Chronology A column of news and items of interest to the Orthodox Community

DIED: Archbishop Gregory. Archbishop of Sitka and Alaska, retired, in Jackson, NJ. AN ORTHODOX TELEVISION NETWORK is in the planning stage. Input is welcome. Write: D. Romeo, Orthodox Television Network, 1454 SW 28 Terrace, Deerfield Beach, FL 33442 or danny.romeo@gmail.com A NEW PODCAST ESPECIALLY FOR TEENS, called Orthodox Teen Talk Online (OTTO), features a pan- Orthodox group of teens from around the country, who discuss real-life issues in an open and honest manner with at least one Orthodox priest. In the first episode, drugs and drinking were discussed. The second episode featured issues such as abortion, stem cell research and euthanasia. Future episodes will deal with dating, sex, MTV, music and will be released biweekly. All are available for download on www.MyOCN.net. All teens are welcome to participate. THE RUSSIAN NAVAL MUSEUM is located in Philadelphia next to St. Andrew's Church, which was purchased by Russian sailors and marines while they were in port waiting (in 1902-03) for two warships to be completed in the Philadelphia drydocks. A GREEK ORTHODOX PRIEST was given a suspended 70-day sentence for ringing the church bell too loudly and too often. Residents of a resort town filed against the priest of Assumption Church on Mount Pelion in Central Greece. ST. DANIEL MONASTERY IN MOSCOW bears evidence that the medieval Knights Templar order could have settled in Russia after being exiled from France in the early 14th century. The Templar emblem, which is a white square frame, four rings cut at square angles and a six-petal rose in the center can be found on the first balcony of the monastery's gate church. The knights fled France when they were repressed by French King Philip. In 1307, Moscow Prince Yury Danilovich met some of the knights and welcomed them. FIRST TO EXPLAIN SCIENTIFICALLY how healing through prayer works is Dr. Carrel (1873-1944) in his book "Man the Unknown". CHRISTIE'S AUCTION HOUSE in late November, on behalf of the Rothschild family, sold a rare enamel and gold Faberge egg for $18.5 million. Faberge crafted more than 50 jewelled eggs for Russian czars and private collectors in the late 19th and early 29th centuries. BISHOP HILARION OF VIENNA, AUSTRIA, speaking in his cathedral of St. Nicholas on Christmas, said: "Built at the end of the 18th century, this church, to this day, remains one of Vienna's architectural landmarks. Although it is located on the territory of the Russian embassy, its flock is comprised not only of Russians but also Ukrainians, Belorussians, Moldavians, Georgians, Austrians and those of other nationalities. This is mainly due to the multinational character of the Russian Orthodox Church itself, which unites more than 100 million Orthodox Christians residing in various countries and speaking various languages." THE MUSEUM OF THE HISTORY OF RELIGION IN LVOV in western Ukraine, which has one of the largest collections of items confiscated from churches during Soviet times, has returned over 2000 items to their owners. Among these were antimens, which contained the relics of saints. MOST OF THE 20 MONASTERIES ON MOUNT ATHOS have accepted funds from the European Union to restore their monasteries. Mount Athos is a semi-autonomous all-male monastic community near Greece. The Esfigmenou Monastery has refused funds as they differ with some policies. The monks of the 1,000-year-old monastery say that their phone and power lines have been cut and that authorities were not delivering post, money orders and pensions. The dispute dates back to 1972 with differences over ecumenism. MANY OF OUR CARPATHIAN TOUR PARTICIPANTS would remember Metropolitan Nikolaj, the head of the Orthodox church in the Czech Lands and Slovakia, who would come to our hotel in Presov and talk for hours with Fr. Basil Stroyen. We would comment on his humbleness. Please pray for his soul. He has died. He has been replaced by Archbishop Krystof of Prague (Radim Pulec), who was born in 1953 in Prague. He studied in Presov and in Athens and is a linguist. He is said to have a good command of the Russian, Greek, German and English languages in addition to his native tongues. REGULATIONS GUIDING THE ESTABLISHMENT OF MONASTERIES have been distributed to the 19 monasteries now functioning under the jurisdiction of the Greek Archdiocese. According to statistics, there are now more than 200 monks, nuns and novices in these monasteries in the U.S. AN ADDITION TO THE CHANCERY ADMINISTRATION BUILDING of the Romanian Diocese will house a museum and archives of the diocese. Old liturgical books, theological reviews, materials from parishes such as candelabra, Kivots, icons, banners, vestments and cultural items such as costumes, woven materials, potteries, etc. will be stored or displayed.

JUNE 2008