St. Fulgentius of Ruspe

Joyous feast!

Today we celebrate the memory of our Holy Father Fulgentius of Ruspe. St. Fulgentius was a monastic father of the Church in North Africa. Born and raised in the formerly Roman province of Byzacena (now eastern Tunisia), after embracing the monastic life as an adult the Saint struggled as an ascetic in Byzacena, Mauretania (now Algeria), and Sicily, co-founding monasteries in Byzacena and Mauretania before founding his own monastery in Byzacena, from which he retreated to live as a hermit.

In the early 500s the Orthodox in North Africa decided to secretly rebel against their Arian rulers by electing new bishops for the many vacant sees in the region. St. Fulgentius was nominated for several sees and fled into hiding. The Saint, thinking that all of the vacant sees had been filled, eventually came out of hiding in the town of Ruspe, where he was promptly made bishop of the city, which had been unable to choose a bishop due to the lack of a suitable candidate.

Enduring exile in Sardinia for his witness to the Orthodox Faith, St. Fulgentius was later summoned to Carthage by the Arian ruler of North Africa to give an explanation of the Apostolic Faith on behalf of the North African episcopate, much of which had also been exiled to Sardinia. While in Carthage the Saint reconciled many of the city's inhabitants to Orthodoxy and consequently was sent back into exile, only returning to Africa in 523 after the death of the Arian ruler then enthroned in Carthage.

Returning to Ruspe, St. Fulgentius took up his shepherding of the Orthodox there, ensuring that his clergy did not adorn themselves and that they celebrated the services with attention while also encouraging the monastic life and exhorting his flock to greater fasting and holiness of life. After a brief retirement to the island of Circe the Saint fell asleep on this day in 533 at the age of sixty-five.

May St. Fulgentius' blessing and prayers be with us all! More on his life may be found here.

Belorussian Orthodox Discuss Sectarian Activities

Representatives of the dioceses of the Belorussian Orthodox Church have met in Minsk to discuss the activities and growth of sects and cults in Belarus, their beliefs, and the Church's response to them. More (in Russian) here.

Vassula Ryden Challenges Excommunication

It appears that Vassula Ryden and her followers are attempting to spin her excommunication by the Church of Constantinople as invalid because of her belief that the decree was not signed properly - why Vassula is an expert on how decrees of excommunication should be issued by the Ecumenical Patriarchate has not been stated at this point. More here.

Vassula Ryden Excommunicated

The Ecumenical Patriarchate has finally excommunicated Vassula Ryden, a Greek heretic whose teachings and the seeming 'no comment' position the Church has had on them have troubled me personally since high school. More on that here. Whether Ryden's native Church of Alexandria will uphold the Ecumenical Patriarchate's decision (I pray it will!) remains to be seen.

Orthodoxy and Traditional Catholicism

I may come off sympathetic with traditionalist Roman Catholics from time to time and there's reason to feel that. I greatly respect their preservation of the liturgical heritage of the ancient West as well as their faithfulness to what they believe is truth. When I'm far removed from Roman Rite Orthodox churches I do enjoy going to traditional Roman Catholic churches from time to time to worship in the way that my Orthodox forefathers in the Netherlands and the Isles worshiped.

When I read traditional Roman Catholics' version of the truth, however, I'm reminded of what a gap separates them from our Orthodox Churches. They may have preserved some of the historic life and faith of the Apostolic Church in the West, but in many ways we are very divided. A good example can be found here.