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This! I remember by husband's college level European history textbook describing the 'Great Schism' as being the time in the 14th century when there were 2 Popes. :scratch: American history classes are not only Western-centric but particularly Anglo-centric as well. Other European...

I'm not a huge Obama fan by any means, but this 'outrage' seems patently disingenuous. Obama did host a pre-Easter 'Easter breakfast' for the press where he made a very moving and fully in line with the Protestant understanding of Easter profession of faith. The problem lies more in the...

I think I'm becoming either more cynical or more pragmatic as I get older. Based mostly on observation or experience (and lots of watching 'The Tudors' while fast forwarding through the lovey/dovey and carnal bits) I've concluded a couple things: 1. Religion shapes culture and therefore a...

I think the brain is pre-programmed to learn songs done in specific types of rythyms. That is why a certain generation has trouble writing down the Preamble to the Constitution without singing it.... I tend to favor Hayek, but it is clear while Keynes is popular. Hayek's message essentially...

I sang with the choir at the parish we were chrismated at - helped immensely in learning the patterns of the liturgical cycle and becoming acclimated to them. As for everything else: - do miss having a more 'fun' advent, especially because American culture doesn't support the Christmas...

I think the only way it could work without much conflict would be if they believed and respected your commitment, but weren't that devout themselves. Otherwise there would be fights about what church the kids would attend, when to celebrate Easter, what to eat on Thanksgiving, whether or not to...

I'm going through a commentary from Conciliar Press on Romans right now. It seems relevant as that is the 'go to' book for most Sola Fide an TULIP Protestants. I realized I had a hard time disentangling myself from the Calvinist interpretations which is why I picked up the book. I highly...

Our first Pascha, I had an excellent view from the choir loft as some guy's 7 year old almost set a woman's hair on fire and his 5 year old got his head stuck in the icon stand. My favorite was when he'd do the dead man drop when I tried to walk him up to the Communion line. Or when he'd see...

I'm not aware of a general attitude. I know of one (incredibly devout almost to the point of being a mini-monastery) Romanian family who uses no praise or punishment. They are into some book called 'Punished by Rewards'. We're not opposed to spanking - I just don't think it works very well...

The only dreams I take seriously are the ones where I dream I go to confession.

That might be better because the paper will be easier to manipulate. Anything you can do with regular paper you can do with that. You could paper-mache onto a pre-made ornament like a ceramic/glass/plastic ball. A couple years ago my nephews made votive holders by tearing colored tissue paper...

I think it is more that when we pray for patience or humility the first thing we need to learn is that we are incapable of having either under our own power. Or perhaps it is that when we pray for a certain virtue we need to first be disabused of the notion that we already have it.... Life...

One thing my son's Church school class did was make Icon ornaments. They took printed (non blessed obviously) Icon cards and cut out the key portion in a circle then glued it to the middle of a silver cup-cake liner and added a ribbon/pipe cleaner loop. Other things they did included putting...

Boris Akunin has two series set in 19th century Russia. One of the protaginists is a police dective who I believe is about as Orthodox as most 19th century Russian civil servants. The other is an Orthodox nun, Sister Pelagia. The first one of that series is 'Sister Pelagia and the White...

Just because people of one religion hurt those of another doesn't make it the fault of the respective churches. This was one incident in a long pattern of Greek vs. Italian, Italian vs. Italian, German vs. Byzantine, Venetian vs. everybody else violence. To follow your line of thought, we'd have...

Pennsylvnania? You'd be surprised. The OCA has more parishes in each half of the state than in the entire Diocese of the West. Lots and lots and lots of descendants of coal mining, railroad building, Slavic families.

Hi Fox, Wow - your story sounded so familiar... I was first introduced to Orthodoxy when looking for arguments for and against Papal infallibility. The first article I came across was titled 'an argument for Papal infallibility against the Eastern Orthodox'. We are incultured in America to...

Well, yes and no. Many of the states are no longer there - but one of the consequences of the sack was that a huge quantity of Sacred treasures was stripped and carted off to enrich the Latin Church. The Pope may not have condoned the crusade, but likewise he did nothing to stop the 60 years...

Because they have equated 'what the Bible says' with Reformationist Protestant Tradition. Essentially, their argument against Orthodoxy boils down to 'they aren't Reformed Protestants'. This is an allegation I will happily plead guilty to. What is a difference of traditions is whether or not...

Propagandized Church History is one of my hot buttons too. The whole debate has been hijacked by people who presented lurid, misleading, and sometimes outright false stories that captured the populist imagination and thus passed into our conventional wisdom as fact. They are so ingrained now...