Tag: Christianity

Cetinje, Montenegro, November 2, 2023

Photo: mitropolija.com     

The famous Cetinje Monastery and Seminary in Montenegro celebrated their slava on Tuesday, October 31—the feast of St. Peter of Cetinje.

This year also marks the seminary’s 160th anniversary.

Joining the local hierarch His Eminence Metropolitan Joanikije of Montenegro were His Eminence Metropolitan Chrysostom of Dabar and Bosnia and His Grace Bishop Jovan of Pakrac and Slavonia of the Serbian Orthodox Church, as well as His Eminence Metropolitan Gabriel of Lovech of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church, His Eminence Archbishop Michael of Prague of the Orthodox Church of the Czech Lands and Slovakia, and local and visiting clergy, reports the Metropolis of Montenegro.

Before the Liturgy, Met. Gabriel tonsured a reader from Lovech.

Following the reading of the Gospel, Met. Chrysostomos gave a homily reflecting on the life of St. Peter of Cetinje, whom, although he lived in the difficult times of Turkish slavery, managed to save his soul from temptation and perdition.

The hierarch also remarked on how much Montenegro has changed since his first visit in 1972, which he attributes to the intercession of St. Peter and the labors of His Eminence Metropolitan Amfilohije, who led the Metropolis for 30 years.

“When we celebrate St. Peter of Cetinje, we should thank him for what he does today, what he has done for centuries in this holy place. His holy relics are the greatest power, the strength of Divine grace in this area,” the Metropolitan said.

After the service, the slava bread was blessed and cut.

The celebration continued that evening in the crypt of the Cathedral of the Resurrection in Podgorica, where the seminary holds a special event every year on the feast of St. Peter of Cetinje. The program included a performance by the seminary chamber choir and others.

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San Diego, November 2, 2023

Photo: synod.com     

A new monument to the greatly beloved St. John of Kronstadt was recently installed and blessed at a California church.

His Eminence Archbishop Kyrill of San Francisco and Western America of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia celebrated the Divine Liturgy on Sunday, October 29, at the church named in honor of St. John in San Diego, reports the official ROCOR site.

The Archbishop’s visit came just days before the actual feast of St. John, celebrated yesterday.

Photo: synod.com     

Following the Liturgy, a monument to the wonderworker was unveiled and blessed.

This is the second bronze sculpture of St. John made by the Artproekt Russian National Artistic Studio to be installed in the U.S. The first was unveiled at St. John the Baptist Cathedral in Washington, D.C., in St. John of Kronstadt monument unveiled at D.C. church founded by St. John of San FranciscoSt. John of Kronstadt is called All-Russian, as he is associated strongly with many centers of Russian culture, not only St. Petersburg, but also Kiev and Pochaev. St. John was famous for calling all of Russia to repentance in the decades prior to the revolution. The statue depicts the saint in his most iconic form, vested and holding a chalice, calling people to communion with the other hand.

“>September 2019.

Although the Russian Embassy in D.C. had facilitated the monument’s shipment to the States, Russian diplomats were not permitted to make the trip to attend the unveiling, according to an Embassy statement:

Russian diplomats wanted to take part in today’s remarkable event that contributes to the preservation of our culture, the Russian language, traditional values as well as to strengthening of the unity of our diaspora. Moreover, in these difficult times opportunities are rare, when we can share such joyful moments with our compatriots. However, the State Department refused to approve the trip.

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The Church today remembers St. Elizabeth and St. Zachariah, the parents of John the Baptist. 

Elizabeth was related to Mary, the Mother of God, but her exact familial connection is clear. They are often called “cousins” in Church tradition. 

In the Bible, we learn that Elizabeth had longed for a child all her life, but was unable to conceive. When she was much older, the angel Gabriel appeared to her husband, Zachariah, and promised him that his wife would have a son, and that they would name him John. 

Zachariah did not believe Gabriel’s words, as his wife was too old to have children. Because of his doubt, the angel told him he would be made mute until his son was born and the prophecy of his birth had come to pass.

Elizabeth became pregnant, and when Mary came to visit her, having also been visited by the angel Gabriel, the child in Elizabeth’s womb leaped for joy. Elizabeth greeted Mary, saying, “Blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb,” words we say today in the “Hail Mary.”

When Elizabeth’s son was born, they brought him to the temple to be circumcised, and her friends and neighbors believed that the boy would be named after his father, but Zachariah, still unable to speak, wrote on a tablet that the baby’s name would be John. Then he regained his speech, and praised the Lord for fulfilling the prophecy. 

St. Charles Borromeo was born in 1538. He was the son of noble parents, born into luxury, but early on, he made it clear that worldly wealth did not appeal to him. Charles desired to serve the Church, and asked his father to give away the majority of his inheritance to the poor. 

Although Charles could not fully escape his class, he used the privileges afforded to him to benefit the Church. At the age of 22, his uncle was elected as Pope Pius IV, and Charles served as a papal diplomat and supervisor of major religious orders. His chief forms of relaxation were music and literature, and he considered renouncing even these pleasures to join a monastery, but found himself urgently needed during the Council of Trent. 

In 1545, the Church had begun its 19th ecumenical council, but they experienced many delays. The twofold mission of Trent was to clarify Catholic doctrine against Protestant objections, and reform longstanding problems within the Church. As a papal representative, Charles participated in the conclusion of the Council in 1563, when he was only 25. He also helped assemble the comprehensive summary, the Roman Catechism, or Catechism of the Council of Trent. 

After this, Charles was rewarded with more responsibilities — he was named an archbishop and cardinal only months later. When he took over the diocese of Milan, he found virtually no administration or leadership, and got to work establishing schools, seminaries, and centers for religious life. These drastic reforms made him some enemies, and a group of disgruntled monks even tried to kill him, but Charles miraculously survived. 

Charles’ efforts were especially fruitful. He initiated the work of the Confraternity for Christian Doctrine and the first “Sunday School” classes. He also welcomed English Catholics who fled to Italy to escape anti-Catholic laws. 

Diligence, frequent travel, and his ascetic lifestyle eventually took their toll, and Charles died at the age of 46 on November 3, 1584. He was canonized 26 years later, in 1610, and is the patron of catechists and catechumens. 

Photo credit: храм-ирины.рф     

On November 4 (October 22), the Church commemorates the The Complicated History of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of GodThe history of the Kazan icon began in the sixteenth century. Yet people find the circumstances and place of its appearance unusual and surprising even to this day.

“>Kazan Icon of the Mother of God. This icon is one of the most venerated sacred objects of Russia connected with the most important events in the history of the Russian state. Copies of the icon have been distributed across the country and many of them were glorified as miracle-working icons.

The commemoration of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God began in Kazan, and it was celebrated on July 8 (21), the day of its finding. On October 22, 1612, during the battle of the Russian troops with the Poles in Moscow, a copy of this icon stayed with Prince Dmitry Pozharsky. Through the prayers and intercession of the Mother of God and the appearance of Her miracle-working Kazan icon, the Russian state was delivered from the Poles. Tsar Mikhail Feodorovich established a celebration in Moscow in memory of this event. In 1649, Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, in memory of the birth of the heir on the feast day of the Kazan icon of the Mother of God ordered to hold celebrations on October 22 (November 4) throughout Russia.¹

There are liturgical texts dedicated to every church feast. Troparions, or “verbalized” icons of the feast celebrated by the Church, hold a special place among them. We offer to our readers’ attention a theological and philological commentary of the main hymn of the feast.

In 1594, fifteen years after the appearance of the miracle-working icon, Metropolitan Hermogenes of Kazan—the future Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, an eyewitness and participant of the finding of the icon, wrote the “Tale of the Appearance of the Kazan Icon.”² This work was used in composing the troparion, which reads as follows:

“O fervent intercessor, Mother of the Lord Most High; thou dost pray for all before thy Son Christ our God, granting salvation to all who seek thy protection. O Queen and Sovereign Lady, protect us all, who in trouble and trials and sickness, and burdened with sins, stand in thy presence before thine icon, and who pray with compunction, contrition and tears and with unflagging hope in thee. Grant what is good for us, deliverance from evil, and save us all, O Virgin Mother of God, for thou art the divine protection to thy servants.”³

Translators of the divine service into Russian did not leave out the hymn so well known to the faithful. Thus, Archpriest Vladimir Ouspensky in the early twentieth century makes the following translation of the troparion:

“O earnest helper, Mother of the Lord Most High, thou dost entreat Christ, thy Son and our God, in behalf of all, and causest all to be saved who have recourse to thy mighty protection. O Lady, Queen and Mistress, help us all who, amid temptations, sorrows and sickness, are heavy laden with many sins, who stand before thee and with tears pray to thee with compunctionate soul and contrite heart before thine all-pure image, and who have unfailing hope in thee: Grant deliverance from all evils, and things profitable unto all, O Virgin Theotokos, and save us all, for thou art the divine protection of thy servants.”⁴

Fervent Intercessor

The Troparion begins with a lofty appeal of the Hieromartyr Hermogenes the Patriarch of Moscow and Wonderworker of All RussiaOn Bright Monday in 1611, the Russian militia approached Moscow and began the seige of the Kremlin, which continued for several months. Besieged within the Kremlin, the Poles often sent messengers to the Patriarch with the demand that he order the Russian militia to leave the city, threatening him with execution if he refused. The saint firmly replied, ”What are your threats to me? I fear only God. If all our enemies leave Moscow, I shall bless the Russian militia to withdraw from Moscow; but if you remain here, I shall bless all to stand against you and to die for the Orthodox Faith.”

“>Holy Hierarch Hermogenes that later came to be used in subsequent prayers to the Most Holy Mother of God.⁵ “Intercessor” means protectress, or patroness.⁶ That’s who the Most Holy Mother of God was in the days of Times of Troubles when the ruling tsarist dynasty in Rus was practically extinct and disorder broke out in the country. Fearing to remain forever under the rule of the Poles, the Russian people rose to the defense of their Motherland and placed their trust in the Heavenly Intercessor. They appealed to Her in prayer asking to help in their fight against the enemy. Afterwards, the Kazan icon becomes a symbol of love of the Russian people for the Mother of God.

Our сonfession

The phrase “thou dost pray for all before thy Son Christ our God” reminds us of the proper confession of Her as the Most Holy Mother of God. We believe and we confess that the Ever-Virgin Mary gave birth to Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Archimandrite Cyprian (Kern) explains our confession as follows:

The Mother of God “came out of midst worldly, sinful human beings, yet at the same time She is the Mother of God and a human being, and so it draws us intimately close to Her, brings Her closer to us, makes Her our intimate Intercessor, Advocate, so dear to us, Who understands and deigns to hear us.”⁷

During the final moments of His earthly life, Jesus Christ addresses His Most Pure Mother and points to His beloved disciple: Woman, behold thy son (John 19:26). With these words, the Lord adopts all of humanity to the Mother of God.

Causes all to be saved

“Thou causest all to be saved”; it is worth noting here that it is God Who saves. Only He can remove sin and free us from punishment for it (see: 2 Tim. 1:9; Tit. 3: 5). But the Most Holy Mother of God, through Her help and intercession, as Archpriest Vladimir Ouspensky correctly notes in his translation of the troparion, “causest all to be saved who have recourse to Her mighty protection.”

Compunctionate soul and contrite heart

It is the brokenness over our sins that contributes to the healing of the soul

A compunctionate soul, according to the Saint St. Ignatius Brianchaninov

“>Ignatius (Brianchaninov), is a renewed soul in relation to God and eternity.⁸ A contrite heart is “a sorrowful and sad heart, the one that experiences or expresses contrition”⁹ over its many sins. One would think that a renewed soul and contrition contradict each other, but it is the contrition over sins that exactly contributes to the healing of the soul.

According to the teaching of the Holy Fathers, thanks to contrition of heart and tears, man learns to love God with all his heart and sees himself as the first among sinners. Such a man can join the Apostle Paul and say: Christ came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief (1 Tim. 1: 15).

Unflagging hope

Archpriest Vladimir Ouspensky translates the word unflagging as unfailing, that is, having no reason to be ashamed.¹⁰ The Psalmist proclaims: Put not your trust in princes, nor in the son of man, in whom there is no help (Psalm 146:3). We can’t say this about the Most Holy Mother of God, Who, according to another hymn to the Mother of God, is “support of the oppressed, the hope of the hopeless, intercessor of the poor, consolation of them that grieve, nourisher of the hungry, the raiment of the naked, the healing of the sick, the salvation of sinners, and help of all Christians.” ¹¹

Divine Protection for Her servants

The appeal to the Mother of God should transform and uplift us so that we become worthy of Her help and protection

The idea of the protection of the Mother of God permeats the services to the Mother of God, both the sorrowful ones and those filled with joy. It is important to understand that our appeal to the Mother of God should transform and uplift us. In our prayer to Her, we should feel anguish over our sins, and reverence before Her, and gratitude for being vouchsafed Her help and protection.

Speaking about the fate of the Byzantine Empire in one of his sermons, the Holy Hierarch Holy Hierarch Innocent of KhersonFr. Innocent gained particular renown for his extraordinary talent as a preacher. Vladyka Innocent was later to become known as the “Russian Chrysostom.”

“>Innocent of Kherson said, “When the Mother of God saw that Her protection doesn’t make those whom She protects any better, that they don’t need Her mercy, but rather edifying punishment, She removed Her Protection.”¹²

The transformation of our lives according to the commandments of the Gospel is the crucial fruit of the prayer to the Mother of God. We, with our life, must bear witness before the world: the Most Holy Mother of God is our zealous Advocate and Sovereign Lady.

New York, November 2, 2023

Photo: archons.org     

Every year, the Archons of the Ecumenical Patriarchate give our their Athenagoras Human Rights Award to individuals or groups who have served the Patriarchate in some way.

This year, the award was given to Prince’s Trust International—a foundation founded by then-Prince Charles in 2015, dedicated to “tackl[ing] the global crisis of youth unemployment.”

The foundation thus joins the likes of Patriarch Theodoros of Alexandria, who received the award Patriarch of Alexandria receives human rights award for standing with Constantinople against Russian ChurchAnnouncing the selection in July, the Archons explained that Pat. Theodoros was chosen because he supports Constantinople’s self-understanding as the first without equals and stands against the Moscow Patriarchate on the issue of the schismatic “Orthodox Church of Ukraine.”

“>last year, “Metropolitan” Constantinople group gives human rights award to Epiphany as his church continues to persecute Ukrainian faithfulDumenko was solemnly awarded the Athenagoras Human Rights Award, given every year “to a person or organization that has consistently exemplified by action, purpose and dedication, concern for the basic rights and religious freedom of all people,” during the annual banquet of the Order of St. Andrew the Apostle.”>Epiphany Dumenko of the schismatic “Orthodox Church of Ukraine,” which thrives on violating the human rights of Orthodox Christians in Ukraine, the pro-abortion former governor of New York Greek Orthodox group gives human rights award to pro-choice Gov. CuomoThis award has caused serious repercussions throughout the Orthodox Church, as well as among Catholics, as Gov. Cuomo is a staunch and unabashed promotor of abortion and same-sex marriage—two ”evils of the day” that the Orthodox Church can in no way condone.”>Andrew Cuomo, President Biden (when he was Vice President), and more.

Archbishop Elpidophoros of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America and Dr. Anthony J. Limberakis, the Archons’ National Commander, presented the Athenagoras Human Rights Award to Crown Prince Pavlos, vice president of the trust and the eldest son of King Constantine and Queen Anne-Marie of Greece, on behalf of the trust at a banquet held at the New York Hilton on October 21, the Archons report.

The foundation’s work was praised in a message from Patriarch Bartholomew and a speech delivered by Abp. Elpidophoros.

In a message read by the CEO of the Trust, King Charles said:

I really am so pleased that The Trust’s work continues to go from strength to strength, having, in recent years, expanded from its mission in the United Kingdom and now to be supporting young people in twenty-three countries, including Greece and the United States of America where we recently launched our Enterprise Challenge programme in New York and Chicago.

Archon National Commander Limberakis noted that,

The Prince’s Trust is a shining example of the Christian Faith put into practice, with innovative and effective programs that have helped over a million young people turn their lives around. Indeed, His Majesty King Charles III has a profound understanding of the scriptural admonition to love your neighbor as yourself, and in The Prince’s Trust, he has brilliantly demonstrated the meaning and importance of that divine command. The Trust thus richly deserves to receive the 2023 Athenagoras Human Rights Award.

Prince’s Trust CEO Will Straw then announced the creation of the Prince’s Trust Bartholomew Patrons, to thank individuals who pledge $100,000 or more to the foundation’s work.

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South Canaan, Pennsylvania, November 2, 2023

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Prison ministry has long been part of priestly formation in the Master of Divinity program at St. Tikhon’s Orthodox Theological Seminary in South Canaan, Pennsylvania.

And now, the seminary, a fully accredited institution of the Orthodox Church in America, is teaming up with Orthodox Christian Prison Ministry (OCPM) to offer a new certificate program that “provides clergy and lay volunteers that are interested in prison ministry with the necessary knowledge and experience to effectively lead and support people in prison,” OCPM reports.

The program combines theoretical knowledge and practical skills “to ensure participants develop an Orthodox approach to the unique challenges faced in correctional settings.”

Graduates will receive a unique certificate, which will help them more easily find volunteer or career opportunities in correctional facilities.

The semester-long program covers five broad themes, with lessons delivered through in-person sessions, online lectures, virtual discussion, and practical discussions. The program also includes a 7–10-day residency component at St. Tikhon’s Monastery and Seminary, which is located just minutes from a major prison.

Lessons include:

• Introduction to the Prison Landscape

• The Broken Person Seeking Truth

• Pastoral Care in Correctional Settings

• Family and Parish Trauma from Incarceration

• Self-Care and Burnout Prevention

• Immersive learning (residency)

During the residency, students will make daily visits to SCI Waymart to practice “the ministry of presence,” talking and praying with inmates.

Program instructors include Fr. Stephen Powley, Co-Director of Training and Spiritual Care for OCPM, who has been serving in prisons for nearly 40 years; Fr. John Kowalczyk, Director of Field Education at St. Tikhon’s, who also has nearly 40 years of prison ministry to his credit; and others.

Tuition for the prison ministry certificate program costs $2,800, plus a $1,000 residency fee (meals and housing), though financial aid may be available.

Visit the site of Orthodox Christian Prison Ministry to learn more and apply for the certificate program.

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Buenos Aires, November 3, 2023

Pat. Porfirije (center), Bp. Kirilo (left). Photo: spc.rs     

His Holiness Patriarch Porfirije of the Serbian Orthodox Church began a pastoral visit to South America today.

The Serbian primate arrived at the airport in Buenos Aires, Argentina yesterday, where he was welcomed by His Grace Bishop Kirilo of Buenos Aires and South and Central America and local monastics, clergy, and faithful, reports the Serbian Orthodox Church.

The Patriarch is accompanied by Bishops Arsenije of Niš, Nikodim of Dalmati, and Stefan of Remesija. The visit began with a doxology at St. Sava Monastery in Buenos Aires last night.

The delegation will also visit St. Nicholas Monastery in Machagai tomorrow. The highlight of the visit will be the consecration of the Holy Trinity Church in Resistencia on Sunday.

His Holiness will also meet with the state, local, and religious authorities.

Pat. Porfirije also paid a pastoral visit to America Serbian Patriarch serves at St. Sava Monastery in Illinois—home of relics of St. MardarijeHis Holiness Porfirije, Patriarch of the Serbian Orthodox Church, arrived in America for a pastoral visit on January 25.

“>in January and February of this year.

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Pope Francis will travel to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates Dec. 1-3 to participate in the U.N. Climate Change Conference, the Vatican press office confirmed.

In an interview broadcast in Italy Nov. 1, the pope had said he intended to go, but the Vatican did not confirm the trip until Nov. 3.

“Accepting the invitation of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, president of the United Arab Emirates, His Holiness Pope Francis will make the previously announced trip to Dubai from 1 to 3 December 2023, on the occasion of the upcoming Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change,” commonly called COP28, said Matteo Bruni, director of the Vatican press office.

The conference is designed to assess progress or failures in reaching the goals adopted by 196 nations and parties, including the Holy See, with the Paris climate agreement in 2015.

In his interview with TG1, Italy’s main evening news program, Pope Francis said the climate summit in Paris “was the most beautiful of all,” but since then “everyone has taken a step back and courage is needed to move forward.”

Too many people, he said, do not believe climate change is real and that it is threatening people’s lives and livelihoods today.

“We still have time to stop it,” the pope said. “Our future is at stake, the future of our children and grandchildren. People must take some responsibility.”

In early October, Pope Francis released “Laudate Deum” (“Praise God”), a follow-up document to his 2015 encyclical “Laudato Si’, On Care for Our Common Home,” because, he wrote, over the past eight years, “our responses have not been adequate, while the world in which we live is collapsing and may be nearing the breaking point.”

He also wrote about COP28, saying “it can represent a change of direction” and show that everything the international community has tried to do since the 1992 U.N. Earth Summit “was in fact serious and worth the effort, or else it will be a great disappointment and jeopardize whatever good has been achieved thus far.”

Jerusalem, November 3, 2023

Photo: synod.com     

Archimandrite Roman, chief of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia’s Ecclesiastical Mission in Jerusalem has issued a call for assistance.

Due to the unrest in the Holy Land, the Mission’s monasteries are left without pilgrims and thus are financially struggling, while they continue to pray for the world daily.

The Mission includes three monasteries: The Convent of the Ascension of Our Lord on the Mount of Olives, the Convent of St. Mary Magdalene in Gethsemane, and the Skete of St. Chariton in Wadi Fara.

Fr. Roman’s message reads:

Peace has been shattered in the Holy Land, with 3 days of air-raid sirens in Jerusalem. Thank God nothing landed in the Holy City nor near our convents. Since then, it has been relatively calm but very strained at our 3 monasteries, which are in Palestinian areas. There has been unrest outside the gates of the Mt. of Olives Convent. Tear gas wafts over the walls and into the monastery grounds, even into the church. Meanwhile, our olive harvest has begun, but the holy sites are empty of pilgrims, probably for another year. Divine services continue daily, and we pray that our Merciful Lord will put an end to this struggle so that the peoples of this land could live in peace.

We are in urgent need for augmented support from the beloved flock of our Church worldwide. Please help our monastics as they pray for peace and the salvation of Christian souls.

Please donate via PayPal, or make checks out to “Synod/REM” and mail to:

The Russian Ecclesiastical Mission in Jerusalem
Synod of Bishops
75 East 93rd Street
New York NY 10128

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