Assembly of Bishops Secretariat Meets at Antiochian Parish in Riverside
Assembly of Bishops SecretariatThe Secretariat of the Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of North and Central America held its annual "face-to-face" meeting, January 24th and 25th, 2012. The hosts for this year's "face-to-face" meeting were Father Josiah Trenham and the congregation of St Andrew Church in Riverside, CA. An overview of the work accomplished at the Riverside meeting will be included in a soon-to-be issued media release which will report to the Church-at-large on the work of the Assembly during the past year.
The Secretariat, which also meets monthly via teleconference, consists of Bishop Basil (Secretary of the Assembly of Bishops), Archbishop Antony, Bishop Andonios, Bishop Maxim, Father Mark Arey, Father Nicholas Ceko, Father Josiah Trenham, Hierodeacon Benedict (Armitage), Protodeacon Peter Danilchick, and Messrs. Alexei Krindatch, Alex Machaskee, Eric Namee and Constantin Ursache.
DOWAMA Winter Camp + February 17-20, 2012
Winter Camp 2012 for the Diocese of Wichita will be held at Camp St. Raphael in Wagoner, Oklahoma from February 17-20. This year's theme will be Christ the Merciful Judge, and the camp will feature speaker George Hazaris, the youth director and pastoral assistant from the Greek Orthodox Church of Our Savior in Rye, New York.
Form & $100 registration (Chaperones/Advisors $70.00) payment is due by Tuesday, February 7th, 2012, and should be sent to:
St. George Orthodox Church – Attn: Paul Fuller
5311 Mercer Street
Houston, TX 77005
Click here to download a registration form (Word format). Please contact Paul Fuller at 502.592.9981 (cell) or paulf518@yahoo.com if you have any questions.
2012 DOWAMA Clergy Brotherhood Retreat
The deadline for registering for the 40th Annual St. Raphael DOWAMA Clergy Brotherhood Retreat - "ANTIOCH AND HER SPIRITUAL PATRIMONY" - is Friday, January 27th, when we must make a firm commitment for the number of rooms and meals with the Spiritual Life Center. Remember that the Retreat will be held February 14th through 17th, 2012 at the Spiritual Life Center in Wichita, Kansas. Attached hereto is a revised schedule for the Retreat. The guest speaker will be Monk Elia (Khalifeh) of the Archdiocese of Mount Lebanon, founder and director of the prestigious "Antioch Centre" in Oxford, England. You can check out the Centre's web site at www.AntiochCentre.net.
Please take a moment today to ask your parish's treasurer to send in your registration fee of $400 to reserve your room and meals for the Retreat. (1.) Make check payable to "DOWAMA Clergy Brotherhood," (2.) clearly earmark it with your name and the notation "Clergy Retreat," and (3.) mail it to our Clergy Brotherhood Treasurer so that it arrives to him before January 27th:
FATHER JOHN SALEM
St. Elijah Orthodox Christian Church
15000 North May
Oklahoma City, OK 73134
Ordination of Hierodeacon Benedict
Monk Benedict was ordained to the Holy Deaconate on January 1, 2012 at St. George Cathedral in Wichita, Kansas.
Antiochian Chaplain Fr. Stephan Close Reports From Afghanistan
Fr. Stephan speaks to servicemen and women in AfghanistanBishop Basil shares the letters of Fr. Stephan Close, Antiochian Chaplain and Lieutenant Colonel in the US Air Force recently assigned to Afghanistan.
Contact Fr. Stephan at frstphn@gmail.com, and Kh. Annette at annette_close@yahoo.com.
Entry 17, January 31
Your Grace and my Brothers in Christ: According to the plan of the day’s events, I had walked through the morning’s chilly sunshine to visit some of my units. Stuck my nose in on some soldiers fixing an old truck; a labour of love, they were actually fixing it up. Under the hood will work an air cleaner painted bombastic yellow. I visited our Medical Evacuation folks and we read some scripture, I gave Sunday’s sermon a test run and we prayed. I stopped by the folks who run the freight terminal and heard their stories and commiserated with their frustrations. At the passenger terminal, they were busy but glad to see their chaplain for a moment.
Many Years to His Grace Bishop Basil!
January 1st is the celebration of St. Basil the Great and the name's day of His Grace Bishop Basil. May God grant him many years!
Apolytikion of St. Basil, Tone 1
In all the earth that received thy sayings, thy melody did resound, O righteous father, through which thou didst go about and proclaim, as worthy of God, the nature of creatures, cultivating the character of mankind, O thou of kingly Priesthood, Basil. Wherefore, plead thou with Christ God to save our souls.
The Tradition of the Vasilopita (with Recipe)
From the DOWAMA St. Raphael Clergy Brotherhood:
The tradition of baking and cutting a special "pita" (which can mean a loaf of bread, a cake, or even a pie) each year on January 1st is observed of our holy father Basil the Great, archbishop of Caesarea in Cappodocia-- hence its name "Vasilopita" meaning "St. Basil's Bread." This tradition is observed in both parish churches and in the homes of the faithful. What is the meaning of this tradition and how did it begin?
For centuries upon centuries, parents, grandparents and godparents have related the following to Orthodox children about St. Basil and the Vasilopita. One year, during a time of terrible famine, the emperor levied a sinfully excessive tax upon the people of Caesarea. The tax was such a heavy burden upon the already impoverished people that to avoid debtors' prison each family had to relinquish its few remaining coins and pieces of jewelry, including precious family heirlooms. Learning of this injustice upon his flock, St. Basil the Great, the archbishop of Caesarea, took up his bishop's staff and the book of the holy Gospels and came to his people's defense by fearlessly calling the emperor to repentance. By God's grace, the emperor did repent! He canceled the tax and instructed his tax collectors to turn over to St. Basil all of the chests containing the coins and jewelry which had been paid as taxes by the people of Caesarea. But now St. Basil was faced with the daunting and impossible task of returning these thousands of coins and pieces of jewelry to their rightful owners. After praying for a long time before the icons of our Master Christ and His All-Holy Mother, St. Basil had all the treasures baked into one huge pita. He then called all the townspeople to prayer at the cathedral, and, after Divine Liturgy, he blessed and cut the pita, giving a piece to each person. Miraculously, each owner received in his piece of Vasilopita his own valuables. They all joyfully returned home, giving thanks to God who had delivered them from abject poverty and to their good and holy bishop St. Basil the Great! In remembrance of that miracle wrought by God as a result of St. Basil's love and defense of his people, Orthodox Christians have observed the tradition of the Vasilopita each year on January 1st-- the date on which St. Basil reposed in the Lord in the year 379.
St. Romanos Choral Presents Holiday Concert at St. Joseph
Recently, the St. Romanos Chorale gave a concert at St. Joseph Orthodox Church in Houston, Texas. Titled "God With Us," the concert was recorded and is now featured on AFR as a Christmas special.
The St. Romanos Chorale takes its name from the Syrian religious poet and hymnographer of the Orthodox Church, St. Romanos, who is considered to be the greatest of the Byzantine melodist-poets. The Chorale is composed of singers from Orthodox Christian churches in the greater Houston area, including many Antiochian Christians. The music is sung a capella in both Byzantine and Slavonic styles, predominantly in English, but also in Greek, Arabic, and Slavonic. The Chorale has presented beautiful Orthodox Christian music to audiences throughout Texas and neighboring states at venues including major colleges and universities.
The pan-Orthodox chorale is directed by Dr. William Attra, who directed the choir of St. George in Houston for many years.
St. Eleftherios Day in Bosra-Hauran
His Eminence Metropolitan Saba of Bosra-Hauran writes:
Dearest Sayyidna Basil: Blessed and happy feast day to your Diocese! Attached are some photos of our St Eleftherios Day Divine Liturgy served in the St. Timon Chapel at my chancery in Al-Sweda. Your brother, +Metropolitan Saba
Dec. 15 + St. Eleftherios, Patron Saint of Diocese of Wichita
The Holy Hieromartyr Eleftherios
December 15th is also the anniversary of the formal establishment of the Diocese of Wichita in 2004. Click here to read His Grace Bishop Basil's address on the occasion (PDF).
The Passion of the Hieromartyr Eleftherios of Illyria
From a good tree comes good fruit. This wonderful saint had noble and greatly eminent parents. Eleutherius was born in Rome, where his father was an imperial proconsul. His mother Anthia heard the Gospel from the great Apostle Paul and was baptized by him. Having been left a widow early, she entrusted her only son for study and service to Anicetus the Bishop of Rome.
Seeing how Eleutherius was gifted by God and illumined by the grace of God, the bishop ordained him a deacon at the age of fifteen, a priest at the age of eighteen, and a bishop at the age of twenty. Eleutherius's God-given wisdom made up for what he lacked in years, and this chosen one of God was appointed Bishop of Illyria with his seat in Valona (Avlona), Albania.