Order of St. Ignatius News

View the photo gallery on the Archdiocese Flickr site.

From November 3–5, 2017, the Archdiocese's Board of Trustees and the governing council of the Order of St. Ignatius of Antioch held their Annual Fall meeting in Ottawa, Ontario.

His Eminence Metropolitan JOSEPH, the bishops of the Archdiocese, Vice Chair of the Board of Trustees Mr. Fawaz Al Khoury, and all other trustees and departments visited Ottawa to hold their meetings, which were hosted by St. Elias Antiochian Orthodox Cathedral.

The love and generosity of the host community was evident and the attendees left with a beautiful impression about the God-protected parish of St. Elias. During the Hierarchal Divine Liturgy on Sunday, His Eminence inducted new members into the Order of St. Ignatius and upgraded some members to Metropolitan and Life Members. His Eminence also acknowledged Fr. Ghattas' 40th Anniversary in the Holy Priesthood, an occasion he missed because of synodical obligations overseas, and wished Fr. Ghattas many years of health.

Woodland Hills, CA

Although they are called the "Fall Meetings," to those assembled therein, they are more than just meetings.

By the grace of God, His Eminence Metropolitan Joseph has inaugurated a full spiritual weekend for the bishops, clergy leaders, and lay leaders of the Antiochian Archdiocese at the annual Fall Meetings on October 23-25, 2015. The weekend is co-hosted by St. Michael Church of Van Nuys and St. Nicholas Cathedral of Los Angeles.

Joining Sayidna Joseph are his brother hierarchs: Their Graces, Bishop Basil of Wichita and Mid-America; Bishop Thomas of Charleston, Oakland and the Mid-Atlantic; Bishop John of Worcester and New England; Bishop Anthony of Toledo and the Midwest; and Bishop Nicholas of Brooklyn.

During celebrations for the 85th anniversary of St. Elias Cathedral in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, His Eminence Metropolitan Joseph inducted 22 new members in to the Order of St. Ignatius, including three life members. Celebrations at the Cathedral and the inductions took place over the weekend of September 12-13, 2015.

by Fr. Joseph Antypas

...for just as there are two coinages, the one of God, and the other of the world, and each has its own stamp impressed on it, unbelievers that of this world, believers (with love) the stamp of God the Father through Jesus Christ; and unless we voluntarily choose to die in relation to his passion, his life is not in us.

-St. Ignatius of Antioch, to the Magnesians

The Patron saint of our honorable Order wrote his pastoral letters as he was heading to Rome, the capital of the Roman Empire, on his way to martyrdom. St. Ignatius is not an intellectual philosopher who dealt with spiritual issues on a rational scale, as we sometimes do. His short letters are radiated with love for Jesus Christ who came to our world in order to save us.

We, as members of the holy church, are bonded with the Lord, Jesus Christ, through our baptism and the Holy Eucharist. The Christian believer inherits the gift of the resurrection when he/she makes the right choice and when the human person becomes sealed by the Spirit of God. We become alive with Christ, and we share in His death and resurrection. While we are subject to death, we are capable also to embrace the gift of eternal life from our resurrected Lord. As members and partakers of the death and resurrection of Christ, Baptism pulls away the old man of corruption and sin, renewing in us the image of the risen Lord.

The month of December every year is designated as Order of St. Ignatius month, in conjunction with the feast day of St. Ignatius on December 20. The Order is the philanthropic arm of the Antiochian Archdiocese and one of its most vital lay ministries, under the guidance of Metropolitan Joseph and the Archdiocese Board of Trustees. Currently, there are nearly 3,000 active members supporting approximately 38% of the Archdiocese's budget, as well as a host of other worthy causes including: camping and college conference scholarships, married seminarian assistance, Antiochian Village, Teen SOYO Special Olympics, theological and religious education, clergy retirement, Project Mexico, International Orthodox Christian Charities (IOCC), The Treehouse Family Ministry, and Orthodox Christian Fellowship (OCF).

Dr. Elias K. Hebeka, the former North America Vice-Chair for the Order, wrote in December 2012's The Word magazine that the Order's Governing Council "is a group of volunteers, elected or appointed members of our Antiochian Orthodox Archdiocese, that has the responsibility to make many of the important decisions for the Order. 

Memory Eternal!

George T. Mahshie, 87 of Syracuse NY, passed away at home on May 5, 2014. Mr. Mahshie, a lifelong resident of Syracuse, was the son of Towfick Mahshie and Malakie (Atallah) Mahshie. Mr. Mahshie attended public and parochial schools in Syracuse, graduating from Eastwood High School in 1944. He served from 1944 to 1946 in the U.S. Navy. Upon his release Mr. Mahshie attended Syracuse University where he received his bachelor's degree in 1949. He engaged in various employments and received his law degree from Syracuse University College of Law in 1955. George was an attorney and counselor at law practicing law in New York State Courts, Federal Courts, and United States Supreme Court, maintaining a general practice of law until October 1988. Mr. Mahshie was a member of the Onondaga County, New York and American Bar Associations.

After his law practice Mr. Mahshie maintained a real estate brokerage business during which time he was President of Mahshie Realty and then on a part time basis, until his death working with his wife, Laraine, in the brokerage firms of Mincom 5 Star Realty and eL-M Real Estate. Mr. Mahshie was a member of the Greater Syracuse Association of Realtors, the New York State Association of Realtors as well as the National Association of Realtors.

Beatrice Monsour Davis, beloved wife of David L. Davis of blessed memory, passed into eternal life on Sunday, February 2, 2014, one week shy of her 99th birthday, in her adopted home of Naples, Florida.

She was the cherished mother of Samuel and Marcia Davis, Archpriest Joseph and Diane Shaheen, and of Laila Corey.

Her love and devotion to her grandchildren was boundless: Just ask Rebecca and Richard Cosentino, Joseph and Maria Shaheen and Philip Shaheen; George and Lucy Corey; David and Megan Corey; Michael and Grisel Corey and Jonathan Corey; Christopher and Suzanne Davis and Jennifer Davis.

She was Grammy to: Gabrielle, Laurence, Frederique, and Lucas Cosentino; Matthew and Augusten Corey, and William and Addy Davis.

On Sunday, December 8, 2013, His Eminence Metropolitan Philip inducted eight new members into the Order of St. Ignatius of Antioch. Order of St. Ignatius Chairwoman Mary Winstanley-O'Connor traveled to Brooklyn for the Cathedral's Patronal Feast weekend to join His Eminence Metropolitan Philip and the Cathedral Dean and Vicar-General Archpriest Thomas Zain as eight new members of The Order were inducted from the Cathedral community, including one life member.

Pictured from left to right: Mr. Nicholas Roberts, Life Member; Miss Rose Faris, Dame; Mr. Ghandi Moussa, Knight; Mr. Issam El-Achkar, Knight Commander; Mr. Jiries Khoury, Knight; Mrs. Siham Cabbad, Dame; Khourieh Claudia Zain, Dame; Dr. Naim Mansuroglu, Knight.

On Sunday, October 20th, 2013, His Eminence Metropolitan Philip inducted several new members into the Order of St. Ignatius during the 100th anniversary celebrations at St. George Church in Troy, Michigan. Shown in the photo, from left to right: Raina Khalife, Sue Hajal, Dr. Simon Katrib, Rita Fakhouri, Metropolitan Philip, Awni Fakhouri, Fr. Joseph Antypas, Anita Pollock, Ziad Fakhoury, Fr. Ayman Kfouf, Christine Antypas Valijan, Dolla Khalife, Fadia Mokbel Shedid, Dr. Mitchel Salhany.

Fr. Anthony MillerHis Grace Bishop Basil writes:

MEMORY ETERNAL! Our beloved and highly esteemed brother and concelebrant in the sacred mysteries Fr. Anthony Miller, proistamenos at St. Peter Church in Fort Worth, Texas, fell asleep in Christ around midnight after a long and heroic battle with cancer at the age of 54. Fr. Anthony is survived by his wife Khouriya Kim and their three children Carla, Luke and Matthew. Fr. Anthony was also the spiritual advisor for the Order of St. Ignatius in the Diocese of Wichita.

Bill Hinkle is a founding member of Prophet Elijah Antiochian Orthodox Mission in Ellensburg, WA, a member of the Order of St. Ignatius, and a graduate of the Antiochian House of Studies. Bill's varied history also includes a stint as the Minority Whip of the Washington State House of Representatives, a career as a firefighter paramedic, service as a county commissioner, civic involvement in boards and a leadership institute, and a career in health insurance. He recently launched a bi–monthly podcast with the Orthodox Christian Network (OCN) called "Our Life in Christ and in America." Antiochian.org spoke with Bill about the many hats he wears. 

1. How long have you been Orthodox and how did you discover the Church? Tell us a little about your parish.

I told my wife on our first date that I wanted to know God, live a Christian life and find the Church, but wasn't sure how to do any of that. Almost 10 years later in 1999, we met Fr. George and Pres. Dianthe Livanos on a ferry dock in Port Angeles Washington the week before Thanksgiving. He had travelled from Canonsburg, PA and we were on vacation six hours from our house. We spent 45 minutes crossing the Strait of Juan De Fuca on a ferry talking about "the historic church" as Fr. George explained it to us.