OCA Elects New Bishop for Bulgarian Orthodox Diocese

The Holy Synod of the American Orthodox Church (OCA) has formally elected Archimandrite Alexander (Golitzin) as Bishop of Toledo and the Bulgarians to lead the OCA's Bulgarian Orthodox Diocese. Axios! Bishop-elect Alexander is to be consecrated in May 2012. More here.

St. Thecla

Joyous feast! Today we commemorate one of the great saints of the early Church, the Equal-to-the-Apostles Thecla. St. Thecla was born to wealthy parents in Iconium (modern day Konya, Turkey). Although betrothed, the Saint heard the preaching of St. Paul and was inspired to preach the Gospel to the nations, rejecting her fiance and becoming St. Paul's disciple.

St. Thecla went on to preach the Gospel in Syria and Isauria, eventually settling near Seleucia-in-Isauria, where she continued to proclaim the Gospel and heal the sick by her prayers. After having suffered much for her Lord and the Christian Faith St. Thecla surrendered her soul to God at the age of ninety.

More on St. Thecla's life can be found here. May her blessing and prayers be with us all!

Church, Homes Burned in Upper Egypt

Clashes between Muslims and Copts have taken place in the Upper Egyptian city of Edfu after Muslims attacked a parish there that was undertaking the expansion of its church. After setting fire to the church the attackers burned other Copt-owned houses and shops in the area. More here.

KFOR Soldiers Injured in Northern Kosovo Clashes

Four KFOR soldiers have been injured in clashes with northern Kosovo's ethnic Serb majority, which is resisting the efforts of the Kosovar government to instate its control over the region and its borders with Serbia. More here.

St. Igor of Kiev

Joyous feast! С праздником! Today we commemorate the Holy Great Prince Igor of Kiev. St. Igor came to lead Rus' during a time of great internal division within its royal family, and only served briefly as great prince before his overthrow and banishment to a monastery. The Saint embraced the monastic life and was eventually tonsured to the great schema.

After a short time in the monastery a mob of his family's opponents sought St. Igor out, dragging him out of the monastery church during the Divine Liturgy and murdered him. When the Saint's body was later recovered and taken to St. Michael's Monastery the candles near it lit of their own accord. The Saint was buried at another monastery on the outskirts of Kiev.

In 1150 St. Igor's relics were translated to the city cathedral of Chernigov, whilst the wonderworking Igorov Icon before which he had been praying prior to his martyrdom was enshrined in the catholicon of the Kiev Caves Lavra. More on his life can be found here. May St. Igor's blessing and prayers be with us all!

Serbian Patriarch, Czechoslovak Metropolitan Mark Anniversary in Belgrade

Metropolitan Krystof (Pulec) of the Czechoslovak Orthodox Church has visited Belgrade to concelebrate the festal Divine Liturgy for the Cross on the 90th anniversary of the enthronement of St. Gorazd of Prague by the Serbian Orthodox Church as diocesan hierarch of the Orthodox Church in Czechoslovakia. The festal services were concelebrated by Patriarch Irinej (Gavrilovic) of Pech and clergy of the Russian, Serbian, Czechoslovak, and Ukrainian Orthodox Churches. More (in Greek) here.

Cypriot Archbishop Visiting Georgia

Archbishop Chrysostomos II (Demetriou) of the Cypriot Orthodox Church has begun a visit to Georgia at the invitation of Catholicos-Patriarch Ilia II (Gudushauri-Shiolashvili) of the Georgian Orthodox Church. More (in Greek) here.

Metropolitan Volodymyr Released from Hospital

Metropolitan Volodymyr (Sabodan) of Kiev has been released from the hospital following a successful operation on one of his legs. More (in Ukrainian) here.

Kursk-Root Icon Visits Kazakhstan, Russia

The Kursk-Root Icon of the Mother of God has made a visit to its original home in Kursk, Russia, following its first visit to the Orthodox Church in Kazakhstan. After a brief stop in Moscow the Icon is due to return to its home at Our Lady of the Sign Cathedral in New York this coming week. More here.

Cilicia Catholicos to Visit Western USA

Catholicos Aram I (Keshishian) of the Armenian Orthodox Church of Cilicia will shortly begin a pastoral visit to the Armenian Orthodox parishes under his jurisdiction in the western United States. More here.

Serbian Orthodox Patriarch Leads Jajinci Memorial in Belgrade

Patriarch Irinej (Gavrilovic) of Pech led a memorial today at Jajinci in Belgrade for the victims of the mass executions in Serbia during World War II that resulted in the deaths of 80,000 Serbs, Roma, and Jews. The commemorative events were attended by Serbian President Boris Tadic, other prominent Serbian officials, and veterans and survivors of the Holocaust in Serbia. More (in Serbian) here.

Service for Bulgarian Unity Held in Sofia

Patriarch Maxim (Minkov) of Sofia and ten of the ruling metropolitans of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church have concelebrated a supplication for the unity and peace of the Bulgarian nation in Sofia. The supplication is held as Bulgaria grows increasingly troubled by economic, ethnic, and security concerns, the most recent being anti-Roma protests organized by a Bulgarian ultranationalist party over national concerns over organized crime. An appeal from the Holy Synod for the unity of the nation was read following the supplication. More (in Bulgarian) here.

Montenegrin Orthodox Episcopal Council Meets

The Episcopal Council of the Orthodox Church in Montenegro has held a session near Danilovgrad, Montenegro, with Metropolitan Amfilohije of Cetinje, Bishops Filaret (Micevic) of Mileseva, Joanikije (Micovic) of Budimlje, and Grigorije (Duric) of Zahumlje, and retired Bishop Atanasije of Zahumlje participating. (The diocesan boundaries of the Serbian Orthodox Church don't always correspond to current territorial realities, hence the inclusion in the Episcopal Council of hierarchs based in Serbia and Bosnia-Herzegovina.)

The assembled hierarchs discussed at length the need for legal regulation of the relationship between the Montenegrin government and the Church of Montenegro that would respect the former's non-interference in the canonical structure and internal life of the Church. At its close the Council reiterated the Church of Montenegro's commitment to caring for the spiritual needs of all the Orthodox faithful in Montenegro regardless of their ethnic or political background. More (in Serbian) here.

Patriarch Philaret Leads Babyn Yar Memorial

Patriarch Philaret (Denysenko) of the independent Ukrainian Orthodox Church has led a memorial commemorating the victims of the Nazi mass executions at Babyn Yar. The memorial was organized at Babyn Yar for the 70th anniversary of the executions this past Wednesday. After the memorial Patriarch Philaret called for the establishment of a chapel on the site of a memorial to Ukrainian nationalists killed by the Nazis. More (in Ukrainian) here.

The Soviet and Holocaust memorials at Babyn Yar are truly haunting. The district was farmland at the time of the Nazis' massacres and it's said that after the war had ended Kiev's residents refused to buy produce from its fields out of respect for the tens of thousands murdered and buried there.

Armenia, Artsakh Diocesan Hierarchs Meet at Holy Echmiadzin

Catholicos-Patriarch Karekin II (Nersessian) of Echmiadzin has presided over a meeting of the diocesan hierarchs of the Armenian Orthodox Church of Echmiadzin in Armenia and Artsakh at Holy Echmiadzin. During the meeting the assembled hierarchs discussed the challenges facing the Armenian Orthodox Church in its heartlands, particularly the need for greater focus on the relationship between the Church's clergy and clerical families and its parishes. Concerns were also raised over the activities of various sects in Armenia and Artsakh. More here.

Russian Orthodox Patriarch Visits Bukovina

Patriarch Kirill (Gundyayev) of Moscow, accompanied by Metropolitan Hilarion (Alfeyev) of Volokolamsk, has begun a pastoral visit to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in northern Bukovina. The patriarchal delegation was welcomed to the region by Metropolitan Onufriy (Berezovskiy) of Chernivtsi and Bukovina, who with the rest of the clergy and faithful of the Chernivtsi diocesan administration were exhorted by Patriarch Kirill to never forget "Great [and] Holy Rus.'" More (in Russian) here and here.

Syriac Orthodox Metropolitans in Syria, Lebanon Meet in Damascus

This past Saturday Patriarch Moran Mor Ignatios Zakka (Iwas) of Antioch led a meeting of the Syriac Orthodox metropolitans in Lebanon and Syria to discuss the state of the Syriac Orthodox Church there. During the meeting the hierarchs also discussed recent developments in the life of the Syriac Orthodox Church in Germany and India as well as the Church's ecumenical commitments. More (in Arabic) here.

Roman Catholic Pope, Russian Orthodox Metropolitan Meet at Castel Gandolfo

As part of his recent visit to Italy Metropolitan Hilarion (Alfeyev) of Volokolamsk met with Pope Benedict XVI of Rome to discuss relations between the Russian Orthodox and Roman Catholic Churches. The meeting took place with the blessing of Patriarch Kirill (Gundyayev) of Moscow. More here.

Alaskan Church Lands Returned to Sitka Diocese

After years of their management by the central ecclesiastical administration the church lands in Alaska have been returned by the American Orthodox Church (OCA) to the ownership of the Diocese of Sitka and Alaska. The lands were formally signed over to the Alaskan Orthodox Church by Metropolitan Jonah (Paffhausen) this past Wednesday in the presence of Bishop Benjamin (Pederson) of San Francisco, locum tenens of the Diocese of Sitka. The return of the lands means that the Alaskan Orthodox faithful now legally own their churches and cemeteries. The decision to return the lands was taken by the Metropolitan Council of the OCA. More here.

Beds of Sickness and Whatnot

Well dear readers, I had every intention of resuming regular posting after my New Year's post...and then I got rather horribly sick, which has put me behind in both my classwork and the short-term jobs I had lined up. So, no promises (who knows the future?), but I really do intend to resume the regular posting, though as always there are other things that have first priority. I hope this finds you well wherever you are!

Nativity of the Mother of God

Joyous feast! Today we celebrate the Nativity of the Mother of God. Like many of the saints, the Mother of God was born to barren parents, Sts. Joachim and Anna, and was dedicated by them to God and eventually sent to dwell with the virgins living at the Temple in Jerusalem (an event we commemorate on the feast of the Entrance of the Mother of God).

More on today's feast can be found here. May the protection and intercession of the Mother of God be with us all!

In Memoriam: Metropolitan Nikodim of Kharkiv

Metropolitan Nikodim (Rusnak) of Kharkiv of the autonomous Ukrainian Orthodox Church has fallen asleep at the age of ninety-one. A brief biography can be found here. May his memory be eternal! Вечная память!

Paris Cathedral Celebrates 150th Anniversary

The Cathedral of St. Alexander of the Neva in Paris has celebrated the 150th anniversary of its consecration this past Sunday. The celebratory services were led by Archbishop Gabriel (de Vylder) of Comana, ruling hierarch of the Russian Orthodox Exarchate of Western Europe, and concelebrated by four other ruling and auxiliary hierarchs of the Constantinopolitan, Antiochian, and American Orthodox Churches and the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad. Four other hierarchs of the Constantinopolitan, Serbian, and Romanian Orthodox Churches were also present at the services.

The celebrations were well attended, and following the Sunday Liturgy the ruling metropolitan of the Constantinopolitan Orthodox Church in France, Metropolitan Emmanuel (Adamakis) of Paris, read a congratulatory message to the cathedral parish from Patriarch Bartholomew (Arhondonis). More (in French) here.

Malankara Orthodox Catholicoses Begin Hunger Strikes

The heads of both the independent Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church and the autonomous Malankara Syriac Orthodox Church have begun indefinite hunger strikes in protest over the ongoing dispute between their churches over the ownership of Sts. Peter and Paul's Church in Kolenchery, Kerala. More here and here.

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!