Antiochian Orthodox Patriarch in Critical Condition

It has been reported that Patriarch Ignatius IV (Hazim) of Antioch has suffered a stroke and is in critical condition. He was initially transported to a hospital in the Damascus area, but later transferred to a hospital in Beirut, Lebanon. Please remember Patriarch Ignatius in your prayers!

H/t to Notes on Arab Orthodoxy for posting this.

ACROD Clergy Gather to Nominate New Bishop

Please keep the clergy of the American Carpatho-Russian Orthodox Diocese in your prayers today as they gather under their locum tenens, Archbishop Demetrius (Trakatellis) of New York and the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America to nominate a candidate for election by the Constantinopolitan Orthodox Holy Synod as their next bishop. The website for the nomination assembly can be found here.

Bulgarian Orthodox Church Calls for Religious Education in State Schools

The Bulgarian Orthodox Church is calling upon its members to pray for the introduction of religious education into the curriculum of Bulgaria's state schools. Proposals for the introduction of religious education are currently under discussion by the Bulgarian government. More in Bulgarian here.

Former Evangelical Orthodox Leader Diagnosed with Cancer

Archpriest Peter Gillquist, a leader of the union of the larger part of the independent Evangelical Orthodox Church in North America with the Antiochian Orthodox Church in the late 1980s, has been diagnosed with skin cancer. Please remember him and his family in your prayers! More here.

ROCOR Metropolitan to Undergo Surgery

Please remember Metropolitan Hilarion (Kapral) of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia in your prayers as he undergoes knee surgery in Australia this coming Monday.

Update (28/2/2012): Metropolitan Hilarion's doctors successfully performed the knee replacement surgery and are pleased with the results of the operation. More here.

Saidnaya Monastery Attacked

It is being reported that Syrian rebels have attacked the Antiochian Orthodox Church's world famous Saydnaya Monastery, firing shells at the pilgrimage center that fortunately did not explode upon impact. (Their failure to explode is being credited as a miracle of the Mother of God, to whom Saydnaya is dedicated.) More (in Greek) here.

There are concerns that as the Syrian uprisings continue Syria's religious minorities, who have enjoyed equal rights under the secular Baathist rule of President Bashar al-Assad, will increasingly become the targets of the anti-Assad rebels. Please keep Syria and its peoples in your prayers!

Ukrainian Orthodox Metropolitan in the USA Undergoes Heart Surgery

Please remember Metropolitan Constantine (Buggan) of Irinoupolis, First Hierarch of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the USA, in your prayers as he recovers from heart surgery, which he underwent this past Monday. Metropolitan Constantine is reportedly in good condition.

Metropolitan Volodymyr Hospitalized

Metropolitan Volodymyr (Sabodan) of Kiev, First Hierarch of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, has been hospitalized since the weekend, with his doctors referring to his health as grave. Please keep him in your prayers! Hat tip to Ad Orientem.

Ecclesiastical New Year

Happy New Year!

Your forgiveness for the low level of posting that's been going on! I've been "settled" in Michigan since the end of August, but life is still a whirlwind as I continue to look for part-time work and a place to live come the end of October.

All that aside, now that I'm adjusted to the general rhythms of my new life I'm working towards developing a weekly schedule that will allot time for classes, work, church, and possibly even sleep (!) while also leaving regular time to update this blog.

Your prayers are, as always, greatly appreciated, especially about the job and the place to live - I'm finding it difficult to schedule time for classwork without a place of my own to retreat to and do it. (Your editor's a remarkably settled, routine-oriented person for someone who grew up in five countries.)

God grant you every joy and blessing in the New Year!

Prayers Requested for Goldendale Monastery

Please remember the sisterhood of St. John's Monastery in Goldendale, Washington, in your prayers! A wildfire in southern Washington has reached the Monastery's grounds and the nuns and local residents have been evacuated while firemen seek to contain the fire.

Update (8/9/2011): Thank God, St. John's Monastery did not suffer any damage to its buildings during the wildfire, although nine homes in the area were destroyed. More here.

Kyrenia Metropolitan in ICU

Please keep the Cypriot Orthodox Church's Metropolitan Pavlos of Kyrenia in your prayers as he has been hospitalized and placed in an intensive care unit to treat an assortment of medical issues. More details (in Greek) can be found here.

Pittsburgh Bishop Hospitalized

Bishop Melchisedek (Pleska) of Pittsburgh, interim chancellor of the American Orthodox Church, has been hospitalized in New York due to abdominal pains caused by a hernia. Please remember him in your prayers! More here.

Update (16/8/2011): Bishop Melchisedek has undergone surgery for his hernia and will remain in New York until his doctors there permit him to return to Pittsburgh. More here.

Prayers Requested for Former Archbishop of Dallas

The Holy Synod of the American Orthodox Church has requested prayers for retired Archbishop Dmitri (Royster) of Dallas, whose health has reportedly declined significantly in recent days. More here.

Zhirovits Icon of the Mother of God

Christ is risen! Joyous feast! Today is the commemoration of the wonderworking Zhirovits Icon of the Mother of God, which was discovered shining radiantly on a tree by shepherds near the village of Zhirovitsa (today in western Belarus). More on the Zhirovits Icon's discovery and history can be found here. May the Theotokos' protection and intercessions be with us all!

This icon was somewhat dear to an old friend of mine whose family immigrated from Belarus, where its still widely venerated. He's no longer living, but whenever I see this icon I think of him - please remember in your prayers today God's servant Michael.

OCA Holy Synod Begins Spring Session in Chicago

The Holy Synod of the American Orthodox Church (OCA) has began its spring session today in Chicago's Church of Christ the Savior. Please keep it in your prayers as it seeks to clarify the role of the metropolitan in the life of the OCA as a whole and also deal with other issues that have recently arisen in the life of the Church.

Update (3/5/2011): The first day of the Holy Synod's meeting was reportedly "conciliatory and peaceful."

FYI: Commemorations Before St. John's Relics in San Francisco

For the Orthodox who visit this website and/or for lovers of St. John of Shanghai and San Francisco, I just found out that names can be submitted for commemoration during the weekly supplication (молебен) served before his relics in San Francisco's new Cathedral of the Joy of All Who Sorrow. To see the guidelines for submitting names and the actual submission form go here.

Metropolitan Nicholas of Amissus in Hospice Care

Metropolitan Nicholas (Smisko) of Amissos of the American Carpatho-Russian Orthodox Diocese, who has been undergoing treatment for cancer, was placed in hospice care yesterday. Please remember Vladyka Nicholas in your prayers!

Metropolitan Hilarion Undergoing Surgery Monday

This coming Monday, Metropolitan Hilarion (Kapral) of New York of the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad will be undergoing knee replacement surgery in Australia. Please keep him in your prayers! It is hoped that Metropolitan Hilarion will be able to celebrate Pascha, but everything depends on the success of the surgery and the recovery process.

Metropolitan Mar Militheos Hospitalized

Metropolitan Mar Militheos (Yuhanon) of Thumpamon of the Malankara Syriac Orthodox Church was hospitalized yesterday and is currently in the ICU at the Pushpagiri Hospital. Please pray for Metropolitan Mar Militheos' quick recovery! Updates on Metropolitan Mar Militheos' health should be posted here.

Pray for Egypt

Please keep Egypt and its peoples, especially our popes and the hierarchs, clergy, and faithful of the Church of Alexandria in Egypt, in your prayers! When I listened to President Mubarak's speech earlier I was sure I was witnessing his resignation and the beginning of a new era, but he did not resign and now I fear that I did indeed witness the beginning of a new era - one fraught with the potential for great suffering and violence.

"Let us give thanks to the beneficent and merciful God, the Father of our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ, for He has defended us, helped us, guarded us, accepted us to Him, spared us, supported us, and brought us to this hour. Let us also ask Him, the Lord our God, the Almighty, to guard us in all peace this holy day and all the days of our life." Amen.