Category: General Interest

My Paschal Pilgrimage — Part 4

The next stop on my whirlwind Paschal Pilgrimage (seven countries in 18 days) was Beirut and Lebanon, my first time in any Middle Eastern country. A few months ago, when Patriarch Gregorios contacted me about a book of pastoral letters I was publishing for him, he insisted that I should come and visit him in […]

My Paschal Pilgrimage — Part 3

Just as it is complicated to get TO Uzhgorod, it is likewise complicated to leave FROM Uzhgorod.  However, the next stop on this journey had some extra time built in – after Pascha my next appointment was a private audience with Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew on Saturday, May 3.  That allowed almost a full week to […]

My Paschal Pilgrimage — Part 2

The flight from Bratislava to Kosice was uneventful on Monday April 21, except for having to pay extra for the overweight baggage that was traveling with me, containing various books, presents and video recording equipment. Uzhgorod is right next to the border with Slovakia and its airport only services domestic Ukrainian cities. So the most […]

My Paschal Pilgrimage – Part 1

After last December’s success of the Christmas Hymns recording I made of the Uzhgorod Seminary Choir of the Eparchy of Mukachevo, Ukraine (over 300 CDs and 100 DVDs were sold in one month!), I thought that more recordings of Plain Chant (Prostopinije) singing from the Carpathian Mountains by that choir could also be successful. So […]

The Plight of Christians in Iraq

On Sunday, October 21, 2007, Bishop Ibrahim Ibrahim, Chaldean Catholic Bishop of Detroit, will speak at a special event being held in Chicago.  The event will include a presentation by Bishop Ibrahim, a banquet of Iraqi foods and a marketplace of crafts and other religious items for sale.  It will take place at The Nativity of […]

A Little Bit of “Old Country” in Virginia

When I was growing up in Pittsburgh decades ago, we referred to Europe as the “old country” where my grandparents came from, and whose food specialities included pirohi (pierogis for some), halupki, kolbasi, halushki, etc. We always had these foods at family gatherings, weddings & funerals, church events, and of course, regular family meals intermixed […]