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by Rev. Thomas Fitzgerald

The Orthodox Church throughout the ages has maintained a continuity of faith and love with the apostolic community which was founded by Christ and sustained by the Holy Spirit. Orthodoxy believes that she has preserved and taught the historic Christian Faith, free from error and distortion, from the time of the Apostles. She also believes that there is nothing in the body of her teachings which is contrary to truth or which inhibits real union with God. The air of antiquity and timelessness which often characterizes Eastern Christianity is an expression of her desire to remain loyal to the authentic Christian Faith.

by Metropolitan Kallistos Ware

The Orthodox Church was founded by our Lord Jesus Christ and is the living manifestation of His presence in the history of the mankind. The most conspicuous characteristics of Orthodoxy are its rich liturgical life and its faithfulness to the apostolic tradition. It is believed by Orthodox Christians that their Church has preserved the tradition and continuity of the ancient Church in its fullness compared to other Christian denominations which have departed from the common tradition of the Church of the first 10 centuries. Today Orthodox Church numbers approximately 300 million Christians who follow the faith and practices that were defined by the first seven ecumenical councils. The word orthodox ("right belief and right glory") has traditionally been used, in the Greek-speaking Christian world, to designate communities, or individuals, who preserved the true faith (as defined by those councils), as opposed to those who were declared heretical. The official designation of the church in its liturgical and canonical texts is "the Orthodox Catholic Church" (gr. catholicos = universal).

The Orthodox Church is a family of "autocephalous" (self governing) churches, with the Ecumenical (= universal) Patriarch of Constantinople holding titular or honorary primacy as primus inter pares (the first among equals). The Orthodox Church is not a centralized organization headed by a pontiff. The unity of the Church is rather manifested in common faith and communion in the sacraments and no one but Christ himself is the real head of the Church. The number of autocephalous churches has varied in history. Today there are many: the Church of Constantinople (Istanbul), the Church of Alexandria (Egypt), the Church of Antioch (with headquarters in Damascus, Syria), and the Churches of Jerusalem, Russia, Serbia, Romania, Bulgaria, Georgia, Cyprus, Greece, Poland, Albania and America

Vigen GuroianAntiochian Village announces a "Weed and Feed Weekend" with guest speaker and author Vigen Guroian, April 29-May 1, during Bright Week.

Bring your gardening gloves, tools, and friends for a great weekend getaway that promises to feed your body and soul while you provide much needed help sprucing up our gardens. It's a $50 PER PERSON WEEKEND PACKAGE which includes 5 meals, 2 nights of lodging, speaker sessions, a day of gardening work, liturgical services, and great fellowship! 

Download flyer in PDF.

Download Registration Form.

By Fr. John Abdalah

If Neil Sedaka is right, and “Breaking Up Is Hard to Do,” what would we say about making up? Making up sure isn’t easy, but it is what Christianity and life are all about.

Archbishop DemetriosTuesday, March 01, 2011 

This past week the Chairman of the Assembly of Bishops, Archbishop Demetrios, sent out a formal notification to all the member bishops for the next plenary session of the Assembly. The first meeting was held in New York; this meeting will be held in Chicago, and will convene on May 25-27, 2011. The Chairman encouraged each committee to begin its work, with the hope of having at least one meeting (via telephone, video conference, or in person) before the Assembly. It is also expected that time will be made available in Chicago for committees to meet, to allow them to prepare their reports to the Assembly. Read the full announcement on the Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops website.

The Orthodox Christian Network (OCN) recently featured several Antiochian priests in a new installment in their "Special Moments In Orthodoxy" podcast series. "What is Western Rite Orthodoxy and where did it come from?" asks OCN's website. "To learn more please join Fr. Chris and Emmy for this episode of Special Moments in Orthodoxy as they welcome Archpriest Fr. Paul Schneirla, Vicar-General of the Western Rite in the Antiochian Archdiocese, and Fr. Michael Keiser, author of The Children of the Promise: Introduction to Western Rite Orthodoxy to the program, as they will discuss the differences and similarities between Western Rite Orthodoxy and Eastern Orthodoxy." The full episode is available here.

SOYO Mid-Winter MeetingWrapping up a busy schedule of winter events, Antiochian Village served as the host for the "Men in Black" Clergy Appreciation Luncheon on February 22. The Village's first event was the January winter camp session. These two events bookmarked several key conferences and meetings which took place in the very busy month of February.

During the first weekend in February, the traditional mid-winter meetings were held for SOYO's leadership. Reports Fr. Joseph Purpura, Chairman of the Department for Youth Ministry, "The February 4-6, 2011 Midwinter Meetings of SOYO brought over thirty teens and advisors from across the archdiocese. SOYO continued its work begun at the 2010 SOYO Leadership Conference. The SOYO Diocesan officers reported on their progress and shared ideas with one another. SOYO Officers continued the development of their leadership skills, as Fr. Fouad Saba explored the scripture and its relationship to leadership. Elizabeth Mamey, a past NAC SOYO Officer, came back to SOYO to share with our current group of officers the skills she learned through her SOYO and Leadership training experiences. It was a weekend rich in fellowship, spirituality and accomplishments for SOYO."

Then on February 8-12,  about two dozen OCF chaplains gathered for their three day conference to discuss the theme "Following Christ through Crisis."

Bobby Maddex, AFR Operations ManagerAncient Faith Radio Operations Manager Bobby Maddex, reports on results from their recent listener survey: 

Thanks so much for participating in the 2011 Ancient Faith Radio (AFR) listener survey. We had a record number of respondents and learned so much about who you are and how you use our radio station. For example, we discovered that a sizable portion of our listening audience (11.1%) is comprised of Orthodox inquirers. We learned that most of you (52.4%) listen to AFR for our podcasts, and that in addition to our beloved daily features—The Path, Saint of the Day, and Coffee Cup Commentaries—the most popular of these programs are Speaking the Truth in Love, The Illumined Heart, At the Intersection of East and West, Frederica Here and Now, and The Names of Jesus. And we discovered that most of you (56.1%) initially heard about the station from either a friend or a search engine. Here are a few of the other things we learned (top answers only):

What is your Orthodox jurisdiction?

Antiochian 31.0%

OCA 24.3%

Greek 20.1%

ROCOR 6.1%

Russian 5.4%

Metropolitan KalistosClick here to download flyer (PDF)

Antiochian professor Dr. Brad Nassif is encouraging the Orthodox faithful in the Chicago area to attend North Park University’s Zarley Lectures on February 22-23, 2011. This year's lectures will feature Metropolitan Kallistos Ware, Professor Emeritus in Eastern Orthodox Studies, Oxford University, and Bishop of Diokleia. Metropolitan Kallistos is highly regarded as a world renowned theologian of the Eastern Orthodox Church.

Topics will include: "Word and Silence in the Philokalia" and "Orthodox and Evangelicals: What Do We Have to Learn From Each Other?" The lectures are free to the public and will begin at 7:00 pm both nights in Anderson Chapel, on the campus of North Park.

The Bible and Theology Department at North Park hosts the annual lecture series. Notes Dr. Nassif, "It was my turn to invite a speaker. The choice was obvious. The occasion of Metropolitan Kallistos' coming dovetails nicely with the release of a book that will be published next year sometime. It's titled The Philokalia: Exploring a Classic Text in Orthodox Spirituality, edited by Brock Bingaman and myself, and published by Oxford University Press. We have a stellar cast of contributors including Metropolitan Kallistos, Fathers John McGuckin, Andrew Louth and John Chrysavghis, among others."

Ancient Faith Radio has interviewed Dr. Nassif about the event here. For more information, please click here to download the event flyer, including times and location.

"We have all heard our own children, or stories of other children, singing parts of the Divine Liturgy when they were either playing at home or singing in the car when they thought no one else was listening," explains Liz McMillan, Choir Director at St. Elias in Atlanta. Liz has capitalized on that natural love for music through her work with two Archdiocese Departments, Christian Education and Sacred Music; for years, she's taught seminars and written about how to introduce church music to children. Sacred Music recently published her groundbreaking resource guide as a PDF on their webpage. Titled "Introducing Orthodox Liturgical Music to Children", the two versions of the manual (Pre-school to 6 year olds and 7-12 year olds) cover concepts such as how to explain to kids why we sing the music we do, and how to structure music class time. 

Antiochian.org interviewed Liz McMillan to find out why she dedicates so many of her volunteer hours to working with children and church music.

1. Tell us a little about your background, and how you came to be so involved in church music.

Paul Sidebottom of St. Mary in Wichita, will leave for Kolakata (Calcutta), India in mid-March where he has accepted a position at St. Ignatius Orthodox Boys' School. Paul wrote to Bishop Basil: "Your Grace: Your blessing. I can give a little history of the mission there. Father Ignatios (Sennis) a hieromonk of Stravronikita Monastery on Mount Athos began the current mission in India in the 1990s. He was later joined by his cousin, Sister Nectaria (Paradisi) - their family is from Corinth, Greece. In India, our Cathedral of the Holy Transfiguration is in Kolakata, blocks away from the Hindu temple of Kali, the goddess of destruction and patroness of the city.  

Department of Marriage and Parish Family Ministries Director Kh. Maggie Hock encourages couples to enjoy a weekend away at Antiochian Village on February 18-20, attending the retreat "Crowned with Glory and Honor." Retreat leaders Fr. Don and Kh. Maggie have been married for thirty-eight years, have five children and six grandchildren, and will be focusing on romance, expectations in the marriage relationship, and building intimacy. Participants will fellowship with other Orthodox couples and learn more about the Church's teaching about the ingredients of a healthy marriage. Go here for information and to register.

by Fr. John Matusiak

Orthodox Christians observe the beginning of the pre-lenten season  of the Church year through use of a liturgical book known as the Triodion.

[SVOTS Communications/Yonkers, NY] Besides its annual offering of an Iconography Workshop and the Diaconal Liturgical Practicum, St. Vladimir’s Seminary is adding to its June 2011 summer programs two specialized workshops: one addressing Internet pornography and one examining missiology. Additionally, it will host a major conference, “Women Disciples of the Lord,” which is open to women and men. The seminary invites participants to explore all of its upcoming summer programs:

June 7-8: Missiology and Evangelism Workshop: outreach to people of African heritage and Spanish-speaking cultures; led by Fr. Moses Berry of St. Louis, Missouri, and Fr. Antonio Perdomo of Pharr, Texas.

June 9-11: Workshop on Internet Pornography and Chastity: a dual focus workshop for pastors, youth ministers, and educators, concerning 1) pastoral counseling for adults with Internet pornography problems; and 2) chastity for youth and young adults; led by Dr. Albert Rossi.

June 17-19: Women Disciples of the Lord: an exploration of the potential ministries of Orthodox Christian women within the home, the parish, the workplace, and society to build up Christ’s Church. Co-coordinators, Tanya Penkrat, tpenkrat@svots.edu, and Dr. Peter C. Bouteneff, pcb@svots.edu, are inviting feedback to help shape the conference.

June 19-23: 5th Annual Diaconal Liturgical Practicum: practical liturgical training for deacons and lay diaconal candidates, supported by celebration of liturgical services and intensive workshops; led by Archdeacon Kirill Sokolov, Fr. Sergius Halvorsen, and seminary faculty.

Secretariat of the Assembly of BishopsThe participants in the thirteen committees formed by the Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops have been announced. Antiochian bishops will be serving on several key committees. All of the members of each committee have been chosen as well as the respective committee Chairs, and the finalized list is available here. Under the oversight of each committee Chair, members will address the tasks as articulated in the Committee Descriptions. Each committee has the goal of assembling a minimum of one time, in advance of the forthcoming meeting of the entire Assembly in May.

In addition to the role His Grace Bishop Basil will play as Secretary of the Assembly, Antiochian bishops will be active in several other capacities. His Eminence Metropolitan Philip will be serving on the Committee for Canonical Affairs; His Grace Bishop Antoun will participate as a member of the Committee for Clergy Affairs; His Grace Bishop Alexander will serve as a member of the Committee for Ecumenical Relations; His Grace Bishop Joseph will chair the Committee for Pastoral Practice; and His Grace Bishop Thomas will chair the Committee for Youth.

February is a season for conferences, as Orthodox Christians go indoors to escape the cold while enjoying fellowship and spiritual enrichment. 

In a cyberspace gathering on February 11 and 12, the organization Illumination Learning ("Bringing Together Orthodox Christian Resources to Share with Each Other") will be hosting "Orthodoxy in the Home" in the first annual Orthodox Christian Online Education Conference. The line-up of speakers includes Fr. Luke Veronis, who will talk about how to teach children about missions; the sister singers of Eikona, who will discuss "Teaching Our Families the Hymns of Our Church"; and Antiochian priest Fr. Joseph Huneycutt, who will expound on how humor and the funny moments of family life are teachable moments too. Go here to register virtually, for this virtual conference! 

The following weekend, February 18 and 19, The Climacus Conference will tackle great themes in philosophy, theology and literature in their series of lectures held at St. Michael Orthodox Church in Louisville, Kentucky. Clothing, food, Plato, marriage, Dostoevsky, a movie screening and more, will be discussed by academic notables such as Vigen Guroian and by popular authors such as Conciliar Press writer Molly Sabourin.

That same weekend, the pan-Orthodox coalition North Texas Orthodox Missions, is sponsoring the 2011 Festival of Orthodoxy Conference in two Texas cities, Fort Worth and Dallas. Featured guests Kh. Frederica Mathewes-Green and Dr. H. Tristram Engelhardt Jr. will speak to the theme, “From Conception to Dying: Orthodox Christian Views in Today’s World.” Go here for information and registration.

By Carolyn Kouracos

“Let no one despise your youth, but be an example to the believers in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity.” – 1 Timothy 4:12

Hunger Strike is a new youth ministry of the Orthodox Christian Mission Center (OCMC). Launched this year on a national level, Hunger Strike is already becoming a growing youth movement. Started at St. Paul’s Greek Orthodox Church in Irvine, CA three years ago, this vibrant ministry has already raised more than $10,000 and has Orthodox Christian teens striving to make a difference in the world by sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ and giving to those in need.

Hunger Strike is coordinated by local parishes, where teens fast for 30 hours while they participate in activities which raise both awareness and money for the needs of those throughout the world who suffer the effects of poverty and who hunger for the hope found in Christ.

By Carole A. Buleza

I am not alone in thinking there is something very wrong with Christianity today. A particularly salient symptom is the phrase, “It doesn’t matter the church you go to, we all worship the same God.” The disorder has been named “relativism,” but I believe I have found the true diagnosis: moralistic therapeutic deism.

By Carole A. Buleza, Director

I am not alone in thinking there is something very wrong with Christianity today. A particularly salient symptom is the phrase, “It doesn’t matter the church you go to, we all worship the same God.” The disorder has been named “relativism,” but I believe I have found the true diagnosis: moralistic therapeutic deism.

I came across the phrase “moralistic therapeutic deism,” or “MTD,” in the middle of Soul Searching: The Religious and Spiritual Lives of American Teenagers, by Christian Smith with Melinda Lundquist Denton (Oxford University Press, 2005). The book is the research report of professors at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. By way of forms, phone calls, and personal interviews, they surveyed 3,290 teenagers from around the United States to find out how important their faith was to them, why, and in what ways. The book contains stories as well as data, and received Christianity Today’s 2006 Christianity and Culture Book Award–-well-deserved.

Baltimore, MD (IOCC) 

Dear Reverend Fathers, Youth Leaders, and Church School Directors, 

Souper Bowl Sunday 2012 is coming! Team up with International Orthodox Christian Charities (IOCC) and SOYO in our 14th annual Souper Bowl of Caring. Rally your parish and church youth to champion this social service ministry by feeding the poor and caring for those in need around the world. 

It's easy! Just follow the simple guidelines to lead your youth towards recognition as Souper Bowl MVPs! Your youth can collect donations on or near February 5, 2012 and direct the collected donations to IOCC or a local charity of their choosing. 

Let's carry the excitement of Super Bowl Sunday into the homes and lives of people in need throughout the world: $200 collected from your parish youth can provide a refugee with vocational training; $100 can help provide a child in a developing nation with a much needed wheelchair or help bring books to inner city schoolchildren across the United States.  It's a simple but significant act that reminds us what is truly important. Your parish youth have the power to make a positive difference. Join hundreds of other Orthodox Christian parishes around the country participating in the Souper Bowl of Caring as an opportunity to demonstrate your concern for the hungry. 

NEW YORK – goarch.org   Scout Sunday will be observed this year on February 6. It is always observed on the Sunday immediately preceding the 8th of February, unless the 8th falls on a Sunday.

The observance of Scout Sunday tradition was started years ago to make people in the Church aware of Scouting, and to allow Scouts to live out of what is pledged each week. The Scout Law says that a “Scout is Reverent” and the Scouts of all ages promise to do their “Duty to God." These values strengthen youth character in their family, community and faith.

In 1960, the Standing Conference of Canonical Orthodox Bishops in the Americas [SCOBA] created and endorsed the Eastern Orthodox Committee on Scouting [EOCS] as part of their youth ministry. This was the first agency created by SCOBA.

The EOCS Executive Board encourages all Eastern Orthodox Churches to recognize and celebrate this Boy Scout Centennial even if their church does not sponsor a Scout unit.

Some Scout Sunday Ideas:

Janice BidwellAncient Faith Radio (AFR) podcast The Illumined Heart has released an interview with lifelong Antiochian Christian Janice Bidwell titled "The Quiet Cradle."   Asks host Kevin Allen in the podcast's description, "Are converts to Orthodox Christianity dominating the media with their 'journey stories' and 'fast-paced, high-energy' perspectives, while the more quiet, perhaps lumbering, but deeply-rooted faith of cradle-born Orthodox is obscured in the process? Are traditions and customs being introduced by some convert clergy and laity that feel new and even strange to those with deep Orthodox roots? Is there a growing 'cradle - convert gap' in the Orthodox Church in North America?"

Janice Bidwell attends St. Anthony the Great Antiochian Orthodox Church in La Jolla, California, an active and diverse parish in a suburb of San Diego. A blogger who writes under the name Prudence True, Janice is also a wife, homeschooling mother, and a professor of nursing at San Diego State University. As she explains in her interview with Kevin Allen, Bidwell began to write reflections about growing up Orthodox when she noticed that most of the writers on websites and blogs were converts to the faith. In pieces such as Beyond My Eyes, Janice began to explore the meaning of her heritage, passed from generation to generation in her family, and what it had been like to grow up Orthodox in the midst of an American culture dominated by other Christian traditions.

by Fr. Meletios Webber

It is perhaps no accident that Holy Matrimony is the one rite of the Church that is actually called a “mystery” in the Holy Scriptures. The presence of Jesus at the wedding in Cana is, in the tradition of the Church, indication enough that marriage is something wonderful and something to be treasured, a “great mystery” (Ephesians 5:32).

We need always to bear in mind that a large number of the most important commentators on the Orthodox life have been monastic men and women. It is hardly surprising that when monastics are writing for other monks and nuns, they tend to praise the virtues of chastity and celibacy and to be on guard against any possible infringement of those virtues. Nevertheless, the experience of the Church as a whole has never suggested that the monastic state is somehow spiritually superior to that of married people, and the theology of the Mysteries guarantees that the path to sanctity is open to the married person and the single person alike.

Marriage and Society

Perhaps the most interesting fact about marriage is that, without the help of God, it cannot work. What couples are trying to achieve is impossible, unless the grace of God is allowed to help.

Certainly, if marriage was difficult in times past, it is all but impossible now. There are many reasons for this. The vision of what marriage is all about has changed considerably since the Church was born over two thousand years ago. Even when we assume that certain things have remained constant—that people fall in love, that they subconsciously seek to prolong the species by having children—other enormous changes have taken place, mainly because of economic and sociological factors that have little to do with the experience of the Church, and more to do with society in general.

Archimandrite John Abdalah"Following Christ through Crisis" is the theme of the 2011 Orthodox Christian Fellowship (OCF) Chaplain Conference, which will be held at Antiochian Village on February 8-10, 2011. This yearly conference, composed of clergy and lay leaders of local OCF chapters, will feature Antiochian priest Fr. John Abdalah in the keynote sessions. Fr. John, a licensed counselor, is a seasoned OCF chaplain who has worked at the University of Pittsburgh. Fr. John is also a founder of the Orthodox Pastoral Counseling Institute in Pittsburgh.

A variety of mini-clinics will be available, featuring topics such as "The First Two Weeks of the Semester," and "Developing Continuity in Student Leadership."

Twenty scholarships covering all travel and registration costs are going to be awarded to qualified applicants, thanks to a matching grant offered by The Lilly Endowment for the Theological Exploration of Vocations. Current OCF chaplains as well as those interested in the chaplaincy are eligible and encouraged to apply.

Antiochian priest Fr. Michael Nasser, OCF's North American Chaplain notes, "It's simply the way things are: the great majority of college students today will face multiple crises during their college years. Most students do well until a crisis hits, and that's when many lose their way. We hope we can better equip our chaplains to help our students get through these challenging times, holding fast to Christ and His Church as their anchor." Click here for more information and here to register.

WASHINGTON, DC [OCA] -- His Beatitude, Metropolitan Jonah, will once again lead Orthodox Christian faithful at the annual March for Life here on Monday, January 24, 2011.

Joining Metropolitan Jonah will be His Grace, Bishop Tikhon of Philadelphia and Eastern Pennsylvania; His Grace, Bishop Michael of New York and New Jersey; His Grace, Bishop Melchisedek of Pittsburgh and Western Pennsylvania; Archimandrite Matthias, Bishop-Elect of Chicago and the Midwest; students from Saint Tikhon's Seminary, South Canaan, PA and Saint Vladimir's Seminary, Crestwood, NY; and hundreds of Orthodox Christian clergy and faithful from through the region and beyond.

On the morning of the March, Metropolitan Jonah will preside at the celebration of the Divine Liturgy at the cathedral at 8:00 a.m. Thereafter, marchers are asked to gather by 12:30 p.m. under the "Orthodox Christians for Life" banner to the left of the stage at the Ellipse, between the Washington Monument and the national Mall. Metropolitan Jonah will be one of several speakers to address the public at the pre-March program. Archpriest John Kowalczyk, a pro-life activist involved in the March for Life for over 25 years, will deliver the final benediction at the formal program prior to the March.

At the conclusion of the March, Metropolitan Jonah and the hierarchs will offer prayers for the victims of abortion.

On Sunday, January 23, the eve of the March, the faithful are invited to join Metropolitan Jonah for Vespers at Saint Nicholas Cathedral, 3500 Massachusetts Ave. NW, at 6:00 p.m. A reception will follow.

His Grace Bishop Basil encourages Antiochian Christians to support outreach ministries and remember abortion's victims in his appeal here.