Featured Articles

With the blessing of His Eminence Metropolitan Joseph, the 2016 Mid-Winter Meetings will be hosted by St. Luke Orthodox Church in Garden Grove, CA, on March 4-6, 2016. The Archdiocese and Diocese officers of the Antiochian Women, Fellowship of St. John Divine/Young Adult Ministry, and Teen SOYO will gather for their annual mid-winter meetings to conduct the business of our Archdiocese organizations. Travel, lodging, and registration information is below. Please contact your NAC/NAB President with any questions.

By Peter Samore

As time passes, fewer and fewer people—even within the Antiochian Archdiocese—are still with us, who can vividly recall Metropolitan Antony Bashir, the man whom the late Fr. Alexander Schmemann called a “founding father of the American Church.” A half-century has passed since his repose on February 15, 1966, and now the Metropolitan endures mostly in black and white photographs and humorous anecdotes. Many of the clergy he ordained and many of the laity he inspired have already passed from this life, too.

Yet that does not diminish the legacy of Metropolitan Antony, who guided Antiochians in North America through the Great Depression, World War II, and so many other conflicts during his 30 years of leadership. The Antiochian Archdiocese owes much to his efforts, and is commemorating the 50th anniversary of his repose this weekend.

Fortunately, the Very Reverend Economos Constantine Nasr has served as Sayidna Antony’s biographer to ensure that his life was recorded for posterity. Since Fr. Constantine knew the metropolitan well in his later years, he has continued to aggregate the stories, historical documents, photos, and personal interviews All of Fr. Constantine's efforts culminated in the publication of a biography of the Metropolitan's life, Antony Bashir: Metropolitan and Missionary.

Pastoral Message for the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord

February 2, 2016

“Say, O Simeon, Whom carriest thou in the Temple in thine arms with rejoicing? Towards Whom dost thou cry, shouting, Now I have been let to depart; for I have beheld my Savior. This is He born of the Virgin. This is the Word, God of God, Who wast incarnate for our sakes, and saved man. Him let us worship.”

(From the Stichera of Great Vespers for the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord)

We greet you with love and joy on this Holy Feast of the Presentation of our Lord and God and Savior Jesus Christ into the Temple.  The verse from the Great Vespers of the holy feast which is quoted above transmits to us the essence of this holy feast.

From January 14-19, 2016, Metropolitan Joseph visited the faithful in Mexico and participated in the celebration marking the 50th anniversary of the episcopacy of Antiochian Orthodox Metropolitan Antonio (Chedraoui) of Mexico, Central America and Venezuela. January 17 was Sayedna Antonio's 84th birthday and also, his namesday. The memorable Hierarchical Divine Liturgy was presided over by their Eminences the Archbishops and Bishops of the Patriarchate, and distinguished guests.

View a photo gallery of the visit
View photos on the Archdiocese of Mexico's website
Read about the consecration of the Antiochian Cathedral of Ss. Peter and Paul in 2011

Rosemary Shumski is the Administrative Assistant for the Department of Christian Education. As a part of her duties, she serves as the Departmental Assistant for the Creative Festivals and is responsible for coordinating the Festivals on the Archdiocesan level. Rosemary has also served as the Photography Coordinator for the Eastern Dioceses since 2002. 

Rosemary is a graduate of Bloomsburg University and was previously employed in business management. Married to Dn. John Shumski and the mother of three grown children, Rosemary is active at St. John Chrysostom Orthodox Church in York, PA, where she has taught Sunday School for seventeen years. Recently, Antiochian.org asked her to tell us more about our Archdiocese's unique and successful Creative Festivals program.

Tell us about this year's theme for the Festivals: why was it chosen, and what is its significance for the Church today?

The 2016 Creative Festivals theme is “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”(Joshua 24:15) This is the first theme chosen by His Eminence Metropolitan Joseph.

St. Xenia of St. Petersburg, commemorated on January 24The first day of the civil new year begins with the celebration of an important act of our Lord, God and Savior Jesus Christ, which leads to another celebration of one of His great feasts. The liturgical texts for the month of January, blessed by His Eminence Metropolitan Joseph, are now ready for clergy and laity to download from the Online Liturgical Guide.

On January 1, eight days after His nativity, our Lord consented to be circumcised in the flesh in order to become the only human to fulfill the Law of Moses. This act of humility and servitude shows that our Lord identifies with the low estate of His people to deliver them from sin and death by introducing God's grace that supersedes the ancient Law.

On this same day, we commemorate St. Basil the Great, archbishop of Caesarea in Cappadocia, who reposed peacefully on January 1, 379.

This is our festival, this is the feast we celebrate today, in which God comes to live with human beings, that we may journey toward God, or return—for to speak thus is more exact—that laying aside the old human being we may be clothed with the new, and that as in Adam we have died so we may live in Christ, born with Christ and crucified with Him, buried with Him, and rising with Him. For it is necessary for me to undergo the good turnaround, and as painful things came from more pleasant things, so out of painful things more pleasant things must return. "For where sin abounded, grace superabounded," and if the taste of forbidden fruit condemned, how much more does the Passion of Christ justify? Therefore we celebrate the feast not like a pagan festival but in a godly manner, not in a worldly way but in a manner above the world. We celebrate not our own concerns but the One who is ours, or rather what concerns our Master, things pertaining not to sickness but to healing, not to the first shaping, but to the reshaping.  (+St. Gregory the Theologian – from the Festal Oration 38 on the Nativity of the Lord)

As we celebrate the Birth in the Flesh of our Lord and God and Savior Jesus Christ, the profound words of St. Gregory the Theologian which are quoted above stir in us feelings of great joy and hope because of the great condescension which God has deigned to show toward His children.

During his pastoral visit to Saints Peter & Paul Orthodox Christian Church in Salt Lake City, Utah on December 12–14, His Eminence Metropolitan Joseph sat down with Antiochian journalist Peter Samore to discuss the Syrian civil war and the millions of refugees it has produced. Sayidna Joseph proposed solutions for ending the bloodshed and for safely welcoming the displaced into the United States. Over the same weekend, His Eminence also ordained Fr. John Mahfouz to the holy priesthood.

In addition to serving as a consultant to the Department of Internet Ministry, Peter reports for KSL Radio, KSL Television, and the Deseret News in Salt Lake City, where his stories with His Eminence appeared this week. 

Read and view stories:
ISIS killers don't represent people of Syria, Archbishop says
Ordination of new assistant pastor is reflection of church's growth

The Hospitality of Abraham icon depicts unity, and the welcoming of strangersFOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Friday, December 11, 2015

The Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America
Englewood, New Jersey

As Orthodox Christians, we take to heart the commandments of our Lord and God and Savior Jesus Christ, especially the commandment that He has told us is the greatest, that is “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:39).

We have watched with dismay as several public figures have played on the fear which they assume has swept over this country. Specifically, a recent news release from the Trump campaign has called for “a total and complete shutdown of all Muslims entering the United States”. We reject in the strongest possible terms both this specific call, and all speech and actions which would encourage hate and persecution against any group of people. We call on all leaders, in the political arena and in the faith community, to also reject this call, and to remember that such an action would bring dishonor to all of the brave men and women of all backgrounds who have given their lives to uphold the core values of freedom and dignity which we enjoy.

We have seen an alarming rise in recent days in the number of hateful and violent actions which have been perpetrated against Muslims, or those who are presumed to be Muslims. There is no doubt that such hateful rhetoric encourages those who may be inclined to violence to act out this violence. We condemn in the strongest possible terms any act of violence against any human being, and we are reminded that all human beings bear the image of God, and are to be respected as children of God. We also unconditionally condemn all acts of terror, such as the recent one in San Bernardino, California which brought pain to so many people.