Managing editor, Deacon (Dr.) Lasha Tchantouridze, announces the publication of the Fall, 2008 issue of the on-line Canadian Journal of Orthodox Christianity (Volume III, no. 3).

This latest issue of the Journal, which is published by the St. Arseny Institute, may be accessed at http://www.cjoc.ca/Fall2008.htm

Included are:

1. a brief, but very useful and interesting history of Orthodox Christianity in Manitoba by Protopresbyter Mirone Klysh
2. a translation by Dr. Lasha Tchantouridze of a recently de-classified 1921 letter of Catholicos-Patriarch Ambrose of Georgia.  This letter provides a fascinating historical mirror in which to consider recent events in that country and the challenge and opportunity they pose for transcending political loyalties in Christ
3. an overview and assessment by Spencer Estabrooks of a substantial study of the thought of St. Symeon the New Theologian, which opens up theological foundations and orientation for Orthodox engagement with the ecological crisis

These articles may be viewed directly from the following links.

HISTORY:
  Father Myrone Klysh, Orthodox Christians in Manitoba
  Catholicos-Patriarch Ambrose, Russia Annexes Georgia
BOOKREVIEW:
  Anestis G. Keselopoulos, Man and the Environment

Submitted by Spencer Estabrooks
Director of St. Arseny Orthodox Christian Theological Institute

NOW IN COLOUR!

The new issue of the Journal features three contributions from members of the St. Arseny Orthodox Christian Theological Institute. 

Matushka Olga Michael of Alaska

This article describes the life of Matushka Olga, and the extraordinary happenings at the time of her death, as well as a vision of her, and healing connected with her after her death.  Her growing veneration as North America’s first recognized female saint is discussed.  Several icons and supporting documents are also provided.

About the author: Kevin Wigglesworth is a graduate student of Orthodox Theology at St. Arseny Institute, Faculty of Theology, University of Winnipeg, MB.

Jim Forest, The Road to Emmaus: Pilgrimage As A Way of Life,
Maryknol, NY: Orbis Books, 2007. 190 pp.

This work by well-known Orthodox writer and head of the Orthodox Peace Fellowship, is a series of inspiring, in-depth spiritual meditations on the theme of pilgrimage and encounter with Christ in the midst of our life circumstances.

About the Reviewer: Deacon Lasha Tchantouridze, PhD, of St Nicholas parish in Narol, MB, teaches church history at the St Arseny Institute, Faculty of Theology,
the University of Winnipeg, MB.

On Trinity, Church, and the Eucharist in Christian Mission:
An Orthodox Perspective

Presented originally in an ecumenical setting, this article, centred on the icon of “The Trinity” by St. Andrei Rublev, presents the life of the Church, her worship and her mission as participation in the on-going work of the Holy Trinity in the salvation of the world.

About the author: Spencer Estabrooks, MA, MDiv, is Director of St. Arseny Orthodox Christian Theological Institute, Faculty of Theology, the University of Winnipeg, Winnipeg, Manitoba.
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FUTURE ISSUES to include surveys or studies on Orthodox clergy vocations in Canada, and demographic and geographical shifts among Orthodox believers in Canada. 

Contributions of articles or reviews are welcome.  See the website at www.cjoc.ca  for guidelines.

New Issue of The Canadian Journal of Orthodox Christianity Available On-line at http://www.cjoc.ca

The Canadian Journal of Orthodox Christianity is an on-line academic journal published by the St. Arseny Institute.  The Journal has an emphasis on Orthodox Christianity in Canadian context, and encourages contributions of articles and reviews from within the Orthodox community in Canada and beyond.

In the fall, 2007 issue of the Journal Matushka Donna Farley (from St. Herman of Alaska parish in Surrey, British Columbia) has contributed a unique and fascinating study entitled “Parables for Mission Planters: Principles of Leadership and Community Drawn from Richard Adams’ Watership Down”.  Matushka Donna combines insights from the story of Watership Down with her own very substantial experience in mission planting.  With a good number of missions beginning or flourishing in the Archdiocese of Canada, this is a timely and stimulating resource.

Matushka’s husband, Archpriest Lawrence Farley’s new Akathist to St. Arseny  (composed with the blessing of His Eminence Archbishop Seraphim), is also published in this issue of CJOC.   The Akathist adds to the collection of services for St. Arseny and writings by and about him which are available in previous issues on the CJOC website.

Another timely article in this issue of CJOC uses the manner and context in which the name “Patriarch of the West” was recently dropped from papal titles to argue that maintaining a good appearance, so to speak, rather than admitting that matters were dealt with badly and expressing regret, is a caricature of a concern for true beauty.   This article provides some food for thought in relation to the ways in which the Orthodox Church in America publicly presents itself. The author, Adam de Ville, is a doctoral candidate at the Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky Institute of Eastern Christian Studies at Saint Paul University, Ottawa, ON, Canada, where he is writing a thesis on Orthodoxy and the Roman Papacy in response to Ut Unum Sint.

One may find in the back issues of the Journal on the CJOC website a growing collection of substantial articles and reviews on a variety of topics.