| More than 3,000 Canadian-Iraqi Christians took to the streets of downtown Toronto on Sunday to call on the world to rescue their compatriots who are being killed or deported at the hands of militants belonging to the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), a more brutal offshoot of al-Qaeda. Photo: Mourad Haroutunian The silent demonstration, which saw neither slogans being chanted, nor Iraqi flags being raised, was led by a group of clergymen mainly from the Iraqi Syriac and Chaldean churches. Clad in white T-shirts, protesters marched three kilometers to the Ontario Parliament, carrying banners reading “Save Iraqi Christians from the massacres of ISIS” and “We are the root of Iraq. Stop forcing us out of our land.” Many participants voiced anger at the militant group that has staged the recent wave of violence in their home country. “My first cousins have fled their towns, with only their clothes,” said Sarmad Gorial, one of the protest’s organizers. “For more than seven days, they haven’t even been able to change their underwear. They sleep in the streets, in churches, everywhere.” Thousands of Iraqi Christians and Yazidis have been trapped with limited food and water supplies in Iraq’s north-western mountains after fleeing Mosul, Iraq’s second-largest city, and the town of Sinjar, both seized by ISIS militants for the past two months. Around 850,000 people have been forced to flee Iraq, bringing the number of Iraqis who have been displaced since the start of the year to 1.4 million, according to Canadian government estimates. Iraqi Tricolor The Iraqi tricolor, charged with the Allahu Akbar (“God is Great”) phrase, was not seen at the protest. Speaking to the crowds, Father Niaz Toma of the Chaldean parish of St. Thomas in Hamilton called on the Iraqi government to change the official flag because Christians are being killed under that religious slogan. Father Toma also called for amending the constitution, in the footsteps of post–June 2013 Egypt, so that Islam, the most common religion in Iraq, becomes “just a source, and not the source of legislation”, to show that Iraqi Christians will have a say in shaping their country 11 years after the U.S. overthrew former president Saddam Hussein. |
| Photo: antiochian.org Rejoice, O Father Raphael! The stretch of State Street between Hoyt and Bond streets in Brooklyn, New York has been co-named “St. Raphael of Brooklyn Place.” St. Nicholas Antiochian Orthodox Christian Cathedral – the first community that St. Raphael founded in 1895, and the see of His Eminence Metropolitan Joseph – stands at 355 State St. Following the celebration of the Hierarchical Divine Liturgy on Sunday, June 6, 2021, His Eminence led the procession of clergy and laity to the corner of State and Bond streets as they sang the apolytikion (troparion) of St. Raphael. His Eminence tugged on the cord that covered the street sign high above, and revealed the new co-name of the street below honoring North America’s first Antiochian saint. “St. Raphael ministered to Orthodox Christians of all backgrounds and interacted with people of all creeds. He traveled the breadth and width of not only the United States, but Canada and Mexico, gathering his scattered flock,” Sayidna Joseph said. “He planted the seeds of this ancient faith on these shores, a faith now embraced by peoples of all races and backgrounds. “It is for this very reason St. Raphael belongs to this entire community. Both the faithful of this historic Cathedral and those who live and work around it can embrace the life of St. Raphael of Brooklyn. We are honored to share this block, this borough and this city with all of you and this outward example shows that the city and its inhabitants also honor our presence here.” Joining His Eminence were clergy from the different Orthodox Christian jurisdictions, along with the following civil authorities. U.S. Rep. Nicole Malliotakis from New York New York State Senator Andrew Gounardes Mr. John Abi-Habib, Honorary Consul General of Lebanon in New Jersey New York City Councilman Stephen Levin His Excellency, Bassam Sabbagh, Ambassador of Syria to the United Nations New York State Assemblywoman Jo Anne Simon His Eminence thanked Fr. Thomas Zain, dean of the Cathedral, all the civil authorities who secured the renaming, and the Cathedral neighbors and associations who signed petitions to co-name “St. Raphael of Brooklyn Place,” adding that it gave him hope for the future to see communities working together. |
| U.K. officials denied visas to Middle East Christian bishops from regions that have suffered Islamic State group persecution. The decision prevented the bishops from attending a cathedral consecration and drew strong criticism from groups like the Barnabas Fund. LONDON, England - U.K. officials drew strong criticism for denying visas to Middle East bishops from regions that have suffered Islamic State group persecution, preventing them from attending a cathedral consecration. “These are men who have pressing pastoral responsibilities as Christian areas held by ISIS are liberated,” said Archbishop Athanasius Toma of the Syriac Orthodox Church in the U.K. “That is why we cannot understand why Britain is treating Christians in this way.” Syriac Orthodox leaders Archbishop Nicodemus Daoud Sharaf of Mosul and Archbishop Timothius Mousa Shamani of St. Mathew’s in northern Iraq were denied visas, the U.K. newspaper The Sunday Express reports. Similarly, Syriac Orthodox Archbishop Selwanos Boutros Alnemeh of Homs and Hama was also denied a visa. British embassy officials said they would not waive the blanket policy against visas for Syrian citizens. The archbishops had hoped to visit for the November 24 consecration of St. Thomas Cathedral in London, the first Syriac Orthodox cathedral in the country. Both Queen Elizabeth II and Prime Minister Theresa May had sent personal messages of congratulations, while Prince Charles of Wales addressed the congregation in person. Each of the three bishops come from regions that have been under the control of the Islamic State group. The group has executed Christians, forced them to pay an extortionate tax and accept second-class status. The extremist group destroyed churches or converted them into mosques, including the Mosul archbishop’s former cathedral. Martin Parsons, head of research at the U.K.-based Christian aid agency the Barnabas Fund, was among the critics of British officials. “It’s unbelievable that these persecuted Christians who come from the cradle of Christianity are being told there is no room at the inn, when the U.K. is offering a welcome to Islamists who persecute Christians,” he charged. |
| Faithful “from near and far” gathered during the Memorial Day weekend at Saint Tikhon’s Monastery here for the 111th annual Pilgrimage May 22 through 25, 2015. Throughout the weekend, liturgical celebrations, including Hierarchical Divine Liturgies on Saturday and Sunday, were held. The main Pilgrimage Liturgy was celebrated at the bell tower chapel on Monday, at which His Beatitude, Metropolitan Tikhon, presided. Concelebrating with him were His Eminence, Archbishop Mark of Philadelphia and Eastern Pennsylvania; His Eminence, Archbishop Michael of New York and New York and New Jersey; His Grace, Bishop Thomas of the Diocese of Charleston, Oakland and the Mid-Atlantic of the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America; and His Grace, Bishop John of Naro-Fominsk, Administrator of the Patriarchal Parishes in the USA, Moscow Patriarchate. Numerous clergy from the Orthodox Church in America and other jurisdictions, also concelebrated. Faithful also were afforded the opportunity to venerate the Hawaiian Myrrh Streaming Icon of the Mother of God of Iveron, which was welcomed at the monastery entrance arch on Friday afternoon, marking the official opening of the Pilgrimage, and present throughout the weekend. And as always, faithful prayed before the graves of their loved ones in the monastery cemetery. Many took advantage of tours of the Metropolitan Museum of the Orthodox Church in America and the Guzey Icon Repository offered by Archpriest John Perich, curator. Father John also made it possible for pilgrims who so desired to share in writing or video their personal stories and anecdotes about life in the Church as a “living history.” Not to be forgotten during the weekend were those departed who served in the military and who gave their lives on the field of battle. Archpriest Theodore Boback celebrated a Panikhida at All Saints Bell Tower for all departed Orthodox military chaplains and veterans on Monday. “I couldn’t help notice that there were many young people present this year,” said one pilgrim from New York. “Having attended the Pilgrimage for over four decades, it was most heartening to see the ‘next generation’ present to carry on this century-old tradition.” |
| Photo: http://oca.org/ Address of His Eminence, Archbishop Leo Church of the Transfiguration of Christ, New Valaam Monastery, Finland Sunday, February 28, 2016 Your Beatitude, Your Eminence, Reverend Fathers, sisters and brothers: I wish to express my warmest thanks to Your Beatitude and your delegation for accepting our invitation of last summer to visit the Orthodox Church in Finland. By now you have all been to both the Helsinki and Oulu dioceses, and now you come to our Archdiocese. In this Valaam Monastery of the Transfiguration of Christ we say, as did Saint Peter on Mount Tabor, “it is good for us to be here” [Luke 9,33]. The Orthodox Church in America and the Orthodox Church in Finland have a long common history. The late, venerable Archbishop Paul was present at the canonization of Saint Herman in Alaska in August 1970. When this church where we are now was consecrated in the summer 1974, Bishop Theodosius, who eventually served as your Metropolitan, concelebrated with our Archbishop Paul. A delegation of the Orthodox Church in Finland, under my leadership, paid a visit to Your Church and particularly to Alaska ten years ago in 2005. Your Beatitude as a young bishop was part of the group of our hosts in Alaska. An important bond between our Churches has been Saint Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary, where several young Finns have studied over the years. We wish to mention the special gift of the Orthodox Church in America to the whole Orthodox world, and other Christians as well, in the form of books by the ever-memorable Fathers Alexander Schmemann, John Meyendorff (whose son Professor Paul Meyendorff is also here present) and Thomas Hopko. May their memories be eternal! Our Churches are similar in many ways. We both function in Western societies. Our administrative systems are transparent. Laity has an active role in Church administration on all levels. Both Churches are ecumenically active and are separated from State structures. The Great and Holy Synod, which is of enormous importance to all Orthodox Churches, is planned to be held in the Orthodox Academy of Crete this coming June. The Orthodox Church in Finland has not been able to participate in its preparations for several years now because only Autocephalous Churches have been invited. The Orthodox Church in America, however, has not been able to participate in the preparatory process, because your autocephaly has not received universal recognition. We are aware of the report to the Synod concerning the concept of autonomy. But the question of autocephaly seems to be postponed. We hope that the autocephaly of the Orthodox Church in America will soon receive universal recognition, because the existence of a local Orthodox Church should always be based on the territorial principle, not an ethnic one. Numerous Orthodox dioceses based on the ethnic principle – as indicated by their very names – severely weaken the Orthodox mission and witness. |
| Photo: Basilica.ro Files The reliquary keeping the Holy Cincture of the Mother of God will be taken from Kato Xenia Monastery in Greece to France next week. A delegation from Greece will first bring the Holy Cincture to the Three Holy Hierarchs church in La Courneuve on the outskirts of Paris on Friday evening, September 30. The delegation will be welcomed at 6.00 pm, while at 19.00, vespers will start for the feast of the Protection of the Theotokos. On Saturday, October 1, His Grace Assistant Bishop Teofil of Iberia of the Romanian Orthodox Diocese of Spain and Portugal will preside over the Divine Liturgy beginning at 10.00 am. At 15.00, Assistant Bishop Teofil will give a lecture entitled “The Theotokos in our lives.” Then, nuns from Kato Xenia monastery will present the history of the holy cincture of the Theotokos. Finally, beginning at 6.00 pm, the Sacrament of Holy Unction will be officiated. On Sunday evening, the holy cincture will be carried to the Romanian Orthodox Cathedral of the Holy Archangels Michael, Gabriel and Raphael in Paris. According to the Church tradition, the Mother of God entrusted Her garments to the Apostle Thomas. They were kept in the Holy Land until the 4th century. Under the Byzantine Emperor Arcadius (395-408), the relic was solemnly translated to Constantinople and on September 13 (August 31 according to the old calendar), it was placed inside the Church of Blachernae. After numerous miracles had occurred, the moment of the Placing of the Cincture of Theotokos became a universal Christian feast. In 1522, during a major plague epidemic, Kato Xenia Monastery received two parts of the Holy Cincture. 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. For example, 5 euros a month is it a lot or little? A cup of coffee? It is not that much for a family budget, but it is a significant amount for Pravmir. If everyone reading Pravmir could donate 5 euros a month, they would contribute greatly to our ability to spread the word of Christ, Orthodoxy, life " s purpose, family and society. Also by this author Today " s Articles Most viewed articles Functionality is temporarily unavailable. Most popular authors Functionality is temporarily unavailable. © 2008-2024 Pravmir.com |
| A youth choir sings at a hierarchical divine service at St. Vladimir Memorial Church Source: ROCOR Photo: eadiocese.org On Bright Saturday, April 30, 2022, Eastern American Diocesan, Vicar Bishop Nicholas of Manhattan, paid an archpastoral visit to St Vladimir Memorial Church in Jackson, NJ, where he celebrated Divine Liturgy. Concelebrating with His Grace were: Archpriest Serge Lukianov (Dean of New Jersey), Archpriest Boris Slootsky (cleric of St Alexander Nevsky Cathedral in Howell, NJ), Archpriest Vasily Zeleniuk (cleric of Holy New Martyrs ND Confessors of Russia Church in Brooklyn, NY), Archpriest Paul Ivanov (Rector of Holy Myrrhbearers Church in Brooklyn), and Archpriest Serge Ledkovsky (Memorial Church Deputy Rector), Priest Anthony Williams (cleric of St Alexander Nevsky Cathedral) and Priest Alexei Klar (cleric of Holy Dormition Convent “Novo-Diveevo” in Nanuet, NY), Protodeacon Paul Drozdowski and Deacon Alexandre Sarandinaki (clerics of St Alexander Nevsky Cathedral), and Deacon Nicholas Ilyin (cleric of Novo-Diveevo Convent) and Deacon Rostislav Wojtenko (Memorial Church cleric). Paschal Matins were served before Liturgy, followed by the greeting of the bishop. After the service, a procession was held around the church. Addressing the faithful with a sermon, Bishop Nicholas spoke about how grateful we must be to our forefathers, who worked very hard to establish parishes of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia. Especially noteworthy is Archbishop Vitaly (Maximenko; +1960), who founded St Alexander Nevsky Parish in Lakewood in 1936 and, two years later, St Vladimir Memorial Church. After him, Archbishop Nikon (Rklitsky; +1976) and Metropolitan Laurus (Skurla; +2008) continued working in the Diocese, founding parishes in many states. His Grace called on the clergy and faithful to continue their legacy and support the Church. At the kissing of the cross, His Grace congratulated Fr Alexei on the first anniversary of his ordination to the priesthood on Thomas Sunday, as well as Fr Nicholas, who was ordained four years ago, and Fr Serge Lukianov with the upcoming 40th anniversary of his ordination to the diaconate. Fr Serge thanked the diocesan vicar for his archpastoral care in the Diocese and introduced an idea of annually celebrating Bright Monday at St Alexander Nevsky Cathedral in Howell (already a longstanding tradition) and Bright Saturday in Jackson. Bishop Nicholas supported this initiative to continue this new tradition with God’s help. |
| On all days of the holy fast of Lent, except on the Sabbath, the Lord’s Day, and the holy day of the Annunciation, the Liturgy of the Presanctified is to be served (Canon 52, Quinisext, 692). The Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts is an evening service. It is the solemn lenten Vespers with the administration of Holy Communion added to it. There is no consecration of the eucharistic gifts at the presanctified liturgy. Holy Communion is given from the eucharistic gifts sanctified on the previous Sunday at the celebration of the Divine Liturgy, unless, of course, the feast of the Annunciation should intervene; hence its name of “presanctified.” The Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts is served on Wednesday and Friday evenings, although some churches may celebrate it only on one of these days. It comes in the evening after a day of spiritual preparation and total abstinence. The faithful who are unable to make the effort of total fasting because of weakness or work, however, normally eat a light lenten meal in the early morning. During the psalms of Vespers, the presanctified gifts are prepared for communion. They are transferred from the altar table where they have been reserved since the Divine Liturgy, and are placed on the table of oblation. After the evening hymn, the Old Testamental scriptures of Genesis and Proverbs are read, between which the celebrant blesses the kneeling congregation with a lighted candle and the words: “The Light of Christ illumines all,” indicating that all wisdom is given by Christ in the Church through the scriptures and sacraments. This blessing was originally directed primarily to the catechumens-those preparing to be baptized on Easter-who attended the service only to the time of the communion of the faithful. After the readings, the evening Psalm 141 is solemnly sung once again with the offering of incense. Then, after the litanies of intercession and those at which the catechumens were dismissed in former days, the presanctified eucharistic gifts are brought to the altar in a solemn, silent procession. The song of the entrance calls the faithful to communion. |
| For centuries it was the practice of the Church to admit all persons to the first part of the Divine Liturgy, while reserving the second part strictly for those who were formally committed to Christ through baptism and chrismation in the Church. Non-baptized persons were not permitted even to witness the offering and receiving of Holy Communion by the faithful Christians. Thus the first part of the Divine Liturgy came to be called the Liturgy of the Catechumens, that is, the liturgy of those who were receiving instructions in the Christian Faith in order to become members of the Church through baptism and chrismation. It also came to be called, for obvious reasons, the Liturgy of the Word. The second part of the Divine Liturgy came to be called the Liturgy of the Faithful. Although it is generally the practice in the Orthodox Church today to allow non-Orthodox Christians, and even non-Christians, to witness the Liturgy of the Faithful, it is still the practice to reserve actual participation in the sacrament of Holy Communion only to members of the Orthodox Church who are fully committed to the life and teachings of the Orthodox Faith as preserved, proclaimed and practiced by the Church throughout its history. In the commentary on the Divine Liturgy which follows, we will concentrate our attention on what happens to the Church at its “common action.” By doing this we will attempt to penetrate the fundamental and essential meaning of the liturgy for man, his life and his world. This will be a definite departure from the interpretation of the Divine Liturgy which treats the service as if it were a drama enacted by the clergy and “attended” by the people, in which each part stands for some aspect of Christ’s life and work (e.g., the prothesis stands for Christ’s birth, the small entrance for the beginning of his public ministry, the gospel for his preaching, the great entrance for Palm Sunday, etc.). This latter type of interpretation of the Divine Liturgy is an invention, which, although perhaps interesting and inspiring for some, is nevertheless completely alien to the genuine meaning and purpose of the Divine Liturgy in the Orthodox Church. Prothesis |
| The emperor objected to icon veneration based on a faulty Latin translation of the documents from the Second Council of Nicaea, which gave the mistaken impression that icons were to be adored. He had grown up with the filioque and used his position to promulgate the addition of the filioque in the Western Church. Ninth Century Both women ended waves of persecution against those who venerated icons. The Church’s celebration of the Sunday of Orthodoxy began with the huge public procession, led by Empress Saint Theodora, restoring the icons to their proper place in Orthodox worship. Prince Rastislav realized that the faith would be most meaningful to the people if presented in their native language rather than in the Latin of the Frankish missionaries who were already at work in his land. The monks of the Studion Monastery developed service books for Great Lent and Pascha, as well as the liturgical typicon, which continues to be the normative order of worship for the entire Orthodox Church. Tenth Century The Rite of Crowning began to be served apart from the Divine Liturgy; legal marriage was established as a civil entity apart from the sacramental marriage of the Church; no fourth marriages would be granted. This was the first Patriarchate to be established beyond the original five of Rome, Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch and Jerusalem. When Saint Vladimir was baptized he was cured of a serious eye disease, just as St. Paul’s sight was restored when he was baptized by Ananias. (For reflection: How do St. Paul’s words “For we walk by faith and not by sight” in 2Corinthians 5relate to these experiences of restored physical sight?) Eleventh Century Different languages reflected differing world views; differing approaches to theology; papal claims of authority over all the Churches of Christendom. (For reflection: What are some steps that could be taken to restore unity?) Mutual excommunication between Cardinal Humbert, Pope Leo’s delegate, and Michael, the Patriarch of Constantinople. |
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