We greet each other today with the greatest and deepest of words: "Christ is Born!". And we respond with "Glorify Him!". It is the only possible response that wells up from the hearts of those who can hear the glory of the angels and the peace that God has given to earth. It is meet and right, today, on this bright morning, to be overwhelmed by the light of the Bethlehem Star. That light is the joy of hearing the news that should always surprise, that should always be new and unexpected. We should never grow over-familiar with the Gospel of the Nativity. It should always come as news almost too good to be true. We should always rub our eyes and wonder if it's all a dream when we hear that God has become flesh and has made His dwelling with us on the earth of His Own making. Read more...

Near a village in Pennsylvania called Paradise, there is now an empty parcel of land. Next spring it will be carpeted with green alfalfa as pasture for the flocks. Formerly it held a simple, white wooden schoolhouse. That parcel was the West Nickel Mines Amish Schoolhouse. On Thursday, October 12 the schoolhouse was razed. Undoubtedly you understand why this had to be. On a horrible morning on October 2, a young man crazed with anger and shame invaded a defenseless group of children and teachers. By the time the shooting and the screams were over, ten little girls had been shot. Of these, five perished, mainly because a demonized young man wanted to add homicide to his suicide. Read more...

JOHNSTOWN, PA - The Very Rev. Protopresbyter Peter Buletza fell asleep in the Lord on December 8, 2006. Father Buletza, age 88, lived in retirement in Pt. Pleasant Beach, NJ. Father will lie-in-state in St. John's Church in Perth Amboy on Monday, December 11 where the Priest's Burial Service will be celebrated at 7 PM. Funeral Liturgy is in St. John's Church on Tuesday, December 12 at 10 AM. Clergy are to wear white vestments. Priests of the Consistory and the New Jersey Deanery will con-celebrate the Liturgy. Read more...

JOHNSTOWN, PA - Fr. Nectarios Trevino, the pastor of our diocesan Nativity of Our Lord Parish in Manassas, Virgina, will represent His Eminence, Metropolitan Nicholas in Constantinople next week when Pope Benedict XVI meets with the Ecumenical Patriarch, Bartholomew I. While in Constantinople Fr. Nectarios will lead a team of media writers who will report on this historic meeting. He will be accompanied by Pani Diane Trevino. Joshua Trevino, Father Nectarios' eldest son, assembled the joint Orthodox-Catholic team to travel to Constantinople with the blessing of His Eminence, Metropolitan Nicholas and at the invitation of the Archons of the Ecumenical Patriarchate. Read more...

JOHNSTOWN, PA - His Eminence, Metropolitan Nicholas has issued the following statement regarding the upcoming historic meeting of Pope Benedict and Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew in Constantinople. Read more...