By Maria Pittos
With the blessing of His Eminence, Metropolitan Pavlos of America, the 2013 Eparchial Family and Youth Conference was hosted by the Parish of St. John the Forerunner in Willow Springs, IL. Participants came from Ontario, New York, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Florida, Maryland, and Michigan to listen to clergy and scholars of our Eparchy expound on the teachings of St. John Chrysostom.
On Saturday, October 12, 2013, primary school students learned about the life of St. John and about being obedient, and love for God, the church, and their parents according to St. John's teachings. Middle school students likewise explored the saint’s life and teachings. Parents and young adults actively listened and participated in panel discussions pertaining to marriage, morality, Orthodox Christian family life, child-rearing, and Christian education based on the teachings of St. John Chrysostom.
On Sunday, we celebrated a beautiful hierarchal Divine Liturgy, presided by His Eminence, Metropolitan Moses of Toronto, concelebrating with His Grace, Bishop Christodoulos of Theoupolis, and with revered clergy from across our Eparchy. Chanting were the combined Byzantine choirs of St. John the Forerunner Parish (Illinois) and St. Mark of Ephesus Cathedral (Massachusetts), conducted by the First-chanters Elias Pittos and Spyridon Antonopoulos. The conference ended on Sunday afternoon with a banquet. At the banquet, the combined choirs performed a recital of Byzantine hymns and traditional Greek demotic songs.
The Parish of St. John the Forerunner thanks Metropolitan Moses, Bishop Christodoulos, and all of the clergy, scholars, and chanters that participated at the conference for their spiritual talks and chants. Also, we thank all those who came from near and far for spiritual edification. May the Holy Hierarch St. John Chrysostom intercede for us before the throne of our Lord, God, and Savior. Amen.
The “Father of Fathers, the Thirteenth Apostle and the Judge of the World (as his pheme states), Pope and Patriarch of Alexandria, Theodore sent a message to the Muslims of Egypt upon the feast of Ramadan. It is as follows:
“The most sacred month of the Islamic calendar, the chief month of personal worship and great awareness of the Divine for every faithful Muslim ends today with the festive, joyous season of Eid al-Fitr. Read more...
Saints Peter and Paul Orthodox Church is a beautiful mission parish near downtown Tucson, a city in southern Arizona. It was started in 1997 by Father John Bockman, who was a missionary Priest formerly serving missions in Tennessee and Massachusetts since 1990. Father John served the faithful in Tucson and the surrounding area in his home Chapel until his repose in November of 2000. His wife, Presbytera Valerie, continued to make her home Chapel available for the mission, with clergy from Saint Nectarios Orthodox Church in Seattle and His Eminence, Metropolitan Moses of Toronto (then of Portland), visiting to provide the Divine Services.
Read more...2023 Youth Conference
Please join us for the 2023 youth conference in Chicago, IL! To learn more, visit the home page or visit the conference website.
Q. Are the prayers in the blue prayer book [A Prayerbook for Orthodox Christians by the Holy Transfiguration Monastery —ed.] compulsory for everyone? I mean their morning prayers and the service of Small Compline. My confessor gave me a special rule but wasn’t clear about whether this replaced the book prayers or was in addition to them. Read more...