Antiochian Archdiocese News

Incoming and outgoing NAB officers at Chicago convention, 2011The recently released issue of the DIAKONIA, the quarterly newsletter of the Antiochian Christian Women of North America, features profiles of all of the women serving as officers on the North American Board, as well as their Hierarchical Overseer, the Most Reverend Archbishop Joseph, and their Advisor, the Right Reverend Bishop John.

Violet Robbat - President

"I was born in Boston, MA and am a former member of St. John of Damascus Church, Dedham, MA, where I was active as a Sunday School teacher, Teen SOYO Advisor and President of Senior SOYO (known today as St. John the Divine). I graduated from Northeastern University with a Degree in Cytology, and became a member of the American Society of Clinical Pathologists. Cytology is the study of cells, and my job at Massachusetts General Hospital entailed diagnosing Cancer. In 1973, I married my husband Richard (38 years) and we are members of St. Mary Orthodox Church, Cambridge, MA."

Read more about Violet and all the officers in DIAKONIA.

Syria is in the news a lot these days, but what kind of work is being done by the Church in light of the current circumstances? Listeners may be surprised. In this edition of Ancient Faith Presents, Samer Laham, the Director of the Department of Ecumenical Relations and Development for the Patriarchate of Antioch in Damascus, discusses the ongoing humanitarian work of the IOCC in the country.

O Lord, Thou didst reproach the Pharisee when he justified himself, boasting of his deeds; and justified the Publican when he approached humbly, seeking forgiveness with sighs; for Thou dost not draw near to arrogant thoughts, nor turn away contrite hearts. Wherefore, we also kneel before Thee meekly, O Thou Who didst suffer for our sakes. Grant us forgiveness and the Great Mercy.

--Doxasticon from Orthros, Tone 8

When the Pharisee went down with empty glory, and the publican bowed himself in repentance, they came to Thee alone, O Master. But the one through boasting lost his reward, and the other by his silence deserved gifts. Wherefore, by those sighs confirm me, O Christ God, since Thou art the Lover of mankind.

--from the Praises at Orthros, Tone 1

Read more about the Sunday of the Publican and the Pharisee, in an excerpt from Great Lent by Alexander Schmemann.

Listen to a podcast about the Sunday by Fr. Josiah Trenham, The Doors of Repentance.

The Orthodox Center for the Advancement of Biblical Studies (OCABS) announces it has released the second and final MP3-DVD volume in Fr. Paul Tarazi's groundbreaking Orthodox Audio Bible Commentary. Ordering information is available on the OCABS website.

As each verse of the Old Testament is read aloud and carefully explained, listeners can hear the story of the Bible unfold in its entirety, while learning relevant historical, linguistic, and literary facts. As attested to by Orthodox liturgical tradition, Scripture is meant to be read aloud to people of all backgrounds. Unfortunately, differences in language, culture, and historical circumstances often obscure the Bible for contemporary listeners. Throughout this series, the speaker repeatedly highlights poetic and literary connections from the original languages, overcoming the problem of translation and helping listeners to encounter the Old Testament as it was heard in its orignal setting.

The approximate running time is 75 hours.

The Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of North and Central America has issued the following statement of protest:

The Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of North and Central America, which is comprised of the 65 canonical Orthodox bishops in the United States, Canada and Mexico, join their voices with the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and all those who adamantly protest the recent decision by the United States Department of Health and Human Services, and call upon all the Orthodox Christian faithful to contact their elected representatives today to voice their concern in the face of this threat to the sanctity of the Church’s conscience.

In this ruling by HHS, religious hospitals, educational institutions, and other organizations will be required to pay for the full cost of contraceptives (including some abortion-inducing drugs) and sterilizations for their employees, regardless of the religious convictions of the employers.

The First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution guarantees the free exercise of religion. This freedom is transgressed when a religious institution is required to pay for “contraceptive services” including abortion-inducing drugs and sterilization services that directly violate their religious convictions. Providing such services should not be regarded as mandated medical care.  We, the Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops, call upon HHS Secretary Sebelius and the Obama Administration to rescind this unjust ruling and to respect the religious freedom guaranteed all Americans by the First Amendment.

Anne Van Fossen, M.A., of the Classical Learning Resource Center, writes:

"For the last three years, the Classical Learning Resource Center has focused on teaching live, real-time, online classes in Classical Greek and Latin. We’ve emerged as one of the best online sources available for Latin and Greek instruction. Our student body has approximately doubled for the third year in a row and our new students are just as engaged, inquisitive, and generally delightful as those continuing from last year!

The Classical Learning Resource Center is beginning to gear up for fall of 2012. We’re planning to offer several new classes and part of the purpose of this newsletter is to see how much interest there is in these new course offerings. We’ll continue with our full program of Greek and Latin classes with Latin 4 Kids classes for elementary school and the full 4 year sequence of Latin I, II, III, IV and Greek I, II, III, IV for middle school and high school students and adults. If you haven’t taken a Greek or Latin class with the Classical Learning Resource Center yet we encourage you to begin in 2012.

In addition to our core Greek and Latin classes, we have a talented former college level philosophy professor, Mr. Matthew Gallatin, teaching two of our upper level high school classes – Critical Thinking and God and the Philosophers. As one of our parents wrote last year “these are exactly the kinds of classes that are so needed today before our children head off to college”. We couldn’t agree more. You’ll find full descriptions of these classes here and also here.

This year we are also pleased to announce that we’ll be adding a new teacher to the CLRC faculty, Miss Kiernan Schroeder, to teach two classes on writing and literary analysis. She’ll be teaching for the CLRC while working on a M.A. in Shakespeare Studies at King's College, the University of London. Kiernan graduated summa cum laude from Hillsdale College with a B.A. in English and has had 5 years of experience teaching writing both at Hillsdale and as a 6th grade teacher.

For fall 2012 Miss Schroeder is offering a literature and composition class for 7th – 9th graders as their first introduction to serious academic writing and literary analysis. Students will read works of Dickens, Robert Lewis Stevenson, Shakespeare and others. They will learn the fundamentals of structure and style for argumentative writing and will also practice writing descriptive paragraphs, creative essays, and poems.

She is also offering a high school level class in American Literature including works of Nathaniel Hawthorne, Herman Melville, Henry David Thoreau, Mark Twain and others. The class will involve both weekly discussion and writing assignments.

CLRC online classes are live, interactive, and available to anyone with internet access. You’ll find detailed course descriptions, faculty bios, class schedules, and more on the Classical Learning Resource Center website.

The Diocese of Toledo Fellowship of St. John the Divine invites all young adults (ages 18-40) to our spring Young Adult Retreat hosted at St. Mary Basilica in Livonia, MI, the weekend of March 30-April 1, 2012. His Grace Bishop Anthony will be our guest speaker for the weekend leading us in workshops about our faith, along with church services, good food, activities and fellowship time together to enjoy each others company. We invite all young adults (married or single) from our diocese and beyond to join us for this retreat. It is going to be a fun and spiritually fulfilling retreat in which we hope all young adults from our diocese will participate.

The retreat will take place at St. Mary Basilica in (18100 Merriman Road, Livonia, MI). Out of town guests may book lodging at the Detroit Marriott Livonia (17100 Laurel Park Drive North, Livonia, MI) where a block of rooms is reserved under the group code: FSJFSJD at a special rate of $96 per night.

The weekend will begin at 7pm on Friday March 30 with the Akatahist/Madeyeh service at St. Mary's, and conclude with a light luncheon after Hierarchical Divine Liturgy on Sunday April 1. A general schedule is included on the registration form, and a more detailed schedule will be posted in early March. There is a $35 registration fee, and we ask that you register by March 23, 2012 (See Registration Form attached).

We ask that the clergy of the Diocese of Toledo please promote this event in your parishes, and we have enclosed a promotional flyer to publish in your bulletins and display in your parishes. If you have any questions, you may contact us at midwestfellowship@gmail.com or contact Khalil Samara or Michael Ansara.

Hope to see you in Livonia!

His Eminence Archbishop Joseph of the Diocese of Los Angeles and the West has been interviewed as part of an ongoing series of interviews with the member bishops of the Assembly of Canonical Bishops of North and Central America. Listen to the interview here.

By Fr. Alexander Schmemann

If there is a moral quality almost completely disregarded and even denied today, it is indeed humility.

The...Sunday [after Zaccheus Sunday] is called the "Sunday of the Publican and the Pharisee." On the eve of this day, on Saturday at Vespers, the liturgical book of the Lenten season-- the Triodion-- makes its first appearance and texts from it are added to the usual hymns and prayers of the weekly resurrection service. The develop the next major aspect of repentance: humility.

The Gospel lesson (Lk. 18:10-4) pictures a man who is always pleased with himself and who thinks that he complies with all the requirements of religion. He is self-assured and proud of himself. In reality, however, he has falsified the meaning of religion. He has reduced it to external observations and he measures his piety by the amount of money he contributes to the temple. As for the Publican, he humbles himself and his humility justifies him before God. If there is a moral quality almost completely disregarded and even denied today, it is indeed humility. The culture in which we live constantly instills in us the sense of pride, of self-glorification, and of self-righteousness. It is built on the assumption that man can achieve anything by himself and it even pictures God as the one who all the time "gives credit" for man's achievements and good deeds. Humility-- be it individual or corporate, ethnic or national-- is viewed as a sign of weakness, as something unbecoming a real man. Even our churches-- are they not imbued with that same spirit as the Pharisee? Do we not want our every contribution, every "good deed," all that we do "for the Church" to be acknowledged, praised, publicized?

The Lenten season begins then by a quest, a prayer for humility which is the beginning of true repentance. For repentance, above everything else, is a return to the genuine order of things, the restoration of the right vision. It is, therefore, rooted in humility, and humility-- the divine and beautiful humility-- is its fruit and end. "Let us avoid the high-flown speech of the Pharisee," says the Kontakion of this day, "and learn the majesty of the Publican's humble words..." We are at the gates of repentance and at the most solemn moment of the Sunday vigil; After the Resurrection and the appearance of Christ have been announced-- "having beheld the Resurrection...."-- we sing for the first time the troparia which will accompany us throughout the entire Lent:

Open to me the gates of repentance, O Giver of Life,

For my spirit rises early to pray towards thy holy temple.

Bearing the temple of my body all defiled;

But in Thy compassion, purify me by the loving kindness of Thy mercy.

Lead me on the paths of salvation, O Mother of God,

For I have profaned my soul with shameful sins,

and have wasted my life in laziness.

But by your intercessions, deliver me from all impurity.

When I think of the many evil things I have done, wretch that I am,

I tremble at the fearful day of judgement.

But trusting in Thy living kindness, like David I cry to Thee:

Have mercy on me, O God, according to Thy great mercy.

Excerpted from Great Lent, by Alexander Schmemann, from Chapter 2: "Preparation for Lent"

The Fall/Winter 2011-2012 issue of DIAKONIA is now available online. This issue highlights the North American Board. And The Diocese of New York and the Archdiocesan District, And the Diocese of Charleston, Oakland and the Mid-Atlantic, and contains:

• A message from His Eminence Archbishop Joseph, Antiochian Women Hierarchical Overseer
• A message from His Grace Bishop John, North American Board Spiritual Advisor
• A message from His Grace Bishop Nicholas, Bishop of Brooklyn and Assistant to the Metropolitan

Click here to download (PDF)

Adorn thy chamber, O Zion, and receive Christ the King. Welcome Mary the heavenly gate; for she hath appeared as a cherubic throne; she carrieth the King of glory. Verily, the Virgin is a cloud of light carrying in her body the Son Who is before the morning star, Whom Simeon carrying in his arms proclaimed to the nations as the Lord of life and death, and the Savior of our souls.

-Vespers of the Feast, Tone 7

Rejoice, O Virgin Theotokos, full of grace, for from thee arose the Sun of justice, Christ our God, lighting those who are in darkness. Rejoice and be glad, O righteous old man, carrying in thine arms the Deliverer of our souls, Who granteth us Resurrection.

-Apolytikion of the Feast, Tone 1

Read more about the Feast of the Presentation:

• St. Simeon of the Prayer: A Story from Holy Orthodox Tradition
• Embracing Our Salvation by Fr. Steven Rogers

The Committee for Youth of the Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of North and Central America held its semi-annual meeting on January 24th and 25th, 2012. The meeting convened at the Antiochian Village Heritage and Learning Center, Bolivar, PA, in conjunction with the Committee for Youth’s Consultants Meeting and was followed by the annual Camp and Youth Worker Conference (January 25-28, 2012).

The Committee for Youth consists of Bishop Thomas (Chairman of the Committee for Youth), Metropolitan Alexios, Bishop Irineu, Father Joseph Purpura (facilitator), Deacon Mark O’Dell, (secretary), and Constantin Ursache (liaison to the secretariat). Twenty-two other diocesan and national youth leaders work as consultants to the Committee for Youth. The Consultants to the Committee for Youth built upon their work started at the Antiochian Village in the Spring of 2011 and expanded on at the Diakonia Center in Salem, South Carolina October 19-24, 2011.

The Consultants, along with numerous youth workers from across North America, made a number of recommendations to the Bishops of the Committee and the Committee acted upon those recommendations during their Committee Meeting.

The Committee is charged with the formidable task of identifying and cataloguing all national and diocesan youth programs and services toCommittee for Youth better meet the needs of our youth. By developing models for cooperative youth activities and programs, the Committee hopes to maximize participation by our youth in the full life of the Church. One of the primary goals is to establish a comparative matrix so our youth workers can better facilitate cooperative efforts and better reach out to all the youth in our Orthodox Christian communities.

The Committee sees these efforts of creating one Orthodox Christian presence in the lives of our youth as a pathway to transforming our youth to lead their lives in service and witness to Christ. An overview of the work accomplished at the Antiochian Village meeting will be included in a soon-to-be-issued media release which will report to the Church-at-large on the work of the Assembly during the past year.

Memory Eternal!

Rev. Fr. Basilios Nassar was born on January 1, 1982. He held a Bachelor's degree in Theology form St. John of Damascus Orthodox Institute of Theology at the Balamand University in Lebanon, and a Master's degree in pastoral care form the same university in 2004. He was fluent in Arabic, Modern Greek and the New Testament Greek, as well as a working knowledge of English and Hebrew.

He was ordained a deacon and a celibate priest by His Eminence Metropolitan Elias (Saliba) of Hama, Syria, then he served in his hometown, Kfarbahom, and in the Archdiocese of Hama.He taught Bible Study as well as Byzantine music to different age groups, and established many choirs throughout the Archdiocese. He was loved by youth and adult alike for his pastoral care and love, and that is the reason for his untimely death, as he was trying to help one of his parishioners who was wounded.

Fr. Basilios was at the Metropolis when he was informed by a phone call that a parishioner of his had been wounded and needed assistance. The Patriarchate of Antioch has reported that the 30-year-old priest was killed while giving medical aid to the wounded man.

His funeral took place on January 26th in the Church of Saint George in Hama. The blessed Father Basilios, known in the world as Mazin, was born in the Village of Kfarmpo in Hama. He was a teacher of Byzantine music in the school Saint Kosmas the Melodist which he had founded in the Metropolis.

Fr. Basilios was indeed a faithful shepherd. He will be missed by all who knew him in the Patriarchate of Antioch.

May he rest in peace and may his Memory be Eternal.

Let all who love their words come together and honor with hymns the three luminaries of the light-creating Trinity: Basil the Great, Gregory the Theologian, and renowned John of golden speech, who have enlightened the world with the rays of their divine doctrines, and are mellifluous rivers of wisdom who have watered all creation with streams of divine knowledge; they ever intercede with the Trinity for us.

-Troparion, Tone 1

Thou hast taken the sacred and divinely inspired heralds, the crown of Thy teachers, O Lord, for the enjoyment of Thy blessings and for repose. For Thou hast accepted their sufferings and labors above every burnt offering, O Thou Who alone dost glorify Thy Saints.

-Kontakion, Tone 2

Read more about the Three Holy Hierarchs:

• Three Guiding Lights of True Faith, by Fr. Stephen Rogers
• Sermon on the Feast of the Three Holy Hierarchs, by Metropolitan Hilarion Alfeyev

As of January 27, Fr. Stephan Close, Antiochian Chaplain assigned to Afghanistan's Kandahar Air Field Chapel, has written fifteen vivid letters to his Bishop, His Grace Bishop Basil of Wichita. With permission, Antiochian.org is republishing the letters as journal entries, and the regular diary essays compose a moving first-hand account of his life in a war zone.

Fr. Stephan's colorful prose details all the sorrows and joys of a chaplain's life. "It's been a rough week," he writes in Entry 14, "with too many rockets and caskets and trouble and sorrow." Earlier, in his first encounter of the chapel at Kandahar, he explains, "I was able to serve Liturgy with the Romanians yesterday. Their chapel was one of the first constructions when they first came into theater at the beginning of the war (about 10 years now, Lord have mercy on us). It is not a prefab, but was purpose built-some of the interior supports are hewn and fitted, not nailed; a beautiful devotion of handiwork."

Read the full journal here.

On February 24 and 25, St. Michael Antiochian Orthodox Church in Louisville, Kentucky will host the 2012 Climacus Conference, titled "Byzantium, You Are Not Forgotten." Authors, academics and broadcasters will speak to the enduring legacy of Byzantium and its continuing impact on the Church today.

The conference is billed as "a pan-Orthodox event featuring scholars and voices across the fields of Theology, Philosophy, Patristics, Classical Education, Literature, and History/Politics." The flyer explains, "It is unique in that it provides an opportunity for people to be enriched by thinking well across disciplines. It furthers the life of the mind through scholarly engagement with the classic liberal arts, but achieves such by placing the mind in the noetic heart, where freedom, knowledge, and vision exist, enabling our ascension 'of the ladder'."

Topics range from Iconographer Jennie Gelles' exploration of Byzantine iconography, to Kyriakos Markides look at "The Mystical Spirituality of Byzantine Christianity."

The Conference's website has posted a schedule, hotel information, and a downloadable registration form. Inquirers may also contact David Wright, Conference Founder & Director, at: (502) 296-2095, or david@climacusconference.org.

Camera-ready bulletin inserts regarding the Orthodox Christian Fellowship (OCF) Real Break Program are available for download here.

The Real Break program provides alternatives to the “traditional ” Spring Break for college students. It exists to provide students with the most authentic experience possible, and is modeled as a full Christian lifestyle, which includes fellowship, prayer within community, witness and service. Now is the time for college students across the US and Canada to sign up for Real Break, as the first program begins February 25 and subsequent service weeks are available through March 24.

Assembly of Bishops SecretariatThe Secretariat of the Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of North and Central America held its annual "face-to-face" meeting, January 24th and 25th, 2012. The hosts for this year's "face-to-face" meeting were Father Josiah Trenham and the congregation of St Andrew Church in Riverside, CA. An overview of the work accomplished at the Riverside meeting will be included in a soon-to-be issued media release which will report to the Church-at-large on the work of the Assembly during the past year.

The Secretariat, which also meets monthly via teleconference, consists of Bishop Basil (Secretary of the Assembly of Bishops), Archbishop Antony, Bishop Andonios, Bishop Maxim, Father Mark Arey, Father Nicholas Ceko, Father Josiah Trenham, Hierodeacon Benedict (Armitage), Protodeacon Peter Danilchick, and Messrs. Alexei Krindatch, Alex Machaskee, Eric Namee and Constantin Ursache.

The Institute for Orthodox Christian Studies (IOCS), Cambridge, UK, invites long distance learners to join its on-line course. The IOCS brings the most distinguished teachers of Orthodoxy from the Cambridge classroom to home computers across the US. Each student is assigned his or her own personal tutor, can attend lectures online, and receives  both access to Orthodox study materials and entrance to discussion forums.

Join this highly regarded virtual Orthodox university for a unique and fascinating exploration of the faith. Students can enroll now for the February Distance Learning Module. For more details or to register please visit our website.

On February 17-20, the weekend following Valentines Day, Antiochian Village is sponsoring a pan-Orthodox marriage retreat, titled “Orthodox Marriage: Forgiveness, Enrichment, and a Path to Holiness.”

The retreat is billed as a way for couples to attend to their marriages through small group discussions, marital assessment instruments, and inspiring lectures all set within the context of the liturgical life of the Church. In addition to participating in these more serious activities, couples will also enjoy a wine and cheese night, a candlelight dinner and dance, and a movie night.

This year’s speakers are: Drs. David and Mary Ford, Associate Professors at St. Tikhon’s Orthodox Theological Seminary and co-authors of the book, Marriage as a Path to Holiness: Lives of Married Saints; Fr. John Mefridge, a marriage and family therapist and founding priest of St. Ephraim the Syrian Antiochian Orthodox Church in San Antonio, TX; and Dr. David Weaver-Zercher, professor at Messiah College in Grantham, PA. 

For more information, contact Barli Brown, Antiochian Village’s Orthodox Program Development Director, at barli@antiochianvillage.org, or download the retreat brochure.