HOLY TRINITY
CELTIC ORTHODOX CHURCH – TOLEDO, OHIO
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HOLY
TRINITY CELTIC ORTHODOX CHURCH
“Home of
Biblical Orthodoxy”
1703 Macomber St, Toledo, Ohio 43606
Phone
(419) 810.1692
PHOTO OF CHAPEL AND
PASTOR
http://www.celticorthodoxchurch.com/photos.html
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“The Divine Sacrifice of the Mass
and the Scriptures are the
twin pillars upon which
rest
our
hope for salvation.”
(Bishop Brian Kennedy,
O.S.B.)
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The Celtic Orthodox Church is
so Ancient it demands
respect
is so Traditional it is
refreshing
and so Conservative it is
reassuring.
WE ARE
ORTHODOX - BUT NOT EASTERN
WE ARE
CATHOLIC – BUT NOT ROMAN
WE ARE
AN ANCIENT CHURCH
STILL TEACHING THE
ANCIENT TRUTH
AND LIVING THE ANCIENT
FAITH
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The Celtic Orthodox Church is a Western Rite expression of
the Faith from the Johannine Branch of Christianity
of those churches founded by the twelve apostles, (Gallican,
Celtic, Mozabarec, Coptic, Byzantine.) The Roman Catholic Church is from the Pauline
branch of the Church.
CELTIC ORTHODOXY ESTABLISHED IN 36 AD IS THE OLDEST WESTERN
RITE ORTHODOX CHURCH
Celtic
Orthodoxy is unique-
Sunday Mass at 8:30 A.M.
To visit with the Pastor or
arrange a visit to the Chapel
call 419.810.1692 for an appointment.
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WHY DECEMBER 25TH FOR CHRISTMAS?
http://www.celticorthodoxchurch.com/christmas.html
WAS CHRIST BORN IN A STABLE?
http://www.celticorthodoxchurch.com/stable.html
BORN TO DIE
http://www.celticorthodoxchurch.com/ms.html
http://www.celticorthodoxchurch.com/lectio2.html
http://www.celticorthodoxchurch.com/diversity.html
\
http://www.celticorthodoxchurch.com/index2.html
http://www.celticorthodoxchurch.com/immaculate.html
ANGLO-CELTIC ORTHODOX LITURGY http://www.celticorthodoxchurch.com/liturgy.html WE ARE A EUCHARIST CENTERED COMMUNITYhttp://www.celticorthodoxchurch.com/eucharist.html History of the Celtic Orthodox Church THE VATICAN CONFIRMS THE HISTORYOF THE CELTIC ORTHODOX CHURCH
http://www.celticorthodoxchurch.com/history.html
(EASTERN ORTHODOXY IS BETTER TERMED NEO ORTHODOX)HISTORY OF THE NEO ORTHODOX CHURCHhttp://www.celticorthodoxchurch.com/faq.html CELTIC ORTHODOX PATER NOSTER PSALTER
http://www.celticorthodoxchurch.com/pater_noster_psalter.html THE HERESY OF RECAPITULATIONIN THE EASTERN ORTHODOX CHURCHhttp://www.celticorthodoxchurch.com/SALVATION.html
CAN GOD HAVE A MOTHER?http://www.celticorthodoxchurch.com/THEOTOKOS.html SHOULD YOU BE PRAYING TO THE DEAD?http://www.celticorthodoxchurch.com/prayto.html WHY WE ARE NOT OLD CALENDARhttp://www.celticorthodoxchurch.com/calendar.html LIBERATION THEOLOGY
http://www.celticorthodoxchurch.com/liberation.html FORGIVENESS OF SIN IS NOT REMISSION OF SINS http://www.celticorthodoxchurch.com/remission.html
THE HOLY SPIRIT IS CO REDEEMERAND CO MEDIATOR OF ALL GRACES
http://www.celticorthodoxchurch.com/divineoffice.html
HERESY OF ECUMENISM
http://www.celticorthodoxchurch.com/ecumenism.html THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCHOFFICIALLY TEACHES ALL GRACES COME THROUGH MARY. HOW DID THEY COMETO THIS CONCLUSION? IS IT TRUE?http://www.celticorthodoxchurch.com/mediatrix.html A DEACONESS IS NOT A FEMALE DEACON http://www.celticorthodoxchurch.com/deaconess.html BAPTISM IN THE CELTIC ORTHODOX CHURCHhttp://www.celticorthodoxchurch.com/baptism2.html THE ASSUMPTION OF MARYTRUTH OR FICTION?http://www.celticorthodoxchurch.com/assumption.html BISHOP FULTON J. SHEENON THE APOSTATE CHURCHhttp://www.celticorthodoxchurch.com/sheen.html ANGLO-CELTIC DIVINE OFFICEhttp://www.celticorthodoxchurch.com/divine_office.html____________________________________ ABOUT OUR PARISH COMMUNITY
Like all parishes and Monasteries of the Celtic Orthodox
Church in the United States, Holy Trinity Celtic Orthodox Church is a
traditional Western Rite community focused on Christ present in the Eucharist.
It is easy to teach a man “about” Celtic Orthodoxy and it is
easy to teach a man the outward signs of worship and devotions but that will
not make the man Celtic Orthodox. What
makes a man Celtic Orthodox is the Spirit of Celtic Orthodoxy internalized into
the heart and soul intertwined like a finely woven rug. Being Celtic Orthodox
is not just a group to which a man belongs, it is who and what he is.
Celtic Orthodox Christians are expected to live as a people
called apart by God to be His own.
People of God are prayer warriors, men and women of prayer. People do not plan to fail they just fail to
plan. This is dangerous in worldly
affairs but it is tragic in spiritual matters.
The Priest will work with each individual to develop a spiritual plan
that will enable the individual man or woman to carry the Cross after
Jesus. Celtic Orthodoxy does not try to
remove the Cross but give you the strength to carry the Cross together with
Christ our Savior.
Our form of worship is ancient, lived out from the teaching
and praxis of the Apostles and the early church and uniform to the practice of
the larger church catholic for some 1600 years or more. Sadly, the Church established by Christ upon
the Apostles has been in great measure replaced by the church established by men.
Bishop Aftimios Ofiesch of
the Syrian Orthodox Church in 1932 said there are two churches; one established
by Christ to set man free and the other established by men to make bond
servants of us all.
Our form of worship may seem strange to some who never
experienced the spirit of Celtic Orthodoxy.
The spirit of Celtic Orthodoxy cannot be taught; it must be experienced.
For one imbued with the spirit of Celtic Orthodoxy there will be no question as
to why we prostrate before the Blessed Sacrament during Divine Liturgy (the
Mass) practice Sabbath Day worship as well as Sunday worship and place such
importance on the Word of God.
Our "church buildings" are usually a converted
house or a storefront or a small building someplace. We have no Cathedrals or large churches. All our communities are small and everybody
knows everybody. There is no such thing as being alone. Soon new members feel at home and are friends
with everybody else. The Priest is
accessible directly. There are no office
hours. This makes us unique.
The Priest has dedicated his life to prayer, study of
Scripture, administering the Sacraments and daily offering the Divine Sacrifice
of the Mass. Our focus is on worshipping the Father in spirit and in truth, not
on big buildings. Our focus is on synergy
with the Father in Christ, not on what the world thinks of us.
http://www.celticorthodoxchurch.com/succ.html
HISTORY OF THE CELTIC ORTHODOX BENEDICTINE FATHERS
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CELTIC ORTHODOX BENEDICTINE FATHERS
Holy Trinity Celtic Orthodox
Monastery
1703 Macomber St., Toledo,
Ohio 43606
(419) 810.1692 amdg@bex.net
A Monastic
Community founded in the 6th century, the Benedictine Community fell victim to
the moral lapses of the world in which it found itself. The Abbots were usually
from the wealthy families and were interested only in power, money and
position. All forms of Religious pieties were conspicuous in its absence. While
there were some who rose above the sin and depravity of the Monastery to become
great Saints, the norm were Monks who had become victims to the world, the
flesh and the devil.
In 836, the Council of Aix-La-Chapelle openly admitted that homosexuality
and other forms of sin and vice was rampant in the Monasteries. Reforms were needed.
The needed reforms came at a price, a political price.
Pope Sergius III Canonically established the
Monastery at Cluny in 910. The Monastery brought many reforms to the Order and
enhanced academics to the Monastery. In many ways, the Monastery was a
much-needed remedy to the ills of the time. The price exacted was involvement
in the political ambitions of Pope Sergius III. When
the Pope established the Monastery, he made it exempt from interference by the
local Bishops. They were responsible only to him and to him directly. The
Pope appropriated to himself authority over other Patriarchs and attempted to
establish an office higher than Bishop.
This was unacceptable to any who wished to retain the faith and praxis of
Holy Orthodoxy. This caused the first split in the Order of St. Benedict. It
was now a family divided. Those who rejected the political involvement, the
arrogance of Sergio's III and the innovated theologies of the Vatican fled to
the East. All that were left were under the suppression of the Pope.
Today there are many large, rich and impressive Monasteries and Churches
that were established in their wealth by the sins of the founders and early
inhabitants. Their goal was only to establish wealth, power and social
position. Rather than being a temple to the glory of God, they are temples to
the avarice and greed of the early Churchmen who built them. The Papal
re-invented community continued calling itself Benedictine but had abandoned
the Orthodox and Catholic faith of Benedict for the rewards and the temporal
blessings that came from Rome. Under the Pope and with Vatican support they
grew in power and worldly recognition.
The Monastery at Cluny lived up to the expectations of Rome in producing 5
Popes from their number. Notable among these is Hilderbrand,
known as Pope Gregory VII. He wrote: The Dictates of the Pope:
"The Roman Pontiff
alone can rightly be called Universal, He alone can depose or reinstate
Bishops, in a Council the Papal Legate, even if a lower grade, is above all
Bishops, and can pass sentence of deposition against them, All Princes shall
kiss the feet of the Pope, It is permitted to him to depose Emperors, No Synod
shall be called a general one without his order, No Chapter and no book shall
be considered canonical without his authority, and He himself may be judged by
no one. That the Roman Pontiff, if he has been canonically ordained, is
undoubtedly made a saint by the merits of St. Peter. He who is not at peace
with the Roman church shall not be considered catholic."
Also of note, from the Monastery at Cluny, was Pope Paschal II who used a
forged letter attributed in error to St. Andrew that said any who did not agree
with the See at Rome was a heretic.
THE FIGHT TO REMAIN ORTHODOX IN FAITH AND PRAXIS:
In 925 many Benedictine Monks who wished to remain faithful to Holy
Orthodoxy left the West and went to MT. Athos in Greece while others went to
Jerusalem. The Archabbot from Amalfi, Italy was among
those who went to Jerusalem. Most of the Monks went to MT. Athos with whom they
already had connections and friends. They were the Benedictine of Amalfi, Italy who served under Archabbot Gerard Tonque, O.S.B. This was a time when Rome was diminishing
and Constantinople was ascending as the New Rome and center of the Empire.
ABOUT THE ARCHABBOT:
Archabbot Gerard Tonque was born in Sasso di Scalo near Amalfi. He was from the famous family of Saint Didier and
the first generation born in Italy. His parents were from Provence, France and
he retained strong ties to Provence.
THE MONKS IN JERUSALEM
Archabbot Tonque, O.S.B. went to Jerusalem to further develop a
hostel (hospital) and a program for the protection of pilgrims passing from
Jaffa to Jerusalem who were constantly besieged by bandits and conflicting Princes.
This was not a new ministry for the Benedictine of Amalfi
but now it was a ministry that was to receive the undivided attention of the
Archabbot who would personally direct the effort. As part of the effort to
expand the ministry, the Archabbot directed other Monks to establish hospitals
and small Orthodox Benedictine Monasteries and service centers along the path
used by pilgrims. The Monks established a hostel in Saint Gilles, Asti, Pisa,
Bari, Otranto, Taranto and Messina.
The Benedictine who left Amalfi and went to
Jerusalem became known as the Latin Orthodox Benedictine. The Latin Orthodox
Benedictine had previously established them selves in
Jerusalem with the Monastery of St. John the Baptist. The Monastery of St. John
the Baptist and the Latin Orthodox Benedictine ministry to the sick pilgrims
had been financed and supported by the wealthy merchants of Amalfi
prior to their permanent departure from Amalfi. Soon
it became obvious not all the Monks had the same vision for the future.
Archabbot Tonque was a good man but his vision
was not a shared vision by all the Monks. Conflict arose over the number of
laity who was being recruited into ministry. To some, the aspect of devotion
and Monasticism was being lost in favor of more mundane activities. It was
thought the mundane activities had merit but were beginning to compete with the
Monasticism of the Benedictine Community.
Archabbot Tonque resigned his position as
Archabbot and withdrew from the Benedictine Order to establish a new Order upon
the Rule of St. Augustine. The Benedictine relocated to the nearby Monastery of
Santa Maria Latina.
The division was without rancor or hostility. Archabbot Tonque remained emotionally attached to the Papacy. This
was another sentiment not shared by all the Monks.
THE MONKS AT MT. ATHOS
At the urging of St. Athanasios of MT. Athos,
many of the Benedictine from Amalfi founded the
Monastery of the Virgin of the Amalfians near Morphonou, a small bay north of Great Lavra.
The Monastery was supported by the inhabitants of the Amalfi
quarter of Constantinople who had come from southern Italy. Before Venice began
to extend its control into the Eastern Mediterranean, Amalfi
had been the emporium of the Orient in the West. Ships from the rich port at Amalfi supplied goods for the Latin people in
Constantinople and on MT. Athos. When they took refuge from the arrogance and
innovated ecclesiology of Rome they were welcomed at MT. Athos because the Amalfians were already known and had friends at MT. Athos. Some
of the Benedictine from Amalfi who wished to remain
Orthodox in faith and praxis went to Jerusalem and in 1050 established the
hostel for pilgrims, which was the starting point for the Knights of St. John
of Jerusalem.
A Benedictine Monk from Amalfi and living at the
Benedictine Monastery of the Virgin of the Amalfians
at MT. Athos was a man named Leo who translated the famous MIRACULUM a S.
MICHELE CHONIS PATRATUM, the legend of the oldest shrine to St. Michael in all
of Christendom.
The translation was made from the writings of Patriarch Sisinnius of Constantinople (426-27). Leo also translated
many Greek Novels. Bishop Anselm of Havelberg writes
of the scholarly Benedictine monks and other scholarly Western Orthodox living
In Constantinople. The report is contained in the second and third books of the
"Dialogi" written around 1149.
MONKS FOUND SAFE HARBOR
In 933, Patriarch Theophylactus of
Constantinople established as a Parochial Entity the Benedictine who had fled
from Amalfi, Italy and were then at MT. Athos, giving
them the name Athonite Benedictine. They were a
recognized and canonically established part of Orthodoxy under his personal Omophor.
SILENT VICTIM OF THE CRUSADES
The Papal Crusades that ravaged and raped Constantinople and violated all
Christian sensibilities created a hatred for anything from the West among many
Orthodox in the East. For this reason the Athonite
Benedictine Monks eventually had to leave the East. In the 14th century
(1345) Patriarch John IV Kalecas established all Athonite Benedictine Monasteries as autocephalous
(independent of any Patriarch).
THE BENEDICTINE MONKS LEAVE MT. ATHOS
The Monks, for the most part, went to Ireland, Scotland, Wales, France and
England.
The Monks that went to Ireland, Scotland, Wales, France and England became
integrated into the Celtic Orthodox Church that was a catacomb church in
resistance to the Papal onslaught on the Celtic Church that began actually in the
7th Century when the Celtic Bishops and Clergy were murdered and replaced with
the Papal Bishops and Clergy over the dating of Pascha.
The Monks who went to Ireland in 1345 became known as the Celtic Orthodox
Benedictine Fathers as a result of their association with and membership in the
Celtic Orthodox Church that was a church in resistance, a catacomb
church. All Celtic Orthodox Monastic under life time vows
wear a gold wedding band on the left hand.
The Celtic Orthodox Benedictine Fathers are a traditional, Western Rite,
Orthodox Monastic Community of strict observance.
The Celtic Orthodox Benedictine Fathers are a 'Mendicant' order. The
word Mendicant means beggar so the Celtic Orthodox Benedictine Monks own
nothing at all and receive no compensation for their Priestly and religious
ministry. The Monks are supported by the love offerings of the people who
wish to cooperate with the Monks in serving the poor and wish to help support
the Monastery. Mendicant Monks never live better than the people they
serve. We live and work in the poor areas where are found the people we
serve. Our Motto is
"WITH THE POOR PEOPLE OF THIS EARTH WE CAST OUR FATE."
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HOLY TRINITY CELTIC ORTHODOX CHURCH / CELTIC ORTHODOX
BENEDICTINE FATHERS
IS A NOT FOR PROFIT CHURCH CORPORATION
UNDER SECTION 501 ( c ) 3 OF THE
INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE .
HOLY TRINITY CELTIC ORTHODOX BENEDICTINE MONASTERY /
CELTIC ORTHODOX BENEDICTINE FATHERS
IS A NOT FOR PROFIT PUBLIC CHARITY AND RELIGIOUS
ORGANIZATION
UNDER SECTION 501 ( c ) 3
OF THE INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE.