World Youth Day is a gathering of Catholic young people (ages 16-35) every two years from all over the world to join with the Pope is learning about
their faith and praising God through the Holy Mysteries (Sacraments). This year this even in happening in Toronto, Canada July 23-28.

Even more exciting is that the Inter-Eparchial Youth Commission for the Archeparchy of Pittsburgh is coordinating a group of Byzantine Youth from each Eparchy (Van Nuys, Parma, Passaic, and Pittsburgh).

The cost is only $180 for the whole week!!! (That doesn't include transportation to Toronto.) Its a great deal! That means that you HAVE to
go! It is such an incredible experience it is not one you want to miss. Parents you should encourage your young people to attend.

You can find more specific information at http://www.byzantines.net/

The deadline to sign up is January 12, so you have to decide soon! You should contact your Parish in most cases to sign up. If your parish doesn't have a coordinator, you can go to the above mentioned webpage for other contact information.

Hope to see you there!!!

I am a Ukrainian Greco-Catholic that fits into this age group. Are the Ruthenians and Ukrainian Greco-Catholics sticking togehter for this event?

Daniil,

I think once Jan 31, passes (the deadline for all the Eparchies to send their registrations and fees to the Archeparchy), more organizing will take place regarding groups and transportation. If you haven't already, I highly urge you to send in your registration and money if you think you may be able to attend.

The Byzantine Catholics are going to be on a slightly different "track" so to speak for some of the event (Catechesis by an EC bishop, Akathist to the Mother of God, Akathist to the Cross). So yes, the BC's will be lumped together with other BC's.

Yours in the Theotokos,

Darrenn

Thanks for the information.

Dear Darrenn,

Daniil is a wonderful Eastern Catholic whom I cannot commend highly enough.

Since Kateri Tekakwitha is a patron for World Youth Day, I wonder if a Byzantine icon of her (Robert Lentz, of whom Serge thinks so highly, has done one) can be used as a Byzantine banner etc.

Alex

By the way, what church does Robert Lentz belong to? Some of his icons are very beautiful, but some "icons" are very strange (like "Saint" Ghandi, etc.)

Dear Daniil,

Serge's friend, Robert Lentz, is a Russian Greek-Catholic, a convert from ROCOR.

Although Serge wouldn't want to criticize him excessively, he and others do feel Lentz may have gone "over the top" with some of his iconic subjects.

Merlin the Magician probably belongs in this category.

Have a great day!

Alex

Даниил,

Alex is kidding — I don't know Robert Lentz personally. As far as his church affiliation is concerned, I've asked elsewhere and AFAIK he is and was nominally a Roman Catholic but was taught iconography by experts in ROCOR. He knows how to make beautiful traditional icons but, yes, he has gone off the deep end with some of his subjects (Gandhi and Martin Luther King, for example). He changed the name of his icon-and-card company from "Bridge-Building Icons' to "Bridge-Building Images' after Orthodox complained.

http://oldworldrus.com

Well, his style is good, so it is understandable that he was taught by ROCOR. His "saints" are quite odd, but hey, ROCOR did cannonize the "Holy Royal Martyrs," so maybe he was part of them.
(I do not wish to offend any members of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia, and if I have, please forgive me)

Даниил,

Don't diss the Tsar, son — официальная Российская Церковь тоже славила Царственных Новомучеников.

http://oldworldrus.com

I know that they did, but still; not everything that the Russian Orthodox Church is legitimate.
KGB Bishops? Married KGB Bishops?

Tsar Nicholas II had a mistress! I think they were good people, and yes, they were killed by the communists, but not because of their faith, but because they were the Royal Family.

I'll try not to "diss" the Tsar any more. Sorry Serge.

Даниил,

FYI:

Do you think the Soviet-controlled bishops would have canonized the Tsar? The glorification by the Moscow Patriarchate was recent — many years after the USSR went away.

No one, including Catholicism, has claimed dogmatically that the Russian Orthodox Church ceased to be the Church during Soviet times, even though its hierarchy was corrupt and untrustworthy. Remember: "if Peter baptizes, Christ baptizes; if Judas baptizes, Christ baptizes'. An unworthy bishop is still a vessel of God's grace.

Nicholas had a mistress briefly, yes, Mathilde Kschessinka — when he was still single and before he was tsar. He always loved his Alix, later the Царица Александра. His relatives fixed him up with Mathilde to get him away from her. He repented of that affair, married Alix and as far as anyone knows never, ever cheated on her when they were married. They loved each other.

http://oldworldrus.com

I am sorry to have offended you, and I agree with the validity of the Apostolic sucession (Note: they are still the same bishops though. Have they issued an official apology for their acts?)

Ok, so they were a loving family. But do you believe they were killed because of their faith or for being the rulers of Russia?

Ok, so they were a loving family. But do you believe they were killed because of their faith or for being the rulers of Russia?

Both. At least everybody can agree they were sufferers (passion-bearers).

http://oldworldrus.com

Ok

hello.

i am ilya.
To experience true orthodox worship during WYD come to Saint Elias Church in Brampton (30 min. outside T.O.)see www.saintelias.com
we are much better than we look.

i hope i am not being too proud, but it's true.

ilya

Dear Daniil:

As someone who has spent most of his life in the shadow of the Russian Imperial tragedy I would like to say a few words.

I was pleased that the Moscow Patriachate finally canonized the Imperial Family.

I was not completely bothered by the fact that they only proclaimed them Passion Bearers instead of Martyrs this was the compromise they had to make.

One can make a credible case for martyrdom if one takes into consideration the history of Imperial Russia.

When Peter the Great ended the Patriarchate and appointed a council to run the church, he had to dilute the image of the Patriarch to soften the blow to the people.

One of the things he did was allow metropolitans to wear the white klobuk as did the Patriarchs. He also extended similar minor vanities to Bishops.

One unforeseen outcome of this policy was that the highest religious dignitary now became the Tsar of Russia [no longer would the Tsar lead the horse of any Patriarch on foot].

The church as we all know became completely subservient to the state.

In the peoples minds the figure of the Tsar now became holy and sacrosanct. This may not have been true in urban centres but it was a widely held view in the countryside [it was these Narody that the Bolshevist leadership feared the most].

Here is an example of what the Imperial family meant to the narod:

When the Imperial family was under arrest in the City of Tabolsk, Siberia, one of the few freedoms they were allowed was attending religious services. They were allowed to walk to a church which was a short distance from the house where they were interned. The people would line the route to the church and knelt down as the family passed.

This unfortunately made life for the Imperial family more difficult.

Rightly or wrongly the identification of the Imperial family with the divine glories made them extremely dangerous to the new regime and they had to be liquidated.

If they died because of love of God, they were martyrs; if they died because of hatred of the faith, they were martyrs; if they died because the people believed that they were the shadow of God on earth, they were martyrs.

These are the facts, one is free to interpret them as he wishes.

defreitas