Serb Men Marry Albanian Women

As tensions remain high between Serbian and Kosovar authorities an increasing number of men from the southern Serbian region of Raska have begun arranging marriages for themselves with women from neighboring Albania as the ongoing exodus from the Serbian countryside to the cities leaves men in rural areas with fewer marriage options. Roughly 1,000 marriages have already been contracted between the region's Serbian farmers and Albanian women while another 8,000 immigration applications for Albanian fiancees are currently being processed by the Serbian government. More here.

Pope Shenouda Orders Investigation into Divorce Demands

Pope Shenouda III (al-Suriani) of the Coptic Orthodox Church is having the demands of pro-divorce, pro-remarriage demonstrators in Cairo investigated to discern whether they should in fact have been allowed to divorce by the Church due to their individual situations. (Currently, only a change in faith or adultery are causes for the Church to grant a couple divorce.) More here.

Sts. Peter and Febronia of Murom

Joyous feast! С праздником! Today we commemorate Prince St. Peter and his wife St. Febronia. St. Peter was born the second son of the Prince of Murom in central Russia and eventually ascended the throne of the principality in 1203. Prior to this he was stricken with an incurable form of leprosy. After suffering in this way for several years the Saint had a vision directing him to the daughter of a beekeeper, Febronia, who would be able to heal him.

When St. Peter met his future wife he was struck by her piety, virtue, and wisdom and vowed to marry her, which he did after she had healed him of his leprosy. Despite St. Peter's great love for his wife the nobility of Murom disapproved of the marriage and eventually were able to have the couple banished, returning only after the people of Murom suffered a disaster for their sin of casting the Saints out.

Throughout their marriage Sts. Peter and Febronia were renowned for their piety and charity. When they reposed they fell asleep at the same hour on the same day, having been tonsured beforehand as the Monk David and the Nun Euphrosynia, and were buried in a shared grave. More on their lives can be found here. May their blessings and prayers be with us all!

Episcopal Assembly of the British Isles Meets in Hatfield

The third session of the Episcopal Assembly of the British Isles has taken place in the English town of Hatfield near London. During the session the gathered hierarchs concelebrated the festal Divine Liturgy for the new style observance of the Synaxis of the Holy Apostles and established a commission under the chairmanship of Archbishop Elisey (Ganaba) of Sourozh to make recommendations on a uniform approach to mixed marriages as well as the observance of confession and communion by the members of the Orthodox Churches in Great Britain and Ireland. More (in Russian) here.

"Response to Myself"

Fr. Robert Arida, rector of Boston's Holy Trinity Cathedral, has released a reflection on the recent political developments in New York that is worth reading.

Quote of the Day: St. Niphon

Whoever says that it is impossible to be saved with a wife and children is a deceiver. Abraham had a wife and children and three hundred and eighteen servants, and also much gold and silver, and he was called the friend of God! Many servants of the Church have been saved, and many lovers of the desert; many aristocrats, and many soldiers; many craftsmen, and many farm laborers. Be devout towards God and loving towards men, and you will be saved.

Copts Protest Burning of Helwan Church

Copts continue to block off parts of central Cairo as they protest the burning of a church to the south of Cairo in Helwan this past Saturday. The church was set on fire by a Muslim mob because a Coptic Orthodox Christian and an Arab Muslim girl in the area wanted to marry. Since last night thousands of protesters have been holding a sit-in in front of state television and radio buildings near Tahrir Square. The Egyptian Armed Forces have already committed to rebuilding the destroyed church. More here.

Moldovan Association Campaigns Against Anti-Discrimination Law

The Association "For Family" in Moldova is campaigning with the support of the Moldovan Orthodox Church against legislation being considered by the government to protect the rights of the country's homosexual minority because it believes that making it a crime to beat up and/or imprison gays and lesbians will destroy the foundations of the family in Moldova in ways that spousal abuse, alcoholism, the abandonment of children, and the moral vacuum that developed during the Soviet era could not. More here.

Newlyweds Blessed in Echmiadzin on the Presentation

At the end of his celebration of the Presentation of the Lord this past Monday Catholicos-Patriarch Karekin II (Nersessian) of Echmiadzin served a special service to bless newlywed couples. More here.

Pictured is Catholicos Karekin blessed a couple in Echmiadzin.

Russian Orthodox Church Against Valentine's Day

The Russian Orthodox Church has spoken out publicly against the celebration of St. Valentine's Day in Russia, ignoring the Orthodox Christian foundations of the holiday and claiming instead that the holiday leads to immorality and is against the family. This would be news to St. Valentine, the priest who was martyred by the Romans for encouraging Orthodox soldiers in the Roman Army to marry despite the imperial prohibition of this. More here.

Civil Marriage in Russia

The head of Moscow's marriage registry service says that same-sex marriages remain illegal in Russia, but that pets dressed in marriage attire are, of course, allowed to participate in ceremonies. What the one has to do with the other is somewhat unclear - welcome to Russia ;-). More here.

Malankara Orthodox Widower Priests Permitted to Remarry

The Holy Synod of the schismatic Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church has granted its widowed clergy the freedom to remarry, contrary to the canons and universal practices of the Orthodox Churches throughout the world. More here.

Macedonian Marriage Petition

Religious leaders in Macedonia are banding together to petition the Macedonian government to amend the national constitution to define marriage as a union between a man and a woman. Their petition comes in response to criticism from the European Union regarding Macedonia's failure to outlaw discrimination against its sexual minorities. More here.

"Mixed Attitudes: Interethnic and Interreligious Marriages Remain Common Despite Criticism"

Andrei Zolotov's survey of and thoughts on mixed marriages in modern Russia can be found here.

Frederica Mathewes-Green on Marriage Equality

Khouria Frederica Mathewes-Green has recorded a remarkably open-minded podcast on the issue of marriage equality in US society (outside the Orthodox Church) and sexual issues generally that can be found here.

Egyptian Government Interferes in Church Marriage

Yesterday an Egyptian court rejected the Coptic Orthodox Church's challenge to a previous ruling requiring the Church of Alexandria to allow its members to divorce and remarry. Whereas divorce can happen quite quickly and easy in Muslim families (provided it's initiated by the husband), in Coptic Orthodoxy older, stricter customs regarding divorce are followed. The Egyptian government is currently drafting a new law regulating marriage and divorce among Egypt's non-Muslim minorities, who until now have been subject to their respective customary laws except in marriages involving members of different faiths, which fall under the jurisdiction of Islamic law. More here.