Protocol No. 80
CATECHETICAL SPEECH
ON THE OCCASION OF HOLY AND GREAT LENT

+B A R T H O L O M E W
BY THE GRACE OF GOD
ARCHBISHOP OF CONSTANTINOPLE, NEW ROME, AND ECUMENICAL PATRIARCH,
TO THE PLENITUDE OF THE CHURCH,
GRACE AND PEACE FROM OUR SAVIOR CHRIST,
TOGETHER WITHOUR PRAYER,
BLESSING AND FORGIVENESS

Beloved brethren and children in the Lord,

At the beginning of Triodion a heart searching hymn is chanted, which includes the phrase: “Life-giver, open up the doors of repentance for me”.  It is immediately understood that the Holy Orthodox Church has devoted a great deal of the time of the year to our repentance. Moreover, at every hour and every day she reminds us of the need to repent. She is fully aware that repentance is the starting point of spiritual life and salvation for every human being. In addition, the fact that both Saint John the Forerunner and our Lord Jesus Christ, Himself, started their preaching by calling people to repentance, testifies to that.

As the meaning of the Greek word itself reveals (metanoia), repentance consists of the changing of our minds, and of our spiritual stance toward the world and God. It certainly entails the renunciation of our sins and the decision to live henceforth according to the holy commands of God. What repentance is primarily, is the renewal and change of our way of thinking, namely, of the way we evaluate the elements of the material and spiritual world. It is also a reclassification of the hierarchy of values, by which we regulate our lives, according to God’s will.

If we have been giving priority to the gathering of riches, we should hereafter strive for the beneficial utilization of financial goods to enhance public welfare. If we have been trying to primarily satisfy our own individual needs, we should from now on attend to the needs of others, starting with the people close to us, advancing to the greater societal family, within which we live, and possibly reaching the entire humanity. 
 
If, so far, the center of our interest has been to attain success in this life, we should henceforth expand it beyond this life into the next one. If our studies and research have been limited and covered only the areas of human sciences and the arts, we should delve into the holy science and art of spiritual life, which has its own rules that need to be similarly studied and learned. If we have been anxious to form good relationships with the powerful people of this world, we should henceforth take great pains to form friendly relationships with the powerful figures of the spiritual world, namely, our Lord Jesus Christ, the Theotokos and the Saints. If we have been in the habit of believing that our judgment and understanding surpass that of others’, we should from now on recognize that many times the judgment of other people is better than ours. In general, we will be able to truly repent, when we are in the position to re-evaluate our notions and re-assess our thinking in order to correct it when wrong, until we align ourselves with the positions of our Holy Church. These are positions of the Holy Gospel, which are ultimately the saving and true teachings of our Lord Jesus Christ. Furthermore, repentance must be accompanied by the confession of our sins to a suitable Confessor and it should be done in total honesty and utter humiliation. God has bestowed His authority upon spiritual Confessors to bind and to loose sins. Repentance without the clean confession of sins to the philanthropic authority of a Confessor is inconceivable and does not exist. In the Holy Sacrament of Confession, through the Grace of the Holy Spirit, the Christian is cleansed from any impurity. The wounds caused by the passions are healed through confession, the Christian is spiritually renewed and reborn, and receives strength that empowers him to continue his good fight. Continuous repentance is necessary, as the Holy Fathers of the Orthodox Church teach, even for the people that are most pious, if any, because the perfection of the divine teachings, with which as human beings we are called to harmonize our minds and hearts, is infinite.

Beloved brothers and sisters in Christ, let’s refrain from saying that we have no sins or that we need not to repent, for we are running the risk of assuming the blameworthy arrogance of the Pharisee. We all need to repent, since we are all in need to better learn the will of God, to love and forgive more, to have a more enlightened zeal, and a stronger interest for the spiritual life, despite the level of perfection that we have attained. 

May the Holy God, through the intercessions of the Most-Holy Theotokos and of all His Saints, bless us to traverse the holy period of Lent in physical health and in soul repentance, and to approach the Holy Pascha cleansed and restored, so that we can partake in the joy of the Resurrection during this year and we can eternally hold steadfast on the manner of the resurrected eternal life. So be it.

Great and Holy Lent, 2004
+BARTHOLOMEW
Patriarch of Constantinople
fervent intercessor to God for all

To be read on Cheesefare Sunday, February 22, after the Holy Gospel

Protocol 17/04

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 Day and Afternoon 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 embark upon the sacred period of Holy and Great Lent, we approach the salvific Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ, entering into a season filled with resplendent opportunities to prepare ourselves for the sacred and exhilarating celebration of His Resurrection.  Our journey throughout these next few weeks is, thus, of extraordinary significance for our spiritual lives.  During this time, our occasions for prayer and worship are greatly increased, and our fasting efforts are deeply intensified.  As we cultivate these important Lenten disciplines, we become the recipients of a magnificent myriad of spiritual fruits.

Foremost among these fruits is the restorative peace of God that fills our hearts when we focus upon Him.  The peace of God leads us to overcoming all the barriers that potentially stand in our way of attaining a closer communion with Christ, the crucified and risen Lord.  In his letter to the Philippians, St. Paul describes the peace of God as a peace "which passes all understanding," and which "keeps our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus" (4:7).  Such peace becomes available through daily prayer and communal worship, which are intensified during the Lenten period.  In turn, our relationships with others are enhanced, for only with a peaceful heart may we cultivate love, trust, and mutual respect among our neighbors.  Thus, the Lenten season is a time for enhancing our relationships not only with Christ, but also with others from all walks of life; it is a time to grow in the peace of God, an ever-present reality that binds all of us perfectly and willfully to His inexhaustible love.

With the peace of God also comes great spiritual liberation:  the Lenten season is a time whereby we may gain deeper insight into our deeper selves; it is a period whereby we cultivate the strength to know ourselves truly, to acquire honesty with ourselves, and to develop the courage to practice repentance as a means of constant transformation and purification of our innermost selves.

In addition, the Lenten season aims at nurturing within our hearts the important virtue of askesis--spiritual struggle in the pursuit of godliness.  Here, our practice of fasting is especially vital.  The purpose of fasting extends far beyond a superficial abstinence from certain foods; it is a discipline that has as its principle aim our overcoming of all worldly pursuits or material desires that divert our attention away from our spiritual communion with God.  Its purpose is to strengthen our capacity to focus constantly and consciously upon God, to "seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness" (Matthew 6:33) before all else.  By defining God as the chief priority in our lives, we restore to our minds a proper view of reality in which He is the One who ultimately sustains us with our every need.

The Lenten season now at hand is rich with many spiritual treasures and fruits that have the power to liberate our souls and restore our relationships with God and with others.  During this sacred period, let us commit ourselves to drawing nearer to God through prayer, worship, and fasting, so that our faith in Him may continue to grow, and our hearts may be filled with His abiding love and peace.  May this love and peace be with you and your families during this Lenten season as we approach the salvific Passion and the glorious Resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

With paternal love in Christ,

+DEMETRIOS
Archbishop of America

Sunday of Orthodoxy

February 29, 2004

But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth: for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. (John 4:23)

The Hierarchs of the Standing Conference
of  Canonical Orthodox Bishops in the Americas

To all the Clergy and the Laity of the Holy Orthodox Churches in the Americas

Beloved Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

On this first Sunday of the Holy Lenten season, we greet you in the grace and peace of our Lord.  As we gather on this day in our Orthodox parishes throughout the Americas, we come together as brothers and sisters in Christ to worship the One who is always and forever in our midst.  We affirm in word, in hymn, in prayer, and in sacrament that our Lord Jesus Christ is indeed among us, offering the divine grace of God, illuminating our hearts with His wisdom, and assuring us with His peace from above.

Our celebration of the Sunday of Orthodoxy reveals the significance of our worship as Orthodox Christians.  This is so, because in our commemoration of the triumph of the True Faith over heresy, we acknowledge that when we worship, we worship God in Truth. We draw near to Him, our Creator, Sustainer and Redeemer, with the fullness of His divine revelation. The proclamation of the Seventh Ecumenical Council that is read on this day affirms that our Orthodox faith is the faith of the Apostles, the faith of the Fathers, and the faith that has established the universe.  It is the True Faith that has not only been passed down to us through the ages, but it is a Living Faith that leads us to respond to the presence and grace of God by worshipping Him "in spirit and truth."

Our commemoration of the restoration of icons by the Seventh Ecumenical Council also affirms the unity we share when we are joined together in praise and honor of the One who gives us salvation.  Our shared tradition of liturgy and sacrament offers a witness to the world of our unity as the people of God and as Orthodox Christians.  When we gather as true worshippers, we bear witness to the world that we are joined and knit together as the body of Christ.  By His blood we have been brought to the True Faith, and the walls of division and hostility that separate us have been abolished (Ephesians 2:13-14).  We "have become fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the Gospel" (Ephesians 3:6).  We are united as the Church in true communion and in true faith in a manner that overcomes the racial, ethnic, social, and even geographical barriers that have marred this temporal world.  As Orthodox Christians we are united in the True Faith, and this day leads us to cherish what has been established by Christ and the Apostles, what has been preserved by the Martyrs and Saints, and what has been bequeathed to us by our fathers and mothers. 

Our joy, however, must be marked by our awareness that we live in a world that is in need of unity and truth.  We are called to offer what we have been offered.  Through our worship and the ministry that flows forth from our communion in Christ, we must guide others through the confusion and chaos made by sin and deception to the illuminating and salvific truth of the Gospel.  Through our worship as communities of faith and through all aspects of our lives we must show the world that we are intimately associated with God and His kingdom.  By our love for one another, and through our patience, kindness and ministry to each other as brothers and sisters in Christ, we must offer the world a holy image of true community and true unity, so that all people of all nations may join us before His throne singing "Holy, Holy, Holy, the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come […] You are worthy, our Lord to receive glory and honor and power […]" (Revelation 4:8c,11a).

May our gathering in worship and prayer on this Sunday of Orthodoxy offer this testimony of the True Faith and of the unity that we share as Orthodox Christians in the Americas and throughout the world; and may the presence and strength of our Lord continue to guide each of you through this Holy Lenten season.

With paternal blessings and love in Christ,

           
+Archbishop DEMETRIOS, Chairman   
Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America   
    
+Metropolitan PHILIP, Vice Chairman   
Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America

+Metropolitan CHRISTOPHER, Secretary    
Serbian Orthodox Church in the USA and Canada  
                                     
+Metropolitan NICHOLAS of Amissos, Treasurer  
Carpatho-Russian Orthodox Diocese in the USA  

+Metropolitan HERMAN
Orthodox Church in America  

+Archbishop NICOLAE
Romanian Orthodox Archdiocese in America and Canada 

+Metropolitan JOSEPH
Bulgarian Eastern Orthodox Church

+Metropolitan CONSTANTINE 
Ukrainian Orthodox Church in the USA

+Bishop ILIA of Philomelion
Albanian Orthodox Diocese of America

The carefully selected and trained staff members of Ionian Village will lead their campers on excursions to the Islands of Zakynthos, Kefolonia and Aegina, to see the home villages of St. Dionysios, St. Gerasimos, and St. Nektarios.  Participants will venerate the relics of the saints, learn about their lives, and see the churches and monasteries where they worked and lived.  During this pilgrimage, participants also travel to the churches of St. Andrew in Patras, where they are able to venerate his relics and the cross upon which he was crucified, and to the monastery at Mega Spileion, where they venerate St. Luke’s icon of the Theotokos and learn of its miraculous discovery. 

Additionally, Ionian Village allows its participants to gain an appreciation for the contributions of their Hellenic heritage to the world by visiting the ruins at Ancient Olympia, Ancient Delphi, Cape Sounion, and the Acropolis. Participants also visit the monastery of Agia Lavra and the “Topos Thisias” (place of sacrifice) in Kalavrita, sites significant to the Greek War for Independence and World War II, to learn of their ancestors’ struggles for freedom.

In addition to its great spiritual and cultural value, Ionian Village is a fun and social environment in which youth participate in athletic events, Greek dance, craft projects, and have opportunities to relax on the beach, shop, and swim in the Ionian Sea.  All excursions are chaperoned by trained staff members, and all swimming is supervised by certified lifeguards.  

Ionian Village is offering the following programs for the summer of 2004:
SUMMER TRAVEL CAMP:  July 1 - July 16 (7th -9th grade)
BYZANTINE VENTURE:  July 24 - August 8 (10th-12th grade)

For more information about Ionian Village, or to request a registration/application packet, please visit the Ionian Village website at: www.ionianvillage.org, or contact the Office of Ionian Village at: 646.519.6190 or via email at: ionianvillage@goarch.org.

 

Officials from IOCC, the Ethiopian Orthodox Church and the U.S. government met on February 13 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, to sign the agreement, which will expand the Church's efforts to care for AIDS orphans and people living with HIV/AIDS, and to prevent future infections.

"Saving life is the Church's fundamental obligation and its sacred duty and responsibility," said His Holiness Abune Paulos, Patriarch of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, at the signing ceremony. "This new project will go a long way in helping us expand the scale and intensity of our interventions."

The three-year, $6 million project, supported by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), will offer faith-based community care to nearly 9,000 AIDS orphans and vulnerable children, and palliative care to more than 26,000 people living with HIV/AIDS by 2007.

The project also seeks to reduce the incidence of HIV/AIDS infections in Ethiopia through a massive public education campaign, which will promote the importance of abstinence and/or faithfulness to one partner.

U.S. Ambassador to Ethiopia Aurelia E. Brazeal praised the three-way agreement as an example of the "crucial role that faith-based organizations can play in addressing HIV/AIDS. ... They are a valuable resource," she said.

Also attending the signing ceremony were William Hammink, director of USAID in Ethiopia, and Constantine M. Triantafilou, executive director of IOCC, the humanitarian aid agency of Orthodox Christians.

"As faithful children of God, we must come together to fight this deadly disease and all suffering around the world," Triantafilou said. "It is with great hope that I stand with you today to formally undertake this urgent effort."

Triantafilou praised Patriarch Paulos as an "outspoken leader on the challenge of HIV/AIDS in Ethiopia."

IOCC has been active in Ethiopia since 2001, when it began supporting small-scale agricultural projects in partnership with the Church's relief office, the Development and Inter-Church Aid Commission (DICAC). IOCC currently is hiring senior staff to lead the HIV/AIDS project in partnership with DICAC.

A country of 70 million people, Ethiopia has the third largest number of HIV-positive people in the world (an estimated 2.2 million, including 250,000 children under age 5). Approximately 1.2 million Ethiopian children have been orphaned by AIDS.

Patriarch Paulos said the disease, first reported in Ethiopia in 1986, threatens the future of the Ethiopian people and undermines the country's development. "Our resolve and determination to prevent further spread of this pandemic and save our people ... from self-destruction is stronger than ever," he said.

Because of its size, the Ethiopian Orthodox Church is uniquely equipped to deliver an anti-AIDS message to a large segment of the population, Ambassador Brazeal said. With 35,000 churches and monasteries, and 500,000 clergy (including priests, deacons and monks) the Church has access to the most remote parts of Ethiopia.

The Church and IOCC will implement the AIDS project in the 11 largest urban centers in the Southern Nationalities & Nation-People Region and the regions of Amhara, Oromiya, Benishangul Gumuz, Gambella and Tigray.

IOCC and DICAC, with a joint contribution valued at $1 million, will conduct its expanded AIDS education campaign through public rallies, peer counseling, posters, literature, T-shirts, skits and musical productions.

Another component of the project is the training of counselors who will spread the message of AIDS prevention beyond the life of the program, and who will train others. With this model of "trained trainers," thousands of counselors will be available to support the anti-AIDS campaign by 2007.

For more information about IOCC and its humanitarian programs in Ethiopia and 13 other countries, please visit www.iocc.org.

For media inquiries or photos, please contact IOCC Communications Associate Stephen Huba at 1-877-803-4622 or shuba@iocc.org.

INTERNATIONAL ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN CHARITIES
110 West Road, Suite 360, Baltimore, Md. 21204
Tel: (410) 243-9820 - Fax: (410) 243-9824
Web: www.iocc.org - E-mail: news@iocc.org

The new web site, http://www.scoba.us provides an accessible and current means of communication for the extensive work that SCOBA and its agencies are doing throughout the Americas and around the world.  The site features links to the available web sites of each SCOBA jurisdiction, biographical information on the SCOBA hierarchs, current and archived news releases, contact information and links to all SCOBA agencies, commissions, and endorsed organizations, as well as resources and texts that have been issued by SCOBA.  Currently, these resources and texts include the “Ecumenical  Guidelines for SCOBA” and the statements issued by the North American Orthodox-Catholic Theological Consultation and the reports of the Joint Committee of Orthodox and Catholic Bishops.  Additional resources will be added as they are available.

Launched in conjunction with the web site is a SCOBA Listserv.  Subscribers to the listserv will receive via e-mail news releases, encyclicals, and statements as they are released.  News releases from SCOBA agencies will also be distributed on the listserv.  To subscribe, please visit the listserv section on the SCOBA site at http://www.scoba.us/listserv.

Founded in 1960, the Standing Conference of the Canonical Orthodox Bishops in the Americas (SCOBA) brings together the canonical hierarchs of Orthodox jurisdictions in the Americas. The purpose of the Standing Conference is to create and foster ties of unity among the canonical Orthodox Churches and administrations for a stronger and more visible witness to the Orthodox Faith. The hierarchs meet semi-annually for discussion and decisions on inter-Orthodox and ecumenical matters, to review the work of its commissions and dialogues, and to plan future events.

Contact: His Grace Bishop Dimitrios 
SCOBA General Secretary
Tel. 212-774-0593  Fax. 212-774-0202       
Email: scoba@goarch.org

 

Criteria and forms are available on-line at:

http://www.goarch.org/en/archdiocese/administration/chancellor/giolesscholarship.pdf

Applications are being accepted for the Katina John Malta Scholarship Fund of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America.  This fund was established in 2002 by means of a generous gift from the estate of Katina John Malta in recognition of the love Katina had for the Church and in honor of her desire to help others, especially children and youth.  For the 2004-05 academic year, at least two scholarships of $2000 each will be awarded.

Criteria and forms are available on-line at:

http://www.goarch.org/en/archdiocese/administration/chancellor/maltascholarship.pdf

Application are also available upon request from the Office of the Chancellor of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese by phone (212) 774-0513, by e-mail at scholarships@goarch.org, or by written request. Completed applications should be sent to the Gioles or Malta Scholarship Fund, c/o Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, Office of the Chancellor, 8 East 79th Street, New York, NY  10021.  The deadline for applications is April 15.  Awards will be announced no later than May 31.

Contact:  Office of the Chancellor  
Tel. (212) 774-0513
E-mail: scholarships@goarch.org