ORTHODIXIE ... Southern, Orthodox, Convert, Etc.

Children, please! Do your homework before you write your report!

After centuries of moving apart, the churches formally split in 1054 over several issues, including the primacy of the pope, devotional differences, and Latin demands for priestly celibacy, while the Greek-influenced tradition permitted married clergy. Relations remain tense over Orthodox charges of proselytism and rival property claims in places such as Russia and eastern Europe.

You might find other errors H E R E.
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Q: Have you heard the latest UU miracle?

A: Someone saw the face of Ralph Waldo Emerson on a
tortilla.


Q: Why can't Unitarian Universalists sing very well in
choirs?

A: Because they're always reading ahead to see if they
agree with the next verse.


Q: What do you get when you cross a Unitarian
Universalist with a Jehovah's Witness?

A: Somebody who comes knocking at your door for no
apparent reason.

Thanks to FWD from Tim Gibson.
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From Touchstone's Mere Comments:

Civil War historian Shelby Foote died Monday night at the age of 88. Foote is known not only for his historical work, but for his friendships. A Mississippian, Foote knew William Faulkner and Flannery O'Connor as a young man, but was most closely associated all his life with his best friend, Walker Percy.

He loved his native South while standing firm against Jim Crow and the race-baiting populists of the twentieth century. In what had to be the most withering blow a Ku Klux Klansman could ever hear, Foote accused the white supremacist group of "degrading the Confederate flag" by converting it "from a symbol of honor into a banner of shame," having "covered it with obscenities like a roadhouse men's room wall."

More ...
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10) Your parish church school curriculum consists of: The Rudder.

9) You've not shaved in years, but are spending your child's inheritance on hair conditioner.

8) Your church services are longer than the Super Bowl, but shorter than "Roots."

7) You save toenail clippings in hopes of ... well ... you know ... glorification.

6) Your daughter can play with Barbies as long as they're wrapped in DuckTape, clothed in black, and referred to as "Barbara the Ballyhoo" (in Slavonic).

5) Your priest wears a cassock all the time. (Mainly because even the "Big & Tall" clothes no longer fit him.)

4) Birkenstock is the only proper name -- not ending in "us," "os," or "es"-- not subject to suspicion.

3) Your favorite theologian's name is: "Reader __________."

2) You believe hair brushes, combs, tweezers, and mirrors are for sissies.

And, the number one sign that you might be an "Orthodox Fundamentalist" is ...




1) There are no chairs in your home; you haven't sat in years!

Originally posted, years ago, on the Orthodox List.
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There's a new Orthodox Bookstore Website ... right here.

In addition to Dawn's & my comments on the recent Billy Graham Crusade, HERE's Jan Bear's.


Touchstone:

If the heretics deny scripture outright and the liberals reinterpret it to the specifications of modernism, the Evangelical method of nullifying the Word of God is to ignore what they don’t like and substitute something they prefer, slathering down the whole process with pious claptrap and painfully tendentious "scholarship." The egalitarians of this generation sound very much like their fathers, referring, in their own fashion, to "the original Greek" to show that Jesus didn't make real wine at Cana, or that wives aren't really expected to "obey" their husbands.

... More


Some have fought harder for this than others. Some have been scarred along the way. May God grant a peaceful reconciliation to the Russian Orthodox Church.


THE Anglican Church of the US gave the first justification yesterday of its decision to consecrate an openly homosexual man to the episcopate, arguing that same-sex unions can be open “to God’s blessing and holy purposes” in the same manner as marriage. Read it.
THX: OrthodoxyToday


What Tom Cruise is and what he believes ...

According to experts and the church’s own literature, OT-VII (”OT” stands for Operating Thetan, “thetan” being the Scientology term for soul) is the penultimate tier in the church’s spiritual hierarchy — the exact details of which are fiercely guarded and forbidden to be discussed even among top members. It is where a Scientologist learns how to become free of the mortal confines of the body and is let into the last of the mysteries of the cosmology developed by the church’s longtime leader, science fiction novelist and “Dianetics” author L. Ron Hubbard. This cosmology also famously holds that humans bear the noxious traces of an annihilated alien civilization that was brought to Earth by an intergalactic warlord millions of years ago.


This just in! Benny Hinn's not packin em in ... Can his ministry be healed? (That's the 4 million dollar question.)

Finally ...

Birds Prefer to Poop on White Cars
More H E R E.
THX: News Forum
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Billy Graham says Bill Clinton would make an excellent evangelist. (Not to mention the Rev's endorsement of Hil for Prez.)

Lord. Have. Mercy.

Read it H E R E.

Graham called the Clintons "wonderful friends" and "a great couple," quipping that the former president should become an evangelist and allow "his wife to run the country."

More H E R E.

After reading the comments on Dawn's site, I posted my own:

We are all sinners as is Rev Graham. But you know, saying that Bill Clinton -- Bill Clinton! -- would make a great Evangelist is just plain dumb. God help us! Maybe I'm wrong, but if Bill Clinton becomes an Evangelist, I'll KNOW the day that Graham so often talks about has indeed drawn nigh. (Come to think of it, Mr Clinton has already helped convince me of that.)

I've just returned from a Diocesan event where, in a homily, a priest said that people don't want the real Jesus. Rather, they want some sort of cosmic religious Barney.

I have tremendous respect for Billy Graham. On the way home from Atlanta, we were listening to the Crusade on his own radio station, WMIT. I was thinking, having gone to a couple of his crusades while a kid, that it would be good for my kids to hear this living legend (and neighbor) preach. I was saddened to have to turn it off. Other than proclaiming that if he died he would instantly be in Heaven in the presence of Jesus, I didn't hear much of a message. It all seemed to be about himself.

Sad.

At one of the Crusades in Charlotte, I must have been about 12, I started to go forward during the altar call. My mother chastised me saying, "We're already saved". But I wasn't as interested in meeting the Man as I was in meeting the man. I, too, am guilty.

"Put not your trust in princes, nor in the son of man, in whom there is no help" (Ps.146:3).
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A convent where a Romanian nun was crucified during an apparent exorcism ritual was not sanctified by the church and has been closed, an Orthodox Church official said today.

Bishop Corneliu Barladeanu, who is in charge of the Vaslui province, said the monk who headed the convent, Daniel Petru Corogeanu, was suspended from the priesthood and can no longer hold religious services. He was also excluded from monastic life.

"The convent is closed and won't reopen," he said.

=================

The article goes on to say that the priest never finished seminary but was allowed to serve because of a priest shortage. The convent wasn't built by the Church, but rather by a lawyer. It was all of four years old. The four nuns involved in the incident, upon hearing that the priest was suspended and the convent dissolved, struck the bishop and therefore are not among those being transferred to other convents. Zeal not according to knowledge. The Church cannot keep all evil things from happening, but once they've happened, it's good to see the bishop say no, this is not what the Church teaches, this is not how such situations should be handled, this is not monasticism, this is not right.

This post, written by Matushka Ann Lardis, was taken from the Orthodox List.
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We took the long way 'round to the Southeast Diocese Parish Life Conference, through Chattanooga, to Atlanta from Asheville, allowing us the opportunity to show our children a peaceful reminder of a terrible time.








The Battle of Resaca, a major skirmish, is mentioned in Gone with the Wind.

The first time I visited this Confederate cemetery, I was struck by the Battle Flag flying solo. Immediately I was reminded that this would have been the Flag that these men, buried here, fought under.

It's quite different from those who would, these days, use this symbol as a sign of bigotry and hate.

As ever, victors write histories & dead men tell no tales.

May the merciful and all knowing God, as ever, grant rest to the souls of the faithful -- those known and unknown.
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The following post is from Protopriest Alexander Lebedeff of the Russian Church Abroad. Interesting. Any thoughts? Comments welcome.

I don't know if anyone has paid attention to the interview that the General
Secretary of the World Council of Churches, Dr. Samuel Kobia, gave at the
conclusion of his official visit to Moscow.

In the course of the interview, he said that one of the main topics of
discussion during his meetings with the Moscow Patriarchate was the work of
the special Commission on the Participation of the Orthodox Church in the
Ecumenical Movement, which was created at the request of the Orthodox after
the Inter-Orthodox Conference held in Thessalonica in 2000, where the
Orthodox Churches stated that if significant changes were not made
regarding Orthodox participation in the WCC, all of the Orthodox would
withdraw.

Based on the work of this Commission, two important changes were made that
Dr. Samuel Kobia, in his interview in Moscow announced, will be implemented
at the next General Assembly of the WCC, scheduled to take place in Porto
Allegre, Brasil, next year:

1) there will be no more joint prayer among participants. Each confession
will pray separately.

2) resolutions will not be passed by voting, but by consensus

What does this mean regarding Orthodox participation in the WCC?

The most important obstacle, from an Orthodox perspective, was joint prayer
with the heterodox. This has now been prohibited.

Secondly, the Orthodox positions were previously being marginalized,
because of the overwhelming majority of Protestant members in the WCC. This
meant that if a Resolution were proposed on issues such as tolerance of
homosexuality, or same-sex marriages, or "inclusive language" in the
Bible--the Orthodox would have been outvoted.

Now, this cannot happen. If the Orthodox members do not agree, then no
consensus is achieved, and the measure does not pass. Effectively, this
means that the Orthodox have a veto on any decisions of the World Council
of Churches.

With joint prayer with the heterodox excluded, and the Orthodox Church
given veto power over decisions made by the WCC--there is no doubt that the
situation regarding the participation of the Orthodox Church in the WCC has
significantly changed.
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Today is the birthday of Anna Akhmatova.

More H E R E.
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My ordination as a Deacon was fixed for September 23rd, 1939 but there was more than one area of uncertainty as the Bishop of Oxford had suffered a breakdown in health.

On the first Sunday in September I was to conduct Matins at a small village in the heart of the South Downs. When I got there I found a note pinned on the door saying that in view of the Prime Minister’s speech the service would begin late. I went to the house of one of the churchwardens who was a retired admiral and listened to the very depressing news that we were at war with Germany. The admiral was in a high state of excitement rubbing his hands together and longing to get at the enemy.

We went over to the church and began the service, but while we were singing the Te Deum an extraordinary figure in a tin hat and gas mask appeared at the door and loudly blew a whistle shouting “Air Raid Warning Red”. It was what we had all been expecting and panic was complete. The man pumping the organ stopped at once and the music ended in a whimper while the whole congregation shot off to shelters or air-raid stations. No one thought to enquire where I was to shelter and I remained alone in the church, writing in the register: “Service abandoned owing to air-raid warning”, which I thought might fascinate future generations if we survived. Everything was looking particularly peaceful as I drove back to college but I think we all sensed that things would never be the same again.

There had been a fever of activity for the protection of our country and people started constructing road blocks made of tree trunks with a bicycle tire on the end so that they could be quickly put into position and supposedly stop a tank, which even at the time I thought a little ridiculous.

As no one knew what was likely to happen it was decided that I should go off to Oxford at once and settle into the parish, which was being flooded with children evacuated from London. As in the gospel precept, I did not turn back to say farewell to father or mother, but packed my bags and left Chichester with a heavy heart.

The weather was perfect as if to make the disruption of ordinary life more agonising and as I drove to Oxford I thought that I had never seen the countryside looking more lovely and tranquil. It was hard to realise that we were preparing to fight a war.

Taken from Merrily On High by Fr Colin Stephenson.
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Several posts regarding "women's ordination" have generated comments about statements made by both Fr Thomas Hopko and Bishop Kallistos Ware. I don't believe either of these men support the innovation. The way I understand their explanations is that we -- Eastern Orthodox -- have yet to speak on the matter. Sure, Tradition should speak for itself. But obviously, that's not good enough for some. The more rigid may react: "Then let them take a hike!" Sounds good, but not good enough for some. I predict the day will come when some Canonical Orthodox Bishop will, God help me, ordain a woman. And that will not be good enough for most. In the meantime, we Orthodox should stop letting the Roman Catholics do all the heavy lifting and be prepared with our own Apologia for the Tradition of the Church. This is as has been in ages past -- good enough for most, but not good enough for some.

Orthodoxy may be the "best kept secret in America" ... and oftentimes that may be a blessing. Not that we would garner the same sort of publicity as the tragic case in Romania, but, as Father John Whiteford said in speaking of that situation:

You have to keep some perspective here. There have been stories in past years about Roman Catholic clergy doing horrible things. There have been stories of Protestants killing people in the course of casting demons out of them.

There are a certain percentage of nuts that are more or less evenly distributed throughout the world.

Which reminds me ... My mom used to listen to a Christian radio DJ every Sunday morning, Mike Clure. He used to end each broadcast by saying, "Don't stay home from Church complaining of all the hypocrites who are there. There's always room for one more." :)

Then again ...

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams has said that he can see no "theological objections" to a woman leading the Anglican Communion in the future, and also that he believed that many Christians allowed their views to become so strong that they risked being bigoted against homosexuals.
Read it H E R E.
Thanks: Classical Anglican

Oh, and speaking of nutty:

"In an effort to prove sexual orientation is biological rather than a choice, scientists at Oregon State University are seeking to produce gay sheep by altering conditions in the womb."
Thanks: World

AND ...

Today's Gee-Willakers Award:

"The couple split up 18 months later. Elisa cut off financial support, prompting Emily and her children to go on welfare. El Dorado County sued Elisa for child support, and she refused to pay. Her argument: I'm not the children's father.

Sometime this summer, the California Supreme Court will rule on the case of Elisa and Emily and two similar appeals. At issue: In same-sex relationships, what makes a person a parent? Is it biology, existing legal standards or whether that person acts like a parent?"
If you M U S T.
Thanks: News Forum


I mentioned the other day that Frederica Mathewes-Green attended services at St Raphael Mission this past weekend. Here's a pic of me regaling Mama Fred with my knowledge -- apparently of Aquafina. (Or sump'm like at.)


Raphael's got a much more colorful pic of him & her on his site.


Speaking of GREEN ... Al Green.


I like Bec's Blog.


As I'll be attending the First Annual Diocese of the Southeast Parish Life Conference in Atlanta this week -- along with George Strickland of Directions to Orthodoxy -- More later ...
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"I read this week that the Orthodox Church has opened ordination to women to serve as deacons."

Here's the Scoop, sorta.


Patriarch hails pope’s pledge
ANKARA (AP) - The spiritual leader of the world’s Orthodox Christians yesterday welcomed Pope Benedict XVI’s pledge to end a schism between the Catholic and Orthodox churches, calling it a mutual “obligation to God,” but warned that the path to unity would be “slow and painful.”

Whole Story.

“Reconciliation is a process of repentance,” Vartholomaios said. “If we are to move forward in a journey of reconciliation, then we must truthfully acknowledge the errors of the past. If we cannot stand united in the theological doctrines that divide us, we can at least kneel in earnest repentance over the disgraceful prejudices that were the cause of suffering in the past.”


Abortion & Anti-Ageing
WEALTHY Russians are switching from investing their roubles in luxury yachts and designer jewellery to stem cell therapies in an attempt to maintain the vitality of youth into their old age.

The treatments, in which stem cells extracted from aborted or miscarried foetuses are injected into the body, is the latest anti-ageing weapon, following Botox injections and facelifts, to keep Moscow's youth-obsessed high society looking young.

Read it.
Thanks: New Forum


PENTECOST ... stumbling on water.

Finally ...

MOUNT SINAI, Egypt (Reuters) - The world's oldest monastery plans to use hi-tech cameras to shed new light on ancient Christian texts preserved for centuries within its fortress walls in the Sinai Desert.

Saint Catherine's Monastery hopes the technology will allow a fuller understanding of some of the world's earliest Christian texts, including pages from the Codex Sinaiticus -- the oldest surviving bible in the world.

More here.
Thanks: News Forum
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"The present world-wide spiritual crisis -- is it not a preparation for a great, fresh renaissance? What is happening now in individual souls can be occurring in a multitude of souls. And it could be like a mighty flood, like a blinding flash of lightning in the midnight dark. The little piece of History allotted to us can and ought to be a period for us in which to assimilate being in all its dimensions. In the light of this hope our very sufferings are like the unwrapping before us of a grandiose picture. 'Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge' (Ps.19:2) if they are spent in prayer which goes out 'to the end of the world.' Its [prayer's] going forth is 'from the end of heaven, and its circuit unto the ends of it: and there is nothing hid from the heat thereof' (Ps.19:6). It both warms and rejoices us. It is the channel conveying revelation from on High.

'Blessed be the Name of our God now and for ever.'

Taken from On Prayer by Archimandrite Sophrony.
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By Laura Chiriac Tanacu, Romania

A Romanian Orthodox priest who ordered the crucifixion of a young nun because she was "possessed by the devil" and now faces murder charges was unrepentant on Saturday as he celebrated a funeral mass for his alleged victim."God has performed a miracle for her, finally Irina is delivered from evil," Father Daniel, 29, the superior of the Holy Trinity monastery in north-eastern Romania, said before celebrating a short mass "for the soul of the deceased", in the presence of 13 nuns who showed no visible emotion.He insisted that from the religious point of view, the crucifixion of Maricica Irina Cornici, 23, was "entirely justified", but admitted that he faced excommunication as well as prosecution, and was seeking a "good lawyer".

More H E R E from the BBC.

Courtesy: Drudge
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:)
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When they called him to a council to judge a brother who had committed a sin, Pior arrived carrying a sack of sand on his back and a small bag of sand on his chest. Asked what it meant, the saint replied: "The sack of sand on my back represents my sins, which I do not see, the bag of sand on my chest represents the sins of my brother, whom I have to judge." All the brothers were then ashamed and cried out: "This is the path of salvation!"

Pior lived to be a hundred years old and reposed in the Lord in the fourth century. Feast day: June 17th.

Taken from The Prologue of Ohrid by St Nikolai Velimirovic.
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For those of you in the Asheville area, Frederica Mathewes-Green will be joining the faithful of St Raphael Mission this Sunday, June 19th -- PENTECOST -- for Liturgy, Kneeling Vespers & Agape Meal. All are welcome to join in the prayers of our small community this weekend (and always :).

Mama Fred's Bio

Glory to God for all things!
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Oh, Henry, you are such a silly and delightful man. If I were twenty years older, I would be knocking on your door and bringing you my best baking, tempting you to a lonely-heart solution for a widow and a widower."

There it was. Just like that, an amorphous notion of a special bond with Kate, and Henry's undeniable warm affection for her was suddenly held up to a light. And something about Kate's free-spirited admission of interest in him, delivered in the same laughing breath alongside a caveat for their near three decades' difference in age, was at once a kind of relief and at the same time a kind of hurt. Though Molly was dead, he still harbored a devotion to her memory that would be awkward at best to reconcile in a relationship with another woman. Molly's ghost was surely with Henry, and he found the haunting pleasant and a comfort. He believed he required nothing more than sincere and close friendship with women such as ... Kate.

"What is love like, Henry?"

"It seems so awfully complicated and not at all straightforward," opined Kate. "I love you one way, Henry, and I loved my husband another, and I feel something unlike either for Walter. What is love like, Henry?"

There was not an iota of hesitation as Henry sat on another stump and began to quote a poem he had written for Thomas when Thomas had asked the same question of his father after his first serious relationship went on the rocks. "Love is like itself: undivided, outside of time; the sense behind the seasons, whose circle needs no line." Then he paused to say what he was reciting. "I wrote this for my son. May I continue?"

"Yes, please do, Henry," Kate said, sounding a bit desperate. "Start again. Will you?"

Henry recited:

Love is like itself:
Undivided, outside of time;
The sense behind the seasons,
Whose circle needs no line.

Love is like itself:
Counting one as all;
Each moment in eternity
Rising upon the fall.

Love is like itself:
Without degrees or kind;
Unknown to "this, not that"
And seeing all while blind.

Love is like itself:
True without polarity;
A pointer on its balance staff
In perfect singularity.

Kate sat and stared at Henry as though a bird had flown down and sat upon his head. Henry looked at the ground, at his dirty toes, and found tears brimming in his eyes. He would not look up when she got up and came to stand in front of him. She bent and kissed his bare head, a light touch of her lips like the caress of soft wind from a bird's wing taking flight. Kate walked away, and Henry did not move for a long time until the sawyer found his way back and said, "They'll break yer heart in a thousand pieces, won't they, old man?"

"They will," Henry said. "And it is indeed a rare privilege. Once is not enough."


Taken from The Poet of Tolstoy Park by Sonny Brewer.
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Ya know? ... I dunno.
God help me.

Like a natural woman

Repliee Q1 is a robot that looks just like a woman. It gestures, blinks, speaks, breathes, and contains internal sensors so it can react to things "naturally." As amazing as this technology is, even its co-creator Hiroshi Ishiguru of Osaka University gets weirded out by it: "When a robot looks too much like the real thing, it's creepy."

H/T: World


GetReligion plugged this story the other day about Vanity Plates. Seems that in the state of Vermont religious plates are not allowed. Good heavens. When will this nuttiness about the so-misunderstood separation of Church & State end? In fact, since cars are registered, taxed, inspected, etc ... Maybe it's only a matter of time before bumper stickers meet with State disapproval?
H/T: GetReligion


Regular readers know that I rarely listen to commercial radio, don't watch TV, and have eclectic tastes in secular music -- from Handel to Prince; George Clinton to George Strait. Recently I blogged about the fabulous return of Al Green. Though I bought some Kiss & Aerosmith back in the day, I've never been much of a Rock fan. But if it's good, I'm not partial to genre. And this, the latest from the White Stripes, is artsy, grungy, garage band ... good. It might be loud (parents). But it's good & loud.
H/T: Thunderstruck

Jim Kushiner over at Mere Comments provides a Reality Check concerning the omnipresent hoopla about B16 and Ortho-RC union.

Rosie O'Donnell likes to eat, but can't stomach breast feeding!
H/T: Fr John

Have you heard of the Legal Guide for Bloggers?

Too grisly for Words [WARNING]
A Kansas City abortionist is out of business after investigators discovered a grisly house of horrors at his clinic; with fetuses kept in Styrofoam cups in his refrigerator and one employee accusing him of microwaving one and stirring it into his lunch. Whole Story
H/T: Drudge


Michael Jackson. As stated a while back, they should imprison the whacko parents that let their children sleep with him. I maintained throughout that he would not be going to prison. I mean, if you could be isolated and punished for being weird, well ... he's already serving Life. Anyway, after the Not Guilty Verdict, a commentator at World had this to say:

"It proves there is a God but He is just different and 'more child like' than the rest of us."
H/T: World

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The best vitamin for a Christian is B1.

The wages of sin is death. Repent before payday.

Tithe if you love Jesus! Anyone can honk!

Stolen from the St George Cathedral newsletter; submitted by Olivia Saliba.
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Today the West often views Islam as a civilisation very different from and indeed innately hostile to Christianity. Only when you travel in Christianity's Eastern homelands do you realise how closely the two are really connected, the former growing directly out of the latter and still, to this day, embodying many aspects and practices of the early Christian world now lost in Christianity's modern Western-based incarnation. When the early Byzantines were first confronted by the Prophet's armies, they assumed that Islam was merely an heretical form of Christianity, and in many ways they were not so far wrong: Islam accepts much of the Old and New Testaments and venerates both Jesus and the ancient Jewish prophets.

Significantly, the greatest and most subtle theologian of the early church, St. John Damascene, was convinced that Islam was at root not a separate religion, but instead a form of Christianity. St. John had grown up in the Ummayad Arab court of Damascus, where his father was chancellor, and he was an intimate boyhood friend of the future Caliph al-Yazid; the two boys' drinking bouts in the streets of Damascus were the subject of much horrified gossip in the streets of the new Islamic capital. Later, in his old age, John took the habit at the desert monastery of Mar Saba where he began work on his great masterpiece, a refutation of heresies entitled the Fount of Knowledge. The book contains an extremely precise and detailed critique of Islam, the first ever written by a Christian, which, intriguingly, John regarded as a form of Christian heresy related to Arianism: after all Arianism, like Islam, denied the divinity of Christ. Although he lived at the very hub of the early Islamic world, it never seems to have occurred to him that Islam might be a separate religion. If a theologian of the stature of John Damascene was able to regard Islam as a new- if heretical- form of Christianity, it helps to explain how Islam was able to convert so much of the Middle Eastern population in so short a time, even though Christianity remained the majority religion until the time of the Crusades.

The longer you spend in the Christian communities of the Middle East, the more you become aware of the extent to which Eastern Christian practice formed the template for what were to become the basic conventions of Islam. The Muslim form of prayer with its bowings and prostrations appears to derive from the older Syrian Orthodox tradition that is still practised in pewless churches across the Levant. The architecture of the earliest minarets, which are square rather than round, unmistakably derive from the church towers of Byzantine Syria. The Sufi Muslim tradition carried on directly from the point that the Christian Desert Fathers left off while Ramadan, at first sight one of the most foreign and alienating of Islamic practices, is in fact nothing more than an Islamicisation of Lent, which in the Eastern Christian churches still involves a gruelling all-day fast.

-- Taken from The Holy Mountain: A Journey Among the Christians of the Middle East, by William Dalrymple
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Many of you may be familiar with David Klinghoffer's writings in National Review. Thanks to Steve Beard's Thunderstruck, I discovered an interview with Klinghoffer (DK) conducted by Roman Catholic, and all-round good gal, Kathryn Jean Lopez (KJL). Here's a few excerpts -- or you can read the whole interview H E R E.

KJL: How can the whole of Western Civilization rest on the rejection of Jesus?

DK: Because the earliest Christian church was initially hobbled by insisting that new converts adhere to Jewish law -- keep kosher, be circumcised, etc. For an adult man to be circumcised was a bummer, let me tell you. The decision was made, however -- at a church council in Jerusalem in 49 -- to jettison Jewish law as a requirement for new Christians. This was done at the apostle Paul's insistence, and he explains in Acts that since the Jews were rejecting his presentation of Jesus as savior and messiah, the Christian message would now be taken to the gentiles. Dispensing with Jewish practices like circumcision made this possible. Had the Jews not rejected Paul's preaching about Jesus, the church likely would have held on to those laws. Had it done so, the church would have remained hobbled, and could hardly have become the world-bestriding institution it is today. Jewish Christianity would have remained a sect in Judaism, and probably would have died out along with other such sects in 70 when the Temple was destroyed by Rome and the Jews scattered. In that case, there would be no Christian civilization, and, among other things, no America as we know it -- a country whose founding was deeply influenced by Christian faith. There is a possibility that we would all be Muslims. Had more Jews accepted Jesus, Mel Gibson today might be praying toward Mecca.

KJL: You are grateful for Christianity and at the same time reject it -- how does that gel? Don't you ever want to convince your Christian friends they're wrong and need to reject Jesus?

DK: It's a paradox, but history is full of paradoxes. Far from wanting to convince Christian friends they're wrong, I want to do my bit to strengthen their faith. That's one of the beauties of debate: it forces you to look again at your beliefs, at their sources, and refine your thoughts about ultimate questions. My faith has been strengthened and sharpened immeasurably by debating with Christians and others who don't see things as I do.

KJL: In your book, you complain a lot about St. Paul, but, in the end, isn't he a scapegoat of sorts for the fact you just don't buy Jesus' shtick?

DK: I don't complain about Paul, though I do show that it's unlikely that he was what he claimed to be -- namely, a disciple of that era's great rabbinic sage, Gamaliel. It seems doubtful that Paul could even understand Hebrew -- his citations from the Bible are always from the problematic Greek translation, the Septuagint. He writes about Jewish spiritual life as an outsider, as someone who never experienced it. As I show, Jesus rejected the foundation of Jewish tradition -- the Oral Torah, which explains the cryptic text of the Five Books of Moses, the Torah -- but Paul rejected not only that but the structure built on top of that foundation, the Torah itself.

The title of this post reflects what I believe is Mr Klinghoffer's continuing struggle. It's a Convert's tale. Like many Converts, Klinghoffer has an interesting story.

Over the years I've found reasons to disagree with Klinghoffer. We once disagreed in print (Letters to the Ed, National Review) over whether God was the Creator of evil. I still maintain the He is not. And I'm sure we'd still disagree. But Klinghoffer's not afraid of disagreements. In fact, quoting Michael Medved, he says something amusing about disagreement during his interview with Kathryn Jean Lopez:

"[T]he only things all Jews can agree on is that Jesus wasn't the Messiah."

Now that's funny.
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As for boys and young men serving as robed acolytes, that is not even a traditional Orthodox practice to begin with (we have adopted it in this country from Roman Catholic practice), so there is no historical foundation to exclude girls and women from that role. I cannot stress strongly enough how damaging this synodal statement is going to be to the spiritual and liturgical well-being of women and girls throughout the Orthodox Church. Orthodox lack of unity and ethnic insularity are not the only factors leading to the continuing exodus of cradle Orthodox from the Church. Faulty theological arguments and practices which exclude fully half of our faithful from broader liturgical participation play an important – and too often overlooked – role as well.

I was just recently made aware of this talk given by Dr. Valerie A. Karras at last October's Annual Meeting of the Orthodox Christian Laity. Though she makes some good points in the first half of her presentation, toward the end she presents an agenda that is, in my opinion, un-Orthodox. Altar girls are just the tip of the iceberg. Read it all H E R E.
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Just when you thought it was safe to head back to Mass -- or even go back in the water -- here come the Priestesses!

Nine women, including one Canadian and one American, plan to defy the Vatican and become the first female Roman Catholic priests and deacons ordained in North America during a ceremony on a boat on the St. Lawrence River next month.

You can click H E R E to read the whole story. Here's the sentence I liked best:

The ceremony, which is not sanctioned by the Vatican ...

Really? Please.

"I only have my faith and my hope and what the global scene says to me that I believe it's time to take this step," said former nun Michele Birch-Conery, 65 ..."

The global scene? Wait. There's more ...

But, two of the women, Christine Mayr-Lumetzberger of Austria and Gisela Forster of Germany, were later secretly ordained as bishops by their male counterparts in the Roman Catholic church, insists Birch-Conery. The two women bishops will perform the St. Lawrence ordinations.

The following piece (apologies in advance) was written almost 20 years ago when the Episcopalians were to consecrate their first female "bishop".

BA - A - AD THEOLOGY

It was a gorgeous day. It was a gorgeous day for a consecration. The pasture was green ... very green. Pentecost? No one even looked over the fence to see ... well, you know. This was it. History in the making. FINALLY. The Church was back to its very roots. It all started here. Yet, for centuries, it had gone astray. Now, justification.

The bishop-to-be was nervous. Wouldn't you be? History. This was a first. It was like a first step, a first kiss, a first love, a first ... well, to put it bluntly: It almost seemed sinful. Everyone in attendance was excited. The air was a buzz. What was that smell? Incense. It must have been incense. Yet the aroma of the pasture was pungent.

Sheep. Many sheep were present. They anxiously awaited the moment. Most had waited a long, long, time for this. There had been fighting. The battle was long. In the end, the participants were few. But they were committed. Now was the time. And ...

There she was! Her fleece seemed white as snow. In many ways she looked almost male. Almost like Him. Almost. It was almost heaven! This was it. This was what they had come to see. History. Make that Herstory. Finally, a sheep becomes a bishop. Wasn't it about time? There was a great debate over what to call the new bishop. Yet all in support wanted to use their own language. Thus, it was settled.

They simply called her "Ba - Ba".

Things would be different now. In fact, they already were! The beauty, the historical moment, the buzz, and the aroma totally drowned out the message that was to be found on the other side of the fence: "Beware of false prophets who come to you in sheep's clothing" (Mt 7:15).

During Ba-Ba's first public address she stressed the value of sheep liberation.

"For far too long men have treated us as chattel. Was Abel not a shepherd? Was David not a shepherd? Were the shepherds not shepherds? Was He not a shepherd? For years our blood has been shed for man's sin. Does not the Old Book say, 'Smite the shepherd and the sheep will be scattered?' Well, this is a new day. We are neither smitten or scattered. We are one, slain only in the spirit. Thanks be to our God!"

And the crowd was feverish with adoration of their new spiritual head. Certainly she knew their pain better than any other creature. Some started to shout, "Behold the Lamb!"

"My people, I implore you ... Who do they say that I am? Before you answer, let me quote some scripture: 'How much then is a man better than sheep?' Now, I ask you, is there any difference in the eyes of God? Does God distinguish between creatures? Well of course not! Not my God!" [She said sheepishly.]

They had waited for centuries to hear this. Just as He was a revelation and a manifestation, truly this creature before them was also qualified. It was time to re-write the Faith, the Faith of Inclusion.

"Just as Abel was a keeper of sheep -- I, a sheep, am a much abler keeper."

They all laughed. They loved her way with words, her sense of humour and vigor. In her, there was no doubt. She was certainly qualified.

"In the past, many were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd. I promise you, this will not happen with the advent of sheep spirituality. For far too long our gifts have been overlooked. 'Woe to the shepherds of Israel that do feed themselves! Should not the shepherds feed the flocks?' Yes my friends, we have been treated as chattel. We too have a cause. We too have a purpose. We too have a God. Thus, we too have a calling! Some claim to be washed in the blood. It is our calling to rise up and show them what is in the blood they are washed in. Throughout the ages we have borne the burden of the sins of men. No more! We are witnesses today of the evolution of the Spirit."

Some present -- mimicking Abba, Father -- started chanting, "Ba-Ba, Mother". There was much laughter. It was a gay time. No more penitential worship of an imposing deity. The future was now. And all supposed that God, the Lamb, looked on in extreme pleasure.
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Orthodox Priest in Charleston is uninvited to give the benediction at the Medical University of South Carolina.

An unfortunate sign of the times.
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by Mary Catherine Huneycutt (age 10)

I walked inside from a cold but enjoyable walk. To my surprise, there was a sticky note on the watermelon on the counter. I read it and automatically understood. My Dad prepared a "scavenger hunt" for me. It was a great start too. The first sticky note said, "Go to a place you look every day, many times." I walked back to my room, not knowing what awaited me.

As I entered my room, I looked all around. I glanced in the mirror and saw the second clue. It all fit perfectly! A place that I look, many times each day: my mirror! I looked very closely and read the second clue. It said: "Go to the most published book in the world. Ever." As I walked toward the living room (where most books are) I figured out the book ... the Bible!

When I reached the living room I spotted my next clue above a Bible. This clue read: "Go to Proverbs under your saint." So I picked up the Bible, went to the book of Proverbs and looked for something about my [patron] saint. I found nothing. I sat down in the recliner and read that clue at least 10 more times. The last time I read it I finally understood. The clue meant: "Go to Proverbs in the Bible in your room that is under [the icon of] your saint!" I rushed back to my room for the Bible.

I quickly got the Bible as soon as I walked into my room. I opened the front cover and found my assignment. It was: "Read through the book of Proverbs; list 5 favorite verses". It was my first scavenger hunt and I finally understood how it worked. I think it was a great idea.

In the end I ended up having to ask Dad if I had to read the whole book of Proverbs and he said "No". That was a big relief! Here are my favorite verses from the book of Proverbs. Thanks Dad! The scavenger hunt was great!

1:15 -- My son, do not walk in the way with them, hold back your foot from their paths.

3:3 -- Let not loyalty and faithlessness forsake you; bind them about your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart.

3:11 -- My son, do not despise the Lord's discipline or be weary of his reproof.

6:12 -- A worthless person, a wicked man, goes about with crooked speech.

26:1 -- Like snow in the summer or rain in the harvest, so honour is not fitting for a fool.

____________________________________

Dad's addendum ...

I asked Mary Catherine why she chose those verses and she said they were ones she could understand. :)

When I was growing up I often found myself poking around in Proverbs. The pithy sayings were perfect for my leisure Bible reading. Besides, having gotten stalled out on the "Begats" after Genesis & Moses, what's a kid to do?

In the spirit of the hunt, here's some of my [current] favorites from Proverbs:

1:7 -- The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.

2:6-8 -- For the LORD gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding; he stores up sound wisdom for the upright; he is a shield to those who walk in integrity, guarding the paths of justice and preserving the way of his saints.

3:5 -- Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not rely on your own insight.

3:9-10 -- Honor the LORD with your substance and with the first fruits of all your produce; then your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will be bursting with wine.

3:13-14 -- Happy is the man who finds wisdom, and the man who gets understanding, for the gain from it is better than gain from silver and its profit better than gold.

6:16-19 -- There are six things which the LORD hates, seven which are an abomination to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that make haste to run to evil, a false witness who breathes out lies, and a man who sows discord among brothers.

9:8 -- Do not reprove a scoffer, or he will hate you; reprove a wise man, and he will love you.

10:17 -- He who heeds instruction is on the path to life, but he who rejects reproof goes astray.

10:24 -- What the wicked dreads will come upon him, but the desire of the righteous will be granted.

11:22 -- Like a gold ring in a swine's snout is a beautiful woman without discretion.

12:1 -- Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but he who hates reproof is stupid.

12:15-16 -- The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but a wise man listens to advice. The vexation of a fool is known at once, but the prudent man ignores an insult.

12:19 -- Truthful lips endure for ever, but a lying tongue is but for a moment.

13:1 -- A wise son hears his father's instruction, but a scoffer does not listen to rebuke.

13:11 -- Wealth hastily gotten will dwindle, but he who gathers little by little will increase it.

13:24 -- He who spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him is diligent to discipline him.

15:16-17 -- Better is a little with the fear of the LORD than great treasure and trouble with it. Better is a dinner of herbs where love is than a fatted ox and hatred with it.

16:2-3 -- All the ways of a man are pure in his own eyes, but the LORD weighs the spirit. Commit your work to the LORD, and your plans will be established.

17:1 -- Better is a dry morsel with quiet than a house full of feasting with strife.

17:10 -- A rebuke goes deeper into a man of understanding than a hundred blows into a fool.

17:24 -- A man of understanding sets his face toward wisdom, but the eyes of a fool are on the ends of the earth.

17:28 -- Even a fool who keeps silent is considered wise; when he closes his lips, he is deemed intelligent.

18:2 -- A fool takes no pleasure in understanding, but only in expressing his opinion.

18:17 -- He who states his case first seems right, until the other comes and examines him.

18:22 -- He who finds a wife finds a good thing, and obtains favor from the LORD.

19:18 -- Discipline your son while there is hope; do not set your heart on his destruction.

20:3 -- It is an honor for a man to keep aloof from strife; but every fool will be quarreling.

20:19 -- He who goes about gossiping reveals secrets; therefore do not associate with one who speaks foolishly.

20:22 -- Do not say, "I will repay evil"; wait for the LORD, and he will help you.

21:9 -- It is better to live in a corner of the housetop than in a house shared with a contentious woman.

21:13 -- He who closes his ear to the cry of the poor will himself cry out and not be heard.

21:26 -- All day long the wicked covets, but the righteous gives and does not hold back.

22:3 -- A prudent man sees danger and hides himself; but the simple go on, and suffer for it.

22:6 -- Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.

24:17-18 -- Do not rejoice when your enemy falls, and let not your heart be glad when he stumbles; lest the LORD see it, and be displeased, and turn away his anger from him.

26:7 -- Like a lame man's legs, which hang useless, is a proverb in the mouth of fools.

28:14 -- Blessed is the man who fears the LORD always; but he who hardens his heart will fall into calamity.

29:11 -- A fool gives full vent to his anger, but a wise man quietly holds it back.

29:15,17 -- The rod and reproof give wisdom, but a child left to himself brings shame to his mother. Discipline your son, and he will give you rest; he will give delight to your heart.


You can scavenge your own Proverbs H E R E.
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Much is being made these days of Pope Benedict's dream for Church unity -- West & East, Catholic & Orthodox. Many may ask: What happened to the unity of the Church? Was it ever united?

There are currently over 2,600 Christian groups in North America -- all claiming, in one way or another, to be "the Church". So, instead of studying the "Church of What's Happening Now", we must look back to the "Church of What Actually Happened" for clues, answers, the truth.

The Church originated with Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. Scripture tells us that on the day of Pentecost, fifty days after the Lord's Resurrection, some 3000 souls were baptized into the Kingdom. The Faith soon spread throughout Judea, to Samaria, Antioch and the Gentiles. Within a few years after the Resurrection, there were Christian communities sprouting up all over the Roman Empire. This period of the Church's history is recorded in the Acts and Epistles of the Apostles.

Then what? What happened to the Church after it leapt off the pages of Holy Scripture into the second century and beyond?

Persecution. For nearly 300 years the early Christians were seen as a threat to the religion and politics of the Empire. Thousands were murdered -- martyred -- for the Faith.

In the year 313, the Emporer Constantine granted Christians freedom of worship. Not only did this signal the end of the persecutions, it showed that the Church had survived to become, and continue to be, a significant force in the Empire.

During the next six centuries the Church determined and authorized the content of the New Testament, formalized the framework of the worship services, saw the development of theology and doctrine by great pastors and theologians known as the "Fathers" of the Church. It was also during this period that Saints Cyril and Methodius exported the Faith to the Slavs (Russia).

The fourth through the tenth centuries were also a time of struggle. The Byzantine Empire was on continual "red alert" against the Persians and Muslims. There were also many grave heresies within the Church. The greatest of these was the heresy of Arianism which taught that Christ was not truly God. This wind of error swept through the Church for centuries and is even present in some "denominations" to this day.

To battle such erroneous teachings, the Church convened councils. It was during what's known as the Seven Ecumenical Councils that the Church, by way of refuting the heretics, also proclaimed and defended the fundamental doctrines of the Faith. Bishops from around the world gathered at these councils to affirm the authentic teachings on the Incarnation and the Holy Trinity. Instead of creating new teachings, these gatherings proclaimed what the Church always believed and taught. The conciliar spirit and collegiality expressed within these authoritative gatherings are an important aspect of Orthodoxy. Five cities were sanctioned as centers of Church organization: Rome, Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, and Jerusalem. Each center had its own theological style, customs, and liturgical traditions. Yet they all shared in the unity of the Faith.

THE GREAT SCHISM

The splitting of the Church into Western (Roman Catholic) and Eastern (Orthodox) which took place in the year 1054 is known as the "Great Schism". There were many factors -- political, doctrinal, economic and cultural -- that fueled the division. However, two issues emerged above all others: Papal supremacy, and an addition to the Creed.

The addition to the Creed, known as the Filioque (Latin for "and the Son") affirms that the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son. Unlike the Creed which was authenticated and affirmed by two Ecumenical Councils (Nicea in 325 & Constantinople in 381), the Filioque was added at a local council in Spain in the year 589. The King, Reccared, claimed that "the Holy Spirit also should be confessed by us and taught to proceed from the Father and the Son". Although Kind Reccared may have meant well, his addition was not in accord with the Apostolic teaching about the Holy Spirit. The local Spanish council unfortunately agreed with his erroneous proposal.

For the East, this unilateral action (noted above and over the centuries repeated in various regions) was seen as a flagrant violation of the conciliar collegiality that was manifest and maintained by the Ecumenical Councils. It represented a major departure from the Orthodox doctrine of the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church. [For more on the Filoque controversy go HERE.]

The other major issue that finally brought about the Great Schism was the superior claims of control and power by the bishop of Rome. Although the bishop of Rome had always been viewed as "first among equals", he began to assert more and more unilateral and authoritarian control upon the rest of the Church. The ultimate "slap in the face" came in the year 1054 when a Cardinal, sent by the Pope, slapped a document of excommunication on the altar of the Church of Holy Wisdom in Constantinople during the Sunday worship! From then on the Western Church, centered about the Pope of Rome, and the Eastern Church, centered about the Patriarch of Constantinople, went their separate ways.

Although attempts were made in the years 1274 and 1439 to restore unity, no lasting communion was achieved. For certain, there are many factors -- political, cultural, and emotional -- that are involved in the continued separation of the East and West. However, the Orthodox Church believes that the two main reasons for the continued schism are the papal claims of universal jurisdiction and infallibility, as well as the addition and meaning of the Filioque to the Creed.

The centuries that followed the Great Schism saw the Western Church embroiled in the Protestant Reformation and the Roman Catholic Counter-Reformation. The Church of Rome became increasingly bogged down in political and theological problems. Martin Luther inadvertently ushered in the Reformation with his famous Ninety-Five Thesis. Though not his intention, his actions ultimately resulted in the Protestant body known as Lutherans. Hundreds of others across Western Europe also sought reform with the Church of Rome. The Reformation soon spread like a wild fire throughout the West. The Western Church's artificial unity was replaced by massive division.

There was also trouble raging across the way in England. Henry the VIII, in the midst of marital problems, decided to replace the Pope of Rome with himself as the head of the Church. Soon, the English Church would also be torn apart by division.

Some of these Protestant bodies, such as the Lutherans and Anglicans, held on to basic forms of Liturgy and Sacraments. Others, such as the Anabaptists and their descendents rejected many biblical ideas of hierarchy, sacrament, historic tradition, and other elements of Christian practice -- regardless of when and where they appeared in history -- thinking that in so doing they were freeing themselves from Roman Catholicism.

Thus, even though Protestantism and Roman Catholicism can each claim to have retained portions of foundational Christianity -- neither group can lay historic claim to being the one true Church of the New Testament.

We should all rejoice that steps are being made to reconcile differences and to heal this breach. Yet we must also be realistic. After centuries of separation, the way toward unity will not be an easy one. I am reminded of an old Anglican prayer: "Lord, revive Thy Church ...beginning with me." If each us start there -- with ourselves, working out our own salvation with fear & trembling -- the path toward unity will seem much more God-pleasing. There's much good we can all do together in the meantime. The rest is on God's time.

For a timeline of Church History, go H E R E.

For further views on Primacy, Unity & Ecclesiology, go H E R E.

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Praise
to Thee, O Lord:
for this day,
for what it shall bring,
or
for what it shall take away;
for what it shall offer,
or
for what it shall require.

Praise
to Thee, O Lord:
for color, smiles, friendship, love,
for beauty, little boys & girls,
for light, grace, mercy, truth & rest.

Praise
to Thee, O Lord:
for darkness, trials, cares, blisters,
for labour, sorrow, tears, struggle,
for exhaustion, burdens and fears.

Praise
to Thee, O Lord:
Because Thou hast promised to make it all good
to the heart that loves and trusts in Thee.

Praise to Thee,
O Lord.
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The bishops of the Antiochian Archdiocese. From left to right: Bishop MARK, Bishop BASIL, Bishop ANTOUN, Metropolitan PHILIP, Bishop JOSEPH, Bishop THOMAS, Bishop ALEXANDER.
Thanks Rdr Andrew

Over at Pontifications, a letter entitled "Why I Can't Be Episcopalian".

This from Bob Felton & Blogger News:

"I wonder how much the average Christian knows about the history of the Bible - not the history recounted in the Bible, but the history of the book per se. Not much, I suspect. There are far more than the 4 canonical gospels, for instance, and several apocolyptic revelations, too, and the battle over the selection of texts which now comprise the Bible were fierce; today's orthodoxy - whatever that really means, given that there are more than 2000 Protestant denominations alone - wasn't settled till the Council of Nicea, in 325 A.D. What is more, the Catholic and Protestant versions of the Bible differ. Some Bibles flag the concluding chapter of Mark, which is where the talk of snake-handling is found, as dubious - and others do not."

Yikes! I'm not all that sure of Mr Felton's knowledge. Why is it that Prots put so much stock in the First Council of Nicea? The Canon of Scripture was not codified there. Besides, the final Chapter of Mark barely mentions snake handling ... but it does recount the Resurrection & Ascension. The reason the final Chapter of Mark is "flagged" is because it's not there in early manuscripts --not, to my knowledge, because of the snake stuff! Go figure; here's the story.

Now for some real whack-nuttery:

This new Bible includes: The Parable of the Prodigal Daughter, The Lady's Prayer, and other revised favorite passages, such as:

* Her birth -- Luke 2:4 And Joseph went to Bethlehem. 5 To be enrolled with Mary, his wife, who was then pregnant. 7 And she brought forth her firstborn child. 21 And her name was chosen to be Judith.

* Her crucifixion -- John 19:17 And She bearing her cross went forth. 18 There they crucified Judith.

* Her resurrection -- Matthew 28:1 Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb. 5 But the angel said to the women, "Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Judith who was crucified." 6 "She is not here; for She is risen."

Knowing you, you probably want to read the whole press release.

Then there's this stuff ...

In most states - especially in the South and Northeast - families often defer to centuries-old religious rules that proscribe how to handle death. Cremation was taboo in many Christian religions until recently and is encouraged in the Hindu faith, but still is strictly forbidden among Orthodox and Conservative Jews.

"Cremation was my way of taking death back," says Saul, the Aurora man who will have his wife of 52 years spread in at least three places. "I didn't let religion dictate what should be done."

Families these days are "wildcatting," spreading Mom illegally in state parks and other public places; having grandpa made into a reef; shooting Dad into space; or turning grandma into jewelry.

Good heavens! More, if you must.
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Back when I was in seminary (Nashotah House, 1989-92), controversy was a given. We didn't have women clergy serving at the altar. But we did have some female students and even more advocates for change. In retrospect, from where things are today, it was a simpler time. Less nutty, but pretty intense.

One of the biggest controversies happened in my Senior year when the Presiding Bishop, Edmond Browning, visited the seminary for the first time. I was part of the seminary chapter of the Episcopal Synod of America [*] known as the DeKoven Society. Some of us were, by our own admission, BDACs (brain dead Anglo Catholics); others were more of the Prayer Book Society type. Being seminarians, we were naturally reactionary. No less, I must add, than the other side.

Anyway, due to his liberal leanings and guidance of the church, the visit of the Presiding Bishop caused a stir. Many members of the DeKoven Society planned to protest at the Evening Mass. That is, some planned to sit in their choir stall, arms folded, refusing to receive communion; others planned to stay home. Much to the dismay of some of my friends, I decided to take part in the service.

How can members of like mind behave so differently? One of my professors at the time, Dr Peter Toon, recently posted an article that touches on this in some ways. In other words, reading Dr Toon's words, I couldn't help but reminisce about seminary, that particular controversy, and the directions that many of my classmates have taken since graduation.

I became Antiochian Orthodox, as did one of my classmates. Another joined the Roman Catholics. Alums, before and after, found homes in Continuing Anglicanism, here, there, etc. Some eventually fell away from the priesthood.

With all the stuff going on in PECUSA these days, no one seems to ask anymore why I left the Episcopal Church. Unfortunately, given all the negative press, my admission to having once been Episcopalian sometimes solicits smirks or chuckles by folks who know nothing of the venerable history of Anglicanism. All they know about is Gene Robinson, clown masses, and gay marriage.

Yet, understandably, I do get asked why I switched jurisdictions within Orthodoxy. While there is certainly, as ever, a "back story" not suited for the Internet, the simple answer goes back to the essence of the seminary controversy. Mind you, mistakes were made but, the struggle is similar.

Back to 1992. We had a DeKoven Society meeting where members were talking of their planned actions during Browning's presiding at the Eucharist. After a bit of soul wrestling, I boldly stated that the Mass was not the place to stage a protest and if folks wanted to show their displeasure with the running of PECUSA they should stay home. I went on to state that I was scheduled to assist with the service and planned to do so.

My reasoning? I communed with Edmond Browning every single time I received communion in the Episcopal Church whether he was physically in the same building with me or not. Isn't that the nature of communion? We commemorated the Presiding Bishop at each and every Mass, and, as Episcopalians, we were in communion with him. (Duh!) What difference does it make when he's actually in the building? Did we want to hurt his feelings? Teach him a lesson? At the Mass?

Anyway, my decision found a few friendly ears but made many angry. The fated night came and went. A few of my pals and mentors did not receive communion, but it all passed without incident. During the service, I found myself seated beside Browning. I remember, unbelievably, saying to him: "I agree with you." What was I talking about? He'd preached a sermon about how we all needed each other in the church, there would be no outcasts, etc. And I heard him -- translated his words, perhaps -- to say that there was a place for "traditionalists" in PECUSA. This, I was glad to hear.

(History proved otherwise.)

Back to Orthodoxy. After several years as an Orthodox priest, I made a decision -- a protest, if you will -- and moved to another jurisdiction. Five years later, having ridden the pendulum the other way, and having experienced another type of protest, I came back home to the Antiochian Archdiocese. In my arrogance, I left Antioch for the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia (ROCOR) because I'd begun to feel that "traditionalists" were not welcome. I came back home to the Antiochian Archdiocese after being told by my Bishop that I was not to give communion to anyone who was not a member of the ROCOR. (Thankfully, this is not true of the ROCOR as a whole!) As we had people from the Moscow Patriarchate, Greeks, OCA, and Antiochians often visiting the parish, there was no way that I could, in good conscience, follow this mandate. Though I tried, there was no swaying this particular bishop on the issue. So I did what I considered to be the God-pleasing thing to do. I humbled myself and came back home.

In the end, it all came back to communion. I believe Orthodox is Orthodox: we all are fed from the same Chalice. I am no sectarian. There are struggles within any jurisdiction -- any human organization. As Dr Toon points out, and as one priest is currently proving, our answer may lie in different directions. Would that it were not so! Alas, this is the world we occupy.

This is one reason I look forward to the day, should God grant, that Orthodox jurisdictionalism dies in America. What a scandal! Antiochians could learn a great deal from the ROCOR, as could the Greeks from the OCA, et al, vice versa, etc.

Why can't we learn from each other now? Because we're all in competition over members, property, ideology, bureaucracy, cultural quirks, etc. Much of it smacks of territorialism, turf wars ... triumphalism. But you know what? We're still all in Communion with each other, whether administratively united or not. Whether in the same building or not. Same calendar or not. Ethnic culture or not. It might take something radical such as behaving like "reason endowed sheep" and talking to each other to resolve our differences. But, we're already in Communion with each other. Like it or not.

As Orthodox, we should stop protesting. Because, last I checked, there was another ecclesiastical label for groups that continue to do so. ;)
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Feel free (that's all that matters isn't it) to write your own caption in the Comments below.

Thanks: Dcn Matthew
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"Clowns stationed on Harrison Street will attract cars to the church parking lot located on West 31st Street. Drivers will be greeted by a team of three “anglers” and supplied with the daily scripture and a take-home homily. Prayer requests will be honored.

Everyone will be given communion, but this will be specially delivered in a tackle box, the minister said, in a clean bait cup."

Story H E R E.

Thanks: Thunderstruck
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By Rachel Harden

THE DEAN of Lincoln Cathedral, Dr Alec Knight, has defended the Lincoln Chapter's decision to allow parts of The Da Vinci Code to be filmed at the cathedral in August. He said this week that the Chapter "had considered the issue very carefully" before agreeing.

Speaking on Tuesday, Dr Knight said that the Chapter had discussed different approaches to the bestselling novel by Dan Brown, which questions orthodox Christian belief.

He said that there were two main approaches: that the Christian faith should be protected by not entering into the type of debate raised by The Da Vinci Code; or to take the book as an opportunity to proclaim the truth of the gospel.

"We took the latter approach, and filming will take place in August in the nave, chapter house and cloister."

Read the story H E R E.

For my review(s) of the Da Vinci Code go H E R E.

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Have son.
Have lump in throat.

A must read.

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MOSCOW, June 1 (RIA Novosti) - An electronic version of the Orthodox Christian Encyclopedia will shortly appear on the Internet.

A resolution was made on that score as three bodies of the Orthodox Christian Encyclopedia ecclesiastical research center-the Observation Council, the Council of Trustees, and the Public Council-held a joint session in Moscow, May 31, His Beatitude Alexis II the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia chairing.

Information, references and the latest news will make a greater part of materials from the encyclopedia to be offered for free access on the sedmitza.ru, Internet portal of the Orthodox Christian Encyclopedia ecclesiastical research center.

"The electronic versions will appear as the encyclopedia volumes come out in book form," said the Patriarch.

Offered to the conferees was an electronic version of Volume One, which concerns Russian Orthodox Church history.

Ten volumes of the Orthodox Christian Encyclopedia have come out of print for now. The edition is expected to comprise thirty or so.
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