May 11, 2012, Dallas Ground has been broken at St. Seraphim Cathedral in Dallas to build the mausoleum to be the final resting place for the corpus of Archbishop Dmitri. Metropolitan Jonah, Subdeacon Jeff Wynn, Milos Konjevich, diocesan treasurer, and Subdeacon Vladimir Gregorenko have met with the architect Nick Unich and his associate to design the new chapel. According to Michael Smith, task force member and parish council member, “We couldn’t be more excited. This is a positive … [Read more...]

...where black is white, up is down, an octaroon Latino is a Redneck, and a blond-haired, blue-eyed Scandinavian is a Cherokee. The only way to believe in such nonsense is to make up a screwy, ahistorical religion. Thank you Liberals for doing this for us and shoving it down our throats since the 1960s. The damage done to this nation (and by extension, the world) has been incalculable. Fortunately, because it is a false religion, it is quickly unravelling. Consider the curious case of … [Read more...]

A couple of weeks ago, we published an interview with Mr Alexei Krindatch (courtesy of Ancient Faith Radio). As you may know, Mr Krindatch was tasked with conducting a realistic census of Orthodox Christians in America. Much hinges on his work, including (dare I say) the future viability of American Orthodoxy. Please take the time to read his monograph. Assembly of Bishops Research Coordinator Alexei Krindatch has released a new 40-page report titled, Five Interesting Facts About … [Read more...]

One of the more tiresome memes found in Progressive circles is the supposed "corruption" that is rampant within the Russian Orthodox Church. For politcal liberals and neocons, the love that the Russian church feels for its native land is abhorent; indeed, all forms of patriotism is viewed with disdain. They prefer instead that the Russian government truckle before the American State Department and its sexual-liberationist worldview rather than repair to the dictates of the Church. (The fact … [Read more...]

More breaking news from the DOS. Every now and then, things heat up on Monomakhos. The election of a new bishop in the Diocese of the South is one such occasion. Many issues were at stake besides the suitability of the Bishop of Baltimore's erstwhile candidacy. All of these issues are addressed by Fr Marcus Burch, the Chancellor of the Diocese of the South in the following letter he wrote to the DOS priests. It appears that our Deans have come to a unanimous conclusion regarding a candidate. … [Read more...]

Not all is lost in the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese. In a stunning departure from the usual Greco-triumphalism that constitutes the majority of The Orthodox Observer's fare, we get some sobering analysis from His Eminence Metropolitan Isaiah Chronopoulos of Denver. In essence, it's a reaffirmation of an explosive piece written some four years ago by Fr John Peck, the rector of St George Greek Orthodox Church in Prescott, Arizona. What makes the metropolitan's piece so important is that it gives … [Read more...]

The controversy that has erupted because of the possible inclusion of Bp Mark Maymon's name to the slate of candidates for the OCA shows little signs of abating at present. Regardless, it has been very edifying in many ways. Rather than embroil ourselves further in the fitness of the erstwhile candidate himself, questions have come to the fore regarding the viability of the Diocese of the South vis-a-vis the other dioceses. As certain correspondents (and your truly) have indicated, the … [Read more...]

The day before yesterday, Monomakhos broke the story of the possible election of Bp Mark Maymon to the vacant See of Dallas and the South. Clearly, the prospect that "the fix is in," cannot be shaken by what has transpired so far. Many priests in the Diocese of the South (and laymen as well) have corresponded privately with me as well as publicly on this forum. Of particular concern is the fact that His Grace Bp Mark did not (according to our sources) receive the blessing of Bp Nikon and … [Read more...]

As most of you know, I am a member of the Diocese of the South, which was founded by the Venerable Dmitri of blessed memory back in 1978. Until his retirement in March of 2009, His Eminence was our only bishop. Since then, we've been served by a number of locum tenentes, including Metropolitan Jonah and Bishop Nikon of Boston, respectively. When Bishop Mark Maymon was received into the OCA, after a somewhat colorful career within the Antiochian jurisdiction, he was made an auxiliary of the … [Read more...]

I fervently believe that Charles Colson is hearing these words right now, spoken to him by his Lord and Savior. As you may have heard, Chuck Colson, fell asleep in the Lord over the weekend. He was a great warrior for Christ and his conversion was marked by deep repentance that included going into the worst prisons and ministering to the worst of prisoners. His fame and success drew worldwide acclaim. The Russian Orthodox Church invited him to come to Russia to train them in prison … [Read more...]

HT: AOI Source: The Atlantic APR 23 2012, 8:46 AM ET 280 By Robert Wright Last night's 60 Minutes segment about the plight of Christians in the West Bank has gotten a lot of attention, in part because of the attempt by Israeli ambassador Michael Oren to intervene with CBS brass while the segment was being put together. (See the 11-minute point in the video below, where CBS correspondent Bob Simon confronts Oren with this fact.) You can see why Oren might rather the piece hadn't aired. … [Read more...]

Please take the time to listen to this homily by His Beatitude Jonah given last week. It was in preparation to his visit to St Tikhon's monastery, where on Holy Thursday he was going to prepare the Holy Chrism. This is a privilege granted only to autocephalous Churches. Note especially that the Chrism will be situated permanently in special cisterns on the Altar at the Cathedral of St Nicholas for the first time. Hat tip: Byzantine, TX Holy Chrism begins at St. Tikhon's … [Read more...]

I guess this was inevitable. On the bright side, eating dog meat should put to rest the rumors that President Obama is a Muslim! … [Read more...]

Speaking for myself, I don't believe that it is possible. Others are coming to the conclusion that the Dead Atheists' Club is unable to sustain a culture as well. Please take the time to read this thoughtful essay from The Telegraph. A society that persecutes Christ is heading for terrible trouble Politicians in the West - and atheists - ignore at their peril the benefits and power of organised religion. Source: The London Telegraph This week before Easter, I chanced upon the … [Read more...]

Fr. Hans Jacobse, a frequent contributor to Monomakhos will be the guest along with Dr. John Mark Reynolds for the premiere program on "Atheism." Fr. Hans says that a program like this is long overdue and he has high hopes for it. Topics will be timely, guests will be knowledgeable, and hopefully the audience will call in with informed questions or challenges. Ancient Faith Radio announces the launch of the first ever Orthodox live call-in show, Ancient Faith Today, this Sunday, April … [Read more...]

We forget that in the mundane, workaday world in which live, in which evil seems to triumph constantinly and wicked men are richly rewarded, that the battle between good and evil has already been joined. Good won. The very fabric of the universe has changed. Christ walked out of that Tomb on his own two feet. … [Read more...]

Source: Religion News Service (RNS) Every Christian knows the story: Jesus was crucified on Good Friday and rose from the dead on Easter Sunday. But what did he do on Saturday? That question has spurred centuries of debate, perplexed theologians as learned as St. Augustine and prodded some Protestants to advocate editing the Apostles' Creed, one of Christianity's oldest confessions of faith. Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox and most mainline Protestant churches teach that Jesus … [Read more...]

Please take the time to listen to this interview with Mr Alexei Krindatch by Ancient Faith Radio. As many of you know, Mr Krindatch was tasked by the Patriarch Athenagoras Institute to conduct a survey/census of the various Orthodox jurisdictions in North America. After Pascha, we intend to publish his most recent survey. HT: Byzantine, TX From Ancient Faith Radio: Five Facts About the Orthodox Church in the United States Bobby Maddex interviews Alexei Krindatch, the Research … [Read more...]

It is come to our attention from several of our correspondents that the Right blogosphere has "poisoned" the atmosphere regarding the recent tragedy in Florida. We have been assured that there is nothing but sweetness and light coming from the Mainstream Media and the Left blogosphere (forgive the redundancy). Yes, we are being taken to task for jumping to conclusions and not letting the process play itself out. After all, it is the Right who is screaming "If there is no arrest, shoot … [Read more...]