September 29, 2010 to May 1 2011

Smithsonian Institution

National Museum of Natural History

Constitution Avenue at 10th Street, NW

Washington, DC

Cyprus, the eastern most island in the Mediterranean Sea, situated at the crossroads of Europe, Asia and Africa, has been a meeting point for many of the world’s greatest civilizations. From its 11,000 year  history, Cyprus has woven its own distinctive history and culture.

The exhibition will feature more than 200 artifacts covering nearly 11,000 years of history – which range from items from the earliest villages to masterpieces of medieval religious art representing the island’s unique culture.

Among the objects on display will be:

A pygmy hippopotamus skull (10,000 to 8,500 B.C.)

Gold jewellery and sphinx sculptures from the Cypro-Archaic period (B.C.)

Vases, bowls and sculptures, including an Aphrodite marble, from the Hellenstic (325 t o50 B.C.) and Roman (50 B.C. to A.D. 330) periods

Bronze and copper items, including lamps and jugs, from the Byzantine peiod (330 to 1191)

Religious icons, paintings and vases from the medieval period (13th to 16th century)

For more information about this exciting exhibit, please visit,

http://newsdesk.si.edu/releases/cyprus-crossroads-civilizations-open-smithsonian-september

Recent advances in tho neurosciences have increased our knowledge of how and why people change. Brain-based therapy synthesizes neuroscience, evidence-based treatment and attachment theory into a hybrid therapeutic model. Mental health professionals may find out more by attending the seminar.

Course Director: John Arden, PhD, Licensed Psychologist and author/co-author of 12 books, including Brain-Based Therapy with Adults and Brain Based Therapy with Children and Adolescents.

Harrisburg – September 28, 2010

Holiday Inn Harrisburg East

4751 Lindle Road, Harrisburg, PA 17111  Tel  717 939 7841

Also at Scranton, September 29, 2010

Philadelphia, September 30, 2010

For more information, visit

www.CrossCountryEducation.com

The exhibit catalog describes Niko Chocheli as being “greatly inspired by the past – by history and artistic tradition – from the classical paintings of the Great Masters, to the fantasy of Georgian folk tales, to the centuries-old tradition of iconography which is so prevalent in the ancient churches and monasteries of his homeland.”

His children’s books are: The Book of Jonah, Prepare O Bethlehem, The Praises: Psalm 148, Christ in the Old Testament, Halloween Town, A Perfect Christmas and The Hermit, The Icon and The Emperor.

The exhibit runs from March 15, 2010 to February 20, 2011. For more information please visit,

www.antiochianvillage.org

Fall Philly Conference 2010

Harvest Time: Reaping What You Write and Illustrate

Saturday, September 25, 2010

8:15am to 5:00pm at the beautiful Whiteford Country Club, Exton, PA

To register, visit, www.scbwieasternpa11.camp7.org

November 4 – 7 Antiochian Village, Bolivar, PA

Spnsored by the Antiochian Orthodox Archdiocese Department of Christian Education

Renowned iconographers NIKO CHOCELI and CHERYL ANN PITUCH

Keynote Address by FREDERICA MATHEWES-GREEN

Author of The Open Door: Entering the Sanctuary of Icons and Prayer

Presenting a course on his book, The Educating Icon, DR. ANTON VRAME

Author and Director of the GOA Department of Religious Education

For questions concerning meals, lodging or directions, contact the Antiochain Village at events@antiochianvillage.org (Email), 724-238-3677 (Phone) or 724-238-2102 (Fax)

www.antiochianvillage.org

If you have questions concerning course selection or registration, contact the Department of Christian Education at aodce@aol.com (Email), 717 747-5221 (Phone), or 717-747-5832 (Fax)

www.antiochian.org/christianeducation

The Myrrh Streaming Icon of St Anna

It had been raining all day, but that did not keep the Orthodox faithful away from a special vespers service dedicated to the miraculous icon of St. Anna, Mother of the Virgin Mary. When I was told that the weeping icon of St. Anna was visiting the Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church in Lancaster, PA, I felt I could not miss this unique opportunity. I journeyed with three parish friends, including two children, from York to Lancaster to see it.

At the end of vespers, Fr. Athanasios from the Russian Orthodox Church of Our Lady the Joy of All Who Sorrows located in Philadelphia, PA, brought the holy icon into the church, incensed with great reverence and ceremony. The icon had a glass cover that was opened as it was laid on an ornate  wooden stand before the iconostas. Fr. Athanasios explained that the icon had wept myrrh for three years since May 2004 and now myrrhs occasionally with the volume increasing on feast days and when many faithful are gathered in prayer.

The icon of St. Anna, our Lord’s grandmother, baboushka, yiayia, is welcomed everywhere she goes as an ambassador. The word baboushka arouses strong positive emotions. The icon is God’s gift to us. She represents hope. The weeping tears are tears for humanity, for our fallen race, for our sins. The myrrh is a blessing for those with love for others in their heart and has led to miraculous healings for many annointed with it.

When it was time to receive the holy oil and myrrh from  Fr. Alex, the presiding priest and Fr. Athanasios, people did so patiently. It was a moving and beautiful experience and the oil glistened on faces and hands. Each person was given a small bottle containing a mixture of holy oil and myrrh and then lined up to reverence the holy icon.

What a great blessing it was to reverence the icon! I whispered my prayers before St. Anna and breathed in the light sweet smelling floral fragrance. It filled my senses. Each side of the icon was stuffed with hundreds of pieces of paper on which were written prayers and petitions for loved ones. I received my paper icon from an altar boy and then wrote several names of people to be prayed for.  It was comforting to know these names would travel with the icon of St. Anna wherever she went for the next 12 months. Of one thing I am certain. I and my fellow travelers received the protection of St. Anna on our journey home.

Learn more about the icon of St. Anna on, http://www.churchofourlady.org/anna_icon.html and  http://www.visionsofjesuschrist.com/weeping634.htm

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Antiochian Heritage Musuem

Antiochian Village Conference & Retreat Center

140 Church Camp Trail

Bolivar, PA 15923

Tel: 724 238 3677

www.antiochianvillage.org

September 18, 2010

State Museum of Pennsylvania

For Sponsor, Exhibitor & Author Information, visit

www.capitalbookfest.org

September 18, 2010

State Museum of Pennsylvania

For Sponsor, Exhibitor and Author Information, visit

www.capitalbookfest.org

If you are searching for a therapist for your child please visit my profile on www.psychologytoday.com and check back here  soon for further additions to the Psychology page.

Now that I have a wordpress site, I hope to start blogging soon with some fun images! Please take a few minutes to enjoy this site and let me know what you think!  I would love to hear from you!

Chrissi Hart