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Documents posted in November | September | August | July | June | May
October 31, 2001
Chartres
Cathedral: When East had already met West
It
was St. John Maximovich of Shanghai and San Francisco (+1966) who
emphasized the traditions of Western Orthodoxy before the East-West Schism
that was finally confirmed by the beginning of the thirteenth century with
the Sack of Constantinople.
Chartres Cathedral provides an insight into the richness and
greatness of the Western heritage . . .
more>>>
October 30, 2001
Download November Church
Calendar for installation into Outlook
St
Phocas the Gardener of Sinope:
Flower power revisited
"One
is nearer God's heart in a garden than anywhere else on earth."
So reads a popular inscription to be found on garden ornaments.
What a sublime truth it expresses!
The whole drama of human salvation began in the Garden of Eden
beside a tree and culminated on Golgotha, also on a Tree.
So many strain their nerves looking for "proofs" of God's
existence when they should really just take up gardening . .
.more>>>
October 29, 2001
Answers to questions from visitors:
October 27, 2001
A visitor's question: Could you
tell me about the pre-Christian religious beliefs and practices of the
Ukraine? Are any of these traditions still practised by Ukrainian
Christians in the Ukraine or Canada? Are there any books or online
resources on this topic?
see
answer>>>
October 23, 2001
Pastoral Letters - Twenty-First Sunday After Pentecost (Oct. 28)
Everything
Speaks of Him
Ukrainian version: PDF Format
Pet
companions in our life: Dealing with animal desires
Walking through St Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv, one is struck by the
great iconographic depictions of the animal kingdom.
These celebrate that Christ is the Lord of the Cosmos and He
transfigures all His creation and all of nature in Himself.
An integral relationship with animals is part of God's plan for us,
to be sure.
For many of us, our pet companions are a source of tremendous joy
and consolation in our lives.
How can we understand their spiritual significance?
more>>>
October 18, 2001
St
John the Ukrainian Confessor: Our historic relations with the Muslims
The
great tragedy of September 11th has brought to the attention of
the West the religion and culture of Islam in a way that nothing ever has
before.
Links between the "fundamentalist" terrorists who
perpetrated this calamity and Islam as a whole seem to be assumed as
theological questions are frequently raised during interviews
investigating the motivation for such acts.
We ourselves have quite the historic relationship with Islamic
peoples that could be consulted . . .
more>>>
October 15, 2001
Pastoral Letters - Twentieth Sunday After Pentecost (Oct. 21)
Missing
Out on God
Ukrainian version: PDF Format
Joining
in the daily prayer of the Church: Spiritual happy hours
The school of Christian prayer is a unique one.
We never ever really graduate from it, but continue to learn in it
throughout our lives as we grow in our love for and worship of the Holy
Trinity in union with the Church.
The Church's daily cycle of prayer is an ancient one and is not the
sole reserve of the clergy and monastics.
We are all called, in virtue of our Baptism and membership in the
Royal Priesthood of Christ, to participate in the prayer of the Church.
In so doing, we not only shape our prayer life and our relationship
with God in accordance with His Will, but we take part in an exhilarating
spiritual journey . . . more>>>
October 12, 2001
St
Euphrosynos the Cook: The kitchen as focal point of communion
The icon of St Euphrosynos the Cook of Alexandria has always hung in
our kitchen.
The patron saint of all things culinary has served to remind us of
the spiritual, as well as physical, importance of the act of preparing and
consuming food.
In addition to the utilitarian nature of the enterprise of cooking,
baking and what not, there is a deeply religious aspect involved that
should not be neglected either.
One could call the following lines, "reflections of a
dishwasher." more>>>
October 9, 2001
Pastoral Letters - Nineteenth Sunday After Pentecost (Oct. 14)
To
Enter the Uninviting Place
Ukrainian version: PDF Format
The
Restoration of Ukrainian Church traditions: Of Russophiles and Nationalism
The historical relationship between the Churches of Kyiv and Moscow
have always been strained at best.
Both traditions have maintained their descent from the Apostle St
Andrew and both affirm their right to Church autocephaly and patriarchy as
a result.
Moscow, to be sure, has had the political and military muscle to
impose itself on the Church of Kyiv and the people of Ukraine.
Its political influence continues there to this day in diverse ways.
Moscow further maintains that the Kyivan tradition is one and the
same with the Russian tradition.
But is it? more>>>
October 6, 2001
The
Kyivan Caves Lavra: The
greatest Shrine of the Kyivan Church and Eastern Europe
This year marks the 950th anniversary of the founding of
the Kyivan Caves Lavra and its magnificent spiritual and cultural legacy
in the life of the Ukrainian people and many others who have benefited
from the Light of Grace that has shone forth from it.
But what precisely is its significance to us living in the 21st
century? Of what relevance
are the lives and sayings of those ancient monastic saints?
more>>>
October 3, 2001
Pastoral Letters - Eighteenth Sunday After Pentecost (Oct. 7)
Real
Autonomy!
Ukrainian version: PDF Format
The Protectress
On October 1 Julian Calendar (October 14 on
the Gregorian), Ukrainians celebrate a Feast day that is of special
significance to them. It is the Feast of the Protecting Veil of Mary, the
Mother of God. more
>>>
The
Church of the Resurrection in Jerusalem: A Mingling of Sadness and Joy
The day before the Feast of the Universal Exaltation of the Holy Cross
(Holy Cross Day) our tradition commemorates the founding of the Church in
Jerusalem that was built on the spot where Christ's Cross was rooted and
where His Tomb is. God truly "worked salvation in the midst of the
earth" when His Son deigned to receive flesh from the Virgin Mary and
accepted death on the Tree of Life.
That Church itself reflects the differences in how East and West
understand Christ's death on the Cross.
more>>>
October 2, 2001
Holy Communion -- Preparing
for the Mysteries
October 1, 2001
Sacrificing
one's life for God: Of martyrdom and religious ideology
In the wake of the tragedy of September 11, religion is front and
centre in the public debates surrounding the myriad issues now being
raised by the media.
In addition to the many ongoing spiritual expressions of grief in
community, there is the issue of a brand of terrorism that is inspired by
religion, in this case, Islam.
What does this say about the role of religion at a time when we
were increasingly being told of its waning influence in the world?
And can religion be an instrument of evil?
more>>>
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