New, random blog feature!
Every so often, I come across quotes from the Saints, Church Fathers, Church Mothers, that I really, really love. I'm trying to make myself a notebook of them, but I also want to share! So, on no particular time table, or in any discernible order, every so often I'm going to do one of these posts. :)
Today you get two quotes, both from St. Gregory Nazianus:
"That which was not assumed is not healed; but that which is united to God is saved."
"What then is Procession? Do you tell me what is the Unbegottenness of the Father, and I will explain to you the physiology of the Generation of the Son and the Procession of the Spirit, and we shall both of us go mad for prying into the mystery of God. And who are we to do these things, we who cannot even see what lies at our feet, or number the sand of the sea, or the drops of rain, or the days of Eternity, much less enter into the Depths of God, and supply an account of that Nature which is so unspeakable and transcending all words?"
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Monday, December 7, 2009
Book: The Face Behind the Veil
My latest non-fiction read has been The Face Behind the Veil by Donna Gehrke-White. It's a collection of 2 - 6 page stories of American Muslim women. There's a total of 50 stories, and I think that the author did an excellent job of getting a fairly broad cross-section of women. She breaks the book up into five sections, The New Traditionalists, The Blenders, The Converts, The Persecuted, and The Changers.
In the first section, The New Traditionalists, the women are usually second-generation Muslims in America, people whose families immigrated. Many times, they're the first women in their families to wear hijab. One of the women tells the story of how the murder of her uncle (he was a cab driver and the crime was unrelated to religion) prompted her to take the 'plunge' as it were to wear her hijab. It was something she had wanted to do for a while, but the painful hammering home of the fact that life could end at any moment gave her the strength to go ahead.
In The Blenders, the women are those who do not wear any form of hijab, for one reason or another. Most don't believe that it is required. They say that the veil was only for the wives of Mohammed, and so long as they dress modestly, the don't believe in the hijab (in the sense of head covering). A few don't wear it because they are afraid of how they will be treated, of harassment and loosing their jobs.
In The Converts, there are, of course, the stories of American women who choose Islam for one reason or another. Two of them, one a black woman, and one of Asian descent, became attracted to Islam because they saw it as inclusive, and anti-racist.
The Persecuted, of course, are the stories of women who have had to flee their homelands and seek refuge in America. Most from political strife, but one or two from abusive husbands. The one I remember best (or worst), is a woman with three children who fled Afghanistan (under the Taliban) after her husband was shot in the store he ran in town. Other townspeople dragged his body home. There was no reason, no explanation. She still, years later, has no idea why her husband was murdered. Or the Afghan woman whose husband and oldest son were 'arrested' for unknown reasons. She fled the country with her remaining children, making it, eventually, to the US, where she has forged a life for them and is (thankfully) awaiting her husband and son to join her. For some reason, why, she doesn't know, they lived.
The Changers are women who are working to change (duh) the way Muslim women are treated, within their own faith. They all agree that the problems are cultural - that the degradation and abuse of women is not a part of Islam, but something that has become so entrenched, that many people wrongly treat it as though it is. They're working to change the conditions of the women's sections of mosques. Some of them have prayed side by side with Muslim men, some work as judges, social workers, politicians. They're working to prove that their hijab, their faith, doesn't keep them from doing what they want.
So. The stories range from heart rending (I'm thinking of a women whose husband gained custody of their children, after abusing her and them, and has taken them to Egypt. An American judge thought he was 'better suited' to care for them.) to happy and uplifting. I think the authors point, her idea, was to show that they're 'just like us'. Their lives are neither wholly horrific or shiny and perfect. They have their ups, their downs, trials and joys. But in the end, they're just women of faith, struggling through the world.
Just like us.
Sunday, December 6, 2009
The Didache
I actually finished this a few days ago, but I've been trying to decide what to write.
On the one hand, the text of the Didache itself is fairly short. It takes up 18 pages of the book, and many of those pages are maybe half to three-quarters full of text. So, it's by no means a huge work. In fact, here's a link that Ahavah gave me to the entire text online. And it's an interesting work. It's nice to get a glimpse into the life of the church in the first century, to see what they thought was important, what they wrote down, a bit of what they were passing on and teaching to the new converts.
On the other hand, it's a translation, with commentary. The author does keep all his commentary in a separate section, so it's not footnoted all over the text. However, in reading his commentary, you do get the strong sense of his own bias. Let me just say that any author that uses the term, 'the Jesus movement' kind of gets tarred with a suspicious brush in my mind from the beginning. And, the author did not improve my opinion of him. I understand that all authors have a bias, his just happens to run counter to my faith, and, as far as I'm concerned, he's been seriously misled. Which does, at least to me, also throw shadows on his translation itself. It is possible to translate to ones own bias. I've seen it done with versions of the Qur'an, and the Bible. I know this is why it's recommended to read the original languages, but that's not always possible, so I try to read multiple translations. It's the best I can do for myself.
I did find it interesting that some of the 'dont's' listed seem to be specific to the training of Gentiles. For instance, in a list of things that one 'will not' do, 'murder offspring by means of abortion' is mentioned. The impression being that it needed to be spelled out, because in the time this was written, it was a common form of 'family planning' (and I'm using the phrase ironically) to use abortificants, or even to commit infanticide, if the child was born deformed, or unwanted. Another 'you will not' was 'corrupt boys'. We all know pederasty (I know, Wikipedia, but I glanced over the article, and it's accurate to what I learned as far as I can see) was an accepted thing back in the day, don't we? If we didn't we do now. The ancient Christians felt the need to spell this stuff out to their converts, because given their cultural backgrounds, not coming from Jewish society, it might not have been obvious, to them, that these were prohibited acts.
Another thing is the instructions on how to perform Baptisms:
7:1 But concerning baptism, thus shall ye baptize.
7:2 Having first recited all these things, baptize {in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit} in living (running) water.
7:3 But if thou hast not living water, then baptize in other water;
7:4 and if thou art not able in cold, then in warm.
7:5 But if thou hast neither, then pour water on the head thrice in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
7:6 But before the baptism let him that baptizeth and him that is baptized fast, and any others also who are able;
7:7 and thou shalt order him that is baptized to fast a day or two before.
Sound familiar to anyone? Eh?
I do like the rundown, too. First choice, baptize in running water. So, a river or a stream, like Christ's Baptism in the Jordan. If you can't do that, then cold, standing water. If you can't get cold standing water, then warm (not heated, I assume, but just standing water, like a tub, perhaps). And if you can't do that, *then* you can pour. But *immersion* baptism is the first, second, and third choice.
So, really, that's all I have to say about that. I'm reading The Face Behind the Veil, now, which is a collection of brief stories about the lives of American Muslim women. So far, an enjoyable read. Most of the stories are 2 - 4 pages each, it seems.
On the one hand, the text of the Didache itself is fairly short. It takes up 18 pages of the book, and many of those pages are maybe half to three-quarters full of text. So, it's by no means a huge work. In fact, here's a link that Ahavah gave me to the entire text online. And it's an interesting work. It's nice to get a glimpse into the life of the church in the first century, to see what they thought was important, what they wrote down, a bit of what they were passing on and teaching to the new converts.
On the other hand, it's a translation, with commentary. The author does keep all his commentary in a separate section, so it's not footnoted all over the text. However, in reading his commentary, you do get the strong sense of his own bias. Let me just say that any author that uses the term, 'the Jesus movement' kind of gets tarred with a suspicious brush in my mind from the beginning. And, the author did not improve my opinion of him. I understand that all authors have a bias, his just happens to run counter to my faith, and, as far as I'm concerned, he's been seriously misled. Which does, at least to me, also throw shadows on his translation itself. It is possible to translate to ones own bias. I've seen it done with versions of the Qur'an, and the Bible. I know this is why it's recommended to read the original languages, but that's not always possible, so I try to read multiple translations. It's the best I can do for myself.
I did find it interesting that some of the 'dont's' listed seem to be specific to the training of Gentiles. For instance, in a list of things that one 'will not' do, 'murder offspring by means of abortion' is mentioned. The impression being that it needed to be spelled out, because in the time this was written, it was a common form of 'family planning' (and I'm using the phrase ironically) to use abortificants, or even to commit infanticide, if the child was born deformed, or unwanted. Another 'you will not' was 'corrupt boys'. We all know pederasty (I know, Wikipedia, but I glanced over the article, and it's accurate to what I learned as far as I can see) was an accepted thing back in the day, don't we? If we didn't we do now. The ancient Christians felt the need to spell this stuff out to their converts, because given their cultural backgrounds, not coming from Jewish society, it might not have been obvious, to them, that these were prohibited acts.
Another thing is the instructions on how to perform Baptisms:
7:1 But concerning baptism, thus shall ye baptize.
7:2 Having first recited all these things, baptize {in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit} in living (running) water.
7:3 But if thou hast not living water, then baptize in other water;
7:4 and if thou art not able in cold, then in warm.
7:5 But if thou hast neither, then pour water on the head thrice in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
7:6 But before the baptism let him that baptizeth and him that is baptized fast, and any others also who are able;
7:7 and thou shalt order him that is baptized to fast a day or two before.
Sound familiar to anyone? Eh?
I do like the rundown, too. First choice, baptize in running water. So, a river or a stream, like Christ's Baptism in the Jordan. If you can't do that, then cold, standing water. If you can't get cold standing water, then warm (not heated, I assume, but just standing water, like a tub, perhaps). And if you can't do that, *then* you can pour. But *immersion* baptism is the first, second, and third choice.
So, really, that's all I have to say about that. I'm reading The Face Behind the Veil, now, which is a collection of brief stories about the lives of American Muslim women. So far, an enjoyable read. Most of the stories are 2 - 4 pages each, it seems.
The Kinder Report Day 12
Ah, back to the grind stone.
We had an 'easy' day today, because last week they were off, and we're off the weekend after Christmas too, so...
Anyway. We had them all look up their 'birthday verses' in the Gospels. So, you take the month you were born for the chapter, and the day for the verse, and that's your 'birthday verse'. *shrug* I don't know, it was an activity Deb came up with. So we had them look them all up, and write them out. Then, they chose their favorite, and they made cut out fish and wrote that verse on one side of the fish, their name on the other, and decorated. :)
That took up most of the class.
Our word was 'Sacraments', so we briefly went over all of them.
Then, we read the Gospel, which is Luke 3: 1-6 -
'In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar,
when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea,
and Herod was tetrarch of Galilee,
and his brother Philip tetrarch of the region
of Ituraea and Trachonitis,
and Lysanias was tetrarch of Abilene,
during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas,
the word of God came to John the son of Zechariah in the desert.
John went throughout the whole region of the Jordan,
proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins,
as it is written in the book of the words of the prophet Isaiah:
A voice of one crying out in the desert:
“Prepare the way of the Lord,
make straight his paths.
Every valley shall be filled
and every mountain and hill shall be made low.
The winding roads shall be made straight,
and the rough ways made smooth,
and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.”'
And now, I'm going to go watch Ninja Assassin. Because sometimes, you just need to watch people kicking each other in the head.
We had an 'easy' day today, because last week they were off, and we're off the weekend after Christmas too, so...
Anyway. We had them all look up their 'birthday verses' in the Gospels. So, you take the month you were born for the chapter, and the day for the verse, and that's your 'birthday verse'. *shrug* I don't know, it was an activity Deb came up with. So we had them look them all up, and write them out. Then, they chose their favorite, and they made cut out fish and wrote that verse on one side of the fish, their name on the other, and decorated. :)
That took up most of the class.
Our word was 'Sacraments', so we briefly went over all of them.
Then, we read the Gospel, which is Luke 3: 1-6 -
'In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar,
when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea,
and Herod was tetrarch of Galilee,
and his brother Philip tetrarch of the region
of Ituraea and Trachonitis,
and Lysanias was tetrarch of Abilene,
during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas,
the word of God came to John the son of Zechariah in the desert.
John went throughout the whole region of the Jordan,
proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins,
as it is written in the book of the words of the prophet Isaiah:
A voice of one crying out in the desert:
“Prepare the way of the Lord,
make straight his paths.
Every valley shall be filled
and every mountain and hill shall be made low.
The winding roads shall be made straight,
and the rough ways made smooth,
and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.”'
And now, I'm going to go watch Ninja Assassin. Because sometimes, you just need to watch people kicking each other in the head.
Friday, December 4, 2009
You Know You've Been Bad...
...When Santa Slaps You
Okay, so, one of my favorite saints, is Saint Nicholas. (And I'll explain why, a bit later. It's not why you think.)
Since his feast day is December 6th, I thought I'd make a post. I need no other excuse. :)
So, we all know him as 'Santa Claus'. You know, the jolly guy who sneaks into your house at night and leaves oodles of presents for the kids. It shouldn't surprise anyone that St. Nicholas was not, actually, a supporter of rampant commercialism and turning your children into spoiled brats.
St. Nicholas was born in the Middle East, it's believed he was born in Patara (now known as Demre in modern day Turkey) between AD 260 and 280.
His election to the position of Bishop of Myra was a little...unorthodox. :)
After the death of the bishop of Myra, other bishops came together to select his successor. During the conclave the wisest bishop heard a voice in the night, telling him to watch the doors of the church the next morning at matins. The first person to enter, named Nicholas, was to be the new bishop. He did so, waiting at the door while counseling the others to be at prayer. When the time came, the first person to arrive was a young man. When asked his name, he replied, 'I am Nicholas.' The bishop addressed him, 'Nicholas, servant and friend of God, for your holiness, you shall be bishop of this place.' They brought him into the church and placed him in the bishop's seat, where he was consecrated the new Bishop of Myra.
As Bishop of Myra, Nicholas lived the qualities that caused his fame and popularity to spread throughout the Christian world. His vigorous actions on behalf of his people and in defense of the Christian faith reveal a man who lived his convictions. Nicholas was not timid—he did what was necessary and was not easily intimidated by others' power and position. His concern for the welfare of his flock and his stand for orthodox belief earned him respect as a model for bishops and a defender of the faith.
For example, Myra experienced famine in AD 311 and 312, and again in 333. Crops had failed and people were hungry. Bishop Nicholas learned that ships bound for Alexandria with cargoes of wheat had anchored in the harbor. The holy man implored the sailors to take a measure of grain from each ship so that the people would have food. The sailors said, "No," as the wheat was "meted and measured" and every bit must be delivered. Nicholas replied, "Do this, and I promise, in the truth of God, that it shall not be lessened or diminished when you get to your destination." So the sailors took a measure from each ship and continued on their way to Alexandria. When the wheat was unloaded, the full amount was accounted for and the tale told—all the emperor's ministers worshiped and praised God with thanksgiving for his servant Nicholas. Throughout the famine people came to Bishop Nicholas for wheat. He gave it to all who had need and the grain lasted for two years with enough remaining to plant new crops.
- In the time of Emperor Constantine, all was not peaceful in the empire. When unrest would break out, soldiers would be sent to restore order. Some such soldiers were on shore leave in Andriaki, the port which served Myra. As they were in the marketplace, disputes began and there was some disturbance and looting. Bishop Nicholas went to the port to help settle the trouble. On his way back to the city, he saw people crying and saying, "If you had been in the city three innocent men would not have been handed over to death, as they have been ordered beheaded." Nicholas ran to the place, asking if the men were still alive. The three men were in position-faces covered, hands bound behind, expecting death. The executioner's sword was up and ready to fall. Nicholas fearlessly grabbed the sword, throwing it down. The freed men went on their way while Nicholas sought to have the charges against them cleared.
- The people of Myra begged Bishop Nicholas to ask the emperor for relief from the high taxes which were causing much hardship. Nicholas went to plead their cause with Constantine. The emperor granted a large reduction, giving Nicholas a copy of the order. The bishop immediately put the document on a stick and threw it into the sea. Soon afterwards it was found and taken to the authorities in Myra. The order was immediately put into effect, substantially lowering the taxes. Meanwhile Constantine, whose finance ministers had convinced him that this lost revenue would seriously harm the royal treasury, summoned Nicholas to return the document for revision. Nicholas reported that the order was already in effect in Myra. Doubting this, Constantine sent a runner to determine the truth. When Nicholas' words were confirmed the emperor allowed the reduction to stand. A century later Myra still enjoyed low taxation which the people attributed to St. Nicholas.
- After Galerius, and later, Constantine, declared tolerance for Christianity, the Christians who had been imprisoned under Diocletian returned home. Nicholas, the Bishop of Myra, was one of them. He found many idol shrines still present and they harbored disturbing demons. So by the power of God, Nicholas set about with great force and zeal to destroy these shrines, drive the demons away, and bring calm to the land. The most supreme deity of the pantheon of Myra was Artemis and her temple was the most stunningly beautiful and impressive structure in all Lycia. Nicholas attacked this temple with great might and vigor, causing its total destruction. So complete was its fall that the foundation stones were on top and the pinnacle was driven into the ground. The evil demons then fled, inspiring the people's awe of God.
(Amber's mental image of the event)
What's the first rule of Ecumenical Council?
We do not *talk* about Ecumenical Council! *rofl*
Okay, okay, *wipes eyes*. In all seriousness, I love this. Look, if Arianism had persisted, we'd all believe that God created Jesus, and the Holy Spirit, and that they were subservient to Him, as opposed to being equal parts of the Godhead. We'd be polytheists. So...St. Nicholas punching Arias...just kinda works for me. That's how serious this was, a normally nice person got so pissed at the heresy and evil he was hearing, he had to hit the guy. :)
Okay, so, one of my favorite saints, is Saint Nicholas. (And I'll explain why, a bit later. It's not why you think.)
Since his feast day is December 6th, I thought I'd make a post. I need no other excuse. :)
So, we all know him as 'Santa Claus'. You know, the jolly guy who sneaks into your house at night and leaves oodles of presents for the kids. It shouldn't surprise anyone that St. Nicholas was not, actually, a supporter of rampant commercialism and turning your children into spoiled brats.
St. Nicholas was born in the Middle East, it's believed he was born in Patara (now known as Demre in modern day Turkey) between AD 260 and 280.
His election to the position of Bishop of Myra was a little...unorthodox. :)
After the death of the bishop of Myra, other bishops came together to select his successor. During the conclave the wisest bishop heard a voice in the night, telling him to watch the doors of the church the next morning at matins. The first person to enter, named Nicholas, was to be the new bishop. He did so, waiting at the door while counseling the others to be at prayer. When the time came, the first person to arrive was a young man. When asked his name, he replied, 'I am Nicholas.' The bishop addressed him, 'Nicholas, servant and friend of God, for your holiness, you shall be bishop of this place.' They brought him into the church and placed him in the bishop's seat, where he was consecrated the new Bishop of Myra.
As Bishop of Myra, Nicholas lived the qualities that caused his fame and popularity to spread throughout the Christian world. His vigorous actions on behalf of his people and in defense of the Christian faith reveal a man who lived his convictions. Nicholas was not timid—he did what was necessary and was not easily intimidated by others' power and position. His concern for the welfare of his flock and his stand for orthodox belief earned him respect as a model for bishops and a defender of the faith.
For example, Myra experienced famine in AD 311 and 312, and again in 333. Crops had failed and people were hungry. Bishop Nicholas learned that ships bound for Alexandria with cargoes of wheat had anchored in the harbor. The holy man implored the sailors to take a measure of grain from each ship so that the people would have food. The sailors said, "No," as the wheat was "meted and measured" and every bit must be delivered. Nicholas replied, "Do this, and I promise, in the truth of God, that it shall not be lessened or diminished when you get to your destination." So the sailors took a measure from each ship and continued on their way to Alexandria. When the wheat was unloaded, the full amount was accounted for and the tale told—all the emperor's ministers worshiped and praised God with thanksgiving for his servant Nicholas. Throughout the famine people came to Bishop Nicholas for wheat. He gave it to all who had need and the grain lasted for two years with enough remaining to plant new crops.
- In the time of Emperor Constantine, all was not peaceful in the empire. When unrest would break out, soldiers would be sent to restore order. Some such soldiers were on shore leave in Andriaki, the port which served Myra. As they were in the marketplace, disputes began and there was some disturbance and looting. Bishop Nicholas went to the port to help settle the trouble. On his way back to the city, he saw people crying and saying, "If you had been in the city three innocent men would not have been handed over to death, as they have been ordered beheaded." Nicholas ran to the place, asking if the men were still alive. The three men were in position-faces covered, hands bound behind, expecting death. The executioner's sword was up and ready to fall. Nicholas fearlessly grabbed the sword, throwing it down. The freed men went on their way while Nicholas sought to have the charges against them cleared.
- The people of Myra begged Bishop Nicholas to ask the emperor for relief from the high taxes which were causing much hardship. Nicholas went to plead their cause with Constantine. The emperor granted a large reduction, giving Nicholas a copy of the order. The bishop immediately put the document on a stick and threw it into the sea. Soon afterwards it was found and taken to the authorities in Myra. The order was immediately put into effect, substantially lowering the taxes. Meanwhile Constantine, whose finance ministers had convinced him that this lost revenue would seriously harm the royal treasury, summoned Nicholas to return the document for revision. Nicholas reported that the order was already in effect in Myra. Doubting this, Constantine sent a runner to determine the truth. When Nicholas' words were confirmed the emperor allowed the reduction to stand. A century later Myra still enjoyed low taxation which the people attributed to St. Nicholas.
- After Galerius, and later, Constantine, declared tolerance for Christianity, the Christians who had been imprisoned under Diocletian returned home. Nicholas, the Bishop of Myra, was one of them. He found many idol shrines still present and they harbored disturbing demons. So by the power of God, Nicholas set about with great force and zeal to destroy these shrines, drive the demons away, and bring calm to the land. The most supreme deity of the pantheon of Myra was Artemis and her temple was the most stunningly beautiful and impressive structure in all Lycia. Nicholas attacked this temple with great might and vigor, causing its total destruction. So complete was its fall that the foundation stones were on top and the pinnacle was driven into the ground. The evil demons then fled, inspiring the people's awe of God.
Details of Nicholas' death are not known, but early reference is made to the manna of St. Nicholas, a liquid that formed in his tomb and was renowned for its healing properties. For 750 years St. Nicholas' tomb in Myra was an ever-increasingly popular pilgrimage site as reverence for the saint grew and spread throughout the Christian world.
As a bishop, Nicholas, servant of God, was first and foremost a shepherd of the people, caring for their needs. His active pursuit of justice for his people was demonstrated when he secured grain in time of famine, saved the lives of three men wrongly condemned, and secured lower taxes for Myra. He taught the Gospel simply, so ordinary people understood, and he lived out his faith and devotion to God in helping the poor and all in need.
The story of the three impoverished maidens is (likely) where the whole, Santa Claus delivering presents got its origin: There was a man, once rich, who had fallen on hard times. Now poor, he had three daughters of an age to be married. In those days a young woman's family had to have something of value, a dowry, to offer prospective bridegrooms. The larger the dowry, the better the chance a young woman would find a good husband. Without a dowry, a woman was unlikely to marry. This poor man's daughters, without dowries, were therefore destined to be sold into slavery, or worse.
Word of the family's misfortune reached Nicholas, who had the wealth inherited from his parents. Coming in secret by night, he tossed a bag of gold into the house. It sailed in through an open window, landing in a stocking* left before the fire to dry. What joy in the morning when the gold was discovered! The first daughter soon wed.
Not long after, another bag of gold again appeared mysteriously. The second daughter was married. The father, now very anxious to know who the secret benefactor was, kept watch during the night.
A third bag of gold landed inside the house and the watchful father leaped up and caught the fleeing donor. "Ah, Nicholas, it is you!" cried the father, "You have saved my daughters from certain disaster."
Nicholas, embarrassed, and not wishing to be known, begged the man to keep his identity secret. "You must thank God alone for providing these gifts in answer to your prayers for deliverance."
And *this*, *this* is why I have a great deal of affection for this Saint: In AD 325 Emperor Constantine convened the Council of Nicaea. More than 300 bishops came from all over the Christian world to debate the nature of the Holy Trinity. It was one of the early church's most intense theological questions. Arius, from Egypt, was teaching that Jesus the Son was not equal to God the Father. Arius forcefully argued his position at length. The bishops listened respectfully.
As Arius vigorously continued, Nicholas became more and more agitated. Finally, he could no longer bear what he believed was essential being attacked. The outraged Nicholas got up, crossed the room, and slapped Arius across the face! The bishops were shocked. It was unbelievable that a bishop would lose control and be so hotheaded in such a solemn assembly. They brought Nicholas to Constantine. Constantine said even though it was illegal for anyone to strike another in his presence, in this case, the bishops themselves must determine the punishment.
The bishops stripped Nicholas of his bishop's garments, chained him, and threw him into jail. That would keep Nicholas away from the meeting. When the Council ended a final decision would be made about his future.
Nicholas was ashamed and prayed for forgiveness, though he did not waver in his belief. During the night, Jesus and Mary his Mother, appeared, asking, "Why are you in jail?" "Because of my love for you," Nicholas replied. Jesus then gave the Book of the Gospels to Nicholas. Mary gave him an omophorion, so Nicholas would again be dressed as a bishop. Now at peace, Nicholas studied the Scriptures for the rest of the night.
When the jailer came in the morning, he found the chains loose on the floor and Nicholas dressed in bishop's robes, quietly reading the Scriptures. When Constantine was told of this, the emperor asked that Nicholas be freed. Nicholas was then fully reinstated as the Bishop of Myra.
The Council of Nicaea agreed with Nicholas' views, deciding the question against Arius. The work of the Council produced the Nicene Creed.
(Amber's mental image of the event)What's the first rule of Ecumenical Council?
We do not *talk* about Ecumenical Council! *rofl*
Okay, okay, *wipes eyes*. In all seriousness, I love this. Look, if Arianism had persisted, we'd all believe that God created Jesus, and the Holy Spirit, and that they were subservient to Him, as opposed to being equal parts of the Godhead. We'd be polytheists. So...St. Nicholas punching Arias...just kinda works for me. That's how serious this was, a normally nice person got so pissed at the heresy and evil he was hearing, he had to hit the guy. :)
Thursday, December 3, 2009
One Ring to Rule Them All...
Okay, this is just a really awesome picture from Hubble.
Eye of Sauron anyone? Anyone? Bueller?
Shush. I'm getting my geek on over here.
So. I have nothing intelligent to say, but I'm gonna post anyway. Because I *can*.
I've been hanging out on the OrthodoxChristianity forums, just picking topics and reading. I *was* going to do a post on the whole, leavened vs. unleavened bread for Eucharist, but then, in reading, I realized that all those people who make a *huge, freakin' deal* out of it, are just not bothering to read. So, nyah. *makes raspberry sound at them*
My mother has almost found a 'personal trainer' for me. Yes, I am 27, and yes, I should be able to do this myself, but the truth is, I won't. I know (now) that I need to, that I can't do it myself, but I *won't* call and help myself. Why? Who knows. I just know if it's left to me, it'll never happen. And that's no good. So. My mommy's doing it for me. :p
On the subject of health and exercise, I almost went off the back of the treadmill last night. I don't even know how it happened, I was slowing down, at the end of the workout, and all of a sudden, my left foot slipped! Very scary!
Also, I have developed on oval shaped bruise, directly between my shoulder blades. I have no clue how that got there. None.
I finished Anything Goes, which is the first autobiography of John Barrowman. It's a fun book (he's a fun guy!), but unless you're a fan, probably not interesting to you. (And yes, yes, I am a fan. Him and Gareth David-Lloyd. Hmm.....)
I pulled my new book out of the hat, and at first I got the Bible, which I'm already reading. (PS: Finished Leviticus and am in Numbers. *headdesk* Is it just me, or are these the most boring chapters in the history of anything? The footnotes are what interest me here, honest. At least it's not KJV, with all the frelling 'begats'.) *glances around* Nope. No lightning. Still, probably going to the special hell for finding part of the Bible boring, yeah?
So, I pulled again and got the Didache. Cool. I have this copy: The Didache: Text, Translation, Analysis and Commentary by Aaron Milavic. I've just started on the introduction, so I can't really comment on it yet. I do want to say, though, that I'm not sure this particular author's commentary is going to be helpful, and may, in fact, contain heretical teachings. Why? Just...some things he's said in the introduction, and the way he's said them. We'll see. Regardless, I bought it because I wanted a copy of the Didache, and, honestly, it was cheap. :)
Eye of Sauron anyone? Anyone? Bueller?
Shush. I'm getting my geek on over here.
So. I have nothing intelligent to say, but I'm gonna post anyway. Because I *can*.
I've been hanging out on the OrthodoxChristianity forums, just picking topics and reading. I *was* going to do a post on the whole, leavened vs. unleavened bread for Eucharist, but then, in reading, I realized that all those people who make a *huge, freakin' deal* out of it, are just not bothering to read. So, nyah. *makes raspberry sound at them*
My mother has almost found a 'personal trainer' for me. Yes, I am 27, and yes, I should be able to do this myself, but the truth is, I won't. I know (now) that I need to, that I can't do it myself, but I *won't* call and help myself. Why? Who knows. I just know if it's left to me, it'll never happen. And that's no good. So. My mommy's doing it for me. :p
On the subject of health and exercise, I almost went off the back of the treadmill last night. I don't even know how it happened, I was slowing down, at the end of the workout, and all of a sudden, my left foot slipped! Very scary!
Also, I have developed on oval shaped bruise, directly between my shoulder blades. I have no clue how that got there. None.
I finished Anything Goes, which is the first autobiography of John Barrowman. It's a fun book (he's a fun guy!), but unless you're a fan, probably not interesting to you. (And yes, yes, I am a fan. Him and Gareth David-Lloyd. Hmm.....)
I pulled my new book out of the hat, and at first I got the Bible, which I'm already reading. (PS: Finished Leviticus and am in Numbers. *headdesk* Is it just me, or are these the most boring chapters in the history of anything? The footnotes are what interest me here, honest. At least it's not KJV, with all the frelling 'begats'.) *glances around* Nope. No lightning. Still, probably going to the special hell for finding part of the Bible boring, yeah?
So, I pulled again and got the Didache. Cool. I have this copy: The Didache: Text, Translation, Analysis and Commentary by Aaron Milavic. I've just started on the introduction, so I can't really comment on it yet. I do want to say, though, that I'm not sure this particular author's commentary is going to be helpful, and may, in fact, contain heretical teachings. Why? Just...some things he's said in the introduction, and the way he's said them. We'll see. Regardless, I bought it because I wanted a copy of the Didache, and, honestly, it was cheap. :)
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
'We Don't Split Up the Church' - OLiC
In listening to the Our Life in Christ Archives, I'm up to a
Anyway, an interesting thing that they sort of mentioned, in passing, was that there is only one Divine Liturgy celebrated per day in a given church.
They didn't really go into any sort of detail as to the reasoning, just that 'we don't split up the church'. I've been thinking about this, and I'm trying to find out more information about the reasoning.
But, just from a practical point of view:
In the Catholic church, on Sunday, there are three to four Masses celebrated. (For smaller communities, this may not hold true) And, since the late Saturday Mass 'counts' for Sunday, I guess there're four to five services a person can attend that meet their Sunday obligation. Judging solely from my own parish, having only one Mass on Sunday wouldn't work.
There's just no way to fit everyone into the building. Maybe, *maybe*, on the 'off' season, but when the snowbirds come down? It'd be impossible.
I mean, I kind of *like* the whole, 'there is no early service, no late service, no charismatic service, only the Divine Liturgy' mentality. And, certainly, Orthodox churches don't have (that I'm aware of) problems - I assume that they build their spaces large enough for their needs, knowing that everyone will be there at once.
But, let's just imagine, for a second. Imagine that the Schism is healed, and (theoretically) Rome realizes it's been wrong this whole time and moves back toward the historic (Orthodox) way. Do they have to drop all the 'extra' Masses? Or is that a 'Western rite' tradition that could be kept? I suppose it really does depend on the actual reasoning behind having only one Divine Liturgy a day.
Priests are already limited as to how many Masses they can perform in one day - a priest can only perform Mass twice in a single day. And before anyone asks, I don't really know why that is either. I *think* it might have to do with the fact that a person is not allowed to receive (in the Catholic church) Communion more than twice a day, and at every Mass he performs, a priest takes Communion. So...*hand wavey*. It's one of those things I just learned the 'rule' for, and the reasoning behind it didn't really matter.
These are thoughts I think when I'm sleep deprived.
EDIT: Okay, so this is a possible, plausible, sense-making reason for one Divine Liturgy per day: "The Divine Liturgy can be celebrated only by a Bishop or a Priest, and neither can celebrate more than one Liturgy in one day. This is because they must partake of the Holy Gifts, having, of necessity, prepared themselves beforehand by fasting, prayer, etc. [If the Holy Gifts would be consumed before another Liturgy, the fast would therefore be broken!]" This answer is from here. Pardon me whilst I go 'duh' at myself. Also, in a related theme, this isn't a barrier to multiple Masses being performed by a priest in the Catholic church because the fast prior to Communion is only an hour. So, Fr. A celebrates the 7am Mass, Fr. P the 9am, then Fr. A can celebrate the 10:45 Mass, and Fr. P can do the 12:15 Mass.
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