Tag: Christianity

Jerusalem, October 9, 2023

Photo: CNN     

His Beatitude Patriarch Theophilos of Jerusalem and the heads of other churches in the Holy Land have issued a call for peace amidst the latest serious flare up of violence there.

“We unequivocally condemn any acts that target civilians, regardless of their nationality, ethnicity, or faith,” the church leaders write.

Read the full statement, from the site of the Patriarchate of Jerusalem:

The Holy Land, a place sacred to countless millions around the world, is currently mired in violence and suffering due to the prolonged political conflict and the lamentable absence of justice and respect for human rights. We, the Patriarchs and Heads of Churches in Jerusalem, have time and again appealed for the importance of respecting the historic and legal Status Quo of the holy shrines. In these trying times, we come together to raise our voices in unity, echoing the divine message of peace and love for all humanity.

As custodians of the Christian faith, deeply rooted in the Holy Land, we stand in solidarity with the people of this region, who are enduring the devastating consequences of continued strife. Our faith, which is founded on the teachings of Jesus Christ, compels us to advocate for the cessation of all violent and military activities that bring harm to both Palestinian and Israeli civilians.

We unequivocally condemn any acts that target civilians, regardless of their nationality, ethnicity, or faith. Such actions go against the fundamental principles of humanity and the teachings of Christ, who implored us to “love your neighbor as yourself” (Mark 12:31).

It is our fervent hope and prayer that all parties involved will heed this call for an immediate cessation of violence. We implore political leaders and authorities to engage in sincere dialogue, seeking lasting solutions that promote justice, peace, and reconciliation for the people of this land, who have endured the burdens of conflict for far too long.

In our capacity as spiritual leaders, we extend our hands to all those who suffer, and we pray that the Almighty may grant comfort to the afflicted, strength to the weary, and wisdom to those in positions of authority. We call upon the international community to redouble its efforts to mediate a just and lasting peace in the Holy Land, based on equal rights for all and on international legitimacy.

Let us remember the words of the Apostle Paul: “For God is not a God of disorder but of peace” (1 Corinthians 14:33). In the spirit of this divine message, we implore all to work tirelessly towards an end to violence and the establishment of a just and lasting peace that will allow the Holy Land to be a beacon of hope, faith, and love for all.

May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with us all during these challenging times.

—The Patriarchs and Heads of the Churches in Jerusalem

The Russian Orthodox Church also issued a statement, noting that His Holiness Patriarch Kirill is praying “for a speedy cessation of hostilities and calls on all parties to the conflict to show restraint, save human lives, and restore law and order.”

The Romanian Patriarchate also issued a statement of “deep concern regarding the recrudescence of the war in Israel, as a result of the terrorist attack launched at dawn today, October 7, which resulted in dozens of deaths and hundreds of injuries… The Romanian Patriarchate expresses its full solidarity with the State of Israel and cooperates with the relevant authorities so that the nearly 800 Romanian pilgrims return home.”

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New York, October 9, 2023

One of the authors of the Foreign Affairs article, Andrei Soldatov, also appeared on CNN to peddle his thesis. Photo: YouTube     

The Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of the United States of America issued a statement last week denouncing the irresponsible journalism that was recently featured by Foreign Affairs magazine.

Last month, the official outlet of the Council on Foreign Relations published an article entitled, “Putin’s Useful Priests: The Russian Orthodox Church and the Kremlin’s Hidden Influence Campaign in the West,” by Andrei Soldatov and Irina Borogan, which attempted to paint Orthodox parishes in America as hotbeds of Kremlin propaganda.

The article was already condemned by His Grace Bishop Irenei of London and Western Europe of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia, who was particularly egregiously mischaracterized by Soldatov and Borogan.

In its statement, the Assembly denounces the article as “inaccurate,” full of “vituperative and essentializing language” that “can easily incite targeting and violence against America’s Orthodox Christians as a community,” which, as the statement notes, already happened when a fake Bomb threat forces evacuation of Jordanville monastery and seminaryThe threat was called in due to the perpetrators’ belief that Jordanville supports the war in Ukraine.

“>bomb threat was reported at Holy Trinity Monastery (ROCOR) in Jordanville.

Read the Assembly’s full statement:

On September 14th, Foreign Affairs, the influential magazine of the Council on Foreign Relations, published an article entitled, “Putin’s Useful Priests.” The Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of the United States of America hereby expresses its objection and concern with the inaccurate manner with which Orthodox Christians in the United States are stereotyped by the authors.

First, the article contains significant factual errors that are surprising for the renowned Foreign Affairs and disrespectful to a vital Christian community whose roots in America date over three centuries. Orthodox Christians in America – representing a plethora of ethnic and political backgrounds – number well in excess of one million people, vastly different from the misinformed number of 25,000 asserted by the authors.

Furthermore, the article’s vituperative and essentializing language can easily incite targeting and violence against America’s Orthodox Christians as a community. The reductionist characterization of Orthodox Christians in America as potential “fifth columns” is reminiscent of the worst episodes of nativism in the United States of America. Sadly, we have already witnessed the result of this type of fearmongering with the recent bomb threat made against Holy Trinity Monastery in Jordanville, New York.

The clear message conveyed by this article is that Orthodox Christian parishes and monasteries in the United States are hotbeds of support for the current government and policies of the Russian Federation, a message with no empirical data to support this claim. Notwithstanding the diversity of viewpoints in our communities – a diversity that mirrors the United States as a whole – the lax and potentially dangerous projection to all Orthodox Christians in America is untrue and unwarranted.

Therefore, the Executive Committee of the Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of the United States of America decries the article as lacking merit and balance and call for it to be retracted.

Furthermore, we reiterate the recent words of Bishop Irenei of London, of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia, in his own response to the Foreign Affairs article: “We stand wholly against the war and we call for it to end. The war is an evil. It cannot be justified.”

To our Orthodox Christian faithful and all people of good will, we urge you to pray for peace and harmony among all people without regard to personal or political conviction.

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Vilnius, October 9, 2023

Photo: orthodoxy.lt     

Orthodox faithful from all across Lithuania gathered in the capital on Saturday, October 7, for the Divine Liturgy and a procession with the wonderworking Surdegis Icon of the Mother of God.

The Lithuanian people were joined by His Eminence Metropolitan Hilarion (Alfeyev) of Budapest, who was invited by His Eminence Metropolitan Innokenty of Vilnius. This is the second year in a row that the Lithuanian Church has processed for peace in Ukraine with the icon, which is one of the most important sacred treasures of the Lithuanian Orthodox, after the tradition of bringing it to the capital was revived last year after 20 years.

Photo: L to R: Met. Innokenty, Bp. Ambrose, Met. Hilarion. Photo: orthodoxy.lt     

The Surdegis Icon, which first appeared on the feast of the Dormition in 1530, was delivered on Saturday from Kauņas to the Holy Spirit Monastery, where the Divine service was led by Met. Hilarion together with Met. Innokenty and His Grace Bishop Ambrose of Trakai, reports the Lithuanian Church.

After the Liturgy, the icon was carried in procession from the monastery to the Holy Dormition Cathedral. Along the way, the procession stopped at a church where the Ukrainian Orthodox community worships, served by a canonical priest from Ukraine. There, Met. Innokenty and Bp. Ambrose offered special prayers in Slavonic and Lithuanian for the end of the war in Ukraine.

When the procession reached the Dormition Cathedral, a moleben was celebrated before the wonderworking Surdegis Icon.

Photo: orthodoxy.lt     

After the moleben, Met. Hilarion also addressed the gathered faithful. The report recalls that he began his pastoral life in Lithuania, being tonsured into monasticism and ordained a hierodeacon and hieromonk in Vilnius in 1987. In the early 90s, he served as rector of the Annunciation Cathedral in Kauņas, where the icon is permanently kept.

His Eminence called on everyone to preserve unity and loyalty to the Church.

The Lithuanian Church report also notes that Met. Hilarion supported the Lithuanian people’s struggle for freedom, and even appeared on TV to plead with Soviet soldiers not to shoot at civilians. His Eminence holds the Lithuanian state medal “For Courage and Self-Sacrifice” for his efforts at that time.

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Kythrea, Nikosia, District, Cyprus, October 9, 2023

Photo: philenews.com     

The Turkish authorities occupying half of Cyprus continue to desecrate and abuse holy Orthodox churches there.

In one of the most recent examples, the Church of St. Anna in Kythrea, Nicosia District, was turned into a boxing school. It is unknown what happened to the icons on the iconostasis that the “owners” of the boxing school removed, reports philenews.com.

Photo: philenews.com     

Earlier, the church was desecrated when it was converted into a mosque. It was built around 1850, but after the Turkish invasion of 1974, it functioned as a mosque until three or four years ago. Having been severely damaged over the years, the local occupying authorities abandoned the building and built another mosque across the street.

Photo: philenews.com     

When the local Orthodox faithful realized that the building had been abandoned, they took the initiative to clean it and erect a temporary iconostasis, with the hope that the locals would be able to visit the church, at least once a year on the feast of St. Anna (December 9).

Photo: philenews.com     

Unfortunately, the occupying authorities then gave permits to Turkish settlers to open a gym in the church, and now punching bags hang from the ceiling and there is a boxing ring in the center of the church.

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Pope Francis has appointed a woman for the first time to be the No. 2 official of the Roman Curia office that works with religious orders and their members.

Consolata Missionary Sister Simona Brambilla will be secretary of the Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, the Vatican announced Oct. 7.

According to Vatican statistics published in February, there are nearly 609,000 professed religious women in the world. There are just under 50,000 religious brothers and just over 128,000 religious-order priests.

For decades women religious and many bishops decried the lack of women in top leadership roles at the dicastery which is called to promote religious life, including approving the statutes of religious congregations, when the vast majority of them are communities of women.

In fact, it was a recurring topic at the Synod of Bishops on consecrated life in 1994.

Archbishop Maurice Couture of Quebec, who died in 2018, had told the synod that simply looking at the Vatican Yearbook’s listing of dicastery personnel one notes “the absence of women in those decision-making positions of the church that affect their lives.”

Pope Francis’ document on the reform of the Roman Curia said, “The dicastery is to promote, encourage and regulate the practice of the evangelical counsels, how they are lived out in the approved forms of consecrated life and all matters concerning the life and activity of Societies of Apostolic Life throughout the Latin Church.”

Sister Brambilla, a 58-year-old Italian, has been an external member of the dicastery since 2019. She served two terms as superior of the Consolata Missionary Sisters, leading the congregation from 2011 to May 2023.

After earning a nursing degree, she entered the order in 1988 and studied psychology at the Pontifical Gregorian University. In 1999, after taking her final vows, she went to Mozambique where she did youth ministry before returning to Rome in 2002, earning her doctorate in psychology from the Gregorian University in 2008.

Nosovka, Chernigov Province, Ukraine, October 9, 2023   

Photo: spzh.news The violent schismatics of the “Orthodox Church of Ukraine,” who enjoy the recognition and backing of Patriarch Bartholomew and the Patriarchate of Constantinople, continue their shameful crusade against the Orthodox Church.

Several churches have been violently seized and vandalized recently. The Holy Trinity Church in the city of Nosovka, Chernigov Province, in particular has been the scene of several violent altercations just since the beginning of October.

Around midnight on October 2-3, unknown men in camouflage, led by OCU “clerics” and with the support of the police broke down the doors and seized the church, claiming to have documents confirming their ownership of the church, despite the fact that 450 parishioners had gathered in April to confirm their loyalty to Holy Orthodoxy and His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry of Kiev and All Ukraine.

Photo: spzh.news     

Then uniformed men told the Orthodox Ukrainians that “You are enemies to me, you must be destroyed.” An OCU “priest” blatantly lied, claiming that “donations from this church buy bullets that kill us.”

Later that day, while the Orthodox faithful were praying in front of the church fence, a man in military uniform, with the help of OCU representatives, began beating a woman, leaving her with a broken ribs and bruises on her chest and arm.

Another violent altercation broke out yesterday, Sunday, October 8, when those who believe in Christ again gathered to pray at the fence of their church, while the OCU conducted their “service” inside the seized church.

In particular, Matushka Maria and several other parishioners were injured.

One woman suffered a broken leg at the hands of the schismatics. She was treated by ambulance doctors who arrived on the scene.

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In his homily at their Sept. 26 episcopal ordination Mass, Archbishop José H. Gomez told the Archdiocese of Los Angeles’ four newest auxiliary bishops that their mission as successors to Jesus’ first apostles of leading men and women to eternal salvation was an “urgent” one.

Whether by coincidence or not, the “episcopal mottos” chosen by Albert Bahhuth, Matthew Elshoff, Brian Nunes, and Slawomir Szkredka all carry a similar sense of urgency. Here’s a look at the four mottos chosen and what they mean to each new bishop.

BISHOP ALBERT MATTA BAHHUTH: “Go make disciples”

With experience in chemical engineering, running a fast-food franchise, and helping run the country’s largest archdiocese, Bishop Albert Bahhuth knows a few things about complicated assignments. But he says his newest one comes down to something simple.

“If I help one person to come to know Jesus, that person will have eternal life,” wrote Bishop Bahhuth soon after his appointment by Pope Francis in July.

He was explaining his choice of motto, taken from the risen Christ’s instructions in the Gospel of Matthew: “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Matthew: 29:19).

What does Bahhuth make of those words?

“A lot of times we jump into the ‘doing’ but without Jesus,” Bahhuth told Angelus. “And Jesus has to come first, because he’s the reason we do whatever we do. We don’t do good things because we want to be good people.”

Bahhuth, who turned 67 on Oct. 6, sees his mission as being united to Jesus through prayer and proclaiming the truth of salvation in Christ.

“That’s the way we fight evil today. I think it’s simple. A lot of times we make it complicated, but what it comes down to is this: Are we making disciples, are we proclaiming the kingdom as Jesus did?”

Coat of arms

To reflect devotion to Mary, Bishop Bahhuth’s coat of arms (and those of his fellow new auxiliary bishops) include two symbols traditionally associated with Blessed Virgin Mary: the blue field at the top of the shield, and the “Fleur de Lys,” the lily shaped symbol in the upper center of the shield. The two wings represent the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, named after Our Lady Queen of the Angels.

Below, the wavy lines — which represent water, movement and resettlement in heraldry — honor Bahhuth’s movement from his native Lebanon to Los Angeles. The water theme also honors the bodies of water associated with both places — the Mediterranean Sea and the Pacific Ocean — and the waters of baptism.

The image of an open book at the center of the shield with the word “ICHTHUS” (the early Church’s emblem identifying one as a secret devotee of Jesus Christ, Redeemer of Mankind) signifies Bahhuth’s desire to bring the knowledge of Christ to everyone.

The red in the bottom portion of the shield represents the blood of Christ, particularly in the form of the Precious Blood of the Eucharist. Upon the red field is the Catholic heraldic emblem for the Good Shepherd chosen by Bahhuth.

BISHOP MATTHEW GREGORY ELSHOFF: “Caritas Christi urget nos” (“The love of Christ compels us”)

The official English translation of his motto uses the verb “compel,” but Bishop Matthew Elshoff likes “push,” too.

The love of Christ, or “caritas Christi,” to use the familiar Latin phrase in Elshoff’s motto, is something that is experienced “in our hearts and our souls.”

The 68-year-old Capuchin said he’s experienced what that love can do in his own life, whether in special moments such as prayer retreats or in the middle of hard times. And as a priest, he’s seen it at work in others.

“It’s about grace coming into someone’s life because of a sacramental moment, and they’re just overwhelmed, and you see that love of Christ just pushing them forward and urging them.”

Looking ahead, Elshoff sees the motto guiding his most important day-to-day duty as a bishop.

“One cannot give what one does not have, so it’s going to start with my personal prayer.” Elshoff said that will include the celebration of the Eucharist, daily time before the Blessed Sacrament, and praying the Liturgy of the Hours.

He expects much of his work as episcopal vicar to involve supporting the priests and deacons in the Our Lady of the Angels Pastoral Region in the difficulties they often face. To experience the love of Christ, he believes, is to know that you’re not alone.

“That love must be shared because in some ways, we don’t even have any control over it. Yes, we have free will, but we are so overwhelmed with it that it urges us, then, to share the love of Christ with others.”

Coat of arms

Below the traditional symbolism honoring Mary and the angels, Bishop Matthew Elshoff’s devotion to St. Francis, the Holy Stigmata, and the Eucharist is represented in a design with a Eucharistic host at the center. Within the host are five droplets of blood, signifying the five wounds of Christ. At the center of the host is the traditional Christological monogram IHS, or “In hoc signo (vinces)” which translates from Latin to “In this sign you will conquer.”

The blue cross represents the Missionary Cross of Christianity in traditional Catholic heraldry, symbolizing Elshoff’s missionary experience. His devotion to Our Lady of Guadalupe is represented by the four roses at each open corner outside the cross.

BISHOP BRIAN ALAN NUNES: “In mundum universum praedicate evangelium” (“Preach the Gospel to the whole world”)

The phrase chosen by Bishop Brian Nunes for his episcopal motto is a clear mandate from Jesus to Christians. But its words also have a personal meaning for the son of immigrants from Hong Kong and Macau.

“I wanted some way of connecting to the fact that my family comes from the other side of the world,” said Nunes. He noted that the faith came to that part of Asia thanks to missionaries who practiced the words of Jesus in Mark 16:15.

To that end, Nunes also chose to illustrate his episcopal coat of arms with a Chinese-style junk boat. The detail is both a nod to his Asian heritage and a symbol of the Catholic Church, which since ancient times has been described as a ship that carries people to salvation across the waters of earthly life.

Nunes, who turns 59 this Oct. 26, says the new assignment that awaits him is “outside of my comfort zone, because it’s all new.” But looking to the present, the message seems clear enough.  

“We’re being called to go into the world and not just wait for people to come to us but to be active in proclaiming the gospel, the good news of Jesus.”

Coat of arms

Below the traditional symbolism honoring Mary and the angels, the rest of the shield of Bishop Nunes’s coat of arms is divided in two areas.

The red field represents the blood of Christ and the Eucharist, as well as the Pacific Rim region where his parents are originally from. A depiction of a Chinese junk boat recalls his roots in Macau and Hong Kong, and the Church as a ship of salvation. The boat’s gold color represents God’s eternal goodness.

The red and gold grid-like pattern in the upper sides of the shield suggest nets — specifically, the fishing nets used by the apostles as “fishers of men.”

BISHOP SŁAWOMIR SZKREDKA: “Quodcumque dixerit facite” (“Do whatever he tells you”)

Bishop Slawomir Szkredka’s choice for his episcopal motto reflects a couple of themes closely tied to his faith: love for Scripture and the Virgin Mary.

The words of the Virgin Mary to the servants at the wedding feast of Cana are an invitation to them — and to us — to “assume her own attitude of trust and whatever God demands or asks for,” he explained.

It’s a scene that Szkredka noted is uniquely linked to the crucifixion of Christ.

“Mary appears only in those two scenes in the Gospel of John,” said Szkredka, an accomplished Scripture scholar and author of “Icon of Trust: Mary in the Gospels of Luke and John” (Sophia Institute Press, $18.50).

The other reason Szkredka cites is more serendipitous: When he got the call from the apostolic nuncio informing him of Pope Francis’ decision to appoint him a bishop, he was on a four-day walking pilgrimage to the Shrine of Our Lady of Czestochowa in his native Poland. The Gospel passage traditionally read by pilgrims upon arriving at the shrine? The wedding feast of Cana.

Coat of arms

Below the traditional symbolism honoring Mary and the angels, the rest of the shield of Bishop Szkredka’s coat of arms is divided into two fields.

The middle one has a white background, representing God’s purity, humility, and goodness. Upon it is a depiction of the “the lamp of wisdom” that represents Szkredka’s love for Scripture and the word of God, which illuminates the hearts and minds of men and women.

The red background of the bottom area represents the blood of Christ and the Eucharist, while at the center is a white Eucharistic host with the traditional Christological monogram IHS, or “In hoc signo (vinces)” which translates from Latin to “In this sign you will conquer.” The use of red and white (the colors found in Poland’s flag) in the shield are a subtle tribute to Szkredka’s Polish heritage. 

Coat of arms artwork and explanations courtesy of James‐Charles Noonan Jr.

Perennially in Russia, the subject comes up, usually around Christmas, of Patriarch Tikhon’s almost switching the Russian Church’s calendar from the Julian to the Gregorian. The author here discussed just how valid the claims are that the Holy Patriarch was a supporter of the New Calendar.

[One Moscow archpriest] said, in part, “In 1923, there was an attempt to change to the same [Gregorian] calendar by Patriarch Tikhon

“>Patriarch Tikhon. But one year before this attempt, the ‘renovationists’ (a fifth column within the Russian Church, artificially created by the Bolsheviks) had tried to do it. Therefore, the reform turns out to have been compromised, and the Patriarch was forced to abandon it…”

In connection with this, it seems necessary to turn to historical sources, and research the question as to how Patriarch Tikhon’s really related to the New Style.

A whole series of events was undertaken by the GPU in order to compromise the Patriarch in the eyes of the faithful. One of the requirements for the Patriarch was to begin to offer prayers in churches for the Soviet government, and to introduce a new chronological style.

There are a number of documents in the materials of Patriarch Tikhon’s investigative case that allow us to revise the well-established idea in the literature that Patriarch Tikhon made great concessions to the authorities and was a supporter of compromise with the Soviet government. Hieromartyr Peter, Metropolitan Of KrutitsaThe thought flashed through his mind: ”He’ll tear me to pieces.” But he did not have the strength to run away. And where could he run? But the bear came up to him, sniffed him and peacefully lay down at his feet. Warmth wafted out of his huge bear’s hide. Then he turned over with his belly towards the metropolitan, stretched out his whole length and began to snore sweetly.

“>Metropolitan Peter (Polyansky) described the Patriarch’s position very accurately in September 1924. In a private conversation with one of the priests, who presented himself as a supporter of the Patriarch but who was actually a Renovationist, and through whom these words became known to the GPU: “As for our transition to the New Style, your alarm is completely in vain; skillfully tell all your comrades and parishioners that we will never switch to a new style, because the people do not want it. But we might be forced to change by the civil authorities, and then we will submit and issue an epistle accordingly. But pay no attention to this, and consider such forced (highlighted by DS) epistles to be unobligatory. Secretly, whispered in the ear, through reliable persons, you will explain to the faithful that His Holiness is currently in terrible conditions, precisely between a hammer and an anvil. On the one hand it is necessary to submit to the civil authorities, and on the other, in church affairs they can in no way be obeyed, because it is a godless regime and is leading to the destruction of the church; and we will not enter into conflict with the masses, otherwise they will go to the Renovationists. But you yourself know that these Reds are the same godless Bolsheviks. So do not be troubled, our position is solid, and the Renovationists are getting weaker and weaker every day.”¹ These words of St. Tikhon are very important for understanding his actions during this period.

These words concern any epistle about transition to the New Style, but they equally apply to all other epistles of the Patriarch that he issued in response to the demands of the authorities. The Patriarch’s tactic was that, in response to threats of reprisals against the Church, he issued the necessary epistles to the authorities, in which, as a rule, the demands of the authorities were reflected only partially; but in fact there was no intention to fulfill these requirements, and in private conversations he spoke of the coerced nature of these epistles—which, however, the faithful understood without explanation. As one of the people closest to the Patriarch, Archimandrite Alexy, the vicar of Donskoy Monastery, said about the epistle on the New Calendar: “Anyway, the people will not go for it, because we will tell some of our own that the Patriarch sent the message not of his own will, but under pressure. And we will bless everyone to celebrate feasts according to the old style. We have already thought this through. On all Church holidays according to the old style, we will serve without ringing or we will ring on a weekday and the people will still come to us; they will not condemn us for this, because they will understand that we are in a vise grip.”²

One of the main requirements of the head of the “church” department of the GPU, Yevgeny Tuchkov, was the introduction of the New Style into liturgical life. On September 18, 1923, the Anti-Religious Commission in a meeting resolved: “To recognize as expedient that Tikhon and K-o, first of all, actually implement the New Style in the Church, put an end to parish councils, and introduce second marriage for the clergy. For doing this, they will be allowed to publish a periodical.”³ The introduction of the New Style, according to Tuchkov’s plan, could have caused a serious split in the Patriarchal Church, since the new style was strongly associated with Renovationism in the minds of believers. One of Tuchkov’s arguments was that in 1923, a “Pan-Orthodox Church Congress” was held in Constantinople under the chairmanship of the then Patriarch of Constantinople Basil, at which the majority vote resolved to introduce the New Calendar into the liturgical life of the Orthodox Church. A copy of this resolution was handed to the Patriarch, but the fact was hidden from him that this resolution was not adopted by the Eastern Patriarchs and Patriarchates. The authorities argued for the introduction of the new style of worship out of economic need: many workers celebrated Church holidays in the New Style officially and in the Old unofficially, and this caused mass absenteeism.

On September 24, 1923, a meeting of bishops chaired by the Patriarch decided to urgently adopt the New Style in church life, but to introduce it so that the upcoming Christmas Fast actually embraced the fully lawful period of forty days, and therefore actually began on November 15 according to the Gregorian calendar (November 2 in the Julian). An epistle was drawn up about the transition to the New Style, stating it was based on unity with the Orthodox Churches of the East. The message was read on October 14, New Style, during the patriarchal service at the Moscow Protection Monastery. Moreover, the decrees on the introduction of the new style were sent only to the deans of Moscow, and the diocesan bishops did not receive them, since Archbishop Hilarion asked Tuchkov for permission not to send these decrees to the provinces until the patriarchal epistle explaining the decree was printed. V. Vinogradov notes that the new style was officially announced and introduced only in the churches of Moscow, and nowhere else.

The Patriarch’s epistle about the introduction of the New Style was the same “forced epistle” as the previous ones. The materials of the investigative case confirm that the Patriarch was not really going to switch to the New Calendar and was only waiting for a convenient moment for its official cancellation. Thus, in the “Report on the activities of the Tikhon group for the month of October 1923”, compiled by the Moscow Department of the GPU, it was said that the Patriarch “serves Church feasts by invitation, both when they are served according to the new style, and the old style.”⁴ The Patriarch’s services on the feasts according to the Old Style would have been impossible if he had consistently sought to introduce the New Style. This is also indicated by the fact that the Patriarch’s epistle about the transition to the New Style was not sent out, and the words quoted above by Metropolitan Peter (Polyansky) that the Patriarch will never switch to the New Style say the same thing. In addition, Archpriest V. Vinogradov points to the fact that the Patriarch instructed that his epistle be read in the church of the Protection Monastery by Archpriest V. Vinogradov, who had a quiet voice, so that it would not be heard.⁵ Archbishop Hilarion (Troitsky) also preached explanatory sermons in Moscow churches, so that in one of the summaries of the GPU “Notes on Religionists.” it was noted that at the end of October 1923, he preached a sermon in the Church of the Nativity of the Theotokos on the topic, “The New Style. The immutability of the Orthodox faith henceforth.” After the service, as stated in the document, “they carried him to the cab on their hands.”⁶ Such an enthusiastic reaction would have been impossible if the archbishop had shown himself to be a supporter of the New Style. The Patriarch understood that in order to introduce the New Style in the provinces from November 15 (N.S.)—and this was necessary in order for the Christmas fast to retain its 40 days—it was necessary to send epistles on the introduction of the New Style to those locales by November 1–3. This was not done—on the one hand because the printing house did not print the epistle by the beginning of November, and on the other hand because the Patriarch himself did everything possible to prevent this epistle from being sent out.

Meanwhile, during this period, at the initiative of E. Tuchkov, a message appears in the press that the “Pan-Orthodox Congress”, which decided to introduce the New Style, was of a renovationist nature. This was done in order to “expose” the Patriarch as a Renovationist and compromise him.

Taking advantage of the fact that the message was not printed by the beginning of November, the Patriarch issued an order on November 8, 1923, in which he ordered to postpone the introduction of the New Style.⁷ However, the opinion of Archpriest V. Vinogradov seems to be incorrect, that it was only this circumstance that led to the cancellation of the New Style. As was shown above, the Patriarch did everything to ensure that the New Style was not actually introduced. An active assistant of His Holiness in this was the Holy Martyr Archbishop Hilarion (Troitsky), whose holy relics are now in Sretensky Monastery.

The cancellation of the decision to introduce the New Style was an unpleasant surprise for Tuchkov; perhaps this was one of the reasons why Archbishop Hilarion (Troitsky) was arrested on November 15, and sent to a concentration camp. In fact, his courageous defense of the Julian calendar in the Church cost the Holy Martyr Hilarion his life.

On November 20, the Anti-Religious Commission, for whom the return to the Old Style understandably caused dissatisfaction, resolves: “A) Instruct Comrade Tuchkov to implement the New Style through Tikhon and cancel the reintroduction of the old; B) Instruct him to urgently put up and distribute Tikhon’s proclamation about his introduction of the New Style.⁸ Tuchkov tried to spread the appeal, but it did not have the proper effect.

In December 1923, Tuchkov published a fake epistle on behalf of the Patriarch, in which it was reported that the Patriarch had not canceled the New Style he had announced, but that it was allowed locally, with the consent of the local Soviet authorities, to celebrate the upcoming feast of the Nativity of Christ also according to the Old Style. As Archpriest V. Vinogradov testifies, he was unable to establish the origin of this document, because it did not pass through the Patriarchal Administration, was not sent to anyone, and is known only by newspapers. This document had no practical application in church life. Prot. Vinogradov assumed that “this document, drawn up by someone hastily, was needed by Tuchkov to obscure the complete failure of his machinations in an attempt to impose the New Style on the Patriarchal Church in front of some higher Soviet bodies.⁹ This document is interesting because this is the first publication of a forged document undertaken by the GPU on behalf of the Patriarch.

By this time, the Patriarchal Church had managed to strengthen significantly. As noted in the report, “Activities of the Tikhonites”, prepared by the 2nd department of the Secret Part of the Moscow City Department of the GPU: “In Moscow, the Tikhonites have more or less successfully dealt with renovationism”.¹⁰ All attempts by the GPU to discredit the Patriarch ended in failure; therefore, from mid-November 1923, the GPU changed its tactics and switched to a policy of repression, without abandoning its attempts to discredit the Patriarch.

Thus, from the above it is obvious that Patriarch Tikhon not only was not a supporter of the introduction of the New Style in the Church, but also, together with the Holy Martyr Hilarion (Troitsky), did everything to ensure that, despite enormous pressure from the authorities, the New Style was not introduced in the Russian Orthodox Church.

“When I consider the short duration of my life, swallowed up in the eternity before and after, the little space which I fill, and even can see, engulfed in the infinite immensity of spaces of which I am ignorant and which know me not, I am frightened… Who has put me here? By whose order and direction have this place and time been allotted to me?”

Here surely is the language of angst, anxiety, the mother tongue of the postmodern age. But it was said 400 years ago by a deeply believing Catholic — Blaise Pascal.

Historian James Hitchcock calls Pascal “the most important Catholic thinker” from the 16th to the 19th century. Pope Francis, in a tribute marking the fourth centenary of his birth in 1623, salutes him as “a tireless seeker of truth.” T.S. Eliot wrote of him in the 1930s, “I know of no religious writer more pertinent to our time.”

Yet Pascal left only two books — one a religious polemic, the other unfinished at the time of his death. Why is he important today?

For one thing, he was a mathematical genius who invented probability theory and created a counting machine that was a precursor of the modern computer. He was also a man of deep spirituality who in 1654 had a mystical experience — the “night of fire” — that profoundly altered his life.

Although probably not himself a Jansenist — the rigorist Catholic movement centered on the Port Royal convent where his sister Jacqueline was a nun — he took up the cudgels in defense of Port Royal in the Provincial Letters, a satirical polemic that shredded the intellectual pretensions of Port Royal’s enemies.

But it is for his “Pensees” (“Thoughts”), published after his death in 1662 at age 39, that Pascal has a permanent place in world literature. He had intended the book as a massive work of apologetics showing the unique excellence of Christianity in general and Catholicism in particular. And although he did not live to write it, his notes and sketches — from multipage drafts to single-sentence aphorisms, all of it written in crystalline French prose — add up to a volume whose argument and plan are clear enough.

The book addresses a fundamental question: What is the meaning of human life? Christian faith, Pascal concludes, “goes mainly to establish these two facts, the corruption of nature and redemption by Jesus Christ.” Faith does not come from reason alone, however, but from reason in conjunction with something much deeper, to which he gives the name “heart.” For Pascal this is not a maxim of sentimentality but a conclusion reached by reflection on observable facts.

“We know truth not only by the reason but also by the heart [by which] we know first principles,” he writes. And again: “The heart has its reasons, which reason does not know. … It is the heart which experiences God.”

Nevertheless, for those who may need an easily grasped argument, Pascal provides his famous “wager” on behalf of belief in God’s existence: “Let us weigh the gain and loss in wagering that God is: If you gain, you gain all; if you lose, you lose nothing. Wager, then, that he is.”

T.S. Eliot concludes his tribute to Pascal: “I can think of no Christian writer, not Newman even, more to be commended to those who doubt, but who have the mind to conceive, and the sensibility to feel … the mystery of life and suffering.” Here is a man for our times as much as, and arguably even more than, his own.

St. John Henry Newman was born in London, England, on February 21, 1801. He was the oldest of six children. After studying at Trinity College in Oxford, John was made a fellow of Oriel College, vice principal of Alban Hall, and then vicar of the university church St. Mary the Virgin. 

John became a High Churchman, and when the Oxford movement began, he was its organizer and intellectual leader. The Oxford movement stressed the Catholic elements in the English religious tradition. Newman contributed 24 tracts and several influential books. 

After much historical research, John began to suspect that the Roman Catholic Church was closest in continuity with the Church that Jesus established. In 1845, he converted and was received into full communion as a Catholic. Two years later, he was ordained a priest. He joined the Congregation of the Oratory, founded three centuries earlier, by St. Philip Neri. 

In England, John opened Oratory houses in Birmingham and London. For seven years, he served as the rector of the Catholic University of Ireland. 

John wrote 40 books and 21,000 letters that survive today. Before him, Catholic theology tended to draw deductions from first principles, but John’s work brought forth a key part of theological reflection and writing: the experience of believers. 

In 1879, John was named a cardinal. He took as his motto “Cor ad cor loquitur” (“heart speaks to heart”). He was cardinal for 11 years, dying in 1890. He was buried at Rednal. 

John Newman’s grave was exhumed in 2008, and a new tomb was prepared for him at the Oratory church in Birmingham. 

Three years after his death, a Newman Club for Catholic students was started at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. Now, ministry centers with his name operate at private and public colleges across the United States. 

John Henry Newman was beatified in 2010, and canonized by Pope Francis in October 2019.