| Boston, MA: “The Good Thief: Two Paths Diverged at the Wood” – A Joint Concert was held at Holy Cross Seminary Alexander Cooley 10 March 2013 March 8, 2013 From Saturday the 16th to Monday the 18th of February, President’s Day weekend, several young Orthodox choirs gathered at Hellenic Greek College in Boston, MA for the third rendition of the concert program entitled “The Good Thief: Two Paths Diverged at the Wood.” This story-telling concert has been performed twice before: once in Philadelphia, PA with a similar joint choir, and once in San Francisco, CA by a male choir. This time, the program consisted of three seminaries and the Eastern American Diocesan Youth Choir. Joining the youth choir were the seminary choirs of Holy Trinity Monastery in Jordanville, NY, St. Tikhon’s OCA Seminary in South Canaan, PA, and the Holy Cross Greek Byzantine Choir from Brookline, MA. Also performing a piece was the newly-formed Women’s Byzantine Choir of the same school. The choirs sang a series of Orthodox pieces from various Orthodox traditions including Slavic, Georgian, Greek, as well as new arrangements of ancient styles, all in order to tell the story of a young man faced with many difficult choices in his life, which eventually lead to his final decision at the Wood of Christ’s Cross, where he finds himself crucified, and is redeemed in his final moments. The concert was well-attended with over 200 people present, despite an afternoon snowstorm, as students from the college joined parishioners from many local parishes of all jurisdictions. The choirs are grateful that Metropolitan Hilarion, who was visiting Holy Epiphany Church in Boston, was able to attend as well. Following the concert a bountiful feast provided the audience with a chance to meet and speak with the singers, where many expressed their gratitude for the hard work and beautiful performance. Photos by Nicholas Kronauer Source: EADiocese.org Tweet Donate Share Code for blog Boston, MA: “The Good Thief: Two Paths Diverged at the Wood” – A Joint Concert was held at Holy Cross Seminary |
| Holy Martyrs, the Brothers Davit and Tarichan (†693) Memory 18 (31) May Holy Martyrs Davit and Tarichan. Holy Martyrs Davit and Tarichan. The holy martyrs Davit and Tarichan were born to Vardanand Tagine, pious Christians and relatives of the king.Vardan died while his sons were still young, and Tagine’spagan brother Theodosius seized all the family’s possessions. Concerned that the brothers would eventually claim their legal inheritance, Theodosius resolved to convert his sister and nephews to his own creed. “Leave behind the Faith of the crucifiedChrist and receive mine and I will adopt your children,” he told Tagine. But Tagine firmly guarded the family against her brother’s evil intent.“It is enough that you have seized my sons’ estate,” she said. “Butyou cannot seize the inheritance they will receive from their Father inheaven!” Theodosius was thwarted by his sister’s resoluteness. So instead,he tried to convert his nephews directly. He called them, embracedthem warmly, and tempted them with sweets. “Now you are my sons,and everything I have belongs to you,” he told them. “Trust me likeobedient sons of a beloved father. Turn from the Faith of your father,and I will show you a better way!” After a brief silence, the holy youths answered, “We are perfectlycontent with our father’s Faith and will remain loyal to this Faith untilthe day our souls depart from our flesh. We are prepared to suffer everythingfor the love of our Lord and Heavenly Father!” Theodosius dared not try to sway his nephews since he feared therevenge of the Christian community, so he left them in peace and plottedto murder them in secret. But Tagine sensed that danger was nearand escaped with her sons to the region of Tao in the south. From his spies Theodosius learned that the brothers were nowherding sheep at the top of a mountain, and he ordered an ambush.But the brothers heard the noise and saw the armed soldiers beforethey attacked. Davit rejoiced upon seeing his uncle and ran towardhim, but Theodosius stabbed him before he could embrace him. Theholy martyr released his staff from his hand, and when it fell to theground it was miraculously transformed into a large tree. Two hundred years later a group of Christians chopped the tree down and dividedthe holy wood among themselves. |
| A New Chapter in the History of Our Church A talk with the official representative of the American Orthodox Church in Moscow, Archimandrite Zacchaeus Wood A talk with the official representative of the American Orthodox Church in Moscow, Archimandrite Zacchaeus Wood Archimandrite Zacchaeus (Wood) - Dean of the Church of St. Catherine the Great Martyr in-the-Fields, Representative of the Orthodox Church in America to the Moscow Patriarchate - Father Zacchaeus, it is logical that for many in Russia the election of the young, I can say, not very well-known bishop as Primate of the Orthodox Church in America was a big surprise. Could you give your comment, express your opinion about this? - I think that for many faithful of the Orthodox Church in America, it was also surprising choice, because Vladika Jonah was a bishop only 11 days at the beginning of the Council. So when candidates for a Metropolitan were discussed at the beginning of the Council, people imagined different bishops on, and the name of Bishop Jonah was not mentioned. We think and truly believe that God himself elected Bishop Jonah to serve as Metropolitan of All America and Canada. This was not a human policy, not personal desire. This is indeed visible to all, after his wise conversation with the people and speech before the elections, that really it was a man chosen by God for the position of Metropolitan. - In this regard, could you clarify some features of the electoral process in the American Church? Obviously, in various local churches there are some differences. What, in short, is your practice? - We have a system in which all delegates of the Council have the opportunity to vote in the election of Metropolitan. All delegates of the Council should write on special paper one name. After counting the votes, if one candidate gets two-thirds of the votes, this candidate is submitted for confirmation by the Holy Synod. The final decision is made by the Synod. And if a candidate does not get two-thirds, then the second round of the election provides the Synod with two candidates for the office of the Metropolitan – the two who gained the majority of votes. Many do not know clearly our system and think that it is “some American democracy.” In fact, delegates present their candidate to the Synod, but the Synod is not obliged to choose exactly that person. In the history of our Church there have been instances when the Synod eventually chose another candidate, not the one that receives the most votes of delegates of the Council. |
| Sex and Teenagers Anita Wood Brewer was Elvis Presley’s girlfriend from 1957-1962. The cultural understanding of sex and dating was drastically different in the 1950’s and the early 1960’s than it is today. Anita Wood’s daughter, Jonitta Brewer Barrett, mentions in the biography that she wrote about her mother(1) that “It was not uncommon back then for parents to expect a boy to ask for their blessing before taking their daughter out on a date. We’ve let this practice go by the wayside in today’s culture, and I think we’ve suffered for it. Today, girls and guys just meet up, without the parents having a chance to talk to the young man and make sure he will protect, respect, and bring his date home safely.” “…it leaves our girls exposed and unprotected. That’s just my opinion, as a mother of two boys and two girls.” Anita Wood is quoted as saying that “in those days, you just didn’t kiss a girl on the first date.” She further remarks that “it (was) unacceptable for a young girl to go to a young man’s house on a first date.” The 1950’s represented the height of family stability. Self-control and sex only within the parameters of marriage was the expected social norm. Today’s cultural understanding of sex has changed dramatically as reflected in the comments of these contemporary teenagers (2): Male speakers: •“A lot of my friends are having sex with a number of people. It’s really not a big issue with them. It’s just something to do at a party” •“My friends put pressure on me to have sex. They tell me, ‘Everyone’s doing it. You have to wake up and live in today’s world.’” •“My friends make fun of me a lot because I don’t have sex, I don’t do drugs and I don’t go to parties. They are doing those things just to make themselves feel better. I don’t have to have those things in order to feel good about myself.” •“If I go out on a date, the first thing my friends ask me is if I had sex. If I say no, then they ask me, ‘Why not?’” Female speakers: •“Kids aren’t deciding for themselves whether or not they should have sex. Their boyfriends or their girlfriends are deciding for therm. Girls often feel lonely and they will go to all extremes just to keep the boyfriend.” |
| Ethiopia Celebrates Meskel, A Christian Holiday All Its Own, With Yellow Flowers And Blazing Bonfires/Православие.Ru Ethiopia Celebrates Meskel, A Christian Holiday All Its Own, With Yellow Flowers And Blazing Bonfires SOURCE: International Business Times By Jacey Fortin A massive bonfire blazed in the central square of Ethiopia's capital city, Addis Ababa, on Thursday night. But by Friday morning, the mess had been swept away, leaving nothing but a giant spot of soot on the asphalt. Orthodox Christian Ethiopians gather at Estifanos Church in Addis Ababa to mark the religious holiday Meskel on Sept. 27, 2013. Photo: IBTimes/Jacey Fortin Thousands of people had flocked to the arena, called Meskel Square, to watch the ceremonial lighting of the fire for the eve of Meskel, a national holiday also known as the Finding of the True Cross. Ethiopians from across the country -- and visitors from around the world -- carried yellow daises, wooden crosses and wax candles as the pile of wood burned down to the pavement. Smaller bonfires were lit after sunset throughout the city, in backyards and on street corners, and celebrations continued throughout the night. On Friday morning, the square was still buzzing; Orthodox Christians, many with soot on their foreheads in the shape of a cross, congregated at Meskel Square or paid a visit to the nearby Estifanos Church. After the spectacle of Meskel eve, the holiday itself is a time for rest, family togetherness and feasting -- though Sept. 27 fell on a Friday this year, a fasting day, which means that Orthodox Christians will have to abstain from meat. A young man wearing the sign of the cross rides his motorcycle around Meskel Square on Sept. 27, 2013. Photo: IBTimes/Jacey Fortin " Families come together for the ceremony, " said Johannes, 34, who is pursuing his Master's degree in Addis. " It's a celebration to join people together, hand to hand. For the people, for God, for the government, and for prayer. " Legend has it that on this day around 330 AD, St. Helena -- who is known as Nigist Eleni in Ethiopia and was the mother of Rome's first Christian emperor, Constantine -- found the cross on which Jesus had been crucified. In accordance with a revelation she'd had in a dream, Helena burned a giant pile of wood and frankincense. The smoke rose into the sky and then arced back down to earth, showing her the spot where the cross had been buried. Fragments of the cross were distributed to churches around the world, and one found its way to Ethiopia, where it is now said to be buried under the Gishen Mariam Church in the northeastern Wollo region. Ethiopia, which has one of the most devout Orthodox communities in the world, is the only country that celebrates the finding of the cross on a national level. |
| Everyday Saints and Other Stories Archimandrite Tikhon (Shevkunov). Everyday Saints and Other Stories. Translation by Julian Henry Lowenfeld. Pokrov Publications, 2012. 504 pages, illustrated. ISBN 978-0-9842848-3-2, 978-0-9842848-4-9. PREFACE It was a warm September evening, as we, the still-young novices of the Pskov Caves Monastery near Pskov, were strolling about the corridors and galleries of the ancient monastery walls, making ourselves comfortable, looking out high above its gardens and fields. As we talked, we began reminiscing about how each of us had come to be at the monastery. And the more we listened to each other, the more amazed we became. It was 1984 at the time, and there were five of us. Four had grown up in nonreligious families, and even for the fifth in our group, the son of a clergyman, our preconceptions of the sort of people who go off to join a monastery were utterly Soviet. Just a year earlier, each of us had firmly believed that the only people who ever entered a monastery nowadays were fanatics or complete failures in life. Losers, in short—or else victims of unrequited love. But looking at each other, we could see that this simply wasn’t true at all. The youngest in our group was just eighteen, and the oldest was twenty- six. All of us were healthy, strong, and attractive young men. One had graduated with highest honors from university with a degree in mathematics; another, despite his youth, was already an acclaimed artist in Leningrad. Yet another of our group had lived most of his life in New York, where his father was working, and had joined our monastery after completing his third year of university. The youngest (the priest’s son) was a talented engraver and wood carver, and had just completed his education at an art school. And I had recently graduated from the screenwriter’s division of the prestigious National State Cinematic Institute. In short, each of us youngsters had enviable worldly careers to look forward to. So why had we come to the monastery? And why were we planning to stay here for the rest of our lives? We knew very well. It was because, for each of us, a new world had suddenly opened up, incomparable in its beauty. And that world had turned out to be boundlessly more attractive than the one in which we had previously lived our young and so-far very happy lives. In this book I want to tell you about this beautiful new world of mine, where we live by laws completely different from those in “normal” worldly life—a world of light and love, full of wondrous discoveries, hope, happiness, trials and triumphs, where even our defeats acquire profound significance: a world in which, above all, we can always sense powerful manifestations of divine strength and comfort. |
| A large part of the problem with some Orthodox parishes (at least of my acquaintance) is not lack of money or lack of a nice building (nice as money and good buildings are), but the fact that they have not been built upon a proper foundation. The Scriptures have lots to say about the value of a good foundation, and the Lord teaches us that if the foundation has not been properly laid, the whole edifice built upon it is in danger of being swept away (Matthew 7:24-27), if not literally, then certainly spiritually. I know of a number of parishes which have been thus swept away—not that they no longer exist as parishes, but that they no longer exist as true temples of God. Some have become spiritually toxic, and are more accurately described as synagogues of Satan (compare Revelation 2:9). To be a truly Orthodox temple of God, the community must first have in place a solid foundation. And as St. Paul reminds us, “no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 3:11). One can try to lay other foundations, setting in place the wood, hay, and straw foundations of ego and the cult of personality. But Jesus Christ is the only real and lasting foundation, either for a parish or an individual’s life. How can one build on this foundation to become a truly Orthodox community? I suggest five ways. First of all, the priest of the parish must dedicate himself to his people and to washing their feet, as the Lord Himself gave both example and command (John 13:1f). Too often young priests assume they are entitled to respect simply because they wear a cassock. It is true that all persons should be treated with respect and courtesy, but it is also true that respect must be earned. The priest’s ordination does not entitle him to respect so much as it gives him the opportunity among his people to earn it. And he earns it by selflessly serving them, counselling them, loving them, weeping with them, sharing their burdens, and being accessible to them at all times. By doing so he earns credibility, so that he will be cut some slack when he errs or makes unpopular decisions. But it takes time to earn such credibility, as some young clergy have learned to their cost. |
| On June 25/July 8 we honor the memory of the Optina Monastery holy confessor Nikon. St. Nikon (in the world, Nicholai Mitrofanovich Belyaev) was a great example of patience and obedience—from his youth to the end of his life, he good-heartedly endured everything sent to him by God. Even in his childhood, there were events that were like signs in his life. In 1888, St. John of Kronstadt visited the Belyaev home. After serving a moleben, he blessed the young mother and gave her his photograph with his autograph and date: “1888, the year of the birth of your son Nicholai.” The second event was the miraculous healing from a fatal illness. At age five, the boy fell seriously ill. All the doctors’ efforts to save his life were without result. Embracing the body of her cold and breathless child, his mother prayed fervently to St. Nicholas to save his life. Then, a miracle happened. The dead child came back to life. Later Elder Barsanuphius of Optina especially emphasized the mysterious significance of this event as a clear indication of Nicholai’s calling to monastic life. The young university student Nicholai and his brother Ivan decided to leave for a monastery, but they didn’t know which. They decided write the names of Russian monasteries on strips of paper and after praying, pulled one. On it was written, “the Kozelsk Optina Hermitage of the Presentation”. The brothers took this as an obedience. Thus did the Lord lead them to Optina. On December 9, 1907, on the feast of the icon of the Mother of God, “Unexpected Joy”, the Belyaeva brothers were accepted into the skete brotherhood of the St. John the Baptist in Optina. They passed through various obediences for about a year, including heavy physical labor, to which they were previously unaccustomed. Nicholai eagerly and joyfully fulfilled all his obediences: he worked in the trapeza, shoveled snow, carried wood, washed dishes, and swept the floors. In church he was the assistant to the acolyte. He worked in the garden carrying manure, digging, and planting. Pampered and brought up in virtual luxury, unused to physical labor, Nicholai nevertheless did not feel burdened by any of it. His soul knew no despondency, no displeasure, or murmuring. |
| Entering into the Joy of our Lord’s Divine Feast Source: Anchor Priest Luke A. Veronis 27 December 2020 Photo: golos-obitely.prihod.ru During this year of a pandemic, when we’ve all quarantined and separated ourselves from one another, it’s so hard to stay disconnected from people. Fellowship and communion with one another offer us life, and yet, the pandemic keeps us apart! I look around at our church and see it half full, missing people I haven’t seen in the past 10 months and wondering if I’ll see them in the next six months? I’ve started to visit some of the elderly from our church for Christmas, taking them Holy Communion, but I realize I can’t see those in the nursing homes. Even some of the elderly in their own homes feel uncomfortable with me or anyone else coming for a visit. What challenging and depressing times! Then I think of our most joyous celebrations. For Thanksgiving, I couldn’t visit my parents because of the pandemic and my immediate family didn’t gather with our large extended family due to COVID. It seems that Christmas celebrations will be even more subdued with the newest wave of the virus. This separation from loved ones, and disconnection with one another is mentally, emotionally, and physically draining. It’s literally exasperated mental illness among so many. Celebrating together plays a central role in life. It defines who we are as human beings. We were meant to walk through life together, celebrating and bringing joy and love to one another. This is why Christ used images of celebration to help people understand life in the Kingdom of God. Remember, during the time of Jesus 2000 years ago, people faced a much harsher reality than many of us today. Life was a continual drudgery of toil and struggle, facing oppression under foreign rulers and subjugation from heavy and unjust taxes. Death was frequent and came at young ages. Few people during that time could comprehend life as something comfortable and easy. When I think of how life was years ago, it still is that way for many people throughout the world. People in places of conflict and war. People living in poverty and deprivation. I witnessed this type of life in a very small way when I lived in a Kenyan village 30 years ago. Some days, I would wake up at the crack of dawn, before everyone else. I’d sit outside watching the sun rise, saying my prayers, and writing in my journal, and I’d notice how the women were the first to arise. They woke up and immediately began chopping wood for the fire to cook the day’s meals. Then they walked a mile or so down to the nearby river to collect water, carrying it back by placing buckets on their heads. A typical day of cooking, cleaning, working in the fields as well as caring for the compound followed, with the women constantly going back to the river to get more and more water for other chores. |
| Greeks Seek Solace in Mt. Athos Monasteries/Православие.Ru Greeks Seek Solace in Mt. Athos Monasteries Here, the Vatopedi monastery on Mount Athos. The " Holy Mountain " of Athos is a special place for Orthodox Christians. This almost uninhabited peninsula in northeastern Greece consists of almost 350 square kilometres (135 square miles) of dense forests and hills. Mornings on the sacred mountain begin with loud blows. A monk stands in front of the monastery church of Agiou Andrea and hammers a block of wood. The medieval percussion instrument, called a simantron, is the wakeup call for the first religious service of the day. Several black-clad, bearded men scurry across the courtyard. It is 4 a.m. and pitch-black, and the air is filled with the sound of cicadas.ANZEIGE In a few minutes, the oil lamps will be lit in Agiou Andrea, one of 12 " sketes, " or monastic communities, on Mount Athos. There " s not a single empty space in the choir benches. Sitting behind the singing, rhythmically chanting monks are pilgrims from Greece, Russia and Romania. They have slept a few hours on spartan beds, gone without electricity and warm water, and spent the night swatting at mosquitoes. Agiou Andrea is not a place to expect luxury. But no one has come here for that. " I am here to wash myself clean of my sins, " says Ilie, a young Romanian who lives in Germany. " Here, we are closer to heaven than anywhere else. " Nikos, a Greek businessman, has come to the monastery to find himself. " To simply turn off, meditate and forget the material world, " he says. The " Holy Mountain " of Athos is a special place for Orthodox Christians. The sparsely inhabited third finger of the Halkidiki Peninsula in northeastern Greece is wildly beautiful, with almost 350 square kilometres (135 square miles) of dense forests and hills. Legend has it that the Virgin Mary landed here on her way to Cyprus and was overcome by its beauty. God then gave her the mountain on it as a gift. And since the " Garden of the Virgin Mary, " as the place is known, is devoted to only the " purest of all women, " other women are not allowed in. At least that is the reason given by the monks who have ruled Athos as an autonomous monastic republic since the 10th century. Not even female animals are allowed on Athos, except cats. |
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