A high-ranking former orthodox archbishop, who has pleaded not guilty, must wait until the new year to learn if he’ll go to trial on historical Manitoba sex abuse charges.

Seraphim Storheim appeared in a Winnipeg courtroom this week for the start of his preliminary hearing to determine whether there is sufficient evidence for the case to proceed. A court-ordered ban prevents specific details from being published.

Defence lawyer Jeff Gindin told the Winnipeg Free Press the evidence was presented on Thursday and Friday but the case has now adjourned until Jan. 18 for lawyers to make final arguments. The judge will then render his decision.

Read the full article.

The Winnipeg Sun writes:

Former archbishop Kenneth William (Seraphim) Storheim has pleaded not guilty to molesting two 10-year-old boys.

A former archbishop with the Canadian arm of the Orthodox Church in America has pleaded not guilty to charges he sexually assaulted two boys during the time he worked in Winnipeg.

Kenneth William (Seraphim) Storheim, 65, appeared Thursday for a preliminary hearing into allegations he abused two 10-year-old boys between December 1984 and June 1987.

At the time, Storheim was a rector at Holy Trinity Sobor, located at the corner of Manitoba Avenue and McKenzie Street in the North End.

A publication ban prevents the printing or broadcasting of any evidence presented by the Crown at Thursday’s hearing.

Storheim flew to the city last November to turn himself into police, who were holding a warrant for his arrest. He was quickly released on a promise to appear in court.

He had stepped aside from his high-level position in the church months earlier.

The church said Storheim had been granted a leave of absence while police investigated the accusations; Storheim suggested he stepped aside for health reasons.

Source

Fr. Ted Bobosh writes to clarify the article’s statement that Archbishop Seraphim is an ex-Archbishop:

As a point of clarification, Archbishop Seraphim is, I believe, considered under suspension by the OCA’s Synod of Bishops, so he has not been defrocked nor has his title or episcopal rank been taken away from him by the OCA.

Sadly, as the news story relates, Archbishop Seraphim’s accounts of why he was originally put on leave of absence do not match other facts known from statements from the OCA which was clear that he was first put on Leave of Absence because allegations of sexual misconduct had surfaced.   He had also on another occasion denied knowing what the allegations were about but certainly others knew and some discussed it with him.

The court is supposed to make a determination today as to how to proceed with the case.

Source.

Metropolitan Hilarion (Alfeyev) at a recent lecture spoke of the inter-Orthodox cooperation in the preparation to the Holy and Great Council of the Orthodox Church, the pre-Council process and expectations. He assured listeners that the Council will not be the Eighth Ecumenical Council and will not rescind or review the decisions of the Seven Ecumenical Councils.

“The Council will not cancel fasts, nor will it introduce married episcopate or allow a second marriage to clergyman. It will not recognize the authority of the Pope of Rome over the Orthodox Church or sign union with the Catholics. The long and short of it is that the Council will do nothing of that what some “defenders of Orthodoxy” fear, displaying zeal that exceeds reason. In case something adverse to the spirit and the letter of the Seven Ecumenical Council happens, the Russian Orthodox Church will renounce this Council and its decisions as she renounced the Council of Ferrara and Florence in 1441. I believe, however, that the other Local Orthodox Church will renounce it, too.”

Source: http://www.mospat.ru/en/2011/11/03/news50931/

How do we communicate the “Good News” of Jesus Christ to those around us?

Attend the 2012 Orthodox Conference on Missions and Evangelism in Dallas and Ft. Worth to learn more.

View the Conference Flyer, the detailed Missions Conference Schedule and when you’re ready,  Register Online.

Locations:

• Friday January 20,2012 at St. Barbara Orthodox Church (OCA), Ft. Worth
• Saturday, January 21,2012 at Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church, Dallas
• Sunday, January 22,2012 at various orthodox parishes

This Conference will examine how the Church of the past evangelized the world, and discuss how to put ancient proven methods into modem practice locally.

Speakers:

• Fr. Peter Gillquist (Chair of the Antiochian Archdiocese Department of Missions and Evangelism)
• Fr. Joseph Huneycutt (St. Joseph Antiochian Orthodox Church, Houston, TX)
• Fr. Evan Armatas (St. Spyridon Greek Orthodox Church, Loveland, CO)

Free admission — No childcare provided.

For additional information about the conference, please contact the Dept. of Missions and Evangelism at (805) 685-8999.

For updates on locations and times, visit this web site.

For the convenience of out of town conference attendees we have reserved a small block of rooms at a hotel near Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church at a discounted rate. The special rate is only available to those who reserve prior to Dec. 30. Here are the details:

Hotel address is:

Hilton Dallas Lincoln Centre
5410 LBJ Freeway
Dallas, TX 75240
1-800-245-3304 reservations

Identify yourself as part of the Orthodox Conference. The conference rate is $99 per day plus 13% tax and you have until noon the day of arrival to cancel.

OCANews.com reports Metropolitan Jonah’s Opening Address to the 16th All American Council and the news that +Jonah will enter an evaluation at St. Luke’s institute. +Jonah began his address with an apology and announcement. He stated:

“….These last three years have been the three most difficult years of my life. I have been under a relentless barrage of criticism for most of this time for every forum I am meant to oversee: the chancery officers and staff, the Metropolitan Council and most troubling to me, the Holy Synod of Bishops.

I admit that I have very little experience of administration and it was a risk for the 2008 Council to elect me, the newest and most inexperienced of bishops. I have worked very hard to fulfill your expectations. But this is not an excuse.

These three years have been an administrative disaster. And I need to accept full responsibility for that and for my part in it. I did not understand the depths of the breakdown with the bishops. I thought we had a good working relationship but obviously there is something very broken. I need to regain the confidence of my brother bishops and of many others in leadership positions in our Church…”

Read the full article and more about St. Luke’s institute.

In recent times, since the killing of Osama Bin Laden, only alarming news has come out of Pakistan, but even before that it wasn’t the most joyful news. In particular, we regularly heard about the difficult condition of Christians in this predominantly Muslim country. Things being as they are, it would seem that there is no basis to hope for any sort of growth of Christianity among the inhabitants of Pakistan.

But, in fact, there is now a functional Orthodox mission in Pakistan, headed by a Pakistani priest, and already consisting of about five-hundred newly-converted Pakistanis. The center of the mission is located in Lahor, where Fr. John Tanveer regularly performs divine services in his own home. This is a very young mission, only a few years old. It began with a former Catholic priest.

Read the full article.

When Father John Mikita of the parish of St. John of Damascus Orthodox Church goes anywhere in public, he wears his traditional Orthodox robes.“I get a lot of folks who stop me in Walmart and they want to know, ‘What’s the difference between Orthodoxy and the Baptist church?’” he said. “And it’s like, ‘OK, where do we want to start?’ It’s really challenging, but it’s a joy as well.”

Orthodoxy is generally outside the main stream conscious, Mikita said, but it is a faith that is growing in the American South.

The parish of St. John of Damascus Orthodox Church in Tyler is a 55-member congregation, made up of many converts. About 90 percent of the founding members who began the church in 2006 were converts, Mikita said. Their numbers have tripled since the parish began, he said.

“Sort of like myself, who discovered Orthodoxy through biblical and theological examination and inquiry, a number of the people here came from a variety of different Christian backgrounds who found Orthodoxy and started reading books,” he said.

St. Barbara Orthodox Church is pleased to announce its 25th annual “Old Country Christmas Ethnic Festival” on Friday, November 11th from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. and Saturday, November, 12th from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

This annual event features pastries, baked goods, and other delicacies made from authentic ethnic recipes from the “Old Country” – Eastern Europe. The recipes have been handed down for generations and are made by parishioners and friends of St. Barbara Orthodox Church. The international assortment of pastries and delicacies represents a melting pot of nationalities which are reflective of the Slavic heritage of the parish and especially the multi-cultural makeup of its members; Russian, Ukrainian, Carpatho-Russian, Romanian, Greek, Czech, and Serbian recipes are used.

Peroghi, the delicious potato and cheese filled dough triangles are a highly requested food item. The men and women work diligently to create thousands of these delicate ethnic dumplings which are a staple on many Slavic tables. This year will also feature the widely popular frozen ethnic dinners sold as take-out items including Halupki (cabbage rolls), Halushki – onions, cabbage and noodles, and our new edition: Russian beef stroganoff and buttered noodles.

There will also be Czech Kolache in assorted flavors as well as Russian Orochovie (a nut bar cookie with raspberry filling), Greek baklava, and Greek sweet bread. Slavic nut, apricot, cheese, cherry-cheese, and poppy seed rolls (a yeast bread with the various fillings and another favorite of our customers) will be featured. Black Russian coffee liquor cakes, pumpkin cream cheese log rolls, Greek sesame seed cookies, Russian spiced tea, Ukrainian sour cream cakes, pecan pies, Russian Apple Pies, and much, much more will be available at the festival.

Our parish cookbook, “Generations – Recipes and Traditions from St. Barbara Orthodox Church” features over 500 recipes from parishioners and friends of the parish reflecting and celebrating their diverse ethnic backgrounds and traditions. Personal anecdotes and reflections accompany many of the recipes. The cookbook has a comb binding, laminated cover and beautiful illustrations. Explanations of the Orthodox customs of Pascha (Easter), Pysanky (Ukrainian Easter Eggs), and Christmas Eve Holy Supper offer insight into these beautiful traditions. The cookbook makes a wonderful and unique gift anytime during the year, especially during the holiday season.

In addition, this year the festival also features a wonderful and unusual assortment of ethnic crafts such as beaded Ukrainian Christmas Eggs, Russian Matroshka (Nesting) Dolls imported from Belo-Rus, Russia and the Ukraine as well as hand-carved and ornately painted Father Frost Santas and Russian wooden character figures and other Eastern European gift items which may be purchased. A well-stocked Orthodox Christian Bookstore featuring liturgical cassettes, crosses, icons, Orthodox books and other items will be available.

The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America announces today an agreement with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey regarding the rebuilding of St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church, which was destroyed in the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo invited Archbishop Demetrios and the Hierarchs of the Holy Eparchial Synod of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, together with leadership of the St. Nicholas Parish and the Archdiocesan Council to his New York City office for the official signing of the agreement by Archdiocesan Council Vice-Chairman Michael Jaharis and Port Authority Executive Director Chris Ward. Archbishop Demetrios and Governor Cuomo signed as the formal witnesses to the agreement.

Archbishop Demetrios expressed particular praise for Governor Cuomo and said, “We are grateful to our esteemed Governor and precious friend Andrew Cuomo for bringing to reality the dream we have nourished for ten long years. St. Nicholas Church, rising again with the help of God at Ground Zero – where it stood spiritually important for 85 years, is an affirmation of the significance of religious freedom and experience for all New Yorkers and all Americans. The covenant stands firm. We will again light many candles in the new St. Nicholas Church and remember those who were lost to us, and those heroes who so nobly sacrificed their lives. Our pledge is to be a witness for all New Yorkers, that freedom of conscience and the fundamental human right of free religious expression will always shine forth in the resurrected St. Nicholas Church.” The Archbishop also expressed deep appreciation to Michael Jaharis and Dennis Mehiel and the other members of the joint committee who had labored so diligently to accomplish this historic agreement.

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo said, “We lost St. Nicholas Church in the destruction of September 11 and for too long its future has been uncertain. Rebuilding St. Nicholas Church, with a nondenominational bereavement center, is not just good news for the Greek Orthodox community, but for all New Yorkers. With this agreement, we are continuing New York’s collective healing, restoration, and resurgence. Now we are finally returning this treasured place of reflection to where it belongs.”

According to the Port Authority Press Release, “The agreement … permits the rebuilding of the Church with a nondenominational bereavement center at the east end of Liberty Park, at 130 Liberty Street. The agreement follows a four-month independent engineering study commissioned by the Port Authority and the Archdiocese, which found that the Church could be built on the site with minor modifications to the original plan and with no impact on the World Trade Center construction schedule.”

== 30 ==

Contact: PRESS OFFICE
Stavros Papagermanos
pressoffice@goarch.org
(212) 570-3530

Nicholas Kozak witnessed a miracle that he hopes will convince others that God is real.

“I hope the icon will be tangible evidence to anyone who is looking for faith and a real revelation of the lord,” said Kozak, 17, of Green. “How else can you explain myrrh coming from an icon, except that it is something of God?”

Kozak was among the overflow crowd of 300 people who gathered Thursday at St. George Serbian Orthodox Church, which seats about 100, for a special prayer service of thanksgiving that was sung to the Blessed Mother. She is represented in the Hawaiian Iveron Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos (the Greek name for Mary, the Mother of God).

The traveling icon, which streams a sweet-smelling, oily substance (identified as myrrh), officially was recognized in 2008 as miraculous and worthy of veneration by the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia.

Since then, numerous miracles — including the healing of blindness, cancer, demonic possession, paralysis, kidney disease and chronic pain — have been attributed to it.

Read the full article.