Eparchial (Diocesan) News

His Grace Bishop Maxim of Western America attended the 2008 Diocesan Parish Life Conference

BISHOP MAXIM KEYNOTE SPEAKER AT PARISH LIFE CONFERENCE OF THE ANTIOCHIAN DIOCESE OF LOS ANGELES AND THE WEST

Los Angeles, Ca - Per invitation of His Grace Bishop Joseph, Bishop of Los Angeles and the West of the Antiochian Archdiocese, His Grace Bishop Maxim of Western America attended the 2008 Diocesan Parish Life Conference held in Los Angeles from July 2-6, 2008. Bishop Maxim served as keynote speaker for the diocesan conference, delivering a lecture during the course of three days. On the first day the bishop's talk was entitled - "Martyrdom: An Orthodox View of Marriage".

In the bishop's talk on the second and third day, entitled "Communion and Otherness in Marriage" he attempted to see how otherness and communion relate to marriage. He eloquently showed how and why marriage is a sort of communion where respective differences (uniqueness and personality) are affirmed through a relationship. That is, instead of considering marriage as a threat to otherness, he examined how it generates otherness. The various sections of this presentation tackle the subject of male and female in different ways. In the first sections bishop Maxim looked at the Biblical background and the Gospel perspective of marriage as a mystery of encountering two 'others' (male and female). This should be seen within a theological perspective, which entails an ecclesial and Eucharistic view of the subject. The Orthodox Church has a strong 'personalistic' perspective, which was developed in the Patristic period. With the help of the Trinitarian theology of the Greek Fathers (particularly the Cappadocians) and their ontological perspective, he gained a clearer theological perspective of the Biblical and Gospel perspectives on marriage and otherness.

BISHOP MAXIM VISITS ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST MISSION PARISH, RENO, NEVADA

Nuns from St. Xenia Skete still evacuated

On Vidovdan celebrated Holy Eucharist in Serbian Orthodox temples all over the world

St. Vitus Day (Vidovdan), a religious holiday when Serbs commemorate the 1389 Battle of Kosovo, was marked in all Serbian Orthodox Christian temples today.

Serbian Orthodox Bishop visits Wodonga and Geelong

On Sunday, 13 April 2008, His Grace Bishop Irinej, Serbian Orthodox Bishop of Australia and New Zealand, for the first time since being enthroned in late 2006 in Sydney, visited his faithful in Wodonga. The Hierarchical Divine Liturgy was celebrated in the Serbian Orthodox Church of Sts. Peter and Paul on High Street. Assisting the bishop were the Very Rev. Lazar Caran of St. Sava Monastery in Elaine, the Very Rev. Dragolyub Pantelich of Ballarat, and the Very Rev. Protodeacon Sasha Colich of Sydney.

The church yard was crowded well before the beginning of services and a white runner strewn with fragrant herbs was set out before the bishop. Traditional gifts of bread and salt were offered to welcome the head of the Serbian Orthodox Church in Australia. Lovingly greeted by excited children donned in national folkloric costumes, they lined up to receive his blessing. Many received Holy Communion on that day from the hand of their archpastor.

Metropolitan Amfilochios congratulates Prime Minister Clark on not recognizing Kosovo independence

WELLINGTON (19 March 2008) In a letter of the same date addressed to the Right Honourable Helen Clark, Prime Minister of New Zealand, His Eminence Metropolitan Amfilochios of the Greek Orthodox Metropolitanate of New Zealand and Exarchate of Oceana, applauded the decision of the Government of New Zealand not to recognize the unilateral declaration of Kosovo independence.