| Photo: oca.org Each and every day, there are media reports about the crisis of substance abuse throughout the country. Addiction to narcotic opioid medications, in particular, has grown from an epidemic to a worldwide pandemic. No single demographic of people is immune. It can affect everyone, regardless of their socioeconomic, racial, ethnic or religious background. And Orthodox Christians are among its casualties. With this in mind, the Orthodox Church in America’s Department of Christian Service and Humanitarian Aid [CSHA] has released a four-part series of articles, collectively titled “Opioid Pandemic,” by John Athanasatos, Pharm.D., M.Div., a registered pharmacist. The series is now available for downloading, distribution and study from the CSHA’s Parish Ministry Resources . “The author’s intention is to raise the awareness of Orthodox Christians about the Opioid Pandemic,” according to Arlene Kallaur, Parish Ministry Resources Coordinator. “After providing a comprehensive introduction to the issue, he considers the plight of current and recovering addicts, family and friends of addicts and recovering addicts, and healthcare professionals who engage with the former and the latter.” “Every Orthodox parish throughout the United States unfortunately will have parishioners affected by this crisis,” the author explains. “Although there are programs in place providing services to addicts and recovering addicts and their families and friends, they are more on a secular level. We need to expand on this issue in light of our Orthodox Faith.” Mrs. Kallaur and CSHA members hope that the series will increase the personal and collective understanding of the crisis within an Orthodox Christian context, assist parishes in providing spiritual support and practical assistance to those affected, and offer an educational platform for clergy and the faithful alike. The CSHA invites questions, comments and topical contributions, which may be sent to csha@oca.org . Code for blog |
| May 25 is Prison Ministry Awareness Sunday; Resources available Source: OCA Natalya Mihailova 21 May 2014 Each year on the sixth Sunday of Pascha, the Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of the USA calls on all Orthodox parishes to observe Prison Ministry Awareness Sunday, which falls this year on Sunday, May 25. The day highlights the work of the Orthodox Christian Prison Ministry (OCPM), the official Orthodox agency serving the needs of Orthodox Christian inmates, those of other faiths or no faith, and those yet-to-become Orthodox Christians. “Many Orthodox brothers and sisters in prison suffer from the burdens of their consciences, from their confinement, and from their fears of being unable to function in society,” wrote His Grace, Bishop Mark of Philadelphia and Eastern Pennsylvania, Episcopal Liaison for the Assembly of Bishops, and Chaplain Patrick Tutella, OCPM Executive Director, in a letter announcing the day. “By reaching out to these members of the body, we encourage them onto the path of repentance leading to reconciliation and the fullness of life granted by Christ, and we ourselves are reminded of our own need for repentance and forgiveness of sins.” [The complete letter is available in PDF format ]. The OCA Department of Christian Service & Humanitarian Aid (CSHA) joins the Assembly of Bishops in urging the faithful to learn about prison ministry; to pray for the imprisoned, their families, prison chaplains and volunteers; and to financially support OCPM in its Matthew 25 ministries, especially on Awareness Sunday. Visit the OCPM website for the mailing address or to donate online. The CSHA’s Resource Handbook for Ministries features eight Prison Ministry articles providing information and insight on outreach by chaplains and offering suggestions for clergy, lay men and women, and parishes to become involved within prison walls or in other compassionate support programs. If you are interested in spreading the word about Orthodox Prison Ministry and these significant articles, contact the Department of Christian Service and Humanitarian Aid at csha@oca.org with questions, comments or information on other successful prison ministry programs. |
| How parishes can help with Hurricane Sandy relief efforts November 1, 2012 The Orthodox Church in America’s Department of Christian Service and Humanitarian Aid (CSHA) is encouraging all parishes to assist International Orthodox Christian Charities (IOCC) in providing emergency assistance to those suffering as a result of Hurricane Sandy. According to Mrs. Donna Karabin, department chair, IOCC has received initial requests for anticipated shipments of emergency relief items from its ecumenical partners for communities recovering from Hurricane Sandy. IOCC is urging Orthodox Christian parishes to assist by assembling emergency relief items and by making financial donations. “The scenes of destruction that we have witnessed from this superstorm certainly prompt us to keep all those affected in our thoughts and prayers,” said Constantine M. Triantafilou, IOCC Executive Director. “Now is the time to assemble emergency health and infant kits as well as clean-up buckets which will be sorely needed by storm survivors.” Instructions for preparing Emergency Kits may be found on IOCC’s web site at http://www.iocc.org/giftsofheart.aspx . “Parishes may also find helpful information from those who in the past have undertaken Gift of the Heart projects in an article, ‘Providing Disaster Relief with Gift of the Heart Kits,’ that appeared in an earlier edition of the OCA’s Resource Handbook,” added Mrs. Karabin. The article may be accessed at . Financial gifts to help the victims of disasters in the United States, like Hurricane Sandy, may be made to the United States Emergency Response Fund at which, will provide immediate relief as well as long-term support through the provision of emergency aid and recovery assistance. To make a gift, please visit http://www.iocc.org call ,toll free at 1-877-803-IOCC (4622), or mail a check or money order payable to IOCC to PO Box 17398, Baltimore, MD 21297-0429. Questions or comments about parishes’ experiences with the Gift of the Heart project may be directed to the CSHA at csha@oca.org . OCA.org 1 ноября 2012 г. ... Комментарии Мы в соцсетях Подпишитесь на нашу рассылку |
| Exactly five months after Fr. Johns death, on March 31, 1918 — by which time the number of murdered clergymen known to the Holy Synod had already reached fifteen — the first Memorial Liturgy for the New Hieromartyrs and Martyrs in the history of the Russian Orthodox Church in the twentieth century was served in the church of the Moscow Theological Seminary, by the Most Holy Patriarch Tikhon, four other hierarchs, and ten archimandrites and protopresbyters. At the Memorial Liturgy and Panikhida, when the supplicatory prayer was pronounced for the repose of the servants of God who have perished for the Faith and the Orthodox Church, following mention of the first slain hierarch, Metropolitan Vladimir, the first-slain Archpriest, Father John Kochurov, was remembered, who by his passion-bearing death ushered in the service offered by the confessors, the assembly of the Russian New-Martyrs of the twentieth century. 44 The Orthodox Church in America 13 ноября 2015 г. Sources and Literature 1. The central state historical archive of St. Petersburg (CSHA of S.-P.), F. 14 University of Petrograd, 3, f.31575, the personal folder of the student Dmitry Alexandrovich Kochurov. 2. CSHA of S.-P., F.19 The Church Consistory of Petrograd, 113, f.4167, the clergy list of the Holy Transfiguration cathedral in Narva from 1908, f.4333; ibid. from 1916, f.4366, the clergy list of the St. Katherine cathedral in Tsarkoye Selo. 3. CSHA of S.-P., F.139 the Office of the dean of the department of education of St. Petersburg, 1, f.11305, the annual assessment of the condition of the male gymnasium in Narva from 1908. 4. CSHA of S.-P., F.277 St. Petersburg Theological Academy, 1, f.3220, the lists of the seminarians come to the examinations in the St. Petersburg Theological Academy in August of 1891. 5. American Orthodox Messenger (until 1898 The Orthodox American Messenger ), 1896, NN1, 7; N14; 1898, N24; 1899, N11; 1900, N10; 1901, N1; 1902, N8; 1904, N5; 1905 N17; 1906, NN10,11; 1907, N14. |
| 6. Vserosiysky Tserkovno-Obschestvenniy Vestynik , 1917, 2 Nov., 5 Nov., 1 Dec., 15 Dec. 7. Pribavleniye k Tserkovnim vedomostyam , 1918, N5-16. 8. Tsarskoselskoye Delo , 1916, 18 Nov. 9. Tserkovniye vedomosty , 1912, N18; 1916, N18-19; 1917, N48-50; 1918, N15-16. 10. Circulars of the Department of Education of St. Petersburg from 1907. 11. Maltsev, A. The Orthodox Church and Russian establishments abroad (in Russian; St. Petersburg, 1906). The central state historical archive of St. Petersburg (CSHA of S.-P.), F. 14,3, f. 31575, 1.8, 10. CSHA of S.-P., F. 277, 1, f. 3220, par. 1,2,3,4,5,6,8. CSHA of S.-P., F. 19, 113, f. 4167, par. 37. American Orthodox Messenger (AOM), 1907, N14, p. 269. SCHA of S.-P., F. 19, 113, f. 4167, par. 37. AOM, 1898, N24, pp. 681-682. AOM, 1896, N7, p. 117. AOM, 1898, N24, p. 682. Ibid. AOM, 1897, N14, p. 290. AOM, 1900, N10, p. 215. AOM, 1896, N1, p. 14; CSHA of S.-P., F. 19, 113, f. 4167, par. 38-39. AOM, 1898, N24, p. 682. AOM 1899, N11, pp. 305-306. AOM, 1901, N1, pp. 26, 32. AOM, 1902, N8, pp. 171-173. A. Maltsev. The Russian Orthodox churches and institutions abroad. St. Petersburg, 1906, p. 419 (in Russian). AOM, 1905, N17, pp. 340-341. CSHA of S.-P., F. 19, 113, f. 4167, par. 40. AOM, 1904, N5, p. 81. AOM, 1905, N17, pp. 340-342. AOM, 1906, N10, p. 206. AOM, 1906, N11, p. 229. AOM, 1907, N14, pp. 269-270. CSHA of S.-P., F. 19, 113, f. 4167, par. 37. Circular of the Department of Education of St. Petersburg, from 1907, p. 294. CSHA of S.-P., F. 139, 1, f. 11305, par. 28. Tserkovniye vedornosty , a newspaper, 1912, N18, p. 128. Ibid., 1916, N18-19, p. 167. CSHA of S.-P., F. 19, 113, f. 4333, p. 12. Tsarskoselskoye Delo , 1916, 18 Nov. CSHA of S.-P., F. 19, 113, f. 4366, 1.20. Vserosiysky Tserkovno-0bschestvenniy vestnik (VTOV), 1917, 5 Nov. Ibid. Ibid. Ibid. AOM, 1905, N17, pp. 340-342. VTOV, 1917, 5 Nov. VTOV, 1917, 1 Dec. VTOV, 1917, 7 Nov. Tserkovniye vedomosty , 1917, N48-50. pp. 2-3. |
| Participating in the discussion on the theme on the agenda are archpastors, clergy and laity - members of the Synodal Biblical-Theological Commission; representatives of theological schools of the Russian Orthodox Church; faculty of higher education institutions, clergy from the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, and guests from Local Orthodox Churches. Among those present are Patriarchal Vicar of the Metropolis of Moscow Metropolitan Juvenaly of Krutitsy and Kolomna; chancellor of the Moscow Patriarchate Metropolitan Dionisy of Voskresensk; Metropolitan Isidor of Smolensk and Dorogobuzh, Metropolitan Ambrose of Tver and Kashin; DECR vice-chairman Archbishop Leonid of Vladikavkaz and Alania; Archbishop Matfey of Yegoryevsk; Archbishop Aksiy of Podolsk and Lubertsy; Bishop Nikolay of Balashikha and Orekhovo-Zuevo; rector of Moscow Theological Academy and Seminary Bishop Feodorit of Zvenigorod; deputy chancellor of the Moscow Patriarchate Bishop Savva of Zelenograd; chairman of the Synodal Department for Youth Bishop Seraphim of Istra; Bishop Peter of Lukhovtsy; Bishop Feofilakt of Mytishchi; head of the Moscow Patriarchate Administrative Secretariat Bishop Foma of Odintsovo and Krasnogorsk; rector of St. Petersburg Theological Academy and Seminary Bishop Siluan of Petergof; Bishops Foma of Sergiev Posad and Dmitrov, Constantine of Zaraisk, Paramon of Naro-Fominsk, Porfiry of Ezersk, Roman of Serpukhov. Taking part in the conference remotely are Patriarchal Exarch of All Belarus Metropolitan Veniamin of Minsk and Slutsk, Metropolitan Alexander of Riga and All Latvia; Metropolitan Nikoloz of Akhalkalaki and Kumurdo (Georgian Orthodox Church); hierarchs of the Orthodox Church of Cyprus - Metropolitan Nikiforos of Kykkos and Tillyria and Metropolitan Isaiah of Tamassos and Oreini, Metropolitan Augustine of Belaya Tserkov and Boguslavsk, Metropolitan Sergiy of Voronezh and Liski, Metropolitan Andrew of Gori and Ateni (Georgian Orthodox Church), chairman of the Synodal Department for Monasteries and Monkhood Metropolitan Feognost of Kashira; Metropolitan George of Nizhniy Novgorod and Arzamas; Metropolitan Zinovy of Saransk and Mordovia; Archbishop Seraphim of Kaliningrad and Baltijsk, administrator of the diocese of Berlin and Germany Archbishop Tikhon of Ruza, Archbishop Theodosius of Sebastia (Orthodox Church of Jerusalem), Bishop Irinej of Bac (Serbian Orthodox Church), rector of Kiev Theological Academy and Seminary Bishop Silvestr of Belgorod, Bishop Seraphim of Bobruisk and Bykhov; Bishop Veniamin of Romanovo-Borisoglebsk, chairman of the Synodal Department for Cooperation with the Armed Forces and Law-Enforcement Bishop Savvaty of Bronnitsy; Bishops Mitrofan of Gatchina and Luga, Augustine of Gorodetz and Vetluga, Anthony of Grodno and Volovysk, and Herman of Sochi and Tuapse. |
| On the 29 th of October, the Primate of the Assyrian Church of the East led the celebration of the 25th anniversary of the opening of the Moscow Assyrian Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Mat Maryam) - the Representative Office of the Assyrian Church in Russia. His Holiness Catholicos Mar Awa performed the rite of the great consecration of the renovated temple altar and Divine Liturgy in the company of members of the Assyrian delegation. Representatives of the Russian Orthodox Church who accompanied the Assyrian First Hierarch were present, as well as the Ambassador of Iraq to Russia K. al-Janabi, the leadership of the Representation of the Kurdistan Region in Russia and the Consul of the State of Palestine in the Russian Federation J. Malki. At the end of the service a solemn act, reception and meeting of the Catholicos-Patriarch Mar Awa with members of the youth movement of the parish of Mat Maryam were held in the representative premises of the temple complex. The hosts of the festive evening were the rector of the temple, the representative of the Assyrian Church in Russia, Chorbishop Samano Odisho and the head of the parish community churchwarden V.V. Ilyushin. On the 30 th of October, a delegation fr om the Assyrian Church of the East visited the churches of the Patriarchal Chernigov Palace and the Ss. Cyril and Methodius Institute of Postgraduate Studies. The meeting of Catholicos-Patriarch Mar Awa with the members of the faculty and students took place in the Assembly Hall of the Institute. The meeting was followed by a conversation between the distinguished guest and Archpriest Maxim Kozlov, Rector of Instutute, during which the parties discussed issues of academic co-operation between the educational institutions of the Russian Orthodox Church and the Assyrian Church of the East. In the context of his visit to the Institute of Postgraduate Studies, Catholicos Mar Awa also had a conversation with S.G. Alferov, a lecturer of the joint course of the DECR and the Institute called " Ancient Oriental Churches " . The Primate of the Assyrian Church welcomed the teaching of this course, noting that the initiator of its establishment back in the early 1970s at the Moscow and Leningrad Theological Academies was Metropolitan Nikodim (Rotov), of blessed memory - mentor of His Holiness Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus " Kirill. His Holiness the Catholicos also approved the idea of creating a special educational programme within the framework of the course, dedicated to the study of the heritage of the Syrian Christian tradition, and expressed readiness to assist in the organisation of joint thematic events, including in Iraq. |
| On March 13, 2013, the Patriarch of Antioch urgently summoned the Holy Council, at which it was decided to consider the actions of Jerusalem as an encroachment on integrity of the Church of Antioch; the Council called upon the See of Jerusalem to settle the conflict (which might lead to break-off of the Eucharistic communion between the sister Churches) as soon as possible and to reconsider the Geneva agreements, worked out by the preparatory commissions to the Great, Holy, pan-Orthodox Council. At the earliest possible date delegations of the Patriarchate of Antioch held negotiations with other Local Orthodox Churches, which included the issue of above-mentioned actions of the Church of Jerusalem, which posed a threat to integrity of One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Universal Church. The meeting of the Holy Council of Antioch in June 2013 again discussed the problem of the so-called " Archdiocese of Qatar " . The fathers made the decision to respond to the initiative of the Ecumenical Patriarch and to be present at the negotiations with the delegation of the Church of Jerusalem at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Greece on June 21, 2013. The negotiations, held at the time appointed, led to signing of the agreement, which ordered abolition of the " Qatar Archdiocese " of Jerusalem as well as settlement of the presence of the Patriarchate of Jerusalem on the territory of Qatar according to the established Church tradition. Nevertheless, the See of Jerusalem, in spite of all efforts of the Greek government and the Patriarchate of Constantinople, refused to implement the requirements of the signed agreement. Therefore, in accordance with the canon law of the Church, the Holy Council, assembled in October 2013, directed to make up a special commission, authorized to solve the emerged problem within two months; otherwise, the Church of Antioch, in its turn, promised to break off the Eucharistic communion with Jerusalem. Receiving the invitation to the Phanar assembly of heads of the Local Orthodox Churches (March 6-9 this year), the Patriarch of Antioch postponed the implementation of the decision of the Council of October last year. However, the above-mentioned problem was not discussed at the Phanar and was not included in its agenda, in spite of requests of the Antiochian delegation. The latter was given by the Ecumenical Patriarch the message of the Patriarch of Jerusalem of February 29 (sic.), in which he announced inclusion of " Syria and Arabia " into the jurisdiction of Jerusalem. Later, the Antiochian side refused to sign the resulting document of the assembly and to take part in the joint solemn service on the feast of Triumph of Orthodoxy. |
| in the resolution of the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church of 7th November 2007 (Minutes No. 108) that came in response to the establishment of the dioceses within the “Metropolis of Bessarabia” in the territory of the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine with centres in the cities of Bli, Cantemir and Dubsari regardless of the fact that those territories already had lawfully consecrated Orthodox bishops and the names of those cities were part of the titles of the diocesan bishops of the Orthodox Church of Moldova. In its statement of 7th November 2007, the Synod of the Russian Church also pointed out that the Diocese of Southern Bessarabia included “‘former Diocese of Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi and Izmail’ – the area which is part of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church and has its bishops whose titles contain the names of those cities;” by the Bishops’ Council in 2008, which expressed concern over the unilateral actions of the Romanian Patriarchate that undermined traditional principles underlying the relationships between the Orthodox Churches and jeopardized the Orthodox unity in general. On 25th October 2023, the Synod of the Orthodox Church of Moldova (Minutes No. 11) defrocked six clerics who without permission had joined the “Metropolis of Bessarabia” of the Romanian Patriarchate and had been received without canonical letters of release. The decision was based on the following canonical rules: Apostolic Canons 12, 15, 32, 33; Canons 11, 13, 20, 23 of the Fourth Ecumenical Council; Canon 17 of the Council in Trullo; Canons 3, 6, 7, 8, 11 of the Council of Antioch; Canons 41, 42 of the Council of Laodicea; Canon 9 of the Council of Sardica; Canons 23, 106 of the Council of Carthage; Canons 15, 16 of the First Ecumenical Council. Several other clerics of the Orthodox Church of Moldova who later transferred without permission to the “Metropolis of Bessarabia” were suspended from service pending their contrition. Much to their sorrow, the members of the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church stated that the aforementioned resolutions of the Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church were in direct contravention of the holy canons, in particular, Apostolic Canons 11, 12, 31, 32, Canon 2 of the Second Ecumenical Council; Canons 5, 8 of the Third Ecumenical Council; Canon 13 of the Fourth Ecumenical Council; Canon 17 of the Quinisext Council (in Trullo); and Canons 13, 22 of the Council of Antioch. |
| Our society would accept this tactics as appropriate at the period of lack of allies and resources to revise foreign-policy advances of 1990s, but it has bitter experience of Kozyrev’s foreign policy. The anxiety is quite understandable. It’s useful to to remind again and again of historical and legal parameters of the problem that, in fact, arose in consequence of nihilism and lack of will of the first decade of perestroyka. And we are faced with estimating and feeling of this consequence. The active balanced policy of Russia in the entire Asian-Pacific region, long-awaited return of multivector policy of Russia as a great Eurasian power has, in fact, impediments because of ambiguity in Russian-Japanese relations. But the hope of Japan to get Kuril Islands was the result of Russian policy of the beginning of 90s itself, when M. Gorbachev suddenly declared that the “territorial problem” had existed. This hope is cherished with open support of the USA, which has the most serious interests in Pacific region. And, concerning this problem, besides sharp weakening of Russian strategical positions, making concessions to Japan would be a precedent of extraordinary importance for changes in territorial status quo in Europe. Destruction of the Yalta-Potsdam system and appearance of new states in Europe weren’t juridical revision of the territorial results of the World War II, that’s why all these dramatic for Russia events couldn’t cause automatic undermining of legitimacy of the post-war settlement of territorial problems. It would cause a different effect to satisfy all the claims of Japan to “return” the Islands that means to undermine the principle of indisputability of the results of the World War II. It would also give other states an opportunity to call in question other aspects of a territorial status quo. Terms and concepts However archaic this method seems to supporters of “globalization” and substitution of rights of nations and national interests by “human rights” and “interests of universal democracy”, the principle of indisputability of the results of the World War II - the basis of all post-war international relations keeps its fundamental importance; the term “to return” must be withdrawn from use of Russian officials. Because the use of this very term is nothing less than a conceptual revision of the results of WW II, meaning indirect recognition of new Japan as a continuer of its predecessor – the state of Japan that unleashed the war and surrendered without any condition. |
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