18, January 2021
Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland: Fr. Berngeh to serve as vicar for local churches 0
Bishop Robert Deeley has announced that Fr. Roland Berngeh will serve as parochial vicar at Parish of the Transfiguration of the Lord Holy Redeemer Church, Bar Harbor; St. Peter Church, Manset; St. Ignatius Church, Northeast Harbor; Stella Maris Parish, St. Vincent de Paul Church, Bucksport; Our Lady of Holy Hope Church, Castine; St. Mary Star of the Sea Church, Stonington, St. Joseph Parish, St. Joseph Church, Ellsworth; Blue Hill Mission, Blue Hill; Our Lady of the Lake Mission, Green Lake; and St. Margaret Chapel, Winter Harbor, effective immediately.
A native of Jakiri, Cameroon, Fr. Berngeh attended St. Augustine’s College Nso in Kumbo, Cameroon, and Bishop Rogan College in Small Soppo-Buea, Cameroon. He completed his clerical studies at St. Thomas Aquinas Major Seminary in Bambui, Cameroon, and was ordained to the priesthood on April 10, 1985.
Since his ordination, Fr. Berngeh served in Cameroon parishes for eight years before being appointed the pioneer rector and principal at St. Aloysius Minor Seminary Kitiwum in Kumbo in 1993. He served at the seminary for 13 years before becoming the rector of the Cathedral Church of St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus in Kumbo. In 2007, Fr. Berngeh was named principal at his alma mater, St. Augustine’s College Nso, where he served until 2012 when he was appointed rector of Immaculate Conception Parish, also in Kumbo. For the last six years, Fr. Berngeh has served at the cathedral in Kumbo. In addition to those assignments, he has served as a vocations director, diocesan and national chaplain, member of the presbyteral council and as vicar general.
Fr. Berngeh holds a bachelor’s degree in theology and a diploma in philosophy from St. Thomas Aquinas Major Seminary in Bambui. He also earned a master’s degree in educational counseling from Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, Calif., where he studied from 1997-2000.
Source: mdislander.com
19, January 2021
Russia: Putin takes icy plunge to mark Orthodox Epiphany 0
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday braved temperatures well below freezing to take a bare-chested dip into icy water in an Orthodox ritual marking the baptism of Jesus.
The Russian leader shed a thick coat and boots, as temperatures hovered at -20 degrees Celsius (-4 degrees Fahrenheit) and stepped into a pool surrounded by snow and facing a large cross made of ice outside Moscow.
The 68-year-old Russian leader immersed himself three times while crossing himself, in line with tradition.
The Kremlin said in a statement that the tradition “celebrates one of the main Christian holidays — the baptism of the Lord.”
Every year on January 19, tens of thousands of Orthodox believers mark Epiphany by dunking themselves in ponds or rivers.
Russian authorities install wooden steps to facilitate access for worshippers throughout the country wishing to commemorate the baptism of Jesus Christ.
While the ritual has become popular among Russian politicians and even foreign diplomats, the Orthodox Church has said the event is not actually a canonical tradition and dismiss it as a fad.
Source: AFP