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Lone Butte, BC, Canada: Monks release second volume of highly acclaimed Orthodox hymns in Gregorian Chant
A second volume of adaptations from Gregorian chant is now available from the monks of Holy Transfiguration Hermitage, Lone Butte, BC.
Gregorian Chant has its roots in ancient Hebrew and Greek Music. It developed alongside Byzantine Chant, with which it has strong affinities.
The volume provides musical scores and pointed texts of the cyclical prayers of the Octoechos—stikhera, troparia, etc.—as well as psalms and canticles, various festal hymns and lenten modes. It includes helpful notes on performance and details with regard to the Gregorian originals from which the adaptations were drawn.
Volume 2 and the earlier Volume 1 are now available for downloading, as is an additional recording featuring music from Pascha and idiomela from Great Lent, Holy Week, and Pentecost and a selection of Nativity hymns.
The monastic community wishes to thank everyone who has generously supported this unique project.
Vranje, Serbia: Chaplain James Sizemore concelebrates with Serbian chaplains
Lt. Col. James Sizemore, an Ohio National Guard chaplain attached to Saint Gregory of Nyssa Church, Columbus, OH, concelebrated the Divine Liturgy at Holy Trinity Cathedral, Vranje, Serbia on Sunday, June 17, 2018.
The invitation for Father James to participate in the Liturgy, with the blessing of His Grace, Bishop Pohomije of Vranje, stems from the strong, 12-year partnership between Ohio and Serbia which, for more than a decade, have worked together to promote regional stability and develop civil-military relationships as part of the Department of Defense State Partnership Program.
The following day, Father James and two Serbian Armed Forces chaplains, Priests Vedran Kostic and Goran Sandic, concelebrated an early morning multinational Divine Liturgy in the field for soldiers from Serbia, the United States, Montenegro, Romania, Bulgaria and Bosnia-Herzegovina. Before his return to the US on June 22, Father James also served a Panikhida at the Memorial Chapel for the Land Forces Headquarters in Nis, where he also met His Grace, Bishop Aresnije of Nis.
Normal, IL: Holy Apostles Church celebrates 20th anniversary
Priest David Gresham and the faithful of Holy Apostles Church here celebrated their patronal feast and the 20th anniversary of their community on Saturday, June 30, 2018.
Concelebrating with Father David at the festal Divine Liturgy were Priest Basil Ferguson, Priest-in-Charge of Saint Raphael of Brooklyn Mission, Quincy, IL; Priest Danial Doss, attached to Saint Luke Church, Palos Hills, IL; and Priest James Ellison, Rector of Saint Nicholas Antiochian Orthodox Church, Urbana, IL.
Following the Divine Liturgy, the anniversary celebration continued on the grounds of the parish’s recently paid-off church property. Highlights included a group picture, picnic meal, and afternoon activities for all ages. The day ended with the celebration of Great Vespers.
Holy Apostles held its first Divine Liturgy on the Great Feast of the Nativity in 1997. Shortly thereafter it was organized as a mission station sponsored by Saint Joseph Church, Wheaton, IL. In 2001, with the appointment of Priest John Dickson Brown as Pastor, it was granted mission status. Due to the community’s rapid growth, it was granted full parish status in 2013.
Cincinnati, OH: Fr. Steven Kostoff’s “Monday Morning Meditations” now available
Kaloros Press, a publisher located in Wadmalaw Island, SC, recently released Monday Morning Meditations: Reflections of a Parish Priest by Archpriest Steven Kostoff, Rector of Christ the Savior/Holy Spirit Church, Cincinnati, OH.
For nearly 20 years, members of the parish, as well as friends from near and far, have been receiving Father Steven’s weekly meditations via email or through the “Orthodox Christian Meditations” blog. His writings also have appeared regularly on the web site of the Orthodox Church in America. Now, at long last, a selection of Father Steven’s reflections is available in book form.
“Father Kostoff’s meditations trace the pathway, throughout the Orthodox liturgical year, that leads the reader from the goal of ‘bringing our minds and hearts back to the reality of God’ to our ‘becoming more human’ through an ever-deepening communion with the God of Love,” writes Archpriest John Breck. “These marvelously inspirational reflections can enlighten the spiritual journey of anyone who longs to behold the Face of Christ.”
The volume may be ordered directly from Kaloros Press by sending an email to michael.breck@kalorospress.com.
In addition to his parish duties, Father Steven is a member of the adjunct faculty at Cincinnati’s Xavier University. He is also the author of The Divine Liturgy of the Orthodox Church: Meaning, Preparation and Practice.
