“GLORY BE TO GOD FOR ALL THINGS.” NEWSLETTER OF THE SOCIETY OF SAINT JOHN CHRYSOSTOM, YOUNGSTOWN-WARREN OHIO CHAPTER VOLUME 9, NUMBER 1 January/February 2010 VITO R. CARCHEDI, EDITOR, 35 SCHENLEY AVE. STRUTHERS, OH 44471 TELEPHONE: 330-755-5635 E-MAIL: [email protected] WEBSITE: www.byzcath.org/stjohnchrysostom/ FROM THE EDITOR… The Orthodox Church has always talked in terms of a "royal Extending best wishes for a priesthood" which encompasses all believers. However, it recognizes healthy and happy 2010. The first that the Lord set apart certain regular meeting of the New Year th individuals for specific roles, some will be Tuesday the 12 of were Apostles, others healers, others January 7 P.M. at St. Nicholas teachers. In order to establish and Roman Catholic Church in maintain good order within the Struthers. Our speakers will be community of believers, certain Father Bob Bonnot, pastor of St. individuals were specifically Nicholas, and Father George ordained by the laying on of hands to Gage, pastor of St. Mary specific ministries, particularly that Byzantine Catholic Church in of bishop (elder) and deacon. The Boardman. Pope Benedict XVI Lord gave the power to forgive and retain sins to the Apostles, not to all has dedicated to the Priesthood the believers. The Apostles delegated year-long celebration that spans this authority to the bishops, but not from June 19, 2009 until June 19, to deacons. In the fullness of time, as 2010. It is the desire of our chapter to recognize and congregations grew beyond the ability for a single honor our priests serving people in the apostolic bishop to administer, the office of presbyter was churches. Consequently, we have asked a priest of established. Specific men were chosen, ordained by the the Western Tradition and one of the Eastern laying on of hands, to be the officiator in place of the Tradition to describe for us “A Typical Week (If bishop in the parishes for the Eucharist. These There is Such a Thing) in the Life of a Parish individuals we refer to as priests in English. In Greek Priest.” During this official Year of the Priesthood they are called Presbyter, in Russian, Batushke. Even as let us celebrate by keeping all priests in our constant there was a Levite priesthood and the priesthood of the order of Mekielzedek for ancient Israel, we have the prayers of petition and of thanksgiving to the Lord. ordained priesthood and the royal priesthood in the New And, as we pray asking for more vocations to this Israel. call, let us thank Our Lord for the great gift of the Holy Orders - and in particular that of the PRAYER FOR PRIESTS Priesthood. (This icon (egg tempera and gold leaf on wood panel, 28” x 22”) is “based on a fifteenth century Greek Lord Jesus Christ, bless and protect the priests who labor prototype; here Christ is shown in Latin Rite vestments with a gold pelican over His heart, the ancient symbol of self- in your vineyard for the salvation of mankind. Give sacrifice. The borders contain a winding grapevine and altar them humility and perseverance, prudence and patience. prepared for the celebration of the liturgy of the Mass; in the Enkindle in their hearts the burning ardor which borders are smaller icons of Melchizedek and St. Jean-Baptiste consumed Your holy apostles. May their lives be as Vianney.” Incidentally, it is St. John Vianney whom Pope holy as the divine truth they preach. Make of them Benedict XVI, with the announcement of this special year, has priests according to Your own will. Let their light so declared the Universal Patron of Priests.) shine before men that they, seeing your good work, may glorify You: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, now and ever unto ages of ages. Amen. Inter-Orthodox Preparatory Commission different degrees in which an autonomous Church completes its work depends on the autocephalous Church that has 17.12.2009 · DECR Chairman, Inter-Orthodox granted autonomy to it. A petition for autonomy is relations considered by the autocephalous Church which, The Inter-Orthodox Preparatory Commission, having assessed the prerequisites and reasons for meeting in Chambesy, Switzerland, closed its work this petition and taken a favourable decision, issues on December 16 with a thanksgiving. an appropriate Tomos defining the territorial The Commission, whose task is to elaborate the boundaries of the autonomous Church and its agenda of a Holy and Great Council of the relationships with the autocephalous Church to Orthodox Church, continued to consider the which it belongs in accordance with the established problem of autocephaly and ways of declaring it – criteria of church Tradition. Then the primate of the the discussion which began in 1993, and prepared autocephalous Church notifies the Ecumenical proposals on autonomy and ways of declaring it. Patriarchate and other autocephalous Orthodox The documents prepared by the Commission will be Churches on the declaration of an autonomous submitted to a Pan-Orthodox Pre-Council Church. Conference. They stipulate in particular that the The draft document also provides for measures to ecclesiological, canonical and pastoral prerequisites find a canonical settlement of an issue in case of for granting autocephaly to a particular church differences arising from two autocephalous region, if requested, are to be assessed by the Churches’ granting the autonomous status to church Mother Church at her Local Council. If the communities in the same geographical church Council’s decision is favourable, the Mother region. Church is to notify it to the Ecumenical Patriarchate The question of Diptychs of the Primates of the which is in its turn to inform other Local Local Churches will be considered by the Inter- Autocephalous Churches in order to find out Orthodox Preparatory Commission at its next whether there is a pan-Orthodox consensus meeting. expressed in the unanimity of Councils or Synods of the autocephalous Churches. Expressing the consent PETER GILBERT PAPER AVAILABLE of the Mother Church and the pan-Orthodox For anyone interested Dr. Gilbert’s paper: An Introduction to the Filioque is available at his blog site; consensus, the Ecumenical Patriarch is to declare http://bekkos.wordpress.com/ the autocephaly of a petitioning Church by issuing a Tomos of Autocephaly to be signed by the TIME TO PAY 2010 DUES Ecumenical Patriarch and verified by the signatures Please send your check for $20 ($25 family) to the of the Primates of Orthodox Churches invited for it address in the masthead of this newsletter. Thank you by the Ecumenical Patriarch. for your membership. The question of the contents of the Tomos and the signing procedure will be considered additionally MARK YOUR CALENDAR by the next meeting of the Inter-Orthodox The second regular chapter meeting will be Tuesday Preparatory Commission. March 9, 7 P.M. Our speaker will be Bishop George The Commission has also prepared a document Murry, Bishop of the Diocese of Youngstown. More expressing a common position of Orthodox information to follow. Churches on autonomy and the ways of declaring it, describing the notion of autonomy, the procedure to PRAYER OF be observed in declaring autonomy and its SOUFANIEH consequences. Unity of Hearts, Unity of It was agreed that the initiation and completion of Christians, Unity of the the procedure for granting autonomy to a certain Feast of Easter part of its canonical jurisdiction is exclusively under the competence of the respective autocephalous Miracle of the Holy Oil. Church. It is noted that in church practice there are 2 COPTIC CHRISTIANS RALLY AND MARCH Orthodoxy and Catholicism are not fundamental. We recognize the Sacraments of the Catholic This statement is from the American Copts at Church. If a Catholic priest moves over to http://freecopts.net/english/ who organized simultaneous Orthodoxy we accept him as priest. As for rallies in several States to “express their resentment and Protestant churches, we do not recognize them as rejection to what is taking place to their brethren in Churches, seeing in them only communities of Egypt, including killings, destruction and looting of their Christians. We have property, displacement from their homes and the forced fundamental Islamization of their minor daughters.” differences in theology and ethics. - What are they exactly? - Many Protestant churches have liberalized their notions of ethics, giving a theological justification to homosexuality and blessing same-sex couples. Some refuse to consider abortion to be a sin. We do not share the understanding of the Church and church order, especially as the Protestants, unlike the Orthodox and Catholic Churches, ordain Their statement continues with, “Copts expressed their women. rejection of the collusion of the Egyptian State Security and other security authorities in all crimes taking place against the Copts in Egypt.” Moscow Patriarchate thanks Pope for not pressing on meeting with Moscow Archbishop Hilarion answers questions Patriarch from Der Spiegel (brief excerpt) Moscow, December 16, Interfax - The Moscow 14.12.2009 · DECR Chairman, Inter-Christian Patriarchate is grateful to Pope Benedict XVI for relations, Inter-Orthodox relations, New documents, understanding problems between the two Churches The Far Abroad and not pressing on with visiting Russia and meeting Archbishop Hilarion of Volokolamsk, chairman of with the Patriarch. the Moscow Patriarchate department for external "Pope Benedict XVI perfectly understands the church relations, answered questions from Der existing difficulties and therefore is not pressing on his meeting with the Patriarch, not to mention visiting Spiegel magazine. Below is the text of the talk His Russia, as was done under his predecessor. We are Eminence Hilarion had with the magazine’s grateful to him for this," the head of the Moscow correspondents. Patriarchate Department for External Church The interview is published in Der Spiegel’s issue Relations Archbishop Hilarion of Volokolamsk said No.