Tuesday, February 28, 2017
Monday, February 27, 2017
Episcopal Consecration of Astoria's Abbot Ierotheos Scheduled
The consecration to the episcopacy of the Rt.Rev Archimandrite Ierotheos Zacharis,Abbot of the Sacred Patriarchal and Stavropegial Monastery of St.Irene Chrysovalantou in Astoria,New York,has been set for Orthodoxy Sunday,5 March 2017.It will take place at the St.George Cathedral in the Fanar,the headquarters of the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Constantinople/Istanbul,Turkey.Archimandrite Ierotheos was elected to be Bishop of Evkarpia by the Holy and Sacred Synod of the Patriarchate.Evkarpia is located on the outskirts of Thessaloniki,Greece,in the New Lands of the Ecumenical Patriarchate.*
The festive occasion will begin with Great Vespers on Saturday evening,presided by His All Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew.The following day,the first Sunday of Lent,which is called the Sunday of Orthodoxy,the Synodical Divine Liturgy and consecration will be presided at the cathedral by His Eminence Bartholomew,who is the new Metropolitan of Smyrna/Izmir,Turkey and Chief Secretary of the Holy and Sacred Synod.
The festive occasion will begin with Great Vespers on Saturday evening,presided by His All Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew.The following day,the first Sunday of Lent,which is called the Sunday of Orthodoxy,the Synodical Divine Liturgy and consecration will be presided at the cathedral by His Eminence Bartholomew,who is the new Metropolitan of Smyrna/Izmir,Turkey and Chief Secretary of the Holy and Sacred Synod.
Sunday, February 26, 2017
Friday, February 24, 2017
Thursday, February 23, 2017
Wednesday, February 22, 2017
Bulletin:NASA's Spitzer Telescope Discovers Accessible Red Dwarf Star With Several Earthlike Planets
For the first time,NASA has discovered a star with seven Earth-sized planets,three of which are in the habitable zone.The findings,which many scientists consider exciting,were broadcast worldwide by NASA on 22 February 2017.Agency scientists and collaborators expressed amazement at the discovery of an entire solar system of Earth cousins orbiting the ultra-cool red dwarf star called Trappist-1.Trappist-1 is 39 light years away,which is too far for crewed spacecraft to travel to in the forseeable future,yet close enough that the James Webb Space Telescope,to be launched in 2018,and even the Hubble Space Telescope currently in space,will be able to provide reams of data about the star and its solar system of possibly life-harbouring planets.
NASA said that SETI instruments had already swept the Trappist-1 solar system for signs of intelligent beings,but couldn't detect any relevant signals.Now the Spitzer Space Telescope,Kepler Space Observatory and Hubble are being trained on Trappist-1 to glean all the data they can until JWST can join the study.Planets such as the three in the habitable zone of Trappist-1 are capable of pooling liquid water on the surface.The fact that JWST,Hubble and Spitzer are able to study Trappist-1 without clouds interfering and so on,and will have three targets to study,not just one as is typically the case,makes the discovery a major step forward in the search for life on exoplanets,the scientists said.
The red dwarf star Trappist-1 is much smaller and cooler than the Sun.If the Sun is a basketball,Trappist-1 is a golf ball.One of the Trappist-1 planets,Trappist-1 F,seems likely to be water-rich.It has a nine day orbit and receives about as much starlight as Mars.On exoplanet Trappist-1 E,you could have temperatures similar to Earth;it is 5% of the distance of the Earth from the Sun to its star,Trappist-1.Trappist-1 G is the largest exoplanet in its solar system,with a radius 13% larger than Earth's.About a thousand red dwarf stars are known,and these will now be searched by all available telescopes.About a few dozen exoplanets in the habitable zone are known,yet they are not accessible to near-term study as the Trappist-1 solar system is.
We should expect final results of the study of the Trappist-1 exoplanets sometime in the early 2020's,NASA said.*
The Trappist-1 exoplanets are only a few times the distance of the Earth from the Moon to their star,Trappist-1.They are so close to each other,they look like the size of the Moon from each other's surfaces.We can get good signals-to-noise ratios while studying these Trappist-1 exoplanets.NASA JPL and contractor Lockheed Martin engineered the Spitzer telescope that made the discovery.*
Lockheed Martin (LMT)
NASA said that SETI instruments had already swept the Trappist-1 solar system for signs of intelligent beings,but couldn't detect any relevant signals.Now the Spitzer Space Telescope,Kepler Space Observatory and Hubble are being trained on Trappist-1 to glean all the data they can until JWST can join the study.Planets such as the three in the habitable zone of Trappist-1 are capable of pooling liquid water on the surface.The fact that JWST,Hubble and Spitzer are able to study Trappist-1 without clouds interfering and so on,and will have three targets to study,not just one as is typically the case,makes the discovery a major step forward in the search for life on exoplanets,the scientists said.
The red dwarf star Trappist-1 is much smaller and cooler than the Sun.If the Sun is a basketball,Trappist-1 is a golf ball.One of the Trappist-1 planets,Trappist-1 F,seems likely to be water-rich.It has a nine day orbit and receives about as much starlight as Mars.On exoplanet Trappist-1 E,you could have temperatures similar to Earth;it is 5% of the distance of the Earth from the Sun to its star,Trappist-1.Trappist-1 G is the largest exoplanet in its solar system,with a radius 13% larger than Earth's.About a thousand red dwarf stars are known,and these will now be searched by all available telescopes.About a few dozen exoplanets in the habitable zone are known,yet they are not accessible to near-term study as the Trappist-1 solar system is.
We should expect final results of the study of the Trappist-1 exoplanets sometime in the early 2020's,NASA said.*
The Trappist-1 exoplanets are only a few times the distance of the Earth from the Moon to their star,Trappist-1.They are so close to each other,they look like the size of the Moon from each other's surfaces.We can get good signals-to-noise ratios while studying these Trappist-1 exoplanets.NASA JPL and contractor Lockheed Martin engineered the Spitzer telescope that made the discovery.*
Lockheed Martin (LMT)
Tuesday, February 21, 2017
Saturday, February 18, 2017
New York Abbot Elected Bishop - served in Patras,Greece also
The Rt.Rev. Archimandrite Ierotheos Zacharis,Abbot of the Sacred Patriarchal and Stavropegial Monastery of St.Irene Chrysovalantou in Astoria,New York,has been elected Bishop of Evkarpias by the Holy and Sacred Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate.Evkarpias is a suburb of Thessaloniki,Greece.*
Bishop-elect Ierotheos is from Thermo,Greece.He graduated from the Athonite Ecclesiastical Academy and the Theological School of Athens.Ordained by the late Metropolitan of Patras Nicodemos,he was Chancellor of the Holy Metropolis of Patras and director of the Metropolis TV station "LAMP."
Archimandrite Ierotheos was also a secondary education teacher and Scholar at the Athonite Ecclesiastical Academy.*
The Holy Metropolis of Thessaloniki is one of the New Lands within the nation of Greece belonging to the Ecumenical Patriarchate rather than the Church of Greece;yet,for practical reasons,is administered by the Church of Greece under an agreement with the Patriarchate.His Eminence Anthimos is Metropolitan of Thessaloniki.*
The Athonite Ecclesiastical Academy is a high school administered by the Holy Community of Mt.Athos.Located in the pastoral outskirts of Athos,it teaches Greek Orthodox studies such as as Patristics,Iconography and Byzantine Music as well as the conventional high school subjects.Room and board is free for the students,many of whom go on to leadership roles in Church and society.
Bishop-elect Ierotheos is from Thermo,Greece.He graduated from the Athonite Ecclesiastical Academy and the Theological School of Athens.Ordained by the late Metropolitan of Patras Nicodemos,he was Chancellor of the Holy Metropolis of Patras and director of the Metropolis TV station "LAMP."
Archimandrite Ierotheos was also a secondary education teacher and Scholar at the Athonite Ecclesiastical Academy.*
The Holy Metropolis of Thessaloniki is one of the New Lands within the nation of Greece belonging to the Ecumenical Patriarchate rather than the Church of Greece;yet,for practical reasons,is administered by the Church of Greece under an agreement with the Patriarchate.His Eminence Anthimos is Metropolitan of Thessaloniki.*
The Athonite Ecclesiastical Academy is a high school administered by the Holy Community of Mt.Athos.Located in the pastoral outskirts of Athos,it teaches Greek Orthodox studies such as as Patristics,Iconography and Byzantine Music as well as the conventional high school subjects.Room and board is free for the students,many of whom go on to leadership roles in Church and society.
Friday, February 17, 2017
Thursday, February 16, 2017
Wednesday, February 15, 2017
Alliance in the Balance:SecDef Mattis Goes To Europe
Secretary of Defense James Mattis was naturally front and center on his first visit to NATO headquarters at Brussels for a Defence Ministerial in his new position;yet as Russia seemed to be challenging America's new President,Donald Trump,in manifold ways,the SecDef became a figure even larger than life than he already was.Defence Ministers and journalists alike crowded round him and carefully weighed his words as a nervous world craved a sense of certainty regarding the US role in international politics today under a controversial populist president:
The first time NATO went to war was when the US was attacked,so if anyone has any questions about the value,you have to look at that,General Mattis told reporters flying to Europe with him on an E-4B airborne national command post.More importantly,it prevented war in Europe following two destructive wars,and we clearly see the value in deterring war.So this is a historic and,as you know,it's also a very important meeting.I wouldn't miss it,obviously.So our commitment remains to NATO and,in terms of NATO's life,it's in the midst of transformation.Why?You've watched as the character of war over these last dozen years has changed itself;and as the character of war changes,so must the character of the militaries that address it.
To show NATO's commitment to this,you'll notice that the only NATO command headquartered in the US is the Supreme Allied Command for NATO Transformation.The whole point of that command is to transform NATO,so we rightly go to Brussels where we all talk together;we talk about that transformation;we guide it.NATO has transformed over these past 20 years and it must continue to transform,but,in that regard,it's clearly in NATO's best interest to adapt to what happened in 2014-2014 was a watershed year when most of our hopes for some kind of partnership with Russia were finally shown to be unavailing.So what we've got to do is adapt and make certain that the Transatlantic bond remains strong;and I think that,in going there,what we're also doing is proving that we can once again adapt to those changing circumstances.
I'm going to listen.I've been absent from active duty for three and a half years;I'm going to listen and see where everyone's thinking is at out there.Listen first;learn what other people face;help them if I can,because they've been allies,they've stood by us-New York was attacked,and so many decades before that and since,and so many of them have lost boys,lads and women in fighting the enemy that attacked America-and then lead;America has a leadership role.*
The context of this trip to Europe is an egregious violation by Russia of the Intermediate Range Nuclear Forces Treaty of 1987 in deploying their new nuclear capable ground-based cruise missile,the SSC-8,after nearly a decade of illegal development and testing.As well,Russian fighter aircraft dangerously buzzed a US Navy guided missile destroyer,the USS Porter (DDG 78) in the Black Sea with their identification transponders turned off and disregarding repeated calls from the Porter.On top of this,the Russian spy ship SSV-175 Viktor Leonov had cruised farther north along the US coast than ever before,loitering 30 miles south of the US Navy nuclear submarine base at Groton,Connecticut today,15 February.It had
ventured near another nuclear submarine base at Kings Bay,Georgia on a previous voyage.All this leads one to conclude that Russia is currently testing new President Donald Trump's will,and that of NATO as a whole.
The first time NATO went to war was when the US was attacked,so if anyone has any questions about the value,you have to look at that,General Mattis told reporters flying to Europe with him on an E-4B airborne national command post.More importantly,it prevented war in Europe following two destructive wars,and we clearly see the value in deterring war.So this is a historic and,as you know,it's also a very important meeting.I wouldn't miss it,obviously.So our commitment remains to NATO and,in terms of NATO's life,it's in the midst of transformation.Why?You've watched as the character of war over these last dozen years has changed itself;and as the character of war changes,so must the character of the militaries that address it.
To show NATO's commitment to this,you'll notice that the only NATO command headquartered in the US is the Supreme Allied Command for NATO Transformation.The whole point of that command is to transform NATO,so we rightly go to Brussels where we all talk together;we talk about that transformation;we guide it.NATO has transformed over these past 20 years and it must continue to transform,but,in that regard,it's clearly in NATO's best interest to adapt to what happened in 2014-2014 was a watershed year when most of our hopes for some kind of partnership with Russia were finally shown to be unavailing.So what we've got to do is adapt and make certain that the Transatlantic bond remains strong;and I think that,in going there,what we're also doing is proving that we can once again adapt to those changing circumstances.
I'm going to listen.I've been absent from active duty for three and a half years;I'm going to listen and see where everyone's thinking is at out there.Listen first;learn what other people face;help them if I can,because they've been allies,they've stood by us-New York was attacked,and so many decades before that and since,and so many of them have lost boys,lads and women in fighting the enemy that attacked America-and then lead;America has a leadership role.*
The context of this trip to Europe is an egregious violation by Russia of the Intermediate Range Nuclear Forces Treaty of 1987 in deploying their new nuclear capable ground-based cruise missile,the SSC-8,after nearly a decade of illegal development and testing.As well,Russian fighter aircraft dangerously buzzed a US Navy guided missile destroyer,the USS Porter (DDG 78) in the Black Sea with their identification transponders turned off and disregarding repeated calls from the Porter.On top of this,the Russian spy ship SSV-175 Viktor Leonov had cruised farther north along the US coast than ever before,loitering 30 miles south of the US Navy nuclear submarine base at Groton,Connecticut today,15 February.It had
ventured near another nuclear submarine base at Kings Bay,Georgia on a previous voyage.All this leads one to conclude that Russia is currently testing new President Donald Trump's will,and that of NATO as a whole.
Tuesday, February 14, 2017
Monday, February 13, 2017
Saturday, February 11, 2017
Friday, February 10, 2017
Thursday, February 9, 2017
Wednesday, February 8, 2017
Crewed Spaceflight to Surge as Boeing,SpaceX Awarded NASA Contracts-Commercial Crew Program test schedule disclosed
Beginning in late 2017,the pace of crewed space flight programmes will pick up markedly,long hobbled by the gap between the end of the Space Shuttle Program and the beginning of the Orion and Commercial Crew Programs.Boeing and SpaceX have each been awarded six crew rotation missions that will fly following NASA certification of their capability to safely transport astronauts to and from Low Earth Orbit.The Commecial Crew Program will help NASA get full operational use of the national lab aboard the International Space Station for scientific research by increasing the number of astronauts on the ISS and allowing the crew to dedicate more time to research and testing,including activities preparing for deep space exploration.*
Each Commercial Crew spaceflight will transport up to four astronauts and 220 pounds of cargo to the ISS.*
The current schedule for the CCP spacecraft test flights is as follows:
SpaceX Crew Dragon uncrewed flight test:November 2017;
SpaceX Crew Dragon crewed flight test:May 2018;
Boeing CST-100 Starliner uncrewed flight test:1 June 2018;
Boeing CST-100 Starliner crewed flight test:August 2018.*
The Boeing CST-100 Starliner will launch on a United Launch Alliance (Boeing/Lockheed Martin) Atlas V rocket from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station,Florida.
The SpaceX Crew Dragon will launch on a Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Pad 39A at Kennedy Space Center,Florida.*
Incidentally,NASA's Orion spacecraft is slated to launch on the new Space Launch System rocket its uncrewed Exploration Mission-1 in December 2018.*
The increase in deep space research and testing resulting from the CCP will facilitate the progress of the Orion missions to the Mars system and require more astronauts.The next class of NASA astronauts will be announced in 2017.*
Boeing (BA),Lockheed Martin (LMT)
Each Commercial Crew spaceflight will transport up to four astronauts and 220 pounds of cargo to the ISS.*
The current schedule for the CCP spacecraft test flights is as follows:
SpaceX Crew Dragon uncrewed flight test:November 2017;
SpaceX Crew Dragon crewed flight test:May 2018;
Boeing CST-100 Starliner uncrewed flight test:1 June 2018;
Boeing CST-100 Starliner crewed flight test:August 2018.*
The Boeing CST-100 Starliner will launch on a United Launch Alliance (Boeing/Lockheed Martin) Atlas V rocket from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station,Florida.
The SpaceX Crew Dragon will launch on a Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Pad 39A at Kennedy Space Center,Florida.*
Incidentally,NASA's Orion spacecraft is slated to launch on the new Space Launch System rocket its uncrewed Exploration Mission-1 in December 2018.*
The increase in deep space research and testing resulting from the CCP will facilitate the progress of the Orion missions to the Mars system and require more astronauts.The next class of NASA astronauts will be announced in 2017.*
Boeing (BA),Lockheed Martin (LMT)
Tuesday, February 7, 2017
Saturday, February 4, 2017
Friday, February 3, 2017
Thursday, February 2, 2017
Wednesday, February 1, 2017
Canonical Orthodox Priest Beaten by Schismatics in Ukraine-plus a bishop reflects on internecine conflict
A priest of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church,Moscow Patriarchate-the only canonical Orthodox Church in Ukraine as recognised by the other Orthodox Churches in the world-was beaten by three priests of an uncanonical body,"Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church."They broke a bottle over the head of Father Viktor Katkalo,rector of St.Michael's parish in Katerynopil,Central Ukraine,sending him to the hospital,when,he said,he refused to surrender his parish to them and join their schismatic jurisdiction,according to the Pravoslavie.ru website.
On 1 December 2013,His Grace Bishop Philaret of Lvov and Galicia,UOCMP,in addressing such incidents,gave the following address to his diocese:
The Holy Church cannot take part in political processes because it is the divinely instituted Body that unites this world with the Heavenly world.The Church does not interfere in affairs of the state because it is separate from the state.
It is impossible to observe calmly how violence and hatred are growing to an enormous extent and are ruling the children of the same Church.We now cannot allow citizens of the same state to sink in rivers of their own blood because of their convictions.That's why we are praying to the Almighty and asking Him to fill our hearts with love,as the Lord said:A new commandment I give to you,that ye love one another;as I have loved you,that ye also love one another.By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples,if ye have love one to another (John 13:34-35).
Let no political provocations make our hearts admit the devilish spirit of hatred and fury!Brothers and sisters,keep your souls in peace,in the hope on the Almighty-the most important things for communion with the Creator-Calling a blessing of the Lord upon all of us.
Philaret+
Bishop of Lvov and Galicia
On 1 December 2013,His Grace Bishop Philaret of Lvov and Galicia,UOCMP,in addressing such incidents,gave the following address to his diocese:
The Holy Church cannot take part in political processes because it is the divinely instituted Body that unites this world with the Heavenly world.The Church does not interfere in affairs of the state because it is separate from the state.
It is impossible to observe calmly how violence and hatred are growing to an enormous extent and are ruling the children of the same Church.We now cannot allow citizens of the same state to sink in rivers of their own blood because of their convictions.That's why we are praying to the Almighty and asking Him to fill our hearts with love,as the Lord said:A new commandment I give to you,that ye love one another;as I have loved you,that ye also love one another.By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples,if ye have love one to another (John 13:34-35).
Let no political provocations make our hearts admit the devilish spirit of hatred and fury!Brothers and sisters,keep your souls in peace,in the hope on the Almighty-the most important things for communion with the Creator-Calling a blessing of the Lord upon all of us.
Philaret+
Bishop of Lvov and Galicia
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