Orthodixie

Patriarch ALEXY lived in two worlds, one under the Soviet oppression of the Church and the other whereby he led the Church from glory to glory after the fall of Soviet rule. I have no doubt that this will be his legacy. The courage he showed by leading the nation through a difficult time that could have led to civil war when he addressed the country in the midst of the night, in the midst of darkness at 1:42 a.m. on August 21st, 1991 will stand out as one of the greatest addresses of the 20th Century. Out of this darkness, his address to the nation became a new light of hope for a new nation.

Like the captain of a great ship, he guided the Russian Orthodox Church through troubled waters, rejecting those who would take the Church backwards to pre-revolutionary monarchist times, and at the same time rejecting those who would liberalize the Church and make it something other than it had always been. At the same time, he capably oversaw the rebuilding and restoration of thousands of churches and monasteries, the reeducation of the faithful and the clergy and the reestablishment of the Church as a great force in the Russian Federation. His untiring work which led to the reunification of ROCOR and the Russian Orthodox Church is yet another example of his bold leadership.

Personally, I had the greatest respect for him on the level of international Orthodox relations. He adhered to and respected the canonical norms for territorial boundaries of sister churches and dealt pastorally with the uncanonical situation that we have here in North America and other places. While he often faced resistance, he led with integrity and love. As the leader of more than 100 million Orthodox believers, in my eyes, he was the true leader of the Orthodox world.

A wonderful letter, in full: HERE.

Image Source

MOSCOW (AP) — The Russian Orthodox Church says its Patriarch Alexy II has died.

The church says the 79-year-old died at his residence outside Moscow on Friday. It did not give the cause of death, but the patriarch had long suffered from a heart ailment.

The outspoken patriarch had led the world’s biggest Orthodox church since 1990, presiding over a flock that by most estimates numbers two-thirds of Russia’s population of 142 million.

Source

Letter of Legacy – here.

Video Tribute – here.

As a husband & father of three, I am obligated to encourage you 🙂

As traveling and holiday mail begins to complicate matters, NOW is the time to buy those last minute books and have them delivered just in time for gift giving! Order either or both titles from Regina Orthodox Press.

Or, in these penny-pinching economic times: AMAZON.

And — THANKS!

One Flew Over the Onion Dome …

The Convert experience is full of surprises, not only for the pilgrims involved but for those who attempt to pastor and teach them. One Flew Over the Onion Dome tackles these challenges with up-front honesty, good humor, and steadfast faith.

— Frederica Mathewes-Green

Fr Joseph Huneycutt’s book is reminiscent of John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress, in that it details the pitfalls, traps and snares that so easily entrap those who set out to travel the narrow Way. Likewise, he points out the underlying spiritual maladies of the soul and how to avoid the various pitfalls. Many may be able to point out the problems one encounters, even giving them a name. But to identify a problem, i.e., a spiritual malady, is not the same thing as being able to cure it. Overcoming the problem is a different matter entirely. Thanks be to God he offers helpful pastoral counsel to those who must guide others in this difficult path.

+ MARK, Bishop of Toledo and the Diocese of the Midwest

On DEFEATING SIN …

This attractive exposition of current, yet timeless, anthropological issues is distinguished by its clarity of vision and originality of expression. As the book unfolds, it becomes increasingly evident that the unbroken Tradition of the Church is the sole key to understanding God’s revelation to man. Because the author has so firmly placed his trust in the holiness of this Tradition, his thinking, both creative and inspired, elucidates the charismatic character of the way of salvation which leads to the renewal of life. His doctrine is sound, and it will surely prove to be of great value in informing and convincing the heart of modern man about God’s truth.

— Archimandrite Zacharias (Zacharou) of the Patriarchal Stavropegic Monastery of St John the Baptist in Essex, England

Passions and virtues – words not generally used in everyday vocabulary in the 21st century. Yet, who of us has not seen lives ruined or exalted as a direct result of one or the other of these words and their implications. This book provides meaningful and practical insight into the significant “opposites” that affect our lives both here and hereafter. Fr. Joseph takes us to that fateful garden where the first Adam, the first Eve and the first tree set a course for death and destruction. But he also takes us to a hill where the second Adam, the second Eve and a very different tree changes that course for eternity. Read this, go to confession, and then read it again.

John Maddex, General Manager, Ancient Faith Radio

May you, reader, be blessed and enlightened and encouraged in your struggle by the wisdom contained in this book, to the glory of the All-Holy Trinity and the salvation of your soul.

+ BASIL, Bishop of the Diocese of Wichita & Mid-America

For signed copies of DEFEATING SIN and/or One Flew Over the Onion Dome – email me at orthodixie at aol dot com for more info.

A long but worthy review rebuttal of Dr Valerie Karras’s contribution Orthodox Theologies of Women and Ordained Ministry to a book published by St Vladimir’s Seminary Press – Thinking Through Faith – New Perspectives from Orthodox Christian Scholars is posted —

H E R E.

Here’s a few excerpts from the review, What Beef Have Women Theologians with Divine Order? —

An old saying came to mind while reading Karras’s article, and I paraphrase: “She who defines the terms wins the argument.” From the first time she used it, I knew that Karras’s term “women’s liturgical participation” was going to be key to her argument. When you are no longer talking about order, as in holy orders and ordination, but about liturgical participation, the rules of engagement have changed. In fact, while making counter-argument notes in the book’s side margin, over and over again, I wrote order and revelation. (Granted, there are a few places where I wrote OK as well as OMG!)

Karras tempts one to leaping jumps of justification with insufficiently referenced words such as these:

“In the United States, at least three priests, one in the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese and two others in the Orthodox Church in America, were prohibited in the past several years by their diocesan bishop and their Synod of Bishops, respectively, from continuing to include girls among their parish’s acolytes. The hierarchs’ rationales ranged from fear of negative reactions from traditionalist elements within the church, in the former instance, to an argument, in the latter, that female acolytes were contrary to tradition because only men have served within the altar (which is historically untrue)” (p.115).

With regard to the above quote, Karras offers the following footnote:

“With respect to the contention that ‘only males are to be admitted to service within the holy altar,’ this is patently untrue, whether one considers the ordination of female deacons at the altar in the Byzantine Church, the regular acolyte activities of nuns in monastic churches, or the informal functions of older women maintaining the sanctuary in Greek parish churches or assisting in the vesting of the clergy in the altar areas of the great cathedrals of Russia” (pp.115-116).

As far as I know, at least as I was taught, no one should go into the holy place (the altar) without a blessing. There are, as Karras noted, instances where females are blessed to go behind the iconostasis. It is interesting to note, however, that she places no proscriptions on those who do so (e.g., post-menopause), but that would, no doubt, lead her back toward the so-called traditionalist elements. Why on earth do Russian clergy need women’s help vesting in cathedrals? That one seems completely out of left field. As the befuddled, such as my sixteen year old son, are known to say, “I got nuthin.” In this case, I’ll believe it when I see it.

Really, though, since when is “traditionalist elements within the church” a questionable position? In my experience, a stance against such would seem a slope worthy of avoidance. (In other words, sans the traction of tradition, you may slide.) May God bless the hierarchs who prohibited these innovative priests from such “untraditional elements.”

Many more quotes of note — in support of women’s ordination to the Orthodox priesthood — and a laywoman’s response, in its entirety: HERE.

FWIW, here’s the first two paragraphs of the review (which might ring true to other former Anglicans):

When my husband and I, after a long struggle within the Anglican Communion, were in the process of becoming Orthodox, we were struck and comforted by our priest’s fundamental catechetical premise: “In the Church, we believe that which has been revealed to us.” With equal assurance, he taught that the Faith undoubtedly goes through changes and development in many areas but divine revelation is the same yesterday, today, and forever. You are free to disagree – even to disbelieve – yet, he maintained (as I believe does the Church) that some matters are settled and not up for negotiation. Thus it is that I do not believe women were, are, or ever shall be, called by the Church to the ordained priesthood. I believe this order to be God-ordained and neither a punishment for my sex, nor a glorification of my husband’s.

My purpose in this review is not to sway another’s opinion on women’s ordination; most are content and firm in their present position. I also do not cover the topic of the female deaconate [sic], being content, myself, that some things are allowed by the Holy Spirit to die out. I do hope, however, that Dr Valerie Karras’s argument for women priests sways no one toward acceptance of the novelty; up against the weight of Revelation and Tradition, her premise, though intriguing, is lacking.

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Anyone read this book?