Monks commemorate the life of St. Teresa of Avila

The monks of the Eremitic Order of Mount Carmel (EOMC) at Annunciation Monastery of Honolulu joined with local Inclusive Orthodox Church (IOC) clergy, community and friends to celebrate a special Divine Liturgy commemorating the life of Saint Teresa of Avila. Archbishop Daniel J. Dahl, Bishop Stephen Randolph Sykes and Archpriest Drew A. Kovach joined in con-celebrating “The Rite of the Americas” at the monastery this past Sunday, October 3rd, 2010.

Bishop Daniel gave a homily about Saint Teresa's life. He spoke about the Saint's famous writings (The Interior Castle) about mental prayer and interior spiritual life which had been an inspiration for the foundation of the EOMC. He quoted directly from some of the more famous of Saint Teresa’s published works;

“Let nothing disturb thee; Let nothing dismay thee; All thing pass; God never changes. Patience attains All that it strives for. He who has God Finds he lacks nothing: God alone suffices.”

It is Saint Teresa’s life as a religious reformer, mystic and for her emphasis upon living in the presence of God which motivated the EOMC monks to choose her as Co-Patroness of their Hawaii religious community in 1994.

“It is here, … that love is to be found - not hidden away in corners but in the midst of occasions of sin. And believe me, although we may more often fail and commit small lapses, our gain will be incomparably the greater.”

“I do not fear Satan half so much as I fear those who fear him,” Saint Teresa of Avila, Doctor of the Church.

First Hierarch meets with Hawai’i's Governor

A statement concerning support for the passage of HB 444 was given on May 25, 2010, to State of Hawai'i Governor Linda Lingle in the State Capital Executive Chambers by Most Rev. Daniel J. Dahl, DD, Archbishop and First Hierarch of the Inclusive Orthodox Church, and in association with the Interfaith Alliance Hawaii Board of Directors, of which he is Assistant Secretary, as follows:

The Inclusive Orthodox Church is proud to support HB444 on compassionate grounds to assist all the people of the State of Hawaii in the strengthening of their ‘ohana ties and the practice of aloha in our great State.

We see no threat to traditional marriage but rather the opportunity to offer ‘ohana rights to many people now deprived of them in many different kinds of union. We are pleased that HB444 discriminates against no one and is blind to gender and sexuality. We hope that it may lower the divorce rate in the State of Hawaii and serve as a step to more stable unions for all ‘ohana.

Our Church firmly upholds the separation of church and state guaranteed in the First Amendment of the United States Constitution. No one’s civil rights should be limited by another’s religious beliefs or prejudices. We see HB444 as an important step in Hawaii’s pursuit of equal rights and the pursuit of happiness for everyone equally, whatever the composition of ‘ohana, and we support your endorsement of it, Governor Lingle. Let Hawaii be known as the State of Aloha.

It is noteworthy that HB 444 is the first "Civil Union" legislation in the USA proposed which does not specify sexual orientation or the gender of "Partners," and specifically defines itself as "not being a substitute for traditional marriage." By including heterosexual couples in HB 444, the Archbishop elaborated that, "civil unions" may lower the divorce rate among traditional married couples, which was at 41% in the USA during 2009. A preponderance of first divorces take place among traditional married couples ages 20 to 25 years of age.

['ohana is a Hawaiian word for "family" and is used in Hawai'i even today with local English dialect.]

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar & Bishop Stephen meet to promote a "Violence-Free" America

[Photo L to R] Sri Sri Ravi Shankar & Bishop Stephen

His Holiness Sri Sri Ravi Shankar and His Grace Bishop Stephen Randolph Sykes, IOC Orthodox Bishop of Hawaii met for tea on April 9, 2010, to discuss shared spiritual values and the further fostering of a "Violence-Free" America. It is reported that by age four years old, the young Ravi Shankar could spontaneously recite verses of the "Bhagavad Gita." He graduated from Bangalore University at age seventeen. A Bal Brahmachari (a celibate renunciate from birth), Shankar joined the late Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, founder of Transcendental Meditation, in 1973, after graduation and was taught by Vedic pundits under the Maharishi's tutelage at Rishikesh, India. [Of note, IOC's First Hierarch, Archbishop Daniel J. Dahl had been a member of the Maharishi's USA staff in 1972, and also a student of Vedanta, who stayed in 1973, at the same Himalayan ashram at Rishikesh in Northern Uttar Pradesh, India].

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar is an exponent of Advaita Vedanta and is currently spiritual leader of the Art of Living Foundation, a United Nations NGO. He introduced to the world the Sudarshan Kriya yoga practices. The President of India in 1986, awarded Sri Sri Ravi Shankar the title of Yoga Shiromani ("Supreme Jewel of Yoga"). His Holiness established in 1997, a Geneva-based charity, the International Association for Human Values, an NGO aimed at fostering shared global values. He has also served on the advisory board of Yale University School of Divinity and is currently on a twelve-city tour of the United States.

First Hierarch concelebrates Solemn Paschal Divine Liturgy at Annunciaton Monastery

[Photo left to right] Archpriest Drew Kovach, First Hierarch

Archbishop Daniel of Mount Carmel & Deacon Stephen Tschudi

The monks of the Eremitic Order of Mount Carmel joined in the Solemn Paschal Divine Liturgy with IOC clergy and the Church's First Hierarch of the Holy Synod, Most Rev. Daniel J. Dahl, at the Order's Annunciation Monastery on Sunday, April 4th, 2010, in Honolulu. The First Hierarch's Paschal Letter is LINKED above.

IOC Bishops attend Hawaii Ecumenical Service

Week of Prayer for Christian Unity - Ecumenical Vespers


Episcopal Cathedral of Saint Andrew

Honolulu, Hawaii

January 20, 2010, Wed, 7:00 PM - 8:30 PM

(L) The Right Reverend Robert L. Fitzpatrick

Bishop of the Episcopal Church in Hawaii

(R) The Most Reverend Clarence (Larry) Silva

Bishop of the Roman Catholic diocese of Honolulu

IOC First Hierarch, Most Rev. Daniel J. Dahl and Most Rev. Stephen Randolph Sykes, IOC Orthodox Bishop of Hawaii attended an ecumenical service celebrating the "Week of Prayer for Christian Unity" at the invitation of Bishop Robert L. Fitzpatrick of the Episcopal Church in Hawaii. The event was held in the Episcopal Cathedral of Saint Andrew where an Ecumenical Vespers and Evensong were conducted with many Oahu Christian leaders, numerous clergy and several hundred persons in attendance. The theme for this year's ecumenical week was "You are Witnesses of These Things," (Luke 24:48) and was celebrated with prayer in most Christian churches throughout Hawaii.

The Rev. Charles Buck, Conference Minister of the United Church of Christ in Hawaii gave a thought provoking sermon based on the year's theme of "Witness." There were also prayers for and a special collection taken up among all the attending clergy and faithfull to benefit the Haitian people who are suffering from the recent Great Haiti Earthquake.

Immediately following vespers a paina reception was held in the Cathedral's annex hall. IOC Archbishop Daniel was honored to meet and speak with the Most Rev. Clarence (Larry) Silva, Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Honolulu. Their cordial conversation centered around ecumenical relations between the Honolulu Roman Catholic Diocese and the Inclusive Orthodox Church in Hawaii.

The IOC Bishops were also pleased to meet with the Rev. Murray D. Finck, Bishop of the Pacifica Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the Rev. Dr. Woong-Min Kim, Hawaii Superintendent for the Methodist Church, the Episcopal Church's Very Rev. Timothy W. Sexton, Saint Andrew's Cathedral Provost, the Rev. Canon Liz Beasley, Episcopal Diocese Canon for Ministry Development, and the Rev. William Kunisch, Ecumenical and Interfaith Officer of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Honolulu. Father Kunisch kindly extended invitations to the IOC Bishops to attend the Annual "Red Mass" for the opening of the 2010 State of Hawaii Legislative Session.