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Unexpected Joy Icon of the Mother of God Unexpected Joy Temple of the Holy Trinity in Listy Unexpected Joy Icon of the Mother of God The icon is written in commemoration of the following event: one sinner, as he was on his way to commit a sin, said a prayer for his success to the Mother of God. In response she, in anger, pointed at the immediately opened wounds on the hands and feet of the Divine Child sitting on her lap, and explained to the sinner that every time when someone falls into sin, the wounds begin to torment...

Russian Monasticism After Communism Interview With Orthodox Monk on Old and New Challenges By Antonio Gaspari ROME, NOV. 5, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Having survived Soviet Communism, Russian Orthodox monasticism now faces the new threat of secularization as it passes through a period of testing that only time can heal. Father Petr Mescerinov expressed these ideas as he discussed with ZENIT the new and enduring challenges of Russian monasticism. The hegumen (a title similar to abbot) of the St. Daniil Monastery of Moscow was in Italy for a conference on Eastern and Western monasticism. Father Mescerinov is vice-director of the Center for...

Writings of the Fathers of the Church  Alexander of Alexandria (Saint)   - Epistles on the Arian Heresy and the Deposition of Arius Alexander of Lycopolis   - Of the Manicheans Ambrose (340-397) (Saint) (Doctor)   - On the Christian Faith (De fide)   - On the Holy Spirit   - On the Mysteries   - On Repentance   - On the Duties of the Clergy   - Concerning Virgins   - Concerning Widows   - On the Death of Satyrus   - Memorial of Symmachus   - Sermon against Auxentius   - Letters Aphrahat/Aphraates (c. 280-367)   - Demonstrations Archelaus   - Acts of the Disputation with the Heresiarch Manes Aristides the Philosopher   - The Apology Arnobius   - Against the Heathen Athanasius (Saint) (Doctor)   - Against the Heathen   - On the Incarnation...

Christ, Lunatic or God? If reason alone were all we had to establish the existence and essence of God, we might feel curiously dissatisfied. If God is a Supreme Spirit, omnipotent and of total benevolence, the origin and end of us all, why does He not speak and re-assure us? The Christian claim is that, in fact, God has spoken to mankind first in the prophets of the Old Testament and last of all through His Son made man. The historical existence of Christ is what we are now concerned with and also with His claim to be the Son...

Abandoning the diplomatic language typical of ecumenical pronouncements, the North American Orthodox-Catholic Theological Consultation, chaired by Archbishop Gregory Aymond of New Orleans and Greek Orthodox Metropolitan Maximos of Pittsburgh, has issued a candid critique of the 2007 “Ravenna document,” a modest milestone in Catholic-Orthodox ecumenical relations. The Ravenna document, while not purporting to be the Church’s official teaching, was issued by the Joint International Commission for the Theological Dialogue between the Roman Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church, chaired by Cardinal Walter Kasper and Metropolitan Ioannis of Pergamon. A month after the document was issued, Cardinal Kasper told other cardinals...

Five Hard Truths That Will Set You FreeBy: Msgr. Charles Pope Some years ago I read an essay by the Franciscan Theologian Richard Rohr. I will say that I do not share a lot of agreement with Richard Rohr (no need to detail that here) but I found this particular essay compelling. I do not recall the exact title of that essay but in my mind the title “Five Hard Truths that Will Set You Free� seems the best title. The following five truths from that essay are indeed hard truths. They tend to rock our world and stab...

Most Learned President, Father Joseph McShane, Esteemed Members of the Board of Trustees and Beloved Brothers of the Society of Jesus, Most Learned Professors and Students, Your Eminences and Graces, Distinguished Guests, Beloved children and people of God, Introduction: The Ecumenical Imperative It is with sincere gratitude that we accept this invaluable honor of being received into the doctoral college of this esteemed Jesuit school. We welcome this privilege as a recognition of the sacred ministry of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, an Apostolic institution with a history spanning seventeen centuries, throughout retaining its See in Constantinople. Yet, our Church is no...

"This is the day the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad." Your All Holiness, in the name of Christ our Savior, I welcome you to the University Church, this historic house of prayer that has stood at the center of the University's campus and mission since it was built by our founder, Archbishop John Hughes, in 1844. Your All Holiness, your Eminences, your Graces and your Excellencies, Mr. Tognino, members of the Board of Trustees, the faculty, the administration and student body of the University, and faithful and devoted members of the Orthodox Christian communities of America,...

Larry David found comedy fodder in piety on the latest episode of his series, “Curb Your Enthusiasm.’ On the show’s most recent installment, which aired Sunday, David urinates on a painting of Jesus Christ, causing a woman to believe the painting depicts Jesus crying. … During Sunday’s episode, David, who created, wrote and produced “Seinfeld,” visits a bathroom in his assistant’s home and splatters urine on a picture of Jesus. Instead of wiping it off, David leaves the restroom. Minutes later, David’s assistant enters the bathroom and concludes that Jesus is crying. She then summons her mother to the bathroom,...

The calendar has been produced by the Madrid Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transsexual collective COGAM Controversy in Madrid with the launch of a 2010 lay calendar which shows images of ‘transsexual virgins’ recreating religious scenes decorated with crowns, condoms and phallic symbols. The lay calendar takes the religion out of the dates of the year, so Christmas Day becomes the day you eat the traditional Spanish turron to mark International Democracy Day, for example. The images are all based on famous Catholic images and iconography. The Venezuelan photographer who assembled the calendar, Juan Antinoo, had been commissioned by COGAM, the...

Stockholm, Sweden, Oct 25, 2009 / 04:52 pm (CNA).- The Catholic and Orthodox Churches of Sweden have responded with “sadness” to the Swedish Lutheran Church General Synod’s decision to hold homosexual “weddings” in churches, saying the move departs from the Christian tradition and will widen the gap between the churches.Fr. Fredrik Emanuelson, head of ecumenical efforts in the Swedish Catholic Church, joined Orthodox representative Fr. Misha Jaksic in a statement that said the churches learned of the Lutherans’ decision “with sadness.”“It is a swing away not only from Christian tradition but also from the point of view on the nature...

America's Orthodox Christians, divided for decades among about 10 churches based on Greek or Serb or other ancestry, soon may be moving toward the formation of a united American Orthodox church. Many of them have dreamed of that for decades, especially as conversions to Orthodoxy have skyrocketed. But most church patriarchs have squelched such talk. Now it appears that the patriarchs are not only supporting but demanding some sort of unity. To explore what this may mean for believers in the United States, the independent, pan-Orthodox group Orthodox Christian Laity will gather for three days, starting Thursday, at Antiochian Village...

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- In the midst of a protest by a small number of Orthodox monks and faithful, the official Catholic-Orthodox dialogue commission met in Cyprus Oct. 16-23. The meeting of the Joint International Commission for Theological Dialogue Between the Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church focused on a key factor in the ongoing division between Catholic and Orthodox: the role of the pope as bishop of Rome. The protesters -- who were arrested Oct. 20, the third day of their demonstration -- claimed that the ongoing dialogue between the two churches was aimed at getting the Orthodox...

PAPHOS, Cyprus, OCT. 23, 2009 (Zenit.org).- The International Mixed Commission for Theological Dialogue Between the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church has progressed in its reflection on the role of the bishop of Rome. The commission issued a joint communiqué reporting on its progress at the end of its 11th plenary session, ended today in Paphos. The document in question is titled "The Role of the Bishop of Rome in the Communion of the Church in the First Millennium." The document is based on a draft prepared by an Orthodox-Catholic committee, which met in Crete last year. At present, the...

Pope Benedict has sure gotten the ball rolling and it seems others want to get into the ecumenical action! Thanks to A Catholic Knight on this one: A Bulgarian Orthodox prelate told Benedict XVI of his desire for unity, and his commitment to accelerate communion with the Catholic Church. At the end of Wednesday's general audience, Bishop Tichon, head of the diocese for Central and Western Europe of the Patriarchate of Bulgaria, stated to the Pope, "We must find unity as soon as possible and finally celebrate together," L'Osservatore Romano reported. "People don't understand our divisions and our discussions," the...

VATICAN CITY, OCT. 22, 2009 (Zenit.org).- A Bulgarian Orthodox prelate told Benedict XVI of his desire for unity, and his commitment to accelerate communion with the Catholic Church. At the end of Wednesday's general audience, Bishop Tichon, head of the diocese for Central and Western Europe of the Patriarchate of Bulgaria, stated to the Pope, "We must find unity as soon as possible and finally celebrate together," L'Osservatore Romano reported. "People don't understand our divisions and our discussions," the bishop stated. He affirmed that he will "not spare any efforts" to work for the quick restoration of "communion between Catholics...

BANNER-WAVING Orthodox protestors yesterday put a stop to a Catholic wedding ceremony at Ayios Yiorgios church in Chlorakas after shouting a string of abuse at the priest and others in the church. The protestors had gathered for the second day outside a conference of the Joint Commission for Theological Dialogue between the Roman Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church. The small church is opposite the venue. Protestors were incensed when the Catholic priest, who has permission from the Church of Cyprus to hold ceremonies, asked them to leave. Instead they heckled him to leave. “We peacefully call on you to...

First the atheists began an ad campaign in London, and now atheists are getting ready to advertise that they are “Good without God”. Starting next Monday, a coalition of local groups will run a monthlong advertising campaign in a dozen Manhattan subway stations with the slogan “A Million New Yorkers Are Good Without God. Are You?” The posters also advertise the Web site BigAppleCoR.org, which provides a listing of local groups affiliated with the Coalition of Reason, the umbrella organization that coordinated the campaign.The campaign — which is being paid for by $25,000 from an anonymous donor — follows a...

The second meeting for dialogue between Catholics and Orthodox, taking place in Cyprus, sees strong protest and progress at a standstill for fear of "subjugating the Orthodox to the Pope in Rome." Even among Catholics there is dogmatic resistance. A call to all from Johannes Zizoulas, Metropolitan of Pergamon, tenacious advocate of the value of dialogue.Paphos (AsiaNews) - The 2nd round of dialogue between Catholics and Orthodox is being held in Paphos (Cyprus) from October 16 to 23. Progress, however, appears a distant goal. Two days ago, groups of traditionalist Orthodox monks and Orthodox priests from Larnaca interrupted the meeting...

Tbilisi, October 13, Interfax - Catholicos-Patriarch Ilia II of All Georgia deplored the secession of Abkhazia and South Ossetia from Georgia. At a meeting in Tbilisi with the primate of the Orthodox Church in America (OCA), Metropolitan Jonah of All America and Canada, Ilia insisted that Georgia's territorial integrity be restored. There is no peace in the Caucasus, the Georgian Patriarch said. The Georgian Patriarchate told Interfax an OCA delegation had come to Georgia with Jonah, who is on a six-days visit to the Caucasus nation. Ilia briefed Jonah and his delegation on the situation in Abkhazia and South Ossetia....

Archbishop Hilarion of Volokolamsk is a rising star in the Russian Orthodox Church. Only 43 and an accomplished scholar, liturgist and composer, earlier this year he was appointed head of the Church’s external relations (effectively their foreign minister), replacing Metropolitan Kirill, who was elected Patriarch of the Russian Orthodox in January. In mid-September, Archbishop Hilarion made his first visit to Rome in his new capacity. In an extensive e-mail interview Oct. 5, the archbishop discusses that visit, recent speculation that Catholic-Orthodox union could be imminent, and the challenges in furthering the current dialogue. How happy have you been with...

The search for an identity that began after the collapse of Communism remains a critical question for Russians. The Orthodox Church is the only institution that unites Russians with their “near abroad” and has survived throughout the country’s long history. Today, the state needs the church much more than vice-versa.

Synaxarion: Saint Symeon became a monk of the Studite Monastery as a young man, under the guidance of the elder Symeon the Pious. Afterwards he struggled at the Monastery of Saint Mamas in Constantinople, of which he became abbot. After enduring many trials and afflictions in his life of piety, he reposed in 1022. Marvelling at the heights of prayer and holiness to which he attained, and the loftiness of the teachings of his life and writings, the church calls him "the New Theologian." Only to two others, John the Evangelist and Gregory, Patriarch of Constantinople, has the church...

The Rosary and MeA young man, nineteen years old, trudges up a hill in Berkeley, California. Asked by his parents to leave his New York home, he hitchhiked across the country with a friend. He has moved from crash pad to crash pad, and slept in backyards and in the grassy hills behind the University. He has been taken in by an Episcopal priest and his wife, and gets room and board in exchange for house-cleaning and baby-sitting. His lips move as he climbs, and in his hand is a cheap rosary.

The Abkhazian wing of the Georgian Orthodox Church is seeking full independence from its neighbor. After the conflict between the two in the ‘90s, it’s been hoping for church freedom and counts on Russia’s support. Nothing seems to have changed in a small church in the town of Novy Afon since the Abkhazian wing split from the Georgian Orthodox church. Father Vissarion Allia is an active supporter of the Church’s self-rule. Together with local worshippers he would like to see the parishes under the temporary control of Moscow since the republic has been recognised by Russia, eventually leading to a...

More Protestants Find a Home in the Orthodox Antioch Church By SAMUEL G. FREEDMAN Published: October 2, 2009 LINTHICUM HEIGHTS, Md. — Cal Oren was threading his way through the Santa Cruz Mountains of California early one evening in 1993, driving his wife, brother and three tired children back from a day of hiking amid the redwoods. As their car neared the town of Ben Lomond, Mr. Oren said, his brother pointed to a church on the roadside and said: “I’ve been inside this. It’s really neat.” So Mr. Oren pulled to a stop, and as the children stayed in...

Published Tuesday September 22, 2009 Saintly names from Russia The Omaha Symphony presents “Passport to Russia” Friday and Saturday. This concert of music by Russian composers features Russian pianist Kirill Gerstein. Many Russian names, like Russian music, manage the trick of sounding exotic and familiar to Americans at the same time. Kirill is the Russian form of Cyril, which goes back to the ancient Greek word kyrios, “lord.” It's used in Russia to honor St. Cyril, a ninth-century Greek Orthodox missionary. Along with his brother Methodius, he created the Cyrillic alphabet still used to write Russian. Like the Roman Catholic...

I have been asked "to reflect on the way in which the scriptural images of the Church are related to the understanding of the nature of the Church in the Orthodox Tradition". The space allotted this reflection is surely inadequate to a tradition which spans (or anyway claims to span) the four millenia from the call of Abraham to the present day. What follows can therefore be little more than the merest sketch, entirely dependent moreover on my own debateable powers of selection and synthesis, and thus necessarily partial and incomplete. It will, in short, reflect my own present concerns...

The blessings of the grapesBy Kate Gonzales Posted: Tuesday, September 29, 2009 10:35 AM CDT Father John Finley sings hymns Sunday with children after he has blessed Lavender Ridge Vineyard grapes. Enterprise photos by Kate GonzalesFinley blesses thousands of grapes with holy water. Enterprise photo by Kate GonzalesLavender Ridge Vineyard owners Rich and Siri Gilpin added an extra ingredient to their winegrapes this weekend: holy water. Friends, family and employees of the Gilpins traveled out to their vineyard along the rolling golden hills of Milton to enjoy the second annual ceremony of the blessing of the grapes. “It's just new...

The Russian Primary Chronicle on how Russia was Christianized "Invitation to the Rus" 860-862 (6368-6370) [The four tribes who had been forced to pay tribute to the Varangians--Chuds, Slavs, Merians, and Krivichians] drove the Varangians back beyond the sea, refused to pay them further tribute, and set out to govern themselves. But there was no law among them, and tribe rose against tribe. Discord thus ensued among them, and they began to war one against the other. They said to themselves, "Let us seek a prince who may rule over us, and judge us according to custom [po nravu]". Thus...

Maronite image of Saint Thecla, taken from Our Lady of Lebanon Maronite Catholic Church (The following is excerpted from the 23 September entry in Volume XIV of the 1983 Marian House edition of the English translation of Dom Prosper Guéranger's 'The Liturgical Year' by the Benedictines of Stanbrook.) "While honouring the first successor of St. Peter [St. Linus], Rome commemorates the protomartyr of the female sex. Together with holy Church, then, let us unite in the concert of praise unanimously lavished upon [Saint] Thecla by the fathers of east and west. When the martyr pontiff Methodius [Saint Methodius of Olympus]...

Wednesday, September 23, 2009 Summorum Pontificum and reunion with the Eastern OrthodoxBy Brian Kopp A tantalizing headline is making its rounds in Catholic news circles: Is Catholic-Orthodox Unity in Sight? In his Inside the Vatican Newsflash Letter #29 today, Dr. Robert Moynihan examines the implications of recent meetings between Rome and a representative of the Orthodox Patriarch of Moscow: A fourth consideration is the relationship of the Roman Catholic Church to the world's Orthodox Churches. It became clear last week, during a very cordial visit to Rome by a representative of the Orthodox Patriarch of Moscow, that relations between Catholicism...

WASHINGTON, D.C., SEPT. 21, 2009 (Zenit.org)- Sometimes there are no fireworks. Turning points can pass in silence, almost unobserved. It may be that way with the "Great Schism," the most serious division in the history of the Church. The end of the schism may come more quickly and more unexpectedly than most imagine. On Sept. 18, inside Castel Gandolfo, the Pope's summer palace about 30 miles outside Rome, a Russian Orthodox Archbishop named Hilarion Alfeyev, 43 (a scholar, theologian, expert on the liturgy, composer and lover of music), met with Benedict XVI, 82 (also a scholar, theologian, expert on the...

St. Basil's Cathedral in Moscow. Zenit yesterday published a pair of articles that provide corroboration of Daily Blog entries posted last week by Edward Pentin here and here, indicating progress on the road to unity between the Catholic and Orthodox Churches. One of the Zenit articles is an analysis by Robert Moynihan of Orthodox Archbishop HilarionÂ’s visit to Rome. Moynihan highlights the significance of the meeting that took place Sept. 18 between Archbishop Hilarion, who is chairman of the Department of External Affairs of the Moscow Patriarchate, and Pope Benedict XVI . Writes Moynihan, On Sept. 18, inside Castel Gandolfo,...

Featured Term (selected at random):ANAPHORA 1. The part of the Mass in the Greek Rite corresponding to the Latin canon; 2. the offering of the Eucharistic bread; 3. aer (veil); 4. the procession in which the offerings are brought to the altar. All items in this dictionary are from Fr. John Hardon's Modern Catholic Dictionary, © Eternal Life. Used with permission.

ROME, SEPT. 21, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Russian Orthodox Archbishop Hilarion Alfeyev says there are so many reasons for Catholics and Orthodox to cooperate in our de-Christianized world that it is time to move past divisions and competition and exist in solidarity and mutual love. The archbishop affirmed this after he met in the Vatican on Friday with Benedict XVI and on Thursday with Cardinal Walter Kasper, president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity. The cardinal invited the archbishop, who since March has been the chairman of the Department of External Affairs of the Moscow Patriarchate. Archbishop Alfeyev was already...

SUKHUM, September 16 (Itar-Tass) - The Sukhum-Abkhazian Diocese has been renamed into the Abkhazian Orthodox Church with the Sukhum and Pitsunda Patriarchates, the Church Head Priest Vissarion Apliaa said on Abkhazian television on Wednesday. According to him, the decision to rename the diocese was made on Wednesday at a meeting with the participation of all Abkhazian clergy with the aim of restoration of the Abkhazian Orthodox Church that had its own local ecumenical validity, but lost it in 1795. “Today we have the understanding that the history of Christianity in Abkhazia has its roots in deep antiquity,” said Apliaa. According...

Queues have formed around the building as pilgrims wait their turn to kiss the image, with local police forced to increase patrols to keep crowds under control. The outer wall of the timber factory in the town of Velyky Berezny in western Ukraine has been turned into a shrine, as visitors leave bunches of flowers at the site they consider holy. The markings, which first appeared earlier in the summer, look like they have been caused by mold or damp. But local Christians saw what they believe is a representation of the head and body of Christ in the discoloured...

Moscow, September 21, Interfax – Head of the Moscow Patriarchate Department for External Church Relations Archbishop Hilarion of Volokolamsk, who is visiting Rome, has celebrated the Divine Liturgy in Catacombs of St. Callixtus. Speaking to believers after the service, the Archbishop urged to overcome a thousand-year-old dispute between Christians of East and West and reminded about heroism of first Christians who prayed in catacombs and preserved unity in spite of persecutions from outside. “Denied by the world, far from human eyes, deep under ground in caves, first Roman Christians performed the feat of prayer. Their life brought fruit of holiness...

VATICAN CITY — Relations with the Russian Orthodox church have vastly improved, possibly paving the way for a papal visit to Moscow or a historic meeting between the pope and the Orthodox patriarch outside of Russia or the Vatican, a senior Vatican cardinal said Thursday.

Folks, my Orthodox brother - he would probably call me "friend" - Panagiotis Demetriadis left the following comment on the post Catholic-Orthodox Reunion Reported "Within a Few Months" and I thought it deserved to stand alone. You may interact with it here or in the original post. Friends and Brothers, It is, as an good student of contemporary ecumenical history would know, one of the basic errors of the followers of the Pope to contend that what divides their confession from the Orthodox Church can be solved in a few months time. Rather, the auto-syneidisis of the laos tou Theou...

(English-language translation) Havana - The Cuban authorities authorized the celebration of Evangelical services and Catholic Masses in all of the country's prisons. Cuba Council of Churches (CIC) spokesman José Aurelio Paz told AP on Tuesday that they were informed of the decision on September 10. He added that, on that day, CIC leaders met with Religious Affairs officials from the Communist Party, including [Religious Affairs] head Caridad Diego, and with prison officials. "It involved an informative meeting," Paz stated. He explained that, prior to the decision, there was "personal-level religious attention", in other words, when a prisoner or his family...

Vatican City, Sep 15, 2009 / 10:48 am (CNA).- The Russian Orthodox and the Roman Catholic Churches have improved relations under Pope Benedict XVI, and in a sign of a growing closeness, the Vatican announced today that Archbishop Hilarion, the Russian Orthodox head of External Church Affairs, is paying his first visit to Rome.  Archbishop Hilarion of Volokolamsk is visiting Rome at the invitation of Cardinal Walter Kasper, the president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity. His trip began today and will last until September 20. Archbishop Hilarion's post was previously filled by then-Archbishop Kirill, who was elected...

Archbishop: Orthodox-Catholic Unity Could Happen in Months The Catholic Archbishop of Moscow has given a remarkably upbeat assessment of relations with the Orthodox church, saying unity between Catholics and Orthodox could be achieved “within a few months.” According to an interview in today’s Corriere della Sera newspaper, Mons. Paolo Pezzi said the "miracle" of reunification “is possible, indeed it has never been so close.” He added that Catholic-Orthodox reunification and spiritual communion “could happen soon, also within a few months.” The Orthodox church, which with 225 million to 300 million members is the world's second largest Christian communion after the...

I don't think so. Folks, this according to the National Catholic Register:The Catholic Archbishop of Moscow has given a remarkably upbeat assessment of relations with the Orthodox Church, saying unity between Catholics and Orthodox could be achieved “within a few months.” In an interview today in Italy’s Corriere della Sera newspaper, Archbishop Paolo Pezzi said the miracle of reunification “is possible, indeed it has never been so close.” The archbishop added that Catholic-Orthodox reunification, the end of the historic schism that has divided them for a millennium, and spiritual communion between the two churches “could happen soon, within a few...

During my studies at St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary, I was often asked by students, "Are you Orthodox?" It always felt awkward to be asked such a question. I thought of myself as doctrinally orthodox. I was a minister in the Orthodox Presbyterian Church. So I thought I could claim the word orthodox. But I did not belong to the communion of churches often called Eastern Orthodox, but more properly called simply Orthodox. I was not Greek Orthodox, Russian Orthodox, or Antiochian Orthodox. As far as the Orthodox at St. Vladimir's were concerned, I was not Orthodox, regardless of my...

The Mane Man By Gina Mazza On this sunny So-Cal day, Pittsburgh Steelers safety Troy Polamalu graciously postpones his morning workout to ruminate about not just football - but life and what's most important in it. I narrow our chat to three topics. Football is a given: How was this year's Super Bowl experience versus XL? Tomlin versus Cowher? Goals for the coming season? Fatherhood is new in Polamalu's life since the birth of his son, Paisios, named after a beloved contemporary Greek Orthodox monastic, Elder Paisios, on Oct. 31, 2008. Has daddy-dom been life-changing? Will he encourage his son...

GENETICS, UFOS AND THE BIRTH OF THE ANTICHRIST Written by Vladimir Moss Introduction If the first half of the twentieth century was distinguished by an amazing increase in our knowledge of the physical world, the second half was distinguished by an even more amazing increase in our knowledge of the biological world, and especially the world of human genetics and human reproduction. The vital break-through here was the discovery of DNA in 1953. Then came the introduction of the contraceptive pill, in vitro fertilisation and surrogate motherhood. As one journalist put it: “First, contraception severed the connection between sex and...

Odessa, September 4, Interfax – If the Constantinople Patriarchate accepts schismatics under its omophorion, it will found itself outside canonical Church, member of the Moscow Patriarchate Synodal Commission, cleric of the Odessa Diocese Archpriest Andrey Novikov believes. “If, Lord forbid, Constantinople choose to commune with Ukrainian schismatics, it will have no canonical authority as non-canonical interference in “alien diocese” is severely punished by certain canons,” Fr. Andrey says in his article conveyed to Interfax-Religion on Friday. The priest states that the Constantinople Patriarchate “again after a short repose is ready to take anti-canonical actions and interfere into jurisdiction of the...

Apolytikion in the Fourth Tone Your birth, O Theotokos, brought joy to the whole world, for from you dawned the sun of righteousness, Christ our God. Freeing us from the curse, He gave us His blessings. Abolishing death, He granted us eternal life. Kontakion in the Fourth Tone In your holy birth, Immaculate One, Joachim and Anna were rid of the shame of childlessness; Adam and Eve of the corruption of death. And so your people, free of the guilt of their sins, celebrate crying: "The barren one gives birth to the Theotokos, who nourishes our life." Synaxarion According...