Visit to Germany

On the Seventh Sunday after Pentecost, Father Volodymyr and I traveled by vehicle from Wroclaw, Poland, to Hanover, Germany, to administer Holy Communion to a faithful family. Oleg, who was absent due to an urgent matter, and Inga, along with their children, Anton and Maria, are originally from Ukraine. They are members of our Exarchate there but currently reside in Germany. Due to the absence of a local parish in the vicinity, they, like other families scattered across Western Europe, rely upon our clergy, and occasionally myself, to provide Holy Communion. It is a blessing that Father Volodymyr, who is based in Poland, is willing and able to make such visits regularly to this family, and in the future, to other families as well.

Sunday of the Holy and God-bearing Fathers that gathered in the holy Seven Ecumenical Councils

On the Sunday that falls from the 13th to the 19th of the present month, we chant the Service to the Holy and God-bearing Fathers who came together in the Seven Ecumenical Councils, that is:

- the First Council, of the 318 Fathers who assembled in Nicaea in 325 to condemn Arius, who denied that the Son of God is consubstantial with the Father; the Fathers of the First Council also ordained that the whole Church should celebrate Pascha according to the same reckoning;

- the Second Council, of the 150 Fathers who assembled in Constantinople in 381 to condemn Macedonius, Patriarch of Constantinople, who denied the Divinity of the Holy Spirit;

- the Third Council, of the 200 Fathers who assembled in Ephesus in 431, to condemn Nestorius, Patriarch of Constantinople, who called Christ a mere man and not God incarnate;

- the Fourth Council, of the 630 who assembled in Chalcedon in 451, to condemn Eutyches, who taught that there was only one nature, the divine, in Christ after the Incarnation, and Dioscorus, Patriarch of Alexandria, who illegally received Eutyches back into communion and deposed Saint Flavian, Patriarch of Constantinople, who had excommunicated Eutyches;

- the Fifth Council in 553, of the 165 who assembled in Constantinople for the second time, to condemn Origen and Theodore of Mopsuestia, the teacher of Nestorius;

- the Sixth Council in 680, of the 170 who assembled in Constantinople for the third time, to condemn the Monothelite heresy, which taught that there is in Christ but one will, the divine;

- and the Seventh Council in 787, of the 350 who assembled in Nicaea for the second time to condemn Iconoclasm.

In the Russian usage, only the first six Councils are commemorated today.

Volume XIV of the Second Series of the The Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers Series is devoted entirely to the Acts and Canons of Seven Ecumenical Councils, and of many important local councils also.

The final leg of my pastoral tour, visiting our faithful congregations across Europe, concluded with a return to Barcelona. Our dear Marina and her family graciously extended their hospitality, and we gathered to celebrate the Holy Communion Service, followed by a fraternal trapeza. The next destination is Boston.

SAINT PETER THE ALEUT CAMP, 2026

Our Annual Orthodox Youth Camp started yesterday. To follow it closely, please subscribe to the Camp's official Telegram Channel, where photographs and videos of their daily activities and events are uploaded.

https://t.me/saintpeteraleut