Forgiveness Sunday Message from Bishop BASIL
14 February 2010
Forgiveness Sunday
To the Right Reverend, Very Reverend and Reverend Clergy, the Christ-loving Monastics, and the Faithful Laity of the Diocese of Wichita and Mid-America:
Blessings and greetings in the Name of the Lord Christ. As we stand at the thresh-hold of the Great Fast, I make my prostration before you and ask your forgiveness. As this year’s Forgiveness Sunday Message to our Diocese, I share with you the following counsel of our Venerable and God-bearing Father Theodore the Studite (759-826).
2011 DOWAMA Clergy Brotherhood Retreat
Dr. Krastu BanevΠαναγία - Εκκλησία
The Church and the Mother of God: Questions of Ecclesiology and Personal
Holiness in the Early Church and in the Later Orthodox Tradition
Presented in seven talks by
DR. KRASTU BANEV OF DURHAM UNIVERSITY IN ENGLAND
The 2011 DOWAMA Clergy Brotherhood Retreat will be held at the Spiritual Life Center in Wichita, Kansas, Tuesday through Friday, February 8th-11th. Invited to be our guest speaker is Dr. Krastu Banev, Lecturer in the Department of Theology and Religion at the University of Durham in England. Dr. Banev will adress the theme "Παναγία - Εκκλησία - The Mother of God and the Church: Questions of Ecclesiology and Personal Holiness in the Early Church and in the Later Orthodox Tradition."
Dr. Banev, a native of Bulgaria, teaches the history and theology of the Greek-speaking Church: from Nicea (325AD) to Chalcedon (451AD) and beyond; his research interests include patristic anthropology; early Christian asceticism and later Orthodox spirituality; Byzantine hymnography; the cultural and religious links between Byzantium and the Slav world. His forthcoming book is on the use of classical rhetoric in the Byzantine homiletic tradition.
Schedule (Download PDF Version)
TUESDAY – February 8th: Afternoon arrival of the clergy
2010 DOWAMA Clergy Brotherhood Retreat
Bishop BASIL writes:
Our 2010 DOWAMA Clergy Brotherhood Retreat was crowned with the Divine Liturgy for the Leavetaking of the feast Meeting of the Lord in the Temple concelebrated this morning at St. George Cathedral in Wichita, Kansas by Archimandrite Zacharias and Hieromonk Petros of the Monastery of St. John the Baptist in Essex, England and Fr. James Shadid and Dn. Anthony baba of the Cathedral. Father Zacharias preached the homily in which he addressed the providential confluence of the Leavetaking with the Marcan gospel pericope appointed for this Friday of the Week of Meatfare. All of the brothers chanted the responses together, led by our new DOWAMA Clergy Brotherhood Choir under the direction of Fr. David Barr of St. Elias/Austin, TX.
Audio Recordings Available from 2010 DOWAMA Clergy Brotherhood Retreat
Audio recordings of the 2010 DOWAMA Clergy Brotherhood Retreat with Fr. Zacharias may now be ordered through Eighth Day Books in Wichita, KS (Orders@EighthDayBooks.com). The price for the 7-CD set -- "Fulfillment of Personhood According to Elder Sophrony of Essex, Spiritual Son of St. Silouan the Athonite" -- is $60.00 (which includes domestic postage & handling). For shipment of orders outside the U.S., please inquire concerning additional charges.
Bishop BASIL Visits Syria and Antioch
His Grace Bishop BASIL of the Diocese of Wichita and Mid-America recently returned from a journey to Syria. His Grace's travels included visits to many holy sites in in Aleppo and Antioch (in Turkey), as well as visits with Patriarch IGNATIUS IV, Metropolitan SABA of the Archdiocese of Bosra-Hauran, monastics, college students and others. Sayedna has kindly provided us with numerous photos from his trip: click here to visit the gallery!
Apply Now for Camp St. Raphael 2010
Application forms for Camp St. Raphael's 2010 Summer sessions are now available online. The first session runs from June 27-July 3, 2010; the second session runs from July 4-10. Deadlines for applications are May 1 for the early-bird rate ($300) and June 1 for the regular rate ($325). For more information, please visit www.campstraphael.org.
Fr. Anthony Yazge has made camp scholarship applications available to each congregation. For more information, please contact your parish priest. The absolute deadline for scholarship applications in March 1.
Sanctity of Life Observations Encouraged by Bishop BASIL
His Grace Bishop BASIL, in his St. Raphael Clergy Brotherhood newsletter on January 8, encouraged the faithful and clergy of his Diocese to mark the anniversary of the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision with prayers, volunteer work with local pro-life ministries, and participation where possible in the Washington D.C. March for Life.
His Grace writes:
"FRIDAY, JANUARY 22nd will mark the 37th anniversary of the infamous decision given by the U.S. Supreme Court in the case known as "Roe v. Wade." Please find below two links about how Orthodox Christians will observe that day:
Nativity Greetings from Bishop BASIL
The Nativity 2009
To the Right Reverend Archimandrites, the Very Reverend and Reverend Priests and Deacons and their families, the Venerable Monastics, and all the Christ-loving Faithful of the Diocese of Wichita and Mid-America:
I embrace and greet you with a holy kiss in the Name of the Incarnate Christ. I send to each of you and your communities my paternal love, festal greetings and prayerful best wishes for the merriest of Christmases and a healthy and happy 2010.
In Christ Jesus the Incarnate Word,
+ Basil
Bishop of Wichita and the Diocese of Mid-America
Bishop BASIL Discusses Nativity on OCN
This week on Special Moments in Orthodoxy, in an Orthodox Christian Network vaulted interview, Fr. Chris Metropulos interviews His Grace Bishop BASIL on the importance of the Nativity Season and Advent.
"As Orthodox Christians, we're used to our Fast periods being periods of repentance, and rather dark periods. And the period of Advent, the pre-Nativity Fast, is a very different kind of season ... It's more of a preparation, a preparation for a great Feast. And there's joy that permeates that entire Fast." + Bishop BASIL
Bishop BASIL to Receive Doctor of Divinity Degree
Bishop BASIL writes:
In a letter received from Fr. Chad Hatfield, formerly of All Saints in Salina, Kansas and currently serving as Chancellor of St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary in Crestwood, NY, I was informed that at its most recent meeting the Seminary's Board of Trustees decided to confer upon me the degree of Doctor of Divinity (honoris causa) during the Seminary's Commencement on May 22nd, 2010.