Question

[Joshua G.]

Fr. Vasily says, "YES...IS OUTRAGE! Starting at 7:30 when every good Christian is up at 2am praying!"

Well, how else are we expected to fit in our five our morning prayer rule?

 

[TheCunctator]

Perhaps we could resolve the disputes with a jousting competition?

The great Ecumenical Jousting Competition of 2010, which shall decide once and for all - Nestorianism, or Monophysitism?

HOOORRRAAAAH

 

[frmichael]

Going back to the original question(!!!) You don't have to be Greek, speak Greek or Russian or any other language - and you don't have to put up with the Byzantinism either. As the Priest in charge of the Saint Eanswythe Western Rite Orthodox Mission in England, we have perfectly understandable Western services in English for you.
Admittedly, we are just starting out - and we don't have the clergy that we need, but we are here in England. We are stavropigial - that is we are directly responsible to the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia - Metropolitan Hilarion.
You can find us at: ://forwardinorthodoxfaith.blogspot.com ://kentorthodox.blogspot.com and ://saintnectan.blogspot.com
We are hoping to be in Yorkshire before the end of the year. We are English and we are Orthodox - just as our ancestors were from AD 37 until AD 1066.
Fr. Michael

 

[HandmaidenOfGod]

Father bless,

Welcome to the forum Father! Your presence is greatly coveted and desired!

 

[Apophatic80]

Father bless...

 

[Anhelyna]

Father bless ,

You are Western Rite I believe .

 

[frmichael]

Dear Anhelyna,

Yes, Western Rite - using the ancient Western Liturgy. The Holy Synod of Russia authorised the re-introduction of the Western Rite in 1870 and again, at the request of (Patriarch Saint) Tikhon (Belavin) in 1907.
Since that time the Russian Church has authorised the Saint Colman Prayer Book which contains most of the ordinary services - the Offices, the Liturgy, Baptism, Marriage, Burial etc., services. This service book is now used in America, Australia and England.
Saint John of Shanghai, Metropolitan Anthony (Bloom) and other heirarchs have celebrated the Western Rite themselves, three Western Rite bishops were consecrated during the course of the twentieth century (one by Saint John of Shanghai). The Russian Church has three Western Rite Monasteries, and Western Rite in the Russian Church is monastic-led.
Having said that, the difference between Western Rite Orthodox and Eastern Rite Orthodox is only the Liturgy - ALL the rest of Orthodox teaching is identical. After all, for more than three quarters of its existence, the Orthodox Church has had Western Rite - so it woulod be an abberration for it not to be there within the bosom of Holy Orthodoxy. Remember that a Western Rite monastery (Amalfion) was a founding monastery of Mount Athos, there was a Western Rite church in Constantinople long after the Great Schism - and another in Jerusalem. The only reason that the British Isles became schismatics was because the pope paid the Normans to invade and bring his heirarchs with them. Had this not happened, Britain may have remained Orthodox throughout the last millennium - with no protestants.

Fr. Michael

 

[MariaRegina]

Dear Anhelyna,

Yes, Western Rite - using the ancient Western Liturgy. The Holy Synod of Russia authorised the re-introduction of the Western Rite in 1870 and again, at the request of (Patriarch Saint) Tikhon (Belavin) in 1907.
Since that time the Russian Church has authorised the Saint Colman Prayer Book which contains most of the ordinary services - the Offices, the Liturgy, Baptism, Marriage, Burial etc., services. This service book is now used in America, Australia and England.
Saint John of Shanghai, Metropolitan Anthony (Bloom) and other heirarchs have celebrated the Western Rite themselves, three Western Rite bishops were consecrated during the course of the twentieth century (one by Saint John of Shanghai). The Russian Church has three Western Rite Monasteries, and Western Rite in the Russian Church is monastic-led.
Having said that, the difference between Western Rite Orthodox and Eastern Rite Orthodox is only the Liturgy - ALL the rest of Orthodox teaching is identical. After all, for more than three quarters of its existence, the Orthodox Church has had Western Rite - so it woulod be an abberration for it not to be there within the bosom of Holy Orthodoxy. Remember that a Western Rite monastery (Amalfion) was a founding monastery of Mount Athos, there was a Western Rite church in Constantinople long after the Great Schism - and another in Jerusalem. The only reason that the British Isles became schismatics was because the pope paid the Normans to invade and bring his heirarchs with them. Had this not happened, Britain may have remained Orthodox throughout the last millennium - with no protestants.

Fr. Michael

Father, you have been a blessing to this forum.

Yes, the Norman Invasion began in 1066, just a few years after the 1054 Great Schism.

I majored in Linguistics, not history, so I have little knowledge of the political maneuvers that took place in Europe during that time. Could you suggest a good history book that covers the Norman Conquest of Britain. I did study the History of English but that was only from a linguistic perspective.