Tag: Christianity

Ex. 22:20–26 / Ps. 18:2–4, 47, 51 / 1Thes. 1:5–10 / Mt. 22:34-40

Jesus came not to abolish the Old Testament law but to fulfill it (see Matthew 5:17).

And in this Sunday’s Gospel, He reveals that love — of God and of neighbor — is the fulfillment of the whole of the law (see Romans 13:8–10).

Devout Israelites were to keep all 613 commands found in the Bible’s first five books. Jesus says that all these, and all the teachings of the prophets, can be summarized by two verses of this law (see Deuteronomy 6:5; Leviticus 19:18).

He seems to summarize the two stone tablets on which God was said to have engraved the Ten Commandments (see Exodus 32:15–16). The first tablet set out three laws concerning the love of God, such as the command not to take his name in vain; the second contained seven commands regarding love of neighbor, such as those against stealing and adultery. Love is the hinge that binds the two tablets of the law. For we can’t love God, whom we can’t see, if we don’t love our neighbor, whom we can (see 1 John 4:20–22).

But this love we are called to is far more than simple affection or warm sentiment. We must give ourselves totally to God, loving with our whole beings, with all our heart, soul, and mind. Our love for our neighbor must express itself in concrete actions, such as those set out in Sunday’s First Reading.

We love because he first loved us (see 1 John 4:19). As we sing in Sunday’s Psalm, he has been our deliverer, our strength when we could not possibly defend ourselves against the enemies of sin and death.

We love in thanksgiving for our salvation. And in this become imitators of Jesus, as Paul tells us in Sunday’s Epistle, laying down our lives daily in ways large and small, seen and unseen; our lives offered as a continual sacrifice of praise (see John 15:12-13; Hebrews 13:15).

St. Arsenia of Ust-Medvedits On October 21, 2016, the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church canonized Chosen By God: Life of Abbess Arsenia of Ust-MedveditsThe amazing purity of heart that God gave Anna from birth was preserved in her until the end of her life, and therefore the path of her life was clear and straight.

“>St. Arsenia of Ust-Medvedits as a locally venerated saint of the Volgograd Metropolis.

Abbess Arsenia (1833-1905) came from a notable family of the Don region. At the age of seventeen, Anna Mikhailova entered the Ust-Medvedits Monastery of her own accord. The monastery reached its highest peak in the forty years of her abbacy, from 1864 until her repose on August 3, 1905.

Besides her educational and charitable activities, the main fruits of Venerable Arsenia’s labors were the Kazan Cathedral, which was erected from 1785 to 1885, and the famous caves, dug in the image of the Kiev Caves. Today the monastery’s main shrine is there—the miraculous stone slab with hand and knee imprints of people kneeling in prayer, where the faithful come to beseech St. Arsenia for healings, the good arrangement of worldly affairs, and prosperous family lives.

In addition to her holy life, St. Arsenia left us valuable writings on the spiritual life, which we present in honor of the anniversary of her canonization.

***

What does it mean to believe in God?

What does it mean to believe in God? It’s necessary to believe not only in the existence of God the Creator and in the salvation given us through Jesus Christ, but we must also believe unwaveringly, in all circumstances of life, no matter how difficult, that God is merciful, that He desires our salvation; and seeing in this and knowing not only our temporary well-being, but also eternal, leads us to Him as a loving but wise father for His children, guiding them with equal love, tenderness, and firmness. Therefore, we must accept everything with hope in the mercy of God, asking only for His help in every trial or temptation, whether it comes from outside, from our infirmities, or from men—God’s instruments for our salvation, and often mutual. Our humility will save even those who grieve us.

Remembrance of God

The unceasing remembrance of God is hindered by the dispersion of our thoughts, which draw our mind into vain cares. Only when our entire life is completely directed towards God do we become capable and begin to see God in everything by faith—both in the most important circumstances of life and in the smallest—and to submit to His will in all things, without which there can be no remembrance of God, no pure and unceasing prayer. Emotions and passions are even more harmful to the remembrance of God, and therefore to prayer. Therefore, we must strictly and constantly pay heed to the heart and the things that attract it, firmly resisting them, for attraction leads the soul into impenetrable darkness. Every passion is a suffering of the soul, a sickness, and demands immediate treatment. Terrible is the spirit of despondencyIf you don’t turn from sorrow for the world to sorrow for God, you will perish! Remember the seriousness of despondency. Remember that the heart of a Christian should be filled with the joy of reaching for the light; it should be foreign to the sadness that fills the hearts of sinners.

“>Despondency and other forms of the heart’s cooling towards spiritual activity are diseases. Just as a man who was sick with a fever remains weak, sluggish, and unable to work even after the sickness has passed, so the soul, sick with a passion, becomes indifferent, weak, infirm, insensitive, and incapable of spiritual work. These are spiritual passions. To be armed and battle against them and defeat them is our main work. We must labor fervently in this battle with spiritual passions. Prayer reveals to us the passions that live in our hearts. Whatever passion hinders our prayer, we must urgently battle against it; and prayer itself will help in this battle, and by prayer the passion will be uprooted.

On Prayer

The On PrayerWhat should someone do who doesn’t know any prayers, but desires to pray, to save his soul?

“>prayer of faith, prayer with the consciousness of one’s own sinfulness, overall infirmity, and insufficiency—this is the sole form of non-deluded prayer of a man who has not achieved pure prayer. It is improper for me to speak of pure prayer, as one not having it. It’s a gift of God; it’s possible with the action of God’s grace in the heart, or better yet—it is the very action of grace. The path to it is purity. It’s not difficult to acquire purity of thoughts and purity of senses by means of solitude, reading, and exercise in prayer; but purity of heart is acquired by many deaths—it is the cessation of the passions. Try to repair to seclusion for a time, try to renounce all cares and concerns, give yourself over to prayer, and you’ll see how the distraught thoughts will subside, how swayed feelings will calm down, and you’ll begin to pray with a peaceful and attentive disposition. But there, in the chest, there is an incomprehensible heaviness that presses and presses. Without any impulses, without any desires, it lies like a stone on the heart, causing darkness and tightness that stand like a wall between the soul and the Lord. This wall can only be destroyed by the grace of God, with our resolute struggle against the passions according to the commandments of God. And for us, living in the darkness of the passions, we need contrite prayer with faith in the Lord Who saves.

The On the Jesus Prayer in Our TimeHow can the strange question arise: “Can laymen pray the Jesus Prayer?” After all, this prayer is an attempt to constantly be with Christ, to behold Him and follow after Him.

“>Jesus Prayer is an expression of a living sense of faith.

When we have no prayer because of laziness or distraction, we must search for it with great effort; when it departs because of the rebellion of the passions, then we must wrestle against and cut off all causes of the passions; when the soul can’t find it due to despondency, due to spiritual darkness, then it’s best to remain in the confession of the One Who saves.

Prayer requires purity of soul, and it is acquired by self-sacrificial activity according to the commandments of God.

On spiritual peace and prayer

Spiritual peace is needed not only to constantly abide in prayer, but even to fulfill the rule of prayer. If spiritual peace is somehow violated, then prayer becomes either only oral, or is said with the mind with great effort; it will never be said with the heart. Spiritual peace as the property of the “pure of heart” is acquired, or more correctly, is sent down by the Lord after many labors and feats of struggle with spiritual passions and after many renunciations. But let us sinners, who feed upon crumbs from the tables of the rich, strive to acquire peace at least during prayer. This also requires a difficult and long-lasting struggle: completely cutting off the thoughts during prayer, renouncing the senses and the whole surrounding world, surrendering everything to the will of God, the unshakeable affirmation of the heart in faith, unquestioning faith in the power of God. With this affirmation of the heart, prayer becomes peaceful. But if this state is achieved through our labors, and isn’t a gift of God’s grace, then sometimes our inner world is suppressed and clouded by two opposing states: either the coldness of the heart, or the joy of the senses, replacing the turmoil of thoughts and agitation of emotions. Coldness of heart is such a beast that human strength can’t defeat it. It takes many feats of love for neighbor, much mercy towards the shortcomings of others and forgiveness of them to soften the heart. And during the prayer of hope in the power of God, we must pray for our neighbors, for the whole world, for the forgiveness of sins of all sinners, of whom I am chief. The coldness will pass, and there comes joy that excites the senses and disturbs our peace. Then deep humility is needed, even a temporary laying aside of prayer due to unworthiness, selflessness to one’s neighbor in word or deed. It is only in the depths of humility and self-deprecation that the inner peace that facilitates true prayer is to be found.

On repentance

Repentance, like prayer, must not be wistful. True repentance is a gift of God, full of contrition. Our repentance must only be the consciousness and assurance of our sinfulness, and a lack of self-reliance. This is what leads to faith.

The purpose of life

The purpose of human life is communion with God, which is the salvation of our souls—their eternal beatitude. And the means of fulfilling His commandments: submission to His will, which reveals itself in the circumstances of life; labor: the purification of the heart from passions; and humility that leads to faith, to accepting His grace, without which nothing good or holy can be accomplished in us.

The commandments of God

The Lord indicated two main commandments that contain everything: love for God and love for neighbor. But there are commandments indicated by Him in the Beatitudes, when He said blessed are the pure in spirit, and so on. These words of Christ indicate the qualities of heart and soul that we must acquire, and only then can can be fulfilled those higher commandments, of which it’s said that everything is contained within them. Begin with the first: poverty of spirit consists in destroying one’s ego in order to see all the impotence of our soul, all its infirmities, sinfulness. If the soul sees, knows, and senses itself this way, then it will certainly come to faith, to the conviction that in God, and in Him alone, is its strength, its purification, its salvation; and this faith of the soul is the door of the Kingdom of Heaven—not only to the Heavenly Kingdom that will be the inheritance of holy souls in eternity, but to that Kingdom that is within us. This poverty of spirit is truly blessed, because the soul, having seen its powerlessness, its impurity, and its inadequacy for anything good, loses faith in itself, ceases to hope in itself—and this is the beginning of faith and hope in God. It finds Him there where it loses itself. It’s difficult, it’s bitter to remain in this poverty, in this hopelessness; the soul feels that it’s perishing, that it has no salvation, no help from anywhere. But this state of hopelessness must be overcome in order to come to faith. We must not only know our infirmity with the mind, but sense it with our entire being, live in it, and only then does the soul come to living faith in God. It will see Him acting in everything, when it itself ceases, with all its egotism, to act in everything. It will see Him reigning when it stops relying on its own reasoning for everything.

Open the Gospel, read it, delve into what the Lord taught His disciples, and you’ll learn what commandments He gave His followers. He taught them to renounce everything, mainly themselves, even to the point of rejecting their own soul. This renunciation is necessary because the soul has so much impurity, so many passions contrary to the spirit of Christ, that without cutting them off, communion with Christ is impossible. This renunciation of self is possible only when we have a goal for which we can renounce ourselves and reject our passions. This goal is love of neighbor. In order to fulfill the duty of loving our neighbor, we must abandon ourselves, renounce our own souls. The Lord showed this love in both word and example. He taught us to forgive our enemies, to have mercy on the weak, not to condemn sinners, to sacrifice ourselves for the good of others. This commandment about loving one’s neighbors can’t be fulfilled without renouncing our predilections for earthly goods. We can renounce our own selves and yield in everything to our neighbor only when we see eternal life, when we strive to love the eternal One, the unchanging Good, the only perfect One—God.

And here is the first and most important commandment of Christ: to love God with all our heart, mind, and strength. In a nutshell, the Lord indicated the perfection of the spiritual path, but a whole human lifetime isn’t enough to master, to fulfill this word from Christ. Renounce yourself. But what does this mean? To know yourself properly, to see all the impurity of your soul, all its passion, all its infirmity—this is the lifetime task for those who seek salvation. I said salvation, but what are we being saved from? We are being saved from the perdition we find ourselves in. That means that finding out what kind of perdition surrounds us is the most pressing question. This is our common perdition—a perdition we have built for ourselves out of our passions and sins; a perdition that we don’t see within ourselves, and don’t even suspect. Meanwhile, that which lives in us prevents us from following Christ, despite our determination and desire. Thus, we must first of all purify the secret places of the soul; purify the vessel from which, according to the Lord, come fornication, murder, thievery, and all kinds of passions and sins.

Humility

Humility is the sole state of spirit through which all the spiritual gifts can come to a man. It’s a door that opens the heart and makes it capable of spiritual sensations. Humility brings imperturbable calm to the heart, peace to the mind, wakefulness to the thoughts. Humility is a power that embraces the heart, giving it an idea of that feeling of eternal life that can’t enter the heart of a carnal man. Humility gives the mind its original purity. It clearly begins to see the difference between good and evil in everything. There can be no pure, spiritual prayer until the heart feels humility.

To be continued…

St. Frumentius helped bring Christianity to Ethiopia. He was born in Lebanon, and was shipwrecked in East Africa during a voyage on the Red Sea. Only Frumentius and his brother Aedeius survived. 

The brothers were taken to the king at Axum, Ethiopia, and became members of the court. When the king died, they stayed on in the queen’s court. The queen allowed them to introduce their faith to the country, and they also helped open up trade between Ethiopia and the west. 

Frumentius convinced St. Athanasius to send missionaries from Alexandria. He was later consecrated as bishop of Ethiopia, and converted many people to Christianity before dying in 380. He is the patron of Ethiopia. His brother Aedeius was also canonized. 

Berlin, October 25, 2023

Photo: foma.ru     

The Ukrainian government, which intends to ban the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church, is behaving exactly as Trotsky, Lenin, and Stalin did last century, and the Patriarchate of Constantinople is behaving just like the Renovationist “Living Church,” says the eldest hierarch of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia.

His Eminence Metropolitan Mark of Berlin and Germany issued a short statement on the current persecution of the UOC last week, following the Ukrainian Parliament votes for bill to ban UOC in first reading, second reading still to comeMany local administrations have declared bans on the Church, though at the same time, the Church’s activities have continued in those localities.

“>Verkhovna Rada’s vote for a bill that aims at banning the Church on a federal level.

His statement reads:

The Kiev government and Rada are using the same “loyalty and loyal clergymen” ploy with the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church as Trotsky and Lenin plotted in March, 1922, as did Stalin later employ with the “Declaration of Loyalty” (1927) of Metropolitan Sergius (Stragorodsky).

Now Patriarch Bartholomew is accusing the hierarchs of the UOC (as did at one time Metropolitan Sergius), insisting that the victims themselves are indeed violating law and are being properly persecuted. Just as at that time Constantinople actively supported the “Living Church” to benefit Lenin and Stalin, promoting a pro-Soviet policy to help the regime at the time. The scene is now repeated a century later. Regarding freedom of religion and confession, only hatred and the profound trampling of elementary rights reign. This is a repeat of the Soviet Union, but under a different banner.

I appeal to the conscience of everyone who can directly act on these developing events, calling upon them to resist the persecution of the Church in the Ukrainian land, and all others to spiritually support the path of truth through prayer.

Berlin-Munich 7/20 October 2023.

+Mark, Metropolitan of Berlin and Germany

Met. Mark has addressed the situation in Ukraine a number of times in statements, interviews, and homilies.

In a sermon from Sermon of Metropolitan Mark of Berlin and Germany on the Need to Preserve Church Unity During Times of WarThe spirit of war is demanding. It requires us to divide into parties. It forces us to hate.

“>March 2022, he called on all Christians to overcome hate despite the war, and to maintain Church unity. Metropolitan Mark (ROCOR): War is negatively affecting Russian Church, must stop immediatelyMet. Mark is certain that the war will change the Church, “and unfortunately not for the better.””>In an interview that May, he spoke about how the war is unjustified and negatively affecting the Russian Church and must stop immediately. And Metropolitan Mark (Arndt): “The danger is that there will be efforts to completely destroy the Church in Ukraine”This is being sought by those who are ruled by the devil, and their goal is to destroy the spiritual bonds of the nation.”>in an interview this past May, he spoke about the Ukrainian government’s desire to completely shut down the Church, which is a more real threat now than ever before.

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Moscow, October 25, 2023

Photo: lavra.ua     

A delegation of the Latvian Orthodox Church visited Moscow earlier this month. On October 6, a meeting was held at the offices of the Moscow Patriarchate’s Department for External Church Relations (DECR) at Danilovsky Monastery in Moscow.

The Latvian delegation, consisting of two archpriests, met with several hierarchs of the Russian Church, including the chancellor of the Moscow Patriarchate and Metropolitan Anthony of Volokolamsk, head of the DECR. According to the official report from the press service of the Latvian Church, “a fruitful exchange of views took place on a wide range of issues of mutual interest.”

And significantly, with the blessing of Patriarch Kirill, the delegation received Holy Chrism to celebrate the Sacrament of Chrismation in the Latvian Church.

In the Russian understanding, to receive Chrism from a Church indicates canonical dependence upon it (unlike in the understanding of the Patriarchate of Constantinople where it can indicate canonical dependence, but the Patriarchate also supplies Chrism to a number of other autocephalous Local Churches).

The canonical status of the Latvian Church, which was granted autonomy within the Moscow Patriarchate in 1921 (renewed in 1992), has been unclear for over a year now, which led to a harsh evaluation from the Holy Synod of the Moscow Patriarchate in August.

Latvian Parliament declares Church separate from Moscow PatriarchateIn the eyes of the Latvian government, the Latvian Orthodox Church is now completely independent and separate from the Russian Orthodox Church.

“>In September 2022, the Latvian Parliament adopted a bill declaring the Latvian Church, at least legally, independent of the Moscow Patriarchate. The Latvian Church Latvian Church accepts its “autocephalous” status from gov’t“The state has established the status of our Church as autocephalous. The state has determined that the Latvian Orthodox Church is legally independent from any Church center located outside Latvia.””>accepted this decision, and in response to state demands, a council of the Latvian Church held Latvian Church amends statutes according to state law, appeals to Moscow for decision on its statusThe council was held on Thursday at the Church of All Saints in Riga under the chairmanship of His Eminence Metropolitan Alexander of Riga and All Latvia, with the participation of the other hierarchs, abbots and abbesses, representatives from the local seminary, and delegates from all parishes.”>in October amended its statutes to reflect the earlier governmental decision. The council delegates also issued an appeal to Pat. Kirill to make a canonical decision on the Church’s status.

According to Moscow Patriarchate statutes, only a Local Council (consisting of episcopal, clerical, monastic, and lay delegates) can change the status of an autonomous body within the Patriarchate.

However, in July of this year, the Synod of the Latvian Church elected its own episcopal nominee, Archimandrite John (Lipšāns), whom the hierarchs then consecrated Latvian Church celebrates episcopal consecration in Riga for first time in 80 yearsOn Sunday, August 13, His Eminence Metropolitan Alexander of Riga, His Eminence Archbishop Alexander of Daugavpils, and His Grace Bishop John of Jelgava consecrated Archimandrite John (Lipšāns) to the episcopacy. He was the first bishop to be consecrated in Riga since His Grace Bishop John (Garklavs) was consecrated in 1943.

“>in August, without the blessing of Pat. Kirill and the Synod of the Patriarchate.

Moreover, His Eminence Metropolitan Alexander of Riga and All Latvia has ceased commemorating Pat. Kirill in the Divine services.

Святейший Патриарх Кирилл у стены Соловецкого монастыря, где расстреливали заключенных, поручил обустроить место для поклонения и молитвы20 августа 2023 года Святейший Патриарх Московский и всея Руси Кирилл посетил ряд объектов Спасо-Преображенского Соловецкого ставропигиального монастыря, на которых проходят ремонтно-реставрационные работы.

“>Later in August, the Holy Synod of the Moscow Patriarchate condemned the actions of Met. Alexander and the other hierarchs and reiterated that until a Local Council can be held, the Latvian Church’s status remains the same. The question of recognizing the consecration of the new Latvian bishop will be submitted to the next Bishops’ Council (a larger body than the Holy Synod, consisting of all hierarchs).

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Balamand and Warsaw, October 26, 2023

Holy Synod of the Antiochian Patriarchate. Photo: antiochian.org     

Hierarchs and Synods throughout the Orthodox Church have repeatedly spoken up in defense of the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church under His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry of Kiev and All Ukraine, which is currently facing serious persecution from state authorities.

Falsified criminal charges have been brought against a number of hierarchs and clergy, and one, Metropolitan Jonathan of Tulchin, was even sentenced to five years in prison, though he is appealing the court’s decision.

And most recently, deputies of the Verkhovna Rada voted on a bill that aims to wholly ban the Orthodox Church on the territory of Ukraine. The draft law passed in its first reading, and will go through a second reading before it is established as law.

Given this situation, the Holy Synod of the Antiochian Patriarchate, which met in Balamand, Lebanon last week, stated:

The Fathers reiterated their call for an end to wars and conflicts all over the world, especially in Ukraine, praying for Metropolitan Onuphry, the primate of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, a confessing Church whose children are being persecuted by local authorities for their faith.

His Beatitude Patriarch John X of Antioch and the Antiochian Patriarchate as a whole have always stood by Met. Onuphry and the canonical Church. Pat. John wrote to Met. Onuphry “We are near to you in spirit,” Patriarch of Antioch tells Metropolitan Onuphry and Ukrainian ChurchHis Beatitude Patriarch John and the Patriarchate of Antioch offer continuous prayers for the much-suffering Ukrainian Orthodox Church.

“>in March:

With great pain of heart, we observe from afar the persecution that you and your holy Church are enduring for the sake of Christ. While we are physically a long distance away from you, we are near to you in spirit, and we extend our hand to you at this dark hour: you and your flock are in our constant prayers as we implore the Lord for the quick cessation of this tragic war and the end of all threats to your holy Church.

The Council of Bishops of the Polish Orthodox Church, which met in Warsaw on Tuesday, also addressed the persecution of the UOC:

The current state of the ecclesiastical life of the Local Orthodox Churches has been assessed, pointing out the need for the unity of the Church, which has been violated by the non-canonical ecclesiastical situation in Ukraine.

The Holy Synod of Bishops of the Polish Autocephalous Orthodox Church has received with great bewilderment the information about the de-legalization of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church by the state authorities. The Council of Bishops especially notes the fact that the Church of Christ has an ontological dimension and is not subject to human legal regulations. It is governed by Jesus Christ Himself, our Savior. In accordance with the call of Apostle Paul, If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men (Rom. 12:18), the Council of Bishops calls for fervent prayer for peace in Ukraine and the Holy Land, where fighting has begun, resulting in the loss of innocent lives.

The Polish Church has also repeatedly shown itself to a true friend to the canonical UOC and a defender of Orthodoxy in Ukraine.

***

The Antiochian Synod also addressed what is happening in Palestine:

The position of the Church of Antioch, expressed by her Patriarchs and Synod since long and until today, is clear, bright, and well-known. It affirms the importance of Jerusalem in the conscience of every Christian and Muslim, and the right of return of the Palestinian people and the establishment of their independent State.

The Church of Antioch condemns the siege imposed today on the Palestinian people and on the Gaza Strip in particular, and strongly denounces the genocide committed there, right before the eyes of the world. The violence that is taking place is the result of violating international laws and resolutions which are intended for the application of justice. It is a continuation of the falsification of the identity of the land and history and an attempt to obliterate the outstanding Palestinian cause.

Therefore, the Synod Fathers offer fervent prayers to the King of Peace and Lord of Mercies, to wipe away every tear from the eyes of the Palestinian people, and to remove all injustice, oppression, homelessness, and displacement. They call on all their children and Antiochian parishes to dedicate next Sunday to praying for justice, and for peace to prevail in the country of peace, and to collect aid for the relief of these afflicted people.

And since the troubling situation requires intensified prayer and cooperation, the Antiochian Synod ruled to restore communion with the Jerusalem Patriarchate, which was severed in 2014. Antiochian Patriarchate restores communion with Jerusalem PatriarchateThe Holy Synod of the Antiochian Patriarchate resolved to restore Eucharistic communion with the Jerusalem Patriarchate today, after nearly a decade of broken communion.

“>OrthoChristian reported on this positive development last week.

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Multiple victims were reported dead after at least two mass shootings in southern Maine on Wednesday night.

The total count of victims was unclear as of early Thursday morning. Law enforcement indicated the ultimate death toll could be nearly 20.

The shootings reportedly took place at both a restaurant and a bowling alley in Lewiston, the second most populous city in Maine, in the southern part of the state. Lewiston police said on Facebook late on Wednesday that the shootings occurred at local establishments Schemengees Bar and Sparetime Recreation.

Police said they were looking for a person of interest in the shooting, 40-year-old Robert Card. Card “should be considered armed and dangerous,” they said on Facebook.

The AP reported that a police bulletin said Card had been identified as “a firearms instructor believed to be in the Army Reserve” who had been “committed to a mental health facility for two weeks in the summer of 2023” after reportedly “hearing voices and threats to shoot up” the military base in Saco.

At a press conference in Lewiston on Thursday morning, law enforcement said Card was wanted on eight counts of murder, with potentially 18 total counts expected as victims were identified. The shooter was still at large at the time of the conference.

At the conference, Maine Gov. Janet Mills described the massacre as “a dark day for Maine.”

“This city did not deserve this terrible assault on its citizens, on its peace of mind,” she said. “… No city does. No state. No people.”

In a statement posted to Facebook, Portland Bishop Robert Deeley said it was “heartbreaking to hear of lives lost and dozens injured and to know of the pain and grief that so many families are experiencing.”

“We pray for all those impacted by this terrible violence, that the Lord may provide them with consolation in the midst of their sorrow,” Deeley said. “In this moment of trial and uncertainty, let us raise up our prayers, asking God to give strength to them and to our community now and in the coming days, and we ask him to protect our law enforcement officers as they seek to prevent further harm.”

“As we pray to him in our various ways, may he strengthen us and show us the way forward during the difficult days that lie ahead,” the bishop wrote.

Maine State Police indicated after the shooting that they had identified a vehicle of interest in nearby Lisbon. Residents in the area had been asked to shelter in place during the investigation.

On Thursday morning state police said on Facebook that “more than 100 investigators, both local and federal,” were working to locate Card.

Malaga, Spain, October 26, 2023

Photo: spzh.news     

The canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church has a much more active and healthier spiritual life than does the so-called “Orthodox Church of Ukraine,” which is frivolous and deluded and which was created by the misguided interference of Patriarch Bartholomew, believes Fr. Taras Petrunyak.

The Ukrainian outlet Dialog.tut published an interview with Fr. Taras this week in which he offers an interesting perspective because he has experience in both schismatic and canonical jurisdictions, both within and outside of Ukraine—experience that allows him to see, despite being a priest of the Patriarchate of Constantinople, that the UOC under His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry of Kiev is the true Church of Ukraine, offering a true Christian example as opposed to the schismatics of the OCU.

Fr. Taras lives with his wife and children in Spain, where he serves in the Church of the Holy Cross in Malaga. He was initially a priest in the schismatic “Kiev Patriarchate” (one of the two groups that merged into the “Orthodox Church of Ukraine” in 2018), but has been a priest under Constantinople since 2004.

“Let’s be honest, we’re amazed by Father Tarasius’ frankness, as well as the freedom of expression that he allows himself in assessing the actions and decisions of his Patriarch, which seems absolutely impossible within many other jurisdictions,” the outlet writes.

When Fr. Taras realized he wanted to devote his life to the priesthood, he first enrolled at the “Kiev Patriarchate’s” (KP) seminary in Ivano-Frankivsk, because he himself was from western Ukraine and because society perceived the canonical UOC as being absolutely pro-Russian, though when he later studied in Kiev he realized this was not the case, he told Dialog.tut.

It was when he moved abroad that he joined the Patriarchate of Constantinople. Later, he began to think about continuing his theological education, and he decided to go to the Kiev Theological Academy at the Kiev Caves Lavra, remembering all the wonderful things his mother had told him about the Lavra.

“And studying in Kiev gave us the opportunity to look at the Lavra from the inside, to live its life,” Fr. Taras recalls.

Leaving the schismatic KP helped him to see that the Church is more than just a club:

Within the Patriarchate of Constantinople, and later among the UOC, I saw that the Church is not a club of people gathered on national and religious grounds, but a supranational living organism in which, in fact, flows the Blood of Christ. And it’s incorrect to think with secular slogans in the bosom of the Church.

He began to understand the situation in Ukraine differently, realizing that he had to think of it from a Christian point of view, not a “Ukrainian” point of view:

Here I saw that the community is primarily not just a “place of Service.” In our western Ukraine, a priest is rather just an employee who has to come to church and do his work there. There’s the head of the community, there is, perhaps, the “church twenty,” who determine what a priest should do, how he should serve, and who to pray for.

That is, the priest often acts as a certain mercenary. In the conditions of Western Europe, a community is a family where everyone knows each other, where after the Liturgy they gather for tea, to talk—a common phenomenon.

Since then, I have begun to look at the Church differently, at Church processes, including those that are taking place in the Orthodox life of Ukraine. And I realized that it’s necessary to look at them from the point of view of not just a Ukrainian, but a Christian.

When Fr. Taras switched from the KP to Constantinople in 2004, he was told that his ordination was graceless and that he would have to be reordained. However, as Fr. Taras stresses, when Constantinople created the OCU in 2018, it accepted all the clerics of the KP and the schismatic “Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church” without reordaining them.

Fr. Taras. Photo: dialogtut.org Expounding on this contradiction, he said:

In 2004, I was a priest of the Kiev Patriarchate. However, when I asked to join the Patriarchate of Constantinople, I was told: “Your ordination is not filled with the grace of the Holy Spirit.” Therefore, I was accepted as a layman and ordained as a legitimate priest already in the bosom of the Church of Constantinople.

But in 2018, the same Patriarch accepted the clergy of the UOC-KP and UAOC as priests.

According to Apostolic canon 68 and canons 36 and 59 of the Council of Carthage, no one can be ordained a second time to the same degree. If a priest was lawfully ordained, and someone celebrates an ordination over him for the second time, then both the one who ordained and the one over whom the second Sacrament was celebrated are deprived of their dignity.

So the question is: At what point were the ordinations of the former Kiev Patriarchate filled with grace? If they were filled with the Holy Spirit from the very beginning, it turns out that I should be stripped of my dignity as a twice-ordained person. If the consecrations of representatives of the UOC-KP, as well as mine, were invalid, then why were they not accepted into the bosom of Constantinople as laymen?

And these canonical problems have far-reaching effects, Fr. Taras believes:

The quality of liturgical life also follows from the problem of canonicity of ordinations. I am not such a prayerful man myself—there are priests who pray more and much better than me—but there must be certain norms: fasts, attendance at Divine services, an appropriate attitude towards the priestly ministry. In the same Ivano-Frankivsk, fewer believers pray in the Cathedral of the OCU [schismatics] at the evening service than pray in the evening in the cathedrals of the [canonical] UOC.

What motivates people to come to the evening service? Understanding that this is a certain kind of preparation for the Liturgy. And in my native western Ukraine (where the OCU now prevails), people often go to church simply because “it’s necessary.” But Christians should go to church to find Christ there!

Among my neighbors, there were many who might go to church today to the Orthodox, and next Sunday to the Greek Catholics. That is, I saw among the flock of the then UOC-KP a certain frivolity in the approach to the Church. I see it now, already in the OCU. How seriously, for example, the UOC talks about the need for fasting, and how rarely such discussions are had in the OCU.

Personally, this encourages me to think about the authenticity of a particular Church. I don’t think now in the paradigm of who’s better or worse, but I use precisely the juxtaposition of real and fake.

A layman can be a Christian, but without appropriate canonical actions, he can’t be a real priest or monk. Therefore, I understand the doubts of the UOC faithful regarding the consecration of the OCU.

And although he is a priest of Constantinople, Fr. Taras believes his Patriarch was clearly in the wrong in the Ukrainian situation:

I believe that Patriarch Bartholomew’s actions on the Ukrainian issue were erroneous. The stated goals haven’t been achieved, the Ukrainian issue hasn’t been resolved, the schism hasn’t been healed, because in my opinion, people who aren’t clergy have entered the Church body. The pan-Orthodox crisis has deepened. And I think this is because the Patriarch made the decision alone, and didn’t appeal to the voice of the Church, although our Church is a conciliar one (as indicated in the Nicene Creed).

Fr. Taras also spoke about the tragedy of the persecution of the Church in Ukraine today:

I can’t imagine the things that are happening in Ukraine today happening in Spain – that they would come to my church with buzz saws, insult me—to satisfy some of their personal needs. And the government also took part in this.

And, of course, this tragedy has a spiritual dimension, he notes:

Looking at the actions of the OCU in relation to the UOC, I understand that its representatives are in a state that the Holy Fathers call prelest. That is, they are in some kind of delusion, which, in turn, encourages them to do certain things. People in this state can’t give an objective assessment of their own actions…

It’s difficult for me to understand how a priest who cuts the locks on a church with a buzz saw today can stand in the same church tomorrow and tell the congregation about love.

When the Russian war in Ukraine started, Fr. Taras recalls, he told his parishioners: “Let’s pray for an end to the war, for peace in Ukraine, and let’s not criticize the Ukrainian president, at least until this whole story is over.”

He explains:

I thought that in the conditions of war, Ukrainian society would consolidate—on the religious, linguistic, political issue, that it would come together in a single strong fist. But, unfortunately, this didn’t happen. This isn’t the first time in history that Ukrainians have fought each other, so maybe it’s time to rethink the past, not to repeat their own mistakes?

In conclusion, Fr. Taras believes the canonical UOC should be the consolidating factor in Ukrainian society:

The main factor of Orthodoxy is that it is a supranational religion. Ukrainians, Georgians, Greeks, and people of any other nationality can commune with each other over the same chalice in a single Orthodox parish. And Ukraine is multi-national, and this should be taken into account. The UOC has authority both in the West and in the East, both in the North and in the south of Ukraine. It could be a Church that unites the country, consolidates society.

Where was the UOC in the events of the winter of 2013-2014? Monks from the Kiev-Caves Lavra stand between police and demonstrators in KievYesterday morning, monks from the Kiev-Caves Lavra Fr. Gabriel, Fr. Melchisedek, and Fr. Ephraim stood on Grushevsky Street in Kiev with a cross and icons, between the demonstrators and the Ukrainian special police force “Berkut”, and stopped the conflict.

“>On the demarcation line, where the monks of the Tithes Monastery stood, who tried to reconcile the parties to the conflict and prevent carnage. And this, in my opinion, is the most correct place.

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The number of legal abortions provided by virtual-only clinics via abortion pill prescriptions spiked 72% in the year following the Supreme Court’s reversal of Roe v. Wade, according to a report by #WeCount, a research project by the Society of Family Planning, a group that supports legal abortion.

The study is notable because it is the first full-year census of U.S. abortion providers following the June 2022 U.S. Supreme Court decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which sheds light on how they view trends in their industry. The survey only considered data from licensed clinics within the health care system, researchers said, and does not account for what may be illegal procedures, such as abortion pills ordered from overseas.

The increase in abortions at virtual-only clinics, which use telemedicine to prescribe an abortion-inducing drug regimen to patients, comports with some previous studies showing similar results post-Dobbs. Even prior to that decision, data from the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showed that more than half of the abortions performed in the U.S. were chemical or medical, rather than surgical.

The #WeCount report, which examined the period from April 2022 to June 2023, found that although abortions decreased in states that have banned or limited the procedure, abortions increased nationally.

“The Dobbs decision turned abortion access in this country upside down,” Dr. Alison Norris, #WeCount co-chair and a professor at The Ohio State University’s College of Public Health, said in a statement. The increase, she said, demonstrates that people seeking abortions will travel for them despite “tremendous hardships,” while those who cannot travel can face “mental, emotional and economic impacts.”

The Catholic Church teaches that all human life is sacred and must be respected from conception to natural death. As such, the church opposes direct abortion as an act of violence that takes the life of the unborn child.

After the Dobbs decision, church officials in the U.S. have reiterated the church’s concern for both mother and child, as well as about social issues that push women toward having an abortion.

Asked about the #WeCount report, Destiny Herndon-De La Rosa, founder and president of New Wave Feminists, told OSV News that “this is why at New Wave Feminists we have always said our goal isn’t to make abortion illegal, but to make it unthinkable and unnecessary through practical support.”

“You make it unnecessary by creating a society that doesn’t penalize pregnant people for choosing life,” Herndon-De La Rosa said. “Most of the individuals who contact us need help with housing, child care, health care resources and transportation. Many work at minimum wage jobs that don’t offer any type of family leave, and they know that continuing their pregnancy means they won’t be able to feed their other children, so they feel trapped.”

“The irony of ‘choice,’” she added, “is that abortion decisions are often only made when a person feels they have no other choice at all because society is only willing to provide the cheapest option (such as abortion pills), but won’t actually invest in the safety nets that would assist them in choosing life and parenting.”

Kristen Day, executive director of Democrats for Life, told OSV News that “in a perfect world #WeCount and the Society for Family Planning would put as much energy into investing in programs to support parenthood as they do to support abortion.”

“The almost celebration of the increased number of virtual abortions is deeply disturbing,” Day said. “The push for virtual abortion leaves women alone and endangered if something goes wrong.”

A post-Roe world, Day said, requires society to be “more innovative and creative in ensuring that women have the opportunity to choose to have their babies.”

“We need to build support systems” for women, Day said, and “stop advocating for abortion by mail, leaving women to suffer by themselves in silence.”

Thessaloniki, October 26, 2023

The relics of St. Demetrios. Photo: orthodoxianewsagency.gr     

All of Greece, and indeed, the whole of the Orthodox world (that serves on the new calendar) festively celebrated the Great Martyr St. Demetrios the Myrrh-Gusher yesterday.

Celebrations in Thessaloniki, which counts the great saint as its patron and where his relics are treasured in the Church named in his honor, are especially festive every year.

The Panagia Koroni Icon. Photo: orthodoxianewsagency.gr     

The festivities began with the Divine Liturgy followed by a procession with the relics and icon of St. Demetrios through the streets of Thessaloniki on Wednesday morning and afternoon. The procession, which was led by three hierarchs of the Greek Church, was also blessed with the wonderworking Koroni Icon of the Theotokos this year, reports Romfea.

Photo: orthodoxianewsagency.gr     

On Wednesday evening, Vespers for the feast of St. Demetrios was celebrated by Metropolitan Justinos of Nea Krini and four other Greek hierarchs. The church was filled with hundreds of Orthodox faithful.

In addition to the relics of St. Demetrios, the church also has a container with soil and blood from his very martyrdom of St. Demetrios, which is only brought out for veneration on the eve of his feast.

Watch the hierarchical Vespers service:

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Later that night, hundreds of faithful again packed the church for a full All-Night Vigil.

The next morning, the Divine Liturgy was celebrated by Metropolitan Barnabas of Neapolis and four other hierarchs:

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