| Archive Delegation of abbots and abbesses of the Coptic Church visits holy sites of Niznhy Novgorod metropolia 20 September 2019 year 20:29 On 16 th – 19 th September 2019, while in Russia on a pilgrimage, a delegation of abbots, abbesses and nuns from the monasteries and convents of the Coptic Church visited a number of churches, monasteries and historical sites in the territory of the Niznhy Novgorod metropolia. On 16 th September, the delegation arrived in the Convent of the Holy Trinity and St. Seraphim in Diveyevo and venerated its shrines: the wonderworking “Eleousa” Icon of the Mother of God and the relics of St. Seraphim of Sarov and of the venerable and blessed women of Diveyevo. The guests from Egypt also walked in a prayerful procession along the Holy Canal of the Theotokos and visited St. Seraphim’s spring not far from the convent. In the evening they met with Hegumenness Sergiya (Konkova), abbess of the Diveyeo abode, and the sisters. On 17 th September, while in the Diveyevo convent, the delegation members attended the Divine Liturgy at the Holy Trinity Cathedral. After the service and repast, Hegumenness Sergiya told the guests about the present-day life of the abode and the obediences of the Diveyevo nuns. That same day the delegation members visited the convent’s Skete of the Holy Martyrs Florus and Laurus. On 18 th September the representatives of the Coptic Church arrived in the city of Arzamas. There they visited the Cathedral of the Holy Resurrection and the Convent of St. Nicholas, where they were warmly greeted by its abbess, Hegumenness Filareta (Shevchenko). That same day the delegation arrived in Nizhny Novgorod, where they visited the ancient kremlin and the Church of Archangel Michael – the oldest church in the city, as well as the Ascension Monastery of the Caves. The pilgrims also visited the Cathedral of the Holy Right-Believing Prince Alexander Nevsky and the residence of Metropolitan Georgy of Nizhny Novgorod and Arzamas, where they met with the head of the Nizhny Novgorod metropolia. The archpastor asked the guests to convey his greetings and warm wishes to the Primate of the Coptic Church and expressed his hope for further successful and fruitful development of the bilateral relations between the two Churches, and between representatives of the Russian and Coptic monasticism in particular. |
| Archive Radicals seize church buildings of Ukrainian Orthodox Church in Chernigov and Lvov regions 17 January 2019 year 10:26 On January 16, 2019, the Church of the Holy Ascension of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in Olenevka village, Borzna district, Chernigov region, was seized. It was done on instruction from the chairman the district state administration, with the active involvement of radicals and under the passive eye of police. Members of S14 terrorist group used an angle grinder to break the lock. Some fifty young men broke into the church. They had no authorization documents confirming the legitimacy of their actions. It occurred with the support of the Borzna district state administration which the day before had spread false information, alleging that the majority of the villagers had voted in favour of transferring the local religious community to the “Orthodox Church of Ukraine.” According to the senior villager, Vladimir Krivtsy, 907 people are living in Olenevka, and taking part in the meeting were 72 villagers and 25 “guests.” As he noted, 37 people out of some 100 present voted for the “transfer.” However, the minutes of the meeting read that the decision was taken unanimously. The participants in the meeting say that only 26 people supported the “transfer,” and most of them had nothing to do with the local community. Yet, the website of the Borzna district state administration states that “by a majority vote members of the Olenevka community took the decision to move to the Local Orthodox Church of Ukraine.” In reality, parishioners of the Church of the Holy Ascension totally opposed such initiatives of the officials, spokespersons of the Nezhin diocese report. The parishioners gathered at their church in order to express their dissatisfaction and protest against such decisions, but they were not permitted to do so. The priest and parishioners were not let to enter the church. The radicals came to the village on two buses, illegally seized the church and let the so-called “priests of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine” in the building. Later they posted in social networks photos from a molyeben celebrated in this church and told that representatives of the Svoboda association had joined them. |
| The Primate of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church Visits the Convents of the Russian Church Abroad in the Holy Land Source: ROCOR Photo: www.synod.com On Saturday, May 18, 2019, His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry of Kiev and All Ukraine visited the Convent of St Mary Magdalene in Gethsemane, Jerusalem, where he was greeted by Archimandrite Roman (Krassovsky), Chief of the Russian Ecclesiastical Mission in Jerusalem, his monks and Abbess Elizabeth (Smelic) and her nuns. Accompanied by the singing of “The Angel Cried,” His Beatitude venerated the altar table and holy relics of the “Royal Church” of the convent. After a brief prayer service, Fr Roman welcomed Metropolitan Onuphry, assuring him of the prayers for the canonical Church he heads and the people of Ukraine by the monastics of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia. The Primate of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church expressed his profound gratitude for the prayers and support, wishing the monastics patience and heavenly aid in their difficult labors in the Holy Land. As they venerated the relics of Holy Grand Duchess Elizabeth and Nun Barbara, His Eminence anointed his fellow-travelers with oil from the lampadas which perpetually burn at their reliquary. Metropolitan Onuphry then went to Ascension of the Savior Convent on the Mount of Olives. Here, under the peal of bells from the bell tower known as the “Russian Candle,” His Beatitude was greeted by Abbess Barbara (Novikova) and her sisters, proceeding to the church, where he venerated the holy altar table and the church’s relics, as well as the burial site of Archimandrite Antonin (Kapustin), one of the greatest Chiefs of the REM. In the chapel of St John the Forerunner of Christ, the pilgrims accompanying Metropolitan Onuphry made confession, and the Rules for Holy Confession were then read among the convent’s olive trees. His Beatitude then expressed gratitude for the opportunity to venerate the holy relics of the convent, and, together with Bishop Evsevy of Shepetovsk and Slavutsk and the pilgrims, departed for the Holy Sepulcher of the Lord for the celebration of night-time Liturgy. |
| Photo: ROCOR Every family has its special and joyous dates and holidays. The main holidays of the parish family of St Seraphim Memorial Church in Sea Cliff, NY, are its patronal feasts. These are days when the Holy Church specially honors the memory of Venerable Seraphim, Wonderworker of Sarov: January 15, the day of his repose (1833), and August 1, the day of his glorification and the finding of his holy relics (1903). St Seraphim Memorial Church also specially honors May 17 and the feast of the Ascension of the Lord – the day of the Restoration of full brotherly communion within the one Russian Orthodox Church. In addition, the parishioners and worshippers of St Seraphim Church also triumphantly celebrate the memory of the Holy Great-Martyr Panteleimon, Heavenly patron of a chapel in Kittatinny, NJ, attached to the parish. On Saturday, August 1, the Feast of St Seraphim, the main feast day of our church in Sea Cliff took place. Despite the fact that the next stage of quarantine relaxation was recently introduced, allowing the celebration of divine services while maintaining social distancing and other regulations, the fullness of the church should not have exceeded 33% of the capacity of our premises, so some worshipers had to stand on the porch, in the courtyard or the refectory while watching the service on the screen. The festive service celebrated by His Eminence Metropolitan Hilarion of Eastern America and New York, First Hierarch of the Russian Church Outside of Russia, co-served by His Grace Bishop Nicholas of Manhattan, rector, parish clergy and guests, was distinguished by extraordinary splendor. A solemn and joyful atmosphere, as well as the jubilant singing of the parish choir under the direction of NM Miro, united all the participants of the holiday. Their faces radiated joy and peace. In the middle of the church were the parish’s pre-revolutionary icon of St Seraphim with a particle of his holy relics and the personal shrine of the First-Hierarch-a wooden reliquary with pieces from the epitrachil, gloves and other items belonging to the celebrated saint. |
| Repose of St Innocent the first Bishop of Irkutsk Commemorated on November 26 Saint Innocent, Bishop of Irkutsk, (in the world John) was descended from the noble Kulchitsky family. His parents moved from Volhynia to the Chernigov region in the mid-seventeenth century. The saint was born in about the year 1680, and educated at the Kiev Spiritual Academy. He accepted monastic tonsure in 1710 and was appointed an instructor at the Moscow Slavonic-Greek-Latin Academy as prefect and professor of theology. In 1719 Saint Innocent transferred to the Saint Peterburg Alexander Nevsky Lavra, and was appointed chief naval chaplain. In 1720 he served as vice-regent of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra. On February 14, 1721, hieromonk Innocent was consecrated as Bishop of Pereyaslavl and appointed to the Peking Spiritual Mission in China. But the Chinese government refused to allow him to enter the country, because the Senate Commission on External Affairs had indiscretely characterized him as “a spiritual personage, a great lord.” The saint was compelled to spend three years at Selingin on the Chinese border, suffering much deprivation because of the uncertainty of his position, and grief from the disarray of the civil government in Siberia. Diplomatic blunders of the Russian Mission in China by Graf Raguzinsky, and intrigues by the Irkutsk archimandrite Anthony Platkovsky led to the appointment of Archimandrite Anthony in China. By decree of the Most Holy Synod Saint Innocent was named in 1727 to be Bishop of Irkutsk and Nerchinsk. And so he entered into the governance of the newly-formed dioceses. The proximity of the Chinese border, the expanse and sparsely-settled dioceses, the great number of diverse nationalities (Buryat, Mongol, and others), mostly unenlightened by the Christian Faith, the lack of roads and the poverty—all this made Saint Innocent’s pastoral work burdensome and his life full of deprivations. Through a strange oversight of the Senate, he did not receive any money until the time of his death, and he endured extreme want. In these difficult condition of scant funds the Irkutsk Ascension monastery still maintained two schools opened under him, one Mongol and the other Russian. The constant concern of the saint was directed towards the schools: the selection of worthy teachers, and providing the necessary books, clothing and other provisions for students. |
| The Feast of Pentecost Celebrated at the Patriarchate of Jerusalem Photo: en.jerusalem-patriarchate.info On Sunday, 20 June 2021, the Patriarchate of Jerusalem celebrated the feast of the Holy Pentecost. On this feast, the Church commemorates in thanksgiving and doxology to God, that on the fiftieth day after His Resurrection, and ten days after His Ascension to the heavens, our Lord Jesus Christ sent the Holy Spirit through the Father to His Disciples, who were gathered at the Upper Room of the Holy Zion. The Holy Spirit appeared like “a violent breath” in the form of tongues of fire. The Holy Spirit strengthened and enlightened them and made them narrate in tongues the marvels of God to the gathered crowd. Apostle Peter preached to them and on that day “three thousand souls” were added to the Church (Acts 2:41). The Patriarchate of Jerusalem celebrated this feast with Vespers on Saturday afternoon at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and with the Divine Liturgy on Sunday morning at the Holy Tomb, led by His Holiness Patriarch of Jerusalem Theophilos. Co-celebrants to His Beatitude were their Eminences; Metropolitan Isychios of Kapitolias, and the Archbishops; Theophanes of Gerassa, Aristarchos of Constantina, and Theodosios of Sebastia, along with Hagiotaphite Hieromonks, with first in rank Elder Kamarasis Archimandrite Nectarios and Deacons. The chanting was delivered by Hierodeacon Simeon on the right and Mr Vasilios Gotsopoulos on the left, as the Service was attended by the Consul General of Greece in Jerusalem and many faithful Christians who received the strength of the All-holy Spirit. After the Divine Liturgy, the Vespers of the Monday of the Holy Spirit was observed, and the prayers of the kneeling Service of Pentecost were read, while all people were down on their knees. After the Services, bells tolling, the Patriarchal Entourage returned at the Patriarchate Reception Hall, where His Beatitude wished everyone the enlightenment of the Holy and Ceremonial Spirit. |
| National Cathedral Architect Details Construction Concept for “Church of Churches in Romania” Source: Basilica.ro The person who designed Romania’s National Cathedral, Architect Constantin Amâiei, spoke at Digi24 about the entire construction process, the concept, and what the Cathedral will look like after completing the works. In a dialogue with Lucian Mîndru, the architect mentioned that the project started as an idea over 130 years ago but was resumed only after 1990. Constantin Amâiei briefed the steps made by Patriarch Teoctist for the location, project competitions, etc. “When Patriarch Daniel came, he completely changed the rules of the game so that we would not have such failures, with all kinds of models, ideas and questionable locations. He said: we do concrete things. He established the final location, the one on September 13 Ave and established it legally, with documents, so that there would be no problems,” Constantin Amâiei told Digi24. Concept About the concept of the project, the architect said: “The National Cathedral, being called of the nation it had to represent the Romanian people, both historically and culturally and be representative for the Romanian Orthodox Church.” “It was kind of a collective concept; it wasn’t just what inspired me. Usually, the architect is the project manager, and he does the overall project. But, in the case of the Cathedral, it was a collective approach,” the architect of the National Cathedral confessed. “The main tower is the basic symbol of the building, the Ascension. Six smaller towers represent the six days of the week, and the seventh is infinity. Together with Patriarch Daniel, a theme was made that contained everything; he gave an imposed theme. We had to keep the basic ideas as they were and come up with innovations but without major changes,” Constantin Amâiei explained. Style As a style, the aim was to be close to what a church is in the collective mind, the architect added. “The cathedral is, in fact, the church of the churches in Romania, and then I could not make a different temple or different architecture than that of a church.” |
| Metropolitan Hilarion: St Sergius is rightly called the Hegumen of the Russian land Source: DECR On 18 July 2015, the commemoration day of St Sergius of Radonezh, Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, chairman of the Moscow Patriarchate’s Department for External Church Relations, officiated at the Divine Liturgy in the Church of the Descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles at the Laura of the Holy Trinity and St Sergius with the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia. Photo: http://mospat.ru Concelebrating with His Eminence were Metropolitan Pavel of Khanty-Mansiysk and Surgut, Metropolitan Vladimir of Chita and Petrovsk-Zabaykalsky, Bishop Anatoly of Kagul and Komrat, Bishop Flavian of Cherepovets and Belozersk, and ordained brethren of the monastery. After the service, Metropolitan Hilarion delivered a homily, saying in particular: “Every time we assemble in the Laura of the Holy Trinity on the commemoration day of St Sergius, we celebrate the Liturgy in all churches of the monastery. We pray to the Hegumen of the Russian land, asking him to protect our Church by his heavenly blessings, help her perform her salutary mission, and preserve this holy Laura as the centre of monastic life, where during many centuries monks have been lifting up their unceasing prayers to God, performing their monastic feat. In every new generation God chooses those who want to follow monks of the past. It always remains a mystery for us why people, inspired by the feats of the holy fathers, forsake all the pleasures of the world and embark on the narrow path of monastic life. The reason is that the Lord Himself calls these chosen people to perform this ministry and this feat. During His earthly life, Jesus Christ Himself chose His disciples, calling them for the lofty service. He called twelve Apostles, and then another seventy Apostles. They all but one followed after Him, listened to His words, and were eyewitnesses of His miracles. After His Ascension, the gift of the Holy Spirit was conferred on them, and they began to preach the Gospel of the Kingdom, which Christ had preached during His earthly life. |
| OCA Diocese of Mexico assessing earthquake damage in parishes, missions As central Mexico slowly embarks on the long road to recovery in the aftermath of the massive 7.1 earthquake that struck the region on Tuesday, September 19, 2017, early reports from the Orthodox Church in America’s Diocese of Mexico indicate that, while no major damage has been experienced at Mexico City’s Ascension Cathedral or other parish properties, many faithful have suffered damage to—or the complete loss of—their homes. A resident sleeps outside after an earthquake struck off the southern coast of Mexico. EDGARD GARRIDO/Reuters While communications have been understandably slower than usual due to power outages and infrastructure damage, His Eminence, Archbishop Alejo reported that Ascension Cathedral had suffered a number of cracks. Whether they are structural or not has yet to be determined. The cathedral is located near the Mexico City airport, which was closed for several hours after the earthquake struck. Archbishop Alejo added that a mission chapel had suffered significant damage, the extent of which had yet to be fully assessed as of Wednesday, September 20. The parish in Cuernavaca, the earthquake’s epicenter, also did not suffer major damage, although the homes of some parishioners were damaged or destroyed. Details are still being gathered. “We thank God for all His blessings, but we also pray for those who suffered greatly and for the lives that were lost,” Archbishop Alejo said. It will take time to fully assess how the earthquake has affected the faithful in each parish and mission throughout the expansive diocese. His Beatitude, Metropolitan Tikhon and members of the OCA Chancery staff will be working in conjunction with Archbishop Alejo to determine and assess the needs of Mexican faithful most impacted by the earthquake. Further information will be made available as it is received. 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. |
| His Beatitude Patriarch Theophilos III and bishops of the Russian Church Abroad attend a concert marking the 150th anniversary of the birth of Sergei Rachmaninoff in Jerusalem Source: ROCOR Photo: eadiocese.org On Saturday, June 18, 2022, the Patriarch Tikhon Russian-American Music Institute (PaTRAM) male choir performed a concert of the works of renowned Russian composer Sergei Rachmaninoff’s All Night Vigil in the Pope John Paul II Concert Hall in Jerusalem. The event was attended by His Beatitude Theophilos III, Patriarch of Jerusalem and All Palestine, His Grace Bishop Theodosius of Seattle, His Grace Bishop Nicholas of Manhattan, the heads of the Russian Ecclesiastical Missions of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia and the Moscow Patriarchate – Archimandrite Roman (Krassovsky) and Archimandrite Alexander (Yelisov), respectively, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Russian Federation to Israel AD Viktorov, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Belarus ES Vorobyov, head of the mission of the Russian Federation in Palestine GL Buachidze, head of Gorny Convent Abbess Catherine (Chernysheva), head of Holy Ascension Convent on the Mount of Olives Abbess Barbara (Novikova), and head of the Gethsemane Convent Abbess Elizabeth (Smelic). PaTRAM CEO Tatiana Zacharin-Geringer greeted the esteemed guests at the start of the concert. The works featured conductor, Ekaterina Antonenko and soloists Igor Morozov and Evgeny Kochurovsky. The concert was the world premiere debut of the male choir arrangement of the renowned composer’s All-Night Vigil. The choir will be producing a professional recording in the coming days at the Mount of Olives Convent. After resounding applause from the audience, His Beatitude expressed his deep satisfaction with the choir’s performance. 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. |
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