OrthodoxWiki - User contributions [en]

Just war

2006-03-02T02:00:05Z

Dogface:

'''Just war''' doctrine attempts to define situations wherein the waging of war becomes a moral necessity. It lays out criteria by which a Christian is intended to determine whether or not a specific war was entered into and is conducted in a virtuous manner, that killing becomes a moral necessity. The doctrine was developed by theologians of great influence in much of non-Orthodox Western Christianity, such as [[Augustine of Hippo]] and [[Thomas Aquinas]]. This principle was the underpinning of [[Roman Catholic Church|Roman Catholic]] doctrinal support for the [[Crusades]], presumably including the [[Fourth Crusade]].

By contrast, Orthodox Christianity has never developed an explicit "just war" doctrine, and the weight of Tradition is that the taking of human life is never a morally edifying act, although circumstances may require that such an act be taken, it would only be as an alternative to an even greater evil.

The idea of a "lesser evil" is, at best, a difficult and imprecise way to look at warfare. Fr. Samuel Harakis, after his study of the Fathers, has concluded that "no case can be made for the existence of an Orthodox just-war theory". In 2003, Patriarch [[Bartholomew I (Archontonis) of Constantinople|Bartholomew of Constantinople]] stated that "in a few specific cases the Orthodox Church ''forgives'' an armed defense against oppression and violence" but that "war and violence are never means used by God in order to achieve a [just] result". In addition, the examples of countless martyr-saints can be consulted to show Orthodox Christians who refused to use force even upon threat to their lives and families, up to and including their deaths.

This might be read to mean that Orthodoxy embraces pacifism. However, the Orthodox Church recognizes not a few militant saints, such as [[Alexander Nevsky]]. Likewise, [[Cyril and Methodius|Saint Cyril]], Apostle to the Slavs, is recorded as stating the following:

:Christ is our God Who ordered us to pray for our offenders and to do good to them. He also said that no one of us can show greater love in life than he who gives his life for his friends. That is why we generously endure offences caused us as private people. But in company we defend one another and give our lives in battle for our neighbors, so that you, having taken our companions as prisoners, could not imprison their souls together with their bodies by forcing them into renouncing their faith and into godless deeds. Our Christ-loving soldiers protect our Holy Church with arms in their hands.

This statement apparently contradicts the words of Patriarch Bartholomew and the witness of the martyr-saints. However, while Cyril provides an Orthodox justification of a ''specific war'', he does not extend it as a ''doctrine'' of "just war" in general. That is, Cyril explains that circumstances may exist wherein it is desirable for an Orthodox Christian to take up arms. However, his statements do not extend to the claim that they do so as an innately virtuous act. The Orthodox combatantants would be driven by necessity and love for each other, not the belief that what they do is a positive good, in and of itself.

The apparent contradiction between Bartholomew's statement and that of Cyril can be further resolved when examining the words of [[John Chrysostom|Saint John Chrysostom]], when, in his ''On the Priesthood'', he stated:

:Christians above all men are not permitted forcibly to correct the failings of those who sin. Secular judges indeed, when they have captured malefactors under the law, show their authority to be great, and prevent them even against their will from following their own devices: but in our case the wrong-doer must be made better, not by force, but by persuasion.

Thus, according to John Chrysostom, the Christian response to wrongdoing is not the use of force, even if it may be a necessary act on the part of secular authority. Thus, while it may be permissible by circumstance, it is not thereby transformed into virtue.

==References==
Bartholomew I. 2003. "War and Suffering." ''Cosmic Grace - Humble Prayer: The Ecological Vision of the Green Patriarch Bartholomew I''. Ed. John Chryssavgis. Grand Rapids, Michigan: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company.

Jubilee Bishops' Council of the Russian Orthodox Church. 2000. The Orthodox Church and Society: The Basis of the Social Concept of the Russian Orthodox Church. Belleville, Michigan: St. Innocent / Firebird Publishers.

===Non-Orthodox===
*[http://www.firstthings.com/ftissues/ft0305/public.html#sounds The Sounds of Religion in a Time of War] by Richard John Neuhaus, First Things, 133 (May 2003): 76-92
*[http://www.firstthings.com/ftissues/ft0301/articles/weigel.html Moral Clarity in a Time of War] by George Weigel, First Things 128 (January 2003): 20-27

[[Category:Ethics]]

Arianism

2006-03-01T16:43:28Z

Dogface:

'''Arianism''' was a 4th-century [[heresy]] named after [[Arius]] (c.250-336), a [[priest]] in Alexandria, who taught that the Son of God was not God but rather a created being with a definite origin in time. In Arius's words, "there was [a time] when he was not."

Arius denied the full deity of the preexistent Son of God who became [[incarnation|incarnate]] ("''the Word ([[Jesus Christ]]) became flesh''" John 1:14 - NKJV). He held that the Son, while divine and like God, was created by God as the agent through whom he created the universe, and thus that there was a time when the Son was not. The [[First Ecumenical Council|council at Nicaea]] in 325, led in its teachings by [[Athanasius of Alexandria|Athanasius]], condemned Arianism and maintained that Christ was God from God, Light from Light, Very God from Very God, begotten not made (not created), and One in essence with the Father, producing the first version of the [[Nicene Creed]].

Some forms of modern [[Protestantism]] appear to espouse a form of Arianism, referring to [[Jesus Christ]] as essentially distinct from [[God]] in terms that suggest that, as the Son, He is ontologically distinct from and inferior to the Father.

==Source and further reading==
* [http://mb-soft.com/believe/txo/arianism.htm Fuller RH, Walter VL and Shelley BL: Arianism and Semi-Arianism (General and Advanced Information) - BELIEVE Website]
* [http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01707c.htm CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Arianism]
* [http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01718a.htm CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Arius]
* [http://www.zeitun-eg.org/ecf1.htm St. Athanasius of Alexandria] (page also has link to download 'Select Works and Letters' by St. Athanasius, including his treatise "''On the Incarnation of the Word''" and "''Four Discourses Against the Arians''" among others)
* [http://www.zeitun-eg.org/encyclop.htm Encyclopedia of the First Millennium of Christianity 1998 - Second Edition]
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arianism Arianism - From Wikipedia]

[[Category:Heresies]]

Talk:Islam

2006-03-01T16:33:48Z

Dogface:

I've reverted the working of the first paragraph because it conforms better to N.P.O.V. The content is basically the same. No doubt, there are many serious things to discuss here, but let's allow the facts to speak for themselves. [[User:FrJohn|Fr. John]]

:Is NPOV really what we're striving for? I thought that we had a definite and distinct point of view. Of course, this is not to say that we ought to be uncharitable in expressing it.[[User:Dogface|Dogface]] 10:33, March 1, 2006 (CST)

Talk:Islam

2006-03-01T16:33:33Z

Dogface:

Talk:Christopher

2006-02-23T03:46:02Z

Dogface:

I know it's unusual to have a talk page without a main article, but I'm partial to Saint Christopher. How should he be presented? What is the Orthodox consensus on his "dog-headed" status?

User:Dogface

2006-02-23T03:36:58Z

Dogface:

Might as well get this started.

I'm YAAC (yet another American convert) but have gotten over most of the worst of our traits. I was raised Roman Catholic (in a Franciscan parish) but became a frothing-mad agnostic by college. After our Lord kindly permitted a few kicks to my backside, I managed to remove my CRI (that's "cranial-rectal inversion) condition and at least began to admit to the Divine.

As a lark, I did some HTML transcription for the then-nascent St. Pachomius Library. Out of curiousity, I started going through its links and began to see answers to problems I previously had with both Roman Catholicism and the Protestant directions my parents went in when I was in high school.

So, I began to be catechized in the [[GOA|Greek Orthodox Archdiocese]] (St. Catherine's Ithaca, NY) and was embraced by the Church. I have three sons named for Saints Breandan the Navigator, Brioch of Brittany, and [[John Maximovitch|John of Shanghai and San Francisco]].

Currently, I've moved away from Ithaca and keep meaning to be more faithful in attendance to a local parish in Indianapolis--although at least some of the priests have met me here, so I can't claim I don't get reminded.

Pride, Despair, and Acedia are my greatest weaknesses.

"The church is near, but it is snowing. The tavern is far, but I will walk carefully."

User:Dogface

2006-02-23T03:33:41Z

Dogface:

Might as well get this started.

I'm YAAC (yet another American convert) but have gotten over most of the worst of our traits. I was raised Roman Catholic (in a Franciscan parish) but became a frothing-mad agnostic by college. After our Lord kindly permitted a few kicks to my backside, I managed to remove my CRI (that's "cranial-rectal inversion) condition and at least began to admit to the Divine.

As a lark, I did some HTML transcription for the then-nascent St. Pachomius Library. Out of curiousity, I started going through its links and began to see answers to problems I previously had with both Roman Catholicism and the Protestant directions my parents went in when I was in high school.

So, I began to be catechized in the [[GOA|Greek Orthodox Archdiocese]] (St. Catherine's Ithaca, NY) and was embraced by the Church. I have three sons named for Saints Breandan the Navigator, Brioch of Brittany, and [[John Maximovitch|John of Shanghai and San Francisco]].

Currently, I've moved away from Ithaca and keep meaning to be more faithful in attendance to a local parish in Indianapolis--although at least some of the priests have met me here, so I can't claim I don't get reminded.

Pride, Sloth, and Acedia are my greatest weaknesses.

"The church is near, but it is snowing. The tavern is far, but I will walk carefully."

User:Dogface

2006-02-23T03:32:59Z

Dogface:

Might as well get this started.

I'm YAAC (yet another American convert) but have gotten over most of the worst of our traits. I was raised Roman Catholic (in a Franciscan parish) but became a frothing-mad agnostic by college. After our Lord kindly permitted a few kicks to my backside, I managed to remove my CRI (that's "cranial-rectal inversion) condition and at least began to admit to the Divine.

As a lark, I did some HTML transcription for the then-nascent St. Pachomius Library. Out of curiousity, I started going through its links and began to see answers to problems I previously had with both Roman Catholicism and the Protestant directions my parents went in when I was in high school.

So, I began to be catechized in the [[Greek Orthodox Archdiocese]] (St. Catherine's Ithaca, NY) and was embraced by the Church. I have three sons named for Saints Breandan the Navigator, Brioch of Brittany, and [[John Maximovitch|John of Shanghai and San Francisco]].

Currently, I've moved away from Ithaca and keep meaning to be more faithful in attendance to a local parish in Indianapolis--although at least some of the priests have met me here, so I can't claim I don't get reminded.

"The church is near, but it is snowing. The tavern is far, but I will walk carefully."

User:Dogface

2006-02-23T03:29:12Z

Dogface:

Might as well get this started.

I'm YAAC (yet another American convert) but have gotten over most of the worst of our traits. I was raised Roman Catholic (in a Franciscan parish) but became a frothing-mad agnostic by college. After our Lord kindly permitted a few kicks to my backside, I managed to remove my CRI (that's "cranial-rectal inversion) condition and at least began to admit to the Divine.

As a lark, I did some HTML transcription for the then-nascent St. Pachomius Library. Out of curiousity, I started going through its links and began to see answers to problems I previously had with both Roman Catholicism and the Protestant directions my parents went in when I was in high school.

So, I began to be catechized in the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese (St. Catherine's Ithaca, NY) and was embraced by the Church. I have three sons named for Saints Breandan the Navigator, Brioch of Brittany, and John of Shanghai and San Francisco.

Currently, I've moved away from Ithaca and keep meaning to be more faithful in attendance to a local parish in Indianapolis--although at least some of the priests have met me here, so I can't claim I don't get reminded.

"The church is near, but it is snowing. The tavern is far, but I will walk carefully."

Immaculate Conception

2006-02-22T18:47:45Z

Dogface: /* Polemical Articles */

{{reorg|talk=[[Category talk:Non-Orthodox]]}}

The '''Immaculate Conception''' is a [[Roman Catholic Church|Roman Catholic]] [[dogma]] which asserts that [[Theotokos|Mary, the mother of Jesus]], was preserved by [[God]] from the transmission of [[original sin]] at the time of her own conception. Specifically the doctrine says she was not afflicted by the privation of sanctifying [[grace]] which afflicts mankind, but was instead filled with grace by God, and furthermore lived a life completely free from [[sin]]. It is commonly confused with the doctrine of the [[virgin birth]], though the two doctrines deal with separate subjects.

==The Orthodox Church and the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception==
{{stub}}
*[http://www.oca.org/QA.asp?ID=4 St. Augustine & Original Sin] - a typical Orthodox perspective, by Fr. John Matusiak
*[http://www.unicorne.org/orthodoxy/automne2004/conception.htm The Immaculate Conception: The Holiness of the Mother of God in East and West] - Dr. Alexander Roman ([[Ukrainian Orthodox Church]])
*[http://www.unicorne.org/orthodoxy/articles/alex_roman/theimmaculateconception.htm The Immaculate Conception: A Question] - response by Dr. Roman
*[http://www.philthompson.net/pages/faq/12.html What do the Orthodox believe about the "Immaculate Conception"?]
*[http://www.orthodoxytoday.org/blog/index.php?p=713 On the Immaculate Conception], by Patriarch [[Bartholomew I (Archontonis) of Constantinople]]
* [http://www.stmaryofegypt.org/library/st_john_maximovich/on_veneration_of_the_theotokos.htm#immaculate_conception Zeal Not According to Knowledge] - The view of St. John of Shanghai on the issue.
*[http://djproject.livejournal.com/96024.html On the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the dogma's proclamation], a general objection by Derek Power ([[User:Fedya911]])

===From modern Orthodox theologians===
*"Like other human beings, such as St John the Baptist, whose conception and birth are festivals of the Church, the Holy Virgin was born under the law of original sin, sharing with all other human beings their common responsibility for the fall." [[Vladimir Lossky]], "Panagia," in E. L. Mascall, ed., ''The Mother of God: A Symposium by Members of the Fellowship of St Alban and St Sergius''. Westminster: Dacre Press, 1959. Page 31.
*"The Orthodox church does not accept the Catholic dogma of 1854 -- the dogma of the immaculate conception of the Virgin, in the sense that she was exempt at birth from original sin. This would separate her from the human race, and she would then have been unable to transmit to her Son humanity. But Orthodoxy does not admit in the all-pure Virgin any individual sin, for that would be unworthy of the dignity of the Mother of God." Sergius Bulgakov, ''The Orthodox Church''. Crestwood: St Vladimir's Seminary Press, 1997.
*"I do not see any irresoluble conflict between the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception and the full humanity and freedom of Mary as of the same race as [[Eve]]." - alleged to [[Vladimir Lossky]] but not verified.

===Relevant quotations from the Fathers===
*"...being Himself at once God and man, His flesh and soul were and are holy - and beyond holy. God is holy, just as He was and is and shall be, and the Virgin is immaculate, without spot or stain, and so, too, was that rib which was taken from Adam. However the rest of humanity, even though they are His brothers and kin according to the flesh, yet remained even as they were, of dust, and did not immediately become holy and sons of God."
::- St. [[Symeon the New Theologian]], Discourse XIII in ''On the Mystical Life'', vol. 2, trans. [[Alexander Golitzin]] ([[SVS Press]], 1996)

==History and background==
The Immaculate Conception was solemnly defined as a dogma by Pope Pius IX in his constitution ''Ineffabilis Deus'', published [[December 8]], 1854 (the Latins' Feast of the Immaculate Conception). From 1483, Pope Sixtus IV had left Roman Catholics free to believe that Mary was subject to original sin or not, after having introduced the celebration; this freedom had been reiterated by the [[Wikipedia:Council of Trent|Council of Trent]].

The Roman Catholic Church believes the dogma is supported by scripture and by the writings of many of the [[Church Fathers]], either directly or indirectly. Roman Catholic theology maintains that since Jesus became [[incarnation|incarnate]] of the Virgin Mary, she needed to be completely free of sin to bear the Son of God, and that Mary is "redeemed 'by the grace of [[Jesus Christ|Christ]]' but in a more perfect manner than other human beings" (Ott, ''Fund.'', Bk 3, Pt. 3, Ch. 2, §3.1.e).

The doctrine is generally not shared by either Eastern Orthodoxy or by [[Protestantism]]. Protestantism rejects the doctrine because it is not explicitly spelled out in the [[Bible]]. Protestants and Eastern Orthodox often say that the immaculate conception of the [[Theotokos]] would contradict the doctrine of the [[salvation|redemption]] of humanity, as the Virgin Mary would have been cleansed before Christ's own incarnation, making his function superfluous. Orthodox Christians say that St. [[Augustine of Hippo|Augustine]] (d. 430), whose works were not well known in Eastern Christianity until perhaps the 17th and 18th centuries, has influenced the theology of sin that has generally taken root in the West. Many Orthodox consider unnecessary the doctrine that Mary would require purification prior to the Incarnation. Eastern Orthodox theologians believe that the references among the Greek and Syrian Fathers to Mary's purity and sinlessness may refer not to an ''a priori'' state but to her conduct after birth.

Roman Catholics counter with Scripture (e.g., [[Book of Romans|Romans]] 5, [[Wisdom of Solomon]] 2:24, [[I Corinthians]] 15:21, the experience of St. [[John the Forerunner|John the Baptizer]] in his mother's womb, etc.) and the writings of Church Fathers prior to St. [[Augustine of Hippo|Augustine]].

==History of the doctrine==
Aside from the acceptability of the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception, and its necessity or lack thereof, is the history of its development within the Roman Catholic Church. The Conception of Mary was celebrated in England from the ninth century. Eadmer was influential in its spread. The Normans suppressed the celebration but it lived on in the popular mind. It was rejected by Bernard of Clairvaux, Alexander of Hales, and Bonaventure (who, teaching at Paris, called it "this foreign doctrine," indicating its association with England). Thomas Aquinas expressed questions about the subject but said that he would accept the determination of the Church (his difficulty was in seeing how Mary could be redeemed if she had not sinned).

The Oxford Franciscans William of Ware and especially John Duns Scotus defended the doctrine despite the opposition of most scholarly opinion at the time. Scotus proposed a solution to the theological problems involved with reconciling the doctrine with the doctrine of universal redemption in Christ by arguing that Mary's immaculate conception did not remove her from redemption by Christ but rather was the result of a more perfect redemption given to her on account of her special role in salvation history. Scotus' defence of the immaculist thesis was summed up by one of his followers ''potuit, decuit ergo fecit'' (God could do it, it was fitting that he did it, and so he did it). Following his defence of the thesis, students at Paris swore to defend the thesis and the tradition grew of swearing to defend the doctrine with one's blood. Arguments ensued between the immaculist Scotists and the maculist Thomists, and the former tried to link this doctrine with that of the primacy of Christ (which says that Christ would have become man even if [[Adam and Eve|Adam]] had not sinned) since both groups reject the idea that God's plans were determined by human sin.

Popular opinion was firmly behind accepting this privilege for Mary, but such was the sensitivity of the issue and the authority of Aquinas that it was not until 1854 that Pius IX, with the support of the overwhelming majority of Catholic bishops, felt safe enough to pronounce the doctrine infallible.

The contemporary statement of the teaching can be found [http://www.scborromeo.org/ccc/p122a3p2.htm#490 here] in the Catechism of the Catholic Church. The actual text of the doctrinal declaration is: ''"We declare . . . that the most Blessed Virgin Mary in the first moment of her conception was, by the unique grace and privilege of God, in view of the merits of Jesus Christ the Saviour of the human race, preserved intact from all stain of original sin."''

==Roman Catholic statements==
* [http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/07674d.htm Catholic Encyclopedia entry on the Immaculate Conception]
* [http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/11312a.htm Catholic Encyclopedia entry on Original Sin]
* [http://www.kensmen.com/catholic/mary.html Summary of Roman Catholic doctrines about Mary]
* [http://www.netacc.net/~mafg/mary03.htm The Immaculate Conception ] - A [[Lutheran]] Perspective

==Roman Catholic Polemical Articles==
*[http://home.nyc.rr.com/mysticalrose/barton1.html My Belief in the Immaculate Conception Doctrine] - by Daniel Joseph Barton ([[Byzantine Catholic]]--non-Orthodox)
*[http://www.cin.org/imconcep.html Orthodoxy and the the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception of the Theotokos - Unique to the modern Roman Church or ancient Eastern tradition?] - by Dave Brown (Catholic Information Network--non-Orthodox)

[[Category:Heresies]]
[[Category:Non-Orthodox]]

Immaculate Conception

2006-02-22T18:46:43Z

Dogface: /* From modern Orthodox theologians */

{{reorg|talk=[[Category talk:Non-Orthodox]]}}

The '''Immaculate Conception''' is a [[Roman Catholic Church|Roman Catholic]] [[dogma]] which asserts that [[Theotokos|Mary, the mother of Jesus]], was preserved by [[God]] from the transmission of [[original sin]] at the time of her own conception. Specifically the doctrine says she was not afflicted by the privation of sanctifying [[grace]] which afflicts mankind, but was instead filled with grace by God, and furthermore lived a life completely free from [[sin]]. It is commonly confused with the doctrine of the [[virgin birth]], though the two doctrines deal with separate subjects.

==The Orthodox Church and the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception==
{{stub}}
*[http://www.oca.org/QA.asp?ID=4 St. Augustine & Original Sin] - a typical Orthodox perspective, by Fr. John Matusiak
*[http://www.unicorne.org/orthodoxy/automne2004/conception.htm The Immaculate Conception: The Holiness of the Mother of God in East and West] - Dr. Alexander Roman ([[Ukrainian Orthodox Church]])
*[http://www.unicorne.org/orthodoxy/articles/alex_roman/theimmaculateconception.htm The Immaculate Conception: A Question] - response by Dr. Roman
*[http://www.philthompson.net/pages/faq/12.html What do the Orthodox believe about the "Immaculate Conception"?]
*[http://www.orthodoxytoday.org/blog/index.php?p=713 On the Immaculate Conception], by Patriarch [[Bartholomew I (Archontonis) of Constantinople]]
* [http://www.stmaryofegypt.org/library/st_john_maximovich/on_veneration_of_the_theotokos.htm#immaculate_conception Zeal Not According to Knowledge] - The view of St. John of Shanghai on the issue.
*[http://djproject.livejournal.com/96024.html On the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the dogma's proclamation], a general objection by Derek Power ([[User:Fedya911]])

===From modern Orthodox theologians===
*"Like other human beings, such as St John the Baptist, whose conception and birth are festivals of the Church, the Holy Virgin was born under the law of original sin, sharing with all other human beings their common responsibility for the fall." [[Vladimir Lossky]], "Panagia," in E. L. Mascall, ed., ''The Mother of God: A Symposium by Members of the Fellowship of St Alban and St Sergius''. Westminster: Dacre Press, 1959. Page 31.
*"The Orthodox church does not accept the Catholic dogma of 1854 -- the dogma of the immaculate conception of the Virgin, in the sense that she was exempt at birth from original sin. This would separate her from the human race, and she would then have been unable to transmit to her Son humanity. But Orthodoxy does not admit in the all-pure Virgin any individual sin, for that would be unworthy of the dignity of the Mother of God." Sergius Bulgakov, ''The Orthodox Church''. Crestwood: St Vladimir's Seminary Press, 1997.
*"I do not see any irresoluble conflict between the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception and the full humanity and freedom of Mary as of the same race as [[Eve]]." - alleged to [[Vladimir Lossky]] but not verified.

===Relevant quotations from the Fathers===
*"...being Himself at once God and man, His flesh and soul were and are holy - and beyond holy. God is holy, just as He was and is and shall be, and the Virgin is immaculate, without spot or stain, and so, too, was that rib which was taken from Adam. However the rest of humanity, even though they are His brothers and kin according to the flesh, yet remained even as they were, of dust, and did not immediately become holy and sons of God."
::- St. [[Symeon the New Theologian]], Discourse XIII in ''On the Mystical Life'', vol. 2, trans. [[Alexander Golitzin]] ([[SVS Press]], 1996)

==History and background==
The Immaculate Conception was solemnly defined as a dogma by Pope Pius IX in his constitution ''Ineffabilis Deus'', published [[December 8]], 1854 (the Latins' Feast of the Immaculate Conception). From 1483, Pope Sixtus IV had left Roman Catholics free to believe that Mary was subject to original sin or not, after having introduced the celebration; this freedom had been reiterated by the [[Wikipedia:Council of Trent|Council of Trent]].

The Roman Catholic Church believes the dogma is supported by scripture and by the writings of many of the [[Church Fathers]], either directly or indirectly. Roman Catholic theology maintains that since Jesus became [[incarnation|incarnate]] of the Virgin Mary, she needed to be completely free of sin to bear the Son of God, and that Mary is "redeemed 'by the grace of [[Jesus Christ|Christ]]' but in a more perfect manner than other human beings" (Ott, ''Fund.'', Bk 3, Pt. 3, Ch. 2, §3.1.e).

The doctrine is generally not shared by either Eastern Orthodoxy or by [[Protestantism]]. Protestantism rejects the doctrine because it is not explicitly spelled out in the [[Bible]]. Protestants and Eastern Orthodox often say that the immaculate conception of the [[Theotokos]] would contradict the doctrine of the [[salvation|redemption]] of humanity, as the Virgin Mary would have been cleansed before Christ's own incarnation, making his function superfluous. Orthodox Christians say that St. [[Augustine of Hippo|Augustine]] (d. 430), whose works were not well known in Eastern Christianity until perhaps the 17th and 18th centuries, has influenced the theology of sin that has generally taken root in the West. Many Orthodox consider unnecessary the doctrine that Mary would require purification prior to the Incarnation. Eastern Orthodox theologians believe that the references among the Greek and Syrian Fathers to Mary's purity and sinlessness may refer not to an ''a priori'' state but to her conduct after birth.

Roman Catholics counter with Scripture (e.g., [[Book of Romans|Romans]] 5, [[Wisdom of Solomon]] 2:24, [[I Corinthians]] 15:21, the experience of St. [[John the Forerunner|John the Baptizer]] in his mother's womb, etc.) and the writings of Church Fathers prior to St. [[Augustine of Hippo|Augustine]].

==History of the doctrine==
Aside from the acceptability of the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception, and its necessity or lack thereof, is the history of its development within the Roman Catholic Church. The Conception of Mary was celebrated in England from the ninth century. Eadmer was influential in its spread. The Normans suppressed the celebration but it lived on in the popular mind. It was rejected by Bernard of Clairvaux, Alexander of Hales, and Bonaventure (who, teaching at Paris, called it "this foreign doctrine," indicating its association with England). Thomas Aquinas expressed questions about the subject but said that he would accept the determination of the Church (his difficulty was in seeing how Mary could be redeemed if she had not sinned).

The Oxford Franciscans William of Ware and especially John Duns Scotus defended the doctrine despite the opposition of most scholarly opinion at the time. Scotus proposed a solution to the theological problems involved with reconciling the doctrine with the doctrine of universal redemption in Christ by arguing that Mary's immaculate conception did not remove her from redemption by Christ but rather was the result of a more perfect redemption given to her on account of her special role in salvation history. Scotus' defence of the immaculist thesis was summed up by one of his followers ''potuit, decuit ergo fecit'' (God could do it, it was fitting that he did it, and so he did it). Following his defence of the thesis, students at Paris swore to defend the thesis and the tradition grew of swearing to defend the doctrine with one's blood. Arguments ensued between the immaculist Scotists and the maculist Thomists, and the former tried to link this doctrine with that of the primacy of Christ (which says that Christ would have become man even if [[Adam and Eve|Adam]] had not sinned) since both groups reject the idea that God's plans were determined by human sin.

Popular opinion was firmly behind accepting this privilege for Mary, but such was the sensitivity of the issue and the authority of Aquinas that it was not until 1854 that Pius IX, with the support of the overwhelming majority of Catholic bishops, felt safe enough to pronounce the doctrine infallible.

The contemporary statement of the teaching can be found [http://www.scborromeo.org/ccc/p122a3p2.htm#490 here] in the Catechism of the Catholic Church. The actual text of the doctrinal declaration is: ''"We declare . . . that the most Blessed Virgin Mary in the first moment of her conception was, by the unique grace and privilege of God, in view of the merits of Jesus Christ the Saviour of the human race, preserved intact from all stain of original sin."''

==Roman Catholic statements==
* [http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/07674d.htm Catholic Encyclopedia entry on the Immaculate Conception]
* [http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/11312a.htm Catholic Encyclopedia entry on Original Sin]
* [http://www.kensmen.com/catholic/mary.html Summary of Roman Catholic doctrines about Mary]
* [http://www.netacc.net/~mafg/mary03.htm The Immaculate Conception ] - A [[Lutheran]] Perspective

==Polemical Articles==
*[http://home.nyc.rr.com/mysticalrose/barton1.html My Belief in the Immaculate Conception Doctrine] - by Daniel Joseph Barton ([[Byzantine Catholic]]--non-Orthodox)
*[http://www.cin.org/imconcep.html Orthodoxy and the the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception of the Theotokos - Unique to the modern Roman Church or ancient Eastern tradition?] - by Dave Brown (Catholic Information Network--non-Orthodox)

[[Category:Heresies]]
[[Category:Non-Orthodox]]

Immaculate Conception

2006-02-22T18:45:37Z

Dogface:

{{reorg|talk=[[Category talk:Non-Orthodox]]}}

The '''Immaculate Conception''' is a [[Roman Catholic Church|Roman Catholic]] [[dogma]] which asserts that [[Theotokos|Mary, the mother of Jesus]], was preserved by [[God]] from the transmission of [[original sin]] at the time of her own conception. Specifically the doctrine says she was not afflicted by the privation of sanctifying [[grace]] which afflicts mankind, but was instead filled with grace by God, and furthermore lived a life completely free from [[sin]]. It is commonly confused with the doctrine of the [[virgin birth]], though the two doctrines deal with separate subjects.

==The Orthodox Church and the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception==
{{stub}}
*[http://www.oca.org/QA.asp?ID=4 St. Augustine & Original Sin] - a typical Orthodox perspective, by Fr. John Matusiak
*[http://www.unicorne.org/orthodoxy/automne2004/conception.htm The Immaculate Conception: The Holiness of the Mother of God in East and West] - Dr. Alexander Roman ([[Ukrainian Orthodox Church]])
*[http://www.unicorne.org/orthodoxy/articles/alex_roman/theimmaculateconception.htm The Immaculate Conception: A Question] - response by Dr. Roman
*[http://www.philthompson.net/pages/faq/12.html What do the Orthodox believe about the "Immaculate Conception"?]
*[http://www.orthodoxytoday.org/blog/index.php?p=713 On the Immaculate Conception], by Patriarch [[Bartholomew I (Archontonis) of Constantinople]]
* [http://www.stmaryofegypt.org/library/st_john_maximovich/on_veneration_of_the_theotokos.htm#immaculate_conception Zeal Not According to Knowledge] - The view of St. John of Shanghai on the issue.
*[http://djproject.livejournal.com/96024.html On the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the dogma's proclamation], a general objection by Derek Power ([[User:Fedya911]])

===From modern Orthodox theologians===
*"I do not see any irresoluble conflict between the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception and the full humanity and freedom of Mary as of the same race as [[Eve]]." - [[Vladimir Lossky]] (citation? -- this seems different from the next verified quote from Lossky)
*"Like other human beings, such as St John the Baptist, whose conception and birth are festivals of the Church, the Holy Virgin was born under the law of original sin, sharing with all other human beings their common responsibility for the fall." [[Vladimir Lossky]], "Panagia," in E. L. Mascall, ed., ''The Mother of God: A Symposium by Members of the Fellowship of St Alban and St Sergius''. Westminster: Dacre Press, 1959. Page 31.
*"The Orthodox church does not accept the Catholic dogma of 1854 -- the dogma of the immaculate conception of the Virgin, in the sense that she was exempt at birth from original sin. This would separate her from the human race, and she would then have been unable to transmit to her Son humanity. But Orthodoxy does not admit in the all-pure Virgin any individual sin, for that would be unworthy of the dignity of the Mother of God." Sergius Bulgakov, ''The Orthodox Church''. Crestwood: St Vladimir's Seminary Press, 1997.

===Relevant quotations from the Fathers===
*"...being Himself at once God and man, His flesh and soul were and are holy - and beyond holy. God is holy, just as He was and is and shall be, and the Virgin is immaculate, without spot or stain, and so, too, was that rib which was taken from Adam. However the rest of humanity, even though they are His brothers and kin according to the flesh, yet remained even as they were, of dust, and did not immediately become holy and sons of God."
::- St. [[Symeon the New Theologian]], Discourse XIII in ''On the Mystical Life'', vol. 2, trans. [[Alexander Golitzin]] ([[SVS Press]], 1996)

==History and background==
The Immaculate Conception was solemnly defined as a dogma by Pope Pius IX in his constitution ''Ineffabilis Deus'', published [[December 8]], 1854 (the Latins' Feast of the Immaculate Conception). From 1483, Pope Sixtus IV had left Roman Catholics free to believe that Mary was subject to original sin or not, after having introduced the celebration; this freedom had been reiterated by the [[Wikipedia:Council of Trent|Council of Trent]].

The Roman Catholic Church believes the dogma is supported by scripture and by the writings of many of the [[Church Fathers]], either directly or indirectly. Roman Catholic theology maintains that since Jesus became [[incarnation|incarnate]] of the Virgin Mary, she needed to be completely free of sin to bear the Son of God, and that Mary is "redeemed 'by the grace of [[Jesus Christ|Christ]]' but in a more perfect manner than other human beings" (Ott, ''Fund.'', Bk 3, Pt. 3, Ch. 2, §3.1.e).

The doctrine is generally not shared by either Eastern Orthodoxy or by [[Protestantism]]. Protestantism rejects the doctrine because it is not explicitly spelled out in the [[Bible]]. Protestants and Eastern Orthodox often say that the immaculate conception of the [[Theotokos]] would contradict the doctrine of the [[salvation|redemption]] of humanity, as the Virgin Mary would have been cleansed before Christ's own incarnation, making his function superfluous. Orthodox Christians say that St. [[Augustine of Hippo|Augustine]] (d. 430), whose works were not well known in Eastern Christianity until perhaps the 17th and 18th centuries, has influenced the theology of sin that has generally taken root in the West. Many Orthodox consider unnecessary the doctrine that Mary would require purification prior to the Incarnation. Eastern Orthodox theologians believe that the references among the Greek and Syrian Fathers to Mary's purity and sinlessness may refer not to an ''a priori'' state but to her conduct after birth.

Roman Catholics counter with Scripture (e.g., [[Book of Romans|Romans]] 5, [[Wisdom of Solomon]] 2:24, [[I Corinthians]] 15:21, the experience of St. [[John the Forerunner|John the Baptizer]] in his mother's womb, etc.) and the writings of Church Fathers prior to St. [[Augustine of Hippo|Augustine]].

==History of the doctrine==
Aside from the acceptability of the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception, and its necessity or lack thereof, is the history of its development within the Roman Catholic Church. The Conception of Mary was celebrated in England from the ninth century. Eadmer was influential in its spread. The Normans suppressed the celebration but it lived on in the popular mind. It was rejected by Bernard of Clairvaux, Alexander of Hales, and Bonaventure (who, teaching at Paris, called it "this foreign doctrine," indicating its association with England). Thomas Aquinas expressed questions about the subject but said that he would accept the determination of the Church (his difficulty was in seeing how Mary could be redeemed if she had not sinned).

The Oxford Franciscans William of Ware and especially John Duns Scotus defended the doctrine despite the opposition of most scholarly opinion at the time. Scotus proposed a solution to the theological problems involved with reconciling the doctrine with the doctrine of universal redemption in Christ by arguing that Mary's immaculate conception did not remove her from redemption by Christ but rather was the result of a more perfect redemption given to her on account of her special role in salvation history. Scotus' defence of the immaculist thesis was summed up by one of his followers ''potuit, decuit ergo fecit'' (God could do it, it was fitting that he did it, and so he did it). Following his defence of the thesis, students at Paris swore to defend the thesis and the tradition grew of swearing to defend the doctrine with one's blood. Arguments ensued between the immaculist Scotists and the maculist Thomists, and the former tried to link this doctrine with that of the primacy of Christ (which says that Christ would have become man even if [[Adam and Eve|Adam]] had not sinned) since both groups reject the idea that God's plans were determined by human sin.

Popular opinion was firmly behind accepting this privilege for Mary, but such was the sensitivity of the issue and the authority of Aquinas that it was not until 1854 that Pius IX, with the support of the overwhelming majority of Catholic bishops, felt safe enough to pronounce the doctrine infallible.

The contemporary statement of the teaching can be found [http://www.scborromeo.org/ccc/p122a3p2.htm#490 here] in the Catechism of the Catholic Church. The actual text of the doctrinal declaration is: ''"We declare . . . that the most Blessed Virgin Mary in the first moment of her conception was, by the unique grace and privilege of God, in view of the merits of Jesus Christ the Saviour of the human race, preserved intact from all stain of original sin."''

==Roman Catholic statements==
* [http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/07674d.htm Catholic Encyclopedia entry on the Immaculate Conception]
* [http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/11312a.htm Catholic Encyclopedia entry on Original Sin]
* [http://www.kensmen.com/catholic/mary.html Summary of Roman Catholic doctrines about Mary]
* [http://www.netacc.net/~mafg/mary03.htm The Immaculate Conception ] - A [[Lutheran]] Perspective

==Polemical Articles==
*[http://home.nyc.rr.com/mysticalrose/barton1.html My Belief in the Immaculate Conception Doctrine] - by Daniel Joseph Barton ([[Byzantine Catholic]]--non-Orthodox)
*[http://www.cin.org/imconcep.html Orthodoxy and the the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception of the Theotokos - Unique to the modern Roman Church or ancient Eastern tradition?] - by Dave Brown (Catholic Information Network--non-Orthodox)

[[Category:Heresies]]
[[Category:Non-Orthodox]]

Origen

2006-02-22T16:56:53Z

Dogface:

{{cleanup}}
'''Origen of Alexandria''' was a Christian of the early third century who was the first theologian to formulate a systematic system. He lived in a turbulent period for the Christian Church, a period of Roman persecutions and loose doctrinal consensus. He was a [[priest]], [[ordination|ordained]] under controversial conditions. His writings were extensive, much of which is not extant. In later centuries some extreme views by followers were attributed to him and his name was brought under suspicion. He was [[anathema]]tized by the [[Fifth Ecumenical Council|Second Council of Constantinople]] in 553, specifically in its eleventh Canon:

:If anyone does not anathematize Arius, Eunomius, Macedonius, Apollinarius Nestorius, Eutyches and Origen, as well as their heretical books, and also all other heretics who have already been condemned and anathematized by the holy, catholic and apostolic church and by the four holy synods which have already been mentioned, and also all those who have thought or now think in the same way as the aforesaid heretics and who persist in their error even to death: let him be anathema.[http://www.piar.hu/councils/ecum05.htm]

However, some scholarly controversy exists over the authenticity of fifteen additional "Anathemas against Origen", which specifically spell out his erroneous doctrines. Disagreement exists over whether or not these specific canons were produced by the Ecumenical Council or by a Constantinopolitan Synod[http://www.ccel.org/fathers2/NPNF2-14/Npnf2-14-115.htm#P5629_1200405]. This has been misinterpreted from time to time as indicating that Origen and his doctrines were not anathematized and his doctrines not deemed heretical. Nevertheless, it is not the anathematization of Origen nor condemnation of his doctrines as heresy that is in question but the Ecumenical authenticity of fifteen ''additional'' anathemas pronounced against specific aspects of Origen's teachings.

==Life==
Origen’s full name was '''Origenes Adamantius'''. His dates of birth and death are not known exactly. He was born about 185, most probably in Alexandria. He was born into a Christian family. He is believed to have been educated by his father, Leonides. He used this education to revive and teach, as didaskalos, at the ‘’catechetical school in Alexandria’’ in 203, under the jurisdiction of [[Demetrius]], the [[bishop]] of Alexandria. This was after his father died a [[martyr]] in 202 in the persecutions under Septimius Severus. Origen was then seventeen and apparently succeeded [[Clement of Alexandria]] who had been driven out of Alexandria by the persecutions.

In around 215 he went to Palestine where he was invited to preach by Alexander, bishop of Jerusalem, and Theoctistus, bishop of Caesarea, evne though he was not ordained. His teaching there was considered a breach of discipline by [[Demetrius]].

In 230, he was ordained a priest in Palestine by Bishops Alexander and Theoctistus. This was without the authority of Demetrius who subsequently expelled him from Alexandria. Following his expulsion he moved to Caesarea where he founded a school.

He died a martyr’s death in the persecutions of 250, probably in 254, and most probably in Caesarea. It was claimed that he died in Tyr and that his sepulchre was behind the high altar of the cathedral there. The evidence for him moving to Tyr remains unclear.

==Works==
Origen wrote extensively. According to Epiphanius he produces some 6,000 works. In addition to some spurious efforts, his writings can be divided into four classes: [[text criticism]]; [[exegesis]]; systematic, practical, and apologetic theology; and letters. Of all these works his most important writing was the ‘’Hexapla’’, a textual criticism that compared various translations of the [[Old Testament]]. However, only some portions of this work have come down to us. The full text is no longer extant.

==External links==
*A Coptic view [http://www.copticchurch.net/topics/patrology/schoolofalex2/]
*Origen: Wikipedia [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Origen]
*Origen of Alexandria [http://www.utm.edu/research/iep/o/origen.htm]
*The Catholic Encyclopedia [http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/11306b.htm]

[[Category: Priests]]
[[Category: Heretics]]

Talk:Origen

2006-02-22T16:55:59Z

Dogface: /* Origen and Heresy */

==Origen and Heresy==
I have some difficulty with the following sentence in this article: "He was anathematized by the Second Council of Constantinople in 553 and declared a heretic." First, a heretic is someone who willfully teaches personal opinion ''after'' that opinion has been condemned by the Church. A condemnation of some of Origen's views 300 years after his repose does not make him a heretic. Second, it isn't even clear that II Constantinople anathematized Origen. As one website put it, "Our edition does not include the text of the anathemas against Origen since recent studies have shown that these anathemas cannot be attributed to this council." I also read something to this effect in an article by Bishop Kallistos Ware. --[[User:Fr Lev|Fr Lev]] 09:45, February 22, 2006 (CST)

I've tried to clear the matter up. Origen was anathematized. This is without doubt. Likewise, his books were declared heretical. Both declarations were made in Canon XI of the Council in question. The specific book from which your quote comes actually does not claim that Origen was not anathematized, it only calls into question the authenticity of 15 additional canons. That selfsame text does reproduce the 11th Canon that anathematizes Origen by name.[[User:Dogface|Dogface]] 10:55, February 22, 2006 (CST)

Talk:Origen

2006-02-22T16:55:50Z

Dogface:

Origen

2006-02-22T16:49:53Z

Dogface:

{{cleanup}}
'''Origen of Alexandria''' was a Christian of the early third century who was the first theologian to formulate a systematic system. He lived in a turbulent period for the Christian Church, a period of Roman persecutions and loose doctrinal consensus. He was a [[priest]], [[ordination|ordained]] under controversial conditions. His writings were extensive, much of which is not extant. In later centuries some extreme views by followers were attributed to him and his name was brought under suspicion. He was [[anathema]]tized by the [[Fifth Ecumenical Council|Second Council of Constantinople]] in 553, specifically in its eleventh Canon:

:If anyone does not anathematize Arius, Eunomius, Macedonius, Apollinarius Nestorius, Eutyches and Origen, as well as their heretical books, and also all other heretics who have already been condemned and anathematized by the holy, catholic and apostolic church and by the four holy synods which have already been mentioned, and also all those who have thought or now think in the same way as the aforesaid heretics and who persist in their error even to death: let him be anathema.[http://www.piar.hu/councils/ecum05.htm]

However, some scholarly controversy exists over the authenticity of fifteen additional "Anathemas against Origen", which specifically spell out his erroneous doctrines. Disagreement exists over whether or not these specific canons were produced by the Ecumenical Council or by a Constantinopolitan Synod[http://www.ccel.org/fathers2/NPNF2-14/Npnf2-14-115.htm#P5629_1200405]. This has been misinterpreted on the part of some non-scholars as indicating that Origen and his doctrines were not anathematized and his doctrines not deemed heretical. Nevertheless, it is not the anathematization of Origen nor condemnation of his doctrines as heresy that is in question but the Ecumenical authenticity of fifteen ''additional'' anathemas pronounced against specific aspects of Origen's teachings.

==Life==
Origen’s full name was '''Origenes Adamantius'''. His dates of birth and death are not known exactly. He was born about 185, most probably in Alexandria. He was born into a Christian family. He is believed to have been educated by his father, Leonides. He used this education to revive and teach, as didaskalos, at the ‘’catechetical school in Alexandria’’ in 203, under the jurisdiction of [[Demetrius]], the [[bishop]] of Alexandria. This was after his father died a [[martyr]] in 202 in the persecutions under Septimius Severus. Origen was then seventeen and apparently succeeded [[Clement of Alexandria]] who had been driven out of Alexandria by the persecutions.

In around 215 he went to Palestine where he was invited to preach by Alexander, bishop of Jerusalem, and Theoctistus, bishop of Caesarea, evne though he was not ordained. His teaching there was considered a breach of discipline by [[Demetrius]].

In 230, he was ordained a priest in Palestine by Bishops Alexander and Theoctistus. This was without the authority of Demetrius who subsequently expelled him from Alexandria. Following his expulsion he moved to Caesarea where he founded a school.

He died a martyr’s death in the persecutions of 250, probably in 254, and most probably in Caesarea. It was claimed that he died in Tyr and that his sepulchre was behind the high altar of the cathedral there. The evidence for him moving to Tyr remains unclear.

==Works==
Origen wrote extensively. According to Epiphanius he produces some 6,000 works. In addition to some spurious efforts, his writings can be divided into four classes: [[text criticism]]; [[exegesis]]; systematic, practical, and apologetic theology; and letters. Of all these works his most important writing was the ‘’Hexapla’’, a textual criticism that compared various translations of the [[Old Testament]]. However, only some portions of this work have come down to us. The full text is no longer extant.

==External links==
*A Coptic view [http://www.copticchurch.net/topics/patrology/schoolofalex2/]
*Origen: Wikipedia [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Origen]
*Origen of Alexandria [http://www.utm.edu/research/iep/o/origen.htm]
*The Catholic Encyclopedia [http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/11306b.htm]

[[Category: Priests]]
[[Category: Heretics]]

Origen

2006-02-22T16:49:34Z

Dogface: Clarified the apparent controversy over anathematization.

{{cleanup}}
'''Origen of Alexandria''' was a Christian of the early third century who was the first theologian to formulate a systematic system. He lived in a turbulent period for the Christian Church, a period of Roman persecutions and loose doctrinal consensus. He was a [[priest]], [[ordination|ordained]] under controversial conditions. His writings were extensive, much of which is not extant. In later centuries some extreme views by followers were attributed to him and his name was brought under suspicion. He was [[anathema]]tized by the [[Fifth Ecumenical Council|Second Council of Constantinople]] in 553, specifically in its eleventh Canon:

:If anyone does not anathematize Arius, Eunomius, Macedonius, Apollinarius Nestorius, Eutyches and Origen, as well as their heretical books, and also all other heretics who have already been condemned and anathematized by the holy, catholic and apostolic church and by the four holy synods which have already been mentioned, and also all those who have thought or now think in the same way as the aforesaid heretics and who persist in their error even to death: let him be [anathema.http://www.piar.hu/councils/ecum05.htm]

However, some scholarly controversy exists over the authenticity of fifteen additional "Anathemas against Origen", which specifically spell out his erroneous doctrines. Disagreement exists over whether or not these specific canons were produced by the Ecumenical Council or by a Constantinopolitan Synod[http://www.ccel.org/fathers2/NPNF2-14/Npnf2-14-115.htm#P5629_1200405]. This has been misinterpreted on the part of some non-scholars as indicating that Origen and his doctrines were not anathematized and his doctrines not deemed heretical. Nevertheless, it is not the anathematization of Origen nor condemnation of his doctrines as heresy that is in question but the Ecumenical authenticity of fifteen ''additional'' anathemas pronounced against specific aspects of Origen's teachings.

==Life==
Origen’s full name was '''Origenes Adamantius'''. His dates of birth and death are not known exactly. He was born about 185, most probably in Alexandria. He was born into a Christian family. He is believed to have been educated by his father, Leonides. He used this education to revive and teach, as didaskalos, at the ‘’catechetical school in Alexandria’’ in 203, under the jurisdiction of [[Demetrius]], the [[bishop]] of Alexandria. This was after his father died a [[martyr]] in 202 in the persecutions under Septimius Severus. Origen was then seventeen and apparently succeeded [[Clement of Alexandria]] who had been driven out of Alexandria by the persecutions.

In around 215 he went to Palestine where he was invited to preach by Alexander, bishop of Jerusalem, and Theoctistus, bishop of Caesarea, evne though he was not ordained. His teaching there was considered a breach of discipline by [[Demetrius]].

In 230, he was ordained a priest in Palestine by Bishops Alexander and Theoctistus. This was without the authority of Demetrius who subsequently expelled him from Alexandria. Following his expulsion he moved to Caesarea where he founded a school.

He died a martyr’s death in the persecutions of 250, probably in 254, and most probably in Caesarea. It was claimed that he died in Tyr and that his sepulchre was behind the high altar of the cathedral there. The evidence for him moving to Tyr remains unclear.

==Works==
Origen wrote extensively. According to Epiphanius he produces some 6,000 works. In addition to some spurious efforts, his writings can be divided into four classes: [[text criticism]]; [[exegesis]]; systematic, practical, and apologetic theology; and letters. Of all these works his most important writing was the ‘’Hexapla’’, a textual criticism that compared various translations of the [[Old Testament]]. However, only some portions of this work have come down to us. The full text is no longer extant.

==External links==
*A Coptic view [http://www.copticchurch.net/topics/patrology/schoolofalex2/]
*Origen: Wikipedia [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Origen]
*Origen of Alexandria [http://www.utm.edu/research/iep/o/origen.htm]
*The Catholic Encyclopedia [http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/11306b.htm]

[[Category: Priests]]
[[Category: Heretics]]

Sarum Use

2006-02-22T16:29:54Z

Dogface: /* Old Sarum Rite */

The '''Sarum Rite''', also called the '''Rite of Salisbury''', is a [[Western Rite]] liturgical tradition which coalesced in the 11th century West and in the contemporary [[Orthodox Church]]. It is more properly termed a '''Use''' of the [[Roman Rite]].

==History==
The origins of the rite are with the ancient local usages of the Insular Churches, ie those of Great Britain and Ireland. The earliest rites of those regions belonged to the family of rites called [[Gallican Rite]]. With the coming of St. [[Augustine of Canterbury]] to England in AD 597, a new rite was introduced into Britain: that of the [[Church of Rome]]. St. Augustine had been directed by Pope St. Gregory the Great (also called St. [[Gregory the Dialogist]]) to respect the Gallican customs that were already in place. Beginning with this period, and later with the rule of Charlemagne on the Continent, the Gallican and Roman rites were mixed. In England, the Second Council of Cloveshoe in 747 under St. [[Cuthbert of Lindisfarne]] included the canon that the rite of those "speaking the English tongue" would be the Roman rite. During the period of the Celtic and Saxon churches, there developed several related local variants or Uses of the Roman Rite, called ''Gallo-Roman'' to distinguish from the old Roman rite. The rites used in France, northern Spain, Portugal, the Low Countries, Germany, and Scandinavia were similar.

In 1066, the Normans invaded England. There were some abortive attempts at changing entirely to the related uses of northern France. However, monasteries particularly in the western parts of the island (especially Sherbourne Abbey and Glastonbury Abbey) proved intransigent. The Norman bishop of Sarum, Osmund, arranged the services for his new [[cathedral]] according to the practices that he saw around him—both Norman and Saxon/Celtic, inventing nothing. The Sarum rite as known was probably arranged by Richard Le Poore, who moved the See from Old Sarum to New Salisbury in the 13th c. From this period, the Sarum enjoyed the sterling reputation as being the best liturgy anywhere in the West, and thus had influence on the liturgy of other local churches in the Isles and the Continent (notable among them being Braga in Portugal and Nidaros/Trondheim in Norway). Other related local uses continued as well, such as York, Bangor, Hereford, and Durham.

The Sarum Use was one of the first to be published on the new printing presses in the early days of the Reformation. The complete service books for the whole rite survive. The rite was commanded for the whole realm of Great Britain during the reign of Queen Mary. It was also the basis for the translated and later Reformed rites of the [[Anglican Communion|Anglican Church]].

The rite was revived particularly by the Orthodox party of the Anglo-Catholic or Tractarian movement in the 19th c. Church of England. In the mid-19th c., the services were translated into English by such as G. H. Palmer, and became either the preferred liturgy or preferred liturgical model for the non-Romanizing part of the Anglo-Catholic movement (also called Orthodox Anglo-Catholic or Prayer Book Catholic). The ceremonial and customs of the rite were the major influence in the development of the English Use, partly through the efforts of Percy Dearmer, author of ''The Parson's Handbook''. The old English Catholic Clergy Brotherhood also maintained a tradition of Sarum Use through the period of Catholic persecution in England. Attempts to revive the Sarum rite amongst the Roman Catholics included proponents such as A. W. N. Pugin and Bishop Wilson of Tasmania. The Sarum rite was suggested, but rejected, for use in the new Westminster Cathedral in 1903.

The Sarum Rite in English is also used by the Western Rite Orthodox in the [[Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia]].

==Old Sarum Rite==
A related liturgy is the '''Old Sarum Rite''', compiled by a [[monastery]] of [[Old Catholic]] origin within the [[Holy Synod of Milan]], based upon many various early rites of Western Europe, including Sarum, and many details from minority texts. It is a modern construction (deemed a reconstruction by its supporters), and it has been criticized as being a pastiche rather than an actual revived liturgy. This liturgy is not in use by any mainstream Western Rite Orthodox.

=Sources=
*''The Church of our Fathers'', Daniel Rock, 1849.
*''The Sarum Missal in English'' , F. E. Warren, 1911.
*''The Use of Sarum'', ed. W. H. Frere, 1898.
*''The Sarum Missal edited from three Early Manuscripts'', J. Wickham Legg, 1916.
*''The Parson's Handbook'' Percy Dearmer, 1957.
*[http://anglicansociety.org/corner/sarum_use.html The Sarum Use by Revd Canon Professor J. Robert Wright]
*[http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/13479a.htm Catholic Encyclopedia: Sarum Rite]
*[http://justus.anglican.org/resources/bcp/Sarum/English.htm Project Canterbury: the Sarum Missal]
*[http://www.orthodoxresurgence.co.uk/Petroc/#THE%20ROOTS The Roots of the Orthodox Liturgy in the West, Saint Petroc Monastery]
*[http://www.orthodoxresurgence.co.uk/Petroc/sarum.htm The Divine Liturgy of Sarum as used in the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad]
*[http://romanliturgy.net/sarum.html The Sarum Use of the Roman rite in Latin]
*[http://romanliturgy.net/sarum_en.html The Sarum Use of the Roman rite in English]

[[Category:Liturgics]]
[[Category:Western Rite]]

Septuagint

2006-02-21T21:50:39Z

Dogface: /* Variations with the Masoretic Text (MT) */ I like tables!

The '''Septuagint''' (a name derived from the Latin word for "seventy", also referred to as the '''LXX''') is a 3rd century B.C. translation of the [[Old Testament|Hebrew Scriptures]] into Greek. It is the canonical [[Old Testament]] of the [[Orthodox Church]].

==History==
The translation of the Septuagint undertaken in Alexandria at the behest of the Egyptian King, Ptolemy, who wished to expand the celebrated library of Alexandria to include the wisdom of all the ancient religions of the world. Because Greek was the language of Alexandria, the Scriptures therefore had to be translated into that language.

The ''Letter of Aristeas'', the oldest known source we have for the origin of the Septuagint, details how Ptolemy contacted the chief priest, Eleazar, in Jerusalem and asked him to send translators. Six were chosen from each of the twelve tribes of Israel, giving us the commonly accepted number of seventy-two. (Other accounts have the number at seventy or seventy-five.) Only the Torah (the first five books) was translated initially, but eventually other translations (and even compositions) were added to the collection. By the time of our Lord, the Septuagint was the Bible in use by most Hellenistic Jews.

Thus, when the [[Apostles]] quote the Jewish Scripture in their own writings, the overwhelmingly dominant source for their wording comes directly from the Septuagint (LXX). Given that the spread of the [[Gospel]] was most successful among the Gentiles and Hellenistic Jews, it made sense that the LXX would be the Bible for the early Church. Following in the footsteps of those first generations of Christians, the [[Orthodox Church]] continues to regard the LXX as its only canonical text of the [[Old Testament]]. There are a number of differences between the canon of the LXX and that of [[Roman Catholic Church]] and [[Protestantism|Protestant Christians]], based on differences in translation tradition or doctrine.

==Differences with other Christian Canons==
The differences with Rome are fairly small and have never been a subject of much contention between the Orthodox and that communion. The canonical lists are essentially the same in content (some of the names are different) but for the following items: The Latin canon does not include [[I Esdras]] (though it uses that name for what the Orthodox call [[II Esdras]]); there are only 150 Psalms in the Latin canon, while the LXX has 151 (and the Psalms are numbered and divided differently between the two canons, because the modern Latin canon is based on the Hebrew Masoretic Text, though the [[Vulgate]] used the Septuagintal Psalm numbering); the [[Epistle of Jeremiah]] is a separate book in the LXX, while it is included as part of Baruch for the Latins; and the Latins do not include either [[III Maccabees|III]] or [[IV Maccabees]]. Traditionally, Roman Catholics used the numbering of the Latin Vulgate, which follows the Septuagint. However, since the Second Vatican Council, Roman Catholic publications, including Catholic Bibles and liturgical texts, have used the numbering found in the Masoretic Text.

The differences with the Protestant canon are based on the 16th century misunderstanding of Martin Luther. When he was translating the Old Testament into German, he mistakenly believed that the oldest source for the Old Testament would be in Hebrew, so he found and used the so-called Masoretic Text (MT), a 9th century Jewish canon compiled largely in reaction to Christian claims that the Old Testament Scriptures belonged to the Church. The MT is thus also the basis for the Old Testament text of the 17th century Authorized Version in English (the "King James Version"). There are multiple differences between the LXX and MT. The MT lacks the following texts: [[I Esdras]], the portion of [[II Esdras]] (which the MT simply calls "Ezra") called the "[[Prayer of Manasseh]]," [[Tobit]], [[Judith]], portions of [[Book of Esther|Esther]], [[Wisdom of Solomon]], [[Wisdom of Sirach]] (Ecclesiasticus), [[Baruch]], the [[Epistle of Jeremiah]], the so-called "additions to Daniel" (The [[Song of the Three Children]], [[Susanna (Book of Daniel)|Susanna]], and [[Bel and the Dragon]]), the 151st Psalm, and all four Maccabees books. The Psalms are also numbered and divided up differently.

== Variations with the Masoretic Text (MT) ==
There are multiple internal variations between the LXX and the MT. The texts read differently in many places, giving a much more [[Christology|Christological]] tone to the LXX which was deliberately avoided when the Masoretes were putting together their anti-Christian canon. These differences in wording are the evidence that the Apostles were using the LXX. Here follow several examples of radical differences in wording:

{| border="1" cellpadding="2"
|-
! !! LXX !! MT
|-
! Gen. 4:7
| Hast thou not sinned if thou hast brought it rightly, but not rightly divided it? Be still, to thee shall be his submission, and thou shalt rule over him. || If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? And if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.
|-
! Exodus 21:16/17
| He that reviles his father or his mother shall surely die. || And he that curseth his father, or his mother, shall surely be put to death.
|-
! Psalm 39/40:6
| Sacrifice and offering Thou hast not desired, but a body Thou hast prepared for Me... || Sacrifice and offering thou didst not desire, mine ears has thou opened...
|}

== External links ==
* [http://students.cua.edu/16kalvesmaki/LXX/ The Septuagint Online]
* [http://www.lxx.org/ The Orthodox Study Bible]
* [http://www.ccel.org/bible/brenton/ The Septuagint LXX: Greek and English] by Sir Lancelot C.L. Brenton
* [http://www.ecclesia.org/truth/septuagint-hyperlinked.html Septuagint, Brenton's Edition] (omits "deuterocanonical"/"apocryphal" books)
* [http://spindleworks.com/septuagint/septuagint.htm The Septuagint], compiled from the [http://unbound.biola.edu/ Unbound] website by Henry Sikkema in 1999 (omits "deuterocanonical"/"apocryphal" books)

== See also ==
*[[Hermeneutics]]
*[[Holy Scripture]]

[[Category:Church History]]
[[Category:Judaism]]
[[Category:Scripture]]
[[Category:Texts]]

Category talk:Non-Orthodox

2006-02-20T18:52:57Z

Dogface: /* Re: */

I see a serious problem with ''most'' of the articles in this category right now, as they don't qualify for the Style Manual's stipulation that such articles be mainly about the group's relation to the Orthodox Church. That is, they should read as though the article title is "Group X and the Orthodox Church." The ''bulk'' of the material in these articles is currently not about Orthodoxy at all.

I'm tagging all the articles that are questionable. I propose that they either get deleted or completely revamped. The ones on [[John Paul II]] and the [[Rosary]] are almost the only ones which fulfil the requirement (though the latter is iffy). {{User:ASDamick/sig}} 16:54, January 11, 2006 (CST)

== My 2 cents ==

Although, as you know I am not Orthodox, I figured I'd put in my two cents worth, since I have done some of the work on a lot of these. Here's my thinking. Certainly you have a good point here. As I was writing them I was thinking that I was putting background informatinon down, which would then be added to specifically as regards to (for instance) Anglican/Orthodox relations etc. I guess that didn't really happen. Here are some things specifically that I am thinking:

* The article on the Archbishop of Canterbury seems to have some historical validity for being included, since the first many were Orthodox and the current ABC has done some scholarly writing on Lossky and some "popular" writing on iconography
* I would argue for the inclusion of the article on John Paul II because of his relationship with Orthodox over the time of his pontificate; and for the article on the Rosary (although, probably substantially re-vamped) because of the arguments both for and against its use among Orthodox. That is, I can see an inquiring Orthodox Christian turning here to find out what it's all about.
* The article on teh Immaculate Conception, I think would be good to keep, specifically, again, because of the controversy.

However, articles like ECUSA and the Anglican Communion (although I put a good bit of work into the latter) wouldn't really hurt my feelings to have deleted, since they have not, largely focused on Anglican-Orthodox relations. Perhaps they can be replaced with an article specifically called "Anglican-Orthodox Relations" or something like that. Then only very basic theological/historical information would need to be included as it relates to the reasons they're not in communion.

Anyway - those are my thoughts. Certainly don't worry about sparing my feelings if any are deleted or seriously modified.

Peace. [[User:Joffridus|Joffridus]] 11:22, January 12, 2006 (CST)

:One of the main questions I had was about the differences between Catholicism and Orthodoxy was the [[Immaculate Conception]]. I do think the article needs more work, though the external links are helpful (of course, now I know to look for the key for me: the difference in understanding the idea of "original sin"). During the past year, on the OrthWomen's list, I remember there being quite a discussion about the [[rosary]], and whether it would be acceptable to use that tradition as an Orthodox Christian, and what the Western Rite said about its use.
:Ideas for inclusion: [[Buddhism]] could be made to relate to the [[Orthodoxy in Japan]] series; [[Jehovah's Witnesses]], [[Episcopal Church U.S.A.]], and [[Calvinism]] could perhaps be subsumed into a general article?
:I think that my understanding for the Non-Orthodox Category is to have pages explaining the differences in beliefs (and perhaps, in practices) between Orthodoxy and the non-Orthodox groups, such that, for a person coming from a particular non-Orthodox background, the article would explain clearly what is different and why. It might be the scope of another article (or section) to explore the history of the relationship between that group and the Orthodox Church. I am completely at a loss for titles for any of these ideas. {{User:Magda/sig}} 11:59, January 12, 2006 (CST)

:: Titles? Oh, that's easy! :) I think perhaps a major cure for most of these articles would be to move them to "X and Orthodox Christianity," which could cover both relations between groups and also comparisons of belief. My main difficulty with the articles as they stand now is that they're mainly about X with (at most) notes for further references to Orthodoxy. If the article can't be about Orthodoxy, ISTM that it really doesn't belong on OrthodoxWiki. Wikipedia is much better for general articles about particular denominations or belief sets.

:: I don't think the articles necessarily have to be deleted, but the bulk of their material should probably be summarized. Jeff makes a good point about the [[Archbishop of Canterbury]] article, though its contents could perhaps be subsumed into a more general article about the Orthodox Church in the British Isles (or in England). A complete list of post-Schism Abps. of Canterbury seems to me not really needed here, though mention of particular ones relevant to Orthodoxy (like the current one) would be germane. BTW, I mentioned the JP2 article as one which was '''good'''. :)

:: Articles like the [[Immaculate Conception]] one should probably be renamed to "Orthodox view of the Immaculate Conception" or something like that. Such a thing is distinct from heresies which arose within the Orthodox Church (like Nestorianism), whose articles are about the heresy itself and how it was fought. The IC is something external to the Orthodox Church, and the "distance" created by "Orthodox view of X" is, I think, prudent.

:: All of this is, of course, part of my perpetual OrthodoxWiki philosophy of cutting out stuff that folks could easily find elsewhere from non-Orthodox sources. I certainly don't mean to step on anyone's favorite articles, but I do think we could use some tightening up in this department. {{User:ASDamick/sig}} 14:20, January 12, 2006 (CST)

: A big part of the usefulness of any kind of Wiki it its ability to hyperlink to related topics. If you talk about Church history, you have to talk about the Reformation. If you talk about the Reformation, you have to talk about Calvin. If you talk about Calvin you have to talk about the 5 points of Calvinism. If you talk about the 5 points of Calvinism, you have to talk about the TULIP acronym, and so on, and so on. Deleting such information simply because it appears to be non-Orthodox is myopic. Forcing users to search outside of OrthodoxWiki for related topics is a disservice. This is an opportunity to write about these topics from an Orthodox perspective.[[User:Thedogfather|Thedogfather]] 15:35, January 12, 2006 (CST)

:: So you're suggesting that [[OW:SM|policy]] be changed? I can tell you why it was written the way it was, though. If we open up OrthodoxWiki to articles about topics that are not directly pertinent to Orthodoxy, then OrthodoxWiki loses its distinctiveness, and one could certainly conceivably watch the non-Orthodox material balloon out of control to make this "generic religion wiki" rather than OrthodoxWiki. I absolutely agree that there is an opportunity to discuss these topics from an Orthodox perspective, but the problem is that, as of this writing, at least, what's currently in those articles is general information about the topics without anything from a particularly Orthodox perspective.

:: Here's the relevant section from the Style Manual: ''Further, articles on Non-Orthodox Christian religious groups, while necessarily including some general description of those groups, should have as their primary content the relationship and history of that group in relation to the Orthodox Church'' (from [[OrthodoxWiki:Style Manual (Point of View)]]). So, it's not a question of "deleting such information simply because it appears to be non-Orthodox," but rather about maintaining the integrity of OrthodoxWiki as an Orthodox source. For example, an article explaining the TULIP of Calvinism would be inappropriate, but an article detailing an Orthodox critique of TULIP would be in keeping with our established policy.

:: In order for OrthodoxWiki to be useful, it has to be limited. These are the limitations that the administration has put in place. In any event, except for your userpage, you've been editing articles here a total of only two days. Perhaps you may wish to examine the Style Manual thoroughly and familiarize yourself with our practices a bit further before indicating that there should be policy changes. {{User:ASDamick/sig}} 16:00, January 12, 2006 (CST)

::: I wasn't aware that joining OrthodoxWiki meant that I was not allowed to express an opinion. I have been duely chastised. It will be a long time, or never, before I contribute again.[[User:Thedogfather|Thedogfather]] 11:53, January 18, 2006 (CST)

:::: FWIW, chastisement wasn't the aim. It simply seemed that you were unfamiliar with our longstanding standards and policies, and your limited contribution level seemed to confirm that apparent unfamiliarity (which is why I mentioned it). Anyone may express an opinion (evidenced by the fact that yours wasn't edited out). {{User:ASDamick/sig}} 12:36, January 18, 2006 (CST)

:I don't think the problem is that articles on heterodox ideas (TULIP, et al) are inherently bad; rather, unless they have Orthodoxy somewhere in them - a response to, or a comparison with - they are better done on a bigger scale, ie on wikipedia, and there is no need for duplication here. However, if there is something Orthodox in the article (response, comparison, etc), then there is a good reason for them being here. Otherwise, it's easy enough to link the specific articles up with the equivalent wikipedia articles. --{{User:Pistevo/sig}} 16:25, January 12, 2006 (CST)

::Aha! What we have here is a deep philosophical divide between [[meta:Deletionist|Deletionsists]] and [[meta:Association_of_Inclusionist_Wikipedians|Inclusionists]]. I'm sympathetic to both sides, and, although I have inclusionist tendencies, I generally regard myself as a "conservative deletionist" as far as OrthodoxWiki is concerned. I think we should keep [[Immaculate Conception]] and any material in [[:Category:Non-Orthodox]] that refers to a groups' relation to the Orthodox Church, although maybe we should [[meta:Mergism|merge]] some of this stuff together until such a time when some invests in creating a whole article dedication to "x and Orthodoxy." Summaries of other groups' history or teaching ''may'' be appropriate and it ''might'' be wise to store some of what is unused for later. I am not worried about people having to go off-site for more up-to-date or complete information about another group, and I stand by the Style Manual. It is not our job to maintain this kind of stuff, and referring to Wikipedia or one of the [[Other wikis]] for this kind of stuff would probably be more ideal. OTOH, I'm for keeping anything relevant to Orthodoxy -- and I think the [[Immaculate Conception]] article is important here. I suspect many Orthodox folks who critize this teaching don't even know what it is! {{User:FrJohn/sig}}
::See also [[meta:Deletionism]] and [[meta:Inclusionism]].

::[[Jehovah's Witnesses]] is definitely a [[heresy]] that is incompatible with Christianity in general and not just Orthodoxy (even Protestant Churches are denouncing it). On the other hand, the [[Immaculate Conception]] is a (non-essential) flawed dogma that appeared in the Catholic Church, a traditional old Church with valid Apostolic succession that no truly wise one can ever deny, and with a unique ministry (part of God's plan, I believe), reaching out to many parts of the world that are otherwise underserved/unserved by the Orthodox Church. I am very much relieved to see this attempt to reorganise this category. I have never been convinced with the classification of both the [[Rosary]] and [[Jehovah's Witnesses]] under the same [[:Category:Non-Orthodox|category]]. It was a bit odd.

== Proposal ==

The general consensus seems to be in favor of the limits on non-Orthodox subjects set in the [[OW:SM]]. I thus propose the following measures:

* '''Renaming''' all the articles to reflect that they are about Orthodoxy and their subject.
* '''Editing''' them to remove material which does not address the subject's relationship to Orthodoxy, except for '''two paragraphs''' of introductory material.

Especially regarding this latter subject, I think it would be good to create a new subsection of the Style Manual to address articles on Non-Orthodox subjects, incorporating the two-paragraph rule into it. What do y'all think? {{User:ASDamick/sig}} 06:29, January 19, 2006 (CST)

:I think that this seems a reasonable course of action. [[User:Joffridus|Joffridus]] 16:30, January 20, 2006 (CST)

Hi

I am not sure if this is the right place to comment or not. If the articles in this section reflect a 100% exact and identical explanation of what has already been defined or explained elsewhere, then I agree that the information would be...redundant, and as such unnecessary.

However, the question concerning these articles aught to be (IMO) whether or not the articles help clarify the relationship between 1) the Orthodox Church 2) the Topic or group in question.

I would suggest that the nature of the articles is that they help clarify the information specifically as it relates to orthodoxy - contextually. In other words, material should be considered for retention and inclusion where it clarifies and/or Amplifies the definitions or explanations given in other articles. That would be one way that additional information could be made available to others. To rename the articles is not necessarily a problem, though I would urge further that the articles be retained rather than deleted.

I think it will take time for others on the net to learn about this section here, and that time could be used to continue to improve, change, refine and enjoy the articles already posted. (JMO).

Theo.

====Re: Naming====
Dcn. Andrew and all -- I'm for the editing, and the two paragraphs (as long as there is some flexibility here), but I'm not really in favor of renaming every article. I think it adds extra weight or length to the wiki and is truly unnecessary since this is the implicit focus of all the articles on the wiki. This is already clear in our guidelines and in general practice (though I understand that the impetus for this proposal is that this is not always clear to everyone). I think we can enforce this simple through constant reminders and a good category description.

I acknowledge that "Non-Orthodox" is a tremendous category including all kinds of different things, but it doesn't bother me. It's a reasonable catch-all for the project we're engaged in here. If at some point in the future, we have a lot of articles on "Groups endorsing a heretical Christology" or that could be categorized as "Articles which related to the ongoing discussion between Orthodoxy and Catholicism" we can break them off into a subcat. {{User:FrJohn/sig}}

====

On a related topic (and this still may not be the place to address this), I have a deep concern that the material presented on the Orthodox Church...is proposed to be presented on Wikipedia in accordance with the Mainstream Chalcedonian Bias (MCB).

I have a hard time agreeing that the Mainstream Chalcedonian Bias (MCB) is itself, free of bias. As such it would seem potentially to be a contravention of the principles of neutrality of Wiki.

I am not an Orthodox. Having said that I do not object to Mainstream Chalcedonian Bias (MCB) as it is claming to represent Orthodoxy. I can agree - for this discussion - that Mainstream Chalcedonian Bias (MCB) represents the general tenor of Orthodox perspective as it stands today.

What is much problematic however,is the supposition that Mainstream Chalcedonian Bias (MCB) is historically based, and can be proven and demonstrated to be from actual documents that can be authenticated historically.

To claim that the Mainstream Chalcedonian Bias (MCB) is the legitimate descendant of the original churches that were in those original geographic locations seems very problematic, to say the least.

I do not mind the point of view that expresses that MCB is the POV of many Orthodox. What seems to be a more fundamental problem, is the supposition that this POV is based in actual historical data. Historic Data (though there are many definitions) would have to mean data which is in hard copy, demonstrably prior to 1850. It would have to be much closer to original sources. I am thinking about how to reconcile MCB with the underlying premise of neutrality of Wiki.

And for the record, I believe that most Orthodox are sincere. And my own goal is one of historic accuracy, nothing less - nothing more. I will look forward to the comments of others. (and if this is not the right place in Wiki for these comments, I will appreciate the input of where to direct these concerns).

Theo

====Re:====
Theo, first off, we're not talking about Wikipedia here at all. One rationale for having a separate site is that we do not believe a "secular" or purely rational NPOV can reflect adequately an Orthodox understanding of reality or truth. I'm not sure what you mean by ''"To claim that the Mainstream Chalcedonian Bias (MCB) is the legitimate descendant of the original churches that were in those original geographic locations seems very problematic, to say the least."'' -- The historical succession is clear. Sure, not every single aspect is 1:1 (and we can talk about that), but I think we are indeed making a claim to substantial continuity. I don't think we're threatened by historical accuracy here. The glory of NPOV is that we can address things descriptively, and are continually challenged to cite sources and base oua rguments in fact. You're absolutely welcome to do that, as long as you respect the basic character and purpose of this wiki. Whatever happens on Wikipedia is outside of my concern. Hope that helps! {{User:FrJohn/sig}}

==My own misinterpretation==
To likely obscure matters further, what I think makes the most sense to me (depending on whether or not I've recently had a head blow--do not prune trees alone) is that some of these non-Orthodox topics are likely to impinge upon the lives of Orthodox Christians today. Thus, it's a good idea to include the Orthodox viewpoint of them. The Immaculate Conception is one such topic--at least in the USA, where I get told about once a season by some Roman Catholic or another that the Church really does believe all the RC doctrines and is just uppity about obeying the Pope of Rome. Thus, an Orthodox view of the matter could be useful. Just War perhaps is not well-formed, but Just War still is the fundamental moral underpinning of warfare in the USA. Among Americans (and a large proportion of an English-language Orthodox Wiki will be Americans), we are taught that our wars are not merely necessary or acceptable, our wars have to be morally mandated. That is, they must be positively virtuous in conventional American culture. The closest thing that conventional American culture admits to seeing war as no better than a necessary evil is to reject warfare, altogether. It must either be virtuous or prohibited. There is no middle ground of "temporarily permissible by circumstance, but never to be desired". Instead, we are taught, as Americans that, for a war to be permissible at all, it must be virtuous. This presumption is not, from my understanding, Orthodox, and an Orthodox Christian might be helped by an explication of the Orthodox perspective, one that makes it far less easy to simply salve ones conscience and not worry about the effect of warfare upon our souls yet also does not take the simple solution of absolute prohibition. [[User:Dogface|Dogface]] 12:52, February 20, 2006 (CST)

Western Rite

2006-02-20T18:42:46Z

Dogface: /* Criticism */ Added a section introduction and did some text cleanup.

[[Image:Alexander Turner2.jpg|right|frame|Fr. [[Alexander Turner]] celebrating the Mass]]
The '''Western Rite''' is a strand of Orthodox Christian worship based on the liturgical traditions of the ancient pre-[[Great Schism|Schism]] Orthodox Church of the West. Western Rite Orthodox Christians hold in common the full Orthodox faith with their brethren of the Byzantine Rite, and at present, all of the [[bishop]]s who care for such [[parish]]es are themselves followers of the Byzantine Rite.

==Modern History==
===The Nineteenth Century===
In 1864, 44-year-old [[Joseph Julian Overbeck]], a former German [[Roman Catholic Church|Catholic]] priest who had left the priesthood, become Lutheran and later married, was [[chrismation|chrismated]] into the [[Orthodox Church]] at the Russian Embassy Chapel in London. Overbeck was a Syriac scholar and professor in Bonn who had become disillusioned with the papal claims of supremacy. Two years after his chrismation, he published ''Catholic Orthodoxy and Anglo-Catholicism'', in which he developed the schema with which he was about to begin his work for the next twenty years. In 1867, he published the first issue of the ''Orthodox Catholic Review'', a periodical which "aimed at setting forth the truth of Catholic Orthodoxy as opposed to Popery and Protestantism, clearing its way through the heap of rubbish stored up by both parties for centuries past." Overbeck regarded both the Papacy and the Church of England to be on the verge of collapse.

In March of 1867, Overbeck circulated a petition to the [[Holy Synod]] of the [[Church of Russia]] explaining his designs and requesting the establishment of a Western Rite church in [[full communion]] with the Eastern Rite of the Orthodox Church, saying, "we are Westerns...and must plead an inalienable right to remain Westerns." In September of 1867 the petition, with some 122 signatures—mainly Tractarian clerics (the "Oxford Movement")—was sent to the Russian synod. Upon receipt, a synodal commission was formed, comprised of seven members under the Metropolitan of St. Petersburg, inviting Overbeck to attend the deliberations. Accompanying him was Fr. Eugene Popoff (chaplain of the Russian embassy in London), and the two were present in January of 1870 when the scheme was approved. Overbeck was then requested to submit a draft of the Western liturgy for examination.

The liturgy which Dr. Overbeck developed for the Russians was based on the 1570 Roman rite of Pope Pius V, but also included a brief [[epiclesis]] and the [[Trisagion]] hymn after the ''Gloria'', "in remembrance of our union with the Orthodox Church." Returning to Russia in January of 1871, Overbeck submitted the rite. In two long sessions of the commission, the liturgy was examined and then approved for use.

Over the next few years, Overbeck mainly focused on the development of the Old Catholic movement in Europe (which had gone into [[schism]] from Rome over the new [[dogma]] of [[Papal Infallibility]] promulgated at the First Vatican Council), probably hoping to find fertile ground for the establishment of his liturgical use, a Western liturgical rite within the Orthodox Church. In his magazine, he engaged in polemics with both Roman Catholics and Anglicans, as well as Orthodox converts who used the Byzantine rite.

In 1876, he reiterated his design and issued an ''Appeal to the Patriarchs and Holy Synods of the Orthodox Catholic Church''. Three years later, he travelled to Constantinople to meet the Ecumenical Patriarch, [[Ioachim III of Constantinople|Ioachim III]], who gave him authorization for delivering sermons and addresses in defense of Orthodoxy. In August of 1881, the [[Church of Constantinople]] appointed a commission to examine the scheme and made the announcement that "an agreement on certain points has already been reached," recognizing the right of the West to have a Western church and rite as had existed before the [[Great Schism]].

Much to Overbeck's disappointment, no further developments occurred. He had hoped to be a [[priest]] within the Orthodox Church, but his marriage after his Roman Catholic [[ordination]] was seen as an impediment, rendering him ineligible. He became somewhat paranoid in his later years, especially regarding the Greeks in London as hostile toward him. The ''Orthodox Catholic Review'' ended its run in 1885, and seven years later he admitted that his project had failed, saying that he had had "Hopes entertained with joy by all the truly Orthodox, recommended and pushed forward by the Holy Synods of Russia, Romania, and Serbia, approved by Patriarchs of Constantinople, Alexandria, Jerusalem, but finally crushed and destroyed by the veto of the Greek Synod!" He died in 1905, his dream unfulfilled.

Fr. [[Georges Florovsky]] wrote: "it was not just a fantastic dream. The question raised by Overbeck was pertinent, even if his own answer to it was confusedly conceived. And probably the vision of Overbeck was greater than his personal interpretation."

===The Twentieth Century===
[[Image:Fon-du-Lac Circus.jpg|right|thumb|300px|The so-called “Fon-du-Lac Circus

Western Rite

2006-02-20T18:25:16Z

Dogface: /* Liturgy */ "rational" has a lot of emotional baggage that might be taken to imply that the Byzantine practices might be "irrational" by contrast.

Talk:Church of India

2006-02-16T03:19:53Z

Dogface:

This article appears to be primarily a cut and paste from http://www.indian-orthodox.co.uk/historical.htm but there is no indication that this was authorized by the appropriate people.

I don't know how to do the copyright thing, so I'm just nothing an apparent situation here.

Talk:Just war

2006-02-13T13:37:58Z

Dogface:

Just war theory is not really a part of Orthodox theological tradition, despite what a few current writers argue. I don't think, therefore, that there should be an article on "just war." A better alternative would be "War, Orthodox view of" or something like that. If someone wants to read something in support of what I am saying, search for Fr Stanley Harakas' "No Just War in the Fathers." Both of the articles listed on this page are by Roman Catholics, which isn't surprising because the "just war" tradition is the majority tradition within Roman Catholic reflection on war. For Orthodox, killing is always sinful. --[[User:Fr Lev|Fr Lev]] 21:50, February 8, 2006 (CST)

I have made an attempt at explaining how it is that "Just War" doctrine is not Orthodox. While it might be odd to do this, many people in the English-speaking world, including many Orthodox, appear to believe that there is an "Orthodox Just War" doctrine. I invite (and hope for) correction, since I'm really just trying to piece things together.[[User:Dogface|Dogface]] 07:37, February 13, 2006 (CST)

Talk:St. Anthony's Greek Orthodox Monastery (Florence, Arizona)

2006-02-13T13:34:27Z

Dogface: /* The World Hates the Disciples */

== Real unbiased news story? ==

Inside the monastery:

http://www.kvoa.com/Global/story.asp?S=4478780&nav=menu216_12

http://www.kvoa.com/Global/story.asp?S=4478931&nav=menu216_12

http://www.kvoa.com/Global/category.asp?C=46414&nav=menu216_12

Is this really necessary? Was this report truly an unbiased story covering an Orthodox
monastery (as the news director promised dozens of people who wrote and called the news station) or rather tabloid journalism based on complaints of a few misinformed and misguided people?

:Hmm.. I wouldn't call it unbiased. There are many other sites making criticisms. It is true that one of Elder Ephrem's books mentions the Protocols, which I think is unconscionable. However, I doubt that this kind of rhetoric strongly colors the life of the monastery. Perhaps Fr. Ephrem learned this from his spiritual father, and being ignorant (in a worldly sense) repeats it. This is bad, dangerous even, but it's just one small sliver of the whole picture. It doesn't mean the monks don't pray or aren't being somehow transfigured by divine light. I think it does mean that just because someone is holy doesn't mean they're never wrong. If people are interested, we could have a brief section containing a descriptive overview of the criticisms and the response from the monasteries. God isn't afraid of truth. {{User:FrJohn/sig}}

::Reading the report, I also came to the conclusion that it was bin-filler. But, most major institutions have some kind of controversy. One of the purposes, I would think, of this encyclopedia-like site is to put all of this together - both supportive of the monastery, and otherwise. Most worldly institutions are falling over themselves to present their side of the story, and while the monastery is a different kettle of fish, it does have lay supporters that can do the same thing. Athosinamerica.org is the best example I can think of offhand. -- {{User:Pistevo/sig}} 00:21, February 10, 2006 (CST)

:::I am, of course, unqualified to judge an elder like Fr. Ephrem, but I have heard troubling reports from time to time. The Pokrov web site appears to be trying to present both sides of the matter, but there's a great deal of emotionality from both sides. If the accusations that I have seen are true, things could be very bad--but that is if and only if such accusations are true. There is a certain rigor in Athonite monasticism--and a rather vigorous way of expressing this rigor. This could be misinterpreted. Regarding the news story, one quote did strike me as an example of this culture clash: "Their brain is run by the monastery. They can't read whatever they want to read. They have to ask for permission for everything they do." From what I understand of monasticism in general, this sort of discipline is normal in both East and West for newcomers to the community. [[User:Dogface|Dogface]] 12:30, February 10, 2006 (CST)

== The World Hates the Disciples ==

John 15:18,19

If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you.

John 17:14

I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world.

1 John 3:13

Do not be surprised, my brothers, if the world hates you.

:And the point of this is? The Monophysites, Arians, and Gnostics all claimed that they were, likewise persecuted as these verses foretold. That there are questions raised about alleged practices such as denouncing the marriage bed as defiled--advising married couples to permanently abstain from conjugal relations--is not identical to "hatred". As I have pointed out, this could be a matter of misunderstanding of Athonite strictness and the vigor with which Athonites seem to prefer to express themselves. Affecting an air of "persecution" in response only invites greater investigation. Of course, nobody is ever hurt by truth, right?[[User:Dogface|Dogface]] 13:54, February 10, 2006 (CST)

:One of the main problems with heretics is that they never have the '''humility''' to even admit they are persecuted or weak (if they are/were at all persecuted). In fact, it was the Arians (to use your example) who were persecuting the Orthodox Church. The Orthodox Church was the "weaker" party for some time, and Pope Athanasius was standing against the whole world, giving rise to the expression "''Athanasius contra mundum''".
:The particular examples given in this video seem "out of context" (we are not told the full story or why a particular advice was given).
:Pray for those who persecute you (Matthew 5:44), as the father in the video said, "we are praying for them".

::Umm... am I missing something? What "video" is being referred to here? Also, please sign your posts everybody!

::I think that one thing we need to avoid in this controversy is the tendency to demonize one side or the other. The monks aren't perfect (as I trust they would admit), and neither are the monastery's critics. I think some people would have a hard time thinking that the monks are wrong about anything, though. Likewise, some people want to take an alarmist tone that totally passes over the role some of the criticized practices play within Orthodox tradition. {{User:FrJohn/sig}}

:::This has been pretty much my point. The strictness of Athonite practices and the vigor with which it is expressed may be subject to misinterpretation in our culture. Likewise, the strong discipline under which the newly-admitted to a monastry live may be misinterpreted. Such discipline is actually not as unusual as some might think, even in Western (non-Orthodox) monasticism. The problem appears to be that nobody wants to bother to explain anything. Concern is automatically interpreted as rebellion, and austerity as totalitarianism.

::Father, The links to the video in question are at the top of this page. Many monks, bishops and saints suffered similar attacks, e.g., the trial of St. John Maximovitch in public court [http://saintjohnwonderworker.org/trial1.htm]. --[[User:Arbible|Arbible]] 15:15, February 10, 2006 (CST)

:Ah, ok. Thanks - I thought those were just articles. No doubt, many have been persecuted wrongly, both for and by the church. Reading through, e.g., the articles linked from Pokrov, it seems to me that some of the criticisms, at least, are valid. I'm not sure simply crying "persecution" negates this. Of course, the devil wants to stir up confusion - no question about that. Living a holy life is a difficult thing - and the higher one seeks to ascend, the greater the dangers that lurk. [[User:FrJohn|Fr. John]]

::All this is, imho, getting away from the point - should the current controversy be posted on the St.Anthony's article page? ISTM that, given the lack of any externally verifiable evidence on either side, it would be best to post, both accusations and replies, first on the talk page to ensure neutrality (and then in the article after some time has passed). Unless others have superior ideas, of course -- {{User:Pistevo/sig}} 23:07, February 10, 2006 (CST)

Talk:St. Anthony's Greek Orthodox Monastery (Florence, Arizona)

2006-02-10T19:54:45Z

Dogface: /* The World Hates the Disciples */

Talk:St. Anthony's Greek Orthodox Monastery (Florence, Arizona)

2006-02-10T18:30:15Z

Dogface: /* Real unbiased news story? */

Talk:St. Anthony's Greek Orthodox Monastery (Florence, Arizona)

2006-02-10T18:27:58Z

Dogface: /* Real unbiased news story? */

Just war

2006-02-09T20:18:10Z

Dogface:

'''Just war''' doctrine attempts to define situations wherein the waging of war becomes a moral necessity. It lays out criteria by which a Christian is intended to determine whether or not a specific war was entered into and is conducted in a virtuous manner, that killing becomes a moral necessity. The doctrine was developed by theologians of great influence in much of non-Orthodox Western Christianity, such as [[Augustine of Hippo]] and [[Thomas Aquinas]]. This principle was the underpinning of [[Roman Catholic Church|Roman Catholic]] doctrinal support for the [[Crusades]], presumably including the [[Fourth Crusade]].

By contrast, Orthodox Christianity has never developed an explicit "just war" doctrine, and the weight of Tradition is that the taking of human life is never a morally edifying act, although circumstances may require that such an act be taken, it would only be as an alternative to an even greater evil.

The idea of a "lesser evil" is, at best, a difficult and imprecise way to look at warfare. Fr. Samuel Harakis, after his study of the Fathers, has concluded that "no case can be made for the existence of an Orthodox just-war theory". In 2003, Patriarch [[Bartholomew I (Archontonis) of Constantinople|Bartholomew of Constantinople]] stated that "in a few specific cases the Orthodox Church ''forgives'' an armed defense against oppression and violence" but that "war and violence are never means used by God in order to achieve a [just] result". In addition, the examples of countless martyr-saints can be consulted to show Orthodox Christians who refused to use force even upon threat to their lives and families, up to and including their deaths.

This might be read to mean that Orthodoxy embraces pacifism. However, the Orthodox Church recognizes not a few militant saints, such as [[Alexander Nevsky]]. Likewise, [[Cyril and Methodius|Saint Cyril]], Apostle to the Slavs, is recorded as stating the following:

:Christ is our God Who ordered us to pray for our offenders and to do good to them. He also said that no one of us can show greater love in life than he who gives his life for his friends. That is why we generously endure offences caused us as private people. But in company we defend one another and give our lives in battle for our neighbors, so that you, having taken our companions as prisoners, could not imprison their souls together with their bodies by forcing them into renouncing their faith and into godless deeds. Our Christ-loving soldiers protect our Holy Church with arms in their hands.

This statement apparently contradicts the words of Patriarch Bartholomew and the witness of the martyr-saints. However, while Cyril provides an Orthodox ''justification'' of a specific war, he does not extend it as a ''doctrine'' of "just war". That is, Cyril explains that circumstances may exist wherein it is desirable for an Orthodox Christian to take up arms. However, his statements do not extend to the claim that they do so as an innately virtuous act. The Orthodox combatantants would be driven by necessity and love for each other, not the belief that what they do is a positive good, in and of itself.

The apparent contradiction between Bartholomew's statement and that of Cyril can be further resolved when examining the words of [[John Chrysostom|Saint John Chrysostom]], when, in his ''On the Priesthood'', he stated:

:Christians above all men are not permitted forcibly to correct the failings of those who sin. Secular judges indeed, when they have captured malefactors under the law, show their authority to be great, and prevent them even against their will from following their own devices: but in our case the wrong-doer must be made better, not by force, but by persuasion.

Thus, according to John Chrysostom, the Christian response to wrongdoing is not the use of force, even if it may be a necessary act on the part of secular authority. Thus, while it may be permissible by circumstance, it is not thereby transformed into virtue.

==References==
Bartholomew I. 2003. "War and Suffering." ''Cosmic Grace - Humble Prayer: The Ecological Vision of the Green Patriarch Bartholomew I''. Ed. John Chryssavgis. Grand Rapids, Michigan: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company.

Jubilee Bishops' Council of the Russian Orthodox Church. 2000. The Orthodox Church and Society: The Basis of the Social Concept of the Russian Orthodox Church. Belleville, Michigan: St. Innocent / Firebird Publishers.

===Non-Orthodox===
*[http://www.firstthings.com/ftissues/ft0305/public.html#sounds The Sounds of Religion in a Time of War] by Richard John Neuhaus, First Things, 133 (May 2003): 76-92
*[http://www.firstthings.com/ftissues/ft0301/articles/weigel.html Moral Clarity in a Time of War] by George Weigel, First Things 128 (January 2003): 20-27

[[Category:Ethics]]

Just war

2006-02-09T20:17:51Z

Dogface: I have attempted to say something on this matter from what I think is an Orthodox perspective. I hope that I have not been too incorrect.

{{stub}}

'''Just war''' doctrine attempts to define situations wherein the waging of war becomes a moral necessity. It lays out criteria by which a Christian is intended to determine whether or not a specific war was entered into and is conducted in a virtuous manner, that killing becomes a moral necessity. The doctrine was developed by theologians of great influence in much of non-Orthodox Western Christianity, such as [[Augustine of Hippo]] and [[Thomas Aquinas]]. This principle was the underpinning of [[Roman Catholic Church|Roman Catholic]] doctrinal support for the [[Crusades]], presumably including the [[Fourth Crusade]].

By contrast, Orthodox Christianity has never developed an explicit "just war" doctrine, and the weight of Tradition is that the taking of human life is never a morally edifying act, although circumstances may require that such an act be taken, it would only be as an alternative to an even greater evil.

The idea of a "lesser evil" is, at best, a difficult and imprecise way to look at warfare. Fr. Samuel Harakis, after his study of the Fathers, has concluded that "no case can be made for the existence of an Orthodox just-war theory". In 2003, Patriarch [[Bartholomew I (Archontonis) of Constantinople|Bartholomew of Constantinople]] stated that "in a few specific cases the Orthodox Church ''forgives'' an armed defense against oppression and violence" but that "war and violence are never means used by God in order to achieve a [just] result". In addition, the examples of countless martyr-saints can be consulted to show Orthodox Christians who refused to use force even upon threat to their lives and families, up to and including their deaths.

This might be read to mean that Orthodoxy embraces pacifism. However, the Orthodox Church recognizes not a few militant saints, such as [[Alexander Nevsky]]. Likewise, [[Cyril and Methodius|Saint Cyril]], Apostle to the Slavs, is recorded as stating the following:

:Christ is our God Who ordered us to pray for our offenders and to do good to them. He also said that no one of us can show greater love in life than he who gives his life for his friends. That is why we generously endure offences caused us as private people. But in company we defend one another and give our lives in battle for our neighbors, so that you, having taken our companions as prisoners, could not imprison their souls together with their bodies by forcing them into renouncing their faith and into godless deeds. Our Christ-loving soldiers protect our Holy Church with arms in their hands.

This statement apparently contradicts the words of Patriarch Bartholomew and the witness of the martyr-saints. However, while Cyril provides an Orthodox ''justification'' of a specific war, he does not extend it as a ''doctrine'' of "just war". That is, Cyril explains that circumstances may exist wherein it is desirable for an Orthodox Christian to take up arms. However, his statements do not extend to the claim that they do so as an innately virtuous act. The Orthodox combatantants would be driven by necessity and love for each other, not the belief that what they do is a positive good, in and of itself.

The apparent contradiction between Bartholomew's statement and that of Cyril can be further resolved when examining the words of [[John Chrysostom|Saint John Chrysostom]], when, in his ''On the Priesthood'', he stated:

:Christians above all men are not permitted forcibly to correct the failings of those who sin. Secular judges indeed, when they have captured malefactors under the law, show their authority to be great, and prevent them even against their will from following their own devices: but in our case the wrong-doer must be made better, not by force, but by persuasion.

Thus, according to John Chrysostom, the Christian response to wrongdoing is not the use of force, even if it may be a necessary act on the part of secular authority. Thus, while it may be permissible by circumstance, it is not thereby transformed into virtue.

==References==
Bartholomew I. 2003. "War and Suffering." ''Cosmic Grace - Humble Prayer: The Ecological Vision of the Green Patriarch Bartholomew I''. Ed. John Chryssavgis. Grand Rapids, Michigan: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company.

Jubilee Bishops' Council of the Russian Orthodox Church. 2000. The Orthodox Church and Society: The Basis of the Social Concept of the Russian Orthodox Church. Belleville, Michigan: St. Innocent / Firebird Publishers.

===Non-Orthodox===
*[http://www.firstthings.com/ftissues/ft0305/public.html#sounds The Sounds of Religion in a Time of War] by Richard John Neuhaus, First Things, 133 (May 2003): 76-92
*[http://www.firstthings.com/ftissues/ft0301/articles/weigel.html Moral Clarity in a Time of War] by George Weigel, First Things 128 (January 2003): 20-27

[[Category:Ethics]]

Immaculate Conception

2006-02-08T17:52:32Z

Dogface: /* Polemical Articles */

{{reorg|talk=[[Category talk:Non-Orthodox]]}}

The '''Immaculate Conception''' is a [[Roman Catholic Church|Roman Catholic]] [[dogma]] which asserts that [[Theotokos|Mary, the mother of Jesus]], was preserved by [[God]] from the transmission of [[original sin]] at the time of her own conception. Specifically the doctrine says she was not afflicted by the privation of sanctifying [[grace]] which afflicts mankind, but was instead filled with grace by God, and furthermore lived a life completely free from [[sin]]. It is commonly confused with the doctrine of the [[virgin birth]], though the two doctrines deal with separate subjects.

==History and background==
The Immaculate Conception was solemnly defined as a dogma by Pope Pius IX in his constitution ''Ineffabilis Deus'', published [[December 8]], 1854 (the Latins' Feast of the Immaculate Conception). From 1483, Pope Sixtus IV had left Roman Catholics free to believe that Mary was subject to original sin or not, after having introduced the celebration; this freedom had been reiterated by the [[Wikipedia:Council of Trent|Council of Trent]].

The Roman Catholic Church believes the dogma is supported by scripture and by the writings of many of the [[Church Fathers]], either directly or indirectly. Roman Catholic theology maintains that since Jesus became [[incarnation|incarnate]] of the Virgin Mary, she needed to be completely free of sin to bear the Son of God, and that Mary is "redeemed 'by the grace of [[Jesus Christ|Christ]]' but in a more perfect manner than other human beings" (Ott, ''Fund.'', Bk 3, Pt. 3, Ch. 2, §3.1.e).

The doctrine is generally not shared by either Eastern Orthodoxy or by [[Protestantism]]. Protestantism rejects the doctrine because it is not explicitly spelled out in the [[Bible]]. Protestants and Eastern Orthodox often say that the immaculate conception of the [[Theotokos]] would contradict the doctrine of the [[salvation|redemption]] of humanity, as the Virgin Mary would have been cleansed before Christ's own incarnation, making his function superfluous. Orthodox Christians say that St. [[Augustine of Hippo|Augustine]] (d. 430), whose works were not well known in Eastern Christianity until perhaps the 17th and 18th centuries, has influenced the theology of sin that has generally taken root in the West. Many Orthodox consider unnecessary the doctrine that Mary would require purification prior to the Incarnation. Eastern Orthodox theologians believe that the references among the Greek and Syrian Fathers to Mary's purity and sinlessness may refer not to an ''a priori'' state but to her conduct after birth.

Roman Catholics counter with Scripture (e.g., [[Book of Romans|Romans]] 5, [[Wisdom of Solomon]] 2:24, [[I Corinthians]] 15:21, the experience of St. [[John the Forerunner|John the Baptizer]] in his mother's womb, etc.) and the writings of Church Fathers prior to St. [[Augustine of Hippo|Augustine]].

==History of the doctrine==
Aside from the acceptability of the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception, and its necessity or lack thereof, is the history of its development within the Roman Catholic Church. The Conception of Mary was celebrated in England from the ninth century. Eadmer was influential in its spread. The Normans suppressed the celebration but it lived on in the popular mind. It was rejected by Bernard of Clairvaux, Alexander of Hales, and Bonaventure (who, teaching at Paris, called it "this foreign doctrine," indicating its association with England). Thomas Aquinas expressed questions about the subject but said that he would accept the determination of the Church (his difficulty was in seeing how Mary could be redeemed if she had not sinned).

The Oxford Franciscans William of Ware and especially John Duns Scotus defended the doctrine despite the opposition of most scholarly opinion at the time. Scotus proposed a solution to the theological problems involved with reconciling the doctrine with the doctrine of universal redemption in Christ by arguing that Mary's immaculate conception did not remove her from redemption by Christ but rather was the result of a more perfect redemption given to her on account of her special role in salvation history. Scotus' defence of the immaculist thesis was summed up by one of his followers ''potuit, decuit ergo fecit'' (God could do it, it was fitting that he did it, and so he did it). Following his defence of the thesis, students at Paris swore to defend the thesis and the tradition grew of swearing to defend the doctrine with one's blood. Arguments ensued between the immaculist Scotists and the maculist Thomists, and the former tried to link this doctrine with that of the primacy of Christ (which says that Christ would have become man even if [[Adam and Eve|Adam]] had not sinned) since both groups reject the idea that God's plans were determined by human sin.

Popular opinion was firmly behind accepting this privilege for Mary, but such was the sensitivity of the issue and the authority of Aquinas that it was not until 1854 that Pius IX, with the support of the overwhelming majority of Catholic bishops, felt safe enough to pronounce the doctrine infallible.

The contemporary statement of the teaching can be found [http://www.scborromeo.org/ccc/p122a3p2.htm#490 here] in the Catechism of the Catholic Church. The actual text of the doctrinal declaration is: ''"We declare . . . that the most Blessed Virgin Mary in the first moment of her conception was, by the unique grace and privilege of God, in view of the merits of Jesus Christ the Saviour of the human race, preserved intact from all stain of original sin."''

==The Orthodox Church and the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception==
{{stub}}
*[http://www.oca.org/QA.asp?ID=4 St. Augustine & Original Sin] - a typical Orthodox perspective, by Fr. John Matusiak
*[http://www.unicorne.org/orthodoxy/automne2004/conception.htm The Immaculate Conception: The Holiness of the Mother of God in East and West] - Dr. Alexander Roman ([[Ukrainian Orthodox Church]])
*[http://www.unicorne.org/orthodoxy/articles/alex_roman/theimmaculateconception.htm The Immaculate Conception: A Question] - response by Dr. Roman
*[http://www.philthompson.net/pages/faq/12.html What do the Orthodox believe about the "Immaculate Conception"?]
*[http://www.orthodoxytoday.org/blog/index.php?p=713 On the Immaculate Conception], by Patriarch [[Bartholomew I (Archontonis) of Constantinople]]
* [http://www.stmaryofegypt.org/library/st_john_maximovich/on_veneration_of_the_theotokos.htm#immaculate_conception Zeal Not According to Knowledge] - The view of St. John of Shanghai on the issue.
*[http://djproject.livejournal.com/96024.html On the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the dogma's proclamation], a general objection by Derek Power ([[User:Fedya911]])

===From modern Orthodox theologians===
*"I do not see any irresoluble conflict between the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception and the full humanity and freedom of Mary as of the same race as [[Eve]]." - [[Vladimir Lossky]] (citation? -- this seems different from the next verified quote from Lossky)
*"Like other human beings, such as St John the Baptist, whose conception and birth are festivals of the Church, the Holy Virgin was born under the law of original sin, sharing with all other human beings their common responsibility for the fall." [[Vladimir Lossky]], "Panagia," in E. L. Mascall, ed., ''The Mother of God: A Symposium by Members of the Fellowship of St Alban and St Sergius''. Westminster: Dacre Press, 1959. Page 31.
*"The Orthodox church does not accept the Catholic dogma of 1854 -- the dogma of the immaculate conception of the Virgin, in the sense that she was exempt at birth from original sin. This would separate her from the human race, and she would then have been unable to transmit to her Son humanity. But Orthodoxy does not admit in the all-pure Virgin any individual sin, for that would be unworthy of the dignity of the Mother of God." Sergius Bulgakov, ''The Orthodox Church''. Crestwood: St Vladimir's Seminary Press, 1997.

===Relevant quotations from the Fathers===
*"...being Himself at once God and man, His flesh and soul were and are holy - and beyond holy. God is holy, just as He was and is and shall be, and the Virgin is immaculate, without spot or stain, and so, too, was that rib which was taken from Adam. However the rest of humanity, even though they are His brothers and kin according to the flesh, yet remained even as they were, of dust, and did not immediately become holy and sons of God."
::- St. [[Symeon the New Theologian]], Discourse XIII in ''On the Mystical Life'', vol. 2, trans. [[Alexander Golitzin]] ([[SVS Press]], 1996)

==For Further Background==
* [http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/07674d.htm Catholic Encyclopedia entry on the Immaculate Conception]
* [http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/11312a.htm Catholic Encyclopedia entry on Original Sin]
* [http://www.kensmen.com/catholic/mary.html Summary of Roman Catholic doctrines about Mary]
* [http://www.netacc.net/~mafg/mary03.htm The Immaculate Conception ] - A [[Lutheran]] Perspective

==Polemical Articles==
*[http://home.nyc.rr.com/mysticalrose/barton1.html My Belief in the Immaculate Conception Doctrine] - by Daniel Joseph Barton ([[Byzantine Catholic]]--non-Orthodox)
*[http://www.cin.org/imconcep.html Orthodoxy and the the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception of the Theotokos - Unique to the modern Roman Church or ancient Eastern tradition?] - by Dave Brown (Catholic Information Network--non-Orthodox)

[[Category:Heresies]]
[[Category:Non-Orthodox]]

Arseny (Chagovtsov) of Winnipeg

2006-02-08T16:11:59Z

Dogface: /* Canonization inquiry */

His Eminence the Most Reverend Archbishop '''Arseny (Chagovtsov) of Winnipeg''' came to the United States as a monk in the early twentieth century and was instrumental in the founding of St Tikhon's Monastery in South Canaan, Pennsylvania. He was administrator of the Canadian parishes under [[Platon (Rozhdestvensky) of New York|Abp. Platon]] before returning to Russia until after the Russian Civil War. He was elected Bishop of Winnipeg by the administration of Metr. Platon. Retiring to [[St. Tikhon's Orthodox Monastery (South Canaan, Pennsylvania)|St. Tikhon's Monastery]], he established the [[St. Tikhon's Orthodox Theological Seminary (South Canaan, Pennsylvania)|Pastoral School]] at St. Tikhon's.

==Life==
Andrew Lvovich Chagovstov was born on [[March 10]], 1866, into the family of a village church [[reader]] in the Kharkov Eparchy. As a young boy he tended his father's sheep, but his intelligence and love for school did not go unnoticed. When his father died, leaving him as the eldest of five children, he was sent to a school for [[clergy]] children for eleven years. From there he was admitted to the Kharkov Theological [[Seminary]] from which he graduated with distinction in 1887. The same year he was [[ordination|ordained]] a [[deacon]] and then [[priest]].

His years in the seminary and thereafter are only vaguely known. He apparently married while in the seminary and was assigned as a priest to a village church in Kharkov. There is a question as to whether he had a son, but soon his wife died, probably about 1890, of an unknown cause. At some point later he was [[tonsure]]d a [[monk]] with the name Arseny, in honor of St. Arsenius of Konevits. But, his journey from his wife’s death to his tonsure was a time of great anguish as he related in his elevation speech as [[Bishop]] of Winnipeg. In 1900, he was appointed [[Igumen]] (Abbot) of Kuriansk Monastery. Two years later he joined [[Tikhon of Moscow|Bp. Tikhon]] in America as he was a natural preacher with fluency in many Russian dialects, and thus, well suited to the American missionary scene. He was active among those returning from the Unia and served many communities after his arrival, including Troy, New York, and Mayfield and Simpson, Pennsylvania.

While he was active among the people, a dream of his came true when with the blessing of the then Abp. Tikhon, [[Hieromonk]] Arseny founded the St. Tikhon's Monastery and orphanage in the rural countryside near Carbondale and Mayfield, Pennsylvania at South Canaan. The Wagner farm was purchased for $2580 during the summer of 1905. On the day of its dedication, [[July 31]], 1905, a crowd on foot formed a [[pilgrimage]] walk of the ten miles through the mountains from Mayfield to the site of the new monastery. On the following [[May 30]], 1906, at the dedication of the [[chapel]] at the partially finished monastery building with Abp. Tikhon present, [[Raphael of Brooklyn|Bp. Raphael]] spoke of the hard work by Fr. Igumen Arseny for the realization of the monastery. When Fr. Arseny was named the superior of the monastery, the crowd answered loudly, "He is worthy." The anniversary of this dedication has become an annual Memorial Day pilgrimage to the monastery.

Then, in 1908, Fr. Arseny was appointed by then Abp. Platon to the position of dean and administrator of the Canadian parishes. With his knowledge of the many dialects of the Carpatho-Russian/Galician area and his ability to preach in them, the Canadian faithful (who mainly hailed from those areas) almost immediately fell in love with him. With these rare missionary talents, he had great success with receiving back [[Uniats]] as well as welcoming many Galicians and Bukovinians who were arriving in numbers to Canada. His preaching produced for him the affectionate title "The Canadian Chrysostom." After only two years, however, he returned to Russia in 1910.

Little is known for certain of why he returned to Russia or his activities while there. Some reports are that it was to train missionary-priests and that he headed a monastery in the Crimea. After the October Revolution, he served with the White Army to comfort the soldiers. In 1920, he was able to get to Yugoslavia and entered a monastery. Some of his old Canadian flock learned that he was still alive and petitioned Metr. Platon to return him to Canada as a bishop.

Thus, the [[holy synod]] under Platon elected him Bishop of Winnipeg and requested his [[consecration]], which took place on [[June 6]], 1926, in Yugoslavia. So, with joy in his heart, Bp. Arseny traveled to New York to meet with the metropolitan, visit his beloved St Tikhon's Monastery, and then continue on to his new [[cathedral]]. It was, however, a different place from that which he left 16 years before. The seeds of violence from the Red Revolution, Ukrainian nationalism, and the [[Living Church]] made his task of serving his faithful difficult, even to the point of being injured by gun fire. In 1936, he was assigned briefly to Detroit and Cleveland before retiring to St Tikhon's Monastery where he was elevated to [[archbishop]] for his tireless work.

[[Image:Arseny Chagovtsov grave.jpg|right|250px|thumb|The grave of Abp. Arseny at St. Tikhon's Monastery]]
Yet, in retirement he did not cease his service. In 1937, he applied to the holy synod of the [[Metropolia]] for blessing to establish a Pastoral School at the monastery in South Canaan. With the blessing of the synod, the approval of the Sixth [[All-American Sobor]], and great effort on his part, Abp. Arseny opened on [[October 24]], 1938, the first classes of the St Tikhon's Pastoral School, later to become [[St. Tikhon's Orthodox Theological Seminary (South Canaan, Pennsylvania)|St. Tikhon's Orthodox Theological Seminary]].

He continued actively visiting the local parishes and traveling for special occasions. Then at the age of 79, illness overcame him and Abp. Arseny died on [[October 4]], 1945, in Scranton, Pennsylvania. His funeral and interment at St. Tikhon's Monastery took place on [[October 9]], 1945, attended by many hierarchs, priests, and faithful.

==Glorification inquiry==
During its October 2004 holy synod meeting, bishops of the [[OCA]] established a [[glorification]] commission to inquire into the possibility for adding Abp. Arseny to the calendar of [[saint]]s.[http://www.oca.org/news.asp?ID=680&SID=19] Abp. Arseny already enjoys [[veneration]] in the OCA's [[Archdiocese of Canada (OCA)|Archdiocese of Canada]].

{{start box}}
{{succession|
before=Apollinary (Koshevov)|
title=Bishop of Winnipeg|
years=1926-1936|
after=?|}}
{{succession|
before=?|
title= Bishop of Detroit and Cleveland|
years=1936-1936|
after= ?|}}
{{end box}}

== Sources==
* ''Orthodox America 1794-1976 Development of the Orthodox Church in America'', C. J. Tarasar, Gen. Ed. 1975, The Orthodox Church in America, Syosett, New York

==External Links==
* [http://www.archdiocese.ca/arseny.pdf Archbishop Arseny: A Vita in Process]

[[Category:Bishops]]
[[Category:Missionaries]]

List of American saints

2006-02-08T16:11:29Z

Dogface: /* Uncanonized */

{{orthodoxyinamerica}}
'''American Orthodox [[Saints]]'''

*[[Alexander Hotovitzky]]
*[[Alexis of Wilkes-Barre]], leader of ex-[[Uniates]] into Orthodoxy
*[[Herman of Alaska]], first [[missionary]] to Alaska
*[[Innocent of Alaska]], missionary [[bishop]] to Alaska
*[[Jacob Netsvetov]]
*[[John Kochurov]]
*[[John Maximovitch]], [[ROCOR]] bishop of Shanghai and San Francisco
*[[Juvenaly of Alaska]]
*[[Nikolai Velimirovic]], rector of [[St. Tikhon's Orthodox Theological Seminary (South Canaan, Pennsylvania)|St. Tikhon's Seminary]]
*[[Peter the Aleut]], [[protomartyr]] of America
*[[Raphael of Brooklyn]], founder of the [[Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America|Antiochian Archdiocese]]
*[[Tikhon of Moscow]]

==Unglorified==
Persons under consideration (whether formal or informal) for [[glorification]]:
*Abp. [[Arseny (Chagovtsov) of Winnipeg]]
*Bp. [[Gerasimos (Papadopoulos) of Abydos]]
*[[Olga Michael]], [[matushka]] in Alaska
*[[Seraphim Rose]], [[ROCOR]] [[hieromonk]]

[[Category:American Saints|*]]
[[Category:Saints]]

Seraphim Rose

2006-02-08T16:10:55Z

Dogface: /* Death */

{{orthodoxyinamerica}}
Hieromonk '''Seraphim Rose''', né '''Eugene Dennis Rose''' ([[August 13]], 1934-[[September 2]], 1982) was a [[hieromonk]] of the [[Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia]] in the United States, whose writings have helped spread Orthodox Christianity throughout modern America and the West and are also quite popular in Russia. Although not formally [[Glorification|glorified]] (canonized), he is (some say prematurely) celebrated by some Orthodox Christians as a [[saint]] in [[icon|iconography]], [[liturgy]], and [[prayer]].

==Early life==
Born to Frank and Esther Rose in San Diego, Eugene was raised in California, where he would remain for most of his life. He was baptized in the Methodist faith when he was fourteen years old, but later became an atheist, losing all belief in God. Rated at genius level in formal IQ testing, in San Francisco he entered a beatnik phase in his life and practiced Buddhism.

During his junior year at college, Eugene began pursuing a secret relationship with Finnish-born Jon Gregerson, through whom he came into initial contact with the Orthodox faith. Eugene came out as [[homosexuality|homosexual]] to his closest friends after his mother discovered letters penned between her son and Gregerson. Eugene shed his identity as a gay man as he slowly accepted Orthodoxy, eventually ending his long relationship with Gregerson.[http://www.pomona.edu/Magazine/PCMSP01/saint.shtml]

==Orthodoxy==
While studying under Alan Watts at the American Academy of Asian Studies after graduating from Pomona College in 1956, Eugene discovered the writings of René Guenon. Through Guenon's writings, Eugene was inspired to seek out an authentic, grounded spiritual faith tradition. Gregerson, a practicing Russian Orthodox Christian at the time, introduced Eugene to Orthodoxy. Just as Gregerson was choosing to abandon his Orthodoxy, Eugene was inspired to learn more about the faith. This culminated in Eugene's decision to enter the Church through [[chrismation]] in 1962.

Eugene and another Orthodox Christian, [[Herman Podmoshensky|Gleb Podmoshensky]], later formed a community of Orthodox [[booksellers]] and [[Magazines and Publications|publishers]] called the [[St. Herman of Alaska Brotherhood (Platina, California)|St. Herman of Alaska Brotherhood]]. The community eventually decided to flee urban modernity into the wildrness of northern California to become [[monasticism|monks]] in 1966. At his [[tonsure]] in 1970, Eugene took the name "Seraphim" and studied for the [[Priest|priesthood]] during his first years in his rustic cell.

Following his [[ordination]] as [[hieromonk]], Fr. Seraphim began writing several books, including ''[[God's Revelation to the Human Heart]]'', ''[[Orthodoxy and the Religion of the Future]]'', and ''[[The Soul After Death]]''. He also founded the magazine ''[[The Orthodox Word]]'', still published today by the Brotherhood. The collective body of work that Fr. Seraphim published was quickly proliferated throughout America upon Fr. Seraphim's death and later in Russia and Eastern Europe upon the fall of atheist Communism in those countries.

As a monk, Fr. Seraphim developed a close relationship with St. [[John Maximovitch]], then [[bishop]] of San Francisco for the [[Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia|Russian Church Abroad]].

==Teachings==
Fr. Seraphim, as a [[convert]] and eventually a hieromonk in the Russian Church Abroad, is regarded by many as a bastion of sound Orthodox teaching in a time when many American [[jurisdiction]]s, and even factions within the Russian Church Abroad itself, were allegedly introducing new and/or erroneous teachings or practices. In ''Orthodoxy and the Religion of the Future'', Fr. Seraphim highlighted what he and others saw as dangerous trends in both the secular and ecclesiastical worlds—namely, modernism and ecumenism (though the book mainly deals with religious movements invading America and outside Orthodoxy).

It was during this time also that [[Holy Transfiguration Monastery (Brookline, Massachusetts)]] began to distort the official positions of the Synod of the Russian Church Abroad. Fr. Seraphim with his fellow monastic, Fr. [[Herman (Podmoshensky)]], used their own tiny printing press to transmit the uncompromised teachings of the Church on a number of issues such as [[evolution]], [[life after death]], and pre-[[Great Schism|Schism]] western [[saint|saints]].

One major issue of contention between Fr. Seraphim and Holy Transfiguration Monastery was the presence of [[grace]] within the allegedly Soviet-compromised hierarchy of the [[Church of Russia|Moscow Patriarchate]]. Fr. Seraphim refuted the extremist views of this monastery and consistently affirmed that Moscow, though ailing, still had grace.

Throughout his life, Fr. Seraphim stressed an "Orthodoxy of the heart," which he felt was absent in much of the ecclesiastical life in America.

One of his more controversial books is ''[[The Soul After Death]]'', which includes the promulgation of the so-called [[Aerial Toll-Houses]] doctrine regarding the soul's journey after its departure from the body. This teaching has drawn much criticism from others within the Orthodox Church, who describe it as [[gnosticism|gnostic]].

[[Image:Father Seraphim (Rose).jpg|left|thumb|200px|Picture of Father Seraphim Rose on Mount Yolla Bolly ([[October 11|Oct. 11]], 1981), holding an [[Icon]] of the [[Holy Trinity]].]]

==Death==
After feeling acute pains for several days while working in his cell in 1982, Fr. Seraphim was taken by his fellow monks to a hospital for treatment. When he reluctantly arrived at Mercy Medical Center near the town of Platina, he was declared in critical condition and fell into semi-consciousness. After exploratory surgery was completed, it was discovered that a blood clot had blocked a vein supplying blood to Fr. Seraphim's intestine, which had become a mass of non-functioning dead tissue. Fr. Seraphim slipped into a coma after a second surgery. Hundreds of people came to visit the hospital and celebrated the [[Divine Liturgy|liturgy]] regularly in the chapel, praying for a miracle to save their beloved father's life. Reaction from throughout the world was great, with thousands of prayers said for the ailing hieromonk. He died on [[September 2]], 1982.

After being dead for several days and while lying in repose in a pauper's coffin at his wilderness monastery, visitors claimed that Fr. Seraphim did not succumb to decay and rigor mortis. His body remained supple while several claimed he smelled of roses. A cause for glorification was begun after Fr. Seraphim's burial. He eventually informally attained the title of ''Blessed'' after several miracles were attributed to him and now he awaits glorification into sainthood by an Orthodox [[synod]].

==Books==
===As Author===
*''God's Revelation to the Human Heart''. Platina: Saint Herman Press, 1988. (ISBN 0938635034)
*''Nihilism: The Root of the Revolution of the Modern Age''. Platina: St. Herman of Alaska Brotherhood, 1994. (ISBN 1887904069) (as Eugene Rose)
:*Second Edition: Hieromonk Damascene (Christensen) (ed.), 2001.
*''Orthodoxy and the Religion of the Future''. Platina: Saint Herman of Alaska Brotherhood, 1975. (ISBN 188790400X)
*''The Place of Blessed Augustine in the Orthodox Church''. Platina: Saint Herman of Alaska Brotherhood, 1983. (ISBN 0938635123)
*''The Soul After Death: Contemporary "After-Death" Experiences in the Light of the Orthodox Teaching on the Afterlife''. Platina: St. Herman of Alaska Brotherhood, 1988. (ISBN 093863514X)
*''The Apocalypse: In the Teachings of Ancient Christianity''. Platina: Saint Herman of Alaska Brotherhood, 1985. (ISBN 0938635670)
*''Genesis, Creation and Early Man''. Platina: St. Herman of Alaska Brotherhood, 2000. (ISBN 1887904026)
* ''Blessed John the Wonderworker: A Preliminary Account of the Life and Miracles of Archbishop John Maximovitch''. Platina: St. Herman of Alaska Brotherhood, 1987. (ISBN 0938635018)
* ''Letters from Father Seraphim''. Nikodemos Orthodox Publication Society. (ISBN 1879066084)

===As Editor or Translator===
* ''Vita Patrum'', by St. Gregory of Tours. (Foreword by Seraphim Rose. This introductory material runs more than 100 pages.) Platina: Saint Herman of Alaska Brotherhood, 1988. (ISBN 0938635239)
* ''The Apocalypse of St. John: An Orthodox Commentary'', by Archbishop Averky Taushev. (Introduction by Seraphim Rose). Platina: St. Herman of Alaska Brotherhood, 1998. (ISBN 0938635670)
*''The Orthodox Veneration of the Mother of God'', by St. John of Shanghai (Maximovitch) Includes an introduction by Fr. Seraphim on the theology of Archbishop (now Saint) John. Platina: St. Herman of Alaska Brotherhood, 1978. (ISBN 0938635689)
* ''Little Russian Philokalia, vol. 1'', by St. Seraphim of Sarov. St. Xenia Skete Press, 1997. (ISBN 0938635301)
*''Little Russian Philokalia, vol. 2'', by Abbot Nazarius of Valaam. St. Xenia Skete Press, 1997. (ISBN 093863531X)
* ''Little Russian Philokalia, vol. 4'', by St. Paisius Velichkovsky. : St. Herman of Alaska Brotherhood, 1994. (ISBN 0938635336)
* ''The Sin of Adam and Our Redemption: Seven Homilies'', by St. Symeon the New Theologian. Platina: St. Herman of Alaska Brotherhood, 1979. (ASIN B0006DY97Q)
* ''The First-Created Man: Seven Homilies by St. Symeon the New Theologian'', by St. Symeon the New Theologian. Platina: St. Herman of Alaska Brotherhood, 1994. (ISBN 0938635115). '''(Apparently somewhat different than the above, as it is 40 pages longer.)'''
* ''The Path to Salvation: A Manual of Spiritual Transformation'', by St. Theophan the Recluse. St. Xenia Skete Press, 1997. (ISBN 1887904514)
*''[http://www.orthodoxinfo.com/praxis/restoration.aspx The Restoration of the Orthodox Way of Life]'', by Archbishop Andrew of New-Diveyevo. Platina: St. Herman of Alaska Brotherhood, 1976. (ASIN B0006Y3F1G)
* ''The Northern Thebaid: Monastic Saints of the Russian North'', compiled and translated by Fr. Seraphim Rose and Abbot Herman Podmoshensky. Platina: St. Herman of Alaska Brotherhood, 1995. (ISBN 0938635379)
* ''Contemporary Ascetics of Mount Athos, Vol. 2'', by Abbot Cherubim, compiled and translated by Fr. Seraphim Rose and Abbot Herman Podmoshensky. Platina: Saint Herman of Alaska Brotherhood, 1992 (2nd Rev edition). (ISBN 0938635573)

===Biographies===
*Christensen, Hieromonk Damascene. ''Father Seraphim Rose: His Life and Works''. Platina: St. Herman of Alaska Brotherhood, 2003. (ISBN 1887904077) (greatly revised edition of ''Not of This World'')
*Christensen, Monk Damascene. ''Not of This World: The Life and Teaching of Fr. Seraphim Rose''. Platina: St. Herman Press, 1993. (ISBN 0938635522)
*Scott, Cathy. ''Seraphim Rose: The True Story and Private Letters.'' Regina Orthodox Press, 2000. (ISBN 1928653014). '''N.B.: The author is Fr. Seraphim Rose's niece.'''

==External links==
*[http://www.fatherseraphimrose.org/ Father Seraphim Rose Foundation]
*[http://www.pomona.edu/Magazine/PCMSP01/saint.shtml Biographical article from Pomona College Magazine]
*[http://www.angelfire.com/pa3/OldWorldBasic/FrSeraphim.html Father Seraphim Rose: Biography and Online Bookshop]
*[http://www.orthodoxphotos.com/Orthodox_Elders/Various/Fr._Seraphim_Rose/ Photos of Fr. Seraphim Rose]

===Criticism & debate===
*[http://www.new-ostrog.org/gnostic/ The Toll-House Myth: The Neo-Gnosticism of Fr. Seraphim Rose], by Fr. Michael Azkoul
*[http://www.orthodoxinfo.com/death/tollhouse_debate.aspx The Debate Over Aerial Toll-Houses], Extract from the Minutes of the Session of the Synod of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside or Russia (1980)
*[http://www.orthodoxinfo.com/death/tollhouse_pomaz.aspx On the Question of the "Toll-Houses": Our War is not Against Flesh and Blood], by Fr. Michael Pomazansky
*[http://www.new-ostrog.org/return_tollhouses.html The Return of the Tollhouses], by Fr. Michael Azkoul

===Writings===
*[http://www.fatheralexander.org/booklets/english/charismatic_revival_s_rose_e.htm Charismatic Revival as a Sign of the Times]
*[http://www.columbia.edu/cu/augustine/arch/nihilism.html Nihilism: The Root of the Revolution of the Modern Age ]
*[http://www.stxenia.org/frsrose/ortham.shtml Orthodoxy in America: Its Historical Past and Present]
*[http://www.desertwisdom.org/dttw Death to the World - A Compendium of Fr. Seraphim Rose's writings on-line.]

[[Category:American Saints]]
[[Category:Modern Writers]]
[[Category:Monastics]]
[[Category:Priests]]

Orthodoxy in America

2006-02-08T16:10:33Z

Dogface: /* Saints */

{{orthodoxyinamerica}}
Despite its relatively young age, '''Orthodoxy in America''' has a complex history and a complicated present. This article seeks to be a clearinghouse of information and links regarding the history and state of Orthodox Christianity in America.

==History==
*[[All-American Sobor]]
*[[Bibliography of Orthodoxy in America]]
*[[Byzantine response to OCA autocephaly]]
*[[Ligonier Meeting]]
*[[ROCOR and OCA]]
*[[Timeline of Orthodoxy in America]]

==People==
===[[List of American saints|Saints]]===
*[[Alexander Hotovitzky]]
*[[Alexis of Wilkes-Barre]]
*[[Herman of Alaska]]
*[[Innocent of Alaska]]
*[[Jacob Netsvetov]]
*[[John Kochurov]]
*[[John Maximovitch]]
*[[Juvenaly of Alaska]]
*[[Nikolai Velimirovic]]
*[[Peter the Aleut]]
*[[Raphael of Brooklyn]]
*[[Tikhon of Moscow]]

*Under consideration for [[Glorification]]
**Abp. [[Arseny (Chagovtsov) of Winnipeg]]
** Bp. [[Gerasimos (Papadopoulos) of Abydos]]
**[[Olga Michael]]
**[[Seraphim Rose]]

===[[List of American bishops|Bishops]]===
: ''See: [[List of American bishops]]''

===Other major figures===
*[[Alexander Schmemann]]
*[[Frank Schaeffer]]
*[[Georges Florovsky]]
*[[Jaroslav Pelikan]]
*[[John Meyendorff]]
*[[Seraphim Rose]]
*[[Thomas Hopko]]

*[[List of American writers|Writers]]

==Jurisdictions==
===Current===
*[[Albanian Orthodox Diocese of America]]
*[[American Carpatho-Russian Orthodox Diocese]]
*[[Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America]]
*[[Belarusian Council of Orthodox Churches in North America]]
*[[Bulgarian Eastern Orthodox Diocese of the USA, Canada and Australia]]
*[[Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America]]
*[[Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem in North and South America]]
*[[Orthodox Church in America]]
*[[Romanian Orthodox Archdiocese in America and Canada]]
*[[Russian Orthodox Church in the USA]]
*[[Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia]]
*[[Serbian Orthodox Church in the USA and Canada]]
*[[Ukrainian Orthodox Church in the USA]]

====Non-Mainstream====
*[[Holy Orthodox Church in North America]] (HOCNA)
*[[Russian Orthodox Church in Exile]] (ROCE)

===Former===
*[[American Orthodox Catholic Church]]
*[[Antiochian Orthodox Archdiocese of Toledo and Dependencies]]
*[[Bulgarian Diocese in Exile]]
*[[Russian Exarchate of North America]]

===Directories===
*[[:Category:Parish Directory (USA)]]

==Seminaries==
*[[Christ the Saviour Seminary (Johnstown, Pennsylvania)]]
*[[Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology (Brookline, Massachusetts)]]
*[[Holy Trinity Orthodox Seminary (Jordanville, New York)]]
*[[St. Herman's Orthodox Theological Seminary (Kodiak, Alaska)]]
*[[St. Tikhon's Orthodox Theological Seminary (South Canaan, Pennsylvania)]]
*[[St. Sava's Serbian Orthodox Seminary (Libertyville, Illinois)]]
*[[St. Sophia Ukrainian Orthodox Theological Seminary (South Bound Brook, New Jersey)]]
*[[St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary (Crestwood, New York)]]

==Monasteries==
*[[List of American monasteries]]

==Groups==
*[[Evangelical Orthodox Church]]
*[[Holy Order of MANS]] (later, Christ the Savior Brotherhood)
*[[Society of Clerks Secular of St. Basil]]

==Organizations==
===National===
*[[International Orthodox Christian Charities]] (IOCC)
*[[Orthodox Christian Fellowship]] (OCF)
*[[Orthodox Christian Laity]] (OCL)
*[[Orthodox Christian Mission Center]] (OCMC)
*[[Orthodox Christians for Life]] (OCLife)
*[[Orthodox Theological Society in America]] (OTSA)
*[[Standing Conference of the Canonical Orthodox Bishops in the Americas]] (SCOBA)

===Regional===
*[[Council of Eastern Orthodox Churches of Central Massachusetts]] (CEOC)
*[[Fellowship of Orthodox Churches of Connecticut]] (FORCC)
*[[Rocky Mountain Orthodox Christian Charities and Missions]] (RMOCCM)

==External links==
*[http://www.orthodoxyinamerica.org/ Orthodoxy in America: An Online Directory of the Orthodox Church in North America]
*[http://www.izograph.com/kleima.htm Iconic History of Orthodoxy in America]

===Articles===
*[http://www.orthodoxinfo.com/general/orth_amer.aspx Orthodoxy in America], by Archbishop Chrysostomos of Etna
*[http://www.helleniccomserve.com/fordham1a.html The Dynamics of the Orthodox Faith in America], by Abp. [[Demetrios (Trakatellis) of America]]
*[http://ocl.org/MetIsaiahofDenverMar2001.htm The Dangers of Multiple Orthodox Jurisdictions in the United States], by Metr. [[Isaiah (Chronopoulos) of Denver]]
*[http://www.ocl.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=OrthodoxUnity.one&content_id=14248&CFID=25996465 Where Do We Go From Here?], by [[Abbot]] [[Jonah (Paffhausen)]] (requires free registration)
*[http://www.orthodoxytoday.org/articles4/KishkovskyDiaspora.shtml Orthodoxy in America: Diaspora or Church?], by Fr. Leonid Kishkovsky
*[http://www.ocl.org/project.htm The Project for Orthodox Renewal of the Orthodox Christian Laity: Seven Studies of Key Issues Facing Orthodox Christians in America], Steven J. Sfekas and George E. Matsoukas, eds. (1993)
*[https://www.trustedpartner.com/docs/library/000139/brochure.pdf An Orthodox Christian Church in the United States: Unified and Self-Governed], a pamphlet by [[Orthodox Christian Laity]]
*[http://www.svots.edu/Faculty/Paul-Meyendorff/Articles/liturgical-path.html The Liturgical Path of Orthodoxy in America], by [[Paul Meyendorff]]
*[http://www.orthodoxphotos.com/readings/Orthodox_Church/orthodoxy_in_america.shtml Orthodoxy in America], from [http://www.orthodoxphotos.com/ OrthodoxPhotos.com]
*[http://www.jacwell.org/Archbishop%20Peter/1997_WINTER_reflecting_on_the_future_of_orth.htm Reflecting on the Future of Orthodoxy in America], by Archbishop [[Peter (L'Huillier) of New York]]
*[http://www.stxenia.org/frsrose/ortham.shtml Orthodoxy in America: Its Historical Past and Present], by Fr. [[Seraphim Rose]]
*[http://www.orthodoxresearchinstitute.org/articles/church_history/schmemann_orthodoxy_america.htm Orthodoxy and America], by Fr. [[Alexander Schmemann]]
*Problems of Orthodoxy in America series, by Fr. [[Alexander Schmemann]]
**[http://www.jacwell.org/Fall_Winter99/Fr_Schmemann_The_canonical_problem.htm I: The Canonical Problem]
**[http://www.jacwell.org/Fall_Winter99/Fr_Schmemann_The_liturgical_problem.htm II: The Liturgical Problem]
**[http://www.jacwell.org/Fall_Winter99/Fr_Schmemann_The%20_spiritual_problem.htm III: The Spiritual Problem]

===Link collections===
*[http://www.orthodoxinfo.com/general/gen_america.aspx General Information: Orthodoxy in America]

[[Category:Church History]]
[[Category:Jurisdictions]]

St. Tikhon's Orthodox Monastery (South Canaan, Pennsylvania)

2006-02-08T16:10:00Z

Dogface: /* Founding of the Seminary */

[[Image:St_Tikhons_Arch.jpg|right|frame|The Monastery Arch: "Blessed is He Who Comes in the Name of the Lord"]]
'''St. Tikhon's Orthodox Monastery''' (founded in 1905, previously ''St. Tikhon's Russian Orthodox Monastery'') in South Canaan, Pennsylvania, is the oldest operating Orthodox [[monastery]] in North America. Attached to it is [[St. Tikhon's Orthodox Theological Seminary (South Canaan, Pennsylvania)|St. Tikhon's Orthodox Theological Seminary]], one of the three [[seminary|seminaries]] of the [[Orthodox Church in America]].

== History ==
===Early Years===
The [[stavropigial]] St. Tikhon's Orthodox Monastery was founded in 1905 by Archimandrite [[Arseny (Chagovtsov) of Winnipeg|Arseny (Chagovtsov)]] (later Archbishop of Winnipeg, Canada), with the blessing of then Bishop of North America, later Patriarch of Moscow and all Russia, Confessor of Orthodoxy, St. [[Tikhon of Moscow|Tikhon (Belavin)]], and was dedicated to the saintly patronage of St. [[Tikhon of Zadonsk]], the heavenly patron of Bishop [[Tikhon of Moscow|Tikhon]]. From the very beginning, the monastery drew Orthodox [[pilgrimage|pilgrims]] from all corners of North America, and played a key role in Orthodox mission on the continent.

Knowing that monasticism is indispensable for the healthy flourishing of a local Orthodox Church, the young Hieromonk Arseny, who arrived in America in 1902, conceived the idea of starting a [[monastery]] in America. In his vision, the monastery would serve as a "mother house" for monastics who were engaged in mission work in various places in North America; they could return periodically for spiritual rejuvenation. Through Fr. Arseny's dedicated efforts, aided by Archbishop Tikhon's, suitable land was found: the Wagner farm in western Wayne County, near the village of South Canaan. On [[June 26]], 1905, the land for the new monastery was purchased for $2,580 by Archbishop [[Tikhon of Moscow|Tikhon]] and Hieromonk Arseny -- the founders of St. Tikhon's Monastery. An orphanage was started at the same time.

The first Pilgrimage to St. Tikhon's Monastery opened on [[July 29]], 1905. On July 31 the grounds were dedicated by Bishop [[Raphael of Brooklyn|Raphael (Hawaweeny)]], and on that day, the first [[Divine Liturgy]] was served, in an open place on a knoll where the monastery church now stands. A cross was planted on the spot. Bishop Raphael was the chief celebrant; among the concelebrating clergy was Fr. [[Alexander Hotovitsky]] and very likely Fr. [[John Kochurov]] as well. In later years these two priests would be martyred in Russia, being formally glorified as [[saint]]s in 1994. The services that day were in honor of St. [[Tikhon of Zadonsk]], who was Archbishop [[Tikhon of Moscow|Tikhon]]'s patron saint and partly for that reason, he was selected as the new monastery's [[patron saint]].

[[Image:St_Tikhons_Monastery.jpg|left|frame|The monastery church as it stands today, extensively renovated in 1965]]
The official opening and consecration of the monastery took place on [[May 30]], 1906. This occasion was the first of the annual Memorial Day pilgrimages. At the opening festivities gifts from [[Mount Athos]] arrived: an [[icon]] of the [[Theotokos]] "[[She Who Is Quick To Hear]]," and one of St. [[Panteleimon]]; both icons are still cherished by the monastery community. Hundreds of pilgrims from local parishes and from New York carried the icons in a cross-procession beginning at Mayfield. Travelling by train, the assembly was joined at Carbondale by Mitred Archpriest (Saint) [[Alexis of Wilkes-Barre|Alexis Toth]]. The pilgrims -- whose numbers had greatly exceeded expectations, so that two chartered trains, with twenty coaches filled to capacity -- detrained in the forest near the monastery and the church hymns were sung as the procession, with the holy icons, advanced through the woods. After some eighty minutes, the pilgrims caught sight of a blue cupola with a three-barred cross, in the midst of a deep forest -- the monastery.

Two [[Divine Liturgies]] were served. Archbishop [[Tikhon of Moscow|Tikhon]] and some of the clergy joined in consecrating the [[altar]] and celebrated Divine Liturgy in the new church. Following this, a second group, headed by Bishop Raphael and Fr. [[Alexis of Wilkes-Barre|Alexis Toth]], served Liturgy under the open sky. Two [[novice]]s were [[tonsure]]d to the rank of [[Riasaphor]]. That same summer, 1906, Patriarch Saint [[Tikhon of Moscow|Tikhon]] stayed at the Monastery, living with the monks and attending the services.

Fr. [[Alexis of Wilkes-Barre|Alexis Toth]], who had been called the "Father of the Russian Orthodox Church in America" because of his great success in leading [[Uniate]]s back to the Orthodox fold, was laid to rest in the monastery cemetery after his repose in 1909. Seven years later, his remains were transferred to a specially constructed tomb just back of the sanctuary of the monastery Church. An eyewitness of this transfer describes Fr. Alexis's remains as being totally incorrupt at the time.

===Founding of the Seminary===
As the years passed, increasing numbers of [[novice]]s came to the monastery seeking spiritual nourishment, as did growing numbers of pilgrims. The monastery served the Church by its providing [[clergy]] for the North American mission, in a time of severe clergy shortage. In turn, the monastery was supported by the prayers and generosity of many faithful.

In 1937 [[St. Tikhon's Orthodox Theological Seminary (South Canaan, Pennsylvania)|St. Tikhon's Seminary]] was established on the monastery grounds. The monastery has, over the years, provided some instructors for the seminary; this has not only aided the Church's mission in general, but also the monastery itself, as the availability of sufficient numbers of trained parish priests eventually reduced the need for monks to serve in parishes. The seminary, in turn, has provided candidates for the monastic life.

[[Image:St_Tikhons_Cross.jpg|right|frame|Cross at the Monastery Well]]
In the 1950s the monastery was greatly honored and enriched by the presence of a renowned Orthodox speaker, writer, and leader, St. [[Nicholai of Zicha]], who spent his last years here and reposed here in 1956. The news, in 1987, of St. Nicholai's glorification brought joy to the monastery. Three years later, it rejoiced again at the glorification of the monastery's co-founder, Patriarch (Saint) [[Tikhon of Moscow|Tikhon]], and not too long after, in 1992, his well-hidden grave was miraculously discovered in Russia. The monastery has been blessed since then to obtain a fragment of his holy [[relics]].

In 1994, the [[Holy Synod]] of the [[Orthodox Church in America]] proclaimed the sanctity of Fr Alexis Toth. His remains were removed from the tomb in back of the monastery Church. The service of [[glorification]] took place at the Memorial Day pilgrimage that year. The relics now rest in the right [[kleiros]] of the Church, in a beautiful, canopied reliquary of carved wood, topped by a bulbed, golden cupola. The monastery has also been blessed in recent years by receiving gifts of holy relics of St. [[Herman of Alaska|Herman]] and St. [[Innocent of Alaska]] and St, [[Seraphim of Sarov]]. The monastic community rejoiced at the glorification in 1994 of Saints [[Alexander Hotovitsky]] and [[John Kochurov]]. Bishop [[Raphael of Brooklyn|Raphael]], who in 1905 served the first [[Divine Liturgy]] there and dedicated the grounds, was proclaimed a saint by the Holy Synod in 1999, and his glorification also took place at the monastery at the Memorial Day pilgrimage that same year. Holy Relics of St. Raphael also are housed in the church.

===Late 20th Century and Beyond===
The last quarter of the 20th century has been marked by a renewed interest in things spiritual among young people. This has contributed to increasing interest in the monastic life at St. Tikhon's. Changes have taken place in the population of the community and in outward features of our life, but the inner life, which is the heart of monasticism, continues as before. The unchanging life and rhythm of an Orthodox monastery is centered around the unchanging cycles and seasons of worship, and the fixed nature of monastic community life, with its traditions, rules, and practices.

[[Image:St_Tikhons_Belltower.jpg|left|frame|The Millennium Belltower]]
In 1965 the monastery church was extensively renovated and expanded, and the present monastery dormitory and dining hall were built. In 1988, to commemorate the [[Baptism of Russia]], a new Millennium Bell Tower was built, as were many other shrines. An addition to the monastery dormitory that same year provided a new refectory and additional space. In recent years, construction has also proceeded on a [[skete]] in the nearby woods. The St. [[Arsenius of Konevits]] Skete now has accomodations for several monks, and a chapel is planned.

In 1995 the John S and Lucille J Guzey Icon Repository was opened. This wonderful collection not only edifies visitors year-round, but also enriches the monastery and seminary liturgical life, as the icons are venerated in our services. The Icon Repository forms one structure with a beautiful new monastery bell tower which was built concurrently. (Because of structural weakness, the original bell tower had to be replaced). In 1997 the exterior of the monastery vhurch was beautified by repairs and other improvements, including new cupolas.

By God's mercy and providence, the prayers and services have been celebrated without interruption for more than nine decades, and the holy oblation has been offered year-round "in behalf of all and for all" -- living and dead, men and women, old and young. The monastery welcomes pilgrims at all times of the year, and they come throughout the year whenever their schedules permit. Many have felt God's special presence there, often in a profound, life-changing way.

== A Monastery with an Educational Vision ==
Prior to the founding of the [[St. Tikhon's Orthodox Theological Seminary (South Canaan, Pennsylvania)|seminary]], St. Tikhon's Monastery had played an essential role in Orthodox theological education in North America by providing preparatory coursework to those individuals who would later apply for formal seminary training at [[St. Platon's Seminary (Tenafly, New Jersey)|St. Platon's Seminary]] in Tenafly, New Jersey. During those early years, financial assistance to the North American Mission of the [[Church of Russia|Russian Orthodox Church]] and to Orthodox theological education had been rendered by the civil and ecclesiastical authorities in Imperial Russia.

[[Image:St Tikhons iconostasis.jpg|right|thumb|350px|Iconostasis at St. Tikhon's Monastery church]]
With the onset of the Bolshevik Revolution in 1917, however, the young mission Church in America entered into a long period of administrative and financial difficulties. Because funding from the Mother Church in Russia was terminated, St. Platon's Seminary in New Jersey was finally forced to close in 1923, and St. Tikhon's Monastery once again became the only place in America where one could receive an Orthodox theological education until the opening, in 1938, of St. Tikhon's Pastoral School in South Canaan together with its sister school, [[St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary (Crestwood, New York)|St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary]] in New York.

== External Links ==
*[http://sttikhonsmonastery.org/ St. Tikhon of Zadonsk Monastery] (Official site)
*[http://www.oca.org/DIRSemTik.asp St. Tikhon's Orthodox Monastery] ([[OCA]] site)
*[http://www.stots.edu/ St. Tikhon's Orthodox Theological Seminary]
*[http://www.stots.edu/these_truths_we_hold.html ''These Truths We Hold''] (General catechism and "Boy Scout Manual of Orthodoxy" published by St. Tikhon's)

===In the news===
* [http://www.phillyburbs.com/pb-dyn/news/103-05252005-494206.html North America's oldest Orthodox monastery celebrates 100 years] by Michael Rubinkam, ''The Associated Press''

[[Category:American Monasteries]]
[[Category:Featured Articles]]
[[Category:Monasteries]]
[[Category:OCA Monasteries]]

Tikhon of Moscow

2006-02-08T16:09:01Z

Dogface: /* Life and work after ordination */

[[Image:Tikhon_of_Moscow_icon.jpg|frame|right|Icon of St. Tikhon]]
Our father among the saints '''Tikhon of Moscow''' (1865–1925), [[Enlightener]] of North America, was Patriarch and [[Confessor]] of Moscow and All Russia (1917–1925). "He established his cathedral in New York City, and presided over a vast [[Archdiocese]], encouraging and authorizing many publications in the English language. Among these, he encouraged the translation of the Eastern [[liturgy]] into English by Isabel Florence Hapgood, and he wrote an extensive [[catechism]] based on the [[Nicene Creed]] and the [[Our Father]]. For the [[Western Rite]], he established the corrected and authorized version of the eucharistic liturgy from the American Book of Common Prayer for Orthodox worship." [http://www.westernorthodox.com/connely] His [[feast day]] is celebrated on [[April 7]], and his [[glorification]] is celebrated on [[October 9]].

{{orthodoxyinamerica}}

==Early Life==
St. Tikhon (''né'' Vasily Ivanovich Belavin) was born on [[January 19]], 1865. His father was Ioann Belavin, a rural [[priest]] of the Toropetz district of the Pskov diocese. "From his early years he displayed a particular religious disposition, love for the Church as well as rare meekness and humility. ... From 1878 to 1883, Vasily studied at the Pskov Theological Seminary. ... His fellow students liked and respected him for his piety, brilliant progress in studies, and constant readiness to help comrades, who often turned to him for explanations of lessons, especially for help in drawing up and correcting numerous compositions. Vasily was called 'bishop' and 'patriarch' by his classmates." [http://www.oca.org/HSbiotikhon.asp?SID=7]

"Following graduation from the Pskov Seminary and St Petersburg Theological Academy, he becomes an instructor first at Pskov Seminary (1888-91), then Kholm Seminary (1891-97), where he quickly became Rector. Just prior to his transfer to Kholm he was tonsured a monk with the name Tikhon and ordained." [http://ocaphoto.oca.org/MiscEventViewer.asp?EID=888&IID=14365]

==Life and work after ordination==
One of the first Orthodox [[bishop]]s to do major work in North America, St. Tikhon was the primary founder of [[St. Tikhon's Orthodox Monastery (South Canaan, Pennsylvania)|St. Tikhon's Orthodox Monastery]] in South Canaan, Pennsylvania, naming it for his heavenly patron, St. [[Tikhon of Zadonsk]].

St. Tikhon openly condemned the killings of the [[Nicholas II of Russia|Czar]]'s family in 1918, and protested against violent attacks by the Bolsheviks on the [[Church]].

[[Image:Tikhon_of_Moscow.jpg|left|thumb|St. Tikhon of Moscow]]
From 1922 to 1923, Patriarch Tikhon was imprisoned in [[Donskoy Monastery]]. Upon being released, he assured the regime of his loyalty, in an apparent attempt to relieve the harsh pressures on the [[Church]]. Despite his declaration of loyalty, he continued to enjoy the trust of the Orthodox community in Russia. When he died, he was considered a martyr for the faith.

In 1989, Patriarch Tikhon was [[Glorification|glorified]] by the [[Church of Russia]]. This process is generally considered an example of the thaw in [[Church of Russia|Church]]-Soviet relations in the Glasnost era.

==See also==
*[[Liturgy of St. Tikhon of Moscow]], an adaptation of the [[Eucharist|Communion]] service from the 1928 [[Anglican]] ''Book of Common Prayer'' and ''The Anglican Missal in the American Edition.''
*[[Western Rite]]

{{start box}}
{{succession|
before=?|
title=Bishop of Lublin|
years=1897-1898|
after=?|}}
{{succession|
before=[[Nicholas (Ziorov) of Warsaw|Nicholas (Ziorov)]]|
title=Bishop of the Aleutian Islands and Alaska|
years=1898-1907|
after=[[Platon (Rozhdestvensky) of New York|Platon (Rozhdestvensky)]]}}
{{succession|
before=Adrian|
title=Patriarch of Moscow and all Russia|
years=1917-1925|
after=[[Sergius I (Stragorodsky) of Moscow|Serguis I (Stragorodsky)]]}}
{{end box}}

==Sources and External Links==
*[http://www.oca.org/HSbiotikhon.asp?SID=7 Biography of St. Tikhon of Moscow]
*[http://ocaphoto.oca.org/MiscEventViewer.asp?EID=888 Icon of St. Tikhon with scenes from his life]

[[Category:American Saints]]
[[Category:Bishops]]
[[Category:Missionaries]]
[[Category:Patriarchs of Moscow]]
[[Category:Russian Saints]]
[[Category:Saints]]

Justin Popovich

2006-02-08T16:07:51Z

Dogface: /* Life */

[[Image:StJustinPopovich.jpg|thumb|right|St. Justin Popovich (1894-1979)]]
Our [[venerable]] and God-bearing Father '''Justin Popović''' (in Serbian Cyrillic, Ју

Molieben

2006-02-08T16:07:32Z

Dogface:

A '''molieben''' (also called a '''moleben''', '''service of intercession''', or '''service of supplication''') is a [[supplication]] [[prayer]] service in honor of either our Lord [[Jesus Christ]], the [[Theotokos|Mother of God]], or a particular [[saint]] or [[martyr]]. It is a Russian Orthodox tradition and only an ordained [[priest]] can celebrate it.

It is the custom to celebrate a molieben service only in honor of a [[Glorification|glorified]] saint.

==Source==
*[http://www.serfes.org/royal/tropar.htm Tropar & Kontakion for Royal Martyrs & New Martyrs Of Russia] compiled by Fr. Demetrios Serfes

==External link==
*[http://www.orthodox.net/services/moleben.html The Oorder of the General Moleben], according to the usage of the [[Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia]]

[[Category:Liturgics]]

Cosmas of Aetolia

2006-02-08T16:07:20Z

Dogface:

[[Image:StCosmas_Aitolos.jpg|thumb|right|St. Kosmas Aitolos (1714-1779)]]The holy, glorious and right-victorious New [[Hieromartyr]] and [[Equal-to-the-Apostles]] '''Kosmas Aitolos''' (also known as '''Cosmas Aitolos''') was born in 1714 in Aitolia, Greece, to a father who was a weaver and a devout mother. He attended public schools, but was tutored by an [[archdeacon]]. He taught and then attended a school on Mt. [[Athos]]. He became a [[monk]] and later a [[priest]] at [[Philotheou Monastery (Athos)|Philotheou]] [[Monastery]] there. After a time, he felt a calling to do [[missionary]] work in Greece, especially in the remote areas where there was a lack of [[Church|churches]] and priests for the many [[Baptism|unbaptized]] adults. As an aftermath of four centuries of Turkish oppression in Greece, Kosmas received the [[Patriarch|patriarchal]] blessing to travel wherever needed, for however long, with complete independence, to breathe life back into Christianity in Greece. Kosmas sojourned to Greece, its islands, and Albania for 25 years, founding over 200 schools, as well as charities and rural churches. He planted [[cross]]es wherever he went. The [[Islam|Muslims]] tried him on charges of conspiracy and sentenced him to hang in August 1779 in Albania. However, one account reports that he [[prayer|prayed]] and gave up his spirit before this could occur. St. Kosmas received from God the gift of [[prophecy]], and was known to have prophesied of the telephone, airplanes, and aerial bombings. Patriarch [[Athenagoras I (Spyrou) of Constantinople|Athenagoras]] [[Glorification|glorified]] him in 1961. His [[feast day]] is celebrated on [[August 24]].

==Source==
* [http://calendar.goarch.org/august/August_24.html Kosmas Aitolos, Equal to the Apostles and Euteches the Hieromartyr] ([[GOARCH]])

==External links==
* [http://orthodoxhernandocountyfl.org/aug2403.htm "St. Cosmas Aitolos"] in ''The Orthodox Messenger'', Vol. II, No. 34 – Sunday, August 24, 2003)
*[http://goarch.org/en/chapel/saints.asp?contentid=581 Kosmas the New Hieromartyr & Equal-to-the Apostles of Aetolia] (GOARCH)
*[http://ocafs.oca.org/FeastSaintsViewer.asp?FSID=102390 Repose of the New-Hieromartyr Cosmas of Aitolia, Equal of the Apostles] ([[OCA]])
* [http://www.serfes.org/writtings/stcosmas.htm "Writings of Saint Cosmas of Aitolos: Selected Passages from the Teachings of St. Cosmas] compiled by Fr. Demetrios Serfes
* [http://nektarios.home.att.net/1527.html "Prophecies by St. Cosmas Aitolos"] excerpted from [http://members.cox.net/orthodoxheritage/St.%20Kosmas.htm "Prophecies by St. Kosmas Aitolos (Concerning wars in Greece / Balkans)"] from the on-line monthly newsletter of the St. Poimen Greek Orthodox Brotherhood
* [http://clairebrandenburgartist.com/Kosmas.html ''To Plant a Cross: The Story of Saint Kosmas Aitolos Who Fought a War with Words''] by Angeline Eliakopoulos

[[Category:Martyrs]]
[[Category:Monastics]]
[[Category:Saints]]

Diocese of New York and New Jersey (OCA)

2006-02-08T16:06:56Z

Dogface: /* Early Period - Immigration */

The '''Diocese of New York and New Jersey''' was formerly a [[diocese]] of the [[OCA]] but combined with the [[Diocese of Washington (OCA)|Diocese of Washington]] in 2005 to form the [[Diocese of Washington and New York (OCA)|Diocese of Washington and New York]].

== Background ==
New York City’s first presence of Orthodoxy can is traced to 1870, when Farther Nicholas Bjerring, an American [[convert]], was directed by Metropolitan Isidore of St. Petersburg to open the first Orthodox Church in New York City. Services for the congregation were held in a chapel within Fr. Nicholas’s house. In 1885 the Russian government withdrew its support due to the small membership.

The oldest Diocesan parish sill functioning is SS Peter and Paul Church is Buffalo, NY (April, 1894) Among its early missionary priests were Fr. John Nedzelnitsky, the Dean of Eastern States, and Fr. [[John Kochurov]] ([[Glorification|glorified]] 1994 by the [[Church of Russia|Russian Orthodox Church]]).

[[Image:Ocadowany.png|thumb|Visual representation of the Diocese of Washington and New York]]

===Cathedral===
In 1895, a second mission in New York City was established called The Russian Greek Orthodox Church of St. Nicholas, and began to flourish under the direction of its second pastor, Father [[Alexander Hotovitzky]] (also recently [[Glorification|glorified]] by the Russian Orthodox Church). In 1901, Bishop [[Tikhon of Moscow|Tikhon]] (later Patriarch Tikhon) laid the cornerstone for the new Cathedral of St. Nicholas, completed in 1904, from which he would direct the American church until he was called back to Russia in 1907.

The cathedral served the needs of Orthodox Christians in New York and throughout the country until 1926, when in the fallout from the Bolshevik Revolution; the building was declared the legal property of American representatives of the "[[Living Church]]". The head of the church, Metropolitan [[Platon (Rozhdestvensky) of New York|Platon]] was restrained from further use of archdiocesan property. Temporary facilities were utilized until 1943 when a new building at 59 East Second Street was purchased, renovated and dedicated to the Protection of the Most Holy Theotokos. Over the next 31 years, the [http://www.oca.org/DIRlisting.asp?SID=9&KEY=OCA-WA-NYCPRV 2nd street cathedral] served as the headquarters of the church in America, housing offices of the chancery and related national organizations, and convening meetings of the Metropolitan Council, the [[Holy Synod]] of Bishops (known until [[autocephaly]] as the "Great Council of Bishops"), and several All American Church Councils ([[Sobor]]s). For many years most episcopal consecrations and ordinations to the deaconate and priesthood also took place there.

===Local Diocese of the Ruling Hierarch ===
Orthodoxy in America recognizes as its beginning the arrival of Orthodox missionaries at Kodiak Island in 1794. The administrative center of the Mission in America, with the eventual sale of Alaska to the United States in 1867, gradually moved from Sitka to San Francisco in 1872. By the time that Bishop Tikhon arrived as administrator in 1898 and had made several extended pastoral journeys, it was obvious that the concentration of parishes and faithful was in the eastern United States. He recommended that the official name of the Mission be changed to the "Diocese of the Aleutians and North America" and suggested that the diocesan [[see]] be transferred to New York (which occurred in 1905). From that time until 1980 the parishes in the New York-New Jersey geographic area were officially under the auspices of the ruling hierarch of what is now the Orthodox Church in America (OCA).

Being close to the national Church's administrative center (both when it was located in New York City and since 1974 in Oyster Bay Cove/Syosset, NY) and to [[St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary (Crestwood, New York)|St. Vladimir's Seminary]] has allowed the Diocese to benefit from the leadership of the Church in America. Workshops and conferences on religious education and liturgical music, as well as lecture series for adults have taken place throughout the Diocese at various times and places over the last 40 years.

At the 6th All-American Council, it was announced by the Holy Synod of Bishops that a new Diocese of Washington, DC had been created that would begin functioning in 1981 and that the nation's capital city would become the see of the [[Primate]] of the Orthodox Church in America.

In 1981, the Diocese ceased being the responsibility of the [[Metropolitan]] and became one of the territorial Dioceses under its own hierarch, Bishop [[Peter (L'Huillier) of New York|PETER]], since 1990 recognized as Archbishop of New York and New Jersey. Under his guidance the Diocese has strived to balance the demands for stability and growth.

===Life and Challenges ===
The Former Diocese was to be challenged by the same realities that confront many Orthodox Christians throughout America. Its urban communities had been shaken by deteriorating neighborhoods and the relocation of parishioners either to the suburbs or out of the area. The fragility of employment and lack of job security even within previously dependable companies have forced many to move more frequently than what might have been considered normal in the past. The Diocese has witnessed during the first years of the 20th century the early seeds of pan-Orthodox unity as proclaimed in the vision of Archbishop Tikhon.

Yet since the First World War it had seen attempts at realizing this unity foiled by the tendencies of each traditionally Orthodox ethnic group to minister primarily to the needs of its own people. It has been threatened by its own internal tensions and those caused by the administrative turmoil and confusion apparent within the Russian Orthodox Church since the time of the Revolution.

It has needed to defend its own administrative structure in battles within the American legal system. But areas of the Diocese (particularly in north and central New Jersey and the Triple Cities area of upper New York State) have also participated in a growing sense of interdependence and cooperation among the various Orthodox groups; something that brings great hopes for the future.
Above all, the Diocese is challenged, as has been each generation of Christians, to respond and bear witness to the expression of the Orthodox Faith in ways that are both "Traditional" (in the sense of handing down what has been given) and creative (unique and sensitive to the questions and demands of its time).
===End of the Diocese ===
{{stub}}

== Early Institutions ==
Other institutions established in the New York-New Jersey area of this time to meet both the religious and social/economic needs of the immigrants were:
*The Russian Orthodox Christian Immigrant Society of North America (1908)
*The St. Vladimir's National Home and Bank
*The Russian Orphan Home of Brooklyn (1914)
*In 1912, the first seminary originally located in Minneapolis, was transferred to Tenafly, NJ and was called the St. Platon's Orthodox Theological Seminary. (Upon its closure in 1923 the Church would not have another seminary in America until the establishment of St. Tikhon's and St. Vladimir's Seminaries in 1938.)

==Parishes ==
===Early Period - Immigration===
The initial establishment of parishes in the Diocese closely paralleled the immigration patterns of the immigrants who came before and after the First World War and in connection with the consequences of the Russian Revolution.
Approximately half of the present 50 parishes began during this period (1894-1930). The energetic ministry of Fr Alexander Hotovitzky (1895-1914) should be recognized as a significant feature of these early years. Fr. Alexander, as Dean of the New York Cathedral, was instrumental in the formation of several Diocesan parishes (as well as some outside of the Diocese):
*Holy Trinity Church, Yonkers,NY (1899) ([http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Meadows/9190/history.htm history])
*St. Basil Church, Watervliet,NY (1901) ([http://www.stbasilschurch.org/parish_background.html history])
*SS Peter and Paul Church, South River,NJ (1905) ([http://www.saintpeterandpaul.org/history.html history])
*SS Peter and Paul Church, Jersey City,NJ (1907)
*Holy Transfiguration Cathedral, Brooklyn,NY (1908) ([http://www.roct.org/history.html history])
*Holy Trinity Church, Brooklyn,NY (1909)
*St. Nicholas Church, Auburn,NY (1909)
The Russian Orthodox Church, in recently [[Glorification|glorifying]] Fr. Alexander and Fr. John Kochuiov, emphasizes their deaths as martyrs that took place after their return to Russia. But for the OCA, their significance as Orthodox missionaries in America was affirmed in the words of Metropolitan Theophilus: "The American Orthodox Russian people stand on four corners - Bishop Nicholas, Fathers Hotovitzky, Kochurov, and Nedzelnitsky."

Other Early Parishes (NJ):
*SS. Peter and Paul Church, Manville, NJ (1915) ([http://www.ssppoc.org/background.html history])
*St. Spiridon Church, Perth Amboy, NJ (1915)
*St. Vladimir Church, Trenton, NJ (1915) ([http://www.saintvladimir.com/aboutus.html history])
*St. John the Baptist Church, Alpha, NJ (1916)
*SS. Peter and Paul Church, Bayonne, NJ (1922)
*St. John the Baptist Church, Passaic, NJ (1925) ([http://www.stjohnspassaic.org/newsletter-072705_006.htm history])
*Assumption of the Holy Virgin Church, Clifton, NJ (1930)

Other Early Parishes (NY):
*SS. Peter and Paul Church Buffalo, NY (1894)
*St. Nicholas Church Cohoes, NY (1914)
*SS. Peter and Paul Church Endicott, NY (1914)
*St. John the Baptist Church Spring Valley, NY (1914)
*Dormition of the Virgin Mary Church Binghamton, NY (1915)
*SS. Peter and Paul Church Syracuse, NY (1915)
*Holy Trinity Church Elmira Heights, NY (1916) ([http://www.holytrinityorthodoxchurch.org/about_us.htm history])
*SS. Peter and Paul Church Herkimer, NY (1916)
*St. Nicholas Church Whitestone, NY (1916) ([http://www.stnicholasny.org/parish_background.html history])
*Holy Trinity Church East Meadow, NY (1924)
*Christ the Saviour Church New York, NY (1924) ([http://www.christthesaviornyc.org/bkshelf/en_parishhistory.shtml history])
*Cathedral of the Holy Virgin Protection New York, NY (1932)
*St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary Crestwood, NY (1938)
*St. Nicholas Church Jamaica Estates, NY (1941)
*Holy Cross Monastery Niagara Falls, NY (1951)
*St. Andrew's Camp and Chapel Jewell, NY (1954) ([http://www.standrewscamp.com/ website])

===Later Period - Mission===
A later period (from 1958 to the present) might be called the “time of mission

Diocese of New York and New Jersey (OCA)

2006-02-08T16:06:38Z

Dogface: /* Cathedral */

The '''Diocese of New York and New Jersey''' was formerly a [[diocese]] of the [[OCA]] but combined with the [[Diocese of Washington (OCA)|Diocese of Washington]] in 2005 to form the [[Diocese of Washington and New York (OCA)|Diocese of Washington and New York]].

== Background ==
New York City’s first presence of Orthodoxy can is traced to 1870, when Farther Nicholas Bjerring, an American [[convert]], was directed by Metropolitan Isidore of St. Petersburg to open the first Orthodox Church in New York City. Services for the congregation were held in a chapel within Fr. Nicholas’s house. In 1885 the Russian government withdrew its support due to the small membership.

The oldest Diocesan parish sill functioning is SS Peter and Paul Church is Buffalo, NY (April, 1894) Among its early missionary priests were Fr. John Nedzelnitsky, the Dean of Eastern States, and Fr. [[John Kochurov]] ([[Glorification|glorified]] 1994 by the [[Church of Russia|Russian Orthodox Church]]).

[[Image:Ocadowany.png|thumb|Visual representation of the Diocese of Washington and New York]]

===Cathedral===
In 1895, a second mission in New York City was established called The Russian Greek Orthodox Church of St. Nicholas, and began to flourish under the direction of its second pastor, Father [[Alexander Hotovitzky]] (also recently [[Glorification|glorified]] by the Russian Orthodox Church). In 1901, Bishop [[Tikhon of Moscow|Tikhon]] (later Patriarch Tikhon) laid the cornerstone for the new Cathedral of St. Nicholas, completed in 1904, from which he would direct the American church until he was called back to Russia in 1907.

The cathedral served the needs of Orthodox Christians in New York and throughout the country until 1926, when in the fallout from the Bolshevik Revolution; the building was declared the legal property of American representatives of the "[[Living Church]]". The head of the church, Metropolitan [[Platon (Rozhdestvensky) of New York|Platon]] was restrained from further use of archdiocesan property. Temporary facilities were utilized until 1943 when a new building at 59 East Second Street was purchased, renovated and dedicated to the Protection of the Most Holy Theotokos. Over the next 31 years, the [http://www.oca.org/DIRlisting.asp?SID=9&KEY=OCA-WA-NYCPRV 2nd street cathedral] served as the headquarters of the church in America, housing offices of the chancery and related national organizations, and convening meetings of the Metropolitan Council, the [[Holy Synod]] of Bishops (known until [[autocephaly]] as the "Great Council of Bishops"), and several All American Church Councils ([[Sobor]]s). For many years most episcopal consecrations and ordinations to the deaconate and priesthood also took place there.

===Local Diocese of the Ruling Hierarch ===
Orthodoxy in America recognizes as its beginning the arrival of Orthodox missionaries at Kodiak Island in 1794. The administrative center of the Mission in America, with the eventual sale of Alaska to the United States in 1867, gradually moved from Sitka to San Francisco in 1872. By the time that Bishop Tikhon arrived as administrator in 1898 and had made several extended pastoral journeys, it was obvious that the concentration of parishes and faithful was in the eastern United States. He recommended that the official name of the Mission be changed to the "Diocese of the Aleutians and North America" and suggested that the diocesan [[see]] be transferred to New York (which occurred in 1905). From that time until 1980 the parishes in the New York-New Jersey geographic area were officially under the auspices of the ruling hierarch of what is now the Orthodox Church in America (OCA).

Being close to the national Church's administrative center (both when it was located in New York City and since 1974 in Oyster Bay Cove/Syosset, NY) and to [[St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary (Crestwood, New York)|St. Vladimir's Seminary]] has allowed the Diocese to benefit from the leadership of the Church in America. Workshops and conferences on religious education and liturgical music, as well as lecture series for adults have taken place throughout the Diocese at various times and places over the last 40 years.

At the 6th All-American Council, it was announced by the Holy Synod of Bishops that a new Diocese of Washington, DC had been created that would begin functioning in 1981 and that the nation's capital city would become the see of the [[Primate]] of the Orthodox Church in America.

In 1981, the Diocese ceased being the responsibility of the [[Metropolitan]] and became one of the territorial Dioceses under its own hierarch, Bishop [[Peter (L'Huillier) of New York|PETER]], since 1990 recognized as Archbishop of New York and New Jersey. Under his guidance the Diocese has strived to balance the demands for stability and growth.

===Life and Challenges ===
The Former Diocese was to be challenged by the same realities that confront many Orthodox Christians throughout America. Its urban communities had been shaken by deteriorating neighborhoods and the relocation of parishioners either to the suburbs or out of the area. The fragility of employment and lack of job security even within previously dependable companies have forced many to move more frequently than what might have been considered normal in the past. The Diocese has witnessed during the first years of the 20th century the early seeds of pan-Orthodox unity as proclaimed in the vision of Archbishop Tikhon.

Yet since the First World War it had seen attempts at realizing this unity foiled by the tendencies of each traditionally Orthodox ethnic group to minister primarily to the needs of its own people. It has been threatened by its own internal tensions and those caused by the administrative turmoil and confusion apparent within the Russian Orthodox Church since the time of the Revolution.

It has needed to defend its own administrative structure in battles within the American legal system. But areas of the Diocese (particularly in north and central New Jersey and the Triple Cities area of upper New York State) have also participated in a growing sense of interdependence and cooperation among the various Orthodox groups; something that brings great hopes for the future.
Above all, the Diocese is challenged, as has been each generation of Christians, to respond and bear witness to the expression of the Orthodox Faith in ways that are both "Traditional" (in the sense of handing down what has been given) and creative (unique and sensitive to the questions and demands of its time).
===End of the Diocese ===
{{stub}}

== Early Institutions ==
Other institutions established in the New York-New Jersey area of this time to meet both the religious and social/economic needs of the immigrants were:
*The Russian Orthodox Christian Immigrant Society of North America (1908)
*The St. Vladimir's National Home and Bank
*The Russian Orphan Home of Brooklyn (1914)
*In 1912, the first seminary originally located in Minneapolis, was transferred to Tenafly, NJ and was called the St. Platon's Orthodox Theological Seminary. (Upon its closure in 1923 the Church would not have another seminary in America until the establishment of St. Tikhon's and St. Vladimir's Seminaries in 1938.)

==Parishes ==
===Early Period - Immigration===
The initial establishment of parishes in the Diocese closely paralleled the immigration patterns of the immigrants who came before and after the First World War and in connection with the consequences of the Russian Revolution.
Approximately half of the present 50 parishes began during this period (1894-1930). The energetic ministry of Fr Alexander Hotovitzky (1895-1914) should be recognized as a significant feature of these early years. Fr. Alexander, as Dean of the New York Cathedral, was instrumental in the formation of several Diocesan parishes (as well as some outside of the Diocese):
*Holy Trinity Church, Yonkers,NY (1899) ([http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Meadows/9190/history.htm history])
*St. Basil Church, Watervliet,NY (1901) ([http://www.stbasilschurch.org/parish_background.html history])
*SS Peter and Paul Church, South River,NJ (1905) ([http://www.saintpeterandpaul.org/history.html history])
*SS Peter and Paul Church, Jersey City,NJ (1907)
*Holy Transfiguration Cathedral, Brooklyn,NY (1908) ([http://www.roct.org/history.html history])
*Holy Trinity Church, Brooklyn,NY (1909)
*St. Nicholas Church, Auburn,NY (1909)
The Russian Orthodox Church, in recently canonizing Fr. Alexander and Fr. John Kochuiov, emphasizes their deaths as martyrs that took place after their return to Russia. But for the OCA, their significance as Orthodox missionaries in America was affirmed in the words of Metropolitan Theophilus: "The American Orthodox Russian people stand on four corners - Bishop Nicholas, Fathers Hotovitzky, Kochurov, and Nedzelnitsky."

Other Early Parishes (NJ):
*SS. Peter and Paul Church, Manville, NJ (1915) ([http://www.ssppoc.org/background.html history])
*St. Spiridon Church, Perth Amboy, NJ (1915)
*St. Vladimir Church, Trenton, NJ (1915) ([http://www.saintvladimir.com/aboutus.html history])
*St. John the Baptist Church, Alpha, NJ (1916)
*SS. Peter and Paul Church, Bayonne, NJ (1922)
*St. John the Baptist Church, Passaic, NJ (1925) ([http://www.stjohnspassaic.org/newsletter-072705_006.htm history])
*Assumption of the Holy Virgin Church, Clifton, NJ (1930)

Other Early Parishes (NY):
*SS. Peter and Paul Church Buffalo, NY (1894)
*St. Nicholas Church Cohoes, NY (1914)
*SS. Peter and Paul Church Endicott, NY (1914)
*St. John the Baptist Church Spring Valley, NY (1914)
*Dormition of the Virgin Mary Church Binghamton, NY (1915)
*SS. Peter and Paul Church Syracuse, NY (1915)
*Holy Trinity Church Elmira Heights, NY (1916) ([http://www.holytrinityorthodoxchurch.org/about_us.htm history])
*SS. Peter and Paul Church Herkimer, NY (1916)
*St. Nicholas Church Whitestone, NY (1916) ([http://www.stnicholasny.org/parish_background.html history])
*Holy Trinity Church East Meadow, NY (1924)
*Christ the Saviour Church New York, NY (1924) ([http://www.christthesaviornyc.org/bkshelf/en_parishhistory.shtml history])
*Cathedral of the Holy Virgin Protection New York, NY (1932)
*St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary Crestwood, NY (1938)
*St. Nicholas Church Jamaica Estates, NY (1941)
*Holy Cross Monastery Niagara Falls, NY (1951)
*St. Andrew's Camp and Chapel Jewell, NY (1954) ([http://www.standrewscamp.com/ website])

===Later Period - Mission===
A later period (from 1958 to the present) might be called the “time of mission

Diocese of New York and New Jersey (OCA)

2006-02-08T16:06:19Z

Dogface: /* Background */

The '''Diocese of New York and New Jersey''' was formerly a [[diocese]] of the [[OCA]] but combined with the [[Diocese of Washington (OCA)|Diocese of Washington]] in 2005 to form the [[Diocese of Washington and New York (OCA)|Diocese of Washington and New York]].

== Background ==
New York City’s first presence of Orthodoxy can is traced to 1870, when Farther Nicholas Bjerring, an American [[convert]], was directed by Metropolitan Isidore of St. Petersburg to open the first Orthodox Church in New York City. Services for the congregation were held in a chapel within Fr. Nicholas’s house. In 1885 the Russian government withdrew its support due to the small membership.

The oldest Diocesan parish sill functioning is SS Peter and Paul Church is Buffalo, NY (April, 1894) Among its early missionary priests were Fr. John Nedzelnitsky, the Dean of Eastern States, and Fr. [[John Kochurov]] ([[Glorification|glorified]] 1994 by the [[Church of Russia|Russian Orthodox Church]]).

[[Image:Ocadowany.png|thumb|Visual representation of the Diocese of Washington and New York]]

===Cathedral===
In 1895, a second mission in New York City was established called The Russian Greek Orthodox Church of St. Nicholas, and began to flourish under the direction of its second pastor, Father [[Alexander Hotovitzky]] (also recently canonized by the Russian Orthodox Church). In 1901, Bishop [[Tikhon of Moscow|Tikhon]] (later Patriarch Tikhon) laid the cornerstone for the new Cathedral of St. Nicholas, completed in 1904, from which he would direct the American church until he was called back to Russia in 1907.

The cathedral served the needs of Orthodox Christians in New York and throughout the country until 1926, when in the fallout from the Bolshevik Revolution; the building was declared the legal property of American representatives of the "[[Living Church]]". The head of the church, Metropolitan [[Platon (Rozhdestvensky) of New York|Platon]] was restrained from further use of archdiocesan property. Temporary facilities were utilized until 1943 when a new building at 59 East Second Street was purchased, renovated and dedicated to the Protection of the Most Holy Theotokos. Over the next 31 years, the [http://www.oca.org/DIRlisting.asp?SID=9&KEY=OCA-WA-NYCPRV 2nd street cathedral] served as the headquarters of the church in America, housing offices of the chancery and related national organizations, and convening meetings of the Metropolitan Council, the [[Holy Synod]] of Bishops (known until [[autocephaly]] as the "Great Council of Bishops"), and several All American Church Councils ([[Sobor]]s). For many years most episcopal consecrations and ordinations to the deaconate and priesthood also took place there.

===Local Diocese of the Ruling Hierarch ===
Orthodoxy in America recognizes as its beginning the arrival of Orthodox missionaries at Kodiak Island in 1794. The administrative center of the Mission in America, with the eventual sale of Alaska to the United States in 1867, gradually moved from Sitka to San Francisco in 1872. By the time that Bishop Tikhon arrived as administrator in 1898 and had made several extended pastoral journeys, it was obvious that the concentration of parishes and faithful was in the eastern United States. He recommended that the official name of the Mission be changed to the "Diocese of the Aleutians and North America" and suggested that the diocesan [[see]] be transferred to New York (which occurred in 1905). From that time until 1980 the parishes in the New York-New Jersey geographic area were officially under the auspices of the ruling hierarch of what is now the Orthodox Church in America (OCA).

Being close to the national Church's administrative center (both when it was located in New York City and since 1974 in Oyster Bay Cove/Syosset, NY) and to [[St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary (Crestwood, New York)|St. Vladimir's Seminary]] has allowed the Diocese to benefit from the leadership of the Church in America. Workshops and conferences on religious education and liturgical music, as well as lecture series for adults have taken place throughout the Diocese at various times and places over the last 40 years.

At the 6th All-American Council, it was announced by the Holy Synod of Bishops that a new Diocese of Washington, DC had been created that would begin functioning in 1981 and that the nation's capital city would become the see of the [[Primate]] of the Orthodox Church in America.

In 1981, the Diocese ceased being the responsibility of the [[Metropolitan]] and became one of the territorial Dioceses under its own hierarch, Bishop [[Peter (L'Huillier) of New York|PETER]], since 1990 recognized as Archbishop of New York and New Jersey. Under his guidance the Diocese has strived to balance the demands for stability and growth.

===Life and Challenges ===
The Former Diocese was to be challenged by the same realities that confront many Orthodox Christians throughout America. Its urban communities had been shaken by deteriorating neighborhoods and the relocation of parishioners either to the suburbs or out of the area. The fragility of employment and lack of job security even within previously dependable companies have forced many to move more frequently than what might have been considered normal in the past. The Diocese has witnessed during the first years of the 20th century the early seeds of pan-Orthodox unity as proclaimed in the vision of Archbishop Tikhon.

Yet since the First World War it had seen attempts at realizing this unity foiled by the tendencies of each traditionally Orthodox ethnic group to minister primarily to the needs of its own people. It has been threatened by its own internal tensions and those caused by the administrative turmoil and confusion apparent within the Russian Orthodox Church since the time of the Revolution.

It has needed to defend its own administrative structure in battles within the American legal system. But areas of the Diocese (particularly in north and central New Jersey and the Triple Cities area of upper New York State) have also participated in a growing sense of interdependence and cooperation among the various Orthodox groups; something that brings great hopes for the future.
Above all, the Diocese is challenged, as has been each generation of Christians, to respond and bear witness to the expression of the Orthodox Faith in ways that are both "Traditional" (in the sense of handing down what has been given) and creative (unique and sensitive to the questions and demands of its time).
===End of the Diocese ===
{{stub}}

== Early Institutions ==
Other institutions established in the New York-New Jersey area of this time to meet both the religious and social/economic needs of the immigrants were:
*The Russian Orthodox Christian Immigrant Society of North America (1908)
*The St. Vladimir's National Home and Bank
*The Russian Orphan Home of Brooklyn (1914)
*In 1912, the first seminary originally located in Minneapolis, was transferred to Tenafly, NJ and was called the St. Platon's Orthodox Theological Seminary. (Upon its closure in 1923 the Church would not have another seminary in America until the establishment of St. Tikhon's and St. Vladimir's Seminaries in 1938.)

==Parishes ==
===Early Period - Immigration===
The initial establishment of parishes in the Diocese closely paralleled the immigration patterns of the immigrants who came before and after the First World War and in connection with the consequences of the Russian Revolution.
Approximately half of the present 50 parishes began during this period (1894-1930). The energetic ministry of Fr Alexander Hotovitzky (1895-1914) should be recognized as a significant feature of these early years. Fr. Alexander, as Dean of the New York Cathedral, was instrumental in the formation of several Diocesan parishes (as well as some outside of the Diocese):
*Holy Trinity Church, Yonkers,NY (1899) ([http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Meadows/9190/history.htm history])
*St. Basil Church, Watervliet,NY (1901) ([http://www.stbasilschurch.org/parish_background.html history])
*SS Peter and Paul Church, South River,NJ (1905) ([http://www.saintpeterandpaul.org/history.html history])
*SS Peter and Paul Church, Jersey City,NJ (1907)
*Holy Transfiguration Cathedral, Brooklyn,NY (1908) ([http://www.roct.org/history.html history])
*Holy Trinity Church, Brooklyn,NY (1909)
*St. Nicholas Church, Auburn,NY (1909)
The Russian Orthodox Church, in recently canonizing Fr. Alexander and Fr. John Kochuiov, emphasizes their deaths as martyrs that took place after their return to Russia. But for the OCA, their significance as Orthodox missionaries in America was affirmed in the words of Metropolitan Theophilus: "The American Orthodox Russian people stand on four corners - Bishop Nicholas, Fathers Hotovitzky, Kochurov, and Nedzelnitsky."

Other Early Parishes (NJ):
*SS. Peter and Paul Church, Manville, NJ (1915) ([http://www.ssppoc.org/background.html history])
*St. Spiridon Church, Perth Amboy, NJ (1915)
*St. Vladimir Church, Trenton, NJ (1915) ([http://www.saintvladimir.com/aboutus.html history])
*St. John the Baptist Church, Alpha, NJ (1916)
*SS. Peter and Paul Church, Bayonne, NJ (1922)
*St. John the Baptist Church, Passaic, NJ (1925) ([http://www.stjohnspassaic.org/newsletter-072705_006.htm history])
*Assumption of the Holy Virgin Church, Clifton, NJ (1930)

Other Early Parishes (NY):
*SS. Peter and Paul Church Buffalo, NY (1894)
*St. Nicholas Church Cohoes, NY (1914)
*SS. Peter and Paul Church Endicott, NY (1914)
*St. John the Baptist Church Spring Valley, NY (1914)
*Dormition of the Virgin Mary Church Binghamton, NY (1915)
*SS. Peter and Paul Church Syracuse, NY (1915)
*Holy Trinity Church Elmira Heights, NY (1916) ([http://www.holytrinityorthodoxchurch.org/about_us.htm history])
*SS. Peter and Paul Church Herkimer, NY (1916)
*St. Nicholas Church Whitestone, NY (1916) ([http://www.stnicholasny.org/parish_background.html history])
*Holy Trinity Church East Meadow, NY (1924)
*Christ the Saviour Church New York, NY (1924) ([http://www.christthesaviornyc.org/bkshelf/en_parishhistory.shtml history])
*Cathedral of the Holy Virgin Protection New York, NY (1932)
*St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary Crestwood, NY (1938)
*St. Nicholas Church Jamaica Estates, NY (1941)
*Holy Cross Monastery Niagara Falls, NY (1951)
*St. Andrew's Camp and Chapel Jewell, NY (1954) ([http://www.standrewscamp.com/ website])

===Later Period - Mission===
A later period (from 1958 to the present) might be called the “time of mission

Ss. Cyril and Methodius Cathedral (Prague, Czech Republic)

2006-02-08T16:05:59Z

Dogface: /* Modern History */

{{cleanup}}

The '''Ss. Cyril and Methodius Cathedral''' in Prague, Czech Republic, is the principal church in the Metropolitan Council of the Czech Republic. The site of the church is considered to be the site of a small church that was consecrated by St. Methodius. The existing structure had its origins as a [[Roman Catholic]] church built in the eighteenth century. It was leased to the Church of Czechoslovakia in the 1930s by the Czechoslovak government. In 1942, during World War II, the cathedral was the scene of the last stand of a number of Czech patriots who have assassinated Reinhard Heydrich, the SS Obergruppenfuhrer and General of Police for the conquering Nazi regime. The reprisals for this act had serious consequences for both the Czech populace and the church.

==Early-history==
According to oral tradition the site where Ss. Cyril and Methodius Cathedral stands was the site of a small church built by Duke Borivoj I and dedicated by St. Methodius himself. This link is based historically upon early and continuous reference to the name "Na Zderaze" for the existing church building. In 1091, the Czech lord Zderad was killed during the siege of Brno and was buried in the earlier church that was near Prague. Zderad's name was then immortalized in the name of the street "Na Zderaze" that is adjacent to the cathedral, thus establishing a connection to this site that was hallowed by St. Methodius.

From 1115, the church of Ss. Peter and Paul stood on the site of the present [[church]], around which the Knights of the Cross built the Zderazsky [[monastery]]. During the Hussite wars the church was largely destroyed, leaving only a part of the choir standing. In 1705, the Roman Catholic [[archbishop]] of Prague, Brener, established a retirement home for priests on the site of the monastery next to which a church was later built.

==Modern History==
Ss. Cyril and Methodius Cathedral was originally built as the St. Charles Borromeo Roman Catholic Church during the years of 1730 to 1740. Construction was started under the direction of Pavel Ignac Bayer, but in 1733 Kristian Spannbruker and Kilian Ignac Dienzenhofer assumed direction of the construction and completed the project in 1740. The dedication was of St. Charles Borromoro, who had been archbishop of Milan (1538-1584). The church was part of a home for retired Roman Catholic priests and contained a crypt with alcoves for the priests' tombs.

The church and home were closed on [[January 12]], 1783, by the Austrian Emperor Josef II and transformed, in 1785, into a army storehouse and barracks respectively. From 1869, the complex was used as a Czech technology center. In 1885, the level of Resslova Street was lowered giving the church an appearance of greater height.

When Bp. [[Gorazd (Pavlik) of Prague|Gorazd]] revived the [[Church of the Czech Lands and Slovakia|Czech Orthodox Church]] in 1921 he and the church officials began looking for an existing, unused church building for their cathedral. On [[July 29]], 1933, the council of ministers, in response to a request by the Czech Orthodox [[Eparchy]] ([[diocese]]) and with recommendations from the Ministry of Education and Culture, Ministry of Public Works, Czech Technical University, State Office for Memorials, and the Prague local office, granted use of the former St. Charles Borromeo Roman Catholic Church on the corner of Resslova and Na Zderaze streets to the Czech church under a long term lease. The lease stipulated a number of improvement that the Czech Eparchy would have to make to the church, including a new entrance and renovations of the interior.

Consecration of the first Orthodox Church in Prague was held on [[September 28]], 1935, on the feast of St. Wenceslas. The original date of [[October 14]], 1934 was postponed due to the death of King Alexander I of Yugoslavia. The consecration service was led by Bp. Gorazd, assisted by the Serbian Metropolitan Dositej, Sub-Carpathian Bp. Damaskin, and the Russian Bp. Sergy. The cathedral was dedicated to Ss. Cyril and Methodius, who had originally brought Orthodox Christianity to Moravia and from whom the church in the Czech Lands is descended. Relics of two saints, the martyred St. Aversky and the Serbian archbishop, St. Arseny were interred beneath the altar.

From its consecration, the cathedral of Ss. Cyril and Methodius has been linked by the Prague press to its Byzantine missionary past and to Ss. Cyril and Methodius, noting that Methodius had been there, presiding over worship, and had baptized the first Czech Duke Borivoj and his wife, Ludmila, according to the Eastern Church rite. The press further noted that the Czech Orthodox Church considered the Duke and his wife to be members of their church just as the church does with Ss. Cyril and Methodius. The first [[priest]] assigned to the [[parish]] was Fr. Petr Kauer, with Fr. Vladimir Petrek as his assistant. On [[August 11]], 1937, Fr. Petr died and was succeeded by Fr. Vaclav Cikl on [[January 31]], 1938.

The cathedral was the scene of the last stand of a number of Czech patriots who have assassinated Reinhard Heydrich, the SS Obergruppenfuhrer and General of Police and the newly appointed Reichsprotektor of Bohemia and Moravia for the conquering Nazi regime. After completion of the military operation by the Czech parachutists on [[May 27]], 1942, seven members of the group took refuge in the [[crypt]] of the cathedral with the assistance of Fr. Vladimir Petrek, layman Jan Sonnevend, Bp. Gorazd, and others. They had planned to stay a short time, but one of the parachutists betrayed them before they could make their escape. On [[June 18]], the cathedral was surrounded by 800 Gestapo soldiers, whose orders were to capture the group alive. Three of the Czech patriots died defending the nave of the cathedral, followed by the storming of the crypt by the Gestapo after it was discovered. There, the remaining four Czechs fought until their last four bullets that they used on themselves.

Bp. Gorazd took the path of self-sacrifice, with which we are familiar from biographies of the holy martyrs, in an attempt to end the Nazi terror that had begun. He wrote letters to the Prime Minister, the Minister of Education, and the office of the Reichsprotektor taking full responsibility and was ready to undergo any punishment, even death. His only reply he received was his arrest on [[June 25]]. The reprisals continued as the population of the village of Lidice was decimated. The men were shot, the women sent to concentration camps, and children deported to Germany for adoption. After which the village was razed to the ground.

The trial of the members of the Czech Orthodox Church was held on [[September 3]], 1942, after which Bp. Gorazd, Fr. Cikl, and council chairman Sonnevend were executed by a firing squad on the next day. Fr. Petrek was executed on [[September 5]]. For aiding the parachutists, 263 Czechs were arrested, transported to the Mauthausen concentration camp, and shot to death on [[October 24]], including nine members of the cathedral’s congregation: Marie Ciklova, wife of the dean; Marie Gruzinnova, Bp. Gorazd’s secretary; Marie Sonnevendova, wife of the council chairman; Ludmila Rysova, choir member; Vaclav Ornest, the sacristan, his wife Frantiska Ornestova, and daughter, Miluse Ornestova, a choir and youth group member; Karel Louda, choir member; and Marie Loudova, also a choir and youth group member. In all, the Orthodox Church lost 13 sons and daughters.

The Reichsprotektor of Bohemia and Moravia issued an edict of [[September 27]], 1942, closing all Czech Orthodox Churches and confiscating their property. The Orthodox priests were taken away to forced labor in Germany, thus effectively destroying the Czech Orthodox Church.

With the end of the war in 1945 the devastated cathedral was returned to the revived Orthodox Church. The first liturgy was held in the courtyard in front of the church building on [[May 13]], 1945. On third anniversary of the "Heydrich Terror," [[June 17]], the first memorial service for the victims of the terror was held in the overflowing cathedral. The cathedral was re-consecrated on [[July 5]], 1947 as it had been desecrated in the Gestapo attack of 1942. In 1946, the apartment of the martyred sacristan, Vaclav Ornest, was converted into a chapel as a memorial to Bp. Gorazd and was consecrated on [[November 12]], 1947. A bronze memorial plaque, unveiled on [[October 28]], 1947, was placed on the exterior of the cathedral emblazoned with relief portraits of the parachutists who died in the cathedral as well as Bp. Gorazd, who was [[Glorification|glorified]] on [[September 4]], 1987.

Since then, the cathedral has been restored further, including new iconography and painting. Through the years from World War II, memorial services have been held annually in remembrance of the victims of "Heydrich’s Terror" on [[June 18]]. This has culminated in the establishment of the Orthodox Cathedral of Ss. Cyril and Methodius as ''A National Memorial to the Heroes of the Heydrich Terror - A Place of Reconciliation''. This took place on the 60th anniversary, [[September 28]], 1995, of its original consecration as the first Czech Orthodox cathedral.

==Sources==
* Jaraslav Suvarsky and Eva Suvarska, ''A National Memorial to the Heros of the Heydrich Terror - A Place of Reconciliation'', Orthodox Cathedral of Saints Cyril and Methodius in Pragus, Prague, 2002

==External links==
* [http://pravoslavnacirkev.cz Official church website (Czech only)]

[[Category:Churches]]

Maxim Sandovich

2006-02-08T16:05:16Z

Dogface: /* Glorification */

Our righteous father '''Maxim Sandovich''' (also ''Maximus''), [[Protomartyr]] of the Lemko people, was a Carpatho-Russian [[hieromartyr]] who, in practicing his Orthodox faith as [[priest]] under the rule of the [[Unia]], as enforced by the Roman Catholic Austrian imperial government, was arrested and then executed for his faith in August 1914. His [[feast day]]s are celebrated on [[August 6]] and [[September 6]].

==Life==
Maxim Sandovich was born into the family of a prosperous farmer, Timothy Sandovich, and his wife, Christina, in the village of Zdyna, Galicia. His father served as the choir director in the local parish. After finishing four years of study at the local high school in Novy Sanch, Maxim crossed the border into Russia to become a [[novice]] at the Pochaev Lavra in Volynia. Subsequently, he attended the Orthodox [[seminary]] in Zhitomir. Completing his studies he married a young Orthodox woman, Pelagia, and was [[ordain]]ed as a [[deacon]] and then to the [[priest]]hood before returning to his home.

It was not very long before the Austrian militia discovered his Orthodox pastoral and [[missionary]] service as he was denounced by a Ukrainian teacher by the name of Leos, in 1912. Immediately the Austrian gendarmes put Fr. Maxim in chains and sent him to prison in Lvov. There he was held for two years without a trial or inquest while being abused horribly and living in equally bad conditions. Then as World War I was to begin he was released for lack of evidence.

Fr. Maxim's stay at his home in the village Hrab was to prove to be short as the first shots of the war heralded a wave of new repressions of the Orthodox Carpatho-Russians. The militia, on [[August 4]], 1914, arrested the whole family of the young priest and dragged them off in shackles to the prison in Gorlice. Fr. Maxim, his father, mother, brother, and wife were forced to travel on foot to the prison while being prodded by the bayonets of the gendarmes. In prison they were placed in separate cells and denied the opportunity to see each other.

Then, on Sunday, August 6, while at [[prayer]] at the dawn of the new day, Fr. Maxim could hear the noise of a crowd beyond the walls of their prison. The noise was accompanied finally by a load thud as a moustachioed German captain, named Dietrich, from Linz entered the prison grounds, accompanied by two soldiers and four gendarmes. The captain was known to be a cruel and sadistic person. This group was followed by the prison wardens, some civil servants, officers, and a group of curious women led by Pan Mitshka, the leader of the Gorlice District. As silence fell, the order was given to the warden to bring Fr. Maxim from his cell.

With that order two soldiers led the twenty-eight-year-old Orthodox priest from the prison. Fr. Maxim suddenly realized where they were taking him and humbly and with dignity asked, "Be so good as not to hold me. I will go peacefully wherever you wish." Even the taunting of the crowd did not affect his courageous bearing as he walked calmly and with a measured gait to the fateful wall, as befitting a follower of [[Christ]].

Captain Dietrich ripped Fr. Maxim's cross from his chest, tossing it on the ground where he trampled it with his feet. As the captain bound Fr. Maxim's hands behind his back and blind folded him, Fr. Maxim exclaimed that it was not necessary as he had no intention of running away. But, the "brave" captain laughed and then marked with white chalk a line on Fr. Maxim's black [[cassock]] as a target for the riflemen. In the silence of the moment as the executioners were arranged, Pan Mitshka read the death sentence. With a short command from the captain, the saber was raised and lowered. With that action, shots echoed through the prison.

Fr. Maxim's voice could then be heard, first strongly but diminishing as he spoke, "Long live the Russian people." Then, leaning against the wall, "Long live the Holy Orthodox Faith." And, finally and barely audible, "Long live Slavdom." As his powerful frame slid down the wall, a gendarme ended Fr. Maxim's suffering by firing three shots from his pistol into Fr. Maxim's head.

Through all this Fr. Maxim's father and mother watched his heroic death in silence and as the final shots echoed through the prison his wife fell senselessly to the ground. Thus died Fr. Maxim Sandovich, a [[martyr]] for Orthodox Christianity.

==Glorification==
Fr. Maxim Sandovich was [[Glorification|glorified]] by the [[Church of Poland|Polish Orthodox Church]] in 1994. His feast day is August 6.

St. Maxim's son, Maxim, would later return to Gorlice and lead a thriving Orthodox community there.

There is a liturgical service and an [[akathist]] hymn in his honor.

==External Links==
*[http://www.orthodoxengland.btinternet.co.uk/oecarrus.htm Orthodox Europe: Orthodox Carpatho-Russia: The People From Nowhere] which includes ''The Hieromartyr Maxim and His Age''
*[http://www.lemko.org/religion/maxim/ Holy New Hieromartyr Maximus Sandovich: His Life and Martyrdom]
*[http://www.holycross-hermitage.com/pages/Orthodox_Life/fr_maxim.htm The Persecution and Death of Fr. Maxim Sandovich: A 20th Century Carpatho-Russian Martyr for Orthodoxy]
*[http://www.comeandseeicons.com/zcj06.htm St. Maxim Sandovich]
*[http://www.networks-now.net/litresswraoc/LRPSandovich.htm St. Maximus Sandovich]
*[http://ocafs.oca.org/FeastSaintsViewer.asp?SID=4&ID=1&FSID=103799 Hieromartyr Maxim Sandovich] (an [[icon]] from the [[OCA]] website)

[[Category:Martyrs]]
[[Category:Russian Saints]]
[[Category:Saints]]
[[Category:Priests]]

Nestorianism

2006-02-08T16:05:03Z

Dogface: /* Nestorian Communities Today */ I don't know the Assyrian terminology, so I substituted "canonized" with "recognized".

'''Nestorianism''' is a [[Christology|Christological]] [[heresy]] which originated in the Church in the 5th century out of an attempt to rationally explain and understand the [[incarnation]] of the divine Logos, the Second Person of the [[Holy Trinity]] as the man [[Jesus Christ]]. Nestorianism teaches that the human and divine essences of Christ are separate and that there are two persons, the man Jesus Christ and the divine Logos, which dwelt in the man. Thus, Nestorians reject such terminology as "God suffered" or "God was crucified", because they believe that the man Jesus Christ suffered. Likewise, they reject the term ''[[Theotokos]]'' (Giver of birth to God) for the Virgin Mary, using instead the term ''Christotokos'' (giver of birth to Christ) or ''Anthropotokos'' (giver of birth to a man).

== Origins of Nestorianism ==
Nestorian ideas were first developed in the writings of [[Diodore of Tarsus]] against the [[heresy]] of [[Apollinarius]]. In refuting [[Apollinarianism]], Diodore wrote that at the time of the Incarnation and after the Incarnation, the Divine and human natures of Jesus Christ were divided to such an extent that there was complete independence of natures and no union whatsoever.

These ideas were further developed by [[Theodore of Mopsuestia]] (3??-429), a scholar in the Antochian tradition. Theodore taught that the human and Divine natures of Christ were so completely separate that there was only contact between them, but no union of any kind. In developing his ideas, Theodore wrote that the Man Jesus was born of the Virgin Mary completely naturally and with all faults of men, and that God the Logos (Word), having foreknown the Man's triumph over sin, chose to redeem the human race through Him by becoming united with Him by Grace from the time of His conception. Because of His triumph over sin, the Man Jesus was made worthy of being called Son of God at the time of the Theophany. Then, after His complete triumph over sin during His passion, He was united even more closely with the Divine Logos, becoming God's tool for the salvation of mankind.

Based on these ideas, Theodore was the first to be opposed to the use of language applying to God as a description of Jesus Christ. Thus, he was opposed to the terms "God was crucified", "God suffered", or "God was born", because, he believed, only the Man Jesus was born and God dwelt in the Man Jesus. For this reason, Theodore called Jesus the Theophoros (Bearer of God). He was also opposed to the term Theotokos (Giver of birth to God) for the Virgin Mary, because, he taught, she gave birth only to the Man Jesus. Theodore's beliefs were quite heretical, since, if taken to their logical conclusion, they deny redemption and salvation; if only the Man Jesus suffered on the Cross and died for the sins of men, then how does the suffering of a man redeem the human race?

== Nestorianism as a public teaching ==
Nestorian ideas were originally confined to the writings of Diodore, [[Theodore of Mopsuestia]] and their close followers in Antioch. However, in 428, Emperor Theodore II called the Antiochian Priest-monk [[Nestorius]], known for his zeal, to come to Constantinople. Nestorius, who brought with him the [[Priest]] Anastasius was made Archbishop of Constantinople. In a series of homilies in Constantinople, Anastasius denied the existence of one Theandric Person (The Godman) in Jesus Christ, teaching in Him a division of persons, and attacked the use of the term Theotokos, using instead the term Anthropotokos. This was quite controversial, since the Constantinopolitan faithful were acustomed to using the term Theotokos for the Virgin Mary. To defend Anastasius, Nestorius also said a series of homilies, preaching the teachings of Theodore of Mopsuestia, though using the term Christotokos instead of Anthropotokos.

Constantinopolitan theologians rose up against the teachings of Nestorius and accused him of preaching the heresy of [[Paul of Samosata]] (see [[Antitrinitarianism]]). Nestorius then called a council at Constantinople in 429 and condemned those who disagreed with him.

== Resistance to Nestorianism ==
The fearest opposition to Nestorianism came from St [[Cyril of Alexandria]], a theologion from the Alexandria school. In a series of epistles and letters to [[Nestorius]], Emperor Theodore II, and Empress Eudoxia, St Cyril outlined the Orthodox teaching and accused Nestorius of heresy. St Cyril then wrote to Pope Celestine of Rome about the teaching of Nestorius.
In 430, Pope Celestine called a council at Rome, which condemned Nestorius and called for him to be deposed. Pope Celestine sent copies of the council's decision to St Cyril of Alexandria, who also called a council in Alexandria in 430. At this council, St Cyril issued his famous 12 [[anathema]]s against Nestorius, which stated:
* If anyone does not confess that Emmanuel is God in truth, and therefore that the holy Virgin is the Mother of God (for she bore in a fleshly way the Word of God become flesh, let him be anathema.

* If anyone does not confess that the Word from God the Father has been united by hypostasis with the flesh and is one Christ with his own flesh, and is therefore God and man together, let him be anathema.

* If anyone divides in the one Christ the hypostases after the union, joining them only by a conjunction of dignity or authority or power, and not rather by a coming together in a union by nature, let him be anathema.

* If anyone distributes between the two persons or hypostases the expressions used either in the gospels or in the apostolic writings, whether they are used by the holy writers of Christ or by him about himself, and ascribes some to him as to a man, thought of separately from the Word from God, and others, as befitting God, to him as to the Word from God the Father, let him be anathema.

* If anyone dares to say that Christ was a God-bearing man and not rather God in truth, being by nature one Son, even as "the Word became flesh", and is made partaker of blood and flesh precisely like us, let him be anathema.

* If anyone says that the Word from God the Father was the God or master of Christ, and does not rather confess the same both God and man, the Word having become flesh, according to the scriptures, let him be anathema.

* If anyone says that as man Jesus was activated by the Word of God and was clothed with the glory of the Only-begotten, as a being separate from him, let him be anathema.

* If anyone dares to say that the man who was assumed ought to be worshipped and glorified together with the Divine Word and be called God along with Him, while being separate from Him, (for the addition of "with" must always compel us to think in this way), and will not rather worship Emmanuel with one veneration and send up to Him one doxology, even as "the Word became flesh", let him be anathema.

* If anyone says that the one Lord Jesus Christ was glorified by the Spirit, as making use of an alien power that worked through Him and as having received from Him the power to master unclean spirits and to work divine wonders among people, and does not rather say that it was His own proper Spirit through whom He worked the divine wonders, let him be anathema.

* The divine scripture says Christ became "the high priest and apostle of our confession"; He offered Himself to God the Father in an odour of sweetness for our sake. If anyone, therefore, says that it was not the very Word from God who became our high priest and apostle, when He became flesh and a man like us, but as it were another who was separate from him, in particular a man from a woman, or if anyone says that He offered the sacrifice also for Himself and not rather for us alone (for He who knew no sin, needed no offering), let him be anathema.

* If anyone does not confess that the flesh of the Lord is life-giving and belongs to the Word from God the Father, but maintains that it belongs to another besides Him, united with Him in dignity or as enjoying a mere divine indwelling, and is not rather life-giving, as we said, since it became the flesh belonging to the Word who has power to bring all things to life, let him be anathema.

* If anyone does not confess that the Word of God suffered in the flesh and was crucified in the flesh and tasted death in the flesh and became the first born of the dead, although as God He is life and life-giving, let him be anathema.

== The Third Ecumenical Council ==
Not all accepted the position of St Cyril and the Alexandrian council. Nestorius published 12 anathemas of his own, in which he condemned those who attributed suffering and birth to God. Nestorius believed that they denied God the honour due Him by teaching that the Uncircumscribable can be circumscribed or that the Changeless can suffer.
Certain Syrian bishops also rose to the defence of Nestorius. Among them was [[Theodoret of Cyrrhus]], who wrote a refutation of the anathemas of St Cyril.

To put an end to the dispute, Emperor Theodore II called a council at Ephesus, which was to convene on the day of [[Pentecost]], 431. This became known as the [[Third Ecumenical Council]]. St Cyril of Alexandria arrived with 40 Egyptian bishops; the other churches were represented by Yuvenali of Jerusalem with Palestinian bishops, Thermos of Caesarea in Cappadocia, and Flavian of Thessaloniki. Nestorius arrived with his bishops and two governement officials-Candidian and Ireneaus, representing the Emperor. Memnon of Ephesus hosted the Council. The only representatives not there were [[John of Antioch]] and the Syrian bishops and the legates of Pope Celestine of Rome.

After waiting for 10 days for the arrival of the absent delegates, St Cyril of Alexandria decided to convene the Council without them on [[June 22]], 431. The 200 bishops present read the teachings of Nestorius, the teachings of St Cyril of Alexandria, the writings of the Fathers, and found that Nestorius was teaching heresy and the St Cyril's teaching reflected the Orthodox position. The decisions of the Council were signed and sent to Constantinople for the Emperor and the Constantinopolitan faithful. Nestorius was invited to attend and defend himself, but refused to do so, and a wrote to the Emperor accusing St Cyril and Memnon of holding an illegal council and plotting against Nestorius.

At this time, [[John of Antioch]] and 33 Syrian bishops arrived at Ephesus. Not recognizing the decision of the Council, John and the Syrian bishops refused to enter into communion with St Cyril, and, together with Nestorius and a few bishops who defected from St Cyril's council organized a rebel council. At this council, they condemned St Cyril, Memnon of Ephesus, and the other Fathers, falsely accusing them of the heresies of [[Arius]], [[Apollinarius]], and [[Eunomius]]. The proceedings were signed and sent to Constantinople.

Emperor Theodore, unsure of the proper course of action, ordered both councils to close, the proceedings to be destroyed, and the all the Fathers to convene one Council. While messengers were going back and forward between the Palace and Ephesus, St Cyril of Alexandria convened his Council again. At the second session, the Council found Orthodox the epistle of Pope Celestines, finally delivered by his legates. At the third session, the legates signed the condemnation of Nestorius. At the fourth session, the Council found invalid the condemnation of St Cyril and Memnon by John of Antioch and his council. At the fifth session, St Cyril and Memnon condemned the heresies of Arius, Apollinarius, and Eunomius, and the Council condemned John of Antioch and the rebel council. At the sixth session, the council decreed that no changes or additions can be made to the [[Nicene Creed]]. At the seventh, and final session, the Council made decisions concerning the boundaries of various dioceses.

Emperor Theodore, at the time under the influence of the Nestorian party at the Court, ordered Nestorius, Memnon, and St Cyril to be arrested and a new council to be convened. No agreement, however, could be reached. St Cyril, meanwhile, wrote to Abba Dalmatius in Constantinople, calling him to action for the defence of Orthodoxy. Abba Dalmatius, who for 48 years never left his monastery, marched together with the Constantinopolitan faithful to the Palace and called on the Emperor to release the Orthodox bishops and to condemn Nestorius. The people then proclaimed anathema on Nestorius.

The Emperor finally sided with the Orthodox position. To get the Fathers to agree, he called on deputies to be sent to Chalcedon from both councils. The deputies, which included the Papal legates and Bishop Yuvenali of Jerusalem on one side and Theodoret and John of Antioch on the other arrived, but could not agree. While the Syrian bishops agreed in principle to the condemnation of Nestorius, they rejected the anathemas of St Cyril, calling them heretical. The Emperor then ordered all bishops to return to their cathedras, and ordered the deposition of Nestorius.

== Nestorianism after the Council ==
On their way back to their cathedras, the Syrian bishops called two more councils. At the first council, at Tarsus, they once again condemned St Cyril and Memnon. At the second council, in Antioch, they confessed that the Lord Jesus Christ is fully Divine and fully human, except without sin, based on a unity in Him of Divine and human natures, and that, therefore, the Virgin Mary may be called the Theotokos. Thus they condemned Nestorianism, though they refused to condemn Nestorius. Peace was restored a few years later, by the work of Paul of Emessa, who convinced John of Antioch to condemn Nestorius and St Cyril of Alexandria to agree to the Antiochian confession without, however, refuting his 12 anathemas.

The Ephesian Council was not, however, accepted by some in Syria. Among those who agreed with the Orthodox teaching but rejected the Council was Theodoret of Cyrrhus. Thus, a strong Nestorian party arose in the Syrian and Mesopotamian churches. After agreeing to a common confession with St Cyril of Alexandria, John of Antioch began working on eradicating Nestorianism in the Eastern churches. What could not be accomplished by conviction was done with the help of the civil authorities, who imprisoned several Nestorian bishops.

John of Antioch ordred the destruction of the Edessa theological school, which spread Nestorian ideas. [[Ibo of Edessa]] and other theologians who accused St Cyril of unorthodoxy were exiled. At the same time, St Cyril wrote a refutation of Theodore of Mopsuestia. However, this refutation, too, was not accepted by all. Theodoret defended Theodore of Mopsuestia. Meanwhile, Ibo became bishop of Edessa, and spread Nestorian ideas. In his famous letter to Marius the Persian, Ivo of Edessa condemned Nestorius for refusing to use the term ''[[Theotokos]]'' but also condemned St Cyril for preaching [[Apollinarianism]]. In 489, the Edessa school was again destroyed, and Nestorian theologians fled to Persia were they finally broke with the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church. In 499, at a council in Seleucia, the [[Third Ecumenical Council]] was condemned and the Nestorians formally split from the Church. They formed the Chaldean or [[Assyrian Church of the East|Assyrian Church]], which governs itself with its own Patriarch. Nestorians also have a community in India, called the [[Thomites]].

== Nestorianism and the Fifth Ecumenical Council ==
In their sturggle against Nestorianism, some theologions went as far as the other extreme. They denied completely the presence of human nature in Jesus Christ, accepting only one Divine Nature in one Divine Hypostasis. Thus, they are called Monophysites (believers in one nature). Condemned at the [[Fourth Ecumenical Council]] in Chalcedon, Monophysites accused the Council and the Church of restoring Nestorianism.

The basis for accusation in the 6th Century was the Church's unclear position on Theodore of Mopsuestia, Theodoret of Cyrrhus, and Ibo of Edessa. Their writings, which became known as the [[Three Chapters]] were a cause of debate that resulted in the calling of the [[Fifth Ecumenical Council]] in 553.

At the Council, the Church condemned Theodore of Mopsuestia as a heretic. In addition, the Church condemned the writings of Theodoret against St Cyril and the letter of Ibo of Edessa to Marius the Perian. The Church did not condemn Theodoret and Ibo in their persons, because they repented of Nestorianism and condemned Nestorius.

== Nestorian Communities Today ==

The Assyrian Church of the East is a Nestorian body with jurisdiction in Iraq and Eastern Iran. It is sometimes referred to as the ''Assyrian Orthodox Church'', not to be confused with the [[Church of Antioch (Syriac)|Syriac Orthodox Church]], a Non-Chalcedonian body, the [[Chaldean Catholic Church]], a [[Uniate]] body, or the Orthodox [[Church of Antioch]], an Orthodox local church.

The schism between the Assyrian Church and the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church began at the Council of Seleucia in 410, where Mesopotamian Christians declared their independence from the Patriarch of [[Antioch]]. The split solidified after the condemnation of Nestorius at the [[Third Ecumenical Council]] and the destruction of the theological school at Edessa.

In the 15th century, the church decreed that the title of Patriarch could pass only to relatives of then-patriarch Mar Shimun IV. This upset many in the church's hierarchy, and in 1552 a rival Patriarch, Mar Yohanan Soulaqa VIII was elected. This rival Patriarch met with the Pope and entered into communion with the Roman Catholic Church. The Assyrian Church now had two rival leaders, a hereditary patriarch in Alqosh (in modern-day northern Iraq), and a Papal-appointed patriarch in Diyarbakir (in modern-day eastern Turkey). This situation lasted until 1662 when the Patriarch in Diyarbakir, Mar Shimun XIII Denha, broke communion with Rome, and moved his seat to the village of Qochanis in the Turkish mountains. The Vatican responded by appointing a new patriarch to Diyarbakir to govern the Assyrians who stayed loyal to the Holy See. This became known as the [[Chaldean Catholic Church]], a [[uniate]] body. In 1804 the hereditary line of Patriarchs in Alqosh died out, and that church's hierarchy decided to accept the authority of the Chaldean patriarchs.

Assyrians faced reprisals under the Hashemite monarchy for co-operating with the British, and most fled to the West. The Patriarch of Babylon is currently based in Chicago, Illinois, and less than 1 million of the world's 4.5 million Assyrians remain in Iraq.

The Chaldean community was less numerous at the time of the British Mandate of Palestine, and did not play a major role in the British rule of the country. However with the exodus of Assyrians, the Chaldean Catholic Church became the largest non-Muslim group in Iraq, and many later rose to power in the Ba'ath Party government, the most prominent being Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz.

In 1964, the issue of hereditary succession again caused a schism, with the election of Mar Thomas Darmo as a rival to the hereditary Mar Simon XXIII. Mar Simon resigned in 1973, and was assassinated in 1975 during negotiations over his possible reinstatement. Mar Dinkha IV was elected as Simon's successor, and announced the permanent end of the hereditary succession. While this removes the underlying dispute, the rift between the rival Patriarchs still exists, with Mar Addai as the successor to Mar Thomas Darmo.

On November 11, 1994, an historic meeting of Mar Dinkha IV and Catholic Pope John Paul II took place in the Vatican and a Common Christological Declaration was signed. One side effect of this meeting was that the Assyrian Church's relationship to the Chaldean Catholic Church was improved.

There are also large numbers of Assyrian congregations in Iran. In addition, a few remain in Iraq, a single parish exists in China, and the Church has its headquarters (along with four other houses of worship) in Chicago, Illinois, United States.

Current status:
* Primate: Mar Dinkha IV, Catholicos and Patriarch of Babylon (Qochanis)
* Primate: Mar Addai II, Catholicos and Patriarch of Babylon (Baghdad)
* Headquarters: Chicago, IL
* Faithful: about 4.5 million

'''Christology'''
Usually, the Assyrian Church of the East denies that it teaches [[Nestorianism]]. On the other hand, it has recognized [[Theodore of Mopsuestia]] as a [[saint]].

== Protestant Theology as a form of Crypto-Nestorianism ==
In their refusal to venerate the [[Virgin Mary]], modern Evangelical Protestants deny the use of the term [[Theotokos]]. In defending this, many Evangelical Protestants argue that the Virgin Mary could not have given birth to God but only to the man Jesus. They thus again separate in the Theandric Godman Jesus a human and a Divine person and teach Nestorianism.

The error of this thinking lies in the failure to understand the intricacies of Christology and the doctrine of Incarnation. A proper understanding of the [[Virgin Mary]] is required for a proper understanding of [[Jesus Christ]]. If Mary is not Theotokos, then Christ is not Godman. Likewise, if Christ is Godman, then Mary is Theotokos. If Mary is not Ever-Virgin, then Christ did not become God Incarnate. If Christ became God Incarnate, then Mary is Ever-Virgin. If Mary is not the Queen Mother, then Christ is not King; if Christ is King, then Mary is Queen Mother.

For more on the importance of Our Lady Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary to a proper understanding of the dogmas of the Incarnation and the Trinity, see George S. Gabriel, ''Mary, the Untrodden Portal of God''

== Sources ==
*Talberg, D. N., ''И

Nikolai Velimirovic

2006-02-08T16:04:10Z

Dogface: /* Alleged Anti-Semitism */

[[Image:StNikolaiVelimirovich.jpg|thumb|right|St. Nikolai Velimirovich (1880-1956)]]
{{orthodoxyinamerica}}
Our father among the saints, [[Bishop]] '''Nikolaj Velimirović''' (Николај Велимировић, [[January 5]], 1880 - [[March 18]], 1956) was bishop of Žiča in Serbia and the author of several Orthodox books. His most widely-known work is the ''[[Prologue from Ohrid]]''. His first name is pronounced and sometimes written ''Nikolai''.

==Life==
Nikolaj Velimirović was born in the small village of Lelich in Western Serbia. He attended the Seminary of St. Sava in Belgrade and graduated in 1905. He obtained doctorates from the University of Berne (1908), while the thesis was published in German in 1910, whereas the doctor's degree in philosophy was prepared at Oxford and defended in Geneva (''Filozofija Berklija'' - ''Berkeley's Philosophy'', in French) in 1909. At the end of 1909 he entered a monastic order. In 1919, then [[Archimandrite]] Nikolai was consecrated Bishop of Žiča in the [[Church of Serbia]].

In April 1915 (during WWI) he was delegated to England and America by the Serbian Church, where he held numerous lectures, fighting for the unison of the Serbs and South Slavic peoples. At the beginning of 1919 he returned to Serbia, and in 1920 was posted to the Ohrid archbishopric in Macedonia, where in 1935, in Bitola he reconstructed the cemetery of the killed German soldiers.

During the Second World War in 1941 Bp. Nikolai was arrested by the Nazis in the [[Monastery]] of Žiča (which was soon afterwards robbed and ruined), after which he was confined in the Monastery of Ljubostinja (where, on the occasion of mass deaths by firing squad, he reacted saying: "Is this the German culture, to shoot hundred innocent Serbs, for one dead German soldier! The Turks have always proved to be more just..."). Later, this "new [[John Chrysostom|Chrysostom]]" was transferred to the Monastery of Vojlovica (near Pančevo) in which he was confined together with the Serbian patriarch, [[Gavrilo (Dozic) of Serbia|Gavrilo (Dožić)]] until the end of 1944.

On [[December 14]], 1944 he was sent to Dachau, together with Serbian [[Patriarch]] Gavrilo, where some sources, especially the standard Church references, record that he suffered both imprisonment and torture.[http://www.serfes.org/lives/holyhierarchsaintnicholai.htm]

After the War he left Communist Yugoslavia and immigrated as a refugee to the United States in 1946 where he taught at several Orthodox Christian [[seminary|seminaries]] such as [[St. Sava's Serbian Orthodox Seminary (Libertyville, Illinois)|St. Sava's Serbian Orthodox Seminary]] in Libertyville, Illinois and [[St. Tikhon's Orthodox Theological Seminary (South Canaan, Pennsylvania)|St. Tikhon's Orthodox Theological Seminary]] and Monastery in South Canaan, Pennsylvania (where he was rector and also where he died) and [[St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary (Crestwood, New York)|St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary]] now in Crestwood, New York. He died on [[March 18]], 1956.

==Alleged Anti-Semitism==
Although recently [[Glorification|glorified]] as a saint by the [[Church of Serbia]], his writings remain highly controversial. Nikolaj Velimirovic was allegedly anti-semitic and he is supposed to have approved of the holocaust. (See Bishop Nikolaj Velimirovic: ''Addresses to the Serbian People—Through the Prison Window''. Himmelsthur, Germany: Serbian Orthodox Eparchy for Western Europe, 1985, pp. 161-162).

Others regard his address from Dachau as having been under duress[http://www.balkan-archive.org.yu/kosta/pisma/l-serbs.are.new.jews.html][http://www.balkan-archive.org.yu/kosta/pisma/l-a.little.more.truth.html] and point to the lack of other anti-semitic statements in the rest of his large corpus of writings. He is recorded variously to have said that the Jews "crucified [[Christ]]," but such a statement is historically no different from that in the [[Bible]] or what Christians have been saying for centuries, which is more an allegation of historical fact rather than the racism which is the heart of anti-semitism.

==[[Glorification]]==
On [[May 19]], 2003, the Holy Assembly of Bishops of the Serbian Orthodox Church, with one heart and one voice, unanimously decided to enter Bishop Nicholai (Velimirovic) of Ohrid and Zicha into the calendar of saints of our Holy Orthodox Church.

St. Nikolai Velimirovich is often referred to as Serbia's New Chrysostom. St. [[John Maximovitch]], who had been a young instructor at a seminary in Bishop Nikolai's diocese of Zica, called him "a great saint and Chrysostom of our day [whose] significance for Orthodoxy in our time can be compared only with that of Metropolitan Anthony [Khrapovitsky]. ... They were both universal teachers of the Orthodox Church."

==Works==
===Books===
*''Beyond Sin and Death'' (1914)
*''The Spiritual Rebirth of Europe'' (1917)
*''Orations on the Universal Man'' (1920)
*''Thoughts on Good and Evil'' (1923)
*''Homilias, volumes I and II'' (1925)
*''[[Prologue from Ohrid]]'' (1926)
*''The Faith of Educated People'' (1928)
*''The War and the Bible'' (1931)
*''The Symbols and Signs'' (1932)
*''"Immanuel"'' (1937)
*''The Religion of Njegos''
*''Speeches under the Mount''
*''The Faith of the Saints'' (1949) (an Orthodox [[Catechism]] in English)
*''Cassiana - the Science on Love'' (1952)
*''The Only Love of Mankind'' (1958)
*''The First Gods Law and the Pyramid of Paradise'' (1959)
*''The Life of St. Sava''. St. Vladimir's Seminary Press, 1989. ISBN 0881410659

===Articles===
*"[[Why are Vigil Lamps lit before Icons?]]"
* [http://www.orthodoxytoday.org/articles/VelimirovichBlessEnemies.shtml Quotation: Bless My Enemies O Lord -- by Bp. Nikolai Velimirovich]

==External Links==
*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikolai_Velimirovic Wikipedia on Nikolai Velimirovic]
*[http://manybooks.net/authors/velimirovicn.html Works online] (''The New Ideal in Education'' and ''The Religious Spirit of the Slavs (1916)'')
*[http://www.roca.org/oa/158/158f.htm A detailed biography]
*[http://www.orthodoxphotos.com/Holy_Fathers/St._Nikolai_Velimirovich/index.shtml#_ftn3 The New Chrysostom, Bishop of Ochrid and Zhicha]
* [http://www.orthodoxinfo.com/general/stnikolai.aspx Life of St. Nikolai Velimirovich, The New Chrysostom, Bishop of Ochrid and Zhicha -- OrthodoxInfo.com])
*[http://www.gutenberg.org/author/Nikolai_Velimirovic Works by Nikolai Velimirovic] from Project Gutenberg
*[http://www.rferl.org/reports/eepreport/2004/02/4-180204.asp East European Perspectives, Article by J. Byford]
* Life of Bishop Nicholai (Velimirovich) in ''Portraits of American Saints'', Compiled and Edited by George A. Gray and Jan V. Bear, Diocese Council and Department of Missions Diocese of the West Orthodox Church in America, 650 Micheltorena Street, Los Angles, California, 1994, pp. 74-77 (Quoted at [http://www.serfes.org/lives/holyhierarchsaintnicholai.htm Serfes.org])

[[Category:American Saints]]
[[Category:Bishops]]
[[Category:Modern Writers]]
[[Category:Saints]]
[[Category:Serbian Saints]]

Evagrius Ponticus

2006-02-08T16:03:26Z

Dogface: /* Life */

'''Evagrius Ponticus''' (c. 346-399) was an Egyptian monastic, and one of the earliest spiritual writers on [[asceticism]] in the Christian eremitic tradition. He is also called '''Evagrius of Pontus''' or '''Evagrius the Solitary'''. Some of his works are included in the ''[[Philokalia]]''.

==Life==
Evagrius was born in Pontus around the year 345 and studied under the [[Cappadocians|Cappadocian Fathers]]. St. [[Basil the Great]] tonsured Evagrius a [[reader]], and St. [[Gregory the Theologian]] elevated him to the [[deacon|diaconate]]. As a deacon, Evagrius Ponticus would attend the [[Second Ecumenical Council]] (First Constantinople) in 381, which formulated the last portion of the [[Nicene Creed]] (the article dealing with the [[Holy Spirit]]). After visiting Jerusalem, Evagrius became a [[monk]] in the Egyptian desert in 383. There his life would touch those of two other [[saint]]s: St. [[Makarios of Alexandria]], his mentor; and St. [[John Cassian]] ("Cassian the Roman"), his disciple. (Many believe he also met St. [[Makarios the Egyptian]].) He died in Kellia, Egypt, in 399.

Evagrius passed on his firsthand knowledge of the [[Desert Fathers]] to many visitors and disciples, becoming particularly well known for his teaching on [[prayer]]. He exhorted his followers to practice the virtues, engage in regular Psalmody, and refrain from making any physical/mental images during prayer. However, like so many others, he became influenced by the teachings of [[Origen]], believing in the doctrines of [[apokatastasis]], the "restitution of all things" (including the reconciliation of [[Satan]]), and in the Platonic notion of the pre-existence of the soul. The [[Fifth Ecumenical Council]] (Second Constantinople) in 553 deemed both these doctrines (and Origen himself) [[heresy|heretical]]. Although never [[Glorification|glorified]] as a saint, Evagrius' teachings on [[asceticism]], prayer, and the spiritual life had a profound impact upon both Christian East and West.

==Works==
*On Asceticism and Stillness in the Solitary Life
*On Discrimination in respect of Passions and Thoughts
*On Watchfulness
*On Prayer: 153 Texts

==Quotations==
*Whoever loves true prayer and yet becomes angry or resentful is his own enemy. He is like a man who wants so see clearly and yet inflicts damage on his own eyes. –''Treatise on Prayer,'' 64

*Whether you pray with brethren or alone, try to pray not simply as a routine, but with conscious awareness of your prayer. Conscious awareness of prayer is concentration accompanied by reverence, compunction and distress of soul as it confesses its sin with inward sorrow. -unknown work

*If you are a theologian, you will pray truly. And if you pray truly, you are a theologian. - ''Treatise on Prayer'', 61.

*Bread is food for the body and holiness is food for the soul: prayer is food for the intellect. - Ibid., 101.

*Evil thoughts cut off good thoughts and are cut off by good thoughts - ''On Discrimination in Respect of Passions and Thoughts'', 6.

*Spiritual reading, vigils, and prayer bring the straying intellect to stability. Hunger, exertion, and withdrawal from the world wither burning lust. - ''Extracts from the Texts on Watchfulness'', 5.

==See also==
*[[Philokalia]]
*[[Origen]]

==External Links==
*[http://www.hermitary.com/solitude/evagrius.html Evagrius Ponticus: On Asceticism and Stillness in the Solitary Life]
*[http://students.cua.edu/16kalvesmaki/EvagPont Evagrius Ponticus: Monastic Theologian]
*[http://www.ccel.org/w/wace/biodict/htm/iii.v.lix.htm Evagrius Ponticus] from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library
*[http://home.versatel.nl/chotki/a_life_of_evagrius_of_pontus.htm A Life of Evagrius of Pontus]

[[Category:Asceticism]]
[[Category:Church Fathers]]
[[Category:Desert Fathers]]
[[Category:Monastics]]

Old Calendar Orthodox Church of Romania

2006-02-08T16:02:54Z

Dogface: /* History */

The '''Old Calendar Orthodox Church of Romania''' or '''True Orthodox Church of Romania''' is a resistance, [[Old Calendarist]] Synod, which broke off from the [[Church of Romania]], holding that the latter is in error.

== History ==
In 1924, Metropolitan Miron of the [[Church of Romania]] introduced the [[New Calendar]] or [[Gregorian Calendar]] for use in the Church. Although most Romanians accepted the change, the skete of the Protection of the Theotokos in northern Moldavia rejected it. In 1925, led by Hieromonk Glicherie (now [[Glorification|glorified]] as Saint [[Glicherie of Romania]], the Confessor), some of the bretheren left the skete to start an Old Calendarist group. When, in 1926 and 1929, Metropolitan Miron ordered [[Pascha]] to be celebrated according to the Gregorian [[Paschalion]], a large number of faithful, including Russian émigrés, left the [[Church of Romania]] and joined the Old Calendarists. By 1936, the Old Calendarists numbered about 40 parishes.

Beginning in 1935, at the order of Metropolitan Miron, the Old Calendarists were under persecution. By 1940, ten Old Calendar priests had died in prison, and all of the Old Calendar churches had been shut down. St. Glicherie was imprisoned, but, at the beginning of World War II, released.

By 1950, with the release of St. Glicherie and other priests from prison, many of the churches were rebuilt. In 1955, Metropolitan Galaktion left the [[Church of Romania]] to serve the Old Calendarists, and immediately [[ordained]] new [[priests]] and [[deacons]]. However, he was soon arrested, and placed under house arrest in Bucharest. While under house arrest, Metropolitan Galaktion [[ordained]] three other [[bishops]], including St. Glicherie, who, in 1957, became the head of the True Orthodox Church of Romania.

== Hierarchs ==
*Metropolitan Vlasie, President of the Synod of the True Orthodox Church of Romania
*Bishop Demosten of Neamts
*Bishop Ghenadie of Bacau
*Bishop Pahomie of Vrancea
*Bishop Teodosie of Brasov
*Bishop Sofronie of Suceava
*Bishop Iosif of Botosani
*Bishop Flavian of Ilfov

== Status ==
Since 1980, the Synod has been in full communion with the [[True Orthodox Church of Greece]] (so-called "Callistoites"), then with the [[Holy Synod in Resistance]] (so-called "Cyprianites"). The Synod also maintains communion with the [[Old Calendar Orthodox Church of Bulgaria]] (Bishop Photii), and with the Russian Orthodox Church outside Russia ([[ROCOR]]).

== Demographics ==
Headquartered in the Monastery of the Transfiguration, Slatioara, Moldavia, the Synod has 130 parishes, 13 monasteries, 21 sketes, and publishes two periodicals, ''Traditia Ortodoxa'' and ''Catacombele Ortodoxiei''. 160 [[priest]]s (including 115 married priests and 45 [[hieromonk]]s) and 26 [[deacon]]s serve the Synod's faithful. 290 [[monk]]s and 510 [[nun]]s dwell in the monasteries.

==External Links ==
* [http://www.synodinresistance.gr/Dioikisi_en/Roumaniaen.html Unofficial Website]

[[Category:Jurisdictions]]

Nicholas II of Russia

2006-02-08T16:02:28Z

Dogface:

[[Image:TsStNich.jpg|right|thumb|200px|Icon of Tsar-Martyr Nicholas II of Russia (Courtesy Ivanovo Monastery)]]

The holy and right-believing Emperor Saint '''Nicholas Alexandrovich Romanov''' was the last reigning Emperor (commonly called "Tsar") of Russia at the time of the Bolshevik Revolution. Together with his wife, [[Alexandra Romanov|Alexandra Fyodoronova]], formerly Alexandra of Hesse-Darmstad, and their children Olga, Tatiana, Maria, Anastasia and Alexey, they are recognized as [[Passion-bearer]]s by the [[Church of Russia|Russian Orthodox Church]].
==Life & Death==
In February 1917, during the February Revolution, Nicholas reluctantly abdicated the throne, hoping that doing so might save the nation some violence. After the Bolshevik (October) revolution, he and his family were exiled to Siberia, where they were detained under house-arrest. After several months, the family was lined up in the basement and shot. The bodies were buried in an unmarked grave.

In 1991, in Yekaterinburg, Sibera, their bodies were exhumed. DNA testing confirmed that they were indeed the Romanovs.

In 1998, with Boris Yeltsin in attendance, most of the Royal Family was finally laid to rest with proper ceremony.
[[Image: Tsar-Martyr.jpg|left|thumb|200px|Photograph of St. Nicholas the Tsar-Martyr.]]

==[[Glorification]] ==
Nicholas and his family were [[Glorification|glorified]] by the [[Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia]] in 1981 but this was a hotly debated decision. Both within and outside of Russia there were those who claimed that Nicholas' reign was weak and prone to extravagence and indifference to the plight of Russia's needy. On the other hand, there was widespread popular devotion to Tsar Nicholas among those who claimed that he was called of God to lead his people at a difficult time in history and did so to the best of his abilities. The religious devotion and piety of the family is well documented and not seriously contested.

In 2000, after some 8 years of study, the council of Bishops of the [[Church of Russia|Russian Orthodox Church]] voted unanimously to recognize Nicholas, Alexandra and their five children as saints.

==Troparion==
Most noble and sublime was your life and death, O Sovereigns; 
wise Nicholas and blest Alexandra, we praise you, 
acclaiming your piety, meekness, faith, and humility, 
whereby ye attained to crowns of glory in Christ our God, 
with your five renowned and godly children of blest fame. 
Martyrs decked in purple, intercede for us.

==External Links==
* [http://www.serfes.org/royal/index.htm The Royal Martyrs of Russia]
* [http://www.tzar.orthodoxy.ru/ Russian site on the Tsar-Martyr]
* [http://www.roca.org/OA/14/14c.htm God's Anointed Sufferer: Tsar-Martyr Nicholas II]
* [http://www.orthodox.net/russiannm/nicholas-ii-tsar-martyr-and-his-family.html Tsar-Martyr Nicholas II and his Family]

[[Category:Emperors and Kings]]
[[Category:Russian Saints]]
[[Category:Saints]]

Augustine of Hippo

2006-02-08T16:01:46Z

Dogface: /* Influence as a theologian and thinker */

'''Augustine of Hippo''' (354–430) is one of the great [[Church Fathers]] of the fourth century; he was the eldest son of [[Monica of Hippo|Saint Monica]].

==Life==
Aurelius Augustinus was born in 354 in Tagaste to a Christian mother and a Pagan father, raised in Roman north Africa, educated in Carthage, and employed as a professor of rhetoric in Milan by 383. He followed the [[Manichaeism|Manichaean]] religion in his student days, and was converted to Christianity by the preaching and example of [[Ambrose of Milan]]. He was [[baptism|baptized]] at Easter in 387, and returned to north Africa and created a monastic foundation at Tagaste for himself and a group of friends. In 391 he was [[ordination|ordained]] a [[priest]] in Hippo Regius (now Annaba, in Algeria). He became a famous preacher (more than 350 preserved sermons are believed to be authentic), and was noted for combatting the Manichaean heresy.

In 396 he was made coadjutor [[bishop]] of Hippo (assistant with the right of succession on the death of the current bishop), and remained as bishop in Hippo until his death in 430. He left his [[monastery]], but continued to lead a monastic life in the episcopal residence. He left a Rule (''Regula'' in Latin) for his monastery that has led him to be designated the "patron saint of Regular Clergy," that is, parish clergy who live by a monastic rule.

Augustine died on [[August 28]], 430, during the siege of Hippo by the Vandals. He is said to have encouraged its citizens to resist the attacks, primarily on the grounds that the Vandals adhered to heretical [[Arianism|Arian]] Christianity.

==Influence as a theologian and thinker==
Augustine remains a central figure, both within Christianity and in the history of Western thought. Himself much influenced by Platonism and neo-Platonism, particularly by [[Plotinus]], Augustine was important to the "baptism" of Greek thought and its entrance into the Western Christian (and subsequently the European) intellectual tradition. Also important was his early and influential writing on the human will, a central topic in [[ethics]], and one which became a focus for later philosophers such as Arthur Schopenhauer and Friedrich Nietzsche, but also to the Protestant Reformers such as Martin Luther and John Calvin.

Augustine's writings helped formulate the theory of [[just war]]. He also advocated the use of force against the [[Donatism|Donatists]], asking "Why . . . should not the Church use force in compelling her lost sons to return, if the lost sons compelled others to their destruction?" (''The Correction of the Donatists'', 22-24)

Augustine was [[Glorification|glorified]] by popular recognition. His [[feast day]] is [[August 28]], the day on which he died.

==Reception of Augustine in the Orthodox Church==
[[Image:Augustine-Rose.jpg|right|thumb|250px|Book by Fr. [[Seraphim Rose]]]]
The [[Fifth Ecumenical Council]], held in Constantinople in A.D. 553, listed Augustine among other [[Church Fathers|Fathers of the Church]], though there is no unqualified endorsement of his [[theology]] mentioned (just as there is none for most saints of the Church):

:''We further declare that we hold fast to the decrees of the four Councils, and in every way follow the holy Fathers, [[Athanasius of Alexandria|Athanasius]], [[Hilary of Poitiers|Hilary]], [[Basil the Great|Basil]], [[Gregory the Theologian]], [[Gregory of Nyssa]], [[Ambrose of Milan|Ambrose]], Theophilus, [[John Chrysostom|John (Chrysostom) of Constantinople]], [[Cyril of Alexandria|Cyril]], '''Augustine''', Proclus, [[Leo the Great|Leo]] and their writings on the true faith.''[http://www.ccel.org/fathers2/NPNF2-14/Npnf2-14-111.htm] (emphasis added)

In the acts of the [[Sixth Ecumenical Council]] (not yet translated into English), he is called the "most excellent and blessed Augustine" and is referred to as "the most wise teacher." In the Comnenian Council of Constantinople in 1166 he is referred to as " Ο ΑΓΙΟΣ ΑΥΓΟΥΣΤΙΝΟΣ" - "Saint Augustine."

Despite these acclamations, most of his works were not translated into Greek until the 13th century (?) and some Orthodox Christians identify errors in his theology—especially those in his [[Triadology]] which gave rise to the ''[[Filioque]]'' addition to the [[Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed]]—and regard him as being one of the major factors in the [[Great Schism]] between the Church in the East and in the West. Thus, there are those among the Orthodox who regard Augustine as a [[heresy|heretic]], although there has never been any conciliar condemnation of either him or his writings.

More moderate views regard Augustine as either simply one theological writer among many in the early Church (but not a [[saint]]), or even perhaps with the title "Blessed" before his name. It should be noted, however, that the Orthodox Church has not traditionally ranked saints in terms of "blessed" or "saint" (i.e., suggesting that the latter has a greater degree of holiness than the former). Saint "rankings" are usually only differences in kind (e.g., monastics, married, bishops, martyrs, etc.), not in degree. The practice of ranking by degree is much more characteristic of the [[Roman Catholic Church|Roman Catholic]] tradition.

There is at least one book explicitly dealing with the issue of Augustine's place in Orthodoxy, ''The Place of Blessed Augustine in the Orthodox Church'' by Fr. [[Seraphim Rose]] (ISBN 0938635123), which is generally favorable toward Augustine, citing his importance as a saint in terms of his confessional and devotional writings rather than in his theology. Its cover includes a traditional Greek icon of Augustine, where he is labelled as '''Ο ΑΓΙΟΣ ΑΥΓΟΥΣΤΙΝΟΣ'''—"Saint Augustine."

==Quotes==
===From ''The City of God''===
St. Augustine evidently originated the phrase "love the sinner, hate the sin", which he tied in with a privative notion of evil:
:For this reason, the man who lives by God's standards and not by man's, must needs be a lover of the good, and it follows that he must hate what is evil. Further, since no one is evil by nature, but anyone who is evil is evil because of a perversion of nature, the man who lives by God's standards has a duty of "perfect hatred" ([[Psalms|Psalm]] 139:22) towards those who are evil; that is to say, he should not hate the person because of the fault, nor should he love the fault because of the person. He should hate the fault, but love the man. And when the fault has been cured there will remain only what he ought to love, nothing that he should hate. (14:6, Penguin ed., transl. Bettenson)

===From ''Confessions''===
:Our hearts shall ever restless be, until they find their rest in Thee. (1:1)

*[http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Augustine_of_Hippo More quotes at Wikiquote...]

==Writings==
At the end of his life (426-428?) Augustine revisited his previous works in chronological order and suggested what he would have said differently in a work titled the ''Retractations'', which gives us a remarkable picture of the development of a writer and his final thoughts.

===Books===
*''On Christian Doctrine'', 397-426
*''Confessions'', 397-398
*''City of God'', begun c. 413, finished 426.
*''On the Trinity'', 400-416.
*''Enchiridion''

===Letters===
*On the Catechising of the Uninstructed
*On Faith and the Creed
*Concerning Faith of Things Not Seen
*On the Profit of Believing
*On the Creed: A Sermon to Catechumens
*On Continence
*On the Good of Marriage
*On Holy Virginity
*On the Good of Widowhood
*On Lying
*To Consentius: Against Lying
*On the Work of Monks
*On Patience
*On Care to be Had For the Dead
*On the Morals of the Catholic Church
*On the Morals of the Manichaeans
*On Two Souls, Against the Manichaeans
*Acts or Disputation Against Fortunatus the Manichaean
*Against the Epistle of Manichaeus Called Fundamental
*Reply to Faustus the Manichaean
*Concerning the Nature of Good, Against the Manichaeans
*On Baptism, Against the Donatists
*Answer to Letters of Petilian, Bishop of Cirta
*The Correction of the Donatists
*Merits and Remission of Sin, and Infant Baptism
*On the Spirit and the Letter
*On Nature and Grace
*On Man's Perfection in Righteousness
*On the Proceedings of Pelagius
*On the Grace of Christ, and on Original Sin
*On Marriage and Concupiscence
*On the Soul and its Origin
*Against Two Letters of the Pelagians
*On Grace and Free Will
*On Rebuke and Grace
*The Predestination of the Saints/Gift of Perseverance
*Our Lord's Sermon on the Mount
*The Harmony of the Gospels
*Sermons on Selected Lessons of the New Testament
*Tractates on the Gospel of John
*Homilies on the First Epistle of John
*Soliloquies
*The Enarrations, or Expositions, on the Psalms

==Bibliography==
*Peter Brown, ''Augustine of Hippo'' (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1967) (ISBN 0-520-00186-9)
*Adolphe Tanquerey, ''The Spiritual Life: A Treatise on Ascetical and Mystical Theology'', 1930, reprint edition 2000 (ISBN 0895556596) p. 37.
*Fr. [[Seraphim Rose]], ''The Place of Blessed Augustine in the Orthodox Church'', 1997 (ISBN 0938635123)

==External links==
*[http://www.goarch.org/en/ourfaith/articles/article8153.asp St. Augustine in the Greek Orthodox Tradition], by Fr. [[George C. Papademetriou]]
*''On Christian Doctrine,'' ''Confessions,'' and ''City of God'' are available freely at http://www.ccel.org/a/augustine/
*Other writings are available freely at http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/
*[http://www.mrrena.com/august.shtml St. Augustine: Between Two Worlds]
*[http://personal2.stthomas.edu/gwschlabach/docs/jhy-aug.htm Augustine and 'other catholics']
*[http://www.philosophyarchive.com/text.php?era=400-499&author=Augustine&text=Confessions%20and%20Enchiridion%20Introduction The Enchiridion] by Augustine
*[http://www.gutenberg.net/catalog/world/authrec?fk_authors=1156 eTexts] of Augustine's works, at [http://www.gutenberg.net/ Project Gutenberg]

[[Category:Bishops]]
[[Category:Church Fathers]]
[[Category:Saints]]