Communists Protest Plaque Honoring +Patriarch Josyf

Communists in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv say they will appeal in court a decision to allow the installation of a plaque commemorating dissident Josyf Slipyj, the longtime patriarch of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service reports.

Alla Aleksandrovska, first secretary of the Ukrainian Communist Party's Kharkiv Oblast Committee, said on February 22 that the Communists and their lawyers were collecting all the documents needed to file a lawsuit against that day's unveiling of the plaque for Josyf.

Slipyj is a prominent dissident who led the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church during the Soviet era and was viciously persecuted by authorities. He spent many years in Soviet labor camps and jails.

Responding to pressure from the Vatican and U.S. President John F. Kennedy, the Soviet leadership allowed Patriarch Josyf to leave the USSR in 1963. He died in Rome in 1984 at the age of 92.

Slipyj was made a cardinal by Pope Paul VI in 1965. He was also the major archbishop of Lviv as head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church in 1944-84.

The first plaque commemorating Patriarch Slipyj was unveiled in Kharkiv in 2005. Pro-Russian groups damaged the plaque in 2008 and the local Catholic congregation and the organization of Ukrainian Youth tried to restore the plaque.

In 2010, pro-Russian organizations in Kharkiv filed a lawsuit against plans for the plaque and won their case. The leader of the Great Rus organization, Yury Apukhtin and his supporters, then destroyed the plaque.

About 8 percent of Ukraine's Christians belong to the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church.

Source:  RISU

Джерело публікації: risu.org.ua

Irish Church lost influence by conforming to culture, Archbishop Martin says

Catholicism is a “minority culture” in Ireland today, according to Archbishop Diarmuid Martin of Dublin.

In an address at Magdalene College, Cambridge, the Primate of Ireland explained that secularism has taken a heavy toll on the faith in Ireland for years, to the point that most people—even those who identify themselves as Catholic—no longer order their lives according to the principles of the Catholic faith.

Archbishop Martin told his Cambridge audience that several years ago, Pope John Paul II asked how Ireland had suddenly become secularized. The Irish archbishop said that he respectfully disagreed with the Pontiff, telling him that the change had not come suddenly:

Secularisation, whatever that means exactly, had been on the Irish radar screen for many years. It was not all negative but it was not an overnight wonder. It was there, but not recognised. It was there but the answer of the Irish Church was for far too long to keep the same show on the road, not noticing that there were problems with the show and that the road was changing.

Years earlier, Archbishop Martin recalled, a sociology professor had told him that Catholicism was already a minority culture in Ireland. At the time the argument seemed outlandish, he said, but in time he came to understand the professor’s point. Now conceding that Catholicism is a minority culture, the archbishop said: “The challenge is to ensure that it is not an irrelevant minority culture.”

Archbishop Martin said that the Church has failed to capture the attention of young Irish, so that “there is a missing generation—and perhaps more than one.” He said that the Church must undertake greater efforts to reach young people.

On the public scene the influence of the Church has lapsed considerably, the archbishop continued, noting that “in the current political discussion in Ireland is increasingly marginal.” With elections approaching, he noted that none of the country’s political parties had made an effort to gain support from the Church.

Archbishop Martin said that the process of secularization was accelerated by the efforts of Church leaders to conform to the culture. He explained:

The paradoxical thing is that the farther the Church goes in adapting to the culture of the times, the greater is the danger that it will no longer be able to confront the culture of the time. It will only be able to speak the language of the culture of the day and not the radical newness of the message of the Gospel which transcends all cultures. It could become a type of civil religion: politically correct, but without the cutting edge of the Gospel.

Source:  Catholic Culture
Also see Belfast Telegram

Kyiv Chamber Choir "Praise The Lord"

Another beautiful (and inexpensive) album from Magnatune: You can listen for free online (click below), or unlimited downloads of all titles for $15.  Worth checking out.







Praise the Lord by Kyiv Chamber Choir

Letter from the Synod of the Ukrainian Catholic Bishops

The following is a letter from the Chancery of the Major Archbishop of the Ukrainian Catholic Church
calling all faithful to pray for the guidance of the Holy Spirit during the Synod of Ukrainian Catholic Bishops which will take place in Ukraine from March 21 – 24, 2011. English translation below.

Patriarch Lubomyr--Video

Під час цьогорічної Різдвяної просфори Глави УГКЦ на екрані демонстрували фільм у фотографіях про Блаженнішого Любомира. На офіційному блозі УГКЦ (http://cerkva-ugcc.livejournal.com/) було опубліковано текст із долученими фото з періоду дитинства і молодості Блаженнішого Любомира. А тут пропонуємо вам переглянути цей фотофільм, який підготував Сергій Проскурня.

"GROUND ZERO" St. Nicholas Parish Sues NY Port Authority

NEW YORK (AP) — The Greek Orthodox church sued the public agency that owned the World Trade Center on Monday, saying the agency reneged on a deal to rebuild a church that was destroyed in the 9/11 attacks.

The church says the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey broke a 2008 promise to rebuild the St. Nicholas Church at a new location down the block from its old site. It also says the Port Authority has started excavating church property without permission as part of the new business and transportation complex at Ground Zero.

"This is not about money, this is about their commitment to rebuild the only house of worship destroyed at Ground Zero," church spokesman Mark Arey said.

The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America filed its lawsuit against the Port Authority in a U.S. district court in Manhattan.

 The St. Nicholas Church was built in 1916 and was crushed when the World Trade Center towers collapsed. As part of the neighborhood's reconstruction, the Port Authority proposed a swap of the church property for a piece of land down the street so that the agency could build a center for screening vehicles. In exchange, the agency would give the church millions of dollars to build a bigger church.

The church says the two sides had mostly agreed on the terms when the Port Authority abruptly pulled out of talks in 2009. The Port Authority claims the church was demanding too much money.

"After eight months of negotiations in which the demands of the Orthodox Church continued to increase over and above what was originally agreed to in 2008, the Port Authority had to make a practical decision to move on or risk further delaying the entire World Trade Center project," the agency said in a written statement.

The Port Authority has said it offered $20 million of financing, plus as much as $40 million to cover extra costs related to the construction of a Port Authority parking lot under the church. It claims the church wanted a building six times bigger than its original one.

The church said that was only fair because it was giving up the valuable "air rights" over its original site. Air rights allow builders to put skyscrapers on small pieces of land.

In addition, about one-third of the new church would have been a memorial area for people of all faiths to gather, Arey said.

Source:  Associated Press

Feast of the Presentation of Our Lord

At St. Elias, Vespers will be taken on Monday February 1/14 at 7:00 pm; Matins (8:00 am) and Divine Liturgy (10:00) on the day of the feast--February 2/15

From RISU

In the Eastern Orthodox Church and some Eastern Catholic Churches, the Presentation of Jesus at the Temple is one of the twelve Great Feasts.

The event is described in the Gospel of Luke (Luke 2:22–40). According to the gospel, Mary and Joseph took the baby Jesus to the Temple in Jerusalem forty days (inclusive) after his birth to complete Mary's ritual purification after childbirth and to perform the redemption of the firstborn, in obedience to the Law of Moses (Leviticus 12, Exodus 13:12-15, etc.). Luke explicitly says that Joseph and Mary take the option provided for poor people (those who could not afford a lamb) in Leviticus 12:8, sacrificing "a pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons."

Upon bringing Jesus into the temple, they encountered Simeon the Righteous. The Gospel records that Simeon had been promised that "he should not see death before he had seen the Lord's Christ" (Luke 2:26). Simeon prayed the prayer that would become known as the Nunc Dimittis, or Canticle of Simeon, which prophesied the redemption of the world by Jesus:

Now O Master You have kept your promise, let Your servant go in peace. A light to reveal you to the Gentiles, and the glory of Your people Israel (Luke 2:29-32).

Simeon then prophesied to Mary: "Behold, this child is set for the falling and the rising of many in Israel, and for a sign which is spoken against. Yes, a sword will pierce through your own soul, that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed" (Luke 2:34-35).

The elderly prophetess Anna was also in the Temple, and offered prayers and praise to God for Jesus, and spoke to everyone there about Jesus and his role in the redemption of Israel (Luke 2:36-38).

In the Byzantine tradition (Eastern Orthodox and Greek Catholic), the Meeting of the Lord is unique among the Great Feasts in that it combines elements of both a Great Feast of the Lord and a Great Feast of the Theotokos (Mother of God). It has a forefeast of one day, and an afterfeast of seven days. However, if the feast falls during Cheesefare Week or Great Lent, the afterfeast is either shortened or eliminated altogether.

The holy day is celebrated with an All-Night Vigil on the eve of the feast, and a celebration of the Divine Liturgy the next morning, at which beeswax candles are blessed. This blessing traditionally takes place after the Little Hours and before the beginning of the Divine Liturgy (though in some places it is done after). The priest reads four prayers, and then a fifth one during which all present bow their heads before God. He then censes the candles and blesses them with holy water. The candles are then distributed to the people and the Liturgy begins.

Some Christians observe the practice of leaving Christmas decorations up until Candlemas.

Lubomyr Cardinal Husar ends his Historic Mandate

From Annales Ecclesiae Ucrainae:

His Beatitude Lubomyr Cardinal Husar's life story is a series of historical firsts. Today, 10 February 2011, another historical event occurred when Pope Benedict XVI accepted his resignation as Major-Archbishop of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church (the Synod of Bishops accords him the title patriarch). This marks the first time that the head of the Ukrainian Catholic Church has resigned on his own initiative. Indeed, there is no canonical provision for mandatory resignation of an Eastern Catholic patriarch or major-archbishop.

Cardinal Husar's biography includes the following historical firsts. As Head of the Ukrainian Catholic Church he was the first:

– to have lived most of his life outside of Ukraine, in the United States of America and Italy. Although some of the Kyivan Metropolitans were Greek, most of his predecessors lived in Ukrainian lands;

– to have begun his ministry as a secular priest but later embraced the monastic life. Virtually all of his predecessors were members of the Basilian Order. Since 1806 all have been secular priests with the exception of Metropolitan Sheptytsky.

– to have been Archimandrite of the Studite Monks before becoming head of the Ukrainian Church. Metropolitan Sheptytsky had founded the Studites and became their first archimandrite.

– to have been a regular professor at a pontifical university in Rome. Josyf Slipyj taught very briefly at the Gregoriana in 1922;

– to have received episcopal ordination without the papal mandate (1977);

– to have had his episcopal privileges confirmed by the pope and made public almost twenty years later (1996);

– to be appointed exarch of Kyiv-Vyshorod (1996);

– to have been designated a cardinal only a month after his election as major-archbishop (2001);

– not to have received a red hat during the public concistory. Isidore of Kyiv (1440), Sylvester Sembratovych (1895) and Slipyj (1965) received the ancient gallero. Lubachivsky (1985) received a red kolpak (Greek-Catholic biretta).

– to have welcomed a Roman Pontiff to his diocese (2001);

– to become Major-Archbishop of Kyiv-Halych upon the return of the primatial see from Lviv to Kyiv (2004);

– to have participated in a papal conclave (2005);

– to have lost his eyesight during his mandate;

– to have willingly submitted his resignation to the Roman Pontiff. Josyf Sembratovych had been forced to resign in 1882.

God willing, Cardinal Husar will likely become the first to live to be present at the installation of his successor.

Posted by Rev. Dr. Athanasius D. McVay, HED, a Priest and Church historian specializing in the history of the Holy See's diplomacy and of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church in the XIX and XX centuries. For more see http://annalesecclesiaeucrainae.blogspot.com/

Procedure of Major Archbishop election explained by canon lawyer

RISU asked a canonist of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (UGCC), Fr. Rostyslav Bubniak, for details about the procedure of electing a new head of the UGCC when the patriarchal seat is vacant.

The major archbishop seat becomes vacant when the current head of the church abdicates the seat or in the event of his death. Then, an administrator of the Patriarchal Church is appointed for the period before the head is elected.

If the seat is vacant, the administrator is to inform Rome that the seat is vacant and convene an extraordinary Synod of Bishops of the Church for the election of the head. It is the administrator who informs all the bishops of the church about the place and time of holding of the extraordinary synod.

Canon 65 of the Canon Law says that the synod should be held for a month, but the Particular Law allows for the period to be extended to two months.

According to the procedure, after the election of the candidacy of supreme archbishop, the synod informs the pope in a synodal letter about the election of the new supreme archbishop of the church. The newly elected supreme archbishop personally is to sign the letter and ask the pope to approve the election. The newly elected supreme archbishop shall not begin to fulfill his responsibilities until he receives a positive response from the pope. The newly elected head of the church confesses the faith before the synod and gives an oath to zealously fulfill his responsibility only after the approval of the Vatican. After that, the Synod of Bishops officially declares him new supreme archbishop of the church and appoints the date of enthronement.

Even a layman can become the head of the church. He must be a man and must be baptized for the consecration to be valid. However, after the election, he must be consecrated bishop.

As for the age range, in the Roman Catholic Church, the cardinals who reach the age of 80 are to write a statement of abdication of the position (bishops at 75). There are no such age limits in the UGCC. Bishops of the UGCC who reach the age of 75 have a right to ask for abdication, but it is not obligatory.

A canonist, Lesia Kovalenko, gave RISU a few interesting comments regarding the resignation and election of the head of the church:

Despite the clear regulation by the Code of Canons of Eastern Churches (Canon 126-132), resignation (or "abdication of the office") of the head of the church is a subject of discussion among the canonists. For the head of the church (patriarch, archbishop, etc.) is not just a position. It is a lifetime occupation. The "request for abdication of the office," which in the new law (both the Catholic and Orthodox ones) applies to all bishops of 75, does not apply to the head of the church. This means that he remains the "Father and Head" of the church to the end of his life. For instance, this was the motivation of the Serbian bishops when they refused to accept the request for resignation of the sick Patriarch Pavel in 2008.

Interestingly, in the same year, the Maronite Catholic Church was in the same situation: its patriarch, 90-year-old Nasrallah Boutros Cardinal Sfeir, approached Pope Benedict XVI with a request to release him from the responsibilities of the Maronite Patriarch of Antioch. That church consists of Lebanese Christians and totals about half a million people. After several months of hesitation, the pope honoured the request of the patriarch and the elections are to be held on March 8.

It should be noted that prior to the election of the new head of the church and approval thereof by the pope, the patriarchal administrator, in the case of the UGCC – Archbishop Ihor Vozniak, cannot make any important changes in the church. For instance, in the case of Maronites, Patriarch Sfeir himself, without the administrator, will fulfill his responsibilities before the election of the new patriarch.

There are doubts also as to the possibility of resignation of the Roman Pope. The most well-known historical example is the voluntary abdication of Pope Celestine V in 1294 after five months of pontificate. He spent the rest of his life as a recluse and was beatified at the end of his life.

Source:  RISU

Patriarch Lubomyr Resigns

Cardinal Lubomyr Husar, the Major Archbishop of the Ukrainian Catholic Church, has resigned at the age of 77.

Cardinal Husar asked Pope Benedict XVI to accept his resignation because of his declining health, according to informed sources within the Ukrainian Catholic Church. The Pope has reportedly accepted his request, although no official announcement has yet been released.

The resignation of the Ukrainian prelate, who has led the Eastern-rite Church since 2001, would trigger a meeting of the Ukrainian Synod of Bishops to elect a new Major Archbishop.

With well over 7 million faithful—including large numbers in the US and Canada as well as Ukraine-- the Ukrainian Catholic Church is by far the largest of the Byzantine churches in communion with the Holy See. Brutally persecuted during the Stalin era, the Ukrainian Catholic Church emerged with new vigor in Ukraine after the fall of the Communist regime.

Ukrainian Catholics have argued forcefully for the recognition of a Ukrainian Catholic patriarchate. The late Pope John Paul II reportedly gave that possibility serious consideration, but was ultimately dissuaded by the recognition that the Russian Orthodox Church, which claims Ukraine as part of its historical sphere– would vehemently object.

In 2005, under the guidance of Cardinal Husar, the major see of the Ukrainian Catholic Church was moved from Lviv to Kiev, the nation’s capital. That move was opposed by the some Orthodox leaders, particularly in Moscow, who saw it as a bid to extend Catholic influence in a region that has been mostly Orthodox.

Source:  Catholic Culture

Orthodox Christians at US March for Life 2011

March for Life 2011 from alexis ryan on Vimeo.
38th annual protest of Roe v. Wade in Washington D.C. For more information, visit www.oca.org.



WASHINGTON, DC [OCA] -- Freezing temperatures failed to deter hundreds of thousands of pro-life marchers from descending on Washington, DC on Monday, January 24, 2011, for the annual March for Life.

This year’s March marked the 38th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the 1973 Supreme Court decision that defined abortion in the early stages of pregnancy a constitutional right and the criminalization of abortion a violation of a woman’s right to privacy.The first March for Life in protest of the Roe v. Wade decision took place in 1974.

His Beatitude, Metropolitan Jonah, was among several speakers at the pre-March rally, during which Archpriest John Kowalczyk of Jermyn, PA, a pro-life activist involved in the March for Life for over 25 years, delivered a benediction.

Metropolitan Jonah [center] with [from left] Archimandrite Matthias, Bishop Michael, Bishop Tikhon, and Bishop Melchisedek.

"Abortion creates a culture of death, which creates a culture of despair, which condemns a generation of women to self-hatred, to decades of guilt, to decades of despair," Metropolitan Jonah told the tens of thousands of marchers, including an estimated 27,000 teens and preteens, who gathered in the shadow of the Washington Monument for the rally.

Joining Metropolitan Jonah in leading the Orthodox Christian marchers were His Grace, Bishop Tikhon of Philadelphia and Eastern Pennsylvania; His Grace, Bishop Michael of New York and New Jersey; His Grace, Bishop Melchisedek of Pittsburgh and Western Pennsylvania; Archimandrite Matthias, Bishop-Elect of Chicago and the Midwest; faculty and students from Saint Tikhon's Seminary, South Canaan, PA and Saint Vladimir's Seminary, Crestwood, NY; and Orthodox Christian clergy and faithful from the east coast and beyond.

On the morning of the March, Metropolitan Jonah presided at the celebration of the Divine Liturgy at the OCA’s Saint Nicholas Cathedral. His sermon, which set the tone for the Orthodox Christian marchers, may be viewed on the OCA web site at www.oca.org or directly accessed at http://vimeo.com/19136862.

At the conclusion of the March, the Orthodox Christian marchers joined Metropolitan Jonah and the hierarchs in front of the US Supreme Court to offer prayers for the victims of abortion.

Metropolitan Jonah’s annual message, read in parishes on Sanctity of Life Sunday -- January 23 -- may be found at http://www.oca.org/news/2374. It will also appear in the current issue of The Orthodox Church magazine, slated for posting on the OCA web site during the week of January 24.

Source:  Orthodox Church of America

UOC-KP and Metropolitan Volodymyr speech on the Russian Orthodox Church Synod

Representatives of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church-Kyivan Patriarchate (UOC-KP) analyzed the report of the head of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church-Moscow Patriarchate (UOC-MP), Metropolitan Volodymyr (Sabodan), at the hierarchical council of the Russian Orthodox Church. According to Bishop Yevstratii (Zoria), on the whole, the report makes a good impression, especially on the prepared reader. Bishop Yevstratii made a detailed analysis of the report in an article titled "Report of Metropolitan Volodymyr: In the Text and Between the Lines" published by the press service of the UOC-KP.

UOC-KP representatives noticed that it was not accidental that in his report, Metropolitan Volodymyr stressed the fact that the Tomos of 1990 did not give the Kyivan Metropolitanate anything new and temporary but "renewed the ancient tradition of the canonical existence of the Church of Kyivan Rus."

"From the first words of his report, Metropolitan Volodymyr spoke about things which are not very pleasant for the current Patriarch of Moscow, about the special status of the UOC-MP within the ROC. The hierarch reminds of the 20th anniversary of signing the Tomos on self-government, but, what is most important, he presents this event not as a concession of the external political circumstances of life of the collapsing USSR, which experienced the 'parade of sovereignties' in the 1990s but as the 'new historical stage in the life of the Orthodox Church in Ukraine, which renewed the ancient tradition of the canonical life of the Church of Kyivan Rus.' It is not a secret that the pro-Kremlin party of 'bright residents of Odesa' led by Metropolitan Agafangel of Odesa has tried several times to push forward the idea that it is necessary for the UOC-MP to give up independence in government," reads Bishop Yevstratii's article.

For the rest of the article, see RISU

Ukrainian Seminaries Full, Turning Away Candidates

SAMBIR, Ukraine, FEB. 4, 2011 (Zenit.org).- Ukrainian seminaries are having to turn away up to half of the young men seeking to become priests due to a lack of space.

Coadjutor Bishop Jaroslav Pryriz of the Eparchy of Sambir-Drohobych reported to Aid to the Church in Need that in some places, there are three candidates vying for every place in the seminary.

He stated that many young men are attracted to the priesthood because of the examples they see of living a challenging vocation.

"When they see good priests, and when they see the Church living out the social gospel, it inspires them," the prelate affirmed.

He added, "Many young men see the positives and negatives -- the positive of how the Church serves people and the negative of how hard life is in the streets and the villages."

The bishop recalled the example of Blessed Omelian Kovch, a Ukrainian diocesan priest who helped the Jewish people during the Nazi occupation and was killed in a Majdanek concentration camp on the outskirts of Lublin, in Poland in 1944.

Bishop Pryriz said: "His family tried to free him from prison but he wrote to his family telling them not to worry. He stayed with the Jewish people and died with them."

"The Catholic Church gives a great example of service and suffering," the prelate affirmed. "We need to show people a very great example."

He thanked the aid agency for its support, noting that it "enabled our Church to regain a normal presence in the public life of our country" after the fall of communism.

The bishop sent a message to the agency's donors: "You responded to the needs of our Church and God's faithful people, and we, in turn, promise to do all in our power to further the hope we have in common.

"May God reward you a hundredfold for your generosity of heart, and we assure you, our dear friends, that we will remember you in our prayers."

The agency is offering particular support to the diocese's 86 seminarians and 287 priests.

Bishop Pryriz said, "We are extremely grateful that there are people such as you who understand the important role a priestly vocation can play in today's world and that you put this insight into practice by offering material support for the formation of our vocations.""Together with you," he added, "we are building the temple of human souls, whose grandeur depends solely on the sincerity of efforts each one of us is making according to personal ability."

Source:  ZENIT

Government sponsored Inter-confessional tension in Ukraine

In his commentary to Gazeta.UA, Press Secretary of the Patriarchate of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, Fr. Ihor Yatsiv said that there are no cases of transfer of priests of UGCC to the Moscow Patriarchate. “We have received no such signals from the Churches of UGCC. However, priests of the Kyivan Patriarchate approach us with requests to understand their problem and assist in defending their rights. For today, it is them and tomorrow it is us. It is difficult to argue with that as it is regularity. Undoubtedly, it is scary and it causes inter-confessional tension,” he said.

According to Fr. Yatsiv, everything was fine until recently. The All-Ukrainian Council of Churches was active, internal discussions were held and joint decisions were made. “And now, there seems to be no way out. The authorities give absolute preferences to one of the denominations, they deliberately or non-deliberately cause inter-confessional tension,” noted the priest.

The Press Secretary of UGCC also reminded that President Viktor Yanukovych forgot to greet them on Christmas.

“The fact that we were not even mentioned in the Christmas greeting address of the president is not so much of a concern to us. At least because the Greek Catholics are Orthodox according to their rite and faith. I mean that we were not greeted only because of our confession. But the problem is not so much that we were not mentioned as that one of the confessions is deliberately and constantly favoured as opposed to the others,” noted the press secretary.

According to Father Ihor Yatsiv, the local officials see the signals from the center and try to please the authorities. “They begin to support the confession in question at the local level. Some are not granted even what they are entitled to according to the law, and the others, who did not even ask, are granted everything,” added he.

Source:  RISU

1,500-Year-Old Byzantine Church Found In Israel

HIRBET MADRAS, Israel February 2, 2011, 06:25 pm ET

Israeli archaeologists presented a newly uncovered 1,500-year-old church in the Judean hills on Wednesday, including an unusually well-preserved mosaic floor with images of lions, foxes, fish and peacocks.

The Byzantine church located southwest of Jerusalem, excavated over the last two months, will be visible only for another week before archaeologists cover it again with soil for its own protection.

The small basilica with an exquisitely decorated floor was active between the fifth and seventh centuries A.D., said the dig's leader, Amir Ganor of the Israel Antiquities Authority. He said the floor was "one of the most beautiful mosaics to be uncovered in Israel in recent years."

"It is unique in its craftsmanship and level of preservation," he said.

Archaeologists began digging at the site, known as Hirbet Madras, in December. The Antiquities Authority discovered several months earlier that antiquities thieves had begun plundering the ruins, which sit on an uninhabited hill not far from an Israeli farming community.

Though an initial survey suggested the building was a synagogue, the excavation revealed stones carved with crosses, identifying it as a church. The building had been built atop another structure around 500 years older, dating to Roman times, when scholars believe the settlement was inhabited by Jews.

Hewn into the rock underneath that structure is a network of tunnels that archaeologists believe were used by Jewish rebels fighting Roman armies in the second century A.D.

Stone steps lead down from the floor of church to a small burial cave, which scholars suggest might have been venerated as the burial place of the Old Testament prophet Zecharia.

Ganor said the church would remain covered until funding was obtained to open it as a tourist site.

Israel boasts an exceptionally high concentration of archaeological sites, including Crusader, Islamic, Byzantine, Roman, ancient Jewish and prehistoric ruins.

Source:  National Public Radio NPR

Confession--There's an App for That!!

SOUTH BEND, Indiana, FEB. 2, 2011 (Zenit.org).- A new Confession application for the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch is encouraging sacramental life through technology. Bishop Kevin Rhodes gave the first known imprimatur for this type of resource.

Patrick Leinen, developer and cofounder of Little iApps, the company that released the application, told ZENIT that "in order to respond to Benedict XVI's message from last year's World Communications Day address, our goal with this project was to offer a digital application that is truly 'new media at the service of the Word.'"

The program, "Confession: A Roman Catholic App," was developed as an aid "for those who frequent the sacrament and those who wish to return," a press release explained.

Designed for use in confession preparation, and later in the confessional itself, the application offers an examination of conscience, step-by-step guide to the sacrament, act of contrition and other prayers.

Multiple users can access password-protected profiles where they can go through the examination of conscience, checking off items that are pertinent to their confession and making personal notes.

Franciscan Father Thomas Weinandy, executive director of the Secretariat for Doctrine and Pastoral Practices of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, and Father Dan Scheidt, pastor of Queen of Peace Catholic Church in Mishawaka, Indiana, collaborated with the development of the text for the program.

Bishop Rhodes of Fort Wayne-South Bend gave the imprimatur for this application. Although other similar programs, such as "Mea Culpa -- Catholic Examination of Conscience for Catholics" and "iConfess -- Confession Handbook and Guide" have been created for similar use on devices such as the iPhone, this latest release is the first known application to receive an episcopal approval.

Leinen explained that "we are Catholic men who love our Church and want to be in communion with its actions," and thus "we thought, 'What better way than to receive the imprimatur from the bishop?'"

"With the imprimatur," he added, "we could allow those in the Catholic community to feel safe in knowing our app is for building upon our Church's great history and tradition, while embracing new media."


The press release referenced the words of Benedict XVI in his message for the 45th World Communications Day, in which he affirmed that new media, "if used wisely, can contribute to the satisfaction of the desire for meaning, truth and unity which remain the most profound aspirations of each human being."

"Our desire is to invite Catholics to engage in their faith through digital technology," Leinen said.

He noted that "the app has already aided one man in returning to the sacrament after 20 years."

Leinen told ZENIT that the company's future plans include "looking into the possibility of converting the app for Droid users," which is "our biggest request."

"Secondly," he continued, "we would like to continue to create dynamic applications that can aid Catholics in their daily lives."

The developer affirmed: "Our tag line is: Little iApps is a mobile applications development start-up with a Roman Catholic twist. I think that rings true of us."

Source: ZENIT
--- --- ---

On the Net:For more information: http://www.littleiapps.com

Russians Evangelizing Visiting Foreigners in Their Native Languages

Russian missionary believes arriving foreigners can become new Cyrils and Methodiuses

Moscow, February 2, Interfax - Orthodox missionary and head of the Information and Publishing Directorate of the Synodal Youth Department Hieromonk Dimitry (Pershin) is convinced that Russia has an opportunity to inspire and educate foreigners arriving in the country.

"There are Malaysians, guys from Nigeria among my students... It is a chance given to Russia so that students, who, thanks to God, come here to learn can leave our country not scared and exasperated, but inspired Cyril and Methodius (Teachers of Slavs - IF)," he told Interfax-Religion.

Father Dimitry, who is a lecturer in a higher education establishment, says that foreign students listen to stories about Orthodoxy with their eyes burning, "they are glad to learn that Russia is not only a country of skin-heads, militia, pop-music and official speeches, but it is a country of Rublyov, Dostoevsky, Sviridov."

The priest confesses he is just "glad" that there are so many diasporas "of our near and far neighbors" in Russia.

"No one prevents us from working with communities," he said and pointed out that Moscow "needs missionary parishes" where services would be conducted in Chinese, Hebrew, Greek, German and other languages.

"I think that Angela Merkel will be happy to visit an Orthodox parish in downtown Moscow, where services are celebrated for Orthodox Christians who are ethnic Germans, and saints-protectors of Germany venerated by all Christians are specially venerated," he said commenting German chancellor's statement on crisis of multiculturalism in Europe.

Source:  Interfax Интерфакс

Laity protest Vienna Cardinal’s gift of RC parish to Serbian Orthodox

Members of the Roman Catholic parish of Neulerchenfeld in Vienna, whose church will be given as a present to the Serbian Orthodox Church (SPC), are continuing to protest the decision of the Archdiocese of Vienna.

After collecting signatures against the decision, parish members - mostly of Polish descent - organized a protest in downtown Vienna late last year, and are now threatening disobedience to the Roman Catholic Church.

The Neulerchenfeld parish does not want to comply with the decision of Archbishop of Vienna Christoph Schonborn, and 800 of its members were very surprised when the gift was made official with a contract earlier this month.

The parishioners claim they were not informed about the signing of the contract between the Archdiocese of Vienna and the Serb Orthodox church of St. Sava.

In a statement to the media, they said they will continue to fight for their church, and might stop paying church taxes.

The Archdiocese of Vienna and the Serb Orthodox church in Vienna signed a deal at the start of the year that the Roman Catholic church in Neulerchenfeld will be given as a gift to SPC.

The church is set to replace the Temple of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin, located in Vienna's 17th district, which was too small to hold all of the faithful. The church in Neulerchenfeld, also dedicated to the Blessed Virgin, was built between 1733 and 1753.

The church given as a present is much bigger that the current Serbian Orthodox church and can hold over 1,000 people.

 Source:  Ekonom East Media Group

For a history of the church in question see TourMyCountry.com 


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