Today, we have followed the Shepherds under the wings of Angels. Today, we have seen the Star, and we have traveled with the Wise Men. Today, we have searched in the habitations of the City, and we have found the Family of God in a Cave. The Prince of Heaven, the Son of God, has embraced human nature in the roots of the earth, amidst the common beasts of the field. Born of God the Father to the young Virgin Mary, and fostered by the elderly and righteous Joseph, Jesus Christ shines with royal majesty - not from a palace, but from a place occupied by the likes of you and me.

ISTANBUL - (Constantinople) Turkish Daily News Wednesday was the Feast of St. Andrew, the apostle of Christ who is considered to be the founding saint of the Orthodox Church in Istanbul. It was a time of fellowship and collegiality as guests from the United States, Greece and elsewhere came to join the Greek Orthodox patriarch and members of the Orthodox community in celebrating the occasion.

CONSTANTINOPLE - After a long, three year absence, His Eminence Metropolitan Nicholas was finally able to make a much desired pilgrimage to the Holy Mother and Great Church of Christ, the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople. Accompanied by the present writer, His Eminence journeyed over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend to the Queen of Cities, Constantinople, in order to participate in the celebrations attending the Patronal Feastday of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, the feast of the Holy First-Called Apostle Saint Andrew, the founder and protector of See of Constantinople.

JOHNSTOWN, PA - The Diocesan Chancery is pleased to announce that the current total for theDiocesan Hurricane Katrina Relief Appeal is $62,696.24.

JOHNSTOWN, PA - His Eminence, Metropolitan Nicholas announced his plans for the institution of the Diocesan Apostolate for Youth Ministry. In a letter sent to all diocesan parishes, dated October 5, 2005, His Eminence, as promised in his address at last month's National ACRY Convention, further outlined his vision and goals of the apostolate. Underscoring His conviction that such a youth ministry be a major diocesan priority, His Eminence has announced his appointment of several diocesan priests to assist him with this important new diocesan ministry and the commencement of their work in early November.

JOHNSTOWN, PA - The Sixth Annual St. Nectarios Society retreat will take place on The Weekend of November 4-6 in the New England Town of Lenox Massachussets at the Village Inn. The Retreat Master will be Subdeacon Frederick Watson of Holy Ghost Church in Phoenixville, PA.

MERCER, PA - This year's Youth Encounter Weekend at Camp Nazareth will take place from Nov 11- 13, 2005 . Although sponsored by the National JR ACRY, it is open to all diocesan youth and friends ages 8-18. The weekend's activites will include time for prayer, spiritual talks, recreation, arts and crafts and more. The cost is $50.00 per person.

BINGHAMTON, NY - His Eminence, Metropolitan Nicholas announced at the 61st National ACRY Convention his plans to inaugurate a comprehensive Diocesan-wide Youth Ministry. In his address at the final business session of the convention, His Eminence called upon the members of the ACRY to support his effort to more effectively reach out to the spiritual needs of our diocesan youth. His Eminence stated that the new diocesan-wide youth ministry initiative would be deemed a "New Apostolate" of the diocese and would be pursued with an apostolic zeal, for in our present day and age, our children are in need of being rescued from the stormy seas of life. It was announced that a Diocesan Youth Commission would be appointed in the near future which would be headed by a senior priest of the diocese, and would include the Administrator of Camp Nazareth, the Junior ACRY spiritual advisor and other clergy who are gifted with ministering to the youth.

Once again, we experience a disaster that has affected hundreds of thousands of people in our country. In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, our thoughts and prayers are directed to all those who have and are suffering because of natural disaster. We join all the Orthodox jurisdictions in America in appealing to our good people for immediate help. I am calling on all pastors to announce a collection to be taken up either this Sunday, September 4 or the following Sunday, September 11. Please direct your parish treasurer to forward your donations to the Chancery immediately following its collection. Urgency is imperative.

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS

HAWK RUN, PA - After celebrating Divine Liturgy this morning, the Rev. Father Charles Kovich suddenly fell-asleep-in-the-Lord. Father Charles, the present Pastor of St. John The Baptist Church, Hawk Run, PA, previously served parishes in Central City and Lansford , PA.

I welcome you, beloved, into the courts of Pentecost! I welcome you, this day, to the heights of the Church, the Body of Christ! I welcome you to this fiftieth day after the Resurrection, when Christ fulfilled His promise to send the Holy Spirit, the day which we celebrate at every Chrismation, every reception of the Eucharist, every ordination and consecration to the Episcopacy and all the sacraments I welcome you to the harmonious and unified song of praise - a song that began in the Upper Room after the Resurrection ... a song that continues even until this very day! Today, I bid you enter the "cloud of dew and flame of rain" on this Feast of Pentecost. Enter now into the courts of the Resurrected Christ, and the Body of His Church.

Today is the Feast of Feasts, the Great Day of Gladness from which flows the heavenly light and joy in every Christian feast. Today is the Morning of the Eighth Day, the Day that rises above all night, and transcends all time. Today, eternity has broken into yesterday, and has made tomorrow new. This, truly, is the Day the Lord has made: let us rejoice and be glad in it!

On Tuesday, May 24th we give thanks to God for the mission of the Apostles of the Slavs to our forefathers. We remember the gifts of these great Greek missionaries to our peoples. Journeying far from Thessalonica into the old Moravian lands, the two sainted brothers brought the blessings of Orthodoxy and the legacies of Byzantine civilization to our pagan ancestors. So we remember them, and we ask that they continue to intercede for us in prayer - we, who are the successors of their first converts. We do not treat Saints Cyril and Methodios as antique objects of mere ethnic nostalgia. We treat them as the active saints they are, continuing their ministry to the Slavs and all Christians as they intercede in Paradise for our souls.

On Bright Friday May 6, The Feast of the Theotokos of the Life-Giving Font & St. George the Trophy Bearer will be joyful observed at Camp Nazareth. Resurrection Matins will be served at 9 am at the Saints Cyril and Methodios Camp Church, and the Hierarchical Divine Liturgy at 10 am, with a procession around the church. A paschal meal will be served in the Dining Hall of the Main Lodge afterwards. A "free-will" offering will be taken. I heartily encourage clergy and faithful to attend, especially those who are in the vicinity of Camp Nazareth. Pastors are hereby authorized to transfer the celebration of the Feast of St. George to the following Sunday, if they will be attendance at Camp Nazareth on that day.

April 4, 2005 JOHNSTOWN, PA - The Bishop, clergy and faithful of the American Carpatho-Russian Orthodox Diocese (Ecumenical Patriarchate) join Bishop Joseph Adamec, the priests and religious, and the faithful of the Diocese of Altoona/Johnstown and members of the Roman Catholic Church world-wide in mourning the passing of + Pope John

ELIZABETH, NJ - Junior ACRY Members! Camp Nazareth is a place we all like to be in the summer!! Wouldn't it be nice if you could spend more than 1 week there without having to beg Mom or Dad to let you go?? Well, now here's your chance!! Although Spring is just beginning it's not too early to start planning for those hot summer days!!! Now here's your chance to get a reward for being a member of the National Jr. ACRY. You could win a free week at Camp Nazareth!!! It's very easy too!! All you have to do is enter the National Jr. ACRY Camp Essay Contest. Your essay will be judged by the members of the National Jr. ACRY Board. Originality and Creativity are your best chances of winning!!!

I greet you in the Meekness of the Bridegroom Christ, Who calls us, in the depth of our hearts, to follow Him during this Great Fast, and to not betray Him. In this annual season, we closely follow the events of the Passion of Our Lord, and we are frequently met by the disturbing picture of Judas the Betrayer. We are told, in the Gospel of St. Matthew (26.15), that he received thirty pieces of silver - about a half year's wages, almost $15,000 in today's funds - as payment for delivering his Lord into the hands of the enemy. When we hear this, we quickly protest, and we say "We would have done much better."

DANBURY, CT - With the blessing of His Eminence, Metropolitan Nicholas, The New England Deanery is planning a Youth Pilgrimage to Slovakia to visit the St. Nicholas Orphanage. The trip is scheduled from Wednesday July 6, to Saturday, July 16th. The cost per person is $1,899.00. Led by Very Rev. Fr. Luke Mihaly and Fr. Peter Benyo, this trip is to primarily provide an opportunity for our Youth to put their faith into practice by spending time with the orphans of St. Nicholas Orphanage. Secondarily, this trip hopes to provide a brief taste of the spiritual homeland of our diocese.

In this season of the Nativity of Our Lord, we should think carefully about the fact that the Son of God was once a baby, a little child. This one fact is the most important determination of our opposition to abortion. He was an unborn Child, Who was conceived by the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary on the Day of the Annunciation. From the moment of that mysterious conception, that unborn Child was never less than a Person, never less than fully God and fully Man. When He was born, He did not become a Person at that point, because He already was.In the entirely of His mission in the Incarnation, the Son of God sanctified, and gave supreme legitimacy, to the whole range of human life. His work, proceeding out of the eternal Counsels of God the Father, and empowered by the dynamism of God the Spirit, renewed human nature. He entered humanity, and became the head of humanity, thus establishing a single, united human nature.