Tag: Christianity

Piraeus, Attica Region, Greece, December 24, 2024

Photo: orthodoxianewsagency.gr     

The Metropolis of Piraeus of the Greek Orthodox Church has distributed more than 5,000 charity packages to needy citizens for the upcoming feast of Christmas.

The packages, containing food and other essentials, were distributed at the Church of St. Nicholas in Piraeus by His Eminence Metropolitan Seraphim on December 20, reports the Orthodoxia News Agency.

Also present were other hierarchs and clergy and famous Greek soccer players.

“Love means that I offer and give from my heart and embrace every person in need—this is the message of Christmas, the message of Christ. We embody this love and offer it again,” emphasized Met. Seraphim.

The Metropolitan of Piraeus continued: “Piraeus becomes an open embrace for every person in need during these holy days, but this is work that continues throughout the year, which is why I want to express my deep gratitude to all donors and volunteers and wish for all of us to have peace in our hearts and kindness in our souls.”

In a statement, Dimitris Alfieris, Director of Met. Seraphim’s Private Office and Press and Public Relations Office, emphasized: “Mixed feelings of joy and sorrow—on one hand, we’re happy because we can help, on the other hand, the sadness is indescribable because we face these people who anxiously but with dignity wait patiently to receive the Church’s gift so they too can celebrate Christmas as they deserve. The Church is with them 365 days a year. Today, however, we send a resounding message—the Church forgets no one.”

OrthoChristian reported Orthodox communities share Christmas blessings through charityOrthodox Churches throughout the world are embracing the Christmas season with a wave of charitable initiatives, demonstrating their commitment to serving those in need during these winter holidays.

“>yesterday on various Church charitable activities, including of the dioceses of the Greek Orthodox Church.

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Los Angeles Archbishop José H. Gomez was honored during the 14th annual Ecumenical Prayer Service held at St. Leon Ghevondiants Armenian Cathedral in Burbank on Dec. 10.

The yearly service brings together Christian leaders and laity from several denominations to pray for unity among the faithful and the world. Each year, the Armenian cathedral hosts the service and honors a Christian leader who stands as an “example of Christian love and fidelity,” and this year they selected Archbishop Gomez.

“Your unwavering dedication to serving the community is a blessing for your flock and the ecumenical community in Los Angeles,” said Archbishop Hovnan Derderian, primate of the Western Diocese of the Armenian Church of North America, about Archbishop Gomez. “We pray for God’s continued guidance, good health, and strength in your ministry.”

Derderian then presented Archbishop Gomez with an Armenian cross and an icon of the Annunciation.

During his remarks, Archbishop Gomez stressed that the Christian community needed to remain unified if they were to continue being a positive sign to an increasingly hostile world.

“That’s the mission of each and every one of us in this beautiful cathedral tonight,” Archbishop Gomez said. “Those first Christians loved one another as Jesus had loved them. They practiced mercy and compassion, especially toward the weak and vulnerable; they formed strong families and raised their children to love God; they shared their faith with their neighbors and they worked to build up the communities they lived in.

“And over time, by the grace of God, this tiny group of Christians grew and grew and eventually converted an entire empire. They formed a new civilization based on the truth of the Incarnation.

“Friends, I believe we can do that again.”

Other Christian leaders in attendance included Bishop John Harvey Taylor, the head of the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles, and Bishop Mary Ann Swenson of the World Council of Churches.

Also present was Ecumenical and Interreligious Officer for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles Father Alexei Smith, who introduced Archbishop Gomez during the service. Smith believes the archbishop was chosen because of the simple way he encourages the faithful to follow Christ.

“He has always been encouraging the men and women in the pew, if you will, to follow Christ in a humble and concrete way,” Smith said. “And I think that’s what the Armenian bishops saw in him.”

There are theologians who blaze onto the scene, enlightening their age. They illumine the speculation of their contemporaries. They stir up the younger generation.

And then, inexplicably, they almost vanish.

I want to recommend one for your reading in the New Year. He’s Father Matthias Joseph Scheeben (1835-1888), a German theologian who rose to prominence in the years around the First Vatican Council.

He had a genius for synthesis, for finding complementary relationships where others missed them. He explored the profound unity of nature and grace; the divine and the human; faith and reason. He saw no opposition between the early Church Fathers and the medievals; scholasticism and personalism; dogmatic theology and mystical experience; romance and system.

The ordering principle in his work was “nuptial unity.” The bond between spouses — husband and wife — was his dominant metaphor, applied poetically to all the sacred, saving truths of the faith. In an age when dry, dull manuals were in style, he theologized in the framework of St. Thomas Aquinas, but always giving primacy to the mysteries. He was as much a mystic as a scholastic.

He exercised a profound influence on 20th-century theologians such as Karol Wojtyla (St. Pope John Paul II) and Joseph Ratzinger (Pope Benedict XVI).

He was a theologian’s theologian, and yet he had a passion to teach everyone in the Church. Again, against the currents of his time, he taught theology to laypeople, in what Cardinal Hans Urs von Balthasar would one day call a “lay style.”

In his most popular work, “The Glories of Divine Grace,” he said that his goal was “to make the Christian feel happy about his faith. Because the beauty and eminence of our faith consist in this: that through the mysteries of grace it raises our nature to an immeasurably high plane and presents to us an inexpressibly intimate union with God.”

Why am I taking so much of your time to tell you the story of a theologian of the 19th century?

Because I’m hoping you’ll read him. I’m pleased to be part of the movement, spearheaded by Emmaus Road Publishing, to bring his works back into print. We have so far succeeded in bringing out translations of his multivolume “Handbook of Catholic Dogmatics,” his “Mysteries of Christianity,” his “Nature and Grace,” and his “Glories of Divine Grace.” I recommend that you begin with this last title.

M.J. Scheeben is dear to me. In the 19th century, he cultivated biblical literacy for all Catholics — and biblical fluency for teachers and clergy. He dared to speak the deepest mysteries to laypeople. He wanted people to love their faith and be happy about it. He insisted that theological “systems” didn’t have to be boring.

I believe he has much to teach us today. Our preachers and pastors especially can learn much from Scheeben about the passionate communication of the inexpressible.

I hope you’ll consider him for your reading in 2025.

Nun Mary (Marie Madeleine Le Beller) at her skete There are meetings and destinies in life that you want to share with others—even after much time has passed. One of the most memorable events in my life was my brief yet extremely vivid acquaintance with a modern hermitess of Mount Sinai. Face to Face with God (+Photos)Seeing Sinai with your own eyes means seeing and feeling something that will be remembered for a lifetime. And if you manage to take photographs, your memories will be clearer, brighter and deeper. Our family archive contains photographs of Sinai—mine and those that my daughter took when she and her husband climbed the holy mountain of Moses.

“>Mt. Sinai. Her destiny brought together the deepest falls and insights, which made her path something akin to Biblical revelations and narratives about the Lives of ancient saints. At the same time, the seething events of the last century and the temptations typical for modern times have left their mark on her. And in the life of this Orthodox Frenchwoman there were meetings and living contacts with ascetics, whom today many of us venerate as newly canonized great saints of our time and who are part of the grace-filled history of the Church of the twentieth century. Therefore, in her story amazing aspects not just of biographies, but of genuine Lives of saints are revealed. And what is even more surprising to me is that she managed not only to come into contact with modern sanctity; her life became a reflection of the spiritual paths of some saints of the first century of Christianity. And first of all, of course, I mean her patron-saint—St. Mary Magdalene—a Sermon of LoveThe Lord healed many people, but not everyone was vouchsafed to follow Him.”>St. Mary Magdalene Equal-to-the-Apostles.

Those who have at least some knowledge of Western European Renaissance painting must have seen a widespread depiction of St. Mary Magdalene in the desert. El Greco, Titian, Tintoretto, Rubens, Rembrandt and many others depicted her on their canvases as a penitent sinner against an austere, wild landscape, often with an opened book of the Holy Scriptures in front of her and a bare human skull lying nearby—as a symbol of the corruptibility and transience of human life. Several historical circumstances influenced the emergence and widespread dissemination of this story. One of them was the miraculous uncovering of the saint’s relics in the south of France in the underground crypt of the church of the small town of Saint-Maximin-la-Sainte-Baume on December 12, 1279. A magnificent Gothic basilica was built on this site and is still a place of pilgrimage and veneration of St. Mary Magdalene.

The Western version of her Life claims that after the preaching of the Risen Christ in Rome, where she preached the Gospel even to Emperor Tiberius, the saint entrusted her future life to the Divine Providence, going with her companion Celidonius, who was born blind, on a boat without sails and oars. Tradition has it that their boat arrived where the town of Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer now stands, a little west of Marseille (at that time called Massilia). So they ended up in the south of Gaul and set about evangelizing there. The bishop of the new Church was St. Mary’s disciple, Maximin, after whom the city was named where he and his mentor, who lived in the desert mountains to the south, were buried. There in the commune of Nans-les-Pins pilgrims are still shown a cave in the foothills of the Maritime Alps, where Mary Magdalene struggled and died and where a small Benedictine monastery is now situated. Thanks to this, Mary Magdalene became a highly venerated saint in France and throughout Western Europe as their patroness who brought and spread Christianity in this hitherto unknown corner of the Roman Empire.

The era of the Crusades contributed to the growing perception of her more as penitent hermitess than equal-to-the-Apostles preacher. Once in the Middle East, crusaders learned about the existence of many previously unknown saints. One of them was Venerable Mary of EgyptCovered by the cloak, the ascetic turned to Zosimas: “Why do you want to speak with me, a sinful woman? What did you wish to learn from me, you who have not shrunk from such great labors?”

“>St. Mary of Egypt, the greatest example of selfless repentance of a sinner who for many years retired to a wild desolate desert in order to find God in it. The images of the two Marys, Magdalene and Mary of Egypt, merged into one in the minds of the crusaders, thanks to which a companion of the Savior and His disciples, from whom the Lord cast out seven demons, turned not so much into a witness of the Resurrection and a missionary as a penitent sinner. This is how she began to be portrayed in church sermons, and then depicted on numerous canvases by painters. Thus, the penitent Magdalene of Europe began to exist in the minds of Western Christians in a manner increasingly distant from her original Gospel life.

But 2000 years after the life of the real Mary from the Galilean town of Migdal, France paid a historical tribute to her by sending its own Mary Magdalene of sorts to the Orthodox East. She traveled in exactly the opposite direction of the Magdalene of Western biographies and legends. In her spiritual quest, the Lord brought her first to Palestine, where the story of the real Magdalene began. And then her path lay even further—to the Sinai desert where for many years she offered genuine repentance (and not that imagined by painters) with the blessing and under the spiritual guidance of two great ascetics of modern Orthodoxy. There, in the Skete of St. John of the Ladder, the Orthodox Frenchwoman found her earthly abode and resting place, becoming the anchoress (hermitess) Mary Magdalene. We will try to the best of our knowledge to tell readers about her amazing journey.

Childhood and youth

Marie Madeleine Le Beller was born in Versailles near Paris on November 27, 1946 and was baptized in the Roman Catholic Church in honor of St. Mary Magdalene—one of the most venerated saints in France. Her childhood, which was spent in a small quiet post-war town, once famous for the splendid residence of the French kings, was marked by purity and a sincere faith. Little Marie Madeleine loved Christ with a child’s heart not yet clouded by passions, loved church and worship. When she was very young, she came to the church even when it was closed. She liked to peep inside, if only through a window—the empty church attracted her with its mystery hidden in it. During services that their religious family attended together, her heart was often touched. Tears involuntarily appeared in her eyes, which she tried to conceal from her loved ones, explaining them by dust or the wind. Her older brother would notice his sister crying almost every time. Why does the little girl weep?

“Why are you crying again, Marie? What is the matter?” he asked.

“The wind is blowing, and that’s why I’m crying!” his sister answered.

But the next day her brother noticed her tears again:

“Why are you crying? There is no wind today!”

“Dust got into my eyes.”

I still remember Nun Mary’s voice, conveying the intonation of her brother:

“So is it dust or wind?” recalls Nun Silouana, to whom Mother Mary told this story from her happy childhood. “He would ask with a smile, and Marie would cry with tender emotion and love for Christ.”

In those years, she and her older brother liked to play church, where he was a “priest”, and his younger sister was his zealous “parishioner”. They used carrots for “Communion”. Cut into round pieces, they looked like Roman Catholic wafers. However, sometimes carrots were quite large, so Marie Madeleine had to “consume” them in large quantities (it’s exactly what priests have to do with the remainder of the Body of Christ).

At the age of eighteen, Marie Madeleine, who was distinguished by her excellent academic ability, entered the famous Sorbonne where she studied linguistics. Studying there gave her among other things the knowledge of several foreign languages, which was very useful later. But it also caused dramatic spiritual changes, which she very bitterly regretted afterwards. Her student years at the Sorbonne coincided with revolutionary movements and events that were sweeping the entire Western world. In a powerful stream of anti-war and anti–government protests, the “sexual revolution”, the “psychedelic revolution”, the “Summer of Love”, thousands of rock festivals in Woodstock and on the Isle of Wight—under the slogan “sex, drugs and rock’n’roll”, the generation of children of the post-war “baby boom” were destroying the universal values of their parents that seemed boring and outdated to them. Beatniks and “flower children” (hippies), “new leftists” and “neo-Marxists”, pacifists and anarchists, as well as many other social movements of varying degrees of radical thought were creating a new ideological landscape of counter-culture, which was (desperately and without regard to the former authorities) fighting for human minds and a place in the sun. And students were one of the main driving forces in these processes; many of them could hardly stay away from the general mental ferment.

In France these revolutionary events were called the “Red Spring,” because they peaked in May 1968. Here they reached such a scale that they led to the resignation of the Government of General Charles de Gaulle, who with a strong hand had led the war-ravaged country to prosperity and order. But now the established order turned out to be the rioters’ main enemy. Their slogan was the call, “Il est interdit d’interdire” (“It is forbidden to forbid”), and this abolished any established social norms. The writer and philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre (1905–1980) became one of the symbols of that “Red May”. Despite the fact that he belonged to an older generation, for the rebellious youth he was “one of their own”, embodying the abolition of all the prohibitions against which they were fighting. Sartre fought against Nazism during the Second World War (although he did it in the “intellectual underground” rather than in the “Resistance”), was a consistent representative of pacifists and “leftists,” and even refused the 1964 Nobel Prize in Literature as expressing the tastes of the “bourgeois Establishment”. Moreover, for many years he had an openly free relationship with his like-minded philosopher Simone de Beauvoir and even experimented with psychedelic drugs to expand his consciousness. For the young intellectual Marie Madeleine, as for many representatives of her generation, Sartre became a mentor and teacher of life, along with another famous French author and philosopher, Albert Camus (1913–1960).

And though the views of these two influential thinkers often differed on many issues in their lives and works, they were absolutely unanimous in one thing: their rejection of religion in general and Christianity in particular. Therefore, their philosophical school is commonly referred to as atheistic “existentialism”. For Sartre it was expressed in the idea that only the individual himself is responsible in this world for his life, without having the right to shift it to God, the higher powers, fate or anything else. Camus regarded the whole world as absurd, causing people to have such philosophical reactions as suicide or rebellion—that is, rejection of the meaninglessness of existence (in the broadest sense of the word). This thinker regarded resorting to religion as one of man’s possible responses to the absurdity around him and a departure from reality, an attempt to hide from it among false hopes and illusions. Camus called his novel The Plague an “anti-Christian work”, and in his philosophical essay, The Myth of Sisyphus, he openly denied Christian values, although he considered religion, after suicide, the best of the wrong human choices.

It is obvious that without these famous philosophers’ influential justifications for the need to abandon Christianity, the “prohibition of prohibitions” would have been impossible. This movement was able to removing all obstacles on the way to that coveted freedom, to which the young French rebels of the late 1960s aspired. Marie Madeleine, convinced by the writings of her idols Camus and Sartre, thus abandoned her former purely childish faith and memories of her experience of God, which had once touched her heart. But now freedom in all its manifestations was available to her, and she plunged into it headlong, together with all her peers. Thus began years of her fruitless spiritual search and service to all kinds of sins on the wave of the permissiveness that washed over the crowds of revolutionary youth, like the oriflamme over regiments of their militant ancestors.¹

Spiritual rebirth

After graduating from the Sorbonne, Marie Madeleine worked there as a teacher. Years of outwardly quite prosperous life flew by, but there was deep darkness behind its successful facade. Alluring freedom turned into utter the loneliness of a person who had lost Divine harmony, an endless torment of the spirit, and a prison for the soul. Many years later she said of this period: “It would have been better for me if I had been in a dark prison for eighteen years instead of living for so many years without faith in Christ.” In her heart of hearts there was still an ideal image of the Savior, which she had renounced under the influence of contemporary thinkers, and she continued to seek Him intuitively. She hoped to find His features in her future life partner, and that’s why she never married. She tried to find a substitute for Christian virtues in good deeds and idealistic care for her neighbors. But without genuine inner faith in God, all this remained vanity and anguish.

However, the Lord did not forsake the woman who had abandoned Him, but He Himself sought out the lost soul that had once loved Him. He appeared to her in some way beyond the human mind, leaving no doubt about His existence. She never explained exactly what that Divine Revelation looked like, but it was an event of such spiritual power that it overturned all the ideas by which she had lived over the previous twenty years. Now she firmly knew that God exists, and she felt an enormous sense of guilt for her past apostasy. She confessed that at that time the blouse she wore was always soaked with tears of remorse that she constantly shed. It was impossible to continue her way of life in this state, and so Marie Madeleine quit her job and left Paris in order to understand what had happened to her and what she should do next. After giving up teaching she found a simple job in a secluded and quiet place—a boarding house for the elderly in the picturesque and uninhabited French Alps. Thus began the path that she followed in the footsteps of her patron-saint, Mary Magdalene, but in reverse order, if we follow the Western version of her Life. And if the saint indeed spent the final years of her life as an anchoress in the Alps of southern Gaul, for Marie Madeleine solitude amid them in search of knowledge of God was the very beginning, although back then she did not think about such coincidences between her own life and the path walked by her Heavenly patroness.

Thanks to what had happened to her, Marie Madeleine was now convinced of the truth of God’s existence. But this experience did not reveal to her where and how she ought to continue to seek opportunities for deeper knowledge of God and liberation from feelings of terrible guilt for her departure from the Light into the darkness of sins, unbelief and destructive passions. So she took to her Alpine seclusion a huge suitcase filled with spiritual books about a variety of faiths. Among them were the writings of Roman Catholic mystics like Juana Ines de la Cruz or Francis of Assisi, books on Sufism, Taoism and Zen Buddhism. She also took several Orthodox books, which made the strongest impression on her. She found the Life of St. Seraphim of Sarov especially close to her heart, and after reading it she was convinced that the Truth abides in Orthodoxy. Subsequently, The Life of Saint SeraphimHaving led a heavenly life on earth, like the great desert saints of antiquity, even in these latter times of spiritual desolation, St. Seraphim is an instructor and an inspirer of the true Christian life. His Spiritual Instructions—like his celebrated Conversation with Motovilov on the Acquisition of the Holy Spirit—contain no new teaching, but simply repeat in modern times the age-old Christian teaching of the great Fathers whom he constantly cites: Sts. Basil the Great, Gregory the Theologian, John Chrysostom, Macarius the Great, Dionysius the Areopagite, Ambrose of Milan, Isaac the Syrian, Symeon the New Theologian, the Fathers of the Philokalia.

“>St. Seraphim became her favorite saint, and his icon was always in her cell. Acquaintance with the book by Archimandrite (now Saint) Sophrony (Sakharov) entitled, Elder Silouan, became extremely important in her spiritual quest. Many things in the lives and teachings of Sts. Silouan and Sophrony were very much in tune with her own spiritual experience and searches.

​Icon of the Mother of God     

Thus, with her soul and mind, Marie Madeleine decided to embrace Orthodoxy and spend her future life in accordance with its traditions and teachings, guided by the saving images and instructions of its great saints. But how was it practically possible to do this, being in the remote French Alps? Where should she start? Where should she go? Who was she supposed to contact? But the Lord was already guiding her repentant and truth-seeking soul, sending her amazing help. Quite unexpectedly, her French friend, who became a Uniate priest of the Eastern rite, came to that same boarding house. It should be clarified here that the French Uniates are not the same as the notorious Greek Catholics in Western Ukraine or Belarus. If the latter appeared as a result of the forced conversion of their ancestors to the union with Rome imposed by the authorities, a Frenchman who embraces Uniatism is, as a rule, dissatisfied with the forms of Roman Catholic spirituality he was raised in. Not daring to break from the papacy completely, he nevertheless seeks a deeper and richer heritage in the teaching and liturgical traditions of the Eastern Churches—for example, the Syrian Melkites, who retained their connection with ancient Byzantine Orthodoxy, being formally subordinate to the Roman See. Most often, as the experience of twentieth-century conversions shows, Uniatism for such people is a step on their path to Orthodoxy.

Archimandrite Sophrony (Sakharov) There was a very lively spiritual conversation between the Uniate priest and Marie Madeleine, during which she told him about her recent religious search and the literature she had read. Among other things, they discussed the book, Elder Silouan, which impressed Marie so much. At some point the priest asked her as if incidentally: “Do you know that the author of this book is still alive?” Since the book that Maria had read did not contain any detailed information about its author, she was very happy to learn that Fr. Sophrony, despite his very advanced age and illness, still received people flocking to him from across the globe. In that news a glimmer of hope appeared for her and a possible sign as to who would help her join Orthodoxy, and how to take the first important steps on this path. She warmly thanked the Uniate priest for revealing to her that Fr. Sophrony lived in the UK, where he had founded a monastery in Essex in honor of St. John the Baptist and where Marie Madeleine could travel to meet with him and ask for spiritual guidance regarding her future life.

To be continued…

Leading the recitation of the Angelus prayer from inside the chapel of his residence because of a cold, Pope Francis nevertheless blessed the baby Jesus figurines children and adults will put in their Nativity scenes — and he brought one of his own as well.

Touching the figurine, he said his baby Jesus, a gift from an archbishop, was made by Indigenous artisans from Ecuador.

Linked by video to St. Peter’s Square Dec. 22, Pope Francis told hundreds of people gathered there that while he was feeling better, “I have to take precautions.”

When the Vatican press office had announced the previous evening that the pope would lead the Angelus prayer from the chapel of the Domus Sanctae Marthae, it said the pope was doing so because of a cold and “also in view of his commitments in the coming week.” Those include the opening of the Holy Door and celebration of Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica Dec. 24, his annual Christmas address and blessing “urbi et orbi” (to the city and the world) Dec. 25 and opening a Holy Door and celebrating Mass Dec. 26 at Rome’s Rebibbia prison.

In his main Angelus address, Pope Francis used the day’s Gospel reading about a pregnant Mary visiting her pregnant cousin Elizabeth as an opportunity to talk about God’s gifts of life and motherhood.

The reading, a few days before Christmas, should lead Christians to recognize God’s “presence and his love close to us, for example in the gift of every life, of every child and of his or her mother.”

With so many youngsters in the square for the blessing of the “bambinelli” — the baby Jesus figurines — Pope Francis asked people to look around and appreciate the mothers, especially expectant mothers.

“Let’s bless the mothers and praise God for the gift of life,” he said.

Referring to his “other diocese,” a phrase he often uses to refer to the Archdiocese of Buenos Aires, Argentina, where he was archbishop until 2013, the pope said he liked taking the bus — “I can’t do that now” — and seeing people give up their seat as soon as a pregnant woman boarded. “It is a gesture of hope and respect.”

As part of one’s preparations for Christmas, he said, it would be good to cultivate a sense of joy and awe anytime one encounters a pregnant woman or a mother carrying a child.

“And when that happens, let’s pray in our hearts and say, like Elizabeth did, ‘Blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb.’”

“Let us sing, like Mary, ‘My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord,’ so that every motherhood may be blessed, and in every mother in the world may the name of God be thanked and exalted for entrusting to men and women the power to give life to children,” Pope Francis said.

And while he did not leave his residence Dec. 22, he did enjoy a brief performance and a visit from children, who brought him a belated birthday cake, which quickly was missing some of its icing.

The pope has made it a Christmastime tradition to meet with the children, who are assisted at the Vatican’s Santa Marta pediatric clinic, which the Daughters of Charity run for families with special needs, often because they are not covered by the Italian health system.

“These children, and there were many, filled my heart with joy,” the pope said, and repeated a message he said he had seen on television: “No child is a mistake.”

I was tasked by a radio show on which I make a frequent nuisance of myself to come up with my top five “Advent” movies. I think it was more an indication of the host’s Irish genetics of enjoying someone else’s discomfort that inspired him to make such a challenge. But I get to talk about movies and my faith both cinematically and religiously, so I happily picked up the gauntlet, even though I had no idea where my list was going to start or end.

It was harder than I thought — so many Christmas movies came to mind, but Christmas is not Advent. My list was not very inspiring. 

When I find myself in a cranial cul-de-sac, my go-to person is my sister, who played such a big role in my love of movies, and is one of the main influences on me becoming the writer I am. She has always had the ability to come up with a unique angle on something I’m working on, or just helps me sound a lot smarter than I am. But even she was flummoxed about what constitutes an Advent movie — and what does not.  

During a desperate phone call for help, neither one of us could come up with an answer we could both agree on. I was about to email my radio host friend and tell him I was defeated — then almost on cue, the phone rang, and it was my sister with a eureka moment. She opened the conversation, not with a hello, how are you, but with the title of a movie she was sure was an “Advent” movie. Upon hearing it, I was sold.

It is not a Christmas movie, though there are a few scenes in this two-hour plus film that revolve around Christmas. It is by no means a “religious” film, as no one really prays or goes to Mass, and you won’t see Bing Crosby in a Roman collar singing “Tura Lura Lura.”

Advent is a season of waiting for something good to happen, and it is about making a journey, whether practically or metaphorically. There is a lot of both kinds of that waiting in the classic 1945 film “A Tree Grows in Brooklyn.”

Directed by the legendary Elia Kazan, the film is based on the book by Betty Smith, which used to be required reading in junior high schools for decades, and probably should still be. Like Advent, it is a story of longing and hope. 

It takes place during the early part of the 20th century in a tenement apartment building in Brooklyn, and is told through the eyes of an 11-year-old girl named Francie. She lives in poverty with her mother and little brother and an alcoholic father who clings to his longing for the big break as a singing waiter. It is a break that never comes, not just because of circumstances out of his control, but from the self-destructive nature of the father who, although he loves his wife and his children deeply, cannot find the savior to deliver him from his self-imposed despair or his penchant to self-medicate with whiskey.

Despite these obstacles, and there are certainly obstacles in the Advent time that culminated on a hillside in Bethlehem, “A Tree Grows in Brooklyn” is a story of great hope, love, and resilience. 

And just as that first Advent season relied on external supernatural forces as guides and protectors, like the angel Gabriel with Mary and Joseph, Francie and her family have the neighborhood cop, her flighty aunt, and a host of other characters who are like angels in disguise, who come in and out of the story just when they are needed most.

Not that God was all that concerned with a third-act twist for the original Advent, but both the season and the film have an unexpected pregnancy as a driving force. For the mom in “A Tree Grows in Brooklyn,” the knowledge of her pregnancy, when she cannot clothe or properly feed the two children she has, is a cause of angst and terrible marital strife.

Things get a lot worse prior to the baby’s arrival but, thanks to the intervention of the “angels” in the story, the family survives and the joy the birth of the baby brings to the family is a bridge Francie and her mom cross toward each other in forgiveness and love, squashing the estrangement that has divided them.

Finally, there is that tree, the improbable tree that grows through the barrier of a concrete jungle to symbolize hope and forgiveness. 

“A Tree Grows in Brooklyn” may never become a Christmas classic like “It’s A Wonderful Life” or “Miracle on 34th Street,” but it just may be an Advent classic. And it is available for free on YouTube, but I do caution — you may cry, but you will be glad you did.

President Joe Biden has commuted the sentences of 37 individuals on federal death row; a move that almost fulfills a longstanding request of the American bishops.

The White House announced on Dec. 23 that those 37 individuals – who were all convicted of murder – will have their sentences reclassified from execution to life without the possibility of parole. The decision leaves just three individuals on federal death row, who all carried out mass killings.

“President Biden has dedicated his career to reducing violent crime and ensuring a fair and effective justice system,” the White House said in a statement. “He believes that America must stop the use of the death penalty at the federal level, except in case of terrorism and hate-motivated mass murder – which is why today’s actions apply to all but those cases.”

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops had recently issued an action alert asking the faithful to contact Biden and urge him to commute all federal death sentences to terms of imprisonment for all of the 40 individuals on federal death row.

Reacting to Biden’s decision, Archbishop Timothy Broglio of the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA, said the 37 commutations “are a significant step in advancing the cause of human dignity and respect for human life from womb to tomb in our nation.”

“My brother bishops and I unite in expressing our gratitude that President Biden has commuted the federal death sentences of 37 men,” Broglio, the USCCB president said in a statement. … “As we continue to proclaim the Gospel in a broken world, this act of mercy is a step closer to building a culture of life.”

“We encourage all lawmakers to continue to work towards total abolition of the death penalty, and to redirect the energy and resources that currently go towards executions to provide compassionate and professional assistance to the families of victims,” he continued.

On the campaign trail in 2020, Biden spoke of his goal to end the federal death penalty. Legislation to that effect never came to fruition. However, Biden directed the Justice Department to issue a moratorium on federal executions, which has been in effect for his entire presidency.

Biden’s decision to commute the sentences of the 37 individuals prevents the President-elect Donald Trump from carrying out the execution sentences. Trump has vowed to restart federal executions in his second term. In his first, 13 prisoners on federal death row were put to death.

The three men who still face federal execution are Robert D. Bowers, Dylann Roof, and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev.

Bowers, 52, gunned down 11 worshippers at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh in 2018. Roof, 30, is a white supremacist who shot and killed nine Black Parishioners at a church in Charleston, South Carolina in 2015. And Tsarnaev, 31, is one of the two brothers who carried out the Boston Marathon bombing in 2013 that killed three and severely injured many others.

Krisanne Vaillancourt Murphy, the executive director of the Catholic Mobilizing Network that advocates for the abolition of the death penalty, said in a statement that Biden’s “historic” decision advances the cause of human dignity and underscores the sacredness of all human life.

“This unparalleled action should mark a turning point in our nation’s justice system and serve as a model for leaders at the state level to follow suit,” Vaillancourt Murphy said, adding that Biden “chose mercy” ahead of Jubilee 2025 where Pope Francis has called for forgiveness worldwide.

One Dec. 8, Pope Francis during his Angelus Address asked people to pray for the prisoners on death row in the United States, “that their sentence be commute [or] changed.”

Many observers saw this was aimed at Biden has he approached the end of his term.

Vaillancourt Murphy also called for the sentences of the three individuals to be commuted.

The same problems that led us to call on the president to commute death sentences are present in the cases of those who remain on death row in the United States, including intellectual disability, mental incompetency, racial bias, prosecutorial misconduct, unfair sentencing disparities, innocence and more,” she said. “As we move forward, CMN will not waver from our commitment to end the death penalty.”

Photo: azbyka.ru Majestic and resplendent is the celebration of this present feast; yet, through the fervor of those gathered, it appears even more exalted. Undoubtedly, this feast is, in and of itself, splendidly magnificent; yet its grandeur becomes evident through the abundance of those assembled. By the multitude of people, the feast itself assumes a joyous appearance, and, in turn, brings delight to all with the brilliance of its splendor.

This increase in magnificence that the feast receives does not stem from anything we contribute to it. On the contrary, as it lavishly pours forth and spreads its radiance upon those gathered, it simultaneously expands its own brilliance. Just as the visible sun, though sometimes hidden from sight, possesses within itself an inherent ability to illuminate gloriously, so too, when it rises and emerges from behind the lofty peaks of mountains, it casts its rays upon the enchanting creations below. Thus, by illuminating them on all sides, the majesty of the wondrous spectacle is magnified.

So it is with this feast. Radiating an immeasurable spiritual light of beauty, it possesses within itself a perpetual brilliance. Yet this very splendor is marvelously enhanced in proportion to the multitude of those who gather and are illuminated by it. Since this feast emits the mystical rays of the Spirit and enlightens all who come together to partake in it, nothing better remains for us than to desire that everyone approaches it willingly, becomes enlightened, illumined in mind, and filled with that light which cannot be obscured by fleeting clouds.

Such is the brilliance that pours forth from this present feast, and such is the reason why it bestows upon those gathered an unfading and radiant light.

Today, as the spreading of the spiritual cloud is proclaimed, the rays of the unfading light are first revealed to the world, and the reigning darkness of unbelief begins to diminish and disperse. Today, as the establishment of the divine tabernacle is announced, firm foundations of piety are laid, and the strongholds of impiety are utterly shaken. Today, as the royal purple is being woven, the coming of the King of all is foretold, the reconciliation of former enemies is prefigured, and the trophies of victory over the adversary are proclaimed.

Today, it is foretold of the root of all blessings, destined to grow within the barren depths, so that our nature, once withered by evil, may bring forth the fruits of piety. Today, the gates of the King, impenetrable to all humanity (Ezek. 44:2), are established and prepared for His incomprehensible passage through them, and to us, they prepare the heavenly gates, now made passable. Today, barren parents, upon receiving the glad tidings of the birth of her who is the cause of an abundant harvest of blessings, prepare for all humanity the opportunity to partake in this wealth.

How far into the ages does their glorious memory extend! How unyielding remains their renown! How blessed is their divine election and how exceedingly glorious the virtue by which they were chosen! By means of this virtue, surpassing all their kin in the greatness of their free will, they likewise surpassed them in the magnitude of the gifts received from God through their election. They were preferred above all their race because they preferred the Creator of all that exists. They were deemed better than all because they cherished love for the Master above their very lives. They were preordained as ministers of the mysteries because, throughout their lives, they strove to fulfill only the will of the One who chose them. They were glorified by Him because they glorified Him through their deeds. They were exalted with abundant gifts of grace because they worthily prepared themselves to receive them.

This is what raised them above all the righteous who had come before them. This is what enabled them to partake in the mysteries for which those earlier saints longed so fervently. This is what granted them the fulfillment of the prophetic promises so eagerly awaited. Through this, they, preferred above all their kin, attained an incomparable dignity. By preserving the royal lineage pure and unmingled, they safeguarded it intact and unsullied in regard to royal virtues. They did not debase their lofty dignity by bowing to servile indulgences in pleasures. Rather, by keeping its greatness untainted, they were deemed worthy of a corresponding glorification, and of bringing forth the Queen of all, the fruit of their piety and surpassing virtue.

Thus speaks the well-known account of them. It proclaims that they preserved both the God-like beauty and the primal comeliness of their nature, as well as the pure nobility of their lineage. They were honored with the highest distinctions among the tribes of Israel, even surpassing all venerable persons in esteem. They were filled with voluntary benevolence, transforming wealth—often a snare leading others to pleasure—into a means of performing noble deeds and a ladder ascending to the pinnacle of virtue. Not only did they fulfill the prescriptions and ordinances of the Law, which prescribed blessings upon wealth and proper methods of distributing offerings, but they went far beyond these requirements, dedicating every surplus to God. In doing so, they surpassed all others in the greatness of soul evident in their offerings.

“Holy, Righteous Ancestor of God, JoachimSaint Joachim, the son of Barpathir, was of the tribe of Judah, and was a descendant of King David, to whom God had revealed that the Savior of the world would be born from his seed.

“>Joachim,” says the account, “brought his double offerings, saying, ‘Let my abundance be for the whole people, and what is for my atonement, let it be for the Lord God’.” O blessed gifts! O offerings stored in secure treasures! O wealth that gathers an inexhaustible abundance of blessings! O will, marvelously generous in its giving! “If it is just,” Joachim says, “to bring to God what is prescribed by the Law, it is equally just to offer all surplus to the people and those in need, for this too is, through them, offered to God.”

But what law, O righteous man, commands the giving of double offerings or requires that every surplus be given to the people? “Granted,” he answers, “there is no such law or ordinance compelling me to act thus, but I do so because I am convinced that it is good and pleasing to God. He has granted me wealth; it is only just to return it to Him. It is the providential gift of His goodness; therefore, it should be given to my kin as a gift of goodness.”

The abundance bestowed is ample; let it be distributed to the multitude of the people. It is a gift, not a payment for deeds; let this truth be affirmed, and let the benevolence of the Giver be proclaimed. Let the burden of wealth be shared among many, or better still, let all concern for it be removed from us. Let the multitude of possessions be set aside, so that the divine gifts may be received without hindrance. Let the cloud of earthly cares, which dims the mind, be scattered, so that we may strive without distraction toward the pure light. Let the flight of thought not descend from its heavenly aspirations to the concerns of the earth, but soar freely toward spiritual things. Let the ears of the soul, freed from the clamor of vanity, hear the voices of those who celebrate spiritually, and attend to the sweet hymns of those rejoicing in heaven.

Thus, the offering of the righteous, born of such a noble spirit, deserved from God a reward befitting its greatness.

Meanwhile, his relatives, who made offerings alongside him during solemn feasts, were not moved by awe at his God-loving greatness of soul but by envy of his surpassing virtue. They cited certain regulations, claiming that a childless man, one without heirs, was not permitted to make offerings. “It is not lawful,” they said, “for you to bring gifts, for you have not raised up offspring in the sons of Israel.” In some versions, it reads: “It is not lawful for you to be the first to bring…” Their intent was to completely forbid the righteous man from offering sacrifices.

Regardless of the precise wording, their prohibition arose from envy. They should have marveled at the greatness of his gifts, applauded the abundance of his offerings, and rejoiced in the magnitude of his generosity. Instead, they not only refused to honor his offerings, as justice demanded, but sought to prevent them altogether. But why do you, who wish to bar his offerings, slander them and forbid him to make them? What impurity do you find in the gift dedicated to God? What lack of willingness do you detect in his offering? Is it not perfect? Is it not wondrous in both its abundance and its quality? Was it not chosen and given freely, out of his own will?

You argue that “a custom with the force of law forbids the childless from making offerings to God on equal terms with those who have children, and from sharing the same honors.” But I know well that no such law exists, and if some custom has introduced this notion, I confidently assert that it is nothing but the fruit of your own dull and foolish mind. God is pleased with sacrifices and offerings not because those who bring them have children or many descendants, but because they abound in virtue, possess noble character and a lofty spirit, and demonstrate generosity not only in their material gifts but in the sacrifice of their inner disposition. They bring offerings with a humble soul and a chaste mind, knowing that no gift is truly worthy of God. “A sacrifice to God is a broken spirit,” says Scripture (Ps. 50:19). Let God Himself, the receiver of offerings, testify to what gifts are pleasing to Him. Let those who have offered with the best intentions affirm it as well.

Holy Scripture records how God praised and accepted many sacrifices of the saints and the righteous. The fame of those who offered them testifies abundantly to this truth. The offerings of righteous Abel, the first martyr, were praised and accepted not because he had children, but because he had a fruitful will, brought the best to God, and offered a pure sacrifice free of base intentions. In contrast, the offering of childless Cain was not accepted—not because he had no offspring, but because his will was barren, his mind base, his love for God less than his love for himself. Cain divided his gifts unjustly and brought them in a manner unworthy of God. Rightly, then, did the Lord reject Cain’s offering and visibly demonstrate His displeasure by withholding the fire that consumes offerings, a sign of His acceptance.

You claim to follow the law, but your prohibition of the righteous man’s offerings reveals only the envy and malice in your heart. “It is not lawful,” you say, “for you to bring gifts.” Why is it unlawful? Is it because he burns with love for God? Is it because his generosity exceeds the bounds of the law? Is it because he gives more freely than required, even to the benefit of others? “Let my abundance be for the whole people,” he declares. That includes you, for you are part of the people. Should you not honor his abundant love for the Creator, gladly accept the gift he dedicates to the people, and praise his magnanimity with fitting gratitude?

Instead, you close the eyes of your mind, willfully blind to goodness, and, consumed by envy, spew forth your venom under the guise of legal precepts. But God, who accepts sacrifices not for the quantity of offerings but for the virtue of the heart, has already shown whom He favors. Let us, then, learn from this account and understand that God values a God-loving will, rich in the fruits of virtue, far more than mere proofs of the ability to bear children.

We shall not pass over in silence, though wishing to avoid excessive verbosity, the account of how the patriarch Abraham, even before having children—those through whom the unfailing promises of God were to be fulfilled (Gen. 12:7)—built an altar and later received the command to offer a glorious sacrifice: “Take for Me a three-year-old heifer… and a three-year-old ram,” along with other offerings for a burnt sacrifice (Gen. 15:9). Nor shall we neglect to mention the offerings of other righteous ones who were childless.

Such was the sacrifice offered on a rock by Manoah, at the command of God. Together with his barren wife, he received the joyful news of the ending of her barrenness and, as a sign of the promise’s truth, witnessed the angel ascending from the flames and departing to heaven (Judg. 13:19–21). And who are you to argue against or reject the offerings made by the prophetess Anna, both in word and deed, and graciously accepted by God (1 Sam. 1:9–19)? Can you prove that seed sprang forth from the loins of Elias and Elisha? Yet these righteous men continually offered sacrifices pleasing to God—rational sacrifices—and, when required, even blood offerings.

Why then would you exclude the childless from prayer, hymn-singing, and the continual praise of God? Surely God esteems far more the sacrifices offered with a contrite heart than those made with animals. But you, closing the eyes of your mind, have willingly placed yourself in a state of blindness to goodness. Burning with envy against the righteous, you spew forth your venom under the guise of adhering to the law. “It is not lawful,” you say, “for you to bring gifts.” Why is it not lawful? Is it because he burns with love for God? Because he is generous in his offerings? Because he gives more than is prescribed by law and magnanimously blesses even you?

“My abundance,” he says, “shall be for the whole people.” This includes you, for you are part of the same people. Should you not honor the overflowing love of the righteous man for the Creator and willingly accept the gift he dedicates to the people? Should you not pursue his magnanimity with awe and praise, offering him fitting gratitude?

But you, burdened by the weight of his many noble achievements, and more so by the envy they provoke within you, crawl upon the earth, bent low and unable to lift your gaze to the radiant light of his glorious deeds. He, on the other hand, standing above your reproaches and as though soaring in the heavens, does not stoop to base earthly concerns, nor is he cast down from the height of his great spirit into the abyss of despair. He does not retaliate against insults, does not arm himself against accusations, nor does he refute your unreasonable charges with sound reasoning. Instead, through his close communion with God, he demonstrates both the acceptability of his offerings and the injustice of your reproaches. By his prayers, he seeks deliverance from barrenness, transforming your scorn into his exaltation.

Soon you will witness him adorned with the great gift of blessed offspring; you will see his immense glory among the fathers, the fruitfulness of his nature, the reward of his prayers, the blessing upon the human race, an overflowing wealth, unending joy, and the cause of true gladness.

With such majesty and nobility toward his detractors, the righteous man, forsaking all present comforts, prepares himself for extraordinary labors and arduous solitude. He cares neither for returning home nor for consulting with his household regarding his intent, lest anyone, in considering it, might deem it strange, beyond human nature, and seek to contend with him, marveling at his love for God and his detachment from all other concerns.

What, then, O you wondrous one, greater than the righteous of old, do you seek? What endeavor are you resolved to accomplish? Why do you withdraw from your hearth? Why sever the bonds of marriage and shared life? Did not God Himself unite you in the harmony of communal life, blending your minds and wills as He joined your flesh into one? Should you not strive to preserve this unity of counsel and thought as unbroken as you are bound to maintain the indissoluble union with your wife? Would it not be just to include her in your labors, making her a partaker both in the fruit and in the toil of your endeavors?

Yet if even this does not move you to return home, ought you not to spare her the greater sorrow? Should you not refrain from causing her anguish by your secret departure, or from afflicting her with countless tormenting thoughts through your unexplained absence? Surely, it would have been fitting for you first to settle your household affairs and then to embark upon the path your spirit desires.

Or perhaps you care no longer for abundant wealth, nor pay heed to possessions, as if you are no longer tied to visible blessings, so lofty in spirit that you can forego all earthly comforts? “Indeed so,” answers the righteous man. “None of these things can draw me away from communion with God—neither the unity of nature, nor ties with my household, nor the abundance of wealth, nor the companionship of friends. No visible blessing has the power to divert me from the pursuit of unseen goods. I have resolved upon the arduous labor of prayer, which demands from me complete detachment for the struggle. Away, then, with anything that might delay my ascent! Let nothing worldly stand before me; let nothing worldly hinder my zealous desire.

The gifts granted by God belong to Him; to Him I entrust their care. I know that my wife, Five Questions about Righteous Anna, the Mother of the TheotokosWhy do we know so little about Anna the Mother of the Most Holy Theotokos, and why does the Church venerate her?

“>Anna, even in my absence, will remain of like mind and character with me. I know her fervent love for the Master, which leads her to submit to His providence and to support me in my labors with her own fitting efforts. She will not allow our unity in life, nor the bond that ties us, to be broken. She will preserve both the harmony of our marriage and her God-loving disposition undivided. Even apart from me, she will aid me more through her prayers than she could have done by her presence. Her prayers will be powerful; she will offer them with the most fervent faith, ensuring that they are heard. For she will raise them from a contrite heart, directing them with unfeigned humility to the supreme Benefactor, who surpasses all understanding. And He, being all-good, will hearken to those who call upon Him in truth.”

Such are the surpassing excellences of the righteous; such is the abundant wealth of their virtues; such is the flame of their faith; such is their intimate closeness to God. This is why they received more than they sought; this is why the heavenly voice proclaimed to them that they would bring forth the very blessing and joy of the world. Angels foretold to them that the child born of them would grant gladness and rejoicing to all mankind.

Such are your praises and wonders from the beginning, O Mother of God. Concerning you it was prophesied that you would spring forth from such a stem, and you appeared in life according to the divine foretelling. It was fitting that such words should be spoken about you; fitting that your greatness should be foretold with such utterances; necessary that you should be prefigured by such symbols; necessary that such a branch should sprout from such fruitful parents; necessary that such a plant should arise from such a root; necessary that you, the royal scepter, should emerge from royal lineage; necessary that you, the richest treasury of blessings, should come forth from an abundance of virtues; necessary that you should be the daughter of such parents, and they the parents of such a daughter.

You were pre-chosen from all creation to be the Mother of God; thus they, of all parents, were deemed worthy to be your parents. How far above all glory is the majesty of such providence! How much higher than all praises are the wonders of the Master’s design! How much more desirable than all desired blessings are those bestowed through you! What blessed delight have those received who were counted worthy to enjoy these blessings! For this delight alone is the true delight; it is an inexhaustible joy for those whom you deem worthy to partake in your wondrous deeds. It leads us to an unending feast; through our present joy in you, we begin the gladness of the future. We have a pledge of eternal blessings: these are your gifts bestowed upon us now. In the present glorification of you, the voice of those who rejoice eternally is heard. Because of you, our praise is true, our hope secure, the awaited blessings are in our hands.

Therefore, we hunger and thirst as often as possible and continually to celebrate your feasts, that we may always receive what we desire. And now, solemnly observing your festival, we glorify it not as something newly invented and added to renowned days, but as chief both in order and in deed. We are delighted by the joy proclaimed through it, we partake of its mystical banquet, we are filled with the gifts foretold within it; through the joy it brings, we prepare for ourselves eternal grace; we sing in harmony with the choir of those who celebrate in heaven.

You, our Mediatrix, by your prayers make us worthy to be numbered among that choir and to celebrate with them, continually offering praise with a voice of rejoicing, in Christ Himself, your Son and our God—the sole joy and gladness of those who love you. For to Him belong honor, dominion, and glory, with the Father and the Holy Spirit, now and ever, and unto ages of ages. Amen.

Patrolog. curs. compl. tom. C. pag. 1335–1354. Paris. 1860.

From: Stories of Christian Saints, Honored by the Orthodox Catholic Church (Skazaniya o svyatykh khristianskikh, chtimykh Pravoslavnoyu Kafolicheskoyu Tserkoviyu (in Russian translation). Vol. 1 (Kazan: University printers, 1866), 103–119.

December 23, 2024

Photo: basilica.ro     

Orthodox Churches throughout the world are embracing the Christmas season with a wave of charitable initiatives, demonstrating their commitment to serving those in need during these winter holidays. Notable recent examples include:

Russian Church

On December 20, representatives of the Russian Church’s Publishing Council visited Gorlovka in the Donetsk People’s Republic, where they delivered a significant donation of religious literature to the local diocese: 450 copies of the Holy Gospel published by, 200 prayer books, and other publications for the diocesan cathedral’s library, with all publications intended for charitable distribution.

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The Sts. Martha and Mary Convent of Mercy in Moscow has launched its annual Garland of Goodness Christmas charity campaign, which over its six-year history has raised over $31,135 (3.2 million rubles) from 3,880 participants. The convent currently serves 2,500 people monthly, providing medical, psychological, spiritual, and material support to terminally ill children, lonely elderly people, and families in crisis situations, and the campaign aims to raise funds for eight social projects while also collecting candy donations for holiday gift packages for children from low-income families and those with disabilities.

The monastery is accepting donations online, and additional fundraising efforts include a charity fair featuring handmade items created by residents of the Elizabeth Children’s Home and convent volunteers.

Ukrainian Church

Parishioners of the Church of the Entry of the Lord into Jerusalem in Odessa raised over $2,400 (100,000 hryvnia) for the premature baby intensive care unit at Ohmatdyt Hospital in Kiev, providing funds along with non-invasive ventilation masks for small patients.

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In just two of its recent events, the Social Department of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church distributed 1,000 St. Nicholas Day sweet gift packages: 500 were delivered to children in the frontline Kherson Province (with special precautions taken due to constant shelling risks, particularly in the dangerous Korabelny district), while another 500 were distributed in Kiev to children from displaced families, orphans, low-income and large families, and children with disabilities.

“We warmly greet you on the day of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker! It’s very important to pass on our Orthodox traditions to children and teach them: We give gifts in imitation of St. Nicholas, as his speedy help is known to all who ask for it in prayer,” said Fr. Sergei Ekshiyan.

Bulgarian Church

On December 21, His Eminence Metropolitan Arseny of Sliven visited the Children’s Hospital Ward at Dr. Ivan Seliminski Hospital in Sliven, where visiting children ang Christmas songs for the young patients.

The Metropolitan distributed several gifts: icons of the Holy Theotokos to hospital officials and the department staff, while the young patients received stuffed animals and children’s prayer books. Additionally, children from local Sunday Schools presented handmade Christmas cards to all patients, which they had created in their Christmas workshop. Christmas bazaars also raised $1,335 (2,500 leva), which was donated to the Children’s Hospital Ward.

Romanian Church

Priest and psychologist Fr. Dragoș Răduț offered prayers for the recent inauguration of Romania’s first crisis center for the elderly, in Vidra. The facility can accommodate up to 40 elderly people for periods of six months and provides housing, treatment, physical therapy, and psychological counseling.

Children from the Buftea Excellence Center presented paintings they had created for future residents, and the center’s location near a recently renovated Maramureș-style church will provide residents with a place for worship.

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The Cluj Archdiocese’s St. Nectarie Association held its Christmas Charity Fair from December 20-22, with the aim of raising funds for continuing construction of the St. Christopher Pediatric Palliative Care Center in Cluj County.

The fair featured handmade decorations, Christmas carols, chocolate, and homemade cookies. The Center, which will provide comprehensive care for children in terminal stages of progressive chronic illnesses, has made significant progress in construction: all four levels and the roof are complete, PVC windows and doors are installed, and work is underway on electrical, plumbing, and climate control systems, as well as floor heating installation. Though the more expensive work is just beginning, the Association plans to inaugurate the hospital in 2025.

Greek Orthodox Church

In response to ongoing wars and high prices, the Greek Orthodox Church continues its extensive charitable outreach through its nationwide Love Offerings campaigns this Christmas season. These drives, organized by dioceses across Greece, involve thousands of volunteers going door-to-door to collect donations that will support the Church’s vast philanthropic network serving more than one million people.

The campaigns aim to help anyone in need regardless of faith or background, with particular focus on providing daily hot meals, supporting families in border regions, and assisting the sick and homeless. According to the Church’s Synodal Committee for Social Welfare and Charity, this network encompasses over 98,000 social structures including parish welfare funds, soup kitchens, and social grocery stores, operated by approximately 15,000 volunteers and supported by an annual charitable budget exceeding $110 million (100 million euros).

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Kolychevo, Moscow Province, Russia, December 23, 2024

Photo: mosreg.ru     

Another church and monastic building have been returned to the Russian Orthodox Church.

The Ministry of Property Relations of the Moscow Region has transferred ownership of the Church of the Transfiguration of the Lord with its living quarters, built between 1897-1903, to the Kolychevo Kazan Convent, the ministry reports.

The Church of the Transfiguration of the Lord is a cultural heritage site of regional significance.

The Kolychevo Kazan Convent was founded in 1885 by Schemamonk Makary (Petrov) near the site of the appearance of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God. The complex of the Transfiguration Church and two-story residential quarters was founded in 1897.

The monastery was gradually closed after the Bolshevik revolution of 1918. In 1960, a psychoneurological care facility was established on the former monastery grounds. In 2004, some of the Kolychevo Kazan Convent buildings were returned to the religious community.

Currently, the Ministry of Property Relations is carrying out a phased release of the Kolychevo Kazan Convent properties and their transfer to the Russian Orthodox Church.

This year, three more religious cultural heritage sites were returned to Russian Orthodox Church organizations from Moscow Region ownership: the Prophet Elijah Church (built 1821-1834) in Kolomna, the Archangel Michael Church (built 1777) in Tarakanovo village, and the Church of the Transfiguration of the Lord as part of the Kazan Monastery ensemble (built 1897) in Yegoryevsk District.

Over the past three years, 31 regional properties have been transferred to Russian Orthodox Church ownership.

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