NEWS 

The “Menologion”: The Game Is Open for Book-Hunters

The Holy Synod Honours a Leading Greek-American Scholar

Necessity of Respect for the Environment

26th December- The Day of the Refugee and the Immigrant

The Patriarch of Moscow and the President of the European Council Respond to Archbishop Christodoulos about the Prisoner Archbishop of Ochrid

First phase of work on destroyed Serbian Orthodox Church buildings in progress

Cardinal Marc Ouellet Admires the Orthodox Sense of Sacred


OPINION 

The Orthodox Church, State and the European Union. A View from Russia
Extracts from an interview by Metropolitan Kirill of Smolensk and Kaliningrad



NEWS 

The “Menologion”: The Game Is Open for Book-Hunters

The «Menologion of the Emperor Vasilios II», which is a masterpiece of illustrated Greek manuscripts, will be published in November. The publication will be a great event in the history of relations between Orthodox and Catholic Churches, but also a unique challenge for all the bibliophiles or book-hunters.

For the first time after the Schism, the Churches of Athens and Rome are working on a common project: they are co-publishers of an old byzantine manuscript. The Menologion is published by the Vatican Library, the official publishing house of the Church of Greece Apostoliki Diakonia, and the Spanish Testimonio, a publishing house dedicated to reproductions of old manuscripts, founded by the eminent engraver César Olmos.

The “Menologion” belongs to the Collection of Greek Manuscripts in the Apostolic Vatican Library and has been listed in their register as Vaticanus Graecus 1613. Commissioned by the emperor Vasilios II (976-1025), it represents a culmination of experience and a composition of the artistic trends of the Constantinople court circa year 1000.

The manuscript, the only one that has been rescued of the two original volumes, contains the first six months of the Byzantine liturgical year, from September through to February. Its luxurious edition that was made for the last great emperor of the Macedonian dynasty, every short text, dedicated to the Saint or the feast of that day and condensed into a mere 16 rows, is accompanied by a miniature illustration.

The new edition of “Menologion”, is accompanied by a volume containing highly important studies on the manuscript, the art history of its era and the art of byzantine miniatures.

see more (scroll down to find text in English).

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The Holy Synod Honours a Leading Greek-American Scholar

The Holy Synod bestowed the highest honour of the Church of Greece on the leading Greek American Scholar, Prof. John Koumoulides (11/10/2005).

Addressing him, the Archbishop defined Prof. Koumoulides as a distinguished academic teacher, a prominent personality of the American commonwealth and of Hellenes abroad. He stressed that, in his person, the Holy Synod honours the man, his dignity of character and inner spiritual refinement, the Hellenic patriot and the Orthodox Christian. It also honours the intellectual who deals essentially with the promotion of the contemporary history of Greece and, through its recognition, the Hellenes abroad who safeguard the Greek tradition.

In his reply, Prof. Koumoulides said that the foundations of his activity and work in America were his family and the strength of his Orthodox faith. He emphasized that he succeeded in his tasks because he honoured the trust of people who embraced and strengthened him.

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Necessity of Respect for the Environment

Archbishop Christodoulos emphasized the necessity of respect for the environment in a message which he sent to the International Conference of MEDIES (Delphi, 13 - 15/10/2005) on: "Environment, culture and peace, international relations, human rights and environment - the cultural and religious dimension of Sustainable Development”.

As he pointed out, "Love and respect for the environment result in the Sustainable Development and the preservation of the very best conditions of life and the various life-forms. The Church calls on contemporary man to view the environment according to ‘work it and guard it’ as the house of God. It doesn't moralize but is teaches contemporary man how to live his relation to and communion with God and the world that surrounds him. We Christians must know our rights and responsibilities towards the environment, living peacefully in it and become examples of people who love it and active citizens who try to do the most possible for its preservation".

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26th December- The Day of the Refugee and the Immigrant

The Holy Synod has decided (19/10/2005) to establish the 26th December as the day of the refugee and the immigrant, within the framework of the pastoral care of these sensitive social groups. The choice of day is not circumstantial: mention is made of the flight of the Holy Family into Egypt.

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The Patriarch of Moscow and the President of the European Council Respond to Archbishop Christodoulos about the Prisoner Archbishop of Ochrid

In a letter to Archbishop Christodoulos (5/10/2005) Patriarch Alexios of Moscow expressed his thanks for the protest of the Church of Greece with regard to the imprisonment of Archbishop Ioannis of Ochrid and notes characteristically: "We have repeatedly expressed the conviction that any interference by the state in the canonical jurisdiction of the Church and in religious life generally, multiplies the anomalies in society".

In a similar letter Jose Manuel Barroso, President of the European Council, stresses that "Freedom of expression and freedom of religion are considered among the basic principles which are at the core of the European Union and constitute criteria which need to be fulfilled by a country wishing to become a member of the European Union. The European Council, in the framework of the preparation of the introductory proposal on the submission of the application by FYROM for membership of the European Union, will assess also, among other criteria, the way in which the country fulfills the above principles".

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First phase of work on destroyed Serbian Orthodox Church buildings in progress

"After the signing of contracts on Monday 10 October, the appointment of supervisory officials and the definition of the construction sites, initial works began at all locations of the first group of tenders. We have information from Prizren and Pristina that the clearing of the debris from the interior of torched churches has already been completed. The clearing is taking place in the presence of supervisory officials who are inspecting and classifying everything of value," said Bishop Teodosije, the representative of the Serbian Orthodox Church in the Commission for the restoration of churches destroyed or damaged by Albanians in March 2004.

Bishop Teodosije has met with Emma Carmichael of the Council of Europe, in the monastery of the Pec Patriarchate. Ms. Carmichael and Bishop Teodosije expressed their regret following certain hasty statements regarding the beginning of work in certain dailies and the media.

Picture: Interior of the church of St. George after clearing of debris. Work is being done by the Kosovo Albanian contractor Sadiku under the supervision of an archeologist. Photo: Zoran Garic, Serbian Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments, 13 October 2005.

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Cardinal Admires the Orthodox Sense of Sacred

Despite increased popularity in Eucharistic adoration, the West still has a ways to go in rediscovering the sacredness of the liturgy, says the archbishop of Quebec.

Cardinal Marc Ouellet, president of the Synod of Bishops' commission for writing the final message, made these and other comments in an interview with Inside the Vatican, in which he assessed the Synod on the Eucharist.

There is "something very enriching was the experience of the Eastern Churches," he said. "They have different liturgies and they have a different sense of the liturgy and so to hear them speak about the holy Eucharist was very defining for us."

"The Eastern Christians exploit the architecture of their churches to be respectful of the Church herself and of the holy Eucharist, which is the heart of the temple," said Cardinal Ouellet, 61. "They have a deep sense of the sacredness, and so to hear them speak about the holy Eucharist was very edifying for me."

"In the West," he continued, "we need to recover the sacredness of the liturgy."

On the positive side, he said: "Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament is awakening and developing all over the world, and this will help to restore the sacredness of the liturgical celebration of the Mass."

Abridgement. Source:Zenit org.

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OPINION 

The Orthodox Church, State and the European Union. View from Russia

Interview by Metropolitan Kirill of Smolensk and Kaliningrad, Chairman of the Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate, to the 'Diplomatie' magazine (No 16, September-October 2005). Extracts:

What is the role of Orthodoxy in international politics?

There is no one Orthodox world in the political aspect today. The unity of the religious and cultural traditions allows us to speak about a potential for more close contacts and interaction between countries. In my opinion, the Orthodox world could be successfully consolidated on the grounds, which will allow it to preserve its identity in the present-day world. That could find its expression in more active humanitarian contacts in the field of education, the mass media and culture.

The main idea, which the representatives of the Orthodox world could defend together, is the affirmation of the importance of the national and religious traditions in the present-day international politics. Some countries of the Orthodox world, Russia for instance, have managed to develop during centuries a model of peaceful relations between civilizations. Therefore, Orthodoxy in international politics could play a role of assistance to the building up of a multipolar world, in which different worldview systems will find their place.

What are the views of the Orthodox Church on the growing membership of the European Union?

When national referendums on joining the European Union took place in the Baltic States, in which there are Orthodox Churches of the Moscow Patriarchate, the Russian Orthodox Church in person of His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II stated that she supported the desire of these peoples to live in united political and economical community with other European nations. At the same time we have always stated that the broadening of the European Union should not create a new iron curtain in the East of Europe. Therefore, our Church would not like to remain an outside observer of the European integration processes. We are convinced that the Orthodox tradition is called to make its own contribution to the development of united European space.

Some European politics claim: 'The EU is not a Christian club'. But these words should be followed by real actions for the Europeans to receive the values of Islamic civilization. Immigrants from Muslim countries and native Europeans still fail to get along in the EU countries themselves. Any improvement in their financial situation does not resolve the problem of their cultural adaptation and sometimes even makes their ethnic and religious identity grow. Is Europe prepared for it? It is necessary that a wide discussion in the societies of European countries should precede the decision on Turkey's joining the EU. And the final resolution on the question should be taken not only on the political level, but it should be a clear desire of the EU nations.

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