Updates on Archbishop Paul and Archbishop John

Orthodox Christian Network is encouraging everyone to keep Archbishop Paul and Archbishop John, and all the people in the region in their prayers. Below are confirmed reports and communiques on this developing situation. Please visit back as this page will be updated as news becomes available.

Fr. Chris' Interview with Charles Ajalat - http://www.myocn.net/index.php/201305174526/ocn-now/4526-update-on-kidnapped-syrian-bishops.html

White House Petition https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/appeal-president-obama-and-his-government-release-two-abducted-orthodox-christian-archbishops-syria/xNskxL1q

Letter from the Assembly of Bishops of North and Central America to Secretary of State John Kerry http://www.assemblyofbishops.org/news/2013/secretary-of-state-syrian-bishops

April 29, 2013 Update from Antiochian.org http://www.antiochian.org/support-abducted-syrian-hierarchs

Patriarch John X of Antioch's Encyclical for Palm Sunday http://www.myocn.net/index.php/201304294497/orthodox-news/4497-pastoral-message-of-patriarch-of-antioch-for-palm-sunday.html

Two Archbishops Kidnapped in Syria http://www.myocn.net/index.php/201304294497/orthodox-news/4497-pastoral-message-of-patriarch-of-antioch-for-palm-sunday.html

Pastoral Message of Patriarch of Antioch for Palm Sunday

With God's mercy
JOHN X
Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch and All the East

To my brethren, the Shepherds of the Holy Church of Antioch and my Children throughout the Holy and Apostolic See

I address you today, at the end of Great Lent and the beginning of Holy Week, and at a time when we are being surrounded by much pain and suffering. Throughout our Antiochian lands, dangers threaten our homes, and political Conflicts storm our countries. As a result, man's livelihood, dwelling, and even life are at risk. We are tried every day by death or abduction, and our latest plight is the recent kidnapping of our beloved brothers, Bishop Paul Yazigi, Greek Orthodox Metropolitan of Aleppo, lskenderun and dependencies, and Bishop lohn Ibrahim, Syriac Orthodox Metropolitan of Aleppo, and the killing of the Deacon who was accompanying them.

I share the pain felt by a large number of believers in our Church as a result of these difficult circumstances. I strive with my brothers, the members of the Holy Synod, to lessen the impact of these conditions on our faithful and all citizens. This is an essential part of our Christian Witness. We, however, refuse to accept what man is undergoing today. We are working in that our rejection of this situation reflects the tenets of our beliefs. We reject this situation and condemn it. Since we are the children of the Resurrection, we are not afraid of Whoever takes violence as a way to achieve his purpose. To be killed, or kidnapped, or to have our institutions destroyed, will not change our resolve to uphold our civil life and our co-existence; to cling to our homeland and to seek the reign of justice and rights in our homelands. Therefore, each and every one of us, whether in the Antiochian motherlands or abroad, is invited to express his concern and personal rejection of the recent course of events, aside from any political realignment. Humanity is the object of Christianity, for our Lord Was incarnated for our salvation.

I take this opportunity to extend, on your behalf, in the motherlands and abroad, an appeal to the international community, urging it to do everything it can toward the release of hostages whose absence affects us deeply. The speedy closure of this issue is extremely important in order to avert the risk of terrible consequences that would follow. Our appeal also includes an urgent call for action in order to find a quick solution to the situation in our beloved Syria; for the salvation of the people who are the descendants of an outstanding human Civilization of thousands of years,and in order to prevent the risky consequences that could affect the entire region.

As we are entering the time ocfthe Holy Passion and Resurrection of our Lord, I invite you to reveal the unity of our Church who fervently gathers Her flock in all that is right and just.

In this time, let us exceptionally intensify our prayers and supplications. lust as our Lord was not afraid to walk on the path 0f Calvary; in the same Way we are invited to walk with Him along this path, being fully aware that by the Cross we shall conquer, because the Lord is risen from the dead and He will raise us with Him. Let us intensify our petitions as a living testimony, asking God to remove all injustice, praying for the quick return of our abducted hierarchs to their beloved ones, for the comfort of the bereaved, and for the deterrence of those people with cruel hearts, so that they may be inspired to refrain from harming their fellow human beings.

Therefore, I call on everyone, faithful and clergy, to approach Palm Sunday with a new spirit, remembering the passion of our Lord and connecting it with what we are living in today. Let the Resurrection occur in every human heart, as the Lord has raised Lazarus from the dead. Let us work to have Christ triumphantly enter into the world's heart through our service and ministry, as He entered Victoriously to Jerusalem. Let our processions be this year with candles tied with black ribbons, chanting the hymn: "To Thee O Champion Leader...," instead of the hymn "Rejoice O Bethany ___," asking the Virgin Mary to keep our Church as a fortified city.

I urge you to pray throughout this Holy Week with a broken spirit, being aware that in our trials, we have God as our refuge. God will not overlook His little flock. May love, service, and courage be the gateway to the joy of the Resurrection, a joy that cannot be taken away.

Issued at our Patriarchal Residence in the Monastery of Our Lady of Balamand, 0n April 27, 2013

Below are the official communique from the Patriarchal Office. Click on the language to download.

Arabic, English, French, Greek, Italian, Spanish

Two Archbishops kidnapped in Syria

(Englewood, NJ) - His Eminence Metropolitan Philip is saddened to report that, in a telephone discussion that he had today with His Beatitude John X, Patriarch of Antioch and All the East, it was learned that Metropolitan Paul (Yazigi), Metropolitan of the Antiochian Orthodox Archdiocese Of Aleppo, and the brother of His Beatitude, as well as Mar Gregorios Yohanna Ibrahim of the Syriac Archdiocese of Aleppo, were both abducted by terrorists in a suburb of Aleppo as they were returning from Antioch (Antakya, Turkey) to Aleppo.

The deacon who was driving their automobile was shot and killed in the attack. As you know, Syria has been suffering from these acts of terror for more than 2 years.

We ask all of you to remember Metropolitan Paul, and Archbishop Gregorios in your prayers, asking the Lord to deliver them safely from this ordeal. All official information will be released from the Archdiocese Headquarters through official communication channels.

Below are the official communique from the Patriarchal Office. Click on the language to download.

Greek; Spanish; Italian; France; English; Arabic; German

Old religion-beat questions linger, after 25 years

WASHINGTON BUREAU: Terry Mattingly's religion column for 4/10/13.

Every year or so, editors are asked to sit patiently while market researchers dissect thick reports about what consumers say they want to see in their newspapers.

That was already true back when Harry Moskos was editor of the Knoxville News Sentinel. But he immediately noticed something strange, when handed the executive summary of one late-1980s survey.

Two words near the top of the subjects valued by readers caught his attention -- "religion" and "family." Yet the professionals interpreting the data offered zero suggestions for improving coverage of those subjects.

"I remember saying, 'Look at that. ... Those words just jumped out at me, primarily because I knew people in Knoxville tend to see those subjects as connected," said Moskos, 76, in a telephone interview. He recently ended his 60-year journalism career, with most of that work in Albuquerque, N.M., and Knoxville, Tenn.

Of course, he admitted, the fact he noticed the words "religion" and "family" also "says something about the life I've lived and how I was raised" in a devout Greek Orthodox family. "I just knew we had to do something ... to respond to that interest among our readers," he said.

Thus, Moskos asked his team to create a section on faith and family life. As part of that effort, he asked -- at a meeting of Scripps Howard editors -- if the newspaper chain could start a national religion-news column.

That's how -- 25 years ago this week -- I began writing this "On Religion" column for the Scripps Howard News Service. At that time, I was the religion reporter for one of the chain's major newspapers and then I continued this work while teaching, first in a seminary, then in two liberal arts colleges and, now, as director of the Washington Journalism Center.

Through it all, I have been amazed that many people still think religion is a boring, unimportant subject that can be relegated to the periphery of news coverage. The late Associated Press religion writer George Cornell once noted that -- year after year -- at least half of the items in that wire service's global list of the top news events have obvious ties to religion.

And what about that journalistic mantra, "Follow the money"? When hundreds of thousands of sports fans -- spending millions of dollars -- head to stadiums or face their televisions, news organizations respond, big time. What happens when millions of religious believers -- spending billions -- do the same? Not so much.

"Usually, where people put their time and money, that's where their interests are," Cornell told me in 1982. "Newspapers' attention and space are supposed to be geared to people's interests. Right?"

The other big mystery, for me, is why professionals who lead newsrooms rarely seek out experienced, even trained, religion reporters. Discussions of this topic often reference a religion-beat opening Washington Post editors posted in 1994, noting that their "ideal candidate" was "not necessarily religious nor an expert in religion."

Please note the word "ideal." Try to imagine editors saying their "ideal" candidate to cover the U.S. Supreme Court would be someone who is not an expert in the law. How about similar notices for reporters covering politics, education, sports, science and film?

"The religion beat is too complicated today for this kind of approach to be taken seriously," said Russell Chandler, who covered religion for years at the Los Angeles Times. I interviewed him for "Blind Spot: When Journalists Don't Get Religion," from Oxford Press.

"If you don't have experience you have to pay your dues and get some. Then you have to keep learning so that you get the facts right today and tomorrow and the day after that," he said. "I have never really understood what this argument is about. It's like saying that we want to sign up some people for our basketball team and we don't really care whether or not they can play basketball."

This logic also rings true for Moskos, who noted that he once interviewed five skilled sportswriters when seeking someone to cover the University of Tennessee football -- a quasi-religious subject for locals. Why not take that approach to religion news?

"If you send somebody out to cover the Oak Ridge National Laboratory," he concluded, "you'd better find yourself a journalist who knows something about science. ... If people are going to get the job done covering religion then they need to find some journalists who know a thing or two about religion."

Terry Mattingly (www.tmatt.net) directs the Washington Journalism Center at the Council for Christian Colleges & Universities.

White House Meeting yields action on Human Trafficking

Archbishop Demetrios member of Advisory Council

NEW YORK – On April 9-10, Archbishop Demetrios participated in the meetings of The President’s Advisory Council on Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships to which he had been appointed by President Barack Obama. The Archbishop is one of the 15 members of this Council.

The two-day meetings took place at the Eisenhower Executive Building of the White House in Washington, D.C. The purpose was to submit the Council’s Final Report of Recommendations to the President concerning the building of partnerships between the government and faith-based and neighborhood organizations to eradicate modern-day slavery. Comprised by leaders from diverse religious and non-profit backgrounds, the task of the Council was to produce, in the course of several months, a report which addressed issues of human trafficking at home and abroad, that is, the exploitation of children, women and men for compelled labor or sexual exploitation through the use of force, fraud or coercion.

The Council worked in close cooperation with Joshua DuBois, Special Assistant to the President and Executive Director of the Office of Faith- Based and Neighborhood Partnerships, and his successor in the same Office Melissa Rogers.

The report contains 10 recommendations which, in partnership with the government, will help to combat and eventually eradicate modern-day slavery and bring healing and dignity in the life of those who have been victimized by it. Among the recommendations are the raising of public awareness to the problem, the appropriate education of the public, the sharing of information, the increasing support from the public, and the collaboration with federal agencies and organizations to combat human trafficking.

President Obama met privately with the Council members in the West Wing, and thanked them for their dedication and input in the preparation of the report and its recommendations.
Commenting on the work of the Council, Archbishop Demetrios said: “It has been a great honor indeed to be appointed by President Barack Obama to a Council of such importance, comprised of outstanding religious and civic leaders. The task has been awesome because we had to deal with the tragic condition of slavery in our own times, of human trafficking ruthlessly involving millions of innocent people. Now is the moment of decisive action to eliminate slavery from the face of the earth. Once and for all!”

The final report was officially presented to the representative of the government, Cecilia Muñoz, Director of the Domestic Policy Council, for further utilization and incorporation in the policies of the Administration, and it is available at: http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/docs/advisory_council_humantrafficking_report.pdf.

For the first time since the Great Schism, Ecumenical Patriarch to attend Pope's inaugural Mass

3/17/2013 - In a historic development, it was announced that His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople will attend Pope Francis' installation Mass in Rome, Tuesday, March 19, the first time such an event as taken place since the Great Schism in 1054.

From The Catholic World Report:

The Ecumenical Patriarch will be accompanied by Ioannis Zizioulas, Metropolitan of Pergamon and co-president of the Joint International Commission for Theological Dialogue between the Roman Catholic and the Orthodox Church, as well as Tarassios, Orthodox Metropolitan of Argentina, and Gennadios, Orthodox Metropolitan of Italy.

Relations between Catholics and Orthodox have been improving since the Second Vatican Council through mutual visits, acts of friendship and theological dialogue.

Under Benedict XVI, the dialogue picked up in earnest after a lull. In trying to promote it, the pope suggested ways to express the primacy of Peter's successor that could be acceptable to the Orthodox, finding his inspiration from the undivided Church of the first millennium.

Encyclical of Archbishop Demetrios for Holy and Great Lent 2013‏

Protocol 23/13 - March 18, 2013

Holy and Great Lent

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,

This prayerful and reflective season of the year, Holy and Great Lent, is a time when we are led to a deeper level of contemplation of our relationship with God as we engage with the great spiritual resources of our Orthodox faith. One of these resources is the witness of the Saints, which guides us in living in repentance, prayer, humility, and love. Through the cherished record of their holy lives and great deeds in the service of Christ, we are inspired by the Saints to draw near to God, to be filled with His power and presence, and to seek above all things, the fulfillment of His will.

Among the Saints are a group of holy people who were called by God to preach repentance, justice, and mercy--the Prophets. During this season of Great Lent, we encounter the message of the Prophets through readings and commemorations, and especially in their role of preaching the restoration and salvation that would come through the Incarnation and Passion of Christ. At the Vespers of the Sunday of Orthodoxy, the first Sunday of Great Lent, we sing: “The divinely inspired Prophets preached You in word and honored You in works…. They renounced the whole world for the Gospel’s sake, and in their suffering they were conformed to Your Passion which they had foretold.”

When we examine the message of the Prophets in the context of Great Lent, we find several themes that guide us in examining our lives and our commitment to God. First is a persistent call to be faithful to God as He is faithful to His people. The Prophets were sent by God to the people of Israel to remind them of their covenant relationship with Him. They preached of all of the wondrous things God had done, and chided the people for their unfaithfulness. They condemned immorality and injustice, and called for a return to mercy and holiness.

Second, the message of the Prophets emphasizes our need for repentance and for God’s forgiveness. Over and over again, the Prophets exhorted the people to turn from their sinful ways and seek the forgiveness of God. Return, O Israel, to the Lord your God, for you have stumbled because of your iniquity (Hosea 14:1). They warned of the consequences of forsaking Him, but spoke of the healing that would come through forgiveness. Isaiah proclaimed, “Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the Lord, that he may have mercy on him, and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon” (Isaiah 55:7).

Third, the Prophets preached about the priority of justice in all relationships. Micah stated, “He has shown you, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of you, but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?” (Micah 6:8) These exhortations came at a time when kings and judges, religious leaders and the wealthy were ignoring the plight of those living in suffering, of the poor, the widows and orphans. The Prophets called everyone to turn from greed, selfishness, and the exploitation of the weak to relationships grounded in truth and marked by holiness and righteousness. Isaiah preached, “Learn to do good; Seek justice; Rebuke the oppressor; Defend the fatherless; Plead for the widow” (Isaiah 1:17).

The final theme in the message of the Prophets is one of hope in the restoration of communion with God. Many of the Prophets foretold of great tragedies and struggle that would come because of the sins of the people. But messages of judgment were followed by words of hope. Speaking a promise from the Lord the Prophet Hosea said, “They shall return and dwell beneath My shadow, they shall flourish as a garden; they shall blossom as the vine, their fragrance shall be like the wine of Lebanon” (Hosea 14:7). Isaiah proclaimed, “And the ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion with singing; everlasting joy shall be upon their heads; they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away” (Isaiah 51:11).

In this holy season of Great Lent, these themes guide us in reflection on our lives and our relationship with God. This season of prayer is a time for us to return to God, to be faithful to Him as He has been to us, and to renew our commitment to follow His will. It is a time of repentance, as we examine our actions, attitudes, and priorities, and approach Him with genuine and contrite hearts, seeking His forgiveness. It is a time to reflect on all our relationships with others and on our responses to human need, and ensure that justice and mercy are shown. Finally, in the midst of serious contemplation, deep repentance, spiritual struggle, and earnest prayer, Great Lent is a time when we keep our hearts and minds focused on Christ. Through His life and Passion, through His presence and offering for our salvation, our hope will be renewed and our joy restored in the light and life of His glorious victory!

With paternal love in Christ,

†DEMETRIOS
Archbishop of America

Patriarchal Catechetical Homily on the occasion of the beginning of Great Lent‏

ECUMENICAL PATRIARCHATE
Prot. No. 240

CATECHETICAL HOMILY
ON THE OCCASION OF THE BEGINNING OF GREAT LENT
† B A R T H O L O M E W

By the Mercy of God Archbishop of Constantinople-New Rome and Ecumenical Patriarch
To the Plenitude of the Church

Grace and Peace be with you from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ together with our Prayer, Blessing and Forgiveness

Beloved brothers and sisters, children in the Lord,

The holy fathers, who arranged everything in an orderly manner, instituted a period of ascetic discipline and spiritual purification for forty days prior to the great feast of the Lord’s resurrection. This ascetic rule assumes the form of a limitation on foods through fasting, but especially an abstinence from evil. The saintly hymnographer characteristically emphasizes that a genuine and favorable form of fasting for God is the estrangement from wrongdoing, control of the tongue, alienation from anger, separation from evil desires, including gossip, deceit and swearing, restoration of justice, disengagement from passionate thoughts, fervent confession, cleansing of the conscience, “which there can be nothing more difficult,” refraining from “harmful passions, from envy and hatred, indeed from every wickedness,” shunning of “the mind’s perversion,” admission of transgressions. For “the Judge is close, at the door,” and he tries hearts and minds, since “He is everywhere present and fills all things.” (Great Canon of St. Andrew of Crete)

The aim of bodily ascesis is the purification of the mind and its concentration on the love of our Lord and God, Jesus Christ, as well as on the love of our fellow human beings, which constitutes the evidence that we are disciples of the One who loves them. This love must be tangible, resulting in some sacrifice for them on our part. For love without offering the necessary material and spiritual goods to those whom we love is but an empty word. This is particularly true in our age of great moral and financial crisis, when those of us who can are obliged to offer assistance to our fellow human beings with gladness, love and respect. Only then will our joy in the Lord’s resurrection be complete, when our support for the least of His brothers, our own brothers and sisters, is complete. According to the honorable words of St. Basil the Great, “the man who loves his neighbor as himself possesses no more than his neighbor…thus, as much as your wealth increases, so much does your love decrease” (Homily to the Rich, PG 31.281B).

Unfortunately, the world believes that joy comes from gaining and possessing wealth, glory, positions and other pleasures. “There is nothing worse than a person who does not know how to love.” And “when you see someone who needs physical or spiritual healing, do not say to yourself: I wonder why this person was not healed by anyone. Simply heal that person of his or her illness, and do not seek to lay blame on others. If you anoint that person with the word of your teaching, like the oil of healing, if you cure that person with your good nature, restoring that person’s health with your patience, then that person will become the cause of the greatest treasure for you.” (See St. John Chrysostom, Homily 27 on 2 Corinthians and Homily 8 Against the Jews, PG 61.586-587 and PG 48.932-933). The truth is that the joy and satisfaction from offering love and material goods to our fellow human beings is incomparably greater. The conventional social understanding, which the young generation is taught as the most advantageous way of life, is greed and avarice. However, when such notions prevail, they create social turmoil and ultimately harm even those who acquire excessive wealth at the expense of others. The inevitable social division must be alleviated voluntarily by the offering of those who have to those who do not have, as our Lord explicitly teaches: “Let the person who has two garments give to another who has none” (Luke 3:11). It is only when we perceive our unity with all our fellow human beings, and especially the weak, will we journey through the period of Holy and Great Lent in a godly manner and receive the blessing of Christ.

During this year, which we have declared as “The Year of Global Solidarity,” particularly in light of the serious financial crisis in our world, we must all demonstrate greater concern for the consolation of our brothers and sisters who are deprived of the most elementary resources.

In this way, we shall enter “the arena of virtues that lies before us” in a devout manner and with spiritual progress, we will “enjoy the small coin,” “we will accept the just payment” and we will celebrate with fullness of joy the Holy Resurrection of our Lord, through which “life is truly oriented.” May His Grace and rich Mercy be with you all.

Holy and Great Lent 2013

Your fervent supplicant to God
† B A R T H O L O M E W
Archbishop of Constantinople-New Rome, and Ecumenical Patriarch

OCN Programs for March 11-15

THIS WEEK FROM THE ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN NETWORK
COME RECEIVE THE LIGHT - THE NATIONALLY SYNDICATED RADIO PROGRAM OF ORTHODOX CHRISTIANITY
As we prepare for the beginning of Great and Holy Lent, many of us are already answering questions from non-Orthodox friends and family about why we aren't celebrating Easter on the same date this year. How many of us know the answer? Director of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America’s Department of Religious Education, Tony Vrame, joins us to explain the reason for the difference in dates and to offer some advice on explaining it to others. But first, we'll hear about religious cleansing happening right now in Turkish-occupied Cyprus from Dr. Elizabeth Prodromou.
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THE SOUNDING SOUND OFF
The Sounding is happy to welcome our second OCMC missionary blogger! Meg Photini Engelbach makes her debut with a story from her beginner days, in “Hearing the Voice of God: Reflections on an OCMC Internship” (http://www.soundingblog.com/index.php/missions/international/hearing-the-voice-of-god-reflections-on-an-ocmc-internship.html). Grace Brooks looks back to beginner days of another kind as she ponders “What kind of Lent will I have?” (http://www.soundingblog.com/index.php/orthodoxy-basics/what-kind-of-lent-will-i-have.html). And Deme Mekras shares how his perspective is changing, in “Value of Life” (http://www.soundingblog.com/index.php/culture/value-of-life.html). We hope you will share your own stories of growth and change at www.soundingblog.com or on The Sounding Orthodox Blog Facebook page. We love to hear from you.
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OCN PODCASTS
On Journeys to Orthodoxy, Jeff Burke tells the story of his new beginning, finding Orthodoxy after growing up in a Baptist background. Fr. Athanasios Haros discusses the Great Judgment on Theologically Thinking, helping us better understand the Gospel for Meatfare Sunday. On "Our life in Christ and in America," Host Bill Hinkle continues his conversation with the priest who introduced him and his family to the Orthodox faith back in 1999: Fr. George Livanos, the pastor of All Saints Greek Orthodox Church in Washington, PA.You won't want to miss this 2nd half of their engaging discussion of politics and faith in America!
Join Roger Hunt for Daily Readings and Remembrances. Each day, we will read the Holy Scriptures and the lives of the Saints. This week featured Saints will include Theophylaktos, Kodratos, Sophronios, and others. Please join us on The Orthodox Christian Network, myocn.net.
On CRTL Greek, Dimitris Karavasilis discusses matters that stem from the parable of the Final Judgment. Matters such as the following: What is Heaven? What are the criteria for people to enter Heaven? What is Hell? Is there such a thing? What are the characteristics of this condition? Is Jesus still among us? Can we meet Him? How can we recognize Him? Does God punish us if we do something wrong? Is the chance of repentance eternal? Join Dimitris to seek for some insight on these matters.
On the pilot episode of Vengan a Recibir la Luz/CRTL Spanish, hosts Fr. Aristidis Arizi and Fr. David Wooten address the question "What is the Orthodox Church?" A Spanish version of "Agni Parthene" and the Gospel Reading of Matthew 22: 2-14 follow. We close with a sermon by Fr. Michael Marcantoni entitled "Preparing Yourself for the Lord's Banquet."
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NEW VIDEO FROM OCN
Look next week for a new video from OCN, responding to Saturday Night Live’s blasphemous parody, “DJesus Uncrossed.”
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WEBINAR
Registration is now open for the upcoming OCN Webinar, “Enriching Our Church School Classrooms.” To see a list of speakers, a schedule for the day, and to register yourself or your parish, visit us at http://www.orthodoxconference.com. See you there!
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THE SHARE THE LIGHT PARTNER COUNT IS UP TO 51!!
Fr. Chris has increased the challenge! Won’t you join us to help attain this year’s goal of 200? With your help and God’s blessings, we are confident that this will be the year that we meet this goal and even surpass it! Our Share the Light Partners support the OCN ministry with donations in the range of $1,000 to $5,000. If you are interested in supporting our OCN outreach ministry at this level, please contact Kathy Chapekis, OCN Annual Giving Coordinator at 954-522-5567.
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DID YOU SHARE THE LIGHT?
Thank you to all the parishes who have participated in this year's OCN - Share the Light Sunday so far. It is not too late to Share the Light if your parish missed out on January 20th. Use the resources at http://www.myocn.net/index.php/Share-the-Light-Sunday.html or invite a staff member from OCN to come visit your parish.
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NEW OCN AMAZON STORE
We have opened a new OCN Amazon store. Visit http://astore.amazon.com/theocnwebstore08-20 to check out the new store, where you can find a wonderful collection of Orthodox books, music, worship supplies, and more!
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WEBCAST
“Prayer” is the topic of this month’s Adult Study Class airing on Sundays at 10:00AM EST starting March 3, 2013 on our website at www.myocn.net. Tune in every Sunday to see the class via video from St. Demetrios in Ft. Lauderdale, FL. Each week, we will explore the depths of the Orthodox Faith as we tackle topics of interest to Orthodox Christians and inquirers alike. Visit the Orthodox Study Classes section under Orthodox Video on www.myocn.net to see upcoming class topics and view archived classes.
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FACEBOOK AND TWITTER- Thank you to all of the thousands of you who visit and follow us daily on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/pages/Orthodox-Christian-Network/84325040329) and Twitter (http://twitter.com/#!/myocn). Look soon to find out more information about new events being planned. It is also a great way to interact with our Executive Director, Fr. Christopher Metropulos, and ask your questions about life and our faith. Check out the “YouTube” buttons on the OCN Facebook Page and The Sounding Orthodox Blog Facebook Page. Watch the OCN YouTube Channel right from Facebook.
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ADVERTISING/SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES
Sponsor a program or feature your company on the high-traffic MyOCN.net website during the coming Lenten season. Call 954-522-5567 today.

All programs are available on Internet Radio, Podcast, and On Demand at www.myocn.net.

The Orthodox Christian Network is an official agency of the Assembly of Bishops, and originally commissioned by SCOBA, to create a national, sustainable, and effective media witness for Orthodox Christianity throughout North America. In a constantly changing media landscape, OCN delivers positive, relevant Orthodox content via multiple delivery platforms, reaching today’s internet users via broadcast, podcast, video, blogging, and webinar content. “Come Receive the Light,” OCN’s flagship program hosted by Fr. Christopher Metropulos, is the only nationally syndicated Orthodox Christian radio broadcast. OCN works in direct collaboration with Sister Assembly agencies (e.g., IOCC, OCMC, OCF, OCPM), as well as with various Orthodox Christian jurisdictions and pan-Orthodox, para-church organizations. Our goal is to engage the broader culture of North America with Orthodox Christianity’s rich theological, spiritual, and moral heritage, and to thereby strengthen the Orthodox Church’s witness and contribution to the culture in which we live.

International Herald Tribune reports on 'Minority Rites'

2/28/2013 - The International Herald Tribune recently reported on 'Minority Rites,' by Andrew Finkel, concerning the forcibly shut-down Halki Seminary on Heybeliada Island.

The International Herald Tribune, part of The New York Times, is an international newspaper printed at 38 sites throughout the world and for sale in more than 160 countries and territories.

Minority Rites
2/27/2013
By Andrew Finkel

Read this article on the International Herald Tribune website »

ISTANBUL -- The Princes' Islands are a chain of volcanic droplets off the coast of Istanbul, famous for their grand Palladian-style wooden summer homes and sweet-smelling pine woods. From one of the hilltops of the second-largest, Heybeliada, "the saddle-bagged" island, the view across the water is of a metropolis in motion, growing higher and wider, eating into more and more green space every year. But on Heybeliada itself, the only distractions are the squawk of seagulls and the clip-clop of horse-drawn carriages (no cars allowed). There, it is easy to imagine that time has stood still.

In a way, history has indeed been frozen on Heybeliada since 1971. This was the year when the Turkish government imposed a form of martial law and shut down educational institutions not under state control. The hilltop seminary, the Holy Theological School of Halki, which had since the mid-19th century trained generation after generation of Greek Orthodox priests, was closed. Later, some of its land was confiscated.

The rest of Turkey has changed a lot in the intervening years. In 1999, twin earthquakes on either side of the Aegean Sea produced a rapprochement between Turks and Greeks, and much longstanding bitterness -- the result of earlier conflicts in the Aegean and in Cyprus -- dissipated.

Turkey no longer argues that it should limit the rights of Turkish citizens who are Greek Orthodox, tit-for-tat, because the Greek government does the same. In any event, Athens has ceded far more rights to the Turkish Muslims of Thrace, lifting restrictions on the sale and repair of property.

But the Halki seminary remains closed.

Meanwhile, the die-hard, anti-Greek stance of Turkish officialdom has softened. Turkish courts have started returning land that had been seized -- illegally, they say -- from non-Muslim religious foundations, including land around the Halki seminary and the Greek Orthodox orphanage on the hilltop of the next island.

The Turkish government itself seems eager to improve relations with the 3,000 Greek Orthodox and other non-Muslims who live in Turkey and their powerful lobbyists abroad. The Turkish foreign minister and minister of education say that Halki should reopen; the United States and the European Commission regularly push for the same.

And yet the Halki seminary remains closed.

Why? I think the explanation has nothing to do with vestigial resentment between Turks and Greeks and everything to do with the government's care not to alienate mainstream Islam.

The problem with reopening the Halki seminary is that if Greek Orthodox priests are allowed to be trained there again, in an institution outside the state's control, the Turkish government could come under pressure to extend that right to Muslims.

The current government very much represents the Sunni mainstream. Last week Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan insisted that the halls where Alevis -- Turkey's Shiites and 15 percent of the population -- congregate are mere cultural centers, not places of worship.

The implication is that real Muslims pray in mosques and under the government's watchful eyes, like those of the powerful and well-funded Presidency of Religious Affairs, which licenses after-school Koranic courses, administers Turkey's quota for sending pilgrims on the hajj and pays the clerics who prepare the weekly sermon.

Turkey, formally a secular democracy, may want to become more liberal toward its religious minorities, but not at the risk of tolerating more diversity within the Muslim mainstream.

And so the Halki seminary remains closed.

Andrew Finkel has been a foreign correspondent in Istanbul for over 20 years, as well as a columnist for Turkish-language newspapers. He is the author of the book "Turkey: What Everyone Needs to Know."