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Post by hibernicus on Apr 24, 2012 21:33:04 GMT
Today is Armenian Martyrs' Day, commemorating the 1915 genocide of Armenians in Turkey. Hitler once asked "Who remembers the Armenians?" to justify his own crimes. Remember them in your prayers. Here's the story of one life permanently scarred by the genocide. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arshile_Gorky
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Post by Alaisdir Ua Séaghdha on May 15, 2012 11:42:03 GMT
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Post by hibernicus on May 15, 2012 20:45:00 GMT
Where exactly is their Dublin parish church, which is mentioned in this item?
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Post by Alaisdir Ua Séaghdha on May 16, 2012 9:48:02 GMT
The Ukrainian Greek Catholic liturgy takes place in the chapel of Holy Cross College, Clonliffe (Drumcondra, Dublin 9). As far as I can see, the liturgy is at 10 am every Sunday, but the patriarch will pontificate at 9 on 17 June.
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Post by hibernicus on May 25, 2012 18:39:12 GMT
An interesting piece on the history and practices of the Ukrainian Church: www.zenit.org/article-34844?l=englishEXTRACT "Being an ancient ritual," Father McVay said, "the Ukrainian Rite (which is a form of the Byzantine Rite) has many more similarities to the liturgical culture of gestures found in the traditional Latin Rite (Extraordinary Form)." The basic structure of the Eucharistic Liturgy – the readings, the offertory, the Eucharistic prayer, and so on – is the same as the Latin Mass, but the forms of these ceremonies in the Ukrainian Byzantine liturgy are very different. For instance, "the principal parts," in the Ukrainian Liturgy, "are interspersed with long litanies, with the response kyrie eleison, or Grant this, O Lord. The Dominus vobiscum blessing is similar to the Latin Pontifical Mass form: 'peace be with all' except that, turning to the faithful, the priest blesses them with the sign of the cross instead of opening his hands." In the Ukrainian Liturgy, moreover, "the vestments have a completely different cut: the chasuble (felonion) is cut in front, not at the sides. The stole is joined in the center and the cincture is made of vestment material. Instead of a maniple there are two cuffs, one for each wrist. The alb, he continued, is called stycharion and can also be of a colored, silk or brocade material like the vestments. When celebrating pontifically the bishops wears a sakkos (like a pontifical dalmatic) instead of a felonion with an omophorion over top (a pallium like vestment). His miter is shaped like a crown and his crozier has two serpents intertwined around a cross. He blesses pontifically with two hands instead of three times with one hand, as in the Latin Rite... END OF EXTRACT More interesting links here: www.catholicworldreport.com/Blog/1376/the_history_and_liturgy_of_the_ukrainian_church.aspx
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Post by hibernicus on May 26, 2012 22:48:26 GMT
An article from FIRST THINGS, apparently by a Greek Catholic, criticises the Vatican for maintaining the position that Eastern Churches in diaspora (in this case in the US) must observe the same discipline of celibacy as the Latin Rite [they tend to get round it by sending married candidates to be ordained in the Eastern Rite homelands and then bringing them back to the US; the reaffirmation of the official position by Cardinal Sandri appears to be in response to a statement by the recently-consecrated Melkite Greek bishop with responsibility for the US that he intended to admit married men to his seminary with a view to ordaining them in America, on the basis that the Eastern discipline constitutes a right to which the Eastern Churches are entitled by their nature rather than a privilege granted by Rome], and complains that Eastern Rite Catholics outside their traditional heartlands appear to be seen as an obstacle to reunion with the Orthodox and/or as an irritating anomaly rather than being entitled to the respect officially professed by the Church authorities for the Eastern Rites. Has this issue come up in Ireland yet? (I suspect it will at some stage if Eastern-rite communities develop.) Personally my sympathies are with the Easterners on this one. I accept Rome is entitled to make the final decision; I just have my doubts about whether that decision is correct. [The difference between this position and dissent a la ACPI is that dissenters do not really accept that Rome is entitled to decide on their favourite issues of discipline and doctrine at all; I express concern on this issue of discipline but of course would not dream of doing so when doctrine is at stake.] Does anyone else have any thoughts on the matter? www.firstthings.com/onthesquare/2012/05/that-they-may-be-one[There is a post on an Orthodox blog with which I am familiar about this same statement by Cardinal Sandri, but I hesitate to link to it as I do not wish to give the impression that I am going into schism. I will link it for readers' information if anyone is interested enough to ask for it.]
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Post by hibernicus on Jun 4, 2012 0:13:21 GMT
Here's an interesting piece by Walter Russell Mead arguing that Russia's continuing support for the Assad regime is partly influenced by desire to reassert the traditional Russian role as protector of Orthodox Christian minorities in the Middle East, and by a sense that this, and tensions with Russia's own Muslim minority populations, are a continuation of conflicts going back to the days of the Ottoman Empire. I do not necessarily endorse this view or Mead's take thereon, but it's worth a read: blogs.the-american-interest.com/wrm/2012/06/03/what-russia-doesnt-forget/
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Post by Alaisdir Ua Séaghdha on Jun 5, 2012 9:52:57 GMT
Certainly an interesting read, and while one could have legitimate misgivings about both Putin and Assad, the near extinction of Christianity in Iraq is a fresh memory which does nothing for the Western case in Syria.
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Post by hibernicus on Jun 18, 2012 9:48:33 GMT
In connection with the visit of Patriarch Sviatoslav to Ireland it may be appropriate to recall the role of his predecessor, Archbishop Andrei Sheptytsky during the Holocaust. He was personally responsible for sheltering many Jews in church properties, and issued a pastoral entitled "Thou Shalt Not Kill" denouncing the murder of civilians (implicitly including Jews). There is an ongoing controversy over his non-recognition as a "Righteous Among the Nations" by the Yad Vashem Holocaust museum, on the grounds that despite his actions in saving Jews he welcomed the Nazi army to the Ukraine and continued to give some level of support to the occupation regime, including appointing chaplains to Ukrainian SS divisions. HERE is an article on the ongoing controversy from a Jewish magazine. The comments include several from Jews who were saved by Archbishop Sheptysky or who had family members saved by him, and the son of a Greek-catholic priest who sheltered Jews on the direct orders of the Archbishop: m.thejewishweek.com/news/international/righteous_gentile_or_nazi_supporterHEre the historian Timothy Snyder discusses Archbishop Sheptytsky's actions both in regard to the Nazis and the Jews, and argues that his case shows the horrific moral complexity facing the inhabitants of the "bloodlands" caught between Nazi Germany and Soviet Russia: www.nybooks.com/blogs/nyrblog/2009/dec/21/he-welcomed-the-nazis-and-saved-jews/Here is an account of the Archbishop's brother, Bl. Clement Sheptytsky, who assisted the rescue work and has been named as a "Righteous Gentile" by Yad Vashem. He was later arrested by the Soviets, died in a prison camp, and was beatified by POpe John Paul II in 2001. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Klymentiy_SheptytskyA Canadian-based Ukrainian priest on the Metropolitan (partly based on his own meetings with Jews rescued by him) www.infoukes.com/religion/sheptytsky/
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Post by hibernicus on Jul 4, 2012 21:36:40 GMT
A poster on an Orthodox blog discusses what Catholicism and Orthodoxy can learn from each other. I suspect from his name that the author is a former Latin-Rite Catholic trad who turned Orthodox, so I am not sure how representative he is of Orthodox opinion: orthocath.wordpress.com/2012/06/29/what-can-orthodox-and-catholics-teach-each-other/EXTRACT Both Eastern Orthodoxy and Roman Catholicism are facing difficult new challenges. Christianity has become an open market where competition from upstart denominations is extremely fierce. The temptation to bury one’s head in the sand (Eastern Orthodoxy) or to mimic successful Evangelical methods and worship styles (Roman Catholicism) is as great as it is destructive. In North America, converts from Protestantism have provided their respective ‘teams’ with solid theological responses, but the struggle remains very difficult. In the rest of the world, the tide of sectarian Christianity (notably Adventism, Mormonism and Pentecostalism) continues its damage to the ancient apostolic Churches. While Rome has effectively embraced a liturgical modernism as a remedy that has proven even worse than the disease, Orthodoxy is often in denial that anything needs to be fixed liturgically or organizationally. In fact, both sides can learn and benefit from the other’s strengths and experiences, as we shall see. 1. Catholics must become Orthodox The rift between East and West was already extreme by the ninth century and reached its apex with Vatican I. But this apex was also marked by a growing sense that the theological and liturgical path of Roman Catholicism had reached some kind of a dead-end. Vatican II was an attempt to engineer a conciliar return to the sources that would reinterpret the Roman Catholic legacy of the past thousand years for the next millennium. Jean Danielou and Yves Congar – both Early Church scholars – were very influential at the council, but their vision was only partially achieved. As we have seen, the new mass of Pope Paul VI was an overreaction to the possible excesses of the Tridentine rite of Pius V. What was obscured or even lost in modern Roman Catholic worship is not just reverence and a few prayers; it is the eschatological experience of the Eucharist as an ascent to heaven, a manifestation on earth of the eternal liturgy of the angels and saints. Everything comes together to make the modern mass an expedited Eucharistic gathering of the community – or at least part of it since there are now various kinds of masses served at different times. Vestments and architectural styles are a manifestation of today’s trends and attitudes: universal ecclesiology becomes incarnate in its liturgical consequence. As a result of this anchoring in the present and disconnection from the apostolic past and eschatological future, the Roman Catholic priesthood is often disoriented. Liberal theology is rampant in seminaries and universities where many have rejected both patristic and scholastic theology in order to look for new ways to ‘rescue Christianity from the New Testament.’ I would like to suggest that if Roman Catholicism rediscovers and embraces the liturgical spirit of Eastern Christianity, the crisis of post-Vatican II liturgics will end. But this cannot be achieved without a concurrent embracing of eschatological-Eucharistic ecclesiology and pre-Nicene theology. Time is running short for a Vatican III council that would prepare the Roman Catholic world for the third millennium with an era of convergence and reconciliation with Eastern Orthodoxy. 2. Orthodox must become Catholic The message of the Eastern Orthodox world to Roman Catholicism (and all other Christians) is often reduced to ‘leave us alone, we’d like to pretend you don’t exist.’ This fortress mentality is also a subconscious admission that ‘the God-protected city’ is in fact a weak and easy prey. The temptation to curl away from the world leads to nationalism and a failure to embrace the catholic-universal vocation of the Church. As a result, Orthodox Christians see themselves as Russian, Serbian or Greek Orthodox members of a national Church whose head is located in a political capital. The contrast with Roman Catholicism is striking: the ability of the Church of Rome to coordinate worldwide missions, social work and a consistent doctrinal message should make the Orthodox think. The need for a universal center of unity and arbitration is obvious, and it does not have to mean absolute supremacy or infallibility. Two admonitions of our Lord come to mind: “Why do you notice the splinter in your brother’s eye, but do not perceive the wooden beam in your own? How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me remove that splinter in your eye,’ when you do not even notice the wooden beam in your own eye? You hypocrite! Remove the wooden beam from your eye first; then you will see clearly to remove the splinter in your brother’s eye” (Luke 6:40-41) “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:19-20) The real tragedy about the Schism is the lack of concern about its tragic consequences. The voice that should still cry out from heaven is that of Patriarch Peter of Antioch who had written in 1054: “I tremble lest, while you [Photius] endeavor to sew up the wound, it may turn to something worse, to schism; lest while you try to raise up what has been smitten down, a worse fall may be in store. Consider the obvious result of all of this, I mean the yawning gulf that must ultimately separate from our holy Church [Orthodox Antioch and Constantinople] that magnanimous and apostolic see [Rome]… Life henceforth will be filled with wickedness, and the whole world will be overturned…” We should not have to think in terms of ‘mutual interest’ to discuss cooperation and reconciliation, but it may be that a common threat will do more for the cause of unity than our concern for the unity of the body of Christ. 3. Loving the Saints If we confess Cyprian, Basil, Leo and Martin as saints and members of the same Body, what we also confess is that in spite of our earthly differences, heaven is filled with both ‘Roman Catholic’ and ‘Eastern Orthodox’ saints. In order to achieve visible and authentic unity, there must first be a desire to embrace what is best on the other side, and to find room for legitimate differences of expression. I am convinced that if Orthodox Christians can discover and love such lights as St. Therese of Lisieux or St. Solanus Casey, and if Catholics can embrace as their own St. Seraphim of Sarov or St. Elizabeth Fyodorovna, a new form of dialogue can take place: one motivated by love and respect. In general, Roman Catholicism has been more generous with its beatification and canonization process, with the result that a great variety of remarkable souls are presented as inspiring models for us today. By contrast, recent Eastern Orthodox saints tend to be martyrs and monastics: to my knowledge, not a single woman has been glorified for North American Orthodoxy, which means that if we can embrace Sts. Leo and Martin, we can certainly be inspired by Sts. Mary Cabrini or Katharine Drexel. END OF EXTRACT
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Post by Beinidict Ó Niaidh on Jul 5, 2012 20:14:00 GMT
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Post by hibernicus on Jul 5, 2012 22:49:15 GMT
I knew he was Catholic but I didn't realise he was Eastern-rite.
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Post by hibernicus on Aug 16, 2012 22:33:10 GMT
Your prayers are requested for the repose of the soul of Abune Paulos, Patriarch of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church [in communion with the Coptic Patriarchate of Alexandria] who has died. I decided to post this here rather than in the "Prayers Please" thread in order to express special condolences to the Dublin Ethiopian Orthodox congregation, who have been good friends to the EF Chaplaincy at St Kevin's, Harrington Street (they worship nearby), and some of whom joined us at the Eucharistic procession at the recent Eucharistic Congress. May God receive the deceased Patriarch into His Mercy, and guide the Ethiopian Church aright at this difficult time. BBC report here: www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-19285459
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Post by hibernicus on Aug 29, 2012 18:19:13 GMT
On the subject of our Ethiopian Orthodox friends, I should have linked before now to the stories/images of the Ethiopian Olympic athlete Meseret Defar producing a Marian icon after winning her gold medal: EXTRACT FROM COMMENTS: wdtprs.com/blog/2012/08/ethiopian-olympic-gold-medalist-and-the-blessed-virgin-mary/Father G says: 11 August 2012 at 8:18 pm How beautiful and moving it was to see it! When Meseret pulls out the icon and shows it to the camera man, he actually zooms in on the icon! It is an Ethiopian version of the icon of Our Lady of the Passion (the most popular copy is the icon of Our Lady of Perpetual Help). It is found in many Ethiopian Orthodox and Ge’ez -rite Catholic parishes such Kidane-Mehret Ge’ez-rite Catholic Church in Washingtion, D.C: kidane-mehret.org/.... aquinas138 says: 12 August 2012 at 5:46 pm The Ethiopian Church has a great love for the Blessed Virgin and possesses a vast apocryphal literature devoted to her, some of it quite interesting and beautiful. In Amharic, Protestants are sometimes called “sara Maryam” – “enemies of Mary.”
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Post by hibernicus on Sept 25, 2012 21:40:39 GMT
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