the pope may not have felt the same absolute confidence.

Second, the answers that are now on the record are classics of the Francis approach to contested issues: At least at face value, they don’t change Church teaching, but they do clearly encourage moderates and progressives seeking the most generous possible interpretation of that teaching.

Perhaps it’s simply that since 2016, Francis has become more confident in that approach, and thus less hesitant about saying so out loud.

Third, there’s also the fact that Francis will turn 87 next month, and that since his discretion in 2016, he’s been hospitalized three times and undergone two surgeries. He’s already the oldest reigning pope in the Catholic Church since 1903, and anyone in his position would have to hear time’s winged chariot hurrying near.

In that light, perhaps he’s simply less willing to allow difficult questions to dangle, feeling that if he truly wants to cement his legacy, now is the time.

However one explains it, the fact of the matter seems clear. For bishops across the Catholic world, the new rule of thumb has to be, if you don’t want the answer, don’t ask the question — because odds now are, an answer is precisely what you’re going to get.

“My First Meeting with Elder Paisios”He told me, “You are related to us.” I said to him, “Geronda, are you from Cyprus?” He replied, “You’re slow-witted.”

“>Part 1: “My First Meeting with Elder Paisios”

Great-Martyr Euphemia the All-Praised     

And then suddenly Elder Paisios added:

“Do you know who sat where you are sitting now?”

There was a stool with a candlestick on it, and an icon of St. Euphemia hung above it.

“No, Geronda. How can I know who sat on this stool?”

Then he told me the miracle of an appearance of the holy Greatmartyr Euphemia the All-praisedThe young maiden Euphemia was also among those praying there. Soon the hiding place of the Christians was discovered, and they were brought before Priscus to answer for themselves.

“>Great-Martyr Euphemia.

One day the elder went to Souroti Convent on church matters to the metropolitan. They spoke, the elder expressed his opinion, but some doubt remained in him: What if he was wrong? At that time some female students were on pilgrimage to the convent and were eager to meet the elder. Since the elder was leaving the following day, he asked the nuns to tell them that he would not be able to receive them. Then the nuns asked the elder to allow the students to come to him and receive his blessing. “Let them come,” he said. About five or six girls came, and one of them, the bolder one, said to the elder, “Geronda, I really want to talk to you” “Unfortunately, I can’t, I’m leaving in the morning,” Elder Paisios answered her. “Okay, then I’ll come to you on Mount Athos. Do you bless me?” she insisted. “Come!” the elder replied jokingly. The elder was a joyful person, so he often joked.

Two or three days after his return to Mt. Athos, one fine morning, when the elder was reading the Hours, someone suddenly knocked at the door. “Who’s there?” Elder Paisios asked. “Open, father,” a woman’s voice told him. “Who is this?” he asked. “Euphemia,” he heard the answer. The elder immediately recalled that girl and thought: “Has she gone crazy and come to Mount Athos?! What should I do now? She probably changed into men’s clothes and came.” The elder had various thoughts. He was silent for a while. Someone knocked on the door again:

“Open, father!”

“Who are you?”

“I’m Euphemia.”

The elder did not open. She knocked a third time:

“Open, father!”

“I won’t open to you.”

Then she opened the door herself, and the Mother of God, St. John the Theologian and St. Euphemia entered his cell. The Most Holy Theotokos looked at the elder with great love and gave him a smile. The elder fell to the floor and bowed to Her, and She touched his forehead. St. John the Theologian did the same. The elder saw a young woman standing behind them, but did not know who she was. The Mother of God called to St. John, and they went into the church, where they disappeared. Only St. Euphemia remained in the cell with the elder. The elder said to her:

“And who are you?”

“I am Martyr Euphemia.”

“Which Euphemia?”

“Martyr Euphemia.”

“Let’s check if you are really Martyr Euphemia,” The elder had not known anything about St. Euphemia before.

Then he told her:

“Let’s make three bows to the Holy Trinity and check if you are a saint.”

“Let’s do it, father.”

The elder turned east and said, “In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit,” and bowed to the ground. “And now do the same,” he commanded. She repeated it, though she stood facing the north, and said the prayer quietly and somehow diffidently. The elder told her sternly, “Stand here and say the prayer loudly so that I can hear you.” St. Euphemia smiled and answered him, “All right, all right, father!” She stood as the elder had told her and said that prayer. As it turned out, the elder had not noticed that where St. Euphemia had bowed for the first time there hung a small icon of the Holy Trinity on the wall; so St. Euphemia had bowed to the icon, not just to the north. Elder Paisios had not noticed this, because it was not he who hung the icon, but Fr. Tikhon.

When he realized that it was indeed St. Euphemia, they sat down in his cell, and the saint sat on this very stool, on which I was now sitting. The saint first explained to him the question that the elder had discussed with the metropolitan, saying that he had answered him correctly. Then she related her Life to him, because the elder had not known it. She also told him about her torments, and while she was speaking, the elder saw them, just as we watch TV. The elder looked at these events with great awe and was even frightened at some point, saying to her, “How could you stand this?!” St. Euphemia smiled and replied, “If I had known what glory the martyrs inherit in Heaven, I would have suffered even more.” They spent the whole day together. In the evening, when it was getting dark, she said goodbye to him and left. From that moment on in the place where St. Euphemia had sat the elder had a stool, a small candlestick and a paper icon on the wall. After that Elder Paisios spent a whole week in seclusion. He did not receive anyone, did not eat, did not sleep, but was in a state of grace.

Then he told me many more stories from his life—for example, about how he saw Christ at the age of twelve and different episodes on Holy Mount Athos. At six in the morning, once it was light, a priest from Stavronikita Monastery came to celebrate the Liturgy. Then the elder said to me, “Go and serve, too, deacon!” “Where can I get the deacon’s vestments?” I wondered. “I’ll look for them now,” the elder replied. He found some old sticharion from the time of Fr. Tikhon, tied some strings instead of liturgical cuffs to me and made an “orarion” from an old epitrachelion. Thank God no one took a picture of us at that moment! The elder read, and we served the Liturgy. When the Liturgy was over, he treated the priest to loukoumi, and he left quickly. The elder told me that during the service, at the Proskomedia, he had seen the Lamb of God performing the Bloodless Sacrifice, and described what he had seen with great awe. All this happened on Monday, and I stayed with him until Saturday. So I spent a whole week with him, and it was a week full of grace.

Photo: monastery.ru     

Later when I visited him, the elder allowed me to stay with him in the evenings, and I could see the great spiritual labor he performed, his incessant prayer and how this man lived an absolutely supernatural life. For example, he could stay up all night, spending it in prayer, and then sleep in the morning after sunrise for about two hours. Then during the day he received people, was joyful, in a good mood, talked to everyone, and it was never noticeable that he was tired. He hardly ate anything—he could eat only once in a week. For example, he could tell me, “Today we will cook.” “What are we going to cook, Geronda?” I wondered. “Lentils,” he would answer me. But how was it possible to cook lentils there? He had only one “saucepan” the size of a glass, which he had made from a can. So he put a few lentils (as many as could fit into the can), a spoonful of rice, a spoonful of oil and cooked it all on a spirit lamp. It wasn’t actually boiling, rather warming up. Then he divided it into two: for himself and for me. And then he sent me to Stavronikita Monastery so that I would take a bite and come back. The elder ate almost nothing and did not rest at all. He prayed day and night. In the following years I often visited Elder Paisios, and we became very close.

Today we see him on iconostases. We who knew him personally in theory should not perceive him as a saint, because we saw him every day, ate together, talked, and didn’t discuss only spiritual things. Sometimes I would tell the elder jokes to make him laugh, and various other things that, in my opinion, could interest him. But despite all this, I never got used to him. For example, I cannot say that when I was traveling to the elder I had the same feelings as I had while visiting other fathers. On the contrary, I always felt fear and exactly the same awe as during our first meetings. The same applies to other saintly fathers, such as Fr. Ephraim of Katounakia, Fr. Ephraim of Philotheou, Elder Joseph, etc., who did not do anything special to show their sanctity. Sometimes we even wondered: How can a saint do such things? They didn’t care what others thought of them. Especially Elder Joseph didn’t care at all, and since he knew that there were things that annoyed me, he did them intentionally. He did not accept any criticism and was very excitable. Besides, Elder Joseph was my father-confessor, so he could do anything to humble me.

Metropolitan Athanasios of Limassol     

Indeed, this experience on Mt. Athos is of great importance. Today I was remembering Elder Paisios and therefore I decided to share my memories with you as much as possible, because such things are difficult to describe in full. Elder Paisios would tell parents: “Take the trouble to pass on to your children a collection of holy images”, meaning that children from childhood should have good images in their souls and resort to them in times of temptation, gaining strength to live on. Because if bad images persist in their souls, they traumatize children. For example, if the parents quarrel, if a child feels unsafe in the family; if there is fear, violence and the like, the child is filled with bad images and, growing up, has many problems in his life. I was a witness to that myself. Now I am sixty-four, and in difficult moments that happen to everybody these images, these memories from the Holy Mountain are a good inheritance for me, a refuge where I enter and gain strength, courage, consolation and support from God to continue my struggle.

I will never forget how I visited Philotheou Monastery for the first time in November 1976 and stayed there for a whole month. At that time Father of a Huge FamilyThe prayer is not transmitted by precepts—not in the letter, but in the spirit. You live with an elder and you draw from his spirit.

“>Elder Ephraim (who later moved to Arizona) still lived there. At that time he was fifty-five. On the first Sunday we celebrated the Divine Liturgy together. As a deacon, I was in the sanctuary as well; I stood and looked at the elder and other fathers who were celebrating the service. It made a huge impression on me. So many years have passed, but this picture has not been erased from my memory. Every time I remember it, I am touched and reproach myself, comparing myself with the way these people served. The elder was like an angel, he shone all over, serving with great attention and grace. And almost all of them were bald and their heads glowed, reflecting the candlelight, and it seemed to me that we were somewhere in another realm. I recall how after the service we went to the refectory, the elder blessed the food, we sat down, and I sat next to him. He ate literally two or three spoonful’s and was very concentrated, praying incessantly. It was such great grace!

I can say the same about many other fathers: Fr. Charalampos, who was a great ascetic; Fr. Ephraim of Katounakia, a prophet and a man truly filled with grace; our Elder Joseph, who wept incessantly throughout the Liturgy, while I looked at him and thought: “Where can so many tears come from in this man?” He was not like us who can just shed a few tears, but his sobs were endless. I asked him, “Geronda, why are you weeping at the Liturgy?” And he answered, “I’m crying, feeling sorry about my sins.”

These are the holy images that remain in our hearts and minds. And it would be good to preserve these images for both our biological children and spiritual ones. And parents themselves must have holy experience in their lives. If it is the case, then their children, when the moment of their separation comes, will leave them with a treasury of spiritual wealth. And on the contrary, if they see arguments, anger, fears and anxiety, they will take all this with them. Therefore, parents should take the trouble to pass on the holy spiritual inheritance to their children.

St. Margaret was born in Hungary, to a royal family, around 1045. Her father was Edward Atheling, the heir to the English throne, and her mother was Princess Agatha of Hungary. When she was 10, Margaret and her family returned to England. During the Norman Conquest, her family was forced into exile, although by then, Margaret’s father had died. Her mother took their children onto a boat to escape, which crashed on the coast of Scotland. 

When she was 25, Margaret married Malcolm Canmore, the king of Scotland. Her devout faith inspired her husband to become more pious, and to lead with virtue rather than his temper. Her example of purity and reverence also moved those in her court, and she and the king spent a great deal of time praying and feeding the hungry, showing their people how to live their faith. 

Margaret was a holy example of wife and mother, and she also worked to improve the community in Scotland, building churches and encouraging religious devotion. 

Margaret died in 1093, four days after her husband and one of their sons died in battle. Pope Innocent IV made her a saint in 1250, and she was made the patron of Scotland in 1673. 

Sofia, November 14, 2023

Photo: bg-patriarshia.bg     

The Holy Synod of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church made a charitable donation to a hospital in the capital city of Sofia last week.

On behalf of the Synod, His Eminence Metropolitan Gabriel of Lovech presented the donation of $10,000 (18,200 BGN) on Friday, November 10, to the children’s otolaryngology (ear, nose, and throat) department at Tsaritsa Yoann-ISUL Hospital, which is in need of emergency renovations, reports the Bulgarian Orthodox Church.

The hospital is under the patronage of the martyrs Menas of Egypt, Victor of Damascus, and Vincent of Spain, all of whom are celebrated on November 11 on the New Calendar. In honor of the feast, Met. Gabriel served a moleben with the blessing of water for the mental and physical health of the doctors, medical staff, and patients.

Met. Gabriel was accompanied by the team of the Synodal Cultural and Educational Department, which had prepared age-appropriate gifts for the children being treated in the otolaryngology department.

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The donated funds were collected through the Synod’s charity campaign, Children Helping Children, in which artistic and musical students donate their talent and works for the collection of donations.

Met. Gabriel noted that the campaign teaches children charity and love for neighbors, and “emphasized that faith is trust and fidelity at the same time, and it is precisely in works of charity that this fusion of trust in God and our care for each other is revealed.”

Hospital Executive Director Lyubomir Penev explained to Met. Gabriel that the funds will be used to improve the conditions for residence and treatment in the department. He noted that parents accompany and caring for their children during treatment at the hospital will be able to continue to stay at the hospital free of charge, with the necessary personal space and good living conditions. A children’s play area will also be built.

Mr. Penev also noted the possibility of building an Orthodox chapel at the hospital.

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Bishop Joseph Strickland didn’t join his fellow U.S. bishops at their annual fall assembly on Tuesday, but he wasn’t far away, leading the recitation of the rosary for a few dozen people outside the waterfront hotel where the bishops’ meeting was taking place without him.

“I figured since I’m in town and didn’t have to go to the meeting, I’d just come here and pray,” Strickland told CNA in a brief interview.

Strickland’s appearance came just three days after Pope Francis removed the 65-year-old prelate as the head of the Diocese of Tyler, Texas.

Strickland remains an American bishop, however, and there is nothing in the statutes of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) that would prevent him from participating in this week’s assembly.

In a five-minute interview outside the hotel, Strickland claimed that the papal nuncio to the U.S., Cardinal Christophe Pierre, asked him not to participate. Pierre, who addressed the bishops Tuesday morning, declined CNA’s interview request Tuesday.

Strickland showed up outside the meeting anyway, he said, because he “already had plans to be here.” He told CNA that he also had committed to leading a rosary outside the meeting. He has led a rosary outside the USCCB meeting in past years as well.

Strickland led the rosary while kneeling. A man kneeling and praying nearby held a sign that read, “We love Bishop Strickland.”

“Today is a day for living the Lord more fully. And so that’s what we are called to do. And that’s what I would encourage the bishops to just keep refocusing on. I have to, every day when I wake up, remember, what’s this about? It’s about following Jesus Christ,” Strickland told CNA.

“And today is a new day to follow him with joy and hope. His light is as bright as ever. We need to all remember that, and especially my brother bishops,” he said.

Strickland said that he may attend future USCCB meetings, but he thought it best not to do it this year, explaining, “I didn’t want to be a distraction.”

Why was Strickland removed?

Strickland told CNA that when he was notified about his removal, he received an email “with an attachment of the letter that said the Holy Father had … relieved me of the responsibilities as bishop of Tyler.”

Strickland’s removal on Nov. 11 follows a formal investigation of him and his diocese ordered by Pope Francis that occurred in June.

An official report of that investigation was never published, nor has the Vatican disclosed why Strickland was removed from office.

“I really can’t look to any reason except I’ve threatened some of the powers that be with the truth of the Gospel,” Strickland said in an interview with LifeSiteNews following his removal.

Strickland served as bishop of Tyler since 2012 and has been fiercely outspoken on certain Catholic social issues such as abortion and gender ideology. The firebrand bishop has gained a sizable social media following, where he has railed against the political agendas of elected officials who blatantly disregard the sanctity of the unborn.

Cardinal Daniel DiNardo of the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston, of which the Tyler Diocese is a suffragan, said following Strickland’s removal that the investigation focused on “all aspects of the governance and leadership” in the diocese, which ultimately concluded with a recommendation being made to Pope Francis that “the continuation in office of Bishop Strickland was not feasible.”

Speaking to CNA, Strickland didn’t provide any details about what administrative issues may have contributed to his ouster.

“Yeah, there are allegations, but we had the bishop’s appeal that was $3.1 million, larger than ever in the history of the diocese,” he said.

Strickland also touted the number of the diocese’s seminarians — 21 — now in formation, as well as “a presbyterate with great priests.”

“So yeah, you can make allegations of anything. But I think if you just look at the record of the diocese, it’s grown. People are moving in. It’s a happy place. It’s not perfect. It’s not heaven, but it’s in good shape,” he said.

Asked if any reasons were given for his removal, Strickland said that there were “verbal reasons” given by Pierre that were “quite extensive,” one of which was that he was too outspoken.

One notable example is a May 12 tweet in which he suggested that Pope Francis was “undermining the deposit of faith.”

“There were things that, yes, I did. I’ve raised a lot of questions. I’ve tried my best to guard the deposit of faith. And, you know, I feel the same commitment,” he said.

“Some say maybe I’ve spoken up too much, but how can we speak too much for the truth of Christ? It’s a treasure. It’s a beautiful light that the world desperately needs.”

Another reason he was given was “the fact that I didn’t shut down the Latin Mass in my diocese because, you know, I felt as a shepherd, I couldn’t do that,” he said, referring to the restrictions Pope Francis imposed on the old liturgy in his July 2021 motu proprio Traditionis Custodes.

Strickland said that the document “wasn’t really clear” and could be debated upon but added that “many bishops haven’t shut down the Latin Mass in their diocese.”

Ultimately, his removal was the result of “an accumulation of things,” he said, adding that he’s “committed to Jesus Christ” and loves the Church.

“I love every aspect of the Church, but I think we’d all agree the Church needs to be stronger in Christ, and that’s what I’ve encouraged through all of this. My prayer is that every bishop, every faithful Catholic, can be drawn closer to the Sacred Heart of Christ,” he said.

Athens, November 14, 2023

Photo: ekklisiaonline.gr     

Thousands of Orthodox faithful came out to greet and venerable the precious skull of the great St. John Chrysostom as it was brought from its home at Vatopedi Monastery on Mt. Athos to Athens for the first time.

The holy relic, with the incorrupt ear of St. John which the Apostle Paul was seen speaking into, guiding the Holy Hierarch’s Scriptural understanding, was brought by Abbot Ephraim of Vatopedi to the Greek capital, where it was formally greeted by Metropolitan Philotheos of Thessaloniki, Bishop Philotheos of Rogoi, assistant bishop of the Archdiocese of Athens, and a host of clergy and laity, reports the Orthodoxia News Agency.

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The precious relic was then carried in procession to the Church of St. Eleftherios, where a doxology and Vespers were served. The skull will remain in this church until November 16, where the Liturgy will be served daily and the doors will remain open 24 hours a day to accommodate the thousands who are coming to venerate St. John.

Photo: ekklisiaonline.gr     

“This whole event is a great blessing for the whole world, as we will welcome many people who will come from different parts of Greece and even from abroad. We were informed that Orthodox Christians will come from Serbia in buses to venerable the holy skull of St. John,” parish rector Protopresbyter Themistocles Christodoulou said.

The feast of St. John Chrysostom, celebrated on November 13, drew especially large crowds, with an All-Night Vigil on Sunday evening and Orthros and Liturgy on Monday morning.

The incorrupt ear of St. John Chrysostom. Photo: orthodoxianewsagency.gr     

Following the Liturgy, a procession with the skull was held throughout the streets around the church. The services and procession were broadcast live by Pemptousia TV:

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After Athens, the precious relics will be taken to the Metropolis of Aetolia and Acarnania from November 16 to 19.

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The March for Life’s theme for its 2024 event will be “Pro-Life: With Every Woman, For Every Child,” the group’s president announced Nov. 14.

The March for Life first took place in Washington in 1974 in response to the U.S. Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade decision legalizing abortion nationwide the previous year. Pro-life advocates have gathered in Washington to march each year since then to protest the ruling, with a smaller-in-scale event during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021.

After the high court reversed Roe in 2022, marchers still gathered to protest abortion. Each year, the group selects a theme that it says fits the cultural moment. Jeanne Mancini, March for Life president, said that following the court’s ruling in Dobbs, she wanted to highlight the work the pro-life movement does to support women facing difficult or unplanned pregnancies.

At an event in Washington, Mancini said the theme was selected due to what she called “the false narrative around abortion, whether it’s through mainstream media or the entertainment industry or academia, is that abortion is empowering and necessary.”

“We disagree,” she said. “Such fear-based messaging tries to convince women who are facing unexpected pregnancies that they’re alone, that they are incapable, that they are ill-equipped to handle motherhood. We who are here today know that is just not true. We aren’t saying that it’s easy. But we are saying that it is right to choose life and we hold that choosing life is empowering, and that love saves lives.”

Mancini said that she wanted to highlight “the vast pro-life safety net” from pregnancy resource centers to state resources, including the Mississippi Access to Maternal Assistance program — or MAMA program — administered by the office of the Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch, R-Miss., which connects pregnant women and families with resources for parents. Fitch argued the Dobbs case before the Supreme Court.

Mississippi Deputy Attorney General Whitney Lipscomb said at the Nov. 14 event that “in the Dobbs case we asked the Supreme Court to return the issue of abortion to the states, for the people through their elected leaders to decide how to best promote the dignity of life and support mothers and children.”

“And when the Supreme Court did just that, it became incumbent on all of us to find ways to match the compassion in our hearts with the compassion and justice in our laws,” Lipscomb said, adding that the MAMA program connects public and private resources, ranging from medical care during pregnancy to food stamps to job training.

“When a woman is facing an unexpected pregnancy, what she most needs to hear (at) that moment is you can do this,” Mancini said.

The national march is scheduled for Jan. 19. The 2024 event will take place in both a presidential election year, and one that could bring additional ballot measures on abortion, possibly in states including Arizona and Florida.

Ohio voters on Nov. 7 approved Issue 1, a measure that will codify abortion access in the state’s constitution through fetal viability, typically understood to be 24 weeks gestation, and beyond, if a physician decided an abortion was necessary for the sake of the mother’s life or health. The loss marked another electoral defeat for anti-abortion ballot measures in the wake of the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision: In 2022, voters in California, Kentucky, Michigan, Montana, Vermont and Kansas either rejected new limitations on abortion or expanded legal protections for it.

The March for Life said some of the speakers at its 51st include singer Danny Gokey, as well as Pastor Greg and Cathe Laurie. Former NFL tight end and founder of the Watson 7 Foundation, Benjamin Watson, will be speaking at the Rose Dinner, which follows the event. The group said a full speaker list will be announced prior to the event.