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On the Sunday of Orthodoxy a group of young adults and clergy gathered at Holy Virgin Mary Cathedral in Los Angeles to inaugurate a new ministry called Southern California Orthodox Young Adults, or SCOYA. Its formation has been blessed by ruling bishops on the west coast including His Eminence, Metropolitan Gerasimos, of the Greek Metropolis of San Francisco, His Eminence, Archbishop Joseph, of the Antiochian Diocese of Los Angeles and the West, His Grace, Bishop Maxim, of the Serbian Diocese of the Western United States, and His Grace, Bishop Benjamin, of our own Diocese of the West of the OCA. The mission of SCOYA is to bring young adults together from all Orthodox jurisdictions and parishes of the region for spiritual growth and sociability. It is the first time in the history of southern Californian Orthodoxy that such a ministry has existed.
By Seraphima Karbo
Several weeks ago, I had the terrible urge to get hold of a kite from some place and fly it on the soccer field with the boys. I couldn’t tell you why – I was never the kite-flying type growing up – but I really wanted a kite to fly with the little guys. As with countless 7-10 year-old boys, anything that flies instantly constitutes as a smashing success for them.
(Reprinted with permission from the Winter 2012 issue of Jacob's Well, Diocese of New York and New Jersey.)
By Albert S. Rossi, PhD.
The current plague ravaging our culture, the fastest growing addiction in the US, is internet pornography. Our best defense is a potent offense. Our Lord said, “Blessed are the pure of heart for they shall see God.” The converse is implied, namely, those who are not pure of heart may not see God. That would be tragic because those who don’t know God don’t know themselves. We are made in God’s image and likeness. That is the template for knowing ourselves. Our potent offense is purity of heart, a gift from God that we cooperate in receiving. So, our challenge is to retain, sustain and cultivate “purity of heart.” The question is where do we start. Well, we pray and ask for guidance. We ask for strength and to be guarded. The current operational definition of guarding the heart is support. That means surrendering to the Lord and to another human being inside of, and outside of, confession. The key word is “and.” We need other humans to walk with us in our pursuit of “purity of heart.” We need to be accountable to the Lord and to other humans. We need to allow others to support us by prudently disclosing our inner and outer activities.
(Reprinted with permission from the website of the Antiochian Diocese of Los Angeles and the West)
By Subdeacon Peter Samore
Each year, Orthodox Christians around Southern California break from their routine of worshiping in the Divine Liturgy at their regular churches to witness something special on the first Sunday of Great Lent. The canonical Orthodox Christian Bishops of the West Coast began the tradition of celebrating the Divine Liturgy together on this day in 2008 at St. Sophia Greek Orthodox Cathedral in Los Angeles, California. In 2012, the tradition returned to its roots, as our hierarchs gathered here once again to celebrate the “Sunday of Orthodoxy”—the restoration of the holy icons to the Church once and for all in the ninth century.
A unique opportunity — a cruise and conference at sea — "Experiencing and Defending the Glory of Orthodox Christianity," will be held September 16-23, 2012. Planned with the blessing of His Grace, Bishop Benjamin, the cruise will explore Juneau and Sitka as well as Glacier Bay. Daily lectures and workshops will be offered by Father Meletios (Weber), Abbot of St. John's Monastery in Manton, CA and Father Laurent Cleenewerck, author and Academic Advisor at the Theological Institute of the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Mexico and Acting Rector of St. Innocent Church in Eureka, CA.
More information, including rates and agenda can be found here.
“Of all holy works, the education of children is the most holy”
St. Theophan the Recluse
Fifteen years ago two homeschooling families with 8 children total met with little more thought than field trips and classes on Orthodoxy. Those humble beginnings have blossomed into St. Herman of Alaska homeschool co-op with around 32 children and their parents. We meet twice/month to learn, pray and worship together. Our co-op meetings always begin with a modified “Molieben for the Instruction of Children”. “Classes” vary according to interest but center around the Orthodox faith – Saints, Old Testament, Feasts, etc., and then another subject for that semester – art, Colorado History and cooking are a few.
(Full story, including a gallery of pictures, can be found on the St. Vladimir Seminary Website here.)
His Grace, Bishop Benjamin, ordained seminarian André Paez to the Holy Diaconate on the Feast of the Three Holy Hierarchs at St. Vladimir's Seminary in Crestwood, NY.
Deacon Andre holds B.S. in International Business from Pepperdine University, and an M.B.A. from the University of San Francisco; he was a banking and real estate finance executive for 13 years. He is Colombian American and was raised as a Roman Catholic. He discovered the Orthodox Church while attending Pepperdine University and was chrismated in 1997 at Holy Trinity Cathedral is San Francisco, California. Upon entering the Church, he desired to go to St. Vladimir's Seminary, but his parish priest, the late Archpriest Victor Sokolov of blessed memory, advised him to "grow in the Church first." Deacon Andre heeded his wise counsel; it was after 13 years of serving and growing in the Church, while also getting married and having children, that he finally received the blessing to come to the seminary. Deacon Andre is a volunteer on the OCA's financial strategic planning commission and is interested in helping start a pan-Orthodox Credit Union with the intent of increasing the financial strength of the Church, paying off all parish debts, and helping create a program to fund the cost of all seminarians' educational expenses. Andre's wife, Samantha, is Lebanese American, and holds Masters level degree in social work; she currently writes grant proposals for various non-profit institutions. They have two children: Rafael and Isabel.
(Photo by Matushka Deborah Belonick)
Seraphima Karbo is serving a year-long internship with Project Mexico. Her primary responsibility is to serve as tutor to the boys of St. Innocent Orphanage. She has also taken it upon herself to contribute to their religious education by reinvigorating the Sunday School program, as well as translating lives of Saints and other materials into Spanish.
In my Church school lesson with the boys last Sunday I wanted to try and make something stick about Zacchaeus – the song doesn’t translate into Spanish and so I had to come up with something all on my own. With twelve little boys between the ages of seven and ten, I decided to compare Zacchaeus’ encounter with Christ with meeting Spiderman, the current superhero of choice at the Ranch. If Spiderman came to Tijuana and you wanted to see him, being the shortest one there the only logical thing to do would be climb a tree. (You would be nervous if you were a 9-year-old boy meeting Spiderman, by the way, because you wouldn’t always tell the truth, or play really nicely with your friends, or always do as your told. It was, at the beginning of my lesson, practically a flawless comparison... or so I thought. What do we like so much about Spiderman? I asked the boys. Hands shot up. “He’s brave,” said one. “He always does what’s right,” said another. They love talking about Spiderman. “He saves people!” Bingo, I thought, I didn’t even have to point them in the right direction and they were nailing it. This was the best idea ever. I think God must have heard my prideful thinking, because José de Jesús was the last one to raise his hand. Clearly under the impression that he alone had found the answer I was really looking for, he announced proudly to the class, “He always gets the girl of his dreams!”
A rare snowstorm offered this beautiful image of St. Spiridon's Cathedral in Seattle. (Photo by Steven Clark)
The Diocese of the West is the geographical district of the Orthodox Church in America consisting of the Western United States. The diocese has active parishes in Montana, Colorado, Arizona, Nevada, Washington, Oregon, California and Hawaii. San Francisco is home to the diocese’s cathedral, Holy Trinity, as well as the Chancery offices. The diocese is led by His Grace Vasily, Bishop of San Francisco and the West.
