Orthodixie

As with the other Alaskan pics (Parts: One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven), click on image for larger version.

The approach by plane to Alaska: I’d been dozing when the Captain announced we were beginning our descent. This was the sight that greeted me as I awoke to look out the window. On enlargement, you can see the frozen ice floe.

Here I am all bundled up like a Nordic version of the Infant of Prague — on the skiff headed toward Spruce Island.

The sand on Spruce Island is black. The white you see here is either shells or snow.

Fr Innocent of Holy Resurrection Cathedral took this pic of me from the porch of St. Nilus Serbian Orthodox Skete.

In the foreground is the monastic garden. What a view, huh?

Some of the Staff from St Herman Seminary near the top of Pillar Mountain. ( L to R) Philip Majkrzak, Instructor of Liturgical Music, Fr Chad, Dean, and Reader Paul Sidebottom, Associate Dean of Academics.

This is a large pond or small lake … either way, one big sheet of ice …

… strong enough to hold Fr Chad’s best friends. (Me? Nope. Wasn’t even tempted.)

That would be me on a hike behind Fr Chad’s home. The following two pics were snapped in his “backyard.”

Finally, a view of Kodiak from up on Pillar Mountain.

St Herman of Alaska, pray to God for us!

FrontPageMagazine.com April 6, 2006
One of the Catholic Church’s most controversial figures inflamed public debate in Italy with a typically off-handed comment — and inadvertently exposed the Vatican’s problems in crafting a coherent, comprehensive response to Islamic imperialism.

Cardinal Renato Martino — the president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace and the Vatican’s former ambassador to the United Nations — said that the Italian government should allow the Koran to be taught during the hour mandated for Catholic religious instruction.

“If there are 100 Muslim children in a school, I don’t see why they shouldn’t be taught their religion,” Martino said in a press conference March 9. “If we said ‘no’ until we saw equivalent treatment for the Christian minorities in Muslim countries, I would say that we were placing ourselves on their level.”

More …

Thanks to FWD from Fr Miguel Grave De Peralta.

New Gospel Discovered!!

Newark, Apr. 8 (CWNews.com) – Archeological researchers in Ridgewood, New Jersey, have discovered an ancient Christian document that offers a radically new account of the founding of the Catholic Church.

The newly discovered document, which scholars have named “The Gospel of Skip and Muffy,” was found in an abandoned row house in New Brunswick, New Jersey, which had formerly housed a Rutgers sorority.

B.F.D. Zeitgeist, a Professor of Serious Christianity at Dupont University, said that the Gospel of Skip and Muffy will force Christians to re-examine the nature of Church authority. He pointed to one key passage in the manuscript:

“The Church is– I mean– it’s just a bunch of, like, rules and stuff,” said Muffy.

“Yeah,” Skip replied. “I mean, really. Hey, don’t let that thing go out.”

Read more H E R E.

HT: Conservative Blog for Peace

Then there’s this guy. Lord! (Reader beware.)
In all charity, where to start? Bless his heart.

Having promised blog regular, Keith, that I would offer no more postings on Britney Spears, I hereby fail. Forgive me.

As mentioned earlier, during a Q & A with the 7th and 8th grade Sunday School class, I was asked: “So, Father … what do you think of the Gospel of Judas?”

Shooting from the hip, hoping for context, I stated: “Well, as it was written 2-300 years after the fact, it would be like someone 300 years from now stating that Britney Spears blew up the Twin Towers.”

Immediately, without batting an eye, one of the students said: “Oops, she did it again!”

Heh heh.

In this case … Oops HE did it again!

In these turbulent but expectant times, it is a blessing to know that “joy comes in the morning.” God is with us! Here, the sun rises over the bay in Kodiak:

May we be mindful of the needs of others. And, truly, I can think a few institutions more worthy of our support than St Herman Seminary, Kodiak, Alaska.

Case in point, see these domes over the seminary chapel? They are no longer. Look closely and you’ll notice the rear one leaning. During my recent visit, the domes — which had recently sustained 140 MPH winds — were removed. The wood foundation was weak and worn. New domes will eventually need to be installed to restore the chapel to its former beauty in the small town of Kodiak.

The interior of the chapel is glorious! It is a log structure, inside and out, and would look perfect in the mountains of Western North Carolina! 🙂
More than that, it is the anchor of the small community of seminarians who struggle together at St Herman’s.

The Dean of St Herman’s, Archpriest Chad Hatfield, and I have known each other a long time. We’re both Nashotah alums and earned our DMins together through the Antiochian House of Studies & Pittsburgh Theological Seminary. He’s shown here introducing me for their first annual Lenten Retreat.

That would be me.

Here’s some of the seminarians gathered for our Lenten Workshop, the first evening of the Retreat. The majority of seminarians are native Alaskans who will end up serving in villages where the unemployment rate is often as high as 85%.

One special offering at St Herman’s is the opportunity to learn iconography under the able tutelage of Matushka Thekla.

The daily life of the community is centered around prayer: Matins in the morning, the Hours at Noon, and Vespers in the evening. During Lent, the Presanctified Liturgy is served on Wednesday evenings at Holy Resurrection Cathedral and on Friday mornings in the seminary chapel.

One of the natural joys while I was there was seeing the sunlight filter in each day as we approached the end of Matins. Sunlight, in general, is a welcomed sight in this part of the world!

As mentioned above, the chapel now stands dome-less.

Food prep; preparing to break the Eucharistic fast.

Following Wednesday’s Presanctified, the seminarians, along with the residents of St Innocent’s Academy and Cathedral faithful, gather at St Herman’s Refectory for food and fellowship.

Here’s a portion of the seminary community, gathered in the Cathedral following a Presanctified service. The struggles are great. (Really.) A great deal of Fr Chad’s time and efforts are spent hopping all over the Lower 48 garnering support for the seminary. The men who are trained here rely on our support. They will venture into villages where the Orthodox Faith has long been planted, but unemployment and other social maladies reign. Non-Orthodox groups, hoping to introduce the native peoples to “the Gospel,” have also made serious gains — increasing the struggles of the Orthodox. The Orthodox Christian Faith was brought to Alaska over 200 years ago. We cherish the memory of St Herman, St Innocent, St Juvenally, and St Peter the Aleut. Yet their witness relies on our continued support.

Your help, large or small, will be a wonderful blessing!

St Herman Theological Seminary
414 Mission Road
Kodiak, Alaska 99615