Featured Articles
Climacus Conference to Examine the Legacy of Byzantium
On February 24 and 25, St. Michael Antiochian Orthodox Church in Louisville, Kentucky will host the 2012 Climacus Conference, titled "Byzantium, You Are Not Forgotten." Authors, academics and broadcasters will speak to the enduring legacy of Byzantium and its continuing impact on the Church today.
The conference is billed as "a pan-Orthodox event featuring scholars and voices across the fields of Theology, Philosophy, Patristics, Classical Education, Literature, and History/Politics." The flyer explains, "It is unique in that it provides an opportunity for people to be enriched by thinking well across disciplines. It furthers the life of the mind through scholarly engagement with the classic liberal arts, but achieves such by placing the mind in the noetic heart, where freedom, knowledge, and vision exist, enabling our ascension 'of the ladder'."
Antiochian Village to Host Marriage Retreat, February 17-20
On February 17-20, the weekend following Valentines Day, Antiochian Village is sponsoring a pan-Orthodox marriage retreat, titled “Orthodox Marriage: Forgiveness, Enrichment, and a Path to Holiness.”
The retreat is billed as a way for couples to attend to their marriages through small group discussions, marital assessment instruments, and inspiring lectures all set within the context of the liturgical life of the Church. In addition to participating in these more serious activities, couples will also enjoy a wine and cheese night, a candlelight dinner and dance, and a movie night.
This year’s speakers are: Drs. David and Mary Ford, Associate Professors at St. Tikhon’s Orthodox Theological Seminary and co-authors of the book, Marriage as a Path to Holiness: Lives of Married Saints; Fr. John Mefridge, a marriage and family therapist and founding priest of St. Ephraim the Syrian Antiochian Orthodox Church in San Antonio, TX; and Dr. David Weaver-Zercher, professor at Messiah College in Grantham, PA.
For more information, contact Barli Brown, Antiochian Village’s Orthodox Program Development Director, at barli@antiochianvillage.org, or download the retreat brochure.
Orthodox Scout Sunday is February 5
Orthodox Scout receives St. George medalOn Sunday, February 5, 2012, Scouts all over the United States will celebrate Scout Sunday, and as such, the Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops has simultaneously designated the day as Orthodox Scout Sunday. Scouts will wear their uniforms to their local parishes, as a visible sign of their membership both to the Scouting program and to the Orthodox Church.
Through the Eastern Orthodox Committee on Scouting, the Assembly and its predecessor, SCOBA, have actively supported Boy and Girl Scouts of the USA since the 1960's.
Orthodox Scouts can earn one of three age-appropriate awards: St. George for the youngest children, Chi-Rho for the middle years, and Alpha Omega for the oldest Scouts.
Mission and Evangelism Conference Audio Available
Fr. Joseph Huneycutt and Dn. Gregory Norris at conferenceHow do we communicate the Good News of Jesus Christ to those around us? On January 20-22, 2012, the Dallas/Fort Worth area hosted a Missions and Evangelism Conference that examined how the historical Church approached evangelism, and discussed how to put ancient proven methods into modern practice locally.
Audio for the conference is now available on Ancient Faith Radio.
The lineup of speakers included author and missions expert Fr. Peter Gillquist, Antiochian author and speaker Fr. Joseph Huneycutt, and Fr. Evan Armatas, a Greek Orthodox mission priest from northern Colorado.
West Coast Sacred Music Institute, Jan. 19-22
The West Coast Sacred Music Institute will be held from January 19-22, 2012 at the La Casa de Maria Conference and Retreat Center in Santa Barbara. The theme "The Theotokos and Mother of Light, Let Us Magnify in Song!" will be carried out over the course of the full weekend of workshops. Topics include the role of the Theotokos, hymns to the Theotokos, beginner’s theory and sight-reading courses, Byzantine chant, conducting, choral rehearsal techniques and vocal techniques.
The lovely grounds of the Catholic retreat center, the La Casa de Maria in Santa Barbara, California, boast fountains and rare shrubs, organic vegetable gardens and woodland paths. For more information, contact MaryFaith Woods at sspeternpaul@yahoo.com, or (831)331-8323.
Download the Institute Agenda.
Download the Registration Form for those staying at La Casa, or a separate form for commuters.
