Latest News and Articles

Dear Young Adults,

With the blessing of His Grace Bishop Anthony, we are very excited to announce the 2nd Annual Midwest Young Adult Retreat to be held April 5-7, 2013 at the Maranatha Retreat Center in Muskegon, MI, on beautiful Lake Michigan. This year, we welcome Fr. Michael Nasser, the Pastor of Holy Apostles Mission in Bowling Green, KY, as our guest speaker for the weekend. Many of our young people remember him for his many years of service as the former Camp Director at the Antiochian Village and his mission work at Project Mexico. Fr. Michael is a dynamic speaker, whose talks will surely challenge and inspire us in the faith.

"The Bible 'enchants our ears with birdsong.' It enchants us and delights us. It brings us peace, but it also instills awe. The Bible is filled with great deeds and acts of love. What is most delightful, however, is the fact that all these great deeds involve human beings, not superheroes. Whether through Noah building an ark or Moses leading a whole nation out of slavery, God is acting through people like us, people who have as great a potential to love as to sin."

These and other well-chosen words prompted this year's Oratorical Festival judges to award Peter Somi the 2012 Festival Judges' Choice Award. Peter hails from St. George Cathedral in Worcester (Diocese of Worcester and New England) and his full speech can be read here.

Esther Simbol, Bible Bowl Coordinator, writes that this year's Fellowship of St. John the Divine North American Council (NAC) Bible Bowl at Antiochian Village received rousing support from 300 campers, who cheered for their favorite teams. The Topic this year was St. Paul's Letter to the Romans, and all seven Dioceses were represented. This year’s winner was the team from St. Elias Cathedral, Ottawa, Ontario, representing the Diocese of Ottawa, Eastern Canada and Upper State New York. The team consisted of Amanda Salibi, Maria Fakhouri and Milad Hamwi. Read about the theme and the participants in September's The Word.

Fr. Ignatius Warren, Pastor of St. Elias Orthodox Church of Sylvania, Ohio, writes:

The Fellowship of St. John the Divine's Midwest Diocese Fall Gathering is scheduled for October 5-7 at St. Elias Orthodox Church in Sylvania, Ohio. Our parish is honored to host the clergy and laity of our diocese, including our own Bishop Anthony, and is pleased to present Katrina Bitar, the director of YES North America, as our featured speaker.

Please help us make this event a success by including this downloadable flier and information in your weekly bulletins, monthly newsletters, parish e-mails, parish social media sites (i.e. Facebook, Twitter, etc.), and Sunday announcements. Most importantly, please pass this information along to the leaders of your parish Fellowship of St. John, Antiochian Women, SOYO, and Christian Educators.

Hotel and registration information is also on our website.

It is our hope this weekend will be an opportunity for the Diocese to come together in Christian unity for prayer, fellowship, meetings, and workshops that inspire and edify. With your help and cooperation, I have no doubt the 2012 Fall Gathering will be a success.

Please note the deadlines for Hotel Reservations (September 21st) and Early Registration (September 29th).

If I can provide any additional information or be or any assistance, please do not hesitate to let me know. I look forward to seeing all of you in October!

Young adults from St. George in Akron reunite with Sayedna Anthony, their former youth directorBy Khalil G. Samara, Diocese of Toledo FSJD President

After the Fall Fellowship of St. John Gathering in 2011, His Grace Bishop Anthony (then Bishop-elect) encouraged the young adults that were at the Fall Gathering to continue to meet on a regular basis. With no spring meeting scheduled, we decided to plan a Spring Retreat to focus on spiritual renewal and fellowship with other young adults from our Diocese. The weekend of March 30-April 1, 2012 was chosen, and the Basilica of St. Mary in Livonia, MI, graciously offered their facility as the host location. Over 60 young adults from 13 parishes in our Diocese came together for our Young Adult Spring Retreat, sponsored by the Diocese of Toledo Fellowship of St. John the Divine.

The weekend began as we prayed the Akathist service with the parishioners of St. Mary’s. Following the service, His Grace Bishop Anthony began the retreat by introducing the topic “Following in the Footsteps of Christ.” The evening concluded with a Coffee House social in the church's Activity Center so we could relax from the long drive and to get to know each other. We thank Tom and Lillian Saba for planning and organizing the evening social.

Bethesda Marriot Suites, Venue for GatheringSs. Peter and Paul Antiochian Orthodox Church in Potomac, MD, is hosting the spring gathering for both the Diocese of Charleston and the Diocese of New York youth.

Highlights will include:

• Unlimited Bowling Friday Night for $10

• Registration Cost: $35

• Registration Includes Breakfast and Lunch Saturday at the Church Hall

• Registration also includes Dinner and Hafli Saturday Night with live entertainment

• In lieu of the humanitarian activity, each teen from each church is asked to bring a canned food to be donated to a shelter at a later date.

Download retreat schedule.

Download registration.

HOTEL INFORMATION

Hotel Accommodations: Bethesda Marriott Suites

6711 Democracy Boulevard, Bethesda, MD 20817

(301) 897-5600

• Hotel Rooms at $89 per night

• Rooms can accommodate more than 4 people – All are Suites

• Group Code for Hotel Reservation: SPPSPPA

• Registration Due by April 13th for guaranteed room rate

The Fall Session for the St. John Chrysostom Academy will start on Wednesday, October 19th and last until December 14th. This Fall's course is the "The Letter to the Romans," and will be offered on Wednesdays from 7:30-9:30pm at St. George Antiochian Orthodox Church, 1220 S. 60th Court, Cicero, IL 60804. The St. John Chrysostom Academy is an Adult Lay Educational Ministry of the Fellowship of St. John the Divine at St. George.

Download the Registration Form, attached here, and please feel free to distribute to your parishioners. Thank you!

Also, for more information about ongoing Biblical studies and resources, visit the newly redesigned website of the Orthodox Center for the Advancement of Biblical Studies (OCABS).

You wouldn’t think it would be possible to make the Antiochian Village even more beautiful than it already is, but the NAC Special Projects Committee is trying. Nestled just off of the main track visitors will now find a newly installed Prayer Garden, designed around a simple theme. A stone pathway encircling the central area leads to an icon shrine dedicated to St. John the Divine, patron saint of the NAC Fellowship. Inside the mulch-covered central area, a single dogwood tree stands. In the large mulch area outside the pathway are stone benches, a few plants, and room to expand!

This Prayer Garden sprang to life through a combination of Fellowship planning, a Boy Scout working hard to give something back to a place he loves through his Eagle Scout Project, a team of volunteers who offered up sweat and hard work, and the Grace of God. 

A planting in this prayer garden is a lovely way to honor, remember, or pray for someone you care about. For a donation that will just cover the cost of materials, the NAC Fellowship will take care of all the details.

As we near the mid-point of this year's Great Lent, the faithful may wish to remember that the giving of alms to those in need is an important part of our Lenten practice. To that end, please remember the Food for Hungry People program. Through your generosity and prayers, hundreds of thousands of dollars have been distributed to the hungry and poor in the United States, Canada, Mexico, South America, the Middle East, Africa, Asia, and Europe. All of the funds collected have been used to meet the needs of hungry people.

Updated brochures, bulletin inserts, fundraising ideas and the 2011 Food for Hungry People Lenten Calendar are available at the Food for Hungry People web page. Please take a look and remember the poor!

“When you see a poor person, remember the words of our Lord Jesus Christ by which He declared that it is He, Himself who is fed. For though that which appears be not Christ, yet in that person’s form, it is Christ Himself who receives and begs.”
-St. John Chrysostom, “Homilies on Mathew” #78.

The 2010  DOWAMA Fall Gathering and Retreat will be hosted at St. Elijah Church in Oklahoma City, OK on Friday and Saturday, October 22nd & 23rd (ending in the afternoon).  The featured speaker will be Khouriya Suzanne Wallace of St. Andrew Church in Oklahoma City.  For details, please see the attached flyer or contact DOWAMA Fellowship Spiritual Advisor Fr. Jeremy Davis  at frjeremy@stelijahokc.com.

Download event flyer and registration form (PDF)

St. John Chrysostom Academy
Reverend Father Fouad Saba, Director

The St. John Chrysostom Academy is an Adult Lay Educational Ministry of the Fellowship of St. John the Divine at St. George Church, Cicero, IL

The Book of Genesis
April 16-June 4, 2010

This course will explore The Book of Genesis within the overall structure of the Pentateuch (Torah) and the Bible as a whole. The Book of Genesis, the first book in the Bible, in which the story of the relationship of God and man begins, defines the rest of scripture through vocabulary, narrative and structure.

Faculty: Fr. Fouad Saba

Tuition is $30.00 per semester course.

Spring 2010 Registration Form (PDF)

Please complete form and submit with payment to Registrar at St. George Church.

*Ncense, a vocal group composed of young men from the Antiochian Archdiocese, has recently released a new CD. Titled "Rising from the East," the new recording contains hymns from the Divine Liturgy for the feast of St. Raphael of Brooklyn. Proceeds from sales of the CD will go to benefit Orthodox camping programs. The project was sponsored by the Fellowship of St. John the Divine, and follows *Ncense's previous recording "Every Good and Perfect Gift."

To order, please download a PDF order form, or e-mail NcenseCD@aol.com for more information.

Monday, June 22, 2009 – Thursday, June 25, 2009

Nothing short of awesomeness can describe the excitement experienced by an intimate 8 members, including our Advisor, Fr. Saba, on the long-awaited FSJD Road Trip this past week. The intention for this trip was to experience Orthodoxy, in fellowship with one another and with our brothers and sisters on the East Coast. This was first and foremost accomplished by accepting an invitation for lunch from His Eminence Metropolitan PHILIP and His Grace Bishop ANTOUN at the Antiochian Archdiocese Headquarters in Englewood, New Jersey. In visiting the Antiochian Village, other Orthodox Churches and Cathedrals, new friends were made with other Fellowships in the Archdiocese, saw beautiful Church Iconography, and learned about the history of the Orthodox Church and of the Archdiocese of North America.

A few stand-out moments:

Rammy Zanayed’s favorite experience was sitting on the left hand side of Metropolitan PHILIP and listening to His Eminence’s rich stories as leader of the Archdiocese. Rammy says “This is something I will remember for the rest of my life.” The intricate mosaics at St. Paul’s Greek Orthodox Cathedral awe-inspired Rammy as he walked around the Church’s overwhelming number of mosaics, which depicted various events in the life of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ on all four walls and ceiling.

Diana Saba enjoyed the lunch with His Eminence and venerating the relics of St. John the Damascus at St. Paul’s Cathedral. After traveling and walking many hours, Diana enjoyed a nice sharwarma dinner from the infamous Stand at 53rd and 6th in the middle of Manhattan!