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Photo: Pope Francis and Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I embrace.
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“St. Paul, the Apostle of Joy” is the culmination of a special yearlong observance of the bi-millennial anniversary of the birth of St. Paul marked by both the Catholic and Orthodox Churches. It is presented in celebration of Sacred Heart University’s new Chapel of the Holy Spirit, which was dedicated Sept. 27, and to honor the 10th Enthronement Anniversary of the Archbishop.
The event is cosponsored by The Human Journey, the Cardinal Spidlik Center for Ecumenical Understanding, and Orthodox Clergy Fellowships and the congregations they represent. A reception will follow the lecture, hosted by Sacred Heart University and the Ladies Philoptochos organization of the Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church of Bridgeport, Conn.
Sacred Heart University, the second-largest Catholic university in New England, offers more than 40 undergraduate, graduate and doctoral programs on its main campus in Fairfield, Connecticut, and satellites in Connecticut, Luxembourg and Ireland and has approximately 6,000 students in attendance.
Driving directions to the SHU campus are available at: http://www.sacredheart.edu/pages/2710_fairfield_ct_campus.cfm
GREEK ORTHODOX ARCHDIOCESE OF AMERICA
8-10 East 79th St. New York, NY 10075-0106 * Tel: (212) 570-3530 Fax: (212) 774-0237
www.goarch.org - Email:
Contact: PRESS OFFICE
Stavros Papagermanos
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01.12.2009, [21:08] // UGCC // RISU.ORG.UA
In the Greek Catholic parishes, on the Remembrance Day of victims of the Holodomor of 1932-1933 in Ukraine, memory prayers for the deceased were held. According to Deacon Ihor Shaban, the head of Commission of the UGCC for assistance of unity between the Christians, it is very important that the society remembers the Ukrainian martyrs and values those gifts which the Lord gives us today. The web site of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church posted this story on 28 November, 2009.
“The memory of events at the level of the Holodomor is a nation creation element, it underlines the fundamental value which unites the society, which connects us with the past, without which the unified state organism can not be formed, not today, not in the future” believes Patriarch Lubomyr, the head of the UGCC.
The Social Days of the UGCC began on October 31, 2009, and were interrupted on November 2 due to flu epidemic. “We interrupted the conduction of Social Days since all mass gatherings were forbidden in the country. Now that the quarantine is over, through our events we will continue to bring social problems to the attention of Ukrainians” remarked Deacon Ihor Shaban.
In addition to the prayer for the deceased from the Holodomor, visitations of orphans and nursing homes as well as the showing of the documentary film “Unprofitable Sheptytskyi,” took place as part of the Social Days of the UGCC. Also, for the social leaders of the UGCC an experience exchange with other confessions of Ukraine is to be organized as part of visiting religious social centres of Kyiv.
In Ukraine the Social Week of the UGCC was stared by Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytskyi in 1939. In 2008 the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church revived this tradition, and the Synod of Bishops of the UGCC blessed two commissions for organizing the Social Days of the UGCC: the Ecumenical Commission and the Justice and Peace Commission.
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01.12.2009, [14:50] // UGCC // RISU.ORG.UA
LVIV — “When we obtain a plenitude of the Sacrament of Priesthood, a triple task appears before us: to be a teacher, a person who blesses, and a pastor for the people who have trust in us. These tasks can be analyzed and discussed to find which of them is the most important. But, presumably, first of all we have to consider the words of Jesus Christ, directed to the teacher of law whom asked Him about the most important commandment. The Lord answered that the most important commandment is to love God and thy neighbour,” Patriarch Lubomyr said in his sermon for the occasion of the Patriarchal Synod of Bishops. Exactly this, according to the head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (UGCC), is the most important in the service of a bishop: to love God more than all and to love thy neighbour as thyself.
On November 29, 2009, the Synod of Bishops of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, which will continue until December 6, began its work in Lviv. A synod is the highest body of the church, meetings of which take place once a year and which decide the major questions of the church’s life. In the synod, which is led by the head of the UGCC His Beatitude Lubomyr, take part the bishops of UGCC from Ukraine and from abroad (Western Europe, USA, Canada, Brazil, Argentina and Australia). The basic theme of the working meetings will be the question of evangelization.
Suggestions regarding the long-term plan of evangelization of the UGCC will be the subject of discussion on evangelization developed by the Patriarchal Commission on questions of evangelization. They were compiled on the basis of the long-term programs of evangelization of the eparchy/exarchate (for 5-10 years), which have already been worked on in the eparchies and exarchates at the appropriate local councils. In addition, advice and opinions of faithful of the church that were submitted for the preparation to the Patriarchal Synod were taken into account in the suggestions of the Patriarchal Commission on questions of evangelization. At the synod, according to Patriarch Lubomyr, a strategy of evangelization will be developed not only for the whole church in Ukraine, but also around the world. “The first task of the church is to evangelize, to proclaim the Gospel. We will think how better to do it, how to prepare, how it should be understood for baptized people are called to evangelization,” stated the head of the UGCC.
• http://www.ugcc.org.ua
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Kiev - On Remembrance Day of victims of the Holodomor in the St. Sofia Cathedral in Kyiv took place a joint inter-confessional prayer for those who died from hunger. The prayer was conducted by the heads and authorized representatives of churches and religious organizations of Ukraine. From the side of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church for the victims of the Holodomor prayed His Beatitude Lubomyr, Major Archbishop of Kyiv and Halych.
In St. Sofia prayers to the Lord were heard by the President of Ukraine Viktor Yushchenko together with the wife Mrs. Kateryna Yushchenko and their children, higher public state officials, in particular the prime minister of Ukraine Yulia Tymoshenko, secretary of CNSDU (Council of National Security and Defence of Ukraine) Raisa Bohatyriova, vice prime minister Ivan Vasyunyk, ministers, national deputies, representatives of KCSA (Kyiv City State Administration) and public organizations, intelligentsia, and others. This information was reported by the official web site of the President of Ukraine.
Source: UGCC.UA.ORG
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CWNews.com - The methodical bombing of two Christian churches in Mosul on November 26 left Iraqi Catholics badly shaken. Archbishop Basile Casmoussa of Mosul said that the bombings were clearly part of an intimidation campaign against the Christian minority.
One parish church was demolished by the explosions, while a Dominican convent was badly damaged. Eyewitnesses said that the charges were laid by gunmen who entered the building and set their explosives calmly, obviously carrying out an established plan. A similar bombing had struck the bishop's residence in December 2004.
Although no one was hurt in the bombings, Iraqi Christians told the AsiaNews service that the attackes were "like a Mafia warning," explaining that they were being warned "to get out of the city."
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Nov 19, 2009
Protocol 109/09
November 26, 2009
Thanksgiving Day
To the Most Reverend Hierarchs, the Reverend Priests and Deacons, the Monks and Nuns, the Presidents and Members of the Parish Councils of the Greek Orthodox Communities, the Distinguished Archons of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, the Day, Afternoon, and Church Schools, the Philoptochos Sisterhoods, the Youth, the Hellenic Organizations, and the entire Greek Orthodox Family in America
Beloved Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
As we gather together again with family and friends on this day of Thanksgiving, we offer our gratitude to God for His abundant grace and assuring presence which fill our hearts with joy and bring meaning and salvation to our lives.
This holiday, a traditional American day of thanksgiving to God, has been celebrated for generations, through times of peace and security and in times of great crisis and tragedy. Under all circumstances of life and at all times, it has been a day that offers an enduring witness to the power of thankfulness . This day originated with a call to prayer and expressions of gratitude to God in the midst of tremendous challenges. When President Abraham Lincoln inaugurated the national observance of Thanksgiving Day in 1863, this nation was embroiled in a terrible civil war. In the midst of conflict and loss, his proclamation was a call to bear witness to the One who could bring healing and restore peace to the nation.
Further, for over a century this day has been a time for the people of this country to pause from the labors of their hands and minds, to gather with loved ones, and to reflect on the blessings of life, family, relationship, community, and sharing. This gathering and reflection is another witness to the power of thankfulness, as we contemplate the aspects of our lives that are the most significant to our well-being, our nation, and the world. In the moments we share with one another or in service to those in need, we move beyond the thoughts of material things and personal ambitions to ponder the deeper and more enduring qualities of life and relationship.
It is also on this day, that we as Orthodox Christians affirm the power of thankfulness through the association of this holiday with our faith. At the very center of our life of faith is our spiritual and physical participation in a sacrament of thanksgiving. The very name of the sacrament of the Holy Eucharist means “to give thanks;” and in our reception of the Body and Blood of Christ, we are called to give thanks to our Lord for what He has done for us. We give thanks for His gift of life and sustenance. We give thanks for His love and sacrifice for our salvation. We give thanks for His mercy and for the hope and peace engendered in our hearts through His divine presence. Through this communion with Christ and our expression of gratitude to Him, we offer a powerful witness to the world of all that is genuine, true, and eternal. In the greatest act of thanksgiving through the Holy Eucharist, we call all people to a more blessed state of life and relationship that can lead them through and above the challenges of this world and into the kingdom of God.
On this day of Thanksgiving, may our hearts be filled with gratefulness to our Creator and Giver of Life. May we bring honor and glory to God through our words of praise and thanksgiving, and may our lives be beautiful and constant witnesses of the power of thankfulness so that others may find peace and salvation in Christ and in the love that we share as the family of God.
With paternal love in Christ,
†DEMETRIOS
Archbishop of America
GREEK ORTHODOX ARCHDIOCESE OF AMERICA
8-10 East 79th St. New York, NY 10075-0106 * Tel: (212) 570-3530 Fax: (212) 774-0237
www.goarch.org - Email:
Contact: PRESS OFFICE
Stavros Papagermanos