An Article and A Thought

Here's an interesting link - It's so cowardly to attack the church when we won't offend Islam - by Nick Cohen, from The Observer. The title says it all really.

In other news, some of you may know that my family has the use of a Saab that belongs to a friend of Dad's. Now, this friend is Finnish, and was posted to Singapore for many years by his company. When he went back to Finland, he left his car to us, rather than scrap the thing. There was, up till yesterday, a little Finnish flag sticker on the rear of the car.

Given that the Mahometan extremists have been indiscriminately burning Swiss flags as well as those of neighbouring innocent countries, desecrating churches and basically behaving like savages, Dad decided not to take any chances. He removed the Finnish flag - which most of my readers will know (I hope) is a blue cross on a white field. This in SINGAPORE, with a sane government and rule of law.

What is this world coming to?

I'm tempted to get a Vatican flag for the car. Oh, and a nice Byzantine flag too.

Help Stop Ataturk Statue in Rome!

Please go to www.ian.cc and sign the petition to stop the statue of = Mustafa Kemal Ataturk from going up in Rome. The website is in Spanish, but for = all non-Spanish speakers, we'll guide you through the website.. it's very simple:

A) Find the box that says "No a la Estatua del Genocida = "Ataturk"en Roma".

B) Click on "Actua Ya". You will be redirected to a page with info = on Ataturk

C) Click on "Continuar" at the bottom of the page to send an e-mail = to the mayor of Rome.
Next you will be taken to the page of the actual letter...at the top of = the letter there will be a blank that says "asunto"

D) Please type in 'No a la estatua del GENOCIDA Ataturk'.

E) At the bottom of the page sign your name (nombre/apellido), Country (pa=CEs), State/Province (provincia/estado), City (ciudad) and e-mail.

They don't have many signatures yet because this petition is not = reaching the English-speakers.

Please do your part to send this info to friends and family.

Vigen Sargsyan
External Affairs Officer
World Bank
Yerevan Office, Armenia
9 V. Sargsyan Street,
Yerevan, 375010

Tel/fax: (374 1) 52 48 84, 52 17 87

Russian Monarchy Video on BBC

Russians making a success of the post-Communist era are finding ostentatious ways of celebrating newfound wealth.

In London, they are even paying to rub shoulders with descendants of their country's ousted aristocracy. Patricia Daganskaia reports. Link via Andrij.

What's interesting is that it shows London's ROCOR Church of the Dormition of the Mother of God, where Andrij and I may be found on occasion. It's a lovely church of course, and in the best 14th Century style. There's a short interview with Fr Vadim Zavrensky, the parish priest - a Ukrainian, incidentally.

Ultimate Utopia XIII

This is a spoof. That much I figured out on my own. I had no idea of what - then someone told me it was a spoof of modern video games.

Ah. Shows you how out of touch I am.

Thanks Vernon for the link!

Hierophant!

You are the the Hierophant card. The Hierophant, called The Pope in some decks, is the preserver of cultural traditions. After entering The Emperor's society, The Hierophant teaches us its wisdom. The Hierophant learns and teaches our cultural traditions. The discoveries our ancestors have made influence the present. Without forces such as The Hierophant who are able to interpret and communicate traditional lore, each generation would have to begin to learn anew. As a force that is concentrated on our past and our culture, The Hierophant can sometimes be stubborn and set in his ways. This is a negative trait he shares with his zodiac sign, Taurus. But like Taurus he is productive. His traditional lore can provide a source of inspiration for the creatively inclined, and his knowledge provides an excellent foundation for those who come into
their own in the business world. Image from: Morgan E. Cauthers-Knox.

http://elfwood.lysator.liu.se/loth/m/o/morganc/morganc.html


Which Tarot Card Are You?
brought to you by Quizilla

Hierophant eh? How come I'm not surprised?

It is the test of a good religion whether you can joke about it.

~G.K. Chesterton

Malaysian Bridge

3 fish were swimming in the canal.
1 fish hit concrete and floated there, stunned.
The 2nd fish hit concrete and said "DAM".
The 3rd fish didn't hit anything, and swam on through some turbulent water, into a wide area.
The 1st fish said "How did he do that?"
The 3rd fish yelled back at the other 2,"That wasn't a Dam. That was an Malaysian bridge.When 2 fish run into it, It falls over!"

Ignorance of the Past

According to the higher education minister, a Mr Bill Rammell, it is "not necessarily a bad thing" that there have been sharp falls in the number of students applying to study history and the classics at university. At the same time, he welcomes the considerable increases in those choosing what he calls "more vocationally beneficial subjects", such as nursing, social work and pharmacology.

Certainly we need nurses, chemists and even social workers, but a civilisation needs much more than that. One wonders whether Mr Rammell has ever thought about the Dark Ages. The Dark Ages were precisely those centuries in which classical learning was lost in the West, except in a few monasteries geographically on the very limits of the known world. It was kept alive only in Byzantium and, remarkably, in parts of the Islamic world....

---snip snip snip---

Is it any wonder that, with no sense of our past or identity - as, in other moods, politicians increasingly complain - we are a culture obsessed with celebrity, football, and reality television? Most of our population know nothing else, and they have no yardstick from either history or culture with which to judge. As long ago as the 1920s, the great (classicist) poet T S Eliot stared at what he saw as the collapse of European culture: "These fragments I have shored against my ruin." Most of us have no knowledge now even of the fragments. We, or our children, will have only a desolate sense of loss, but we won't know what it is we have lost. Welcome to Rammell's world.

- full story here, via Dappled Things.

DNA tests contradict Mormon scripture

From the time he was a child in Peru, the Mormon Church instilled in Jose A. Loayza the conviction that he and millions of other Native Americans were descended from a lost tribe of Israel that reached the New World more than 2,000 years ago.

"We were taught all the blessings of that Hebrew lineage belonged to us and that we were special people," said Loayza, now a Salt Lake City attorney. "It not only made me feel special, but it gave me a sense of transcendental identity, an identity with God."

A few years ago, Loayza said, his faith was shaken and his identity stripped away by DNA evidence showing that the ancestors of American natives came from Asia, not the Middle East.

"I've gone through stages," he said. "Absolutely denial. Utter amazement and surprise. Anger and bitterness."

- full story here.

Islam is Poopy

If you liked that, you may also like this one.

Meanwhile: SAUDI CLERIC DEMANDS CARTOONISTS BE TRIED AND PUNISHED - the top Saudi cleric, the imam of the Grand Mosque in Mecca, is calling for non-Muslims, in non-Muslim countries to by tried under Islamic law for acts that are not crimes in their respective countries! Can you believe this? Can you imagine Pope Benedict XVI calling for non-Catholics to be whipped for eating meat on Fridays?

Netdisaster

Type in your least favourite website and watch it get destroyed!

Horse Penis and Testicles with a Chilli Dip

A new specialty penis restaurant in Peking - 'nuff said.

Self-Awareness

Alrighty folks,

Here's an interesting self-awareness thingy where you can tell me what you think are my:

Good Points

and my

Bad Points

-from PJ

Can We Trust These People?

Muslims Interrupt Mass, Try To Take Over Catholic School In Scotland - Appalling. The Jihadists insist we must respect their evil, satanic, gutter religion, but as this shows, they have no respect for ours! Awake, Christendom!

Pakistan: Muslim Women Vandalize Catholic Church - Even more appalling.

A priest is beaten in Izmir, to the cries of “we will kill you all” - Jihadist dogs.

Does anyone STILL want Turkey in the EU?

Co-incidence?

There exists a Japanese cosmetics company called Kanebo.

Much of the market for skincare products in Asia centers around making skin fairer.

Canebo is the Latin word meaning 'I shall become white/covered in white'. For those pedants out there, it's the Future Active Indicative First Person Singular of Caneo.

A rather amusing co-incidence, no?

Troparion & Kontakion

I had the following proposed Troparion and Kontakion as a commet on an earlier post my blog by a reader, and I felt I should share it with you! I've edited the text slightly for a more traditional 'feel'.

Troparion (Tone 4)

O Holy Martyr Andrew, thou gavest thy life for the sake of thy Church,
As another Nicholas didst thou defend the poor from dishonour,
And in the Church of the Lord thou receivedst thy crown.
Thy back thou turnedst on thy persecutors,
Because thy eyes were fixed upon the Lord.
Pray thou that our souls be saved.

Kontakion (Tone 4)

Let us praise the holy Martyr Andrew
For by the witness of his life Christ our God hath shewn forth,
He went to a distant land to protect the poor,
And preached our Lord Christ to those who but knew Him in part,
Let us cry to him: “Rejoice in Christ God, O glory of martyrs.”
Original Here

Sancte Andrea, Novus Martyr Trapezuntinae, ora pro nobis!
῎Αγιε ᾽Ανδρέα, Νεο-ιερομάρτυρε Τραπεζούντης, εὐχῶν ὐπέρ ὑμῶν!
Saint Andrew, New-Hieromartyr of Trebizond, pray for us!

If someone here will be so kind as to translate the Troparion and Kontakion into Church Slavonic, I'll happily translate the same into Greek!

Note that I insist on 'Trebizond' - the standard English name of the Byzantine city Τραπεζούντα/Trapezounta now called Trabzon in Turkish.

Priest Killed in Turkey a Martyr, Says Cardinal Ruini, Announces Intention to Open Process of Beatification

Looks like I wasn't premature in declaring him a martyr after all:

ROME, FEB. 10, 2006 (Zenit.org).- Cardinal Camillo Ruini, the Pope's vicar for Rome, announced his intention to open the process of beatification and canonization of the priest killed last Sunday in Turkey.

The announcement -- which the cardinal included in his homily during the funeral service for the priest of Rome's Diocese in the Basilica of St. John Lateran -- was greeted with applause.

...

Canon law states that unless there is a specific disposition of the Pope for the process of beatification to begin, the prescribed period of five years will come into effect.

More Aerial Pictures!

This is definitely not a crop circle!

- from Andrij

New Depths!

Why couldn't Helen Keller drive?
Cos she was a woman.

Bad, I know, but still funny nonetheless!

In other news, was singing along to the Нынѣ Отпушаещи (yes, I took great pleasure in inserting a Yat' there), also known as the Nyne Otpushchaeshi/Nunc Dimittis/Lord now lettest thou from Rachmaninov's All Night Vigil. As is my wont, I was singing the bass line, and as the piece finished, I realised I'd been singing along right up to and including the bit where the basses dip down to a LOW B-flat.

YIPPEEE!!!!!!

As of last May, I *just* about had the C... now the B-flat has appeared quite comfortably... maybe by the time I'm 30 I'll have a low G.

*BEAMZ*

Oh. And I shaved. The glorious handlebar moustache, waxed into nice 19th century curves, is gone. I loved it while it was there, and public opinion was sharply divided into those who loved it and those who didn't. The truth of the matter was, it was getting far too high-maintenence. It was a pain to wax, and there were days when it just would not get into position no matter how hard I tried. Furthermore, with a style like that, one cannot simply let one's hair down when one wishes to relax - the moustache hairs just drooped down, forming something of a filter for food and drink (yes, ick). So it went.

Some pictures will be posted soon, I hope...

Ye Gods, someone just suggested Fencing on Ice.

Yes.

Fencing on Ice Skates.

I hope he's not thinking of the tacky sequinned outfits.

*shudders*

Patience, Young Grasshopper

Yesterday I fenced an amusing opponent. 15 years old, fencing sabre for 3 years (I've only had slightly more than a year), not terribly good, but not terribly bad either - the encounter was amusing nonetheless.

The first bout we fenced, started off quite badly for me, with 7-0 shortly into the bout. He then starts hopping about and taunting me. Childish (but then he's 15). I catch up quite quickly, and eventually he wins the bout. He then rants and gets all annoyed - saying loudly that he should have won by a much greater margin. He then challenges me to another bout, 'as soon as you're ready', where he will avenge his honour.

Not one to get easily agitated or moved to anger, I let him have his bout. This kid then starts tensing up and saying how he has to push himself harder, or else he won't improve. Right. So then he gets all worked up and his point accuracy is all over the place, his cuts are wildly off, he's waving his sabre like a madman searching for my blade...

Every time I score a point, he got NOOOOOOO and hops about a bit, stamping his feet. Instead of avenging his honour, he then promptly loses the bout.

Why on earth do some people think that pushing harder and getting agitated will help one acheive one's goals? In this kid's case, it just made things worse.

It's almost a cliché - how the old kungfu master observes the pupil getting agitated and then winds him up, to show the pupil how rage and anger will cause one to lose. Can't you hear him now - 'ah, young grasshopper, you must learn to let go and be one with the sword. be calm and the target will meet your sword. A sword swung in anger never strikes true'... or words to that effect. I'd have thought everyone knew this, but it now appears that this bit of common sense is not quite so common.

St Andrew of Trebizond's killer caught

(ANSA) - Rome, February 7 - A Turkish youth reportedly linked to organised crime has confessed to killing Italian priest Andrea Santoro two days ago, according to judicial sources in the northern town of Trabzon.

The 16-year-old student was arrested early on Tuesday morning after a huge manhunt. When police found him at the home of relatives in Trabzon, he was carrying the pistol used to kill the priest.

Father Santoro, 58, was shot dead in his church in the Black Sea town while he was praying after mass on Sunday. His killer reportedly shouted "Allah is Great" before fleeing.

Turkish television network NTV identified the arrested youth as Ohuzhan Akdi and said he was linked to the trafficking of prostitutes through Trabzon.

The Italian cleric, who was born near Rome, had dedicated considerable energy in recent years to trying to help prostitutes brought to Turkey from former Soviet republics.

Full story here.

---

It appears, therefore, that we truly do have a martyr here, killed in odium fidei (that's 'in hatred of the Faith' for those with no Latin), thus I was not premature in acclaiming him one!

Time to write a Troparion and Kontakion to him, perhaps?

Sancte Andrea, Novus Martyr Trapezuntinae, ora pro nobis!
῎Αγιε ᾽Ανδρέα, Νεο-ιερομάρτυρε Τραπεζούντης, εὐχῶν ὐπέρ ὑμῶν!
Saint Andrew, New-Hieromartyr of Trebizond, pray for us!

And The Idols Fell...

I've been reading an interesting little book, written by an American Protestant, about his journey through Egypt, investigating every spot reputed to have been visited by the Holy Family while they sojourned there, hiding from Herod.

Of course, none of the canonical Gospels mentions anything about the Holy Family in Egypt, but the Infancy Gospels have much detail - some fanciful, and to be taken with a rather large pinch of salt. One of the details I'd first heard about nearly a decade ago:

6. And now he drew near to a great city in which there was an idol, to which the other idols and gods of Egypt brought their offerings and vows.
7. And there was by this idol a priest ministering to it, who, as often as Satan spoke out of that idol, related the things he said to the inhabitants of Egypt and those countries.
8. This priest had a son three years old, who was possessed with a great multitude of devils, who uttered many strange things, and when the devils seized him, walked about naked with his clothes torn, throwing stones at those whom he saw.
9. Near to that idol was the inn of the city, into which when Joseph and St. Mary came and had turned into that inn, all the inhabitants of the city were astonished.
10. And all the magistrates and priests of the idols assembled before that idol and made inquiry there, saying, What means all this consternation and dread, which has fallen upon our country?
11. The idol answered them, The unknown God is come here, who is truly God; nor is there any one besides him who is worthy of divine worship; for he is truly the Son of God.
12. At the fame of him this country trembled, and at his coming it is under the present commotion and consternation; and we ourselves are affrighted by the greatness of his power.
13. And at the same instant this idol fell down, and at his fall all the inhabitants of Egypt, besides others, ran together. - First Infancy Gospel, Chapter Four.

This obviously fulfils the Prophecy of Isiah/Isaias which says 'Behold the Lord is sitting on a light cloud and is coming to Egypt. The idols of Egypt will be shaken by his presence and will fall on the ground.'. I used to think this slightly fanciful, until I heard the local Oecumenical Patriarchate's priest tell the story of when he blessed a house a few years ago.

An Orthodox woman was married to a local Hindu, and while he was away, asked the priest to come bless her house. The husband, out of sensitivity for his wife's religious beliefs, kept his Hindu altar on a shelf inside a closet, so it could be closed and kept out of sight when he wasn't using it.

So when the priest came round to bless the house, he liberally splashed the whole house with Holy Water. The lady of the house, possibly out of a wish to be thorough, opened the door of the closet that contained the Hindu altar, indicating that the priest should also do bless there. No jokes about casting aspersions on the religions of others, please!

So the good priest, for good measure, holding the blessing Cross, signed the Sign of the Cross thrice in the direction of the closet altar - In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, AMEN!

To the great shock of the lady of the house, the priest, and the acolyte, the statue of the Hindu god slowly tipped forward and fell upon the ground, smashing into tiny pieces. No-one had shaken the closet or touched it, and the statue was heavy. There seems to be no natural explanation, except that the idol had fallen and prostrated itself before the power of Our Lord in the Holy Cross.

Now, with that incident in mind, I can't really doubt that the idols of Egypt fell down before the face of Our Lord when He walked the earth before them, in the flesh!

Piglet Speaks!

It's Begun

Breaking news - we have our first martyr. A teenage boy shot and killed the Italian Roman Catholic priest of a church in the Black Sea port city of Trabzon on Sunday, shouting "God is great" as he escaped, according to police and witnesses.

The priest was Fr Andrea Santaro, on secondment to Trabzon (Trebizond/Τραπεζούντα in Byzantine times) from the Diocese of Rome, and had just celebrated Mass. To think the Holy See made a statement supporting the just right for respect of the religious feelings of the Muslim world not long ago.

SANCTE ANDREA, NOVUS MARTYR TRAPEZUNTINAE, ORA PRO NOBIS
Αγιε Ανδρεα, Νεο-ιερομαρτυρε Τραπεζούντης, ευχων υπερ ημων

Perhaps it's time to send in a formal petition to Pope Benedict for a new line to be added to the Litaniae Sanctorum - 'a tyrannide Hagarenorum, libera nos Domine'? The whole petition to be written in flawless Latin, of course, with signatures collected from around the world.

On the other side of the Bosphorus, we could also petition our hierarchs to add extra petitions to the litanies at Divine Liturgy, Vespers and Orthros (Matins): 'That the Lord our God may be mindful of our suffering brothers living under bitter tyranny and break the power of the fierce Hagarenes, let us pray to the Lord - Lord have mercy'.

How Dulce to Vive Occult

In candent ire the solar splendor flames;
The foles, languescent, pend from arid rames;
His humid front the cive, anheling, wipes,
And dreams of erring on ventiferous ripes.

How dulce to vive occult to mortal eyes,
Dorm on the herb with none to supervise,
Carp the suave berries from the crescent vine,
And bibe the flow from longicaudate kine.

the rest here, though if you haven't studied Latin at all, it's not likely to make much sense! Link via Dappled Things.

In A Nutshell

Someone makes a cartoon of Muhammed depicting him with a bomb in his turban.

Muslims get upset so they threaten to KILL lots of people... thereby proving the author correct?

Let's be honest now, what brings more prejudice against Islam - these caricatures or pictures of a hostage-taker slashing the throat of his victim in front of the cameras or a suicide bomber who blows himself up during a wedding ceremony?

And in case anybody out there thinks this is really the religion of peace, they should have a chat with the Greeks, Copts, Syrians, Armenians and any other Eastern Christian people who've lived under Muslim rule. They'll tell you it's all a lie. Islam even has a word for non-Muslim second-class citizens in Muslim-run societies. It's called Dhimmi - if you don't know it, Google it. What you find will shock you. Also take a look at Dhimmiwatch for more information.


The picture on the left is of a lucky young girl who managed to avoid being slaughtered in the name of Allah as thousands of other children and innocent people are by Islamic terrorists each year. The drawing on the left is a cartoon. Only one of these images provokes Muslims into rage, fiery demonstrations, boycotts and death threats against the perpetrators. Do you understand Islam well enough to know which one? more at TheReligionOfPeace.com.

Jews have to cope with being called "dogs" and "pigs" (often by the same people currently venting their outrage about drawings most of them haven't seen) and take it in their stride; Christians deal with a whole heap of ridicule and insults without Pope Benedict or archbishop Rowan Williams calling for death to anyone while the Buddhists are unfortunately saddled with Richard Gere. Faith should be robust and no-one has a right not to be offended. We shouldn't be fudging this.

Religion of Peace?

Ah yes, they certainly start young.

(pics off WaltzOfWords)

Interested in Latin?

So there I was sending a text msg around announcing the start of a Beginner's Latin course. One twit then gets all excited and asks me when, where, how much... and that yes, he's very interested.... then asks if I teach ballroom too.

Turns out he thought I was referring to dance.

*bangs head against wall*.

Bloody Philistine Rafflesian Moron (for those of you not from Singapore - that means an alumnus of Raffles Institution, archrival to my school).

Oh, by the way chaps, I'm starting a Beginner's Latin course this week - no prior experience with learning languages needed. Message me for details!

How odd - Подарок на 15 лет

I'm getting junk mail... in RUSSIAN???

My friend Andrij suggests I reply in Chinese, LOL.

The spam follows below:

Вы уже решили, что подарить друзьям, любимым, близким, коллегам?
Ищете подарок, который их обрадует?
Мы предлагаем Вам сделать долговечный подарок, который поможет Вам выразить свои чувства и сделать праздник незабываемым



Звоните нам сейчас:
(495) 248-11*51,
(495) 248~91_10

Именной камень на легендарной мостовой Старого Арбата - это долговечная "открытка" на камне, которой Вы можете поздравить, и преподнести такой подарок на любой праздник: на день рождения, на день свадьбы, к годовщине совместной жизни, к юбилею компании... Это самый оригинальный способ признаться в любви. Именная открытка - практически единственный подарок, который не потерял своей способности удивлять и восхищать. Когда праздник закончится, гости и друзья разойдутся, подарки займут положенное им место на полках, человек, которому Вы подарили именной камень, периодически будет приходить на Старый Арбат. Потому что теперь у него будет своя частичка исторической части города.




Специальные технологии позволяют создавать яркие, многокрасочные изображения, долговечность которых до 15 лет. Вы можете выбрать уже готовый макет или разработать свой неповторимый текст и рисунок.

Andrij, whose Russian is better than mine, tells me it's an advertisement - as a gift for some1 special, you can get a 'card' painted on the Old Arbat bridge, it should last for 15 yrs. They don't give a price.

Danish Cartoons!

Some judicious web-trawling has found the cartoons at the Human Events website!

In support of free speech, here are a few of them:







In support of this, the French newspaper France Soir published this cartoon on their front page, with Buddha, Jehovah, Christ and Muhammad on a cloud:


"Don't complain, Muhammad, we've all been caricatured here."

Fencing Worms!

Newly Discovered Worm Fences With Penis - rather curious story

Gaming Geeks!

This is screamingly funny - will take some time to load, but it's worth it!

Purple Demons

Soundtrack: Third movement, from Haydn's Piano Concerto No. 11 in D Major.

Note: This is not offical church teaching, merely folklore!

Ever heard of the "Purple Demons"? For those who don't know, the "Purple Demons" are special demons in Greek folk tradition sent to tempt people into strife and arguments. They are released from Hell only during the 4 major Fasts (Great Lent, The Apostles Fast, the Dormition Fast and Advent). But don't worry, the sound of the Bells or talanton on Easter, the Feast of Ss Peter and Paul, the Dormition and Christmas sends them scurrying back to Hell!

Vive La Difference!

In Islamic countries, women who commit adultery get stoned.
Everywhere else, women who get stoned commit adultery.

From the old Yes Minister series

Lost treasures of Constantinople test Turkey's 21st-century ambition

Link via Novus Medio Aevo.

I'm a Fashionist? You've got to be kidding...

Fashionista 66% Tastefulness, 46% Originality, 67% Deliberateness, 43% Sexiness

[Tasteful Original Deliberate Prissy] One is certain: you have great taste and plenty of ideas. You have clearly defined beliefs about what's good and what's bad in fashion but they are far from banal. Stylish and imaginative, you prefer to inspire admiration than to shock and you mostly succeed. Even if sometimes you'd like to have more courage to put on something absolutely outrageous you do great job in creating a unique look that others look up to. There is a possibility that you work in the fashion industry. If you don't, perhaps you should. The opposite style from yours is Bar Cruiser [Flamboyant Conventional Random Sexy]. All the categories: Fashion Enemy Bar Cruiser Kid Next Door Sex Bomb Hippie Kid Fashion Rebel Fashion Artist Catwalk God(ess) Librarian Sporty Hottie Office Master Uptown Girl/ Boy Brainy Student Movie Star Fashionista Glamorous Soul

My test tracked 4 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender: You scored higher than 76% on Tastefulness You scored higher than 40% on Originality You scored higher than 88% on Deliberateness You scored higher than 36% on Sexiness

Link: The Fashion Style Test written by mari-e on Ok Cupid, home of the 32-Type Dating Test

АПОСТОЛЪ

WHEE!!!

I'm now the owner of a Recensio Ruthena Апостолъ, published at Rome in 1955. This, for those of you who don't know, is a complete book of Acts and Epistles, with liturgical material for the reader in the Byzantine-Ruthenian rite. It's in Church-Slavonic, beautifully printed, and highly sought after even by the Orthodox. This particular copy was unbound - in fact, it was still in folded uncut folio sections, to be bound and decorated as the user desired.

I managed to get it cut and bound in Singapore, for the princely sum of S$13 (that works out to about US$8/£5), with red endpapers and Leather-look PVC (leather, strictly speaking, is banned in the Byzantine sanctuary) and here are the pictures!








Alas, it contains some undesirable commemorations such as Corpus Christi, Sacred Heart, and the Seven Sorrows - but these are easily ignored and cancelled with a light pencil-line. Nothing's perfect, but this comes close!

WHEE!!!

Divide et Impere

A brief outline of a plan for getting rid of the various jurisdictional silliness in the Church today. No more overlapping jurisdictions! Jurisdiction will be independent of rite - Byzantines, Latins, Armenians, Assyrians and all out of their home territories will all commemorate their ritual bishop, as well as the ruling hierarch (independent of rite) of their area. For obvious reasons, Churches of the Balkans will remain as they are - I don't want to stir up any more trouble with trying to place Bulgaria, Romania, Serbia, Macedonia, Georgia, Armenia, etc under anyone else. Ideally, though, all the Churches of the Balkans should commemorate Constantinople. New Catholicosates will be founded, but nominally subject to the historical ones.

PATRIARCHATE OF ROME - covers all of Western Europe. Ruling hierarch is of the Latin rite (of course).

PATRIARCHATE OF CONSTANTINOPLE - covers Greece, Turkey. Byzantine.

PATRIARCHATE OF ALEXANDRIA - covers all of Africa, with a Catholicos in South Africa. Rite: Coptic (as is only right and proper).

PATRIARCHATE OF ANTIOCH - covers most of the historical territory of the Antiochian Patriarchate. The Catholicosates of Babylon, India etc are to be under her. Rite: Syrian (as is only right and proper).

PATRIARCHATE OF JERUSALEM - uh. A really tiny one, I know - but I can't think of what else to do with her. Rite: Syrian (as is only right and proper)

The Patriarchate of Moscow may remain a Patriarchate, but must now commemorate the Patriarch of Kiev, for the Church of Russia was derived from her. I'm tempted to demote Moscow to a Metropolitanate, but that would cause more problems than it would solve. The Patriarchates of Bulgaria, Romania, Serbia (Macedonia goes back under them), remain as they are; as do the Ethiopian, Armenian, Indian Catholicosates - but with the difference that all Latins within their territories are now subject to the ruling hierarch of the native church.

What is really new about this plan is:

CATHOLICOS OF PEKING AND THE FAR EAST- nominally subject to Antioch, with jurisdiction over North Asia, meaning China, Japan, Korea. Culturally, these three countries are similar enough for a hierarch to deal with. Ideally, since the Assyrians were here first, I'd like the ruling hierarch to be of the Syrian rite, but considering adherents of the Syrian rite are rather scarce in this part of the world, I don't mind a Byzantine hierarch. Lord knows a Byzantine Hierarchal Liturgy is far more appropriately Eastern in feel for the Far East.

CATHOLICOS OF SINGAPORE AND SOUTHEAST ASIA - nominally subject to Antioch; covering Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines, Indo-China and all that. This will have to be a separate jurisdiction from that of the Chinese Catholicosate, as Peking will have more than enough to deal with in her territory, and nobody in SE Asia would stand for being under the Catholicos of India. Why Singapore? Possibly my own prejudice, but this really is the safest and most stable country in SE Asia. I'm tempted to prefer a Syrian rite ruling hierarch, since they were here first.

CATHOLICOS OF SYDNEY AND OCEANIA - nominally subject to Antioch again; covering Australia, New Zealand and the Islands. Latin, possibly?

CATHOLICOS OF NEW YORK; CATHOLICOS OF SAN FRANCISCO; CATHOLICOS OF RIO DE JANEIRO & BRAZIL; CATHOLICOS OF BUENOS AIRES & SOUTH AMERICA; CATHOLICOS OF MEXICO AND CENTRAL AMERICA - these will all be Latin hierarchs, naturally. I don't know enough about these areas to say anymore, except that His Eminence Roger Cardinal Mahoney of Los Angeles will NOT, I repeat, NOT be Catholicos of San Francisco. I propose he be appointed Catholicos of Antartica, to be normally resident there!

This is a work-in-progress, and readers are welcome to give suggestions for improvement, naturally. I'll modify the post as appropriate later.