Dear Beloved Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

As we celebrate this joyous Feast of the Nativity in the flesh of our Lord, God and Saviour Jesus Christ, I wish to share with you one of my favorite Christmas homilies from the Church Fathers concerning this day. St. John Chrysostom spoke on the Incarnation with these words:

“I behold a new and wondrous mystery!

My ears resound to the shepherd’s song, piping no soft melody, but loudly chanting a heavenly hymn!

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On Monday November 27, 2017, our Diocesan Family gathered around our Archpastor, His Grace, Bishop Gregory of Nyssa to celebrate his fifth anniversary of Consecration to the Episcopacy.

The day began with a quiet celebration of Divine Liturgy at Christ the Saviour Cathedral where His Grace, assisted by the Cathedral Clergy, Seminarians and other clerics of the Diocese offered prayers of thanksgiving for the blessings of the past five years.

In the evening additional prayers of thanksgiving were offered, followed by a banquet at the Holiday Inn in Johnstown. A beautiful evening of thanksgiving and fellowship was enjoyed by His Grace and scores of Clergy and faithful from the Diocese. Special guests included His Grace's mother Antonia, sister Alexandra and nephew Nathan. Read more...

JOHNSTOWN, PA [Diocesan Chancery] -- With the Thanksgiving and Nativity Fast Season upon us, the Diocesan Chancery is pleased to provide you information regarding the Orthodox Christian Fellowship’s (“OCF”) Student Leadership Board’s 2017 Giving Tuesday Challenge. Giving Tuesday is November 28, 2017, which is less than a week away. As most of you know, OCF is our Orthodox Church’s campus ministry. You can visit OCF’s website at www.ocf.net to learn more about all of OCF’s programs and events.

Recently in 2017, I agreed to join OCF’s Board of Directors, the governing body of OCF. In addition to OCF’s Board of Directors, OCF has a Student Leadership Board. OCF’s student leaders comprise the Student Leadership Board and develop and plan leadership training, programs, regional and district retreats for our Orthodox college students. All across the United States and Canada, OCF, through its Student Leadership Board, hosts retreats for college students. Read more...

My beloved Faithful Clergy and Laity of our God-Protected Diocese:

It is hard to believe that this month marks the fifth anniversary of my Consecration and Enthronement as your Bishop. During my visits to the parishes you have heard me preaching on the state of affairs, locally and globally. Conflicts, wars and senseless violence continue to inflict pain and suffering and spill blood everywhere. I am deeply saddened that peace continues to elude us. Recent events continue to reveal that demonic forces are fighting us, that evil continues to exist in the world. So many innocent people killed and wounded at a concert in Las Vegas. So many innocent killed and wounded in a small church in Texas. Everyday people are dying needlessly in our towns and cities. For what? Can someone please explain it to me? This lack of peace is the direct result of increased selfishness and hatred throughout the world. Whatever we as inhabitants of this planet are doing it is not working, somehow it is not enough. Obviously we as humans cannot achieve peace on our own. We need the help of someone and that someone is the Lord. Read more...

JOHNSTOWN, PA [Diocesan Chancery] -- The Diocesan Chancery is pleased to announce that registration is now open for the 2018 CrossRoad program.

CrossRoad is a ten-day academic summer institute that prepares high school juniors and seniors to make big life decisions and invites them to connect with the Orthodox Christian theological and spiritual tradition. Participants from all over the country come together to experience daily worship, take theology classes from some of the best professors in the country, visit local parishes, serve their neighbor, tour the city, and even spend a day at the beach.

Historically, CrossRoad has been hosted solely on the campus of Hellenic College Holy Cross. This year, we are excited to announce that CrossRoad is expanding to Chicago!

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