| Photo: eadiocese.org Over the course of nine days – November 21-30 – the Kursk Root Icon of the Mother of God, one of the most ancient holy icons of the Russian Orthodox Church (1295 A.D.) visited St. John the Baptist Cathedral in Washington, DC. Parishioners diligently prepared for the arrival of the wonderworking image. News of the icon’s impending arrival quickly spread, in order to alert as many of the faithful as possible of their opportunity to pray before this sacred 13th century icon. Several years ago, the Primate of the Russian Church Abroad, His Eminence, Metropolitan Hilarion, appointed the holiday of Thanksgiving and the week following to be the period in which the Kursk Root Icon would pay its annual visit to Washington. His Grace Nicholas, Bishop of Manhattan, since 2010 the guardian of the wonderworking icon, arrived on Wednesday evening, November 21, on the feast of the Holy Archangel Michael and the other Bodiless Powers of Heaven. The moment of the icon’s arrival coincided with the conclusion of the baptism of the infant Michael, who was blessed with the icon, much to his parents’ untold joy. The following day, on the American civil holiday of Thanksgiving, the people of God began to gather at 11 o’clock for the triumphal greeting and first moleben and akathist before the Kursk Root Icon. After the service, worshippers gathered in the parish hall for the traditional festal luncheon. Friday, November 23, was dedicated to visitation by the Kursk Root Icon of sick and elderly parishioners who were not able to personally attend the church services and venerate the holy image. That same evening, Bishop Nicholas took the Kursk Icon to the parish of the Holy Apostles in Beltsville, MD, where a moleben and akathist were served to the Most Holy Theotokos. The following day, November 24, the feast of the myrrh-streaming Montreal-Iveron Icon of the Mother of God, the Kursk Icon was brought to St. John the Baptist Cathedral for Divine Liturgy, and placed in the center of the church, next to an exact copy of the Montreal Icon, which had been painted on Mount Athos to mark the first anniversary of the murder of its faithful guardian, Jose Muñoz-Cortes. It was endearing to see both images placed together, these primary holy of the icons of the Russian Church Abroad. That same day, cathedral rector Archpriest Victor Potapov was celebrating his namesday (Holy Martyr Victor of Damascus). Praying at Liturgy were His Eminence, Metropolitan Jonah former primate of the Orthodox Church in America; retired) and His Grace Nicholas, Bishop of Manhattan. Upon conclusion of Liturgy, Fr. Victor delivered a sermon dedicated to the significant of these two highly venerated icons for Russia and the Russian Diaspora. |
| Jordanville, NY: Washington Parish’s 20th Annual Pilgrimage to Jose Muñoz-Cortes’ Grave Source: Eastern American Diocese, ROCOR In 2018, the children of the Church mark the 36th anniversary of the appearance of the myrrh-streaming Montreal-Iveron Icon of the Mother of God (November 24, 1982), the 21st anniversary of the martyric death of its guardian, Brother Jose Muñoz-Cortes (October 31, 1997), and the 11th anniversary of the appearance of the myrrh-streaming Hawaiian-Iveron Icon of the Mother of God (October 6, 2007). Preparations for the Washington Cathedral of St. John the Baptist’s 20th annual pilgrimage to Holy Trinity Monastery in Jordanville, NY began long before that event. Registration opened after the parish’s patronal feast of the Beheading of St. John the Forerunner & Baptist of the Lord, and in a matter of days, all of the seats on the tour bus had been reserved. In preparation for the two-day visit to the “Diasporan Lavra,” provisions had to be purchased and food prepared for the many pilgrims and for the monastic brotherhood. From the very first of the pilgrimages, this had been the parish’s practice, so as not to excessively distract the monks from their vocation of prayer; it was a practice requested by the ever-memorable abbot of Holy Trinity Monastery and First Hierarch of ROCOR, Metropolitan Laurus (Skurla; +2008). One week before the Washington pilgrimage, on October 27/28, Archpriest Serge Lukianov brought a group of parishioners from the Diocesan Cathedral of St. Alexander Nevsky in Howell, NJ to the “Diasporan Lavra” to honor the memory of Jose Muñoz-Cortes. On Friday, November 2, the eve of the pilgrimage to Holy Trinity Monastery, pilgrims who lived far from Washington arrived in the nation’s capital to spend the night in the parish house, to go to Confession, and to join in preparations. The local group of pilgrims was joined by Orthodox Christians from the West Coast of the United States, other states, and Canada. The wonderworking, myrrh-streaming “Hawaiian” Iveron Icon of the Mother of God was brought from far-off Honolulu, and arrived at the cathedral at 8:00 PM on November 2. It was brought by Priest Athanasius Kone, the newly appointed rector of the Honolulu parish of the Hawaiian Iveron Icon of the Mother of God. The church was filled to capacity for a moleben and akathist to the Most Holy Theotokos. After the service, four priests of the cathedral heard pilgrims’ confessions. |
| Churches discuss problem of shrinking Christian population in Middle East. Housing recommended Jerusalem (Nov. 1) Only days after a special Vatican Synod on the Middle East ended a week of deliberation about the rapidly shrinking Christian communities in the Arab world and Israel, Christians faced a massacre in Baghdad and renewed troubles in Jerusalem. Fifty-eight people including a priest were reported dead Sunday after Iraqi troops stormed the Catholic Sayidat al-Najat church in Baghdad where gunmen linked with al-Qaida had taken dozens of hostages and begun killing them. It was just the latest bout of the anti-Christian violence that has sparked a massive wave of emigration from the troubled country in recent years. In Jerusalem, it remained unclear what caused a blaze early Friday morning that swept through the Alliance Church on Prophets Street, next door to the Jewish ultra-orthodox neighborhood of Mea Shearim. The use of the church by evangelical and Jewish messianic groups aroused suspicions that the fire could have been started deliberately, but Jerusalem police said their initial investigation did not appear to suggest arson. Decades of discrimination, poverty and occasional violence have taken their toll on the Christians of the Middle East. Tens of thousands have left the region in recent years. Reversing the decline of the rapidly shrinking Christian communities in Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq, Egypt and the Holy Land were high on the agenda of last week's Vatican Synod. While the problem of violence in Iraq and elsewhere seems intractable for many Christians, in the Holy Land, church officials have hit on a novel solution: real estate. Churches in Jerusalem and the West Bank, alarmed by the rapid rate of Christian emigration and the creeping loss of some church-owned land to Palestinian gangsters, have initiated a major building program to provide affordable housing to Christian families. A 2006 survey carried out by Sabeel, a Christian think-tank in Jerusalem, showed that the 2005 Christian population of 160,000 in Israel and the West Bank had barely grown since 1945 due to massive emigration caused by continuous warfare, occupation and discrimination. More Palestinian Christians now live in Chile than in the Holy Land, where Christians account for less than 2 percent of the population. In cities like Bethlehem and Ramallah, which a generation ago had Christian majorities, they are now outnumbered by Muslims. |
| On the Life, Glorification, and Incorrupt Relics of St. Mardarije of Libertyville St. Mardarije, being led by the hand by St. Sava to offer the monastery in Libertyville to the Lord. Photo: miloje.org At the May 29, 2015 session of the Holy Synod of the Serbian Orthodox Church, the names of Archimandrite Sebastian (Dabovich) and Bishop Mardarije (Uskokovic), clergymen and preachers of the Gospel, God-pleasing servants of holy life, and inspirers of many missionaries, were added to the calendar of saints of the Orthodox Church. The annual commemorations of St. Mardarije of Libertyville, Bishop of America and Canada, and St. Sebastian of San Francisco and Jackson are observed on November 29/December 12 and November 17/30 respectively. The glorification celebration of St. Sebastian occurred on Saturday, September 5, 2015 at St. Stephen's Serbian Orthodox Cathedral, Alhambra, California. Now the Serbian Orthodox Diocese of New Gracanica and Midwestern America invites all to participate in the Pan-Orthodox glorification of St. Mardarije of Libertyville and All-America, to be celebrated at St. Sava Serbian Orthodox Monastery in Libertyville, IL, from Friday July 14-Sunday July 16, by His Holiness Patriarch Irinej of Serbia. In preparation for his glorification ceremony, St. Mardarije’s relics were recently opened and found to be incorrupt from the knees up, with skin and hair still intact, bearing witness to the sanctity of this holy God-pleaser, already confirmed by his inclusion among the ranks of the saints. St. Mardarije joins the ranks of St. John Maximovitch and St. Alexis Toth, whose incorrupt relics are already treasures for Orthodox Christians in America. Life of St. Mardarije Photo: orthodoxtacoma.com St. Mardarije was born Ivan Uskokovic in Podgoritsa, Montenegro, in 1889. In 1907, he embraced monasticism at the Studenitsa Monastery and then relocated to Russia to study at the St. Petersburg Theological Academy. After graduation, he was ordained by the Russian Orthodox Church and sent as a missionary to America. |
| The 35th Anniversary of the Repose of Archbishop Andrei (Rymarenko) of Rockland was prayerfully commemorated in Novo-Diveevo July 15, 2013 Friday, July 12, on the feast of the Holy Leaders of the Apostles Sts. Peter & Paul, marked the 35th anniversary of the repose of the ever-memorable Archbishop Andrei (Rymarenko) of Rockland, vicar of the Eastern American Diocese. As an archpriest, Fr. Adrian (in monasticism Andrew) founded Holy Dormition Convent “Novo-Diveevo” in Nanuet, NY. Archbishop Nikon (Rklitsky +1976 г.) recorded this history in his compilation, “My Work in the Vineyard of Christ:” The idea to found of a Holy Dormition Convent – a “New Diveevo” in the United States was first conceived in 1946, with the arrival in America of new Russian émigrés after the Second World War, by Bishops Seraphim (Ivanov) and Nikon (Rklitsky). Certain preparatory measures were taken by the Diocesan Administration of the North American & Canadian Diocese, but the founding of the convent itself was realized in the summer of 1949, with the arrival from Europe of Archpriest Adrian Rymarenko, now Archbishop of Rockland, with a group of loyal collaborators. It was namely Archpriest Rymarenko who was tasked by Archbishop Vitaly (Maximenko) with founding this convent under the supervision of his vicar, Bishop Nikon of Florida. Fr. Adrian accomplished this undertaking with great success, approaching his task with zeal and an experience and talent that came naturally to him. He himself came from a lay background; his father was an industrialist in Russia. Fr. Adrian received his education in a Realschule (an advanced secondary school – ed.), as well as at the St. Petersburg Polytechnic Institute. He was received into the priesthood in accordance with his own spiritual wishes, and during the first years of the Bolshevik Revolution, at a time of brutal repression of the Church by the Bolsheviks. While still a student in St. Petersburg, Fr. Adrian occupied himself with religious issues and was a student of the renowned theologian Fr. |
| Egypt (MNN) — Last Friday, a Muslim mob looted and torched 80 Christian families’ homes in Egypt’s Al-Beida village. Christians were forced to flee the area. The mob was angry because of a rumor that a building under construction in the village was going to become a church. The Christians in the Al-Beida village currently have to travel four miles away to worship at the Holy Virgin and the Archangel Michael Coptic Orthodox Church. When the nearby church’s priest, Father Karas Naser, heard of the violence he rushed to the scene. The mob set upon Father Naser’s car when he arrived. However, he was rescued by other moderate Muslims who protected him from the mob and got him out of the car. Open Doors USA’s Emily Fuentes says this type of violence, while not definitive of the whole country, tends to flare in rural areas where extremists incite some of the villagers against minority Christians. “It really does vary throughout Egypt. You might see a little bit more tolerance in cities, but in more rural areas or villages like this, you’re going to see a bit more tension, some misunderstanding; especially from neighbors [towards] Christians and what a threat they are as a minority group.” Christian Organizations Help Rebuild Open Doors works through partner ministries in Egypt. Fuentes says a few years ago, their partner ministries responded to a similar violent extremist mob attack. In that situation, 200 Christian homes were destroyed, and several churches and Christian buildings were looted and burned down. This mob was also incited with an inflammatory rumor against Christians started by the Muslim Brotherhood. “It was a horrific situation for these Christians. Not only did they lose their house and churches, but some lost their lives and then some lost their very livelihood. Many were farmers so they lost their livestock and had nothing to help them survive,” says Fuentes. “Through our partner organizations we were able to help rebuild many of these houses, farms, churches so the Christian community could restart again and continue to be a light even after a horrific attack like this.” Egyptian Christians Maintain Gospel Witness |
| Mother Maria: Love Without End Photo: www.pinterest.ru/Dawn Maclaughlin “No amount of thought will ever result in any greater formulation than the three words, ‘Love one another,’ so long as it is love to the end and without exceptions.” –Mother Maria of Paris, Letters Today will mark the 74th anniversary of her death in Ravensbruck Concentration Camp. In case you needed a short reminder, Mother Maria was rounded up by the Nazis in Paris after they uncovered a letter addressed implicating her son, Yuri, and Father Dimittir Kelpinin in a scheme forging false baptismal certificates for the Jews in the poor neighborhood around Rue Roumel. By the start of the WW2, Mother Maria was managing a home for the destitute, the mentally and physically handicapped, a sanctuary for the many refugee Russian emigres who had fled the revolution. Had they have gotten word about how she had orchestrated a rescue plan along with the sanitation workers that involved hiding Jewish children in garbage cans and then transferring them to her house in darkness where they eventually would get transported via bakery trucks and other commercial vehicles to the South of France, they would have rounded her up sooner. (An illustrated children’s book tells this story Silent as a Stone ). Their involvement in the Resistance eventually did them in. While her son Yuri and Fr. Dimitri Kelpinin perished in Buchenwald camp within two years of arriving there, Mother Maria who had been used to hard labor and difficult living conditions, managed to survive for several more. Eventually her health started failing her as she was used to giving away the meager portions of bread to her other prisoners. Her other workmates remembered how she was always joyful. As an idealist with deep sensitivity, she had a way of seeing the beauty even in monstrosity. On the 30 th of March, it so happened that Good Friday fell on that day in the year 1945, Maria Skobotska even though she was not chosen, asked to stand in the place of another woman prisoner. The following day, Holy Saturday, she was led into the gas chambers and surrendered her soul. The liberation would occur only several months later. |
| The importance of fasting and its observance today: Draft document of the Pan-Orthodox Council Source: DECR Draft document of the Pan-Orthodox Council, adopted by the 5th Pan-Orthodox Pre-Council Conference in Chambésy on October 10-17, 2015. Photo: http://www.patriarchia.ru/ Published in compliance with the decision of the Synaxis of Primates of the Local Orthodox Churches, Chambésy, January 21-28, 2016. 1. Fast is God’s commandment (Gen 2:16-17). According to St Basil the Great, fasting is as old as humanity itself; it was prescribed in Paradise (On Fasting, 1,3). It is a great spiritual endeavour and the foremost expression of the Orthodox ascetic ideal. The Orthodox Church, in strict conformity with the precepts of the holy apostles, the rules of the Councils and the patristic tradition as a whole, has always proclaimed a great significance of fasting for people’s spiritual life and salvation. The annual cycle of liturgical celebrations fully reflects the patristic teaching on fasting, as well as the teaching on the necessity of constant unrelaxing watchfulness and on how to succeed in spiritual endeavours. The Triodion praises fasting as bringing the light of grace , as the invincible arms , the beginning of spiritual warfare , the perfect path of virtues , the nourishment for the soul , the source of wisdom , the life imperishable and imitation the angelic life , the mother of all blessings and virtues , and as the image of the life to come . 2. As an ancient institution, fasting was mentioned already in the Old Testament (Deut 9:18; Is 58:4-10; Joel 2:15; Jonah 3:5-7) and affirmed in the New Testament. The Lord Himself fasted for forty days before entering upon His public ministry (Lk 4:1-2) and gave to people instructions on how to practice fasting (Mt 6:16-18). Fasting as a means of abstinence, repentance and spiritual growth is presented in the New Testament (Mk 1:6; Acts 13:3; 14:23; Rom 14:21). Since the apostolic times, the Church has being proclaiming a profound importance of fasting, having established Wednesday and Friday as fast days (Didache, 8,1) and the fast before Easter (St Irenaeus of Lyons in Eusebius, Historia Ecclesiastica 5, 24). |
| The relics of St. Herman were temporarily evacuated from Kodiak’s Holy Resurrection Cathedral as a precaution against a possible tsunami. Faithful in parishes from Kenai to Fairbanks were rocked by back-to-back earthquakes measuring 7.0 and 5.7 in magnitude, the first of which struck several miles north of downtown Anchorage, home of Saint Innocent Cathedral and several other parishes of the Orthodox Church in America, at 8:29 a.m. Friday, November 30, 2018. The quakes were among the worst in the state’s history since a 9.2 earthquake, centered some 75 miles east of Anchorage, generated widespread damage on March 27, 1964 . “We had quite a shaker, and we are still experiencing aftershocks,” said His Grace, Bishop David of Sitka and Alaska on Friday afternoon. “So far, none of our churches has reported any damage or injuries, and the worst prospect of tsunamis after such a large quake loomed as a distinct possibility.” While the worst did not occur—and as of Friday evening no deaths had been reported—precautions had been taken to evacuate the relics of Saint Herman of Alaska from Kodiak’s Holy Resurrection Cathedral to higher ground. “Saint Herman’s relics were returned safely to the cathedral after the ‘all clear’ had sounded later on Friday,” Bishop David was happy to report. “Saint Herman’s Seminary also had been evacuated during the warning, but the students and faculty also have returned to the campus.” With much of the region’s communications infrastructure down, including all of Anchorage’s television stations, detailed information on conditions in more remote areas has been sparse. “While this quake was a shallow one, it was felt in many communities throughout the state,” Bishop David continued. “Power was off for a while, and reports of widespread damage to roads and bridges, in addition to sinkholes, have been circulating.” Bishop David requests prayers for the faithful of his diocese as more information is received and the inevitable aftershocks occur. “I am grateful that we have been spared from what could have been much worse,” he added. “We will have to wait until a more detailed assessment of the damage. In the meantime, we pray that our heavenly intercessor, Saint Herman, will continue to watch over us in the days ahead as reconstruction begins.” |
| The Holy Light, an Orthodox Easter tradition also referred to as the ‘Holy Fire’, is to be collected from Jerusalem this week by Archimandrite Jerome of the Church of Cyprus and made available to all the faithful during mass for Easter celebration on Saturday night. The ‘Holy Light’ comes from the ‘blue fire’ that is said to emanate from within the burial site of Jesus in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. The Orthodox Patriarch then lights his candle from the ‘blue fire’ and passes it on to the congregation present at the annual ceremony. The light will be flown into Larnaca airport on a special flight from Jerusalem on Saturday, where it will be met with an official reception at 6.30pm. It will then continue its journey to the Archbishopric in Nicosia, where it will be made available to the faithful at 8pm. “Bishop Chrysostomos [of Kition] and I will fly to Jerusalem on Good Friday to bring the Holy Light for everyone to come and collect on Easter Saturday. Priests, clergy and the general public, Orthodox and non Orthodox, can all turn up,” Archimandrite Jerome told the Cyprus Mail yesterday. Bishop Chrysostomos will then take the light to the Archbishopric in Nicosia where it will be handed over to Archbishop Chrysostomos who will make it available to everyone during Saturday night’s service. People can keep their candles alight for 40 days after Easter, if they wish. The Holy Light’s ceremony in Jerusalem consists of three stages: the procession, the Patriarch’s entrance into the Holy Tomb and the Patriarch’s prayer in order for the Holy Light to appear. It is thought that the Holy Fire’s’ purpose is to “light the whole of mankind for a better tomorrow.” Saturday will see thousands of pilgrims gathering in Jerusalem to participate in or witness the annual event. Cyprus is one of several countries following this religious tradition, together with Armenia, Georgia, Greece, Serbia, Bulgaria, Russia, Montenegro, Lebanon, Syria and Jordan, all of which fly the Holy Light to their country on special flights. |
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