HAUNTED BY THE HOLY GHOST

...maybe you're asking the wrong questions?

"What is man, that thou art mindful of him?""

Is there anything more "God-like" than being mindful of another?

If you can change someone else's life by a single word, a deed, a glance...or by walking with them for a few moments as they travel through the valley of shadow... then you have done  more than than most men have done in a whole lifetime.

Nothing, and no one is more important than the one who is standing right in front of you...or as Fr. Stephen says:

"No where been commanded to change the world or to save civilization"...

"C.S. Lewis, in his The Abolition of Man, wrote of “men without chests,” describing a certain breed of modern man which had jettison his heart, having substituted false science and a devalued subjectivity for the eternal verities that had once linked human beings together in a common culture.

He wrote his work in the immediate years following World War II. Nothing in our educational system has reversed the trends of which he complained. We have not regained our chests – not as a culture.

However, we have no where been commanded to change the world or to save civilization.

 These are things that are measured on a much larger stage of history and longer period
than a single life.
It is not the diagnosis of our disease that is so important as it is the medicine of our healing.

The heart which must again fill our chests is not some missing part of Western Civilization
but the heart of flesh that is our inheritance in Christ.

It is an imperishable healing that alone can give us what we lack."

.

.

.

h/t to father stephen

What Is Man – That Thou Art Mindful of Him?

ONENESS of the CHURCH

Feast of The Apostles Peter and Paul by Saint John the Wonderworker

 About the Apostles Peter and Paul:  From a collection of Homilies and writings 

of St. John (Maximovitch) of Shanghai & San Francisco

The day of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul is the culminating feasts of the Gospel. Although the last event in the life of Christ which is related in the Gospel as His Ascension into heaven (Mark 16:19; Luke 24:51), the preaching of the Apostles is closely bound up with the Gospel.

    The Gospel tells us of their being chosen, and the Gospel
    indicates beforehand the end of Apostolic activity.

Telling of the appearance of Christ on the sea of Tiberias and the restoration to apostleship of Peter, who by his triple confession corrected his triple denial, the Apostle and Evangelist John the Theologian speaks also of the prediction to the Apostle Peter concerning the end of his struggle.
When thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee, and carry thee whether thou wouldest not. This spoke He, signifying by what death he should glorify God (John 21:18-19).

It was not pleasing to the Lord then, to reveal the face of each of the other Apostles, although, when sending them to preach, He predicted to them, the persecutions that awaited them (Matt. 10:17-36).
Now, to the question of Peter about John, Christ replied: If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee? Follow thou Me (John 21:22).

The mysterious words of Christ about John, and the extraordinary circumstances of
the latter's end, have been the cause for the opinion, which spread in the Church, beginning from the days of the apostles, that John would remain on earth until the Second Coming.

Such a view of the end of the earthly life of the Apostle John is set forth in part also in the hymns on the day of his memorial, where mention is made of his special closeness to the earthly Church.

Therefore, the Church does not celebrate the day of the repose of the Apostle John
the Theologian, which is aso revered by the Church as a great feast, as is the day of repose of the Apostle Peter, which was definitely predicted by the Lord.

 It is precisely to the Apostle Peter and to no one else, that the Lord predicted the culmination of his earthly ministry, because it was Peter who first confessed Him,
on behalf of all the Apostles, to be Christ, the Son of God; he was the first to receive the promise of power to bind and loose, which was subsequently given to all the Apostles (Matt. 16:16-19; Matt. 18:18); and it was he who renounced Christ and was again restored to apostleship.
Indicating to Peter the culmination of his Apostolic preaching when restoring to him the Apostolic calling, the Lord thereby reveals the essence of the Apostolic ministry.

    The preaching of the Word of God not only by word of mouth,
    but also by deprivations, sufferings and death, constituted the
    following of Christ and the continuation of His work.

The Apostle Peter, as the most zealous of all and one who strove to be before the
others in word and deed, by his example aroused the other Apostle Therefore it is primarily him that Christ addresses.
He goes in front of the other Apostles, becomes their "leader;" and it is especially to him that the preaching among the Jews was entrusted, while the Apostle of the Gentiles was the one who received precisely this title, being converted later, the no less zealous Paul (Gal. 2:7-9).

   

These two Apostles were as it were the commanders
    of the rank of the Apostles, which is expressed
     (in the service to them) by the word "leaders."

    Without having authority over others, they both stood in front of all others
    by their warm zeal and labors.

Their life was the most brilliant and was a personification of the life and labors of all the Apostles.
The end of their earthly labors was especially impressive, thanks to the fact that it occurred before the eyes of the whole world.

One of them (Peter) was crucified upside down, and the other (Paul) was beheaded, both in Rome, towards which at that time the gaze of all peoples was directed.
The news of this quickly dew to all the ends of the universe, all the more in that
they were both known personally in many places; their names were everywhere the Savior had been preached

    The Apostle of the Jews and the Apostle of the Gentiles departed to
     Christ on the same day, as if indicating their equal nearness to God
    and the oneness of the Church of Christ, in which there it neither Greek
    nor Jew
                            (Col. 3:11).

    Therefore, the day on which the earthly labors ended for
    "the leaders of the Apostles, who labored more than all,"
    who "separated in body, are together in spirit;"
    became one of the memorable days for the whole Church.

The Apostle John the Theologian was still a1ive then, being in Ephesus, from
where he was exiled to the island of Patmes.
Not long before his transition into the other world, he wrote the Gospel, by which he completed the three Gospels written before him, and which he had approved.
Having already completed his Gospel, he added to it, the account of the manifestation of Christ on the sea of Tiberias in order that quoting precisely the words of Christ about himself, he might refute the opinion that he had been promised by Christ to remain on earth until the Second Coming.

In this afterward to the Gospel written by him, the Apostle and Evangelist John set forth the prediction of Christ to the Apostle Peter concerning his martyr's death, and thus he bound the memory of this death with the Gospel.

Just as the last chapter of the Gospel of John is literally the conclusion of the whole Gospel, so also the feast dedicated to the fulfillment of the prophecy set forth there
is as it were the conclusion of all the Gospel events kept in remembrance by the Church.

Being an immovable feast, it is nevertheless bound up with the movable feasts,
since the preparation for it-the Apostles' Fast-begins one week after the feast
of Pentecost; thus, it depends on the date of the celebration of Pascha.

    The feast of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul indicates
    the lot of the Holy Apostles here on earth and
    reveals the glory that followed it.

The earthly lot of the Apostles was to go around the earth preaching of the Heavenly Kingdom, in this emulating Christ by their poverty, endurance of dishonor and sufferings, by their love for the children of the Heavenly Father, their inward torments of childbirth over those who heeded their preaching and their grief over those who paid no heed to their words and finally, by offering themselves as a sacrifice.

    However, the culmination of their earthly life
    is the beginning of their heavenly glory.
    Their end is for them a dissolving of earthly ties
     and an ascent to Christ, Whom they loved,
    in order to remain eternally with Him (Phil. 1:23).

The day of their earthly end is the day of their heavenly birth, end the celebration
of it is a solemnity of the coming of the future age for those who have followed
Christ in this age.

   

The receiving of the crowns of righteousness prepared not only for them,
    but also for all who love His appearing (II Tim. 4:8).

    Coming after the feast of the Descent of the Holy Spirit
    and being in part bound up with it, the feast of the
    Holy Apostles Peter and Paul culminates the yearly cycle of feasts
    dedicated to the earthly life of Christ and
    reveals the essence of His promises.

    Just as the Nativity of John the Baptist is the foreword to the Gospel
    and the beginning of the events described in it,
    so also the death of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul is their culmination
    and the afterward of the Gospel.

    The Nativity of St. John the Baptist is the beginning
    of the preaching of the Gospel of the New Testament on earth;
    his Beheading is the preaching of it in hell;
    and the day of the Holy Apostles is the realization of it in heaven.

"The firm and God-proclaiming preachers, the pinnacle of the Apostles, Thou hast received into the enjoyment of Thy good things and into repose; for Thou didst receive their pains and death as above all offerings, O Thou Who alone knowest what is in the heart" (Kontakion).

"The feast of the all-honorable Apostles hath come, interceding for the salvation of all of us. Now mystically clapping our hands, let us say: come into our midst invisibly, vouchsafing immaterial gifts for those who praise your feast in hymns" (Glory at Lauds).

THE ANNUNCIATION OF THE MOST HOLY THEOTOKOS

Commemorated on March 25

THE ANNUNCIATION OF THE MOST HOLY THEOTOKOS

FROM OCA

The Feast of the Annunciation is one of the earliest Christian feasts, and was already being celebrated in the fourth century. There is a painting of the Annunciation in the catacomb of Priscilla in Rome dating from the second century. The Council of Toledo in 656 mentions the Feast, and the Council in Trullo in 692 says that the Annunciation was celebrated during Great Lent.

The Greek and Slavonic names for the Feast may be translated as "good tidings." This, of course, refers to the Incarnation of the Son of God and the salvation He brings. The background of the Annunciation is found in the Gospel of St Luke (1:26-38). The troparion describes this as the "beginning of our salvation, and the revelation of the eternal mystery," for on this day the Son of God became the Son of Man.

There are two main components to the Annunciation: the message itself, and the response of the Virgin. The message fulfills God's promise to send a Redeemer (Genesis 3:15): "I will put enmity between you and the woman, between your seed and her seed; he shall crush your head, and you shall lie in wait for his heel." The Fathers of the Church understand "her seed" to refer to Christ. The prophets hinted at His coming, which they saw dimly, but the Archangel Gabriel now proclaims that the promise is about to be fulfilled.

We see this echoed in the Liturgy of St Basil, as well: "When man disobeyed Thee, the only true God who had created him, and was deceived by the guile of the serpent, becoming subject to death by his own transgressions, Thou, O God, in Thy righteous judgment, didst send him forth from Paradise into this world, returning him to the earth from which he was taken, yet providing for him the salvation of regeneration in Thy Christ Himself."

The Archangel Gabriel was sent by God to Nazareth in Galilee. There he spoke to the undefiled Virgin who was betrothed to St Joseph: "Hail, thou who art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women. And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name Jesus. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Most High: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end."

In contrast to Eve, who was readily deceived by the serpent, the Virgin did not immediately accept the Angel's message. In her humility, she did not think she was deserving of such words, but was actually troubled by them. The fact that she asked for an explanation reveals her sobriety and prudence. She did not disbelieve the words of the angel, but could not understand how they would be fulfilled, for they spoke of something which was beyond nature.

Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?" (Luke 1:34).

"And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Most High shall overshadow thee: therefore also that which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God. And, behold, thy cousin Elisabeth hath also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren. For with God nothing shall be impossible.' And Mary said, 'Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word.' And the angel departed from her" (Luke 1: 35-38)."

In his Sermon 23 on the day of the Annunciation, St Philaret of Moscow boldly stated that "the word of the creature brought the Creator down into the world." He explains that salvation is not merely an act of God's will, but also involves the Virgin's free will. She could have refused, but she accepted God's will and chose to cooperate without complaint or further questions.

The icon of the Feast shows the Archangel with a staff in his left hand, indicating his role as a messenger. Sometimes one wing is upraised, as if to show his swift descent from heaven. His right hand is stretched toward the holy Virgin as he delivers his message.

The Virgin is depicted either standing or sitting, usually holding yarn in her left hand. Sometimes she is shown holding a scroll. Her right hand may be raised to indicate her surprise at the message she is hearing. Her head is bowed, showing her consent and obedience. The descent of the Holy Spirit upon her is depicted by a ray of light issuing from a small sphere at the top of the icon, which symbolizes heaven. In a famous icon from Sinai, a white dove is shown in the ray of light.

There are several famous icons of the Annunciation. One is in the Moscow Kremlin in the church of the Annunciation. This icon appeared in connection with the rescue of a prisoner by the Mother of God during the reign of Ivan the Terrible. Another is to be found in the Dormition Cathedral in Moscow (July 8). It was originally located in Ustiug, and was the icon before which St Procopius the fool (July 8) prayed to save the city from destruction in 1290. One of the most highly revered icons in Greece is the Tinos icon of the Annunciation (January 30).

The Annunciation falls during Lent, but it is always celebrated with great joy. The Liturgy of St Basil or St John Chrysostom is served, even on the weekdays of Lent. It is one of the two days of Great Lent on which the fast is relaxed and fish is permitted (Palm Sunday is the other).

The inner quality of catholicity-A passage from Archpriest George Florovsky’s work entitled “The catholicity of the Church.”

The catholicity of the Church

A passage from Archpriest George Florovsky’s work entitled “The catholicity of the Church.”

The inner quality of catholicity

The catholicity of the Church is not a quantitative or a geographical conception. It does not at all depend on the world-wide dispersion of the faithful. The universality of the Church is the consequence or the manifestation, but not the cause or the foundation of its catholicity.

The world-wide extension or the universality of the Church is only an outward sign, one that is not absolutely necessary. The Church was catholic even when Christian communities were but solitary rare islands in a sea of unbelief and paganism. And the Church will remain catholic even unto the end of time when the mystery of the “falling away” will be revealed, when the Church once more will dwindle to a “small flock.” “When the Son of Man cometh, shall He find faith on the earth?” (Luke 18:8). The Metropolitan Philaret expressed himself very adequately on this point: “If a city or a country falls away from the universal Church, the latter will still remain an integral, imperishable body” (Opinions and Statements of Philaret, Metropolitan of Moscow, Concerning the Orthodox Church in the East, St. Petersburg, 1886, p. 53.). Philaret uses here the word “universal” in the sense of catholicity.

The conception of catholicity cannot be measured by its wide-world expansion; universality does not express it exactly. Καθολικη from Καθ σλου means, first of all, the inner wholeness and integrity of the Church’s life. We are speaking here of wholeness, not only of communion, and in any case not of a simple empirical communion. Καθ σλου is not the same as Κατα παντóς; it belongs not to the phenomenal and empirical, but to the noumenal and ontological plane; it describes the very essence, not the external manifestations. We feel this already in the pre-Christian use of these words, beginning from Socrates.

If catholicity also means universality, it certainly is not an empirical universality, but an ideal one; the communion of ideas, not of facts, is what it has in view. The first Christians when using the words ‘Ekklisía Katholikí (Εκκλησια Καθολικη) never meant a world-wide Church. This word rather gave prominence to the orthodoxy of the Church, to the truth of the “Great Church,” as contrasted with the spirit of sectarian separatism and particularism; it was the idea of integrity and purity that was expressed. This has been very forcibly stated in the well known words of St. Ignatius of Antioch:

“Where there is a bishop, let there be the whole multitude; just as where Jesus Christ is, there too is the Catholic Church” (Ignat Smyrn. 8:2).

These words express the same idea as does the promise:

“Where two or three are gathered together in My name, there am I in the midst of them” (Mt 18:19-20).

It is this mystery of gathering together (μυστηριον της συναξεως, Mystírion tis sinákseos) that the word catholicity expresses. Later on St. Cyril of Jerusalem explained the word “catholicity” which is used in the Creed in the traditional manner of his Church. The word “Church” means the “gathering together of all in one union;” therefore it is called a “gathering” (εκκλεσια, Ekklisía).

The Church is called catholic, because it spreads over all the universe and subjects the whole of the human race to righteousness, because also in the Church the dogmas are taught “fully, without any omission, catholically, and completely” (καθολικως και ανελλειπως) because, again, in the Church every kind of sin is cured and healed” (Catech. 18:23 (Migne P.G. 33 c. 1044)).

Here again catholicity is understood as an inner quality. Only in the West, during the struggle against the Donatists was the word “catholica” used in the sense of “universality,” in opposition to the geographical provincialism of the Donatists (Cf. Pierre Batiffol, Le Catholicisme de St. Augustin, I. (Paris, 1920), p. 212

— “Rappelons que le nom ‘catholique’ a servi à qualifier la Grande Eglise par opposition aux hérétiques … Le nom est vraisemblablement de création populaire et apparait en Orient au second siècle. Les tractatores du 4. siècle, qui lui cherchent une signification étymologique et savante, veulent y voir l’expression soit de la perfection intégrale de la foi de l’Eglise, soit du fait que l’Eglise ne fait pas acception de personnes de rang, du culture, soit enfin et surtout de fait que l’Eglise est repandue dans le monde entire d’une extrémité à l’autre. Augustin ne veut connaître que ce dernier sens.” Cp. Also Bishop Lightfoot, in his edition of St. Ignatius, v. 2 (London, 1889), p. 319. Note ad Loc.

The history of the Christian and pre-Christian use of the terms ekklisía katholikí (Εκκλησια Καθολικη) and katholikos (καθολικóς) generally in various settings deserves careful study; apparently there have been no special investigations on the subject. In Russian, reference may be made to the very valuable, though not exhaustive or faultless, article of the late Professor M. D. Muretov in the supplement to his book Ancient Jewish Prayers Ascribed to St. Peter (Sergiev Posad, 1905). See also Bishop Lightfoot, St. Ignatius, v. 2 (London, 1889), p. 310, note).

Later on, in the East, the word “catholic” was understood as synonymous with “ecumenical.” But this only limited the conception, making it less vivid, because it drew attention to the outward form, not to the inner contents. Yet the Church is not catholic because of its outward extent, or, at any rate, not only because of that. The Church is catholic, not only because it is an all-embracing entity, not only because it unites all its members, all local Churches, but because it is catholic all through, in its very smallest part, in every act and event of its life.

The nature of the Church is catholic; the very web of the Church’s body is catholic. The Church is catholic, because it is the one Body of Christ; it is union in Christ, oneness in the Holy Ghost-and this unity is the highest wholeness and fulness. The gauge of catholic union is that “The multitude of them that believed be of one heart and of one soul” (Act 4:32).

Where this is not the case, the life of the Church is limited and restricted.

The ontological blending of persons is, and must be, accomplished in oneness with the Body of Christ; they cease to be exclusive and impenetrable. The cold separation into “mine” and “thine” disappears.

The growth of the Church is in the perfecting of its inner wholeness, its inner catholicity, in the “perfection of wholeness”;

“That they may be made perfect in one” (John 17:23).

Love that is "Stronger than Death"....from: Marriage...Orthodox Perspectives-Fr. John Chryssavgis

Every sacrament is a transcendence of division and alienation.

In the case of marriage, each person must become conscious of the divine presence in the other.

Both husband and wife must pierce the curtain of distance and falsehood.

When this occurs, the marital union is stronger than death, not able to be "put asunder by anyone."

Excerpt from: Small Gems from What I am Reading Right Now:

Love, Marriage and Sexuality: Orthodox Perspectives-Fr. John Chryssavgis

(Right Sidebar)

photo:nevertorun

Here is born in Spirit-soaked fertility a brood destined for another City

From "THE TRUE BELIEVER" by Aidan Kavanagh, O.S.B. (full article can be found in Type list in right sidebar under 

"Excerpts/Current Books and Articles I am Reading"

"Yet even this is not enough, nor is it where the scandal lies. For to know him baptismally is to know him as we were first known when creation was new.

Baptismal iconography has always imaged Baptism as cosmic rebirth, Eden restored. Early baptisteries, decorated to resemble paradise, were filled with fertility, wines, sunlight, water, and a humid atmosphere.

They were gloriously womb-like, for from them issued a new People whose purpose in life was to beget others by the Church, Christ’s bride, in his power.

Thus the ancient inscription in the baptistery of the Pope’s cathedral in Rome read:

Here is born in Spirit-soaked fertility

a brood destined for another City,

begotten by God’s blowing

and borne upon this torrent by the Church their virgin mother.

Reborn in these depths they reach for heaven’s realm,

the born-but-once known by felicity.

This spring is life that floods the world,

the wounds of Christ its awesome source.

Sinner sinks beneath this sacred surf

that swallows age and spits up youth.

Sinner here scour sin away down to innocence,

for they know no enmity who are by

one font, one Spirit, one faith made one.

Sinner shudder not at sin’s kind and number,

for those born here are holy."

(Lateran baptistry inscription (fifth century))

A Tangled Web: the one needful thing for all bloggers---my token political post

Desperately Needed for Bloggers Everyone:

a microsecond of charitable thought before hitting the send button saying anything

"......the American Constitution is not linked to a concession of absolute truth. It is the Declaration of Independence that is anchored upon self-evident truth, and the relation between the two documents is virtually unexplored in the Supreme Court. Indeed, only Justice Thomas has really thought about it seriously, hence my admiration.

Does Barack Obama believe in the truth of the human person? Not surprisingly, he values the self-evident truths of the Declaration of Independence-even as he argues that the deliberative democracy established by our Constitution casts suspicion upon a claim of absolute truth. The founders, Obama observes, uniformly rejected all forms of absolute authority, whether that of the monarch, the high priest, or the majority. And yet, as John Paul II told us, democracy detached from absolute truth can be little more than another form of totalitarianism. Obama has similarly observed that absolutists can be correct-as the blunt wrong of slavery illustrates. “Sometimes,” Obama notes, “absolute truths may well be absolute.”

To reconcile the pragmatism of democracy with claims of truth requires that our minds be nourished by wide perspectives discussed freely and respectfully; it requires a heart full of grace, not anger. Within our own Catholic community, we need to bear in mind one further caution from our new president: that claiming public territory outside the church requires persuasion, not intimidation or force. Translating particularistic faith beliefs into rational argument is the stuff of democracy. “I may be opposed to abortion for religious reasons,” Obama said during the campaign, “but if I seek to pass a law banning the practice, I cannot simply point to the teachings of my church or [invoke] God’s will. I have to explain why abortion violates some principle that is accessible to people of all faiths, including those with no faith at all.” 

Of course, that is the very reason Cardinal Justin Rigali and Bishop William Lori were so quick to remind candidate Biden of the scientific basis for the church’s life perspective. Indeed one might ask, with the church having brought forth its scientific claim in so forthright and objective a manner as it has in modern encyclicals, is it not proper for the burden of evidence now to shift to those who, for religious or nonreligious reasons, believe unfettered abortion ought to be permitted?

It is a valid question; and were the right-wing Catholic blogs not so preoccupied with demonizing me and other brothers and sisters in Christ who backed our president-elect, perhaps the question would receive some competent discussion.

See My Right Sidebar section titled: just right over there, a little bit higher >>>

--EXCERPTS/CURRENT BOOKS AND ARTICLES I AM READING

FROM: A Tangled Web: The Election & the Blogosphere....read the whole article, link to source.

Photo: looking above the tangled web BY  Azazelle

NOW

Now the silence, Now the Peace
Now the empty hands uplifted;
Now the kneeling, now the plea,
Now the Father's welcome,
Now the hearing, now the power,
Now the vessel brimmed for pouring;
Now the body, now the blood,
Now the Joyful Celebration;

Now the Wedding, Now the songs
Now the heart forgiven, leaping;
Now the Spirit's Visitation,
Now the Son's Epiphany,
Now the Father's Blesing,
Now, Now, Now.

Jaroslav J. Vajda

MEMORARE

Remember, O Most Gracious Virgin Mary,
that never was it known that anyone who fled to thy protection,
implored thy help or sought thy intercession,
was left unaided.
Inspired by this confidence,
I fly unto thee, O Virgin of Virgins, my Mother;
To thee do I come, before thee I stand, sinful and sorrowful.
O Mother of the Word Incarnate,
despise not my petitions,
but in thy mercy, hear and answer me.
Amen

Metropolitan Kallistos address Orthodox Unity in Detroit

Last Tuesday, my daughter, Hero, my husband and I were fortunate enough to be in attendance to hear Metropolitan Kallistos address.

This Summary from Orthodox Christian Laity site captures some of the experience, but make sure you listen for yourself at Ancient Faith Radio via OCL's website.

 

Orthodox crowd jams church to hear Metropolitan Kallistos address Orthodox Unity in Detroit - St. Andrew House - Center for Orthodox Christian Studies
February 23, 2008

from:Orthodox Christian Laity (OCL)

The brilliance of Orthodoxy was in full array in Troy Michigan Tuesday evening as Metropolitan KALLISTOS made his first visit to Detroit to discuss the FUTURE OF ORTHODOXY in the UNITED STATES. The visit was hosted by St. Andrew House - Center for Orthodox Christian Studies.

In what was undoubtedly the most successful Pan Orthodox event ever held in this city, more than 500 people jammed into St. George Antiochian Orthodox Church in Troy, Michigan to hear the presentation.

The setting was the beautiful Byzantine sanctuary of St. George Antiochian Orthodox Church in Troy Michigan, under the pastoral care of Fr. Joseph Antypas. The event had to be moved into the sanctuary when it became apparent that the original setup in the church hall would not suffice.

"...we must say the catholicity and universality of the church are more valuable, more fundamental than our national, ethnic, and cultural identity..." His Eminence told the assembled group. "...if the basis of the Church’s existence is life in the Eucharist, it means that the church is organized on a territorial, and not on an ethnic principle...", he continued.

"...we need to be clear about our priorities - the catholicity and universality of the Church…are much much more precious than our national or ethnic identity...." said the hierarch.

Comments overhead during the evening included, "That man is the reason I am Orthodox," said Bill Nowling, from Brighton Michigan. "I saw him 20 years ago in Grand Rapids, what a blessing to have him come here," said another man. "For many of us, this will be a once in a lifetime event," said a young Coptic man.

The diversity of the crowd reminded one of the multifaceted and ancient traditions of the Eastern Church. Armenians, Copts, Greeks, Romanians, Russians, Lebanese, Syrians, along with Anglican converts to the faith had come from all across the Midwest, Ontario and even Florida to listen to the world renowned author and bishop.

Archbishop Nathaniel of Detroit, president of St. Andrew House, began the evening by reviewing the mission of St. Andrew House as a proponent for Orthodox Unity. "The Church in America was a united Church in the early 1900's under the Russian Diocese of America," said His Eminence, "It was only after the Russian Revolution, which cut off support of the American Church, that the various ethnic jurisdictions began to spring up in America," he continued.

The benediction given by the two hierarchs at the conclusion of the evening still rings in my ears. "Through the prayers of St. Andrew the First called, and the Great Martyr St. George..." said Metropolitan Kallistos.

Following that final prayer, and under the leadership of Archbishop Nathaniel, the building erupted in the hymn of "Lord...Bless thy People" - followed by "Many Years" which was led by Subdeacon Robert Mitchell (spontaneously). The majesty of those two hymns, at the end of such a spectacular evening, still send shivers down my spine.

What a blessing for the entire Orthodox community of Detroit!!!

For a complete recording of the evening, visit the home page of this website, www.orthodoxdetroit.com.  Recordings of the event were made possible by a continuing partnership between Ancient Faith Radio www.ancientfaith.com and St. Andrew House.

Finally, sincere thanks go to Mr. Michael Jaharis, chancellor of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese, without whose intervention this visit would have NEVER taken place. Our entire board of directors is certainly indebted to you.

Best Regards,
Dean Calvert

Distance

WHITE MORNING, originally uploaded by nikaa.

At a certain distance I followed behind you,
ashamed to come closer.
Though you have chosen me as a worker in your vineyard
and I pressed the grapes of your wrath.
To every one according to his nature:
what is crippled should not always be healed.

I do not even know whether one can be free,
for I have toiled against my will.
Taken by the neck like a boy who kicks and bites
Till they sit him at the desk and order him to make letters,
I wanted to be like others but was given the bitterness of separation,
Believed I would be an equal among equals but woke up a stranger.

Looking at manners as if I arrived from a different time.
Guilty of apostasy from the communal rite.
There are so many who are good and just, those were rightly chosen
And wherever you walk the earth, they accompany you.
Perhaps it is true that I loved you secretly
But without strong hope to be close to you as they are.

Czeslaw Milosz

For Bea and Hero

SCHISM

I know the pieces fit cuz I watched them fall away
Mildewed and smoldering. Fundamental differing.
Pure intention juxtaposed will set two lovers souls in motion
Disintegrating as it goes testing our communication
The light that fueled our fire then has burned a hole between us so
We cannot see to reach an end crippling our communication.

I know the pieces fit cuz I watched them tumble down
No fault, none to blame it doesn't mean I don't desire to
Point the finger, blame the other, watch the temple topple over.
To bring the pieces back together, rediscover communication

The poetry that comes from the squaring off between,
And the circling is worth it.
Finding beauty in the dissonance.

There was a time that the pieces fit, but I watched them fall away.
Mildewed and smoldering, strangled by our coveting
I've done the math enough to know the dangers of our second guessing
Doomed to crumble unless we grow, and strengthen our communication.

Cold silence has a tendency to atrophy any
Sense of compassion
Between supposed lovers/brothers

FROM THE ALBUM LATERALUS by TOOL

Written by KEENAN, MAYNARD JAMES/JONES, ADAM/CAREY, DANIEL
ALBUM:Lateralus

photo:Waiting for the apocalypse
by materija folle