Two things I wanted to mention.

Everyone Prays at Holy Etchmiadzin

During the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity our local ecumenical group held its meeting at St. Peter’s Armenian Apostolic Church. Fr. Bedros was the gracious host as always, providing for our needs, both spiritual and material.

Those who read my posts rather regularly might note that I have a great deal of love and admiration for St. Peter’s and its people and pastors (past and present — currently Fr. Bedros, and previously Fr. Stepanos, and Fr. Garen). The parish staff at St. Peter’s generously support our little ecumenical organization by looking after mailing lists and other administrative duties. In addition to all that – they always prepare a wonderful meal.

Fr. Bedros was good enough to provide for a viewing of Everyone Prays at Holy Etchmiadzin. The production was slated for viewing on ABC affiliates across the country. Unfortunately, our local ABC affiliate, WTEN, declined to air the film noting that they ‘don’t do religious programming,’ or words to that affect. The Capital Region lost because of that attitude.

I highly recommend the firm. It has a distinctly ecumenical overtone, and shows the Church as one with its faithful and its communities. One of the most moving parts was the descrioption of the Holy Muron and the visit of His Holiness Karekin II, Catholicos of All Armenians, to the United States. Imagine the Bishop of Rome visiting New Orleans, rolling up his cassock sleeves, and painting homes being built by Habitat for Humanity and you’ll get the picture. The film is available from St. Vartan’s Bookstore for only $20.

The Hours on your iPhone or iPod Touch

As you may have noted, I link to the Universalis site which provides the Liturgy of the Hours. I was pleased to learn that Universalis has published Universalis on the iPhone. The application is rather expensive, but well worth it (as opposed to buying the four volume set of the Hours) and it is reasonable in terms of the convenience the application provides.

It should be noted that a few of the readings for the Office of Readings are still missing, and the application is currently being updated so as to include all the antiphons. The updates are free. The other nice thing about Universalis is that you do not need 3G or Wi-Fi to access any of it, it sits right on your iPhone or iPod Touch.

Universalis for the iPhone and iPod Touch (available at the iTunes store) has enhanced my ability to pray the hours wherever I may happen to be. It is convenient, easy to use, and works seamlessly with the accelerometer. If you have an iPhoe or iPod Touch I highly recommend this app.