From Wittenberg to Athens and All Stops in Between

Energetic Procession on Issues, Etc.

2009-07-07T07:54:00.005-04:00

I have mentioned before that usually the fare served up at Energetic Procession is way over my head. I am afraid that left to my own abilities I would have been a first class heretic at the time of Arias or Nestorius. Nonetheless, every once in a while Perry publishes an article that actually reaches down to my limited level of understanding and this one also had me cheering "Bravo!"

The Lutheran radio program, Issues Etc., ran shows on June 1, 2 and 3 against Eastern Orthodoxy and recently Perry published his counter-arguments to the Issues Etc. "howler" fest. I have heard all the Lutheran arguments before. My former Lutheran pastor and I discussed many of them as I was considering Orthodoxy. But in some cases Perry points out the non-substantive nature of these arguments, in others he points out the underlying contradictions. It is disappointing to see his comments go unchallenged by the Lutherans. I'd be interested in seeing where the discussion would go should the arguments be extended further.

Below I have captured just a few of the points which I thought were handled exceptionally well:

In the first broadcast that I heard, Strength and Weaknesses there is the usual attempt to tar Orthodoxy with something very much alien to it, namely the Charismatic movement. The criticism made by Webber is that Charismatics and the Orthodox go to worship for the same thing, namely the attainment of a mystical experience rather than to be slain by the law and revived by the gospel... Furthermore, he speaks of the purpose of worship to be slain by the law and resurrected by the gospel. And here seems to me to a case of the pot calling the kettle black. For all the disparagement of a therapeutic approach and a desire for “experience” the Lutheran approach is no less therapeutic and motivated by a recapturing of that “experience” of condemnation and liberation as fostered by their schema. Good Lutheran preaching should use the law to re-create the existential crisis of absolute condemnation by the law that demands all and gives nothing and then supplying the existential release with a gospel that gives all and demands nothing. The value of the gospel lies specifically in its cathartic nature. Here Reformation preaching is no different than what its advocates despise. It is there to create an experience and is evaluated on its ability to do so.

I never looked at the Law/Gospel paradigm in such a way before but it is a paradigm of experience!

To change gears, Webber’s main thrust in this particular broadcast is that Lutherans wouldn’t be seeing significant clergy convert to Orthodoxy if Lutherans were more faithful to their Lutheranism. It is due to an infiltration of happy clappy worship and anti-sacramentalism that is its cause. The problem with this approach is that while it may be sufficient to motivate people to look elsewhere it not only ignores and leaves unenganged any particular arguments for Orthodoxy but is insufficient to explain why people choose Orthodoxy.

This to me is not a particularly novel assessment. I have thought the same thing for a long time. Happy Clappy may cause some dissatisfaction with where one is but it doesn't necessarily cause one to choose Orthodoxy over the Church of Christ denomination over Roman Catholicism over Anglo-Catholicism over...you name it. Dissatisfaction initiates the search but it does not drive the wagon. Those of us who have actually converted know this firsthand. It isn't the Happy Clappy that makes Lutherans become Orthodox. That explanation is just not substantive. It sounds reasonable but it is not the full Truth.

What Webber is doing is being anachronistic in the extreme by reading back the Lutheran protest against the Neo-semi-pelagianism of the Ockhamists back into East/West relations. This move also shows that Webber really isn’t familiar with Orthodox theology since its main focus as determinative is Christology rather than the “soteriological sideshows” that Protestants obsess about.

OK, now we start getting to a point in the article that makes me yearn for the simplicity of 3rd year Calculus...but I included it because there is something said here that I think is valuable to keep in mind. Someone once said that Orthodox theology begins with the question "Who is God?" while Lutheran theology begins with the question "How can I be saved?" It is a perspective that really should be acknowledged to help gain understanding of the Orthodox.

As he [Webber] sees it, the East’s answer to Pelagianism was due to a lack of a clear understanding of sin which motivated them to just “skip over” sin and forgiveness an go straight to union with God in terms of some kind of absorption and loss of self in the deity... In any case, according to Webber the goal or salvation consisted in “contemplation.”... Then there is the obvious inconsistency in his criticism. He can’t have it both ways. Either the goal in Orthodoxy is escape from reason into a “mystical experience” (in which case the exact and exacting words of the liturgy shouldn’t matter at all) or the goal is rational contemplation. Which is it? This inconsistency never seems to dawn on Webber.

Whoops!

Then we have Webber using a scatter shot tactic of tossing out mess of different points. First he says that while under Islamic domination, there wasn’t any “creative theological work” going on. Apart from being ambiguous, this assumes that the purpose of theologians is to be creative, rather than faithfully preserving what he has received. So Webber measures Orthodoxy by an inappropriate standard. Theology is not a constructive practice in Orthodoxy to begin with.

This is another important point those wishing to learn about the Orthodox should know...preserving the faith as received is the intent, not a continual evolution of theological thought.

If the Lutherans can’t do any better than this, Orthodoxy is going to plunder what’s left of Lutheran gold.

And this is what I think sums up what Perry has to say...these kinds of arguments against Orthodoxy by Lutherans, which are straw men, half truths and insufficiently reasoned, are not going to stop the exodus of those Lutherans looking for something else. These are the things that damage credibility. I know because I have walked these very steps. I sincerely looked for my former denomination to give me some substantive reasons why Orthodoxy was false but what I got instead was an inaccurate caricature of Orthodoxy.

If this topic is of interest to you, read the whole article and feel free to comment where you agree or disagree.

Template Drama

2009-07-05T13:13:00.004-04:00

My blogger template had several odd breakdowns within the last couple of weeks. First my favicon was lost on the server hosting that service. The service finally sent me an email indicating they had some problems and I needed to reload my favicon.

Then I lost the parchment looking background which made reading the blog quite difficult. I finally figured out the problem--the template uses an image host and apparently the image which creates the parchment like background was lost from the host's server. Once I restored the image to another service and edited the code to point to the new image, I lost all my links! I can't explain that at all! But if the template is possessed then I will just have to post some Elder Paisios quotes...that will surely put an end to the funny business!

I only have one other issue left...the name on the Tab in Firefox...it reads the URL instead of From Athens to .... or Byzantine Dixie. I haven't figured out how to fix that yet. If anyone knows...let me know, otherwise I will live with it.

On Modern Life

2009-06-21T19:38:00.003-04:00

My dear friend, Emily, called my attention to the book, Diary of a Russian Priest by Fr. Alexander Elchaninov. It is not a book of lengthy developed theses but rather a book of snippets of wisdom. A perfect book to keep in one's purse or backpack to pull out while waiting in the doctor's office or for a plane or for a few quiet minutes during lunch hour.

I found this assessment quite sobering.

How difficult is our approach to God, especially in the case of some of us when everything - even nature, heredity, and the entire composition of man - builds up a wall between him and God.

The kind of man we most often encounter presents a combination of three traits: (1) pride - faith in his own strength, delight in his own creations; (2) a passionate love of earthly life; and (3) the absence of any sense of sin. How can such men approach God? As they are now, they are hopelessly isolated from God; they do not even feel the need of Him. And this is precisely the kind of personality that is developed in the conditions of modern life, through education, literature and so on. The idea of God is erased from the soul. What catastrophes are required, before such a man can be reborn!

- Fr. Alexander Elchaninov

An Email from Maria Khoury

2009-06-18T08:01:00.006-04:00

Our family is fairly comfortable. I have a job during these tough economic times. We have good shelter, plenty of food, good clothing and transportation. I have no checkpoints to go through to get to work. I almost never see an armed man unless I am getting a traffic ticket. When I first heard the story of Maria Khoury, the child of Greek immigrants to America, who went to college in Boston, fell in love, married maybe the only Arab Christian attending at the time, and moved back to his Palestinian homeland--a land his family has occupied since either 500 or 700AD--I was horrified that someone would actually choose to live in such oppressive conditions. I don't understand how someone could raise a family in an area where fears become reality when they have other options. But I also don't think everyone in the world should think like I do...probably better if they don't. I am a coward.

I recently received this email from my Presbytera and want to share it here. I don't claim to understand the politics. I don't even believe that Christianity will drop off the face of the earth if we lose our holy lands but I thought you might be interested in the letter and the article and also be prompted to pray for the Christians in Palestine.

Dear Friends of St. George Taybeh,

Many of you have been letting me know that you read the article about Christians in the Middle East in National Geographic.

In case you haven't seen it already, the article in June 2009 article in National Geographic: http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2009/06/arab-christians/belt-text

National Geographic has received complaints about the article. If you appreciate it, please send a message thanking the editor as I have done:

Mr. Chris Johns, Editor-in-Chief, ngsforum@ngm.com

The following words were spoken by President Obama in Egypt and it is a different tone than I have usually heard in the last few years feeling like a voice in the wilderness:
"It is undeniable that the Palestinian people- Muslim and Christians- have suffered in pursuit of a homeland. For more than sixty years they have endured the pain of dislocation, Many wait in refugee camps in the West Bank, Gaza and neighboring lands of a life of peace and security that they have never been able to lead. They endure the daily humiliations- large and small that come with occupation. So let there be no doubt: the situation of the Palestinian people is intolerable."
As the USA called for an end to settlement expansion, we have seen several attacks in the last week by Israeli settlers assaulting two Palestinian young women (27 May) at the Tappuah checkpoint and another attack where four Palestinians were rushed to the Nablus Hospital after severely beaten on their way to work at 5:30 am (June 1).
The settlement in front of my kitchen window is getting bigger and bigger thus as Jimmy Carter said years ago these illegal settlements are a huge obstacle to peace.
On a happier note, we are finding creative ways to survive the closure and living in a prison with the Wall all around us thus inviting internationals to come to Taybeh and help us boost the economy on October 3 & 4, 2009 for the Taybeh Oktoberfest. We view this festival as our peaceful resistance and our non-violent action to the harsh conditions we live. It is so important to keep Christians in the Holy Land since we witness for Christ’s love and peace and every year on Holy Saturday with the True Light that comes from the Life Giving Tomb of Christ with God’s message of eternal life.
In Christ, maria

It Ain't Me, Babe

2009-06-10T21:32:00.004-04:00

The US census defines baby boomers as that segment of the population born between 1946 and 1964. As a “boomer” I am well aware of the deficiencies of my generation. We were the idiots who said “never trust anyone over thirty”…and now most of us are counting down to the days to our retirements thinking we are plenty trustworthy. We are the generation of free love and drugs. We had tuned in, turned on and dropped out. Woodstock…that was ours. And not something to be proud of. Flower Power, Peace, Groovy…blah, blah, blah. We were (and are) so consumed with ourselves.

And when it came to contemporary Protestant worship, I suppose even contemporary Roman Catholic worship, we have been told it was our fault The boomers wanted it. The younger folks weren't interested in contemporary mega-church worship. They want something more traditonal and reverent. But we were forcing it on them because we liked it. So, understandably I was ready to take more well deserved criticism for my generation. Even if that criticism didn’t jive with my reality.

In looking around my brother’s Life Teen Roman Catholic mass…there were plenty of boomers clapping away and one might jump to the conclusion that the boomers were to blame but that didn’t explain all the young folks there, nor my niece who said if it hadn’t been for Life Teen she would have left the church by now.

And I looked at my husband’s Lutheran church. It was the teens and young kids either begging their parents to take them to the local Baptist mega churches with their cool, contemporary services or going on their own once they were old enough to drive. His congregation wasn’t loosing boomers to the Baptist contemporary services but they were losing teens.

And then my under 40 former LCMS DCE friend who opted for Latte Lutheran Church when she moved to St. Louis.

Nonetheless, despite my anecdotal experience, I was prepared to take the hit. After all, the redeeming features of the boomer generation seem to be few and far between.

But the data is in and it doesn't support that conclusion. It appears the boomers, while a natural target, are not the ones flocking to the mega churches. It is, in fact, those younger ones...the ones we are told are interested in more traditional and reverent worship...they are the ones are making their homes in the world of contemporary mega worship. And they aren't anteing up either!

HERE is the skinny. (Boomers, this doesn't mean you can relax yet. We still have to gather up all the bell bottoms and burn them. We are responsible for that fashion disaster, too!)

O Lord I Have Cried Unto You...

2009-05-25T08:53:00.005-04:00

I keep lots of photos on our parish website so I am frequently getting submissions. This year the youth kept vigil at the tomb of Christ on Great and Holy Friday and one of the Sunday School teachers took some of the most beautiful candlelit photos as the psalter was prayed throughout the night. Inspired by the photos I captured them in a video and added some music. Below is the end product.

I used Roxio Creator 2009. It was very simple software to work with but the output is very basic--don't know if that is my limited vision or the software! (There was a loss of photo quality once the file was uploaded to Youtube...that's a disappointment.) I wonder...have you done something similar? What kind of software have you used?

Love Begets Love

2009-05-21T07:19:00.004-04:00

In my early Orthodox days one of the things that struck me as a little odd, perhaps as a little contrived and maybe even a little too close for comfort as "works righteousness" was the the concept of practicing "active love".

Father Zosima offers this prescription to a desperate woman in Dostoevsky's Brother's Karamazov.

“…What, what will give me back my faith? Though I believed only when I was a little child, mechanically, without thinking about anything…How, how can it be proved? I’ve come now to throw myself at your feet and ask you about it. If I miss this chance, too, then surely no one will answer me for the rest of my life. How can it be proved, how can one be convinced? Oh, miserable me! I look around and see that for everyone else, almost everyone, it’s all the same, no one worries about it anymore, and I’m the only one who can’t bear it. It’s devastating, devastating!”

“No doubt it is devastating. One cannot prove anything here, but it is possible to be convinced.”

“How? By what?”

“By the experience of active love. Try to love your neighbors actively and tirelessly. The more you succeed in loving, the more you’ll be convinced of the existence of God and the immortality of your soul. And if you reach complete selflessness in the love of your neighbor, the undoubtedly you will believe, and no doubt will even be able to enter your soul. This has been tested. It is certain.”

What? You have to practice doing the right thing? All kinds of initial objections stirred in my head...not the least of which "if the God is ultimately the source of these works (and He is because all good comes from God), why does He need to practice?" Of course, as time progressed so too has my understanding and my appreciation for synergia and the practice of active love.

How is it possible that practicing active love can work? Anastasia has a marvelous post about a discussion with her husband and his new discovery on the principles of truth and goodness which explains how. From a physiological point of view Anastasia points out how doing something impacts our neurological system.

“Right. Every time you repeat any behavior, you reinforce that path along the neurons, so to stop doing that thing, you literally have to fight your own body, your own brain.”

In this case she is talking about doing something sinful. But note that the converse, active love, is also true. The more we do it the more the neurological pathways are reinforced. Love begets love.

And the spiritual consequences Father Zosima promises? Read Anastasia's post. "This has been tested. It is certain.” says Father Zosima. And as an added bonus see how science merely reflects the Creator. Wouldn't you just love to be with Anastasia and Demetrios, sitting at the beach, drinking espresso, or cherry juice as the case may be, and being immersed in such wonderful discussion?

What if God were not Three Persons?

2009-05-11T21:20:00.009-04:00

Last week I was traveling again for work. You should see me when I travel. Really, it is very sad...the picture of self-indulgence. I bring along videos and 8 hours of power to view them. I have an mp3 player. I bring books. I have some inexpensive noise canceling headphones. I bring along "in-flight socks" so I can remove my shoes. I have a "memory foam" pillow for my back. What a princess!

After several hours of viewing and reading during my most recent flight I decided to sit back, close my eyes and just listen. I dug up the audio files of the Lutheran Orthodox Colloquium. First I listened to Deacon Roeber's talk--one of my favorites from an informational perspective as it focuses on the history of Lutheranism and its diversity across regions in Germany. And then I listened to another favorite, a talk on the Trinity by the only cradle Orthodox presenting at the conference, Hiermonk Calinic Berger. Father Calinic starts his presentation with what I think are most provocative questions for non-Orthodox.

What does the Trinity mean to you? What does it mean to your personal spiritual life? What does it mean to your experience of the Church, and to the Church?

And then Father Calinic explains why God could not be anything BUT Trinity. He asks, "What if God were not 3 persons? What if He were only 1 person? What difference would that make?"

If God were a single person before He created the world, whom did He love? He loved Himself. And for us, as we are created in God's image, this would mean the foundational principle of our life would be self love...and that is ugly...we inherently know this.

So Father Calinic asks a different question, "What if God were two Persons, could you have perfect love?" Two persons can be engrossed in themselves, an exclusive love that ignores others, a love that creates a "we" between the two instead of an "I / thou" with all others.

A third Person ensures an objective, unselfish love. Three Persons in perfect unity. And that is the model for human life. The meaning of life is always found in another person. We are not created for things. We become bored with things. Things can't satisfy. We are created for other persons. We are created in the image and likeness of God with Love as our center, our purpose.

Father Calinic further points out that the Trinity is the foundational principle of Orthodox theology (in contrast to Article IV of the Lutheran Confessions, the Lutheran doctrine of Justification). I recall first being taught this in my Orthodox catechumen classes and thinking how radically different this was from any of the other religious instruction I had had in my life, from Catholic Schools to college level coursework in Lutheranism. It was like discovering the quantum mechanics of theology. Akin to the notion of the electron as particle and wave is God as One and Three. And the Love of the Trinity is like the electron cloud around a molecule.

So Sunday morning I decided to find out if what I perceived as a radical difference was just me and my penchant for the scientific method and linear thought or if my impression was actually true...that this understanding of Trinity was something totally different. Before we headed off to our separate churches I asked my husband, "What does the Trinity mean to you?" and in the course of our discussion I shared Father Calinic's explanations of God as Love and how God could only be three Persons in one God and not one person or two persons.

My husband left for his Lutheran church services unimpressed thinking this explanation was just another hokey Orthodox twist on things. But when he came home he handed me his bulletin, showed me one of the readings for the day with a number of phrases underlined and some words circled and excitedly said, "You were right and it's all right here!"

The passage he referred to was 1 John 4:1-21 in the ESV translation:

Way cool....

All Glory to God!

Electronic Orthodox Planner

2009-05-11T07:33:00.006-04:00

In our family, the term "geek" is a most favorable and honored term. So, when I tell you the "geek" in me was delighted to find an electronic Orthodox ecclesiastical calendar with the feast days and readings that integrate into both my Outlook and Google calendars, I am not so far from the sin of pride! The calendar lists the feasts, the saints commemorated on that day, and the Scriptural readings. New Calendar only. (It is not a menologion with the Troparion and Kontakion of the day. An electronic menologian is available HERE for Windows. It contains the Troparion and Kontakion of the day, information about the lives of the saints, icons, as well as the Scriptural readings. It does not integrate with the Outlook or Google calendars.) One word of advice, to get the file to work with my Google calendar I had to download the referenced file onto my computer and then import into the Google calendar. It is not just a "click and run" link. (I suspect that last sentance pretty much nullified any impressions you might have regarding the low level of my geekiness!)

If you have other tools you use, let us know about them!

From the Archdiocese:

The Daily Planner is produced by the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese Department of Youth and Young Adult Ministries. The digital version is available for free download and has been tested with the following applications: Palm Desktop 4.1, Microsoft Outlook 2002 or higher, Apple iCal, Microsoft Entourage, and Google Calendar.

Visit: www.goarch.org/archdiocese/departments/youth/planner2008 & choose one of the options below:

* User Guide (1.2 MB)

* ICS Format (for Outlook 2007, iCal - 1.1 MB)

* VCS Format (for Outlook 2002-2003 or Entourage - 1.1 MB)

* Palm Pilot VCS

Condensed Version (does not contain full readings - 188 K)

Complete Readings Version (long readings are split - 1.1 MB)

* Google Calendar ICS (1.1 MB)

* All files in zip format (1.9 MB)

Come, Receive the Light

2009-04-19T21:39:00.003-04:00

At the beginning of Holy Week Father told us to prepare for a marathon, not a sprint. Wow, was he right! The week started off rather peacefully with the beautiful Bridegroom services Sunday, Monday and Tuesday evening. I am a master at the art of procrastination so naturally I waited until Tuesday night for the Sacrament of Confession (to be done before receiving the Sacrament of Holy Unction)--which actually wasn't a bad thing because I don't think I had ever been so well prepared having just gone through all of the Bridegroom services. Wednesday was the Sacrament of Holy Unction. EARLY Thursday morning (6:30am!!!) we celebrated the Divine Liturgy. Thursday evening was the 12 Gospels service. Friday we had 3 services, Royal Hours, Apokathelosis (The Taking Down from the Cross) and the mournful, beautiful, yet hopeful Lamentations. Saturday morning the Divine Liturgy and, of course, late Saturday night Orthros with joyous Pascha immediately following early Sunday morning and Agape Vespers this afternoon.

By Thursday my head was full of nothing but the chanting of the services which only intensified as the week progressed. I was blessed to be able to immerse myself in the Holy Week. Mr. Dixie went to visit his sister in Florida. His mom was also visiting so it was a some good family time for him and an equally great opportunity for me. But a marathon it was. By Saturday morning about mid-service I hit the wall. Everything after that is a bit of a blur.

After the Pascha service I made the huge mistake of breaking the Lenten Fast by eating some pork sausage patties and cheese. And maybe those malted milk Easter Eggs I had in the car on the way home didn't help either. I haven't yet recovered--my stomach is still queazy. And I am completely exhausted.

All that said, however, this was by far the best Holy Week journey of my life. The Church in her wisdom prepares us for the reality of the Paschal Feast. Not just a special Sunday with special music, white patent leather shoes and new hats. But the Feast of Feasts. The true magnitude of the Feast can escape us. The rigors of the Holy Week marathon puts that Feast into proper perspective.

So here I am...queazy stomach, heavy eyelids, non-stop chanting in my head, and a joy that my heart cannot contain. "Christos Anesti! Christ is risen!" My best to all of you as we celebrate our Risen Lord.

Paschal Lamb Cakes for Western Easter

2009-04-12T08:32:00.007-04:00

Today is Western Easter and my brother's family is hosting the celebration so we will attend mass with them at their church and then off to their house with several other folks from their community to take part in the feast. As usual, I will have lamb cakes in tow. In fact, I think in the last few weeks my previous photos of Easter lamb cakes have been the number one "hit" on my Sitemeter! This year I made two cakes, one with coconut for the civilized folks and one without for my husband and sons with the improperly developed taste buds.

My son sent me this post from a blog called "Cake Wrecks". Anyone ever seen a lamb cake smoking a cigarette before?

Lastly...forgive me but I can't help myself. A wonderful Orthodox woman sent me this somewhat irreverent link about an Orthodox Easter cake. Now, who will help me put together the symbolism for my lamb cakes? I am stealing the coconut explanation--it's too good. And especially poignant when you see a few flakes fall from the cake and no longer stick....

More Info on the Pascha Television Program

2009-04-08T07:11:00.002-04:00

Recall my earlier notice about an orthodox television program coming soon on ABC called, Pascha, the Resurrection of Christ? GOARCH has published a number of programming dates. Hopefully yours is among them. Not so for the Atlanta affiliate yet.

Important news for the Southern Orthodox Woman

2009-04-06T11:56:00.002-04:00

As you may be aware the Southern Woman is actively discouraged from wearing white shoes after Labor Day and before Easter. I actually think this may be codified in certain city, county and state ordinances…at least one gets that idea if she tries wearing white shoes out of season!

However, please note, these ordinances were written on the basis of Western Easter dating. Therefore, it is fully acceptable for the Southern Orthodox Woman to wear white shoes to her Palm Sunday Divine Liturgy this year! So get out your white shoe polish and polish up your whites. We are just a few days away from breaking the annual white shoe fast. Let’s celebrate the season to its fullest!

New Blogs Added to the List

2009-04-05T16:00:00.003-04:00

I have added two new blogs to the blogroll. One is Cheff Jonny, a blog changing it's emphasis to Orthodox recipes. Cheff Jonny was recommended by my blogging friend, Sophocles. Sophocles runs a popular Greek Restaurant in the Las Vegas area and I am thinking if Sophocles recommends it, there must be some yummy recipes coming. Now I have never been interested in cooking but this Lent I discovered "Amy's" Natural and Organic foods. Many dishes are meatless and dairy free, some gluten free as well. But everything I have tried so far has been delicious. So I am guessing it is possible to make something with tofu that isn't awful and maybe I could learn to make a few dishes myself thereby expanding my lenten cuisine beyond hummus, avocado and nuts.

I have also added Paredwka: Catching the Ball, the blog of a former Lutheran pastor, now Orthodox catechumen and the husband of my friend, Emily. I look forward to reading his insights as he journeys to Orthodoxy. And I hope that someday I will learn what "paredwka" means!

Great News, Great Visit and the Taxes are Filed!

2009-04-04T22:28:00.017-04:00

This past week I visited my almost 80 year old father in Phoenix. I was surprised at how well he is doing. My father is deaf and only communicates by reading lips (which is a skill that seems to be fading as he ages). Not being able to maintain normal conversations isolates him from the rest of the world but he manages.

My sister sent me these photos of my father when he was a young man...and professional wrestler. He was a paratrooper with the 101st Screaming Eagles. While stationed in Germany during the Korean War he wrestled for entertainment for the troops taking R&R. There he met my mother and upon his return to the US with his German bride he attempted a career in professional wrestling. But my mom wasn't so keen on that, so he settled down and became an accountant!

I love these photos of Killer Bill Stroud. How can a guy with such a sweet smile be called "Killer Bill"!

I also finished our taxes today. I am so grateful for TurboTax! Only took me 8 hours from start to finish and half of those were spent in rounding up all the paperwork.

On top of all of this good news is the best news, my friend, Emily, and her husband and family are becoming Orthodox! Chronia Polla for the Harju family!

Nugget of Wisdom

2009-03-27T12:39:00.002-04:00

My priest is always giving us nuggets of wisdom. We had a college class on "World Religions" visiting us for our liturgy on the eve of the Annunciation. The instructor (who just happened to be Orthodox) takes his class to all kinds of worship services so that the class can experience the different means of worship rather than just read about them. During the homily Father spoke a little about Orthodox belief and practice. He explained that all around the world Orthodox Christians were praying essentially the same liturgy. He then offered this statement worth pondering:

We don't change the liturgy, the liturgy changes us!

Indeed...

Today is the Beginning of our Salvation!

2009-03-25T07:37:00.004-04:00

On this Feast of the Annunciation the Church sings "Today is the beginning of our Salvation!" For it is through the Theotokos that Christ took on flesh to save us. Since the Fall the world had waited...and waited. The whole world waited to hear those words, "Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word." And with Mary's assent, our salvation begins.

Archbishop Demetrios writes in his encyclical for the Feast:

...Her obedience to the will of God to give birth to His only-begotten Son, the Christ, and to be His Mother carry monumental significance. By Her full and unwavering acceptance of God’s will, the Theotokos reversed the terrible consequences of Eve’s tragic choice to disobey the will of God. By Her words and actions, the Virgin Mary made it possible for us to experience a full and total restoration from our tormented human condition, so that, in Christ, all human beings could live in authentic communion with God as He intended for us since the beginning of the cosmos.
Beyond Her exemplary words of obedience to the will of God, the Theotokos also demonstrated unparalleled courage when she accepted God’s most awesome charge of giving birth to His Son. For in the months and years that followed, the Virgin Mary, the Panaghia, faced unprecedented difficulties which called for uncommon bravery. It is enough for us to remember the birth of Christ in a cave in Bethlehem, the flight to Egypt to escape the dangers to the newborn Jesus’ life imposed by Herod’s wrath, and the sight of Her Son hanging upon the Cross. Hers was a level of courage that human language fails to express and which can only be attributed to the Mother of God, the ever-Virgin Mary and Theotokos, a courage most unique in its grandeur and in its authenticity as compared to the courage of all other human beings...

We celebrated the Feast of the Annunciation with Liturgy last night and a fish dinner afterward. As part of our meal prayers we all sang the Kontakion for the day. What a beautiful way to begin a meal! Here is a sample in English...but careful before you click, it requires Real Player. I wish I could locate a sample in Greek. This is one of those favorite hymns that everyone joins in to sing.

The Kontakion dates back to the 626AD Siege of Constantinople. Most of the men of Constantinople were away fighting a war against the Persians and while they were gone the Avars came to attack the city. Being outmanned and in a hopeless situation Patriarch Sergius with the clergy, marched endlessly along the great walls of Constantinople with an icon of the Theotokos. This helped to bolster the faith of the city's defenders and at every turn the Avars were thwarted. A miracle came soon after. A tidal wave destroyed most of the fleet of the attackers and their remnants retreated. All Glory to God!

Happy Feast Day to you all!

Divine Liturgy Wordle

2009-03-23T08:25:00.003-04:00

Inspired by Pastor Hall's periodic offerings I created a wordle of the Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom. I think Wordle thought, based on the words, the shape should be a IXOYE, or fish. I kinda liked that. Anyway...great stuff.

(Click on the image to see more clearly.)

An Appeal...Maybe You Read This, Too?

2009-03-12T18:55:00.004-04:00

I am looking for an article or comment I read online recently about an Orthodox priest, bishop or patriarch (sorry, don't recall) who visited Rome for a special ceremony involving the pope. The Orthodox cleric commented favorably on much of the artwork in the Sistine Chapel but said that the fresco of the Last Judgment behind the altar didn't make sense to him. If you read the same thing and know where...could you please point me to it? Many thanks.

Orthodox TV--Fire Up the TIVO!

2009-03-12T17:35:00.003-04:00

This just in from Directions to Orthodoxy news service. (If you don't subscribe to their news feed, do. You can use your standard blog reader.)

ABC will air a GOTELECOM production entitled Pascha - The Resurrection of Christ, a one-hour special highlighting portions of Orthodox Christian Holy Week. Check your local listings for air time. Can't wait!

Discover Greece, Discover the Early Church

2009-03-11T16:50:00.004-04:00

Our parish is sponsoring a tour of Greece with a focus on our Orthodox faith. We will be visiting churches and monasteries and our priest, who lived in Greece for over 6 years and studied iconography, will guide us in our studies. I am going...my non-Orthodox husband is, too. We are planning this for 2010 so there is plenty of time to fund raise and or save money. Check it out...maybe you'd like to come with us?

Discover Greece,

Discover the Early Church

A private “Go Ahead Tour” designed exclusively by Dr. Nina

Lamson and Father Anthony Salzman of St. Philothea Greek Orthodox Church, Watkinsville, Georgia.

May 6 – 17, 2010

See initial announcement flyer HERE for more information.

HERE for terms and conditions

Some Experiences with the Vigil Lamp

2009-03-11T06:10:00.004-04:00

I think we finally have figured out how to burn a vigil lamp in our icon corner without burning the house down or even leaving trails of black soot up the wall. Now what I have to share may not be of interest to some who find reward in the struggle of maintaining a vigil lamp. But for battle weary ones like me, I am happy to have finally found a very good solution.

First let's talk a little about aesthetics. Get a glass that fits. To the left is a picture of the vigil lamp I bought at our Greek festival last year and the glass that came with it. Note how the votive doesn't really want to sit straight? All the wiggling in the world won't really change that. Also, the glass is painted red and any little scratch shows up. A cheap, non-fitting, painted, glass on such a beautiful vigil lamp is a bad marriage.

For only $4.70, Father David Cownie, at Eastern Christian Supply will sell you a beautiful tapered glass, available in a number of colors, which is designed to fit. See the difference?

Once you have a lamp that looks good, the next thing you have to do is decide what to burn in that lamp. Our first tries with cork and beeswax wicks in olive oil were disasters. In one case the cork started to burn and sent flames up the wall. Glad we found that before we burned the house down! One thing you need to know right away...always put water in the votive glass first...about 1/4 - 1/3 full is what we have been doing. That will quench any fire should the oil level burn down too low. We also found burning virgin olive oil to be quite messy...very sooty. Those same aromatic hydrocarbons that make it taste so good in cooking make a mess when burning.

So we switched to beeswax votives. However, beeswax votives are a product of nature. Sometimes they burn beautifully, sometimes they sputter, sometimes they send up loads of soot and sometimes they also become dangerous and send up large flames as has happened in a couple of cases for us. And...they are a bit expensive to burn daily but that wasn't key in our decision to move away from using the beeswax votives.

We decided to try oil again. I ordered a "Mount Athos" cork floa t. Now what happens when you put the Mount Athos cork float in the oil is that it turns upside down leaving the cork up and the metal ring down. I think the metal wires on the wick holder are designed to bend and clip on to the sides of the votive glass and this will prevent the inversion but we weren't so thrilled with the idea of clipping the float to the glass having had the experience of inadvertently igniting cork in our past. So my husband clipped off some of the wire, leaving just enough to grasp with the fingers when adjusting the wick, and the cork floats with the metal ring up.

My husband, not being Orthodox and therefore not constrained by any preconceived notions or rules, bought some cotton wick with a wire center at the hobby store. This works very well and as the lamp burns throughout the day the wick seems to naturally be drawn up.

My husband said nix to olive oil since the sooty fires we experienced are burned in his memory. He tried plain old grocery store brand vegetable oil. Wow...what a difference...a slow steady burn, no soot at all. In fact we only need to tend to the flame twice a day...morning and evening. I read online of an Orthodox priest who also recommended vegetable oil so that was sufficient for me to trust that we weren't doing something inappropriate, although I am aware that some will disagree.

So...what have you tried and that works best for you?

Book Confessions Meme...

2009-03-08T17:42:00.006-04:00

...as tagged by Emily and stolen from Pastor Hall.

1. To mark your page you: use a bookmark, bend the page corner, leave the book open face down?
When traveling I bend the page corner, at home I leave the book open face down. Bookmarks are for decoration, right?

2. Do you lend your books?
Sure...if anyone wants to read them.

3. You find an interesting passage: you write in your book or NO WRITING IN BOOKS!
There are two books I did not write in because I knew I wanted to share them with others (Precious Vessels of the Holy Spirit and The Communion of Love)...so I folded corners on the pages that had information I wanted to remember...but then I couldn't find the information when I later returned to the books! So never again. I will highlight and write and just buy a 2nd copy to share. My husband tells me I highlight or underline the wrong things anyway.

4. Dust jackets - leave it on or take it off.
Off...they get in the way.

5. Hard cover, paperback, skip it and get the audio book?
Audio whenever possible. Driving and listening are the right combination for me. Otherwise paperback so the corner bending and writing are not such a terrible thing.

6. Do you shelve your books by subject, author, or size and color of the book spines?
I try to put books on the bookshelf when straightening up the house.

7. Buy it or borrow it from the library later?
After years of library late fees, it is cheaper for me to buy.

8. Do you put your name on your books - scribble your name in the cover, fancy bookplate, or stamp?
I never write my name in my books. If you borrowed one and never returned it...I wouldn't know...and that's OK.

9. Most of the books you own are rare and out of print books or recent publications?
LOL! I have one 1920's Sears catalog, does that count?

10. Page edges - deckled or straight?
Deckled? Is that what they call it? Why do that do that? Is it important? Not for me.

11. How many books do you read at one time?
No more than two and one of those is probably audio.

12. Be honest, ever tear a page from a book?
Never...that's like vandalism. However, I once put the Book of Mormon that was in my hotel room in the drawer where I kept my dirty laundry.

Oh, You Can't Get to Heaven...by Reading a Book

2009-03-05T08:07:00.009-05:00

Pastor Weedon has an interesting antidote for Lutherans bit by the Orthodoxy bug. He recommends Lutherans read Krauth.

Many Orthodox converts know the influence reading has had in their conversion. Even if they don't have the spiritual rigor to fully digest Fr. Dumitru Staniloae or Vladimir Lossky, books from Metropolitan Kalistos Ware, Father Peter Gilquist and even Frederica Mathewes-Green may have left impressions. But these converts also know that reading was not enough to bring them and keep them in Holy Orthodoxy.

One of the commentors on Pastor Weedon's recommendation makes this astute assessment:

I agree with CJ [Chris Jones] when he says that no book will do it. It is quite correct that when one swims he/she has found something fundamentally flawed in his existing denomination. This flaw is something that he experienced
and through this experience, he takes and uses as an interpreter i.e. convinces him of the flaw.
Therefore even if Krauth gives a good apology it will not convince if what
the subject experiences is not consonant with what Krauth defends.
I have seen this in the internet. I have seen folk from non-denom
evangelicalism parking for a while at Wittenberg then taking their tent and
pitching it either in Rome or Constantinople.

What are people looking for? Authenticity. Truth. No one wants to be taken in by a lie. In my estimate, LPC's comment accurately sums up why someone can't just read their way into Lutheranism, Orthodoxy or whatever. Sure, it may start with reading but the whole has to be congruent for a person to see it as authentic and that whole also includes experience, not just knowledge obtained from reading.

I write this here not as a counter to Pastor Weedon's advice as I am not in a position to know what would keep a Lutheran, Lutheran, but as a reminder for me when someone asks me about Orthodoxy I need to remember that I am part of their experience.

I Forgive and God Forgives

2009-03-01T08:05:00.003-05:00

Deb has a marvelous little snapshot of Forgiveness Vespers which will be held at your local Eastern Orthodox church tonight. Go (to read Deb's article and to the Forgiveness Vespers service). You will be very glad you did.