Eastern Orthodox Patriarch to Visit L.A.

Eastern Orthodox Patriarch Bartholomew I, who begins his first pastoral visit to the United States in mid-October, will be in Southern California on Nov. 7-9 for several events, including a divine liturgy at the Los Angeles Convention Center expected to be attended by several thousand Orthodox Christians.

Bartholomew, whose tiny Patriarchate of Constantinople is in Istanbul, Turkey, is regarded as first among equals in the ecclesiastical leadership of Russian, Greek, Romanian, Serbian, Antiochian, Bulgarian and other Eastern Orthodox churches.

The patriarch, who was elected as the 270th successor to that post in late 1991, has been active in presiding over the restoration of autonomous Orthodox churches in regions once under Communist domination--Estonia and Georgia. He also presided over the reestablishment of the church in Albania.

Other Eastern Christian churches--in Armenia, Egypt and some other Middle Eastern jurisdictions, for instance--do not fall under the patriarch’s authority. But Bartholomew has made efforts to demonstrate a sense of unity with them.

His four-day visit to Armenia in late July reciprocated a visit to Istanbul by Patriarch Karekin I, Catholicos of All Armenians. Both leaders, emphasizing the need for stronger relations, stood side by side July 24 in the capital, Yerevan, as the Greek Orthodox rite was celebrated for the first time in an Armenian church in Armenia.

Because of the ecumenical patriarch’s historic ties to Greek Orthodoxy, Bartholomew will often be accompanied on his U.S. tour by Archbishop Spyridon, the New York-based primate of the Greek Orthodox Church in America. Tour cities include Washington, New York, Atlanta and Chicago, as well as Los Angeles.

His final schedule is not set, a spokesman said, but Bartholomew’s Southern California itinerary includes a luncheon address to the World Affairs Council on Nov. 7, participation in part of a high-level conference on environmental issues Nov. 6-8 in Santa Barbara and a Nov. 8 banquet in downtown Los Angeles.

DATES

The Rev. Robert W. Edgar, an ex-congressman from Pennsylvania and president since 1990 of the Claremont School of Theology, will speak on “The Threat of Theocracy: Real or Imagined?” at 7:30 p.m. Monday at St. Stephen Presbyterian Church, 20121 Devonshire St., Chatsworth. The free talk is sponsored by the San Fernando Valley chapter of Americans United for Separation of Church and State. (818) 998-5414.

* The Choir of King’s College, Cambridge, will present identical concerts Sunday at St. James’ Episcopal Church, 3903 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles. Under the direction of Stephen Cleobury, the choir rehearses daily in addition to singing two Sunday services each week. Tickets for the 3:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. concerts range from $15 to $38. (213) 387-8712.

* Margaret R. Miles, dean and vice president for academic affairs for the cluster of seminaries at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, will give a free lecture at the Claremont School of Theology’s Mudd Theater at 4:15 p.m. on Thursday. Until recently, Miles, whose specialty is the understanding of theology in different historical periods, headed the theology department at Harvard Divinity School. Her topic will be: “Living by Faith: Discomfort and Delight.” (909) 626-3521, Ext. 262.

* Rabbi Michael S. Beals, a management analyst for the city of Los Angeles before studying for the rabbinate and being ordained in New York City, will be installed at 1 p.m. Sunday as the new spiritual leader of B’nai Tikvah Congregation, a Conservative synagogue at 5820 W. Manchester Ave., Westchester. (310) 645-6262.

* The adjustment of Hong Kong churches after China’s assumption of power there this year will be discussed at 11 a.m. Wednesday in Claremont by the Rev. Thomas Lung, a Methodist missionary who was active in the production of Christian programs broadcast over the Hong Kong government’s radio and television stations. The free talk will be in Decker Hall at Pilgrim Place, a church-related retirement facility at 6th Street and Berkeley Avenue. (909) 399-9974.

* On Thursday, Unity Church of South Bay in Torrance will join with 900 Unity churches and study groups worldwide for the annual day of prayer sponsored by the New Thought denomination based in Unity Village, near Kansas City, Mo. The prayer session at the Torrance facility, 3537 Torrance Blvd., Suite 23, will begin at 7 p.m. (310) 316-4502.

* Stephen Burgard, author of “Hallowed Ground: Rediscovering Our Spiritual Roots,” will be the featured speaker Thursday at the Alliance for Spiritual Community’s interfaith leadership prayer breakfast, starting at 7:15 a.m., at Marriott Laguna Cliffs Resort, 25135 Park Lantern, Dana Point. Tickets are $25. (714) 661-3087.

FINALLY

At the height of his popularity as a nationally syndicated radio evangelist, the Rev. Charles E. Fuller in 1947 opened Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena

--now the largest multidenominational seminary in the world, with 3,500 students.

As a nostalgic prelude to formal celebrations next month of the seminary’s 50th anniversary, Charles Fuller’s “Old-Fashioned Revival Hour”--which aired from the Long Beach Municipal Auditorium from 1941 to 1958--will be reenacted Sept. 17 at 9 a.m. at First United Methodist Church, 500 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena.

Daniel Fuller will portray his father, and Daniel’s wife, Ruth, will play Grace Fuller, her mother-in-law, who also took part in the broadcasts on the Mutual and ABC radio networks.

“This started out as a faculty-staff party, but I got so many people involved that this thing has become a public event,” said organizer Tammi Anderson, an administrator in the seminary’s finance office. (626) 584-5461.

“Some of the original quartet and choir members are coming back for the reenactment,” Anderson said. “We have his original microphone, too, but we will have a backup mike if that one doesn’t work.”

Notices may be mailed for consideration to Southern California File, c/o John Dart, L.A. Times, 20000 Prairie St., Chatsworth, CA 91311, faxed to Religion desk (818) 772-3385, or e-mailed to john.dart@latimes.com Items should arrive two to three weeks before the event, except for spot news, and should include pertinent details about the people and organizations, with address, phone number, date and time.