| After 15 years as an Anglican priest, including six years as the rector of Trinity Church in Rock Island, the Rev. Thomas Janikowski is converting to Russian Orthodoxy.By the time he and his wife, Shelly, get back from a New York trip, he will be an ordained deacon and priest in the Russian Orthodox church’s Western Rite Communities. He will celebrate the Liturgy of St. Gregory the Great on Sunday as a fully ordained priest of the St. Athanasius parish at 228 W. 15th St., Davenport. Sunday Matins will be sung at 8:15 a.m. with a Divine Liturgy at 9 followed by food and fellowship. The church — once a tattoo parlor named “Joe’s Garage” — is a one-story building with plenty of parking next door, so no stairs are required, Rev. Janikowski said. Learning to speak Russian, he said, is not necessary; everything is in English. Services are conducted largely by Gregorian chant or sung, with the church following the Julian calendar that has Jan. 7 as Christmas Day. “We get all the nice days for Christmas shopping,” Rev. Janikowski said. The church also practices more iconography, he said, and communion is served only to Russian Orthodox church members. Rev. Janikowski was a choral scholar and said he feels extremely confident by chanting and singing everything. He said he’d always wanted to be in the Russian Orthodox Church body and particularly had felt drawn to it for the past 10 years or so. The orthodoxy has remained undivided for 2,000 years, Rev. Janikowski said. It’s reverent and timeless, he said, yet remains mysterious. Code for blog Since you are here… …we do have a small request. More and more people visit Orthodoxy and the World website. However, resources for editorial are scarce. In comparison to some mass media, we do not make paid subscription. It is our deepest belief that preaching Christ for money is wrong. Having said that, Pravmir provides daily articles from an autonomous news service, weekly wall newspaper for churches, lectorium, photos, videos, hosting and servers. Editors and translators work together towards one goal: to make our four websites possible - Pravmir.ru, Neinvalid.ru, Matrony.ru and Pravmir.com. Therefore our request for help is understandable. |
| The Ecumenical Range and Intent Recognition of need for the Fathers’ wisdom ranges over many diverse forms of Christianity. This has necessitated the cooperation of scholars of widely diverse Christian communities to accomplish the task fairly and in a balanced way. It has been a major ecumenical undertaking. Under this classic textual umbrella, this series brings together in common spirit Christians who have long distanced themselves from each other through separate and often competing church memories. Under this welcoming umbrella are gathering conservative Protestants with Eastern Orthodox, Baptists with Roman Catholics, Reformed with Arminians and charismatics, Anglicans with Pentccostals, high with low church adherents, and premodern traditionalists with postmodern classicists. How is it that such varied Christians are able to find inspiration and common faith in these texts? Why are these texts and studies so intrinsically ecumenical, so catholic in their cultural range? Because all of these traditions have an equal right to appeal to the early history of Christian exegesis. All of these traditions can, without a sacrifice of intellect, come together to study texts common to them all. These classic texts have a right to the Fathers. Athanasius is not owned by Copts, nor is Augustine owned by North Africans. These minds are the common possession of the whole church. The Orthodox do not have exclusive rights over Basil, nor do the Romans over Gregory the Great. Christians everywhere have equal claim to these riches and are discovering them and glimpsing their unity in the body of Christ. From many varied Christian traditions this project has enlisted as volume editors a team of leading international scholars in ancient Christian writings and the history of exegesis. Among Eastern Orthodox contributors are Professors Andrew Louth of Durham University in England and George Dragas of Holy Cross (Greek Orthodox) School of Theology in Brookline, Massachusetts. Among Roman Catholic scholars are Benedictine scholar Mark Sheridan of the San Anselmo University of Rome, Jesuit Joseph Lienhard of Fordham University in New York, Cistercian Father Francis Martin of the Catholic University of America. |
| Tweet Нравится St. Gregory the Theologian the Archbishop of Constantinople Commemorated on January 25 Saint Gregory the Theologian, Archbishop of Constantinople, a great Father and teacher of the Church, was born into a Christian family of eminent lineage in the year 329, at Arianzos (not far from the city of Cappadocian Nazianzos). His father, also named Gregory (January 1), was Bishop of Nazianzus. The son is the Saint Gregory Nazianzus encountered in Patristic theology. His pious mother, Saint Nonna (August 5), prayed to God for a son, vowing to dedicate him to the Lord. Her prayer was answered, and she named her child Gregory. When the child learned to read, his mother presented him with the Holy Scripture. Saint Gregory received a complete and extensive education: after working at home with his uncle Saint Amphilochius (November 23), an experienced teacher of rhetoric, he then studied in the schools of Nazianzos, Caesarea in Cappadocia, and Alexandria. Then the saint decided to go to Athens to complete his education. On the way from Alexandria to Greece, a terrible storm raged for many days. Saint Gregory, who was just a catechumen at that time, feared that he would perish in the sea before being cleansed in the waters of Baptism. Saint Gregory lay in the ship’s stern for twenty days, beseeching the merciful God for salvation. He vowed to dedicate himself to God, and was saved when he invoked the name of the Lord. Saint Gregory spent six years in Athens studying rhetoric, poetry, geometry, and astronomy. His teachers were the renowned pagan rhetoricians Gymorias and Proeresias. Saint Basil, the future Archbishop of Caesarea (January 1) also studied in Athens with Saint Gregory. They were such close friends that they seemed to be one soul in two bodies. Julian, the future emperor (361-363) and apostate from the Christian Faith, was studying philosophy in Athens at the same time. Upon completing his education, Saint Gregory remained for a certain while at Athens as a teacher of rhetoric. He was also familiar with pagan philosophy and literature. |
| St Gregory Palamas the Archbishop of Thessalonica Saint Gregory Palamas Saint Gregory Palamas, Archbishop of Thessalonica, was born in the year 1296 in Constantinople. St Gregory’s father became a prominent dignitary at the court of Andronicus II Paleologos (1282-1328), but he soon died, and Andronicus himself took part in the raising and education of the fatherless boy. Endowed with fine abilities and great diligence, Gregory mastered all the subjects which then comprised the full course of medieval higher education. The emperor hoped that the youth would devote himself to government work. But Gregory, barely twenty years old, withdrew to Mount Athos in the year 1316 (other sources say 1318) and became a novice in the Vatopedi monastery under the guidance of the monastic Elder St Nicodemus of Vatopedi (July 11). There he was tonsured and began on the path of asceticism. A year later, the holy Evangelist John the Theologian appeared to him in a vision and promised him his spiritual protection. Gregory’s mother and sisters also became monastics. After the demise of the Elder Nicodemus, St Gregory spent eight years of spiritual struggle under the guidance of the Elder Nicephorus, and after the latter’s death, Gregory transferred to the Lavra of St Athanasius (July 5). Here he served in the trapeza, and then became a church singer. But after three years, he resettled in the small skete of Glossia, striving for a greater degree of spiritual perfection. The head of this monastery began to teach the young man the method of unceasing prayer and mental activity, which had been cultivated by monastics, beginning with the great desert ascetics of the fourth century: Evagrius Pontikos and St Macarius of Egypt (January 19). Later on, in the eleventh century St Simeon the New Theologian (March 12) provided detailed instruction in mental activity for those praying in an outward manner, and the ascetics of Athos put it into practice. The experienced use of mental prayer (or prayer of the heart), requiring solitude and quiet, is called “Hesychasm” (from the Greek “hesychia” meaning calm, silence), and those practicing it were called “hesychasts.” |
| Representative of the Russian Orthodox Church meets with Melkite Patriarch Gregory III Laham Source: DECR Natalya Mihailova 05 September 2014 On 27 August 2014, Hegumen Arseniy (Sokolov), representative of the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia to the Patriarch of Great Antioch and All the East, met with the Patriarch of the Melkite Greek Catholic Church, His Beatitude Gregory III Laham. The meeting took place at the Patriarchal summer residence in Ain Traz, Lebanon. His Beatitude Patriarch Gregory III Laham told Hegumen Arseniy about the difficult situation of the Melkite Christians in war-torn Syria and Iraq. On behalf of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia, Fr. Arseniy assured Patriarch Gregory III that the Russian Orthodox Church would continue to express her solidarity with Christians in the Middle East, to pray for them and raise her voice in their defence. Hegumen Arseniy mentioned the humanitarian aid that the Russian Orthodox Church together with the Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society rendered to the Syrian people. In particular, he mentioned that the Syrian orphans, children of the fallen servicemen, had spent their summer vacations in Russia . The Representation of the Russian Orthodox Church took an active part in the organization of their trip, web-site of the Representation of the Russian Orthodox Church in Beirut reports. Tweet Donate Share Code for blog Representative of the Russian Orthodox Church meets with Melkite Patriarch Gregory III Laham Natalya Mihailova The meeting took place at the Patriarchal summer residence in Ain Traz, Lebanon. His Beatitude Patriarch Gregory III Laham told Hegumen Arseniy about the difficult situation of the Melkite Christians in war-torn Syria and Iraq. On behalf of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia, ... Since you are here… …we do have a small request. More and more people visit Orthodoxy and the World website. However, resources for editorial are scarce. In comparison to some mass media, we do not make paid subscription. It is our deepest belief that preaching Christ for money is wrong. |
| Orthodox Christianity and the Old English Church On November 8, 2010, five Anglican bishops resigned from their positions and entered the Roman Catholic Church. This change had been brewing ever since the Anglican Church began to make unprecedented changes, most sharply the the ordination of women and homosexuals into the priesthood and even bishoprics. Traditionalists, the departing bishops expressed their regret, but felt they had to do it. Their future is uncertain, as is the future of those traditionally minded Anglicans who remain in their own Church. In view of these historical changes, Pravoslavie.ru/OrthoChristian.com recommends a work by Fr. Andrew Phillips, an Orthodox priest who serves in St John's Orthodox Church, Colchester, England. His booklet provides an insightful overview of Christian history in England; it sheds light upon the true tradition of Anglo-Saxon Christianity, and how the English could regain it. The booklet can be read in electronic form on his website: ‘The Kingdom of the (Old) English is the Kingdom of God, and God has been pleased to make provision for the future.’ The Vision of St Peter to Bishop Berhtwald St. Brihtwold (Berhtwald), Bishop of Ramsbury, Wiltshire. The ecclesiastical history of Pre-Conquest England, and indeed of the British Isles as a whole, is often presented as the history of two great centres, Rome and Canterbury. It is, however, our view that another great ecclesiastical centre deserves to be taken into consideration in the history of the Old English Church, both indirectly at its foundation and directly at its end. This centre, whose importance has been greatly neglected in the writing of Western history for several centuries, is Constantinople, the New Rome of St Constantine the Great. Indeed, it is our belief that if we are only now awakening to the importance of this centre and all that it represents, then it is also because we are only now awakening to the significance of the first centuries of Roman Christianity among the Old English, awakening to the historical meaning of the Conversion of Anglo-Saxon England by the Apostles. For, as it would seem, there are deep but clear currents linking the Apostles of our land from Old Rome, and the City of Constantinople, New Rome. At the end of the Old English period, these currents appear to be all the more evident, as we shall see. This is not to say that we in any way deny the pre-eminent role of the Papacy in the Conversion of England, rather we wish to underline it but also to make a distinction. This distinction is between the Papacy of St Gregory the Great, and that of Hildebrand, Gregory VII, in the eleventh century. The Rome of St Gregory the Great was an integral and essential part of a Christian Commonwealth, which since the mideleventh century has been no more. Since then, moreover, the Roman Patriarchate has itself fallen into several parts, one of them being Canterbury. |
| In Church and at Home: Liturgical Resources for Great Lent Source: Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America Subdn. Peter Samore 04 March 2021 “O Lord of hosts, be with us, for we have none other help in times of sorrow but Thee. O Lord of hosts, have mercy on us.” – from Great Compline Great Lent begins on Monday, March 15. Orthodox Christians worldwide use this time for self-reflection, fasting, almsgiving, repentance and purification in anticipation of the celebration of the Resurrection of our Lord, God and Savior Jesus Christ. Blessed by His Eminence Metropolitan Joseph, the Online Liturgical Guide has provided a wealth of resources to guide clergy and laity through prayer and worship during this sacred time of year. Governmental restrictions on gatherings still widely vary across North America in hopes of stopping the spread of the Coronavirus. That’s why the OLG publishes guides for Readers Services for the faithful to use at home without the presence of a priest. Scroll to “Seasonal Liturgical Resources” to find instructions for readers versions of Great Compline for Mondays-Thursdays of Great Lent, as well as for Little Compline with the Akathist Hymn for Fridays in Great Lent, which are especially helpful in times of great affliction. For weekends and the great feast of the Annunciation, the OLG offers instructions for readers vespers, orthros and typika under “Permanent Liturgical Resources.” Thus, the faithful can stand in front of their icons at home and still participate in the life of the Church during this difficult time. Even if we cannot sing the words, we can certainly read them plainly and reverently. On weekdays of Great Lent, the Orthodox Church does not celebrate a festive Divine Liturgy (except for the Annunciation). However, so as not to deprive the clergy and faithful of Holy Communion, parishes offer the Presanctified Divine Liturgy of St. Gregory the Dialogist on Wednesday nights, using a Eucharist that was consecrated the previous Sunday. Parishes can offer this same Liturgy on Fridays in Great Lent before Little Compline with the Akathist Hymn. On Saturdays, parishes can celebrate the Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom. On the first Saturday, we commemorate the miracle of the boiled wheat (kolyva) wrought by St. Theodore the Soldier. (Read about the miracle in the Synaxarion .) |
| Tweet Нравится Triple feast at Poland’s Supral Monastery Moscow, February 13, 2017 Photo: http://www.orthodox.pl/ There were sevearl causes for celebration at the Annunciation Monastery in Supral in northeastern Poland on Sunday. First, as in all churches celebrating on the Old Calendar, the Three Holy Hierarchs—Sts. Basil the Great, Gregory the Theologian, and John Chrysostom, three of the Church’s greatest saints and theologians—were celebrated, along with the consecration of the renovated Church of St. John the Theologian, and the name’s day of the monastery’s hierarch Bishop Gregory of Supral. Metropolitan Sawa of Warsaw and All Poland performed the consecration of the St. John the Theologian church before serving the Divine Liturgy at the monastery. The church was initially built in 1501 and was rebuilt in 1888. The monastery was taken over by the state in 1919, reestablished in 1984, and returned to the Church in 1993, and reconstruction has been underway since then. The site of the Polish Orthodox Church reports that the metropolitan was assisted in consecrating the temple by Archbishop James of Biaostocko–Gdaska, Bishop Gregory Supral, and Bishop Jerzy of the Ordinariate of the Polish Army, as well as a number of priests and deacons. In accordance with Church Tradition, a relic of St. Gabriel Zabudowskiego, martyred at the age of six in 1690 in Poland, was placed in the altar. After the Divine Liturgy a festive Moleben was also served to the Holy Hierarchs celebrated that day. His Eminence spoke of the hard times of the rebuilding of Supral Monastery, expressing hope that the day’s festivities would become a “prelude” to the next, namely the consecration of the monastery’s Annunciation Cathedral, where frescoes are currently being restored. Metropolitan Sawa thanked all involved in the repairs to the temple and the day’s festivities, followed by a reflection on the day’s Prodigal Son Gospel reading, calling all who have left the Church to return to their Mother, because “the Orthodox Church is the path to life and salvation.” He recalled that the Orthodox Church survived in Poland only through the faith and sacrifice of their fathers, and thus the faithful are responsible for that which they received from their ancestors. |
| Primate of Russian Church celebrates Divine Liturgy at the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour on Christmas Eve admin 09 January 2013 January 6, 2013 In the morning of 6 January 2013, the thirty-first Sunday after Pentecost, feast day of the Holy Fathers and Christmas Eve, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia celebrated the Divine Liturgy and Great Vespers at the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow. Concelebrating with His Holiness were Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, chairman of the Department for External Church Relations; Bishop Ignaty of Bronnitsy, chairman of the Synodal Department for Youth Affairs; Archpriest Mikhail Ryazantsev, sacristan of the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour; and Moscow clerics. During the Liturgy, the Primate of the Russian Church ordained into priesthood deacon Andrei Barkhatnov of the Stavropegic Convent of the Protecting Veil of the Mother of God. Praying at the service was Mr. Vadim Yakunin, chairman of the Board of Directors of “Protek” company, co-founder of the St Gregory the Theologian Charity Foundation. After the Liturgy and Great Vespers, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill congratulated the clergymen and laymen on the coming Feast of the Nativity of Christ: “Your Eminence and Your Grace! Dear Fathers, Brothers and Sisters! I cordially greet you and congratulate you on the coming great Feast of the Nativity of Christ. Today we celebrate Christmas Eve and commemorate all forerunners of Christ according to the flesh, from Abraham to David, from David to the exile to Babylon, and from the exile to Babylon to the Nativity of Christ the Saviour, thus entering the history. This helps us understand that the Saviour is a part of our history because He is a human being according to the flesh, had relatives and forerunners, and “from the Virgin took flesh to dwell with us”, as the great Andrew of Crete said. Today we particularly glorify His name, because He was incarnate, became one of us and sacrificed His human life for our sins. This great mystery of the Incarnation of God helps us understand the raison d’etre of human history. This does not imply getting richer, gaining more power, or conquering other nations, as many people thought and still think, but the understanding of the will of God and his Divine Providence about the world and human beings. Through the Nativity of Christ the Saviour we can understand God’s predestination and follow it, and comply with his law and will for humanity. |
| St. Basil the Great Many things are said and written about the great Cappodocian Father of the 4th century St. Basil the Great of Caesarea. In Basil the Great, we find the consummate theologian, liturgical scholar, ascetic and evangelist of the Faith. Too often, however, one more aspect of Basil is left overlooked and that is Basil as the first great Christian philanthropist. It is with this focus on Basil’s care, concern and heart for the poor, the underpriviledged, the sick, the unemployed, the homeless and disenfranchised that marks the level of profound theological reflection and insight that Basil exudes in his writings. St. Basil the Great’s Early Life Let us first, however, examine the context of the world in which Basil was born and matured in the Christian Faith so that we may better understand his notion of philanthropy. Basil was born into a wealthy established noble Greek Christian family in the city of Pontus in Asia Minor (modern day Turkey) in the year 330 A.D. By this time, nearly two decades had passed since the Emperor Constantine’s Edict of Milan which legalized Christianity in the Roman Empire. It was not long after this that Christianity would become the official religion of the Roman Empire. Basil’s maternal grandfather was martyred for his unwillingness to deny the Faith in the years prior to the legalization of Christianity. Macrina his widowed maternal grandmother and his pious parents raised Basil and his four siblings in the Christian Faith. In all there were nine members in his family who would become recognized saints, especially of note was his sister Macrina (who was named after their maternal grandmother). Basil would go on to study in the great prominent intellectual centers of the day such as Athens and Alexandria. During which time meeting and cultivating life-long friendships with luminaries such as St. Gregory of Nazianzus. He would finally complete his studies and open a law practice and tutorial service in rhetoric in the city of Caesarea. His life would radically change direction upon his meeting with the pious and charismatic bishop Evstathios of Sevasteia. After which, Basil would write that as a result of meeting with Evstathios, “I beheld the wonderful light of the Gospel truth and I recognized the nothingness of the wisdom of the princes of this world.” 1 |
|
|
