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Theophilus (Ionescu) of Sèvres

2013-05-13T19:11:43Z

Fr Lev: /* Biography */

Archbishop '''Theophilus''' or '''Teofil (Ionescu)''' (1894-1975) was a [[bishop]] of [[Church of Romania|Romanian orthodox church]] and previously bishop of [[Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia]].

== Biography ==
He was born [[October 14]], 1894 in Boboc, in the Buzau district of Romania.

He entered the [[Tismana Monastery]] at age fourteen, in 1915, and was [[tonsure]]d and [[ordination|ordained]] [[hierodeacon]] that same year.

He appointed proto-psalte (‘proto-reader’) of the Metropolitan Cathedral in Bucharest in 1918, and ordained to the [[priest]]hood in 1921.

He appointed superior of the Patriarchal Chanting School, and assistant priest at the Patriarchal Cathedral.

In 1925, he founded the Patriarch Miron Missionary Association (named after the first Romanian Patriarch, Miron (Elie Cristea, 1868-1939) and a religious journal "The Good Word". He also founded a home for the elderly and a canteen for the poor.

In 1928, he graduated from the Nifon Metropolitul Seminary in Bucharest, receiving his licentiate in Theology for his dissertation, "The Life and Work of Metropolitan Peter Mogila of Kiev" (Viaţa şi opera Mitropolitului Petru Movilă al Kievului).

He went on to receive his master’s degree in Paris at the Protestant Faculty of Theology with the very same dissertation.

In 1938, Patriarch [[Miron (Cristea)]] appointed him rector of the Romanian Holy Archangels Parish in Paris.

In 1942, he was elevated to [[Miter|mitre]]d [[archimandrite]], a rare distinction in the Romanian Church.

In 1945, the communist hold on the church authorities in Romania forced them to remove Archimandrite Teofil from his position at the parish in Paris. He moved to the United States, and became priest at the Saint Symeon Romanian Church in Detroit. He was elected president of the Diocesan Council (the previous Bishop for the Romanian Orthodox in America, [[:en:Polycarp Morusca|Polycarp]] {Pompei Morusca, 1883-1958}, had returned to Romania and was not allowed by the government to leave Romania to return to the US).

In 1951, [[Valerian (Trifa) of Detroit|Viorel D. Trifa]] (1914-1987), a Romanian Orthodox activist newly arrived in the U.S., led followers to the headquarters of the Patriarchal Romanian Church in [[:w:Grass Lake, Michigan|Grass Lake, Michigan]]; the Patriarchate at that time was under the control of the communist Romanian government. Trifa and his followers chased out the Patriarchal party, and took over the headquarters, and Trifa was then elected Bishop for Romanian parishes in the U.S. Tonsured a [[monk]] and taking the name Valerian, he was then consecrated by members of an noncanonical Ukrainian Orthodox group. Archimandrite Teofil at that point was on good terms with Bishop Valerian and his Diocese.

Metropolitan Visarion (Puiu, 1879-1964) of the Romanian Patriarchate, was sentenced to death by the communists in absentia in 1946. Metropolitan Visarion was in Western Europe at the time, and the Romanian government was never able to serve the arrest warrant. The Holy Archangels Parish in Paris became a center for Romanian refugees, and it was there that Metropolitan Visarion established the Romanian Orthodox Diocese for Western Europe. The efforts of the communist regime to take over the Holy Archangels parish in Paris obliged the faithful to break canonical relations with the Romanian Patriarchate, and to join, out of necessity, the [[Russian Orthodox Church Abroad]]. The Diocese followed the [[Revised Julian Calendar|new calendar]], as had the Romanian Church since 1925; this was allowed to continue by the Church Abroad for pastoral reasons.

In 1954, the aged Metropolitan Visarion chose Archimandrite Teofil as his successor, and he was consecrated to the episcopate by Metropolitan Visarion, Saint Archbishop [[John (Maximovitch) the Wonderworker|John (Maximovitch)]] (1896-1966) of Brussels and Western Europe, and Bishop [[Nathaniel (Lvov)]] (1906-1986) of Carthage and Tunis. Metropolitan Visarion then retired. The consecration took place in the Saint Nicholas Church in Versailles on 26 December 1954.

Bishop Teofil was given the title ‘of [[w:Sèvres|Sèvres]]’ (Severineanul in Romanian), after a small town near Paris. His Diocese included the parishes in Western Europe and a few in the US and Canada. After returning to the United States, Bishop Teofil then denounced Bishop Valerian (Trifa) as a ‘self-ordained heretic,’ and began a campaign to take over his Diocese. This ultimately failed miserably, as Bishop Teofil’s Diocese never had more than a few parishes. Bishop Valerian’s episcopal consecration was later regularized by Bishops of the [[OCA|North American Metropolia]], and he joined his Diocese to the new Orthodox Church in America in 1970 as the Romanian Episcopate (the largest Romanian Church grouping in the U.S.

In 1982, then Archbishop Valerian left the United States to avoid deportation for alleged fascist activities with the [[w:Iron Guard|Iron Guard]] during World War II in Romania. He settled in [[w:Portugal|Portugal]], where he reposed in 1987.

Bishop Teofil assisted Archbishop Seraphim (Ivanov, 1897-1987) of Chicago, Detroit, and Midwest America consecrate a bishop for the Greek Old Calendar Church, Bishop [[Akakios (Pappas)]] the Elder, of Talantion, on 19 Dec 1960. He also assisted Archbishop John (Maximovich) to consecrate a bishop for the Western Rite French Orthodox Church in 1964, Bishop [[Jean-Nectaire (Kovalevsky) of Saint-Denis]].

‘Metropolitan’ Pangratios (Vrionis, of ill repute) claims Bishop Teofil was one of his co-consecrators in 1970; however, there were no witnesses to this ‘event’ other than Pangratios and those he claimed consecrated him. Conveniently, all were deceased when Pangratios revealed their names. During the conference of the academic society Daco-Romania, on 6 Dec 1970, Bishop Teofil commemorated Pope [[Paul VI]] and the Romanian Uniate Bishop Basile Cristea, who attended the Liturgy, during the Great Entrance. He also commemorated among the reposed the deceased Romanian Uniate Bishop Jules Hossu of Cluj-Gherla.

When Metropolitan Philaret (Georgy Nikolaevich Voznesensky, 1903-1985), First Hierarch of the Russian Church Abroad, demanded an explanation, Bishop Teofil attempted to justify his actions by claiming that he had done it "in the name of ecumenism and as part of the fight against the Patriarchs of Moscow and Bucharest, who have appropriated the point of view of the regime and are without faith and are even criminals, in that they have perpetuated the assassinations and the persecutions against the Greek Catholic [Uniate] Church of Romania, under the false pretext of aiding their integration into the Orthodox Church". Having been reproved by the Synod of the Church Abroad [it might be explained here that the Romanian Diocese of the Church Abroad, as well as the Bulgarian Diocese under Bishop Kyrill (Yonchev, later joined OCA, 1920-2007), and the American Orthodox Mission under Archbishop [[James (Toombs) of Manhattan|James (Toombs, +1970) of Manhattan]], were all granted a wide ranging autonomy], Bishop Teofil "evolved in a manner more and more contradictory".

Which led him to the point where, on [[January 17]], 1972, he petitioned Patriarch Justinian (Ioan Marina, 1901-1977) of Bucharest and Romania (whom he had condemned as without faith and a criminal a year and a half before) to be received into the Romanian Patriarchate. The Romanian Patriarchate accepted him on [[March 10]], 1972.

On [[April 23]], 1972, Bishop Teofil signed a pastoral letter in which he reaffirmed his faithfulness to the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad.

On [[May 8]], 1972, he went to the Uniate Monastery at Chevetogne, France, to greet the visiting Patriarch Justinian, and on the following day, wrote to his diocese that he was, "henceforth, after years and years of going astray, once again in the bosom of the Mother Church". The Council at his Cathedral notified Bishop Teofil they "no longer depended on him", and on [[May 21]], 1972, Metropolitan Philaret came from New York to celebrate the Liturgy and to announce that he had "received the Diocese and all its parishes under his direct authority". The Synod of the Church Abroad deposed Bishop Teofil and reduced him to the monastic state for participating in the consecration of a deposed priest, Bishop Germain (Gilles Bertrand Hardy), as a Bishop for the [[Orthodox Church of France]] (two Hierarchs from Romania also participated in the consecration, Nicolae {Corneanu, b.1923; Met. Nicolae was the center of controversy in May 2008 when he received communion from a Romanian Uniate Bishop at the consecration of the new Uniate Queen of Peace church in Timisoara, Romania}, Archbishop of Timisoara and Metropolitan of Banat, and Bishop Anthony of Ploesti).

In December 1974 the Romanian Patriarchate elevated Bishop Teofil to [[Archbishop]]. Totally cut off from the Romanian emigre community in Paris, Teofil, able to speak to one of his former priests, admitted he had committed a grave error in leaving the Church Abroad, and further, said that he had become a hostage of the Securitate, the Romanian equivalent of the KGB.

He died on [[May 9]], 1975, and was buried, due to the efforts of Archpriest Michel Constandache, in the Parisian Cemetery of Montparnasse, next to the grave of Metropolitan [[Visarion (Puiu)]].

== External links ==
* [http://www.rocorstudies.org/church-people/lives-of-bishops/2009/06/29/archbishop-teofil-ionescu-of-sevres/ Archbishop Teofil (Ionescu) of Sevres]
* [http://www.ziarullumina.ro/memoria-bisericii/memoria-bisericii-imagini-arhiepiscopul-teofil-ionescu Memoria Bisericii în imagini: Arhiepiscopul Teofil Ionescu]
* [http://www.crestinortodox.ro/dictionarul-teologilor-romani/teofil-ionescu-84710.html Teofil Ionescu]
* [http://www.ortodoxia.de/html/arhiepiscopul_roman_teofil_ionescu.html Arhiepiscopul român Teofil Ionescu]

[[Category: Bishops]]
[[Category:20th-century bishops]]

Theophilus (Ionescu) of Sèvres

2013-05-13T17:55:26Z

Fr Lev: /* Biography */ fixed link

Archbishop '''Theophilus''' or '''Teofil (Ionescu)''' (1894-1975) was a [[bishop]] of [[Church of Romania|Romanian orthodox church]] and previously bishop of [[Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia]].

== Biography ==
He was born [[October 14]], 1894 in Boboc, in the Buzau district of Romania.

He entered the [[Tismana Monastery]] at age fourteen, in 1915, and was [[tonsure]]d and [[ordination|ordained]] [[hierodeacon]] that same year.

He appointed proto-psalte (‘proto-reader’) of the Metropolitan Cathedral in Bucharest in 1918, and ordained to the [[priest]]hood in 1921.

He appointed superior of the Patriarchal Chanting School, and assistant priest at the Patriarchal Cathedral.

In 1925, he founded the Patriarch Miron Missionary Association (named after the first Romanian Patriarch, Miron (Elie Cristea, 1868-1939) and a religious journal "The Good Word". He also founded a home for the elderly and a canteen for the poor.

In 1928, he graduated from the Nifon Metropolitul Seminary in Bucharest, receiving his licentiate in Theology for his dissertation, "The Life and Work of Metropolitan Peter Mogila of Kiev" (Viaţa şi opera Mitropolitului Petru Movilă al Kievului).

He went on to receive his master’s degree in Paris at the Protestant Faculty of Theology with the very same dissertation.

In 1938, Patriarch [[Miron (Cristea)]] appointed him rector of the Romanian Holy Archangels Parish in Paris.

In 1942, he was elevated to [[Miter|mitre]]d [[archimandrite]], a rare distinction in the Romanian Church.

In 1945, the communist hold on the church authorities in Romania forced them to remove Archimandrite Teofil from his position at the parish in Paris. He moved to the United States, and became priest at the Saint Symeon Romanian Church in Detroit. He was elected president of the Diocesan Council (the previous Bishop for the Romanian Orthodox in America, [[:en:Polycarp Morusca|Polycarp]] {Pompei Morusca, 1883-1958}, had returned to Romania and was not allowed by the government to leave Romania to return to the US).

In 1951, [[Valerian (Trifa) of Detroit|Viorel D. Trifa]] (1914-1987), a Romanian Orthodox activist newly arrived in the U.S., led followers to the headquarters of the Patriarchal Romanian Church in [[:w:Grass Lake, Michigan|Grass Lake, Michigan]]; the Patriarchate at that time was under the control of the communist Romanian government. Trifa and his followers chased out the Patriarchal party, and took over the headquarters, and Trifa was then elected Bishop for Romanian parishes in the U.S. Tonsured a [[monk]] and taking the name Valerian, he was then consecrated by members of an noncanonical Ukrainian Orthodox group. Archimandrite Teofil at that point was on good terms with Bishop Valerian and his Diocese.

Metropolitan Visarion (Puiu, 1879-1964) of the Romanian Patriarchate, was sentenced to death by the communists in absentia in 1946. Metropolitan Visarion was in Western Europe at the time, and the Romanian government was never able to serve the arrest warrant. The Holy Archangels Parish in Paris became a center for Romanian refugees, and it was there that Metropolitan Visarion established the Romanian Orthodox Diocese for Western Europe. The efforts of the communist regime to take over the Holy Archangels parish in Paris obliged the faithful to break canonical relations with the Romanian Patriarchate, and to join, out of necessity, the [[Russian Orthodox Church Abroad]]. The Diocese followed the [[Revised Julian Calendar|new calendar]], as had the Romanian Church since 1925; this was allowed to continue by the Church Abroad for pastoral reasons.

In 1954, the aged Metropolitan Visarion chose Archimandrite Teofil as his successor, and he was consecrated to the episcopate by Metropolitan Visarion, Saint Archbishop [[John (Maximovitch) the Wonderworker|John (Maximovitch)]] (1896-1966) of Brussels and Western Europe, and Bishop [[Nathaniel (Lvov)]] (1906-1986) of Carthage and Tunis. Metropolitan Visarion then retired. The consecration took place in the Saint Nicholas Church in Versailles on 26 December 1954.

Bishop Teofil was given the title ‘of [[w:Sèvres|Sèvres]]’ (Severineanul in Romanian), after a small town near Paris. His Diocese included the parishes in Western Europe and a few in the US and Canada. After returning to the United States, Bishop Teofil then denounced Bishop Valerian (Trifa) as a ‘self-ordained heretic,’ and began a campaign to take over his Diocese. This ultimately failed miserably, as Bishop Teofil’s Diocese never had more than a few parishes. Bishop Valerian’s episcopal consecration was later regularized by Bishops of the [[OCA|North American Metropolia]], and he joined his Diocese to the new Orthodox Church in America in 1970 as the Romanian Episcopate (the largest Romanian Church grouping in the U.S.

In 1982, then Archbishop Valerian left the United States to avoid deportation for alleged fascist activities with the [[w:Iron Guard|Iron Guard]] during World War II in Romania. He settled in [[w:Portugal|Portugal]], where he reposed in 1987.

Bishop Teofil assisted Archbishop Seraphim (Ivanov, 1897-1987) of Chicago, Detroit, and Midwest America consecrate a bishop for the Greek Old Calendar Church, Bishop [[Akakios (Pappas)]] the Elder, of Talantion, on 19 Dec 1960. He also assisted Archbishop John (Maximovich) to consecrate a bishop for the Western Rite French Orthodox Church in 1964, Bishop [[Jean-Nectaire (Kovalevsky) of Saint-Denis|Jean-Nectaire (Evgraf Evgrafovich Kovalevsky, 1905-1970) of Saint Denis]].

‘Metropolitan’ Pangratios (Vrionis, of ill repute) claims Bishop Teofil was one of his co-consecrators in 1970; however, there were no witnesses to this ‘event’ other than Pangratios and those he claimed consecrated him. Conveniently, all were deceased when Pangratios revealed their names. During the conference of the academic society Daco-Romania, on 6 Dec 1970, Bishop Teofil commemorated Pope [[Paul VI]] and the Romanian Uniate Bishop Basile Cristea, who attended the Liturgy, during the Great Entrance. He also commemorated among the reposed the deceased Romanian Uniate Bishop Jules Hossu of Cluj-Gherla.

When Metropolitan Philaret (Georgy Nikolaevich Voznesensky, 1903-1985), First Hierarch of the Russian Church Abroad, demanded an explanation, Bishop Teofil attempted to justify his actions by claiming that he had done it "in the name of ecumenism and as part of the fight against the Patriarchs of Moscow and Bucharest, who have appropriated the point of view of the regime and are without faith and are even criminals, in that they have perpetuated the assassinations and the persecutions against the Greek Catholic [Uniate] Church of Romania, under the false pretext of aiding their integration into the Orthodox Church". Having been reproved by the Synod of the Church Abroad [it might be explained here that the Romanian Diocese of the Church Abroad, as well as the Bulgarian Diocese under Bishop Kyrill (Yonchev, later joined OCA, 1920-2007), and the American Orthodox Mission under Archbishop [[James (Toombs) of Manhattan|James (Toombs, +1970) of Manhattan]], were all granted a wide ranging autonomy], Bishop Teofil "evolved in a manner more and more contradictory".

Which led him to the point where, on [[January 17]], 1972, he petitioned Patriarch Justinian (Ioan Marina, 1901-1977) of Bucharest and Romania (whom he had condemned as without faith and a criminal a year and a half before) to be received into the Romanian Patriarchate. The Romanian Patriarchate accepted him on [[March 10]], 1972.

On [[April 23]], 1972, Bishop Teofil signed a pastoral letter in which he reaffirmed his faithfulness to the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad.

On [[May 8]], 1972, he went to the Uniate Monastery at Chevetogne, France, to greet the visiting Patriarch Justinian, and on the following day, wrote to his diocese that he was, "henceforth, after years and years of going astray, once again in the bosom of the Mother Church". The Council at his Cathedral notified Bishop Teofil they "no longer depended on him", and on [[May 21]], 1972, Metropolitan Philaret came from New York to celebrate the Liturgy and to announce that he had "received the Diocese and all its parishes under his direct authority". The Synod of the Church Abroad deposed Bishop Teofil and reduced him to the monastic state for participating in the consecration of a deposed priest, Bishop Germain (Gilles Bertrand Hardy), as a Bishop for the [[Orthodox Church of France]] (two Hierarchs from Romania also participated in the consecration, Nicolae {Corneanu, b.1923; Met. Nicolae was the center of controversy in May 2008 when he received communion from a Romanian Uniate Bishop at the consecration of the new Uniate Queen of Peace church in Timisoara, Romania}, Archbishop of Timisoara and Metropolitan of Banat, and Bishop Anthony of Ploesti).

In December 1974 the Romanian Patriarchate elevated Bishop Teofil to [[Archbishop]]. Totally cut off from the Romanian emigre community in Paris, Teofil, able to speak to one of his former priests, admitted he had committed a grave error in leaving the Church Abroad, and further, said that he had become a hostage of the Securitate, the Romanian equivalent of the KGB.

He died on [[May 9]], 1975, and was buried, due to the efforts of Archpriest Michel Constandache, in the Parisian Cemetery of Montparnasse, next to the grave of Metropolitan [[Visarion (Puiu)]].

== External links ==
* [http://www.rocorstudies.org/church-people/lives-of-bishops/2009/06/29/archbishop-teofil-ionescu-of-sevres/ Archbishop Teofil (Ionescu) of Sevres]
* [http://www.ziarullumina.ro/memoria-bisericii/memoria-bisericii-imagini-arhiepiscopul-teofil-ionescu Memoria Bisericii în imagini: Arhiepiscopul Teofil Ionescu]
* [http://www.crestinortodox.ro/dictionarul-teologilor-romani/teofil-ionescu-84710.html Teofil Ionescu]
* [http://www.ortodoxia.de/html/arhiepiscopul_roman_teofil_ionescu.html Arhiepiscopul român Teofil Ionescu]

[[Category: Bishops]]
[[Category:20th-century bishops]]

Jean-Nectaire (Kovalevsky) of Saint-Denis

2013-05-13T13:26:54Z

Fr Lev:

[[Image:Kovalevsky-Maximovitch.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Consecration of Bishop Jean-Nectaire (l) by St. [[John Maximovitch]] (r)]]

His Excellency, the Right Reverend [[Bishop]] '''Jean-Nectaire (Kovalevsky) of Saint-Denis''' was the first [[hierarch]] of the [[Orthodox Church of France]] (1966-1970). He is scheduled to be [[glorification|glorified]] as a [[saint]] by the [[Orthodox Church of the Gauls]] on Otober 12, 2008.

== Life ==

Bp. Jean-Nectaire was born Evgraph Kovalevsky in St. Petersburg, Russia, on [[April 8]], 1905. He was the brother of the [[deacon]] and musicologist Maxime Kovalevsky (1903-1988) and the historian Pierre Kovalevsky (1901-1979). He was co-founder with [[Vladimir Lossky]] of the [[Brotherhood of St. Photius]] (1925) and the [[St. Denys Theological Institute (Paris, France)|St Denys Institute]] (1944). He was ordained a [[priest]] of the [[Moscow Patriarchate]] by [[Metropolitan]] Eleutherius (Bogoyavlenky) in 1937. Upon the death of [[Archimandrite]] Irénée (Louis-Charles) Winnaert, he was placed in charge of the newly formed Western Orthodox Church established by Metropolitan [[Sergius I (Stragorodsky) of Moscow|Sergius]], the Patriarchal ''[[locum tenens]]'' of Moscow. The [[Holy Synod]] of the Church of Russia conferred upon him the title Doctor of Divinity in 1952. In 1966, he was tonsured by [[Archbishop]] [[John Maximovitch]], given the [[monastic]] name of Jean-Nectaire, consecrated bishop (with the assisatnce [[Theophilus (Ionescu) of Sèvres]]), and installed as the first Bishop of Saint-Denis in the modern era, making him the hierarch of the [[Western Rite]] diocese now known as the [[Orthodox Church of France]]. He reposed on [[January 30]], 1970.

== Writings ==

His major published works are
# ''La Sainte Messe selon l'ancien rite des Gaules ou Liturgie selon S. Germain de Paris. Le canon eucharistique de l'ancien rite des Gaules''.
# ''Homélies. Quelques enseignements spirituels donnés en l'Eglise Saint Irénée''.
# ''Message de Noël''.
# ''Pierre et Paul. Leur signification. Leur place dans la tradition chrétienne catholique orthodox''.
# ''Quarante Degrés ou quarante Immolation de Carême''.
# ''La Sainte Messe selon St Germain de Paris et le chant des fideèles''.
# ''Initiation à la Genèse''.
# ''Technique de la prière''. (Published in English as ''A Method of Prayer for Modern Times,'' Praxis, 1993, ISBN 978-1872292182).
# ''Le chemin de la vie et la destinée de l'âme après la mort''.
# ''Ezéchiel''.
# ''Le mystère des origines''.
# ''Initiation trinitaire''.
# ''La liturgie céleste''.
# ''Marie, Vierge et Mère''.
# ''Les chemins de l'homme''.
# ''Le Verbe incarné''.
# ''La quête de l’Esprit''.
# ''Le sens de l'exode''.
# ''Le carême''.

[[Category:Bishops]]
[[Category:20th-century bishops]]
[[Category:Modern Writers]]
[[Category:Western Rite]]

Jean-Nectaire (Kovalevsky) of Saint-Denis

2013-05-13T12:58:45Z

Fr Lev: link

[[Image:Kovalevsky-Maximovitch.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Consecration of Bishop Jean-Nectaire (l) by St. [[John Maximovitch]] (r)]]

His Excellency, the Right Reverend [[Bishop]] '''Jean-Nectaire (Kovalevsky) of Saint-Denis''' was the first [[hierarch]] of the [[Orthodox Church of France]] (1966-1970). He is scheduled to be [[glorification|glorified]] as a [[saint]] by the [[Orthodox Church of the Gauls]] on Otober 12, 2008.

== Life ==

Bp. Jean-Nectaire was born Evgraph Kovalevsky in St. Petersburg, Russia, on [[April 8]], 1905. He was the brother of the [[deacon]] and musicologist Maxime Kovalevsky (1903-1988) and the historian Pierre Kovalevsky (1901-1979). He was co-founder with [[Vladimir Lossky]] of the [[Brotherhood of St. Photius]] (1925) and the [[St. Denys Theological Institute (Paris, France)|St Denys Institute]] (1944). He was ordained a [[priest]] of the [[Moscow Patriarchate]] by [[Metropolitan]] Eleutherius (Bogoyavlenky) in 1937. Upon the death of [[Archimandrite]] Irénée (Louis-Charles) Winnaert, he was placed in charge of the newly formed Western Orthodox Church established by Metropolitan [[Sergius I (Stragorodsky) of Moscow|Sergius]], the Patriarchal ''[[locum tenens]]'' of Moscow. The [[Holy Synod]] of the Church of Russia conferred upon him the title Doctor of Divinity in 1952. In 1966, he was tonsured by [[Archbishop]] [[John Maximovitch]], given the [[monastic]] name of Jean-Nectaire, consecrated bishop (with the assisatnce [[Theophilus (Ionescu) of Sèvres]], and installed as the first Bishop of Saint-Denis in the modern era, making him the hierarch of the [[Western Rite]] diocese now known as the [[Orthodox Church of France]]. He reposed on [[January 30]], 1970.

== Writings ==

His major published works are
# ''La Sainte Messe selon l'ancien rite des Gaules ou Liturgie selon S. Germain de Paris. Le canon eucharistique de l'ancien rite des Gaules''.
# ''Homélies. Quelques enseignements spirituels donnés en l'Eglise Saint Irénée''.
# ''Message de Noël''.
# ''Pierre et Paul. Leur signification. Leur place dans la tradition chrétienne catholique orthodox''.
# ''Quarante Degrés ou quarante Immolation de Carême''.
# ''La Sainte Messe selon St Germain de Paris et le chant des fideèles''.
# ''Initiation à la Genèse''.
# ''Technique de la prière''. (Published in English as ''A Method of Prayer for Modern Times,'' Praxis, 1993, ISBN 978-1872292182).
# ''Le chemin de la vie et la destinée de l'âme après la mort''.
# ''Ezéchiel''.
# ''Le mystère des origines''.
# ''Initiation trinitaire''.
# ''La liturgie céleste''.
# ''Marie, Vierge et Mère''.
# ''Les chemins de l'homme''.
# ''Le Verbe incarné''.
# ''La quête de l’Esprit''.
# ''Le sens de l'exode''.
# ''Le carême''.

[[Category:Bishops]]
[[Category:20th-century bishops]]
[[Category:Modern Writers]]
[[Category:Western Rite]]

Philokalia

2013-05-09T16:01:28Z

Fr Lev: added bibliography

[[Image:Philokalia.jpg|right|frame|Front cover of Volume 1 in English, published by Faber and Faber Ltd.]]The '''''Philokalia''''' is a collection of writings, mostly centering on practicing the [[virtues]] and spiritual living in a [[monastery]]. In recent decades it has become an important resource for Orthodox Christians, [[laity]] and [[clergy]] alike, in personal living and in some ways has achieved status as a major secondary spiritual written resource (after the primary one, [[Holy Scripture]]) along with St. [[John Climacus]]' ''[[The Ladder of Divine Ascent]]''.

== History of the Compilation ==
The ''Philokalia''—Greek for "love of the beautiful/holy/exalted"—was first assembled at [[Mount Athos]] by Ss. [[Nicodemus of the Holy Mountain]] and [[Macarius Notaras of Corinth|Makarios of Corinth]]. The first edition was published at Venice in 1782; a second was done at Athens in 1893, which included a prayer by Patriarch Kallistos; and a third at Athens between 1957 and 1963 by the Astir Publishing Company. All the original writings in the ''Philokalia'' were written in Greek with the exception of two, which were originally in Latin but then translated in Greek during the time of the Roman ("Byzantine") Empire.

Soon the ''Philokalia'' was translated into multiple languages. In 1793, a [[Church Slavonic|Slavonic]] translation done by St. [[Paisius Velichkovsky|Paisii Velichkovskii]] (1722-1794), was published at Moscow under the title ''Dobrotolubiye'', and later reprinted in 1822. This would be the version carried by the unnamed central character in ''[[The Way of a Pilgrim]]'' and was responsible for a spiritual revival in 19th century Russia, impacting a lot of her people, including [[Fyodor Dostoevsky]]. A second translation was published in 1857 and was done by St. [[Ignatius Brianchaninov|Ignatii Brianchaninov]] (1807-1867). A third one was done by St. [[Theophan the Recluse]] (1815-1894), but he included other texts not in the Greek original as well as paraphrases or omissions of other sections. This translation was published in five volumes under the auspicies of the Russian [[St. Panteleimon's Monastery (Athos)|Monastery of St. Panteleimon]] at [[Mount Athos]] in 1877. A Romanian translation first appeared in 1946 with Fr. [[Dumitru Staniloae]] presiding as editor (the fifth volume appeared in 1976 and it's expected to be eight volumes). A French translation is currently in the works. Both of these use the Greek.
{{spirituality}}

== Contents of the Philokalia ==
This listing of texts is based on the English translation, started by Bishop [[Kallistos Ware]], G.E.H. Palmer and [[Philip Sherrard]] and published by Faber and Faber Ltd. The fifth volume has yet to be published. While there is no definite date set, it is predicted by the publisher to be made available sometime late in 2006. This translation uses the third edition published by the Astir Publishing Company.

=== Volume 1 ===
*St. [[Isaiah the Solitary]]
#On Guarding the Intellect: 27 Texts
*[[Evagrius the Solitary]]
#Outline Teaching on Asceticism and Stillness in the Solitary Life
#Texts on Discrimination in respect of Passions and Thoughts
#Extracts from the Texts on Watchfulness
#On Prayer: 153 Texts
*St. [[John Cassian]]
#On the Eight Vices
#On the Holy Fathers of Sketis and on Discrimination
*St. [[Mark the Ascetic]]
#On the Spiritual Law: 200 Texts
#On Those who Think that They are Made Righteous by Works: 226 Texts
#Letter to Nicolas the Solitary
*St. [[Hesychios the Priest]]
#On Watchfulness and Holiness
*St. [[Neilos the Ascetic]]
#Ascetic Discourse
*St. [[Diadochos of Photiki]]
#On Spiritual Knowledge and Discrimination: 100 Texts
*St. [[John of Karpathos]]
#For the Encouragement of the Monks in India who had Written to Him: 100 Texts
#Ascetic Discourse Sent at the Request of the Same Monks in India

There is also an appendix entitled "On the Character of Men and on the Virtuous Life: 170 Texts." Nicodemus attributes it to the model monastic [[Anthony the Great|Antony of Egypt]]; however the language and the general idea is not explicitly Christian. It was included perhaps because it had resonances of Christianity and Nicodemus thought that another work—from [[Peter of Damascus]]—quotes from this work and attributes it to Antony. However no such connection can be found.

=== Volume 2 ===

*St. [[Theodoros the Great Ascetic]]
#A Century of Spiritual Texts
#Theoretikon
*St. [[Maximos the Confessor]]
#Four Hundred Texts on Love, with a foreword to Elpidios the Presbyter
#Two Hundred Texts on Theology and the Incarnate Dispensation of the Son of God (written for Thalassios)
#Various Texts on Theology, the Divine Economy, and Virtue and Vice
#On the [[Lord's Prayer]]
*[[Thalassios the Libyan]]
#On Love, Self Control, and Life in accordance with the Intellect (written for Paul the Presbyter)
*St. [[John of Damascus]]
#On the Virtues and the Vices
*A Discourse on Abba Philemon
*St. [[Theognostos]]
#On the Practice of the Virtues, Contemplation and the Priesthood

=== Volume 3 ===

*St. [[Philotheos of Sinai]]
*Forty Texts on Watchfulness
*[[Ilias the Presbyter]]
#A Gnomic Anthology: Part I
#A Gnomic Anthology: Part II
#A Gnomic Anthology: Part III
#A Gnomic Anthology: Part IV
*[[Theophanis the Monk]]
#The Ladder of Divine Graces
*St. [[Peter of Damascus]]
#Book I: A Treasury of Divine Knowledge
#Book II: Twenty-Four Discourses
*St. [[Symeon Metaphrastis]]: Paraphrases of the Homilies of St. [[Makarios of Egypt]]
#Spiritual Perfection
#Prayer
#Patient Endurance and Discrimination
#The Raising of the Intellect
#Love
#The Freedom of the Intellect

=== Volume 4 ===

*St. [[Symeon the New Theologian]]
#On Faith
#153 Practical and Theological Texts
#The Three Methods of Prayer [attributed to him]
*[[Nikitas Stithatos]]
#On the Practice of the Virtues: One Hundred Texts
#On the Inner Nature of Things and on the Purification of the Intellect: One Hundred Texts
#On Spiritual Knowledge, Love and the Perfection of Living: One Hundred Texts
*[[Theoliptos of Philadelphia|Theoliptos, Metropolitan of Philadelphia]]
#On Inner Work in Christ and the Monastic Profession
#Texts
*[[Nikiphoros the Monk]]
#On Watchfulness and the Guarding of the Heart
*St. [[Gregory of Sinai]]
#On Commandments and Doctrines, Warnings and Promises; on Thoughts, Passions and Virtues, and also on Stillness and Prayer: 137 Texts
#Further Texts
#On the Signs of Grace and Delusion, Written for the Confessor Longinos: Ten Texts
#On Stillness: Fifteen Texts
#On Prayer: Seven Texts
*St. [[Gregory Palamas]]
#To the Most Reverend Nun Xenia
#A New Testament Decalogue
#In Defence of THose who Devoutly Practise a Life of Stillness
#Three Texts on Prayer and Purity of Heart
#Topics of Natural and Theological Science and on the Moral and Ascetic Life: 150 Texts
#The Declaration of the Holy Mountain in Defence of Those who Devoutly Practice a Life of Stillness

== Guide to Reading the Philokalia ==

Like all spiritual readings, the ''Philokalia'' should be read under the guidance of a spiritual father as to avoid misinterpretations or malpractice of spiritual remedies. For those who are not practicing monastics, the idea of divorcing oneself from the normal life may seem extreme. Nevertheless, keep in mind that those who practice the monastic life are called to live a total Christ-centered life or to use Christ's words "becoming eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven's sake" ([[Gospel of Matthew|Matthew]] 19:12). In spite of the audience, there are also sayings and writings that are relevant to those who are called to "remain in the world" such as the practice of virtues or the controlling, even extinguishing, of the passions.

Also, this work is not meant to be read all at once. It should be approached like a Merck's Medical Journal: look up the things that are relevant for whatever moment you as a reader need it. The English translations make it easier to use it in this way. For an example, if you are wondering about what patience is about, simply look at the index. If the page numbers are in bold, then it is a significant passage of text addressing that issue; otherwise it may appear as either one sentence or a small part of a larger context.

== Editions in English ==
*G. E. H. Palmer, Philip Sherrard, Kallistos Ware, ''The Philokalia: The Complete Text'' (Faber & Faber). Vol. 1 (1983) (ISBN 8-0571130139); Vol. 2 (1982) (ISBN 978-0571154661 ); Vol. 3 (1986) (ISBN 978-0571175253); Vol. 4 (1999) (ISBN 978-0571193820)
*Allyne Smith,''The Philokalia: The Eastern Christian Spiritual Texts -- Selections Annotated and Explained'' (SkyLight Paths, 2006) ISBN 1594731039

== Studies ==
*Brock Bingaman and Bradley Nassif, ''The Philokalia: Text of Orthodox Spirituality'' (Oxford, 2012). (ISBN 978-0195390278)
*Anthony Coniaris, ''Philokalia: The Bible of Orhodox Spirituality'' (Light & Life, 1998) (ISBN 978-1880971383 )
*Christopher C. H. Cook, ''The Philokalia and the Innder Life: On Passions and Prayer'' (Pickwick Publications, 2012). (ISBN 978-1620325209)

== References ==
*Fr. Alexander Webster, parish priest of the Protection of the Holy Mother of God Orthodox Church, Falls Church, VA
* [http://www.greekorthodoxchurch.org/union_with_god_kallistos_katafytiotis_angelikoudis.html On Union With God and Life of Theoria] - By Kallistos Katafygiotis (identified with Kallistos Angelikoudis) - a translation in progress of a part of the Philokalia

[[Category:Asceticism]]
[[Category:Hesychasm]]
[[Category:Texts]]

[[ro:Filocalia]]

Alexander Schmemann

2013-05-09T15:41:18Z

Fr Lev: added section on Studies

{{orthodoxyinamerica}}
Protopresbyter '''Alexander Schmemann''' ([[September 13]], 1921 - [[December 13]], 1983) was a prominent 20th century Orthodox Christian [[priest]], [[theologian]], and writer.

==Life==
Fr. Alexander Schmemann was born in Estonia to Russian émigrés. His family moved to France, where he received his university education. He married Juliana Osorguine in 1943, before completing his theological studies at the [[Orthodox Theological Institute of St. Sergius (Paris, France)|Orthodox Theological Institute of St. Sergius]] in Paris and was [[ordination|ordained]] a priest in 1946 by Archbishop [[Vladimir (Tikhonitsky) of Paris|Vladimir (Tikhonitsky)]].

[[Image:Schmemann_and_Solzhenitsyn.jpg|left|thumb|250px|Matushka Juliana Schmemann, Fr. Alexander, and [[Alexander Solzhenitsyn]]]]
From 1946 to 1951, Fr. Alexander taught [[Church History]] at St. Sergius. He was invited to join the faculty of [[St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary (Crestwood, New York)|St. Vladimir's Seminary]] (then in New York City), where he taught from 1951 onwards. When the seminary moved to its present campus in Crestwood, New York in 1962, Fr. Alexander assumed the post of dean, which he would hold until his death. He also served as adjunct professor at Columbia University, New York University, Union Theological Seminary and General Theological Seminary in New York. Much of his focus at St. Vladimir's was on liturgical theology, which emphasizes the liturgical tradition of the Church as a major sign and expression of the Christian faith.

Fr. Alexander was accorded the title of ''protopresbyter'' (also called ''archpriest'' in some Orthodox jurisdictions, though in the Russian tradition from which Fr. Alexander came, the two are distinct honorary titles), the highest honor that can be bestowed on a married Orthodox priest. He held honorary degrees from Butler University, General Theological Seminary, Lafayette College, Iona College, and [[Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology (Brookline, Massachusetts)|Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology]].

He was an Orthodox observer for the Second Vatican Council of the [[Roman Catholic Church]] from 1962 to 1965.

In 1970, he was active in the establishment of the [[Orthodox Church in America]], which at that time became officially independent from the [[Church of Russia|Russian Orthodox Church]], though its [[autocephaly]] has not been universally recognized.

His sermons were broadcast in Russian on ''Radio Liberty'' for 30 years. He gained a broad following of listeners across the Soviet Union, including [[Alexander Solzhenitsyn]], who became his friend after emigrating to the West.

Fr. Alexander published many books and articles. ''For the Life of the World'', a popular volume on Christian faith as reflected in liturgy, has been translated into eleven languages. Originally prepared as a study guide for the National Student Christian Federation in 1963, it even had an anonymous version published by the underground samizdat in the Soviet Union. ''The Eucharist'' was finished just before his death. This and several collections of his writings were published posthumously.

== Books ==

[[Image:Schmemann_Grave.jpg|right|thumb|200px|The grave of Fr. Alexander at [[St. Tikhon's Orthodox Monastery (South Canaan, Pennsylvania)|St. Tikhon's Monastery]]]]
* ''Great Lent: Journey to Pascha'' (1969)
* ''For the Life of the World: Sacraments and Orthodoxy'' (1970)
* ''Liturgy and Life: Christian Development Through Liturgical Experience'' (1974)
* ''Of Water and the Spirit: A Liturgical Study of Baptism'' (1974)
* ''Introduction to Liturgical Theology'' (1975)
* ''The Historical Road of Eastern Othodoxy'' (1977)
* ''Ultimate Questions: An Anthology of Modern Russian Religious Thought'' (1977)
* ''Church, World, Mission: Reflections on Orthodoxy in the West'' (1979)
* ''The Eucharist: Sacrament of the Kingdom'' (1988)
* ''Celebration of Faith: I Believe...'' (1991)
* ''Celebration of Faith: The Church Year'' (1994)
* ''Celebration of Faith: The Virgin Mary'' (1995)
* ''The Journals of Father Alexander Schmemann 1973-1983'' (2000)

== Articles etc. ==
* [http://www.schmemann.org/byhim/addressesantiochian.html ''Fr. Schmemann Addresses Antiochian Archdiocesan Convention in Toronto''] The Orthodox Church , November 1983, p. 2
* [http://www.schmemann.org/byhim/betweenutopiaandescape.html ''Between Utopia and Escape ''] Lecture delivered in Delaware, March 22 (1981)
* [http://www.schmemann.org/byhim/apostleshipandamerica.html ''Apostleship and America''] 12th Orthodox Education Day (1979)
* [http://www.jacwell.org/Supplements/liturgical_practices.htm ''On the Question of Liturgical Practices'', A Letter to My Bishop by AS], published in St. Vladimir's Theological Quarterly, Vol. 17, 3, pp. 239-243 (1973), hosted on the Internet by Jacob's Well, the OCA web site of the Diocese of New York & New Jersey.
* '''The Problems of Orthodoxy in America''' (1964), hosted on the Internet by Jacob's Well, the OCA web site of the Diocese of New York & New Jersey:
** [http://www.jacwell.org/Fall_Winter99/Fr_Schmemann_The_canonical_problem.htm ''I. The Canonical Problem''], published by St. Vladimir's Seminary Quarterly, Vol. 8, #2, pp. 67-85. (1964)
** [http://www.jacwell.org/Fall_Winter99/Fr_Schmemann_The_liturgical_problem.htm ''II. The Liturgical Problem''], published by St. Vladimir's Seminary Quarterly, Vol. 8, #4, pp. 164-185. (1964)
** [http://www.jacwell.org/Fall_Winter99/Fr_Schmemann_The%20_spiritual_problem.htm ''III. The Spiritual Problem''], published by St. Vladimir's Seminary Quarterly, Vol. 9 , #4, pp. 171-193. (1965)
* [http://www.schmemann.org/byhim/permanenthome.html ''A permanent home for St. Vladimir's'' - An Editorial by Schmemann], St. Vladimir’s Seminary Quarterly, Vol. 5, No. 4, Winter, p. 2 (1961)

'''List of works by Schmemann yet to be sorted properly:'''
* [http://www.schmemann.org/byhim/permanenthome.html ''A permanent home for St. Vladimir's'']
* [http://www.schmemann.org/byhim/addressesantiochian.html ''Fr. Schmemann Addresses Antiochian Archdiocesan Convention in Toronto'']
* [http://www.schmemann.org/byhim/apostleshipandamerica.html ''Apostleship and America'']
* [http://www.schmemann.org/byhim/betweenutopiaandescape.html ''Between Utopia and Escape'']
* [http://www.schmemann.org/byhim/wareonargenti.html ''Book Review - Eustratios Argenti'']
* [http://www.schmemann.org/byhim/bookreviewliturgy.html ''Book Review - Liturgy'']
* [http://www.schmemann.org/byhim/bookreviewfedotov.html ''Book Review - The Russian Religious Mind, Vol II'']
* [http://www.schmemann.org/byhim/bookreviewcalian.html ''Book Review - The Significance of Eschatology in the Thought of Nicholas Berdyaev'']
* [http://www.schmemann.org/byhim/byzantiumiconoclasm.html ''Byzantium, Iconoclasm and the Monks'']
* [http://www.schmemann.org/byhim/childrenandchurch.html ''Children and Church'']
* [http://www.schmemann.org/byhim/christisrisen.html ''Christ is risen!'']
* [http://www.schmemann.org/byhim/clergyandlaityinthechurch.html ''Clergy and Laity in the Orthodox Church'']
* [http://www.schmemann.org/byhim/confessionandcommunion.html ''Confession and Communion'']
* [http://www.schmemann.org/byhim/easterinliturgicalyear.html ''Easter in the Liturgical Year'']
* [http://www.schmemann.org/byhim/easternorthodox.html ''Eastern Orthodox'']
* [http://www.schmemann.org/byhim/ecclesiological-notes.html ''Ecclesiological notes'']
* [http://www.schmemann.org/byhim/episcopatus.html ''Episcopatus Unus Est'']
* [http://www.schmemann.org/byhim/fastandliturgy.html ''Fast and Liturgy'']
* [http://www.schmemann.org/byhim/forgivenesssunday.html ''Forgiveness Sunday'']
* [http://www.schmemann.org/byhim/holysaturday.html ''Great and Holy Saturday'']
* [http://www.schmemann.org/byhim/cypriankern.html ''In Memoriam - Archimandrite [[Cyprian (Kern)|Cyprian Kern]]'']
* [http://www.schmemann.org/byhim/cassianbezobrazov.html ''In Memoriam - Bishop Cassian (Bezobrazov)'']
* [http://www.schmemann.org/byhim/afanasiev.html ''In Memoriam - Father Nicholas Afanasiev'']
* [http://www.schmemann.org/byhim/czap.html ''In Memoriam - Ivan M. Czap'']
* [http://www.schmemann.org/byhim/levaleksandrovichzander.html ''In Memoriam - Lev Aleksandrovich Zander'']
* [http://www.schmemann.org/byhim/lossky.html ''In Memoriam - Vladimir Lossky'']
* [http://www.schmemann.org/byhim/leonty.html ''Metropolitan Leonty'']
* [http://www.schmemann.org/byhim/1982.09.30.hospitalnote.html ''Note from hospital bed'']
* [http://www.schmemann.org/byhim/evanston.html ''Notes on Evanston'']
* [http://www.schmemann.org/byhim/forgiveness-1983.03.20.html ''On Forgiveness'']
* [http://www.schmemann.org/byhim/sorrowfulepistle.html ''On The 'Sorrowful Epistle' of Metropolitan Philaret'']
* [http://www.schmemann.org/byhim/orthodoxyandmission.html ''Orthodoxy and Mission'']
* [http://www.schmemann.org/byhim/prefacefromguide.html ''Preface from "Guide to Orthodox America"'']
* [http://www.schmemann.org/byhim/persecutions-russia.html ''Religious persecutions in Russia'']
* [http://www.schmemann.org/byhim/report-preliminary.html ''Report on the preliminary negotiations concerning the establishment in America of the Autocephalous Church'']
* [http://www.schmemann.org/byhim/russiantheology.html ''Russian Theology: 1920-1972'']
* [http://www.schmemann.org/byhim/responsetodecree.html ''Response to Decree on Eastern Catholic Churches'']
* [http://www.schmemann.org/byhim/lazarussaturday.html ''Saturday of Lazarus'']
* [http://www.schmemann.org/byhim/reflectionsonconfession.html ''Some reflections on Confession'']
* [http://www.schmemann.org/byhim/somereflections.html ''Some reflections upon A Case Study'']
* [http://www.schmemann.org/byhim/orthodoxy1985.html ''Sunday of Orthodoxy'']
* [http://www.schmemann.org/byhim/churchhierarchal.html ''The Church is Hierarchal'']
* [http://www.schmemann.org/byhim/thechristianconceptofdeath.html ''The Christian concept of death'']
* [http://www.schmemann.org/byhim/liturgicalweek.html ''The fourth liturgical week at St Sergius in Paris'']
* [http://www.schmemann.org/byhim/chalcedon.html ''The Historical Background of the Council [Chalcedon]'']
* [http://www.schmemann.org/byhim/lent.html ''The Liturgical Structure of Lent'']
* [http://www.schmemann.org/byhim/orthodoxchurch.html ''The Orthodox Church'']
* [http://www.schmemann.org/byhim/orthodox-wcc-rome.html ''The Orthodox Church, the World Council of Churches and Rome (II)'']
* [http://www.schmemann.org/byhim/parish.html ''The Parish and the Church'']
* [http://www.schmemann.org/byhim/servicesofchristmas.html ''The Services of Christmas in the Orthodox Church'']
* [http://www.schmemann.org/byhim/seventhscoba.html ''The seventh meeting of the Standing Conference of Bishops'']
* [http://www.schmemann.org/byhim/task.html ''The Task of Orthodox Theology in America Today'']
* [http://www.schmemann.org/byhim/westernrite.html ''The Western Rite'']
* [http://www.schmemann.org/byhim/theologyandeucharist.html ''Theology and Eucharist'']
* [http://www.schmemann.org/byhim/matinsholysaturday.html ''This is the Blessed Sabbath'']
* [http://www.schmemann.org/byhim/threemets.html ''Three Metropolitans'']
* [http://www.schmemann.org/byhim/unlessthelord.html ''Unless the Lord builds the house...'']
* [http://www.schmemann.org/byhim/meyendorff.html ''V. Rev. John Meyendorff'']
* [http://www.schmemann.org/byhim/important.html ''What is important and what is not'']
* [http://www.schmemann.org/byhim/womenandpriesthood.html ''Women and the Priesthood'']
* [http://www.schmemann.org/byhim/thankyoulord.html ''Final Words: "Thank You, O Lord"'']

== Studies ==
*Bruce T. Morrill, ''Anamnesis as Dangerous Memory: Political and Liturgical Theology in Dialogue''(Liturgical Press, 2000). (ISBN 978-0814661833)
*William C. Mills, ''Church, World, and Kingdom: The Eucharistic Foundations of Alexander Schmemann's Pastoral Theology'' (Liturgy Training Publications, 2012). (ISBN 978-1595250384)

== External links ==
*[http://www.schmemann.org Protopresbyter Alexander Schmemann Website]
*[http://www.svots.edu/Faculty/Faculty/Protopresbyter_Alexander_Schmemann/ SVS Faculty: Protopresbyter Alexander Schmemann]
*[http://jbburnett.com/resources/schmemann/ Free PDFs of some of Alexander Schmemann's writings]

[[Category:Modern Writers]]
[[Category:Priests]]

[[mk:Александар Шмеман]]
[[ro:Alexander Schmemann]]

Dumitru Staniloae

2013-05-08T20:33:35Z

Fr Lev: /* Works */

[[Image:Dumitru Staniloae.jpg|right|thumb|200pxl|Father Dumitru Stăniloae]]
'''Dumitru Stăniloae''' was a [[priest]] of the [[Church of Romania]] who is renowned as an Orthodox theologian, academic, and professor. In addition to commentary on the works of the [[Church Fathers]] and a Romanian translation of the [[Philokalia]], his 1978 masterpiece ''The Dogmatic Orthodox Theology'' established him as one of the foremost Christian theologians of the later half of the twentieth century.

==Life==
Dumitru was born on [[November 16]], 1903, in Vladeni, Brasov County, Romania, to Irimie and Rebecca Stăniloae. His mother, Rebecca, was the niece of a priest. He was the youngest of their five children. At the age of thirteen he began studies at the Andrei Şaguna Confessional Humanist Lyceum. The following year he received a fellowship from the Gojdu Foundation. In 1922, he received a fellowship from Cernăuţi University but found the course of study unsatisfactory and withdrew after one year. From 1923-1924 he attended classes at the Faculty of Letters of the University of Bucharest.

Having returned to Cernăuţi University, he graduated in 1927, completing a thesis entitled ''Baptizing Children'' under the supervision of Professor Vasile Loichiţă. In the fall of 1928, Dumitru received his doctoral degree after completing his dissertation ''Life and Work of Dosoftei of Jerusalem and His Connections with Romanian Principalities''. Over the next several years he studied Byzantology and Dogmatics under a fellowship from the Metropolitan Center in Sibiu as well as attending courses taught by Professor August Heisenberg in Munich. In 1929 and 1930, he researched documents concerning [[Gregory Palamas]] in Berlin, Paris, and Constantinople.

On [[October 4]], 1930, he married Maria Mihu, who presented him the following year with twins, Maria and Dumitru. His son Dumitru died shortly after birth. His daughter Maria survived until April 1946. On [[October 8]], 1931, Dumitru was ordained [[deacon]], followed by his [[ordination]] to the [[priest]]hood on [[September 25]], 1932. On October 8, 1933, another daughter, Lydia, was born to the couple.

On [[January 1]], 1934, Fr. Dumitru became the director of the newspaper ''Romanian Telegraph'', a position he held until 1945. In June 1936 he was named [[rector]] of the Theological Academy in Sibiu.

With the end of World War II, the government of Romania was taken over by communists and began to oppress the Orthodox Church there. Under political pressure, Fr. Dumitru was forced in 1946 to step down from the rectorship of the [[academy]], although he continued teaching as a professor until the next year, 1947. He then transferred to the University of Bucharest, assuming the Ascetics and Mystics Chair as a member of the Faculty of Theology. In 1949, however, this chair was abolished. Still, Fr. Dumitru continued to teach graduate students as a professor of dogmatics.

In 1950 Fr. Dumitru began to attend meetings of the ''Rugul Aprins'' (''Burning Altar'') group. This was a group formed in 1940 by a number of academics, including [[hieromonk]]s Ivan Kulighin, Benedict Ghuis, and Sofian Boghiu and priests Andrei Scrima and Ion Marin Sadoveanu. The group met at the Cernica and Antim [[monastery|Monasteries]] and was a center for rejuvenation of Orthodox Christian life in Bucharest. In 1958, coinciding with the withdrawal of the Soviet Army from Romania, a wave of political arrests were made, including members of the Rugul Aprins group. Fr. Dumitru was among those arrested. On [[September 5]], 1958, he was confined to prison to await his trial, which began on [[November 4]], 1958.

Over next several years, Fr. Dumitru was moved among a number of prisons. He was held in isolation for months at a time until he was released in 1963. He then began working for the [[Holy Synod]] of the Romanian Orthodox Church. In 1965 he was asked by the Romanian State Department of Cults to write articles and take part in studies as the government attempted to project an image of religious freedom in Romania. Fr. Dumitru was permitted to travel and attend worldwide conferences.

In 1968 he was permitted to attend conferences in Freiberg and Heidelberg. The same year he lectured at Oxford University in the United Kingdom. Then, in 1973, he retired but continued as a consultant professor for doctoral studies. During the succeeding years he was honored often, including receiving ''Doctor Honoris Causa'' degrees from the University of Thessaloniki in 1976; [[St. Sergius Orthodox Theological Institute (Paris, France)|St-Sergius Orthodox Institute]] in Paris, France, in 1981; from the Faculty of Orthodox Theology of Belgrade in 1982; from the University of Theology of Athens in 1991; and from the University of Bucharest in 1992.

On [[October 5]], 1993, Fr. Dumitru Stăniloae died at the age of 90.

==Works==
Following are the titles of some of his works:

*''Catholicism after the War'', Sibiu, 1932
*''Life and Teachings of Gregory Palamas'', Sibiu, 1938
*''Orthodoxy and Romanianism'', Sibiu, 1939
*''Jesus Christ, or Man's Restoration'', Sibiu, 1943
*''[[Philokalia]]'' (translation); vol. 1: Sibiu, 1946; vol. 2: Sibiu, 1947; vol. 3: Sibiu, 1948; vol. 4: Sibiu, 1948; vol. 5: Bucharest, 1976; vol. 6: Bucharest, 1977; vol. 7: Bucharest, 1978; vol. 8: Bucharest, 1979; vol. 9: Bucharest, 1980.
*''Teologia dogmatică ortodoxă'', Bucharest, 1978. Published in English by Holy Cross Orthodox Press as ''The Experience of God: Orthodox Dogmatic Theology''. Vol. 1, ''Revelation and Knowledge of the Triune God'' (Brookline, 2005). Vol. 2, ''The World: Creation and Deification'' (Brookline, 2005). Vol. 3, ''The Person of Jesus Christ as God and Savior'' (Brookline, 2011). Vol. 4, ''The Church: Communion in the Holy Spirit'' (Brookline, 2012). Vol. 5, ''The Sanctifying Mysteries'' (Brookline, 2012). Vol. 6 (forthcoming).
*''Theology and the Church'', New York, 1980
*''Prière de Jésus et expérience du Saint-Esprit'', Paris, 1981
*''Orthodox Spirituality'', Bucharest, 1981
*''Moral Orthodox Theology'', vol. 2, Bucharest, 1981
*''St. Gregory of Nyssa - Writings'' (translation), Bucharest, 1982
*''Orthodoxe Dogmatik'', 1985

==External links==
*[[w:Dumitru Stăniloae|''Dumitru Stăniloae'' on Wikipedia]]
*[http://www.incommunion.org/articles/resources/video/fr-dumitru-staniloae-essence-of-christianity ''Essence of Christianity''] - short video

[[Category:Priests]]
[[Category:Modern Writers]]

[[fr:Dumitru Stăniloae]]
[[ro:Dumitru Stăniloae]]

Dumitru Staniloae

2013-05-08T20:31:18Z

Fr Lev: /* Works */ added bibliography

[[Image:Dumitru Staniloae.jpg|right|thumb|200pxl|Father Dumitru Stăniloae]]
'''Dumitru Stăniloae''' was a [[priest]] of the [[Church of Romania]] who is renowned as an Orthodox theologian, academic, and professor. In addition to commentary on the works of the [[Church Fathers]] and a Romanian translation of the [[Philokalia]], his 1978 masterpiece ''The Dogmatic Orthodox Theology'' established him as one of the foremost Christian theologians of the later half of the twentieth century.

==Life==
Dumitru was born on [[November 16]], 1903, in Vladeni, Brasov County, Romania, to Irimie and Rebecca Stăniloae. His mother, Rebecca, was the niece of a priest. He was the youngest of their five children. At the age of thirteen he began studies at the Andrei Şaguna Confessional Humanist Lyceum. The following year he received a fellowship from the Gojdu Foundation. In 1922, he received a fellowship from Cernăuţi University but found the course of study unsatisfactory and withdrew after one year. From 1923-1924 he attended classes at the Faculty of Letters of the University of Bucharest.

Having returned to Cernăuţi University, he graduated in 1927, completing a thesis entitled ''Baptizing Children'' under the supervision of Professor Vasile Loichiţă. In the fall of 1928, Dumitru received his doctoral degree after completing his dissertation ''Life and Work of Dosoftei of Jerusalem and His Connections with Romanian Principalities''. Over the next several years he studied Byzantology and Dogmatics under a fellowship from the Metropolitan Center in Sibiu as well as attending courses taught by Professor August Heisenberg in Munich. In 1929 and 1930, he researched documents concerning [[Gregory Palamas]] in Berlin, Paris, and Constantinople.

On [[October 4]], 1930, he married Maria Mihu, who presented him the following year with twins, Maria and Dumitru. His son Dumitru died shortly after birth. His daughter Maria survived until April 1946. On [[October 8]], 1931, Dumitru was ordained [[deacon]], followed by his [[ordination]] to the [[priest]]hood on [[September 25]], 1932. On October 8, 1933, another daughter, Lydia, was born to the couple.

On [[January 1]], 1934, Fr. Dumitru became the director of the newspaper ''Romanian Telegraph'', a position he held until 1945. In June 1936 he was named [[rector]] of the Theological Academy in Sibiu.

With the end of World War II, the government of Romania was taken over by communists and began to oppress the Orthodox Church there. Under political pressure, Fr. Dumitru was forced in 1946 to step down from the rectorship of the [[academy]], although he continued teaching as a professor until the next year, 1947. He then transferred to the University of Bucharest, assuming the Ascetics and Mystics Chair as a member of the Faculty of Theology. In 1949, however, this chair was abolished. Still, Fr. Dumitru continued to teach graduate students as a professor of dogmatics.

In 1950 Fr. Dumitru began to attend meetings of the ''Rugul Aprins'' (''Burning Altar'') group. This was a group formed in 1940 by a number of academics, including [[hieromonk]]s Ivan Kulighin, Benedict Ghuis, and Sofian Boghiu and priests Andrei Scrima and Ion Marin Sadoveanu. The group met at the Cernica and Antim [[monastery|Monasteries]] and was a center for rejuvenation of Orthodox Christian life in Bucharest. In 1958, coinciding with the withdrawal of the Soviet Army from Romania, a wave of political arrests were made, including members of the Rugul Aprins group. Fr. Dumitru was among those arrested. On [[September 5]], 1958, he was confined to prison to await his trial, which began on [[November 4]], 1958.

Over next several years, Fr. Dumitru was moved among a number of prisons. He was held in isolation for months at a time until he was released in 1963. He then began working for the [[Holy Synod]] of the Romanian Orthodox Church. In 1965 he was asked by the Romanian State Department of Cults to write articles and take part in studies as the government attempted to project an image of religious freedom in Romania. Fr. Dumitru was permitted to travel and attend worldwide conferences.

In 1968 he was permitted to attend conferences in Freiberg and Heidelberg. The same year he lectured at Oxford University in the United Kingdom. Then, in 1973, he retired but continued as a consultant professor for doctoral studies. During the succeeding years he was honored often, including receiving ''Doctor Honoris Causa'' degrees from the University of Thessaloniki in 1976; [[St. Sergius Orthodox Theological Institute (Paris, France)|St-Sergius Orthodox Institute]] in Paris, France, in 1981; from the Faculty of Orthodox Theology of Belgrade in 1982; from the University of Theology of Athens in 1991; and from the University of Bucharest in 1992.

On [[October 5]], 1993, Fr. Dumitru Stăniloae died at the age of 90.

==Works==
Following are the titles of some of his works:

*''Catholicism after the War'', Sibiu, 1932
*''Life and Teachings of Gregory Palamas'', Sibiu, 1938
*''Orthodoxy and Romanianism'', Sibiu, 1939
*''Jesus Christ, or Man's Restoration'', Sibiu, 1943
*''[[Philokalia]]'' (translation); vol. 1: Sibiu, 1946; vol. 2: Sibiu, 1947; vol. 3: Sibiu, 1948; vol. 4: Sibiu, 1948; vol. 5: Bucharest, 1976; vol. 6: Bucharest, 1977; vol. 7: Bucharest, 1978; vol. 8: Bucharest, 1979; vol. 9: Bucharest, 1980.
*''Teologia dogmatică ortodoxă'', Bucharest, 1978. Published in English by Holy Cross Orthodox Press as ''The Experience of God: Orthodox Dogmatic Theology''. Vol. 1, ''Revelation and Knowledge of the Triune God'' (Brookline, 2005). Vol. 2, ''The World: Creation and Deification'' (Brookline, 2005). Vol. 3, ''The Person of Jesus Christ as God and Savior'' (Brookline, 2011). Vol. 4, ''The Church: Communion in the Holy Spirit'' (Brookline, 2012). Vol. 5, ''The Sanctifying Mysteries'' (Brookline, 2012). Vol. 6 (forthcoming).
*''Theology and the Church'', New York, 1980
*''Priere de Jesus et experience de Saint Espirt'', Paris, 1981
*''Orthodox Spirituality'', Bucharest, 1981
*''Moral Orthodox Theology'', vol. 2, Bucharest, 1981
*''St. Gregory of Nyssa - Writings'' (translation), Bucharest, 1982
*''Orthodoxe Dogmatik'', 1985

==External links==
*[[w:Dumitru Stăniloae|''Dumitru Stăniloae'' on Wikipedia]]
*[http://www.incommunion.org/articles/resources/video/fr-dumitru-staniloae-essence-of-christianity ''Essence of Christianity''] - short video

[[Category:Priests]]
[[Category:Modern Writers]]

[[fr:Dumitru Stăniloae]]
[[ro:Dumitru Stăniloae]]

New Testament Canon

2013-04-25T14:36:19Z

Fr Lev: /* History */

The '''New Testament Canon''' is the collection of books that make up the [[New Testament]], which has been accepted and formally approved by the Church.

==History==
By the end of the 1st century, some letters of Paul were collected and circulated. We know this through references by [[Clement of Rome]] (c. 95), [[Ignatius of Antioch]] (died 117), and [[Polycarp of Smyrna]] (c. 115). However, these texts weren't usually called [[Holy Scripture|Scripture]] as the [[Septuagint]] was, and they weren't without critics. Certain [[heretic]]s tried to deny the validity of many parts of the [[Canon]], particularly the Pauline epistles. In the late 4th century Epiphanius of Salamis (died 402) Panarion 29 says the Nazarenes had rejected the Pauline epistles; Irenaeus' ''Against Heresies'' 26.2 says the Ebionites rejected Paul as an apostate. Acts 21:21 records a rumor that Paul aimed to subvert the [[Old Testament]] (see Romans 3:8, 31). 2 Peter 3:16 says his letters have been abused by heretics who twist them around "as they do with the other scriptures." In the 2nd and 3rd centuries [[Eusebius of Caesarea|Eusebius]]' ''Ecclesiastical History'' 6.38 stated the Elchasai "made use of texts from every part of the Old Testament and the Gospels; it rejects the Apostle (Paul) entirely"; 4.29.5 says Tatian the Assyrian rejected Paul's Letters and Acts of the Apostles; 6.25 says [[Origen]] accepted 22 canonical books of the Hebrews plus Maccabees plus the four [[Gospel]]s but Paul "did not so much as write to all the churches that he taught; and even to those to which he wrote he sent but a few lines."

The Roman Emperor [[Constantine the Great]] (272-337) had a great effect on Orthodox Christianity. With his [[Edict of Milan]] in 313, Christians had more freedom and Church leadership took aggressive public stances. As a result, Church controversies now flared into public [[schism]]s, sometimes with violence. Constantine saw the quelling of religious disorder as the divinely-appointed emperor's duty and called the 314 [[Council of Arles of 314|Council of Arles]] against the [[Donatism|Donatists]] and the [[First Ecumenical Council]] to settle some of the doctrinal problems seen as plaguing early Christianity. A number of early Christian writings were lost or destroyed during this time.

{{incomplete}}

=== Books of the [[New Testament]] Canon ===
{{New Testament Canon}}

{| width="100%" align="center" cellpadding="2" border="0"
| width="33%" align="left" valign="top"|
*[[Gospel of Matthew]]
*[[Gospel of Mark]]
*[[Gospel of Luke]]
*[[Gospel of John]]
*[[Acts of the Apostles]]
*[[Romans]]
*[[I Corinthians]]
*[[II Corinthians]]
*[[Galatians]]

| width="33%" align="left" valign="top"|
*[[Ephesians]]
*[[Philippians]]
*[[Colossians]]
*[[I Thessalonians]]
*[[II Thessalonians]]
*[[I Timothy]]
*[[II Timothy]]
*[[Book of Titus|Titus]]
*[[Book of Philemon|Philemon]]

| width="33%" align="left" valign="top"|
*[[Book of Hebrews|Hebrews]]
*[[Book of James|James]]
*[[I Peter]]
*[[II Peter]]
*[[I John]]
*[[II John]]
*[[III John]]
*[[Book of Jude|Jude]]
*[[Book of Revelation|Revelation]] (Apocalypse)
|}

[[Category:New Testament]]
[[Category:Scripture]]

[[el:Κανόνας της Καινής Διαθήκης]]

Gallican Rite

2013-04-24T20:21:12Z

Fr Lev: /* Sources */ spelling

{{westernrite}}The '''Gallican Rite''' refers in the first instance to the liturgy of ancient Gaul (France), and in the second to a family of non-Roman [[Western Rite]]s which comprised the majority use of most of Western Europe for the greater part until being mostly displaced by the Roman rite beginning in the eighth century, but modifying the Roman rite in the process.

Various rites within the greater Gallican family have claimed various specific lineages, such as an origin from the Alexandrine rite of St. [[Apostle Mark|Mark]] for the Churches of Aquilea and Milan, or origins from the Ephesine rite of St. [[Apostle John|John the Divine]] for the Churches of Gaul, Iberia, and Brittania. The little evidence remaining for the rite of Ephesus comes from local councils in Asia Minor. There the Byzantine replaced the Ephesine, which seems to have simply been a local use of the wider Greco-Syriac "Antiochian" liturgy. The Ephesine theory had its major opponents among the Modernist school of the early 20th century, [http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/06357a.htm as the ''Catholic Encyclopedia'' states], "the Ephesine theory has now been given up by all serious liturgiologists." The development of the rite is such it did not likely originate before the fourth century. However, the origin of the rite remains very much an open question. That it does contain much of Antiochian influence has influenced contemporary liturgical scholars to revisit the Ephesine claim of the ''Cursus Gallorum'', whereby the earliest Gallican liturgy would simply be the liturgy of Syria and Asia Minor, but in the Latin tongue.

Many Gallican texts survive, but the survival of the rite is primarily in the Toledan rite (also called Mozarabic, Isidorian, Old Spanish or Gothic by some liturgical scholars) , and secondarily in its influence upon the present Roman and Anglican rites (called Gallo-Roman), and as a component of the Ambrosian rite of Milan. It is due to the influence of the Gallican liturgy that the Roman [[Mass]] included the ''Gloria.'' The longest surviving Gallican rite was that of Toledo, Spain, which has been limited to a few [[chapel]]s for the past few centuries. Both the Toledan and Milanese liturgies were modified by the Roman, accepting the Roman [[canon]] at fairly recent times in their development. Following the Second Vatican Council, both the Toledan Rite and the Milanese Rite were altered in a ''Novus Ordo'' style though both have been celebrated in their traditional forms by priests of the Western Rite Orthodox.

Whatever their origin, the Gallican rites were more given to ceremonial than the Roman. The surviving Gallican materials also have recognizable concordances with the Eastern and Oriental rites in the form of certain prayers and ceremonial, while sharing many other similarities with the Roman rite. The known elements of the Gallican liturgy are:

*Introit
*The ''Ajus (agios)'' sung in Greek and Latin. Following this, three boys sing ''Kyrie Eleison'' three times. This is followed by the ''Benedictus''.
*Collect
*Old Testament reading
*Epistle reading or Life of the Saint of the Day
*The ''Benedicite'' and ''Ajus (agios)'' in Latin
*Gospel reading
*Sermon
*Dismissal of catechumens
*Intercessions
*Great Entrance and the Offertory chant
*Kiss of Peace
*''Sursum Corda'', Preface, ''Sanctus'', and Post-''Sanctus'' Prayer
*Roman (Gregorian) Eucharistic Prayer (not in the Gallican and Spanish liturgies, which had variable elements in the anaphora)
*The Fraction (the host is divided into nine pieces, seven of which are then arranged into the shape of a cross)
*Our Father
*Blessing of the People
*Communion of the People
*Post-Communion Prayer

==Outline of the Gallican Liturgy==
The following is the order of the Gallican liturgy as it was celebrated in sixth century Paris, as described in the first letter of St Germanus of Paris, published as ''Expositio antiquae liturgiae gallicanae''. Unlike the Roman and Milanese, the Gallican proper does not have a fixed anaphora, but instead uses variable texts before and after the institution narrative.

*Preparation of the Offerings
*Praelegendum (entrance psalm)
*Call for silence and greeting
*Trisagion (in Greek and Latin)
*Kyrie
*''Benedictus''
*Reading from the Old Testament
*Collect after the Old Testament reading
*Responsory
*Apostole
*Canticle from Daniel
*Thrice-Holy before the Gospel
*Gospel
*Sanctus after the Gospel
*Homily
*Preces
*Collect after the Preces
*Dismissal of the catechumens
*Offertory
*Preface to the faithful and collect
*Diptychs and collect
*Exchange of the Peace and collect
*Anaphora: variable Contestatio/Immolatio, variable ''Vere Sanctus'', institution narrative, variable ''post mysterium''
*Breaking of the Bread
*Lord's Prayer
*Episcopal blessing
*Communion
*''Trecanum'' (post-communion hymn of thanksgiving to the Trinity)
*Postcommunion collect
*Dismissal

==20th century history==
In the early 20th century, the Russian emigré community in Paris included a number of [[clergy]] who were mindful of evangelization in the West. Among that number were a pair of brothers, Evgraph (later Bishop [[Jean-Nectaire (Kovalevsky) of Saint-Denis|Jean-Nectaire of Saint-Denis]]) and Maxime Kovalevsky. The Kovalevskys restored the Gallican liturgy based upon the two letters concerning the liturgy whose authorship is ascribed to St [[Germanus of Paris|Germanus]], a sixth century [[bishop]] of Paris, as well as various Gallican and other non-Roman missals (Stowe, Bobbio, Gothic, Mozarab, Autun). The [[Divine Liturgy according to St Germanus of Paris]] is still in use with [[Orthodox Church of France|L'Eglise Orthodoxe de France]] as well as the "Union Actuelle Orthodoxe Catholique Francaise," elements of which joined the [[Church of Serbia|Patriarchate of Serbia]]. The rite has been used by communities under the [[Church of Russia]], the [[Russian Orthodox Church Abroad]], the [[Church of Romania]], the [[Church of Serbia]], and the [[Coptic Orthodox Church]].

==Sources==
*[http://orthodoxie.free.fr/history%20an%20liturgical.htm "Some Notes on the History and Liturgical Practice of the Orthodox Church of France"], by Fr. Francis DesMarais
*[http://orthodoxie.free.fr/sources_du_rite.htm L'ECOF article on the origins of their Gallican rite in French]
*[http://orthodoxie.free.fr/liturgie%20occidentale.htm L'ECOF article on the Ancient Rite of the Gauls in French]
*[http://web.archive.org/web/20030329153729/members.truepath.com/Ben_Johnson/Germanus.html Gallican Liturgy used by L'ECOF]
*[http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/06357a.htm Catholic Encyclopedia: Gallican Rite]
*[http://www.catholic-forum.com/saints/ncd03456.htm New Catholic Dictionary: Gallican Rite]
*[http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/16003c.htm Catholic Encyclopedia: Aquliean Rite of Gallican family]
*[http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01394a.htm Catholic Encyclopedia: Ambrosian Rite - Romanized Gallican]
*[http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/10611a.htm Catholic Encyclopedia: Mozarabic Rite - Romanized Gallican]
*[http://www.liturgica.com/html/litWLMusDev6.jsp?hostname=null Liturgica.Com "Gallican Chant"]
*[http://www.catholictradition.org/mass-h3.htm Catholic Tradition: "A Short History of the Roman Mass"], by Michael Davies

==See also==
*[[Stowe Missal]]

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

Gallican Rite

2013-04-24T20:20:17Z

Fr Lev: /* 20th century history */

{{westernrite}}The '''Gallican Rite''' refers in the first instance to the liturgy of ancient Gaul (France), and in the second to a family of non-Roman [[Western Rite]]s which comprised the majority use of most of Western Europe for the greater part until being mostly displaced by the Roman rite beginning in the eighth century, but modifying the Roman rite in the process.

Various rites within the greater Gallican family have claimed various specific lineages, such as an origin from the Alexandrine rite of St. [[Apostle Mark|Mark]] for the Churches of Aquilea and Milan, or origins from the Ephesine rite of St. [[Apostle John|John the Divine]] for the Churches of Gaul, Iberia, and Brittania. The little evidence remaining for the rite of Ephesus comes from local councils in Asia Minor. There the Byzantine replaced the Ephesine, which seems to have simply been a local use of the wider Greco-Syriac "Antiochian" liturgy. The Ephesine theory had its major opponents among the Modernist school of the early 20th century, [http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/06357a.htm as the ''Catholic Encyclopedia'' states], "the Ephesine theory has now been given up by all serious liturgiologists." The development of the rite is such it did not likely originate before the fourth century. However, the origin of the rite remains very much an open question. That it does contain much of Antiochian influence has influenced contemporary liturgical scholars to revisit the Ephesine claim of the ''Cursus Gallorum'', whereby the earliest Gallican liturgy would simply be the liturgy of Syria and Asia Minor, but in the Latin tongue.

Many Gallican texts survive, but the survival of the rite is primarily in the Toledan rite (also called Mozarabic, Isidorian, Old Spanish or Gothic by some liturgical scholars) , and secondarily in its influence upon the present Roman and Anglican rites (called Gallo-Roman), and as a component of the Ambrosian rite of Milan. It is due to the influence of the Gallican liturgy that the Roman [[Mass]] included the ''Gloria.'' The longest surviving Gallican rite was that of Toledo, Spain, which has been limited to a few [[chapel]]s for the past few centuries. Both the Toledan and Milanese liturgies were modified by the Roman, accepting the Roman [[canon]] at fairly recent times in their development. Following the Second Vatican Council, both the Toledan Rite and the Milanese Rite were altered in a ''Novus Ordo'' style though both have been celebrated in their traditional forms by priests of the Western Rite Orthodox.

Whatever their origin, the Gallican rites were more given to ceremonial than the Roman. The surviving Gallican materials also have recognizable concordances with the Eastern and Oriental rites in the form of certain prayers and ceremonial, while sharing many other similarities with the Roman rite. The known elements of the Gallican liturgy are:

*Introit
*The ''Ajus (agios)'' sung in Greek and Latin. Following this, three boys sing ''Kyrie Eleison'' three times. This is followed by the ''Benedictus''.
*Collect
*Old Testament reading
*Epistle reading or Life of the Saint of the Day
*The ''Benedicite'' and ''Ajus (agios)'' in Latin
*Gospel reading
*Sermon
*Dismissal of catechumens
*Intercessions
*Great Entrance and the Offertory chant
*Kiss of Peace
*''Sursum Corda'', Preface, ''Sanctus'', and Post-''Sanctus'' Prayer
*Roman (Gregorian) Eucharistic Prayer (not in the Gallican and Spanish liturgies, which had variable elements in the anaphora)
*The Fraction (the host is divided into nine pieces, seven of which are then arranged into the shape of a cross)
*Our Father
*Blessing of the People
*Communion of the People
*Post-Communion Prayer

==Outline of the Gallican Liturgy==
The following is the order of the Gallican liturgy as it was celebrated in sixth century Paris, as described in the first letter of St Germanus of Paris, published as ''Expositio antiquae liturgiae gallicanae''. Unlike the Roman and Milanese, the Gallican proper does not have a fixed anaphora, but instead uses variable texts before and after the institution narrative.

*Preparation of the Offerings
*Praelegendum (entrance psalm)
*Call for silence and greeting
*Trisagion (in Greek and Latin)
*Kyrie
*''Benedictus''
*Reading from the Old Testament
*Collect after the Old Testament reading
*Responsory
*Apostole
*Canticle from Daniel
*Thrice-Holy before the Gospel
*Gospel
*Sanctus after the Gospel
*Homily
*Preces
*Collect after the Preces
*Dismissal of the catechumens
*Offertory
*Preface to the faithful and collect
*Diptychs and collect
*Exchange of the Peace and collect
*Anaphora: variable Contestatio/Immolatio, variable ''Vere Sanctus'', institution narrative, variable ''post mysterium''
*Breaking of the Bread
*Lord's Prayer
*Episcopal blessing
*Communion
*''Trecanum'' (post-communion hymn of thanksgiving to the Trinity)
*Postcommunion collect
*Dismissal

==20th century history==
In the early 20th century, the Russian emigré community in Paris included a number of [[clergy]] who were mindful of evangelization in the West. Among that number were a pair of brothers, Evgraph (later Bishop [[Jean-Nectaire (Kovalevsky) of Saint-Denis|Jean-Nectaire of Saint-Denis]]) and Maxime Kovalevsky. The Kovalevskys restored the Gallican liturgy based upon the two letters concerning the liturgy whose authorship is ascribed to St [[Germanus of Paris|Germanus]], a sixth century [[bishop]] of Paris, as well as various Gallican and other non-Roman missals (Stowe, Bobbio, Gothic, Mozarab, Autun). The [[Divine Liturgy according to St Germanus of Paris]] is still in use with [[Orthodox Church of France|L'Eglise Orthodoxe de France]] as well as the "Union Actuelle Orthodoxe Catholique Francaise," elements of which joined the [[Church of Serbia|Patriarchate of Serbia]]. The rite has been used by communities under the [[Church of Russia]], the [[Russian Orthodox Church Abroad]], the [[Church of Romania]], the [[Church of Serbia]], and the [[Coptic Orthodox Church]].

==Sources==
*[http://orthodoxie.free.fr/history%20an%20liturgical.htm "Some Notes on the History and Liturgical Practice of the Orthodox Church of France"], by Fr. Francis DeMarais
*[http://orthodoxie.free.fr/sources_du_rite.htm L'ECOF article on the origins of their Gallican rite in French]
*[http://orthodoxie.free.fr/liturgie%20occidentale.htm L'ECOF article on the Ancient Rite of the Gauls in French]
*[http://web.archive.org/web/20030329153729/members.truepath.com/Ben_Johnson/Germanus.html Gallican Liturgy used by L'ECOF]
*[http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/06357a.htm Catholic Encyclopedia: Gallican Rite]
*[http://www.catholic-forum.com/saints/ncd03456.htm New Catholic Dictionary: Gallican Rite]
*[http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/16003c.htm Catholic Encyclopedia: Aquliean Rite of Gallican family]
*[http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01394a.htm Catholic Encyclopedia: Ambrosian Rite - Romanized Gallican]
*[http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/10611a.htm Catholic Encyclopedia: Mozarabic Rite - Romanized Gallican]
*[http://www.liturgica.com/html/litWLMusDev6.jsp?hostname=null Liturgica.Com "Gallican Chant"]
*[http://www.catholictradition.org/mass-h3.htm Catholic Tradition: "A Short History of the Roman Mass"], by Michael Davies

==See also==
*[[Stowe Missal]]

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

Antiochian Western Rite Vicariate

2013-04-24T14:45:57Z

Fr Lev: /* Commission */ added administration information

{{westernrite}}The '''Western Rite Vicariate''' of the [[Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America]] is a group of Orthodox Christian parishes throughout North America who worship using the [[Western Rite]] tradition. They number roughly 10,000 communicants in about twenty parishes and are under their local [[diocese|diocesan]] [[bishops]], with the Right Reverend [[John (Abdalah) of Worcester|John (Abdalah)]], Bishop of Worcester and New England, as the Auxiliary Bishop with oversight of the Vicariate.

==History==
===Before the Vicariate===
The initial parishes received into the Orthodox Church as the Western Rite Vicariate did not consist of a new movement invented by the [[Church of Antioch|Antiochian Patriarchate]] or its [[Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America|North American archdiocese]], but rather already had history within Orthodoxy, as Archpriest Paul W.S. Schneirla, Vicar General of the Western Rite, reports:

:The first major approach was made in the late nineteenth century by a Roman Catholic priest, John Joseph Overbeck [''sic'', referencing [[Joseph Julian Overbeck]]], who revised the Roman rite to conform to Orthodox standards, a fairly simple operation at that time. His proposal was accepted by the [[Church of Russia|Russian Orthodox]] [[Holy Synod]] and he was encouraged and supported by interested missionary-minded Russians, but by the time of his death in the first decade of Twentieth Century, his movement had not succeeded and his converts were absorbed into Byzantine communities.

:At the turn of the century, the only Orthodox bishop in North America, the later Russian Patriarch [[Tikhon of Moscow|Tikhon (Belavin)]] was approached by a group of Episcopalians, who asked to be allowed to continue the use of the American ''Book of Common Prayer'' rather than the [[Byzantine Rite]]. Bishop Tikhon petitioned the Holy Synod of Moscow and a commission of theologians was directed to provide a detailed examination and revision of the Prayer Book to be approved for the converts (the report was printed in the ''Journal of the Theological Academy of St. Petersburg'', a summary in English was printed in ''The Russian American Messenger'', a critical review by two Anglican scholars appeared as ''Tract XII'' of the Alcuin Club and a fuller version with notes appeared in ''The Orthodox Catholic Review'', a publication of the Antiochian Archdiocese).

:Metropolitan [[Gerasimos (Messara) of Beirut|Gerassimos (Messerah) of Beirut]] received a Western Rite movement in England before World War I, and Metropolitan [[Germanos (Shehadi) of Zahle|Germanos (Shehadi)]], while resident in the United States, engaged in negotiations to receive a [[Roman Catholic Church|Roman Catholic]] movement in Mexico in the 1920s. Neither of these projects resulted in a continuing community. They are noticed here to demonstrate that an Orthodox Western Rite is not a recent project.

:Our present Western Rite Vicariate began with the return of a few parishes of converts that had dropped out of our diocese in the difficult days after World War I. There are presently some twenty centers. There are no invented services: the parishes use either the form approved for Overbeck or for Patriarch Tikhon, now a saint of the Church.[http://www.westernorthodox.com/twain]

Thus, in some sense, the Antiochian Archdiocese "inherited" the parishes which made up the Western Rite Vicariate.

===Creation of the Vicariate===
On [[May 31]], 1958, Patriarch [[Alexander III (Tahan) of Antioch]], in consultation with the heads of the other [[autocephaly|autocephalous]] Orthodox churches, authorized His Eminence Metropolitan [[Antony (Bashir) of New York]] to establish the Western Rite in the [[Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America]]. In August of that year, Metropolitan Antony issued his edict establishing the Western Rite Vicariate in the archdiocese.

:The late Metropolitan Antony (Bashir) of the Syrian Antiochian Archdiocese, was approached by leaders and individuals of various bodies. He always made it his policy to thoroughly investigate such seekers of unity with the Church, and has had occasion to refuse several. At the same time, however, in desiring to extend and implement Orthodoxy’s mission in America, Metropolitan Antony realized that there were also those outside of communion with the Church who were sincerely seeking the truth, who were desirous of becoming engrafted to the vine of Christ. After considerable meditation of the problem and taking into consideration the action of the Church elsewhere in the world, namely France, he came to the conclusion that the use of a Western rite in America could be of importance in facilitating the return to the Church of separated Western Christians in America. He turned for guidance to the late Patriarch Alexander III of Antioch who, in May, 1958, after consultation with the other Autocephalous Churches, gave an affirmative reply. Forwarding to the Metropolitan an Arabic translation of the famous 1936 Ukase of the Moscow Patriarchate, the Patriarch of Antioch authorized Metropolitan Antony to "take the same action, leaving to your Orthodox zeal and good judgment the right to work out the details in the local situations."[http://www.westernorthodox.com/anthony]

The first Vicar General of the Western Rite Vicariate was Fr. [[Alexander Turner]], who had served as bishop to those parishes before reception into the Antiochian Archdiocese.

===The Vicariate today===
Since its founding in 1958, the Western Rite Vicariate has nearly doubled in size and now consists of a rapidly growing dimension of the Church's mission in America [http://www.stcolumbachurch.org/aboutorthodox.cfm], including 30 [[parish]]es and missions. Because of his association with the founding of the [[Western Rite]] in America, the Vicariate holds St. [[Tikhon of Moscow]] as its [[patron saint]].

==Commission and Administration==
The Western Rite Commission of the Antiochian Archdiocese consists of:

*The Very Rev. Edward W. Hughes, Vicar-General
*The Very Rev. Msgr. George Morelli
*The Very Rev. Michael Keiser
*Mrs. Marie Hyder
*The Very Rev. Paul W. S. Schneirla, Vicar-General ''emeritus''

The Vicariate is adminstered by:

*The Very Rev. Edward W. Hughes, Vicar-General
*The Rev. John W. Fenton, Assistant to the Vicar-General

==External links==
*[http://www.antiochian.org/Western-Rite/ Western Rite Vicariate] (Archdiocese site)
*[http://anglicanhistory.org/alcuin/tract12.html/ Tract 12 from the Alcuin Club]
===Articles===
*[http://www.westernorthodox.com/anthony On the Western Rite Edict of Metropolitan Anthony (Bashir)], by Fr. David Abramstov (also includes an excerpt from the report of Metropolitan Antony to the 1958 Archdiocesan Convention)
*[http://www.westernorthodox.com/twain The Twain Meet], by Fr. Paul W.S. Schneirla
*[http://www.saintpeterorthodox.org/luxocc.htm Lux Occidentalis: The Orthodox Western Rite and the Liturgical Tradition of Western Orthodox Christianity] by the Rev’d John Charles Connely, M.A.

===Parishes===
*[http://www.westernorthodox.com/directory.html Western Rite Orthodox Parish Directory]
*[http://www.stmichaelwhittier.org/ St. Michael Church], Whitter, CA
*[http://www.westernorthodox.com/stmark St. Mark Church], Denver, CO
*[http://www.stcolumbachurch.org/ St. Columba Church], Lafayette, CO
*[http://www.emmanuelorthodox.org/ Emmanuel Orthodox Catholic Church], Warren, MA
*[http://www.ststephensorthodox.org/ St. Stephens Orthodox Catholic Church], Springfield, MA
*[http://www.stgregoryoc.org/ St. Gregory the Great Church], Washington, DC
*[http://www.stmichaeloc.org/ St. Michael the Archangel Mission], Wichita, KS
*[http://www.stvincentchurch.org/ St. Vincent of Lerins Church], Omaha, NE
*[http://www.saintpeterorthodox.org/ St. Peter Church], Ft. Worth, TX
*[http://www.antiochian.org/OurLadyOfWalsingham Our Lady of Walsingham Church], Mesquite, TX
*[http://www.st-benedict.org/ St. Benedict of Nursia Church], Wichita Falls, TX
*[http://www.spokaneorthodox.com/ St. Nicholas Church], Spokane, WA
*[http://www.westernorthodox.ca/ Our Lady of Walsingham Oratory], Toronto, ON - Canada
*[http://www.standreworthodox.info/ St. Andrew the First Called Church], Oklahoma City, OK

[[Category:Jurisdictions]]
[[Category:Western Rite]]

[[bg:Викарият на Западния обряд]]

Antiochian Western Rite Vicariate

2013-04-24T14:43:16Z

Fr Lev: /* Commission */ updating membership to conform to Archdiocesan page

{{westernrite}}The '''Western Rite Vicariate''' of the [[Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America]] is a group of Orthodox Christian parishes throughout North America who worship using the [[Western Rite]] tradition. They number roughly 10,000 communicants in about twenty parishes and are under their local [[diocese|diocesan]] [[bishops]], with the Right Reverend [[John (Abdalah) of Worcester|John (Abdalah)]], Bishop of Worcester and New England, as the Auxiliary Bishop with oversight of the Vicariate.

==History==
===Before the Vicariate===
The initial parishes received into the Orthodox Church as the Western Rite Vicariate did not consist of a new movement invented by the [[Church of Antioch|Antiochian Patriarchate]] or its [[Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America|North American archdiocese]], but rather already had history within Orthodoxy, as Archpriest Paul W.S. Schneirla, Vicar General of the Western Rite, reports:

:The first major approach was made in the late nineteenth century by a Roman Catholic priest, John Joseph Overbeck [''sic'', referencing [[Joseph Julian Overbeck]]], who revised the Roman rite to conform to Orthodox standards, a fairly simple operation at that time. His proposal was accepted by the [[Church of Russia|Russian Orthodox]] [[Holy Synod]] and he was encouraged and supported by interested missionary-minded Russians, but by the time of his death in the first decade of Twentieth Century, his movement had not succeeded and his converts were absorbed into Byzantine communities.

:At the turn of the century, the only Orthodox bishop in North America, the later Russian Patriarch [[Tikhon of Moscow|Tikhon (Belavin)]] was approached by a group of Episcopalians, who asked to be allowed to continue the use of the American ''Book of Common Prayer'' rather than the [[Byzantine Rite]]. Bishop Tikhon petitioned the Holy Synod of Moscow and a commission of theologians was directed to provide a detailed examination and revision of the Prayer Book to be approved for the converts (the report was printed in the ''Journal of the Theological Academy of St. Petersburg'', a summary in English was printed in ''The Russian American Messenger'', a critical review by two Anglican scholars appeared as ''Tract XII'' of the Alcuin Club and a fuller version with notes appeared in ''The Orthodox Catholic Review'', a publication of the Antiochian Archdiocese).

:Metropolitan [[Gerasimos (Messara) of Beirut|Gerassimos (Messerah) of Beirut]] received a Western Rite movement in England before World War I, and Metropolitan [[Germanos (Shehadi) of Zahle|Germanos (Shehadi)]], while resident in the United States, engaged in negotiations to receive a [[Roman Catholic Church|Roman Catholic]] movement in Mexico in the 1920s. Neither of these projects resulted in a continuing community. They are noticed here to demonstrate that an Orthodox Western Rite is not a recent project.

:Our present Western Rite Vicariate began with the return of a few parishes of converts that had dropped out of our diocese in the difficult days after World War I. There are presently some twenty centers. There are no invented services: the parishes use either the form approved for Overbeck or for Patriarch Tikhon, now a saint of the Church.[http://www.westernorthodox.com/twain]

Thus, in some sense, the Antiochian Archdiocese "inherited" the parishes which made up the Western Rite Vicariate.

===Creation of the Vicariate===
On [[May 31]], 1958, Patriarch [[Alexander III (Tahan) of Antioch]], in consultation with the heads of the other [[autocephaly|autocephalous]] Orthodox churches, authorized His Eminence Metropolitan [[Antony (Bashir) of New York]] to establish the Western Rite in the [[Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America]]. In August of that year, Metropolitan Antony issued his edict establishing the Western Rite Vicariate in the archdiocese.

:The late Metropolitan Antony (Bashir) of the Syrian Antiochian Archdiocese, was approached by leaders and individuals of various bodies. He always made it his policy to thoroughly investigate such seekers of unity with the Church, and has had occasion to refuse several. At the same time, however, in desiring to extend and implement Orthodoxy’s mission in America, Metropolitan Antony realized that there were also those outside of communion with the Church who were sincerely seeking the truth, who were desirous of becoming engrafted to the vine of Christ. After considerable meditation of the problem and taking into consideration the action of the Church elsewhere in the world, namely France, he came to the conclusion that the use of a Western rite in America could be of importance in facilitating the return to the Church of separated Western Christians in America. He turned for guidance to the late Patriarch Alexander III of Antioch who, in May, 1958, after consultation with the other Autocephalous Churches, gave an affirmative reply. Forwarding to the Metropolitan an Arabic translation of the famous 1936 Ukase of the Moscow Patriarchate, the Patriarch of Antioch authorized Metropolitan Antony to "take the same action, leaving to your Orthodox zeal and good judgment the right to work out the details in the local situations."[http://www.westernorthodox.com/anthony]

The first Vicar General of the Western Rite Vicariate was Fr. [[Alexander Turner]], who had served as bishop to those parishes before reception into the Antiochian Archdiocese.

===The Vicariate today===
Since its founding in 1958, the Western Rite Vicariate has nearly doubled in size and now consists of a rapidly growing dimension of the Church's mission in America [http://www.stcolumbachurch.org/aboutorthodox.cfm], including 30 [[parish]]es and missions. Because of his association with the founding of the [[Western Rite]] in America, the Vicariate holds St. [[Tikhon of Moscow]] as its [[patron saint]].

==Commission==
The Western Rite Commission of the Antiochian Archdiocese consists of:

*The Very Rev. Edward W. Hughes, Vicar-General
*The Very Rev. Msgr. George Morelli
*The Very Rev. Michael Keiser
*Mrs. Marie Hyder
*The Very Rev. Paul W. S. Schneirla, Vicar-General ''emeritus''

==External links==
*[http://www.antiochian.org/Western-Rite/ Western Rite Vicariate] (Archdiocese site)
*[http://anglicanhistory.org/alcuin/tract12.html/ Tract 12 from the Alcuin Club]
===Articles===
*[http://www.westernorthodox.com/anthony On the Western Rite Edict of Metropolitan Anthony (Bashir)], by Fr. David Abramstov (also includes an excerpt from the report of Metropolitan Antony to the 1958 Archdiocesan Convention)
*[http://www.westernorthodox.com/twain The Twain Meet], by Fr. Paul W.S. Schneirla
*[http://www.saintpeterorthodox.org/luxocc.htm Lux Occidentalis: The Orthodox Western Rite and the Liturgical Tradition of Western Orthodox Christianity] by the Rev’d John Charles Connely, M.A.

===Parishes===
*[http://www.westernorthodox.com/directory.html Western Rite Orthodox Parish Directory]
*[http://www.stmichaelwhittier.org/ St. Michael Church], Whitter, CA
*[http://www.westernorthodox.com/stmark St. Mark Church], Denver, CO
*[http://www.stcolumbachurch.org/ St. Columba Church], Lafayette, CO
*[http://www.emmanuelorthodox.org/ Emmanuel Orthodox Catholic Church], Warren, MA
*[http://www.ststephensorthodox.org/ St. Stephens Orthodox Catholic Church], Springfield, MA
*[http://www.stgregoryoc.org/ St. Gregory the Great Church], Washington, DC
*[http://www.stmichaeloc.org/ St. Michael the Archangel Mission], Wichita, KS
*[http://www.stvincentchurch.org/ St. Vincent of Lerins Church], Omaha, NE
*[http://www.saintpeterorthodox.org/ St. Peter Church], Ft. Worth, TX
*[http://www.antiochian.org/OurLadyOfWalsingham Our Lady of Walsingham Church], Mesquite, TX
*[http://www.st-benedict.org/ St. Benedict of Nursia Church], Wichita Falls, TX
*[http://www.spokaneorthodox.com/ St. Nicholas Church], Spokane, WA
*[http://www.westernorthodox.ca/ Our Lady of Walsingham Oratory], Toronto, ON - Canada
*[http://www.standreworthodox.info/ St. Andrew the First Called Church], Oklahoma City, OK

[[Category:Jurisdictions]]
[[Category:Western Rite]]

[[bg:Викарият на Западния обряд]]

Antiochian Western Rite Vicariate

2013-04-24T14:38:01Z

Fr Lev: update bishop

{{westernrite}}The '''Western Rite Vicariate''' of the [[Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America]] is a group of Orthodox Christian parishes throughout North America who worship using the [[Western Rite]] tradition. They number roughly 10,000 communicants in about twenty parishes and are under their local [[diocese|diocesan]] [[bishops]], with the Right Reverend [[John (Abdalah) of Worcester|John (Abdalah)]], Bishop of Worcester and New England, as the Auxiliary Bishop with oversight of the Vicariate.

==History==
===Before the Vicariate===
The initial parishes received into the Orthodox Church as the Western Rite Vicariate did not consist of a new movement invented by the [[Church of Antioch|Antiochian Patriarchate]] or its [[Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America|North American archdiocese]], but rather already had history within Orthodoxy, as Archpriest Paul W.S. Schneirla, Vicar General of the Western Rite, reports:

:The first major approach was made in the late nineteenth century by a Roman Catholic priest, John Joseph Overbeck [''sic'', referencing [[Joseph Julian Overbeck]]], who revised the Roman rite to conform to Orthodox standards, a fairly simple operation at that time. His proposal was accepted by the [[Church of Russia|Russian Orthodox]] [[Holy Synod]] and he was encouraged and supported by interested missionary-minded Russians, but by the time of his death in the first decade of Twentieth Century, his movement had not succeeded and his converts were absorbed into Byzantine communities.

:At the turn of the century, the only Orthodox bishop in North America, the later Russian Patriarch [[Tikhon of Moscow|Tikhon (Belavin)]] was approached by a group of Episcopalians, who asked to be allowed to continue the use of the American ''Book of Common Prayer'' rather than the [[Byzantine Rite]]. Bishop Tikhon petitioned the Holy Synod of Moscow and a commission of theologians was directed to provide a detailed examination and revision of the Prayer Book to be approved for the converts (the report was printed in the ''Journal of the Theological Academy of St. Petersburg'', a summary in English was printed in ''The Russian American Messenger'', a critical review by two Anglican scholars appeared as ''Tract XII'' of the Alcuin Club and a fuller version with notes appeared in ''The Orthodox Catholic Review'', a publication of the Antiochian Archdiocese).

:Metropolitan [[Gerasimos (Messara) of Beirut|Gerassimos (Messerah) of Beirut]] received a Western Rite movement in England before World War I, and Metropolitan [[Germanos (Shehadi) of Zahle|Germanos (Shehadi)]], while resident in the United States, engaged in negotiations to receive a [[Roman Catholic Church|Roman Catholic]] movement in Mexico in the 1920s. Neither of these projects resulted in a continuing community. They are noticed here to demonstrate that an Orthodox Western Rite is not a recent project.

:Our present Western Rite Vicariate began with the return of a few parishes of converts that had dropped out of our diocese in the difficult days after World War I. There are presently some twenty centers. There are no invented services: the parishes use either the form approved for Overbeck or for Patriarch Tikhon, now a saint of the Church.[http://www.westernorthodox.com/twain]

Thus, in some sense, the Antiochian Archdiocese "inherited" the parishes which made up the Western Rite Vicariate.

===Creation of the Vicariate===
On [[May 31]], 1958, Patriarch [[Alexander III (Tahan) of Antioch]], in consultation with the heads of the other [[autocephaly|autocephalous]] Orthodox churches, authorized His Eminence Metropolitan [[Antony (Bashir) of New York]] to establish the Western Rite in the [[Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America]]. In August of that year, Metropolitan Antony issued his edict establishing the Western Rite Vicariate in the archdiocese.

:The late Metropolitan Antony (Bashir) of the Syrian Antiochian Archdiocese, was approached by leaders and individuals of various bodies. He always made it his policy to thoroughly investigate such seekers of unity with the Church, and has had occasion to refuse several. At the same time, however, in desiring to extend and implement Orthodoxy’s mission in America, Metropolitan Antony realized that there were also those outside of communion with the Church who were sincerely seeking the truth, who were desirous of becoming engrafted to the vine of Christ. After considerable meditation of the problem and taking into consideration the action of the Church elsewhere in the world, namely France, he came to the conclusion that the use of a Western rite in America could be of importance in facilitating the return to the Church of separated Western Christians in America. He turned for guidance to the late Patriarch Alexander III of Antioch who, in May, 1958, after consultation with the other Autocephalous Churches, gave an affirmative reply. Forwarding to the Metropolitan an Arabic translation of the famous 1936 Ukase of the Moscow Patriarchate, the Patriarch of Antioch authorized Metropolitan Antony to "take the same action, leaving to your Orthodox zeal and good judgment the right to work out the details in the local situations."[http://www.westernorthodox.com/anthony]

The first Vicar General of the Western Rite Vicariate was Fr. [[Alexander Turner]], who had served as bishop to those parishes before reception into the Antiochian Archdiocese.

===The Vicariate today===
Since its founding in 1958, the Western Rite Vicariate has nearly doubled in size and now consists of a rapidly growing dimension of the Church's mission in America [http://www.stcolumbachurch.org/aboutorthodox.cfm], including 30 [[parish]]es and missions. Because of his association with the founding of the [[Western Rite]] in America, the Vicariate holds St. [[Tikhon of Moscow]] as its [[patron saint]].

==Commission==
The Western Rite Commission of the Antiochian Archdiocese consists of:

*The Right Reverend Bishop Basil, Archepiscopal Vicar
*The Very Rev. Fr. Edward W. Hughes, Vicar-General
*The Rev. Fr. George Morelli

*The Very Rev. Fr. Paul W. S. Schneirla, Vicar-General (retired)

==External links==
*[http://www.antiochian.org/Western-Rite/ Western Rite Vicariate] (Archdiocese site)
*[http://anglicanhistory.org/alcuin/tract12.html/ Tract 12 from the Alcuin Club]
===Articles===
*[http://www.westernorthodox.com/anthony On the Western Rite Edict of Metropolitan Anthony (Bashir)], by Fr. David Abramstov (also includes an excerpt from the report of Metropolitan Antony to the 1958 Archdiocesan Convention)
*[http://www.westernorthodox.com/twain The Twain Meet], by Fr. Paul W.S. Schneirla
*[http://www.saintpeterorthodox.org/luxocc.htm Lux Occidentalis: The Orthodox Western Rite and the Liturgical Tradition of Western Orthodox Christianity] by the Rev’d John Charles Connely, M.A.

===Parishes===
*[http://www.westernorthodox.com/directory.html Western Rite Orthodox Parish Directory]
*[http://www.stmichaelwhittier.org/ St. Michael Church], Whitter, CA
*[http://www.westernorthodox.com/stmark St. Mark Church], Denver, CO
*[http://www.stcolumbachurch.org/ St. Columba Church], Lafayette, CO
*[http://www.emmanuelorthodox.org/ Emmanuel Orthodox Catholic Church], Warren, MA
*[http://www.ststephensorthodox.org/ St. Stephens Orthodox Catholic Church], Springfield, MA
*[http://www.stgregoryoc.org/ St. Gregory the Great Church], Washington, DC
*[http://www.stmichaeloc.org/ St. Michael the Archangel Mission], Wichita, KS
*[http://www.stvincentchurch.org/ St. Vincent of Lerins Church], Omaha, NE
*[http://www.saintpeterorthodox.org/ St. Peter Church], Ft. Worth, TX
*[http://www.antiochian.org/OurLadyOfWalsingham Our Lady of Walsingham Church], Mesquite, TX
*[http://www.st-benedict.org/ St. Benedict of Nursia Church], Wichita Falls, TX
*[http://www.spokaneorthodox.com/ St. Nicholas Church], Spokane, WA
*[http://www.westernorthodox.ca/ Our Lady of Walsingham Oratory], Toronto, ON - Canada
*[http://www.standreworthodox.info/ St. Andrew the First Called Church], Oklahoma City, OK

[[Category:Jurisdictions]]
[[Category:Western Rite]]

[[bg:Викарият на Западния обряд]]

Orthodox Church in America

2013-04-18T14:00:48Z

Fr Lev: /* Diocesan bishops */

The '''Orthodox Church in America''' (OCA) is an [[autocephaly|autocephalous]] church with parishes mainly in the United States and Canada (though it had a few parishes in Australia and elsewhere). The OCA was formerly known as the '''Russian Orthodox Greek Catholic Church in America''', or more informally, the '''Metropolia'''. Previous to that, it was the North American Diocese of the [[Church of Russia]]. The OCA's autocephaly is not currently recognized by most of the other autocephalous Orthodox churches.

{{church|
name=Orthodox Church in America[[Image:OCA 1.jpg|center|The Orthodox Church in America]]|
founder=Ss. [[Herman of Alaska]], [[Innocent of Alaska]], [[Alexis of Wilkes-Barre]]|
independence=1970 ("temporary self-government" in 1924)|
recognition=1970 by [[Church of Russia]] |
primate=[[Tikhon (Mollard) of Washington|Tikhon (Mollard)]] |
hq=[[Chancery office of the Orthodox Church in America|Syosset, New York]]|
territory=United States and Canada|
possessions=Mexico|
language=English, [[Church Slavonic]], Spanish|
music=[[Russian Chant]], [[Byzantine Chant]] (in some ethnic dioceses)|
calendar=[[Revised Julian Calendar|Revised Julian]], [[Julian Calendar|Julian]]|
population=30,000 to 1,000,000|
website=[http://www.oca.org/ Orthodox Church in America]
}}
== History ==
''Main Article: [[History of the OCA]]''

The OCA began with the missionary work of the [[Church of Russia|Russian Orthodox Church]] in Alaska and the Aleutian Islands by eight Orthodox monks who arrived in Alaska in 1794. They were part of the centuries-old missionary heritage of the Russian Orthodox Church that brought the Orthodox Church, by the monks Hourg and Barsanuphii, to the Mongol peoples. And monk St Stephen of Perm (1340-96) who would in turn journey beyond Kazan, across the Ural mountain, into the forests of Siberia to bring Orthodoxy to the pagan Zyrians. And the Russian monks who brought the Church even more eastward, eventually establishing a network of missions across Siberia and along the entire Pacific Rim: in China (1686), Alaska (1794), Japan (1861), and Korea (1898).

While the Church in Alaska was growing, immigrants were arriving in the rest of North America. In the 1860s a parish was established in San Francisco by Serbians, Russians and Greeks. Parishes were also established across the territory of the United States. At the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century, the headquarters of the North American Diocese was moved to San Francisco and then to New York. At this time there were great waves of Orthodox immigrants from Central, Eastern, and Southern Europe, and the Middle East. A belief commonly held within OCA circles (and among some in other jurisdictions) is that they were all united in a single [[diocese]] or [[jurisdiction]], which was under the Russian Orthodox Church. (This view is disputed by a number of non-OCA church historians.) Although the Russians certainly were united, as were some parishes from other ethnic groups (especially those of Middle Eastern heritage), there were many others (most notably the overwhelming majority of the Greeks) who did not look to the Russian Orthodox Archdiocese of the Aleutian Islands and North America. Instead, they looked to their mother churches. In an attempt to address this problem, Archbishop Tikhon, later [[Tikhon of Moscow]], had advocated (in a 1905 report to the Holy Synod) for an American Orthodox Church with "greater autonomy," governed by a synod of bishops representing the various nationalities. Tikhon's proposal did not have the opportunity to succeed.

In 1917, the Bolshevik Revolution brought communication between the churches in North America and Russia to an almost complete halt. In the early 1920s, Patriarch [[Tikhon of Moscow]] directed all Russian Orthodox churches outside of Russia to govern themselves autonomously until regular communication could be resumed. (He died in 1925, and was glorified as a [[saint]] by the [[Church of Russia|Russian Orthodox Church]] in 1989.) Shortly thereafter, at a Council of all hierarchs and clergy and parish delegates, it was decided that the Church in North America could no longer maintain strict administrative ties with the Church in Russia, especially since Patriarch Tikhon had been arrested. Additionally, the loss of financial support from the fallen empire added to the diocese's problems.

At that time, some parishes which had been part of a single, multi-ethnic, North American [[diocese]] organized separate dioceses and placed themselves under various other [[mother church]]es, solidifying the current situation of multiple, ethnically-based, overlapping, jurisdictions in North America. Though the revolution in Russia helped to speed this fragmentation process along, it had already been occurring prior to 1917, as hundreds of Orthodox parishes in the US had been founded without any reference to the Russian presence, whose authority was not universally acknowledged.

From that point until the restoration of relations with Moscow in the 1960s, the Metropolia entered twice into union with the [[Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia]] (see [[ROCOR and OCA]]), finally breaking with the latter body in 1946. Additionally, in 1927, the bishops of the Metropolia attempted to create an autocephalous body known as the [[American Orthodox Catholic Church]], which failed after only six years.

In the early 1960s, the Metropolia (as it was then known) resumed communication with the Patriarch of Moscow, and in 1970 full communion was restored. At that time, the Patriarch of Moscow officially granted the OCA [[autocephaly]], or self-governing administrative status. The OCA's autocephaly is not currently recognized by all autocephalous Orthodox Churches, including the [[Church of Constantinople]]. Churches that do recognize its autocephaly are mainly those in former Communist lands (most of which had thus come under the influence of the Church of Russia), including the [[Church of Russia]], the [[Church of Bulgaria]], the [[Church of Poland]], the [[Church of Georgia]], and the [[Church of the Czech Lands and Slovakia]]. According to apologists for OCA autocephaly, it is common for recognition of autocephaly to be granted belatedly; however opponents regard the grant as not being within the purview of Moscow's [[presbeia|prerogatives]] (see [[Byzantine response to OCA autocephaly]]).

== The OCA today ==
[[Image:OCA chancery.jpg|right|350px|thumb|[[Chancery office of the Orthodox Church in America|The OCA chancery, Oyster Bay Cove (Syosset), New York]]]]
The OCA today consists of 14 dioceses on the territory of Canada, the United States, and Mexico with 623 parishes, missions, and institutions (456 of which are parishes). Of the dioceses 3 are non-territorially organized along ethnic lines. These [[Ethnic diocese|ethnic dioceses]] include communities in both the United States and Canada.

There are three ethnically defined dioceses in the OCA: The Albanian Orthodox Archdiocese of Boston (13 parishes[http://oca.org/DIRlists.parish.diocese.asp?diocese=OCA-AL&x=24&y=12&SID=9&CLASS=P&TYPE=DIOCESE]), the Bulgarian Orthodox Diocese of Toledo (21 communities[http://www.bdoca.org/Parishes.html]), and the Romanian Orthodox Episcopate in America (100 communities[http://www.roea.org/directories.html]). These dioceses' geographic territory overlaps with the other dioceses of the OCA and they have under their care parishes with those ethnic associations, although all are home to multiethnic parishes and the Bulgarian Orthodox Diocese also includes Romanian-language communities. These dioceses are the result of smaller ethnic [[jurisdiction]]s joining the OCA at some point in its history, usually after having broken from other bodies due to the politics of the Cold War era.

The OCA also has 28 monastic communities[http://oca.org/DIRmonastics.asp?SID=9], six of which fall under the direct jurisdiction of the Metropolitan (i.e., are [[stavropigial]]). The largest of these monasteries are [[New Skete (Cambridge, New York)]] and [[St. Tikhon's Orthodox Monastery (South Canaan, Pennsylvania)]].

There are three [[seminary|seminaries]] operated by the OCA: [[St. Tikhon's Orthodox Theological Seminary (South Canaan, Pennsylvania)|St. Tikhon's Orthodox Theological Seminary]] (founded 1937), [[St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary (Crestwood, New York)|St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary]] (founded 1938), and [[St. Herman's Orthodox Theological Seminary (Kodiak, Alaska)|St. Herman's Orthodox Theological Seminary]] (founded 1973). All three educate seminarians from multiple Orthodox jurisdictions, including those outside North America.

The OCA is a member of the [[Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of North and Central America]] that has superseded the [[Standing Conference of the Canonical Orthodox Bishops in the Americas]] (SCOBA).

Since November of 2005, when a list of accusations were brought forward by Protodeacon Eric Wheeler, the former treasurer of the OCA, its administration has been the subject of allegations of financial misconduct. Internal investigations, audits, and other actions have since then been enacted in an attempt to address the allegations, including the firing and [[deposition]] of the OCA [[chancellor]], the former Protopresbyter [[Robert S. Kondratick]]. The [http://www.ocanews.org/ OCA News] website, a privately operated site with no connection to the administration, has been publishing reports and editorials on the scandal since January of 2006, including allegations of division within the OCA's holy synod. In August 2007, the [[Diocese of the Midwest (OCA)|Diocese of the Midwest]], which contributes to the OCA more funds than any other OCA diocese, began withholding its assessments to the central administration.[http://www.midwestdiocese.org/news_070814_1.html]

In September of 2008, after the release of a scathing report by an official investigative committee, the former primate, Metr. [[Theodosius (Lazor) of Washington|Theodosius (Lazor)]], was disciplined[http://www.oca.org/news/1631] and the then current primate, Metr. [[Herman (Swaiko) of Washington and New York|Herman (Swaiko)]] was retired by the Holy Synod.[http://www.oca.org/news/1632]

On [[November 12]], 2008, after financial scandals, the OCA's All-American Council and Holy Synod elected [[auxiliary bishop]] [[Jonah (Paffhausen) of Washington and New York|Jonah (Paffhausen)]] as its new metropolitan. He was formally installed on [[December 28]], 2008 at the primate's [[cathedral]] St. [[St. Nicholas Cathedral (Washington, D.C.)|Nicholas Cathedral]] in Washington, D.C..

On [[November 13]], 2012, the OCA's current [[primate]], the Most Blessed [[Tikhon (Mollard) of Washington|Tikhon (Mollard)]] was elected at the 17th [[All-American Council]].

===Diocesan structure===
*[[Diocese of Alaska (OCA)|Diocese of Alaska]]
*[[Albanian Archdiocese (OCA)|Albanian Archdiocese]]
*[[Bulgarian Diocese (OCA)|Bulgarian Diocese]]
*[[Archdiocese of Canada (OCA)|Archdiocese of Canada]]
*[[Diocese of Eastern Pennsylvania (OCA)|Diocese of Eastern Pennsylvania]]
*[[Diocese of Mexico (OCA)|Diocese of Mexico]]
*[[Diocese of the Midwest (OCA)|Diocese of the Midwest]]
*[[Diocese of New England (OCA)|Diocese of New England]]
*[[Diocese of New York and New Jersey (OCA)|Diocese of New York and New Jersey]]
*[[Romanian Orthodox Episcopate of America (OCA)|Romanian Orthodox Episcopate of America]]
*[[Diocese of the South (OCA)|Diocese of the South]]
*[[Diocese of Washington (OCA)|Archdiocese of Washington, D.C.]]
*[[Diocese of the West (OCA)|Diocese of the West]]
*[[Diocese of Western Pennsylvania (OCA)|Archdiocese of Pittsburgh and Western Pennsylvania]]

===Growth and membership figures===
Altogether, estimates of OCA faithful number from about 28,000[http://www.oca.org/PDF/Evangelization/2004.Parish-Revitalization-notes.pdf] to 1 million[http://www.cnewa.org/ecc-bodypg.aspx?eccpageID=27] to 2 million[http://www.aidsfaith.com/articles/denom.asp], depending on the report cited and method used for counting. The number of new parishes founded from 1990 to 2000 increased the overall parish number by about 12%, and new membership has been fairly equally divided between new immigrants, children of existing members, and converts to the faith. Overall, according to one report the trend during that decade held the population of OCA faithful in neither increase nor decline, but remaining steady.[http://hirr.hartsem.edu/research/tab2.pdf] According to another, however, that same decade saw a 13% decline.[http://www.oca.org/PDF/Evangelization/2004.Parish-Revitalization-notes.pdf]

{{orthodoxyinamerica}}

According to Fr. Jonathan Ivanoff, who is on the administrative committee of the OCA's Department of Evangelization and the board of directors of the [[Orthodox Christian Mission Center]], the OCA's American contintental membership (i.e., not including Alaska, Canada, or the ethnic dioceses) "has been declining between 6 and 9% for nearly 20 years. The OCA's Census population in 1994 was 29,775; in 2004 it stood at 27,169."[http://www.oca.org/PDF/Evangelization/2004.Parish-Revitalization-notes.pdf] Despite these sobering figures, however, the OCA's dioceses of the West and South, as well as many parishes in other dioceses, have reported steady growth.

==Name==
According to the 1970 ''[[Tomos]] of Autocephaly'' granted by the [[Church of Russia]], the name of this church body was originally ''The Autocephalous Orthodox Church in America''.[http://www.oca.org/DOCtomos.asp?SID=12] According to the Statute of the Orthodox Church in America, adopted by the Second All-American Council in October 1971, the usage is ''The Orthodox Church in America'' at the beginning of sentences[http://oca.org/DOCstatute.asp?SID=12&ID=1] and ''the Orthodox Church in America'' in the middle of sentences[http://www.oca.org/DOCstatute.asp?SID=12&ID=4], thus seeming to imply that the capitalization of ''the'' in the name is not vital.

==Episcopacy==
===Diocesan bishops===
* Most Blessed [[Tikhon (Mollard) of Washington|Tikhon (Mollard)]], Archbishop of [[Diocese of Washington (OCA)|Washington]], Metropolitan of All America and Canada, ''Locum Tenens'' of the Diocese of the [[Diocese of the Midwest (OCA)|Midwest]].
* Most Reverend [[Nathaniel (Popp) of Detroit|Nathaniel (Popp)]], Archbishop of Detroit and the [[Romanian Orthodox Episcopate of America (OCA)|Romanian Episcopate]].
* Right Reverend [[Nikon (Liolin) of Boston|Nikon (Liolin)]], Bishop of Boston, [[Diocese of New England (OCA)|New England]] and the [[Albanian Archdiocese (OCA)|Albanian Archdiocese]], ''Locum Tenens'' of the Diocese of the [[Diocese of the South (OCA)|South]]
* Right Reverend [[Benjamin (Peterson) of San Francisco|Benjamin (Peterson)]], Bishop of San Francisco and the [[Diocese of the West (OCA)|Diocese of the West]], ''Locum Tenens'' of the Diocese of [[Diocese of Alaska (OCA)|Alaska]]
* Right Reverend [[Alejo (Pacheco y Vera) of Mexico City|Alejo (Pacheco-Vera)]], Bishop of Mexico City and [[Exarchate of Mexico (OCA)|Exarch of Mexico]]
* Right Reverend [[Melchisedek (Pleska) of Pittsburgh|Melchisedek (Pleska)]], Bishop of Pittsburgh and [[Diocese of Western Pennsylvania (OCA)|Western Pennsylvania]], ''Locum Tenens'' of the Diocese of [[Diocese of Eastern Pennsylvania (OCA)|Eastern Pennsylvania]].
* Right Reverend [[Michael (Dahulich) of New York|Michael (Dahulich)]], Bishop of [[Diocese of New York and New Jersey (OCA)|New York, and New Jersey]].
* Right Reverend [[Alexander (Golitzin)]], Bishop of Toledo and the [[Bulgarian Diocese (OCA)|Bulgarian Diocese]], ''Locum Tenens'' of Chicago and the [[Diocese of the Midwest (OCA)|Diocese of the Midwest]].

===Auxiliary bishops===
* Right Reverend [[Irineu (Duvlea) of Dearborn Heights|Irineu (Duvlea)]], Bishop of Dearborn Heights and Auxiliary to Archbishop [[Nathaniel (Popp) of Detroit|Nathaniel of Detroit]].
* Right Reverend [[Mark (Maymon) of Baltimore|Mark (Maymon)]], Bishop of Baltimore, Administrator of the [[Diocese of Eastern Pennsylvania (OCA)|Diocese Eastern Pennsylvania]], Synodal Liaison for Departments and Commissions of the Orthodox Church in America.
* Right Reverend [[Irénée (Rochon)|Irénée (Rochon)]], Bishop of Quebéc City, Administrator of the Archdiocese of Canada.

===Retired bishops===
* Most Blessed [[Herman (Swaiko) of Washington and New York|Herman (Swaiko)]], Archbishop of Washington and New York, Metropolitan of All America and Canada
* Most Blessed [[Theodosius (Lazor) of Washington|Theodosius (Lazor)]], Archbishop of Washington, Metropolitan of All America and Canada
* Most Blessed [[Jonah (Paffhausen) of Washington|Jonah (Paffhausen)]], former Archbishop of [[Diocese of Washington (OCA)|Washington]], Metropolitan of All America and Canada
* Most Reverend [[Lazar (Puhalo) of Ottawa|Lazar (Puhalo)]], Archbishop of Ottawa
* Most Reverend [[Seraphim (Storheim) of Ottawa|Seraphim (Storheim)]], Archbishop of Ottawa and [[Archdiocese of Canada (OCA)|Canada]]
* Right Reverend [[Seraphim (Sigrist) of Sendai|Seraphim (Sigrist)]], Bishop of Sendai and Eastern Japan
* Right Reverend [[Mark (Forsberg) of Boston|Mark (Forsberg)]], Bishop of Boston
* Right Reverend [[Tikhon (Fitzgerald) of San Francisco and Los Angeles|Tikhon (Fitzgerald)]], Bishop of San Francisco, Los Angeles and the [[Diocese of the West (OCA)|Diocese of the West]]
* Right Reverend [[Varlaam (Novakshonoff) of Vancouver|Varlaam (Novakshonoff)]], Bishop of Vancouver
* Right Reverend [[Nikolai (Soraich) of Sitka|Nikolai (Soraich)]], Bishop of Sitka and [[Diocese of Alaska (OCA)|Alaska]]
* Right Reverend [[Matthias (Moriak) of Chicago|Matthias (Moriak)]], Bishop of Chicago and the [[Diocese of the Midwest (OCA)|Midwest]]

===Reposed bishops===
* Most Reverend [[Kyrill (Yonchev) of Pittsburgh|Kyrill (Yonchev)]], Archbishop of Pittsburgh and Western Pennsylvania and the [[Bulgarian Diocese (OCA)|Bulgarian Diocese]]
* Most Reverend [[Peter (L'Huillier) of New York|Peter (L'Huillier)]], Archbishop of New York and New Jersey
* Most Reverend [[Dmitri (Royster) of Dallas|Dmitri (Royster)]], Archbishop of Dallas and the [[Diocese of the South (OCA)|South]]
* Most Reverend [[Job (Osacky) of Chicago|Job (Osacky)]], Archbishop of Chicago and the [[Diocese of the Midwest (OCA)|Midwest]]
* Most Reverend [[Gregory (Afonsky) of Sitka|Gregory (Afonsky)]], Archbishop of Sitka and Alaska
(see also: [[Bishops of the Russian Metropolia in North America]])

== List of primates and ruling bishops==
[[Image:Raphel Platon Alexander.jpg|right|thumb|250px|Bishops [[Raphael of Brooklyn|St. Raphel]], [[Platon (Rozhdestvensky) of New York|Platon]], and [[Alexander (Nemolovsky) of Brussels|Alexander]]]]
* Bishop [[Joasaph (Bolotov) of Kodiak|Joasaph (Bolotov)]] ''Bishop of Kodiak Auxiliary of the Irkutsk Diocese'' (1799)
* Bishop [[Innocent of Alaska|Innocent (Veniaminov)]] ''of Alaska''
** ''Bishop of Kamchatka, the Kurile and Aleutian Islands'' (1840-50)
** ''Archbishop of Kamchatka, the Kurile and Aleutian Islands'' (1850-68)
* Bishop [[Peter (Ekaterinovsky) of Novoarkhangelsk|Peter (Ekaterinovsky)]] ''Bishop of Novoarkhangelsk (Sitka) Auxiliary of the Kamchatka Diocese'' (1859-66)
* Bishop [[Paul (Popov) of Novoarkhangelsk|Paul (Popov)]] ''Bishop of Novoarkhangelsk (Sitka), Auxiliary of the Kamchatka Diocese'' (1866-70)
* Bishop [[John (Mitropolsky) of the Aleutians|John (Mitropolsky)]] ''Bishop of the Aleutians and Alaska'' (1870-77)
* Bishop [[Nestor (Zakkis) of the Aleutians|Nestor (Zakkis)]] ''Bishop of the Aleutians and Alaska'' (1878-82)
* Bishop [[Vladimir (Sokolovsky-Avtonomov) of the Aleutians|Vladimir (Sokolovsky-Avtonomov)]] ''Bishop of the Aleutians and Alaska'' (1887-91)
* Bishop [[Nicholas (Adoratsky) of Orenburg and Ural|Nicholas (Adoratsky)]] ''Bishop of the Aleutians and Alaska'' (1891)
* Bishop [[Nicholas (Ziorov) of Warsaw|Nicholas (Ziorov)]] ''Bishop of the Aleutians and Alaska'' (1891-98)
* Bishop [[Tikhon of Moscow|Tikhon (Belavin)]] ''of Moscow''
** ''Bishop of the Aleutians and Alaska'' (1898-1900)
** ''Bishop of the Aleutians and North America'' (1900-05)
** ''Archbishop of the Aleutians and North America'' (1905-07)
* Archbishop [[Platon (Rozhdestvensky) of New York|Platon (Rozhdestvensky)]] ''Archbishop of the Aleutians and North America'' (1907-14)
* Archbishop [[Evdokim (Meschersky) of the Aleutians|Evdokim (Meschersky)]] ''Archbishop of the Aleutians and North America'' (1914-18)
* Archbishop [[Alexander (Nemolovsky) of Brussels|Alexander (Nemolovsky)]] ''Archbishop of the Aleutians and North America'' (1919-22)
* Metropolitan [[Platon (Rozhdestvensky) of New York|Platon (Rozhdestvensky)]] ''Metropolitan of All America and Canada'' (1922-34)
* Metropolitan [[Theophilus (Pashkovsky) of San Francisco|Theophilus (Pashkovsky)]] ''Archbishop of San Francisco, Metropolitan of All America and Canada'' (1934-50)
* Metropolitan [[Leonty (Turkevich) of New York|Leonty (Turkevich)]] ''Archbishop of New York, Metropolitan of All America and Canada'' (1950-65)
* Metropolitan [[Ireney (Bekish) of New York|Ireney (Bekish)]] ''Archbishop of New York, Metropolitan of All America and Canada'' (1965-77) assisted by Archbishop [[Sylvester (Haruns) of Montreal|Sylvester (Haruns)]] ''Archbishop of Montreal and Canada, Temporary Administrator of the Orthodox Church in America'' (1974-77)
* Metropolitan [[Theodosius (Lazor) of Washington|Theodosius (Lazor)]]
** ''Archbishop of New York, Metropolitan of All America and Canada'' (1977-80)
** ''Archbishop of Washington, Metropolitan of All America and Canada'' (1981-2002)
* Metropolitan [[Herman (Swaiko) of Washington and New York|Herman (Swaiko)]]
** ''Archbishop of Washington, Metropolitan of All America and Canada'' (2002-2005)
** ''Archbishop of Washington and New York, Metropolitan of All America and Canada'' (2005-2008)
* Metropolitan [[Jonah (Paffhausen) of Washington and New York|Jonah (Paffhausen)]]
** ''Archbishop of Washington and New York, Metropolitan of All America and Canada'' (2008-2009)
** ''Archbishop of Washington, Metropolitan of All America and Canada'' (2009-2012)
* Metropolitan [[Tikhon (Mollard) of Washington|Tikhon (Mollard)]], ''Archbishop of Washington, Metropolitan of All America and Canada'' (2012-present)
==Reference==
* ''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

==See also==
*[[ROCOR and OCA]]

{{churches}}

== Recent News ==


<rss>http://www.oca.org/newsrss.xml|short|max=6</rss>
== External links ==
* [http://www.oca.org/ Orthodox Church in America] (Official Website)
** [http://www.oca.org/Docs.asp?ID=157&SID=12 The Road to Autocephaly 1963-1970] Talk given by Dr. Constantine H. Kallaur
** [http://www.oca.org/DOCtomos.asp?SID=12 The Tomos of Autocephaly] Signed in the city of Moscow, [[April 10]], 1970, by the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia and the members its Holy Synod.
** [http://www.oca.org/DOCindex-statute.asp?SID=12 The Statute of the Orthodox Church in America]
** [http://oca.org/HSprimatialelections.asp?SID=7 Primatial Elections in the OCA]
* [http://dioceseofalaska.org/ Diocese of Alaska] (Official Website)
* [http://www.bdoca.org/ Bulgarian Orthodox Diocese of Toledo] (Official Website)
* [http://www.archdiocese.ca/ Archdiocese of Canada] (Official Website)
* [http://doepa.org/ Diocese of Eastern Pennsylvania] (Official Website)
* [http://ocamexico.org/ Diocese of Mexico] (Official Website)
* [http://domoca.org/ Diocese of the Midwest] (Official Website)
* [http://www.dneoca.org/ Diocese of New England] (Official Website)
* [http://www.nynjoca.org/ Diocese of New York and New Jersey] (Official Website)
* [http://www.ocadwpa.org/ Archdiocese of Pittsburgh and Western Pennsylvania] (Official Website)
* [http://www.roea.org/ Romanian Orthodox Episcopate in America] (Official Website)
* [http://www.dosoca.org/ Diocese of the South] (Official Website)
* [http://wdcoca.org/ Archdiocese of Washington] (Official Website)
* [http://www.dowoca.org/ Diocese of the West] (Official Website)
* [http://www.cnewa.org/ecc-bodypg-us.aspx?eccpageID=27&IndexView=toc Eastern Christian Churches: OCA] by Ronald Roberson, a Roman Catholic priest and scholar
* [http://www.ocanews.org/ OCANews.org: Orthodox Christians for Accountability], a website critical of the OCA's administration
[[Category:Jurisdictions|OCA]]

[[es:Iglesia Ortodoxa en América]]
[[fr:Église en Amérique]]
[[ro:Biserica Ortodoxă din America]]
[[ru:Американская православная церковь]]

Orthodox Church in America

2013-04-17T20:45:26Z

Fr Lev: updated bishops

The '''Orthodox Church in America''' (OCA) is an [[autocephaly|autocephalous]] church with parishes mainly in the United States and Canada (though it had a few parishes in Australia and elsewhere). The OCA was formerly known as the '''Russian Orthodox Greek Catholic Church in America''', or more informally, the '''Metropolia'''. Previous to that, it was the North American Diocese of the [[Church of Russia]]. The OCA's autocephaly is not currently recognized by most of the other autocephalous Orthodox churches.

{{church|
name=Orthodox Church in America[[Image:OCA 1.jpg|center|The Orthodox Church in America]]|
founder=Ss. [[Herman of Alaska]], [[Innocent of Alaska]], [[Alexis of Wilkes-Barre]]|
independence=1970 ("temporary self-government" in 1924)|
recognition=1970 by [[Church of Russia]] |
primate=[[Tikhon (Mollard) of Washington|Tikhon (Mollard)]] |
hq=[[Chancery office of the Orthodox Church in America|Syosset, New York]]|
territory=United States and Canada|
possessions=Mexico|
language=English, [[Church Slavonic]], Spanish|
music=[[Russian Chant]], [[Byzantine Chant]] (in some ethnic dioceses)|
calendar=[[Revised Julian Calendar|Revised Julian]], [[Julian Calendar|Julian]]|
population=30,000 to 1,000,000|
website=[http://www.oca.org/ Orthodox Church in America]
}}
== History ==
''Main Article: [[History of the OCA]]''

The OCA began with the missionary work of the [[Church of Russia|Russian Orthodox Church]] in Alaska and the Aleutian Islands by eight Orthodox monks who arrived in Alaska in 1794. They were part of the centuries-old missionary heritage of the Russian Orthodox Church that brought the Orthodox Church, by the monks Hourg and Barsanuphii, to the Mongol peoples. And monk St Stephen of Perm (1340-96) who would in turn journey beyond Kazan, across the Ural mountain, into the forests of Siberia to bring Orthodoxy to the pagan Zyrians. And the Russian monks who brought the Church even more eastward, eventually establishing a network of missions across Siberia and along the entire Pacific Rim: in China (1686), Alaska (1794), Japan (1861), and Korea (1898).

While the Church in Alaska was growing, immigrants were arriving in the rest of North America. In the 1860s a parish was established in San Francisco by Serbians, Russians and Greeks. Parishes were also established across the territory of the United States. At the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century, the headquarters of the North American Diocese was moved to San Francisco and then to New York. At this time there were great waves of Orthodox immigrants from Central, Eastern, and Southern Europe, and the Middle East. A belief commonly held within OCA circles (and among some in other jurisdictions) is that they were all united in a single [[diocese]] or [[jurisdiction]], which was under the Russian Orthodox Church. (This view is disputed by a number of non-OCA church historians.) Although the Russians certainly were united, as were some parishes from other ethnic groups (especially those of Middle Eastern heritage), there were many others (most notably the overwhelming majority of the Greeks) who did not look to the Russian Orthodox Archdiocese of the Aleutian Islands and North America. Instead, they looked to their mother churches. In an attempt to address this problem, Archbishop Tikhon, later [[Tikhon of Moscow]], had advocated (in a 1905 report to the Holy Synod) for an American Orthodox Church with "greater autonomy," governed by a synod of bishops representing the various nationalities. Tikhon's proposal did not have the opportunity to succeed.

In 1917, the Bolshevik Revolution brought communication between the churches in North America and Russia to an almost complete halt. In the early 1920s, Patriarch [[Tikhon of Moscow]] directed all Russian Orthodox churches outside of Russia to govern themselves autonomously until regular communication could be resumed. (He died in 1925, and was glorified as a [[saint]] by the [[Church of Russia|Russian Orthodox Church]] in 1989.) Shortly thereafter, at a Council of all hierarchs and clergy and parish delegates, it was decided that the Church in North America could no longer maintain strict administrative ties with the Church in Russia, especially since Patriarch Tikhon had been arrested. Additionally, the loss of financial support from the fallen empire added to the diocese's problems.

At that time, some parishes which had been part of a single, multi-ethnic, North American [[diocese]] organized separate dioceses and placed themselves under various other [[mother church]]es, solidifying the current situation of multiple, ethnically-based, overlapping, jurisdictions in North America. Though the revolution in Russia helped to speed this fragmentation process along, it had already been occurring prior to 1917, as hundreds of Orthodox parishes in the US had been founded without any reference to the Russian presence, whose authority was not universally acknowledged.

From that point until the restoration of relations with Moscow in the 1960s, the Metropolia entered twice into union with the [[Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia]] (see [[ROCOR and OCA]]), finally breaking with the latter body in 1946. Additionally, in 1927, the bishops of the Metropolia attempted to create an autocephalous body known as the [[American Orthodox Catholic Church]], which failed after only six years.

In the early 1960s, the Metropolia (as it was then known) resumed communication with the Patriarch of Moscow, and in 1970 full communion was restored. At that time, the Patriarch of Moscow officially granted the OCA [[autocephaly]], or self-governing administrative status. The OCA's autocephaly is not currently recognized by all autocephalous Orthodox Churches, including the [[Church of Constantinople]]. Churches that do recognize its autocephaly are mainly those in former Communist lands (most of which had thus come under the influence of the Church of Russia), including the [[Church of Russia]], the [[Church of Bulgaria]], the [[Church of Poland]], the [[Church of Georgia]], and the [[Church of the Czech Lands and Slovakia]]. According to apologists for OCA autocephaly, it is common for recognition of autocephaly to be granted belatedly; however opponents regard the grant as not being within the purview of Moscow's [[presbeia|prerogatives]] (see [[Byzantine response to OCA autocephaly]]).

== The OCA today ==
[[Image:OCA chancery.jpg|right|350px|thumb|[[Chancery office of the Orthodox Church in America|The OCA chancery, Oyster Bay Cove (Syosset), New York]]]]
The OCA today consists of 14 dioceses on the territory of Canada, the United States, and Mexico with 623 parishes, missions, and institutions (456 of which are parishes). Of the dioceses 3 are non-territorially organized along ethnic lines. These [[Ethnic diocese|ethnic dioceses]] include communities in both the United States and Canada.

There are three ethnically defined dioceses in the OCA: The Albanian Orthodox Archdiocese of Boston (13 parishes[http://oca.org/DIRlists.parish.diocese.asp?diocese=OCA-AL&x=24&y=12&SID=9&CLASS=P&TYPE=DIOCESE]), the Bulgarian Orthodox Diocese of Toledo (21 communities[http://www.bdoca.org/Parishes.html]), and the Romanian Orthodox Episcopate in America (100 communities[http://www.roea.org/directories.html]). These dioceses' geographic territory overlaps with the other dioceses of the OCA and they have under their care parishes with those ethnic associations, although all are home to multiethnic parishes and the Bulgarian Orthodox Diocese also includes Romanian-language communities. These dioceses are the result of smaller ethnic [[jurisdiction]]s joining the OCA at some point in its history, usually after having broken from other bodies due to the politics of the Cold War era.

The OCA also has 28 monastic communities[http://oca.org/DIRmonastics.asp?SID=9], six of which fall under the direct jurisdiction of the Metropolitan (i.e., are [[stavropigial]]). The largest of these monasteries are [[New Skete (Cambridge, New York)]] and [[St. Tikhon's Orthodox Monastery (South Canaan, Pennsylvania)]].

There are three [[seminary|seminaries]] operated by the OCA: [[St. Tikhon's Orthodox Theological Seminary (South Canaan, Pennsylvania)|St. Tikhon's Orthodox Theological Seminary]] (founded 1937), [[St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary (Crestwood, New York)|St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary]] (founded 1938), and [[St. Herman's Orthodox Theological Seminary (Kodiak, Alaska)|St. Herman's Orthodox Theological Seminary]] (founded 1973). All three educate seminarians from multiple Orthodox jurisdictions, including those outside North America.

The OCA is a member of the [[Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of North and Central America]] that has superseded the [[Standing Conference of the Canonical Orthodox Bishops in the Americas]] (SCOBA).

Since November of 2005, when a list of accusations were brought forward by Protodeacon Eric Wheeler, the former treasurer of the OCA, its administration has been the subject of allegations of financial misconduct. Internal investigations, audits, and other actions have since then been enacted in an attempt to address the allegations, including the firing and [[deposition]] of the OCA [[chancellor]], the former Protopresbyter [[Robert S. Kondratick]]. The [http://www.ocanews.org/ OCA News] website, a privately operated site with no connection to the administration, has been publishing reports and editorials on the scandal since January of 2006, including allegations of division within the OCA's holy synod. In August 2007, the [[Diocese of the Midwest (OCA)|Diocese of the Midwest]], which contributes to the OCA more funds than any other OCA diocese, began withholding its assessments to the central administration.[http://www.midwestdiocese.org/news_070814_1.html]

In September of 2008, after the release of a scathing report by an official investigative committee, the former primate, Metr. [[Theodosius (Lazor) of Washington|Theodosius (Lazor)]], was disciplined[http://www.oca.org/news/1631] and the then current primate, Metr. [[Herman (Swaiko) of Washington and New York|Herman (Swaiko)]] was retired by the Holy Synod.[http://www.oca.org/news/1632]

On [[November 12]], 2008, after financial scandals, the OCA's All-American Council and Holy Synod elected [[auxiliary bishop]] [[Jonah (Paffhausen) of Washington and New York|Jonah (Paffhausen)]] as its new metropolitan. He was formally installed on [[December 28]], 2008 at the primate's [[cathedral]] St. [[St. Nicholas Cathedral (Washington, D.C.)|Nicholas Cathedral]] in Washington, D.C..

On [[November 13]], 2012, the OCA's current [[primate]], the Most Blessed [[Tikhon (Mollard) of Washington|Tikhon (Mollard)]] was elected at the 17th [[All-American Council]].

===Diocesan structure===
*[[Diocese of Alaska (OCA)|Diocese of Alaska]]
*[[Albanian Archdiocese (OCA)|Albanian Archdiocese]]
*[[Bulgarian Diocese (OCA)|Bulgarian Diocese]]
*[[Archdiocese of Canada (OCA)|Archdiocese of Canada]]
*[[Diocese of Eastern Pennsylvania (OCA)|Diocese of Eastern Pennsylvania]]
*[[Diocese of Mexico (OCA)|Diocese of Mexico]]
*[[Diocese of the Midwest (OCA)|Diocese of the Midwest]]
*[[Diocese of New England (OCA)|Diocese of New England]]
*[[Diocese of New York and New Jersey (OCA)|Diocese of New York and New Jersey]]
*[[Romanian Orthodox Episcopate of America (OCA)|Romanian Orthodox Episcopate of America]]
*[[Diocese of the South (OCA)|Diocese of the South]]
*[[Diocese of Washington (OCA)|Archdiocese of Washington, D.C.]]
*[[Diocese of the West (OCA)|Diocese of the West]]
*[[Diocese of Western Pennsylvania (OCA)|Archdiocese of Pittsburgh and Western Pennsylvania]]

===Growth and membership figures===
Altogether, estimates of OCA faithful number from about 28,000[http://www.oca.org/PDF/Evangelization/2004.Parish-Revitalization-notes.pdf] to 1 million[http://www.cnewa.org/ecc-bodypg.aspx?eccpageID=27] to 2 million[http://www.aidsfaith.com/articles/denom.asp], depending on the report cited and method used for counting. The number of new parishes founded from 1990 to 2000 increased the overall parish number by about 12%, and new membership has been fairly equally divided between new immigrants, children of existing members, and converts to the faith. Overall, according to one report the trend during that decade held the population of OCA faithful in neither increase nor decline, but remaining steady.[http://hirr.hartsem.edu/research/tab2.pdf] According to another, however, that same decade saw a 13% decline.[http://www.oca.org/PDF/Evangelization/2004.Parish-Revitalization-notes.pdf]

{{orthodoxyinamerica}}

According to Fr. Jonathan Ivanoff, who is on the administrative committee of the OCA's Department of Evangelization and the board of directors of the [[Orthodox Christian Mission Center]], the OCA's American contintental membership (i.e., not including Alaska, Canada, or the ethnic dioceses) "has been declining between 6 and 9% for nearly 20 years. The OCA's Census population in 1994 was 29,775; in 2004 it stood at 27,169."[http://www.oca.org/PDF/Evangelization/2004.Parish-Revitalization-notes.pdf] Despite these sobering figures, however, the OCA's dioceses of the West and South, as well as many parishes in other dioceses, have reported steady growth.

==Name==
According to the 1970 ''[[Tomos]] of Autocephaly'' granted by the [[Church of Russia]], the name of this church body was originally ''The Autocephalous Orthodox Church in America''.[http://www.oca.org/DOCtomos.asp?SID=12] According to the Statute of the Orthodox Church in America, adopted by the Second All-American Council in October 1971, the usage is ''The Orthodox Church in America'' at the beginning of sentences[http://oca.org/DOCstatute.asp?SID=12&ID=1] and ''the Orthodox Church in America'' in the middle of sentences[http://www.oca.org/DOCstatute.asp?SID=12&ID=4], thus seeming to imply that the capitalization of ''the'' in the name is not vital.

==Episcopacy==
===Diocesan bishops===
* Most Blessed [[Tikhon (Mollard) of Washington|Tikhon (Mollard)]], Archbishop of [[Diocese of Washington (OCA)|Washington]], Metropolitan of All America and Canada, ''Locum Tenens'' of the Diocese of the [[Diocese of the Midwest (OCA)|Midwest]].
* Most Reverend [[Nathaniel (Popp) of Detroit|Nathaniel (Popp)]], Archbishop of Detroit and the [[Romanian Orthodox Episcopate of America (OCA)|Romanian Episcopate]].
* Right Reverend [[Nikon (Liolin) of Boston|Nikon (Liolin)]], Bishop of Boston, [[Diocese of New England (OCA)|New England]] and the [[Albanian Archdiocese (OCA)|Albanian Archdiocese]], ''Locum Tenens'' of the Diocese of the [[Diocese of the South (OCA)|South]]
* Right Reverend [[Benjamin (Peterson) of San Francisco|Benjamin (Peterson)]], Bishop of San Francisco and the [[Diocese of the West (OCA)|Diocese of the West]], ''Locum Tenens'' of the Diocese of [[Diocese of Alaska (OCA)|Alaska]]
* Right Reverend [[Alejo (Pacheco y Vera) of Mexico City|Alejo (Pacheco-Vera)]], Bishop of Mexico City and [[Exarchate of Mexico (OCA)|Exarch of Mexico]]
* Right Reverend [[Melchisedek (Pleska) of Pittsburgh|Melchisedek (Pleska)]], Bishop of Pittsburgh and [[Diocese of Western Pennsylvania (OCA)|Western Pennsylvania]], ''Locum Tenens'' of the Diocese of [[Diocese of Eastern Pennsylvania (OCA)|Eastern Pennsylvania]].
* Right Reverend [[Michael (Dahulich) of New York|Michael (Dahulich)]], Bishop of [[Diocese of New York and New Jersey (OCA)|New York, and New Jersey]].
* Right Reverend [[Alexander (Golitzin)]], Bishop of Toledo and the [[Bulgarian Diocese (OCA)|Bulgarian Diocese]], ''locum tenens'' of Chicago and the [[Diocese of the Midwest (OCA)|Diocese of the Midwest]].

===Auxiliary bishops===
* Right Reverend [[Irineu (Duvlea) of Dearborn Heights|Irineu (Duvlea)]], Bishop of Dearborn Heights and Auxiliary to Archbishop [[Nathaniel (Popp) of Detroit|Nathaniel of Detroit]].
* Right Reverend [[Mark (Maymon) of Baltimore|Mark (Maymon)]], Bishop of Baltimore, Administrator of the [[Diocese of Eastern Pennsylvania (OCA)|Diocese Eastern Pennsylvania]], Synodal Liaison for Departments and Commissions of the Orthodox Church in America.
* Right Reverend [[Irénée (Rochon)|Irénée (Rochon)]], Bishop of Quebéc City, Administrator of the Archdiocese of Canada.

===Retired bishops===
* Most Blessed [[Herman (Swaiko) of Washington and New York|Herman (Swaiko)]], Archbishop of Washington and New York, Metropolitan of All America and Canada
* Most Blessed [[Theodosius (Lazor) of Washington|Theodosius (Lazor)]], Archbishop of Washington, Metropolitan of All America and Canada
* Most Blessed [[Jonah (Paffhausen) of Washington|Jonah (Paffhausen)]], former Archbishop of [[Diocese of Washington (OCA)|Washington]], Metropolitan of All America and Canada
* Most Reverend [[Lazar (Puhalo) of Ottawa|Lazar (Puhalo)]], Archbishop of Ottawa
* Most Reverend [[Seraphim (Storheim) of Ottawa|Seraphim (Storheim)]], Archbishop of Ottawa and [[Archdiocese of Canada (OCA)|Canada]]
* Right Reverend [[Seraphim (Sigrist) of Sendai|Seraphim (Sigrist)]], Bishop of Sendai and Eastern Japan
* Right Reverend [[Mark (Forsberg) of Boston|Mark (Forsberg)]], Bishop of Boston
* Right Reverend [[Tikhon (Fitzgerald) of San Francisco and Los Angeles|Tikhon (Fitzgerald)]], Bishop of San Francisco, Los Angeles and the [[Diocese of the West (OCA)|Diocese of the West]]
* Right Reverend [[Varlaam (Novakshonoff) of Vancouver|Varlaam (Novakshonoff)]], Bishop of Vancouver
* Right Reverend [[Nikolai (Soraich) of Sitka|Nikolai (Soraich)]], Bishop of Sitka and [[Diocese of Alaska (OCA)|Alaska]]
* Right Reverend [[Matthias (Moriak) of Chicago|Matthias (Moriak)]], Bishop of Chicago and the [[Diocese of the Midwest (OCA)|Midwest]]

===Reposed bishops===
* Most Reverend [[Kyrill (Yonchev) of Pittsburgh|Kyrill (Yonchev)]], Archbishop of Pittsburgh and Western Pennsylvania and the [[Bulgarian Diocese (OCA)|Bulgarian Diocese]]
* Most Reverend [[Peter (L'Huillier) of New York|Peter (L'Huillier)]], Archbishop of New York and New Jersey
* Most Reverend [[Dmitri (Royster) of Dallas|Dmitri (Royster)]], Archbishop of Dallas and the [[Diocese of the South (OCA)|South]]
* Most Reverend [[Job (Osacky) of Chicago|Job (Osacky)]], Archbishop of Chicago and the [[Diocese of the Midwest (OCA)|Midwest]]
* Most Reverend [[Gregory (Afonsky) of Sitka|Gregory (Afonsky)]], Archbishop of Sitka and Alaska
(see also: [[Bishops of the Russian Metropolia in North America]])

== List of primates and ruling bishops==
[[Image:Raphel Platon Alexander.jpg|right|thumb|250px|Bishops [[Raphael of Brooklyn|St. Raphel]], [[Platon (Rozhdestvensky) of New York|Platon]], and [[Alexander (Nemolovsky) of Brussels|Alexander]]]]
* Bishop [[Joasaph (Bolotov) of Kodiak|Joasaph (Bolotov)]] ''Bishop of Kodiak Auxiliary of the Irkutsk Diocese'' (1799)
* Bishop [[Innocent of Alaska|Innocent (Veniaminov)]] ''of Alaska''
** ''Bishop of Kamchatka, the Kurile and Aleutian Islands'' (1840-50)
** ''Archbishop of Kamchatka, the Kurile and Aleutian Islands'' (1850-68)
* Bishop [[Peter (Ekaterinovsky) of Novoarkhangelsk|Peter (Ekaterinovsky)]] ''Bishop of Novoarkhangelsk (Sitka) Auxiliary of the Kamchatka Diocese'' (1859-66)
* Bishop [[Paul (Popov) of Novoarkhangelsk|Paul (Popov)]] ''Bishop of Novoarkhangelsk (Sitka), Auxiliary of the Kamchatka Diocese'' (1866-70)
* Bishop [[John (Mitropolsky) of the Aleutians|John (Mitropolsky)]] ''Bishop of the Aleutians and Alaska'' (1870-77)
* Bishop [[Nestor (Zakkis) of the Aleutians|Nestor (Zakkis)]] ''Bishop of the Aleutians and Alaska'' (1878-82)
* Bishop [[Vladimir (Sokolovsky-Avtonomov) of the Aleutians|Vladimir (Sokolovsky-Avtonomov)]] ''Bishop of the Aleutians and Alaska'' (1887-91)
* Bishop [[Nicholas (Adoratsky) of Orenburg and Ural|Nicholas (Adoratsky)]] ''Bishop of the Aleutians and Alaska'' (1891)
* Bishop [[Nicholas (Ziorov) of Warsaw|Nicholas (Ziorov)]] ''Bishop of the Aleutians and Alaska'' (1891-98)
* Bishop [[Tikhon of Moscow|Tikhon (Belavin)]] ''of Moscow''
** ''Bishop of the Aleutians and Alaska'' (1898-1900)
** ''Bishop of the Aleutians and North America'' (1900-05)
** ''Archbishop of the Aleutians and North America'' (1905-07)
* Archbishop [[Platon (Rozhdestvensky) of New York|Platon (Rozhdestvensky)]] ''Archbishop of the Aleutians and North America'' (1907-14)
* Archbishop [[Evdokim (Meschersky) of the Aleutians|Evdokim (Meschersky)]] ''Archbishop of the Aleutians and North America'' (1914-18)
* Archbishop [[Alexander (Nemolovsky) of Brussels|Alexander (Nemolovsky)]] ''Archbishop of the Aleutians and North America'' (1919-22)
* Metropolitan [[Platon (Rozhdestvensky) of New York|Platon (Rozhdestvensky)]] ''Metropolitan of All America and Canada'' (1922-34)
* Metropolitan [[Theophilus (Pashkovsky) of San Francisco|Theophilus (Pashkovsky)]] ''Archbishop of San Francisco, Metropolitan of All America and Canada'' (1934-50)
* Metropolitan [[Leonty (Turkevich) of New York|Leonty (Turkevich)]] ''Archbishop of New York, Metropolitan of All America and Canada'' (1950-65)
* Metropolitan [[Ireney (Bekish) of New York|Ireney (Bekish)]] ''Archbishop of New York, Metropolitan of All America and Canada'' (1965-77) assisted by Archbishop [[Sylvester (Haruns) of Montreal|Sylvester (Haruns)]] ''Archbishop of Montreal and Canada, Temporary Administrator of the Orthodox Church in America'' (1974-77)
* Metropolitan [[Theodosius (Lazor) of Washington|Theodosius (Lazor)]]
** ''Archbishop of New York, Metropolitan of All America and Canada'' (1977-80)
** ''Archbishop of Washington, Metropolitan of All America and Canada'' (1981-2002)
* Metropolitan [[Herman (Swaiko) of Washington and New York|Herman (Swaiko)]]
** ''Archbishop of Washington, Metropolitan of All America and Canada'' (2002-2005)
** ''Archbishop of Washington and New York, Metropolitan of All America and Canada'' (2005-2008)
* Metropolitan [[Jonah (Paffhausen) of Washington and New York|Jonah (Paffhausen)]]
** ''Archbishop of Washington and New York, Metropolitan of All America and Canada'' (2008-2009)
** ''Archbishop of Washington, Metropolitan of All America and Canada'' (2009-2012)
* Metropolitan [[Tikhon (Mollard) of Washington|Tikhon (Mollard)]], ''Archbishop of Washington, Metropolitan of All America and Canada'' (2012-present)
==Reference==
* ''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

==See also==
*[[ROCOR and OCA]]

{{churches}}

== Recent News ==


<rss>http://www.oca.org/newsrss.xml|short|max=6</rss>
== External links ==
* [http://www.oca.org/ Orthodox Church in America] (Official Website)
** [http://www.oca.org/Docs.asp?ID=157&SID=12 The Road to Autocephaly 1963-1970] Talk given by Dr. Constantine H. Kallaur
** [http://www.oca.org/DOCtomos.asp?SID=12 The Tomos of Autocephaly] Signed in the city of Moscow, [[April 10]], 1970, by the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia and the members its Holy Synod.
** [http://www.oca.org/DOCindex-statute.asp?SID=12 The Statute of the Orthodox Church in America]
** [http://oca.org/HSprimatialelections.asp?SID=7 Primatial Elections in the OCA]
* [http://dioceseofalaska.org/ Diocese of Alaska] (Official Website)
* [http://www.bdoca.org/ Bulgarian Orthodox Diocese of Toledo] (Official Website)
* [http://www.archdiocese.ca/ Archdiocese of Canada] (Official Website)
* [http://doepa.org/ Diocese of Eastern Pennsylvania] (Official Website)
* [http://ocamexico.org/ Diocese of Mexico] (Official Website)
* [http://domoca.org/ Diocese of the Midwest] (Official Website)
* [http://www.dneoca.org/ Diocese of New England] (Official Website)
* [http://www.nynjoca.org/ Diocese of New York and New Jersey] (Official Website)
* [http://www.ocadwpa.org/ Archdiocese of Pittsburgh and Western Pennsylvania] (Official Website)
* [http://www.roea.org/ Romanian Orthodox Episcopate in America] (Official Website)
* [http://www.dosoca.org/ Diocese of the South] (Official Website)
* [http://wdcoca.org/ Archdiocese of Washington] (Official Website)
* [http://www.dowoca.org/ Diocese of the West] (Official Website)
* [http://www.cnewa.org/ecc-bodypg-us.aspx?eccpageID=27&IndexView=toc Eastern Christian Churches: OCA] by Ronald Roberson, a Roman Catholic priest and scholar
* [http://www.ocanews.org/ OCANews.org: Orthodox Christians for Accountability], a website critical of the OCA's administration
[[Category:Jurisdictions|OCA]]

[[es:Iglesia Ortodoxa en América]]
[[fr:Église en Amérique]]
[[ro:Biserica Ortodoxă din America]]
[[ru:Американская православная церковь]]

Diocese of the Midwest (OCA)

2013-04-17T20:36:42Z

Fr Lev:

[[Image:800px-Map of USA highlighting OCA Midwest Diocese.png|thumb|Visual representation of the Diocese of the Midwest]]

The '''Diocese of the Midwest''' is a [[diocese]] of the [[Orthodox Church in America]]. The diocese is under the leadership of the Right Reverend [[Alexander (Golitzin) of Toledo]], who was named as the ''locum tenens'' of the diocese on [[April 15]], 2013, by the Holy Synod. He succeeds the Right Reverend [[Matthias (Moriak)]] who was [[consecration of a bishop|consecrated]] and installed as the ruling bishop of the diocese on [[April 30]], 2011, and retired by the Holy Synod on April 15, 2013.

Its territory includes eleven states in the Midwestern United States – Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, North Dakota, Nebraska, Ohio, and Wisconsin. The diocesan chancery is located on North LaSalle Street in Chicago, Illinois.

__TOC__

{{orthodoxyinamerica}}
== Deaneries ==

* Chicago Deanery – Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin
* Cleveland Deanery – Ohio
* Columbus Deanery – Indiana and Ohio
* Kansas City Deanery – Illinois, Kansas, Missouri, and Nebraska
* Michigan Deanery – Michigan
* Minneapolis Deanery – Minnesota, North Dakota, and Wisconsin

==Ruling bishops==
*[[Alexander (Golitzin) of Toledo]], ''locum tenens'', 2013-Present
*[[Matthias (Moriak) of Chicago]] 2011-2013
*[[Job (Osacky) of Chicago]] 1993-2009
*[[Boris (Geeza) of Chicago]] 1978-1988
*[[John (Garklavs) of Chicago]] 1957-1978 (administrator 1949-1957)

*[[Leonty (Turkevich) of New York|Leonty (Turkevich)]] 1933-1950
*[[Paul (Gavrilov) of Chicago|Paul (Gavrilov)]] 1933
*[[Theophilus (Pashkovsky) of San Francisco|Theophilus (Pashkovsky)]] 1922-1931

== External links ==
* [http://midwestdiocese.org/ Official site]
* [http://www.holytrinitycathedral.net/ Holy Trinity Cathedral, the Diocesan See]

[[Category:OCA Dioceses|Midwest ]]

Diocese of the Midwest (OCA)

2013-04-17T20:34:17Z

Fr Lev: updating bishop of the diocese

[[Image:800px-Map of USA highlighting OCA Midwest Diocese.png|thumb|Visual representation of the Diocese of the Midwest]]

The '''Diocese of the Midwest''' is a [[diocese]] of the [[Orthodox Church in America]]. The diocese is under the leadership of the Right Reverend [[Alexander (Golitzin) of Toledo]], who was named as the ''locum tenens'' of the diocese on April 15, 2013, by the Holy Synod. He succeeds the Right Reverend [[Matthias (Moriak)]] who was [[consecration of a bishop|consecrated]] and installed as the ruling bishop of the diocese on [[April 30]], 2011, and retired by the Holy Synod on April 15, 2013.

Its territory includes eleven states in the Midwestern United States – Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, North Dakota, Nebraska, Ohio, and Wisconsin. The diocesan chancery is located on North LaSalle Street in Chicago, Illinois.

__TOC__

{{orthodoxyinamerica}}

== Deaneries ==

* Chicago Deanery – Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin
* Cleveland Deanery – Ohio
* Columbus Deanery – Indiana and Ohio
* Kansas City Deanery – Illinois, Kansas, Missouri, and Nebraska
* Michigan Deanery – Michigan
* Minneapolis Deanery – Minnesota, North Dakota, and Wisconsin

==Ruling bishops==
*[[Alexander (Golitzin) of Toledo]], ''locum tenens'', 2013-Present
*[[Matthias (Moriak) of Chicago]] 2011-2013
*[[Job (Osacky) of Chicago]] 1993-2009
*[[Boris (Geeza) of Chicago]] 1978-1988
*[[John (Garklavs) of Chicago]] 1957-1978 (administrator 1949-1957)

*[[Leonty (Turkevich) of New York|Leonty (Turkevich)]] 1933-1950
*[[Paul (Gavrilov) of Chicago|Paul (Gavrilov)]] 1933
*[[Theophilus (Pashkovsky) of San Francisco|Theophilus (Pashkovsky)]] 1922-1931

== External links ==
* [http://midwestdiocese.org/ Official site]
* [http://www.holytrinitycathedral.net/ Holy Trinity Cathedral, the Diocesan See]

[[Category:OCA Dioceses|Midwest ]]

Diocese of the Midwest (OCA)

2013-04-17T20:27:01Z

Fr Lev: /* Ruling bishops */ adding new locum tenens

[[Image:800px-Map of USA highlighting OCA Midwest Diocese.png|thumb|Visual representation of the Diocese of the Midwest]]

The '''Diocese of the Midwest''' is a [[diocese]] of the [[Orthodox Church in America]]. The diocese is under the leadership of Right Reverend [[Matthias (Moriak)]] who was [[consecration of a bishop|consecrated]] and installed as the ruling bishop of the diocese on [[April 30]], 2011. He succeeds His Eminence, the Most Reverend [[Job (Osacky) of Chicago|Job (Osacky)]] who reposed in the Lord on [[December 18]], 2009.

Its territory includes eleven states in the Midwestern United States – Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, North Dakota, Nebraska, Ohio, and Wisconsin. The diocesan chancery is located on North LaSalle Street in Chicago, Illinois.

__TOC__

{{orthodoxyinamerica}}

== Deaneries ==

* Chicago Deanery – Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin
* Cleveland Deanery – Ohio
* Columbus Deanery – Indiana and Ohio
* Kansas City Deanery – Illinois, Kansas, Missouri, and Nebraska
* Michigan Deanery – Michigan
* Minneapolis Deanery – Minnesota, North Dakota, and Wisconsin

==Ruling bishops==
*[[Alexander (Golitzin) of Toledo]], ''locum tenens'', 2013-Present
*[[Matthias (Moriak) of Chicago]] 2011-2013
*[[Job (Osacky) of Chicago]] 1993-2009
*[[Boris (Geeza) of Chicago]] 1978-1988
*[[John (Garklavs) of Chicago]] 1957-1978 (administrator 1949-1957)

*[[Leonty (Turkevich) of New York|Leonty (Turkevich)]] 1933-1950
*[[Paul (Gavrilov) of Chicago|Paul (Gavrilov)]] 1933
*[[Theophilus (Pashkovsky) of San Francisco|Theophilus (Pashkovsky)]] 1922-1931

== External links ==
* [http://midwestdiocese.org/ Official site]
* [http://www.holytrinitycathedral.net/ Holy Trinity Cathedral, the Diocesan See]

[[Category:OCA Dioceses|Midwest ]]

Old Believers

2013-04-17T15:07:36Z

Fr Lev: /* References and select bibliography */ fixed italics

[[Image:Boyarynja Morozova.jpg|frame|Detail of the painting ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boyarynya_Morozova Boyarynya Morozova]'' by Vasily Surikov depicting the defiant Boyarynya arrested by Tsarist authorities in 1671. She holds two fingers raised: a hint of the old (i.e. "proper") way of [[Sign of the cross|cross-signing]] oneself: with two fingers, rather than with three.]]

In the context of Russian Orthodox church history, the '''Old Believers''' (Russian: ''старове́ры'' or ''старообря́дцы'') became separated after 1666-1667 from the hierarchy of the [[Church of Russia]] as a protest against church reforms introduced by [[Patriarch]] [[Nikon of Moscow]].

Old Believers continue liturgical practices which the Russian Orthodox Church maintained before the implementation of these reforms. Because of the use of these older liturgical practices, they are also known as ''Old Ritualists''.

Russian-speakers refer to the schism itself as ''raskol'' ('''раскол''' - etymologically indicating a "cleaving-apart").

== Introductory summary of origins==
In 1652, [[Nikon of Moscow|Nikon]] (1605–1681; Patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church from 1652 to 1658) introduced a number of ritual and textual revisions with the aim of achieving uniformity between Russian and Greek Orthodox practices. Nikon, having noticed discrepancies between Russian and Greek rites and texts, ordered an adjustment of the Russian rites to align with the Greek ones of his time. According to the Old Believers, Nikon acted without adequate consultation with the clergy and without gathering a council. After the implementation of these revisions, the Church [[anathema]]tized and suppressed with the support of Muscovite state power the prior liturgical rite itself as well as those who were reluctant to pass to the revised rite. Those who maintained fidelity to the existing rite endured severe persecutions from the end of the 17th century until the beginning of the 20th century as ''schismatics''. They became known as "Old Ritualists", a name introduced during the reign of Empress Catherine the Great. At the same time they continued to call themselves simply Orthodox Christians.

== Baptism of Kievan Rus' ==

Although a portion of the population of Kievan Rus' (Ruthenia) was Christian by 944, Knyaz [[Vladimir of Kiev]], impressed by the Easter rituals of the Byzantine Church, embraced Christianity in 987. In doing so he not only formed a politically expedient alliance but invited the adoption of Greek learning and book culture. Along with the baptism, Ruthenia took all Gospel, apostolic and patristic traditions sacred to the storied Eastern Church. Close connections were established between the young Russian church and the Constantinople Patriarchate. The first Russian metropolitans were Greeks. As the representatives of the Patriarch of Constantinople, they oversaw the piety of the newly installed customs and practices, and this patronage ensured that the church regulations, divine services, sacraments and rites were borrowed from the Orthodox Church of the East.

== Revision of the Church Books ==

In 1551, the [[Stoglavy Sobor|Moscow Stoglav Church Council]] declared in favour of revision. The council's purpose was to regulate the church's relationship to the state, reform its internal life, strengthen the authority of the bishops, and eradicate non-Christian folk customs from among the populace. It would not introduce anything new but would purify the Russian church of irregularities. The council called for many irregularities in church life to be corrected. Among other things, drunkenness among the clergy was to be eradicated, parish priests were to be better educated, and priests and laity alike were to be protected against rapacious episcopal tax collectors. "Pagan" and foreign practices popular among the laity were prohibited, such as minstrels playing at weddings and the shaving of beards. [[Philaret (Romanov) of Moscow|Patriarch Philaret (Romanov) of Moscow]], during the reign of his son Tsar Michael, took part in abortive attempts to reform the church books; and under Tsar Alexis, the second of the Romanovs, in 1654, a council of thirty-six bishops assembled at Moscow, over which the Pat. Nikon presided, and earnestly recommended the long-contemplated project to the attention of the Tsar. Macarius, the Patriarch of Antioch, with his archdeacon, [[Paul of Aleppo]], and the head of the Serbian church, were present upon this occasion. At length, under the auspices of the [[Moscow Sobor of 1666–1667|Moscow Sobor]] of 1667, attended by the Patriarch of Alexandria and the Patriarch of Antioch, with delegates from both the Patriarch of Jerusalem and the Patriarch of Constantinople, the revision of the liturgical books of the Slavonic church was effected; and the revised texts were formally declared to be the only true, lawful, and authorised copies. Alexis in person presided over this conclave. By its voice the ambitious and turbulent Patriarch Nikon was deposed from the Russian patriarchate and the canon against shaving was repealed.

The effect of the above salutary measure in the [[Russian Orthodox Church]], and that of the nearly contemporaneous [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Act_of_Uniformity_1558 Act of Uniformity in the Anglican Church], was in some degree similar. Dissent arose on an extensive scale, and persecution was vigorously applied to reclaim or crush the nonconformists.

Internal dissensions troubled the Russo-Greek communion at an early period, leading to separation Russian Orthodoxy from the Greek. The earliest controversies referred to trifling or ridiculous points of difference, yet were none the less furious on account of the causes being trivial. There was warm contention whether the hallelujah should be repeated two or three times at the end of the psalms, and whether the [[sign of the cross]] should be made with three fingers, symbolising the Trinity, according to the [[Byzantine Rite]], or with two fingers, in allusion to the two natures in the person of [[Jesus Christ|Christ]], as prescribed by the [[Armenian Rite]]. But in 1375, Karp Strigolnik, a citizen of [[Novgorod]], touched upon topics of greater moment. Accusing the [[clergy]] of simony and abuse of the rite of confession, he raised a violent outcry against them, and proclaimed doctrines in which the fanatical blended with the sober.

Towards the end of the 19th century, the Russian Orthodox Church realized that the forced introduction of the so-called "new rite" was carried out in a violent and uncanonical way, and that the old rite kept in Russia is actually a historic rite of the ancient Antiochian Patriarchate. At least three Fathers of that Patriarchate (namely, [[Meletius of Antioch]], [[Theodoret of Cyrus]] and [[Peter of Damascus]]) had given homilies on the sign of the cross being made with two fingers, in the manner of the Russian Old Believers. Perhaps the fact that [[Michael I of Kiev]], the first Metropolitan of Kiev, was possibly of Syrian origin, can explain how this tradition arrived in Russia. What cannot be understood is how the tradition was lost in Antioch itself. However, [[Nicodemus the Hagiorite|St. Nicodemus]], in the Rudder also mentions that Christians made the sign of the cross with two fingers, in honor of the two natures of Christ, and that the current custom is now to use three fingers, for the [[Holy Trinity]].

== Church Regulations ==

In the early days, services in temples and monasteries of the Russian church were conducted according to the Studite liturgical [[typikon]]. This statute received wide acceptance because of the high importance of the [[Studion Monastery]] founded in the year 463 in Constantinople at the Church of [[John the Forerunner]]. This [[monastery]] in the course of short time became one of the main spiritual and liturgical centers of orthodoxy. This monastery acquired singular value during the epoch of the [[Iconoclasm]], when the monks of monastery were the most zealous defenders of icon veneration. Studite regulations prepared by Constantinople Patriarch Alexius were brought to Russia in 1065. He also glorified the renowned Old-Russian St. Theodosius Pecherskiy as a saint. From Kiev, the Studite regulations were extended along other cities and abodes of our country.

In the 14th century during the service of the metropolitans of Fotiya and [[Cyprian of Moscow]], the Russian divine services began to gravitate towards another eastern regulation - Jerusalem. It, first of all, reflects the liturgical practice of the ancient monastery of the Holy Land. The authors of the Jerusalem typikon are considered to be Saints Savva Osvyashchenny and Efim Velikiy. In the 15th century, the Jerusalem typikon obtained a certain advantage in the Russian church. One of the first translations of the Jerusalem regulations into the Slav language was completed at the end of the 14th century by the student of St. [[Sergius of Radonezh]] - St. Afanasy Vysotsky, the founder of the Vysotsky monastery in Serpukhov. This regulation obtained the designation “eye of the church” [“oko tserkovnoe”].

The co-existence in Russia of two regulations not only did not interfere with the order of divine service, but even enriched the liturgical life of our church. Especially important is the fact that the all ancient typikons, in contrast to contemporary ones, completely preserved the early-Christian dogmatic, symbolic and ontological sense of divine service. Well-known scholar academician E. Golubinskiy believes that the Jerusalem and Studite regulations are only variations of general ancient-orthodox regulations, and “are characterized by not so much chinoposledovaniyami [??] themselves, as by the time and manner of their accomplishments”.

== Church Singing ==

Along with the transfer of liturgical regulations into the Russian church from Byzantium passes the ancient tradition of liturgical singing. In the 10th century a Greek Osmoglasie style developed in the form of monotone or unison singing which defined the entire style of Christian hymns. In Russia, the Christian monotone Osmoglasie is called “cherubic”, according to the legends of the saints hearing the holy angels singing. In the course of a short time Christian church singing penetrated all corners of our country. Already in the 11th century in Russia appear raspevy songs dedicated to the native saints. Unknown Russian authors by the 15th- 17th centuries create the huge amount of forms of pesnopeniy [??]: travelling, stolpovoy [??], large and small sign demestvenny [??], Novgorod, [[Pskov]] and many others. Possessing significant variety, Russian sacred music nevertheless remained for hundreds of years in the present Christian church, distant from the influence of fashionable secular trends.

== The Publishing Business ==

In the life of the Old-Russian church the book occupied an especially significant place. Before the invention of printing, the liturgical books, the works of holy fathers, lives of the saints, theological and other spiritual literature were valued by their weight in gold. The contribution of the book to the monastery or the temple frequently was equal to the cost of land it was put on. The high craftsmanship of the ancient manuscript and the uncommonly deferential attitude to the book by the people, made its production an extremely honorable occupation. Books were even written about princes. So for example, it is established that liturgical books were copied that dealt with Prince Vladimir Galitsky, and several liturgical texts rewrote the life of Tsar [[Ivan IV of Russia]] (the Terrible). Each page, each paragraph, each proposal, each letter of the book was thoroughly compared during a census. In the Old-Russian manuscript books there were many less errors than in the contemporary book of misprints. To spoil the book for the Old-Russian rukopistsa [copyist?] would tarnish all their activities. In the 18th-19th centuries, church and secular historians formed a theory about the allegedly blatant illiteracy which prevalied in Russia in the 10th-16th centuries. The overwhelming majority of the population of Kiev, and then Moscow Russia was illiterate according to the opinion of such “scholars”. A small quantity of semi-literate people were occupied by written office management, and simultaneously copied spiritual literature. In this case into the liturgical books fell many errors, errors and even fabrications of these ignoramuses.

Today this pseudo-scientific opinion is completely disproved. In the course of impartial historical research in the 20th century, it was established that the very substantial part of the population of ancient Russia was literate. Archaeologists could find on the site of ancient cities and populated areas, thousands of birch bark certificates with records belonging to commoners. After the philological analysis of Old-Russian liturgical texts, the scientists drew the conclusion that their translators and compilers know the wide layers of the literature of the Christian east. The academician of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_Academy_of_Sciences RAN] (Russian Academy of Sciences), V. Kirillin, conducted a tedious study of some canons of lenten and colored Triodions of the first half of the 15th century. It turned out that many texts of that time were philological more competent than contemporary ones, are more transparent for the perception and are theologically reconciled. A scientist characterizes the Old-Russian compiler of Lenten Triodion thusly: “There is an obvious and striking theological and philological culture, and a deep (Christian) understanding of unknown editor”. Sometimes the literary achievements of the ancient Russian church proved to be unprecedented throughout entire orthodox east. So in 1490, Novgorod archbishop Gennadiy's efforts for the first time in the history of eastern Christianity created a manuscript bible.

Contemporary scientists have proved also that discrepancies found in the ancient manuscripts were produced not by the ignorance of compilers and by their supposed fraudulent intent, but by the extraordinary complexity of the book, and by the absence of the possibility of rapidly checking out one questionable place or another. However, concerning differences in the ancient divine service, their reason was the co-existence of the Studite and Jerusalem regulations, which were discussed above. Let us note, however, that all this was not a special concern. The correction of errors, and the considerable improvement of various controversies took place gradually, publicly and only after serious study of the problem. In certain cases such questions were solved in the course of local church councils. Thus, for instance, the sobor of 1551 decided to correct punctuation marks, and at the sobor of 1619 after a thorough study it was decided to withdraw from holy-water prayers at Epiphany the incorrect addition “and by fire”. The appearance of a first-printed “apostle” Ivan Fedorov became a landmark stage in the life of the Russian state. The book became more accessible and available. Printed matter especially bloomed strongly with the Patriarchs Philaret and Joseph. Tsars and pious patriarchs, worrying about the completeness of divine service, generously sent the books to churches without any commercial benefit. The old publication books to this day remain the standard of publishing quality, a model for the font and artistic imitation.

A new phenomenon in Orthodoxy was the appearance of a printed bible in 1581. The so-called Ostrog Bible became the first printed bible in the entire orthodox eastern world. A Greek printed Bible appeared only in 1821, was even then it was printed in Moscow. The first-printed bible was created because of the efforts of pious prince Constantine Ostrozhskiy, who was patron of the printing affair of Ivan Fedorov. The composition of the [[Ostrog Bible]] used a huge amount of resources brought from Russia, Greece and other countries. The text of this Bible was a close as possible to the original Greek, and the division into chapters of the Old Testament corresponded to ancient Jewish models.

== Sobornost ==

The ancient Russian church preserved intact, up to the middle of the 17th century, orthodox sobornost, the basis of evangelical democracy. A truly Christian sobornost penetrated, it is possible to say, all areas of church life. Researchers give a whole series of similar evidence, beginning from the selections of parochial priests, and ending with discussion of spiritual questions at the local sobors. So for example, it is established that in the 12th century the laity played a significant role in the election of candidates for Archbishop. In the Novgorod chronicles it explicitly states: “Novgorodians with Prince Yaroslav, and with the father superiors, and priests, find it is the will of God to elect Morturiya”. A Rostov chronicler condemning the simonial attempt to place the bishop in Rostov writes: “it is more worthy to be born to the saintly rank… but it is God's will and that of St. Bogoroditsa [the Mother of God], Prince Voskhochet and the people”. However, the election of parochial priests was a commonplace matter. The democratic special features of the rituals of the Old-Russian church in the course of hundreds of years supported the integrity of the church body, spiritual peace, and also to a considerable extent the union of laymen and the priesthood.

Local sobors played an enormous role in the life of the Russian church. These singularly canonical organs of spiritual authority were called to solve the vital problems of church life on the basis of the Holy Scripture and sacred tradition. In the Old-Russian sobors, besides the bishops, the representatives of the secular clergy, scholar monks, princes and other high ranking laymen always participated.

The description of the entire history of the local sobors of Russian church can engage tens of volumes. We will name only the most important of them.

===Vladimir Sobor of 1274===
During the Mongolian- Tatar invasion the Russian lands were devastated in a significant manner, some churches were ruined, and the priests killed. This led to a specific point of spiritual decline. Metropolitan Cyril during a journey to Russia noted such sentiments and initiated a large church sobor. The sobor examined the existing problems and published the appropriate decisions. Among them were such:
<ul>
<li>Bishops, when they want to place a priest or deacon, but did not know his life experience, will call the neighbors, who knew him from childhood.</li>
<li>The diaconate should be aged 25 years, and priests - 30 years.</li>
<li>Baptism to be performed only with three dunkings. Pouring is not allowed.</li>
</ul>

The decisions of Vladimir sobor played a significant role in the strengthening of church piety.

===Sobor of 1441===
This most important sobor was convoked on the initiative of the great prince [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vasili_II_of_Russia Vasiliy Vasilyevich]. Pious princes, boyars and Russian bishops were outraged by the behavior of the first-hierarch of the Russian church in those days, Metropolitan Isidor. He participated in the Greco-Latin [[Council of Florence]] of 1439 that together with Greek hierarchs signed the union of the Orthodox Church with Catholic Rome. It is notable that Metropolitan Isidor was one of the main actors of the Florentine sobor. He among the first to sign the union and persuaded the remaining orthodox bishops to sign.

Returning to Moscow, Isidor gave orders to carry in front of the procession a Latin cross, and during the first liturgy, he mention in the first place the Roman [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Eugene_IV Pope Eugene]. After a few days, a church sobor was called which condemned Metropolitan Isidor as a heretic and rejected the Florentine union. From this point on, in Russia, the relationship to the Greeks changed because they changed the faith of the fathers.

===Sobor of 1448===
At this sobor was interrupted the dependence of Russian church on the Constantinople patriarchate. At it, the bishop of Ryazan, later known as St. [[Jonah of Moscow]], was solemnly proclaimed the Russian metropolitan. The sobor took place in the church of the St. Archangel Michael and was characterized by special solemnity. Many bishops, father superiors, priests and laymen were assembled at the sobor.

===The Sobor of 1492===
The Sobor of 1492 was convoked on the matter of the composition of a new Paschalion. At it were present all Russian hierarchs. The sobor determined to continue the Paschalion to eight thousand years.

===The Sobor of 1503===
This Sobor took place in Moscow under [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simon,_Metropolitan_of_Moscow Metropolitan Simon]'s chairmanship. It was attended by the father of St. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nil_Sorsky Nil Sorsky], Joseph Volokolamsky, the Grand Duke John III and his son Basil. The sobor settled questions of debauchery in priests and piety of the monastic life. The sobor of 1504 finally condemned the heresy of the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sect_of_Skhariya_the_Jew sect of Skhariya the Jew].

===The Sobor of 1547===
The history of the long and pious life of Russian church gave to the entire Christian world an example of many ascetics of God. The need for their canonization, the establishment of special holidays and days of remembrance led to the convocation of a special sobor. Under the chairmanship of St. Macarius at the sobor were glorified numerous Russian obsequious men, saints and miracle workers. Among them were canonized John archbishop of Novgorod, St. Prince Alexander Nevsky, Nikon abbot of Radonezhsky, St. Jonah Metropolitan of Moscow, Zosim Solovetsky, Makarius Kalyazinsky, St. Arseny bishop of Tver, St. Prince Peter and Princess Fevroniya Muromskaya. Following the sobor, by Metropolitan Macarius were comprised “the great Cheti-Minei” [?].

===The [[Stoglavy Sobor]] of 1551===
The Stoglavy sobor (also known as the Council of the Hundred Chapters) became perhaps the brightest phenomenon of the history of the ancient Russian Orthodox church. At this sobor were present [[Macarius of Moscow|Macarius]], Metropolitan of Moscow, [[Philip II of Moscow|Philip]], the future prelate of Moscow, Maxim the Greek, [[Gury of Kazan|Gury]] and Barsonofius of Kazan, Akaki the bishop of Tver and others. Many of these persons have been proclaimed saints later on. Tsar [[Ivan IV of Russia|Ivan IV]] actively contributed to the convocation of the sobor. More than 70 questions regarding all aspects of church life were examined by the sobor: divine service, piety, spiritual instruction, church control and law court, the rules of Christian behavior and the relations between the spiritual and secular authorities. At the sobor were confirmed many orthodox traditions including the sign of the cross with two fingers and especially the haleluias. In the course of the sobor a committee drew up a collection of acts with 100 chapters. Specifically, on the basis of this collections, the sobor of 1551 obtained the name “Stoglavy” or “Stoglav”.
Issues developed at this sobor became a set of laws for the entire church life in the course of the subsequent 100 years. And today, after 450 years of its solution they have great authority among the Russian Christian Old Believers.

===The Sobor of 1581===
The Sobor of 1581 was convoked in Moscow and was chaired by Metropolitan Job. At it were present Tsarigrad [Constantinople] Patriarch Eremius, Tsar Fedor Ioannovich, and Boris Godunov. The sobor was dedicated to the establishment in Russia of the patriarchate. The first Russian patriarch proclaimed was Metropolitan Job.

===The Sobor of 1619===
The Sobor of 1619 was dedicated to questions of printing and to correction of the various liturgical books. At it were present Russian Patriarch Filaret and Jerusalem Patriarch Theofan.

===The Sobor of 1620===
At the Sobor of 1620 were newly raised a question about the oblivatelnoe [?] baptism. The sobor again affirmed pogruzhatelnoe [?] baptism as an undoubted apostolic tradition. At the sobor they also confirmed the need for baptizing latins and all other heretics who were not enlightened by triple immersion.

== The reforms of Patriarch Nikon ==
By the middle of the 17th century Greek and Russian church officials, including Patriarch Nikon, had noticed discrepancies between contemporary Russian and Greek usages. They reached the conclusion that the Russian Orthodox Church had, as a result of errors of incompetent copyists, developed rites and missal texts of its own that had significantly deviated from the Greek originals. Thus, the Russian Orthodox Church had become dissonant from the other Orthodox churches. Later research was to vindicate the Muscovite service-books as belonging to a different recension from that which was used by the Greeks at the time of Nikon, and the unrevised Muscovite books were actually older and more venerable than the Greek books, which had undergone several revisions over the centuries and ironically, were newer and contained innovations (Kapterev N.F., 1913, 1914; Zenkovskij S.A., 1995, 2006).

Nikon, supported by Tsar Alexis I (r. 1645-1676), carried out some preliminary liturgical reforms. In 1652, he convened a [[synod]] and exhorted the clergy on the need to compare Russian ''Typikon'', ''[[Euchologion]]'', and other liturgical books with their Greek counterparts. Monasteries from all over Russia received requests to send examples to Moscow in order to have them subjected to a comparative analysis. Such a task would have taken many years of conscientious research and could hardly have given an unambiguous result, given the complex development of the Russian liturgical texts over the previous centuries and an almost complete lack of textual historigraphic techniques at the time.

The ''[[locum tenens]]'' for the Patriarch, [[Pitirim of Krutitsy]], convened a second synod in 1666, which brought Patriarch [[Michael III of Antioch]], Patriarch [[Paisius of Alexandria]] and many [[bishop]]s to Moscow. Some scholars allege that the visiting patriarchs each received both 20,000 roubles in gold and furs for their participation (Zenkovskij S.A., 1995, 2006). This council officially established the reforms and anathematized not only all those opposing the innovations, but the old Russian books and rites themselves as well. As a side-effect of condemning the past of the Russian Orthodox Church and her traditions, the messianic theory depicting Moscow as the Third Rome appeared weaker. Instead of the guardian of Orthodox faith, Russia seemed an accumulation of serious liturgical mistakes.

Nevertheless, both Patriarch and Tsar wished to carry out their reforms, although their endeavours may have had as much or more political motivation as religious; several authors on this subject point out that Tsar Alexis, encouraged by his military success in the war against Poland-Lithuania to liberate West Russian provinces and the Ukraine, grew ambitious of becoming the liberator of the Orthodox areas which at that time formed part of the Ottoman Empir. They also mention the role of the Near-East patriarchs, who actively supported the idea of the Russian Tsar becoming the liberator of all Orthodox Christians (Kapterev N.F. 1913, 1914; Zenkovsky S.A., 1995, 2006).

===Traditions before the Reform (c. 988 to mid-1600's):===
* A compete cycle of services is served strictly according to the St. Savas (or "Jerusalem") Typicon, in monasteries and parishes alike.
* No abbreviation of the services is allowed.
* In the appointed psalmody (stichologia), the complete text of psalms is read, with the chanters responding with selected psalm verses.
* Some (if not all) of the liturgical homilies are read at their appointed places at Matins.
* The Sign of the Cross, bows and prostrations are done at their appointed places during the services, according to a strictly disciplined tradition of performing such actions all together as a single body of worshippers (and without variation in the manner in which they are done).
* The Sign of the Cross is done with two fingers while saying the Jesus Prayer, and is a Christological symbol.
* There is a great focus on communal prayer (sobornost'), with the individual losing his/her "separateness" during the public worship services. During the services we partake in the "Mystery of Unity" and experience the fullness of being members of the Church as the Body of Christ.
* Good order (blagochinie), discipline and decorum are maintained during the services, and distracting behavior is not tolerated. Children are taught to adhere to this ordered behavior from the time they are able to stand in church with their parents.
* Old Ritualists seek their path to Salvation through conformity to well-established "iconic" method of living, especial family life or monasticism -- both methods of living focusing upon taking one's place in a unified community. Orderly, obedient and humble ways of thinking are emphasized. Practical vocational skills are valued above theoretical knowledge.
* All children are taught (usually at home) to read Church Slavonic as soon as they are able to read.
* Traditional liturgical singing consists of unison (monophonic) chant.
* No compositions are allowed – only ancient traditional chant melodies.
* Singing is done by two antiphonal choirs, each under the leadership of a "golovshchik" (cantor or "starter"). The cantor tries to lead the singing solely by means of his voice, as arm movements are considered distracting to the congregation. He does not turn his back to the altar and iconostasis, and occasionally makes discrete use of hand signals to correct singing that has become too slow or fast, or to indicate phrasing.
* Congregational singing is included as part of the singing tradition
* The two choirs are always at the front portion of the church, in front of the iconostasis on the right and left sides.
* There is an abundance of ritual, including processions, alternating of choirs, the choirs coming together in the middle of the nave, etc.
* The use of specific kinds of readers has been maintained in our rituals, especially the Canonarch and the Psalmist.
* Readers always get a blessing before reading, and ask forgiveness of the priest and congregation when finishing their duties.
* The ambon, a slightly raised platform, is used by the Canonarch (as well as by the bishop during hierarchical services).
* Chant melodies are preserved in books with "Znamenny" (neumatic or symbolic) notation, derived from the ancient Byzantine Chant; the interpretation (exegesis) is fluid and open to a bit of interpretation.
* There is an elaborate system of hymn genres within a single unified "Znamenny" chant tradition. Demestvenny Chant is used for hierarchical and festal services, while Put' Chant melodies are used for lengthy hymns which must cover long liturgical actions.
* Znamenny Chant preserves the use of true Idiomela (unique, individual) melodies for stichera for Sundays and Feasts. The Prosomoia (Podobny or Special Melodies) singing tradition continues to thrive as an integral part of Vespers and Matins hymnody.
* Many of the appointed readings are done with a melodic reading style called "poglasitsa", which is similar to "cantillation".

===Traditions after the Reform (mid-1600's to the present) ===
* Only basic services (truncated Vigils and the Hours & Divine Liturgy) are served in ordinary parishes, at the discretion of the priest; some parishes in modern times omit Vespers, Matins and the Hours altogether.
* A considerable amount of abbreviation of services is standard practice.
* The choir sings only selected psalm verses of appointed psalmody. The proper performance of stichologia is rarely done even in New Rite monasteries.
* The patristic liturgical homilies have been abandoned altogether, with the single exception at Paschal Matins.
* The Sign of the Cross, bows, prostrations, kneeling are done whenever (and wherever) people want to do them, and according to numerous individual methods – all in a free-willed manner.
* The Sign of the Cross is done with three fingers while invoking the Holy Trinity (often using the Latin formula "In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit").
* During the public worship services the individual members of the congregation may run around and perform their private devotions, venerate icons, light candles, read from prayer books, chat with friends. Furthermore, the priest may even hear private confessions during parts of the Vigil or Hours.
* There is a great laxity of church order. Members of the congregation may tolerate someone's distracting behavior and take no steps to bring it under control. Children are frequently left on their own and thus do not acquire personal discipline.
* New Ritualists often seek their path to Salvation by "striking out on one's own", and many people stand out as intensely individualistic. Free-thinking and self-sufficiency are valued, as is a higher academic education.
* Reading Church Slavonic is a skill that is not widely taught, and is usually only acquired by men readers who attend a seminary program.
* The modern musical tradition consists of choral (polyphonic) singing.
* Choirs sing composed music and harmonized arrangements (often simplified) of melodies from the 17th century.
* All the singers are grouped into a single choir under the leadership of a modern-style choral conductor ("dirigent" or "regent"). Some conductors make use of a baton and stand with their backs to the iconostasis, making full use of their arms in modern conducting techniques.
* Congregational singing is discouraged, and singing is done only by a trained choir.
* The choir is located in any number of places, including in a western-style choir loft in some churches.
* There is a great loss of ritual; much of this is due to the loss of antiphonal singing, as there is no ability to maintain liturgical actions without the interaction of separate choirs.
* The offices of Canonarch and Psalmist have been absorbed into the duties of the readers, and some of their unique liturgical actions have become obsolete.
* Readers frequently do not get a blessing to read on the cleros (choir), except to read the Epistle in front of the congregation.
* The ambon is no longer used, except by the bishop during hierarchical liturgies.
* Music is notated with the Kievan square-note notation or modern western round notes; the notation is not conducive to freedom of interpretation.
* Modern Russian Chant is a "mixed bag" of hymn tunes from various traditions, combined in any number of local traditions without much cohesion or consistency. (The inclusion of composed works makes this situation even more chaotic.)
* All stichera are now sung only to generic formulas, and a small repertoire of "Podobny" (Special Melodies) are usually heard only in monasteries and a relatively few parishes with well-trained choirs.
* A plain monotone style of reading is the accepted style of reading in the New Rite; the dramatic "deaconal style" of reading the Epistle and Gospel (raising from a low to a high pitch) is promoted in most parishes as a "sophisticated" manner of reading the Scriptures. (This is considered very inappropriate in most Old Rite communities.)

=== Main alterations introduced by Patriarch Nikon ===
The numerous changes in both texts and rites occupied approximately 400 pages. Old Believers present the following as the most crucial changes:

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! !! Old Practice !! New Practice
|-
! Spelling of ''[[Jesus]]''
| Ісусъ || Іисусъ
|-
! [[Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed|Creed]]
| рождена, '''а''' не сотворена ''(begotten '''but''' not made)''; И в Духа Святаго, Господа''' истиннаго''' и Животворящаго ''(And in the Holy Ghost, the '''True''' Lord, the Giver of Life)'' || рождена, не сотворена ''(begotten not made)''; И в Духа Святаго, Господа Животворящаго ''(And in the Holy Ghost, the Lord, the Giver of Life)''
|-я
! [[Sign of the Cross]]
| Two fingers, straightened || Three fingers, straightened
|-
!Number of [[Prosphora]] in the Liturgy
| Seven Prosphora || Five Prosphora
|-
! Direction of Procession
| Sunwise || Counter-Sunwise
|-
!Alleluia
| Аллилуїa, аллилуїa, слава Тебе, Боже ''(Alleluia, alleluia, glory to Thee, o God)''|| Аллилуїa, аллилуїa, аллилуїa, слава Тебе, Боже (thrice ''alleluia'')
|}

Notes on other differences have been mentioned above. Some modern readers may perceive these alterations as trivial, but the faithful of that time saw rituals and dogmas as strongly interconnected: church rituals had from the very beginning represented and symbolised doctrinal truth (see the section on ''Backgrounds'' below). Furthermore, the authorities imposed the reforms in an autocratic fashion, with no consultation of the people who would become subject to them, and the reaction against the so-called Nikonian reforms would have objected as much to the manner of imposition as to the actual alterations. In addition, changes often occurred arbitrarily in the texts. For example, wherever the books read 'Христосъ' ("Christ"), Nikon's assistants substituted 'Сынъ' ("the Son"), and wherever they read 'Сынъ' they substituted 'Христосъ'. Another example is that wherever the books read 'Церковь' ("Church"), Nikon substituted 'Храмъ' ("Temple") and vice-versa. The perceived arbitrariness of the changes infuriated the faithful, who resented needless change for the sake of change.

== The Schism or "Raskol" ==
Opponents of the ecclesiastical reforms of Nikon emerged among all strata of the people and in relatively large numbers. Even after the deposition of patriarch Nikon (1658), who presented too strong a challenge to the Tsar's authority, a series of church councils officially endorsed Nikon's liturgical reforms. The Old Believers fiercely rejected all innovations, and the most radical amongst them maintained that the official Church had fallen into the hands of the [[Antichrist]]. Under the guidance of Archpriest [[Avvakum]] Petrov (1620 or 1621 to 1682), who had become the leader of the conservative camp within the Old Believers' movement, the Old Believers publicly denounced and rejected all ecclesiastical reforms. The State church anathematized both the old rites and books and those who wished to stay loyal to them at the synod of 1666. From that moment, the Old Believers officially lacked all civil rights. The State church had the most active Old Believers arrested, and executed several of them (including Archpriest Avvakum) some years later in 1682.

=== After the schism ===
After 1685 a period of persecutions began, including both torture and executions. Many Old Believers fled Russia altogether. However, Old Believers became the dominant denomination in many regions, including Pomorye (Arkhangelsk region), Guslitsy, Kursk region, the Urals, Siberia, etc. A compact 40,000-strong Lipovan community of Old Believers still lives in neighboring Kiliia raion (Vilkov) of Ukraine and Tulcea County of Romania in the Danube Delta. By the 1910s, about 25% of the population in Russia said that they belonged to one of the Old Believer branches.

Government oppression could vary from relatively moderate, as under Peter the Great (r. 1682-1725) (Old Believers had to pay double taxation and a separate tax for wearing a beard), to intense, as under Tsar |Nicholas I (r. 1825-1855). The Russian synodal state church and the state authorities often saw Old Believers as dangerous elements and as a threat to the Russian state.

In 1905 Tsar [[Nicholas II of Russia|Nicholas II]] signed an Act of religious freedom, which ended the persecution of all religious minorities in Russia. The Old Believers gained the right to build churches, to ring church bells, to hold processions and to organize themselves. It became prohibited (as under Catherine the Great (reigned 1762 - 1796)) to refer to Old Believers as ''raskolniki'' (schismatics), a name they consider insulting. People often refer to the period from 1905 until 1917 as "the Golden Age of the Old Faith". One can regard the Act of 1905 as emancipating the Old Believers, who had until then occupied an almost illegal position in Russian society. Nevertheless some restrictions for Old Believers continued: for example, they had no right to join the civil service.

== Modern situation ==
[[Image:Oldbelieverchurch in Oregon.jpg|thumb|200px|Old Believer church outside of Gervais, Oregon.]]

In 1971 the Moscow Patriarchate revoked the anathemas placed on the Old Believers in the 17th century, but most Old Believer communities have not returned to Communion with other Orthodox Christians.

Estimates place the total number of Old Believers remaining today at from 1 to 10 millions, some living in extremely isolated communities in places to which they fled centuries ago to avoid persecution. One [http://www.churchofthenativity.net/index.html Old-Believer parish] in the United States has entered into communion with the [[Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia]].

Old-Believer churches in Russia currently have started restoration of their property, although Old Believers (unlike the nearly-official mainstream Orthodoxy) face many difficulties in claiming their restitution rights for their churches. Moscow has churches for all the most important Old Believer branches: [[Rogozhskaya Zastava]] ([[Popovtsy]] of the [[Belokrinitskaya hierarchy]] official center), a cathedral for the [[Novozybkovskaya hierarchy]] in [[Zamoskvorech'ye]] and [[Preobrazhenskaya Zastava]] where [[Pomortsy]] and [[Fedoseevtsy]] coexist.

[[Image:Evstafiev-old-believers-oregon-usa.jpg|thumb|250px|Russian Old Believers in Woodburn, Oregon. Photo by Mikhail Evstafiev.]]

Within the Old-Believer world, only Pomortsy and Fedoseevtsy treat each other relatively well; none of the other denominations acknowledge each other. Ordinary Old Believers display some tendencies of intra-branch [[ecumenism]], but these trends find sparse support among the official leaders of the congregations.

Nowadays, Old Believers live all over the world. They scattered mainly due to persecutions under the Tsars and due to the Russian Revolution of 1917. Significant Old-Believer communities exist in Plamondon, Alberta; Woodburn, Oregon; Erie, Pennsylvania; Erskine, Minnesota and in various parts of Alaska including near Homer (Voznesenka, Razdolna, and Kachemak Selo), Anchor Point (Nikolaevsk), Willow, the Palmer/Wasilla Area, Anchorage, Delta Junction, The Anton Larson Bay Area, and on Raspberry Island; Both near Kodiak. A flourishing community also exists in Sydney, Australia.

== Old Believer groups ==
Although all Old Believers groups emerged as a result of opposition to the Nikonian reform, they do not constitute a single monolithic body. In fact, the Old Believers feature a great diversity of groups that profess different interpretations of the church tradition and often are not in communion with each other. Some groups even practice re-baptism before admitting a member of another group into their midst.

The terminology used for the divisions within the Old-Believer denomination does not always make precise delineations. Generally, people may refer to a larger movement or group — especially in the case of such major ones as ''popovtsy'' and ''bespopovtsy'' — as a ''soglasie'' or ''soglas'' (in English: "agreement" or more generally, "confession"). Another term, ''tolk'' (English: "teaching") usually applies to lesser divisions within the major "confessions". In particular it can characterize multiple sects that have appeared within the ''bespopovtsy'' movement.

=== Popovtsy ===
Since none of the bishops joined the Old Believers (except Bishop Pavel of Kolomna, who suffered execution), apostolically ordained priests of the old rite would have soon become extinct. Two responses appeared to this dilemma: the “priestist” Old Believers (поповцы (''Popovtsy'')) and the non-priestist Old Believers (беспоповцы (Bespopovtsy — literally "priestless ones")).

The Popovtsy represented the more moderate conservative opposition, those who strove to continue religious and church life as it had existed before the reforms of Nikon. They recognized ordained priests from the new-style Russian Orthodox church who joined the Old Believers and who had denounced the Nikonian reforms. In 1846 they convinced Amvrosii Popovich (1791-1863), a deposed Greek Orthodox bishop whom Turkish pressure had had removed from his see at Sarajevo, to become an Old Believer and to consecrate three Russian Old-Believer priests as bishops. In 1859, the number of Old-Believer bishops in Russia reached ten, and they established their own episcopate, the [[Belokrinitskaya hierarchy]]. Not all priestist Old Believers recognized this hierarchy. Dissenters known as беглопоповцы (''beglopopovtsy'') obtained their own hierarchy in the 1920s. The priestist Old Believers thus manifest as two churches which share the same beliefs, but which treat each other's hierarchy as illegitimate. Popovtsy have priests, bishops and all [[sacrament]]s, including the [[eucharist]].

* Belokrinitskaya hierarchy - The largest Popovtsy denomination. One can refer to the Russian part of this denomination as the Belokrinitskoe Soglasie (the "Belokrinitsky Agreement") or as the [[Russian Orthodox Old-Rite Church]].
* Okruzhniki (extinct)
* Neokruzhniki (extinct)

* Novozybkovskaya hierarchy or [[Russian Old-Orthodox Church]]
* [[Beglopopovtsy]] (extinct, now the Russian Old-Orthodox Church)

* Luzhkane, also known as ''Luzhkovskoe soglasie'' (extinct). In some places, they had no priests and so belonged to Bespopovtsy.

=== Bespopovtsy ===
The Bespopovtsy (the "priestless") rejected "the World" where Antichrist reigned; they preached the imminent end of the world, [[asceticism]], adherence to the old rituals and the old faith. The Bespopovtsy claimed that the true church of Christ had ceased to exist on Earth, and they therefore renounced priests and all sacraments except [[baptism]]. The Bespopovtsy movement has many sub-groups. Bespopovtsy have no priests and no [[eucharist]].

* Pomortsy or Danilovtsy (not to be confused with Pomors) originated in North European Russia (Russian Karelia, Arkhangelsk region). Initially they rejected marriage and prayer for the Tsar.
* Novopomortsy, or "New Pomortsy" - accept marriage
* Staropomortsy, or "Old Pomortsy" - reject marriage
* Fedoseevts] – “Society of Christian Old Believers of the Old Pomortsy Unmarried Confession” (1690s- present); deny marriage and practise cloister-style asceticism.
* Fillipovtsy.
* Chasovennye (from a word ''chasovnya'' - a [[chapel]]) - Siberian branch. The Chasovennye initially had priests, but later decided to change to a priestless practice. Also known as Semeyskie (in the lands east of Baykal Lake).

====Bespopovsty: Minor groups====
Aside from these major groups, many smaller groups have emerged and died out at various times since the end of 17th century:
* ''Aristovtsy'' (beginning of 19th to the beginning of 20th centuries; extinct) - from the name of the merchant Aristov;
* ''Titlovtsy'' (extinct in 20th cent.) - emerged from Fedoseevtsy, supported the use of Pontius Pilate's inscription upon the cross (''titlo''), which other groups rejected;
* ''Troparion'' confession (troparschiki) - a group that commemorated the tsar in the hymns (troparia);
* Daniel’s confession of the “partially married” (''danilovtsy polubrachnye'');
* Adamant confession (''adamantovy'') - refused to use money and passports (as containing the seal of Antichrist);
* Aaron's confession (''aaronovtsy'') - second half of the 18th century, a spin-off of the Fillipovtsy.
* “Grandmother’s confession” or the Self-baptized - practiced self-baptism or the baptism by midwives (''babushki''), since the priesthood — in their opinion — had ceased to exist;
* “Hole-worshippers” (''dyrniki'') - relinquished the use of [[icons]] and prayed to the east through a hole in the wall (!);
* Melchisedecs (in Moscow and in [[Bashkortostan]]) - practiced a peculiar lay "quasi-eucharistic" rite;
* “Runaways” (''beguny'') or “Wanderers” (''stranniki'');
* “Netovtsy” or Saviour’s confession - denied the possibility of celebrating sacraments and praying in churches; the name comes from the Russian ''net'' "no", since they have "no" sacraments, "no" churches, "no" priests etc.

==Edinovertsy==
'''Edinovertsy''' (Russian: единоверцы -- 'people of the same faith', as opposed to ''староверы'' -- people of the "old faith", i.e., Old Believers) - Agreed to become a part of the official Russian Orthodox Church while saving the old rites. First appearing in 1800, the Edinovertsy come under the [[omophorion]] of the Russian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate or of the Russian Church Abroad. They retain the use of the pre-Nikonian rituals.

== Validity of the Reformist Theory: sources of Russian traditions ==
Vladimir officially converted the Eastern Slavs to Christianity in 988, and the people had adopted Greek Orthodox liturgical practices. At the end of 11th century, the efforts of St. Theodosius of the Caves in Kiev (''Феодосий Киево-Печерский'', d. 1074) introduced the Studite Typikon to Russia. This [[typikon]] reflected the traditions of the urban monastic community of the famous Studion Monastery in Constantinople. The Studite Typikon predominated throughout the western part of the Byzantine Empire and was accepted throughout the Russian lands. In the end of 14th century, through the work of St. Cyprian of Moscow], metropolitan of Moscow and Kiev, the Studite liturgical practices were gradually replaced in Russia with the ''Jerusalem Typicon'' or the ''Typicon of St. Sabbas'' - originally, an adaptation of the Studite liturgy to the customs of Palestinian monasteries. The process of gradual change of ''typica'' would continue throughout the 15th century and, because of its slow implementation, met with little resistance - unlike Nikon's reforms, conducted with abruptness and violence. However, in the course of 15th-17th centuries, Russian scribes continued to insert some Studite material into the general shape of ''Jerusalem Typicon''. This explains the differences between the modern version of the ''Typicon'', used by the Russian Orthodox Church, and the pre-Nikonian Russian recension of ''Jerusalem Typicon'', called ''Oko Tserkovnoe'' (Rus. "eye of the church"). This pre-Nikonian version, based on the Moscow printed editions of 1610, 1633 and 1641, continues to be used by modern Old Believers.

However, in the course of the polemics against Old Believers, the official [[Church of Russia]] often claimed the discrepancies (which emerged in the texts between the Russian and the Greek churches) as Russian innovations, errors, or arbitrary translations.
This charge of "Russian innovation" re-appeared repeatedly in the textbooks and anti-''raskol'' treatises and catecheses, including, for example, those by [[Dimitri of Rostov]]. The critical evaluation of the sources and of the essence of Nikonian reforms began only in the 1850s with the groundbreaking work of Nikolai F. Kapterev (1847-1917), continued later by Serge Zenkovsky. Kapterev demonstrated—for the first time to the wider Russian audience—that the rites, rejected and condemned by the Nikonian reforms, were genuine customs of the Orthodox Church which suffered alterations in the Greek usage during the 15th-16th centuries, but remained unchanged in Russia. The pre-Nikonian liturgical practices, including some elements of the Russian typicon, ''Oko Tserkovnoe'', were demonstrated to have preserved many earlier Byzantine material, being actually closer to the earlier Byzantine texts than some later Greek customs (Kapterev, N.F. 1913; Zenkovsky, S.A. 2006).

Remarkably, the scholars who opened the new avenues for re-evaluation of the reform by the Russian Church — Kapterev and E.E. Golubinsky — themselves held membership of the "official" church, but took up study of the causes and background of the reforms and of the resulting schism. Their research revealed the official theory regarding the old Russian books and rites as unsustainable. Zenkovsky has described Kapterev's as
[...] the first historian who questioned the theory about the “pervertedness” or incorrectness of the Old Russian ritual and pointed out that the Russian ritual was not at all perverted, but had on the contrary preserved a number of early Old Byzantine rituals, among them the sign of the cross with two fingers, which had been changed later on by the Greeks themselves, in the 12th and 13th century, which caused the discrepancy between the Old Russian and the New Greek church rituals. — Zenkovsky, S.A., ''Russkoe staroobrjadčestvo'', 1970,1990, p. 19-20.
</blockquote>

== Backgrounds ==
[[image:Raskolnikchurch.jpg|thumb|300px|right|Old Believer Church in Ulan Ude, Buryatia, Russia]]
As Sergej Zenkovsky points out in his standard work "Russia's Old Believers", the Old Believer schism did not occur simply as a result of a few individuals with power and influence. The schism had complex causes, revealing historical processes and circumstances in 17th-century Russian society. Those who broke from the hierarchy of the official State Church had quite divergent views on church, faith, society, state power and social issues. Thus the collective term “Old Believers” groups together various movements within Russian society which actually had existed long before 1666/1667. They shared a distrust of state power and of the episcopate, insisting upon the right of the people to arrange their own spiritual life, and expressing the ambition to aim for such control.

Both the popovtsy and bespopovtsy, although theologically and psychologically two different teachings, manifested spiritual, eschatological and mystical tendencies throughout Russian religious thought and church life. One can also emphasize the schism's position in the political and cultural backgrounds of its time: increasing Western influence, secularization, and attempts to subordinate the Church to the state. Nevertheless, the Old Believers sought above all to defend and preserve the purity of the Orthodox faith, embodied in the old rituals, which inspired many to strive against Patriarch Nikon’s church reforms even unto death.

In the past the Old Believers' movement was often perceived as an obscure faith in rituals that led to the deaths of tens of thousands of ignorant people. Old Beliers were accused of not being able to distinguish the important from the unimportant. To many people of that time, however, rituals expressed the very essence of their faith. Old Believers hold that the preservation of a certain "microclimate" that enables the salvation of one's soul requires not only living by the commandments of Christ, but also carefully preserving Church tradition, which contains the spiritual power and knowledge of past centuries, embodied in external forms.

The Old Believers reject the idea of contents ''a priori'' prevailing over form. To illustrate this issue, the renowned Russian historian Vasily Klyuchevsky (1841–1911) referred to poetry. He argued, that if one converts a poem into prose, the contents of the poem may remain intact, but the poem will lose its charm and emotional impact; moreover, the poem will essentially no longer exist. In the case of religious rituals, form and contents do not just form two separable, autonomous entities, but connect with each other through complex relationships, including theological, psychological, phenomenal, esthetic and historic dimensions.

These aspects, in their turn, play a role in the perception of these rituals by the faithful and in their spiritual lives. Considering the fact that Church rituals from their very beginning were intertwined with doctrinal truth, changing these rituals may have a tremendous effect on religious conscience and a severe impact on the faithful.

Nevertheless, centuries of persecution and the nature of their origin have made some Old Believers very culturally conservative. Some Old Believers go so far as to consider any pre-Nikonian Orthodox Russian practice or artifact as exclusively theirs, denying that the Russian Orthodox Church has any claims upon a history before Patriarch Nikon.

However, Russian economic history of the late 19th and early 20th centuries reveals the Old-Believer merchant families as more flexible and more open to innovations while creating factories and starting the first Russian industries.

==Similarities between Old Believers and Oriental Orthodox Christians==

''(These are not true with all Christian Churches)''

Although [[Oriental Orthodox Churches]] and the rest of Christendom (Eastern Orthodox Churches and the [[Roman Catholic Church]]) separated in 451 AD following the [[Fourth Ecumenical Council|Council of Chalcedon]], striking similarities can be found today between the Old Believers Russian Orthodox Christians and the Oriental Orthodox Christians, such as the [[Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria|Copts]], the [[Armenian Apostolic Church|Armenians]], the [[Syriac Orthodox Church|Syriacs]], the [[Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church|Ethiopians]], and the [[Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church|Eritreans]].
This similarity can be attributed to the fact that both groups are much stricter than any other Christian denomination in resisting even the slightest changes to their liturgy, practices or Orthodox faith as it has been handed down to them by the fathers of the early Church in the first 4 centuries of Christianity.
Some of the most notable similarities between the Old Believers and the Oriental Orthodox Christians include the following:
* Both adhere strictly to the practice of baptism by three full immersions, and reject the validity of baptism by sprinkling or pouring of water.
* Both reject any changes or emendations of liturgical or religious texts.
* Both employ monodic singing, as opposed to the polyphonic singing of most other Christian denominations.
* Both reject the use of modern realistic iconography, and adhere to the veneration of traditional icons.
* Both groups practice bows and prostrations during liturgical services, and do not kneel during prayer.
* The liturgical services of both the Old Believers and the Oriental Orthodox are considerably longer than those of other Christian denominations. These services can last for as long as eight hours on feast days.
* Preparation for communion is very strict for both groups and lasts for days prior to receiving the sacrament.

==Old Believer churches==
* [[Russian Orthodox Old-Rite Church]] (Belokrinitskaya hierarchy)
* [[Lipovan Orthodox Old-Rite Church]] (Belokrinitskaya hierarchy)
* [[Russian Old-Orthodox Church]] (Novozybkovskaya hierarchy)
* [[Pomorian Old-Orthodox Church]] (Pomory)

==References and select bibliography==
*In English:
**Cherniavsky, M., "The Reception of the Council of Florence in Moscow" and Shevchenko I., "Ideological Repercussions of the Council of Florence", ''Church History'' XXIV (1955), 147-157 and 291-323 (articles)
**Crummey, Robert O. ''The Old Believers & The World Of Antichrist; The Vyg Community & The Russian State'', Wisconsin U.P., 1970
**Gill, T. ''The Council of Florence'', Cambridge, 1959
**Meyendorff, P. ''Russia - Ritual and Reform: The Liturgical Reforms of Nikon in the 17th Century'', St Vladimir's Seminary Press, Crestwood, NY, 1991
**Zenkovsky, Serge A. "The ideology of the Denisov brothers", ''Harvard Slavic Studies'', 1957. III, 49-66
**Zenkovsky, S.: "The Old Believer Avvakum", ''Indiana Slavic Studies'', 1956, I, 1-51
**Zenkovsky, Serge A.: ''Pan-Turkism and Islam in Russia'', Harvard U.P., 1960 and 1967
**Zenkovsky, S.: "The Russian Schism", ''Russian Review'', 1957, XVI, 37-58

*In Russian:
**Зеньковский С.А. ''Русское старообрядчество'', том I и II, Москва 2006 / Zenkovsky S.A. “Russia’s Old Believers”, volumes I and II, Moscow 2006
**Голубинский Е.Е. ''История русской церкви'', Москва 1900 / Golubinskij E.E. “History of the Russian Church”, Moscow 1900
**Голубинский Е.Е. ''К нашей полимике со старообрядцами'', ЧОИДР, 1905 / “Contribution to our polemic with the Old believers”, ČOIDR, 1905
**Каптерев Н.Ф. ''Патриарх Никон и его противники в деле исправления церковныx обрядов'', Москва 1913 / Kapterv N.F. “Patriarch Nikon and his opponents in the correction of church rituals”, Moscow 1913
**Каптерев Н.Ф. ''Характер отношений России к православному востоку в XVI и XVII вв.'', Москва 1914/Kapterev N.F. "Character of the relationships between Russia and the orthodox East in the XVI and XVII centuries", Moscow 1914
**Карташов А.В. ''Очерки по иситории русской церкви'', Париж 1959 / Kartašov A.V. “Outlines of the history of the Russian church”, Paris 1959
**Ключевский И.П. ''Сочинения'', I – VIII, Москва 1956-1959 / Ključevskij I.P. "Works", I – VIII, Moscow 1956-1959
**Мельников Ф.И., ''Краткая история древлеправославной (старообрядческой) церкви''. Барнаул, 1999 (Russian) / Melnikov F.I., 1999 “Short history of the Old orthodox (Old ritualist) Church” Barnaul 1999

==Source==
*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Believers Wikipedia:Old Believers] (accessed July 13, 2007)

==External links==
*[http://www.rpsc.ru Russian Orthodox Old-Rite Church (official site of the Moscow Metropoly)]
*[http://www.starover.ee Old Believers in Estonia]
*[http://members.tripod.com/old_rite_orthodox/index.html Orthodox Kellion of the Holy Trinity and Saint Sergius]
*[http://www.churchofthenativity.net/ Old Rite ROCOR Church of the Nativity]
*[http://www.countryscribe.com/weblog/2003_10_19_archive.html Page Down to "Elena's Place" for an Interview with a Minnesota Old Believer]
*[http://libweb.uoregon.edu/ec/oldbelievers/index.html Old Believers in North America - a bibliography]
*[http://kirovold.ru/ Old Belief in Omutninsk, Russia]
*[http://www.everyculture.com/Russia-Eurasia-China/Old-Believers.html World Culture Encyclopedia on Old Believers]
*[http://mymartyrdom.com/old.htm The Beloved Russian Old Ritualist Believers]
*[http://digilander.libero.it/ortodossia/Ambrogio.htm Breve Vita Del Padre Nostro Tra I Santi Ambrogio Metropolita Di Belo-Krinitsa E Di Tutti Gli Antichi Ortodossi, Il Confessore]
*[http://www.belaya-krinica.kiev.ua/ Russian Orthodox Old-Rite Church]
*[http://www.grokiskis.lt/lt/temos/dienos-tema/2010/05/07/sentikiai-musu-krastui-ypatingas-jubiliejus]
*[http://wigowsky.com/products.html Freedom For an Old Believer, by Paul John Wigowsky]
*[http://www.oldorthodox.ge/ Slavo-Georgian (Iberian) Old-Orthodox Church]

[[Category:Jurisdictions]]
[[Category: Schisms]]
[[Category:Old Believer Jurisdictions|*]]

[[fr:Orthodoxes vieux-croyants]]
[[ro:Rascolnici]]

Alexander (Golitzin) of Toledo

2013-04-17T13:46:18Z

Fr Lev: /* Writings */ Clean up

[[Image:Fr.-Golitzin-1.jpg|thumb|Igumen Alexander Golitzin|200px]]
The Right Reverend '''Alexander (Golitzin)''' is '''[[Bishop]] of Toledo''' and the [[Bulgarian Diocese (OCA)|Bulgarian Diocese]], and is currently ''locum tenens'' of the [[Diocese of the Midwest (OCA)|Diocese of the Midwest]].

Bishop Alexander is the second Bishop of Toledo and the Bulgarian Diocese ([[OCA]]). He succeeded His Eminence, the late Archbishop Kirill [Yonchev]. Archbishop Kirill had overseen the diocese from 1964 to 2007; in 1976, Archbishop Kirill brought the diocese under the omophorion of the Orthodox Church in America.

== Life ==
A descendent of the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galitzine Galitzine/Golitzin princely family], Alexander Golitzin was born in 1948. He went on to study at University of California Berkeley, receiving a BA in English, before earning his M.Div. at [[St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary (Crestwood, New York)|St. Vladimir's Seminary]] in Crestwood, New York. He later went on to earn the D.Phil. in Theology at Oxford University in 1980, writing his dissertation on [[Dionysius the Areopagite]] under the direction of Bishop [[Kallistos (Ware) of Diokleia]]. In the final years of his doctoral studies, he spent time on Mt. Athos, at Simonos Petras monastery, where he became a disciple of [Elder Aimilianos][http://orthodoxwiki.org/Aimilianos_%28Vafeidis%29], and eventually a monk.

== Teaching and Scholarship ==
Alexander Golitzin is a noted scholar. He contributed, together with Fr. Michael Prokurat, to the establishment of an Orthodox scholarly presence in Berkeley, CA (now the [[Patriarch Athenagoras Orthodox Institute]]). From 1989 until 2012 he taught [[Patristics]] at Marquette University in Milwaukee, WI, as Assistant Professor, Associate Professor, and eventually full Professor. His research concerns the beginnings of Christian mystical and ascetical traditions, and their subsequent developments in the Greek- and Syriac-speaking East, with a particular interest in continuities and parallels with, respectively, Second Temple Judaism and Rabbinic Judaism. His work on the Christian ascetical and mystical tradition attracted a number of doctoral students from Russia, Romania, and Serbia, with whom he began the scholarly project known as the Theophaneia School[http://www.amazon.com/Theophaneia-School-Scrinium-Eccl%C3%82%C2%82siastique-Eccl%C2%82siastique/dp/1607240831#reader_1607240831].

== Pastoral Work ==
While in California, Fr. Alexander was active in missionary work. In Milwaukee, he assisted the Orthodox Christian Fellowship at Marquette University, and was attached to Ss. Cyril & Methodius Orthodox Church[http://oca.org/parishes/oca-mw-mkescm]. He preached, taught, heard confessions, and assisted in the liturgical and pastoral work. For several years he also served major services at the [St. John Chrysostom monastery][http://www.hellenicheartbeat.com/monastery/] in Kenosha, WI.

On [[October 4]], 2011, the members of the Holy Synod of Bishops of the Orthodox Church in America elected Archimandrite Alexander to the vacant See of Toledo and the [[Bulgarian Diocese (OCA)|Bulgarian Diocese]]. Archimandrite Alexander was nominated for the vacant see at the diocese’s Fifth Congress-Sobor held in Toledo, OH on Saturday, [[June 9]], 2011. On Saturday, [[May 5]], 2012 he was consecrated Bishop of Toledo and the Bulgarian Diocese during a Hierarchical Divine Liturgy at Saint George Orthodox Cathedral in Rossford, OH.

In his address prior to the ordination, Bishop-elect Alexander said:
“When standing before the holy altar at the anaphora, the bishop images forth the one and unique High Priest—Christ—Who acts through His celebrant. While it is true that our Lord Jesus is true God and true King, it is also true that He did not come to us, His creatures, with the pomp and splendor of the King, attended by the legions of heaven, but rather in humility He emptied Himself and was found in the likeness of a servant. These are very different images: the first set revelatory of the splendor of heaven, and the second of the humility, long-suffering, and charity of our Lord’s life and ministry. … I must keep this difference firmly in mind throughout my life as bishop, by which I mean the glory of the liturgical iconography should have no place in my office and day-to-day demeanor. My actions, my patterns of speech, my service in short, is to be determined by the example given us by God the Word Himself.”[http://oca.org/news/headline-news/archimandrite-alexander-golitzin-consecrated-bishop-of-toledo-and-the-bulga]

On April 15, 2013, the Holy Synod of the OCA named Bishop Alexander as the bishop ''locum tenens'' of the [[Diocese of the Midwest (OCA)|Diocese of the Midwest]].

== Writings ==
'''Books:'''
* ''Mistagogia: Experienta lui Dumnezeu in Ortodoxie''. Sibiu, 1998. [in Romanian]
* ''The Living Witness of the Holy Mountain: Contemporary Voice from Mount Athos''. South Canaan, 1996. (ISBN 978-1878997487)
* ''St Symeon the New Theologian on the Mystical Life: The Ethical Discourses'', 3. vols. Crestwood, 1995-1997. (ISBN 978-0-881-41231-4)
* ''The Historical Dictionary of the Orthodox Church'', with Michael Prokurat and Michael Peterson. Lanham, 1996. (ISBN 978-0810830813)
* Et introibo ad altare dei: ''The Mystagogy of Dionysius Areopagita''. Thessalonika, 1994.
* ''Mystagogy: A Monastic Reading of Dionysius Areopagita''. Liturgical Press/ Cistercian Publications, forthcoming in 2014)

'''Articles:'''
Several articles can be viewed at [http://www.marquette.edu/maqom/scrinium3.pdf]

*[http://www.mu.edu/maqom/Liturgy.pdf "Liturgy and Mysticism: The Experience of God in Eastern Orthodox Christianity" (part 1)]
*[http://www.mu.edu/maqom/Liturgy2.pdf "Liturgy and Mysticism: The Experience of God in Eastern Orthodox Christianity" (part 2)].
*[http://orthodoxeurope.org/page/11/3/2.aspx Review of Hilarion Alfeyev, The Spiritual World of Isaac the Syrian (Cistercian Publications, 2000), published in St Vladimir’s Theological Quarterly 46 (2002): 285-290].
*"The Mysticism of Dionysius Areopagita: Platonist or Christian?" Mystics Quarterly 19 (1993): 98-114.
*“Hierarchy Versus Anarchy: Dionysius Areopagita, Symeon the New Theologian, Nicetas Stethatos, and Their Common Roots in the Ascetical Tradition,” St Vladimir's Theological Quarterly 38 (1994): 131-179.
*“Anathema! Some Historical Perspectives on the Athonite Statement of May 1995,” St. Nersess Theological Review 3 (1998): 103-117
*"’A Contemplative and a Liturgist’ : Father Georges Florovsky on the Corpus Dionysiacum,” St Vladimir's Theological Quarterly 43 (1999): 131-161.
*“Revisiting the 'Sudden': Epistle III in the Corpus Dionysiacum,” Studia Patristica 37 (2001): 482-491.
*"Many Lamps Are Lightened From the One": Paradigms of the Transformational Vision in the Macarian Homilies,” Vigiliae christianae 55 (2001): 281-298 [with Andrei Orlov]
*“Earthly Angels and Heavenly Men: The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha, Nicetas Stethatos, and the Tradition of Interiorized Apocalyptic in Eastern Christian Ascetical and Mystical Literature,” Dumbarton Oaks Papers 55 (2001): 125-153.
*“Adam, Eve, and Seth: Pneumatological Reflections On An Unusual Image in Gregory of Nanzianus's Fifth Theological Oration," Anglican Theological Review 83 (2001): 537-546.
*“Dionysius Areopagites in the Works of Saint Gregory Palams: On the Question of a ‘Christological Corrective’ and Related Matters,” Saint Vladimir’s Theological Quarterly 46 (2002): 163-90.
*“The Demons Suggest an Illusion of God’s Glory in a Form: Controversy Over the Divine Body and Vision of Glory in Some Late Fourth, Early Fifth Century Monastic Literature,” Studia Monastica 44 (2002): 13-44.
*“A Testimony to Christianity as Transfiguration: The Macarian Homilies and Orthodox Spirituality,” Orthodox and Wesleyan Spirituality (ed. S. T. Kimbrough; Crestwood, N.Y.: St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 2002), 129–156
*“Dionysius Areopagita: A Christian Mysticism?” Pro Ecclesia 12 (2003): 161-212.
*“The Place of the Presence of God: Aphrahat of Persia’s Portrait of the Christian Holy Man,” ΣΥΝΑΞΙΣ ΕΥΧΑΡΙΣΤΙΑΣ: Studies in Honor of Archimandrite Aimilianos of Simonos Petras, Mount Athos (Athens: Indiktos, 2003), 391-447.
*“The Image and Glory of God in Jacob of Serug’s Homily, On That Chariot That Ezekiel the Prophet Saw,” Saint Vladimir’s Theological Quarterly 46 (2003): 323-364.
*“‘Suddenly, Christ’: The Place of Negative Theology in the Mystagogy of Dionysius Areopagites,” Mystics: Presence and Aporia (ed. Michael Kessler and Christian Shepherd; Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2003), 8-37.
*"Christian Mysticism over Two Millennia," The Theophaneia School: Jewish Roots of Christian Mysticism (ed. Andrei Orlov and Basil Lurie; St. Petersburg: Byzantino-rossica, 2007), 17–33.
*“The Vision of God and the Form of Glory: More Reflections on the Anthropomorphite Controversy of AD 399,” Abba: The Tradition of Orthodoxy in the West: FS Kallistos Ware (SVS Press, 2007): 273-297.
*“Il corpo di Cristo: Simeone il Nuovo Teologo sulla vita spirituale e la chiesa gerarchica,” Simeone il Nuovo Teologo e il monachesimo a Costantinopoli (Qiqajon: Monastero di Bose, 2003), 255-288. (ENGLISH: “The Body of Christ: Saint Symeon the New Theologian on Spiritual Life and the Hierarchical Church,” The Theophaneia School: Jewish Roots of Eastern Christian Mysticism (Saint Petersburg: Byzantinorossica, 2007), 106-127)
*“Theophaneia: Forum on the Jewish Roots of Orthodox Spirituality,” The Theophaneia School: Jewish Roots of Eastern Christian Mysticism (Saint Petersburg: Byzantinorossica, 2007), xvii-xx.
*“Heavenly Mysteries: Themes from Apocalyptic Literature in the Macarian Homilies and Selected Other Fourth Century Ascetical Writers,” Apocalyptic Themes in Early Christianity (ed. Robert Daly; Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2009), 174–192
*“Making the Inside like the Outside: Toward a Monastic Sitz im Leben for the Syriac Apocalypse of Daniel,” To Train His Soul in Books: Syriac Asceticism in Early Christianity (ed. Robin Darling Young and Monica J. Blanchard; CUA Press, 2011). An earlier version of this article is available [http://www.mu.edu/maqom/daniel.html].

{{start box}}
{{succession|
before=[[Kyrill (Yonchev) of Pittsburgh|Kyrill (Yonchev)]]|
title=Bishop of Toledo and the Bulgarian Diocese (OCA)|
years=2012-present|
after= —}}
{{end box}}

== External links ==
*[http://oca.org/holy-synod/bishops/the-right-reverend-alexander OCA --The Holy Synod]
*[http://oca.org/news/headline-news/archimandrite-alexander-golitzin-consecrated-bishop-of-toledo-and-the-bulga Consecrated - (OCA)]
*[http://oca.org/news/headline-news/holy-synod-elects-archimandrite-alexander-golitzin-as-bishop-of-the-bulgari Holy Synod elects Archimandrite Alexander as Bishop of the Bulgarian Diocese]
*[http://www.marquette.edu/theology/golitzin.shtml Father Alexander's faculty web page at Marquette University.]
*[http://www.marquette.edu/maqom Father Alexander's website on "The Jewish Origins of Christian Mysticism."]

[[Category:Bishops]]
[[Category:21st-century bishops]]
[[Category:Bishops of Toledo]]
[[Category:Modern Writers]]
[[Category:Monastics]]
[[Category: St. Vladimir's Seminary Graduates]]

[[ro:Alexander (Golitzin) de Toledo]]

Christos Yannaras

2013-04-17T13:31:19Z

Fr Lev: /* Books in English */

[[Image:Yannaras-Professor.JPG|thumb|right|Christos Yannaras]]
'''Christos Yannaras''' or '''Chrestos Giannaras''', (Greek: Χρήστος Γιανναράς), is Professor Emeritus of Philosophy at the Panteion University of Social and Political Sciences in Athens and a philosopher and theologian of the Orthodox [[Church of Greece]].

==Life==
Dr. Yannaras was born on [[April 10]], 1935, in Athens, Greece. He studied [[Theology]] at the University of Athens and Philosophy at the Universities of Bonn, Germany and Paris in France. He has earned Doctor of Philosophy degrees from the Faculty of Theology of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in Greece and from the Faculté des Lettres et Sciences Humaines of the University of Sorbonne in Paris. In addition to other honors, he was elected a member of the Hellenic Author's Society.

The main area of Professor Yannaras' work is in the study and research of the differences between Greek and Western European philosophy and tradition. These differences are not limited solely at the level of theory, but also define a mode ([[praxis]]) of life.

==Bibliography==
===Books in English===
*''Person and Eros''. Holy Cross Orthodox Press, 2008. (ISBN 978-1885652-881)
*''Orthodoxy and the West: Hellenic Self-Identity in the Modern Age''. Holy Cross Orthodox Press, 2007. (ISBN 978-1885652812)
*''Postmodern Metaphysics''. Holy Cross Orthodox Press, 2005. (ISBN 1-885652-80-1)
*''On the Absence and Unknowability of God: Heidegger and the Areopagite''. T & T Clark, 2005. (ISBN 0567088065) first published in 1967
*''Variations on the Song of Songs''. Holy Cross Orthodox Press, 2004. (ISBN 1885652828)
*''Elements of Faith: An Introduction to Orthodox Theology''. T & T Clark, 1991. (ISBN 0567291901)
*''The Freedom of Morality''. Crestwood, NY: St. Vladimir's Seminary Press, 1984. (ISBN 0881410284)

==External links==
*[http://www.voskrese.info/spl/Xyannaras.html Christos Yannaras] in the Saint Pachomius Library
*[http://www.new-ostrog.org/review5.html A review of ''Elements of Faith''] given by [[Reader]] Nicholas Franck
===Online works===
*[http://orthodoxytoday.org/articles/YannarasEcumenism.php "Towards a New Ecumenism"] by Christos Yannaras
*[http://orthodoxytoday.org/articles/YannarasPietism.php "Pietism as an Ecclesiological Heresy"] by Christos Yannaras (Chapter 8 of ''The Freedom of Morality'')
*[http://www.russianbells.com/trad/yannaras-art-1.html "The Ethos of Liturgical Art"] by Christos Yannaras (Chapter 12 of ''The Freedom of Morality'')
*[http://www.geocities.com/trvalentine/orthodox/yannaras_politics.html "A Note on Political Theory"] by Christos Yannaras (''St. Vladimir's Theological Quarterly'', 27:1 (1983), pp. 53-56)
*[http://www.reocities.com/trvalentine/orthodox/yannaras.html "The Distinction Between Essence and Energies and its Importance for Theology"] by Christos Yannaras, Athens, February, 1975. Translated from the Greek by Rev. Peter Chamberas
*[http://jbburnett.com/resources/yannaras/ Free PDFs of some of Christos Yannaras's writings]

[[Category:Modern Writers]]

[[el:Χρήστος Γιανναράς]]
[[fr:Christos Yannaras]]
[[ro:Christos Yannaras]]

Alexander (Golitzin) of Toledo

2013-04-17T13:29:32Z

Fr Lev: /* Writings */

[[Image:Fr.-Golitzin-1.jpg|thumb|Igumen Alexander Golitzin|200px]]
The Right Reverend '''Alexander (Golitzin)''' is '''[[Bishop]] of Toledo''' and the [[Bulgarian Diocese (OCA)|Bulgarian Diocese]], and is currently ''locum tenens'' of the [[Diocese of the Midwest (OCA)|Diocese of the Midwest]].

Bishop Alexander is the second Bishop of Toledo and the Bulgarian Diocese ([[OCA]]). He succeeded His Eminence, the late Archbishop Kirill [Yonchev]. Archbishop Kirill had overseen the diocese from 1964 to 2007; in 1976, Archbishop Kirill brought the diocese under the omophorion of the Orthodox Church in America.

== Life ==
A descendent of the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galitzine Galitzine/Golitzin princely family], Alexander Golitzin was born in 1948. He went on to study at University of California Berkeley, receiving a BA in English, before earning his M.Div. at [[St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary (Crestwood, New York)|St. Vladimir's Seminary]] in Crestwood, New York. He later went on to earn the D.Phil. in Theology at Oxford University in 1980, writing his dissertation on [[Dionysius the Areopagite]] under the direction of Bishop [[Kallistos (Ware) of Diokleia]]. In the final years of his doctoral studies, he spent time on Mt. Athos, at Simonos Petras monastery, where he became a disciple of [Elder Aimilianos][http://orthodoxwiki.org/Aimilianos_%28Vafeidis%29], and eventually a monk.

== Teaching and Scholarship ==
Alexander Golitzin is a noted scholar. He contributed, together with Fr. Michael Prokurat, to the establishment of an Orthodox scholarly presence in Berkeley, CA (now the [[Patriarch Athenagoras Orthodox Institute]]). From 1989 until 2012 he taught [[Patristics]] at Marquette University in Milwaukee, WI, as Assistant Professor, Associate Professor, and eventually full Professor. His research concerns the beginnings of Christian mystical and ascetical traditions, and their subsequent developments in the Greek- and Syriac-speaking East, with a particular interest in continuities and parallels with, respectively, Second Temple Judaism and Rabbinic Judaism. His work on the Christian ascetical and mystical tradition attracted a number of doctoral students from Russia, Romania, and Serbia, with whom he began the scholarly project known as the Theophaneia School[http://www.amazon.com/Theophaneia-School-Scrinium-Eccl%C3%82%C2%82siastique-Eccl%C2%82siastique/dp/1607240831#reader_1607240831].

== Pastoral Work ==
While in California, Fr. Alexander was active in missionary work. In Milwaukee, he assisted the Orthodox Christian Fellowship at Marquette University, and was attached to Ss. Cyril & Methodius Orthodox Church[http://oca.org/parishes/oca-mw-mkescm]. He preached, taught, heard confessions, and assisted in the liturgical and pastoral work. For several years he also served major services at the [St. John Chrysostom monastery][http://www.hellenicheartbeat.com/monastery/] in Kenosha, WI.

On [[October 4]], 2011, the members of the Holy Synod of Bishops of the Orthodox Church in America elected Archimandrite Alexander to the vacant See of Toledo and the [[Bulgarian Diocese (OCA)|Bulgarian Diocese]]. Archimandrite Alexander was nominated for the vacant see at the diocese’s Fifth Congress-Sobor held in Toledo, OH on Saturday, [[June 9]], 2011. On Saturday, [[May 5]], 2012 he was consecrated Bishop of Toledo and the Bulgarian Diocese during a Hierarchical Divine Liturgy at Saint George Orthodox Cathedral in Rossford, OH.

In his address prior to the ordination, Bishop-elect Alexander said:
“When standing before the holy altar at the anaphora, the bishop images forth the one and unique High Priest—Christ—Who acts through His celebrant. While it is true that our Lord Jesus is true God and true King, it is also true that He did not come to us, His creatures, with the pomp and splendor of the King, attended by the legions of heaven, but rather in humility He emptied Himself and was found in the likeness of a servant. These are very different images: the first set revelatory of the splendor of heaven, and the second of the humility, long-suffering, and charity of our Lord’s life and ministry. … I must keep this difference firmly in mind throughout my life as bishop, by which I mean the glory of the liturgical iconography should have no place in my office and day-to-day demeanor. My actions, my patterns of speech, my service in short, is to be determined by the example given us by God the Word Himself.”[http://oca.org/news/headline-news/archimandrite-alexander-golitzin-consecrated-bishop-of-toledo-and-the-bulga]

On April 15, 2013, the Holy Synod of the OCA named Bishop Alexander as the bishop ''locum tenens'' of the [[Diocese of the Midwest (OCA)|Diocese of the Midwest]].

== Writings ==
'''Books:'''
* ''Mistagogia: Experienta lui Dumnezeu in Ortodoxie''. Sibiu, 1998. [in Romanian]
* ''[New Light From the Holy Mountain]http://www.amazon.com/Living-Witness-Holy-Mountain-Contemporary/dp/1878997483/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1314678261&sr=1-2''. South Canaan, 1996.
* ''[St Symeon the New Theologian on the Mystical Life: The Ethical Discourses]http://www.amazon.com/Mystical-Life-Discourses-Christian-Patristics/dp/0881411434/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1314678233&sr=1-2'', 3. vols. Crestwood, 1995-1997)
* ''[The Historical Dictionary of the Orthodox Church]http://www.amazon.com/Historical-Dictionary-Orthodox-Michael-Prokurat/dp/0810830817/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1314678261&sr=1-1'', with Michael Prokurat and Michael Peterson. Lanham, 1996.
* [Et introibo ad altare dei: ''The Mystagogy of Dionysius Areopagita]http://www.amazon.com/Introibo-Altare-Dei-Areopagita-Predecessors/dp/B000IXVUVM''. Thessalonika, 1994.
* ''Mystagogy: A Monastic Reading of Dionysius Areopagita''. Liturgical Press/ Cistercian Publications, forthcoming in 2014)

'''Articles:'''
Several articles can be viewed at [http://www.marquette.edu/maqom/scrinium3.pdf]

*[http://www.mu.edu/maqom/Liturgy.pdf "Liturgy and Mysticism: The Experience of God in Eastern Orthodox Christianity" (part 1)]
*[http://www.mu.edu/maqom/Liturgy2.pdf "Liturgy and Mysticism: The Experience of God in Eastern Orthodox Christianity" (part 2)].
*[http://orthodoxeurope.org/page/11/3/2.aspx Review of Hilarion Alfeyev, The Spiritual World of Isaac the Syrian (Cistercian Publications, 2000), published in St Vladimir’s Theological Quarterly 46 (2002): 285-290].
*"The Mysticism of Dionysius Areopagita: Platonist or Christian?" Mystics Quarterly 19 (1993): 98-114.
*“Hierarchy Versus Anarchy: Dionysius Areopagita, Symeon the New Theologian, Nicetas Stethatos, and Their Common Roots in the Ascetical Tradition,” St Vladimir's Theological Quarterly 38 (1994): 131-179.
*“Anathema! Some Historical Perspectives on the Athonite Statement of May 1995,” St. Nersess Theological Review 3 (1998): 103-117
*"’A Contemplative and a Liturgist’ : Father Georges Florovsky on the Corpus Dionysiacum,” St Vladimir's Theological Quarterly 43 (1999): 131-161.
*“Revisiting the 'Sudden': Epistle III in the Corpus Dionysiacum,” Studia Patristica 37 (2001): 482-491.
*"Many Lamps Are Lightened From the One": Paradigms of the Transformational Vision in the Macarian Homilies,” Vigiliae christianae 55 (2001): 281-298 [with Andrei Orlov]
*“Earthly Angels and Heavenly Men: The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha, Nicetas Stethatos, and the Tradition of Interiorized Apocalyptic in Eastern Christian Ascetical and Mystical Literature,” Dumbarton Oaks Papers 55 (2001): 125-153.
*“Adam, Eve, and Seth: Pneumatological Reflections On An Unusual Image in Gregory of Nanzianus's Fifth Theological Oration," Anglican Theological Review 83 (2001): 537-546.
*“Dionysius Areopagites in the Works of Saint Gregory Palams: On the Question of a ‘Christological Corrective’ and Related Matters,” Saint Vladimir’s Theological Quarterly 46 (2002): 163-90.
*“The Demons Suggest an Illusion of God’s Glory in a Form: Controversy Over the Divine Body and Vision of Glory in Some Late Fourth, Early Fifth Century Monastic Literature,” Studia Monastica 44 (2002): 13-44.
*“A Testimony to Christianity as Transfiguration: The Macarian Homilies and Orthodox Spirituality,” Orthodox and Wesleyan Spirituality (ed. S. T. Kimbrough; Crestwood, N.Y.: St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 2002), 129–156
*“Dionysius Areopagita: A Christian Mysticism?” Pro Ecclesia 12 (2003): 161-212.
*“The Place of the Presence of God: Aphrahat of Persia’s Portrait of the Christian Holy Man,” ΣΥΝΑΞΙΣ ΕΥΧΑΡΙΣΤΙΑΣ: Studies in Honor of Archimandrite Aimilianos of Simonos Petras, Mount Athos (Athens: Indiktos, 2003), 391-447.
*“The Image and Glory of God in Jacob of Serug’s Homily, On That Chariot That Ezekiel the Prophet Saw,” Saint Vladimir’s Theological Quarterly 46 (2003): 323-364.
*“‘Suddenly, Christ’: The Place of Negative Theology in the Mystagogy of Dionysius Areopagites,” Mystics: Presence and Aporia (ed. Michael Kessler and Christian Shepherd; Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2003), 8-37.
*"Christian Mysticism over Two Millennia," The Theophaneia School: Jewish Roots of Christian Mysticism (ed. Andrei Orlov and Basil Lurie; St. Petersburg: Byzantino-rossica, 2007), 17–33.
*“The Vision of God and the Form of Glory: More Reflections on the Anthropomorphite Controversy of AD 399,” Abba: The Tradition of Orthodoxy in the West: FS Kallistos Ware (SVS Press, 2007): 273-297.
*“Il corpo di Cristo: Simeone il Nuovo Teologo sulla vita spirituale e la chiesa gerarchica,” Simeone il Nuovo Teologo e il monachesimo a Costantinopoli (Qiqajon: Monastero di Bose, 2003), 255-288. (ENGLISH: “The Body of Christ: Saint Symeon the New Theologian on Spiritual Life and the Hierarchical Church,” The Theophaneia School: Jewish Roots of Eastern Christian Mysticism (Saint Petersburg: Byzantinorossica, 2007), 106-127)
*“Theophaneia: Forum on the Jewish Roots of Orthodox Spirituality,” The Theophaneia School: Jewish Roots of Eastern Christian Mysticism (Saint Petersburg: Byzantinorossica, 2007), xvii-xx.
*“Heavenly Mysteries: Themes from Apocalyptic Literature in the Macarian Homilies and Selected Other Fourth Century Ascetical Writers,” Apocalyptic Themes in Early Christianity (ed. Robert Daly; Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2009), 174–192
*“Making the Inside like the Outside: Toward a Monastic Sitz im Leben for the Syriac Apocalypse of Daniel,” To Train His Soul in Books: Syriac Asceticism in Early Christianity (ed. Robin Darling Young and Monica J. Blanchard; CUA Press, 2011). An earlier version of this article is available [http://www.mu.edu/maqom/daniel.html].

{{start box}}
{{succession|
before=[[Kyrill (Yonchev) of Pittsburgh|Kyrill (Yonchev)]]|
title=Bishop of Toledo and the Bulgarian Diocese (OCA)|
years=2012-present|
after= —}}
{{end box}}

== External links ==
*[http://oca.org/holy-synod/bishops/the-right-reverend-alexander OCA --The Holy Synod]
*[http://oca.org/news/headline-news/archimandrite-alexander-golitzin-consecrated-bishop-of-toledo-and-the-bulga Consecrated - (OCA)]
*[http://oca.org/news/headline-news/holy-synod-elects-archimandrite-alexander-golitzin-as-bishop-of-the-bulgari Holy Synod elects Archimandrite Alexander as Bishop of the Bulgarian Diocese]
*[http://www.marquette.edu/theology/golitzin.shtml Father Alexander's faculty web page at Marquette University.]
*[http://www.marquette.edu/maqom Father Alexander's website on "The Jewish Origins of Christian Mysticism."]

[[Category:Bishops]]
[[Category:21st-century bishops]]
[[Category:Bishops of Toledo]]
[[Category:Modern Writers]]
[[Category:Monastics]]
[[Category: St. Vladimir's Seminary Graduates]]

[[ro:Alexander (Golitzin) de Toledo]]

Matthias (Moriak) of Chicago

2013-04-17T13:28:05Z

Fr Lev: /* Sources */ added link to announcement of retirement

His Grace, the Right Reverend '''Matthias (Moriak) of Chicago''' is the retired [[bishop]] of the [[Diocese of the Midwest (OCA)|Diocese of the Midwest]] of the [[Orthodox Church in America]].

==Life==
Bishop-elect Matthias was born David Lawrence Moriak on [[April 4]], 1949, in Cleveland, Ohio, the son of Lawrence and the late Gladys Mae Moriak. He was [[baptism|baptized]] at St. Theodosius Cathedral in Cleveland. He attended public schools in Cleveland. He moved with his parents to Parma, Ohio when he was 12 years old. In Parma, he began attending a new mission of the [[American Carpatho-Russian Orthodox Diocese]] and began reading the Hours and the Epistle while contemplating a calling to the Holy Priesthood.

Following his graduation from Parma High School in June 1967, David considered joining the U. S. Marine Corps until he met His Grace, the late [[John (Martin) of Nyssa|John (Martin)]], Bishop of the Carpatho-Russian Diocese, who inspired him to enter [[Christ the Saviour Seminary (Johnstown, Pennsylvania)|Christ the Saviour Seminary]], in Johnstown, Pennsylvania. In the fall of 1967, David began his studies at the [[seminary]] and soon realized a strong calling to the priesthood. In June 1972, he graduated from the seminary and on [[June 3]], 1972, he married Jeannette before his [[ordination]] to the [[priest]]hood on [[June 18]]. Fr, Matthias and Jeannette had two children, Rachel and Michael.

Following his ordination as a priest, Fr. Matthias served at [[parish]]es in Jenner, Pennsylvania (1972 to 1975), St. Paul the Apostle in Freehold, New Jersey (1975 to 1978: a mission church that he founded), Gary, Indiana (1978 to 1982), St. Michael the Archangel Orthodox Church in Saint Clair, Pennsylvania (1982 to 2004), at Christ the Saviour Cathedral in Johnstown (2004 to 2006), and St. Gregory of Nyssa MIssion in Seaford, New York (2006 to 2010).

In May 1996, Fr. Matthias' wife Jeannette was diagnosed with acute leukemia and reposed in March 1997. While serving in St. Clair, Fr. Matthias enrolled at [[St. Tikhon's Orthodox Theological Seminary (South Canaan, Pennsylvania)|St. Tikhon's Seminary]] in South Canaan, Pennsylvania and graduated in 2000 with a Masters of Divinity Degree. Fr. Matthias always admired the [[monasticism|monastic]] life. Following the death of his wife, he visited several monasteries for healing and spiritual strength. He made visits to Holy Transfiguration Monastery, Ellwood City, Pennsylvania, and [[Holy Myrrhbearers Monastery (Otego, New York)|Holy Myrrhbearers Monastery]], Otego, New York, where he also served the Great Feast of the Nativity of Our Lord for two years. He also visited the Monastery of St. Anthony in Arizona, where he stayed for two weeks.

Before he took his monastic tonsure, he visited the [[Iviron Monastery (Athos)|Iveron Monastery]] on [[Mount Athos]] where for much of his time he spent following the daily cycle of services and obediences. He also spent hours speaking to his newly found Athonite spiritual father, [[Priestmonk]] Jeremiah. After visiting other [[monastery|monasteries]] in Jerusalem, Greece, Turkey, and Guatemala, Fr. Matthias was [[tonsure]]d a Riasaphor [[monk]] at Camp Nazareth on [[October 14]], 2003.

On [[September 1]], 2010, Fr. Matthias was received into the [[clergy]] of the Orthodox Church in America and was assigned as acting rector at the Holy Myrrhbearers Monastery at Otego under the omophorion of Bp. [[Michael (Dahulich) of New York|Michael]] of New York.

During 2010, Fr. Matthias was one the candidates considered by the OCA Diocese of the Midwest for election as their diocesan bishop. In September 2010, an assembly of the [[diocese]] nominated him to the [[Synod]] of Bishops of the OCA as their choice as their diocesan bishop. At the opening session of the fall gathering of the Holy Synod of Bishops of the Orthodox Church in America on Tuesday, [[November 16]], 2010, Priestmonk Matthias was canonically elected to the vacant Episcopal See of Chicago and the Midwest.

During the Divine Liturgy for the Feast of Saint Tikhon of Moscow, celebrated at Saint Sergius of Radonezh Chapel at the [[Chancery office of the Orthodox Church in America|Chancery of the Orthodox Church in America]], Thursday, [[November 18]], 2010, His Beatitude, [[Jonah (Paffhausen) of Washington|Metropolitan Jonah]] elevated Bishop-Elect Matthias to the rank of [[Archimandrite]]. He was [[consecration of a bishop|consecrated to the episcopacy]] on [[May 2]], 2011.

==Retirement==
Bishop Matthias was retired as Bishop of the Midwest on April 15, 2013, and the Holy Synod of the OCA named Bishop [[Alexander (Golitzin)]] as the bishop ''locum tenens'' of the Diocese.

==Sources==
*[http://www.oca.org/news/2324 Holy Synod of Bishops gathers for Fall Session, elects Priestmonk Matthias (Moriak)]
*[http://www.stgreg.org/clergy.htm Father Matthias (Moriak)]
*[http://www.oca.org/news/2288 News and Events]
*[http://nynjoca.org/files/2010/Release-2010.18.1.pdf RELEASE NUMBER 2010.18.1]
*[http://www.oca.org/news/2325 Biography of Bishop-Elect Matthias]
*[http://www.oca.org/news/2523 The Consecration of His Grace, Bishop Matthias]
*[http://oca.org/PDF/NEWS/2013/2013-0414-pastoral-letter-to-diocese-midwest.pdf Metropolitan's Announcement of the Retirement of Bishop Matthias]

{{start box}}
{{succession|
before=[[Job (Osacky) of Chicago]]|
title=Bishop of Chicago and the Midwest (OCA) ''Bishop-elect of Chicago and the Midwest''|
years=2011-2013|
after=—}}
{{end box}}

[[Category:Bishops]]
[[Category:21st-century bishops]]
[[Category:Bishops of Chicago]]
[[Category:Monastics]]
[[Category:St. Tikhon's Seminary Graduates]]

Matthias (Moriak) of Chicago

2013-04-16T20:58:22Z

Fr Lev:

His Grace, the Right Reverend '''Matthias (Moriak) of Chicago''' is the retired [[bishop]] of the [[Diocese of the Midwest (OCA)|Diocese of the Midwest]] of the [[Orthodox Church in America]].

==Life==
Bishop-elect Matthias was born David Lawrence Moriak on [[April 4]], 1949, in Cleveland, Ohio, the son of Lawrence and the late Gladys Mae Moriak. He was [[baptism|baptized]] at St. Theodosius Cathedral in Cleveland. He attended public schools in Cleveland. He moved with his parents to Parma, Ohio when he was 12 years old. In Parma, he began attending a new mission of the [[American Carpatho-Russian Orthodox Diocese]] and began reading the Hours and the Epistle while contemplating a calling to the Holy Priesthood.

Following his graduation from Parma High School in June 1967, David considered joining the U. S. Marine Corps until he met His Grace, the late [[John (Martin) of Nyssa|John (Martin)]], Bishop of the Carpatho-Russian Diocese, who inspired him to enter [[Christ the Saviour Seminary (Johnstown, Pennsylvania)|Christ the Saviour Seminary]], in Johnstown, Pennsylvania. In the fall of 1967, David began his studies at the [[seminary]] and soon realized a strong calling to the priesthood. In June 1972, he graduated from the seminary and on [[June 3]], 1972, he married Jeannette before his [[ordination]] to the [[priest]]hood on [[June 18]]. Fr, Matthias and Jeannette had two children, Rachel and Michael.

Following his ordination as a priest, Fr. Matthias served at [[parish]]es in Jenner, Pennsylvania (1972 to 1975), St. Paul the Apostle in Freehold, New Jersey (1975 to 1978: a mission church that he founded), Gary, Indiana (1978 to 1982), St. Michael the Archangel Orthodox Church in Saint Clair, Pennsylvania (1982 to 2004), at Christ the Saviour Cathedral in Johnstown (2004 to 2006), and St. Gregory of Nyssa MIssion in Seaford, New York (2006 to 2010).

In May 1996, Fr. Matthias' wife Jeannette was diagnosed with acute leukemia and reposed in March 1997. While serving in St. Clair, Fr. Matthias enrolled at [[St. Tikhon's Orthodox Theological Seminary (South Canaan, Pennsylvania)|St. Tikhon's Seminary]] in South Canaan, Pennsylvania and graduated in 2000 with a Masters of Divinity Degree. Fr. Matthias always admired the [[monasticism|monastic]] life. Following the death of his wife, he visited several monasteries for healing and spiritual strength. He made visits to Holy Transfiguration Monastery, Ellwood City, Pennsylvania, and [[Holy Myrrhbearers Monastery (Otego, New York)|Holy Myrrhbearers Monastery]], Otego, New York, where he also served the Great Feast of the Nativity of Our Lord for two years. He also visited the Monastery of St. Anthony in Arizona, where he stayed for two weeks.

Before he took his monastic tonsure, he visited the [[Iviron Monastery (Athos)|Iveron Monastery]] on [[Mount Athos]] where for much of his time he spent following the daily cycle of services and obediences. He also spent hours speaking to his newly found Athonite spiritual father, [[Priestmonk]] Jeremiah. After visiting other [[monastery|monasteries]] in Jerusalem, Greece, Turkey, and Guatemala, Fr. Matthias was [[tonsure]]d a Riasaphor [[monk]] at Camp Nazareth on [[October 14]], 2003.

On [[September 1]], 2010, Fr. Matthias was received into the [[clergy]] of the Orthodox Church in America and was assigned as acting rector at the Holy Myrrhbearers Monastery at Otego under the omophorion of Bp. [[Michael (Dahulich) of New York|Michael]] of New York.

During 2010, Fr. Matthias was one the candidates considered by the OCA Diocese of the Midwest for election as their diocesan bishop. In September 2010, an assembly of the [[diocese]] nominated him to the [[Synod]] of Bishops of the OCA as their choice as their diocesan bishop. At the opening session of the fall gathering of the Holy Synod of Bishops of the Orthodox Church in America on Tuesday, [[November 16]], 2010, Priestmonk Matthias was canonically elected to the vacant Episcopal See of Chicago and the Midwest.

During the Divine Liturgy for the Feast of Saint Tikhon of Moscow, celebrated at Saint Sergius of Radonezh Chapel at the [[Chancery office of the Orthodox Church in America|Chancery of the Orthodox Church in America]], Thursday, [[November 18]], 2010, His Beatitude, [[Jonah (Paffhausen) of Washington|Metropolitan Jonah]] elevated Bishop-Elect Matthias to the rank of [[Archimandrite]]. He was [[consecration of a bishop|consecrated to the episcopacy]] on [[May 2]], 2011.

==Retirement==
Bishop Matthias was retired as Bishop of the Midwest on April 15, 2013, and the Holy Synod of the OCA named Bishop [[Alexander (Golitzin)]] as the bishop ''locum tenens'' of the Diocese.

==Sources==
*[http://www.oca.org/news/2324 Holy Synod of Bishops gathers for Fall Session, elects Priestmonk Matthias (Moriak)]
*[http://www.stgreg.org/clergy.htm Father Matthias (Moriak)]
*[http://www.oca.org/news/2288 News and Events]
*[http://nynjoca.org/files/2010/Release-2010.18.1.pdf RELEASE NUMBER 2010.18.1]
*[http://www.oca.org/news/2325 Biography of Bishop-Elect Matthias]
*[http://www.oca.org/news/2523 The Consecration of His Grace, Bishop Matthias]

{{start box}}
{{succession|
before=[[Job (Osacky) of Chicago]]|
title=Bishop of Chicago and the Midwest (OCA) ''Bishop-elect of Chicago and the Midwest''|
years=2011-2013|
after=—}}
{{end box}}

[[Category:Bishops]]
[[Category:21st-century bishops]]
[[Category:Bishops of Chicago]]
[[Category:Monastics]]
[[Category:St. Tikhon's Seminary Graduates]]

Alexander (Golitzin) of Toledo

2013-04-16T20:56:23Z

Fr Lev:

[[Image:Fr.-Golitzin-1.jpg|thumb|Igumen Alexander Golitzin|200px]]
The Right Reverend '''Alexander (Golitzin)''' is '''[[Bishop]] of Toledo''' and the [[Bulgarian Diocese (OCA)|Bulgarian Diocese]], and is currently ''locum tenens'' of the [[Diocese of the Midwest (OCA)|Diocese of the Midwest]].

Bishop Alexander is the second Bishop of Toledo and the Bulgarian Diocese ([[OCA]]). He succeeded His Eminence, the late Archbishop Kirill [Yonchev]. Archbishop Kirill had overseen the diocese from 1964 to 2007; in 1976, Archbishop Kirill brought the diocese under the omophorion of the Orthodox Church in America.

== Life ==
A descendent of the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galitzine Galitzine/Golitzin princely family], Alexander Golitzin was born in 1948. He went on to study at University of California Berkeley, receiving a BA in English, before earning his M.Div. at [[St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary (Crestwood, New York)|St. Vladimir's Seminary]] in Crestwood, New York. He later went on to earn the D.Phil. in Theology at Oxford University in 1980, writing his dissertation on [[Dionysius the Areopagite]] under the direction of Bishop [[Kallistos (Ware) of Diokleia]]. In the final years of his doctoral studies, he spent time on Mt. Athos, at Simonos Petras monastery, where he became a disciple of [Elder Aimilianos][http://orthodoxwiki.org/Aimilianos_%28Vafeidis%29], and eventually a monk.

== Teaching and Scholarship ==
Alexander Golitzin is a noted scholar. He contributed, together with Fr. Michael Prokurat, to the establishment of an Orthodox scholarly presence in Berkeley, CA (now the [[Patriarch Athenagoras Orthodox Institute]]). From 1989 until 2012 he taught [[Patristics]] at Marquette University in Milwaukee, WI, as Assistant Professor, Associate Professor, and eventually full Professor. His research concerns the beginnings of Christian mystical and ascetical traditions, and their subsequent developments in the Greek- and Syriac-speaking East, with a particular interest in continuities and parallels with, respectively, Second Temple Judaism and Rabbinic Judaism. His work on the Christian ascetical and mystical tradition attracted a number of doctoral students from Russia, Romania, and Serbia, with whom he began the scholarly project known as the Theophaneia School[http://www.amazon.com/Theophaneia-School-Scrinium-Eccl%C3%82%C2%82siastique-Eccl%C2%82siastique/dp/1607240831#reader_1607240831].

== Pastoral Work ==
While in California, Fr. Alexander was active in missionary work. In Milwaukee, he assisted the Orthodox Christian Fellowship at Marquette University, and was attached to Ss. Cyril & Methodius Orthodox Church[http://oca.org/parishes/oca-mw-mkescm]. He preached, taught, heard confessions, and assisted in the liturgical and pastoral work. For several years he also served major services at the [St. John Chrysostom monastery][http://www.hellenicheartbeat.com/monastery/] in Kenosha, WI.

On [[October 4]], 2011, the members of the Holy Synod of Bishops of the Orthodox Church in America elected Archimandrite Alexander to the vacant See of Toledo and the [[Bulgarian Diocese (OCA)|Bulgarian Diocese]]. Archimandrite Alexander was nominated for the vacant see at the diocese’s Fifth Congress-Sobor held in Toledo, OH on Saturday, [[June 9]], 2011. On Saturday, [[May 5]], 2012 he was consecrated Bishop of Toledo and the Bulgarian Diocese during a Hierarchical Divine Liturgy at Saint George Orthodox Cathedral in Rossford, OH.

In his address prior to the ordination, Bishop-elect Alexander said:
“When standing before the holy altar at the anaphora, the bishop images forth the one and unique High Priest—Christ—Who acts through His celebrant. While it is true that our Lord Jesus is true God and true King, it is also true that He did not come to us, His creatures, with the pomp and splendor of the King, attended by the legions of heaven, but rather in humility He emptied Himself and was found in the likeness of a servant. These are very different images: the first set revelatory of the splendor of heaven, and the second of the humility, long-suffering, and charity of our Lord’s life and ministry. … I must keep this difference firmly in mind throughout my life as bishop, by which I mean the glory of the liturgical iconography should have no place in my office and day-to-day demeanor. My actions, my patterns of speech, my service in short, is to be determined by the example given us by God the Word Himself.”[http://oca.org/news/headline-news/archimandrite-alexander-golitzin-consecrated-bishop-of-toledo-and-the-bulga]

On April 15, 2013, the Holy Synod of the OCA named Bishop Alexander as the bishop ''locum tenens'' of the [[Diocese of the Midwest (OCA)|Diocese of the Midwest]].

== Writings ==
'''Books:'''
* ''Mistagogia: Experienta lui Dumnezeu in Ortodoxie''. Sibiu, 1998. [in Romanian]
* ''[New Light From the Holy Mountain]http://www.amazon.com/Living-Witness-Holy-Mountain-Contemporary/dp/1878997483/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1314678261&sr=1-2''. South Canaan, 1996.
* ''[St Symeon the New Theologian on the Mystical Life: The Ethical Discourses]http://www.amazon.com/Mystical-Life-Discourses-Christian-Patristics/dp/0881411434/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1314678233&sr=1-2'', 3. vols. Crestwood, 1995-1997)
* ''[The Historical Dictionary of the Orthodox Church]http://www.amazon.com/Historical-Dictionary-Orthodox-Michael-Prokurat/dp/0810830817/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1314678261&sr=1-1'', with Michael Prokurat and Michael Peterson. Lanham, 1996.
* [Et introibo ad altare dei: ''The Mystagogy of Dionysius Areopagita]http://www.amazon.com/Introibo-Altare-Dei-Areopagita-Predecessors/dp/B000IXVUVM''. Thessalonika, 1994.
* ''Mystagogy: A Monastic Reading of Dionysius Areopagita''. Liturgical Press/ Cistercian Publications, forthcoming in 2014)

'''Articles:'''
Several articles can be viewed at [http://www.marquette.edu/maqom/scrinium3.pdf]

*[http://www.mu.edu/maqom/Liturgy.pdf "Liturgy and Mysticism: The Experience of God in Eastern Orthodox Christianity" (part 1)]
*[http://www.mu.edu/maqom/Liturgy2.pdf "Liturgy and Mysticism: The Experience of God in Eastern Orthodox Christianity" (part 2)].
*[http://orthodoxeurope.org/page/11/3/2.aspx Review of Hilarion Alfeyev, The Spiritual World of Isaac the Syrian (Cistercian Publications, 2000), published in St Vladimir’s Theological Quarterly 46 (2002): 285-290].
*"The Mysticism of Dionysius Areopagita: Platonist or Christian?" Mystics Quarterly 19 (1993): 98-114.
*“Hierarchy Versus Anarchy: Dionysius Areopagita, Symeon the New Theologian, Nicetas Stethatos, and Their Common Roots in the Ascetical Tradition,” St Vladimir's Theological Quarterly 38 (1994): 131-179.
*“Anathema! Some Historical Perspectives on the Athonite Statement of May 1995,” St. Nersess Theological Review 3 (1998): 103-117
*"’A Contemplative and a Liturgist’ : Father Georges Florovsky on the Corpus Dionysiacum,” St Vladimir's Theological Quarterly 43 (1999): 131-161.
*“Revisiting the 'Sudden': Epistle III in the Corpus Dionysiacum,” Studia Patristica 37 (2001): 482-491.
*"Many Lamps Are Lightened From the One": Paradigms of the Transformational Vision in the Macarian Homilies,” Vigiliae christianae 55 (2001): 281-298 [with Andrei Orlov]
*“Earthly Angels and Heavenly Men: The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha, Nicetas Stethatos, and the Tradition of Interiorized Apocalyptic in Eastern Christian Ascetical and Mystical Literature,” Dumbarton Oaks Papers 55 (2001): 125-153.
*“Adam, Eve, and Seth: Pneumatological Reflections On An Unusual Image in Gregory of Nanzianus's Fifth Theological Oration," Anglican Theological Review 83 (2001): 537-546.
*“Dionysius Areopagites in the Works of Saint Gregory Palams: On the Question of a ‘Christological Corrective’ and Related Matters,” Saint Vladimir’s Theological Quarterly 46 (2002): 163-90.
*“The Demons Suggest an Illusion of God’s Glory in a Form: Controversy Over the Divine Body and Vision of Glory in Some Late Fourth, Early Fifth Century Monastic Literature,” Studia Monastica 44 (2002): 13-44.
*“A Testimony to Christianity as Transfiguration: The Macarian Homilies and Orthodox Spirituality,” Orthodox and Wesleyan Spirituality (ed. S. T. Kimbrough; Crestwood, N.Y.: St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 2002), 129–156
*“Dionysius Areopagita: A Christian Mysticism?” Pro Ecclesia 12 (2003): 161-212.
*“The Place of the Presence of God: Aphrahat of Persia’s Portrait of the Christian Holy Man,” ΣΥΝΑΞΙΣ ΕΥΧΑΡΙΣΤΙΑΣ: Studies in Honor of Archimandrite Aimilianos of Simonos Petras, Mount Athos (Athens: Indiktos, 2003), 391-447.
*“The Image and Glory of God in Jacob of Serug’s Homily, On That Chariot That Ezekiel the Prophet Saw,” Saint Vladimir’s Theological Quarterly 46 (2003): 323-364.
*“‘Suddenly, Christ’: The Place of Negative Theology in the Mystagogy of Dionysius Areopagites,” Mystics: Presence and Aporia (ed. Michael Kessler and Christian Shepherd; Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2003), 8-37.
*"Christian Mysticism over Two Millennia," The Theophaneia School: Jewish Roots of Christian Mysticism (ed. Andrei Orlov and Basil Lurie; St. Petersburg: Byzantino-rossica, 2007), 17–33.
*“The Vision of God and the Form of Glory: More Reflections on the Anthropomorphite Controversy of AD 399,” Abba: The Tradition of Orthodoxy in the West: FS Kallistos Ware (SVS Press, 2007): 273-297.
*“Il corpo di Cristo: Simeone il Nuovo Teologo sulla vita spirituale e la chiesa gerarchica,” Simeone il Nuovo Teologo e il monachesimo a Costantinopoli (Qiqajon: Monastero di Bose, 2003), 255-288. (ENGLISH: “The Body of Christ: Saint Symeon the New Theologian on Spiritual Life and the Hierarchical Church,” The Theophaneia School: Jewish Roots of Eastern Christian Mysticism (Saint Petersburg: Byzantinorossica, 2007), 106-127)
*“Theophaneia: Forum on the Jewish Roots of Orthodox Spirituality,” The Theophaneia School: Jewish Roots of Eastern Christian Mysticism (Saint Petersburg: Byzantinorossica, 2007), xvii-xx.
*“Heavenly Mysteries: Themes from Apocalyptic Literature in the Macarian Homilies and Selected Other Fourth Century Ascetical Writers,” Apocalyptic Themes in Early Christianity (ed. Robert Daly; Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2009), 174–192
*“Making the Inside like the Outside: Toward a Monastic Sitz im Leben for the Syriac Apocalypse of Daniel,” To Train His Soul in Books: Syriac Asceticism in Early Christianity (ed. Robin Darling Young and Monica J. Blanchard; CUA Press, 2011). An earlier version of this article is available [http://www.mu.edu/maqom/daniel.html].

{{start box}}
{{succession|
before=[[Kyrill (Yonchev) of Pittsburgh|Kyrill (Yonchev)]]|
title=Bishop of Toledo and the Bulgarian Diocese (OCA)|
years=2012-present|
after= —}}
{{end box}}

== External links ==
*[http://oca.org/holy-synod/bishops/the-right-reverend-alexander OCA --The Holy Synod]
*[http://oca.org/news/headline-news/archimandrite-alexander-golitzin-consecrated-bishop-of-toledo-and-the-bulga Consecrated - (OCA)]
*[http://oca.org/news/headline-news/holy-synod-elects-archimandrite-alexander-golitzin-as-bishop-of-the-bulgari Holy Synod elects Archimandrite Alexander as Bishop of the Bulgarian Diocese]
*[http://www.marquette.edu/theology/golitzin.shtml Father Alexander's faculty web page at Marquette University.]
*[http://www.marquette.edu/maqom Father Alexander's website on "The Jewish Origins of Christian Mysticism."]

[[Category:Bishops]]
[[Category:21st-century bishops]]
[[Category:Bishops of Toledo]]
[[Category:Modern Writers]]
[[Category:Monastics]]
[[Category: St. Vladimir's Seminary Graduates]]

[[ro:Alexander (Golitzin) de Toledo]]

Alexander (Golitzin) of Toledo

2013-04-16T20:53:00Z

Fr Lev: /* Pastoral Work */ added appointment as locum tenens of Chicago

[[Image:Fr.-Golitzin-1.jpg|thumb|Igumen Alexander Golitzin|200px]]
The Right Reverend '''Alexander (Golitzin)''' is '''[[Bishop]] of Toledo''' and the [[Bulgarian Diocese (OCA)|Bulgarian Diocese]]. Bishop Alexander is the second Bishop of Toledo and the Bulgarian Diocese ([[OCA]]). He succeeded His Eminence, the late Archbishop Kirill [Yonchev]. Archbishop Kirill had overseen the diocese from 1964 to 2007; in 1976, Archbishop Kirill brought the diocese under the omophorion of the Orthodox Church in America.

== Life ==
A descendent of the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galitzine Galitzine/Golitzin princely family], Alexander Golitzin was born in 1948. He went on to study at University of California Berkeley, receiving a BA in English, before earning his M.Div. at [[St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary (Crestwood, New York)|St. Vladimir's Seminary]] in Crestwood, New York. He later went on to earn the D.Phil. in Theology at Oxford University in 1980, writing his dissertation on [[Dionysius the Areopagite]] under the direction of Bishop [[Kallistos (Ware) of Diokleia]]. In the final years of his doctoral studies, he spent time on Mt. Athos, at Simonos Petras monastery, where he became a disciple of [Elder Aimilianos][http://orthodoxwiki.org/Aimilianos_%28Vafeidis%29], and eventually a monk.

== Teaching and Scholarship ==
Alexander Golitzin is a noted scholar. He contributed, together with Fr. Michael Prokurat, to the establishment of an Orthodox scholarly presence in Berkeley, CA (now the [[Patriarch Athenagoras Orthodox Institute]]). From 1989 until 2012 he taught [[Patristics]] at Marquette University in Milwaukee, WI, as Assistant Professor, Associate Professor, and eventually full Professor. His research concerns the beginnings of Christian mystical and ascetical traditions, and their subsequent developments in the Greek- and Syriac-speaking East, with a particular interest in continuities and parallels with, respectively, Second Temple Judaism and Rabbinic Judaism. His work on the Christian ascetical and mystical tradition attracted a number of doctoral students from Russia, Romania, and Serbia, with whom he began the scholarly project known as the Theophaneia School[http://www.amazon.com/Theophaneia-School-Scrinium-Eccl%C3%82%C2%82siastique-Eccl%C2%82siastique/dp/1607240831#reader_1607240831].

== Pastoral Work ==
While in California, Fr. Alexander was active in missionary work. In Milwaukee, he assisted the Orthodox Christian Fellowship at Marquette University, and was attached to Ss. Cyril & Methodius Orthodox Church[http://oca.org/parishes/oca-mw-mkescm]. He preached, taught, heard confessions, and assisted in the liturgical and pastoral work. For several years he also served major services at the [St. John Chrysostom monastery][http://www.hellenicheartbeat.com/monastery/] in Kenosha, WI.

On [[October 4]], 2011, the members of the Holy Synod of Bishops of the Orthodox Church in America elected Archimandrite Alexander to the vacant See of Toledo and the [[Bulgarian Diocese (OCA)|Bulgarian Diocese]]. Archimandrite Alexander was nominated for the vacant see at the diocese’s Fifth Congress-Sobor held in Toledo, OH on Saturday, [[June 9]], 2011. On Saturday, [[May 5]], 2012 he was consecrated Bishop of Toledo and the Bulgarian Diocese during a Hierarchical Divine Liturgy at Saint George Orthodox Cathedral in Rossford, OH.

In his address prior to the ordination, Bishop-elect Alexander said:
“When standing before the holy altar at the anaphora, the bishop images forth the one and unique High Priest—Christ—Who acts through His celebrant. While it is true that our Lord Jesus is true God and true King, it is also true that He did not come to us, His creatures, with the pomp and splendor of the King, attended by the legions of heaven, but rather in humility He emptied Himself and was found in the likeness of a servant. These are very different images: the first set revelatory of the splendor of heaven, and the second of the humility, long-suffering, and charity of our Lord’s life and ministry. … I must keep this difference firmly in mind throughout my life as bishop, by which I mean the glory of the liturgical iconography should have no place in my office and day-to-day demeanor. My actions, my patterns of speech, my service in short, is to be determined by the example given us by God the Word Himself.”[http://oca.org/news/headline-news/archimandrite-alexander-golitzin-consecrated-bishop-of-toledo-and-the-bulga]

On April 15, 2013, the Holy Synod of the OCA named Bishop Alexander as the bishop ''locum tenens'' of the [[Diocese of the Midwest (OCA)|Diocese of the Midwest]].

== Writings ==
'''Books:'''
* ''Mistagogia: Experienta lui Dumnezeu in Ortodoxie''. Sibiu, 1998. [in Romanian]
* ''[New Light From the Holy Mountain]http://www.amazon.com/Living-Witness-Holy-Mountain-Contemporary/dp/1878997483/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1314678261&sr=1-2''. South Canaan, 1996.
* ''[St Symeon the New Theologian on the Mystical Life: The Ethical Discourses]http://www.amazon.com/Mystical-Life-Discourses-Christian-Patristics/dp/0881411434/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1314678233&sr=1-2'', 3. vols. Crestwood, 1995-1997)
* ''[The Historical Dictionary of the Orthodox Church]http://www.amazon.com/Historical-Dictionary-Orthodox-Michael-Prokurat/dp/0810830817/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1314678261&sr=1-1'', with Michael Prokurat and Michael Peterson. Lanham, 1996.
* [Et introibo ad altare dei: ''The Mystagogy of Dionysius Areopagita]http://www.amazon.com/Introibo-Altare-Dei-Areopagita-Predecessors/dp/B000IXVUVM''. Thessalonika, 1994.
* ''Mystagogy: A Monastic Reading of Dionysius Areopagita''. Liturgical Press/ Cistercian Publications, forthcoming in 2014)

'''Articles:'''
Several articles can be viewed at [http://www.marquette.edu/maqom/scrinium3.pdf]

*[http://www.mu.edu/maqom/Liturgy.pdf "Liturgy and Mysticism: The Experience of God in Eastern Orthodox Christianity" (part 1)]
*[http://www.mu.edu/maqom/Liturgy2.pdf "Liturgy and Mysticism: The Experience of God in Eastern Orthodox Christianity" (part 2)].
*[http://orthodoxeurope.org/page/11/3/2.aspx Review of Hilarion Alfeyev, The Spiritual World of Isaac the Syrian (Cistercian Publications, 2000), published in St Vladimir’s Theological Quarterly 46 (2002): 285-290].
*"The Mysticism of Dionysius Areopagita: Platonist or Christian?" Mystics Quarterly 19 (1993): 98-114.
*“Hierarchy Versus Anarchy: Dionysius Areopagita, Symeon the New Theologian, Nicetas Stethatos, and Their Common Roots in the Ascetical Tradition,” St Vladimir's Theological Quarterly 38 (1994): 131-179.
*“Anathema! Some Historical Perspectives on the Athonite Statement of May 1995,” St. Nersess Theological Review 3 (1998): 103-117
*"’A Contemplative and a Liturgist’ : Father Georges Florovsky on the Corpus Dionysiacum,” St Vladimir's Theological Quarterly 43 (1999): 131-161.
*“Revisiting the 'Sudden': Epistle III in the Corpus Dionysiacum,” Studia Patristica 37 (2001): 482-491.
*"Many Lamps Are Lightened From the One": Paradigms of the Transformational Vision in the Macarian Homilies,” Vigiliae christianae 55 (2001): 281-298 [with Andrei Orlov]
*“Earthly Angels and Heavenly Men: The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha, Nicetas Stethatos, and the Tradition of Interiorized Apocalyptic in Eastern Christian Ascetical and Mystical Literature,” Dumbarton Oaks Papers 55 (2001): 125-153.
*“Adam, Eve, and Seth: Pneumatological Reflections On An Unusual Image in Gregory of Nanzianus's Fifth Theological Oration," Anglican Theological Review 83 (2001): 537-546.
*“Dionysius Areopagites in the Works of Saint Gregory Palams: On the Question of a ‘Christological Corrective’ and Related Matters,” Saint Vladimir’s Theological Quarterly 46 (2002): 163-90.
*“The Demons Suggest an Illusion of God’s Glory in a Form: Controversy Over the Divine Body and Vision of Glory in Some Late Fourth, Early Fifth Century Monastic Literature,” Studia Monastica 44 (2002): 13-44.
*“A Testimony to Christianity as Transfiguration: The Macarian Homilies and Orthodox Spirituality,” Orthodox and Wesleyan Spirituality (ed. S. T. Kimbrough; Crestwood, N.Y.: St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 2002), 129–156
*“Dionysius Areopagita: A Christian Mysticism?” Pro Ecclesia 12 (2003): 161-212.
*“The Place of the Presence of God: Aphrahat of Persia’s Portrait of the Christian Holy Man,” ΣΥΝΑΞΙΣ ΕΥΧΑΡΙΣΤΙΑΣ: Studies in Honor of Archimandrite Aimilianos of Simonos Petras, Mount Athos (Athens: Indiktos, 2003), 391-447.
*“The Image and Glory of God in Jacob of Serug’s Homily, On That Chariot That Ezekiel the Prophet Saw,” Saint Vladimir’s Theological Quarterly 46 (2003): 323-364.
*“‘Suddenly, Christ’: The Place of Negative Theology in the Mystagogy of Dionysius Areopagites,” Mystics: Presence and Aporia (ed. Michael Kessler and Christian Shepherd; Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2003), 8-37.
*"Christian Mysticism over Two Millennia," The Theophaneia School: Jewish Roots of Christian Mysticism (ed. Andrei Orlov and Basil Lurie; St. Petersburg: Byzantino-rossica, 2007), 17–33.
*“The Vision of God and the Form of Glory: More Reflections on the Anthropomorphite Controversy of AD 399,” Abba: The Tradition of Orthodoxy in the West: FS Kallistos Ware (SVS Press, 2007): 273-297.
*“Il corpo di Cristo: Simeone il Nuovo Teologo sulla vita spirituale e la chiesa gerarchica,” Simeone il Nuovo Teologo e il monachesimo a Costantinopoli (Qiqajon: Monastero di Bose, 2003), 255-288. (ENGLISH: “The Body of Christ: Saint Symeon the New Theologian on Spiritual Life and the Hierarchical Church,” The Theophaneia School: Jewish Roots of Eastern Christian Mysticism (Saint Petersburg: Byzantinorossica, 2007), 106-127)
*“Theophaneia: Forum on the Jewish Roots of Orthodox Spirituality,” The Theophaneia School: Jewish Roots of Eastern Christian Mysticism (Saint Petersburg: Byzantinorossica, 2007), xvii-xx.
*“Heavenly Mysteries: Themes from Apocalyptic Literature in the Macarian Homilies and Selected Other Fourth Century Ascetical Writers,” Apocalyptic Themes in Early Christianity (ed. Robert Daly; Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2009), 174–192
*“Making the Inside like the Outside: Toward a Monastic Sitz im Leben for the Syriac Apocalypse of Daniel,” To Train His Soul in Books: Syriac Asceticism in Early Christianity (ed. Robin Darling Young and Monica J. Blanchard; CUA Press, 2011). An earlier version of this article is available [http://www.mu.edu/maqom/daniel.html].

{{start box}}
{{succession|
before=[[Kyrill (Yonchev) of Pittsburgh|Kyrill (Yonchev)]]|
title=Bishop of Toledo and the Bulgarian Diocese (OCA)|
years=2012-present|
after= —}}
{{end box}}

== External links ==
*[http://oca.org/holy-synod/bishops/the-right-reverend-alexander OCA --The Holy Synod]
*[http://oca.org/news/headline-news/archimandrite-alexander-golitzin-consecrated-bishop-of-toledo-and-the-bulga Consecrated - (OCA)]
*[http://oca.org/news/headline-news/holy-synod-elects-archimandrite-alexander-golitzin-as-bishop-of-the-bulgari Holy Synod elects Archimandrite Alexander as Bishop of the Bulgarian Diocese]
*[http://www.marquette.edu/theology/golitzin.shtml Father Alexander's faculty web page at Marquette University.]
*[http://www.marquette.edu/maqom Father Alexander's website on "The Jewish Origins of Christian Mysticism."]

[[Category:Bishops]]
[[Category:21st-century bishops]]
[[Category:Bishops of Toledo]]
[[Category:Modern Writers]]
[[Category:Monastics]]
[[Category: St. Vladimir's Seminary Graduates]]

[[ro:Alexander (Golitzin) de Toledo]]

Matthias (Moriak) of Chicago

2013-04-16T20:48:01Z

Fr Lev: /* Sources */ changed succession box

His Grace, the Right Reverend '''Matthias (Moriak) of Chicago''' is the [[bishop]] of the [[Diocese of the Midwest (OCA)|Diocese of the Midwest]] of the [[Orthodox Church in America]].

==Life==
Bishop-elect Matthias was born David Lawrence Moriak on [[April 4]], 1949, in Cleveland, Ohio, the son of Lawrence and the late Gladys Mae Moriak. He was [[baptism|baptized]] at St. Theodosius Cathedral in Cleveland. He attended public schools in Cleveland. He moved with his parents to Parma, Ohio when he was 12 years old. In Parma, he began attending a new mission of the [[American Carpatho-Russian Orthodox Diocese]] and began reading the Hours and the Epistle while contemplating a calling to the Holy Priesthood.

Following his graduation from Parma High School in June 1967, David considered joining the U. S. Marine Corps until he met His Grace, the late [[John (Martin) of Nyssa|John (Martin)]], Bishop of the Carpatho-Russian Diocese, who inspired him to enter [[Christ the Saviour Seminary (Johnstown, Pennsylvania)|Christ the Saviour Seminary]], in Johnstown, Pennsylvania. In the fall of 1967, David began his studies at the [[seminary]] and soon realized a strong calling to the priesthood. In June 1972, he graduated from the seminary and on [[June 3]], 1972, he married Jeannette before his [[ordination]] to the [[priest]]hood on [[June 18]]. Fr, Matthias and Jeannette had two children, Rachel and Michael.

Following his ordination as a priest, Fr. Matthias served at [[parish]]es in Jenner, Pennsylvania (1972 to 1975), St. Paul the Apostle in Freehold, New Jersey (1975 to 1978: a mission church that he founded), Gary, Indiana (1978 to 1982), St. Michael the Archangel Orthodox Church in Saint Clair, Pennsylvania (1982 to 2004), at Christ the Saviour Cathedral in Johnstown (2004 to 2006), and St. Gregory of Nyssa MIssion in Seaford, New York (2006 to 2010).

In May 1996, Fr. Matthias' wife Jeannette was diagnosed with acute leukemia and reposed in March 1997. While serving in St. Clair, Fr. Matthias enrolled at [[St. Tikhon's Orthodox Theological Seminary (South Canaan, Pennsylvania)|St. Tikhon's Seminary]] in South Canaan, Pennsylvania and graduated in 2000 with a Masters of Divinity Degree. Fr. Matthias always admired the [[monasticism|monastic]] life. Following the death of his wife, he visited several monasteries for healing and spiritual strength. He made visits to Holy Transfiguration Monastery, Ellwood City, Pennsylvania, and [[Holy Myrrhbearers Monastery (Otego, New York)|Holy Myrrhbearers Monastery]], Otego, New York, where he also served the Great Feast of the Nativity of Our Lord for two years. He also visited the Monastery of St. Anthony in Arizona, where he stayed for two weeks.

Before he took his monastic tonsure, he visited the [[Iviron Monastery (Athos)|Iveron Monastery]] on [[Mount Athos]] where for much of his time he spent following the daily cycle of services and obediences. He also spent hours speaking to his newly found Athonite spiritual father, [[Priestmonk]] Jeremiah. After visiting other [[monastery|monasteries]] in Jerusalem, Greece, Turkey, and Guatemala, Fr. Matthias was [[tonsure]]d a Riasaphor [[monk]] at Camp Nazareth on [[October 14]], 2003.

On [[September 1]], 2010, Fr. Matthias was received into the [[clergy]] of the Orthodox Church in America and was assigned as acting rector at the Holy Myrrhbearers Monastery at Otego under the omophorion of Bp. [[Michael (Dahulich) of New York|Michael]] of New York.

During 2010, Fr. Matthias was one the candidates considered by the OCA Diocese of the Midwest for election as their diocesan bishop. In September 2010, an assembly of the [[diocese]] nominated him to the [[Synod]] of Bishops of the OCA as their choice as their diocesan bishop. At the opening session of the fall gathering of the Holy Synod of Bishops of the Orthodox Church in America on Tuesday, [[November 16]], 2010, Priestmonk Matthias was canonically elected to the vacant Episcopal See of Chicago and the Midwest.

During the Divine Liturgy for the Feast of Saint Tikhon of Moscow, celebrated at Saint Sergius of Radonezh Chapel at the [[Chancery office of the Orthodox Church in America|Chancery of the Orthodox Church in America]], Thursday, [[November 18]], 2010, His Beatitude, [[Jonah (Paffhausen) of Washington|Metropolitan Jonah]] elevated Bishop-Elect Matthias to the rank of [[Archimandrite]]. He was [[consecration of a bishop|consecrated to the episcopacy]] on [[May 2]], 2011.

==Retirement==
Bishop Matthias was retired as Bishop of the Midwest on April 15, 2013, and the Holy Synod of the OCA named Bishop [[Alexander (Golitzin)]] as the bishop ''locum tenens'' of the Diocese.

==Sources==
*[http://www.oca.org/news/2324 Holy Synod of Bishops gathers for Fall Session, elects Priestmonk Matthias (Moriak)]
*[http://www.stgreg.org/clergy.htm Father Matthias (Moriak)]
*[http://www.oca.org/news/2288 News and Events]
*[http://nynjoca.org/files/2010/Release-2010.18.1.pdf RELEASE NUMBER 2010.18.1]
*[http://www.oca.org/news/2325 Biography of Bishop-Elect Matthias]
*[http://www.oca.org/news/2523 The Consecration of His Grace, Bishop Matthias]

{{start box}}
{{succession|
before=[[Job (Osacky) of Chicago]]|
title=Bishop of Chicago and the Midwest (OCA) ''Bishop-elect of Chicago and the Midwest''|
years=2011-2013|
after=—}}
{{end box}}

[[Category:Bishops]]
[[Category:21st-century bishops]]
[[Category:Bishops of Chicago]]
[[Category:Monastics]]
[[Category:St. Tikhon's Seminary Graduates]]

Matthias (Moriak) of Chicago

2013-04-16T20:36:14Z

Fr Lev: /* Life */

His Grace, the Right Reverend '''Matthias (Moriak) of Chicago''' is the [[bishop]] of the [[Diocese of the Midwest (OCA)|Diocese of the Midwest]] of the [[Orthodox Church in America]].

==Life==
Bishop-elect Matthias was born David Lawrence Moriak on [[April 4]], 1949, in Cleveland, Ohio, the son of Lawrence and the late Gladys Mae Moriak. He was [[baptism|baptized]] at St. Theodosius Cathedral in Cleveland. He attended public schools in Cleveland. He moved with his parents to Parma, Ohio when he was 12 years old. In Parma, he began attending a new mission of the [[American Carpatho-Russian Orthodox Diocese]] and began reading the Hours and the Epistle while contemplating a calling to the Holy Priesthood.

Following his graduation from Parma High School in June 1967, David considered joining the U. S. Marine Corps until he met His Grace, the late [[John (Martin) of Nyssa|John (Martin)]], Bishop of the Carpatho-Russian Diocese, who inspired him to enter [[Christ the Saviour Seminary (Johnstown, Pennsylvania)|Christ the Saviour Seminary]], in Johnstown, Pennsylvania. In the fall of 1967, David began his studies at the [[seminary]] and soon realized a strong calling to the priesthood. In June 1972, he graduated from the seminary and on [[June 3]], 1972, he married Jeannette before his [[ordination]] to the [[priest]]hood on [[June 18]]. Fr, Matthias and Jeannette had two children, Rachel and Michael.

Following his ordination as a priest, Fr. Matthias served at [[parish]]es in Jenner, Pennsylvania (1972 to 1975), St. Paul the Apostle in Freehold, New Jersey (1975 to 1978: a mission church that he founded), Gary, Indiana (1978 to 1982), St. Michael the Archangel Orthodox Church in Saint Clair, Pennsylvania (1982 to 2004), at Christ the Saviour Cathedral in Johnstown (2004 to 2006), and St. Gregory of Nyssa MIssion in Seaford, New York (2006 to 2010).

In May 1996, Fr. Matthias' wife Jeannette was diagnosed with acute leukemia and reposed in March 1997. While serving in St. Clair, Fr. Matthias enrolled at [[St. Tikhon's Orthodox Theological Seminary (South Canaan, Pennsylvania)|St. Tikhon's Seminary]] in South Canaan, Pennsylvania and graduated in 2000 with a Masters of Divinity Degree. Fr. Matthias always admired the [[monasticism|monastic]] life. Following the death of his wife, he visited several monasteries for healing and spiritual strength. He made visits to Holy Transfiguration Monastery, Ellwood City, Pennsylvania, and [[Holy Myrrhbearers Monastery (Otego, New York)|Holy Myrrhbearers Monastery]], Otego, New York, where he also served the Great Feast of the Nativity of Our Lord for two years. He also visited the Monastery of St. Anthony in Arizona, where he stayed for two weeks.

Before he took his monastic tonsure, he visited the [[Iviron Monastery (Athos)|Iveron Monastery]] on [[Mount Athos]] where for much of his time he spent following the daily cycle of services and obediences. He also spent hours speaking to his newly found Athonite spiritual father, [[Priestmonk]] Jeremiah. After visiting other [[monastery|monasteries]] in Jerusalem, Greece, Turkey, and Guatemala, Fr. Matthias was [[tonsure]]d a Riasaphor [[monk]] at Camp Nazareth on [[October 14]], 2003.

On [[September 1]], 2010, Fr. Matthias was received into the [[clergy]] of the Orthodox Church in America and was assigned as acting rector at the Holy Myrrhbearers Monastery at Otego under the omophorion of Bp. [[Michael (Dahulich) of New York|Michael]] of New York.

During 2010, Fr. Matthias was one the candidates considered by the OCA Diocese of the Midwest for election as their diocesan bishop. In September 2010, an assembly of the [[diocese]] nominated him to the [[Synod]] of Bishops of the OCA as their choice as their diocesan bishop. At the opening session of the fall gathering of the Holy Synod of Bishops of the Orthodox Church in America on Tuesday, [[November 16]], 2010, Priestmonk Matthias was canonically elected to the vacant Episcopal See of Chicago and the Midwest.

During the Divine Liturgy for the Feast of Saint Tikhon of Moscow, celebrated at Saint Sergius of Radonezh Chapel at the [[Chancery office of the Orthodox Church in America|Chancery of the Orthodox Church in America]], Thursday, [[November 18]], 2010, His Beatitude, [[Jonah (Paffhausen) of Washington|Metropolitan Jonah]] elevated Bishop-Elect Matthias to the rank of [[Archimandrite]]. He was [[consecration of a bishop|consecrated to the episcopacy]] on [[May 2]], 2011.

==Retirement==
Bishop Matthias was retired as Bishop of the Midwest on April 15, 2013, and the Holy Synod of the OCA named Bishop [[Alexander (Golitzin)]] as the bishop ''locum tenens'' of the Diocese.

==Sources==
*[http://www.oca.org/news/2324 Holy Synod of Bishops gathers for Fall Session, elects Priestmonk Matthias (Moriak)]
*[http://www.stgreg.org/clergy.htm Father Matthias (Moriak)]
*[http://www.oca.org/news/2288 News and Events]
*[http://nynjoca.org/files/2010/Release-2010.18.1.pdf RELEASE NUMBER 2010.18.1]
*[http://www.oca.org/news/2325 Biography of Bishop-Elect Matthias]
*[http://www.oca.org/news/2523 The Consecration of His Grace, Bishop Matthias]

{{start box}}
{{succession|
before=[[Job (Osacky) of Chicago]]|
title=Bishop of Chicago and the Midwest (OCA) ''Bishop-elect of Chicago and the Midwest''|
years=2011-Present|
after=—}}
{{end box}}

[[Category:Bishops]]
[[Category:21st-century bishops]]
[[Category:Bishops of Chicago]]
[[Category:Monastics]]
[[Category:St. Tikhon's Seminary Graduates]]

Talk:St. Petroc Monastery (Cascades, Tasmania)

2013-04-09T12:39:45Z

Fr Lev: /* Protecting of 4/Nov */

*Archive 1 of Discussion: [[Talk:St._Petroc_Monastery_(Cascades,_Tasmania)/Archive 1|2-4/Nov]]

==Protecting of 4/Nov==
This article has been protected because of a long sequence of edits. A few days to cool the keyboards, I think, are in order. All edits on this article should in future, imho, be done with official information (ie Monastery or Diocesan) to avoid this kind of editing based on unverifiable personal experience or hearsay or whatnot. -- [[User:Pistevo|Pistevo]] 20:21, 3 November 2005 (CST)

:I think we'll freeze the article here for awhile. By my judgment, it contains some good information about the monastery, without getting into anything contentious. I've reverted "various parts of the military" back to "seamen" in light of this clarification from Fr. Michael: "seamen" refers to all mariners - mostly merchant seamen (Webster's defines a seaman as a person skilled in seamanship .....)" [[User:FrJohn|Fr. John]] 22:49, 4 November 2005 (CST)

:I've just protected the article again. Please discuss any future revisions on this talk page before they happen. Thanks. — [[User:FrJohn|FrJohn]] ([http://www.orthodoxwiki.org/User_talk:FrJohn&action=edit&section=new talk]) 19:04, October 9, 2006 (CDT)

Fr Michael of Saint Petroc Monastery has been suspended and retired by Metropolitan Hilarion. See below

February 23, 2013
No. 2-28-13

In view of his vioations of the canons by disrespect of the person of the Patriarch and other members of the Hierarchy, lengthy absences from his parish in Hobart, Tasmania, causing spiritual neglect of the faithful of his church community, and the constant inflammatory and unedifying negative comments which he publicly broadcasts within the religious media, bringing disrepute to the Orthodox witness of the Western Rite movement, Hieromonk Michael (Mansbridge-Wood), cleric of the Australia and New Zealand Diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia, is hereby suspended and relieved of all his priestly duties and obligations concerning the Western Rite in the United Kingdom and elsewhere, and is retired from active service in the Church. Given the above, any and all blessings for his websites are hereby withdrawn.

(signed)
+Hilarion

Metropolitan Hilarion,
Archbishop of Sydney, Australia and New Zealand,
First Hierarch of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia.

:As this article is about St Petroc's Monastery (rather than its superior), I have added this information briefly in terms of how it affects the monastery. Currently, there is no article about Fr Michael (and, at least for a few months, this is probably a good thing). — by [[User:Pistevo|Pιsτévο]] ''[[User talk:Pistevo|talk]]'' ''[[User talk:Pistevo/dev/null|complaints]]'' at 17:41, March 6, 2013 (HST)

FYI
a) the building where St Dyfan (40 Alexander St, Sandy Bay) was based was been sold by the University of Tasmania some time ago and so doesn't exist. Also Fr Michael has not been an accredited chaplain there for some considerable time. So stricly speaking Saint Petroc Monastery (an apartment chapel) in McRobies Road, South Hobart is now and has been the only physical manifestation of SPM.

b) but to add complexity, there is another ROCOR priest Fr Barry Jefferies who has also conducted services at SPM at various times, and may continue to do so because he hasn't been suspended. So I'm not sure that the comment "This means that the monastery's lone monk can no longer celebrate services." is strictly correct.

Sorry to burden you with complexity--nothing about SPM seems straightforward.

"Currently, there is no article about Fr Michael (and, at least for a few months, this is probably a good thing)" --couldn't agree more.

:Regarding (a) - I think this has been addressed by the article's most recent edit; and regarding (b), Fr Barry is a married priest (and therefore not a monk). And of course, Fr Barry can't be an attached to a greater SPM movement because this movement probably doesn't exist anymore (given that the ukase you cited has removed the head without replacement) - if Fr Michael was a priest of the Diocese of ANZ (as per ukase), then ISTM that Fr Barry unquestionably is.
:Of course, I see the complexity :-) - does all that seem to be a good place to leave the article for now? — by [[User:Pistevo|Pιsτévο]] ''[[User talk:Pistevo|talk]]'' ''[[User talk:Pistevo/dev/null|complaints]]'' at 19:22, March 6, 2013 (HST)

Yes, I think it is if you're happy. Perhaps they might even be the final words about SPM-though one can't be certain.

Finally, again fyi Fr Michael was suspended nearly 2 years ago as well. Sometime later the suspension was lifted but with stringent restrictions on the scope of his future activies. So SPM has been on a rocky road for some time now!

:Just trying to make sure that it's a balanced and truthful article. Final words: clearly much prayer is required here. Other suspension: Yes, I remember - perhaps that's one for a future article about the man (rather than the monastery). — by [[User:Pistevo|Pιsτévο]] ''[[User talk:Pistevo|talk]]'' ''[[User talk:Pistevo/dev/null|complaints]]'' at 20:01, March 6, 2013 (HST)

"Just trying to make sure that it's a balanced and truthful article"
I think you've done an excellent job with difficult material!! Bfn
-----
Some suggestions for fine tuning if you think they are worthwhile:

1. Metropolitan’s decree is now on the ROCOR website
See http://www.rocor.org.au/?p=7603

2. UTAS sold their chaplaincy building in Dec 2011 so MMW’s involvement with UTAS would have ceased earlier that year.

3. The link to SPM’s webpage is now a dead link.

4. The locality for SPM is given as “Cascades”. This is not strictly correct because there is no such suburb, and “Cascades” does not appear on the Australia Post list of postcodes. “Cascades’ is used loosely by locals to describe the general area below Mt Wellington in Hobart. SPM is located in McRobies Road, “South Hobart” with postcode 7000

2nd April 2013

Fr Michael has "left rocor" see http://westernorthodoxchristian.blogspot.com.au/2013/04/fr-michael-woods-leaves-rocor-mp.html

He has announced on facebook a new affiliation:
"On the 15th of March, I was notified in writing of my reception by his eminence, Metropolitan Daniel of the Metropolitanate of Moscow (TOC-R). This was followed by the necessary decrees. The decrees stated that I am a Hieromonk of Metropolitan Daniel's diocese, resident in the United Kingdom."

There is also a reference to his new role at http://orthodoxwesternrite.wordpress.com/becoming-western-rite-in-uk-europe/

I'm not sure how this should be integrated with existing material.

:Hopefully the changes made yesterday have dealt with most of these.
:The exception being number 4, and TBH, I'd incline more towards just deleting the location entirely, since the monastery is clearly no longer there (how can something with no building and no resident be called a monastery?). — by [[User:Pistevo|Pιsτévο]] ''[[User talk:Pistevo|talk]]'' ''[[User talk:Pistevo/dev/null|complaints]]'' at 21:08, April 8, 2013 (HST)

I agree with Pistevo. The simplest thing would be to delete it. --[[User:Fr Lev|Fr Lev]] 02:39, April 9, 2013 (HST)ﻜ

Presbyter

2013-04-02T21:26:25Z

Fr Lev:

{{Template:Clergy}}
'''''Presbyter''''' is, in the [[Bible]], a synonym for ''[[bishop]]'' (Gr: επίσκοπος - ''episkopos''), referring to a leader in local Church congregations. However, since at least the second century, it has been understood as distinct from ''bishop'' and synonymous with '''''priest'''''. Its literal meaning in Greek (Gr: πρεσβύτερος - ''presbyteros'') is "elder."

==Ordination==
Through the sacrament of [[ordination|holy orders]], an ordination of a deacon to the priesthood is performed by the bishop. But this requires the consent of the whole people of God, so at a point in the service, the [[congregation]] acclaim the ordination by shouting [[Axios]]! (''He is worthy!'')

==Duties==
A priest ministers to the people of God in the stead of the bishop. This includes:
*Celebrating the Divine Liturgy;
*Celebrating baptisms, marriages, funerals and any sacraments of the Church.

Usually, a priest will
*Be assigned as [[proistamenos|rector of a parish]], a position that will include pastoral ministry, preaching and administration;
*Hear confessions. In some jurisdictions, this is allowable immediately; in others, being a confessor is something a bishop invites a priest to undertake.

It should be noted that a priest's conduct does not inhibit the grace of God acting through them. Christ is the one who gives grace, merely using his ministers as 'conduits' to the people.

===Restrictions===
Since the presbyters are assigned by the bishop and belong to the specific congregations they have no authority or services to perform apart from their bishop and their own particular parish community. On the [[altar table]] of each parish, there is the cloth called the [[antimension]] signed by the bishop, which is the permission to the community to gather and to act as the Church. Without the antimension, the priest and his people cannot function legitimately.

== History ==
The earliest organization of the [[Christian]] churches in Palestine was similar to that of [[Judaism|Jewish]] [[synagogue]]s, who were governed by a council of elders (''presbyteroi''). In [[Acts of the Apostles|Acts]] 11:30 and 15:22, we see this collegiate system of government in Jerusalem, and in Acts 14:23, the [[Apostle Paul]] ordains elders in the churches he founded. Initially, these '''presbyters''' were apparently identical with the '''overseers''' (''episkopoi'', i.e., [[bishop]]s), as such passages as Acts 20:17 and [[Book of Titus|Titus]] 1:5,7 indicate, and the terms were interchangeable.

Shortly after the [[New Testament]] period, with the death of the [[Apostles]], there was a differentiation in the usage of the synonymous terms, giving rise to the appearance of two distinct offices, '''[[bishop]]''' and '''presbyter'''. The bishop was understood mainly as the president of the council of presbyters, and so the bishop came to be distinguished both in honor and in prerogative from the presbyters, who were seen as deriving their authority by means of delegation from the bishop. The distinction between presbyter and bishop is made fairly soon after the Apostolic period, as is seen in the 2nd century writings of St. [[Ignatius of Antioch]], who uses the terms consistently and clearly to refer to two different offices (along with ''[[deacon]]'').

Initially, each local congregation in the Church had its own bishop. Eventually, as the Church grew, individual congregations no longer were served directly by a bishop. The bishop in a large city would appoint a presbyter to pastor the flock in each congregation, acting as his delegate.

==Married and Monastic priests==
Orthodox priests are divided into two distinct groups, [[Marriage|married]] [[clergy]], and [[monastic]] clergy. In the Orthodox Church a married man may be ordained to the priesthood. His marriage, however, must be the first for both him and his wife. He may not remarry and continue in his ministry even if his wife should die.

If a single man is ordained, he must remain celibate to retain his service. This is often done alongside the candidate taking monastic vows, becoming a [[hieromonk]] or priest-monk.

== Contemporary usage ==
The [[Orthodox Church]] often refers to presbyters in English as ''priests'' (''priest'' is etymologically derived from the Greek ''presbyteros'' via the Latin ''presbyter''). This usage is seen by some Protestant Christians as stripping the [[laity]] of its rightful priestly status, while those who use the term defend its usage by saying that, while they do believe in the ''priesthood'' of all believers, they do not believe in the ''eldership'' of all believers.

Presbyters are often referred to as ''Father'' (Fr.), though that is not an official title. Rather, it is a term of affection used by Christians for their [[ordination|ordained]] elders. In this context, a priest's first name is generally used after the word ''Father''.

Priests are often styled as ''the Reverend'' (Rev.) and therefore referred to as ''the Reverend Father'' (Rev. Fr.). Higher in bestowed honor and responsibility, [[Archpriest]]s and [[Protopresbyter]]s are styled as ''the Very Reverend'' (V. Rev.), while [[Archimandrite]]s can be styled as ''the Very Reverend'' (V. Rev.) or as ''the Right Reverend'' (Rt. Rev.). It is also appropriate and traditional to refer to a clergyman as "the Priest ''Name''" or "Archpriest ''Name''". This latter practice is especially prominent in Churches with Slavic roots, such as the [[Church of Russia]] or the [[Orthodox Church in America]].

The [[presbytera|wife of a priest]] will also have a special title, usually in the language of the jurisdiction of her husband.

== Sources ==
*Liddell & Scott, ''An Intermediate Greek-English Lexicon'', pp. 301, 668
*''The Compact Edition of the Oxford English Dictionary'', p. 2297
*''The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church (3rd ed.)'', p. 1322

==External links==
*[http://www.saintelias.com/ca/etiquette/index.php Church etiquette (Ukrainian tradition)] (including how to greet a priest or bishop)
*[http://www.orthodoxinfo.com/praxis/clergy_etiquette.aspx Clergy Etiquette]
*[[w:Priest|Priest]] on Wikipedia

==Further reading==
* Christos S. Voulgaris (Prof. of New Testament Studies, Dean of the School of Theology of the Univ. of Athens). ''[http://www.holytrinitymission.org/books/english/priesthood_voulgaris.htm The Sacrament of Priesthood in the Holy Scriptures].''

[[Category:Clergy]]

[[fr:Prêtre]]
[[mk:Презвитер]]
[[ro:Preot]]

Lev Gillet

2013-03-25T21:12:27Z

Fr Lev: /* Life */ tense

__NOTOC__
'''Louis Gillet''', also '''Lev Gillet''', was a [[conversion|convert]] to the Orthodox faith between the World Wars through the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church and was received into the Orthodox Church in Paris. He organized the first French language Orthodox parish in France.

==Life==
Born in 1893 in Saint-Marcellin (Isère, France), after studies of philosophy in Paris, Louis Gillet (Lev Gillet - [http://www.sobornost.org/images/photos/lev_gillet.jpg Photo]) is mobilized during the First World War, held prisoner in 1914 and spends three years in captivity, where he is attracted by the spirit and the spirituality of the [[Church of Russia|Russian]] prisoners. He studies mathematics and psychology in Geneva and joins the Benedictines in Clairvaux in 1919. Attracted by the Eastern Christian world, he becomes acquainted with [[Metropolitan]] Andreas Szeptycki of the [[Uniates|Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church]] in Galicia, and pronounces his final vows at the Studite [[Monastery]] of Ouniov in Galicia.

Disappointed by the attitude of the [[Roman Catholic Church|Catholic Church]] towards [[What is Orthodoxy|Orthodoxy]], Father Lev is received in the [[Orthodox Church]] in Paris in May 1928, and in November 1928 he becomes the [[rector]] of the [[parish]] of [[Genevieve of Paris|Sainte-Geneviève-de-Paris]], the first [[Orthodox Church of France|French-speaking Orthodox parish]]. In 1938 he leaves Paris to settle in London, within the framework of the [[Fellowship of St. Alban and St. Sergius|Fellowship of Saint Alban and Saint Sergius]] [http://www.sobornost.org/], an [[ecumenism|ecumenical]] organization dedicated to the bringing together of the [[Anglican Communion|Anglican Church]] and the Orthodox Church. He remains in England until his death in 1980, going on many journeys abroad, in particular to France, Switzerland and Lebanon, where he took part in the spiritual revival of [[Church of Antioch|Antiochian Orthodoxy]].

Principal publications in French (under the pseudonym "a [[monk]] of the Eastern Church" - [http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/search/202-2912394-4503029?search-alias=stripbooks&field-author=Gillet,%20Lev English translations also available]) include ''The Jesus Prayer'', ''Introduction to Orthodox Spirituality'', ''The year of grace of the Lord: A commentary on the Byzantine liturgical year'', and ''Jesus, simple gazes to the Saviour''.

==Quote==
:''O strange Orthodox Church, so poor and weak, with neither the organization nor the culture of the West, staying afloat as if by a [[miracle]] in the face of so many trials, tribulations and struggles; a Church of contrasts, both so traditional and so free, so archaic and so alive, so ritualist and so personally involved, a Church where the priceless pearl of the [[Gospel]] is assiduously preserved, sometimes under a layer of dust; a Church which in shadows and silence maintains above all the eternal values of purity, poverty, [[asceticism]], [[humility]] and forgiveness; a Church which has often not known how to act, but which can sing of the joy of [[Pascha]] like no other.'' -- from Fr Lev's 1937 funeral homily for Archimandrite [[Irénée (Winnaert)|Irénée (Louis-Charles) Winnaert]], the founder of the [[Orthodox Church of France]]

==Source==
Translated from [http://www.pagesorthodoxes.net/coeur/biograph.htm#lev],[http://www.editionsducerf.fr/html/fiche/ficheauteur.asp?n_aut=3681] (French)

==Further reading==
====Writings by Fr. Lev Gillet====

=====Books=====
*''The Jesus Prayer''
*''On the Invocation of the Name of Jesus''
*''The Burning Bush''
*''In Thy Presence''
*''Communion in the Messiah''
*''Jesus: A Dialogue with the Saviour''
*''Orthodox Spirituality: An Outline of the Orthodox Ascetical and Mystical Tradition''
*''The Year of Grace of the Lord: A Commentary on the Byzantine Liturgical Year''

=====Articles=====
* [http://www.syndesmos.org/en/texts/files/Text_85%20The%20Vision,%20editorial,%20Lev%20Gillet,%201972.pdf Father Lev Gillet. The Vision. ''Syndesmos News'' 1972 Dec, No 8 (PDF)] ([http://www.coptichymns.net/module-pagesetter-viewpub-tid-1-pid-309.html mirror (HTML)])
* [http://www.coptichymns.net/module-pagesetter-viewpub-tid-1-pid-155.html Father Lev Gillet. The Jesus Prayer]
* [http://www.coptichymns.net/index.php?module=pagesetter&func=viewpub&tid=1&pid=412 Father Lev Gillet. Finding Peace Despite the Suffering]

====Other material====
* [http://www.jacwell.org/spring_summer2000/father_lev_gillet.htm Father Michael Plekon. Father Lev Gillet: The Monk in the City, a Pilgrim in many worlds]
* [http://www.pagesorthodoxes.net/foi-orthodoxe/temoignage-lev-gillet.htm Élisabeth Behr-Sigel. Père Lev Gillet : La crise et le dénouement (French)]
* [http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/2204048860/ Élisabeth Behr-Sigel. ''Lev Gillet, "un moine de l'Eglise d'Orient": Un libre croyant universaliste, évangélique et mystique (L'Histoire à vif)'' (English translation: ''Lev Gillet: A Monk of the Eastern Church'', Fellowship of St Alban & St Sergius, 1999)]

[[Category:Modern Writers]]
[[Category:Monastics]]
[[Category:Converts to Orthodox Christianity|Gillet]]
[[Category:Converts to Orthodox Christianity from Roman Catholicism|Gillet]]

[[ro:Lev Gillet]]

Western Rite

2013-03-18T21:09:57Z

Fr Lev: /* External links */ added RWRV

The '''Western Rite''' is a minority liturgical tradition within the Orthodox Church. Western Rite Orthodox Christians hold the full Orthodox faith in common with their brethren of the [[Byzantine Rite]] but celebrate Western forms of liturgy. Liturgical diversity, both between and within the East and West, was common before the [[Great Schism]], yet not as diverse as like in today's time. At present, all of the [[bishop]]s who care for such [[parish]]es are themselves followers of the Byzantine Rite.
{{westernrite}}
==Modern History==
===The Nineteenth Century===
:''Main article: [[Western Rite in the Nineteenth Century]]''
In 1864, 44-year-old [[Joseph Julian Overbeck]] was [[chrismation|chrismated]] into the [[Orthodox Church]]. Overbeck was a former [[Roman Catholic Church|Roman Catholic]] priest from Germany who had left the priesthood after becoming disillusioned with papal supremacy. He became Lutheran and married before joining the Orthodox Church. In 1866, he published ''Catholic Orthodoxy and Anglo-Catholicism'', which contained the groundings for his work for the next twenty years. A year later, be began publishing a periodical, ''Orthodox Catholic Review'', aimed at putting forward Orthodoxy and rejecting Catholicism and Protestantism.

The year 1867 saw Overbeck, with 122 signatures from the Oxford Movement, petition the Church of Russia for the establishment of a Western Rite church in full communion with the Eastern Rite. A seven-member synodal commission was then formed, and invited Overbeck to attend. The idea was approved, and Overbeck set about submitting a draft of the proposed Western liturgy, which added an epiclesis and the Trisagion hymn to the Tridentine [[Mass]]. This rite was submitted in 1871, and was examined and approved by the commission. Overbeck focused his efforts on the Old Catholic movement, who had rejected Papal Infallibility. He continued to engage in polemics with Catholics, Anglicans, and Orthodox converts using the Byzantine Rite.

In 1876, Overbeck issued an appeal to the various Holy Synods, traveling to Constantinople in 1879. There he met the Ecumenical Patriarch, who authorized him to deliver sermons and create apologetical material. In 1881, he had some success when the Ecumenical Patriarchate agreed that the West had a right to a Western church and rite.

However, his successes did not establish the Western Rite. Overbeck's marriage after his Catholic ordination was a canonical impediment to his ordination to the Orthodox priesthood; the Holy Synod of Greece vetoed his scheme amongst Orthodox Churches, pressuring Constantinople to retract its previous endorsement; the ''Orthodox Catholic Review'' ended its run; and by 1892, he admitted failure. Overbeck reposed in 1905.

One Western Rite parish briefly entered communion with the Orthodox Church in the Nineteenth Century. In 1890, a Swiss Old Catholic parish in Wisconsin pastored by Fr. Joseph Rene Vilatte approached Bp. Vladimir (Sokolovsky) about being received into Orthodoxy. Bishop Vladimir received them on May 9, 1891; however, Fr. Vilatte was consecrated to the episcopacy by hierarchs of the [[Church of Antioch (Syriac)|Syriac Orthodox Church]] in India, among them Metropolitan [[Julius of Goa|Alvares Mar Yulios]] of Goa, on 29 May 1892. He eventually led his parish back into Old Catholicism.

===The Twentieth Century===
[[Image:Alexander_Turner.jpg|right|thumb|Former Antiochian Western Rite Vicar General Fr. Alexander Turner celebrating Mass.]]
:''Main article: [[Western Rite in the Twentieth Century]]''
In 1911, Arnold Harris Mathew, an Old Catholic bishop, entered into union with the Patriarchate of Antioch but left the Church soon after. In 1926, the six-parish ''Polish Catholic National Church'' was received into the Polish Orthodox Church. It celebrated the Liturgy of St. Gregory, and flourished as Orthodox until wiped out by the Nazis. [http://occidentalis.blogspot.com/2004/09/western-rite-history-part-five.html] [http://occidentalis.blogspot.com/2004/09/western-rite-history-part-four.html]

St. Tikhon's involvement in the Western Rite has been more enduring. While he was bishop of the Russian mission in America, some Episcopalians were interested in the possibility of joining Orthodoxy while retaining some form of the Anglican liturgy. St. Tikhon sent the 1892 Book of Common Prayer to the Holy Synod, asking about the possibility. According to Fr. Edward Hughes, St. Raphael of Brooklyn composed the letter of inquiry. In 1904, the Holy Synod admitted its possibility, including edits for its use in an Orthodox manner. It concluded that such edits "can be carried out only on the spot, in America," and found it "desirable to send the 'Observations' themselves to the Right Rev. Tikhon, the American Bishop." Between communications, the Episcopalians who had petitioned withdrew. Thus, St. Tikhon could not receive any Episcopalians before returning to Russia in 1907. However, his involvement lay the groundwork for the reception and approved liturgy of some parishes in the [[Western Rite Vicariate]] [http://occidentalis.blogspot.com/2004/09/western-rite-history-part-five.html] and later the [[Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia|Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia (ROCOR)]].

There has been a significant [[Orthodox Church of France|Western Rite movement in France]], the largest remaining group thereof being the ''Union des Associations Cultuelles Orthodoxes de Rite Occidental'' (UACORO - the Union of Western Rite Orthodox Worship Associations).

====The United States====
The Antiochian Archdiocese has presided over the most stable and successful group of Western Rite parishes. The Archdiocese received the [[Society of Clerks Secular of St. Basil]] in 1961. Upon reception, the SSB became the [[Antiochian Western Rite Vicariate]], and their leader, [[Alexander Turner]], becoming an Orthodox priest and the Vicar-General of the Vicariate until 1971. At his repose, Fr. Paul W.S. Schneirla became Vicar-General. On January 1, 2009, Fr. Schneirla retired, and Fr. Edward Hughes became Vicar-General of the Western Rite.

Besides the parishes that were in the former Society, other parishes have been received into the Western Rite Vicariate of the Antiochian Archdiocese, especially because of the theological and practical devolution of the The Episcopal Church (TEC). Added to this, several Western Rite missions have been founded, some growing into full parish status.

The Church of Russia received a New York Old Catholic community in 1962 as Mount Royal Monastery, which later moved from Woodstock, New York, to St. Nicholas Cathedral in New York City under Archbishop John (Wendland) of the Russian Exarchate of North America. In 1975, this community was received by Archbishop Nikon (Rklitzsky) of ROCOR and was again relocated. In 1993, after the retirement of the Abbot, Dom Augustine (Whitfield) of Mount Royal, the prior of Mount Royal, Fr. James (Deschene) was blessed to found Christ the Saviour Monastery ("Christminster" colloquially) in Rhode Island, under Bishop [[Hilarion (Kapral) of New York|Hilarion of Manhattan]] (since transferred). As of 2007, Christminster relocated to Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Its present abbot is Dom [[James (Deschene)|James Deschene]].

====Elsewhere====

Western Rite Orthodoxy, in [[Orthodoxy in Australasia|Australia and New Zealand]], has arisen mostly from Anglican and Continuing Anglican communities. Metropolitan [[Hilarion (Kapral) of New York|Hilarion (Kapral) of Sydney]] of ROCOR received some communities under his omophor; while others have been received by Bishop [[Gibran (Ramlawey) of Australia and New Zealand|Gibran]] and Metropolitan Archbishop [[Paul (Saliba) of Australia and New Zealand|Paul]], both under the Church of Antioch.

Other small groups following the Western Rite have been received, but usually have either had little impact, or have declared their independence soon after their reception.

The [[Oriental Orthodox]] churches also have some Western Rite parishes. The Syrian patriarchate of Antioch consecrated Antonio Francisco Xavier Alvarez as Archbishop of Ceylon, Goa, and India in 1889, authorizing a Roman rite diocese under him; in 1891, the Syrians consecrated the aforementioned Joseph René Vilatte as archbishop for the American Old Catholics. Vilatte, however, returned to the Roman Catholic Church at the end of his life. Many independent churches now claim to be under his "succession".

==Liturgy in the Antiochian Western Rite Vicariate==

North American Western Rite parishes in the Antiochian Western Rite Vicariate generally follow one of two types of traditional Western liturgical traditions (and sometimes both). The majority celebrate the [[Liturgy of St. Tikhon of Moscow]], which is commonly accepted to be an adaptation of the [[Eucharist|Communion]] service from the 1928 Anglican ''Book of Common Prayer'' and ''The Anglican Missal in the American Edition.''[http://members.cox.net/stgregoryoc/history.htm#fifteen] Until 1977, all Western Rite Vicariate parishes celebrated only the [[Liturgy of St. Gregory the Great]], which is a modified form of the [http://www.latin-mass-society.org/msshst.htm so-called "Tridentine" Mass]. Many parishes within the Western Rite Vicariate continue to celebrate the Gregorian liturgy. Since most AWRV parishes celebrate more than one weekly liturgy, many of the parishes that celebrate the Liturgy of St. Tikhon on Sunday celebrate the Liturgy of St. Gregory on weekdays.

The Western Rite liturgy, depending on its type, makes less use of the litanies than the Byzantine Rite. Celebrants wear distinctive Western vestments, and the faithful follow pious devotional customs particular to their tradition, as well.

The development of the current use within the [[Western Rite Vicariate]] is of particular note:

:Metropolitan Antony was well aware that the Western Rite was "a work for specialists." The new Western Rite usage of the Archdiocese was to be guided by "a Commission of Orthodox Theologians," an advisory committee of qualified clerics or laymen to advise the Metropolitan and determine "the mode of reception of groups desiring to employ the Western Rite, and the character of the rites to be used, as well as the authorization of official liturgical texts." The first WRV Commission, convened by Metropolitan Antony in 1958, was composed of Fathers Paul Schneirla, Stephen Upson, [[Alexander Schmemann]] and [[John Meyendorff]]. Schneirla, Schmemann, and Meyendorff in particular had seen the Western Rite up close in France, as it had been approved in the Russian Ukase of 1936. Schneirla recalls Schmemann's work in particular as being key, as he was familiar with the Liturgical Movement within the Roman Catholic and Anglican communions. Schmemann was particularly instrumental in joining together the separate Rites of Initiation of the Rituale Romanum – Baptism, Confirmation and First Holy Communion – into one unified rite, according to the Orthodox understanding.

:In January of 1962, the official Western Rite Directory was issued, "establishing liturgical usages and customs and discipline," drawing on principles gleaned from the 1904 Moscow Synodal response to Saint Tikhon, the authorization of Western Rite offices by Metropolitan Gerassimos (Messarah) of Beirut, and the 1932 Russian Ukase of Metropolitan Sergius.[http://occidentalis.blogspot.com/2004/09/western-rite-history-part-eight.html]

Ironically, before his committed and pivotal involvement with the architecture of the current usage of the Western Rite, Fr. Schmemann had criticized it in a response to a 1958 article Fr. Schneirla wrote in ''The Word''.[http://www.schmemann.org/byhim/westernrite.html] However, after his criticisms, Fr. Schmemann worked to establish the Western Rite Vicariate and, later still, taught at the Western Rite seminary in Paris.

==Congregations==

By far the largest group of Western Orthodox parishes is represented by the [[Western Rite Vicariate]] of the [[Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America]]. Other Antiochian Western Rite parishes exist in the [[Antiochian Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia and New Zealand]].
The [[Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia]] (ROCOR) also has a small number of Western Rite parishes in addition to three monasteries: one located in Canada, one in Tasmania, and one in Florida. Missions and parishes of the ROCOR Western Rite use either the Rite of St. Gregory in one of varying uses (Sarum, Christminster, Mount Royal, or Overbeck), the Gallican Rite, or "The English Liturgy," an English Use service based upon the Sarum Use but which adapts a few elements of the 1549 ''Book of Common Prayer''. Christminster Monastery in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, is a Western Orthodox [[Rule of St. Benedict|Benedictine]] monastery, which celebrates the Liturgy of St. Gregory. St. Petroc Monastery in Hobart, Tasmania, Australia, celebrates the [[Sarum Use]]. St. Petroc has a number of dependencies that follow its liturgical usage, as found in the ''Saint Colman Prayer Book''.

Dom Augustine (Whitfield), the [[abbot]] of the Monastery of Mount Royal from 1963 until retirement, once remarked to St. [[John Maximovitch]] that it was difficult to promote Western Rite Orthodoxy, whereupon the saint replied: "Never, never, never let anyone tell you that, in order to be Orthodox, you must also be eastern. The West was Orthodox for a thousand years, and her venerable liturgy is far older than any of her heresies." [http://www.christminster.org/history.htm]
[[Image:Confeitor.jpg|left|thumb|Hieromonk Aidan (Keller, ROCOR) celebrating a Sarum liturgy.]]
In 2008, Metropolitan [[Hilarion (Kapral) of New York|Hilarion]] of ROCOR [http://theyorkforum.yuku.com/sreply/12977/t/Western-Rite-Orthodox-News.html blessed] Hieromonk David (Pierce) to assist Dom Augustine Whitfield "in the continuation of the work of Mt. Royal" at Hieromonk David's monastery, Holyrood, in Florida. Hieromonk David utilizes the ordinary compiled by Mount Royal monastery, and is preparing for publication of the books of the Mount Royal use.

In late 2008, Metropolitan Hilarion received a hieromonk of the Milan Synod, Father Aidan (Keller), and blessed the publication of a new edition of his seminal work, ''Old Sarum Rite Missal'' for his personal prayers, while he serves a Byzantine parish in ROCOR. His liturgy had previously been blessed by the Western Archdiocese of the [[Milan Synod]].

Western rite communities can also be found which are not or, are no longer, in communion with the mainstream [[Orthodox Church]].

The [[Orthodox Church of France]] was once cared for by St. [[John Maximovitch]] and later by the [[Church of Romania]]—also uses a Western Rite liturgy based on ancient Gallican liturgical materials, with some Byzantine supplements. The Orthodox Church of France currently functions as an independent body, and is not in communion with the [[List of autocephalous and autonomous churches|mainstream Orthodox Church]].

In addition, the [[Holy Synod of Milan]], an [[Old Calendarist]] Synod (and therefore not in communion with the [[List of autocephalous and autonomous churches|mainstream Orthodox Church]]), has a number of communities (under the central direction of the monastery and Archdiocesan center, the [[The Abbey of the Holy Name (West Milford, New Jersey)|Abbey of the Holy Name]]) which worship according to Western rites, including its own version of the [[Sarum Use]]. This recension is different from the version of the Sarum Rite used within ROCOR before 2008.

==Criticism==
:''Main article: [[Western Rite Criticism]]''
The Western Rite in the Orthodox Church is not without its critics. Objections are made in regards to desire for liturgical uniformity within Orthodoxy and fears that the Western Rite would produce division within the Church. Some question the sincerity of Western Rite converts, just as some question the conversions of those within the Byzantine Rite. Finally, some complain about a lack of organic liturgical continuity, or will not attend a Western Rite [[Eucharist]]. However, no Orthodox parish may deny the Eucharist to visiting faithful of the canonical Western Rite, regardless of their feelings about the concept of Western Rite Orthodoxy. There have been no schisms within the episcopacy of the Orthodox Church regarding the issue of Western Rite parishes.

Whether the Western Rite will grow in its acceptance by Orthodox Christians who follow the Byzantine Rite remains to be seen. In the meantime, the Orthodox bishops who oversee Western Rite parishes—and many who oversee no Western Rite parishes—continue to declare their Western flocks to be true Orthodox Christians and regard them as fully in communion with the rest of the Church.

==See also==
* [[Antiochian Western Rite Vicariate]]
* [[Sarum Rite]]
* [[Gallican Rite]]
* [[Stowe Missal]]
* [[Divine Liturgy according to St. Germanus of Paris]]
* [[Liturgy of St. Gregory the Great]]
* [[Liturgy of St. Tikhon of Moscow]]
* [[Western Rite Service Books]]
* [[Liturgy of St. Tikhon (text)]]
* [[Saint Petroc Monastery (Cascades, Australia)|Saint Petroc Monastery]], Australia
* [[Christ the Savior Monastery (Providence, Rhode Island)|Christ the Savior Monastery]], Canada
* [[Vestments]]
* [http://www.stcolumbamonastery.org St. Columba of Iona Orthodox Monastery (USA, Massachusetts)]

==Sources==
* ''Blackwell Dictionary of Eastern Christianity'', pp. 364-365, 514-515
* [http://www.westernorthodox.com/western-rite Introduction to the Orthodox Western Rite]
* [[Wikipedia:Western Rite Orthodoxy]]

==External links==
* [http://orthodoxwesternrite.wordpress.com/ Orthodox Western Rite Central Resource on WordPress]
* [http://www.westernorthodox.com/ Western Orthodoxy]
* [http://spot.colorado.edu/~ashtonm/owpp/westernrite.htm The Unofficial Western Rite Orthodoxy Website]
* [http://www.antiochian.org/western-rite Western Rite Vicariate of the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America]
* [http://www.orthodoxresurgence.com/petroc/ Saint Petroc Monastery ROCOR Tasmania]
* [http://www.christminster.org Christ the Savior Monastery ROCOR Rhode Island]
* [http://www.occidentalorthodox.org.uk/ Worldwide directory of canonical Western Rite Orthodox communities]
* [http://www.stgregoryoc.org/links/western-rite-parish-directory/ Antiochian Western Rite Parishes] (North America, with links to parish sites)
* [http://www.rwrv.org/ Russian Western Rite Vicariate]

===Liturgies===
*[http://www.stgregoryoc.org/article/the-divine-liturgy-according-to-the-rite-of-saint-gregory/ Text of the Liturgy of Saint Gregory]
*[http://orthodoxanglican.net/downloads/tikhon.PDF Text of the Liturgy of Saint Tikhon], though not in its authorized form.
*[http://www.orthodoxresurgence.com/petroc/sarum.htm Text of the Sarum Rite Liturgy] as corrected for use within [[ROCOR]] by His Grace Archbishop Hilarion
*[http://www.orthodoxresurgence.com/petroc/english.htm Text of the English Liturgy]
*[http://orthodoxie.free.fr/the_divine_liturgy_of_saint_germanus.htm Text of the Divine Liturgy according to Saint Germanus of Paris]]
*[http://www.stmichaelwhittier.org/resources/osboff7.pdf Office and Prayers of the Oblates of St. Benedict] (PDF) - Western Rite oblates.
*[http://www.allmercifulsavior.com/Liturgy/Liturgics.html Liturgical Texts Project] (PDF) - Compilation of numerous liturgical texts.

===Books===
* ''[http://www.authorhouse.com/BookStore/ItemDetail.aspx?bookid=23809 Children of the Promise: An Introduction to Western Rite Orthodoxy]'', by Fr. Michael Keiser. ISBN 9781418475826
* ''[http://www.authorhouse.com/BookStore/ItemDetail~bookid~40659.aspx Offering the Lamb: Reflections on the Western Rite Mass in the Orthodox Church]'', by Fr. Michael Keiser. ISBN 9781425970819
* ''[http://books.google.ca/books?id=s8nfEy1H8QcC&source=gbs_navlinks_s Liturgies of the Western Church]'', by Prof. Dr. Bard Thompson. ISBN 9780800614287
* ''[http://www.archive.org/details/MN41674ucmf_0 The Ancient Liturgies of the Gallican Church]'', by Rev. J. M. Neale, 1855. ''(In Latin with some English notes)''

===Introduction and History===
* A Short History of the Western Rite Vicariate, by [http://occidentalis.blogspot.com/ Benjamin Andersen]: [http://occidentalis.blogspot.com/2004/09/short-history-of-western-rite.html Part 1], [http://occidentalis.blogspot.com/2004/09/western-rite-history-part-two.html Part 2], [http://occidentalis.blogspot.com/2004/09/western-rite-history-part-three.html Part 3], [http://occidentalis.blogspot.com/2004/09/western-rite-history-part-four.html Part 4], [http://occidentalis.blogspot.com/2004/09/western-rite-history-part-five.html Part 5], [http://occidentalis.blogspot.com/2004/09/western-rite-history-part-six.html Part 6], [http://occidentalis.blogspot.com/2004/09/western-rite-history-part-seven.html Part 7], [http://occidentalis.blogspot.com/2004/09/western-rite-history-part-eight.html Part 8], [http://occidentalis.blogspot.com/2004/09/western-rite-history-part-nine.html Part 9] (permission required)
* [http://www.occidentalorthodox.org.uk/ Occidental Orthodox Christianity] Dedicated to the furtherance of the Western Rite within canonical Orthodoxy.
* [http://www.westernorthodox.com/wrbooklet An Introduction to Western Rite Orthodoxy], An electronic version of the now out-of-print Conciliar Press booklet; edited by Fr. Michael Trigg, Ph.D.
* [http://www.orthodoxresurgence.com/ Orthodox Resurgence] Movement for Western Christians seeking reception in the Orthodox Western Rite.
* [http://justus.anglican.org/resources/pc/alcuin/tract12.html "Observations on the American Book of Common Prayer,"] the Holy Synod of Russia's guidelines for suiting the 1892 Book of Common Prayer for celebration within Orthodoxy.
*[http://www.westernorthodox.com/turner The Western Rite: Its Fascinating Past and Its Promising Future], by Fr. [[Alexander Turner]]
*[http://www.westernorthodox.com/overbeck.pdf The Western Rite and the Eastern Church: Dr. J. J. Overbeck and his scheme for the re-establishment of the Orthodox Church in the West (PDF)], by Fr. David F. Abramtsov, University of Pittsburgh, 1959
*[http://www.westernorthodox.com/anthony On the Western Rite Edict of Metropolitan Anthony (Bashir)], by Fr. David Abramstov, in addition to an excerpt from the report of Metropolitan Anthony (Bashir) to the 1958 Archdiocesan Convention
*[http://www.christminster.org/write.htm Western Orthodox Christians: Who Are They?], from [[Christminster (Providence, Rhode Island)]], a Benedictine Monastery under [[ROCOR]]
*[http://www.christminster.org/history.htm History of Christminster]
*[http://www.westernorthodox.com/whatis What is Western-Rite Orthodoxy?], by Fr. Patrick McCauley
*[http://www.westernorthodox.com/twain The Twain Meet], by Fr. Paul W.S. Schneirla
* [http://www.unicorne.org/orthodoxy/janfeb/westernrites.htm Western Rite Orthodox in our midst: Ad Fontes!], by Dr. Alexander Roman
* [http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,870973,00.html Eastern But Western], from the May 1, 1964, issue of [i]Time[/i] Magazine.

===Video===
*[http://westernorthodox.blogspot.com/2009/01/video-fuller-christmas-eve-mass-with.html Video] of Dom James Deschene celebrating Midnight Mass for Christmas 2009 at the Oratory of our Lady of Glastonbury, the chapel attached to Christminster Monastery.
*[http://stpaulsorthodox.org/Media/SaintPaul.wmv Video] on the Western Rite from St. Paul Orthodox Church, Houston, Texas

===Apologiae===
* [http://westernorthodox.blogspot.com/2006/03/message-from-metropolitan-western-rite.html Met. PHILIP (Saliba)'s Promise]: Western Rite churches will not be Byzantized.
* [http://www.westernorthodox.com/basil Comments on the Western Rite] by Bishop [[Basil (Essey) of Wichita]]
* [http://www.westernorthodox.com/Lux-Occidentalis Lux Occidentalis (PDF)] ''The Orthodox Western Rite and the Liturgical Tradition of Western Orthodox Christianity, with reference to The Orthodox Missal, Saint Luke's Priory Press, Stanton, NJ, 1995'' by the Rev'd John Charles Connely
* [http://www.westernorthodox.com/greekdenver Doctrinal Issues: Western Rite Orthodoxy], from the ''Diocesan News for Clergy and Laity'' (February 1995), Greek Orthodox Diocese of Denver
* [http://www.saintpeterorthodox.org/write.htm Western Rite Orthodoxy: Its history, its validity, and its opportunity], by Annette Milkovich, including an interview with Fr. Paul W.S. Schneirla, constituting a rough Western Rite "FAQ"
* [http://occidentalis.blogspot.com/ Occidentalis - A Weblog of Orthodox Catholic Christianity in the Western Rite tradition] (permission required)
* [http://www.holy-trinity.org/modern/western-rite/sergius.html On the Question of Western Orthodoxy], by Patriarch [[Sergius I (Stragorodsky) of Moscow]] in a letter to [[Vladimir Lossky]]
*[http://http://westernorthodox.blogspot.com/search/label/Anti-WR%20Criticism Dealing with Anti-WR Criticism], from the Western Orthodoxy blog.

===Criticism===
* [http://www.schmemann.org/byhim/westernrite.html The Western Rite], by Fr. [[Alexander Schmemann]]
* [http://www.holy-trinity.org/modern/western-rite/schmemann.html Notes and Comments on the "Western Rite"], ibid.
* [http://www.holy-trinity.org/modern/western-rite/news-encyclical.html News: Bishop Anthony Issues Encyclical on "Western Rite"]
* [http://www.holy-trinity.org/modern/western-rite/correspondence.html Correspondence on the Western Rite] between Bishop [[Anthony (Gergiannakis) of San Francisco]] and Fr. Paul W.S. Schneirla
* [http://www.holy-trinity.org/modern/western-rite/ware.html Some Thoughts on the "Western Rite" In Orthodoxy], by Bishop [[Kallistos (Ware) of Diokleia]]
* [http://www.holy-trinity.org/modern/western-rite/tsichlis.html The Western Rite - Some Final Comments], by Fr. [[Steven Peter Tsichlis]]
* [http://www.holy-trinity.org/modern/western-rite/johnson.html The "Western Rite": Is It Right for the Orthodox?], by Fr. Michael Johnson

===News and Views===
* [http://web.archive.org/web/20070222203921/http://homepage.mac.com/gthurman/iblog/C931234280/index.html Fr. Matthew Thurman's blog, Western Rite section] (archive) - consisting primarily of original documents written by Fr. Alexander Turner and other WRV clergy.
* [http://occidentalis.blogspot.com Occidentalis] - maintained by Subdn. Benjamin Andersen (WRV), this blog is a source for this OrthodoxWiki entry. (permission required)
* [http://westernorthodox.blogspot.com Western Orthodoxy] - Breaking news and views on the Western Rite.
* [http://sarisburium.blogspot.com Oremus - Roman Rite in the Orthodox Church]

===Listservs===
* [http://groups.yahoo.com/group/westernriteorthodoxy Western Rite Orthodoxy]: Discussion of Western Rite Orthodoxy, focusing the [[Western Rite Vicariate]] (Antiochian). Most active participants are members of the Antiochian WRV.
* [http://p097.ezboard.com/belyforum The Ely Forum]: "Dedicated to the theological and liturgical heritage of The Church in the British Isles, the ancient Patriarchates of the Undivided Church and the restoration of our genuine heritage of Orthodox Christianity in the West. A place of sane, sensible, lively, discussion between Christian gentlemen." Founded by Fr. Michael of St. Petroc Monastery (ROCOR).
* [http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Occidentalis/ Occidentalis]: Yahoo discussion group on the Western rite; moderated by Father Aidan (Keller).
* [http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Orthodoxwest/ Orthodoxwest]: Yahoo discussion group on Orthodoxy in the West and sponsored by the Eastern Archdiocese of the Milan Synod; moderated by Father Symeon (Bensimon-Kilmer).

[[Category:Featured Articles]]
[[Category:Jurisdictions]]
[[Category:Liturgics]]
[[Category:Western Rite]]

[[bg:Западен обряд]]
[[ro:Ritul occidental]]

Western Rite

2013-03-18T21:01:52Z

Fr Lev: /* See also */

The '''Western Rite''' is a minority liturgical tradition within the Orthodox Church. Western Rite Orthodox Christians hold the full Orthodox faith in common with their brethren of the [[Byzantine Rite]] but celebrate Western forms of liturgy. Liturgical diversity, both between and within the East and West, was common before the [[Great Schism]], yet not as diverse as like in today's time. At present, all of the [[bishop]]s who care for such [[parish]]es are themselves followers of the Byzantine Rite.
{{westernrite}}
==Modern History==
===The Nineteenth Century===
:''Main article: [[Western Rite in the Nineteenth Century]]''
In 1864, 44-year-old [[Joseph Julian Overbeck]] was [[chrismation|chrismated]] into the [[Orthodox Church]]. Overbeck was a former [[Roman Catholic Church|Roman Catholic]] priest from Germany who had left the priesthood after becoming disillusioned with papal supremacy. He became Lutheran and married before joining the Orthodox Church. In 1866, he published ''Catholic Orthodoxy and Anglo-Catholicism'', which contained the groundings for his work for the next twenty years. A year later, be began publishing a periodical, ''Orthodox Catholic Review'', aimed at putting forward Orthodoxy and rejecting Catholicism and Protestantism.

The year 1867 saw Overbeck, with 122 signatures from the Oxford Movement, petition the Church of Russia for the establishment of a Western Rite church in full communion with the Eastern Rite. A seven-member synodal commission was then formed, and invited Overbeck to attend. The idea was approved, and Overbeck set about submitting a draft of the proposed Western liturgy, which added an epiclesis and the Trisagion hymn to the Tridentine [[Mass]]. This rite was submitted in 1871, and was examined and approved by the commission. Overbeck focused his efforts on the Old Catholic movement, who had rejected Papal Infallibility. He continued to engage in polemics with Catholics, Anglicans, and Orthodox converts using the Byzantine Rite.

In 1876, Overbeck issued an appeal to the various Holy Synods, traveling to Constantinople in 1879. There he met the Ecumenical Patriarch, who authorized him to deliver sermons and create apologetical material. In 1881, he had some success when the Ecumenical Patriarchate agreed that the West had a right to a Western church and rite.

However, his successes did not establish the Western Rite. Overbeck's marriage after his Catholic ordination was a canonical impediment to his ordination to the Orthodox priesthood; the Holy Synod of Greece vetoed his scheme amongst Orthodox Churches, pressuring Constantinople to retract its previous endorsement; the ''Orthodox Catholic Review'' ended its run; and by 1892, he admitted failure. Overbeck reposed in 1905.

One Western Rite parish briefly entered communion with the Orthodox Church in the Nineteenth Century. In 1890, a Swiss Old Catholic parish in Wisconsin pastored by Fr. Joseph Rene Vilatte approached Bp. Vladimir (Sokolovsky) about being received into Orthodoxy. Bishop Vladimir received them on May 9, 1891; however, Fr. Vilatte was consecrated to the episcopacy by hierarchs of the [[Church of Antioch (Syriac)|Syriac Orthodox Church]] in India, among them Metropolitan [[Julius of Goa|Alvares Mar Yulios]] of Goa, on 29 May 1892. He eventually led his parish back into Old Catholicism.

===The Twentieth Century===
[[Image:Alexander_Turner.jpg|right|thumb|Former Antiochian Western Rite Vicar General Fr. Alexander Turner celebrating Mass.]]
:''Main article: [[Western Rite in the Twentieth Century]]''
In 1911, Arnold Harris Mathew, an Old Catholic bishop, entered into union with the Patriarchate of Antioch but left the Church soon after. In 1926, the six-parish ''Polish Catholic National Church'' was received into the Polish Orthodox Church. It celebrated the Liturgy of St. Gregory, and flourished as Orthodox until wiped out by the Nazis. [http://occidentalis.blogspot.com/2004/09/western-rite-history-part-five.html] [http://occidentalis.blogspot.com/2004/09/western-rite-history-part-four.html]

St. Tikhon's involvement in the Western Rite has been more enduring. While he was bishop of the Russian mission in America, some Episcopalians were interested in the possibility of joining Orthodoxy while retaining some form of the Anglican liturgy. St. Tikhon sent the 1892 Book of Common Prayer to the Holy Synod, asking about the possibility. According to Fr. Edward Hughes, St. Raphael of Brooklyn composed the letter of inquiry. In 1904, the Holy Synod admitted its possibility, including edits for its use in an Orthodox manner. It concluded that such edits "can be carried out only on the spot, in America," and found it "desirable to send the 'Observations' themselves to the Right Rev. Tikhon, the American Bishop." Between communications, the Episcopalians who had petitioned withdrew. Thus, St. Tikhon could not receive any Episcopalians before returning to Russia in 1907. However, his involvement lay the groundwork for the reception and approved liturgy of some parishes in the [[Western Rite Vicariate]] [http://occidentalis.blogspot.com/2004/09/western-rite-history-part-five.html] and later the [[Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia|Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia (ROCOR)]].

There has been a significant [[Orthodox Church of France|Western Rite movement in France]], the largest remaining group thereof being the ''Union des Associations Cultuelles Orthodoxes de Rite Occidental'' (UACORO - the Union of Western Rite Orthodox Worship Associations).

====The United States====
The Antiochian Archdiocese has presided over the most stable and successful group of Western Rite parishes. The Archdiocese received the [[Society of Clerks Secular of St. Basil]] in 1961. Upon reception, the SSB became the [[Antiochian Western Rite Vicariate]], and their leader, [[Alexander Turner]], becoming an Orthodox priest and the Vicar-General of the Vicariate until 1971. At his repose, Fr. Paul W.S. Schneirla became Vicar-General. On January 1, 2009, Fr. Schneirla retired, and Fr. Edward Hughes became Vicar-General of the Western Rite.

Besides the parishes that were in the former Society, other parishes have been received into the Western Rite Vicariate of the Antiochian Archdiocese, especially because of the theological and practical devolution of the The Episcopal Church (TEC). Added to this, several Western Rite missions have been founded, some growing into full parish status.

The Church of Russia received a New York Old Catholic community in 1962 as Mount Royal Monastery, which later moved from Woodstock, New York, to St. Nicholas Cathedral in New York City under Archbishop John (Wendland) of the Russian Exarchate of North America. In 1975, this community was received by Archbishop Nikon (Rklitzsky) of ROCOR and was again relocated. In 1993, after the retirement of the Abbot, Dom Augustine (Whitfield) of Mount Royal, the prior of Mount Royal, Fr. James (Deschene) was blessed to found Christ the Saviour Monastery ("Christminster" colloquially) in Rhode Island, under Bishop [[Hilarion (Kapral) of New York|Hilarion of Manhattan]] (since transferred). As of 2007, Christminster relocated to Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Its present abbot is Dom [[James (Deschene)|James Deschene]].

====Elsewhere====

Western Rite Orthodoxy, in [[Orthodoxy in Australasia|Australia and New Zealand]], has arisen mostly from Anglican and Continuing Anglican communities. Metropolitan [[Hilarion (Kapral) of New York|Hilarion (Kapral) of Sydney]] of ROCOR received some communities under his omophor; while others have been received by Bishop [[Gibran (Ramlawey) of Australia and New Zealand|Gibran]] and Metropolitan Archbishop [[Paul (Saliba) of Australia and New Zealand|Paul]], both under the Church of Antioch.

Other small groups following the Western Rite have been received, but usually have either had little impact, or have declared their independence soon after their reception.

The [[Oriental Orthodox]] churches also have some Western Rite parishes. The Syrian patriarchate of Antioch consecrated Antonio Francisco Xavier Alvarez as Archbishop of Ceylon, Goa, and India in 1889, authorizing a Roman rite diocese under him; in 1891, the Syrians consecrated the aforementioned Joseph René Vilatte as archbishop for the American Old Catholics. Vilatte, however, returned to the Roman Catholic Church at the end of his life. Many independent churches now claim to be under his "succession".

==Liturgy in the Antiochian Western Rite Vicariate==

North American Western Rite parishes in the Antiochian Western Rite Vicariate generally follow one of two types of traditional Western liturgical traditions (and sometimes both). The majority celebrate the [[Liturgy of St. Tikhon of Moscow]], which is commonly accepted to be an adaptation of the [[Eucharist|Communion]] service from the 1928 Anglican ''Book of Common Prayer'' and ''The Anglican Missal in the American Edition.''[http://members.cox.net/stgregoryoc/history.htm#fifteen] Until 1977, all Western Rite Vicariate parishes celebrated only the [[Liturgy of St. Gregory the Great]], which is a modified form of the [http://www.latin-mass-society.org/msshst.htm so-called "Tridentine" Mass]. Many parishes within the Western Rite Vicariate continue to celebrate the Gregorian liturgy. Since most AWRV parishes celebrate more than one weekly liturgy, many of the parishes that celebrate the Liturgy of St. Tikhon on Sunday celebrate the Liturgy of St. Gregory on weekdays.

The Western Rite liturgy, depending on its type, makes less use of the litanies than the Byzantine Rite. Celebrants wear distinctive Western vestments, and the faithful follow pious devotional customs particular to their tradition, as well.

The development of the current use within the [[Western Rite Vicariate]] is of particular note:

:Metropolitan Antony was well aware that the Western Rite was "a work for specialists." The new Western Rite usage of the Archdiocese was to be guided by "a Commission of Orthodox Theologians," an advisory committee of qualified clerics or laymen to advise the Metropolitan and determine "the mode of reception of groups desiring to employ the Western Rite, and the character of the rites to be used, as well as the authorization of official liturgical texts." The first WRV Commission, convened by Metropolitan Antony in 1958, was composed of Fathers Paul Schneirla, Stephen Upson, [[Alexander Schmemann]] and [[John Meyendorff]]. Schneirla, Schmemann, and Meyendorff in particular had seen the Western Rite up close in France, as it had been approved in the Russian Ukase of 1936. Schneirla recalls Schmemann's work in particular as being key, as he was familiar with the Liturgical Movement within the Roman Catholic and Anglican communions. Schmemann was particularly instrumental in joining together the separate Rites of Initiation of the Rituale Romanum – Baptism, Confirmation and First Holy Communion – into one unified rite, according to the Orthodox understanding.

:In January of 1962, the official Western Rite Directory was issued, "establishing liturgical usages and customs and discipline," drawing on principles gleaned from the 1904 Moscow Synodal response to Saint Tikhon, the authorization of Western Rite offices by Metropolitan Gerassimos (Messarah) of Beirut, and the 1932 Russian Ukase of Metropolitan Sergius.[http://occidentalis.blogspot.com/2004/09/western-rite-history-part-eight.html]

Ironically, before his committed and pivotal involvement with the architecture of the current usage of the Western Rite, Fr. Schmemann had criticized it in a response to a 1958 article Fr. Schneirla wrote in ''The Word''.[http://www.schmemann.org/byhim/westernrite.html] However, after his criticisms, Fr. Schmemann worked to establish the Western Rite Vicariate and, later still, taught at the Western Rite seminary in Paris.

==Congregations==

By far the largest group of Western Orthodox parishes is represented by the [[Western Rite Vicariate]] of the [[Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America]]. Other Antiochian Western Rite parishes exist in the [[Antiochian Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia and New Zealand]].
The [[Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia]] (ROCOR) also has a small number of Western Rite parishes in addition to three monasteries: one located in Canada, one in Tasmania, and one in Florida. Missions and parishes of the ROCOR Western Rite use either the Rite of St. Gregory in one of varying uses (Sarum, Christminster, Mount Royal, or Overbeck), the Gallican Rite, or "The English Liturgy," an English Use service based upon the Sarum Use but which adapts a few elements of the 1549 ''Book of Common Prayer''. Christminster Monastery in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, is a Western Orthodox [[Rule of St. Benedict|Benedictine]] monastery, which celebrates the Liturgy of St. Gregory. St. Petroc Monastery in Hobart, Tasmania, Australia, celebrates the [[Sarum Use]]. St. Petroc has a number of dependencies that follow its liturgical usage, as found in the ''Saint Colman Prayer Book''.

Dom Augustine (Whitfield), the [[abbot]] of the Monastery of Mount Royal from 1963 until retirement, once remarked to St. [[John Maximovitch]] that it was difficult to promote Western Rite Orthodoxy, whereupon the saint replied: "Never, never, never let anyone tell you that, in order to be Orthodox, you must also be eastern. The West was Orthodox for a thousand years, and her venerable liturgy is far older than any of her heresies." [http://www.christminster.org/history.htm]
[[Image:Confeitor.jpg|left|thumb|Hieromonk Aidan (Keller, ROCOR) celebrating a Sarum liturgy.]]
In 2008, Metropolitan [[Hilarion (Kapral) of New York|Hilarion]] of ROCOR [http://theyorkforum.yuku.com/sreply/12977/t/Western-Rite-Orthodox-News.html blessed] Hieromonk David (Pierce) to assist Dom Augustine Whitfield "in the continuation of the work of Mt. Royal" at Hieromonk David's monastery, Holyrood, in Florida. Hieromonk David utilizes the ordinary compiled by Mount Royal monastery, and is preparing for publication of the books of the Mount Royal use.

In late 2008, Metropolitan Hilarion received a hieromonk of the Milan Synod, Father Aidan (Keller), and blessed the publication of a new edition of his seminal work, ''Old Sarum Rite Missal'' for his personal prayers, while he serves a Byzantine parish in ROCOR. His liturgy had previously been blessed by the Western Archdiocese of the [[Milan Synod]].

Western rite communities can also be found which are not or, are no longer, in communion with the mainstream [[Orthodox Church]].

The [[Orthodox Church of France]] was once cared for by St. [[John Maximovitch]] and later by the [[Church of Romania]]—also uses a Western Rite liturgy based on ancient Gallican liturgical materials, with some Byzantine supplements. The Orthodox Church of France currently functions as an independent body, and is not in communion with the [[List of autocephalous and autonomous churches|mainstream Orthodox Church]].

In addition, the [[Holy Synod of Milan]], an [[Old Calendarist]] Synod (and therefore not in communion with the [[List of autocephalous and autonomous churches|mainstream Orthodox Church]]), has a number of communities (under the central direction of the monastery and Archdiocesan center, the [[The Abbey of the Holy Name (West Milford, New Jersey)|Abbey of the Holy Name]]) which worship according to Western rites, including its own version of the [[Sarum Use]]. This recension is different from the version of the Sarum Rite used within ROCOR before 2008.

==Criticism==
:''Main article: [[Western Rite Criticism]]''
The Western Rite in the Orthodox Church is not without its critics. Objections are made in regards to desire for liturgical uniformity within Orthodoxy and fears that the Western Rite would produce division within the Church. Some question the sincerity of Western Rite converts, just as some question the conversions of those within the Byzantine Rite. Finally, some complain about a lack of organic liturgical continuity, or will not attend a Western Rite [[Eucharist]]. However, no Orthodox parish may deny the Eucharist to visiting faithful of the canonical Western Rite, regardless of their feelings about the concept of Western Rite Orthodoxy. There have been no schisms within the episcopacy of the Orthodox Church regarding the issue of Western Rite parishes.

Whether the Western Rite will grow in its acceptance by Orthodox Christians who follow the Byzantine Rite remains to be seen. In the meantime, the Orthodox bishops who oversee Western Rite parishes—and many who oversee no Western Rite parishes—continue to declare their Western flocks to be true Orthodox Christians and regard them as fully in communion with the rest of the Church.

==See also==
* [[Antiochian Western Rite Vicariate]]
* [[Sarum Rite]]
* [[Gallican Rite]]
* [[Stowe Missal]]
* [[Divine Liturgy according to St. Germanus of Paris]]
* [[Liturgy of St. Gregory the Great]]
* [[Liturgy of St. Tikhon of Moscow]]
* [[Western Rite Service Books]]
* [[Liturgy of St. Tikhon (text)]]
* [[Saint Petroc Monastery (Cascades, Australia)|Saint Petroc Monastery]], Australia
* [[Christ the Savior Monastery (Providence, Rhode Island)|Christ the Savior Monastery]], Canada
* [[Vestments]]
* [http://www.stcolumbamonastery.org St. Columba of Iona Orthodox Monastery (USA, Massachusetts)]

==Sources==
* ''Blackwell Dictionary of Eastern Christianity'', pp. 364-365, 514-515
* [http://www.westernorthodox.com/western-rite Introduction to the Orthodox Western Rite]
* [[Wikipedia:Western Rite Orthodoxy]]

==External links==
* [http://orthodoxwesternrite.wordpress.com/ Orthodox Western Rite Central Resource on WordPress]
* [http://www.westernorthodox.com/ Western Orthodoxy]
* [http://spot.colorado.edu/~ashtonm/owpp/westernrite.htm The Unofficial Western Rite Orthodoxy Website]
* [http://www.antiochian.org/western-rite Western Rite Vicariate of the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America]
* [http://www.orthodoxresurgence.com/petroc/ Saint Petroc Monastery ROCOR Tasmania]
* [http://www.christminster.org Christ the Savior Monastery ROCOR Rhode Island]
* [http://www.occidentalorthodox.org.uk/ Worldwide directory of canonical Western Rite Orthodox communities]
* [http://www.stgregoryoc.org/links/western-rite-parish-directory/ Antiochian Western Rite Parishes] (North America, with links to parish sites)

===Liturgies===
*[http://www.stgregoryoc.org/article/the-divine-liturgy-according-to-the-rite-of-saint-gregory/ Text of the Liturgy of Saint Gregory]
*[http://orthodoxanglican.net/downloads/tikhon.PDF Text of the Liturgy of Saint Tikhon], though not in its authorized form.
*[http://www.orthodoxresurgence.com/petroc/sarum.htm Text of the Sarum Rite Liturgy] as corrected for use within [[ROCOR]] by His Grace Archbishop Hilarion
*[http://www.orthodoxresurgence.com/petroc/english.htm Text of the English Liturgy]
*[http://orthodoxie.free.fr/the_divine_liturgy_of_saint_germanus.htm Text of the Divine Liturgy according to Saint Germanus of Paris]]
*[http://www.stmichaelwhittier.org/resources/osboff7.pdf Office and Prayers of the Oblates of St. Benedict] (PDF) - Western Rite oblates.
*[http://www.allmercifulsavior.com/Liturgy/Liturgics.html Liturgical Texts Project] (PDF) - Compilation of numerous liturgical texts.

===Books===
* ''[http://www.authorhouse.com/BookStore/ItemDetail.aspx?bookid=23809 Children of the Promise: An Introduction to Western Rite Orthodoxy]'', by Fr. Michael Keiser. ISBN 9781418475826
* ''[http://www.authorhouse.com/BookStore/ItemDetail~bookid~40659.aspx Offering the Lamb: Reflections on the Western Rite Mass in the Orthodox Church]'', by Fr. Michael Keiser. ISBN 9781425970819
* ''[http://books.google.ca/books?id=s8nfEy1H8QcC&source=gbs_navlinks_s Liturgies of the Western Church]'', by Prof. Dr. Bard Thompson. ISBN 9780800614287
* ''[http://www.archive.org/details/MN41674ucmf_0 The Ancient Liturgies of the Gallican Church]'', by Rev. J. M. Neale, 1855. ''(In Latin with some English notes)''

===Introduction and History===
* A Short History of the Western Rite Vicariate, by [http://occidentalis.blogspot.com/ Benjamin Andersen]: [http://occidentalis.blogspot.com/2004/09/short-history-of-western-rite.html Part 1], [http://occidentalis.blogspot.com/2004/09/western-rite-history-part-two.html Part 2], [http://occidentalis.blogspot.com/2004/09/western-rite-history-part-three.html Part 3], [http://occidentalis.blogspot.com/2004/09/western-rite-history-part-four.html Part 4], [http://occidentalis.blogspot.com/2004/09/western-rite-history-part-five.html Part 5], [http://occidentalis.blogspot.com/2004/09/western-rite-history-part-six.html Part 6], [http://occidentalis.blogspot.com/2004/09/western-rite-history-part-seven.html Part 7], [http://occidentalis.blogspot.com/2004/09/western-rite-history-part-eight.html Part 8], [http://occidentalis.blogspot.com/2004/09/western-rite-history-part-nine.html Part 9] (permission required)
* [http://www.occidentalorthodox.org.uk/ Occidental Orthodox Christianity] Dedicated to the furtherance of the Western Rite within canonical Orthodoxy.
* [http://www.westernorthodox.com/wrbooklet An Introduction to Western Rite Orthodoxy], An electronic version of the now out-of-print Conciliar Press booklet; edited by Fr. Michael Trigg, Ph.D.
* [http://www.orthodoxresurgence.com/ Orthodox Resurgence] Movement for Western Christians seeking reception in the Orthodox Western Rite.
* [http://justus.anglican.org/resources/pc/alcuin/tract12.html "Observations on the American Book of Common Prayer,"] the Holy Synod of Russia's guidelines for suiting the 1892 Book of Common Prayer for celebration within Orthodoxy.
*[http://www.westernorthodox.com/turner The Western Rite: Its Fascinating Past and Its Promising Future], by Fr. [[Alexander Turner]]
*[http://www.westernorthodox.com/overbeck.pdf The Western Rite and the Eastern Church: Dr. J. J. Overbeck and his scheme for the re-establishment of the Orthodox Church in the West (PDF)], by Fr. David F. Abramtsov, University of Pittsburgh, 1959
*[http://www.westernorthodox.com/anthony On the Western Rite Edict of Metropolitan Anthony (Bashir)], by Fr. David Abramstov, in addition to an excerpt from the report of Metropolitan Anthony (Bashir) to the 1958 Archdiocesan Convention
*[http://www.christminster.org/write.htm Western Orthodox Christians: Who Are They?], from [[Christminster (Providence, Rhode Island)]], a Benedictine Monastery under [[ROCOR]]
*[http://www.christminster.org/history.htm History of Christminster]
*[http://www.westernorthodox.com/whatis What is Western-Rite Orthodoxy?], by Fr. Patrick McCauley
*[http://www.westernorthodox.com/twain The Twain Meet], by Fr. Paul W.S. Schneirla
* [http://www.unicorne.org/orthodoxy/janfeb/westernrites.htm Western Rite Orthodox in our midst: Ad Fontes!], by Dr. Alexander Roman
* [http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,870973,00.html Eastern But Western], from the May 1, 1964, issue of [i]Time[/i] Magazine.

===Video===
*[http://westernorthodox.blogspot.com/2009/01/video-fuller-christmas-eve-mass-with.html Video] of Dom James Deschene celebrating Midnight Mass for Christmas 2009 at the Oratory of our Lady of Glastonbury, the chapel attached to Christminster Monastery.
*[http://stpaulsorthodox.org/Media/SaintPaul.wmv Video] on the Western Rite from St. Paul Orthodox Church, Houston, Texas

===Apologiae===
* [http://westernorthodox.blogspot.com/2006/03/message-from-metropolitan-western-rite.html Met. PHILIP (Saliba)'s Promise]: Western Rite churches will not be Byzantized.
* [http://www.westernorthodox.com/basil Comments on the Western Rite] by Bishop [[Basil (Essey) of Wichita]]
* [http://www.westernorthodox.com/Lux-Occidentalis Lux Occidentalis (PDF)] ''The Orthodox Western Rite and the Liturgical Tradition of Western Orthodox Christianity, with reference to The Orthodox Missal, Saint Luke's Priory Press, Stanton, NJ, 1995'' by the Rev'd John Charles Connely
* [http://www.westernorthodox.com/greekdenver Doctrinal Issues: Western Rite Orthodoxy], from the ''Diocesan News for Clergy and Laity'' (February 1995), Greek Orthodox Diocese of Denver
* [http://www.saintpeterorthodox.org/write.htm Western Rite Orthodoxy: Its history, its validity, and its opportunity], by Annette Milkovich, including an interview with Fr. Paul W.S. Schneirla, constituting a rough Western Rite "FAQ"
* [http://occidentalis.blogspot.com/ Occidentalis - A Weblog of Orthodox Catholic Christianity in the Western Rite tradition] (permission required)
* [http://www.holy-trinity.org/modern/western-rite/sergius.html On the Question of Western Orthodoxy], by Patriarch [[Sergius I (Stragorodsky) of Moscow]] in a letter to [[Vladimir Lossky]]
*[http://http://westernorthodox.blogspot.com/search/label/Anti-WR%20Criticism Dealing with Anti-WR Criticism], from the Western Orthodoxy blog.

===Criticism===
* [http://www.schmemann.org/byhim/westernrite.html The Western Rite], by Fr. [[Alexander Schmemann]]
* [http://www.holy-trinity.org/modern/western-rite/schmemann.html Notes and Comments on the "Western Rite"], ibid.
* [http://www.holy-trinity.org/modern/western-rite/news-encyclical.html News: Bishop Anthony Issues Encyclical on "Western Rite"]
* [http://www.holy-trinity.org/modern/western-rite/correspondence.html Correspondence on the Western Rite] between Bishop [[Anthony (Gergiannakis) of San Francisco]] and Fr. Paul W.S. Schneirla
* [http://www.holy-trinity.org/modern/western-rite/ware.html Some Thoughts on the "Western Rite" In Orthodoxy], by Bishop [[Kallistos (Ware) of Diokleia]]
* [http://www.holy-trinity.org/modern/western-rite/tsichlis.html The Western Rite - Some Final Comments], by Fr. [[Steven Peter Tsichlis]]
* [http://www.holy-trinity.org/modern/western-rite/johnson.html The "Western Rite": Is It Right for the Orthodox?], by Fr. Michael Johnson

===News and Views===
* [http://web.archive.org/web/20070222203921/http://homepage.mac.com/gthurman/iblog/C931234280/index.html Fr. Matthew Thurman's blog, Western Rite section] (archive) - consisting primarily of original documents written by Fr. Alexander Turner and other WRV clergy.
* [http://occidentalis.blogspot.com Occidentalis] - maintained by Subdn. Benjamin Andersen (WRV), this blog is a source for this OrthodoxWiki entry. (permission required)
* [http://westernorthodox.blogspot.com Western Orthodoxy] - Breaking news and views on the Western Rite.
* [http://sarisburium.blogspot.com Oremus - Roman Rite in the Orthodox Church]

===Listservs===
* [http://groups.yahoo.com/group/westernriteorthodoxy Western Rite Orthodoxy]: Discussion of Western Rite Orthodoxy, focusing the [[Western Rite Vicariate]] (Antiochian). Most active participants are members of the Antiochian WRV.
* [http://p097.ezboard.com/belyforum The Ely Forum]: "Dedicated to the theological and liturgical heritage of The Church in the British Isles, the ancient Patriarchates of the Undivided Church and the restoration of our genuine heritage of Orthodox Christianity in the West. A place of sane, sensible, lively, discussion between Christian gentlemen." Founded by Fr. Michael of St. Petroc Monastery (ROCOR).
* [http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Occidentalis/ Occidentalis]: Yahoo discussion group on the Western rite; moderated by Father Aidan (Keller).
* [http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Orthodoxwest/ Orthodoxwest]: Yahoo discussion group on Orthodoxy in the West and sponsored by the Eastern Archdiocese of the Milan Synod; moderated by Father Symeon (Bensimon-Kilmer).

[[Category:Featured Articles]]
[[Category:Jurisdictions]]
[[Category:Liturgics]]
[[Category:Western Rite]]

[[bg:Западен обряд]]
[[ro:Ritul occidental]]

Benedict XVI

2013-03-15T20:46:22Z

Fr Lev: /* Resignation */ updated resignation and successor

[[Image:BenedictXVI.jpg|thumb|Pope Benedict XVI]]

'''Benedict XVI''' (Latin: Benedictus PP. XVI), born '''Joseph Alois Ratzinger''', is the 265th and current [[Pope]] of the [[Roman Catholic Church]], and by virtue of that office, [[w:Sovereign|Sovereign]] of the [[w:Vatican|Vatican City State]]. He was elected on [[April 19]], 2005 in a papal conclave, celebrated his Papal Inauguration [[Mass]] on [[April 24]], 2005, and took possession of his cathedral, the [[Basilica of St. John Lateran]], on [[May 7]], 2005. Pope Benedict has both German and Vatican citizenship. He succeeded [[John Paul II]], who died at the beginning of April 2005.

==Orthodox response to Pope Benedict's actions and statements==
===Primacy of Peter===
Speaking at his weekly audience in St Peter's Square on [[June 7]], 2006, Pope Benedict asserted that Jesus himself had entrusted the leadership of the Church to his apostle [[Apostle Peter|Peter]]. "Peter's responsibility thus consists of guaranteeing the communion with Christ," said Pope Benedict. "Let us pray so that the primacy of Peter, entrusted to poor human beings, may always be exercised in this original sense desired by the Lord, so that it will be increasingly recognised in its true meaning by brothers who are still not in communion with us." The Roman Catholic Church teaches that the Pope has a leading role among Christians because as [[bishop]] of Rome he is successor to the apostle Peter who first held the office. The role of the Roman Catholic papacy remains a source of controversy, not only for Protestant denominations but also for [[Eastern Orthodox]] churches and members of the Restorationism movement, which does not accept the dogmas of the [[First Vatican Council]].

===Patriarch of the West===
The bishops of the Ecumenical Orthodox [[Patriarchate of Constantinople]] have expressed concern over Pope Benedict XVI's decision to drop "patriarch of the West" from his official titles in the Vatican yearbook. In a [[June 8]], 2006 statement, the chief secretary of the Orthodox bishops' [[synod]] said dropping "patriarch of the West" while retaining the titles "vicar of Jesus Christ" and "supreme pontiff of the universal church" is "perceived as implying a universal jurisdiction of the bishop of Rome over the entire church, which is something the Orthodox have never accepted." The statement was issued after synod members discussed the change during their early June meeting. [[w:Cardinal|Cardinal]] [[w:Walter Kasper|Walter Kasper]], president of the [[Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity]], said in a March statement that dropping the title of patriarch in reference to the pope does not minimize the importance of the patriarchal office, particularly in relation to the ancient Eastern churches. "Even less can this suppression be seen as implying new claims" of power or authority on the part of the Vatican, he said. However, members of the Orthodox synod disagreed. From their point of view, "the geographical limits of each ecclesiastical jurisdiction" have been a key part of the structure of the church from the earliest days of Christianity. The church as a whole is "a unity of full local churches" and not a monolith divided into local units simply for the sake of easier governance. The Orthodox synod's statement said that, with the international Catholic-Orthodox theological dialogue set to begin again in September with plans to deal with the "thorny problem" of papal primacy, it would have been better not to have dropped the title without consultation.

===Visit to Ukraine===
A leading [[Church of Ukraine|Ukrainian Orthodox]] spokesman has said that a visit to Ukraine by Pope Benedict XVI would be "untimely," according to the country's RISU news service. "If Pope Benedict is a moral and a spiritual person and wants only good for Ukraine and its people, he will never take such an unreasonable step," said Valentyn Lukianyk, the head of the Union of Orthodox Brotherhoods of [[Ukraine]]. He was responding to the news that Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko has invited the Pope to visit the country. There have been numerous clashes between Orthodox and Catholic believers over the ownership of [[parish]] properties that were confiscated by the Communists and handed over to Orthodox clerics. At the same time, Orthodox leaders have complained that Catholics are engaged in "proselytism," seeking converts among Orthodox believers. In his statement opposing a papal visit, Lukianyk said that relations between Catholics and Orthodox in Ukraine are now "warming." A visit by Pope Benedict, he said, would place an undue burden on those sensitive ties.

==Resignation==
Pope Benedict resigned the papacy on 28 February 2013 as a result of his advanced age, becoming the first pope to resign since Gregory XII in 1415.<ref>Hada Messia and Michael Pearson. ''[http://edition.cnn.com/2013/02/11/world/europe/pope-benedict-resignation/?hpt=hp_t1 Too tired to go on, Pope Benedict resigns].'' CNN. February 12, 2013 -- Updated 0337 GMT (1137 HKT).</ref> His successor, Pope [[Francis I]], was elected on 13 March 2013.

Since becoming pope in 2005, Benedict had charted a very conservative course for the church, trying to reawaken Christianity in Europe where it had fallen by the wayside and return the church to its traditional roots, which he felt had been betrayed by a botched interpretation of the modernizing reforms of the Second Vatican Council.<ref name=AP>Nicole Winfield And Victor L. Simpson. ''[http://www.vancouversun.com/life/Pope+resigning+health+reasons+with+video/7948035/story.html Catholic church scrambles to replace pope after bombshell resignation (with video). Conclave expected in mid-March].'' Vancouver Sun (Associated Press). February 11, 2013.</ref>

His efforts though, were overshadowed by a worldwide clerical sex abuse scandal, communication gaffes that outraged Jews and Muslims alike and, more recently, a scandal over leaked documents by his own butler. Many of his stated priorities as pope also fell short: He failed to establish relations with China, heal the schism and reunite with the Orthodox Church, or reconcile with a group of breakaway, traditionalist Catholics.<ref name=AP/>

According to Metropolitan [[Hilarion (Alfeyev) of Volokolamsk]], "Pope Benedict XVI is a person who protects the interests of his Church and who is a traditionalist in the best sense of this word, that is, who puts the preservation of church traditions much higher than, for example, popularity in the mass media...Benedict XVI was very positively perceived both in the Catholic Church and in the Orthodox Church. We value this traditionalism in him and we are hoping that his successor will continue the policy of protecting the traditional Christian theological and moral doctrines," he said.<ref>''[http://www.interfax-religion.com/?act=news&div=10286 Russian Orthodox Church hopes to maintain relations with Benedict XVI's successor - Metropolitan Hilarion].'' Interfax-Religion. 21 February 2013, 10:03.</ref>

==References==
<div><references/></div>

==Further reading==
'''Roman Catholic'''
* Fr. Nicola Bux. ''[http://www.ignatius.com/Products/BR-P/benedict-xvis-reform.aspx?=cwr Benedict XVI's Reform: The Liturgy Between Innovation and Tradition].'' Ignatius Press, 2012. 144 pp. ISBN 9781586174460

==External links==
* ''[http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Irenikon/message/5885?o=1&var=1 Benedict's call on papacy will increase divisions, says Italian Protestant].'' Ecumenical News International (ENI). June 8, 2006.
* Cindy Wooden. ''[http://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/0603382.htm Orthodox express concern about dropping 'patriarch of the West' title].'' Catholic News Service (CNS). June 13, 2006.
* ''[http://www.cwnews.com/news/viewstory.cfm?recnum=44743 Ukrainian Orthodox spokesman opposes papal visit].'' CatholicCulture.org. June 13, 2006.
* Fr. Nicola Bux. ''[http://www.catholicworldreport.com/Item/2057/the_martyrdom_of_pope_benedict_xvi.aspx The “Martyrdom” of Pope Benedict XVI].'' The Catholic World Report. March 10, 2013.
:(Don Nicola Bux, one of Benedict’s close collaborators, on the deeper meaning of the papal resignation.)

{{start box}}
{{succession|
before=[[John Paul II]]|
title=[[Pope|Roman Catholic Pope]]|
years=2005-2013|
after=Francis I}}
{{end box}}

[[Category:Roman Catholic Popes]]
[[Category:Non-Orthodox]]

[[es:Benedicto XVI]]

Benedict XVI

2013-03-15T20:22:29Z

Fr Lev: /* External links */ updated sucession box

[[Image:BenedictXVI.jpg|thumb|Pope Benedict XVI]]

'''Benedict XVI''' (Latin: Benedictus PP. XVI), born '''Joseph Alois Ratzinger''', is the 265th and current [[Pope]] of the [[Roman Catholic Church]], and by virtue of that office, [[w:Sovereign|Sovereign]] of the [[w:Vatican|Vatican City State]]. He was elected on [[April 19]], 2005 in a papal conclave, celebrated his Papal Inauguration [[Mass]] on [[April 24]], 2005, and took possession of his cathedral, the [[Basilica of St. John Lateran]], on [[May 7]], 2005. Pope Benedict has both German and Vatican citizenship. He succeeded [[John Paul II]], who died at the beginning of April 2005.

==Orthodox response to Pope Benedict's actions and statements==
===Primacy of Peter===
Speaking at his weekly audience in St Peter's Square on [[June 7]], 2006, Pope Benedict asserted that Jesus himself had entrusted the leadership of the Church to his apostle [[Apostle Peter|Peter]]. "Peter's responsibility thus consists of guaranteeing the communion with Christ," said Pope Benedict. "Let us pray so that the primacy of Peter, entrusted to poor human beings, may always be exercised in this original sense desired by the Lord, so that it will be increasingly recognised in its true meaning by brothers who are still not in communion with us." The Roman Catholic Church teaches that the Pope has a leading role among Christians because as [[bishop]] of Rome he is successor to the apostle Peter who first held the office. The role of the Roman Catholic papacy remains a source of controversy, not only for Protestant denominations but also for [[Eastern Orthodox]] churches and members of the Restorationism movement, which does not accept the dogmas of the [[First Vatican Council]].

===Patriarch of the West===
The bishops of the Ecumenical Orthodox [[Patriarchate of Constantinople]] have expressed concern over Pope Benedict XVI's decision to drop "patriarch of the West" from his official titles in the Vatican yearbook. In a [[June 8]], 2006 statement, the chief secretary of the Orthodox bishops' [[synod]] said dropping "patriarch of the West" while retaining the titles "vicar of Jesus Christ" and "supreme pontiff of the universal church" is "perceived as implying a universal jurisdiction of the bishop of Rome over the entire church, which is something the Orthodox have never accepted." The statement was issued after synod members discussed the change during their early June meeting. [[w:Cardinal|Cardinal]] [[w:Walter Kasper|Walter Kasper]], president of the [[Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity]], said in a March statement that dropping the title of patriarch in reference to the pope does not minimize the importance of the patriarchal office, particularly in relation to the ancient Eastern churches. "Even less can this suppression be seen as implying new claims" of power or authority on the part of the Vatican, he said. However, members of the Orthodox synod disagreed. From their point of view, "the geographical limits of each ecclesiastical jurisdiction" have been a key part of the structure of the church from the earliest days of Christianity. The church as a whole is "a unity of full local churches" and not a monolith divided into local units simply for the sake of easier governance. The Orthodox synod's statement said that, with the international Catholic-Orthodox theological dialogue set to begin again in September with plans to deal with the "thorny problem" of papal primacy, it would have been better not to have dropped the title without consultation.

===Visit to Ukraine===
A leading [[Church of Ukraine|Ukrainian Orthodox]] spokesman has said that a visit to Ukraine by Pope Benedict XVI would be "untimely," according to the country's RISU news service. "If Pope Benedict is a moral and a spiritual person and wants only good for Ukraine and its people, he will never take such an unreasonable step," said Valentyn Lukianyk, the head of the Union of Orthodox Brotherhoods of [[Ukraine]]. He was responding to the news that Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko has invited the Pope to visit the country. There have been numerous clashes between Orthodox and Catholic believers over the ownership of [[parish]] properties that were confiscated by the Communists and handed over to Orthodox clerics. At the same time, Orthodox leaders have complained that Catholics are engaged in "proselytism," seeking converts among Orthodox believers. In his statement opposing a papal visit, Lukianyk said that relations between Catholics and Orthodox in Ukraine are now "warming." A visit by Pope Benedict, he said, would place an undue burden on those sensitive ties.

==Resignation==
On 11 February 2013, the Vatican confirmed Pope Benedict would resign the papacy on 28 February 2013 as a result of his advanced age, becoming the first pope to resign since Gregory XII in 1415.<ref>Hada Messia and Michael Pearson. ''[http://edition.cnn.com/2013/02/11/world/europe/pope-benedict-resignation/?hpt=hp_t1 Too tired to go on, Pope Benedict resigns].'' CNN. February 12, 2013 -- Updated 0337 GMT (1137 HKT).</ref>

Since becoming pope in 2005, Benedict had charted a very conservative course for the church, trying to reawaken Christianity in Europe where it had fallen by the wayside and return the church to its traditional roots, which he felt had been betrayed by a botched interpretation of the modernizing reforms of the Second Vatican Council.<ref name=AP>Nicole Winfield And Victor L. Simpson. ''[http://www.vancouversun.com/life/Pope+resigning+health+reasons+with+video/7948035/story.html Catholic church scrambles to replace pope after bombshell resignation (with video). Conclave expected in mid-March].'' Vancouver Sun (Associated Press). February 11, 2013.</ref>

His efforts though, were overshadowed by a worldwide clerical sex abuse scandal, communication gaffes that outraged Jews and Muslims alike and, more recently, a scandal over leaked documents by his own butler. Many of his stated priorities as pope also fell short: He failed to establish relations with China, heal the schism and reunite with the Orthodox Church, or reconcile with a group of breakaway, traditionalist Catholics.<ref name=AP/>

According to Metropolitan [[Hilarion (Alfeyev) of Volokolamsk]], "Pope Benedict XVI is a person who protects the interests of his Church and who is a traditionalist in the best sense of this word, that is, who puts the preservation of church traditions much higher than, for example, popularity in the mass media...Benedict XVI was very positively perceived both in the Catholic Church and in the Orthodox Church. We value this traditionalism in him and we are hoping that his successor will continue the policy of protecting the traditional Christian theological and moral doctrines," he said.<ref>''[http://www.interfax-religion.com/?act=news&div=10286 Russian Orthodox Church hopes to maintain relations with Benedict XVI's successor - Metropolitan Hilarion].'' Interfax-Religion. 21 February 2013, 10:03.</ref>

==References==
<div><references/></div>

==Further reading==
'''Roman Catholic'''
* Fr. Nicola Bux. ''[http://www.ignatius.com/Products/BR-P/benedict-xvis-reform.aspx?=cwr Benedict XVI's Reform: The Liturgy Between Innovation and Tradition].'' Ignatius Press, 2012. 144 pp. ISBN 9781586174460

==External links==
* ''[http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Irenikon/message/5885?o=1&var=1 Benedict's call on papacy will increase divisions, says Italian Protestant].'' Ecumenical News International (ENI). June 8, 2006.
* Cindy Wooden. ''[http://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/0603382.htm Orthodox express concern about dropping 'patriarch of the West' title].'' Catholic News Service (CNS). June 13, 2006.
* ''[http://www.cwnews.com/news/viewstory.cfm?recnum=44743 Ukrainian Orthodox spokesman opposes papal visit].'' CatholicCulture.org. June 13, 2006.
* Fr. Nicola Bux. ''[http://www.catholicworldreport.com/Item/2057/the_martyrdom_of_pope_benedict_xvi.aspx The “Martyrdom” of Pope Benedict XVI].'' The Catholic World Report. March 10, 2013.
:(Don Nicola Bux, one of Benedict’s close collaborators, on the deeper meaning of the papal resignation.)

{{start box}}
{{succession|
before=[[John Paul II]]|
title=[[Pope|Roman Catholic Pope]]|
years=2005-2013|
after=Francis I}}
{{end box}}

[[Category:Roman Catholic Popes]]
[[Category:Non-Orthodox]]

[[es:Benedicto XVI]]

Euchologion

2013-03-15T19:13:33Z

Fr Lev:

The Greek word ευχολόγιον literally means "book of prayers." The Slavonic word ''Trebnik'' literally means "book of needs." This type of service book varies widely in contents and arrangements. The most comprehensive edition is the Ευχολόγιον το Μέγα or '''Great Euchologion''' contains the prayers of the [[priest]], [[deacon]], and [[reader]] for [[Vespers]], [[Orthros]], and the Divine Liturgy; the six remaining sacraments, and other services of blessings (which in the west are often referred to as ''sacramentals'').

The Slavonic Great Book of Needs consists of two parts:

# The sacraments and other sacred rites, which accompany a man from birth and counsels him at his departure into eternity.
# Short prayers for various needs. There is also a calendar and the "Alphabetic Classification of Names," the latter being a list of Christian names.

There are also a variety of more concise editions, that contain only the most commonly done of these services. These texts are often called the '''Small Euchologion''' (''mikron euchologion''), and usually contains the forms for the mysteries ([[sacraments]]) other than the [[Eucharist]] and [[ordination]], and other common services.

The Small Book of Needs is excerpted from the Great Book of Needs for the purpose of convenience, in order to have a small book for the performance of needs, especially those needs which must be served outside the temple.

There is also a Supplemental Book of Needs in Slavonic, which contains within services such as the orders for the consecration of a temple and the consecration of things pertaining to the temple, such as the [[liturgical objects|church utensils]], [[vestments]], [[icons]], and so forth. This Supplemental Book of Needs is often combined into one book with the Small Book of Needs.

What distinguishes the services found in the Euchologion is that they are generally services that are not appointed to be done at any given time according to the Church calendar, but are done as the need arises (e.g., funerals, weddings, baptisms, the consecration of a new church, etc.). Some services are associated with the liturgical calendar, however, such as the blessing of candles on the Feast of the [[Presentation]], the blessing of Palms on [[Palm Sunday]], etc.

The ''Ieresky Molitvoslov'' contains some services that are considered Trebnik services, however, this is more of a devotional book for priests than a service book for public services.

In English, there are various editions of the Small Euchologion, but only one (4 volume) edition of the entire Euchologion, [http://www.stspress.com/Searchresult.aspx?CategoryID=4 published by St. Tikhon's Seminary Press] under the title ''The Great Book of Needs''. This collection of the Trebnik services attempts to organize these services in a more logical sequence than the Slavonic Trebnik has been historically published in.

Volume One contains the services associated with the 7 sacraments.

Volume Two contains services for the sanctification of Ecclesiastical items, [[icon]]s, crosses, etc; and services associated with the [[liturgical year]].

Volume Three contains prayers for various needs, general blessings, and services connected with [[death]], [[funeral]]s, [[burial]]s, and commemorations of the departed.

Volume Four contains [[Molieben|Moliebens]], services of supplication, and other services of blessing.

Br. [[Isaac Lambertsen]] has also done a translation of the entire Slavonic Trebnik, as well as services that are unique to the Greek Euchologion, but due to the publication of the Book of Needs by St. Tikhon, the publication of his translation has been put on hold indefinitely.

== Source ==
*[http://www.holytrinitymission.org/books/english/liturgics_averky_e.htm#_Toc104768025 Liturgics, by Archbishop Averky]

== External links==
*[http://www.orthodox.net/trebnic/index.html Portions of the Trebnik]
*[http://www.anastasis.org.uk/eucholog.htm Portions of the Euchologion]
*[http://www.saintjonah.org/services/library.htm Practical Tips on how to Build a Liturgical Library]
*[http://www.voskrese.info/spl/Xtrebnik.html The Book of Needs (an older tranlation of portions of the text, and the Slavonic text)]
*[http://www.ccel.org/ccel/shann/needs Book of Needs], translated by G. V. Shann
[[Category:Liturgics]]
[[Category:Texts]]

[[ro:Molitfelnic]]

Euchologion

2013-03-15T18:19:26Z

Fr Lev: added markings to Greek

The Greek word ευχολογιον literally means "book of prayers." The Slavonic word ''Trebnik'' literally means "book of needs." This type of service book varies widely in contents and arrangements. The most comprehensive edition is the Ευχολόγιον το Μέγα or '''Great Euchologion''' contains the prayers of the [[priest]], [[deacon]], and [[reader]] for [[Vespers]], [[Orthros]], and the Divine Liturgy; the six remaining sacraments, and other services of blessings (which in the west are often referred to as ''sacramentals'').

The Slavonic Great Book of Needs consists of two parts:

# The sacraments and other sacred rites, which accompany a man from birth and counsels him at his departure into eternity.
# Short prayers for various needs. There is also a calendar and the "Alphabetic Classification of Names," the latter being a list of Christian names.

There are also a variety of more concise editions, that contain only the most commonly done of these services. These texts are often called the '''Small Euchologion''' (''mikron euchologion''), and usually contains the forms for the mysteries ([[sacraments]]) other than the [[Eucharist]] and [[ordination]], and other common services.

The Small Book of Needs is excerpted from the Great Book of Needs for the purpose of convenience, in order to have a small book for the performance of needs, especially those needs which must be served outside the temple.

There is also a Supplemental Book of Needs in Slavonic, which contains within services such as the orders for the consecration of a temple and the consecration of things pertaining to the temple, such as the [[liturgical objects|church utensils]], [[vestments]], [[icons]], and so forth. This Supplemental Book of Needs is often combined into one book with the Small Book of Needs.

What distinguishes the services found in the Euchologion is that they are generally services that are not appointed to be done at any given time according to the Church calendar, but are done as the need arises (e.g., funerals, weddings, baptisms, the consecration of a new church, etc.). Some services are associated with the liturgical calendar, however, such as the blessing of candles on the Feast of the [[Presentation]], the blessing of Palms on [[Palm Sunday]], etc.

The ''Ieresky Molitvoslov'' contains some services that are considered Trebnik services, however, this is more of a devotional book for priests than a service book for public services.

In English, there are various editions of the Small Euchologion, but only one (4 volume) edition of the entire Euchologion, [http://www.stspress.com/Searchresult.aspx?CategoryID=4 published by St. Tikhon's Seminary Press] under the title ''The Great Book of Needs''. This collection of the Trebnik services attempts to organize these services in a more logical sequence than the Slavonic Trebnik has been historically published in.

Volume One contains the services associated with the 7 sacraments.

Volume Two contains services for the sanctification of Ecclesiastical items, [[icon]]s, crosses, etc; and services associated with the [[liturgical year]].

Volume Three contains prayers for various needs, general blessings, and services connected with [[death]], [[funeral]]s, [[burial]]s, and commemorations of the departed.

Volume Four contains [[Molieben|Moliebens]], services of supplication, and other services of blessing.

Br. [[Isaac Lambertsen]] has also done a translation of the entire Slavonic Trebnik, as well as services that are unique to the Greek Euchologion, but due to the publication of the Book of Needs by St. Tikhon, the publication of his translation has been put on hold indefinitely.

== Source ==
*[http://www.holytrinitymission.org/books/english/liturgics_averky_e.htm#_Toc104768025 Liturgics, by Archbishop Averky]

== External links==
*[http://www.orthodox.net/trebnic/index.html Portions of the Trebnik]
*[http://www.anastasis.org.uk/eucholog.htm Portions of the Euchologion]
*[http://www.saintjonah.org/services/library.htm Practical Tips on how to Build a Liturgical Library]
*[http://www.voskrese.info/spl/Xtrebnik.html The Book of Needs (an older tranlation of portions of the text, and the Slavonic text)]
*[http://www.ccel.org/ccel/shann/needs Book of Needs], translated by G. V. Shann
[[Category:Liturgics]]
[[Category:Texts]]

[[ro:Molitfelnic]]

Mount Royal

2013-01-24T15:29:53Z

Fr Lev: /* History */

'''Dormition of Our Loady of Mount Royal''' is a [[Western Rite]] [[stavropegial]] [[monastery]] of the [[Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia]] (ROCOR). It is currently located in Jacksonville, Florida.

== History ==
Founded in 1910 as an Old Catholic monastery, Mount Royal's mission and work continued under [[Old Catholic]] auspices until 1962. In that year the community was received into the patriarchal Russian Orthodox Church by its American [[exarch]], Bishop [[Dositheus (Ivanchenko) of Brooklyn|Dositheus (Ivanchenko) of New York]]. For several years, the [[monk]]s of Mount Royal staffed a Western Rite chapel in the Russian Cathedral of St. Nicholas in Manhattan, later moving to Woodstock, New York. Bishop Dositheus' successor, Archbishop [[John (Wendland) of New York and the Aleutians|John (Wendland)]], blessed and confirmed the Western Rite observance and mission of Mount Royal and the leadership of its [[abbot]], Dom [[Augustine Whitfield]].

In 1975, under Abbot Augustine, the monastery was received into the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia by Archbishop [[Nikon (Rklitski) of Florida|Nikon (Rklitzsky)]], who again authorized and blessed its mission and observances.

In 1993, the former Prior of Mount Royal, Dom James (Deschene) founded [[Christminster]] in Rhode Island, which subsequently relocated to Hamilton, Ontario.

In 2010, Dom Augustine reposed and was succeeded as abbot by Dom David (Pierce).

==External links==
* [http://orthodoxwesternrite.wordpress.com/mount-royal-monastery] Unofficial site

[[Category:Monasteries]]
[[Category:ROCOR Monasteries]]
[[Category:Canadian Monasteries]]
[[Category:Western Rite]]

Mount Royal

2013-01-24T15:29:03Z

Fr Lev: /* History */

'''Dormition of Our Loady of Mount Royal''' is a [[Western Rite]] [[stavropegial]] [[monastery]] of the [[Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia]] (ROCOR). It is currently located in Jacksonville, Florida.

== History ==
Founded in 1910 as an Old Catholic monastery, Mount Royal's mission and work continued under [[Old Catholic]] auspices until 1962. In that year the community was received into the patriarchal Russian Orthodox Church by its American [[exarch]], Bishop [[Dositheus (Ivanchenko) of Brooklyn|Dositheus (Ivanchenko) of New York]]. For several years, the [[monk]]s of Mount Royal staffed a Western Rite chapel in the Russian Cathedral of St. Nicholas in Manhattan, later moving to Woodstock, New York. Bishop Dositheus' successor, Archbishop [[John (Wendland) of New York and the Aleutians|John (Wendland)]], blessed and confirmed the Western Rite observance and mission of Mount Royal and the leadership of its [[abbot]], Dom [[Augustine Whitfield]].

In 1975, under Abbot Augustine, the monastery was received into the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia by Archbishop [[Nikon (Rklitski) of Florida|Nikon (Rklitzsky)]], who again authorized and blessed its mission and observances.

In 1993, the former Prior of Mount Royal, Dom James (Deschene) founded [[Christminster]] in Rhode Island, which subsequently relocated to Hamilton, Ontario.

In 2010, Abbot Augustine reposed and was succeeded by Abbot David (Pierce).

==External links==
* [http://orthodoxwesternrite.wordpress.com/mount-royal-monastery] Unofficial site

[[Category:Monasteries]]
[[Category:ROCOR Monasteries]]
[[Category:Canadian Monasteries]]
[[Category:Western Rite]]

Mount Royal

2013-01-23T21:28:19Z

Fr Lev:

'''Dormition of Our Loady of Mount Royal''' is a [[Western Rite]] [[stavropegial]] [[monastery]] of the [[Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia]] (ROCOR). It is currently located in Jacksonville, Florida.

== History ==
Founded in 1910 as an Old Catholic monastery, Mount Royal's mission and work continued under [[Old Catholic]] auspices until 1962. In that year the community was received into the patriarchal Russian Orthodox Church by its American [[exarch]], Bishop [[Dositheus (Ivanchenko) of Brooklyn|Dositheus (Ivanchenko) of New York]]. For several years, the [[monk]]s of Mount Royal staffed a Western Rite chapel in the Russian Cathedral of St. Nicholas in Manhattan, later moving to Woodstock, New York. Bishop Dositheus' successor, Archbishop [[John (Wendland) of New York and the Aleutians|John (Wendland)]], blessed and confirmed the Western Rite observance and mission of Mount Royal and the leadership of its [[abbot]], Dom [[Augustine Whitfield]].

In 1975, under Abbot Augustine, the monastery was received into the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia by Archbishop [[Nikon (Rklitski) of Florida|Nikon (Rklitzsky)]], who again authorized and blessed its mission and observances.

In 2010, Abbot Augustine reposed and was succeeded by Abbot David (Pierce).

==External links==
* [http://orthodoxwesternrite.wordpress.com/mount-royal-monastery] Unofficial site

[[Category:Monasteries]]
[[Category:ROCOR Monasteries]]
[[Category:Canadian Monasteries]]
[[Category:Western Rite]]

Mount Royal

2013-01-23T21:22:24Z

Fr Lev: Created page with "'''Dormition of Our Loady of Mount Royal''' is a Western Rite stavropegial monastery of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia (ROCOR). It is currently loc..."

'''Dormition of Our Loady of Mount Royal''' is a [[Western Rite]] [[stavropegial]] [[monastery]] of the [[Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia]] (ROCOR). It is currently located in Jacksonville, Florida.

== History ==
Founded in 1910 as an Old Catholic monastery, Mount Royal's mission and work continued under [[Old Catholic]] auspices until 1962. In that year the community was received into the patriarchal Russian Orthodox Church by its American [[exarch]], Bishop [[Dositheus (Ivanchenko) of Brooklyn|Dositheus (Ivanchenko) of New York]]. For several years, the [[monk]]s of Mount Royal staffed a Western Rite chapel in the Russian Cathedral of St. Nicholas in Manhattan, later moving to Woodstock, New York. Bishop Dositheus' successor, Archbishop [[John (Wendland) of New York and the Aleutians|John (Wendland)]], blessed and confirmed the Western Rite observance and mission of Mount Royal and the leadership of its [[abbot]], Dom [[Augustine Whitfield]].

In 1975, under Abbot Augustine, the monastery was received into the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia by Archbishop [[Nikon (Rklitski) of Florida|Nikon (Rklitzsky)]], who again authorized and blessed its mission and observances.

In 2008, Abbot Augustine reposed and was succeeded by Abbot David (Pierce).

==External links==
* [http://orthodoxwesternrite.wordpress.com/mount-royal-monastery] Unofficial site

[[Category:Monasteries]]
[[Category:ROCOR Monasteries]]
[[Category:Canadian Monasteries]]
[[Category:Western Rite]]

Paul Evdokimov

2013-01-10T20:28:43Z

Fr Lev: Created page with "{{stub}} '''Paul Evdokimov''' (1901-1970) was a Russian and French theologian, professor of theology at [[St. Sergius Orthodox Theological Institute (Paris, France)|St. Se..."

{{stub}}
'''Paul Evdokimov''' (1901-1970) was a Russian and French [[theologian]], professor of theology at [[St. Sergius Orthodox Theological Institute (Paris, France)|St. Sergius Institute]] in Paris, and an invited observer to the Second Vatican Council.

==Life==
Paul Evdokimov was born in St Petersburg on [[August 2]], 1901, the son of an army officer. After serving in the calvalry, he began theological studies prior to the Revolution. Following the Revolution, he and his family escaped and settled in Paris circa 1923. Evdokimov continued his theological studies at [[St. Sergius Orthodox Theological Institute (Paris, France)|St. Sergius Institute]], studying with Fr. [[Sergius Bulgakov]] and [[Nikolai Berdyaev]]. He married Natasha Brunel in 1927.

During WWII, Evdokimov worked with the French Resistance. After the war, his wife Natasha died from cancer. In 1954, he married Tomoko Sakai.

He reposed in Meudon, France, on [[September 16]], 1970.

==Books ==
* ''The Sacrament of Love: The Nuptial Mystery in the Light of the Orthodox Tradition'' (SVS Press, 2011) - ISBN 0881413976. Translation of ''Le Sacrement de l’amour: Le mystère conjugal à la lumière de la Tradition orthodoxe'' (1944, revised 1962).
* ''The Art of the Icon: A Theology of Beauty'' (Oakwood, 1993) – ASIN B000MBMJC. Translation of ''L'Art de l'icône, théologie de la beauté'' (1970).
* ''Woman and the Salvation of the World'' (SVS Press, 2011) - ISBN 0881418722. Translation of ''La Femme et le salut du monde'' (1958).
* ''Ages of the Spiritual Life'' (SVS Press, 1998) - ISBN 0881411752. Translation of ''Les Ages de la vie spirituelle''.
* ''Orthodoxy'' (New City, 2011) - ISBN 1565483693. Translation of ''L'Orthodoxie'' (1959).
* ''Orthodoxy: The Cosmos Transfigured'' (Eighth Day Press, 2012) - ISBN 0971748381.

==Studies==
* Simona Sabou. ''Trading Silence for Words of Praise: The Status of Woman in Eastern Orthodoxy as Reflected in the Works of Paul Evdokimov'' (LAP LAMBERT, 2012) - ISBN 3659238309.
*[[Olivier Clement]]. ''Orient-Occident: Deux passeurs, Vladimir Lossky et Paul Evdokimov'' (Labor et Fides, 1985) - ISBN 830900375.

[[Category:Modern Writers]]

Olivier Clement

2013-01-10T19:08:04Z

Fr Lev:

{{stub}}
'''Olivier Clément''' is a French [[theologian]] and convert to Orthodox Christianity who taught at [[St. Sergius Orthodox Theological Institute (Paris, France)|St. Sergius Institute]] in Paris.

==Life==
Olivier Clément was born in 1921 in the south of France. In his youth he was a non-believer. As he grew to maturity, he became influenced by a number of Orthodox theologians in France, notably [[Vladimir Lossky]], [[Nikolai Berdyaev|Nicholas Berdiaev]] and [[Paul Evdokimov]], eventually receiving baptism at the hands of Fr Evgraph Kovalesvky, later Bishop [[Jean-Nectaire (Kovalevsky) of Saint-Denis|Jean-Nectaire of Saint-Denis]]. He became a member of the faculty of St. Sergius Institute in Paris. In addition to an extensive collection of writings, he edited the theological journal ‘’Contacts’‘.

Clément also enjoyed friendship and entered into dialogues on major spiritual themes with a number of imminent personalities including Patriarch [[Athenagoras I (Spyrou) of Constantinople|Athenagoras]], Pope [[John Paul II]], the priest and theologian [[Dumitru Staniloae]], and the brother Roger of Taizé.

Olivier Clément reposed on [[January 15]], 2009 at the age of 87. Funeral Services took place on [[January 20]], 2009 in Paris, France.

==Books in English==
* ''The Spirit of Solzhenitsyn'' (Barnes & Noble Books, 1976) - ISBN 0064912124
* ''Monasticism and the Holy Spirit'' (Community of the Servants of the Will of God) - ISBN 0948108002
*''The Roots of Christian Mysticism'' (New City Press, 1996) - ISBN 1565480295
* ''[http://books.google.ca/books?id=MhJGJbPKpz4C&source=gbs_navlinks_s Conversations with Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I]'' (St Vladimir's Seminary Press, 1997) - ISBN 9780881411782
*''On Human Being: Spiritual Anthropology'' (New City Press, 2000) - ISBN 1565481437
*''Three Prayers: The [[Lord's Prayer]], O Heavenly King, Prayer of Saint Ephrem'' (SVS Press, 2000) - ISBN 0881411973
* ''You are Peter: An Orthodox Reflection on the Exercise of Papal Primacy'' (New City Press, 2003) - ISBN 1565481895

==Articles==
*"Martyrs and Confessors" ''The Ecumenical Review'' 52:3 (July, 2000), pp. 343-350
*"[http://www.think-israel.org/magister.ramadan.html Be careful of Ramadan's model of Islam]" ''Vita e Pensiero'', December 2003 (scroll down for article)
*[http://www.vatican.va/jubilee_2000/magazine/documents/ju_mag_01041998_p-17_en.html Jesus, the one consecrated by the Holy Spirit] (1998) - On the Vatican's official website

==Audio and video==
*[http://www.dieu-parmi-nous.com/r.videos.html#Olivier%20Clement Two interviews in French]

==Reviews==
*[http://www.ad2000.com.au/articles/2003/decjan2003p17_1523.html ''You are Peter'' - Reviewed by Peter Westmore]
*[http://www.firstthings.com/ftissues/ft0411/reviews/deville.htm ''You are Peter'' - Reviewed by Adam A. J. DeVille] ''First Things'' 147 (November 2004)

==Quotations==
*"The spiritual person is drunk with the wine of love and that wine is the Spirit, the wine of power and life."

==Source==
*[http://www.oca.org/news/1757 OCA: In Memorian: Olivier Clément]

[[Category:Modern Writers]]
[[Category:Converts to Orthodox Christianity|Clement]]

[[fr:Olivier Clément]]
[[ro:Olivier Clément]]

Institute for Orthodox Christian Studies

2011-09-19T12:06:54Z

Fr Lev:

The '''Institute for Orthodox Christian Studies''' (IOCS) is the Orthodox house of theological studies located in the ancient university city of Cambridge, England. The Institute is a full member of the Cambridge Theological Federation, an Allied Institution of the University of Cambridge, and a Regional Partner of Anglia Ruskin University. The Institute serves the [[Orthodox Church]] as a whole.

The Institute was founded in 1999 with the blessing of all Orthodox hierarchs in Western Europe. Among the IOCS guest lecturers and supporters are such illustrious Orthodox teachers as [[Metropolitan]] [[Kallistos (Ware) of Diokleia|Kallistos of Diokleia]], Metr. [[John (Zizioulas) of Pergamon|John Zizioulas]], [[Thomas Hopko|Fr. Thomas Hopko]], Fr. Prof. [[Andrew Louth]], Fr. Ephrem Lash, [[Archimandrite]]s Symeon and Zacharias of [[Patriarchal Stavropegic Monastery of St. John the Baptist (Maldon, Essex)|St. John the Baptist's Monastery in Essex]], and the late Metr. [[Anthony (Bloom) of Sourozh|Antony of Sourozh]].

The IOCS is governed by a Board of Directors with representatives from the various Orthodox Churches in Great Britain. Because it is pan-Orthodox, linked to a major international university, and contains both lay and ordained people, the Institute serves the Orthodox Church in a unique way. Many people were involved in bringing the Institute for Orthodox Christian Studies into existence and many others have assisted at various stages of the Institute's development. Notable among them are the Institute's first Principal Fr. [[John A. Jillions]], the current Principal, Professor David Frost, the Academic Director, Dr. Marcus Plested, the Director of Distance Learning, [[Constantinos Athanasopoulos|Dr. Constantinos Athanasopoulos]], a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy of the United Kingdom, and all the past and current staff.

IOCS offers a wealth of on-line resources via its Public Access Video Streaming Website, including Interviews and lectures by such members of academia as Professor [[H. Tristram Engelhardt|Tristram Engelhardt]] and Fr. [[John Breck]], as well as Hierarchical Services, concerts and other events. These are all available via the [http://distancelearning.iocs.cam.ac.uk/ Distance Learning Portal]

==Academic courses==
The currently offered [http://www.iocs.cam.ac.uk/courses.html programmes of academic study] in Orthodox Theology include:
*On Campus at the Wesley House in Cambridge:
:'''Master of Arts in Pastoral Theology'''
:'''Bachelor of Arts (Hons) in Christian Theology'''.

*Through the Distance Learning program:
:'''IOCS Certificate in Orthodox Theology''' via the [http://www.iocs.cam.ac.uk/resources/texts/distance_learning_brochure.pdf Distance Learning Portal]. These studies use on-line distance learning methodology and have attracted the interest of many students from all parts of the world from 2009 till now.
:A '''Diploma in Orthodox Theology''' via Distance Learning is planned to start in October 2011.

==Source==
*[http://www.iocs.cam.ac.uk/ IOCS main website]

[[Category:Educational Institutions]]
[[Category:Distance Education Programs]]

Alexis van der Mensbrugghe

2011-05-01T17:33:11Z

Fr Lev:

'''Alexis van der Mensbrugghe''' was a [[Roman Catholic Church|Roman Catholic]] [[Rule of St. Benedict|Benedictine]] [[monk]] [[conversion|convert]] to Orthodox Christianity who worked to establish a Gallican liturgical rite as an [[archbishop]] of the [[Church of Russia]].

==Life==
Archbishop Alexis van der Mensbrugghe was born in Belgium in 1899. He became a Roman Catholic Benedictine monk in a [[monastery]] at Amay-sur-Met. In April 1929, he was received into the Orthodox Church by Metr. [[Eulogius (Georgievsky) of Paris|Eulogius of Paris]]. When the Western Church's [[St. Denys Theological Institute (Paris, France)|St Denys Theological Institute]] opened in Paris, Archim. Alexis occupied the chair of Patristic Theology and Ancient Liturgies while he remained in the Eastern rite.

Archim. Alexis became associated with the group led by [[Jean-Nectaire (Kovalevsky) of Saint-Denis|Evgraph Kovalevsky]] under the Church of Russia that was working to restore a Gallican liturgical usage based on correspondence of the sixth century Bishop of Paris St. Germanus. The rite became known as the [[Divine Liturgy according to St Germanus of Paris]]

Archim. Alexis was consecrated a [[bishop]] of the Church of Russia's episcopate on [[November 1]], 1960, with the title of Bishop Meudon, [[auxiliary bishop]] of the then West European Exarchate, while he continued his Western Rite work under the auspices of the Moscow Patriarchate.

Archbishop Alexis reposed in 1980.

==Writings==
*''From Dyad to triad: A Plea for Duality Against Dualism and an Essay Towards the Synthesis of Orthodoxy'' (London, 1935)
*''La liturgie orthodoxe de rit occidental: Essai de restauration'' (Paris, 1948)
*''L'Expositio missæ Gallicanæ, est-elle de Saint Germain de Paris, d. 576?'' (Paris, 1959)
*''Missel orthodoxe de rit occidentale Gallican et Italique'' (Paris, 1962)

==See also==
*[[Orthodox Church of France]]
*[[Western Rite in the Twentieth Century]]

==Sources==
*W. Jardine Grisbrooke, “Obituaries: Archbishop Alexis van der Mensbrugghe” in ''Sobornost'' 4.2 (1981), 212-216.
*[[Wikipedia:Western Orthodox Church]]
*[http://www.allmercifulsavior.com/Liturgy/Abramtsov.html A Brief History of Western Orthodoxy]

[[Category:Bishops]]
[[Category:Western Rite]]
[[Category:Converts to Orthodox Christianity from Roman Catholicism|Van der Mensbrugghe]]

Alexis van der Mensbrugghe

2011-05-01T17:31:24Z

Fr Lev: /* Life */ Added link

'''Alexis van der Mensbrugghe''' was a [[Roman Catholic Church|Roman Catholic]] [[Rule of St. Benedict|Benedictine]] [[monk]] [[conversion|convert]] to Orthodox Christianity who worked to establish a Gallican liturgical rite as an [[archbishop]] of the [[Church of Russia]].

==Life==
Archbishop Alexis van der Mensbrugghe was born in Belgium in 1899. He became a Roman Catholic Benedictine monk in a [[monastery]] at Amay-sur-Met. In April 1929, he was received into the Orthodox Church by Metr. [[Eulogius (Georgievsky) of Paris|Eulogius of Paris]]. When the Western Church's [[St. Denys Theological Institute (Paris, France)|St Denys Theological Institute]] opened in Paris, Archim. Alexis occupied the chair of Patristic Theology and Ancient Liturgies while he remained in the Eastern rite.

Archim. Alexis became associated with the group led by Evgraph Kovalevsky under the Church of Russia that was working to restore a Gallican liturgical usage based on correspondence of the sixth century Bishop of Paris St. Germanus. The rite became known as the [[Divine Liturgy according to St Germanus of Paris]]

Archim. Alexis was consecrated a [[bishop]] of the Church of Russia's episcopate on [[November 1]], 1960, with the title of Bishop Meudon, [[auxiliary bishop]] of the then West European Exarchate, while he continued his Western Rite work under the auspices of the Moscow Patriarchate.

Archbishop Alexis reposed in 1980.

==Writings==
*''From Dyad to triad: A Plea for Duality Against Dualism and an Essay Towards the Synthesis of Orthodoxy'' (London, 1935)
*''La liturgie orthodoxe de rit occidental: Essai de restauration'' (Paris, 1948)
*''L'Expositio missæ Gallicanæ, est-elle de Saint Germain de Paris, d. 576?'' (Paris, 1959)
*''Missel orthodoxe de rit occidentale Gallican et Italique'' (Paris, 1962)

==See also==
*[[Orthodox Church of France]]
*[[Western Rite in the Twentieth Century]]

==Sources==
*W. Jardine Grisbrooke, “Obituaries: Archbishop Alexis van der Mensbrugghe” in ''Sobornost'' 4.2 (1981), 212-216.
*[[Wikipedia:Western Orthodox Church]]
*[http://www.allmercifulsavior.com/Liturgy/Abramtsov.html A Brief History of Western Orthodoxy]

[[Category:Bishops]]
[[Category:Western Rite]]
[[Category:Converts to Orthodox Christianity from Roman Catholicism|Van der Mensbrugghe]]

Alexis van der Mensbrugghe

2011-05-01T17:27:56Z

Fr Lev:

'''Alexis van der Mensbrugghe''' was a [[Roman Catholic Church|Roman Catholic]] [[Rule of St. Benedict|Benedictine]] [[monk]] [[conversion|convert]] to Orthodox Christianity who worked to establish a Gallican liturgical rite as an [[archbishop]] of the [[Church of Russia]].

==Life==
Archbishop Alexis van der Mensbrugghe was born in Belgium in 1899. He became a Roman Catholic Benedictine monk in a [[monastery]] at Amay-sur-Met. In April 1929, he was received into the Orthodox Church by Metr. [[Eulogius (Georgievsky) of Paris|Eulogius of Paris]]. When the Western Church's [[St. Denys Theological Institute (Paris, France)|St Denys Theological Institute]] opened in Paris, Archim. Alexis occupied the chair of Patristic Theology and Ancient Liturgies while he remained in the Eastern rite.

Archim. Alexis became associated with the group led by Evgraph Kovalevsky under the Church of Russia that was working to restore a Gallican liturgical usage based on correspondence of the sixth century Bishop of Paris St. Germanus. The rite became known as the Divine Liturgy according to St. [[Germanus of Paris]].

Archim. Alexis was consecrated a [[bishop]] of the Church of Russia's episcopate on [[November 1]], 1960, with the title of Bishop Meudon, [[auxiliary bishop]] of the then West European Exarchate, while he continued his Western Rite work under the auspices of the Moscow Patriarchate.

Archbishop Alexis reposed in 1980.

==Writings==
*''From Dyad to triad: A Plea for Duality Against Dualism and an Essay Towards the Synthesis of Orthodoxy'' (London, 1935)
*''La liturgie orthodoxe de rit occidental: Essai de restauration'' (Paris, 1948)
*''L'Expositio missæ Gallicanæ, est-elle de Saint Germain de Paris, d. 576?'' (Paris, 1959)
*''Missel orthodoxe de rit occidentale Gallican et Italique'' (Paris, 1962)

==See also==
*[[Orthodox Church of France]]
*[[Western Rite in the Twentieth Century]]

==Sources==
*W. Jardine Grisbrooke, “Obituaries: Archbishop Alexis van der Mensbrugghe” in ''Sobornost'' 4.2 (1981), 212-216.
*[[Wikipedia:Western Orthodox Church]]
*[http://www.allmercifulsavior.com/Liturgy/Abramtsov.html A Brief History of Western Orthodoxy]

[[Category:Bishops]]
[[Category:Western Rite]]
[[Category:Converts to Orthodox Christianity from Roman Catholicism|Van der Mensbrugghe]]

Talk:Divine Liturgy according to St. Germanus of Paris

2010-11-28T20:44:04Z

Fr Lev:

Are there any sources concercing the Coptic parishes? [[User:Apostolic Seeker|Apostolic Seeker]] 15:40, November 27, 2010 (UTC)

You can find a link to their version of the Gallicans on the French Coptic Curch's website.
http://eocf.free.fr/doclit.htm. --[[User:Fr Lev|Fr Lev]] 20:44, November 28, 2010 (UTC)

Talk:Nicodemus of the Holy Mountain

2010-10-18T00:34:38Z

Fr Lev:

Can someone confirm that St. Nikodemos translated Loyola's Spiritual Exercises? I know that he published a book called that, but do not know where the author of the article is getting his source information.

I'll just add that it's a shame that the article is so short on Orthodox Wiki when even wikipedia has much more useful and accurate information about this saint and father of the Church.

Please be sure to sign your posts, and please don't assume that information is inaccurate simply because you are unaware of it. I have seen multiple references to the Saint's translation of the work in question. One citation is Metropolitan [[Kallistos Ware]], "St Nikodimos and the ''Philokalia''", in ''Mount Athos the Sacred Bridge: The Spirituality of the Holy Mountain'' (2005). The Metropolitan writes: "In addition to the ''Combattimento Spirituale'' of Scupoli, Nikodimos produced a Greek edition of the ''Spiritual Exercises'' of Ignatius Loyola, using the expanded version of Gianpetro Pinamonti. Nikodimos's widely respected work on confession, ''Exomologitarion'', is also for the most part a direct translation of two books by another Roman Catholic writer, Paulo Segneri, ...." (p. 91). --[[User:Fr Lev|Fr Lev]] 07:40, October 17, 2010 (UTC)

Ah, I see. Did not make such assumption, Fr. Lev. Did you know that this western source hypothesis for the Exomologetarion has been debunked? Check out the introduction to its english translation by Fr. George Metallinos, who mentions this fact and the scholar that did this. It is good to know you found a source, though.
[[User:isaakios|isaakios]] 18:36, October 17, 2010

Sorry if I misunderstood your remark to the effect that this article was less accurate than the Wikipedia article. Also, I should have pointed out the source that was already in the article, under the Sources section, namely, the Yannaras volume. I'll check Fr George's intro. --[[User:Fr Lev|Fr Lev]] 00:34, October 18, 2010 (UTC)

Nicodemus of the Holy Mountain

2010-10-17T19:49:21Z

Fr Lev:

[[Image:StNicodemusOfTheHolyMountain.jpg|160px|thumb|right|Icon of St. Nicodemus of the Holy Mountain]]Our venerable and God-bearing Father '''Nicodemus of the Holy Mountain''' (or Nikodemos the Hagiorite) was a great theologian and teacher of the [[Orthodox Church]], reviver of [[hesychasm]], [[Canon Law|canonist]], [[Hagiography|hagiologist]], and writer of liturgical poetry.

St. Nicodemus was born Nicholas Kallivourtzis c. 1749 in [[Metropolis of Paronaxia|Naxos, Greece]]. In 1775 he became a [[monk]] of [[Dionysiou Monastery (Athos)|Dionysiou]] on [[Mount Athos]]. In 1777, [[Saint]] [[Makarios Notaras of Corinth|Makarios of Corinth]] visited him and gave him three texts to edit and revise: the ''[[Philokalia]]'', a defining work on [[monastic]] spirituality, ''On Frequent Holy Communion'' and the ''Evergetinos''. He also wrote original works such as ''Lives of the Saints''.

He was, however, influenced significantly by [[Roman Catholic Church|Roman Catholic]] spirituality, canon law, and theology. He translated and edited ''The Spiritual Combat'' (1589) by Lorenzo Scupoli, a Catholic [[priest]] of Venice, renaming it ''Unseen Warfare'', and the ''Spiritual Exercises'' of Ignatius of Loyola, the founder of the Jesuits. He made use of Roman [[Canon law|canon law]] in ''The Rudder'', and held to the Anselmian view of the Atonment. There is an extant letter by St Nicodemus to Bishop Paisios of Stagai requesting an [[Absolution Certificates|indulgence]], and promising financial payment for it. His manual on sacramental confession, the ''Exomologetarion'' is a reworking of two books on confession by Paulo Segneri, a Jesuit. The influence of Western pietistic moralism is perhaps seen best in his ''Chrestoethia of Christians'' (1803), in which he condemns musical instruments, dancing, (non-liturgical) singing, the telling of jokes, etc., and tells Christians that such conduct will lead not only to their own punishment, but to the death of their unborn children.

St. Nicodemus reposed in the Lord in 1809 and was [[glorification|glorified]] by the Orthodox Church in 1955. He is a local saint of the [[Metropolis of Paronaxia]] and the [[Mount Athos|Holy Mountain]]. His [[feast day]] is celebrated on [[July 14]].

==Sources==
*[http://www.catholic-forum.com/saints/saintn63.htm Nicodemus of the Holy Mountain] ([[Roman Catholic]])
* ''Modern Orthodox Saints (Vol. 3)'' by Constantine Cavarnos. Published by the Institute for Byzantine & Modern Greek Studies, 1994 (ISBN 0914744410)
*[[Christos Yannaras]], ''Orthodoxy and the West: Hellenic Self-Identity in the Modern Age''. Holy Cross Orthodox Press, 2007. (ISBN 978-1885652812)
*[[Kallistos Ware]], "St Nikidimos and the ''Philokalia''" in D. Conomos and G. Speake, ''Mount Athos the Sacred Bridge: The Spirituality of the Holy Mountain''. Peter Lang, 2005. (ISBN 978-0820468808)

==See also==
*[[Canon law]]
*[[The Rudder]]
*[[Metropolis of Paronaxia]]

==External link==
*[http://ocafs.oca.org/FeastSaintsViewer.asp?FSID=102028 Repose of the Venerable Nicodemus the Hagiorite] ([[OCA]])

[[Category:Athonite Fathers]]
[[Category:Monastics]]
[[Category:Saints]]
[[Category:Greek Saints]]
[[Category:Canon Law]]

[[el:Άγιος Νικόδημος ο Αγιορείτης]]
[[ro:Nicodim Aghioritul]]