Orthodixie

Today is the birthday of Anna Akhmatova.

More H E R E.

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.

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:

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 …

“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

“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.