Volume 52 No. 8 November 2008

Transcription

1 Volume 52 No. 8 November 2008

2 VOLUME 52 NO. 9 NOVEMBER 2008 contents COVER The Antiochian Village Heritage and Learning Center Museum 3 EDITORIAL by Very Rev. John Abdalah 4 EAST MEETS WEST IN LIGONIER 10 OUR PILGRIMAGE TO RUSSIA: A JOURNEY TO REMEMBER by Fr. Thomas Zain 19 CHILDRENS RELIEF FUND The Most Reverend Metropolitan PHILIP, D.H.L., D.D. Primate The Right Reverend Bishop ANTOUN The Right Reverend Bishop JOSEPH The Right Reverend Bishop BASIL The Right Reverend Bishop THOMAS The Right Reverend Bishop MARK The Right Reverend Bishop ALEXANDER Founded in Arabic as Al Kalimat in 1905 by Saint Raphael (Hawaweeny) Founded in English as The WORD in 1957 by Metropolitan ANTONY (Bashir) Editor in Chief The Very Rev. John P. Abdalah, D.Min. Editorial Board The Very Rev. Joseph J. Allen, Th.D. Anthony Bashir, Ph.D. The Very Rev. Antony Gabriel, Th.M. The Very Rev. Peter Gillquist Ronald Nicola Najib E. Saliba, Ph.D. The Very Rev. Paul Schneirla, M.Div. Design Director Donna Griffin Albert Member The Associated Church Press Conciliar Press Ecumenical News International Orthodox Press Service Editorial Office: The WORD 635 Miranda Drive Pittsburgh, PA WORDMAG@AOL.COM FAX: Subscription Office: 358 Mountain Road PO Box 5238 Englewood, NJ The Word Letters to the editor are welcome and should include the author s full name and parish. Submissions for Communities in Action must be approved by the local pastor. Both may be edited for purposes of clarity and space. All submissions, in hard copy, on disk or ed, should be double-spaced for editing purposes. ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTION: U.S.A. and Canada, $20.00 Foreign Countries, $26.00 Single Copies, $ ARCHDIOCESAN OFFICE 24 MARRIAGE by Daniel Manzuk 28 THE ORDER OF ST. IGNATIUS OF ANTIOCH by Fr. Michael Ellias 30 ORATORICAL FESTIVAL 32 COMMUNITIES IN ACTION 38 THE ORTHODOX WORLD Icons courtesy of Come and See Icons. The WORD (USPS ) is published monthly, except July and August, by the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America at 358 Mountain Road, PO Box 5238; periodicals postage paid at Englewood, New Jersey and at additional mailing offi ces. Postmaster send address changes to: The WORD, 358 Mountain Road, PO Box 5238, Englewood, NJ ISSN Canada Post Publications Agreement No Return Canada address to: AIM, 7289 Torbram Road, Mississauga, ON L4T 1G8, Canada.

3 editor s letter The History of Christianity Is Your Own As our Cathedral community in Oakland, PA, prepares to celebrate her centennial, I am struck with just how short a time a century is. Many of our parishioners have sung, chanted, served, cooked and supported the church for 50 and 75 years! This brought me to reflect on how few centuries have already transpired since Christ first commissioned us to preach the Gospel and to baptize all nations. Being brought up in an already established Church, I lost sight of how much the history of the Church each of us is. Coming to this realization, I stand totally humbled by the responsibility that is mine, or, more accurately, ours. It is our job to bring the light into a still dark world. It is our job to bring Christ to each other and ourselves. It is our job to gather and be the Church. Many of us have lost a sense of ownership of the responsibility that is ours. Our responsibility is to be the Church that calls people to prayer. Our responsibility is to offer the liturgy on behalf of the world. Our responsibility is to give flesh to the Word of God and express God s mercy and love to and for his people. For this we were called out of the world to be the Church. For this we were called out of the world to express the Kingdom that is both among us and to come. It is too easy to neglect our responsibility and let others gather and lead. Many within reading distance of these pages have slacked off in their responsibility to be the Church. Some have elaborate excuses and explanations. Beneath most of these is common human laziness. Fortunately, our God chooses for us to make new starts and to turn ourselves around. It takes only three weeks to get back into the habit of gathering in the Church. Just like it took only three weeks to get out of the habit of gathering. If, like me, you recognize just how short our time is and the seriousness of Christ s commission to each of us to be the Church and do the work of the Church, I urge you to take those first steps and to reclaim your role and part in the history of the Church and the salvation of this world. We are the leaven that the scripture speaks of and we will be judged on our stewardship of our time, talents and resources. Fr. John Abdalah

4 4 The Word

5 The current exhibit at the Heritage Museum at Antiochian Village, East Meets West in Ligonier, was created in honor of Ligonier 250, a regional celebration of 250 years of local history since the battle fought in 1758 at nearby Fort Ligonier during the French & Indian War. 1. Mid-1700s: Scotch-Irish emigrants come to the U.S. from Ulster, Ireland, seeking the Pennsylvania frontier s: Scotch-Irish Presbyterian church communities are established in the Ligonier Valley, Pennsylvania (including Fairfield, on what is now Antiochian Village property) : American Presbyterian missionaries set up a mission in Syria (then part of the Turkish Ottoman Empire), based in Beirut. 4. Mid-1800s: American missionaries in Syria make education a priority, and begin the project of translating the Bible into Arabic : Syrian/Lebanese Christians from missionary locataions are among those chosen to accompany the exhibits of the Turkish Ottoman Empire to the U.S. Centennial in Philadelphia. 6. Late 1800s/early 1900s: Syrian/Lebanese Christians begin to emigrate to the U.S., many settling in New York City and in towns along the railroad into Pennsylvania and beyond s: Antiochian Orthodox Christian Churches are established in Johnstown (1904) and Pittsburgh (1908), Pennsylvania; the Church arrives in the Ligonier Valley in 1978 with the purchase of Camp Fairfield from the Presbyterian Church, establishing what is now Antiochian Village. We welcomed the opportunity to participate in an important local anniversary alongside other cultural institutions of the area, and saw it as an opportunity to draw new visitors to the Museum and to the Antiochian Village Heritage & Learning Center. The challenge was to create an exhibit that would connect to Pennsylvania s early frontier days while still celebrating the Antiochian heritage. At first this seemed like a far reach, but as we began to discover fascinating connections between these two seemingly unrelated subjects, we found that in the words of a visitor to the 1876 U.S. Centennial Exposition the ends of the earth are not so very far apart after all. Exploring the history of the Antiochian Village property, and inspired by conversations with people whose families emigrated to the U.S. from Lebanon, East Meets West reveals fascinating ways in which we Antiochian Orthodox Christians share a connection to the early settlers of this western Pennsylvania land, the Scotch-Irish Presbyterians who first established a church on this property during the 1700s. The story told through the exhibit spans the centuries, and crosses oceans, continents, cultures, and faiths taking a few detours on the way as it explores a series of links between East and West, rich in the heritage and legacies of two emigrant communities that have made the U.S., and Western Pennsylvania, their home. A LOG CHURCH IN PENNSYLVANIA, AND MISSIONARIES IN BEIRUT The first church building on what is now the Antiochian Village property was a rough log structure built in the early 1800s by the Scotch-Irish Presbyterian community that had begun settling in the area during the mid-1700s. By the time the little log church was replaced by a brick structure in 1849, the American Presbyterian church had begun sending missionaries overseas, establishing a mission in Syria/Lebanon known as the Syrian Mission with headquarters in Beirut. In a unique way, the American Presbyterian Syrian Mission brought about a historically significant meeting of East (Orthodox Christians of Syria/Lebanon) and West (Protestant Christians from America). FIRST SCHOOL FOR GIRLS IN THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE After teaching for a few years among the Mohegan Indians in Connecticut, a young American by the name of Sarah Huntington became interested in foreign missionary work. She got a firsthand introduction to it when she met Rev. Eli Smith, a Presbyterian missionary to Syria, who was home for a year-long furlough in the U.S. They married, and soon boarded a ship across the Atlantic Engraved portrait of Sarah Smith Stone marker in Beirut marking location of first School for Girls in Ottoman Empire The Word 5

6 Beirut Church and Girls School, The American missionaries printing press was located next to their School for Girls in Beirut: In the extreme left of the picture a portion of the [American] Press building is seen. Current students at the Lebanese American University. bound for Beirut. After a grueling four-month journey from Boston, they arrived together in Beirut in January of Within a year of her arrival in Beirut, Sarah Smith had established the first school for girls in the Turkish Ottoman Empire. Until this time in the Ottoman Empire (which then ruled over Syria/Lebanon), a family s only option for educating their daughters was a private tutor, making education for girls accessible only to the wealthiest families. When Smith started her School for Girls in Beirut in 1834, it was groundbreaking in its impact on the local community and became part of a legacy of educational institutions established by Protestant missionaries, many of which still exist today. Sarah Smith struggled with ill health and died within a few years of her arrival in Beirut, at the age of 34. But her legacy lived on, her school evolving into the first Women s College in the Middle East (in 1924), and eventually becoming one of Lebanon s foremost universities, the Lebanese American University (LAU). In fact, two of Beirut s most distinguished universities LAU and the American University of Beirut were started by American Presbyterian missionaries. ARABIC BIBLE TRANSLATION PROJECT When the missionaries arrived in Beirut, they found existing Bibles in Arabic to be inadequate. Some were based on a Roman Catholic translation from the 1500s which did not contain the entire New Testament, and used out-of-date or inaccurate Arabic language. While Sarah Smith used her teaching talents to start her School for Girls, Rev. Eli Smith dedicated himself to the project of translating the Bible into modern Arabic, with the goal of printing the complete Old and New Testaments in Arabic, using a printing press which he had brought to Beirut. Throughout the translation process, Smith was aided by the Syrian scholar Butrus al- Bustani, who used his linguistic gifts in Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek, and perfected his Syriac and Latin, for the task. After Rev. Smith died in 1857, the translation work continued under the leadership of Dr. Cornelius Van Dyck, who had known al-bustani from the Abeih Seminary, where they had both taught. The Arabic New Testament was finished in 1860 and the Old Testament translation, which took another five years, was finally printed in This remains the standard Arabic Bible in use today and is often referred to as the Bustani-Van Dyck translation. But for the American missionaries, the Word of God had well-nigh perished out of the [Arabic] language; but now, through the labors of Dr. Eli Smith and Dr. Van Dyck, they have given us a translation so pure, so exact, so clear, and so classical, as to be acceptable to all classes and all sects, said Priest Ghubreen Jebara, a learned Greek ecclesiastic in Beirut in The Word

7 THE AWAKENING During this time, Arabic-speaking Christians, who were a large minority in the predominantly Muslim Turkish Ottoman Empire, were experiencing a literary renaissance known as al-nahdah or the awakening. (Though Arab Muslims were also affected by this renaissance, its greatest impact was on members of the Christian communities.) It has been noted that two major catalysts for this awakening were foreign Christian missionary activity bringing new schools and new ideas and the arrival of the Arabic printing press in Beirut, which not only published the Bible in Arabic, but also printed new editions of classical Arabic texts and inspired the development of a lively journalistic tradition. FATHER OF THE ARABIC RENAISSANCE The brilliant and scholarly Butrus al- Bustani ( Butrus means Peter in Arabic) was born into a Maronite Christian family in Syria. He was impressed by the American missionaries interest in a revival of Arabic literature and their commitment to educating the local population. Al-Bustani worked with the missionaries as a teacher in their schools, as their private tutor in Arabic, and as translator and collaborator in their publications. A group of cultural intermediaries was developing [in Beirut]. They were not only explaining their own language and society to foreigners; as teachers and journalists, they were beginning to explain the new world of Europe and America to the growing number of those who could read Arabic. Of this group of intermediaries, Butrus al-bustani was both an example and a leader, observed Albert Habib Hourani. Known as the Father of the Arabic Renaissance, al-bustani became a leader in the lively intellectual atmosphere among the growing numbers of educated Arabic-speaking people in Beirut. He encouraged receptiveness to the scientific discoveries made in Europe, valued the acquisition of modern knowledge, and created the first modern Arabic encyclopedia, Muhit al-muhit (Ocean of Oceans). AN INVITATION TO AMERICA In 1876, there arose a unique opportunity for Christians in the villages of Lebanon, an opportunity that was connected to the presence of American missionaries who had first arrived in Beirut fifty years earlier. During 1876, the United States of America would celebrate its centennial 100 years since the signing of the Declaration of Independence and a huge party was planned, a World s Fair of sorts. Many nations were invited to participate in the U.S. Centennial Exhibition, including the Turkish Ottoman Empire. The American ambassador to the Turkish Ottoman Empire at the time was George Henry Boker, a prominent Philadelphian. One of his duties was to see that the Ottoman Empire participated in the 1876 centennial event. Boker was also friendly with American Presbyterian missionary Henry Jessup, who at that time had been in Syria for almost 20 years. (Their fathers were very active in the Republican Party and close to Abraham Lincoln.) When it came time to man the booths of the Ottoman Empire at the U.S. Centennial, among those chosen for the job were Arabic-speaking Christians from the Koura region, where Jessup had a missionary post. So it happened that a number of Syrian/Lebanese people were first introduced to the U.S., arriving on U.S. soil in For six months they supervised the Turkish exhibits in the Main Hall, worked in the Turkish Pavilion and Café, and sold olive-wood artifacts from the Holy Land at the Bethlehem and Palestine booth. B/W Bustani portrait The Word 7

8 Portrait of Kalil Salloum in his 90s in Philadelphia THE CENTENNIAL EFFECT Impressed by their time at the U.S. Centennial, many of these Syrian/Lebanese people returned home with an enthusiasm for the economic possibilities and educational opportunities that the United States offered. One of these was Kalil Salloum, who was among the first to arrive in the U.S. to work at the Centennial Exhibition. Afterwards, Mr. Salloum an agent with the Londonbased travel agency Thomas Cook & Son traveled between the U.S. and his homeland, making arrangements for interested people to visit and/or relocate to the United States. In 1900, Mr. Salloum brought his family to Philadelphia, with the purpose of enrolling his oldest son and daughter in school. His daughter, Mary, enrolled in medical school at the Women s Medical College of Pennsylvania in She then transferred to Temple University Medical School, where she and her brother, Abdullah, were both members of the first graduating class in They both remained in the U.S. as practicing medical doctors. (Salloum s granddaughter, Aileen Salloum Freeman, was a valuable resource for this section of the East Meets West exhibit. Her recently published book, Jessup, explores the zeal of the 19th-century American foreign missionary especially that of two brothers, the Rev. Henry Jessup and the Rev. Samuel Jessup, who were leaders in the Syrian Mission and takes a look at some of the men and women who intermingled business and politics with religion, with some surprising results. Jessup is available through the Antiochian Village Bookstore, with proceeds kindly donated to the Village by the author.) THE ANTIOCHIAN ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN CHURCH ARRIVES IN PENNSYLVANIA The U.S. Centennial, and later Chicago s Colombian Exposition of 1893, opened the eyes of the world to the potential of the young United States of America. Like other immigrants of that era, people from Syria/Lebanon began to settle in communities throughout the U.S., many bringing with them their Orthodox Christian faith and an entrepreneurial spirit. Many chose to settle in New York City and cities westward along the railroad, such as Johnstown and Pittsburgh, where they could successfully start small businesses. As their communities grew, their churches were established. In Pennsylvania, St. Mary Antiochian Orthodox Church was established in Johnstown in Pittsburgh s St. George Antiochian Orthodox Cathedral, established in 1908, celebrates its 100th anniversary this year. COMING FULL CIRCLE Thirty years ago, the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Church found a home in the Ligonier Valley. Before the establishment of Antiochian Village, Metropolitan PHILIP had envisioned a place where members of his Antiochian Orthodox Christian Church could seek spiritual retreat, surrounded by the beauty of God s creation. His vision became a reality in 1978, with the purchase of Camp Fairfield from the Presbyterian Church. The mountains of Ligonier Valley created an ideal setting for Antiochian Village. In the words of Metropolitan PHILIP, addressing the Archdiocesan General Assembly in Houston in 1978 (as published in the September 1978 issue of The WORD magazine): There is something mysterious about a mountain which is difficult to describe. In the Old Testament, Moses received the commandments on a mountain; Elias the Prophet witnessed to the Living God on a mountain. In the New Testament, our Lord preached the most beautiful sermon ever preached on a mountain. And when He wanted to reveal his glory to His disciples, He was transfigured on a mountain. On Ascension Day, He ascended into heaven with our human nature from a mountain. Thus, my friends, when you become 8 The Word

9 weary, depressed, tired of life, empty, laden with heavy burdens, when you lose direction in life and communion with God, go to the mountain, to the Antiochian Village, and you will find rest. MUSEUM HOURS East Meets West will be on view through February Museum hours are 10:00 4:30, Monday through Friday, with weekend hours available May 1 through October 31 and by appointment during the rest of the year. To arrange a group tour to the Village which may include a Museum tour, lunch in our dining room, and a Chapel & Icon tour please call Joyce at PA, as well as selections from the museum s own icon collection, artifacts of inlaid wood and brass, and a permanent display honoring St. Raphael, Bishop of Brooklyn. LOANS AND DONATIONS TO THE HERITAGE MUSEUM Items related to the Antiochian heritage of artistic, cultural, historic or religious significance may be loaned or donated to the Museum for future exhibits. All contributions are tax-deductible. It is through such generosity that the museum is able to celebrate the unique Antiochian heritage, present it to our visitors, and preserve this rich heritage for generations to come. UPCOMING EXHIBIT Opening in Spring of 2009 will be a unique exhibit of Syrian traditional dresses that have never been shown in the United States. These are colorful, hand-embroidered dresses from the late 19th and early 20th centuries, on loan from the collection of Farah and Hanan Munayyer. The exhibit will also feature a series of Russian miniature icons hand-painted on wooden eggs, on loan from Michael G. Farrow, Ph.D., of Altoona, The Word 9

10 Our Pilgrimage to Russia: A Journey to Remember

11 The Group with Their Graces, Bishops NIPHON and MARK and V. Rev. Thomas Zain After more than a year of planning, the evening of August 18, 2008 finally arrived and a group of 18 faithful, led by His Grace, Bishop MARK of Toledo and Archpriest Thomas Zain, gathered at New York s JFK airport to board an Aeroflot flight headed for Russia. Everyone arrived on time and we departed, anxiously awaiting our arrival in Moscow the next day. After a long overnight flight, we landed at Moscow s Sheremetyevo Airport, cleared customs, and transferred to the domestic terminal for our next flight to St. Petersburg. There we would spend the next eight nights. It was there that we met the Ajalat family of four from Los Angeles (Mr. Charles Ajalat is one of our two Archdiocesan Chancellors) who joined us for the St. Petersburg part of our trip. We arrived safely in St. Petersburg at 7:00 p.m. on August 19th and were met by our guide, Anna, whom we would come to know and love by the end of our time in St. Petersburg. We were also greeted by a friend of Fr. Thomas, Roman, whom he knew since the time he studied in Russia back in Our first stop before arriving at our hotel was to change money so we would be ready for a week of shopping. This proved to be our first Russian adventure. Roman found a place with a very good exchange rate, open 24 hours, but it was closed! We then headed to another place on a very narrow street, only to get stuck in our big bus because a car was blocking the way not a very good start. Thanks be to God, and Anna s husband who has a friend in the Federal Security Service (former KGB), we got the car moved very quickly while everyone was exchanging money. Then, we were off to our hotel. We arrived at the Comfort Hotel in St. Petersburg, and everyone was ready for a good night s sleep. August 20: Catherine s Palace and Pavlovsk Palace Our first day of touring was a trip outside St. Petersburg to the summer palaces of Catherine and her son Paul in the town of Pushkin or Tsarkoye Selo. Catherine s Palace is the home of the famous Amber room that was recreated in the 1990s after being stolen by the Nazis in WWII. In fact, the entire palace was destroyed by the Nazis and was rebuilt and restored after WWII. After a wonderful lunch in a traditional Russian restaurant, we toured Pavlovsk Palace in the same area. You can see some pictures below. We were also thankful to welcome for the day our parishioner Photo opposite: St. Basil s Cathedral (Cathedral of the Holy Protection of the Theotokos) in Moscow The Word 11

12 Photo right: Bishop MARK outside the Resurrection Skete at the Valaam Monastery Nick Roberts who was in Russia on business and our former parishioner Oleg who is now living in St. Petersburg. August 21: City Tour This day was spent touring St. Petersburg by bus; first stop, the Smolny Convent, built by the Empress Elizabeth as a place for her to retire. It was never finished and never used as a monastery or a church, however; today it is used as a concert hall and the other buildings are used for offices. Our second stop was the St. Alexander Nevsky Lavra or Monastery. This is the main monastery in St. Petersburg, named after the patron of the city, St. Alexander Nevsky (of the Neva River). At the monastery we had a chance to pray during a morning liturgy for a while and tour the grounds that include a famous cemetery where the likes of Dostoyevsky and Tchaikovsky are buried. Next it was on to the Yusupov Palace, one of the many homes of the wealthy Yusupov family before the 1917 revolution and the site where the mystic Rasputin was murdered. This proved to be a beautiful and intriguing stop at the same time. They actually have recreated the scene in the room where he dined and was stabbed. After a wonderful lunch in a local Georgian restaurant, we spent our afternoon at Sts. Peter and Paul fortress, the place where the city began. Inside the fortress is the Sts. Peter and Paul Cathedral where all the emperors from the time of Peter the Great are buried. Most recently, Saint Czar Nicholas II and his family were buried there. Our next stop of the day was the Resurrection Church or Church on the Spilt Blood, the sight were the beloved Alexander II was killed by an assassin s bullet in Unlike the Western-looking churches of St. Petersburg, this grand church was built to resemble St. Basil s Cathedral in Moscow and the iconography is much more traditional. There are more than 7,500 square meters of mosaics inside and outside the church. In one of the cupolas you can see a mosaic icon of Christ as a child. Stalin, Khrushchev and Brezhnev all signed orders for this magnificent church to be blown up; because of its proximity to the State Russian Museum, however, the orders were never carried out thanks be to God! The last stop of this long day was the gigantic St. Isaac s Cathedral, built between 1818 and 1858, not far from our hotel. When filled to capacity this Cathedral holds 14,000 people. It is named after St. Isaac of Dalmatia. This cathedral was used as an anti-religion museum during the Soviet years. One evening, a few of us climbed the stairs to the colonnade for a beautiful view of the city from the four sides of the cathedral. August 22: Peterhof Today we headed to the summer palace of Peter the Great. On the way, we stopped at St. Nicholas Cathedral in St. Petersburg. This Cathedral, dedicated to the city s sailors, was the only church that was never closed even for one Sunday during the Soviet period. We also stopped at the Church of Sts. Peter and Paul in the town of Peterhof. This beautiful Byzantine church with magnificent icons lies on the edge of the Peterhof gardens and palace. The rest of the day was spent at Peterhof, the summer palace built by Peter the Great in the early 1700s and added to in subsequent centuries. We toured Catherine s Block, a smaller palace on the grounds, and then had time to stroll around the many fountains, including some trick fountains that Peter the Great installed to amuse his guests during parties. Some of us got wet! We also had a delicious lunch in a beautiful restaurant on the grounds of the palace. 12 The Word

13 Middle photo: St. Nicholas Skete on Valaam Photo right: The Group at the Monument of the Millennium of Holy Rus in Novgorod August 23: Valaam Monastery We left early Saturday morning for our fourhour boat ride to the middle of Lake Ladoga and the Valaam Monastery. This beautiful spiritual haven in the middle of nowhere is a group of small islands where monks live, some on the main island and others on smaller islands in small groups or sketes where they stay for months at a time. Bishop Pankrati, the head of the monastery, greeted us at the dock. We then toured the main grounds and the Church of the Transfiguration. After some shopping in the church store, it was off to the St. Nicholas Skete and then back to the main monastery for a short concert by the Valaam choir. What a treat! After the singing, we went back to our boat, passing two more beautiful sketes, one of Gethsemane and the other the Resurrection (that resembled the Church of the Resurrection in Jerusalem). After a quick bite to eat, we headed back to St. Petersburg in time to see a beautiful sunset on the city s outskirts. August 24: Free Day Sunday was a free day for people to attend liturgy and shop. We did a variety of things and then all gathered for our evening boat trip on the canals of St. Petersburg. Though a little cool, this proved to be one of the highlights of the trip; everyone got the chance to see many of the same things from a different and interesting perspective as we navigated the many rivers and canals of the city. August 25: Novgorod On our second day-trip, we left early for the ancient capital of Novgorod, a three to four hour journey from St. Petersburg. The group had a chance to see what old Russia and a small Russian town are like today, since most of our time would be spent in St. Petersburg and Moscow, the two largest cities of Russia. In Novgorod we visited the St. George Monastery, an outdoor museum of wooden architecture and the kremlin or fortress of the city. There were two main sights in the Novgorod Kremlin, the monument to the millennium of Russia and the Holy Wisdom Cathedral, the oldest cathedral in the territory of the Russian Federation. August 26: The Hermitage We reserved our last day in St. Petersburg for the world-famous Hermitage Musuem of Art. Located in the Winter Palace, this collection is second only to the Louvre in Paris. In fact, Russians say that we may not be first, but we are definitely not second! To see everything in this museum would take months. Since we only had about four hours, we concentrated on the palace itself and The Word 13

14 The Group at the St. Sergius-Trinity Lavra near Moscow Bishop NIPHON Blessing the Faithful during the procession after the Divine Liturgy Holy Communion at the Dormition Liturgy Butovo: The site of mass murders, including many clergymen and monastics under Stalin Bishop MARK and Fr. Thomas being presented with handwritten icons by Father Peter in St. Petersburg the most famous exhibits, including those of Van Gogh and Raphael and Rembrandt. The rest of the day was free for people to explore St. Petersburg for the last time. Bishop MARK and Fr. Thomas spent the afternoon with Roman, Oleg (our former sacristan) and Fr. Peter, one of the local clergymen. Fr. Peter was a most gracious host as he drove us to several church stores and hosted a lunch at his church on our behalf. He also presented Bishop MARK and Fr. Thomas with beautiful hand-written icons of the Theotokos. May God grant him many years! 14 The Word

15 August 27: Travel to Moscow and Visit to St. Sergius-Trinity Monastery We left the hotel very early for our 9:00 a.m. flight to Moscow. After arriving, we went directly to the town of Sergiev-Posad and the St. Sergius- Trinity Lavra (monastery). This, the spiritual center of the Russian Orthodox Church, is one of the most beautiful monasteries in all of Russia. Founded by St. Sergius of Radonezh, this monastery now boasts hundreds of monks, a theological academy, a clerical school, and a school for church musicians and for religious education. The Dean of the academy, His Grace Bishop EUGENE greeted us and one of the seminarians gave us a special tour of the academy museum. We then toured the monastery and venerated the relics of St. Sergius and of St. Innocent of Alaska. Following our tour of the monastery and a time of prayer, we enjoyed a wonderful lunch in a local restaurant overlooking the monastery. On we went to Moscow and our hotel, the Marriott Royal Aurora, just a short walk from Red Square and the Kremlin. August 28: Feast of the Dormition and Tretyakov Gallery This day is the Feast of the Dormition of the Theotokos on the old calendar (13 days later than August 15). We had the honor of attending the liturgy in the Dormition Cathedral inside the Kremlin. (One needs special permission to attend this liturgy since it is inside the Kremlin itself.) Czars were crowned, and Patriarchs are enthroned here, in the principal cathedral for all of Russia. Bishop MARK and Fr. Thomas were invited to serve by the local Church authorities. His Holiness, ALEXY II, the Patriarch of Moscow and all Russia was to preside at the liturgy, but was not well. One of his Patriarchal Vicars, Archbishop ARSENY, presided in his absence. A highlight of the liturgy actually came afterwards. As the procession stopped at each side of the Cathedral, the Kremlin bells were ringing; one could only think of the many years under Soviet rule that the Church was persecuted and here we were, in the midst of the Kremlin, with bells tolling loudly and the bishops dousing the people with Holy Water as we sang aloud and greeted each other with Spraznikom!, or Happy feast day! After the liturgy, the guides took the group to Red Square to tour St. Basil s Cathedral (Holy Protection Cathedral). In contrast to its outer grandeur, the inside is filled with a maze of different small chapels. After lunch, the group then headed to the Tretyakov Gallery of Russian Art where we saw, among many beautiful paintings by Russian artists, the original Rublev Trinity icon and the original Vladimir Mother of God, one of the icons written by the Apostle and Evangelist Luke according to the Church tradition. August 29: Kremlin Museums It was back to the Kremlin today to visit the Kremlin Cathedrals and museums. We returned to the Dormition Cathedral, this time as tourists, to see this historic place in greater detail. Next we visited the Archangel Cathedral; the Annunciation Cathedral was unfortunately closed for renovations. These three Kremlin Cathedrals (there are other churches on the grounds of the Kremlin) The Word 15

16 represent the circle of life for the Czars. There they were baptized and married in one of them (Annunciation Cathedral), crowned in another (Dormition Cathedral) and buried in another (Archangel Cathedral). The Dormition Cathedral is also where the Patriarchs and Metropolitans of Russia are buried. After Cathedral Square it was on to the State Diamond Fund. This special room holds the crown jewels as well as examples of gold, diamonds and other precious stones found in Russia. Unfortunately, we were not allowed to bring samples home! The highlight of the many museums we visited, the Armoury Museum inside the Kremlin holds many of the country s most precious items, both religious and secular. Ancient icons, crosses, chalices and vestments were on display along with the dresses of Elizabeth and Catherine the Great. We viewed the carriages of the Czars, various thrones, many of the famous Fabergé Eggs, and many gifts to Russia from other countries. So much to see and so little time! August 30: Butovo and Various Monasteries The first site we visited, one that would leave a lasting impression on all of us, was Butovo, called the Russian Golgotha. Butovo, just outside Moscow, was where Stalin had killed more than 20,000 people between August 1937 and October The actual number is likely higher. There were plans for the soviet or local governing committee of each area of the country to murder a certain number of people from all walks of life, including many of the clergy. Butovo was to be the model. Once this site was made known several years ago, it was given to the Russian Orthodox Church and a memorial church was built there, dedicated to all the people who perished. The bottom church with its icons of the martyrs is dedicated to them, and the upstairs church is appropriately dedicated to the Resurrection of Christ. The witness of the many Orthodox faithful who were murdered there because of their faith touched us all deeply. After Butovo, we visited Donskoy Monastery, founded in the 16th century by Boris Godunov in honor of the icon of Our Lady of the Don (river) which delivered Moscow from the repeated attacks of the Crimean Khanates that century. This monastery holds the relics of St. Tikhon, the first Patriarch since the time of Peter the Great. St. Tikhon was also the bishop who consecrated our St. Nicholas Cathedral on Pacific Street in Brooklyn in Not surprisingly, we went there to venerate his holy relics and pay tribute to the one who consecrated our mother cathedral many years earlier. On the grounds of the monastery is a cemetery where the famous author and dissident Alexander Solzhenitsyn was recently buried. We toured the Danielov Monastery next. Built in the 13th century by Prince Daniel of Moscow, the son of St. Alexander Nevsky, this is the oldest monastery in Moscow. It was used as a home for delinquent boys during the Soviet period and the main bathroom was located on the site of the holy altar table! The monastery was returned to the Church in the 1980s in preparation for the 1000th anniversary of the baptism of Rus by St. Vladimir. An active monastery, it is now also the offices of the Patriarch and the Department of External Church Affairs. After St. Daniel Monastery, Archimandrite Zacchaeus, a former classmate of Fr. Thomas and Bishop MARK, welcomed the group to the Representation Church of the OCA (Orthodox Church in America) in Moscow, dedicated to St. Catherine of the Fields, and presented Bishop MARK with an icon of St. Catherine. After a tour of the Church, we were hosted for lunch and then shopped in the church stores that rent space from Fr. Zacchaeus. We were all grateful to Fr. Zacchaues for his hospitality on behalf of the OCA. After lunch we went on to the New Maiden Convent, a monastery founded in 1524 by Vasily III to commemorate the recapture of Smolensk from the Lithuanians ten years earlier. Here, too, Peter the Great put his sister into exile for trying to oust him from power. We were again treated to a beautiful concert of church and folk singing as part of our tour. The monastery and the pond outside provide one of the most scenic photographic opportunities in all of Moscow. In the cemetery next to the monastery many famous writers, artists, politicians and public figures are buried. Our last stop was for photographs, at the Sparrow Hills near Moscow University, as it overlooks all of Moscow. On the way back we passed Victory Park, which is dedicated to the victory 16 The Word

17 over Napoleon and over the Nazis in World War II, and contains churches of various denominations, a mosque and a synagogue. The main and most prominent church on the site is the Orthodox Church dedicated to St. George, the patron of Moscow. August 31: Visit to Bishop NIPHON and Tour of Christ the Savior Cathedral Our Antiochian representative in Moscow, His Grace, Bishop NIPHON welcomed us home this day. Bishop NIPHON has been representing the Patriarchate of Antioch and all the East in Moscow for over 30 years. He is like our ambassador to the Russian Orthodox Church. He lived through the difficult years of the Soviet era and is now enjoying a time in which the Church is free, alive and well. We attended liturgy at his church, the Antiochian Representation Church of the Archangel Gabriel. Bishop MARK was welcomed and vested in the midst of the nave, as is the Slavic custom. Bishop NIPHON and Father Thomas then joined him with the other local clergy and celebrated the Divine Liturgy together. At the end of the liturgy Bishop NIPHON warmly welcomed the group and the Syrian Ambassador, Mr. Hassan Rishe, who was attending the liturgy. After the liturgy we were welcomed to a warm Middle-Eastern lunch by His Grace. Bishop MARK presented Sayidna NIPHON with a wood-carved walking stick and Father Thomas presented Sayidna NIPHON with a monetary gift on behalf of the group. We are all thankful to Bishop NIPHON for helping to arrange many of our activities in Moscow, including the chance to participate in and serve at the Dormition Liturgy. That afternoon we embarked upon what would be another highlight of the trip, our tour of Christ the Savior Cathedral. This grand cathedral, the seat of the Patriarch, was originally built in the 19th century to commemorate the victory over Napoleon. The cathedral sits on the most prominent spot of Moscow and is visible from much of the city. Because of this, Stalin didn t like it. He had this magnificent cathedral blown up when he came to power. He wanted to build the Palace of Soviets there with a large monument to Lenin on top, but with WWII at hand there was no money to continue the project and, later, the largest pool in the world occupied this space. In the 1990s, with the Soviets out of power, Boris Yeltsin, Patriarch ALEXY II and the beloved mayor of Moscow, Yury Luzhkov, decided to rebuild the Cathedral exactly as it had been. Funded mostly by private donations, the rebuilt Cathedral was dedicated in (Metropolitan PHILIP and Fr. Thomas participated in this dedication.) It was consecrated a few years later and now stands as a sign of the resurrection of the Russian Orthodox Church and the faith of the people after more than 70 years of persecution. We had a special tour that included a chance to go to the balcony and see all of Moscow from each of the four sides. A special treat! September 1: Journey Home After a mentally and physically exhausting two weeks, everyone was ready to go home. While a few of us used the morning hours for some lastminute sight-seeing, including finding the High Photo left: Christ the Savior Cathedral in Moscow Photo above: Novodevochi or New Maiden Monastery for Women in Moscow The Word 17

18 Archimandrite Zacchaeus of the OCA Representation Church of St. Catherine in Moscow presenting Bishop MARK with an icon of St. Catherine the Great-Martyr Photo right: Bishop NIPHON, Bishop MARK and Father Thomas at the Antiochian Representation Church of the Archangel Gabriel in Moscow for Liturgy Monastery of St. Peter (which was just down the street from our hotel) and shopping, the rest eagerly waited in the lobby for our trip to the airport at noon for our 3:55pm flight home. Final Thoughts: Everyone had different expectations when we left. In the end, we were left with many conflicting and contrasting images. We were all amazed to see the resurrection of the Church after so many years of persecution under the Soviet authorities. We all witnessed the great faith and spirituality of the Russian people, young and old. One sight that stuck out in my mind was the line of people in the St. Alexander Nevsky Monastery Church, waiting on a weekday to go to confession with their lists of sins and struggles written on pieces of paper. The people ranged from a teenage boy to old women. We saw the glory of the Church in places like Christ the Savior Cathedral and the St. Sergius-Trinity Lavra; we saw the sadness of the persecution of the Church at places like Butovo or in the many stories of churches, now functioning, that had been used for various irreverent purposes. We witnessed the glory of the palaces of the Czars and Emperors, but the sadness of their destruction at the hands of the Nazis during WWII. We witnessed the luxury of the aristocracy in places like Yusuppov Palace, and saw many images of the serfs in the art of the museums. It was the trip of a lifetime and one that will not soon be forgotten. Russia is alive and well! After years of persecution the Church is at the forefront of the new Russia. The Russian people will now face many of the same temptations as we do in the West most notably the excesses of materialism. How the people of God in Russia deal with this temptation will be a story to be written in the future. We pray that what Communism and the Soviet era couldn t do, that is, extinguish the faith, will not be done by the excesses of a free society and materialism, as we have seen in much of Western Europe and to a lesser extent in our own country. Fr. Thomas Zain 18 The Word

19 Christmas Appeal Children s Relief Fund Very Rev. George M. Rados National Director December 2008 There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore I command you to be openhanded toward your brothers and toward the poor and needy Deut. 15:11 Dearly Beloved: On behalf of the sponsored children of the Children s Relief Fund, I greet you once again in our Lord s name and pray that He continues to sustain you and your loved ones in His grace and peace. Be assured that you receive this letter with the children s gratitude and appreciation for the love and concern you have shown them. As we approach in our lifetime another celebration of the Lord s Nativity, let us rededicate the gift of our own humanity to the humane endeavors for which our Lord came into this world. His coming is our restoration to salvation, which ultimately manifests itself in our philanthropy. To feed, to clothe, to visit, and most of all, to love and have compassion on the needy is, indeed, to incarnate our Orthodox faith. The enclosed brochure explains the dimensions of the Children s Relief Fund and presents two opportunities for giving. One is to sponsor an individual child for $300 annually. The other is simply to make a donation to the general fund. For those of you who are already participating in our program, we thank you most profoundly, and we encourage all the faithful in this Archdiocese to support our causes. May you have a blessed Christmas and a prosperous New Year. As always, I remain, Yours in Christ, Father George Rados River Road, Potomac, MD (301) Fax (301) PO Box Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America The Word 19

20 Children s Relief Fund Antiochian Orthodox Charities A central component of our Christian Charities, the Children s Relief Fund (CRF) is a humanitarian project designed to help children in need. We initiated a sponsorship program as a pilot project in response to pressing appeals from Lebanon in the wake of its disastrous invasion in It soon caught on as a solid outreach program, serving hundreds of school-age children each year in the Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch. Purpose The basic purpose of the Children s Relief program is to provide scholarship funds for the children in Lebanon. Its headquarters are in Potomac, Maryland, and it is administered by the Very Reverend George M. Rados, National Director of the Antiochian Orthodox Charities. In Lebanon, social workers of the Antiochian Orthodox Patriarchate are in charge of seeking out and recommending needy families. Sponsorship Since its inception, CRF has distributed more than two million dollars in scholarships to needy schoolage children in Lebanon. It has supported more than 2,500 students and, in 2007, the CRF sponsored 300 children. Lebanon was badly shaken by the devastating 34- day war between Israel and Hezbollah in July, The damage to infrastructure has set back Lebanon economically and physically for years. As a direct result of the attacks nearly 1,200 people died, of whom nearly one-third were children. About a quarter of Lebanon s population was displaced during the war and about 500,000 people saw their houses destroyed or damaged. The present situation in Lebanon is even more severe than it was during the war years. The declining economy, unemployment and the rising costs of education make the need for our financial support as great as ever. Sponsorships are solicited from individuals and organizations. They contribute $300 a year for an individual child (the same amount as in 1983). Sponsorship does not begin until the initial $300 is paid. A child is then assigned to the sponsor for one year, and sponsorship is renewed upon receipt of a check each following year. Each sponsor receives the child s biography, family status and a photograph. We encourage sponsors to involve themselves personally through correspondence with the child and the child s family. All specified contributions and letters reach their destination in toto, and are personally delivered to each child by the social worker. At the time of delivery, a responsible individual within the family of each sponsored child signs a receipt. In addition, a personal thank-you note written by the child or the parent and a recent photo is given to the social worker for transmission to the sponsor. You have this wonderful opportunity to see for yourself just how much you re changing your child s life for the better, forever, and for so little. 20 The Word

21 Testimonials In their own words, students talk about the Children s Relief Fund: Words cannot express how much I appreciate your generous contribution towards my education. I ll never be able to express my feelings for your kindness and generosity You are the person who feels with others, cares for others and help others. With all my heart, I thank you for your help. I would like to express my debt of gratitude to all of you for helping my son in paying his tuition fees. Thank you for your kindness and generosity. I appreciate your support in this critical period in Lebanon. I thank you, with all my heart, for your great care, your kindness and generosity. I pray God to keep you in good health. I wish you all happiness. No words can express how much my family and I are grateful to you. May the Lord provide you and your family with love, peace, health and luck. We thank God that there are people like you who believe in helping others. God bless you. I highly appreciate your financial aid to my daughter. In fact, without your help, my daughter would not be able to proceed with her studies. Your sponsorship and donation of $300 made me work harder to achieve my goals. Thank you. ENCLOSED is my charitable gift of $ to sponsor a child ($300.00/year). is a donation of $. We cannot sponsor a child at this time, but would like to contribute to the general reserve. All contributions are tax deductible. Please make your check payable to Children s Relief Fund c/o The Very Rev. George M. Rados P. O. Box Potomac, MD Thank you Donor Name(s) Address The Word 21

22 Publications Department Self-Ruled Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America 358 Mountain Road / P.O. Box 5238, Englewood, NJ Phone: / Fax: The Orthodox Study Bible THE OLD TESTAMENT AND THE NEW TESTAMENT AN EXCELLENT CHRISTMAS GIFT IDEA! Features Include: Old Testament based on the Greek Septuagint: Full Old Testament Canon New Testament is New King James Version Commentaries drawn from the Early Church Fathers Easy-to-Locate Daily Liturgical Readings Introductions and Outlines to each Book Subject Index Full-color Icons Full-color Maps Available in Hardbound or Leather-bound Editions Quantity HARDBOUND $ Shipping & Handling LEATHERBOUND $ Shipping & Handling ORDER FORM For single orders, please add to your total $5.00 for Shipping & Handling within the U.S., or $10.95 to Canada. For orders of two (2) or more books, please add 12% to the total for Shipping & Handling within the U.S., or 20% to Canada. I have enclosed U.S. $ which include the Shipping and Handling. Please send to: NAME: ADDRESS:

23 archdiocese office ELEVATED BETHONEY, Priest Robert James, attached to St. George Church in El Paso, TX, to the rank and dignity of Archpriest, by Bishop BASIL on August 31, 2008, at St. George Church in El Paso, TX. ORDAINED MATAR, Priest Paul, by Bishop ANTOUN, on May 4, 2008, and assigned to the assistant pastorate at St. George Church of Washington, DC. DECEASED DIB, Dn. Issa, from St. Nicholas Church, San Francisco, CA on September 23, LYNCH, Archpriest Charles David, retired, of Crystal Lke, IL, on June 28, He is survived by his Khouria Martha Lynch. WYPER, Khouria April, of Clairton, PA, on September 29, She is survived by her husband Fr. Douglas Wyper. DONATIONS TO THE WORD FOR AUGUST AND SEPTEMBER Faith A. Moussa $20.00 Kathy Wooster $20.00 David C. Saliba $ December 14 Is Choir Sunday! On the second Sunday in December, we pause to honor our church musicians for their hard work in our churches. Not only do our choirs and chanters dedicate many hours of their time in the Divine Services, they also must study the order of service, music theory, vocal technique, and conducting! Our chanters and choirs help lift us up and give us a taste of what the choirs of angels sound like in Heaven. So, on December 14th, show your church musicians how much you appreciate them! From The Department of Sacred Music The following is a list of music publications available for purchase from the Archdiocese Bookstore. (These may be viewed by going to and clicking on Book List and Order Form ). Byzantine Projects (by Basil Kazan) 1: Vespers 2: Matins (Orthros) 3: Holy Week (2 volumes, Palm Sunday evening to Holy Saturday) 4: Pentecostarion (3 volumes, from Pascha to All Saints Sunday) 5: Triodion (2 volumes, from Pharisee & Publican Sunday to Palm Sunday) The Divine Liturgy for Clergy & Laity (a congregational music book, like those used at the Antiochian Village) Three Divine Liturgies (by Prof. Michael Hilko; one is in English, while two are in Arabic with English phonetics) Hymns of Praise: Troparia & Kontakia (by Fr. James C. Meena) Hymns from the Festal Menaion (by Frederick Karam & Ray George; for various feast days) Orthodox Hymns in English (by Prof. Michael Gelsinger) Great Friday Service of Lamentations (compiled by Ray George; traditional music for the Lamentations on Holy Friday evening, which is Orthros of Holy Saturday) The Resurrection Service (compiled by Ray George; for the Rush Service, Matins & Liturgy) Ninth Hour, Typika, and the Divine Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts (for each Wednesday during Great Lent) All music in a digital format for the Divine Liturgy, Conventions, Feast Days, Sacraments (Baptism, Wedding, Holy Unction & Ordination), Memorial & Funeral Services, and so forth, may be found at (click on Music Downloads ). West Coast Sacred Music Institute Conducted by the Department of Sacred Music Theme: Baptism, Wedding, Funeral Music Orthodox Outreach A conference devoted to exploring the depths of music outreach made through those worship services most popular in the general community. January 22 25, 2009 La Casa de Maria 800 El Bosque Road, Santa Barbara, CA Los Angeles International (LAX) is the nearest major airport, 90 miles south of Santa Barbara. Registration, room (single occupancy) and board $495 Registration, room (double occupancy) and board $350 Registration, room (triple occupancy) and board $310 For registration form and agenda, visit music/, or contact the Conference Coordinator, Mary Faith Woods, at (831) or sspeternpaul@yahoo.com. Conference Chairman, Fr. John Finley, (805) The Word 23

24 Marriage: Society s View vs. Reality Jesus answered, Have you not read that he who made them from the beginning made them male and female, and said, For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh? So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man put asunder (Mt. 19:4 6). Today, a marriage has a 50/50 chance of surviving intact. Many think it s unnecessary: Why do I need a piece of paper to prove I love this person? is a common question. In many instances the old rhyme, first comes love, then comes marriage, then comes junior in a baby carriage, has been shuffled around: First comes love (lust), then comes junior in the baby carriage, then comes marriage... maybe. As much as anything else, this confused behavior comes from a complete misunderstanding of marriage. The first and gravest mistake is to view marriage as a contract, and a wedding as a ceremonial blessing on the contract. Marriage is not a contractual relationship, it is a living union, encompassing everything (mental, physical, emotional and spiritual). Look to Scripture and see the word used to describe this union: Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and cleave to his wife and the two shall become one flesh (Gen. 2:24; Mt. 19:5; Eph. 5:31). It doesn t say agree to live with, sign a pre-nup with, vow to stay with until death, or any such thing but cleave. The force implied in that word shows the power of the union. The late Princess Diana once complained that there were three people in her marriage. There are actually supposed to be three; she just had the wrong third person. Through Baptism, we put on Christ; Christ lives in us through the grace of that Sacrament. Through the Holy Mystery of Matrimony, that one flesh alluded to earlier is baptized into Christ. Christ is the necessary third person in every marriage. Divorce, then, is a woeful and tragic thing those who divorce are ending a relationship in which Christ is a direct participant. The contemporary wedding ceremony often demonstrates the misunderstanding of marriage, in some instances becoming a faint caricature of itself. The wedding becomes a mode of selfexpression and/or a showcase of Hallmark sentiments. It becomes centered on shows of wealth, personal idiosyncrasy (performed underwater, at a racetrack, in free fall, by Elvis, and so forth). There can be an attempt to define love based on personal opinion, in self-composed vows that can wax poetical, philosophical, or even slightly pornographic. In all these things there is the predisposition to compete: we have to do bigger, wilder, and better, than others; we want people to remember our wedding. It all comes down to individualism and egocentricity, as though this couple is the one that gets love and marriage right. In fact, it is individualism that kills most marriages. Each comes to the other with what he or she wants to get out of the marriage, as though it were a sweepstakes, instead of coming into the marriage thinking of what he or she can contribute to the marriage. Marriage is the creation of a community and must be approached that way. Just as the three persons of the Trinity are unique persons, yet bound by their divine nature, so also in marriage the husband and wife are distinct persons, bound by their love for each other, which is infused with the divine love of Christ. One can view this another way: just as Christ 24 The Word

25 has two natures, which are not fused, combined, mixed, or anything of the sort, but distinct from each other, that work in perfect harmony within the one person of Christ, so the two spouses are distinct, yet called on to act in perfect harmony as one flesh. The Church, on the other hand, uses the same ceremony no matter who the people are, because they are being united by the one true God. It is his view of love and marriage that counts, because it s the only one that s right. We do not get to define love Christ has defined it for all time, and has handed it down through his Church and through its Sacraments. Christ said, Greater love hath no man, than to lay down his life for his friends (Jn. 15:13). The Church declares the nature of love in the ceremony, most centrally through the reading from the Epistle to the Ephesians. In it St. Paul states that a wife is to honor (obey) her husband as the Church does Christ. Most men, and some religious groups, stop listening there. And even St. Paul s exhortation here has been warped. The Church does not follow Christ out of servile submission, or as though it were his property. Christ actually condemns the demand for that sort of obedience, when he tells the Twelve that such is the manner of authority exercised by the Gentiles, and he prohibits them from following it, saying that whoever wants to lead must serve those he would lead (Mk. 10:42 43). Thus the Church follows Christ as one would follow one s champion, one s defender. The Church follows, honors, and obeys Christ on account of the next exhortation: Husbands, love your wives as Christ loved the Church. How did Christ love the Church? He served it (healed, resurrected, taught) and then died for it, all without being asked, and when He had the choice not to. That is the example of love Christ has given us. The Church follows Christ because Christ put the Church s needs first and his own last. It is not about power and authority, it is about service (Mt. 20:25 28). The husband is not to control his wife, but put her front and center, and himself in the background. When one freely gives of oneself, it is natural that others will follow; this is the definition of love. St. Joseph the Betrothed is a shining example of this. A simple man is thrust into the most unique situation imaginable and he places the safety of his betrothed and her child (who isn t his) before his own interests, putting aside all doubts, and probably advice from numerous friends and relations as well. The present generation is not wholly to blame for the sad state of marriage; in part it is reacting to generations of distortions in the understanding of marriage. Paul s injunction to women, that they should honor or obey their husbands, has been distorted by some to mean that the woman is the husband s property (chattel), which in turn has made some women hostile to these elements of marriage. St. Paul, however, refutes this distortion when he says that the wife s body does not belong to her, but to her husband and keep reading that the husband s body does not belong to him, but to his wife (1 Cor. 7:3 4). If anything, each is the other s chattel. The distortion of Paul s injunction has caused some horrendous social consequences, including the deplorable common-law rule that a husband cannot be charged with raping his wife (and some states, God forbid, still have this law on their books). St. Paul would take offense at this, for he said that a husband who abuses his wife abuses himself. So if a husband commits such a violent crime on his wife, he is committing it on himself (Eph. 5:28 30). Objectively, if one were prepared to give of oneself for the other, such a heinous act of pure self-centeredness wouldn t cross one s mind. The Word 25

26 There are other distortions that have wormed their way into the western understanding of marriage, based largely on this contractual view. One of these is the view that conjugal relations (even a set number per month) and children were essential elements that somehow made the marriage valid. Children are not essential to marriage; Sarai, Elizabeth, and Anna were all shunned because they did not have children, but they were truly married. They were righteous people and loved their spouses before they had children. In fact, the miraculous conceptions of their children were granted for those very reasons. Childbearing is a purpose for marriage, but not the purpose. When God created Eve, He did not say specifically, Let us create for Adam a co-procreator, a mother for his children. Being co-procreators is part of our purpose, but not our raison d etre. He said they should create for him a helpmate, a companion with whom to share his life, and whose life he would share. The creation of two genders is not, according to the Holy Fathers, rooted specifically in procreation. The Holy Fathers are in fact unanimous in their teaching, that God s command to be fruitful... (Gen. 1:28) dealt with our dominion over the earth, not procreation, and is properly understood in terms of our intended role as prophet, priest, and king. We are, then, to be fruitful and multiply (in gifts of the Spirit), fill the earth (with the Word of God) and subdue it (to his Will). The dual genders are an external sign of the inter-dependence God intended in his preeminent creation. As husbands and wives are to be the companion and helpmate of the other, it stands to reason that they should complement each other. The strengths of one spouse complement those of the other, and often fulfill what is lacking in the other. This intrinsic arrangement can extend even to physically complementing each other. Yet the companionship came first; the Bible clearly states that Adam did not have conjugal relations with (know) Eve until after they were expelled from Paradise. In his mercy, God left us with a remnant of our partnership in his creation through procreation. Through the Sacred Mystery of Matrimony, the couple became intangibly one flesh ; this is given tangible and physical expression in their child. The three Persons of the Trinity have been together for all eternity; as a manifestation of their love, they created... everything. In the same way, the couples love, manifested in the conjugal act, produces a child. This is no contractual mandate, but the natural result of the couples affection, just as good works are the natural result of faith. Just as we are the enduring physical expression of the love shared by the Trinity, so children are (or are intended as) the enduring physical manifestation of the couple s love. Seeing one s children s children is more a prayer that one should see the flowering of the couple s (Christian, not worldly) love through many generations, than a prayer for long life per se. As this is a divine grace, given through marriage and intended only for it, it is not to be tampered with in any way. In sum, God created them, man and woman, to work in harmony and complete the other, as each member of the Trinity works in harmony with the others, and by his mercy to add to his creation as we await his Second Coming. All of this is embodied in the concluding rites of the Wedding Service. The couple is crowned with matching crowns. Be they western-style crowns in the Slavic tradition, or floral crowns in the Greek tradition, they symbolize the same things: they are royal crowns, as the couple becomes king and queen of their own little corner of creation, to rule over their family. They are also martyrs crowns, symbolizing that they must sacrifice their lives for each other and for Christ. They drink from a common cup. Christ said that each of the disciples would drink from the cup He drank from, that they would share his sufferings and his glory. Likewise the couple is to share each other s sufferings and triumphs. They then walk around the table on which the Gospel rests, the circular walk symbolizing eternity ( Till death do you part is not part of the Orthodox Tradition), three times, symbolizing the divine nature of their bond. This is the true understanding of marriage: not a contract that can be broken when one party finds a better deal, but an all-encompassing union binding two people together with Christ as the mortar. These two people are to give of themselves, without keeping score, for the sake of the other, and so manifest God s love to all and to each other. 26 The Word

27 Find joy with the wife you married in your youth.... Let hers be the company you keep... hers the love that ever holds you captive (Prov. 5:18 19). Marriage is honorable among all, and the bed undefiled (Heb. 13:4). Priest. May the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, the all-holy, consubstantial and lifegiving Trinity, one Godhead and one kingdom, bless you and grant to you length of days, fair children, prosperity of life and faith, and fill you with abundance of all earthly good things, and make you worthy to obtain the blessings of the promise: through the prayers of the holy Theotokos, and of all the Saints. Amen. Priest. O God, our God, who came to Cana of Galilee, and blessed there the marriage feast: Bless, also, these Thy servants, who through Thy good providence are now united together in the Community of Marriage. Bless their goings out and their comings in. Replenish their life with good things. Receive their crowns into Thy kingdom, preserving them spotless, blameless, and without reproach, unto ages of ages. Priest. O Lord our God, who in Thy saving providence did agree by Thy presence in Cana of Galilee to declare marriage honorable: Do thou the same Lord, now also maintain in peace and harmony Thy servants, N. and N., whom it pleases Thee to join together. Cause their marriage to be honorable. Preserve their life blameless. Mercifully grant that they may live together in purity. Enable them to attain to a ripe old age, walking in Thy commandments with a pure heart. Priest. O Holy God, who created man from the dust, and from man s rib made woman joining her to him as a helpmate, for it seemed good to Thy Majesty for man not to be alone on earth. Do Thou now, O Master, extend Thy hand from Thy holy dwelling and unite this Thy servant, N., and this Thy handmaid, N., for by Thee is the husband united to the wife. Unite them in one mind. Wed them into one flesh. Grant them of the fruit of the body and the procreation of fair children. Daniel Manzuk is a reader at the Church of the Virgin Mary in Alsip, IL. daily devotions DECEMBER 2008 V. REV. GEORGE ALBERTS 1. 2 THESSALONIANS 1:1 10; LUKE 19:37 44 (FAST) 2. 2 THESSALONIANS 1:10 2:2; LUKE 19:45 48 (FAST) 3. 2 THESSALONIANS 2:1 12; LUKE 20:1 8 (FAST) 4. GALATIANS 3:23 29; MARK 5:24 34 (FAST) 5. 2 THESSALONIANS 3:6 18; LUKE 20:19 26 (FAST) 6. HEBREWS 13:17 21; LUKE 6:17 23 (FAST) 7. EPHESIANS 4:1 7; LUKE 13:10 17 (FAST) 8. 1 TIMOTHY 1:1 7; LUKE 20:27 44 (FAST) 9. GALATIANS 4:22 31; LUKE 8:16 21 (FAST) TIMOTHY 1:18 20; LUKE 21:5 7, 10 11, (FAST) TIMOTHY 3:1 13; LUKE 21:28 33 (FAST) 12. HEBREWS 13:17 21; LUKE 6:17 23 (FAST) 13. GALATIANS 3:8 12; LUKE 13:18 29 (FAST) 14. COLOSSIANS 3:4 11; LUKE 14:16 24 (FAST) TIMOTHY 5:1 10; MARK 8:11 21 (FAST) TIMOTHY 5:11 21; MARK 8:22 26 (FAST) TIMOTHY 5:22 6:11; MARK 8:30 34 (FAST) TIMOTHY 6:17 21; MARK 9:10 16 (FAST) TIMOTHY 1:1 2, 8 18; MARK 9:33 41 (FAST) 20. GALATIANS 3:8 12; LUKE 13:18 29 (FAST) 21. HEBREWS 11:9 10, 17 23, 32 40; MATTHEW 1:1 25 (FAST) TIMOTHY 2:20 26; MARK 9: (FAST) TIMOTHY 3:16 4:4; MARK 10:2 12 (FAST) 24. HEBREWS 1:1 12; LUKE 2:1 20 (STRICT FAST) 25. GALATIANS 4:4 7; MATTHEW 2:1 12 THE NATIVITY OF OUR LORD 26. HEBREWS 2:11 18; MATTHEW 2: ACTS 6:8 15, 7:1 5, 47 60; MATTHEW 21: GALATIANS 1:11 19; MATTHEW 2: HEBREWS 3:5 11, 17 19; MARK 10: HEBREWS 4:1 13; MARK 11: HEBREWS 5:11 6:8; MARK 11:23 26 The Word 27

28 Remembering Our First Love In the second chapter of the Revelation to John, also known as the Apocalypse, the Apostle John records these words of Jesus Christ to the church in Ephesus: I know you are enduring patiently and bearing up for my name s sake, and you have not grown weary. But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first (Revelation 2:3 4). Ephesus was the commercial metropolis of Asia and the seat of the proconsular Roman government. Such a setting encouraged a diversity of philosophies and religious practices, including the imperial cult, the worship of Artemis, and even sorcery, into which some Ephesian Christians may have fallen. Christ is calling the Ephesian church back to its roots, back to its primitive faith in the Lord and love of him. We all remember our first love, but typically we mean by that our first romantic crush or our first sweetheart. Sometimes we even talk about our first love as the thing or activity of most importance to us in our lives. In our context, however, the first love to which our Lord refers is the matter of ultimate importance our love of Him in response to His saving and sanctifying love for us. Since Metropolitan PHILIP established the Order of St. Ignatius of Antioch in January 1975 under the chairmanship of Albert Joseph and Archpriests Paul Schneirla and Antony Gabriel, its first love has been to provide a retirement housing stipend for the faithful clergy of the Antiochian Archdiocese of North America. Yes, the Order now exceeds 3,800 members, and its annual budget now exceeds $1.2 million. Yes, the Order has contributed over $20 million to many worthwhile projects, including the Antiochian Village and other camping programs, Campus Ministry, the Special Olympics, international emergency relief, Missions and Evangelism, and hosts of others, but its first love was, and remains, a dignified retirement for archdiocesan clergy. At present the Metropolitan grants the retired clergy a retirement allowance as a housing stipend which means that the allowance is not taxable under the U.S. federal tax code. The retired clergy allowance is not a qualified pension plan. The allowance equals $26.67 per month multiplied by the number of years of active service in the Antiochian Archdiocese to a maximum of thirty years. The current maximum allowance, therefore, is $800 per month. Let us think about that for a moment: $800 per month after thirty years of service. Try getting even an apartment in any major metropolitan center for that! What is wrong with this picture? Would we encourage any of our sons to take a position with that kind of retirement plan? The Department of Clergy Benefits, which I chair, commissioned an actuarial study about five years ago to determine the needs of this retirement fund based on current resources and expected retirements. When the study revealed significant underfunding, Metropolitan PHILIP acted decisively. He challenged the Antiochian Women of North America to raise $500,000 in five years to stabilize the fund; he asked the Order of St. Ignatius to increase its annual contribution; and, he himself committed another $1 million in resources so that the maximum benefit of that time could increase from $700 to $800 per month. We 28 The Word

29 will definitely want to increase the current stipend in the future, but any increase will require greater contributions from the faithful members of the Order of St. Ignatius. Additionally, as our God-protected archdiocese continues to grow and prosper, we will require more clergy who will need and deserve a dignified retirement. It is the parish priest who baptizes us and our brethren, who marries our couples and buries our departed loved ones. It is the parish priest who counsels and supports us in times of trouble, organizes church schools and youth programs, reaches out to new believers and the community at large. We expect our priests to sing and serve well, to preach effectively, to visit the elderly, the homebound, the lapsed and the needy, to raise money and to administer efficiently. We expect him to do these things for 30 years (for a fraction of what he could make in secular employment), and then we say, Here s your $800 per month. Go your way and fend for yourself. While the Order of St. Ignatius does many wonderful things, we ought not to forget one of its first and most important imperatives the care of those who care for us, the priests. As beneficiaries of the Order s good work, it is incumbent upon our clergy to encourage membership in the Order. As beneficiaries of our pastors dedication and service it is incumbent upon our faithful prayerfully to consider membership in the Order at a cost of less than $10 per week. As the philanthropic arm of the Antiochian Archdiocese in North America it is incumbent on the members of the Order not to abandon the love you had at first. Icon courtesy of Come and See Icons. Very Rev. Michael Ellias Eastern Dioceses Spiritual Advisor The Word 29

30 Oratorical Festival Karol Samman Diocese of Ottawa, Eastern Canada and Upstate NY Speak about people being male and female in the image of God and about the role of masculinity and femininity in personal life and in the Mystery of Marriage in Christ. Your Eminence, Metropolitan PHILIP; Your Graces; Reverend Fathers, Brothers and Sisters in Christ: Christ is in our midst! And the Lord God said: It is not good for the man to be by Himself. I will make one like himself as a help to him. [ ] And the Lord God sent a deep sleep on the man, and took one of the bones from his side while he was sleeping, joining up the flesh again in its place. And the bone which the Lord God had taken from the man he made into a woman, and he took her to the man. And the man said: This is now bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh: let her name be woman because she was taken out of Man (Gen. 2:18 23). This passage, that recounts our appearance in the creation, demonstrates that, from the moment He gave us life to now, God have never made any difference between men and women. The fact that the angel Gabriel came on earth to ask the Virgin Mary if she would accept to bear the son of God is a proof of this equality. In His eyes, everyone is entitled to be God s child and the two creatures are part of one flesh. If so, how, further in the Bible and even in today s society, have we come to differentiate the two genders? Well, I think that this way of thinking was generated by the Transgression and by our descent on earth. We all know that when Adam and Eve, manipulated by the serpent, ate from the forbidden tree of life, their eyes opened and they acquired knowledge of good and evil. When He realized their mistake, God decided to punish them. To the woman he said: Great will be your pain in childbirth; in sorrow will your children come to birth, still your desire will be for your husband, but he will be your master. And to Adam he said: Because you gave ear to the voice of your wife and took of the fruit of the tree which I said you were not to take, the earth is cursed on your account; in pain you will get your food from it all your life (Gen. 3:16 17). At this moment, Adam and Eve became the target of a million sins. Feelings like passion, oppression, and jealousy began to develop in their hearts. The story of Abel and Cain in which Cain, angry because of God s pleasure toward his brother s offering but not toward his, decides to take away his brother s life in the field, is a perfect example to show us how the feeling of jealousy could bring to sin. In other words, when they came to earth, humans created dissociation between male and female. A feeling of power over women is developed in the heart of men, while women accept their submission to them. This is why females often occupy a subordinate role in the Bible. In the past centuries, for example, a woman passed from her father s house to her husband s and was considered dishonourable for the family if she couldn t bear children. On the other hand, in the New Testament, we can see that Jesus Christ followed his Father s example, and never differentiated genders. With the story of Mary and Martha in the Epistle of Luke, we can understand that, for him, listening to the word of God is the only thing that matters. In the twenty-seventh verse of the first Genesis, we read So God created man in His own image, in the image of God created He him; male and female created He them. The first image I drew in my mind when I read this passage was a literal image. In other words, the link that I made in my head is that our physical appearance resembles God s. But, I realized that we had to look further to see the real message of the writings. We humans are the only creatures on earth with a spirit. And we Christians are filled with the Holy 30 The Word

31 Spirit. This spirit gives us the reason, the ability of thinking, and permits us to be unified with God. Even if we are made in His image, we have to work hard all our life to keep this resemblance and to increase the power of the Holy Spirit in our hearts. Because we cannot see God the Father, we have to make an effort to resemble His pure image, Jesus Christ. How? By being righteous, by following the commandments of God, by praying.... But the first step is baptism, which we can also call a second birth as Christians, but also a birth in the image of God. And God said, Let us make man in our image, like us: and let him have rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over the cattle and over all the earth and over every living thing which goes flat on the earth (Gen. 1:26). So, as God is the King of the whole Kingdom, man, created in His image, is a King over nature. By revealing man as a King over nature, this passage shows us that, in all kinds of relationships of our personal life, we have to follow the law of nature according to which the head of every man is Christ, the head of woman is man, and the head of Christ is God (1 Cor. 11:3). In today s society, this verse seems to have been forgotten, because we see numerous women demanding to be considered as men, and men taking advantage of their position over women. This conflict brings a large discussion about the role of masculinity and femininity in the Mystery of Marriage in Christ. The Bible and human history begin and end with weddings, a sacrament blessed of God. Adam and Eve came together in a marital union in Paradise revealing marriage as a part of God s eternal purpose for humanity in the midst of creation (Gen. 2:22-25). But, what is it about the equality of both partners? The fourth verse of the seventh chapter of Saint Paul s first letters to the Corinthians, says that the wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does. And likewise also the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does. This sentence certifies what we said at the beginning, that for God, both of them are equal. During the ceremony of marriage, the rings that are exchanged, and the crowns that are placed and exchanged on the bride s and groom s heads symbolize their union in the kingdom of God, where there is neither male nor female (Gal. 3:28) and they also symbolize the crown of glory which God grants to the Holy Martyrs. But in this marital equality, there is an order. Verses 22 to 29 of the fifth chapter of the letter of Paul to the Ephesians show the meaning of this order: Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church; and he is the saviour of the body. Therefore, just as the church is subject to Christ, so let the wives be to their husbands in everything. Husbands love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave himself for her.... So husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies; he who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as the Lord does the church. In other words, it means that a wife should be respectful to her husband who will love her and cherish her as himself. Even if an order defines the equality in a marital union, we have to remember the law of nature in her complete form because as woman came from man, even so man also comes through woman; but all things are from God (1 Cor. 11:12). Finally, in today s society, women and men gradually come back to Adam s and Eve s state in Paradise; they are more and more equal and have similar roles. But, in the family, they use their differences and work together for the well-being of their children. Habitually, the man is a symbol of security to the kids, and the image of woman is seen in nurturing, because of the capacity to love and the confidence God gave her. But, in my opinion, what is important to us, as Christians, is to keep the way God our Father and Jesus our Lord saw the world. How can we move back to that world? I think that the best way is through marriage, a mystery of the church, which real sense is defined in the theme of our convention: He who made them at the beginning made them male and female. For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate (Mat. 19:4 6). Karol Samman, 16, is a member of St. Mary Antiochian Orthodox Church, Montreal. The Word 31

32 communities in action A Tribute to Archpriest Charles David Lynch, Died June 29th, 2008 Seventy-two years ago the Very Reverend Father Charles David Lynch was born in Indiana into a Christian community formed under the direction of Frederick William III ( ) in an ecumenical effort of German Protestantism. In due course Charles entered the Episcopal Church and became very active in the Anglo-Catholic parish of The Incarnation located in Detroit in the Diocese of Michigan. He graduated from the University of Michigan and turned to the Episcopal Seminary at Nashota for preparation for the Episcopal ministry. He was deeply committed to the Anglo-Catholic community, becoming a member of the American Church Union, the Society of the Holy Cross, and the support group for the Walsingham Shrine. Most significantly, he became a member of a British Anglican group, The Anglo-Orthodox Society, concerned with the revival of Orthodoxy within the Church of England. For many years Father Charles served as North American Convener of this society. He studied the Orthodox Church throughout his pastoral life and associated closely with clergy and laity in American Orthodoxy. One of his daughters enrolled as a student in St. Vladimir s Seminary and graduated. Ultimately, Father Charles joined the Orthodox Church and, having become engaged with the Western Rite Vicariate of the Antiochian Archdiocese, applied for acceptance as a priest. Following ordination, Father Charles, taking the name of David, served as pastor of St. Augustine s parish, Denver, Colorado. He served the Church in many important capacities until family health problems made the Denver area too challenging and he had to retire from parish work. Nonetheless, he continued to serve in local churches near his residence in Crystal Lake, Illinois. For some time he assisted at All Saints Church in Chicago under the pastorate of Father Patrick Reardon. In addition, he acted as Missioner for the Western Rite, visiting individuals and centers in response to inquiries and in order to advance the training and education of clergy and laity alike. Additionally, he applied his expertise in western liturgy to the task of editing and revising service books of the Rite. Both his parish work and his invaluable work following his tenure at St. Augustine s underscore how tirelessly Father Charles gave of himself in the name of the Church. Immediately prior to learning that he would have to go into the hospital, Father David arranged to spend a portion of two months training applicant communities for admission to the Archdiocese! Father Charles was an understanding, compassionate person and exemplary pastor. A successful leader as well as a scholar of great capacity, he radiated Christian love with a spirit of deep piety. While it is often difficult to pair superior managerial ability with true Christian spiritual qualities, Father Charles showed it could be done. A most exceptional priest, he was an important figure among those in the Church who follow the Western Rite and will be missed by all blessed to have been able to work closely with him for so many productive and happy years. For his wife, Martha, and their two daughters, their husbands and their five grandchildren, we ask the blessing and comfort of our Heavenly Father in this time of felt loss and turn to prayer for the blessed spirit of Father Charles David with the wish of Memory Eternal! A St. Nicholas, Myrtle Beach, SC, Consecrates Their New Church Sunday, October 7, 2007, was a joyous day in the life of Saint Nicholas Antiochian Orthodox Church in Myrtle Beach, SC: His Grace, Bishop ANTOUN, consecrated our new building. It took several years of hard work and, more importantly, God s blessings on the people of Saint Nicholas, for this to come about. 32 The Word

33 Having our own new building is a significant milestone in the life of this parish. In the late 1990s a group of Orthodox Christians in the Myrtle Beach area wanted an Orthodox Church that celebrated the divine services in English. So a small group of the faithful, headed by Mr. Joseph Reagan, banded together and held the first Typica services in a motel room. From the time of that fledgling meeting, this dedicated group of Orthodox Christians worked hard until they were able to purchase a home that had been used as an adult daycare center. The parishioners remodeled the home into a small Orthodox church. What began as an almost informal gathering of people in 1996 had by 1998 become a promising mission. In 1998 Mr. Nick Pandis and his family donated almost five acres of land to the parish with the hope, as Mr. Pandis said, of building God s house on the land for all Orthodox people regardless of their ethnic background. After several years of growth, the mission suffered a series of unforeseeable setbacks and came close to complete dissolution, until Fr. Gabriel Bullock was assigned to the parish in From the beginning, Fr. Gabriel stressed Metropolitan PHILIP s commitment to unity among all Orthodox people in this country. Under the leadership of His Grace, Bishop AN- TOUN, Fr. Bullock brought people from all ethnic backgrounds into the church. In 2005 the parish faced a tough decision: we had outgrown our tiny house church, but we lacked the enormous capital necessary to build a church on the land that the Pandis family had donated. The parish voted to sell the land, and with the blessings of Metropolitan PHIL- IP the land was sold. The parish council voted to form a building committee and appointed Bob Hanania as the chairman. Under his leadership, the parish found a Protestant church for sale in the middle of Myrtle Beach. The church fit our size and geographic requirements. The building, however, had to be reoriented and remodeled to fit the canonical requirements of an Orthodox Church. The team of Jerry Dziubak, Sub-deacon John Jones, Joseph Reagan, Joan Reagan and Nina Sedorenko were responsible for the remarkable transformation. We celebrated our first Liturgy on Labor Day weekend The highlight of the consecration occurred after the Liturgy, when Bishop ANTOUN presented Nick Pandis and his wife Susan Pandis with a special plaque in honor of their very generous donation to the church. His Grace told Nick Pandis to stay strong, because we have a lot more work to do. As a parish, we are taking Bishop ANTOUN at his word; we are staying strong in the Lord because we still have a lot of work left to do! A Bishop ANTOUN presents Nick and Susan Pandis with a plaque commemorating their financial gifts that enabled the purchase of the new St. Nicholas Church in Myrtle Beach, SC. Ours Is Not to Judge Orthodox Youth Outreach in Philadelphia First impressions are the most important; we only get one chance to show the world who we are. For many this first impression is lost, and second impressions are rarely given a chance, because of being in the wrong place at the wrong time and ending up in unpleasant situations, such as homelessness. When many of us come across those who are homeless, we assume that they must be drug addicts, alcoholics, or have some mental disability; after all, why else would they be there? We view them as dirty, uneducated, mean, and lazy. Without realizing it, we cause ourselves to fear our brothers and sisters in Christ through false assumption. We walk past many who are in need, without a care, concluding that it is their fault for being in that situation, and we have nothing The Word 33

34 communities in action to do with them. Judge not, that you be not judged. For with what judgment you judge you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you (Matthew 7:1 2). Many have simply been through some misfortunes, and getting help is out of reach. On the contrary, help is just one person away. We have to be willing to help, and not just through Orthodox Youth Outreach (OYO) but every day, when we pass someone less fortunate. During the OYO trip to Philadelphia, the our team participated in an activity called Hands of Hope. We passed out lunches, consisting of PB&J [peanut butter and jelly] sandwiches, a snack, water, and a care package with basic toiletries and socks. However, instead of merely passing out these items to the homeless we passed by in the park we stopped to talk with those who were willing to share their time and stories. My group came across a man, John, who actually flagged us down, and was more than willing to talk. He told us about his life, and how much he would love to golf again. Although he stuttered, he had a lot of insight on life and how to live, saying that people are wrong to quickly say they dislike something, that in order to truly dislike something one must fully understand what it is, and research. Many of the others we met were college graduates, who lost their jobs and cannot seem to get another. By the end of the night our stereotypes of homeless people were proven mostly wrong. Although there might have been some for whom drugs and alcohol led them off the track they had intended for their lives, they are all just like us and need help to turn their life around. They have hopes and dreams that have been lost along the way, but can be retrieved with God s love and guidance. Another organization we helped was Ray of Hope, founded by an ex-drug dealer named Raymond, who served 12 years in jail. After serving his time, he found God and the help he needed to change his life around to help those less fortunate in his neighborhood. His organization helps renovate homes of the elderly and those who cannot afford to hire contractors and repairs old playgrounds for the neighborhood kids, and it made a new basketball court for the basketball league. We helped Raymond by cleaning up the surrounding area of the basketball court, picking up garbage. Some of the guys helped move furniture in Raymond s warehouse. Raymond was a great example to us and to those who find themselves in tough situations, that it is never too late to change your life for the better, and that God always has a way of revealing his plan for us. Those who went on the OYO trip in Philadelphia can agree that money is not the only factor when it comes to being impoverished. A person can be impoverished for a lack many things, such as friendship, food, water, shelter, security, family, and love. We found this all too true while visiting a nursing home, the Simpson House. Some of us played bingo and visited with the residents. One particular resident, Donald, spoke to us about his service in the Navy during the Second World War. He traced his family back to the Mayflower and traveled to 23 countries. He was impressed at the questions we asked him; no one had ever been so interested in his stories as to ask questions like Did you ever see a whale [while in the Navy]? This led him to tell an unusual story of how his ship got a whale caught on it and the hassle they went through to get it loose. We learned that by just being there with him made his day; it made no difference what we asked him about, he was just glad to share with us and have some company for the day. Living in a nursing home is a tough ordeal; one must give up one s home and most of one s belongings, and some residents may not have family that live nearby to visit them everyday. It does not take much to show someone they are a human being. A simple Hello, or a smile, can prove they exist and make someone s day. They may not know you personally, but you will leave an impression with them as someone who took the time to notice and validate them. So let s take the time to make a great first impression on someone, and allow them to give a second impression. Jesus gave us an example by visiting the sick, poor, downtrodden, and demon-possessed. If there is one lesson I walked away with, it is that a homeless person, an ex-convict drug dealer, and an elderly man, all contrib- 34 The Word

35 uted something to my life. John taught me to give the world a chance. Raymond taught me to make amends, give back, and have patience in God s plan. Donald taught me that there is a wealth of history in all of us, waiting to be shared and appreciated. If only given the chance, imagine what they can contribute to society. Katrina Bandeli, 17, is a member of the Orthodox Youth Outreach group of St. George Antiochian Orthodox Church, Little Falls, NJ. For more information or to help support Orthodox Youth Outreach go to Be sure to also join the Orthodox Youth Outreach group on Facebook, the social-networking site on the World Wide Web: ( group. A Volunteers from Across the U.S. and Young Men of St. Innocent Orphanage Join Hands to Help the Poor During the week of July 22, 180 volunteers from 15 U.S. states and 25 parishes built houses for seven impoverished Mexican families under the auspices of Project Mexico s Orthodox Basic Training (OBT). OBT is part of Project Mexico s home-building ministry, now in its 20th year. A more rustic and spiritually rigorous experience than the usual home-building program, OBT participants camped in tents, took cold-water bucket showers, and ate meals and prayed together in huge mess tents on the St. Innocent Orphanage property. They had structured time each morning for meditation and journaling, and were taught and inspired by speakers in the evenings. Evening speakers included Fr. Michael Nasser, Fr. Jon Braun, Fr. Luke Veronis, and Archimandrite Joseph Morris. Sunday was a day for worship, fun and fellowship, if not necessarily rest, and included an all-afternoon sports tournament and evening campfire. While some of the young men living at St. Innocent Orphanage have helped in the homebuilding program in the past, this year a record number of them were able to participate in OBT. OBT participants not only had an opportunity to get to know the boys from the orphanage by working alongside them each day at the work sites, these young men could see Project Mexico in action first-hand. OBT gave them the same opportunity that it has given countless Project Mexico volunteers over the past 20 years: a chance to live out the Gospel and respond to Christ s directive in Matthew 25: For I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in.... Inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me. Participation in OBT had a profound impact on these young men. Luis, a teen from St. Innocent Orphanage, commented: It was a great experience! We learned how to build a house, not for our benefit, but for the benefit of other people that needed us. We met people from all over the United States. We don t always get the chance to speak Spanish with Americans, but every day as we worked, we were able to converse in Spanish about the experience with many of the volunteers. Fr. Michael Nasser, full-time priest at St. Innocent Orphanage and Chapel, was also deeply moved: What a miracle what a set of miracles! Dozens of Orthodox youth giving of their summer vacation to serve the poor; people from our various Orthodox jurisdictions who might have otherwise never The Word 35

36 His Grace, Bp. JOSEPH, took time in July to visit with Fr. Michael Nasser, his family, and several of the young men from St. Innocent Orphanage during the Parish Life Conference of the Western Diocese in Los Angeles. Mission teams from parishes in Missouri, Virginia and Oklahoma worked alongside boys from St. Innocent Orphanage to construct one of the seven houses built during OBT 2008 for Mexico s poor. met working together in such a great act of mercy. Fr. Michael added, Seven families went from having no homes to having the keys handed to them seven days later. And most impressive for me was seeing our boys at the orphanage passing on the love they have received to others in need. It was just a fantastic week. Project Mexico will continue to offer Orthodox Basic Training as an option for summer mission teams and the program will be expanded over the next several years to include more participants over several weeks. For more information, visit www. projectmexico.org. From OBT participants Mission work at our parish is now like the phoenix. It has, because of the Holy Spirit, risen up from this and other past trips, but with a new and refreshing passion to do God s will and work! Robert Kindell, St. Stephen (OCA), Orlando, FL I have participated in many short-term mission trips with Project Mexico and OCMC in the past, but this 2008 OBT was, by far, the most spiritually and personally rewarding experience of them all. I left spiritually recharged. I am, indeed, unworthy to have been so blessed by others while at OBT. But these feelings are a constant reminder that God, indeed, is enough; and that I must pass on to others the love that has been given to me. Amy Chiconas, Holy Trinity (GOC), Tulsa, OK A St. George, El Paso, TX, Hosts His Grace, Bishop BASIL Our beloved Bishop BASIL returned to St. George Church in El Paso, TX, for his annual parish visit on August 29 31, Our dear priest, Fr. George Al Dehneh, and several members of the Parish Council greeted him at the airport and that evening he attended a dinner in his honor with the Council at the Lancer s Club. Saturday morning, the St. George Ladies Society hosted His Grace at a lovely breakfast. Jeanette Zacour and members of the Ladies Society once again outdid themselves by preparing a delicious and beautifully presented meal. Mary Esther Salom freshened the room with spring bouquets and colors and President Doris Shaheen presided over the gathering. Later His Grace joined the teens, ably guided by P.J. Ferris and Jameelie Dayoub, for lunch. The day was completed by a banquet at the Summit Ballroom attended by many from the congregation. 36 The Word

37 communities in action Fifteen-year-old Luis, a resident of St. Innocent Orphanage, teaches a Mexican child how to nail the roofing to his own house, built by mission teams at OBT yr-old Luis, a resident of St. Innocent Orphanage, helping the Project Mexico mission team put up the frame for a house at OBT Christopher Al-Dehneh, David Dayoub, and Victor Martin amused everyone with a wonderful skit, portraying Middle Eastern grandmothers delightfully. A posthumous award for his constant and loving service to our church was presented to the family of much-loved and sorely missed Peter Rizk, may he rest in peace. The icing on the cake for the weekend was the elevation of Fr. Bob Bethoney to Arch-Priest during the Liturgy. (Axios, Fr. Bob!) A delectable luncheon was served to the attendees gathered to celebrate the elevation. We look forward to hosting our beloved Bishop BASIL next year. Hurry back, Sayidna. A Saint John Chrysostom Parish in Fort Wayne, Indiana For more than thirty years, the ladies of Saint John Chrysostom Parish in Fort Wayne, Indiana, have been baking their way into the hearts of their community. As an annual holiday fundraiser the ladies sell homemade baklawa to members of the parish, families and friends. Countless hours are spent buttering layers of fresh phyllo dough and mixing fresh chopped walnuts, and then pouring homemade golden syrup over hundreds of trays. The finished product is a beautiful treat for the eyes, as well as delicious. With leadership from President Sandra Cockrell and Vice-President and chair of the baking project, Regina Bojrab, the ladies group aims to raise twenty thousand dollars each year for the next five years toward the building of their new church. These ladies, along with many others in the parish, are up to the task. the people speak To His Eminence Metropolitan PHILIP Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese PO Box 5238 Englewood, NJ Master Bless! I am writing to thank you for all the support that you have given me and my family while I was at St. Tikhon Seminary. The care that you and the Archdiocese have shown to your seminarians has had a great impact on our lives while at seminary and afterwards. The financial burden has been relieved greatly through the archdiocesan scholarship, the stipend from the Order of St. Ignatius, and the support of the Myrrh-Bearers, as well as by your covering of the cost for our time at the house of studies. My family and I are greatly indebted to you and the Archdiocese for the great generosity you have shown us. I am also writing to thank you for assigning me to Bp. ANTOUN s diocese at the parish of St. John, Memphis, TN. The pastor, Fr. John Mashburn, and the parish have taken wonderful care of us and welcomed us to our new home. We are now settled here in Memphis and I have begun my work at the parish as of August 1st. Thank you again for all you have done for us. Asking your prayers on my new ministry, and Kissing your right hand, Rev. Nicholas Meyers The Word 37

38 Orthodox World In the aftermath of Hurricane Ike in Galveston, Texas, IOCC is set to deliver hygiene kits and medical supplies to local area hospitals and shelters, and plans to send a team of Orthodox clergy who are trained in Critical Incident Stress Management, a form of trauma counseling and evaluation. American Red Cross officials invited IOCC to provide trauma counselors for area shelters. (Photo credit: IOCC Baltimore) Ike Aftermath: IOCC Frontline Reports That Trauma Counselors Are Desperately Needed (Galveston, Texas) As residents try to return to their damaged or destroyed homes in Texas, officials are still warning of a secondary health crisis because of the lack of water, power, and functioning sewers in some areas. International Orthodox Christian Charities (IOCC) received an initial assessment of the situation from its Emergency Response Network team, which arrived in Galveston on September 17 and remained in the area for the next several days. IOCC will deliver 20 pallets of hygiene kits and medical supplies to local area hospitals and shelters, and will also send its Frontline, a team of Orthodox clergy who are trained in Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM), a form of trauma counseling and evaluation. IOCC decided on this course of action after American Red Cross officials reported that shelters are completely full and invited IOCC to provide trauma counselors for those shelters. Earlier this year, IOCC completed training for 40 Orthodox clergy in CISM at Holy Cross Greek Orthodox Seminary in Boston and at St. Nicholas Ranch and Retreat Center in San Francisco. IOCC has issued an emergency appeal for its continuing response to the Gulf Coast Hurricanes. Orthodox faithful, including Sunday Schools, youth groups and others, are also urged to continue providing emergency clean-up buckets and health kits for shipment to the Gulf Coast. (For information on assembling the kits go to aspx). IOCC distributed 1,000 such kits in New Orleans and Baton Rouge immediately following Hurricane Gustav. Help us speed relief to the Gulf Coast s devastated communities by making a donation today. Call IOCC s donation hotline toll-free at , make a gift on-line at or mail a check or money order payable to IOCC and write US Emergency Response in the memo line to IOCC, P.O. Box , Baltimore, Md The Word

39 Angels are our Guardians. Be an angel. Join The Order The Order fosters spiritual growth through financial giving. The Order not only supports our Archdiocese, but also contributes to International Orthodox Christian Charities, Project Mexico, Treehouse Family Ministry, and more. Join The Order of St. Ignatius of Antioch To learn more, call or or return this slip to: The Order 358 Mountain Road Englewood, NJ Yes, I want more information about The Order Name: Address: Phone: 11/08 The Word 39

40 THE WORD 358 Mountain Road PO Box 5238 Englewood, NJ Periodical postage paid at Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania