Featured Stories

The Antiochian Archdiocese’s Christian Education Director Carole Buleza, department web editor Timm Wenger, and the team at antiochian.org, have redesigned and significantly improved the department’s popular web pages this fall. At www.antiochian.org/christianeducation, browsers can find resources for parents, Sunday School teachers and directors, youth workers and homeschoolers. Curriculum is readily available, and a special section created for small church schools helps instructors in communities where resources are limited. The Department of Christian Education now has a Facebook presence as well, and teachers can log in by clicking the Facebook button for that purpose posted on the web page’s right-hand column.

For families and teachers, Ancient Faith Radio is featuring several helpful posts about the Orthodox perspective on Halloween.

Fr. George Morelli, Orthodox priest and psychologist, gives frank talk on the origins of Halloween and speaks to how parents can approach the holiday and how the festival can be redeemed in his podcast, “Orthodoxy and Halloween.”

A book for children, titled Halloween Town, by Dennis Eugene Engleman, draws children in with an enchanting story line about the dangers that lie behind the Halloween spirit. Parents can buy the book at the Regina Press website. Children can also listen to a reading of the book on Ancient Faith Radio.

In another insightful reflection, Fr. Peter Bouteneff speaks of the cross and its relationship to Halloween, in his Oct. 19 podcast episode: “Halloween, Demons and the Cross.” 

Ancient Faith Radio is proud to announce the launch of its new web site. The improved site features better organized content with a new top navigation, better search capability and a simplified site design. AFR hopes that users will find the new site easier to use and a daily resource for the very best in Orthodox Christian music, talk readings and teaching.

Additional new features include:

• Convenient updates showing recent podcasts and daily resources
• Podcasts and Specials displayed side by side, with convenient sliders for navigation

Click here and enjoy the new Ancient Faith Radio!

The Orthodox Center for the Advancement of Biblical Studies is pleased to announce the publication of "Land and Covenant," the latest in a series of books to be released this year by Fr. Paul Nadim Tarazi. Personally commissioned by +Archbishop Philip Saliba, "Land and Covenant" addresses the root cause of Palestinian suffering—and Middle Eastern strife generally—through a stunningly comprehensive analysis of the Biblical story.

In his preface to Fr. Tarazi’s book, +Metropolitan Philip writes: "If you have lived in the Middle East since the inception of the state of Israel, or if you are a student of twentieth century Middle East history, you cannot help but take part in the debate which has produced many books on the ongoing conflict between Jews and Arabs, especially Palestinians...[Tarazi addresses this conflict] not from an historical point of view, but strictly biblical...Land and Covenant is a very scholarly and interesting biblical study, and I recommend it to all who seek the truth, objectively and without any prejudice."

Convention SOYO Leadership Training 2009October is the month to introduce teens to the many opportunities to minister in the Church, including such activities as reading the Epistle, taking the collections, chanting, singing in the Choir, helping in the Church School, and giving sermons approved by the priest. While we want teens always to be active in the services of the Church, October has been set aside in particular to  recognize our teens and to give them more opportunities to serve.

One way our teens can get involved is by being encouraged to participate in the Creative Festivals, and the Bible Bowl and Oratorical Festival in 2010. This year’s theme revolves around ecology, and its central Scripture is: “The earth is the Lord’s and its fullness. The world and all who dwell therein.” God created all; all that is in that world, in the air, on the land, and in the sea; and the people of God. Complete topics, rules, and a recommended reading list are available online at: http://www.antiochian.org/festivals.

Please visit our Youth and Family page, and more links follow (click "Read More"):

His Grace Bishop BASIL passes along the news that THE HOLY SYNOD of our Patriarchate of the Great City-of-God Antioch and all the East convened today, Tuesday - October 6th, at the Patriarchal Residence in Damascus, Syria for its fall meeting. 

In attendance were His Beatitude PATRIARCH IGANTIUS IV (Hazim), the president of the Synod, and the following seventeen Metropolitans: GEORGE (Khodre) of Mount Lebanon, CONSTANTINE (Papastephanou) of Baghdad of Kuwait, ELIAS (Audi) of Beirut, JOHN (Mansour) of Latakiya, ELIAS (Kafoury) of Tyre and Sidon, ANTONIO (Chedraoui) of Mexico, Venezuela and Central America, DAMASKINOS (Mansour) of Brazil, SERGIOS (Abad) of Chile, SABA (Esber) of Hauran and Jabal al-Arab, GEORGE (Abu Zakham) of Homs, PAUL (Yaziji) of Aleppo, PAUL (Saliba) of Australia and New Zealand, SILOUAN (Moosy) of Argentina, JOHN (Yaziji) of Western and Central Europe, and BASIL (Mansour) of Akkar, ELIA (Saliba) of Hama, and SPYRIDON (Khoury) of Zahleh.

AXIOS!  During its first session the Holy Synod elected the renowned and highly respected spiritual elder ARCHIMANDRITE EPHREM (Kyriakos), abbot of the Holy Monastery of the Archangel Michael in Biq'aata, Lebanon, for the archepiscopal throne of the recently widowed Archdiocese of Tripoli, al-Koura and Dependencies. Click here for a brief biography.

Memory Eternal! His Grace Bishop ELIAS (Najm), Bishop of Apamea and Abbot of the Patriarchal Monastery of the Holy Prophet Elias in Dhour Shweir, Lebanon

It was with much sadness that we received the news of the falling asleep in Christ of our beloved brother, His Grace ELIAS (Najm), Bishop of Apamea, and Abbot of St. Elias Monastery in Dhour Shweir, Lebanon.  His Grace was born in the village of Agmeed Shouf, Lebanon.  He came from a priestly family.  His father was a priest in the town of Bhamdoun, Lebanon.  At the age of 14, he enrolled at the Balamand Seminary.  After 5 years at the Balamand, he was sent by the late Patriarch ALEXANDER III (Tahan) to the school of Halki, Turkey, where he studied theology.  After graduation he returned to the Patriarchate of Antioch, and was appointed Abbot of St. Elias Monastery where he served until his repose.  He was very friendly, humble and loved by all people.  We ask our brother hierarchs and beloved clergy and all faithful of this Archdiocese to remember him in their fervent prayers.  We extend our deepest sympathy to his family and relatives.  May his memory be eternal, and may his soul rest in peace.

From Ancient Faith Radio: Our canons call for there to be one bishop in one place but here in America as well as other countries of the so called “diaspora” immigration and pastoral concerns have served to violate those canons.  To address this issue, the leaders and representatives of all of the autocephalous Mother Churches were convened by HIs All Holiness the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew first in Constantinople (modern day Istanbul) and later in Chambesy, Geneva, Switzerland to commission certain Episcopal Assemblies who will in turn develop regional plans to correct this anomaly. 

This summer, the Orthodox Center for the Advancement of Biblical Studies has launched The Chrysostom Bible, a new biblical commentary series for preaching and teaching. "The Chrysostom Bible," writes series editor, Fr. Paul Tarazi, "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."