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So, what happens to the money after we put it in the collection plate?

The purpose of these lessons is simple—to show the students the expenses related to living in the Church and to reinforce their role in helping to meet those expenses, now and as they grow older. The beauty and life of the Church doesn’t just happen; priests, icons, and ministries don’t grow on trees. Faithful people have given their lives, and their money, so that we have what we often take for granted. Our desire is that the students will become aware of some of these expenses and out of their gratitude and love for Christ and the Church, develop a pattern of lifelong giving. It’s connecting the dots between giving and the positive results of building and caring for the Church.

by A Sister of the Holy Myrrhbearers Monastery
From The Word Magazine, April 2000

We all know that we are living in a rapidly changing culture. The one thing certain is that nothing will stay the same for long. Concepts such as God, eternity, heaven, hell and prayer, which reflect unchanging realities, are very foreign to most of us. Even those of us who have been brought up within a church environment where we have been made to feel comfortable with eternal truths, may feel as if we are split personalities as we go about the business of our daily lives.

Obviously the church as we experience it through its members and institutions is also affected in greater or lesser degrees by this same split personality. Gone are the days when living a Christian life could be seen as simply the normal way for a citizen to function. Once again, Christians are faced with the reality of two citizenships: one the state and society they were born into, the other the very different citizenship of the Church.

In all honesty, probably the two citizenships have never been quite as wedded as we like to think. The Emperor Constantine certainly changed the way Christians perceived themselves, but we know that his acceptance of Christianity as the state religion also brought many difficulties. It can be an easy way of excusing ourselves to say it was easier to be a Christian “back then,” whenever “then” may have been. I would like to submit, however, that if our God is the eternal Being we know Him to be in Trinity and through His self-revelation, both through his Spirit and His Word in Jesus Christ, we have no excuses.  On Judgment Day we will be expected to have lived as Christians, even though we have come of age in the 20th century.

All those who attend the Archdiocese Convention will be provided with the following Announcements sheet. It is also being made available here for your benefit.

Announcements

Please be sure that your cell phone and/or pager is turned off or on “vibrate” while the chapel.

The Convention Registration Counter will be closed during all chapel services.

In order to maintain a prayerful attitude during our services, please afford yourself enough time to enter the chapel before the start of services and plan to be properly attired.  Shorts and tank tops are not appropriate in the chapel.  It is proper to also observe a pre-communion fast before receiving Holy Communion at the Divine Liturgy.  Priests are available to hear Confession at the front of the chapel prior to the beginning of each service.

Antiochian Village Announces a pan-Orthodox gathering of spiritual refreshment and fellowship in memory of Kh. Joanne Abdalah.

Kh. Joanne Abdalah served as an inspiration in her life as the wife of a priest and as a counselor to many. She understood the joys and trials of this life, and the need for finding strength in Christ and each other. She believed that every clergy wife needs to discover and develop her own Christian vocation.

In her memory, clergy wives of the Antiochian Archdiocese and greater Pittsburgh area Orthodox churches are planning the inaugural pan-Orthodox Clergy Wives Weekend at the Antiochian Village the weekend of November 7-8, 2009. Mother Christophora of Holy Transfiguration Monastery (Ellwood City) and Matushka Juliana Schmemann will be the speakers, addressing the theme: “How to Be a Clergy Wife and Still Go to Heaven.” The schedule will reflect Joanne’s holy and holistic approach to life – we need to pray; we need to play. We need to enjoy the fellowship for this short time without parish responsibilities, family responsibilities or other cares of this world.

IOCC Dateline: New Orleans, Louisiana

Covington, Louisiana - At 43, tan, and muscular, Michelle bounds up a ladder and uses her shoulder to hoist a "truss," a large wooden structure that will secure the roof of a new home. When she ducks as the team below her slides the truss into place, Michelle, a New Orleans native, reminds you of a pioneer woman. In fact, she is one. For the first time in her life, she will own a home, something that this landscape gardener and single mother never thought was possible.

Michelle is working on a Habitat for Humanity home, putting in the 300 hours of sweat equity required towards the acquisition of her own house. Her American dream is about to come true thanks in part to the hundreds of IOCC volunteers who have toiled in the Louisiana sun since 2006 to build new Habitat homes for the survivors of Hurricane Katrina. "The idea of owning my own home for personal security, for personal investment, for my two growing sons - plus one that is affordable and that can withstand a Category 5 hurricane is something I never thought possible," says Michelle.

Fr. Jeremy Davis, Deacon Ezra Ham, Fr. James Bernstein, Matthew Gallatin, John Maddex and Fr. Constantine NasrConciliar Media Ministries under the direction of CEO John Maddex coordinated an evangelism project in Oklahoma City June 19 and 20 with funding provided by the Antiochian Archdiocese as well as Charles Ajalat of the Orthodox Vision Foundation. Central Oklahoma was saturated with a four-week media blitz that included newpaper, radio, television, billboards, yard signs, and internet advertising.  The advertising campaign was led by St. Elijah members Richard Yeager, John and Kathi Larson, and Mark Loftis. 

On the local level Fr. Constantine Nasr, Sr. Pastor of St. Elijah Church, headed up a pan-Orthodox effort that included Fr. John Tsaras of St. George Greek Church, Fr. Raphael Moore of St. Mary Ukrainien Church, Fr. Anthony Nelson of St. Benedict Russian Church; and Fr. Justin McFeeters of Holy Ascension, Fr. Basil McMurry of St. James Mission, and Fr. Mark Wallace of St. Andrew Church (all Antiochian).

Guest speakers for the two-day event were Fr. James Bernstein and author Matthew Gallatin.  Over 800 attended with as many as 90% of those attending being non-Orthodox.

Click here to visit the website for the Discover Original Christianity project.

It is with great joy that His Eminence Metropolitan PHILIP announces the establishment of the Convent of St. Thekla at the Antiochian Village.  The Acting Superior of the convent will be Mother Alexandra (Magan), and we welcome her with joy to the Antiochian Archdiocese of North America.

Mother Alexandra will take up residency at the Antiochian Village during the first week of July, and will live in temporary housing until such time as the residence building is constructed on the proposed site for the convent, which is on the main property at the Antiochian Village. This will allow her to experience a good part of the camping season, and to interact with our children.

She also has plans to attend the Archdiocese Convention in late July, and to have a presence at the St. Thekla Pilgrimage which will be held at the Antiochian Village in September.

There will soon be a website established for the convent, where all important news and information will be posted.

A brief biography of Mother Alexandra follows below.

The Dept. of Sacred Music has long maintained one of the most popular sections of this website, a library of hundreds of pieces of official liturgical sheet music for use by our parishes. Now this library has been improved with a new interface for users, and many other changes to the software supporting the catalog. The new design will make it possible in the future for the department to work in collaboration with Antiochian.org to add audio tracks to accompany the sheet music, and more.

Currently, the library is highlighting the music for the upcoming Archdiocese Convention.

Click here to visit the Sacred Music Library.

Click here to visit the Department of Sacred Music, chaired by Christopher Holwey.

Our 49th Antiochian Archdiocese Convention will take place July 19 to 26, 2009, in Palm Desert, CA. Hosted by St. Michael Church of Van Nuys, the theme of the convention is: "Be mindful, O Lord, of those who bear fruit and do good works in thy Holy Churches, and who remember the poor." 

This important gathering of our faithful from across North America will be reported on via a variety of new media sources. The editors at Antiochian.org will be posting daily from the convention, and we have prepared a special section ready for this reporting, where you can also learn about the official website for the convention, other media ministries who will be in Desert Springs, and more.

In particular, we want to note that for the first time the convention planners have made available in advance online the official reports prepared by each department and ministry for delivery at the Convention. To take advantage of this valuable resource, you can download the reports as a single PDF file from the Convention website here.

For the first time, planners for the 49th annual Antiochian Convention have released online in advance of the Archdiocese Convention the official reports prepared by each department and ministry for delivery at the Convention. To take advantage of this valuable resource, you can download the reports as a single PDF file from the Convention website here.

One of the occasions to be commemorated at this year's convention will be that of Metropolitan PHILIP's anniversary of his elevation to the priesthood. May God grant His Eminence many, many years!

Click here to learn more about His Eminence and explore his writings.

This verse has been chosen as the theme for the 2009 Convention hosted July 19 to 26, 2009, in Palm Desert, CA, by St. Michael Church of Van Nuys:

"Be mindful, O Lord, of those who bear fruit and do good works in thy Holy Churches, and who remember the poor." + The Anaphoras of Sts. Basil the Great and John Chrysostom

In support of this theme, International Orthodox Christian Charities (IOCC) will be exhibiting at the Convention, with multiple special presentations planned.

Also present will be FOCUS North America. Working primarily in the areas of Food, Occupation, Clothing, Understanding and Shelter, FOCUS North America (the Fellowship of Orthodox Christians United to Serve) exists to share the love of Christ with our neighbors who are hungry, thirsty, naked, sick, strangers and in prison here in North America (Matt. 25:34-6).  FOCUS North America is a domestic social action agency of the Orthodox Church "warmly endorsed" by the hierarchs of SCOBA.  It was formed to serve the poor and needy on behalf of the Church in North America, to support existing Orthodox ministries doing so effectively, and to help welcoming parishes initiate new social action ministries in their own communities.

Here at www.Antiochian.org, we will be bringing together notable news about charitable work done across our Archdiocese and the ministries like IOCC which we help support. Visit our collection of articles on charitable work here.

Verily, the all-solemn Feast of the two Apostles hath arrived, bringing us salvation. Wherefore, let us mystically exult, crying unto them: Rejoice, O ye who have become luminaries to those in darkness, two rays of the Sun! Rejoice, O Peter and Paul, adamant pillars of the divine doctrines, ye friends of Christ and two honored vessels! Be ye present among us in an invisible manner, and grant immaterial gifts to those who extol your feast with songs.

--Doxasticon of the Feast, Tone 6

by Robert Bowman
From The Word Magazine, June 1965

The reason for going to college is to acquire knowledge of this world. All men naturally desire to know, but knowledge without the fear of God is completely useless. There are many things, the knowledge of which is of little or no profit to the soul. A man’s first consideration must always be the salvation of his soul. When we stand before the Lord on Judgment Day, He will not ask if we know the rules of grammar, or Newton’s Laws of Motion; He will ask, instead, if we know and observe the Laws of God. This is not to say that a certain amount of worldly knowledge is not proper and necessary, but that knowledge which is to be acquired in the institutions of higher learning, must be true knowledge.

How is the student to recognize true knowledge from false doctrine, if he has not first based his entire life on a firm belief in the doctrines of Jesus Christ? “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; and they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.” (II Timothy, 4: 3.)

Young minds are easily molded.  They can be molded in the path of Christ and Godliness, or they can be molded in the path of worldliness and evil. But a young person’s soul, which is firmly entrenched in the ways of the Lord, will serve constantly as a barrier against the teachings of evil, and against the temptations of Satan.

In II Timothy, Chap. 3, we learn that in the last days - perilous times shall come. Among other evils, men will be “ever learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.” We learn, also, that evil men will grow worse and worse, not only deceiving but also being deceived.

It has been the tradition of the Holy Synod of Antioch that all official resolutions that have been duly adopted at a meeting of the Holy Synod are published with the signatures of the Patriarch, as well as all of the Metropolitans who were present at the meeting. In this way, the will of the Holy Synod is expressed in a most powerful way by the presence of all of the signatures of the attending hierarchs. The most recent example of this was the communication of the decision of February 24th, 2009, which was distributed with all of the signatures of the hierarchs who were in attendance (the Arabic version may be viewed here by way of example).

The Holy Synod of Antioch met from June 16 through 18, 2009, to consider the status of bishops across the See of Antioch and other matters. However, the Archdiocese has not received any document that contains the signatures of all of the hierarchs who were in attendance at that meeting. When we do receive such a document, we will publish it as the official decision of the Holy Synod of Antioch.

"We who eagerly honour thee are unable, O Prophet, Forerunner of the presence of Christ, to extol thee as it is meet to do; for by thy noble and solemn nativity the barrenness of thy mother was undone, and the tongue of thy father was loosened, and to the world was proclaimed the Incarnation of the Son of God." + Troparion, in the Fourth Tone

Click here for a reflection on St. Elizabeth, mother of St. John the Baptist, from the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Women's Orthodox Women Saints collection.

Click here for an inspiring reflection on the significance of the Forerunner by Antiochian pastor, blogger and podcaster Fr. Joseph Huneycutt.

The theme of the upcoming 2009 Archdiocese Convention is charity: "Be mindful, O Lord, of those who bear fruit and do good works in thy holy Churches, and who remember the poor." In that spirit, Antiochian.org will begin publishing additional content on the charitable work being done across the Antiochian Archdiocese and the ministries we support, including those of SCOBA (Standing Conference of Canonical Orthodox Bishops in the Americas), like OCN.

The Orthodox Christian Network is excited to announce another addition to its already dynamic and ever evolving list of Radio on Demand Programming (Podcast), The FOCUS North America Podcast.

The Focus North America Podcast will feature engaging commentary and timely updates on Orthodox Christian social action volunteers, agencies and ministries of the Orthodox Church reaching out to the poor and needy here at home.

Rev. Dr. Christopher Metropulos, the Executive Director of the OCN, an agency of SCOBA, said, “Serving the poor and needy in North America should be a priority for every Orthodox Christian. We are proud to partner with FOCUS North America and to support their dynamic and growing ministry on behalf of the whole Church.”