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A new brochure and updated registration form are now available for the 2011 Orthodox Institute: "Scripture through the Lens of the Holy Land." For further information and to download brochures and forms, please visit www.antiochian.org/christianeducation/oi2011.

Very Rev. Troy Mashburn, Deacon Matthew Snowden, Very Rev. David Hester, Rev. Methodios Ingalls, Nicholas Buck, Subdeacon Matthew Howell, Very Rev. Alexander Atty, Deacon Daniel Meyer, Rev. Stephen Howell, and Subdeacon Joseph Hazar.At the 69th annual commencement of St. Tikhon’s Orthodox Theological Seminary on Saturday, May 28, 2011, six Antiochian Orthodox seminarians graduated with their Masters of Divinity degrees. The six students pictured at right are Deacon Matthew Snowden, Father Methodios Ingalls, Subdeacon Joseph Hazar, Nicholas Buck, Deacon Daniel Meyer and Subdeacon Matthew Howell.

Of these six, Father Methodios Ingalls graduated with Distinction for his Thesis in Theology and Spirituality, Subdeacon Matthew Howell with Distinction for his Thesis in Theology and Spirituality, and Deacon Daniel Meyer with Distinction for his Thesis in Scripture. The Reverend Archimandrite Zacharias Zacharou of St. John the Baptist Monastery, Essex, England, gave the Commencement Address on the topic of Prophecy in the Priesthood, and he received an honorary Doctor of Divinity Degree from St. Tikhon’s Orthodox Theological Seminary. Two Antiochian Orthodox priests were present as relatives of the Graduates: the Very Rev. Fr. John Troy Mashburn of St. John in Memphis, the father-in-law of Deacon Matthew Snowden, and the Rev. Fr. Stephen Howell of St. Athanasius in Sacramento, the father of Subdeacon Matthew Howell. The new Dean of St. Tikhon’s, the Antiochian Orthodox priest, the Very Rev. Fr. Alexander Atty, spoke during the ceremony, and the Very Rev. Fr. David Hester, pastor of St. Mary Wilkes-Barre, and adjunct Associate Professor of Patristics and Church History at St. Tikhon’s, was among faculty present. Over the past years, St. Mary Wilkes-Barre hosted two of the graduates who were assigned to the parish: Deacon Matthew Snowden and Subdeacon Joseph Hazar.

Camp St. Laurence near Canon City, CO
September 30-October 2, 2011
Download Flyer and Registration Form (PDF)

A Women’s Retreat with Lynette Smith and her book Voyage will be offered at Camp St. Laurence near Canon City, Colorado from Friday afternoon, 30 September, and concluding with Sunday Liturgy and brunch, followed by quiet time and departures for home.

Camp St. Laurence is an entire mountain valley surrounding Tallahassee Creek about twenty miles west of Canon City off Hwy 50. The valley is surrounded by National Forests and very quiet while revealing much of what makes Colorado such a beautiful and appealing place with great forests on the hillsides and cottonwoods and aspens along the creek. Lodging and meals are included in the modest tuition of $ 75 for a shared room. Private rooms are $95 and available on a first come basis.

Lynette Smith is a recognized Bible scholar and author and very committed to the Orthodox Christian Faith. She is a member of the choir at St. Columba’s Church in Lafayette, Colorado and has taught at other Orthodox parishes in the Diocese of Wichita.

For more information and a registration form, please download the event flyer (PDF).

His Grace Bishop Basil writes:

Please join me in praying a rope for the repose of the soul of Adeeb Sadd, honorary member of the Archdiocesan Board of Trustees and past North American Chair of The Order of St. Ignatius (1987-1991) from Encino, California, who fell asleep in Christ at 11:57PM on August 31st, 2011. Adeeb is survived by his wife Carolyn, their three daughters Chrisa, Carrie and Leilah and their families.

May God grant Adeeb Paradise, and may He grant you long life!

by V. Rev. Fr. James Meena
from The Word, September 1987

In the Gospel of St. Matthew, we hear Jesus quote the ancient scripture from the prophesies of Isaiah and from that moment on, He began to preach this message: “Repent for the kingdom of heaven is close at hand,” (4:12-17). Those particular words have stirred up some anxiety and fear in the hearts of people without warrant for many years. Jesus was not threatening us, nor should we interpret this statement, as do some of our fellow Christians, as being just a precautionary admonition, “repent or else,” because the scriptures are filled with “or elses.” It was not necessary for Jesus to come and to utter another one. What He was saying is, in effect, prepare yourself for it because there is no way that you can enter into that kingdom so long as you bear in your conscience the brands of sin and guilt for having transgressed the commandments of God.

Now Jesus, though He is the Son of God, was steeped in scripture. All throughout the testaments of the four evangelists, we find Jesus quoting the scriptures and it is necessary for us to learn from His example that it is necessary for us to be able to understand scripture, not merely to memorize chapter and verse, for Jesus simply stated: “The prophet Isaiah said,” and He knew that the people to whom He was speaking understood because they knew the scriptures. It is necessary however for us to know the spirit of scripture, its teachings, its intent.

5th Annual DOWAMA SOYO Basketball Tournament & Retreat

St. Elijah Church, Oklahoma City, OK
October 7-9, 2011
Featuring Speaker Alex Younes

What you need to know…

• Registration is only $20 but…
• …we’ll be staying in a hotel so you will need to pay for that (See flyer)
• Team registration cost is $50
• Individual registration and medical form MUST be turned in BEFORE the deadline of October 1st!

Please send release forms and team registration forms to:

St. Elijah Orthodox Church
Attn: ERIN LEARNED
15000 N. May Ave.
Oklahoma City, OK 73134

Questions? Contact DOWAMA Youth Director Erin Learned at erin@stelijahokc.com.

The memory of the righteous is celebrated with songs of praise, but the Lord’s testimony is sufficient for thee, O Forerunner. Thou wast shown indeed to be the most honorable of the prophets, for in the waters thou didst baptize Him Who had been proclaimed. After suffering with joy in behalf of the truth, thou didst proclaim even to those in Hades the God Who appeared in the flesh, Who takest away the sin of the world, and granteth us the Great Mercy.

--Troparion of the Feast, Tone 2

Fr. Thomas Hopko discusses the Prophet, Forerunner and Baptizer, John on Ancient Faith Radio: Part 1, Part 2

Archbishop Dmitri preaching at St George Cathedral in Wichita, Kansas on the Sunday of Orthodoxy, 2009.from OCA.org:

DALLAS, TX [OCA]

The Repose of His Eminence, Archbishop Dmitri Metropolitan Jonah with Archbishop Dmitri in late August.

His Eminence, the Most Reverend Dmitri, 87, retired Archbishop of Dallas and the Diocese of the South, fell asleep in the Lord at his home here at 2:00 a.m. Sunday morning, August 28, 2011.

His Beatitude, Metropolitan Jonah, and many priests and faithful had kept vigil in Dallas during Archbishop Dmitri’s final days. The Metropolitan was to have traveled to the Czech Republic with a delegation from the Orthodox Church in America, but remained in Dallas to be with the Archbishop.

Funeral services will be celebrated at Dallas’ Saint Seraphim Cathedral — the parish Archbishop Dmitri founded as a mission shortly after his ordination in 1954. Days and times will be posted at oca.org as they are received.

Read more at OCA.org

Listen to Fr. Stephen Freeman and John Maddex discuss the life of Archbishop Dmitri on Ancient Faith Rado

The Saint Lydia's Book Club website is honored to announce the launch of Orthodox Writers and Readers, a year-long series featuring Orthodox writers from around the United States, as well as Canada, the United Kingdom and Palestine. These featured guests will be blogging about their personal experiences of living the Orthodox writing life. They will talk about what motivates them, how they write, what they're currently working on, and any special experiences they have had as Orthodox writers. Orthodox readers will also be featured, offering perspectives from the other side of the equation. Our first guest is well-known Conciliar Press author, blogger, and Ancient Faith Radio podcaster Molly Sabourin, who will appear on September 1st, 2011.

Order now at OCABSPress.com!

1 Corinthians: A Commentary
by Very Rev. Dr. Paul Nadim Tarazi

The Chrysostom Bible Commentary Series is not so much in honor of John Chrysostom as it is to continue and promote his legacy as an interpreter of the biblical texts for preaching and teaching God's congregation. In this volume , the author, Paul Nadim Tarazi, argues that the "truth of the gospel, whose sole champion was Paul, did not entail something new to be added to the Old Testament Law, which is the expression of God's will for all ages...The Pauline letters," he explains, "were conceived to spread this message as scripture...among all those letters, 1 Corinthians holds the place of honor."

The V. Rev. Dr. Paul Nadim Tarazi is Professor of Biblical Studies and Languages at St. Vladimir's Orthodox theological Seminary. He is the author of a three volume Introduction to the Old Testament, a four volume Introduction to the New Testament, Galatians: A Commentary, 1 Thessalonians: A Commentary, Land and Covenant, and the Chrysostom Bible, Genesis: A Commentary, Philippians: A Commentary, Romans: A Commentary and Colossians & Philemon: A Commentary. His Audio Bible Commentaries on the books of the New Testament are available online through the Orthodox Center for the Advancement of Biblical Studies (OCABS).

His Grace Bishop Thomas writes:

Beloved in Christ,

Your prayers are requested for the repose of the soul of the servant of God the Archpriest James Deep. Fr. James is retired and the former pastor of St. Anthony Church in Butler, Pennsylvania. Funeral arrangements are pending.

The collected reports from the General Assembly at the 2011 Archdiocese Convention in Chicago are now available online in PDF format. Individual PDFs of each department's reports will be available shortly on Antiochian.org's organization and department pages.

Click here to download the full collection of reports (PDF, 12.5MB)

Part 3: Where Does It Take Place?

Click here to read Part 1
Click here to read Part 2

In her book Christian Education in the Small Membership Church, Karen Tye discusses the beginnings of the Sunday School, and the reasons it became relegated to formal Sunday morning classes exclusively.  In this section, she encourages us to expand our vision of Christian Education beyond the traditional Sunday morning box, to examine the one-room schoolhouse model , and the homeschooling concept of education.

The one-room school model is firmly fixed in American history, as it was the way early small communities collaborated to educate their children.   This form of education is certainly custom made for the small church school, which must of necessity have groups with a range of ages, as did the one-room schoolhouse.  In this sort of setting, older children learn while helping younger ones, and younger children have the older students as ready-made role models.  Each student learns at his own pace, and receives individual attention from the teacher, and there is very little presented in the group lesson format. 

Types of Writing

Narrative: A story or account of events, experiences, or the like, whether true or fictitious.

• Personal Narrative - experiences that have been encountered, read, or heard about. Lots of description, action, and dialogue will help make the piece interesting and engage the reader to feel what the author felt.
• Imaginative Narrative - a made up story. Instead of being about real things, this story is about things you imagine. Creativity is the most important thing in making an imaginative story. You don't need to be afraid to go above and beyond reality. For example, instead of including events that can happen to you everyday, create unusual events that could never happen in real life.

Expository: Writing that is used to describe, explain, or inform (conveys information from writer to reader.)

OrthodoxJobs.com – new and improved website for the job seeker and employer

Boston, MA – August 8, 2011 - The Department of Internet Ministries of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese and the Office of Vocation & Ministry of Hellenic College are pleased to announce the launch of the redesigned and updated web site www.OrthodoxJobs.com. Developed to serve Christian and service-oriented industries, especially Orthodox agencies, schools, and ministries, the improved site is now enhanced with resume and job search features. All job posting services for employers and job searching services for job seekers are free.

With this major update, employers can create instant online applications and pre-screening questionnaires, manage potential applicants and job posting statistics, and utilize other enhanced tools. Job seekers can post resumes, which are fully searchable by employers, and can be instantly updated online.  

A new classifieds feature of the site provides networking capabilities with business to business directory-style advertising of products and services.  For just $99 per year, independent contractors to general businesses can advertise their specific products and services on the site. OrthodoxJobs.com provides any business—photographer, iconographer, graphic designer, chanter, etc.—with a searchable and targeted advertising opportunity on a local, regional, and national level.

The Homilies of St. John Chrysostom on the Gospel According to St. Matthew

". . . But when the young man heard it, he went away sorrowful" (Matthew 19:22)

After this the evangelist, as it were to show that he hath not felt anything it was unlikely he should feel, saith, "For he had great possessions." For they that have little are not equally held in subjection, as they that are overflowed with great affluence, for then the love of it becomes more tyrannical. Which thing I cease not always saying, that the increase of acquisitions kindles the flame more, and renders the getters poorer, inasmuch as it puts them in greater desire, and makes them have more feeling of their want.

See, for example, even here what strength did this passion exhibit. Him that had come to Him with joy and forwardness, when Christ commanded him to cast away his riches, it so overwhelmed and weighed down, as not to suffer him so much as to answer touching these things, but silenced and become dejected and sullen to go away.

What then saith Christ? "How hardly shall the rich enter into the kingdom of Heaven!" blaming not riches but them that are held in subjection by them. But if the rich man "hardly," much more the covetous man. For if not to give one's own be an hindrance to entering the kingdom, even to take of other men's goods, think how much fire it heapeth up.

Why can it have been, however, that He said to His disciples, that "hardly shall a rich man enter in," they being poor men, and having no possessions? Instructing them not to be ashamed of their poverty, and, as it were, excusing Himself to them for suffering them to have nothing.

by Fr. George Morelli

The Lord is just in all his ways, and kind in all his doings (Ps 144: 17)

Even a casual reader of the articles I write cannot help but notice the spiritual emphasis, based on the example of Christ Himself, that I place on kindliness, forgiveness and Godliness. (Morelli, 2006b, 2007a, 2007b) Therefore, it should come as no surprise how spiritually upsetting a recent opinion piece by a Russian journalist which was forwarded to me:  

One value that the . . . Orthodox Church does not have enough of is kindness and compassion. The upholding of ritual and rules often supplants genuine feeling and compassion. Among Orthodox priests there are many who would sternly tell a woman, “cover your head” in church, oblivious to the fact that the woman is trying to calm down her crying child and has no time to find or readjust her headscarf. A sad young woman who comes to a church to seek solace may hear: “You can’t wear trousers here.” I have witnessed such scenes myself and I can imagine how many souls have been turned away by such uncharitable severity. As long as the . . . Orthodox priest does not become a shepherd first and an administrator second, the faith of many . . . will remain a dream and not a source of spiritual fortitude.ⁱ

What a sad account about some who are supposed to pastor the people of God! Now I would like to dismiss such stories as isolated incidents or mere accidents. Unfortunately, I myself have been subjected to similar treatment by hierarchs and priests, and I have witnessed laity being similarly treated. Regrettably, I have also heard numerous complaints from pious individuals visiting parishes and monasteries describing very similar situations.

by Fr. George Morelli

The display of anger is so common that it frequently goes unnoticed. Rather, it has become  the  expected response to any slight, no matter how trivial or harsh, given to someone by someone else in society.  Some "getting back at" or  "vengeance" is the norm. No one is exempt, parents, coaches, athletes, referees, police officers, teachers or those acquitted of a criminal offense. Interestingly, a recent news report noted that displaying anger at subordinates, especially combined with the use of scatological words, has also become the required norm to be an effective leader.  [http://www.blogging4jobs.com/business/swearing-makes-you-a-better-leader/]

Psychologically, anger occurs because we perceive ourselves to be "intruded on" to the extent that it justifies aggression, vengeance, and retaliation.  To display this level of anger we have to have to see ourselves as very 'important.' St. Basil tells us "Anger nurses a grievance. The soul, itching for vengeance, constantly tempts us to repay those who have offended" [St Basil the Great, Homily 10]. I am so important, so above others that I have the "right" to act uncharitably toward others. Note that I am making an important distinction between annoyance, which in fact could motivate a useful adaptive response such as being more focused or trying harder, with real anger.

There may be some who would perceive angry individuals as effective leaders, but, in general, psychologists have found damaging boomerang effects for anger displays: relationships are fermented, people will tend to retaliate; it cognitively distracts from solving problems, and even if what I am angry about has some truth to it, my over-reaction lessens my credibility.

by Seminarian Joshua Makoul
from The Word, September 1999

In a world so consumed and fixated with worldly pleasures and riddled with secularism, it has become dangerously easy for the Christian to lose touch with his identity as a child of God and to forget who he is and why he lives. Each day we are bombarded by forces that smother the Spirit in us and attempt to strangle the life of Christ in us. This is a process that happens very subtly, without us hardly even noticing it. We are reminded of the parable of the sower who went out to sow his seeds, and “some of the seeds fell among the thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked the seed so that it became unfruitful” (Matthew 13:7). Perhaps the greatest danger to the Christian living in the world today is to allow that gradual process to take hold in his or her life, in which we gradually become less mindful of the things of the Spirit: prayer, confession, scripture reading; less sensitive to sin, more mindful of material pleasures, and increasingly attached to life in this world. It is a subtle process through which, without us hardly noticing it, our life, our inner life, fades away and becomes hardly distinguishable from the life or existence of the non-believer. Before we realize it we have become the prodigal son who, this time unknowingly, wanders away from the Father and finds himself far away and almost unrecognizable to himself. It seems that we are in need of reminders and examples to help us remain vigilant to who we are and why we are here.

After the Hierarchical Divine Liturgy. Flanking Bishop Thomas, Fr. Ted Pulcini and Dn. Evangelos Prieston. In the front row: altar servers Herman Makosky, Kosta Sideras, and Nicholas Kauffman; Sbdn. Joseph MerlinaAs the parishioners of St. Mary Church in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania were concluding their observance of the Dormition Fast in preparation for the Great Feast of the Dormition, their parish nameday, Bishop Thomas arrived in Chambersburg to celebrate with them.

Fr. Ted Pulcini, St. Mary’s pastor, drove His Grace into Chambersburg during the afternoon of Friday, August 12. That evening Bishop Thomas presided over the final Paraklesis service of the fast, leading a group of parishioners in their supplications to the Mother of God.

The next morning, Fr. Ted accompanied Sayyidna to the St. Seraphim Center, a FOCUS-affiliated ministry conducted by the parish to feed the needy in the Chambersburg area. The Center serves lunch to some 35 to 45 guests twice a week (on Thursdays and Saturdays), complementing the lunch schedule of the local Salvation Army. The Center will be observing its second anniversary this fall and is now well recognized as a welcoming community center in the Chambersburg area. Since last fall, the Center has also offered recycled articles of clothing, free of charge, to men, women, and children who need them. Bishop Thomas commended the work of the Center and gave his enthusiastic blessing to its continued efforts.

• Dioceses of Charleston and New York
• Dioceses of Los Angeles and Eagle River
• Diocese of Miami and the Southeast
• Diocese of Ottawa, Eastern Canada and Upstate New York
• Diocese of Toledo and the Midwest
• Diocese of Wichita and Mid-America
• Diocese of Worcester and New England

Diocese of Charleston and the Mid-Atlantic

Diocese of New York and Washington, D.C.

Background Information for Lesson Plans (Word)

Goals and Explanation of Theme (Word)

Starting the Church School Year:

• Assign each classroom a book of the BIBLE for the year. During the year each class could research and study their book, use the data to act it out and learn to sing the hymnography that is in that book.
• Decorate with banners of quotes from the BIBLE.
• Use the icon logo on their room sign.
• Use a pattern of an open book for your bulletin board displays.

Through the Year:

• Halloween - Celebrate Fall and the BIBLE with a costume party of BIBLE characters.
• Thanksgiving - Find out what the foods of the BIBLE are and try them in a recipe.
• Nativity/Christmas – Compare and contrast the narratives from Matthew and Luke.
• Pascha - For the Gospel reading in different languages organize volunteers to read.
• March – National Reading Month: Have students write a book report on a book about the BIBLE or a book of the BIBLE.

Ongoing:

• Challenge class, or entire Church School, to read the entire BIBLE in a year, a chapter a week, a book a month, etc.
• Ask your priest to start a BIBLE Study for teachers, students, families or the whole parish.
• Personify a BIBLE Story – write journal entries as if you are the main character.
• Challenge the students to find an upcoming feast in the BIBLE, read aloud, act out or report on to the parish, write a bulletin entry or ask to give a sermonette in church.

For Memorization: