My oldest parishioner made the local news yesterday during the Annual Town Election. You can read the story here. She is 99 and has not missed an election since 1935. Recently she performed CPR on her daughter that had suffered a heart attack. This woman is amazing.
Halifax Day 1
So the ferry ride was a little bumpier than I expected but I did not get sick so that is a good thing. I made it to Halifax from Yarmouth about a four hour drive. Nice roads no problems getting here the new GPS is great. I am staying in a dorm room at King’s College in Halifax and stealing wireless from somewhere. Supposedly the dorm has high speed but I cannot get it to work so here I am stealing it. Nice free is good.
The conference should be good. We had a wonderful Liturgy at an Anglican Church of Canada parish here in Halifax. Wonderful singing and the preaching was great. I thought it was closer to the college than it really was so I walked it. Nice night for a walk but it was like 45 minutes each way so I am bushed.
We had the first presentation tonight and to be quite honest I am not sure what he was talking about I am so tired. So it is off to do a little reading and then some sleep. More tomorrow if I can get a signal.
Bar Harbor, Maine
If you follow me on twitter, and if you don’t why not? You know that I arrived in Bar Harbor yesterday about 5pm and settled in to my hotel for the night. It was a great drive, I took my time keeping it at about 60 mph to save on gas and it took me about 5 and half hours to get here. In a few moments I leave to catch the ferry to Nova Scotia and the next leg of the journey begins. So thanks for the prayers so far and keep them coming for a few more hours.
I will be staying at Kings College in Halifax and not sure how good the internet connection will be so blogging might be light for the next few days but if all is well then I will blog about the conference and other such things. I will also try and post some snaps and I have a podcast on the way as well.
Tiny Shetland island declares independence
Editors Note: I love guys like this!
The owner of a tiny island in off Scotland declared its independence from the United Kingdom on Saturday, saying he wanted the territory, population one, to be a crown dependency like the Channel Islands.
In a declaration on his Web site, Stuart Hill, who owns the 2.5 acre island of Forvik in the Shetland Islands in the North Sea, said he no longer recognised the authority of the government or the European Union, and cited a centuries-old royal marriage dowry deal as the basis for his claim.
“Forvik owes no allegiance to any United Kingdom government, central or local, and is not bound by any of its statutes,” Hill wrote.
Hill, 65, has lived in the Shetland Islands on the edge of the Atlantic since 2001, when his boat capsized there during an unsuccessful attempted to circumnavigate Britain.
He is Forvik’s only resident, and his home is a tent on the storm-battered island. He says on his website that he plans to create Forvik’s own currency — the “gulde” — print his own stamps and raise his own flag.
“There will be no income tax, VAT (value added tax), council tax, corporation tax, or any of the other taxes instituted by the British government,” Hill wrote.
Hill’s claim dates back to a 15th century arrangement between the Norwegian King Christian and King James III of Scotland when the Shetland Islands were effectively pawned to King James in lieu of a marriage dowry.
According to Hill’s studies of the history of the island, in 1669 King Charles II re-confirmed Shetland’s status at the time of the pawning, meaning the islands remained directly answerable to the crown — represented today by the Queen.
“The monarchs and governments of Scotland, and Great Britain and the United Kingdom have for many years assumed powers over these islands of Shetland to which they were not entitled,” he wrote.
“By declaring Forvik a crown dependency I am simply re-establishing the correct legal relationship between this part of Shetland and the crown.
Hill said he had written to the Queen offering his services as “steward” and recognising her as head of state.
“I also invite anyone from any country in the world, who supports these aims, namely to become free of liars, thieves and tyrants in government, to become a citizen of Forvik,” he added.
Vacation
Well the day has arrived I begin my vacation after Liturgy today. I have been packing and getting things ready to leave and I should be on the road by early afternoon, I hope. I still have a few things to do here but then I am off and running.
First stop, I am off to my parents for the night. They are going to Dog sit for me whilst I am gone and then I make the move. I am off to Bar Harbor, Maine tomorrow just for the night as I get on the CAT ferry to Nova Scotia on Tuesday morning. I will be spending a few days in Halifax at the Atlantic Theological Conference and then I am off to Cape Breton. I will be returning back to the parish for Sunday the 6th of July.
I understand I will have internet access so I plan to keep you updated on my travels and other such things. I am looking forward to my time away for rest and refreshment. Please pray for my safe journey and I will pray for all of you during my time of rest.
Romanian Unity
Back in the 1940’s the Romanian Orthodox Diocese in this country was torn asunder and formed two diocese. For many years the relationship was, well, less than Christian. My diocese, the one that stayed part of the canonical Orthodox Church, was known as the Communist Church and some of the members were reported to the FBI. Needless to say there is much bad blood on both side of the isle here.
Well a few years back the Dialogue Commission put forth a proposal the re-unite the two diocese back into one under the Patriarch of Romania. Well we voted and then the wheels came off the wagon. Now here we are a few years latter and the same proposal is back to be voted on at our respective gatherings next month. This is a very bold proposal that will make the Romanian truly Self-Ruled. Other have claimed that they are self ruled but we will truly be self ruled. You can read the proposal for yourself here.
I think this is a good thing because it brings unity to one group of Orthodox but at the same time we need to be working at bringing us all together. I am not sure how far this proposal will get as we have been down this road before and something, or someone, always manages to knock it off the tracks. I would ask that you pray for those involved and pray for our gatherings taking place in Chicago and Michigan during the 4th of July weekend.
I need to read the proposal a little closer but I will make some comments on it in the coming days.
Orthodox-Catholic dialogue is necessary
Published by Father Joseph D. Wallace
Thu, June 19 2008
Thu, June 19 2008
The North American Orthodox-Catholic Theological Consultation met earlier this month to discuss how the two churches understand ecclesial authority and the sacramental nature of church.
They met at the Hellenic College/Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology in Brookline, Mass. Archbishop Daniel Pilarczyk of Cincinnati and Metropolitan Maximos of Pittsburgh chaired the meeting.
The North American Orthodox-Catholic Theological Consultation is sponsored by the Standing Conference of Canonical Orthodox Bishops in the Americas (SCOBA), the Bishop’s Committee for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) and the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops. They have met since 1965 and have issued 22 agreed statements.They met in four sessions and covered a number of important issues. At the first theological session, Father Paul McPartian of The Catholic University of America analyzed the October 2007 document of the international Orthodox-Catholic theological dialogue, “Ecclesiological and Canonical Consequences of the Sacramental Nature of the Church: Ecclesial Communion, Conciliarity and Authority.” This document is also commonly called, “The Ravenna Document,” and it examines the canonical practices and structures that shape the community (koinonia) of the church at the local, regional and universal levels.
At the second session, Father Joseph Komonchak, from Catholic University, presented a select bibliography on synodality and made comments on a number of the sources. Jesuit Father Brian Daley of the University of Notre Dame, presented an overview and commentary of the Cyprus Agreed Statement, the 2006 document of the Anglican-Orthodox theological dialogue, titled “The Church of the Triune God.”
This was followed by a brief presentation by Father David Petras and Father McPartian on how the two churches might function if there were reestablishment of full communion. Metropolitan Maximos presented the paper, “Will the Ecclesiology of Cardinal Ratzinger Influence the
Pontificate of Pope Benedict XVI?” at the third session. A discussion of the Consultation’s efforts exploring primacy and synodality followed into a fourth session.
This consultation was preceded by an historic announcement in Moscow by Cardinal Walter Kasper, president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, on May 30. He said, “We launched the dialogue with all Orthodox Churches and we won’t continue it without
the Russian Orthodox Church.”
Historically, the Russian Orthodox Church has not been a member of the great dialogue unfolding between the Roman Catholic Church and the Greek Orthodox Church. There have been tensions between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Greek Orthodox Church. Cardinal Kasper said that the conflict between the Moscow Patriarchate and the Constantinople Patriarchate was “an inter-Orthodox affair.” “We can’t interfere in these relations, but hope for the compromise,” the cardinal stressed.
In his message delivered to Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Russia by Cardinal Kasper, Pope Benedict XVI spoke of the Patriarch as “increasingly committed to dialogue with other Christians and the members of other religions” and thanked the Russian Church’s primate for “signs of fraternity and friendship” toward the Catholic Church.
In response Patriarch Alexy said, “The Orthodox-Catholic dialogue is necessary. The two churches have similar positions on many modern problems, among them morals, social and family relations, human rights and bio-ethics.”
He added, “Our dialogue must lead to the Orthodox-Catholic interaction in the defense of traditional Christian values in the secular world.”
While the ice is melting between the Roman Catholic Church and Russian Orthodox Church, Cardinal Kasper suggested that it may be time for the pope and patriarch to meet in Moscow some time in the future. He explained, “We are of the opinion that a personal encounter between the Pope and Patriarch Alexy II would be very helpful for the further development of our relations.”
No such date for the visit has been confirmed, but Moscow seems warmer to the idea with Pope Benedict, than it did with Pope John Paul II. The words of Pope Benedict XVI to Patriarch Alexy, sum up well the kind of relations Catholics and all Orthodox should have toward one another, “May the Risen Savior grant you health, peace and inner joy, and may he bring us closer to each other, that we may undertake together our journey towards full communion in him!”
IOCC Mobilizes First Responders to Flood Stricken Midwest
Large sections of the U.S. farm belt are under water after a week of torrential rains. The worst flooding to hit the Midwest in 15 years has claimed two dozen lives and forced more than 40,000 to evacuate their homes. This season’s corn and soybean crops are in danger, and Iowa’s agricultural losses alone are estimated to exceed $2 billion. Other states of the upper Midwest including Illinois and Indiana have also been affected.
International Orthodox Christian Charities (IOCC) is mobilizing its network of first responder Orthodox clergy to travel to Iowa to conduct a needs assessment and provide trauma counseling. Help us speed relief to the U.S.’s devastated communities by making a donation today. Call IOCC’s donation hotline toll-free at 1-877-803-4622, make a gift on-line at www.iocc.org, or mail a check or money order payable to “IOCC” and write “US Emergency Response” in the memo line to: IOCC, P.O. Box 630225, Baltimore, Md. 21263-0225.
IOCC, founded in 1992 as the official humanitarian aid agency of the Standing Conference of Canonical Orthodox Bishops in the Americas (SCOBA), has implemented over $275 million in relief and development programs in 33 countries around the world.
Russian Orthodox again walk out of pan-Orthodox meeting
Editors Note: We should just stop inviting them since all they ever do is walk out! It is all about power with these clowns! God send us some bishops that care about the people and not about power.
Rhodes, Jun. 20, 2008 (CWNews.com) – The Russian Orthodox Patriarchate of Moscow has escalated a dispute with the Patriarchate of Constantinople over the recognition of an independent Estonian Orthodox Church.
Rhodes, Jun. 20, 2008 (CWNews.com) – The Russian Orthodox Patriarchate of Moscow has escalated a dispute with the Patriarchate of Constantinople over the recognition of an independent Estonian Orthodox Church.
A Russian delegation has walked out of a meeting of Orthodox prelates, convened by Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople. The top Russian delegate, Archbishop Nikolai Balashov, said that the Moscow patriarchate could not accept the seating of a delegation from the Estonian Orthodox Church.
The meeting of Orthodox prelates, taking place at Rhodes, had been called by the Ecumenical Patriarch as a forum for mutual discussions and prayer. All of the world’s autonomous Orthodox churches had been asked to send representativees.
Last year the Russian Orthodox Church walked out of a meeting of a joint Catholic-Orthodox theological committee in Ravenna, Italy, for the same reason: the seating of an Estonian delegation. The Moscow patriarchate does not accept the independent Estonian hierarchy, and has angrily protested the decision by the Patriarch of Constantinople in 1996 to grant canonical recognition to the independent Estonian Church.
In explaining his delegation’s protest, Archpriest Balashov said that relations among the world’s Orthodox primates should be guided by the principle that participation is limited to those Orthodox bodies recognized by all other Orthodox churches. The world’s other Orthodox churches have been content to leave the Patriarch of Constantinople with the traditional authority to grant recognition to independent Orthodox churches.
Romanian church denounces formation of clergy trade union Jonathan Luxmoore
Warsaw (ENI). The Romanian Orthodox Church has condemned the formation of a trade union among its clergy, and has said that priests should follow church procedures in making demands and airing grievances.
“Certainly, some Orthodox priests have trouble making ends meet, especially those with families,” said Constantin Stoica, a spokesperson for the Bucharest patriarchate, which governs the church, “but we have ways of solving their problems inside our church.”
In May, 20 priests from Iasi, Neamt and Bacau applied to the Iasi court to register their
Mother of God Protection union in northeastern Romania, while 35 other priests in Oltenia said
they were considering strike action after registering a separate Good Shepherd union at Craiova on 22 May.
The Good Shepherd’s vice-president, the Rev. Nicolae State, told Romania’s Gandul daily
newspaper on 28 May that the union would fight low clergy pay, and demand the right for priests to make parish decisions without diocesan approval.
“There is an abyss between the church hierarchy and the priests who serve in churches,” State
said. “We are put under pressure, and have already lost some of our members.”In a statement, the Bucharest patriarchate dismissed the moves. “The initiatives to set up clergy trade unions are taken by priests tempted by the spirit of rebellion and division, and moving away from church discipline and communion,” the patriarchate said.
“A priest is not a lay employee of a commercial firm but invested by his hierarch with the
responsibility of a holy mission designed to save and serve the community of the faithful,” the
statement added. “He cannot go on strike and not baptise children, wed spouses, hear confessions, bury the dead or administer Holy Communion because his wage is too small.”
The patriarchate added that its priests were required to take their problems to church bodies, and not trade unions.
Under a 1999 law that currently faces amendment in the national parliament, the Romanian state pays part of the clergy’s income. Local parish contributions make up the rest.
The church’s spokesperson told Ecumenical News International that leaders of the Orthodox church hoped to obtain pay rises in current negotiations with the state, and especially for priests from poorer parishes in Transylvania and northern Moldavia.
“But there are also networks of solidarity within the church which enable financial burdens to be shared,” Stoica added.According to a 2001 census, 87 per cent of Romania’s 23 million inhabitants belong to the Romanian Orthodox Church.