Orthodixie

Disseive, ME — One of the first things you notice upon entering the Church of St Judas the Wonderwinker is how similar it looks to most other Orthodox Churches. That is, until closer inspection …

The icon of the Mystical Supper above the holy doors looks just like others you may have seen. However, where Judas is usually portrayed reaching across the table to dip some food, here we see Jesus reaching out and shaking Judas’s hand. If you look closely you will notice that the two buddies are winking at each other.

The same is true of the large iconic depiction of the Crucifixion; there stands a male and a female figure beneath the Cross but, rather than St John the Divine and Jesus’s mother, it’s Judas and Mary Magdalene. Mary Magdalene looks enraptured and, of course, Jesus and Judas are winking.

The pews of St Judas the Wonderwinker are full to capacity on this bright spring day. The priest, Miriam Knott, whose patron is Mary Magdalene, first bishop of the Resurrection, has pastored the church since its founding in 2004. “Many claim that our fame and phenominal growth is due to Dan Brown’s book, The Da Vinci Code, and other recent discoveries,” she said. “However, I like to think that it’s all about the truth. Finally, after all these centuries, the ancient light of the truth has dawned upon us. People are hungry for the truth and here at St Judas, that’s what we’re all about.”

It is the belief of the church that, since Mary Magdalene was the first bishop of the Resurrection, only women should be ordained. However, Pastor Miriam’s ordination to the priesthood was not without controversy. See, she used to be a man. “That’s right,” she says, “I used to live my life trapped in the guise of a man.” She’s quick to add, “But God had other plans.”

“Besides, body = bad, spirit = good.

[I had to note that while I was interviewing the Priestess, she kept batting one eye. When I asked her … er, him … uh, whatever, if there was something in his/her eye, she (you know whom I’m talking about) said: “Why do you seek the speck in my eye when you’ve got a big log in your own?” Then, or so it seemed, she winked at me.]

The Liturgy at St Judas the Wonderwinker is a mish-mash of the Byzantine and Western Rites, along with a dash or two of Anglicanism and some cherished contemporary pagan rituals. During the exchange of the Peace the members greet each other with the words, “The Peace of Judas” and a wink. When I asked about the more common “Kiss of Peace,” they reacted with horror. [I later learned that since the former Scriptures portrayed Judas and kissing in a bad way, this was frowned upon.]

Most Gospel readings are taken from non-Orthodox (or, Orthodox, depending on your position) sources such as the Gospel of Thomas, the Gospel of Judas, the Gospel of Mary Magdalene, and other so-called “Lost Books” of the Bible.

On this day, Mother Miriam blessed the Reader to read the Lesson from the book of Genesis. When I asked “you know who” why there was only an Old Testament reading appointed for that day, YKW explained, “There’s been so many lies about God and truth — from the very beginning of Creation — that we must begin at the beginning in educating God’s people.

“The Reading is from Genesis:”

Now the serpent was more subtle than any other wild creature that the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God say, `You shall not eat of any tree of the garden’?” And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden; but God said, `You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.'” But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

“The Word of the Lord.”

And the people responded, “Thanks be to God.”

[I must say, dear reader, that I was baffled by this shortened version of the Old Testament passage. Yet, when I asked about it, I was told that so many things had been added to the Scriptures over the years — by scribes with agendas — that the struggle toward truth requires constant vigilance and careful editing.]

Since the parish is obviously concerned about the authentic and ancient truth, I asked what role modern scholarship and current science played in the life of St Judas. “Oh, you ask an important question,” YKW replied. “We are constantly finding out, through science and scholarship, the truth. New revelations are manifest daily!”

When I asked by what authority the parish made such claims, I was told that they are completely led by the spirit. “Yet,” Knott added, “not all scholarship is reliable. Some goes up in smoke.”

All in all, I must confess, all that winking made me uncomfortable. But, the faithful of St Judas the Wonderwinker assure me that it is an ancient gesture which signifies the Enlightened ones.

I forgot to ask if their Bible included this scripture: Proverbs 6:12 – 19.

Makes you wonder. Wink, wink.

In the April issue of TOUCHSTONE, Franklin Freeman writes about this wonderful book. As I agree with him — and, myself, mentioned the book here last year — I’m again recommending it. Perfect for beach, bedtime, or campfire reading.

Here’s a reposting from 2005 …

Anyone who has ever borrowed one of my books knows that they are usually heavily marked. Pencil scribblings in side margins indicate favorite passages, notes, etc. I rarely do that with fiction. I did with Jane Eyre; I will next time I read Gone With the Wind … I wish I had with Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell.

This book, hefty for sure (846 pages), is about the restoration of magic in 19th century England — magic which coexists, in harmony, with the church. It really is a fascinating read and shall now sit on the shelf I have reserved for bright lights such as O’Conner, O. Henry, Goethe, Thoreau, Kafka, Dostoevsky, and the like.

Some samples …

Aunt Greysteel, Bonifazia and Minichello were all at the window and saw how the first stroke of lightning turned the whole familiar scene into something quite Gothic and disturbing, full of pallid, unearthly glare and unexpected shadows. This was followed by a crack of thunder that shook the whole room. Bonifazia murmured appeals to the Virgin and several saints. Aunt Greysteel, who was equally alarmed, might well have been glad of the same refuge, but as a member of the Church of England, she could only exclaim, “Dear me!” and, “Upon my word!” and “Lord bless me!” — none of which gave her much comfort (p.732).

“All I can tell you is this. Before this peculiar obsession with his dead wife, he was full of quite another matter: John Uskglass. You must have observed that? Now I know very little of English magicians. They have always seemed to me a parcel of dull, dusty old men — except for John Uskglass. He is quite another matter! The magician who tamed the Outlanders! The only magician to defeat Death! The magician whom Lucifer himself was forced to treat as an equal! Now, whenever Strange compares himself to this sublime being — as he must from time to time — he see himself for what he truly is: a plodding, earth-bound mediocrity! All his achievements — so praised up in the desolate little isle — crumble to dust before him! That will bring on as fine a bout of despair as you could wish to see. This is to be mortal, And seek the things beyond mortality.” Lord Byron paused for a moment, as if committing the last remark to memory in case he should want to put it in a poem. “I myself was touched with something of the same melancholia when I was in the Swiss mountains in September. I wandered about, hearing avalanches every five minutes — as if God was bent on my destruction! I was full of regrets and immortal longings. Several times I was sorely tempted to blow my brains out — and I would have done it too, but for the recollections of the pleasure it would give my mother-in-law” (p.693).

This passage on CATS:

Dr Greysteel said, “The Jewish gentleman — who seems a very charitable old person — provides her with a place to live, and his servants put dishes of food for her at the foot of the stairs.”

“Except for staring at one in a supercilious manner,” said Strange. “That has a sort of moral usefulness, I suppose, in making one feel uncomfortable and encouraging sober reflection upon one’s imperfections” (pp.635-636).

One of the curious glories of the book is the use of footnotes — some quite long, stories in themselves. One footnote, which recounts a fabulous tale, is five pages long. Susanna Clarke inserts numerous — fictional — notes to bolster her story. Here’s two concerning magical spells:

Daedalus’s Rose: a fairly complicated procedure devised by Martin Pale for preserving emotions, vices and virtues in amber and honey or beeswax. When the preserving medium is warmed, the imprisoned qualities are released. The Rose has — or rather had — a huge number of applications. It could be used to disperse nobility of purpose, anger, jealousy, ambition, self-sacrifice, etc., etc.

[Unrobed Ladies:] Like many spells with unusual names, the Unrobed Ladies was a great deal less exciting than it sounded. The ladies of the title were only a kind of woodland flower which was used in a spell to bind a fairy’s powers. The flower was required to be stripped of leaves and petals — hence the “unrobing” (p.753).

If you read it, I’d love to hear from you.

U2 Eucharist?

Episcopal Churches Turn to U2 to Pack Pews

Sorry all y’all U2 fans. I’ve just never been. But …

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – As the electric guitar in the U2 anthem “Pride (In the Name of Love)” faded from four speakers, the Rev. Robert Brooks welcomed worshippers to Grace Episcopal Church with an unusual suggestion: He warned them to protect their hearing.

“If the sound’s an issue, we do have earplugs available,” he said.

Ushers handed out earplugs and fluorescent glow sticks for the “U2 Eucharist,” a communion service punctuated by the Irish rock band’s music. Episcopal parishes from California to Maine have hosted similar events, weaving U2’s tunes — laced with biblical references — into the liturgy.
Streamers flew over worshippers’ heads …

Read about the “U-2-charist”

Thanks to FWD from blog reader, Elissa.

Those of you participating in Good Friday [today] should skip this post. It’ll still be here next week. That said, I guess all you Orthodox, Heathen, and Lapsed are welcomed to read on.

With internet services such as Haloscan, AOL, and MSN, one can’t help but notice the continual barrage of unwanted images disguised as advertising. Recently I’ve even witnessed some dancing bikini clad gal supposedly pushing mortgages. Haloscan and other services will often advertise diets and dating services using pics of females that have, it would seem, never needed either. Their come-hither looks would almost be comical were it not for their intrusion. It do get old.

Now, after we’ve all suffered the endless hype about the Gospel of Judas, Da Vinci Code, Jesus walking on ice cubes, and such, comes …

The God Movie.

This is being plugged by Haloscan (the blog comment service). One of the more sinister aspects is the use of the “Christ of Sinai” icon in the ad campaign. Lord have mercy. The campaign makes use of hooligan style PR known as the “War on Easter.” There’s more, if you must & reader beware, H E R E. I realize that by even mentioning it I am helping to promote the movie and, seemingly, falling into a juvenile trap of an ad campaign.

Given such sad and desperate enterprises, I’m tempted to wax negative, reactionary, or apocalyptic. Instead, I find T H I S all the more refreshing. These are interesting days for Christians. More lie ahead. Actually, as ever, the time is now.

God is with us!

For those of you in the “West” (who read this anyway): May your Three Days bring you grace, joy, and salvation.

For all of us, there’s work to be done … beginning with repentance.

HT: Drudge

UPDATE: Oh, and how ’bout this from Chuck Colson?

HT: News Forum

For her part, Ms. Tchacos Nussberger rejected any suggestion that she was trying to profit from the Gospel of Judas. She described her run-in with Italian officials as inconsequential.

“I went through hell and back, and I saved something for humanity,” Ms. Tchacos Nussberger said in a telephone interview. “I would have given it for nothing to someone who would have saved it.”

“I think I was chosen by Judas to rehabilitate him,” Ms. Tchacos Nussberger, 65, is quoted as saying …

MORE.

HT: Drudge