Culture

Media representatives informed about the Easter fair

With the blessing of His Holiness Irinej, Serbian Patriarch in Belgrade, from March 27 until April 8, 2012 the Easter fair will be held. At the press conference held on this occasion in the Serbian Patriarchate, His Grace Bishop Atanasije of Hvosno, vicar of Patriarch said that on the occasion of the greatest Christian holiday the Resurrection of the Lord the Archbishopric of Belgrade-Karlovac organizes a great cultural and spiritual manifestation for all the citizens of Belgrade.

Jerusalem Tomb Reveals First Archaeological Evidence of Christianity from the Time of Jesus

The archaeological examination by robotic camera of an intact first century tomb in Jerusalem has revealed a set of limestone Jewish ossuaries or “bone boxes” that are engraved with a rare Greek inscription and a unique iconographic image that the scholars involved identify as distinctly Christian. The four-line Greek inscription on one ossuary refers to God “raising up” someone and a carved image found on an adjacent ossuary shows what appears to be a large fish with a human stick figure in its mouth, interpreted by the excavation team to be an image evoking the biblical story of Jonah.

"Golden Byzantium and the East" Exhibition in Vienna

An exhibition titled ‘The Golden Byzantium and the East’ will be presented from the 31st of March through the 4th of November at the Renaissance Palaces of Lower Austria. The exhibition will focus on the vital role that Byzantium played concerning the development of modern Europe and Constantinople, as it was the cradle of economy and culture.

The art and artifacts that are going to be exhibited for the first time in Central Europe cover the period from 330 until 1453, when Constantinople fell to the Turks.

Exhibition timed to the centenary of the demise of St. Nicholas of Japan opens at the National Library of Russia

On 20 March 2012, an exhibition entitled “I am the only Russian here…” (from history of the Russian Ecclesiastical Mission in Japan)” opened at the National Library of Russia in St. Petersburg.

The exhibition is timed to the centenary of the demise of St. Nicholas of Japan and presents documents and other materials on the life and work of St. Nicholas, as well as materials about Japan, notes and memoirs of Russian and foreign authors published at the turn of the 19th century about Japanese traditions and customs.
General Consul of Japan in St. Petersburg, Mr. Ichiro Kavabata, addressed the guests of library at the opening ceremony, press service of the National Library of Russia reports.

Sunday of Orthodoxy Pan-Orthodox Youth Rally in Alhambra, CA

Source: Western American Diocese

Boban Stojkovic: Christianity in the Land of the Rising Sun

Boban Stojkovic: Christianity in the Land of the Rising Sun (The Mission of the Orthodox Church in Japan. Saint Nikolai Kasatkin and his mission), Diocese of Dalmatia, Sibenik 2010, 157 pages  [ISBN 987-86-82555-49-00]

The baptization of all nations on behalf of Father, Son and Holy Spirit , as is widely known,is the New Testament imperative.The mission is an obligation of the Church. However, our time is perhaps мост inert when it comes to missionary work. Simply, as if  modern church apostles have become lazy.  This state of ministerial activity, because of its importance, requires serious attention and fast response.

Speaking of that, the Nikolai Kasatkin's mission in Japan is, in many ways, paradigmatic.  St. Nicholas was preaching Christ to the people whom the Orthodox tradition was completely unknown and therefore he started from the scratch. To a large extent, the situation in which are  today's missionaries, whose "target groups"  belong either to those few peoples who have never heard of the Gospel of Christ or to those who tore off from the Christian tradition of their ancestors. To both sides, therefore, the Orthodox Christian tradition is known just as much as it was known the Japanese at the time of Nikolai Kasatkin. Hence the study of his work on the baptism of Japan invaluable for finding the most appropriate missionary model and its implementation today.