JOHNSTOWN, PA -- Each year, the National ACRY offers scholarships for undergraduate, graduate, technical school and seminary students. The scholarship program is designed to encourage diocesan youth to remain connected to the Church while pursuing higher education. Diocesan faithful who are members of the ACRY are invited to apply for the following scholarships: Freshman, Sophmore, Junior, Senior/Metropolitan Orestes, Graduate, Trade/Technical, Seminarian and Mary Kay Wanchak Memorial.

MERCER, PA -- [Camp Nazareth] From Friday, March 17 – Sunday, March 19 nearly 30 young adults ages 18-35, from 6 different Orthodox jurisdictions, gathered at Camp Nazareth for a Retreat. The Retreat was co-sponsored by the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Pittsburgh and the American Carpatho-Russian Orthodox Diocese. The theme of the event was “Navigating Life Using Your Spiritual Compass”. Keynote addresses were delivered by Fr. Ed Pehanich and Mr. Nick Lionas. The keynote addresses also included time for break-out groups (smaller discussion groups) and activities that reinforced the topics main ideas. In addition to learning more about their Faith, the young adults celebrated services together, enjoyed some late night fire-side fellowship each night, spent some time hiking the Camp’s trails, had some fun doing ice-breakers as well as playing some games, and were able to relax and decompress from their daily routines. It was a first-time event for both the Metropolis and Diocese, but will become a semi-Annual event with Retreats being held in the Fall and Spring of each year for our Church’s young adults. Next Retreat is scheduled for October 20-22, 2017!!

BROOKLINE, MA — Orthodox Christian Fellowship (OCF) is officially accepting resumes from interested candidates for the position of Executive Director.

OCF is an agency of the Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of the United States and serves as the official campus ministry for the twelve (12) Orthodox Christian jurisdictions that the Assembly represents. Its mission is to transform the lives of college students in the United States and Canada by guiding them along the path to Jesus Christ through His Church, cultivating a campus community of worship, witness, service, fellowship, and education.

Headquartered on the campus of Hellenic College Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology in Brookline, Massachusetts, and with a network of more than 400 chapters that stretches across the United States and Canada, OCF is seeking a motivated individual who can champion Orthodox campus ministry and oversee the operations of OCF’s regional and national programs.

JOHNSTOWN, PA -- With the setting of the sun and the celebration of Forgiveness Vespers this evening, the season of The Great Fast has been ushered in throughout our God-Saved Diocese and the Orthodox Church throughout the world.

This Holy Season, as His Grace, Bishop Gregory has pointed out in his Lenten Archpastoral Letter " is a truly beautiful period of time filled with moments in which we can focus our hearts and our minds on the grace of God. Through daily prayer, fasting, worship, and giving to others, and by the grace of God our lives will continue to be transformed by Him and our souls will be drawn closer and closer to our Lord Jesus Christ. The primary goal of the Lenten season and all the disciplines of our Orthodox faith is to lead us to Christ."

To assist the faithful in making the most of this holy season, additional resources have been added to our Diocesan Website.

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

As we begin Holy and Great Lent this year on February 27th, I wanted to share with you a few thoughts so that we may journey through the season and arrive safely at the Great Feast of Feasts, Holy Pascha with the proper frame of mind.

Holy and Great Lent is a truly beautiful period of time filled with moments in which we can focus our hearts and our minds on the grace of God. Through daily prayer, fasting, worship, and giving to others, and by the grace of God our lives will continue to be transformed by Him and our souls will be drawn closer and closer to our Lord Jesus Christ.

The primary goal of the Lenten season and all the disciplines of our Orthodox faith is to lead us to Christ.

CAMP NAZARETH, [Mercer, PA] -- The Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Pittsburgh and the American Carpatho-Russian Orthodox Diocese are pleased to announce a co-sponsored retreat for College Students and Young Adults ages 18-35 entitled “Navigating Life Using Your Spiritual Compass”. The Retreat will be held at Camp Nazareth Retreat and Conference Center in Mercer, PA from March 17-19, 2017 and will feature keynote addresses by Very Rev. Dr. Edward Pehanich and Mr. Nick Lionas. The weekend event will be filled with learning, fun, fellowship, worship, and time for reflection and rejuvenation! Visit either pittsburgh.goarch.org or acrod.org for more information and to register for the Retreat. Online registration begins on February 1. If you ever struggle with “staying on track”, or if you ever feel like you don’t know where you’re headed in your life, then don’t miss out on this unique retreat! I

Dear Beloved Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

On this glorious Feast of the Nativity of Christ we celebrate a truly a wondrous event in which God, in His infinite and marvelous grace, became man bringing us enduring hope, newness of life, and eternal salvation. The Son of God, the Lord of Glory and King of kings who upholds the universe by His word of power, became man so that we human beings might be redeemed, renewed, united with Him, and become fellow citizens with the Saints and members of God’s kingdom.

The magnitude and depth of the event of the Nativity of Christ are impossible to grasp, but the message is clear and true. It is a message of grace, hope, and salvation to all humanity and to all the created order.

Dear Beloved Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

On this glorious Feast of the Nativity of Christ we celebrate a truly a wondrous event in which God, in His infinite and marvelous grace, became man bringing us enduring hope, newness of life, and eternal salvation. The Son of God, the Lord of Glory and King of kings who upholds the universe by His word of power, became man so that we human beings might be redeemed, renewed, united with Him, and become fellow citizens with the Saints and members of God’s kingdom.

The magnitude and depth of the event of the Nativity of Christ are impossible to grasp, but the message is clear and true. It is a message of grace, hope, and salvation to all humanity and to all the created order.

JOHNSTOWN, PA -- [Diocesan Chancery] -- Christ is born, glorify Him. Christ is from heaven, go to meet Him. Christ is on earth, be ye lifted up. Sing to the Lord, all the earth. Sing out with gladness, all ye people. For He is glorified (First Ode of the Christmas Canon).

His Grace, Bishop Gregory of Nyssa, the Diocesan Chancery Staff, and the Faculty and Staff of Christ the Saviour Seminary extend their heartfelt greetings to the faithful and friends of the Diocese for a blessed Feast of The Nativity of Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

JOHNSTOWN, PA -- [Diocesan Chancery] -- Christ is born, glorify Him. Christ is from heaven, go to meet Him. Christ is on earth, be ye lifted up. Sing to the Lord, all the earth. Sing out with gladness, all ye people. For He is glorified (First Ode of the Christmas Canon).

His Grace, Bishop Gregory of Nyssa, the Diocesan Chancery Staff, and the Faculty and Staff of Christ the Saviour Seminary extend their heartfelt greetings to the faithful and friends of the Diocese for a blessed Feast of The Nativity of Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

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

It is hard to believe that this month marks the fourth 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. 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 can not achieve peace on our own. We need the help of the Lord.

We offer praise and glory to the Triune God, who deemed us worthy to reach the twenty-fifth anniversary since the day when, by the mandate of our Holy and Sacred Synod, we ascended the martyred Apostolic Throne of the Church of Constantinople. With God’s grace, having gladly run this long course of service in the First-Throne among the Orthodox Churches, we look back the experiences, events, prayers, journeys and activities, while at the same time looking forward with a spirit of optimism and steadfast hope to the future, even as today we exclaim the words of our saintly predecessor, St. John Chrysostom: “Glory be to God for all things.”

JOHNSTOWN, PA -- [Diocesan Chancery] -- The XXIII Diocesan Council-Sobor, hosted by the Johnstown, Deanery and presided over by His Grace, Bishop Gregory of Nyssa, will take place from Sunday October 9 thru Wednesday October 12, 2016 at Christ the Saviour Cathedral and Educational Center and The Holiday Inn Downtown in Johnstown, PA. Centered on the Theme: "Whatever He says to you, do it!” (John 2:5), the clergy and faithful will review the progress of the Diocese over the past three years and chart the course for the future. While registration takes place on Sunday evening from 3:00 pm - 8:00 pm, the Sobor will officially open on Monday morning with the celebration of the Hierarchical Divine Liturgy at Christ the Saviour Cathedral at 8:00 am which will be broadcast live .

JOHNSTOWN, PA -- As a result of feedback provided from both on-site and on-line participants, the next topic for our Diocesan on-line Orthodox Scripture Study will be the Book of Acts, (The Acts of the Holy Apostles). The study is scheduled to begin on Saturday October 8, 2016 at 5:00 pm. This weekly on-line scripture study will be led by the Very Rev. Protopresbyter Kenneth Bachofsky, Professor of Sacred Scripture at Christ the Saviour Seminary and broadcast live from St. Nicholas Orthodox Church in Warren, Ohio. This study will draw on the patristic voice of the Fathers of the Church and will provide the participants with the opportunity to deepen their understanding of this Scriptural text from the Orthodox Christian perspective.

JOHNSTOWN, PA - Christ the Saviour Seminary is pleased to announce that it will be offering to the public an Introduction to Church Slavonic Class (3 credit hours) for the upcoming Fall Semester at the Seminary. Classes are offered on Fridays from 1:00pm-3:30pm. Fee is $200. The semester runs from September 12 through December 19.

JOHNSTOWN, PA -- For the past four years, a weekly on-line scripture study has been broadcast live from St. Nicholas Orthodox Church in Warren, Ohio. Taught by the Very Rev. Protopresbyter Kenneth Bachofsky, Professor of Scripture at Christ the Saviour Seminary, the participants have studied the Gospels of St. Matthew and St. John and the Book of Revelation. These weekly lectures, which are delivered in a clear and concise manner, drawing on the patristic voice of the Fathers of the Church

JOHNSTOWN, PA [Diocesan Chancery] It is with great pleasure that His Grace, Bishop Gregory and the members of the Diocesan Stewardship Commission announces that the first ACROD stewardship coordinator retreat will be held at Camp Nazareth, from Friday September 16th to Sunday September 18th, 2016. The theme of the retreat is “Parish Application of Stewardship.”

Many of the Diocesan parish stewardship coordinators and parish council members have expressed concern about how to implement a stewardship program into their parishes and this retreat will focus on those concerns.

JOHNSTOWN, PA [National Senior ACRY] --- Each year the ACRY offers the following scholarship to ACRY members: Freshman, Sophmore, Junior, Senior/Metropolitan Orestes, Graduate, Trade/Technical, Seminarian and Mary Kay Wanchak Memorial. The deadline for ACRY Scholarship applications and recommendations is June 15th, which is fast approaching. Applicants are kindly asked to please check with those from whom they have requested recommendations that they were written and sent to the Scholarship Committee.

JOHNSTOWN, PA --- His Grace, Bishop Gregory has been informed that he has been invited to serve as a member the Ecumenical Patriarchate's official delegation at the Holy and Great Council of the Orthodox Church, to be held from June 16-27 in Crete. For the first time in 1200 years, the primates of all 14 Orthodox autocephalous (or self-governed) Churches, along with more than 300 bishops and others, will meet to pray and discuss issues of common concern. According to the official press release issued by the Ecumenical Patriarchate, the composition of the delegation of the Ecumenical Patriarchate is as follows:

His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, President of the Holy and Great Council
His Eminence Archbishop Leo of Karelia and all Finland
His Eminence Metropolitan Stephanos of Tallinn and all Estonia

JOHNSTOWN, PA [Christ The Saviour Seminary] -- On Wednesday, May 25th, Seminarian Andrew Wythe was honored at Seminary Commencement at Christ the Saviour Cathedral. A Moleben of Thanksgiving was celebrated by Very Rev. Protopresbyter Frank P. Miloro, Seminary Dean, with Protopresbyter Robert Buczak con-celebrating. His Grace, Bishop Gregory, presided. At the conclusion of the Service, Father Frank spoke, commending Seminarian Andrew for his diligent dedication to his studies in the three-year formation program. Bishop Gregory conferred the Diploma of Bachelor of Theology.