Orthodox Inter-Seminary Movement Meets in Alaska

The Orthodox Inter-Seminary Movement recently held a meeting at Saint Herman Orthodox Theological Seminary in Kodiak, Alaska.

The meeting included seminarians representing: Saint Herman’s Seminary, Saint Tikhon's Seminary, Saint Vladimir's Seminary, Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology and Holy Trinity Seminary.

Details of the meeting can be found here.

Meeting of the MP and ROCOR Church Commissions Concludes

Here are details on the latest meeting from the ROCOR website:

The eighth meeting between the Commission of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia on talks with the Moscow Patriarchate and the corresponding Commission of the Moscow Patriarchate was held in Cologne, Germany, from October 24-26.

Participating in the meeting were, on behalf of the Russian Church Abroad: Archbishop Mark of Berlin and Germany; Archbishop Kyrill of San Francisco and Western America; Archimandrite Luke (Murianka); Protopriest Alexander Lebedeff and Protopriest Nikolai Artemoff; and for the Moscow Patriarchate: Archbishop Innokenty of Korsun; Archbishop Evgeny of Verey; Protopriest Vladislav Tsypin; Archimandrite Tikhon (Shevkunov) and Protopriest Nikolai Balashov.

In accordance with the directions of the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church and of the Synod of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia, proposals were worked out for the time and procedures for the signing and enactment of the Act on Canonical Communion already approved by both Synods, and also jointly examined the questions set before the Commissions in May, 2004.

The meetings, which were preceded daily by prayer at Divine Liturgy, concluded on the feast day of the Iveron Icon of the Mother of God. The members of the Commissions visited the ancient churches of Cologne and venerated their relics, including those of the New Testament Magi, who brought gifts to the Christ Child, and of Martyr Ursula of the 4 th century, the Protectress of Cologne.

A report from the Russian news service Interfax also contains the following:

"...the recent meeting of the commissions worked out proposals for the date and order of signing the Act of Canonical Communion between the Moscow Patriarchate and the ROCOR adopted by the Synods in Moscow and New York earlier this year. The final date of the signing ceremony is to be determined by the Synods of the Moscow Patriarchate and the Church Outside Russia in coming December.

According to Father Nikolay, secretary of the Moscow Patriarchate commission, the commissions have completed the consideration of questions they were instructed to examine after negotiations the head of the ROCOR, Metropolitan Laurus, held during his visit to Russia in May 2004. Agreed statements have been drafted on all issues submitted to the Bishops’ Synods or Councils and adopted by them.

‘Most probably, the final restoration of the full canonical unity of the Church inside and outside Russia will take place next year’, Father Nikolay said.

The priest believes this event will become one of the most vivid pages in Russian church history and attract much attention in society.

‘Church unity is the spiritual foundation of the unity of our people. We are restoring the link of times disrupted by the Russian catastrophe. And this cannot but make our hearts tremble with emotion. We anticipate this joyful and solemn day when our patriarch and hierarchs of the Russian diaspora will celebrate the liturgy together for the first time’, the secretary of the Moscow Patriarchate commission said.

Many of the documents and materials agreed upon by the Commissions can be found here.

Texas Vioxx Case Dropped

Here is an article with details on the withdrawal of a Texas Vioxx case that was scheduled to go to trial next month.

The article also gives a summary of upcoming Vioxx trials across the nation.

Double Dipping

Here is another interesting article on the phenomenon known as "double dipping" that plagues many asbestos trust funds.

OC Asbestos Trust Fund

Here is an interesting article that offers some details on the recently approved Owens Corning asbestos trust fund.

St. Jonah

Today marks the Feast Day of St. Jonah of Manchuria. It also marks the Tenth Anniversary of his Glorification.

More information on St. Jonah can be found here including: a narrative of his life, the service to St. Jonah (note the acrostic in the canon at matins), and a sermon of St. Jonah.

More information on St. Jonah (in Russian) can be found here.

Today is also the Patronal Feast Day for my parish. : )

It was truly a blessing to be able to attend the Vigil and Divine Liturgy served in commemoration of this remarkable modern day Saint.

Galveston Greek Fest

The 24th annual Island Greek Festival takes place this weekend down in Galveston. The Festival is being held at Assumption of the Virgin Mary Greek Orthodox Church.

Here is an article with more details and some recipes.

Prempro Mistrial

A mistrial has been declared in a Pennsylvania Prempro trial and the previous verdict overturned.

This article has additional details.

Judge Dismisses Vioxx Lawsuits

A Judge in New Jersey has dismissed 50 Vioxx lawsuits that were filed by British citizens.

This article has the details.

Here are the Judge's Memorandum and Order regarding the dismissal of the cases.

Greek Fest

The 40th Annual Greek Festival of Houston starts today and runs through the weekend.

The festival is put on every year by the Annunciation Greek Orthodox Cathedral.

The festival has become one of the largest and most popular annual events in the city. It is always a lot of fun and should not be missed.

They also have plenty of great food.

I recommend taking the Metro shuttle bus and arriving early.

Wyeth Found Liable in Prempro Trial

A jury has found Wyeth liable in the second trial involving Prempro.

This article has the details.

The jury found that the hormone replacement drug caused the plaintiff to develop breast cancer.

The jury also awarded the plaintiff over $1 million in damages.

UPDATE - There will be a second phase of this trial. Details can be found in this article.

Juror Removed from Prempro Trial Jury

A juror has been dismissed from the ongoing Prempro trial in Philadelphia.

This article has more details.

The jury has still not reached a verdict after 5 days of deliberations.

Oktoberfest

It's that time of year again.

This season's batch of Saint Arnold's Oktoberfest is a keeper.

It's always Oktoberfest in Houston at Rudi Lechner's...but especially right now.

: )

First Monday in October

For more information on the start of the new term for the Supreme Court see here and here.

Supreme Court Declines Asbestos Cases

The Supreme Court of the United States declined to hear two asbestos-related appeals in their new term.

This article has more details.