| Metropolitan Onuphry: People Overcome Their Weaknesses by Repentance Everyone should try to be whole, to live in purity, the metropolitan said. Photo: news.church.ua His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry of Kiev and All Ukraine encouraged the faithful to lead their lives in purity and to try to tirelessly correct themselves if they fall into sin in his sermon during the Divine Liturgy in St. Olga Cathedral in Kiev on July 24, 2022, the 6th Sunday after Pentecost, commemoration day of Equal-to-the-Apostles Princess Olga, reports the Information and Education Department of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. “Every person should try to be whole, that is, try to lead a pure life. Even if we stumble, somewhere we fall into some vices, infirmities, then we must repent and correct ourselves again and again,” said His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry. Photo: news.church.ua As the Primate of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church noted, sometimes a person has to struggle with a certain sin all his life. “One repented and fell again, repented again – fell again. The person who does not stop repenting eventually overcomes his weaknesses,” His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry stressed. The archpastor urged Christians not to be ashamed to say to the Lord: “God, forgive me, I have sinned! Help me, God, not to do this again.” “And God will grant us the wisdom that one needs in order to go through one’s earthly life without any losses and tragedies and achieve eternal salvation in Heaven in Christ Jesus our Lord,” concluded His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry. During the service, solemn petitions and prayers for peace in Ukraine were offered. After the Liturgy and the rite of glorification with the prayer to the Equal-to-the-Apostles Princess Olga, the metropolitan congratulated the faithful on the feast day. The rector of the cathedral, Bishop Victor of Baryshevka, thanked the metropolitan and presented him with an icon of the the Equal-to-the-Apostles Prince Vladimir. Photo: news.church.ua Code for blog |
| Orthodox Christians begin celebration of Holy Week/Православие.Ru Orthodox Christians begin celebration of Holy Week SOURCE: Amarillo Globe News By Eboni Graham Sean Steffen/Amarillo Globe-NewsDavid Eckley is protopresbyter at St. John " s Eastern Orthodox Church, where members began their observance of Holy Week starting Friday. For Orthodox Christians in Amarillo, Friday marks the most spiritual of Christian journeys known as Holy Week with services that began Friday and ending with Pascha on May 5. “We have services every morning and every evening throughout that week,” said Carl Williams, parishioner and president of the parish council at St. John’s Eastern Orthodox Church. “Our Holy Week is centered around Passover; that’s why it’s different from the Western church.” The Orthodox Church identifies its roots in the early Church, particularly as it developed within the Greek-speaking eastern side of the Roman Byzantine Empire. “Because we’re Orthodox, we’re worldwide and we’re one of the original churches,” said David Eckley, protopresbyter (priest) of St. John’s Eastern Orthodox Church. “We are the original church in the sense that it’s from the apostles that we were formed, Pentecostal.” In accordance with the Old Testament, the Jewish Passover happens first, then follows the observance of Holy Week, Eckley said. “Holy Week starts with the service of Lazarus on Saturday,” he said. “Then we have Palm Sunday, the Bridegroom service, and in some instances, when you get into Holy Week toward the end, you’re going to get into stations of the cross; what we do is take him down from the cross for Holy Friday.” In the United States, many Christians follow the Gregorian calendar established in 1582 by Pope Gregory XIII. However, Orthodox Christians follow the Julian calendar, established by Julius Caesar in 42 B.C. “It’s rare that Pascha falls on the same day as everyone else,” Eckley said. The contrast between the two calendars can be vastly different. This year, for example, the majority of Christians celebrated Easter on March 31. |
| Patriarch Daniel: Man as a Rational, Relational Being Grows Spiritually through Gratitude Source: Basilica.ro ‘Man as a rational and a relational being, having a spiritual connection with God and peers, grows spiritually through gratitude,’ stressed His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel during his sermon on Sunday. On the 29 th Sunday after Pentecost, the Patriarch of Romania presided over the Divine Liturgy at the Patriarchal Cathedral of Sts Constantine and Helen in Bucharest, having as concelebrant his patriarchal auxiliary bishop Varlaam of Ploiesti. Patriarchal Divine Liturgy in Bucharest. Photo: Basilica.ro/Mircea Florescu Gratitude represents the normalcy of human dignity Speaking about the healing of the ten men with leprosy remembered in the Gospel of Luke 17:12-19, Patriarch Daniel explained that the Saviour Jesus Christ ‘respected the law of Moses from humility.’ That law provided that a healed leper should show himself to the priests in order to be reintegrated into the community, His Beatitude noted. “Christ wilfully does not heal them immediately with a word, but directs them to the priests to give them the freedom to be or not to be grateful.” By this, His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel said, “Christ respects human freedom as regards being grateful or not.” Every healing done by Christ happened “out of humble and merciful love because Jesus did not want the praise of people, He did not want to affirm Himself, to stand out,” His Beatitude said. The Romanian Patriarch went on to explain the question posed by Christ regarding ‘the other nine’ who did not come back to thank Him for being healed. “It is obvious that Jesus wants to show us by this question that ignorance is not natural, it is not healthy, that the ungrateful man is not a natural man.” His Beatitude emphasized that he who does not thank for the benefactions received from God and people is not a worthy man, but a degraded one. “That is why He demands gratitude, because only through gratitude can someone grow spiritually.” Holy Eucharist or Holy Thanksgiving |
| Patriarch Kirill celebrates at the Cathedral of the Resurrection in Brest on the Feast of the Synaxis of the Byelorussian Saints Source: DECR Natalya Mihailova 23 June 2015 In the morning of 21 June 2015, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia, currently on his primatial visit to the Byelorussian Exarchate, arrived in Brest by plane and proceeded to the Cathedral of the Resurrection, where he celebrated the Divine Liturgy on the 3rd Sunday after Pentecost, the feast day of the Synaxis of the Byelorussian Saints. Photo: https://mospat.ru Prior to the divine service, His Holiness led the ceremony of the meeting of the shine with a particle of relics of St. Prince Vladimir Equal-to-the-Apostles held in the context of the celebration of the 1000 th anniversary of the demise of the Baptizer of Rus’. The shrine is being brought to the dioceses of the Russian Orthodox Church from the Moscow Cathedral of Christ the Saviour. Concelebrating with His Holiness were Metropolitan Pavel of Minsk and Zaslavl, Patriarchal Exarch of All Belarus; Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, chairman of the Moscow Patriarchate’s Department for External Church Relations; eight archbishops, including two of the Polish Orthodox Church, twelve bishops; and clergymen from Moscow and the Byelorussian Exarchate. Attending the service were Mr. Gulyako, chairmen of the Brest regional and city executive councils, and Consul General Mr. Matkovsky of the Russian Federation in Brest. After the Litany of Fervent Supplication His Holiness offered up a prayer for peace in Ukraine. The Liturgy was broadcast on large screens put in front of the Cathedral and on the Soyuz’ TV channel. After the Liturgy, the doxology was proclaimed to St. Vladimir and all the saints who shone forth in the land of Byelorussia. Metropolitan Pavel and Bishop Ioann of Kobrin greeted His Holiness on behalf of bishops, clerics and laymen of Byelorussia and presented him with an icon of the holy martyrs Athanasius and Macarius and archdeacon Nicephoros. |
| Patriarch Kirill Elevated Bishop Veniamin, Patriarchal Exarch of All Belarus, to the Rank of Metropolitan Photo: mospat.ru On September 6, 2020, on the 13th Sunday after Pentecost, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia officiated the Divine Liturgy at the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Moscow, reports the Department for External Church Relations of the Russian Orthodox Church. A delegation of bishops, clergymen, monastics and laity of the Belarusian Orthodox Church took part in the service. According to the resolution of the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church of August 25 this year (journal No. 46), His Holiness Patriarch Kirill elevated His Grace Veniamin to the rank of Metropolitan, who was elected Patriarchal Exarch of All Belarus. The Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church announced the decree: “To His Grace, His Beatitude Veniamin, Bishop of Minsk and Zaslavl, Patriarchal Exarch of All Belarus In connection with your appointment as Patriarchal Exarch of All Belarus (resolution of the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church of August 25, 2020, journal No. 46), you are elevated to the rank of metropolitan and are awarded the right to wear a second panagia within the Belarusian Orthodox Church.” Photo: mospat.ru At the end of the Liturgy, Metropolitan Veniamin of Minsk and Zaslavl addressed the participants of the service, and said, in particular: “Your Holiness, gracious Father, dear fellow hierarchs, dear brothers and sisters! At this exciting and, at the same time, solemn moment of my life, I am gratefully addressing you, Your Holiness, and the Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church, which has assigned me such a responsible and difficult service. It was not easy for me to comprehend in these days such an unexpected turn in my life, and I found answers to my questions, thoughts and feelings in the word of Holy Scripture, in the history of the Mother Church. Who am I, the smallest of my brothers (see Psalm 151:1), behind Prophet David in a manner of speaking, elevated to the highest degree of priestly ministry? |
| Patriarch Kirill visits sketes of the Solovetsky Monastery Solovki, August 18, 2014 On August 17, 2014, the 10th Sunday after Pentecost, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia celebrated a Divine Liturgy at the Church of Crucifixion of the Lord of the Golgotha Crucifixion Skete (Hermitage) on the Anzer island (the Solovetsky archipelago). Metropolitan Varsonofy of St. Petersburg and Ladoga, chancellor of the Moscow Patriarchate; Archbishop Theognost of Sergiyev Posad, chairman of the Synodal Department for Monasteries and Monasticism; Archimandrite Porfiry (Shutov), Father-Superior of the Transfiguration Stavropegic Solovetsky Monastery; Igumen Evlogy (Struchalin), head of the Golgotha Crucifixion Skete on Anzer; Hieromonk George (Kurdoglo), head of the Holy Trinity Skete of Anzer concelebrated with His Holiness. Metropolitan German of Kursk and Rylsk; Metropolitan Zinovy of Saransk and Mordovia; Bishop Seraphim of Baltiysk; Bishop Sergy of Solnechnogorsk , head of the Moscow Patriarchate's Administrative Secretariat ; Bishop Lazar of Narva and Prichudje; Bishop Yakov (James) of Naryan-Mar and Mezen; Bishop Vasily of Kotlas and Velsk; Archimandrite Paisy (Yurkov), Bishop-Elect of Shchigry and Manturovo; chairman of the Synodal Department for Relations between the Church and the Society Archpriest Vsevolod Chaplin; executive secretary of the Executive Office of the Moscow Patriarchate Hieromonk Misail (Sarafanov) prayed at the service. Minister for the Regional Development of the Russian Federation Igor Slyunyayev and governor of the Arkhangelsk region Igor Orlov were present at the church. The chants at the service were performed by members of the monks’ choir of the Solovetsky Monastery (choirmaster – Hierodeacon Afanasy Savelyev). After the Litany of fervent Supplication, head of the Russian Orthodox Church offered up a prayer for peace in the Ukraine. After the Liturgy head of the Golgotha Crucifixion Skete Igumen Evlogy (Struchalin) greeted the patriarch and presented His Holiness with an Icon of the Guardian Angel. |
| Prayer lifted up in Camhedral of the diocese of Chersonese for victims of terrorist actions in Paris Source: DECR Natalya Mihailova 17 November 2015 On November 15, 2015, the 24th Sunday after Pentecost, Bishop Nestor of Chersonese celebrated the Divine Liturgy at the Cathedral of the Three Hierarchs in Paris. Photo: https://mospat.ru/ Among his concelebrants were Archpriest Nikolay Rebinder, rector of the church, Archpriest Maxim Politov, secretary of the diocesan administration, the Rev. Ioann Dimitrov, Protodeacon Alexy Sobolev, Deacon George Sheshko, and Deacon Roman Belyavsky. During the Prayer of Fervent Supplication, a petition was lifted up ‘for guarding those who live in this country against evil will and actions of evil people who are in animosity and for preserving this people against devil’s designs and every evil deed’. Then His Grace lifted up a prayer for healing the victims who suffered from evil human will in terrorist actions in the city of Paris and for giving consolation to their families and loved ones. Photo: https://mospat.ru/ During the litany for the rest of the souls of the victims, the archpastor and the clergy prayed for those died innocent deaths in the Friday terrorist actions in the French capital city. After the liturgy, Bishop Nestor addressed the congregation with a homily, in which he explained, using the Gospel’s story about the healing of the demon-possessed man in Gadarines, how the evil will is rooted in human nature. According to His Grace, it is clear from the reading of the Gospel that evil does not disappear with the death of the herd of pigs. ‘The pigs drowned but the legion of demons remained in the land of Gadarines. The people of that land themselves came to Christ and asked Him to go out of their country because they wanted to live their former life and to have nothing to do with Christ. Christ left but the demons remained!’ His Grace said. We can see from human history, he continued, that sometimes lawlessness breaks in the life of whole states and peoples. The recent events in Paris became another tragic testimony to the fact that this evil has acquired new forms parasitizing on religious beliefs. |
| 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. |
| " The First Step to a New Beginning. " St. Michael the Archangel Orthodox Mission in Pakistan Fr. Joseph Farooq Divine Liturgy and Ground Breaking Ceremony St. Anthony’s Orthodox Church Hyderabad-Sindh, Pakistan. This report on a recent event at the St. Anthony Orthodox Church Hyderabad, Pakistan was prepared by Fr. Joseph Farouq, Assistant Rector of St. Sergius Orthodox Church, Sargodha, and visiting priest to Islamabad for Iranian Orthodox families. On 18, August 2013, (8th Sunday after Pentecost) with the blessing of His Eminence Metropolitan HILARION, Archbishop of Eastern America and New Your, First Hierarch of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia, three historical events took place at St. Anthony’s Orthodox Church Hyderabad-Sindh, (A Russian Orthodox Parish in Southern Province of Pakistan). Rev. Fr. Adrian Augustus Dean and Director of St. Michael the Archangel Orthodox Mission in Pakistan, traveled from Australia to Pakistan to honor the ceremony, and he served as a master of ceremonies. The clergy of the Russian Orthodox Church in Pakistan witnessed this historic occasion. It was a lifetime opportunity for our entire Orthodox community to come together in celebration of the beginning of the Church founded by our Savior, spread far and wide by His apostles and their successors, and which now has reached the people of Pakistan. The host of this event was Rev Fr. Anthony Masih, Rector of St. Anthony’s Orthodox Church, Hyderabad, Sindh. Pakistan is an Islamic State where extremists are very powerful. Christian minorities are not safe among them. The community is extremely poor and deprived of basic human rights. The clergy of the Russian Orthodox Church outside Russia always stand by them through thick and thin, and in the Orthodox Church in Pakistan’s fight for minority rights on different forums. Since the creation of Pakistan, our community has faced many persecutions, and there are many incidents of religious bigotry and violence among the oppressed Christian minority in Pakistan. The Government of Pakistan and law enforcement agencies have failed to control the extremists groups. We trust in our Lord Jesus Christ, and these worries, problems, antagonistic forces, and lack of financial sources will never stop us from carrying out this mission, because our strong faith and hope give us reason to continue, and the courage to move ahead. The Russian Orthodox Church outside Russia (ROCOR) is firmly established in Pakistan. Our Orthodox mission in Pakistan is indeed going well under the guidance of the Holy Spirit and the Most Holy Theotokos. |
| The Patriarch Of Romania Urged The Clergy And Faithful To Pray For Rain/Православие.Ru The Patriarch Of Romania Urged The Clergy And Faithful To Pray For Rain July 26, 2015 During this period of hot weather and drought which seriously affects agriculture all over the country and greatly impacts people's lives, the Patriarch of Romania urged the clergy and faithful to say prayers for rain at the appropriate time, in the end of his sermon delivered today, July 26, 2015, the Eighth Sunday after Pentecost (Multiplication of the loaves of bread), in the chapel of Saint Gregory the Enlightener within the Patriarchal Residence. “Let us remember today the urging of the Church to say prayers in all the parish churches and monasteries all over the country so that God will bestow His mercy on us, and send quiet rains with rich crops for people and animals. Thus, we show that we directly admit that all the gifts of existence, all the gifts that maintain the life of people on earth are gifts from God, and let us not forget the Giver either, but pray for forgiveness of sins when we infringe His will, as well as for our lack of gratitude. This drought must be understood as an impetus to more faith, prayer and mercy towards the poor, lonely, helpless, and so we become the hands of the merciful love of Jesus Christ for our fellow beings,” His Beatitude Daniel, Patriarch of Romania said. 28 июля 2015 г. Предыдущий Следующий Смотри также Is the Current Drought God’s Punishment? Hieromonk Job (Gumerov) Is the Current Drought God’s Punishment? Hieromonk Job (Gumerov) For Biblical man, raised on the Divinely-revealed holy books, the thought that weather could exist independently from God would have made no sense. In chapter 14 of the book of the Prophet Jeremiah is found the Lord’s word to the prophet about drought. The Prophet says to the Lord, Are there any among the vanities of the Gentiles that can cause rain? or can the heavens give showers? art not thou he, O LORD our God? therefore we will wait upon thee: for thou hast made all these things (Jer. 14:22). His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel of Romania Celebrated The Remembrance Service For Rev. Hieroschimonk Paisie Olaru, At Sihastria Monastery His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel of Romania Celebrated The Remembrance Service For Rev. Hieroschimonk Paisie Olaru, At Sihastria Monastery On 16 October 2010, His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel celebrated at Sihastria Monastery the remembrance service for hieroschimonk Paisie Olaru, assisted by a group of 8 hierarchs, deacons and priests. Romanian Orthodox Christians Worshiping In Small Places Romanian Orthodox Christians Worshiping In Small Places In Romania, according to the 2011 census, 86.5% of respondents declared themselves as being Orthodox Christians belonging to the Romanian Orthodox Church and this figure haven’t significantly changed since then. Комментарии © 1999-2015 Православие.Ru |
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